Torn, Shredded and Hurt!!…

*Please, don't leave me alone; my nightmares will kill me!!...*

**Proserpina**
The voices belonged to Hades and Jericho. And from the looks of it, there was a heated conversation going on between the two. I knew it wasn't right, but I decided to wait a minute to see what was being said so I didn't barge in on something important. I froze instantly when I heard my name mentioned by Jericho. He was furious, and I sucked in a silent breath when I listened to what he had to say...
"Kora doesn't deserve this, and you fucking know it!"
"I am not listening to this shit!" Hades argued back, trying to hide his furious tone.
"Well, it's time you do before you fuck up what could be the best thing to ever happen to you!" Jericho threw back.
"What best thing!?" Hades asked, softening his tone this time.
"Of course, Kora! Who else has there been that you have been smiling like a fucking idiot over?!" Jericho retorted in a frustrated tone.
"Careful, bro, you don't know what it's like," Hades said after a few minutes of silence, the time he obviously needed to rein in his temper.
"Which is?" Jericho gritted out.
"That girl out there, that Kora, well...what to say...I can heal her!" Hades spoke, releasing a quick breath.
"What!? But how's this possible?... It can't be!... Are you sure!?" Jericho's voice was shocked this time.
"I fucking am, Jericho! Now, you understand my reasons!" Hades raked a frustrating hand through his hair.
"Oh, Hades!" Jericho mouthed silently.
"Trust me; you have no idea how I feel...fuck! Why the shit happens to me all the time!?" Hades' voice was pained, a pure pain that could cut me through the bone.
"Does that mean...he-" Jericho was asking something, but Hades cut him off.
"Don't...just don't say his name," Hades replied in a voice that no longer sounded like his own because of too much pain it held.
"And what about Kora?" Jericho asked in a sad tone, as if he felt so bad for me.
"I don't fucking know, Jericho. Got any ideas?" Hades snapped, burying his face into his hands.
"Kora!?" Jericho called my name in shock, looking at me. Fuck! They caught me eavesdropping.
"Kora!? Fuck! What the hell-?" Hades stopped mid-sentence and then turned to Jericho. He then nodded to him as if relaying to him some silent command. Jericho nodded in turn and left.
Hades then walked me towards one of the rock formations that rose from the ground, like a small island floating over an ocean of fog.
"So, it's the time to start talking!?" I asked the moment we were alone.
Instead of answering straightaway, he tugged on my hand, making me sit on one of the smaller boulders. He handed me a small jute bag filled with dry fruits.
"I want you to eat."
"Hades, I'm fine. I just want to know..." I started to say, but he took hold of my chin and lifted my head before warning me, "Eat!"
"Fine, look see...happy?" I asked, taking an almond in my mouth.
"Hades, you want to say something?" I asked, taking note of his tense jaw. He never minced words then; what is bothering him now?
"I...I," he replied tensely as if he was reluctant to say something. A bad feeling rose in my gut. That sinking feeling like a snake was coiling tighter in my belly and was just about to strike me at any moment.
Something is wrong,
I just knew it.
"I guess this is the part where we say goodbye," he spoke, trying to avoid my glare. My body jerked as if a vital artery had snapped off my heart.
I could feel tears flooding my eyes.
"Oh no...you don't..."
"Kora, please!" He tried to make me understand, but how could I calm down when he literally pushed me out of his life?
"No!" I screamed out in both heartbreak and anger. He tried to hold me, but I shrugged off his hand.
"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Hades...damn you!" I cried at the end, letting my words trail off.
"Please, Kora, try to understand!"
"Hhhow...how could you do this to me?" I asked, wincing again in pain.
"Kora."
"Don't...Please stop taking my name!" I snapped, pushing away from him.
"I will miss you, my raven!" He said, swallowing hard.
"Please, oh please, Hades...you can't, you can't..I...I ...how will I live without you?" He looked up at me in surprise by my admission, taking in my tears, finally starting to fall freely. He simply held me to him, and I breathed in his scent as if trying to draw in his essence and keep it with me forever.
He leaned his face and left a soft kiss on my forehead. I had known what that kiss had been for.
It was an eternal goodbye kiss.
His last kiss!
I never wanted to forget even a single thing about my saviour. He placed my hand on his heart,
"Your heart is not mine to own. I will never forget you." It was at this moment that he felt the tears fall for himself.
Fuck! I don't know who to hate more, him or my luck! And now I am reduced to begging him to stay...begging my fates to stop sucking.
I crumbled like a broken mess on the rocky floor, crying hopelessly till I lost my voice and strength. The tears ran down my face like a never-ending current. I curled over like a mummified body, lifeless and soulless. The only emotion coursing through me was pure and unfiltered pain. I cried like a lost, helpless and abandoned child. It was paining to breathe.
After crying my heart out, I just went completely silent as my body started to shut down, and my tears ceased.
Hades sat beside me, snaked his arm around my lower back, pulled me closer, and put my head on his thigh. His other hand trailed down my cheek, brushing away the strands covering my face.
I curled up on the floor in a fetal position, my head on his thigh and knees jammed tight to my heart. I closed my eyes, and my subconscious mind entered the dark abyss of loneliness.
My nightmares!!

