Lily made her way back up to the back room as thoughts of all the wretched things Camille could be doing to RJ played on her mind relentlessly. She was slowly acclimatising herself to the layout of the restaurant, and could now mostly find her way around without someone to lead her, which was a good thing, since she really didn't want any of the others to see or talk to her since they would no doubt see right through her pained expression and not leave her alone until they knew what was bothering her, and she couldn't allow that. She was sure Camille meant what she said, RJ's life hung in the balance. No, this was one she had to handle herself. She made her excuses, saying she was tired and made her way to the bedroom, lying on the bed. She struggled not to think about the possibility of losing RJ, instead trying to focus her on her anger at Camille.
She reached into the drawer of the bedside table and took out the leather-bound book RJ had bought her, clutching it tightly to her chest as she pulled the covers over herself and pretended to sleep, all the while finding it impossible to halt the tears from falling down her face. She just couldn't lose him. Not now. He meant far too much to her. Fumbling with her cell phone, she finally managed to dial the number for the local taxi service.
"I'd like a taxi outside Jungle Karma Pizza at midnight to take me to the old manor house." She whispered softly, ensuring none of the others would hear her if they had strayed upstairs. They knew better than to enter Lily's room if the door was locked after a certain embarrassing, and for Casey painful incident that had occurred not long after they'd moved in. Hearing the operator confirm the request, Lily added one more thing. "Tell him not to sound the horn." She continued. "I'll be waiting outside."
Camille arrived back at the manor house with a satisfied look on her face. In just a few short hours, Lily would be coming to face her. She recalled the look of defeat on her face and the forlorn tone of her voice as she agreed to meet her demands. Without her eyesight, and without her morpher, Lily would be no match for her power. She mused as to how satisfying it would be to finally get her hands on Lily, to hurt her, make her suffer for everything she'd put her through, to…what's that sound?
Returning to the manor house, her thoughts were interrupted as she heard RJ in the kitchen singing, and assorted kitchen utensils crashing around. Making her way into the kitchen, she found him elbow-deep in hot, soapy water, washing the dishes. He looked up at her, smiling as she arrived back.
"Glad you made it." He remarked. "I was hoping you'd come back. I take it you've invited Lily?"
Camille nodded, slightly unnerved at the unusual behaviour. This man was being held captive by a woman who wanted to lure one of the people he cared about the most into a trap and destroy them, and he was washing dishes? RJ held up an almost-empty bottle of washing up liquid.
"Whoever lived here before must have been loaded and completely careless." He commented. "They left a lot of cleaning supplies behind, and they forgot to get the water board to shut off the water. Anyone could have been squatting here."
"What ARE you doing?" She asked, approaching cautiously. She couldn't fathom what his angle was. What did he have to gain by this? Was he planning some kind of trap? She glanced down to his feet.
"The manacle's still there." He informed her. "Unfortunately the previous owner didn't leave a blowtorch or a hacksaw."
"The key is still not within reach." She reminded him.
"I didn't think you'd be that foolish." RJ replied, removing a spatula from the sink and placing it on the draining board. "I just thought I'd clean up a little in here."
"What for?" Camille inquired, by now totally confused by the man's train of thought. Was he really a Pai Zhuq master? Did he not realise the danger he was in? Had he gone insane so quickly?
"It's just that I hate cooking in a dirty kitchen." He answered matter-of-factly. He turned to look at her with a bright smile. "You're meeting her at midnight, right?"
Camille nodded, still more than a little confused.
"Well, it's only six o'clock." He reminded her. "You'll be pretty hungry by then if you don't have something, and I know I'm starting to get a little hungry."
Camille stopped to think about this. Was he for real? He wanted to cook?
"I've made a list of some ingredients, and I was hoping you could get them for me." He told her, handing over some money, and a list he'd hastily written on the check pad he always carried with him in the restaurant. "I would go myself, but, you understand."
