A/N: Happy New Year, dear readers! Here's wishing you a wonderful year ahead :D

*** READ THIS *** So, I'm putting this out here as a sort of disclaimer, or a warning, before we get to the chapter. This chapter's a weird one I'll say, definitely the strangest of the lot so far. It starts off fluffy, and then turns dark, and then well, I don't know, it gets really, REALLY weird. Just skip over parts that aren't to your taste, I suppose. My apologies if any of this is unpleasant to read. As always, I have no idea where I actually went with this...

Hmm, what else. "I'm Still Here" by the Goo Goo Dolls was a pretty good listen for the first 'section' of this, so give it a try if you like :) As for the rest of it... "End of All Days" by 30 Seconds to Mars was also pretty helpful in writing, uh, certain parts. Well, that's enough from me, on to the actual story!

Thresh stayed more often these days.

Amaranth wasn't very sure why he did, or what his actions were supposed to imply, but she wasn't going to ruin a good thing by asking questions that didn't need to be asked.

By day, he would resume the regular activities of his job, an enthusiastic onlooker (and at times, assistant) bobbing eagerly at his heels. On occasions when he was truly occupied with work, Amaranth would wander the vast, empty passages of the vault by herself.

More often than not, she would find herself lost in the serpentine backbone of corridors twisting its way through the citadel. There were times when she'd gotten so disoriented that she truly feared she would never find her way back to Thresh's office or her cell again, doomed to wander the endless hallways for an eternity.

Was she exaggerating? Yes, but the vault was a desolate place, and she sometimes wondered how Thresh managed to navigate the hallways with such ease, or if he ever felt the loneliness of it all.

But the real question was, could Thresh even feel such a thing as loneliness? Could he, too, grieve and envy and lust as did all mortals alike?

Amaranth shook her head. That was the least of her worries.

Hastily, she scurried around yet another corner, cursing and mumbling under her breath. Today had been one of those days, where the odds seemed hellbent on betraying her.

She'd been gone for what must have been a few hours now, lost once again in the maze of tunnels. Making a final turn into yet another passageway, she saw, at long last, the familiar cascade of pale yellow light emanating from Thresh's office.

Oh, sweet victory!

Amaranth broke into a small sprint, tired and relieved and eager to see the Warden. Her only hope, was that Thresh wouldn't have noticed her absence. And so given her luck, of course he did.

"My prisoner has finally decided to grace me with her presence," Thresh droned lazily, "Would you have me bow, or simply keel over with joy?"

"Oh, shut up Thresh," Amaranth groaned, "I was only gone for a bit."

"You vanished for half a day." Without sparing her a single glance, he answered levelly, keeping his attention firmly focused on the scroll in his hands.

She balked. "Half a day?!"

"Took a little detour, I presume?"

"No." Scowling, Amaranth crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"Fancied yourself a long, leisurely walk?"

"No."

"Or have you become so tired of my company that-"

"No!" As quickly as it had risen, her voice then shrank to a squeak, "I uh, got a little lost that's all."

His gaze shifted sharply towards her, green eyes riddled with both scorn and amusement.

"A little lost, you say?"

"I… might have taken a wrong turn or two."

"Or perhaps three."

"It's a big vault, Thresh."

"To small minds, I suppose."

"Hey!" she protested, "Is it my fault your office is so damned hard to find?"

"Hard to find?"

"Yes! I must have circled the place with all those ancient scrolls at least thrice!"

"The athenaeum?"

"Is that what it's called? Whatever. Point is. It takes fucking forever to find your office from the athae-, athen- argh! That place."

"There is a shortcut that links… that place to my office," he replied in measured tones, making very sure that his voice remained flat, "Just under the eastern stairwell, in fact. How it has eluded you is entirely beyond me."

"Wait, really?" Amaranth blinked, "Wow. Who would have known?"

"Most likely yourself, if you were not so dim-witted."

"I'm not dim-witted!"

"That is highly debatable."

"It is not!"

Thresh allowed a devilish smirk to push through the indifference stamped across his lips, almost as if he had simply been biding his own time before casting the bait.

"Then prove it."

"And how would you propose I do that?"

"Hm." There was a deliberate pause, "Fetch me the scroll of Barad Dur in a timely fashion, and I shall be convinced."

She stared at him in disbelief, "Fetch?! I will do no such thing!"

"Why not?"

"Because you can't order me around like some… boneheaded pet of yours, that's why!"

"Or," his grin widened deviously, "Perhaps you truly are dim-witted after all, and haven't the faintest idea where the scroll actually is."

Amaranth pursed her lips, indignance flooding over her pretty features, grey eyes narrowed to slits.

"Fine, have it your way!" she spat, "I'll get you the damn scroll."

Throwing him a final withering glance, Amaranth stormed off, once again, in the wrong direction.

And that, was how it started, their little game.

Thresh would name an artifact or a scroll, and Amaranth would map what she perceived to be the quickest route to retrieve the aforementioned object. Whether or not he actually intended for her to hone her navigational skills (or lack thereof) remained largely disputable.

Sometimes, when Thresh was in a particularly vexing mood, he would trail after her, nipping away at her heels like a very persistent, very condescending ghost.

She suspected that he often gave her the most obscure objects to locate solely for the twisted entertainment of watching her agonize over which turn to take, or where her path was even to begin.

Smug bastard.

But this irritation with him she came to realize, was only passing, and in time Amaranth found that she had (to her slight horror) taken a liking to the little quests he issued to her.

For one, her days in the citadel were no longer dulled by the monotony of prison life. Of course, not forgetting, that she actually felt far less like a prisoner, and more like the Warden's... friend? Were they friends? Were they… more?

