The Prequel/Sequel

Warning: Contains minor smut

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3 years ago...

You were afraid to admit it, but you truly were positive. It was Julian's child. That fateful night when he escaped, he didn't left with only a kiss from you. He left an unbelievable image in your head that you still can't shake off. You were pregnant with Julian's child and you still don't know when he was going to return. So what now? He left you with a piece of him, but once he returns, his death sentence might be fulfilled. It has been three months since his departure. There was no sign of him.

You were worried... Julian was found guilty and left without a trace, except for his tainted name and a death sentence... Death by hanging. You were anxious, and ended up pulling your hair from your scalp from all of the anxiety, whilst you pace around your resting quarters. As much as you needed sleep, no. You didn't needed sleep, you want to make sure Julian was alright. A rustle from your balcony disturbs you. You quickly glanced at your balcony to spot an empty skies, void of any brightness as clouds littered and covered the skies and the bright moon.

"Greetings and salutations. Dreadful etiquette, I know,"

You spotted a silhouetted figure sitting by the ledge of the balcony... It was an unmistakable silhouette of the fugitive, the love of your life. You ran to him, embracing him by the neck as he flinched in shock. "What were you thinking!?" You tightened your grip around his neck that he almost suffocated. "Did you killed the Count?! Tell me you did not! I knew you didn't!" You let him go, eyeing him. He looked down on his lap with a solemn look in his eyes... Wait, why was the other one covered.

"Julian... What happened?" You traced his cheek with your thumb, reaching for his right eye, but he cups your hand. Tears started blocking your vision and blurred your sight. "Julian... YOU WERE SENTENCED TO DEATH, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" You yanked your hand away from him.

"I..." He opens his mouth to speak, only to stop. He then opens his mouth again. "I don't remember... But I am leaving Vesuvia... I don't when will I return, but... Well, let's hope I live to tell a tale." He chuckled. You were at the verge of slapping him. You raised your hand to slap him, causing him to flinch... Only for your palms to land on his cheek, gently, as if your were cupping a fragile creature. Well, apparently, he is.

"Julian... Please leave... I don't want you to die..." You gathered the courage to kiss him. It almost felt like a dream. It was almost perfect, but this was a farewell kiss. And he was going to die if he stayed in Vesuvia for too long. His eyes were wide as saucers, but he calmed down and returned the kiss. You pulled away, leaning far away from him as he still leaned forward to capture your lips... Was he desperate for that? Did he needed that? Well... The way he looked into your eyes showed genuine love... And... Hesitation? "For Good Luck... It is a Yunderia custom to kiss those who will depart, right?" You knew you had to lie. You didn't want him to know it. You don't want him to over think about it. You loved him, it was no secret. But you were known to be oblivious about those feelings. And that was an advantage.

He looked shocked, but he smiled. "Yes... It is..." He then returned the kiss, holding you by the nape, cupping your cheek, while your hands made it's was to his hair. The kiss was desperate and passionate. Neither of you wanted to let go. Not now, but soon. It was unfortunate he had to leave. The kiss got more intense and escalated to something more...

As his arms desperately reached for you, his lips still in contact with yours, he had to temporarily let go off you to take off his coat and let it fall delicately on the ground. He grasps your shoulders, deeply trained your lips, as he pulls the strings off your nightgown and let it slide off your body. As both heat and cold radiated out of your bodies, it still felt... Radiant. Comforting.

The kiss was passionate, desperate, needy... Lustful. At the touch of his hand, at the sound of your voice, at the moment your eyes meet his eyes... You were out of your mind, he was out of control, full of feelings you couldn't quite define. Like a sin with no name. He lowered his lips to your exposed neck to your collar, to your chest, fluttering it with light kisses. You embraced him, keeping your arms tightly wrapped around his back, under his arms as he held on to your shoulder blades.

You heard him moan, his rich baritone, tingling your senses as his finger brushed your shoulders... His tempting touch, as blissful chills ran through your spine. Watching his eyes as they invade your soul. Forbidden pleasures, you were afraid to commit. He slides his gloves off, feeling his cold touch land on your bare skin as he kissed your jawline.

He takes off his over coat and under shirt, as he desperately caught your lips in his, tumbling down on your bed. Both of your foreheads touch as he paused for air, his eye deeply trained in your eyes. You reached to caress his face and tugged on his eye patch. He looks down, but nods nontheless. You gracefully and delicately untied the strings of his eye patch and saw it... His eye.

He was infected by the plague when he was gone. He was gone when you needed him the most. A tear lands on your cheek, as tears streaked his face. You wiped the tears away from his beautiful eyes, before kissing him by his brow. Peppering him with kisses, you captured his lips once again in a passionate kiss, your hands finding its way to his tousled auburn locks, as he held you by your nape, his other hand on your shoulder.

