A/N: I own nothing! Because if I did, Train and Eve would be together by now!
I've had this idea in my mind for some time, and I felt like getting it down on paper. I'm sorry for all my SonAmy story readers, but I'm really not in the SonAmy mood, and my writers block for that story has not relented. So, sorry, but I'm gonna write a few other things until the mood returns.
Warning: Contains Sexual Content in the form of mentions of rape, and foul language. You have been warned.
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He hated the feeling of being weak.
He hated the feeling of being used even more.
So it should come as no surprise to anyone that he hated the feeling he got when Durham, the crazed gunman of the Apostles of the Stars, hurt Eve, his little princess (he had already realized that the possessiveness wasn't going to go away, so he now felt no shame calling her His Little Princess), and then wrote a challenge on the wall in the young girl's blood. Train would, of course, accept the challenge. His friends had been hurt. Badly. He wanted revenge. Who wouldn't?
As he trekked to the forest, the only thing he could think about was all the, slow, painful ways he would like to kill that man, while also reprimanding himself because he knew that neither Saya nor Eve would be happy about this thought process. But…his little princess was hurt, maybe dying, all because some crazy man who happened to be good with a gun couldn't stand being outdone.
Even now, years after the horrible event, he still has nightmares about it. Most of the nightmares happen exactly the same as the way it really happened, him coming home, and finding a near dead, beaten and bleeding Eve.
'Princess! Princess! '
But sometimes, if he is really unlucky, he would have a different dream. Although, if the other dream was a nightmare, then he doubted even Eve knew a word to describe this one.
~TxE~
Eve and Sven would be lying on the ground, unconscious, but not mortally injured, and it would be just him, facing the crazed Apostle, Durham. And for some reason, he would always be losing. No matter what he did, or how hard he tried, he could never get one bullet to make its mark. It was infuriating! Train Heartnet, infamous ex-eraser, number thirteen, couldn't even get rid of one stupid Apostle.
Train would be bleeding and beaten, and Durham would be fine. Not one scratch or rip on his entire body. And by the end of the fight, Train never had enough strength left in him to even stand, let alone dodge the bullet that was coming his way. Train wasn't stupid, and he knew death was imminent. When your two comrades are knocked out and you can't even move in the middle of a life or death battle, what choice do you have but to die? And even though he felt as though maybe, if he tried very hard, he could move, he never could. It was as though he was paralyzed, both by pain and fear, but something else, too.
But he never had time to try to figure out what that last thing was, because Durham would shoot that bullet, and Train would close his eyes, waiting for the pain. But, it would never come.
Train would hear a sickening crack, a yell, and then he would feel blood splatter to his face, but no pain would meet him. And as he opened his eyes, he found out why.
Eve.
Eve stood in front of him, blood pouring down the front of her dress, her eyes wide in agonizing pain.
She had taken the bullet for him.
Then, as though he enjoyed this new game, Durham would shoot one more bullet, and one more after that, and another after that. Eve would cry out after each one, but she never moved. And Train could just sit in a heap on the ground and stare at the Goddess who was giving her life to save his own.
Suddenly, all would be black, and it would just be his princess and himself, sitting in an endless oblivion.
And then, very slowly, Eve would turn around so she was facing him. Her face would still be twisted into a knot of pain, her eyes still wide, but she would still smile weakly. And then, she would mutter "Train-kun always promised to protect me….but I now get to protect Train-kun…" And then, he would wake up in a cold sweat, a scream of terror caught in his throat.
~TxE~
Train sat up and threw his legs to the floor. Despite how inviting the warm covers looked, he knew that sleep would only bring more nightmares, so he stumbled, still half-asleep, down the stairs and into the kitchen. He quickly grabbed a bottle of whole milk from the refrigerator, choosing to leave the skim milk for Eve. He hated skim milk, anyway.
He sat down at the small wooden table and sighed. It had been four years since the Durham incident, so why was he still having these nightmares? Train took a gulp of his milk, and smiled quietly.
*THUMP* *CRASH* *BANG*
"Ow! Damnit…stupid stairs…ow…." Train looked up from his milk upon hearing the Princess's voice. Curse words were rare for her, so he knew that the fall either really hurt or really annoyed her. Probably the latter, being as it took more than a fall down some stairs to really hurt Eve.
"Stupid stairs…"
"Hey princess, what's up?" Train said with a wide grin. Eve looked up, first surprised, then angry. She glared, and he actually backed away a few steps. Her death glares were exactly what the name implied. Deadly.
"Shut up and help me." She muttered, clearly annoyed. Train did as she asked, picking her up, bridal style, and setting her on the table, oblivious to the blush that spreads to her cheeks when he does so.
"What happened?" He questions with a laugh. She sighs and glanced at what she has already dubbed as "The stairs of supreme evil."
"I fell." She said simply.
'Obviously…'
"Why are you up this late?" He questions seriously, and she sighs.
"I can't sleep."
"Why can't you sleep?"
