To Define What Is A "Monster"
The door closes gently behind Tom as they both now enter the safety of his dorm. Tom reaches for his wand, muttering a quick spell to silently proof the room so that those from outside can not hear Estella's voice or noise in his dormitory. After all, that would only leave to suspicion and confirm that the mysterious person the professors, Headmasters, and Tom would possibly assume some members of the Ministry are inside Hogwarts ground. Soft pants of unease came from both of them. Estella stood still in the middle of the room and Tom watched her reaction.
Awed, curious, happy, and excited.
She approaches slowly the table he has in the corner of the room and looks at the papers he had forgotten to put away. Though he didn't find them so important he let her skim through them only eyeing his diaries and making sure she didn't touch them.
That's where his dark secrets lay.
Estella's finger gently touches the edges of the book making Tom slowly move forward and then she moved away from the wooden desk making him stop puzzled.
'Is she not interested in what is written in them?'
She sits on the edge of the bed looking toward him placing a hand on her lap. The awkward silence grew making Tom cough lightly and Estella's head turns to him.
"This is where you can stay for the time being until everything settles down." He then slowly removes his cloak and places it on his chair. Estella looks away as Tom removes the tie from his neck. He chuckles from her flustering face and makes his way to his private bathroom.
Within the illuminating light, there were shards of broken glass that scatter from the sink down to the floor. Red stains of his blood were splatted everywhere. His fist tightens again and the dark voices that speak to him laugh at him in a distance.
But before he had the chance to do anything the glass before him levitated and the pieces big and small went towards where the mirror was placed. Its pieces fit together like a puzzle. The crack faded away appearing as if the object was never broken in the first place.
The stain of his sins faded away as well.
The floor and sink fresh clean sparkling in the light as if nothing had happened.
His gaze lands on her.
His pupil shrank and the black of his iris turned to red.
The voices in his head spoke loudly this time.
His body no longer in his control trembled in exhilaration.
"Do you not fear me?", he whispers.
Stoned emotionless lay in her expression.
She remains quiet and approaches him from behind. She gently places a hand on his shoulder and surprisingly he doesn't feel bothered by it. Feeling that he was accepting her touch she slowly puts an arm around his waist allowing her hand to meet his chest. His heartbeat slowed when her hand was placed above it.
There was this warmth of understanding that Tom felt coming from her.
His soulmate bond hummed even more being this close to Estella.
But he tries so hard to ignore it.
The warmth fluttering feeling he feels.
How he imagined all those years being locked away in an orphanage would love to feel like.
His breath hitched.
This was too much for him.
He allows his gaze to see himself in the mirror. But his eyes widen in terror when he meets his evil self, smirking with wild eyes, with the blood being painted on his skin. Blood from the past lives he took in his search for a way out of death. His body jerks away from her loving touch feeling it burned, but her grip tightens to the point that it felt like he was frozen in place.
"Stop fighting the bond...", her warm breath tickles lightly the back of Tom's neck sending a shiver down his spine.
"How-", his eyes widen in shock meeting her gaze from the mirror.
"Do I know?" She finished his sentence.
Her light blue, white eyes were now a pair of ruby. From the angle of the light, it created this dark-hummed glimmer. Her red eyes stood out so clearly but ever so elegantly with her pale skin and black hair.
Both red-eyed predators stared into each other.
"I can feel it," she says ghostly whispering into his right ear. "I can feel the life force of all living beings. It's a gift as it's my curse." His heart sank when he heard the tone in her voice shift. "I can feel the magic connection entwined in everyone's core even with those not being able to release magic physically like you and me."
"Muggles...have magic?" He says surprised.
And behind him, he feels a small nod.
"Yes, although their magic is not as strong as our own and it's trapped away making it almost impossible for them to cast an enchantment."
"Trapped away?" Tom tilts his head to the side towards her.
"Yes," she sighs.
Sensing how sensitive the topic was Tom dropped the subject. Silence covered them again as he repeated his question once more.
"Do you not fear that I am a monster?"
