Alright, so here's chapter three. I have nothing really to say except the usual.

Erol, Torn and Ashelin are Naughty Dog's. Everyone else (Cayden, Valen, Kaen, Ripp) are ours. Enjoy.

Erol woke up with a moan, for a moment unable to remember what had happened. His head was pounding and he moaned against the light in the room. Kaen lay next to him, everything was fine. At least it was until he noticed the blood on his wife's face, arms and hands. He reached over, "Kaen," he tried to nudge her awake, "Kaen, wake up."

Her eyes snapped open. Blood, there had been blood and sweet tender flesh. But whose? There had been blood. She licked her lips in anticipation of a kill that had to come. Then she shook her head, where had that come from?

He wanted to go back to sleep, but now he had to know…He couldn't help staring at her. It wasn't every morning he woke up to a blood soaked wife. What had happened?

The last night's events came flooding back. She'd killed him, Torn was who she killed and ate. Her stomach heaved but she didn't puke, opting to start shaking violently again. "I killed him," she whispered.

"What?!" Erol pulled her close, even if she was covered in blood and had just claimed to have killed someone.

"I killed him and ate him." She began to claw at her arms. "He hurt Ripp, fool hurt my friend; he tasted sweet. I hurt Ashelin but saved Ripp, was it good? Killed him and ate him."

Erol grabbed her wrists, keeping her from digging into her arms, "Who are you talking about?"

Her eyes were wide, wild. "But he hurt his little brother, scared him, so it was okay. Right?" she pleaded.

"Kaen," he spoke slowly, "What are you talking about?"

"Killed and ate him. Torn, should've been Valen. Killed and ate him like the guards, like my family."

Erol's stomach churned. Torn? Had she really? Part of him was disgusted, another part inexplicably hurt, and part was trying to be sensible. He hugged her tightly, in such a way she wouldn't be able to scratch at the blood on her arms.

"Valen, Valen deserved it. Infectious ill-breeding strumpet? I'm not a diseased whore, I'm not…"

Erol blinked, so that was what Valen had called her. "Little bastard…" he muttered.

"I'm not, he's jealous…"

"Of course you're not." Jealous of what?

"Can't let it go. Got me mad, I killed Torn. So what if I married you…Not his call."

She seemed to be making less sense than ever.

"What have I done?"

"I don't know sweetheart…"

Kaen burst into tears.

He held her close, rubbing her back slowly.

She cried and cried, terrified of what had happened. She'd killed someone, Erol's friend, Valen's friend, Ashelin's husband, Ripp's brother…What had she done?

He didn't know what to say, what he could do to console her.

Finally she ran out of tears and only lay there, frightened. "Do you hate me?" she asked quietly.

"No."

"But I killed him! I KILLED HIM!"

He sighed, mental barriers slamming down around the pain he felt. He could deal with it later. Why did it even hurt? He and Torn hadn't gotten along for years.

"I've got to talk to Cayden, Valen, someone. I killed him. I'm a freak, monster, monster!" Her head was spinning, twirling, whirling, dancing - pain! Pain! Blood! Her heart beat faster. PAIN! "Monster, freak, evil, evil, freak, uncontrollable, unlovable, should be dead, dead, dead! Better dead than a murder! Dead like him! Freak! Freak!"

"Kaen," his voice was soothing, "Shh," he continued to rub her back. She couldn't be rational if she wasn't calm. Not that he was one to think about being rationality. He was the one attempting to console the woman who claimed to have murdered his childhood friend, and he felt nothing. Erol put a finger to Kaen's lips. "That's enough." He said quite calmly.

She couldn't figure out why she was acting the way she was, so irrational and panicky. It must have been the way her body reacted to having two people trying to talk with the same mouth at the same time. She tried to get it across, maybe it would help him understand. "There's two of us…"

"You and...?" He couldn't even sound confused, all emotion was being cut off. His last resort to protect himself from the pain.

Now that it had come to her, It seemed to be slipping away again. "Me and It, two of us, one mouth, doesn't work well." There, more understandable.

"Ah..."

"Yeah…" Her mouth was moving normally again, at least as far as she could tell. "I'm sorry," she managed to get out, "He was your best friend."

"Used to be..." and with those three words, every barrier that had gone up in his mind abruptly collapsed. Erol started to shake, his teeth sank into his lower lip to try and help him recapture and contain his emotions.

"Just let it out - I did."

He drew a shuddering breath, one final attempt to still himself. He didn't want to let it out, what was the point?

"Just do it."

And he broke down.

And Kaen just sat there, finding it impossible to comfort him in the way he was holding her. What right did she have to comfort him really? She'd killed his best friend!

The memories that accompanied the tears hurt and he pulled away from Kaen slightly. It was as though he were reliving every moment he'd spent with Torn, from the time they were in elementary school up until...Until their fallout. That one stung the most.

She felt her own heart tear open, the taste of his blood still lay heavy on her tongue. She was a freak, a monster, she destroyed everything she touched. Everyone.

Erol forced himself back into control, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. He said nothing; if he tried to speak his control would be lost again.

