Headed by a Snake

Tycondrius opened his eyes to find Elle sitting over him, tears spilling down her face.

...He had made a mistake.

Throughout his life, he'd made plenty of mistakes.

Rena of Leopardon had placed her trust in him.

He failed her.

...That, he could not change.

The past was a lesson-- albeit a painful one. He had to learn from it... not allow it to consume him.

More than once, Tycon had advised his peers and subordinates to do the same. It would behoove him to heed his own advice...

He sat up, kissed Elle's tear-stained cheek and slowly wrapped his arms around her, "No... I should be the one to apologize..."

He had been selfish.

The fault of most of his issues was likely just that. He'd always been selfish.

It didn't matter whether or not their romantic relationship would succeed in the long-term.

Classifying his feelings towards her... be it love or delusion-- that too, was unimportant.

The current Elle deserved happiness... and Tycon would do everything in his power to grant her that.

...And, if the fates were kind, he'd be able to keep her in one piece.

"Elle..." He whispered through clenched teeth, "I will protect you... as long as you let me."

"Wh-what?" Elle gasped, "What are you-- we're... I..."

Tycon closed his eyes and held her tightly... feeling droplets of her tears fall upon his shoulder.

"...Do you promise?" She asked.

"You have my word."

...

⟬ Elsewhere in the Green Corn Tower fortress. ⟭

Coraline sat with her back to the door of her room. The pain from her injuries... her mana exhaustion, she could scarcely feel anything. Her entire body felt... numb.

She hadn't eaten... she hadn't gotten anything to drink... She hadn't even moved from her spot in... bells.

...not since then.

When Coraline felt Beatrice's presence... she knew that Sir Tychon had returned.

And with him, he brought...

Bleigh. Empty night...

She missed him so much, her stupid boyfriend... the Lone Shadowdark.

Ignoring the fact that she barely had enough mana to breathe properly... ignoring the fact that moving her body opened up all her wounds... she dragged herself to the front gates and demanded the guards to open them for her.

Stars above, she had been so unreasonable about it, too...

Coraline walked outside the walls and... she saw him.

Lone.

He came... to save her...

She didn't think he would. From the letters Lord Tychon sent, her boyfriend was completely dominated by the Elven curse.

But she saw him. He was there. He was... fighting.

Coraline could still tell it was him... even if he looked a little different.

She ignored it, at the time. What was important was that her boyfriend had come to save her... to save her new bestie's adventuring company.

He was... so... gallant, dancing with his swords and rejecting his opponent's every attack.

He was... invincible... immortal-- just like he said.

There was something in the way he moved, though... it was so... off. And the way he spoke was... so different, so confident... not clumsy, at all.

He defeated the enemy leader. The fight wasn't even close...

Then... 'he' returned to her.

But... it wasn't him.

His eyes were different.

They... glowed.

The person... looked like Lone.

He even spoke with his voice...

He was polite.

He was respectful.

He asked her how her injuries were... he looked upon her kindly, wearing a gentle smile... but...

Whoever that man was... he didn't know her.

He wasn't the man who saved her on the Golden Eagle... He wasn't the man who gifted her a promise ring-- even though he probably had no idea the implications of giving that kind of gift.

After Coraline answered his questions... the man that looked like her boyfriend-- he just nodded and walked away.

The exchange was like... it was more like she was buying groceries from a store than talking to the love of her life.

It was... cold.

He had... forgotten her.

The words written in Sir Tychon's letters were true. She didn't want to believe it... but after seeing the evidence firsthand, she couldn't keep lying to herself...

Lone was gone... and in his place was a powerful Ancient... stronger, more confident, and more noble than anyone she'd ever met.

But... it wasn't the man she fell in love with... the half-wit that she wanted to live the rest of her life with.

He was just as Tychon called him... The Ancient.

He was... just as the Highblades called him... the King from across the seas.

Coraline wanted to run off... but there was nowhere to go.

She wanted to talk to Ellie... but... she wouldn't understand.

She wanted to tear her hair out. She wanted to tell Beatrice to burn that imposter... until Lone came back-- crying about how much it hurt... confused that she would attack her. Then she'd laugh and laugh as she ran off to get the aloe...

...She wanted to just... to just crawl underneath her sheet covers... and never wake up, ever again...

She wanted...

She needed...

What she NEEDED was to make that stupid boyfriend of hers right again!

Coraline knew she couldn't give up. She still had hope! And stubbornness! And righteous fury!

She was an elf! She had LITERALLY centuries to find a cure!

She needed to get to the libraries in Whitehearth... and she needed to find the location of the Tree God's Sap. She needed to stick a tap straight up his divine butt and bleed him dry!

She needed to get her boyfriend back...

She needed him to KNEEL before her in apology for all the laws she had yet to break but maybe-probably would have to.

She'd find SOME KIND of cure even if it killed her. Or-- or it killed HIM!

Empty night! She'd kill him, raise him from the dead, and kill him again if she had to! --and then she'd kill herself!!! Bleigh!!~

Stars and stones, Lone was SO STUPID!

Like... ALL THE TIME!

But... until then...

Until then, Coraline did what she figured any normal girl would do.

She got up... went over to her bed... and collapsed face-first onto her pillow.

And there... she cried... hoping she'd fall asleep before morning.