"No," she says and they look into each other eyes. Tom scoffs in disbelief looking away but Estella moves her left hand to grab his chin and forces him to meet her gaze. "A true monster is incapable of feeling love, of knowing love," she emphasizes as the hand still on his chest gripped onto his flesh. "Will feel nothing when it attacks those against them, no matter who stands before them. There are no favorites, no anchor to stopping a monster. But you.."
She moves her hand onto his shoulders and trails a path so alluring on his arms.
"You are destined to be with someone, despite being born from a love's potion, faith granted you a soulmate. Your other half in this world. A monster would have not been gifted with such beauty to cherish."
Tom's breath hitches as his mind and heart battle against each other.
The smooth soft skin felt nice in comparison to his rough hands. Estella grabs carefully his hands and he helplessly allows his fingers to entwine with hers. So small they felt against his. And there it goes again, the ring and his magic humming feeling this close to her.
"Close your eyes, Tom," she whispers into his ears. Like a siren's voice singing a melody in the dark depths of the sea, and with Tom being the sailor becomes enamored by her voice. The energy that is connecting them together, heightens his senses. The emotions he sealed away behind a mask were slowly breaking through the walls he inforced. Goosebumps lighten his skin, but it was a good pleasing feeling.
Warm heated hands travel their way up his arm to his chest again, above his heart.
"Allow the emotions that you claim to not be able to feel come to you."
The chains that guard the muted soulmate bond shook when Estella said that.
"Focus on my hands at your heart."
Focus he did and there he realized how hard his heart was beating.
The warmth feeling of security that he felt before came rushing back towards him.
"Do you feel that?"
"Yes...," he whispers almost breathlessly but there was still some hesitation in him.
She leans forward placing her head on his shoulder, her breath softly can be heard in his ears. Her red bloody lips touched very lightly to his ear and whispered, "Let it go..."
The bottom of his lips tremble, and hot tears blurred his vision as he stubbornly holds them back, but it stops when Estella shushes the whimper he didn't realize he was releasing. "Breathe, D-"
"Tom."
She places her front body closely behind him and there he focuses on the movement of her chest as she inhales and exhales. He self-consciously follows her breathing till they're now synchronized. Piece by piece the chains break and fall apart. The smell of oceans, tea, and roses clouded his sense of smell. And he breathed it in like a starved animal.
"Good, stay with me," Estella says encouraging him.
His body trembled and his knees almost gave up on him.
Estella's arms locked underneath his, holding him upwards in place.
Like an anchor for the "monster" to hold himself in place.
Tom leans forward gasping, tightly holding onto the sink till his knuckles turned white. "Allow the emotions to come." Tom's breathing shortens as he slowly lowers himself down to the ground. Felt the world around him spin and the dark spots in his vision growing ever so slightly.
"Tell me, Tom," she leans towards him kneeling down. He flutters his eyelashes a couple of times to keep his vision and mind settled. Estella gives him a warming smile before asking, "How does it feel to have it open?"
"Like hell," the apple of his throat moves as he swallows down the choked-up emotions erupting to be released. Again, a soft hand smaller than his reaches to touch his face. "But yet-", he whispers as her thumb accidentally touches his lips. Looking more into her feature Tom slowly comes to think about where he has seen her before. The silver necklace comes out from its hiding place and there Tom sees the glimmer of a clue shining in front of him of a letter "V" with the sword stabbed in the middle of it.
He looks back into her eyes and says, "It feels beautiful..."
A hint of joy meets her eyes and her smile widens even more, "Good."
She reaches out to grab his hand and she entwines their fingers together. Closing her eyes and opening them, her original color returned. She squeezes her hand gently and asks, "Tom, promise me, no matter what happens, you will not mute the bond?"
His brows furrowed in confusion, "What happens if I mute it again?"
Estella swallows, "Let's just say that some terrible things will happen if you do that again and it may affect Aurora more than you realized."
The deep glance from her makes Tom understand that what she is saying is something to take seriously and so he nods saying, "I promise."