Hellbound Heart

Elle's heartbeat drummed within her chest as she lifted her hand towards him. As she slowly reached out, her hands started trembling slightly the nearer she got to him. r

She knew she was about to do something that would most probably hurt her again as the memory of what happened the last time she had wanted to touch him flashed across her mind. Whether he would catch her wrist, take a step back, or push her away, she knew her stupid heart will feel that awful sting. r

And despite knowing all the possible negative outcomes, Elle still could not stop herself from attempting it again. She really did not want any more curses. She had felt that her life was already a long series of curses for quite some time. Though she was not usually superstitious, Elle wanted to believe in it even if it were just for tonight. She wanted – no, desperately wished for luck, not another curse. She was not sure if she could handle any more curses that would come at her this time. She did not know how much more her heart could take. r

Her fingers faltered for a moment as it neared his face. She was so glad that his attention was raptly focused elsewhere and he was still looking up, watching the lanterns. She knew without following his line of sight, that he was tracking the progress of the lantern they had released earlier. Because if he was staring at her right now, she might really chicken out and back off. As courageous as she was, that was only provided those steely and sharp grey eyes were not focused on her. r

As she was about to touch his mask, Elle could feel her heart already jumping into her throat. Lord… her courage was faltering. She did not want to get hurt – not tonight. She wanted this wonderful, beautiful and memorable day to stay as perfect as it was - not to be ruined. She wanted to remember this day as one of her happiest moments in her life. But the curse… r

She breathed shakily due to all her wildly conflicting emotions. Pulling in deep breaths, she told herself to calm down. r

But when he moved, Elle tiptoed. Just as Sebastian shifted his face to look down at her, her lips pressed onto his mask. And what more, it landed right over his lips. r

Time seemed to screech to halt and for a moment, Elle felt like her heart had totally stopped beating as well. The world just turned so quiet, so still, as if everything had ceased to exist but just the two of them. r

The feeling was unusual – unexpected. Something she could not quite put into words. Or was this the masked goddess' blessing? Did this feeling mean that this kiss worked even though her kiss only landed on his mask and not directly on his skin? r

Elle chose to believe in those thoughts. Because she could not think of any other reason behind these feelings that this kiss on his mask brought to her. It was unlike anything she had felt before. So weird… just a simple kiss, and not even one that was on skin, but it had the power to send her mind reeling and her heart stalling. r

Pulling away, Elle did not look at him but she crashed onto the thin mattress and sat there, pretending as though she had not done anything unusual. Without sparing Sebastian a glance, she rummaged for the liquor and glasses in the basket. And then she unceremoniously opened it. Thank goodness the liquor bottle was not very hard to open by herself. r

Still refusing to look up, Elle poured herself a drink. She found that she was suddenly feeling thirsty, maybe because of all that nervousness. r

Despite wincing at the bitter aftertaste of the liquor as it slid down her throat, Elle gulped down another mouthful of it. She did it not only because of the tradition, but also in the hopes to help calm and numb her nerves a little. r

And then finally, she meekly glanced up after telling herself that she had not actually gone against his rule. She had not kissed him directly. She only kissed him over his mask. So, she should be safe and this night would end as wonderful as it had started. At her back, she crossed her fingers. r

Her brows creased when she saw him still standing there in that very same position. It was as if someone had turned him into a statue. Was he that upset over her actions? r

Elle was curious but she felt relieved because she was not feeling that dreaded heavy aura oozing out of him. That alone was enough to make her relax.r

She absentmindedly refilled her own glass again and gulped on it, forgetting that she was drinking a liquor and not a bottle of beer until the alcohol seemed to burn her throat and she coughed from the irritation. r

Sebastian finally moved and immediately grabbed the glass from her hand as he squatted before her. r

"What's wrong?" he asked, wide-eyed. r

"I'm fine… just choked a little." Elle grinned awkwardly at him and he violently pushed his mask aside, that it was now covering the side of his face before taking a sip from her glass. His actions confused Elle for a moment. It was as though he wanted to test it out. r

The set of his shoulders then dropped as if he was extremely relieved about something. r

Without saying anything, he plopped down to sit next to her. He rested his wrist on top of his bended knee. His head drooped a little causing Elle to wonder if he was overtired. r

Desperate to ease up the awkward situation, Elle looked up to the sky. And there she saw just how magical the view had become. It looked even more enchanting now that all the lanterns were floating around and covering the sky. r

"Beautiful…" she breathed out, smiling and then she turned to Sebastian, only to be surprised when their eyes met. Lord… he was so beautiful… r

"Oh my god!!! It's true!!!" a shriek broke through their silence, causing Elle to whip to look towards the voice. There she saw ladies standing before them, gushing at Sebastian. Oh no…r

___

AMonthly goal: top 1 in golden ranking = mass release