The sour far thing part 4
!!Cagalli's Point of view!!
He wasn't careful at all when he threw me up against the closest surface he could find. He attacked my neck in rough kissed and bites as he held me against my bedroom wall. My back ached and burned as he pulled my rigid body towards his and then slammed us back into the wall. I whimpered.
"It's your own fault." He said before continuing his greedy pursuit, sliding the fabric on one of my shoulders down so that he could move his way to my collar bone.
I pulled my arms up to my chest to keep the rest of my dress up. I was shaking as he stopped what he was doing and turned away from me.
"Stop crying." He said only turning his face around so that his profile was yelling at me.
A sob racked my body as I realised that tears were streaming down my face. "I'm sorry." My voice was as shaky as I felt. "Please forgive me Sir." I added to make him feel like me won something and stop him from being even more abusive than he was already being.
"Mocking me won't win you any favour." He said now fully turned towards me.
"I wasn't, just don't be mad." I finally said hoping he wouldn't take that the wrong way as I slide done the wall curling my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.
Athrun paled as he looked at the wall I just slide down.
My back welts had split open as Athrun slammed me into the wall so the blood had soaked through the dress and then on the wall I just slid down.
I could hear Athrun's clothes rustle as he slowly crouched down in front of me. He was deep in thought for a couple of minutes before I looked up over my arms to find him contemplating what he should do. He had a hand hovering around the shoulder that still had material on it, trying to decide if touching me in an attempt of comforting was wise or not.
He pulled his hand back when he caught me looking at him. He took a deep breath.
"What will you have me do? I can't please both my father and you at the same time." Like I have a choice of whom I'm supposed to please.
"Will you let me bandage your back? It looks like it hurts." He finally said, reaching for me gently and lifting me from the floor.
I suspected that he would escort me to the bathroom attached to my room and then call for a servant or maid to help me but he didn't. He got me into the bath tub and prepared the basin of water and bandages himself.
"Take off your dress." He said kneeling down over the tub.
"It's ok, you can leave know, and I can do it." I said turning away and pressing my back towards the cold porcelain.
"How can you do it when you can't see your back?" He said leaning more towards me. "Besides it's me who gave you those, I should fix them." He looked down at his hand as he said the last part.
"It was your Father who gave me them." I told him in a small voice so as to not sound like I was challenging him in any way or trying to stand up to him. It may have been his Father that made him do it but it was Athrun behind the weapon.
"But I gave you those on my own." He said looking at the fresh bite marks he left while he was sucking on my neck and collar bone. I pulled my hair over my shoulder so I could hide the fresh marks and embarrassing red colour on my skin.
"So hurry up and take off that dress. I want to clean your wounds before you get an infection." He reached for the sleeve he hadn't pulled off my shoulder. Slowly the back of my dress came down and I pulled the front part of my dress as much as I could around my chest, my hair helped hide the red on my cheeks.
I yelped as I felt water being poured down my back and pooling around my feet. The white paste that was places on my back melted away along with the blood that was beginning to cake on my skin. It revealing very inflamed patches where the sword sheath dug into my skin; obviously the rest was turning black and blue. I only saw my back for a second as I peeked over my shoulder when I heard Athrun gasp.
"If you would call a maid, I'm sure she would put more paste on my back so that you can finish with me before you go to bed." I told him looking ahead at the white porcelain, though I suspected that the sight of my back would put him off and I hoped it would. I'm too afraid to be alone with him tonight.
I felt his hand on my back as it gently began to remove more of the paste and blood before he moved to get a towel and drape it over my back. Moving his hands under my elbows I was signalled to stand and I shakily did as he wanted though I still had a firm grip on the material gathered around my chest.
"I'll just turn around and give you a minute to dry off, just don't dry your back I can do that. Also, do you have a night gown that is very light or perhaps doesn't have a back to it?" He asked moving out of the room and towards my wardrobe.
"I do have light night gowns but none that are backless." I told his as I trailed his footsteps to the wardrobe and kneeled down to a drawer at the bottom. At least I had intended to kneel but I ended up more or less falling to my knees; I felt so hot, I think I have a fever.
Athrun didn't catch it though and I kept going with the motions of retrieving my gown. Finding it, I held it in my hands and waited for further instructions.
"Is that it?" Athrun said bending down to join me on the floor.
I nodded and waited for him to leave so I could change.
!!
Lying on my stomach, I waited for Athrun to finish with my bandages. My back felt a hundred times better with the cooling salve Athrun rubbed into it. I felt him pull up the back of my night gown, signalling that he was done.
