Love Interruption || ISABEAU

As Ted sat in one of the velvet chairs, his eyes staring deeply into the flickering, orange-red flames, he was reminded of a Russian fairy tale he had loved as a child. His mother used to tell it to him when he was tucked into his bed. Ted's older brother James had always been too mature for bedtime stories, having always been more interested in things that were real and concrete like science and mathematics. And at that point, Ted's younger sister Lorelei hadn't even been born yet. This was one of his favorite stories, one he had her tell him repeatedly. Like most fairy tales, it was both romantic and tragic.

It was about a young, Russian Prince: Prince Siegfried. Near his castle was a forest which he frequented for hunting game. One night, he happened upon an enchanted lake where he met and fell in love with a beautiful, mysterious woman named Odette. She told him that she had been put under a spell by an evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The spell kept her in the form of a swan by day, while she could return to her human form only at night. The only way for the spell to be broken was by the power of eternal love between Odette and the man who would remain faithful to her. But if the vow of eternal love was broken or never returned, she would remain a swan forever. Prince Siegfried gave her his love willingly, but through duplicity, Rothbart, tricked the prince into giving his vow of love to the wrong woman. Learning of this betrayal and knowing now the way to find freedom is through death, Odette threw herself into the lake. He realized his error, and Siegfried followed after her. Upon their sacrifice, Rothbart's powers were destroyed, and the spell finally broken. The sun rose the next morning, and Siegfriend and Odette ascended to Heaven together, united in love for all eternity. Ted wasn't sure what had reminded him of that story. Maybe there was something about the flames, as they danced back and forth, caressing the air, that made his thoughts turn. Silly dreamer that he was, Ted had a way of implementing his own personal life into these classic fairy tales. Perhaps as a way to reconcile his feelings. In his head, Ted was Prince Siegfried, Andromeda was Odette, and that git Jacen Frost, her betrothed, was Von Rothbart. That latter classification was probably a bit harsh considering Mr. Frost was forced into this engagement as much as Andromeda. But this was Ted's fantasy, and he could do whatever he pleased, thank you.

Maybe if... his brain was trying to decipher that bedtime story of his when suddenly an alarming noise disturbed him from his thoughts. He glanced over, seeing Bo Crowley, who had once been slumbering peacefully in the chair, now awake and alert. He arched a brow in her direction, the edges of his curling up into a small smile. When Ted had come down here earlier, with every intention of studying, she had already been seated in the common room, head down, breathing deeply in quiet slumber. He hadn't paid her much mind, fully aware that Ravenclaws were more than accustomed to falling asleep after bouts of prodigious studying. Now that she'd woken up though, Ted felt just a tad uneasy, feeling a sense of obligation to make conversation. Normally Ted could be quite the chatterbox, but in the case of Bo Crowley, circumstances were slightly different.

It wasn't that he disliked her. On the contrary, he liked her quite a bit. But they had history, or at least as much history two third-years could even have. Despite Ted's overwhelming love for... well, love, he hadn't had much success with it. It was something that had effectively eluded him over the years, but he had accepted its elusiveness with a certain amount of childish optimism. She just wasn't The One, he'd tell himself resolutely. He was on a ceaseless pursuit for this long-awaited soul mate of his, and he had long convinced himself that when it would happen when the time was right. It was destiny. When he'd met Bo, it hadn't exactly when lightning or thunderclap, but he'd liked her all the same. She was smart, funny (in that sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek, kind of way), and obviously beautiful. And who knew? For all thirteen year-old Ted had known, she could've been his soul mate. No harm in finding out. Their romance had been brief, to say the least. It probably wouldn't have been a stretch to say that their relationship was one of convenience. Sure, for a couple of weeks, they held hands and exchanged polite, juvenile kisses here and there. But when it had come its inevitable end, both had seen it coming.

That didn't stop Ted from being upset, though. It had been his first romantic endeavor, after all. After their “break-up” (though even that seems like too strong of a word), Ted spent the next few days sobbing into a pillow and burying himself in Whitman samplers. It seemed so absurd to Ted now, laughable even. At the time though, it had felt so overwhelmingly dramatic – as most romantic demises are – that Ted felt he'd never get over it. By the week's end though, he had, and was back to his fairy-tale loving, happy-go-lucky self. Since then, he and Bo had taken to skillfully avoiding each other. Not because of hatred or resentment, but because of sheer embarrassment – or at least on Ted's part. Even mature, seventeen year-old Ted had enough humility to recognize that his early teenager self had been a bit of a lovestruck fool. Now it seemed he would just have to push aside all those feelings of awkwardness.

At her quip about his love – or rather, obsession – with fairy tales, Ted grinned. “That's ironic, coming from Sleeping Beauty.” He looked back into the flames, his thoughts returning to the fable that had entered his mind just moments earlier. Why had he thought of it? Aside from the obvious answer that he was always thinking about fairy tales and the adventure, heroics, and romance he associated with them.

Maybe if...

“Maybe if I give her my vow of everlasting love like Prince Siegfried, we can be together.” Realizing he'd spoken aloud, Ted's face reddened, casting a lingering, sideways glance at Bo. He shook his head with a sigh. He knew what she was going to say. “Nothing. Nevermind.”