Camille nodded wordlessly, still completely baffled by the man's behaviour. She looked at the list, reading through the ingredients carefully, and she saw that wonderful word. Pepperoni. She recalled the fond memories of that wonderful, delicious meal RJ had given her in the restaurant. She turned on him with a cold expression.
"Do you think bribing me with pizza is going to get me to release you?" She sneered.
"No, I just thought you'd enjoy it, and like I said, I'm hungry too." He responded casually. "I remember how much you enjoyed it last night. I've never seen anyone hoover down a whole 16 inch pie as quick as that."
Camille turned from him and blushed at the memory. The sensation was just so alien and wonderful to her she had gorged herself.
"If you wouldn't mind getting that stuff, I'll happily cook it for us." RJ continued, pulling off his shirt. "Unfortunately the previous owners didn't leave any dish towels. I'll have these dry by the time you get back."
Camille teleported out of the manor house as fast as dignity would allow. If she wasn't blushing before, she sure as hell was now!
Theo, Fran and Casey were waiting by the surveillance system, hoping for the alarms to go off. Normally it was a complete hassle when they were bleeped by the city monitoring system, it generally meant they had to drop everything and run off to do battle at the most inopportune moments. Of course, this time it would probably be their best lead as to exactly where RJ had been taken. Fran was quietly reading, trying not to be too disappointed at missing her date, while Theo checked his watch for the thousandth time and groaned loudly. He had booked the table in the restaurant for his date with Fran for 7:30, though it was now 6:30 and they still hadn't heard anything from Camille or Dai Shi. He knew it was optimistic to hope that they would be considerate of his social life and he'd have rescued RJ by now, but that still didn't stop him wishing he could just be worrying about nothing more than sitting in a candle-lit restaurant with his girlfriend.
Casey suppressed a laugh at Theo's expense as he noted their reactions. He kind of felt sorry for them, they still hadn't had an opportunity to go on a real date yet, and the fates just seemed to constantly conspire against them to prevent them getting a little time to themselves outside of work.
"Theo, you and Fran just go to the restaurant." Casey told him in a sigh. "We're not opening tonight anyway, not with RJ missing."
"We can't do that." Fran moaned. "You guys need to look for RJ."
"He isn't anywhere in the city that we can see." Casey pointed out. "So until they make a move, there's nothing you can do here you can't do at Chez Marceau."
"But we need to be ready to move if anything happens." Theo responded. "Thanks for the gesture, but…"
"But nothing." Casey interrupted the half-hearted protest. "As long as you have your solar morpher with you, I'll be able to contact you if anything happens."
"But…"
"Go and enjoy yourselves." Casey ordered, practically shoving them out the door. "Have a good time." He then handed Theo a pack of mints. "Just remember to lay off the garlic."
"Thanks Casey." Theo relented, realising his friend was not to be argued with when he was in a mood like this. Of course, under guy law, he knew this meant he owed him one. Translation, Casey was now entitled to a full run-down of exactly what happened on the date. Casey sat back down in RJ's chair with a satisfied grin and continued to survey the monitors. He knew how much that date meant to Theo and Fran, and as much as they'd prefer a night when they weren't waiting on hearing whether or not one of their friends would be returned to them alive, at least they'd be a little happier.
Camille returned to the Manor house, having acquired everything on RJ's list. RJ was heating the old wood-fuelled range in the kitchen when she arrived; having hung his shirt a little way above it to dry completely after he'd wrung it out. She approached him cautiously, trying to figure out where to look. She had to admit that his impressively toned physique had certainly had an effect on her. Seeing his body, her mind suddenly raced back to Dai Shi, or at least his current form, Jarrod, since their physical builds were so similar. RJ never commented on her reaction to seeing him half-naked, though he had noticed it. He took the bag from her slowly, and looked inside.
"This stuff looks great." He complimented her, noting the quality of the ingredients.
