"I can't do this anymore, I'm leaving." ( pretend it's Sebastian saying it lol )
At thirteen years of age, Ada Vaughn thought she had the world in her hands. Destined to bring it to its knees, there was nothing standing in her way. Her family, small as it may have been, was perfect. Her brother was her king; her mother her idol, and her father her mentor. One light, two dark, and one of a mixure of the two. The Vaughnâs were a careful balance of light and dark, and Ada believed they were unstoppable, unbeatable.  ( they were royalty, and royalty conquered all â right? )
At fourteen years of age, Ada Vaughnâs shaking hands almost dropped the world she clung too so proudly as her father looked her in the eye and told her that her mother was dead. The light burnt out so quickly that in the sudden, unfamiliar darkness, her hands fumbled as they tried to hold up the world while piecing back together her shattered heart at the same time. Sebastian steadied her hands, catching the world before it could fall out of her grasp ( though her heart she was left to mend herself ). They were not going to fall apart â they were two halves of the same whole, and Ada would not let them break. He was her lifeline, just as she was his star â his guiding light, carrying the weight of his burdens right along side him so he did not crumble. She thought that she was enough. ( sheâd always been enough before, so she would be enough now â right? ).Â
At seventeen years of age, Ada had lost a mother, betrayed a lover, and been betrayed by a so called friend. She thought she knew how cruel the world could be, but she still thought she would conquer it â Sebastian was by her side, after all, what more did she need? For all her carefully constructed plans, and back up plans, however, she never once took into account that Sebastian might leave. She never once thought that it would be him who ripped apart the thin stitches holding her heart together. At fourteen years old, Ada thought sheâd felt the worst pain imaginable. At seventeen years of age, as the words tumbled out of her beloved brotherâs mouth, Ada was proved wrong. ( but they were twins, equals, halves of a whole, they could work this out â right? )
                       âI canât do this anymore,                             Iâm l e a v i n g .â
Speechlessly she stared, unable to hide the complete breaking of her heart from him. Even if it wasnât written all over her face, Ada was sure he would have heard it â how could you hide the sound of a thousand tiny pieces shattering to the floor? It wasnât just him leaving that hurt, it was the knowing that he was leaving because of her. Sheâd failed as the elder twin to shoulder the burden properly â after everything that had been thrown at them, it was a miracle they were both still standing, but it was Adaâs duty to make sure, no matter what the cost to her, Sebastian was still handling it. Somewhere along the line sheâd slipped up, and Sebastian had paid the price. Since their motherâs death, and fatherâs imprisonment, Ada had been a mess â where once she was a careful balance of light and dark, now she was just l o s t. Never quite fitting in â too dark to be light, to light to be dark. Always trying to find a place, never quite succeeding. She couldnât save her mother, she couldnât save their father, and now she had failed her brother too. ( light enough to want to be their saviour, but too dark to succeed â it was her curse. )
A little voice in the back of her mind wondered if it was more than just their situation prompting his decision â could it be, that itâs not the burden he canât handle, but you? That perhaps, it is you that is the burden, and not everything thrown at you? That instead of bringing the world to its knees, you brought him? âI canât do this anymore,â heâd said. Perhaps, part of her thought, he meant he couldnât handle her. Her and her demons she tried so hard to fight for his sake, the darkness sheâd pushed aside to cling to the light he needed so desperately. Perhaps it was not the weight of the world that broke him, but Ada. Perhaps it always had been.Â
Ada had never feared the darkness, but now it was swallowing her whole, drowning her like the ocean waging war inside of her. But she wouldnât cry. Not in front of Sebastian, no matter how much it hurt. Ada had always been better at hiding how she felt from her brother, and though if he cared enough to look he would see it, Ada buried it anyway. She was too proud to crumble in front of her little brother.
âFine. Leave.â Her voice was quiet, but strong. Icy, but with an undertone of bitter hurt. âLeave like Mum did. Leave like Dad. Leave like everyone else does â what happened to family comes first, Sebastian? What happened to you and me, no matter what?â    Â
âI tried, you know. I really did.â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
