I finally got an idea for a story! Yayy!

This is all in Suze's POV. It's kind of weird, and I'm not sure whether I like it yet, so all feedback will be greatly appreciated – and needed.

Title may change as it sucks and I may change the plot.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is from the Mediator, by Meg Cabot.


Chapter I

"It was YOU!"

"It was? Oops. My bad."

"You… you betrayed us! We trusted you. And you just… Do THIS!"

I got up from where I was sitting in my room, and shut the door. Seeing as he had just barged in here and tried to accuse me of something, I didn't really want anyone else – like the maids, for example – hearing whatever he had to say, and then go and gossip about it.

No. That was the last thing I wanted.

"So, William," I said casually, as I turned around to face him, "What is it that I have done, exactly?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know! You know EXACTLY what you did!" He shot back at me.

"No… no, I really don't. Care to explain?"

"You really don't know, do you? You…" he gave a humourless laugh, "You betrayed us, and hurt Isabelle so much – mentally AND physically – and then you just say that-" he knocked my brush off my dressing table, "-YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

Erm, okay. Not really what I was expecting there.

But…

Oh.

OH.

Isabelle… his wife… the love of his life. God, no wonder he was angry with me. But it wasn't my fault, really. Well, okay, it may have been me who did it, but I didn't want to.

William was furious. He stood there, his hazel eyes glaring, fists clenched by his sides, breathing heavily. Every time he exhaled, the little lock of hair that had fell from his head, resting just above his eyes, flew upwards. He had already pushed things off my dresser – and he was dangerously close to my mirror…

"Look, Will", I said softly, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I—"

"SORRY!" he interrupted, "You're sorry?" he laughed, but, once again, with no humour.

"William, it wasn't my fault. I hadn't wanted to do it. But I…" I didn't know how to explain all this. How could I? How could I explain that, although I may have done it, it wasn't my fault that the love of his life almost died?

"Save it. I hate you. I hate you. I hate how you could do all this and then say it 'wasn't your fault'. Wasn't your fault? Wasn't your fault! Then whose WAS it!" he literally spat in my face. I mean it, he was right in my face, and I SWEAR I felt some spit globules landing on me.

"I'm not sure I can say." I answered.

This just infuriated him even more. He grabbed both my arms – tightly – and pushed me against the wall.

… Ouch, much?

His frame was covering mine. And let me just tell you: that was one big frame. Not that he was fat or anything. No… he was more than six foot with killer abs and enormous muscles. His biceps were bulging and I could see a vein in his neck that was pulsating.

So excuse me if I may have trembled a little.

But I swear, it was only a little.

Oh, okay. I was shitting myself.

"It was you. Face it. It was you who locked her in that room. It was you who chained her to that pole… it was you who beat her. It was you who caused the bruises, burns and cuts. It was you who almost killed her-"

That was enough. I couldn't listen to him anymore… It hurt too much.

I conjured up all the force I had and pushed him away. He stumbled, but managed to remain standing. Shock was evident on his face, but I didn't care about him anymore. He didn't know anything. Anything.

"Look here, buddy," I said, sneeringly, "You think you know exactly what happened. You think you have me all figured out. But you don't. You don't know a thing. Capiche? If it wasn't for me, Isabelle WOULD be dead right now. Not ALMOST. Yes, I had harmed her, but I HAD to. If I hadn't, I would be in the mess, just as much as you or her. I was MADE to hurt her. I didn't want to, but I was forced to. And… well, in the end, I was asked to kill her. Alright? But I went against my master's wishes and left. She may have been badly injured, but it's better than her being dead, okay? At least she's CONSCIOUS."

William was speechless. That much was certain. His mouth was opening and closing, but no words were formed. He looked confused, as if he wasn't sure whether to believe my story, or just not wanting to believe it.

After a few minutes of complete silence – apart from my heavy breathing, due to my outburst – William spoke.

"So you… You saved her?"

I sighed. This guy was impossible. "Yes. I saved her. Sure, she may be injured, but she'll recover. At least she's not dead, like my master wanted."

"But… I know he's after her, but to want her dead? How could he have had her if she was dead?" he inquired.

I can honestly say that I had never really thought of that. My Lord had been after Isabelle for quite some time… But for her to be dead? Well, it all didn't really add up.

"I don't know, William," I said, quietly, "But I do know one thing: my Lord still wants her. Dead or alive. You have to do something. You've just got to try and save her, somehow."