"I got them across town." She said nervously. RJ suppressed the will to laugh at her reactions; clearly he was making her uncomfortable, exactly as he had intended.
"I'll just get started then." He told her, grabbing a bag of flour and tearing it open. Camille turned away from him and left the room. With his strength of will and personality, along with his physique, he reminded her so much of Dai Shi, and yet, he was so completely different. He was actually talking to her as an equal. He talked to her in a way that made her feel good about herself, he made her feel…important. "Could you come here a second please?" He called through.
Camille returned to the kitchen, seeing him beginning to pull together the beginnings of the dough.
"I want to get started on the sauce. Could you knead the dough for me?"
"I…I…don't know how." She stammered, watching him work. RJ smiled and waved her over.
"You just work the dough like this." He told her, demonstrating. "Roll it up, and then fold it and press hard, like so."
Camille continued to watch for a second. RJ stopped and slid the dough over to her. "Go ahead; I'm sure you'll be fine."
She began to play with the dough gingerly as RJ began chopping tomatoes. He giggled a little at the display.
"No, you can't be as gentle as that, it's dough, it won't break, be a little firm with it." He recommended, continuing with his own task.
Camille took his advice and began aggressively slamming the dough around with force. RJ stopped what he was doing and came over, halting her assault on their dinner.
"I know I said be firm with it, but I didn't mean beat it to death." He came up behind her, putting his arms around her to demonstrate. She jerked away from him a little as she felt his touch.
"I promised I wouldn't attack you, remember?" He reminded her. Camille turned back to the dough as RJ took her hands, guiding her actions. "See what I mean? Slow and gentle yet firm. It's just like a good massage."
"I…I…wouldn't know…" She stuttered, finding her thoughts moving further and further from…from…what was she thinking about again?
"I can't believe you've never had a massage." He commented. "Perhaps we'll rectify that later. Anyway, I'll get back to the sauce. You just keep working on the dough."
As RJ returned to the other work station where he was preparing the tomatoes, Camille started working the dough continuously, completely lost in her thoughts. RJ had touched her, and yet, there was no pain involved. No humiliation, no degradation, no cruelty. Her face felt warm as she flushed a little, imagining what it would be like to have that feeling with the man she loved. To have him just hold her, touch her, kiss her. She remembered RJ's remark about kneading the dough. "It's just like a good massage." Her mind drifted away into a wonderful dream world as she imagined Dai Shi touching her like that, softly, gently and tenderly. RJ looked over to where Camille was completely lost in her own little world and smiled.
'Gotcha!' He thought to himself.
Theo and Fran arrived at the restaurant a little early for their reservation.
"Table for two, Mr Marceau is expecting us." Theo told the maitre d. He towered over the pair, his expensive formal suit making their own smart-casual attire look totally out of place. He looked down his nose at the pair, his lack of warmth obvious in his greeting.
"I'm afraid your table isn't ready sir." He replied snootily, making them feel about three inches tall. "You'll have to wait outside."
"Our booking's in five minutes." Theo reminded him. "Can we wait in here?"
"This area is licensed, and you are under age." He shot back. "You are welcome in the restaurant."
"But not until the time of our reservation." Theo snapped.
"There's no need to get aggressive sir." The maitre d replied. He then proceeded to shoo them aside as the next patrons stepped up.
"Dilmore, table for three at seven thirty." The gentleman stated.
"Right this way sir." The maitre d instructed him, escorting them into the dining room. Theo's mouth hung open in disbelief, seeing the next patrons getting their table before him.
"Jerk!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Turning back to Fran, he looked at her sheepishly.
"I'm sorry; I thought this place would be really special." He remarked. A couple of waiters came up behind Theo following his outburst.
"I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to leave." One of them said dryly. Fran looked the two of them up and down thoughtfully.
"We'll go elsewhere." She told them, taking Theo by the arm. Suddenly, she started speaking a little louder so that the other patrons could hear. "By the way Theo, do you know why they wear black uniforms in some restaurants?"