*Maybe forever meant for memories, and not people!!...*

**Hades**
It was fear!
The reason behind my actions.
Fear of losing what was most important to me. Fear that she would be taken from me. Fear was much more than just a feeling. Fear that has a name,
Vlad!
It's nothing more than a fucking curse!
Like falling in love with a girl I couldn't protect.
I couldn't put her life in danger and would do anything to keep her safe, even if it meant breaking her heart...
It was the most challenging task to tell Kora. Her face and the innocence in her voice have a power over me like no other. But her safety comes first. Because I am sure of one thing: despite all the power I possessed, I was still powerless to stop Vlad from taking her.
Before Kora, I had nothing to lose. But now, she has become my biggest weakness. The weakness that has the power to make me lose in this fight with my brother, which I cannot afford. I cannot protect her from all the things befalling her if Vlad knows she is with me. They will make her the target, making her bear the brunt of every hit against me. I refused to be the cause of pain to her. And I refused to stand helplessly by and watch her suffer. I felt ashamed because I had wanted to selfishly keep her in my life for as long as possible despite knowing the dangers. Because I was the arrogant fool, who believed myself capable enough of protecting her.
Well, I would always fail.
I have no choice but to say goodbye this way. I know she is hurt and will feel like I betrayed her, but this was never my intention. She may hate me, damn me or curse my name, but I will not put her in danger.
So, I asked for her forgiveness, knowing I would have no choice but to part ways. Then, I prayed to every God out there that they could do what I could not. That is to save her from all the bad things that life has to offer!
My heart sank when she cried before me, but I just hoped she would understand the reasons behind my actions and why I decided to leave her. And then she will realize how much I love her. The love I would hold onto till my death...and after that...
My biggest punishment was the pain on her face when I told her of my decision. My words punched her chest like a hammer. I noticed how her fingers squeezed into fists too tight, digging into her skin and bleeding, but she didn't even realize that as the pain in her heart was dominating.
Once I walk from here, I'll be all alone. Of course, I can't leave Kora and Mira in the heart of this dangerous forest, so Jericho will stay with them for their protection and take them to the Kingdom of Gaul. At the same time, I'll use myself as bait to draw the shadow assassins away from them and trail them off in the Northern Celtic region.
Being alone is not new to me after my fallout with Vlad. But after Kora came into my life, a small and beautiful hope was born in my heart—a hope of having a beautiful family.
But fates being fates, our love story ended before it even started. She was sleeping peacefully on my thigh. Her fingers curled around my foot. Although she was in a deep sleep, her grip around my toes was as firm as a newborn's, as if that way, she would stop me from leaving.
Then suddenly, her body was cold, ice-cold. I put my hand on her thumping heart. And, then a scent hit my nose,
It was fear!
Kora's fear, as she was once again drowned in her nightmare!

*Our dreams were lost inside the nights we never spent together!!...*