Anson was gazing at a painting he had bought when they moved in. It was of a little house in the middle of a huge field with flowers of all colors, beautiful birds flew up in the sky, joined by some Pegasus. He had bought the painting because it gave him a sense of peace and an understanding of what it felt like to have a home, something he had felt when they had purchased this house.
He was home, but now, as he stared at it, he felt sad. How could he cherish its meaning even though he had taken someone else away from theirs?
Lyla's state kept replaying in his head, overlapping with the painting before him, and he cursed loudly, averting his eyes
"What got you in such a foul mood?" his brother said, walking in, clearly back from some official meeting because he was still clad in his formal attire
"The keeper summoned me. I went to see Lyla."
He knew enough from the look on his brother's face to know things weren't well
"Darius told me she hasn't been eating."
"She looks awful, and it's not just her physical appearance. Her eyes look dead, like she's lost all purpose, like she's given up. I don't know what to do, I feel so guilty…I should have never talked to her, never made her trust me, maybe things would have been different if we'd never met"
"You can't blame yourself, she's the chosen, so whether or not we met her, she would have eventually found herself here…but I understand how you feel. Just calm down, I'll go see her. Perhaps there is something I can do."
With that, he watched as his brother left, not bothering to change his clothes
*
*
The keeper was surprised to find the eldest of the Drakon brothers in front of her door, but when he stated his purpose, she was more than willing to let him in. Whatever it would take to get her out of that room before she resorted to some drastic measures, she knew the Paisios would frown upon
He knocked on the door thrice before letting himself in, his eyes settling on the girl curled up on her bed. The room was a bit stuffy; she clearly hadn't bothered to let in any air, so he walked to the windows, pulled the curtains, and opened them
Lyla had heard him come in, but she chose to ignore just like she did the others, that was until a bright light burned at her face and a soft breeze filled the room. She shot her eyes open, but the light was too bright, forcing her to shut them before slowly opening them again
Damian stood at the window facing her; she couldn't see his face but knew his frame well enough. She opened her mouth to speak, more like shout for him to close the curtains and get the hell out, but she found her throat too dry
She hadn't spoken for four days, she realized, so she turned to face the other side
"This room smells awful," he said in disgust, but she couldn't care less. "So tell me, Lyla, how long are you going to keep this up?" She didn't respond
"So what's the plan, to stay locked up in here and starve yourself to death. Do you really hate this that much, or are you just being stubborn? Or is this some petty revenge? Are you trying to scare us by making us believe you'll act on that threat you made?" his voice was cool, even bored as he spoke, and Lyla made it a point to continue ignoring him, that was before he added, "I wonder what your mother would say."
It was a low jab and a petty thing to say but he knew he had to try whatever he could to get a reaction from her and Lyla knew it was a trap but she still forced herself to say through a hoarse voice, "Don't fucking mention her"
Damian was glad she took the bait, so he continued, "Why? Is it because you think I'm right? Are you afraid she'd be disappointed?"
Lyla slowly sat up and faced him, "You don't get to talk about her. Not after deceiving her and kidnapping her daughter, not after forcing her to believe something that doesn't exist, not after using your magic on her without her consent. You think she'd be disappointed, no, she'd understand what I'm going through and she'd do everything to get me out of here."
Damian was silent, taking in the pain that wrapped around her strained voice. She was broken, and the reality she was now facing was a hard pill to swallow, especially since it meant leaving everything she had known behind. So, as he said the next words, his voice was a bit more gentle
"Look, I am truly sorry for the part my brother and I played in all this, and I will not try to ask you to understand where we are coming fro,m nor will I pretend that I know what you're going through but giving up is not something I think you'd do."
"Yeah, what makes you so sure?"
"Because the girl who was willing to risk her life to keep her people safe wouldn't. Because that girl, even through her fear, still managed to shoot an arrow straight into the heart of a beast she'd never encountered before, and that girl was the bravest human I'd ever met, braver than many of the people I know."
Lyla was taken aback; she didn't know what to say, so she just stared at him, running through the words he had spoken. The man had never complimented her before; in fact, she never thought he ever considered anything nice about her
Damian moved from the window and walked out, and she wondered if it was because he regretted what he said, perhaps he didn't even mean it. If that was the case, then she was a fool to even engage with him, a fool to…footsteps approached the room before it was opened, and Damian walked in with a tray of food. She had begun shaking her head no before her stomach made an embarrassing growling sound that made him smirk in victory
He set the food on the bed. "You better start eating before your stomach wakes the dead… and before you think of saying no, just know that I'm not leaving until you finish every last drop."
Lyla narrowed her eyes at him, but he only raised his brow, daring her to reject it and see if he was truly joking. She knew he wasn't, but a tiny part of her still wanted to play, so she crossed her arms and watched him
"I guess we're roommates then. I'll have you know I don't take well to untidiness and poor grooming. Oh, and I also love the beautiful bright light and breeze, so the curtains and windows will stay open."
Just to make sure his point was put across, he placed the food on top of the drawers next to her bed and pulled the covers from her, "These smell, they need to be washed. Perhaps I should also get rid of the curtains, the sheers will do just fine."
Lyla wanted to reach for the covers, but he pulled them further before dumping them across the floor and walking to the curtains in an attempt to take them off
"Don't you dare," she said between gritted teeth
"Eat and I'll leave," he said, that stupid, arrogant smirk on his lips
The two were now in a staring contest, waiting for the other to give in. "Fine," Lyla finally said, picking up the tray and placing it into her lap before digging into the stew. She almost moaned at the burst of flavor.. She went on to shove the sandwich into her mouth, then grabbed the glass of juice. Everything tasted even better here
"Don't eat so quickly," Damian said, stopping her hands while slightly chuckling, "you might throw up."
He had a point, she admitted before easing up. Damian watched as she ate. he felt better now that she was at least having something. His brother had not been wrong; she looked awful, but when he saw that little glimmer of life appear when she challenged him earlier, he held onto that. There was still hope, and although he knew this hadn't solved everything, it was still a step
So he let himself smile as he watched her