Theo shook his head, slightly confused by where she was going with this. "No."
"Because stains from spills and accidents don't show up as easily," she continued, "it saves on laundry expenses. Apparently some places save as much as ninety eight per cent on their laundry bills by only washing their uniforms once a month."
The diners waiting to be seated eyed up the waiter's black suits and began filing out the door. Theo chuckled as he noticed this. 'Nice one Fran.' He thought to himself. One or two of the patrons already dining had also heard this and gotten up to leave. The maitre d came up to them with an enraged look on his face.
"I suppose you are aware of what slander is?" He asked.
"Did anyone hear me say that THIS PARTICULAR restaurant did that?" Fran asked. Everyone shook their head in response. "I didn't think so. Come on Theo; let's go somewhere that WANTS to serve people."
Watching her leave, Theo turned back to the maitre d with a smirk on his face. "Isn't she great?" He asked him, placing the manager's business card in his breast pocket. "Manners cost nothing, but losing diners does. Remember that in future."
Leaving the restaurant, he rejoined Fran outside, putting an arm around her. "Look, I'm really sorry about that. I wanted our first date to be really special."
"As long as I'm with you, it will be." Fran replied.
"I'm really impressed the way you handled that." Theo told her. "Where did you get that?"
"One of the books I read recently was on restaurant hygiene. Normally I wouldn't have the front to do something like that in public." She answered. Her cheeks turned a little pink. "But when I'm with you, I kind of get this whole extra level of confidence."
"Well I'm glad to hear it." Theo told her. "Now, let's go somewhere else."
Back at the manor house, RJ had finished with the sauce, and formed the dough into two large, round bases. As he was spreading the sauce, he saw that Camille's attention was back
on the pizzas once more, and no longer in her dream world. He decided to press her a little more.
"You know, that was a great performance at the park." He complimented her. "You know, that whole bit about the abusive boyfriend and everything."
Camille stared at him blankly for a moment as the heartache of that moment came rushing back to her. How she felt totally broken and worthless following her treatment by the man she loved. "I…I tried to fool you." She lied unconvincingly.
"Well you really had me going. I suppose that was all just to get close to me and get me here." He replied.
She turned away a little to hide the fact she was fighting her own urge to cry. RJ noted this reaction with an internal cry of 'bingo'.
"As I said, I'd do anything for my master." She said, her voice cracking just a little. RJ realised that he'd accessed just enough emotion to turn this around as he finished with the toppings.
"The oven should be ready now." He told her, placing the pizzas inside. "It shouldn't be long now. Do we have anything to drink?"
Camille looked into the bag, pulling out a bottle of red wine. "I thought you used everything." She retorted in confusion. "You've not even opened this."
"What's dinner without a little drink?" He asked, pouring each of them a glass.
Theo led Fran back to Jungle Karma. By virtue of the fact it was closed, they were guaranteed to get a good table. Theo took her to her favourite booth and sat her down, taking her coat.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get us in anywhere." He said apologetically. "I suppose the least I could do is cook."
"That would be nice." She replied, pulling him down and kissing him softly on the cheek. Theo looked at her with a cheeky grin on his face, taking in how amazing she looked in her evening wear.
"How am I supposed to concentrate on cooking now?" He asked her.
"I suppose I should help you clear your mind." She responded softly, pulling him into a long, deep, passionate kiss. Parting a little, Theo felt amazing as she finally released him. "Is everything clear now?"
Theo looked at her, feeling as though nothing existed in the world except for her. "Nothing's ever been clearer." He told her, making his way to the kitchen.
