[He doesn't hate her for being cold. She hates herself a little for caring what he thinks. She's relieved, gratified, horrified by what he says next. Because of this place—]
[You will laugh while others weep. Your heart will be a riddle. A girl with golden hair and no fear.]
[—he got to meet her. Meeting her was worth it. And she fights herself, the huddled child denying it, the bloodhanded princess with no fear reveling in it, and the cat in its cage lashing out through the bars, screaming to catch his flesh and tear-shred-destroy. It's harder than usual, after all of this, to pull the mask back down. Suddenly it feels like it doesn't fit, awkwardly tight in some areas, loose in others, just wrong, made for someone else.]
[She's reading the message still, over and over. The last two sentences. Happy. Happy that he woke up here. Happy that he met her. Happy because of her. Nobody's happy because of her. She bites down on the edge of her thumb and her teeth go through, clamp down on nothing. She's happy. She's other things. She wants to go find him. She wants to run away.]
no subject
[You will laugh while others weep. Your heart will be a riddle. A girl with golden hair and no fear.]
[—he got to meet her. Meeting her was worth it. And she fights herself, the huddled child denying it, the bloodhanded princess with no fear reveling in it, and the cat in its cage lashing out through the bars, screaming to catch his flesh and tear-shred-destroy. It's harder than usual, after all of this, to pull the mask back down. Suddenly it feels like it doesn't fit, awkwardly tight in some areas, loose in others, just wrong, made for someone else.]
[She's reading the message still, over and over. The last two sentences. Happy. Happy that he woke up here. Happy that he met her. Happy because of her. Nobody's happy because of her. She bites down on the edge of her thumb and her teeth go through, clamp down on nothing. She's happy. She's other things. She wants to go find him. She wants to run away.]
doesn't that mean
[She knows.]
that i bring bad luck, too?
[She knows it does. She wants to be lied to.]