"Marry me," he said. God, he's ugly, but fortune is ours Running in the gardens enjoying men, women, and flowers
Weeks had passed since Lady Kairi's unfortunate wedding. And, slowly but surely, she was becoming used to her new life. Or, that's what she assured herself. Her head was spinning with who she was, and who she was becoming. It was tiring.

Like many days before, she walked down the stairs, being greeted by a familiar maid. She just nodded at the girl, before freezing, seeing someone standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Good morning, dearest," Lord Vexen smiled, giving something of a bow to his wife, "I thought it would be nice if we spent some much needed time together this afternoon. Unless you have any objections, of course."

Of course I do, she thought bitterly, but only smiled. "If it pleases you," she whispered. Vexen smiled at her with those horrid rotten teeth of his, and she smiled back weakly.

"So what exactly might my husband have planned?" she asked after a moment, trying to act like his presence phased her not at all. But if it was working, she couldn't tell.

"The coliseum, perhaps," the old man said in the hair-splitting voice that belonged to him, "Have you ever seen an event there?"

"No, my lord," the redhead said, trying to keep her voice soft and humble. That was her 'duty,' wasn't it?

"Ah, then it will be quite… informative," Lord LeRene chuckled softly, before turning, "Come, my wife. A carriage awaits us outside."

"My lord!" the maid exclaimed, "You expect Lady Kairi to venture out in her garments?"

"No…I guess not," the man said, rolling his eyes, "Very well. You have but an hour. After that, you will travel in whatever you may be wearing." He gave a simple bow to Kairi, before turning for his study. She scowled at his back, sticking her tongue out at the horrid man.

"Well, shall we go fix your hair?" the maid said, her voice tired and worn. Kairi glanced in a nearby mirror, and grinned sheepishly. Her hair was sticking out in places, and simply unacceptable.

-x-O-x-

Often when she was a child, her father would leave to attend the coliseum. Her mother went once, long before Lady LeRene was born, but decided that was not a place she wanted to be seen, and never accompanied her husband again. But, then again, Lady Bastion had always been particular of where she would and would not be seen by the public. Kairi had always been fascinated by the coliseum, longing to know what her father saw every other week. What was so exciting, but not proper enough for her mother? But, upon seeing the large unsightly crowds, hearing the ringing that seemed constant, and smelling the disgusting air, she wished nothing else than for one of her walks, perhaps in a park. Why did her husband have to drag her here, of all places? And the show hadn't even begun!

"We are to sit on concrete benches?" she said, disgust evident in her voice as she glanced at where her husband stopped. While she was not the richest girl around, she never had the pleasure of sitting for hours on a hard, cold stone bench.

"Oh, of course. Excuse me," Lord Vexen said, rolling his eyes before removing his coat and setting it on the bench, before sitting down next to it, "Please. I understand how my wife would prefer not to let her dress become stained."

The 16-year-old sent her best scowl in his direction, before gathering all the regal air she had, and carefully sat down upon the coat, flipping the hair back off of her neck. "This is a simply dreadful place," she sniffed, glancing around as drunk men started fights, "Why must we come?"

"You shall see. Be patient," he snapped, and she saw his hand twitch, as if to move to slap her, "It is not your place to question my judgement."

"Of course, my lord," Kairi muttered, trying to keep the malice out of her voice. She turned away from him, and instead concentrating on the arena below. It was simple, and just filled with dirt. Obviously they weren't going to start a delightful ballet or an opera. Just her luck.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" an announcer suddenly boomed, causing Lady LeRene to wince. Perhaps if she wasn't so close, only a few rows back, she would appreciate it, but she couldn't. "Welcome! Now, you all know what is to come, so why bother describing it with meaningless words? Onto the event!" The man grinned, before leaving with haste. She blinked, before glancing towards a gate that was slowly rising.

