Fated To Break

The room was thick with tension, the silence deafening as the last of Brittany’s form faded into nothingness. Santana stood motionless, her body aching with the emptiness that had taken over her. The others around her, witches, mystics, and former friends, were quiet, as if they, too, were mourning the loss of the one thing they had all tried so desperately to save.

Brittany had been brought back. Briefly. But now, she was gone again, and the curse still clung to Santana like a dark, suffocating cloud. Every breath she took felt heavier than the last, each heartbeat a reminder of how fragile and fleeting everything had been.

Her mind swirled with thoughts, confusion, anger, guilt. She hadn’t wanted it to end this way. She couldn’t let it. But now that she was left with nothing but the hollow ache of a lost love, the solution seemed impossible. She had already lost Brittany once, and now she was at risk of losing her for good.

Santana turned to the circle of witches and mystics gathered around her. Their faces were etched with concern, their eyes lowered in reverence to the gravity of the situation. There was no hiding the sorrow in the air. The curse had already claimed one life, Brittany’s. And it wasn’t over. The dark magic that bound them still thrived, refusing to relinquish its grip.

One of the witches, a tall woman with silver hair and dark robes, spoke up. “Santana,” she said gently. “There is only one way to break the curse now. But it will require a sacrifice, someone must die for good. The only way to destroy the curse is for one of you to give up your life willingly, in place of the other.”

Santana’s breath caught in her throat. She had expected this. Deep down, she had known the truth. But hearing it spoken aloud felt like a weight crashing down on her chest, suffocating the very air she breathed.

The room seemed to spin as the full weight of the decision hit her. Her heart pounded erratically in her chest, the sound deafening in her ears. She turned to the group, her eyes wild with emotion, as she tried to process what was being said.

“What are you talking about?” she demanded, her voice shaking with a mixture of disbelief and anger. “There has to be another way. We’ve fought so hard to get this far. I can’t just give up now. I can’t let it end like this.”

The older woman, the one who had spoken, looked at her sadly, her eyes filled with a kind of understanding. “The curse requires balance, Santana. There must be an exchange. Life for life. The person who is cursed, either you or Brittany, must make the ultimate sacrifice to end the curse for good. But it must be a voluntary choice. There is no other way.”

Santana’s stomach churned. She felt as though the ground beneath her was crumbling away, and she was left teetering on the edge of a cliff, with nowhere to turn. It was a cruel, unthinkable decision. She had already lost Brittany once; was she really being asked to let her go forever? And if so, should she be the one to make that sacrifice? Should it be her life on the line, to end the curse once and for all?

The thought of Brittany dying again tore at Santana’s soul. She couldn’t live with that. She couldn’t bear to watch the woman she loved slip away a second time. But the reality was clear: if they didn’t act, the curse would never be broken. It would drag them both into darkness until the inevitable end.

Her heart ached as she looked around at the people who had gathered here to help her. They were all waiting. Waiting for her to decide. They had done all they could, but it was up to her now.

And then, just when she thought her world couldn’t crumble any further, she heard it. Brittany’s voice. Not in the room, but in her mind. Clear. Strong. And piercing.

“You don’t have to do this,” Brittany’s voice rang out, steady and calm, as though she were standing right next to her. “Don’t make this about me. You’re not the one who should pay. I should.”

Santana’s breath caught in her throat. She knew that voice. The softness, the warmth, the love. The same voice that had comforted her through all the dark times. But now, it carried a weight of pain, of knowing that she was the cause of all this suffering. Her head spun as she tried to process what Brittany was saying.

“No,” Santana whispered, her heart breaking with the intensity of it all. “No, Brittany. You can’t… you can’t be the one to make that choice. You already died. It’s my turn now. I’m the one who messed everything up. I will end it. I’ll make it stop.”

But Brittany’s voice was unwavering, insistent, even as it trembled with emotion. “You didn’t do this, Santana. You never meant for any of this to happen. I love you. You don’t have to die for me. I’m the one who needs to make it right.”

Santana closed her eyes tightly, fighting the rising tide of emotion threatening to overwhelm her. She had to be strong. She couldn’t let Brittany die again. She couldn’t let go of the one thing that mattered most in her life. But the more she thought about it, the clearer it became: this wasn’t just about what they wanted. This was about fate, about the curse that had twisted their love. And now, it was demanding a price.

But then, a flicker of realization crossed Santana’s mind. It wasn’t just about who would die. It was about what had happened from the very beginning. The curse had been born from love, torn apart by jealousy and fear. And in the end, to destroy it, they didn’t need to fight fate.

Santana’s hand trembled as she placed it over her heart. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she sought the truth that lay beyond her pain, beyond her guilt.

She didn’t need to die. She didn’t need to fight to hold onto what wasn’t hers to control.

She needed to let go.

Letting go wasn’t giving up. It wasn’t about surrendering to the curse or to fate. It was about accepting that some things were meant to be, and sometimes, the greatest sacrifice was the one that allowed life to move forward.

Santana opened her eyes, staring into the darkness of the room. She could feel Brittany’s presence still lingering, faint, but still there.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” she whispered to the room, to Brittany, to herself. “But I think I understand now. I think I finally see it. The curse… it doesn’t end with death. It ends with acceptance.”

The room was silent as the others watched her, waiting. For a long moment, Santana stood there, her gaze soft and determined, as though something inside her had shifted. Something profound, something irrevocable.

“I’ll let go,” she said, her voice steady and strong. “Not because I want to, but because it’s the only way to break the curse. I’ll let go, and I’ll love you forever, no matter what.”

A heavy stillness filled the room, and for a brief moment, Santana felt something inside her break free. She didn’t know what the future held, but she knew that this was the choice she had to make.

And she was ready. Ready to face the future, to break the chains of the past, and to find peace.