tai (pedro's version)

“The girl was dead. If her lifeless body had not confirmed it, then it would have been made clear by the horrible scream of the Fate who held her in his arms. The story curse was familiar with pain, but this was agony, the sort of raw grief that was only seen once in a century. The Fate was every tear that anyone had ever shed for lost love. He was pain given form.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“At the word sacrifice, something sparked in the Fate's cold eyes. He held the girl tighter, carrying her in his bloodstained arms as he stood and started down the ancient hall.

'What are you doing?' A crack of alarm showed in the queen's implacable face.

'I'm going to fix this.' He continued marching forward, holding the girl close as he carried her back through the arch.

The angels who'd been guarding it now wept. They cried tears of stone as the Fate set the girl at their feet and began wrenching stone after stone from the arch.

'Jacks of the Hollow,' warned the queen. 'Those arch stones can only be used one time to go back. They were not created for infinite trips to the past.'

'I know,' Jacks growled. 'I'm going to go back and stop your son from killing her.'

The queen's face fell. For a moment, she looked as old as the years she'd spent lying in suspended state. 'This is not a small mistake to fix. If you do this, Time will take something equally valuable from you.'

The Fate gave the queen a look more vicious than any curse. 'There is nothing of equal value to me.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“It didn't matter if he stayed forever cursed. All that mattered was that he stayed, that he chose her instead of fear.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“It felt as if he were reaching into her, as if there were invisible fingers digging in to her mind, taking things they shouldn't. Memories.
...
With her body weakened, she fought to lock him out of her mind, to hide her remaining memories, but one by one he plucked them out.

The night in the crypt with Jacks... gone.

Marrying Apollo... gone.

Her friendship with Lala... gone.

Apollo infected with the Archer's curse... gone.

Jumping off the cliff with Jacks-

'No!' she screamed.

... gone.

The wonder of the Hollow... gone.

Jacks bandaging her wounds... gone.

Jacks confessing he was the Archer... gone.

'Please, stop,' she begged.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After