"But how?"

I sighed. Did he expect me to know everything? Seriously? "Okay… I can't say too much. But I can give you some decisions. Number one: Give Isabelle to him. This will be much easier in the long run, and my Lord will be happy with that. Number two: Run away. Take her as far as you can, anywhere away from here. In fact – you shouldn't be here at all. Number three: Try and fight him. Hide at first, but when the time comes, fight against him."

After taking in that information, William spoke. "Which would be the best option?"

"To be honest, I don't know." It seemed I really didn't know the answer to any of his questions, "But getting my Lord angry is NOT good. Seriously. That is the last thing you could possibly want."

"So," he sat down on my bed, looking down at his shoes, "You're telling me that I can't get him angry?" I nodded, "But I couldn't give her to him. No way. I love her too much for that. I can't give up on her."

He lifted himself up and went towards the door. "Okay. Look, thanks for the help. And… sorry about that" he added, nodding towards the wall where he had pushed me against.

"Oh, that's okay. You had every right to be angry with me. So you know what you're doing?"

He smiled, "Yeah. I think so." And then he turned the doorknob and stepped out the door.

"Oh, and William?" I called.

He poked his head back through the doorway, "Yes?"

"Don't do anything stupid."

-&-

The wind was whipping my face. The clouds above me were grey, and the rain was threatening to fall. Underneath the palms of my hand I could feel the blades of grass, tickling the soft skin there. All over the valley, the grass was being pushed into unique patterns due to the strong gales. The rolling hills on either side of me, although had the same structure, were completely different. On one side, there were blue skies and beams of light. Flowers blossomed and the castle made everything look like a fairytale.

And then there was the other side. Dark clouds covered the area, getting darker towards the centre – where the intimidating castle stood, with its large, medieval-style stones and archways and looming towers.

On one side of me was the Fairytale Castle; on the other side was the Haunted House.

It just so happened that I lived on the Haunted House side. Great, huh?

The place that had changed me into some one I had known to a complete stranger.

That was why I liked to stay here, in The Valley. No one lived here. It was merely a void between the two cities.

I came here to think. To get away from whatever had been bothering me. And the main thing on my mind at the moment, was Isabelle.

William was right. How could I have done that? I had definitely betrayed their trust. Right from the start, I had promised to help them, to keep them safe, away from the demon – my Lord.

But it wasn't the demon they should have been worried about. No, it was me.

As much as I wanted to deny it – it was my fault. I may have been asked to do it, but I still went through with it.

Her screams of agony were still haunting me. But the scary thing was… they were thrilling me as well.

With all that adrenaline rushing through me, I couldn't stop what I was doing. It wasn't until the last moment, where I had a choice to kill or save her, that I had suddenly realised what I was doing.

Where I was now… with the demons… With him.

He made me into a monster. Into one of them. One of the people I had promised myself not to become.

They were vile, murderous creatures. Torturing for fun. Thrilled by the sight of their victims being in pain.

But… maybe it was supposed to happen. It was actually quite surprising that, after seven years of living with them, that I hadn't become one earlier. But now I had finally turned into the monster I was destined to become.

I didn't want to be like this.

I HATED it.

And it tore me up inside that not only did I break the promise I had given to William and Isabelle and hurt them, but I had also broken the promise I had given to myself and had become a demon like the people I lived with.

I mean, just look at my outburst with William earlier. That was certainly demonic behaviour. Hell, and I had also ENJOYED that.

First, I was sad. Upset that I had turned into a vile creature. But now…

Now I was angry. More than angry. I was furious. If it wasn't for that STUPID demon, making me DO that to Isabelle, making me become the ONE THING I hadn't want to become…

Suddenly, the wind picked up. The trees were swaying and the leaves were being blown off. Above me, the grey clouds were turning darker and small droplets of water were falling from the sky. Usually, in The Valley, it wouldn't really rain. Just remain neutral. But I guess the balance between the two kingdoms wasn't quite right. It was probably due to my actions…

The rain was getting heavier, and I decided to head back. I was already slightly damp, and I didn't really want to get completely sodden.

I pictured my room at the castle, and dematerialised.


It was short, but it was the first chapter. The following may be longer. Well, hopefully.

Most of the things will be explained next chapter, but if you do have any questions, please ask.

Please let me know what you think, and review!