Though my back was cool, the rest of my body was burning up, especially my head. I didn't open my eyes or move an inch when Athrun blew out the candles. I could tell it was darker and I could tell that Athrun was removing most of his clothes.
The weight on the bed shifted as Athrun slide under the covers beside me. He pulled up the covers and placed them gently over my shoulders and snuggled into them himself.
My eyes where closed but I could tell by the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach that me was looking at my face. My suspicions were confirmed as I felt a hand brush again my face, and tuck some of my hair behind my ear. His hand came back a second time to trace my lips and then go to my forehead.
Fighting the pulled of sleep on my eyes, I opened them with difficulty to stare into the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen. They were the type of green that shown with kindness and a good heart.
"You should sleep, you have a fever." Athrun said in a whisper that took me by surprise. His voice was so gentle; I had never heard it like that before that I opened my eyes even wider in shock.
"We have a long day tomorrow and you'll have to travel a great distance away. I'm sorry about the abrupt departure but when you arrive at the castle you'll get to meet my Mother." Athrun said with a little smile on his face at the end.
"That's the first time I think I've seen you smile." I told him, looking at his mouth as it turned back into a line when he realised what I'd meant.
"I'm not as bad as I seem." He said though he thought about how it sounded.
"Listen, I know I have no right to expect anything from you so I will never ask for your forgiveness for what I've done to you or what I will be doing to you in the future." He was trying to explain himself and failing miserably at it, he was only scarring me and he knew it.
"I've told you before that I will try to make you happy as much as I can, so I hope you'll accept this and try to not fight me anymore on anything... is that clear." He was trying to do two things at once.
He wanted me to be happy but he wants me to be happy the way he sees fit?
I closed my eyes again and turned my head to face the comparatively ugly wall. Athrun shuffled the sheets and faced the other wall.
"You shouldn't try to be so difficult my wife." He said in an angered tone.
!!
Morning came and so did the uncomfortable feeling of my back healing and my sudden movements, breaking open the fresh skin.
I stifled a cry of pain as I pushed myself into a kneeling position on the bed, I looked over to the spot where Athrun was sleeping and found it empty. I wasn't expecting anything but I was hoping he be there since it was very early in the morning judging by the suns non-progression in the sky.
I slowly slide over to the edge of the bed and dangled my feet off in search of my slippers when he spoke up.
"You should stay where you are." Athrun said from the chair he was sitting at. In my shock I slipped off the rest of the bed and with a yelp, landed on my butt.
Athrun walked quickly from the chair in front of my vanity mirror and helped me stand.
"You should lie back down so I can change your bandages; it already looks like your bleeding again."
"It's your fault." I told him too much in pain to care if he took it the wrong way, which he did.
"That's not what you said last night." He said stopping me from lying down again and turning me to face his steely green eyes, and I thought they looked beautiful last night.
"Yes it is, you're the one who startled me and caused me to fall off the bed, you shouldn't just sit there in silence and watch people when they sleep." I said to correct myself, reluctantly so, since I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.
Athrun continued to change my bandages and let me change into 'travel wear' as he called it and pack up the belongings of importance to me since I would not be returning to this castle again.
I had never been too far out side of Orb and am curious to see Zaft; I heard it was a very beautiful landscape but the cities where poor and the slaved treated badly. The same thing was true about Orb so in reality I wasn't going on any adventure of exploration at all.
"Are you packed?" Athrun called from the door dressed in the same suit he wore the day he took this castle.
I turned to him, hoping my choice in clothes was appropriate for him. I only have ever traveled between small distances and when I did so, I worn a sort of warrior type dress with pants. This outfit began to upset my maids as I got older but since it didn't matter at the time, they never changed it.
Athrun didn't seem to care as I pulled my hair back into a pony tail. He walked up to my side and lifted the light bag I used to pack my belongings in. I wasn't going to need clothes in Zaft since Athrun's mother was going to set me up with a new wardrobe full of clothes fit for a Queen of Zaft so all I brought were a few pictures, some jewellery, a brush and some of my favourite books.
"Here," Athrun said taking my arm in his and walking out of the room. "I won't be riding in the carriage with you but I'll be outside the whole time, guarding it," We were walking towards the front door. "Don't worry, you'll be the only one in the carriage but I will also remind you to not try anything." He said in a voice I didn't like.
"I will try not to disappoint you husband." I said in a neutral tone.
