Beaten

Opal Koboi was insane; this was something Merv Brill knew well. She wasn't the silent, muttering to yourself kind of insane, no she was the explosive, raving and ranting kind of insane.

He could remember back on her Stealth Shuttle, he had been walking by the bridge when he heard a series of low whimpers and moans. Curious, and against his better judgment, he quietly opened the door and peeked inside. Opal's chair was turned away from him, but the moans and cries were clearly coming from there. Slowly, Merv crept forward and looked around the chair.

Opal was curled up in the chair, her long hair falling and covering her face. Her tiny shoulder shook and her eyes were buried in her hands, but tears leaked through and slid down her pale arms. She was the image of a broken girl, so desolate and depressed. Merv cringed at the unfamiliar sight, and briefly considered running out of the bridge before Opal realized he was there. But something held him back.

Pixies are driven by emotions. Whenever a Pixie saw anyone crying, they had the huge urge to help them get over it. Merv liked to think of himself as more logical and reserved than most of his species, but even he felt a desire to wipe away Opal's tears and ask her what was wrong.

Hesitantly, he extended out a hand and brushed her shoulder. Opal's entire frame tensed up and her head flew up from her hands. Red eyes jerked and swiveled around like a trapped animal, and her entire frame started to shake again. Her lips trembled, and Merv thought she was going to start sobbing again.

Then she punched him straight in the jaw.

Opal wasn't that strong, and the punch didn't do much damage, but it surprised Merv enough for him to stagger back and trip over himself. He fell onto his back with a grunt.

"Don't touch me," Opal hissed, then promptly started crying again. Realizing she was starting to shed tears in front of her servant, Opal wildly and desperately rubbed her eyes, trying to get a hold of herself. She screamed out of frustration when it didn't work, jumped from chair and kicked Merv right in his stomach. After the first kick, Opal's anger and insanity seemed to multiply, and she didn't stop kicking him.

Arms flailing wildly, Merv tried to get a hold of her tiny ankle, but when he tried to stop her, she just got enraged further. Koboi couldn't punch that hard, but her nails were horribly sharp, and Merv felt them rake gouges into his cheek. She was pounding him without remorse, and at the same time, Opal had started to cry again. Sometimes, she would stop and brush away the tears, but then they would keep coming, and when they kept coming she got angrier and resumed her assault on her servant.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" She screeched, still frenzied. Merv didn't know what she was talking about; he was just trying to survive. He couldn't try to stop her, or she would kill him, if she wasn't planning to do that already.

Opal's nails cut Merv's temple deep enough to draw blood, and he felt it drip down onto his eyes. He squeezed his eyes close, waiting for another attack, but nothing came. He drank in breath into his bruised chest, and winced. Opal may have been small, but she sure could kick.

He opened his eyes and looked up. Merv saw his mistress staring down at him, her eyes still red but with the tears finally stopping. Her hair hung in a tangled mess, and her face had a haunted look to it, with her red eyes wide open.

She was muttering something to herself, and Merv strained to hear. All he managed to catch was, "Why didn't he love me?"

Merv opened his mouth, but pain suddenly slammed back down onto him, and he closed it with a click. Opal, seeming to have completely lost interest in him, slid away back onto her chair with a small sigh. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Merv crawled stealthily away and pulled himself through the door.

The next day, Opal acted like her outburst had never happened. She gave orders, insulted him and his brother and planned like she did every other day. Scant asked him how he'd gotten injured, but Merv never answered.

Opal never talked about it either, but the scars from her nails were reminder enough.