Finally Out of Cage
EPISODE 1
I don’t. I don’t deserve to breathe, to see the light, to feel anything at all. Every heartbeat in my chest is a reminder of the ruin I left behind. I ruined him. I ruined our son. I ruined everything.
I think of Draven—my Draven—raising our boy alone after I left. How quietly, how painfully, he carried the weight of my betrayal. Every sleepless night, every ache in his chest, every moment of longing… and I walked away, chasing someone worthless, someone who betrayed me, who slept with my own sister, who locked me in darkness, who made me suffer. And still… he endured. He endured everything I destroyed.
He never remarried. Never sought another woman to share his life. Because he loved only me. Always me. Even when I disappeared, even when I hurt him more than anyone could bear. He made our son his world, and through that boy, he kept me alive in memory, in hope, even when I had abandoned him entirely.
I left him earlier, died many years ago, letting him alone on this cruel word, he was all alone after his parents death, and I was his only relative left but I betrayed him . And then… he died. 38 years after he could wait no longer. He closed his eyes in this world, longing for the next, hoping to find me in heaven. All his life, he waited. Every glance at our son reminded him of me—the way our boy’s eyes held the same fire, the same softness, the faint curve of lips, the way he moved. Our blood, our legacy… the only piece of me he could still touch. The treasure he raised.
I can almost see him now, in that final moment, closing his eyes and imagining my face—faded, barely remembered, almost gone—my voice lost somewhere in the folds of memory, yet still haunting him. He forgave me in silence. He loved me still, in death as in life. And I… I never deserved any of it.
I don’t deserve his forgiveness. I don’t deserve our son’s love. I don’t deserve to live in a world that I betrayed so completely. I destroyed the only thing that mattered to him, the only life that was ours, the only treasure he held close to keep me alive in memory. And now, I am left with nothing but regret, nothing but the hollow ache of what I caused.
I don’t deserve to live. I don’t deserve them. I don’t deserve the chance to see him, to hold him, to undo the years I took from him, to heal the wounds I carved so deeply. And yet… even in this darkness, even in the abyss of my despair, I know—somehow, fate has not finished with me.
All these years that I was gone my soul wandered around him. He took his revenge on me in all these years when I was suffering watching their destroyed lives realising I was the destroyer.
Until the moment he finally closed his eyes, maybe finding his peace.
EPISODE 2
The study room was cloaked in shadows, the curtains drawn, only the faint glow of a dying lamp illuminating scattered papers across the desk.
？？？
*sitting motionless, pen in hand but unable to write*
It had been like this for months—the darkness pressing in, suffocating, mirroring the emptiness he felt since Althea slipped further into her illness.
Across from him, his assistant, Elias, stood quietly, waiting for his master’s words.
？？？
*low voice broke the silence* “Elias… what did the doctor said? Is there… is there a cure for Althea’s condition?
Elias (ML assistant)
*Lowered his head, his expression grim* Sir… I’m afraid not. He said depression such as hers cannot be lifted with medicine alone. She is… very unwell. He fear it may grow worse.
The answer felt like a blade twisting in his chest
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
*hand tightened into a fist against the desk*
For so long, he had faced wars, betrayals, enemies that wanted him dead—but nothing, nothing was as terrifying as watching the light of his life wither away before his eyes
He rose without another word. His footsteps were heavy as he made his way down the hall, the silence of the house broken only by the faint creak of the floorboards. When he reached her room, he paused at the door, his heart caught between dread and yearning.
Inside, the room was dim, only the faint silver of the moon spilling through the curtains.
A tiny figure lay on the bed, her breathing soft, her face pale but peaceful in sleep.
For a moment, he just stood there, watching her, feeling the ache of helplessness.
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
*sits on the edge of the bed, lowering his head into his hand, his other hand reaching out to gently pull her against him*
The warmth of her body against his chest nearly undid him. He closed his eyes, breathing her in as though she were the only air left in the world.
Then—her eyelashes fluttered.
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*half-asleep*
In that fragile state, she reached for him, arms circling his body, clinging as if he might vanish if she loosened her grip. Her breath was unsteady, but her voice came, soft and tired
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
...Draven...
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
(is that you?)
The sound of his name from her lips in sleep sent a shiver through him. It had been so long since she had called for him like that. A surge of relief and something dangerously close to hope filled him
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
*holds her tighter, his throat burning*
She murmured again, his name slipping past her lips like a prayer, before sleep pulled her back down
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
*stayed still, listening to the fragile rhythm of her breath*
For the first time in months, the corners of his mouth softened, the heaviness in his chest easing. Slowly, he leaned back beside her, unable to bring himself to leave. With her warmth against him, her voice still echoing in his head, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him—holding onto her as if he’d found a sliver of light in the endless dark.
EPISODE 3
The morning sunlight was soft against the curtains when Althea’s eyelashes fluttered open. Her head felt heavy, her body drained, as if she had just clawed her way out of endless darkness. The bed was warm, but it didn’t feel like her bed — it felt too familiar, too nostalgic. She sat up slowly, confusion knitting her brows.
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*lips parted, her voice barely above a whisper* What… what am I doing here? Didn’t I… die?
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*hand clutches her chest, feeling the rise and fall of her breathing — rapid, frantic. She looked around, and her heart lurched*
The one she hadn’t lived in for years. Which was more like a nightmare for her in the past.
For a moment she froze. Then, panic rippled through her veins.
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*rushed to the door, tried the handle but it was locked, fingers trembled against it, rattling it, but it didn’t budge*
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*knees weakened, and she pressed her forehead to the cold wood. A whisper escaped her lips, broken, trembling* Why… why am I locked here?
Somewhere, deep down, she knew the reason.
He was always afraid she would hurt herself… or run back to him — the man who betrayed her, the man she still couldn’t erase from her heart.
Her thoughts swirled too heavily for her to fight further. Her mind was not steady enough to resist. Instead, something else drew her attention — a familiar corner, a desk covered in dust. Her drawing tools.
As if pulled by invisible strings, Althea stumbled toward them.
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*Hands trembling as she picked up the pencil, charcoal, the paper*
Her breath shook, but her fingers began to move — sketching, carving, desperately tracing the face that lived in her soul.
Line after line, the familiar curve of his jaw, the eyes, the lips — his face emerged.
The one she could never forget.
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
* dropped the pencil as she finishes the sketch, her eyes stinging*
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*stared at it, as though if she didn’t hold on to this paper, she would lose him forever*
Althea Lune/Kaelthorn (FL)
*A smile tugged at her lips, bittersweet, her eyes filling with tears*
Her silent tears slipped down, staining the corner of the paper
Daven Kaelthorn sat motionless, the room around him swallowed by darkness. Only the glow of his monitors illuminated his sharp features, his eyes fixed on her every movement.
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
Why… why do you draw me, Althea… if you hate me so much?
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
*clenched his fist on the edge of his desk, jaw tight, heart thrumming painfully*
But she couldn’t hear him. And yet, just seeing her — so fragile, so lost, so devoted in ways she herself might not understand — was enough to make the darkness around him shrink, just a little.
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
*Leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing* (Even in sleep… even in drawing… it’s always me)
She didn’t want to see him, had hated him once — but here she was, clinging to him in the only way she could, through lines and paper.
And in the silence, he let himself marvel at it, a dark, bitter smile tugging at his lips.
Draven Kaelthorn/K (ML)
She’s mine, even when she doesn’t know it herself.
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