Chapter 212 - Not A Love Story, But A Story Of History.
Chapter 212 – Not A Love Story, But A Story Of History.
In the past, the wolf always wore the lamb's mask while the lamb wore his. Wolf represented the lamb, and I represented him. Made by an ordinary artisan, the masks slowly grew in us and absorbed the identities we created whilst hiding behind the mask.
Our masks held power that, if placed in the wrong hands, could be used as another source of deadly power. The reason Niall was after it. He simply possessed the half of my mask; Azazel kept the other half. Daniel, on the other hand, still kept his.
"How did you find it?" I asked as I opened the book he pointed in the bookshelf. As soon as I did, my eyes landed on the broken mask hidden inside the book. It was old and broken, but the fading red swirls I drew on it many years ago were still there.
"In one of my expeditions," he answered lazily while I cast him a look. "I wasn't born with the knowledge of the world, Rinnie. Everything started with nightmares. Night after night, haunting me until I cannot think about anything else aside from those nightmares."
I remained silent as I sauntered towards him, sitting on the armchair beside his bed. He continued;
"Until I shifted for the first time. Everything… by that time, came back to me and had taken me by storm. I nearly lost my mind back then, Rinnie," he breathed out, glancing at the mask in my hand with bitterness in his eyes. "When I recovered, I knew I needed to find my mask to mend my already broken peace. So I searched for it and kept it hidden when I found it buried in the mountain peak where we… I lost my life."
"What about you?" he inquired, perking his chin lightly. "How did you lose it?"
"I forgot about it." I shrugged, lifting the mask up while studying it. "I remembered retrieving it, but then I was too young to value it. It broke between Althea and Everfell. One seemed to be retrieved by the royal family in Althea, while the King of Everfell picked up the other half along with me."
"And now, vampires claimed it."
"It doesn't matter," I argued, casting him a quick look before setting my eyes back on the mask. "As long as they don't get a hold of this one. If that happened, then that only means things wouldn't be too good for werewolves."
I tossed the mask up lightly, catching it midway as I snapped my eyes back to him. "Wear this," I said, tossing it at him, which he caught on instinct.
"What for?" Daniel frowned.
"I just said you can't die yet, Daniel. If you're going to die, die fighting."
His frown grew worse, staring at me dead in the eye. "This mask is just an old mask now. Even if we say it held a part of us, it's really nothing now."
"It's something now." I cocked my head, eyebrow arched. "I blessed it."
"Mhm?"
"I cannot be with you, but holding a part of me will do the trick." I shrugged as I leaned back, pointing my chin at the mask in his hands. "Daniel, do you truly believe you will die? Your mortal body will, but never your soul. It'll just shift to Hugo, the other part of you, and I will never forgive you if that happened."
Daniel smacked his lips lightly, brows knitted a bit. "If this is all true… that Hugo was a part of me, then why can't you love me the same? I'm not saying you have to or I needed it, but I'm completely appalled."
There was a moment of silence between the two of us. I understood Daniel's puzzlement.
If what Niall said was true, that the wolf split himself in half so he would have a companion, Hugo and Daniel were basically just one. It was strange, but the lore of this world was endless.
"Because I cannot accept your whole, Daniel," I answered after a moment of silence, staring back at him without faltering. "The wolf valued me and I did value him. However, the wolf… no matter what I do, will always be deaf and blind by madness. He will never see things beyond that. You might… a part of you might see it, but not the whole you."
"Hah… talk about the biased love of the lamb." He snorted, eyes full of ridicule. "It's not love if you cannot accept someone entirely. Their flaws and dark side. How can you claim you love someone when you only love a part of them? This is how you drove me to madness."
"Don't blame it on me. You drove yourself to madness," I stressed. "Although you have a point, and I can understand that. Still, you are aware of this as well… subconsciously."
Daniel rocked his head lightly as he spun the mask on the tip of his forefinger, eyes on it. He might not admit it, but we were both aware that even the wolf couldn't entirely love his whole.
Our story was not a beautiful love story of the flawed, but a story of history. Our actions had their own consequences, and we existed for a reason. Be it the gods' mistake or best creation, it didn't matter. Time had changed and we could no longer follow a divinely preordained plan of creation.
"You and I… are our own people, Daniel. If you want to do it right, then I will write your name down in history," I remarked solemnly, waiting for him to set his eyes back to me. "This time, a history that will never be forgotten."
I paused as my expression grew more solemn and determined. "Rewrite it with me, Wol."
Daniel and I stared at each other in silence until the side of his pale lips curled up into a smirk.
"Good Lord…" he chuckled with his lips closed, holding the mask in front of him while staring at me through the hole in the eye. "Rewrite? How daunting. You might anger the gods I so despised."
"They had angered me first."
He smirked as he nodded, tying the mask to cover half of his face. While he did, my eyes glinted as I peeled them away from him to the open window not far away.
"Dan… I now understood your heart for wanting to return to the empyrean realm," came out a whisper, breathing much calmer than ever.. "They played with our lives far too much."