'Damn nosy cat.' She really didn't feel comfortable telling him about her nightmares. Nightmares that frightened her beyond belief. The kind of nightmares that made you afraid to blink. Nightmares….about Torneo.
Or, to be more specific, nightmares about Torneo's men. About, what they did to her. But she quickly shook her head before this thought train can properly form. She hadn't thought about that kind of stuff for a long time, and she had no desire to, either.
"I just can't."
The episode in the Doctor's warp world had reawakened the previously dead memories. She wished they could be dead again.
"Why are you up?" She questioned, turning the tables on the Golden-eyed man.
"Nightmares." He said simply. He always found it best to just come out with the truth. He couldn't help noticing the surprised look on the Princess' face. 'So, she's having the same problem...'
"What about?" This time, Train didn't want to answer truthfully.
"Just…stuff. Why don't you tell me about your nightmare?"
'Damn nosy perceptive cat…' she thought crossly."I…I really don't want…want to." She stuttered. But she knew that, even as the words left her mouth, that she was lying. She wanted to tell someone about her nightmares, to fall apart and cry on their shoulder. But she knew that if she tried to tell anyone, that is exactly what she'd do. She'd fall apart. And she had been taught that holding in your emotion was better, that showing any kind of weakness was the equivalent of performing one of the seven deadly sins.
"I understand," He muttered "but if you tell me, it'll make you feel better." And he knew. Saya, for a long while had been his support. His partners were that support now. And talking about his dreams always made him feel better.
"But…what if talking about it makes you fall apart…?" asked Eve sheepishly, obviously not happy about having to ask her rival for advice.
"If it's that bad, then you really need to talk about it." But she needed more than just words. She needed a promise.
"You have to swear never to tell Sven what I'm about to tell you, got it?" Her voice was dead serious. Train, actually a little surprised that she was telling him at all, quickly nodded.
"I promise."
"Okay," she took a deep breath, and began her tale. "At Torneo's I was not treated well. I was beaten and hit by my "father." And for a while, that seemed to be all I would have to endure. I found friends in many of Torneo's men, who were all very sympathetic and understanding. At least, that's what I thought. But being as uneducated and sheltered as I was, I didn't understand any of their real intentions." She stopped for a moment, looked as though she was going to cry, but then quickly regained her composure.
"Then, one night, I was in my room, staring at the moon and the stars, wishing that I could stop killing people. I heard the door open, and assumed it was Torneo, wanting to check on me, so I pretended to be asleep…but…it wasn't…it wasn't Torneo…" Her voice was breaking, and a few salty tears fell from her violet eyes onto her tightly folded hands.
"It was…it was one of my friends…one of the men…the men who I liked…who was always nice to me. But when I turned around to look at him…he wasn't…he wasn't smiling comfortingly…but it was a sneer, and his eyes…his eyes were so dark…." Finally she broke completely, crying and sobbing, and eventually her face was resting on Train's shoulder, and his arms were wrapped around her tiny frame.
Once she had calmed down a little bit, he held her at arm's length and looked into her eyes.
"Do you want to keep going?"
"Y-y-yes…I actually do feel a little better already….." she murmured, "He…not many of the men got to leave very often, and there…there was almost never a woman around. So…the men…they were lacking…comforts…certain comforts….and….they wanted me to provide for them what they…what they couldn't get any other way…."
Slowly, Train was beginning to understand what she was talking about. And he could feel a fire like he had never felt before burning in his chest, right where his heart was.
"That night…that night was just the start of it….I was their little toy….I could have killed any of them, but Torneo said I couldn't, that if I did, he would make me kill more people….it never occurred to me to kill him…he was the closest thing to a father I…that I had…" She knew she was rambling, so she stopped, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over her eyelids once again.
"You mean…they…those bastards….they…"
"Y-y-yes Train…they…they…they..." She but she was unable to finish, so she broke down once again, throwing herself onto to Train, crying into his shirt. "The Doctor…he made me remember! He made the memories come back!" she sobbed.
Train was hugging the young girl on his lap, but his mind was somewhere else. He wished he could hunt down every one of the men who had hurt Eve, his little princess, and beat them to a pulp and then kill them slowly and painfully. Including the Doctor, who had come painfully close to doing exactly what the men at her old home had done.
He unconsciously hugged the girl tighter to his chest.
"Shhh…it's OK Eve. I promise, I will never let anything like that happen to you again." Train whispered quietly to the young girl, until her breathing was steady and the tears had stopped.
"Thank you..." she hiccupped, "Thank you Train…I really…I really do feel better…."
"Not a problem, little princess. Let's go back to bed, alright. You can sleep in my room with me, if you want." He said quietly, and she just nodded. The idea of sleeping in the same room, maybe even in the same bed as Train made her feel safe. It also brought a blush to her cheeks, but she ignored it, and allowed Train to carry her to his room.
"I love you Train." She said sleepily, before falling asleep in his arms.
"I love you too, Eve."
The End
