Frevanth and Athelayna: Chapter 5

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While lost in thought, Athelayna realizes that Aerin is looking at her. She pretends not to notice; however, Ydil shields Athelayna with her wings when he approaches her. "No Ydil. It is alright." Athelayna says in a soothing tone. Ydil lowers her wings allowing Aerin to approach Athelayna; however, once he is close enough, she closes her wings around the two as if she is keeping guard.

"Athelayna, we need to talk." he mumbles under his breath; however, she ignores him. Aerin grabs her cheek and gently caresses it. "Athelayna please." he says a little louder.

"Yes, Aerin?" she says, looking deep into his eyes as if she were lost in another world.

"Athelayna, no. Not this way. Ydil stop! You can't do this!" Aerin begs.

"She can't do what?" Athelayna asks, perplexed.

"If Ydil finishes her enchantment on us, you will have no free will. Your heart will belong to me, and mine will be yours for eternity." Aerin explains.

"Have you ever thought it is I who is enchanting you?" she chuckles.

"Athelayna this is not funny. You need to stop." he begs; however, Aerin was right. Ydil is enchanting her, and as long as Ydil's wings surround them, there is no stopping her enchantment.

"Aerin. Can I tell you something?" Athelayna asks, looking deep into his eyes.

"No, Athelayna, you may not. Not while we are in this enchantment because whatever you tell me now will be a lie. Even if it is the truth, once I break Ydil's enchantment, whatever you tell me will be the opposite of how you will feel forever." Aerin pleads with her.

"Fine!" Athelayna yells, slightly angered, "Ydil! Stop! Now!" she shouts. However, Ydil does not because for Ydil to survive under Athelayna's powers, Athelayna must be in love.

Once Frevanth lost his powers, Athelayna stopped loving him because the enchantment had been broken, and Ydil left. However, Frevanth and Athelayna are not aware yet. "You can tell me now," Aerin says as Ydil flies off angered.

"Aerin, I have loved you since the moment the curse had been lifted. I loved you before I knew that I loved you. Is that why Avery cursed you? Because he knew you loved me too?" Athelayna questions while blushing.

"Wait...what?" Aerin replies in shock.

"I have been thinking about it for a while. I remember everything now from before the curse. I remember how close we were. I remember how Frevanth and I were always enemies and how once the curse began, I longed for Frevanth to love me. I also remember I was never betrothed to Zhoron. So why did Avery want me to rebel and marry Frevanth?" she says as if word vomit had taken over her.

"I- I-" Aerin stutters, trying to gather his thoughts.

"You?" Athelayna replies with a chuckle.

"I don't know. I don't have many memories left." Aerin says with a puzzled look on his face.

"No...please tell me you remember. Please don't leave me in this alone. I need you. Like before. Please." she begs as she shakes Aerin aggressively.

"Athelayna...please...I swear I don't remember anything." he says as he tries to catch his balance; however, he faints and lands on the ground with a loud THUD!

"Aerin!!" she screams, trying to catch him. She embraces him in her arms, crying, trying to figure out how to fix this mess. She is so lost trying to figure everything out that she hadn't noticed that Ydil had returned and Frevanth was standing in front of her. She looks up and sees his angry scowl.

"So is all that true?" he demands.

"I- I- don't know." Athelayna cries. "Avery put a curse on Aerin."

"Who's Avery?" Frevanth asks, confused.

"He's my father." Athelayna says, raising one eyebrow.

"But-" Frevanth says with a perplexed look on his face. "Isn't Aerin your father?"

"No. Can't you see Aerin is younger than you?!" she snapped.

"Athelayna. Are you alright?" he asks.

At this point, she can't tell if he is messing with her or if he genuinely doesn't see Aerin the way she does. Athelayna realizes that she needs to be careful who she trusts at this point.

"You know what..." she pauses.

"Yes?" he asks, a little more annoyed than before.

"Maybe I am just tired. Lynx dropped in, and I never got any sleep." she replies.

"Lynx?! Lynx Zorander?!" he asks, terrified.

"Yes. Something about you two and me stealing you from her. Honestly, I don't know. I wasn't paying attention." she replies, not realizing that she still holds Aerin in a close embrace.

"So that's it. This is why you said all this to Aerin? Right? To get back at me?" Frevanth snaps.

