Game of Hearts

(Setting: Right after Lila and Valentine share a moment in front of a door of her room in Morpheus’s castle. Lila is slightly drunk.)

I stumble into the room, closing the door behind me. My hand grips carved door handle clumsily as I lay my back flat against the hard wood.

What the hell just happened?

Something hot and malleable is slowly twisting in the pit of my stomach. Blood in my veins is boiling. I feel lightheaded and I am not sure if this is because of the amount of alcohol I consumed or because of something else entirely.

Carefully, I make my way towards the bed as ground shakes slightly. Or is it just me?

Either way, my whole world seems to be shaking even without god of the dead being involved; Cupid and Cal have forgotten about me, Venus is back and gaining power, furies have tortured me and my body can’t forget the pain they put me through yet. And Valentine…

I remember the sensation of his warm hands on my arms, his rough yet gentle fingers as they tilted my chin. What if I did let him kiss me?

For some reason I can imagine how would his full lips feel against mine, how would they taste and it scares me a little. I quickly push the thought away.

No.

Cupid. I have to remember Cupid. Cupid who doesn’t even remember me. But that is no excuse to cheat… I immediately feel angry with myself.

How can I even think of something like this? Valentine is no good. He is a murderer and for whatever reason he is acting this way towards me, I cannot let him get to me.

He is a smart man. This must be a part of his plan, manipulating me. Something tugs at my heart. It is not a pleasant feeling.

As I reach the bed somehow, I let my body hit the mattress ungracefully. My limbs feel too heavy to move. I let myself enjoy the softness of the silk sheets for few more moments before forcing myself to sit up. I fiddle with the zipper on the side of my boot then kick it off before repeating the same with the other one.

Yeah, I can’t let him manipulate me. I need to… I need to… I find I can’t quite remember why I came here in the first place.

I slide the black leather jacket off my shoulders as I search my memories. Valentine has it, I know that. For some reason Valentine is all I can think about.

I shake my head furiously trying to get him out of my mind. He’s doing this. It’s his fault I keep thinking about him, isn’t it? He is playing with me. Acting so weirdly kind to me since he brought me here…

Again, I remember what’s it like to have his arms around me, to have his scent and heat engulf me.

Come to think of it, how is that even possible? He is dead. His heart should have stopped working. There is nothing to pump blood through his veins, so why is he so warm?!

His heart stopped when I pushed Finis through it in that cave where the box with hearts of the zombies were hidden… Box with the hearts… Oh! The box! That’s why I’m here!

I toss the jacket on the throne like chair and lay down again. I will think of something later.