One does not know why things will start in a simple conversation. You and Julian talked about his travels, you talked about how your life was in the palace and stories about nobles getting too drunk and getting married. He then began to talk about the family he abandoned, and you talked about your father who chooses his new spouse and decided to abandon you with your sister. Then they will soon spend a lot of time together. The both of you had a perfect hang out spot by the garden, spending your time there lying on the grass and talking. And you soon ended up falling in love. Subtle touches here and there to show that you cared. He would flirt with you, fueling your love for him more. He would kiss the back of your hand as a sign of respect and chivalry, would send you flowers to wish you a good health and because you loved them. A simple kiss would escalate into an intense one and will soon end up in the bedroom... Only for him to leave the next day. And there you were, alone and missing a part of you.
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A baby girl. Auburn hair, steel grey eyes... She certainly inherited most of Julian's features. But one thing disturbed you... She was sickly pale and unhealthily thin. This worried you a lot. Sure you did worked a lot in the palace, all staffs treated you well, the Countess gave you lighter tasks and insisted you stay home, but you rejected that proposal. When asked about who was the father, you were too worried to say a name. Especially if he was a fugitive. A fugitive with a death sentence.

Your sister, Myria, was unsure about you keeping the baby, but here she was. Attached to the baby, afraid to let go. Does she know who was the father? No. No one knew, except you. You were afraid to lie to your child in the future while she watched the other kids spend time with their fathers. Her future will either deal with a dead father if Julian would ever return and be hung, or never tell her about it all.

The infant was small, and almost at death's door. It was a miracle she survived, and that was enough. She was your strength. She was your hope that Julian will soon come back. He left a piece of him in you. And here she is, exposed to the world. You held her head on your chest, as she cried her lungs out.

The sound of her crying was unbearable to you. Humming her a lullaby, you thought of her name as she calmed down. "I'm naming you after you father... Juliane."

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Shortly after giving birth to your bundle of hope, you contracted an unusual disease. You would have a difficult time breathing, you would choke on nothing, your stomach feels sore... You then came into a realization when it was the flower disease. You weren't aware of it as first, but Nadia told you about this not-so long time ago.

Nadia told you about this tale when she first taught you about reading. She told you about how a person can contract this diseases when they have an unrequited love to another person and will develope flowers inside their bodies, causing them to slowly die from either internal bleeding from the forms and woody stems poking major organs, suffocating from flower petals blocking their airways... But one can only be saved when the person they love reciprocated their love. Well, there was another way to be saved. And that was to remove the disease from the body, but can never feel love again. Or maybe... One should accept the fact that the person they love will never love them back, just sit back and watch as the person they love found love in other people... And die. It must be unfortunate for people to die in such circumstances.

The person you loved was Julian. You don't understand... Does he not love you? At all? He left a piece of him in you, does that mean nothing at all? Did he found a new one? A rebound? A new person whom he will love and cherish after he left you with a reminder of a mistake you've made by falling in love with him?

You slapped yourself. Juliane was a blessing. Never a mistake, but a blessing. Julian's child or not, she was your new found joy. Your hope. Your child. And you will love her until you ceased to be. You looked down at her, sleeping peacefully by her crib. She has always been up at late nights... It reminded you of Julian. He always had troubles falling as sleep and tends to stay up late.

She was a handful, but you will gladly hold her. The day she speaks her first word, you hoped to be there. The day she learns how to walk, to talk, to learn, to work, to play, to cry, to laugh to smile... You hoped to be with her always. You wouldn't want to miss her step of growing up. A dim, yet bright future was ahead of baby Juliane. If Julian wouldn't return, at least you still have Juliane, your child. When she smiles, she is brighter than the sun...

Wherever Julian is, you hoped for the best for him. If he ever returns, you hoped that he still won't change. You hope that he will come back to you... To your child.

As time progresses, the sickness got worst. You tried every remedy there was. Bloodletting, leeches, all of them. None of them worked. With no choice, you chose to live with the sickness.
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Present

You coughed, blood spluttering put of your mouth as some of it dropped down your chin. You felt so weak to move, but there was too much to do. You stood on your feet and began to head to the palace to fix everything for the masquerade, when you spotted them at the garden. Julian and the apprentice, hand by hand, walking together. You couldn't bear it. It hurts too much, but it doesn't matter. Julian will die if you won't move. You then noticed something... Julian looked more happier with them. More lively. As if he found a part of him that has been missing from all his existence... It reminded you of how you looked at Juliane, your daughter came into the world screaming and crying at the world.