Her entire being shut down, contemplating what to do next. Revenge, knowledge, comfort? Who knew? It wasn't a decision she wanted to make.

He looked at her, unsure what to do, unsure what to say.

"Should I go?"

He shook his head, still not trusting himself to try talking again.

"Should I stay?"

He nodded.

"Can I give you a hug?"

Again he nodded.

She wrapped her blood covered arms around him, holding him close and offering what little comfort she could.

The tears began again, silently sliding down his cheeks.

Gently she rubbed his back, hoping he could forgive her after this. The last time he'd cried in her arms - really cried - was when she'd spoken of his mother. And Jance. Was there a chance that Torn could be alive as well?

He clung to her. She was the only thing that seemed real; sturdy...He could hardly stand it.

"It'll be alright in the end, I swear it will," she whispered. "In any case, we both know better than most that we'll see him again."

"That's true." His voice was strained.

"If you want to know the truth, I'm not altogether sure he's kicked it anymore."

"What?!"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure, I'm just contemplating. The last time you had an…emotional moment like this, it was over your mother and Jance. Point, your mother was dead, but Jance… He's still alive and as irritating as ever."

"So you're basing this completely on the fact that I seem to breakdown over people who are apparently alive?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Your point?"

"My point is that you have next to no basis for this assumption." But her words were making him feel better, maybe, maybe Torn had survived...

"I swear, I can feel it. But that still doesn't explain the blood in my mouth… Maybe I only ate part of him." It sounded hopeful to her.

Erol shuddered, "That sounds, so wrong. Even eating part of Torn..." He trailed off.

"Well I apologize for being a freak! Do you think I enjoy the desire for blood?"

"Sometimes..."

"Half of me does, I suppose, a part I can't control. But how do you think it feels to wake up and fear that you've killed the person you love most because you can't control yourself? That because you care for them, so does your other side and the other side likes their blood best? Do you understand that?"

"I'm afraid that I don't," he let go of her and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. He now had one hell of a headache...

She looked away, ashamed and disgusted with herself. He had possibly just lost his friend; she had to remember that, but to talk about the other side of her… Like it wasn't actually a problem she had to face every hour of her waking life… If she wasn't so angry at him, Kaen would have gone to talk to Valen right then and there, but he was part of the problem. It was hopeless.

"You should probably go get cleaned up, unless you like all that blood on you." Erol said, putting his head in his hands, he could practically feel his temples pounding.

"Apparently." Kaen got out of bed and headed for the door, not for the shower. Why had she ever left her cell? Soon enough she'd be back there, after she talked to Cayden about whether or not Torn had lived. Back to her cage, where something like her belonged.

Erol watched her go before deciding to go take an aspirin.

--

Cayden was sitting at his desk, head in his hands. So what if Kaen had gone ballistic the night before! It didn't matter, she was the same girl underneath and the world should've just gotten used to that! Why? Why?

Kaen knocked on the door, calling out, "Can I come in Cayden?"

He looked up. "Of course Kaen! Are you alright?"

She opened the door and entered into the office, not too far in, but close enough to be seen and heard. "Did I kill Torn last night?" she said quickly.

"No, you didn't. According to witnesses, you ripped out his shoulder and then sucked off the blood and guts from the knife. No big deal. He's in the hospital and he'll be just fine, though he might have to wait a while for use of his right hand. Why?"

"Just wondering. If Erol comes down here, can you tell him that?"

"Sure, but why wouldn't you? Where are you going?"

She sighed. "Where I belong. See you Cayden." She turned on her heel and walked out the door once again, heading back to the hallway.

--

Erol's head was still pounding when he headed out into the main part of the house. His eyes still stung, and his headache was still there, but the pain seemed to be fading. He looked around for Kaen but couldn't seem to find her. Maybe Cayden would know where she'd gone...

He walked to the bodyguard's office and knocked.

"Come in!" the big man barked.

Erol edged into the office. "Hey."

"So you're awake now?"

"Yes..." what sort of question was that?

"Miss Kaen was in here earlier, asking about Torn. He's fine, wounded, but fine."

"Oh. Good. Do you know where she is?"

"In her cell, possibly killing herself. Why?"

"Just wondering. I'm worried about her."

Cayden shrugged. "She seemed offended, as if you or someone else said something that extremely wounded her. Or that she'd just gone under a severe verbal beating," he narrowed his eyes, "Which you'd know nothing about, correct?"

Erol thought about it, thinking back on the conversation they'd had. It didn't seem like he'd said anything offensive..."No I don't think I-" he broke off as something clicked, "Valen..."

"What'd he do?"

"I believe he called her a..." he paused trying to remember the wording, "Infectious ill-breeding strumpet, or something like that..."

"WHAT?!" Cayden jumped up out of his chair. "HE DIDN'T!"

"He did."

"I'm going to kill him. Just because he can't get over your marrying her…" the other man's voice trailed off threateningly. "If you'll excuse me, I need to call someone down to my office."

"Go for it. Does that mean you want me out?"

"Immediately. Valen and me need to have a heart-to-heart."

