Fate decides who comes into your life; your heart decides who stays.
"𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑."
[X-Men: First Class - X-Men Apo...
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"This almost feels like history repeating itself."
Ria smiles as Charles wheels up beside her, her feet dangling in the small lake. The school had changed a lot since the last time she visited—no more overgrown ivy or broken booze bottles in every corner. Any plants she once placed around are all gone.
She spent the past few days asleep, her body healing, supposedly, from the trauma of almost dying. During her sleep, the school had been rebuilt for use to the same standard it was before En Sabah Nur destroyed it. The familiar walls make her feel safe, especially with the weight of the collar missing from her shoulders.
"It's still just as lovely," she says, looking up at Charles as she lifts her feet, water dripping from her skin as she laughs. "I've missed this place."
"You say that as if you're leaving."
Hanging her head, Ria purses her lips.
"Really?"
"Don't look at me like that." She lifts her head to look out over the field. "It's complicated."
"Indulge me then." As Charles looks down at her, he leans over the side of his chair.
"I've never been free like this before. Lady Persephone has ensured protection from the Gods no matter where I go. I could go home." The flaming stone flashes in her mind. "Or, I could sail the seas again. I could even learn to be a pilot."
Charles scoffs. "I don't see you as a pilot."
"Perhaps, that is too far," Ria chuckles. "But, my point remains."
"And what about us?"
"Technology now allows me to keep in touch easily."
Charles shrugs. "You don't really want to do any of those things, do you?"
Ria sighs as she presses her finger against the jagged crack in her chest. No scars remain on her skin, but the crystal is forever damaged. It flickers with life, clinging to reality, but she can feel it slipping. "I need to relearn my power," she says. "For millennia, this helped me control the crystals, numbed the pain of using them. I have to remember what it's like to use them on my own. I don't even have mental shields anymore. I feel naked without them, vulnerable. Plus, I...it's very difficult to speak about it."
Her hand rests against her throat.
"So, I just have to accept that Kora has left, and you will too?"
She bites the inside of her cheek. "It's strange to me that you call her Kora. Lady Persephone is a Goddess, my patron Goddess. I never thought I'd see her again, yet you know her as Kora."
Charles laughs and shakes his head. "Yes, well, that is how she wanted us to know her. Just Kora and Pluto. Speaking of the gods, how are you feeling about their decision?"