Athelayna lets out a groundbreaking chuckle knocking Frevanth to the ground. "Is that what you think this is? Payback? You haven't a clue have you?" she asks, more amused than before.

Annoyed Frevanth glares at her, "I don't know why you think you are funny!" he snaps, grabbing her by the throat holding her in the air.

"Oh darling, you have just made a grave mistake." she grinned.

"No, Athelayna, you have," he says as he tightens his grip, and she begins to turn purple.

Athelayna tries to wiggle free. However, she hasn't gained complete control of Aerin's powers, and if she pushes too far, the curse will take over, and she will lose who she is. Neither of them noticed Aerin was missing from the ground, and Ydil was nowhere in sight.

"You always did turn the prettiest shades of purple, Athelayna." he chuckled as he listened to her neck crack beneath the palm of his hand. "And your heartbeat. Mmm.." he says as his mind begins to wander. Athelayna gasps for air as her body becomes lifeless.

"Oh, how I have missed this. You're right, you know. You were in love with Aerin before Avery took ahold of you two. You were supposed to be my prize. Avery wanted Zhoron dead for good this time. I had succeeded and then Avery informs me that my prize is making googley eyes with the help!" he snaps, watching the life leave her eyes. Before her last breath is taken, he throws her up against a tree trunk. "Can't have my prize dying now can I?" he asks.

Athelayna tries to sit up straight while gasping for air and holding her throat. "Oh, don't be a dramatic bitch, Athelayna." he chuckles, "Always the one for the theatrical bull shit."

"Y- Y-" she tries to say; however, she still hasn't quite come back to full consciousness. He grabs her again by the throat and asks, "I what?"

She grins, grips his wrist, and flings him across the ground, "You throw like a bitch!" she chuckles.

Angered, his eyes begin to glow bright green. "Oh, you too? Now this makes perfect sense." she chuckles. "Avery got to you alright. Enjoy your curse because it will be the death of you!"

"HA HA HA! You think it's a curse?!" he chortles.

"Oh, so he didn't tell you. So we have the same curse. This should be fun! Except with mine, I have free will because I took it from Aerin, and it wasn't given to me to suck out my soul." she says as she realizes Aerin and Ydil are gone.

Frevanth realizes Athelayna's face changes to a softer tone. "What?" he asks worriedly.

"Ydil? Aerin? They're both gone!" she says, panicked.

"Oh, were you worried about me?" Aerin chuckles, holding firewood in his arms. "I figured this was a reunion I did NOT want to be a part of, so Ydil followed me to keep an eye on me while you two battled it out."

"Oh." Athelayna says as she hugs Aerin, knocking all the firewood to the ground.

"Ahem!" Frevanth says, exceptionally pissed off.

"Oh, Frevanth is cursed by Avery," Athelayna informs Aerin.

"Like...given curse or accepted?" Aerin asks worriedly.

"Given however, he thinks he excepted it." she chuckles.

"Oh shit." Aerin says in shock.

"Um...I believe I am standing right here!" Frevanth yells, realizing he is the third wheel.

"Right.", they both reply, looking at Frevanth.

"Should I?" Aerin asks, looking at Athelayna.

"No. That's dangerous!" she pleads.

"Athelayna, if I take the curse from him I will be like you. I can learn to control it. He wont be able to." Aerin informs her.

"Realy? Do you really think I will just sit here and let you take this curse from me and lose my prize?!" Frevanth snaps.

"Prize?" Aerin asks, confused.

"He thinks I am his prize because that is what Avery promised him if Frevanth killed Zhoron like Frevanth wanted all along." Athelayna says.

"Still here." Frevanth snaps.

"We need to break your curse Frevanth." Aerin responds.

"No!" Frevanth's voice echos through the trees.

"You don't have a choice." Athelyana says with a grin.

"Athelayna! No! Don't do it!" Aerin begs.

"Why not? I am stronger than him." she snaps.

"You will die. You can't handle that maganatude of power." Aerin says, trying to read her face.

At this point, Athelayna has Frevanth pinned to the ground, and as he starts to turn purple, Aerin shoves her off of him. "I SAID NO!!" Aerin shouts at the top of his lungs. Athelayna's eyes begin to glow the brightest green Aerin has ever seen.

"Please, Athelayna. Think about this. I love you." Aerin says as a tear streams down his face. Before she can lunge at Aerin, Frevanth grabs her hand and grips it tightly.