"Alright. See you then." Erol turned and left. Even though he really didn't want to go back down that hallway again...he wasn't about to leave Kaen in that cell alone.

--

Kaen made sure the lights were off this time, there was less chance to see the blood. She sat in her cell, chin resting on her knees, which were covered by the blanket. In her brothers' bathroom she'd washed off the blood and had retreated to her corner to contemplate.

--

Erol shuddered as he entered the hallway. He hoped he wouldn't be doing this too often...but he knew, no matter how often Kaen came down here, he'd always come after her.

Maybe she'd rot down there, in her corner. But she wasn't in the mood to die, not really. It was just a place to think about what happened in her life and that was what she was doing.

"Kaen?" he called as he entered the room containing her cell. "You here?"

"Yes." So he had come. Would he be better now, nicer maybe? She shrugged to herself.

"You okay?"

"I'm not going to answer that question."

"I'm sorry if I said something to offend you..."

So he didn't know what he'd said… "It's alright." Even if it wasn't.

"No it's not."

"Point, it's not."

He sat down outside her cell. "I'm sorry." He wasn't even sure what he'd said...

"It'll be alright."

He sighed.

"What's that for?"

"Well, I'm obviously a git...since I don't even know what I said...I shouldn't let things get the better of me like that. I don't like making you feel bad..."

She bit her bottom lip. "You just touched a sore spot…"

"Sorry..."

"It's alright!" Now she was frustrated. Well at least they were already dealing with one of their first fights…

"So," he began conversationally, "How long do you plan on staying here this time?"

"Possibly the rest of my life. Why?"

"Because."

"Oh." She curled her arms tighter around her legs, watching where she thought he was.

"I'm not leaving until you do."

"You're going to be here a long time."

"I'd gathered..."

"Do you want to come in?"

He shrugged, "Sure..." He got up and opened the door to her cell, sitting down next to her.

"How are you doing now?" She moved over a little so as to free up some of the wooden plank.

He shrugged. "No idea."

"Oh. Any way I can help?"

He slipped an arm around her, not saying anything.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. Now she felt she could forgive him.

Erol kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek against it, vaguely wondering how long they'd be here.

"Sorry for dragging you down here."

"It's alright."

"Why did you come back and marry me Erol? Why didn't you just stay with some stable dead woman or something?"

"Because I don't love some stable dead woman. I love you."

"At least she wouldn't try to kill your best friends."

"You can hardly apply that label to me and Torn anymore."

"His possible death made you start crying."

"Don't remind me..."

"Why not? I can't exactly put that moment from my mind either."

"You know I don't like crying in front of people."

"I know love, and I'm sorry about that. It hurt him, tried to kill him, craved him. I didn't mean to hurt him…"

"I know. You two might hate each other, but you wouldn't just try to kill him on a whim." He slipped his second arm around her and twitched suddenly. His eyes darted around the cell as his heart began to race. The walls seemed too close, threatening to close down around him. An unexplainable terror paralyzed him, the cell was too small, too dark…His claustrophobia had kicked in…

"Erol? What's wrong?"

He couldn't reply, her words didn't even register in his mind. What the hell was he doing? Why had he come in here?

"Don't tell me you're scared of the dark…"

"It's not just the dark…" his voice was near inaudible.

"Dark confined spaces?"

"Yes…"

"Can you stand up or should I push or pull you out?"

He couldn't move, still frozen by his fear.

"Alright, I'll push you out." Kaen sighed, stood up and pushed Erol out of her cell.

Space. It was still dark but there was space.

"Do you want me to turn the lights on?"

"Lights would be good…"

She went over to the nearest light switch and flicked it on. Immediately, bright white light illuminated the room. "Better?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"Anything I can do to help?" Kaen returned to Erol's side.

"I don't know." He couldn't remember the last time his phobia had gotten the better of him like that. He could feel himself shaking.

Seeing his shaking, Kaen did the only thing she thought might help. She hugged him. "It's okay," she said quietly, "Nothing's wrong."

"I know. it's just…"

"Just?"

"I don't know. Just an irrational fear."

"That's alright, I have one too." Then, for some unknown reason, she started to laugh. There was something very odd and nonsensical about the situation.

He fixed her with a flat stare, "It's not funny."

"Yes it is, for several reasons. Anyway, I'm not laughing at you."

"Just my phobia."

"Mine too!"

"What's yours?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm agoraphobic Erol."

"How did we end up together again?"

"You tell me. I get my falling for you more than your falling for me."

He shrugged, "I think it's a mystery," his shaking had stopped and he finally returned the hug. "But I still love you."

"Good. And I still love you too."

He kissed her.

She kissed him back, quite pleased by the turn in the conversation.

He rubbed his nose against her neck, his fear of a few moments previously all but forgotten.

Her lips brushed his cheeks, his lips, his neck. Save and warm.

His lips tugged gently against the nape of her neck.

"I rest my case," she murmured, "This totally proves my point."

"What point?"

"No matter our original topic, we always end up doing this."

"This is true."

"Like I said." She shrugged, "Who cares?"

He shrugged again and kissed her again. Everything was alright again.