And soon, you will leave the world too. You shook your head, clutching your chest as you struggled to breathe. You shook your head and headed to the palace. You were so absentminded during the preparation, often spilling drinks, knocking off a few decoration, and putting the wrong ingredients on dishes, which caused for the Countess to come. When confronted by the Countess, you knew you had to lie. You had become so natural at it, you don't even know if you were lying or not. You didn't know what was the truth and which was the lie. So natural at lying, even the intelligent Countess Nadia couldn't see through it.

"Are you certain? Your behaviour changed ever since Doctor Devorak was caught... And for a fact, I knew that the two of you were good friends and often spent time with each other in the gardens-" You clenched your hand behind your back. "Are you sure?" You nodded with a smile, bloodstained your usually white teeth. You then continued your work, when Nadia catches your wrist.

"You're lying, Y/N," Huh... That was a name you haven't heard for a long time. They often referred you as Pyra when the Count started calling you that. Only Julian referred you as Y/N. "I don't know how good you were at lying and I didn't see through it, but you have to tell me the truth- why are you acting like this?" You glared at her, yanking your arm away from her.

"It is none of your business, your highness. I am a mere slave and it is irrelevant for you to know my whereabouts when I can always be easily replaced." She was shocked to hear that from you. You have always been smiling and optimistic about everything. You truly have changed. "You want to know? Well then-" you coughed out a rose petal and a piece of a wooden stem which concerned Nadia.

"Julian and I... We were good friends. One could assume we were lovers until he was caught at the scene of the murder of the Count. He fled and left his sentence and Vesuvia and me and his child. He left me to raise our child and he returned with no idea that I existed. And now he has someone new, someone who is for him while he left me with a piece of him, while my baby grew up with a missing fraction of her life." At this point you were crying. You didn't cared if you were being disrespectful to the Countess, you didn't care if she pities you or not. You hunched, clutching your stomach and threw up on the floor. Blood, petals, stomach bile and wooden stems can be found. It has been getting worst day by day, but this was the worst one yet. Once you were finished, you wiped your mouth with your sleeve as you glared at the Countess. Her jaw hung low, her hand midair, her brows furrowed in sorrow.

Without a word you left, and left for good. You were dying and you didn't even let Julian know he had a child. Hell, you weren't even sure whether he remembers you or not. Your stomach, your throat felt sore. Your head was splitting, your chest felt suppressed... You were truly getting weaker. But you had to get ready for the execution of Julian. If you die, at least he will die too.

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Y/N L/N
Here lies a mother, a lover and a fighter
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After the execution of Julian Devorak, the murderer of Count Lucio, tragedy struck and Y/N was found by the pond of Vesuvia within the palace gardens where they usually spend their time together there, her blood staining the water, with a dagger through her heart. It was a confirmed suicide when they saw a crumbled a paper hidden in her pocket. Which I quote:

"Dear world,
You made sure that I suffer from the day of my birth. My father abandoned me and my sister, my mother tragically died, the love of my life died by hanging just today, while I leave the one good thing that happened to me. My world. That is you Juliane, my dearest daughter. As the fire in your eyes grow, I can't help but to notice the shared appearance of the two of you. You and your father. Remember that even I am not there with you, I am still with you. But not physically. Don't make bad decisions, my dear. Make sure that you obey your Aunt Myria and always stay strong.
I am sorry I couldn't provide a light to your future but then again... Your future is bright. I always love you, Juliane.

Love, mother
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A lonely girl knelt by a gravestone by the cemetery, wearing a cloak. This one specific cloak was from her mother. It was too big for her at the moment, but she knows that she'll grow into it. Two years old, already exposed to the dark side of the world and didn't get to enjoy the childhood innocence some kids experienced in their younger years. A single rose grew from the grave, and Juliane Y/N saw this as a blessing from her mother to let her know... You were always with her. Juliane pulls her hood back, her short, wavy auburn hair exposed in the sun light as her steel grey eyes scanned the grave. She puts a hand by your grave with a soft smile.

"I love you, too, Mama,"

It has been a month since that even took place, Julian was resurrected still lacking the memory of Y/N. Nadia knew she had to tell him soon, but it was for him to find out and she can only provide a small detail of it. Juliane was renamed as
Juliane Y/N L/N to honour her mother, as is currently two years old and growing up with a picturesque memory of her mother. She will grow up and nothing can stop that, as her Aunt Myria raised her alone and started working to the palace. Julian was with the apprentice, living their life with glee and joy while Juliane Y/N was missing a major part of life but carried on. She couldn't let that missing part stop her from growing up. With or without her father, she will grow up to be a strong woman someday. And she will show him, if he were still alive that is, that she survived without him and missed a major part of her life and is no longer a part of her life.

All was well... For now.