"There's also another one on the other side," Lord Vexen whispered to her, pointing. Despite her distaste for the man, she couldn't hold in her curiosity, and looked, without giving him any rude remarks. And there, just as he said, was an identical gate, opening at the same speed as the other.

Soon, much to her horror, an animal made its way through the now open passageway, growling at the sudden light. Not just any animal, oh no, but a large, intimidating lion, which, by the looks of it, hadn't been feed for days, maybe weeks. From the other side wandered a small, fragile-looking man, who also looked starved. And all he had equipped was a pathetic, breaking spear.

"They don't expect him to fight that beast, do they?" Kairi asked in horror, turning to her husband. Lord Vexen just looked annoyed with her, and brushed her off with a wave of her hand. Sure enough, man and beast were soon fighting a battle to the death. It was too horrible for words! Did men actually enjoy seeing such atrocities? But there was a victor. Well, Lady Kairi asked, quickly covering her mouth to resist the urge to bring up that morning's breakfast, At least the lion will be getting a meal.

But it seemed that was just the beginning of the coliseum. There were other fights with animals, and also battles between men. Often one was at a major disadvantage. But the crowd was what disgusted her the most. They had a love for blood. They had become addicted to the horrific smell and look of it! At every time possible they called for it, begged for it! And when they got their desires, the noise was deafening.

"Please!" she cried, clutching onto her husband's arm just as a skinny young man was decapitated, "I can stand this no longer! Let us return home! I beg of you!" Tears actually formed in her eyes, and she just wanted to fall into a pair of strong arms. Not Lord Vexen's, heavens no! But… Perhaps her former sweetheart, Lord Gainsborough. He could certainly comfort her!

"Fine, all right," Vexen said, sighing, "I though maybe you could handle this, but I guess I was wrong."

Kairi just sat there for a moment. Handle this? Handle this?! Was the man more insane than she originally thought? How could he possibly think she could watch eagerly as people were sent to their deaths simply to feed people's bloodlust?

"Thank you! Oh, thank you, Lord LeRene!" she all but wept, hastily standing up, not wishing to stay in that horrid place a moment longer.

"Let's just go now," he muttered, obviously upset.

-o-X-o-

Lady Kairi almost leapt into the house that now was run by her. She was free! She was away from that horrid, terrible place! It was like a sanctuary!

"Well, now wasn't that fun?" Lord Vexen said dryly, closing the door behind her, "You just ruined my entire afternoon because of your selfishness."

She stopped, her heart falling. No, this was no sanctuary. This was a prison, no doubt about that. "You never asked me if I wished to attend the coliseum in the first place," she said coolly, turning to face him.

"What are you talking about?" he all but hissed, "You were practically jumping for joy when it began."

She simply turned. "Whatever you say, my lord," she muttered.
"My lady," he said, stopping her as she reached the stairs, "I wish for your company tonight."

At this, her blood nearly froze. Another night with that man? He clearly was insane! "I-I apologize, my lord," she mumbled quickly, her face lighting up as she searched for an excuse, any excuse, "But..It…this is at a bad time. Times of the months like these do not sit well with me." She hoped he would believe her, or even get her meaning at all. They stood there for a moment as he stared at her, before shaking his head.

"A shame," was all he said, before he turned, once again, for his study. She could only give a sigh of relief, as she traveled to her bed to retire for the night.

Then I break a glass and I slit my own innermost thigh So that I can pretend that I'm menstru...well, unavailable.
A/N: Ta-da! Chapter three! I really love this story, so I'm dedicated to finishing it! Right! I must point out a mistake in the last chapter I found. Namine's 'last name' will be Leonhart. (I think one I used Strife. I couldn't figure it out.) And, as you probably figured out, a lot of the last names I'm just 'borrowing' from FF characters. Except the main name(and Bastion..). Uh, I think that'll about all the ranting I need. And I want to thank anyone who reads this.

Oh, and I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything like that. (Did I have a disclaimer before? Oh well!)