"See that you don't." He said in an equally as neutral tone.
We were outside and I was in a carriage before I could even tell you what it looked like or how impressed or not I was with it, I was just in it and moving by the time I realised it was moving at all.
After a while I shifted over to the side of the carriage and opened up the window to look at the view outside since the inside view was as simulating as a bucket of water. I opened it to find the flank of a horse obstructing my view and looked up to find a very stunned looked man with green hair.
"Hello Princess, I'm sorry about yesterday." He said with a sheepish grin.
"That's alright, it wasn't your fault." I wasn't sure which part he was apologising for but it was nice to get a sorry out of this whole mess.
"Well, you're lucky Athrun saved you from his Father, Athrun really is a nice guy." This man reminded me of Athrun a little.
"Oh my name in Nicol by the way." He smiled.
"Nicol, what the hell are you doing?" Yzak yelled from behind the carriage.
"Nothing, just talking to myself." Nicol replied quickly and without humour.
"You had better be talking to yourself." Yzak said.
A tapping noise caught my attention and the other window opened from across the carriage.
"You are not to speak to anyone. And do not open the windows and reveal yourself to the thieves that could be lurking in this forest." Athrun said peering in.
I straightened up and both the windows were closed before I could close them myself.
"I hope we do get attacked by thieves." I mumbled to myself before I laid my head against the back of my seat and felt my back screamed from the constant jerking of the carriage.
!!
If someone would have told me in the beginning that during this trip I would be camping out for the night because it was so long, then I might have reconsider coming, marring the prince and being kidnapped.
Honestly the first hour was mind numbing and painful to my back but then to find out it was conveniently 3 days long was an entirely different matter. To make things worse I was not allowed to talk to anyone and no one was allowed to talk to me except for Athrun.
But Athrun had to inform me that he was trying to keep me safe by not bringing attention to me as I was the royal who would be the target for thieves and that he wasn't going to be talking to me unless he had to.
The camp was set up around my personal tent that looked the same as everyone else's and Athrun's tent was god knows where.
He did however, in our brief moment's together, change my bandages and even said good night before I was left alone to sleep.
However about an hour after Athrun left I was faced with a problem.
No matter how much I begged, I was not to be let outside of my tent for the remainder of the night but I had to go to the bathroom.
"But I have to go to the bathroom." I said embarrassed, it was not to be talked about when you are a woman but honestly, what did men think we did; hold it for our whole lives.
"It doesn't matter Princess, you are to stay where you are." He said paying attention to his surroundings rather than to me.
"But I've held it all throughout the carriage ride and cannot any longer." It was the honest truth though he didn't think so.
"You've tried this before; don't think we'll fall for it again." He said in the same whispered voices we had been using the whole him.
"I'm not playing anymore tricks, I've learned my lesson and I don't plan on disobeying my husband anymore now please, if you'd at least get Athrun and ask him if it's alright for me to." "no" I was denied again.
"Listen carefully," I said in a louder voice than the ones we were talking in. "If you don't get me my husband, I will scream so loud that every thief in this forest will know that the Princess is here and caring lots of treasure."
A light went on in the tent a couple rows from mine and a familiar figure came out. Athrun looked upset and I thought for a moment he was going to reach for his sword, making my back cringe in fear. He walked over to where the guard and I were arguing and pulled me away from the verbal argument.
"I'm sorry, it's just that" "That what? You're going to get me and my entire battalion killed because of your loud mouth." Athrun pulled me along deeper into the forest and stopped in front of a large tree.
"I'm sorry." I said again looking at the ground in shame.
Athrun looked down at me and was trying to say something before he stopped and changed his expression from sad to dutiful.
"You can use this large tree, go behind it and I'll wait till you're done." The tree looked big enough and I don't think he's the type to spy. "But don't try and run again." He added as I took a step in the direction of the tree.
"I won't." I told him but when I was behind the tree I added. "Thank you for being understanding." I wasn't sure if it came out right but I was trying to say that I appreciate the fact that he's trying to be nicer to me.
Little did I realise, as I was finishing up and about to walk back around the tree, I would be greeted by a dark figure. I felt a sharp pain in my neck as I saw Athrun's stunned and angered face fade away into darkness.
Well I think I have a general progression of how this story's going to turn out and I'm excited to be writing it. I hope you find it exciting too and I thank all those who commented, you really brighten up my day. SOOO if you'd like to comment again I'd be ecstatic to hear from you, so please feel free to do so!
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