Eventually the time had come. The alarm Lily had set on her cell phone instructed her that it was now time to act. She silenced it quickly so as not to rouse the others before reaching over to the table, picking up her solar morpher. It was small enough to secret on her person, so it would be foolish not to take it. There was no way that Camille could possibly know she had disobeyed her and brought it with her, was there? Her blood froze in her veins as she recalled her warning. RJ would die if she disobeyed her. She knew it wasn't a wise move, but she couldn't risk it. She placed it back down on the table, and then silently made her way downstairs. Taking care to lock the door behind her as she left, she stood outside the restaurant waiting on her taxi. She hadn't left the restaurant without anyone to guide her since the accident. She'd barely left the restaurant at all since then, so she would need the driver to take her there. Her mind couldn't focus on anything but RJ, and because of that, she knew she was doomed to lose the upcoming battle, but she didn't care. All she could think about was the fact that RJ was probably suffering at that very moment.
Back at the Manor house, RJ and Camille had finally finished the pizzas and they were both enjoying the wine. Camille was once again plunging in with her usual enthusiasm, having never experienced anything as civilised and pleasant as a friendly drink. Having had a couple of glasses, RJ felt it was now time to approach the subject of her vendetta.
"You weren't acting were you?" RJ asked her. Camille looked up from her meal a little puzzled. "When I approached you in the park, you really were upset about a lover mistreating you."
"Please!" She snapped, trying to sound dismissive of the notion. "Do you really think that I would ever cry like a weak, pathetic human?"
"To be honest, yes I do." He answered. "It isn't a sign of weakness to cry. Everyone does it, even Lily."
He noticed her face drop at the mention of Lily's name. Her mood noticeably darkened. "It doesn't surprise me that she is…"
"Strong enough to give Dai Shi a good run for his money," he interrupted, "and she was blind at the time."
"You are not fit to speak of my love like that!" She snapped, slamming her glass down on the table. Her eyes widened as she realised what she had said. RJ poured himself another glass.
"I guess it must have really upset you when you found out what he did to Lily." RJ sighed, taking a sip. Camille fought her tears to remain as menacing as she could muster in her turbulent, confused state.
"He…he only meant to use her as a pawn. I'm sure of it." She yelled.
"Is that why it's only Lily, and not the others you were after?" RJ pressed her. "I suppose it meant nothing to you when he kissed her then."
Camille couldn't hold in the treacherous tear that rolled down her face, giving away her true feelings as RJ reminded her of that painful moment.
The taxi driver arrived outside the old manor house, and Lily handed him some notes. Since they were all the same size, she couldn't tell exactly what she was giving him, but then again that wasn't going to matter shortly. It's wasn't as if she was going to need money where she was going.
"Do you want me to take you inside miss?" He asked her, more than a little uneasy at the thought of leaving her alone here in her vulnerable state.
"Get me as far as the handrail to the stairs." She requested. The taxi driver took her arm gently, leading her over and placing her hand on the cold metal railing. Seeing how vulnerable she was, he suddenly got an attack of conscience about not telling her she'd given him over a hundred dollars.
"You gave me too much." He told her, handing back some of the money.
"Thank you." She replied, beginning to slowly make her way inside.
"You know, he did FORCE Lily to do that." RJ reminded Camille, taking a glance at the clock. He knew it wouldn't be long until Lily arrived. He didn't have long left for his plan to take effect. "It's not as if she has any feelings for him."
"That's not the point." She whispered, barely audible. By now her mind and her heart had been hammered from all sides in a relentless assault. "He wanted her."
"Meaning he rejected you." He concluded.
"Why is nothing I ever do good enough for him?" She sobbed, collapsing into her folded arms and weeping loudly. "We were lovers before, I still love him, even after all these millennia, why must he treat me this way?"
RJ made his way around the counter, coming over next to her and holding her in his arms, once again giving her the gift of a tenderness she rarely felt. The warmth and kindness the man she loved often denied her. "I don't think it's Lily you're really upset with is it?" He asked. Camille shook her head gently as he cradled her closely, simply allowing her the opportunity to cry. He had succeeded in his objective; Camille was now in no state to even think about harming Lily.
At that moment, Lily crashed through the front door, stumbling into the entrance hall. She was completely disorientated by the unfamiliar surroundings, stumbling around the room. She heard RJ's voice from the kitchen, though she also heard something she never expected to, someone was crying, a woman. Had Camille taken another hostage? Who? Why? She made her way through as carefully as she could, eventually finding her way to the kitchen. RJ saw her coming through the door. He released Camille gently, allowing her to see the Yellow Ranger arrive. Lily looked utterly confused as she realised that the woman she heard crying was she was hearing was Camille.
"The key to your manacle is here." She told him, pulling it out of a pouch on her belt. "Take her and go."
RJ released himself and made his way over to Lily, hugging her tightly and whispered in her ear to reassure her that Camille was no danger to them. "What are you planning to do?" He asked her.
"I really don't know!" Camille replied honestly.
"You could always come with us." He suggested, gently squeezing Lily to silence any potential protest. He knew this was an opportunity to get her to see sense and leave Dai Shi for good.
"Thank you, but no." She answered. "I need time to think."
"Well the offer's still open." RJ stated. "We're going now. Will you be alright?"
Camille didn't answer. Instead, she just slumped down over the table, unable to look at them any longer. Realising he'd done as much as he could to help her, RJ led Lily from the building, leaving Camille as she'd always been, alone.
RJ arrived back with Lily at Jungle Karma in the early hours of the morning to find Theo and Casey pacing the back room, by now they were worried sick. They'd woken in the night and realised that Lily was also no longer in the building and had presumed the worst.
"Lily, where the hell have you been?" Casey screamed at her, rushing over to them. He wanted to hug her, comfort her, but a death glare from RJ warned him off.
"RJ, you're alright!" Theo commented.
"Thanks for your concern guys, but as you can see, we're fine." RJ put down flatly. His accusatory tone and tight grip let Lily know he wasn't happy, and she could guess why. She knew she was going to get a lecture for her reckless behaviour. "Now, if you could please go to your rooms, I want to talk to Lily."
"But..."
"Damn it all go to bed, we're fine!" RJ roared. Lily quailed a little in fear at this response, being so close to him at the time. Theo and Casey stared at him in disbelief. They could never remember him raising his voice to them; it was so out of character for him. They just wordlessly left the room. RJ led Lily to her room, sitting her down on the bed. She knew he wasn't happy; she didn't need to see him to know that. His voice was, by now, a low, barely audible hiss. "Now, why don't you tell me what in the blue hell you intended to accomplish!"
Lily's chin found her chest as she felt his shame and anger wash over her. Her tears began to flow freely. She had thought that the night of her accident was the worst of her life. However, now she felt even worse.
Camille was wandering the streets, completely oblivious to her surroundings as she mulled over the evening's events. Everything RJ had said made a lot of sense, but could it really be true? Was she wasting her time? Was it possible that Dai Shi didn't love her anymore? Didn't respect her? Had he just used her? She sat on a patch of grass, staring forlornly into the night sky. She didn't even respond when the Renshi Warriors came, simply getting up and offering them her arms without protest.
"Time to face the music." She sighed. She soon found herself in front of Dai Shi, being shoved to her knees in front of him.
"Where have you been?" He asked her. She didn't answer, simply responding with a shrug. She knew she couldn't answer him. Not with the truth at least, if he found out she had, not only the Rangers' master in her grasp, but had convinced the Yellow Ranger to come to a meeting without back-up and without her morpher, only to release them unharmed, he would surely destroy her.
"I guess I better keep a tighter leash on you." He stated. He held out his hand, and a silver bracelet appeared in his grasp. Camille recognised it instantly, having seen Dai Shi use them on his slaves thousands of years ago. It was a restraint. It was a shiny, polished silver bracelet, inlaid with black, deeply etched runes around it's circumference. "Give me your left wrist."
Unable to protest without rousing his fury, she moved closer, presenting her hand to him and fell to her knees in front of him. The bracelet grew large enough to be slipped over her hand, only to shrink back down, to become little more than skin-tight around her arm. There were no locks, no catches, no hinges and no gaps. It would be impossible to simply take it off, and she knew that Dai Shi's power exceeded her own, so she knew she wouldn't be able to remove it. A couple of Renshi Warriors helped her back to her feet. She was still unable to look her master in the eye as he addressed her again.
"I will now be able to see and hear what you're doing at all times." He reminded her. "I will be able to call you to me at any time and..." he outstretched his hand, and with a gesture activated the power of the bracelet, the runes turned a bright red and began glowing brightly. Camille screamed and collapsed to the floor, convulsing as waves of pain flashed through her body. After letting her suffer for a few moments, he finally released her from her torment, stopping the pain. The runes returned to their original colour as the pain receded. Camille hauled herself to her feet before him. "I will be able to punish you at any time. You may leave; I will call for you if I need you."
Camille headed back to her bed chamber, and threw herself onto the bed, curling into a foetal ball on the bedclothes. Although she was still weeping over the emotional barrage of the evening and the torment of Dai Shi's treatment, she couldn't help feeling her lips curling upwards as she surveyed the bracelet. She tenderly traced the intricate pattern of runes with her finger, thinking about what the man she loved had given her. He could see her at all times, and he could hear her at all times. He could call her at all times. That meant he cared about her. He wanted her near him, to be within his reach at all times. He was keeping her close to him. That was love, wasn't it?
Lily felt her tears coming more readily as she heard RJ pacing her room. "Well? What was that all about?"
"I wanted to save you." She breathed, unable to find any more strength to argue with him. "I did what I thought..."
"THOUGHT?" He snapped aggressively. "You didn't think! You left your morpher on your bedside bloody table!" He grabbed it off her bedside table and launched it across the room, slamming it against the wall. "You went there with no powers, your training incomplete and BLIND! What the hell did you expect to achieve?"
"I expected to save you." She wailed, feeling the pain in her gut increase as she thought about everything she had put herself through that night. "Camille swore she'd release you regardless of the result."
"And you believed her!" RJ responded sarcastically. "If I was still chained up and she'd killed you, do you REALLY think she would have released me?" Lily's head hung low and she shook her head slowly. He had a point; Camille could have gone back on her word.
RJ grabbed her shoulders tightly, shaking her. "Your heart's bigger than your brain!" He exclaimed loudly. "You're a Ranger. You're needed here. If I'd died, one of the other masters could have trained you. If you'd died we'd have been lost."
"I couldn't lose you." She sobbed.
"If I hadn't talked Camille out of fighting, you'd have died, and she'd have no reason to release me. I'd have died anyway." He explained. "You need to use your brain. I don't matter, you do. You can't give in to sentimentality."
"I didn't..."
"I'm not interested!" RJ cut her off. "You were stupid, pig-headed and careless. You put your team in danger needlessly, and that is unforgivable."
RJ stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Lily turned onto her side and wept as she contemplated her actions. She pulled the leather-bound book from under her pillow where she'd left it when she went to the manor house, clutching it to her chest as she felt her heart fall to pieces. She was devastated that she had disappointed him so much. "I didn't do it because I'm stupid or pig-headed." She murmured to herself. "I did it because I love you."
RJ stormed into his own room, crashing onto his bed and wringing his hair in frustration. He was glad he'd manipulated Camille into giving up her pointless vendetta, but it hurt him immensely that he'd upset Lily so much. He had screamed at her and verbally battered her when he already knew she was upset. He hated hurting her so much, but his anger at her risking herself so needlessly for him. He felt his tears burn his eyes painfully, though the burning sensation in his heart hurt him even more. He hated to hurt her so much, but he knew he'd never have been able to live with himself if anything had happened to her. She was everything to him.