Again, she could never be sure, and perhaps such things were best left uncertain. What she did know though, was that she liked whatever it was that they had. And absurd as it was to even think it, she sensed that Thresh, mocking and caustic as he might be, liked it too.

And so time passed between them like the subtle, fluid turning of pages in a book. Their interactions remained mostly innocent under daylight's veil, each slowly but surely learning the other's quirks and habits.

For Thresh, that meant observing the subtle nuances of her mannerisms, every quizzical tilt of her head and twitch of the fingers stowed neatly away in his memory. Every day she gave him something more, her strengths, her weaknesses, guileless lamb crawling haplessly into the belly of the ever-watchful beast.

Like smoke through a keyhole, he furled into her life (and she into his), silent and dangerous and utterly intoxicating. Although... something had changed. They were closer somehow, and it showed.

It showed in the increasing absence of the Warden's usual sneer when he spoke to her, and the long, lingering looks Amaranth would cast him when she thought he wouldn't notice. And it showed most of all, when nightfall beckoned.

Amaranth lay sprawled out on her bed, twirling a lock of hair absentmindedly. It was one of those nights, where her thoughts had burrowed deep into her heart, clinging onto tense shoulders and a restless mind.

"Ah, question."

"Of course."

Thresh sat poised in his usual seat next to her bed, for the eighth night this month, his mind cautioned.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to do it?"

"Do what, my dear?"

"Accept this whole… Mordekaiser's descendant thing. Completely. Without any uh, unsavory side effects."

Ah. This again. This… doubt. He had to guide her somehow, this hesitant fledgeling of his.

"Perhaps one day, you will."

"You really think that's possible?" she propped herself up, grey eyes shimmering with earnest hope, "Even for me?"

Thresh turned his piercing gaze towards her, green eyes bearing more gravity than possibly imaginable.

"Just like our eyes, our souls too, have a way of adapting to darkness. In time."

There was something sinister in his expression as he answered, voice low and rumbling.

"I suppose you're right… as always."

Amaranth sighed, her expression brooding and pensive. While she pondered on his words in subdued silence, Thresh swept a glance over the entirety of her form. She was a lithe creature, yes, but Thresh ventured a guess that she was all lean muscle underneath her robes…

"Would you rather me be wrong?"

"No, no, it's not that," she sighed, "it's just…"

"Just what?"

"I don't know if that is a path I wish to walk. It just sounds so…" she hesitated, "Lonely. Like wolves in a world of lambs. Shunned. Outcast."

"Feared."

"And what exactly are wolves to do with fear?"

"They hunt," his tone betrayed the slightest touch of pride, of predatory arrogance, "As do all things untouchable."

Amaranth smiled. There was comfort in his words. Always.

"Perhaps one day, I will."

And then it was his turn to smile.

He would often offer her his thoughts like this, twisting allegories and turning phrases to nudge her in the right direction. His direction. Each word was a gift, hand-wrapped and placed in the boughs of her mind, due in time to blossom.

In time.

Under the cover of darkness, he revealed to her the very things that would haunt her subconscious in the dead of the night, both dreadful and beautiful, repulsive and enchanting.

Night after night, Amaranth drank from the sweet poison of his words, and Thresh would watch in near-exhilaration, as the formless menace coiled deep into her guts and flowed through her veins.

Sometimes, he hungered to devour her tainted soul, to reach out from his abyss and overwhelm her every sense. She would follow him, this herald of ruin, into the depths of madness, to the very edge of light where darkness begins.

Together.

Their souls were intertwined now, and while both appeared to be tempting fate, neither seemed to know it.

This was a bad idea. He was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.

But as Amaranth collided soundlessly onto her bed, pinned beneath the Warden's full weight, she realized that she didn't quite mind at all.

She had no recollection of how they'd even come to this, only the faint memory of a touch that lingered for far too long and eyes that betrayed too much.

His lips burned hot into hers, sending jolts of ice hot fire down her back. She returned the kiss with fierce boldness, trembling hands smoothing up his back. In turn, he continued to maul her lips with a passion she hadn't thought him capable of, leaving her lips tender and certain to bruise.

With a hiss, he pulled back from her as she lay, breathless and panting beneath him. And then he turned his attack to the crook of her neck, pressing his tongue into her pulsing, flushed skin.

Amaranth felt desire dawn upon her like never before, his lips coaxing shivers from her spine. She wanted this, no, needed this.

"Thresh," she gasped.

He stopped abruptly, as if deciding if he liked the way his name sounded from her lips. Green eyes met grey in a thunderous crash, and suddenly she felt very afraid. There was an undercurrent to his lust that warned of danger, the kind that made her vaguely aware of why people chased after storms, or sailed into treacherous seas.

His smile broadened unnaturally, white teeth glinting like fangs in the dim glow of his lantern, and Amaranth knew at once that there was no turning back.

With unnerving deftness, his scythe tore through the fabric of her robes. She shuddered slightly under the gust of cool air that breezed over her bare skin, body tensed in anticipation.

Thresh hummed, satisfied with the sight of this pleading mess of a woman lying helpless before him. He lowered himself onto her, and their fronts met intimately while he traced gentle fingers down her slender curves.

She gasped when he grabbed her full, luscious breasts with both hands, thumbs trailing teasingly over the rose pink buds of swollen nipples. Clumsily, Amaranth leaned up and captured his mouth in a heated, desperate kiss.

He tasted like freedom. And ruin. And she wanted him, oh, how she wanted him. Thresh growled, almost threateningly, as he tore away from her, eyes clouding over with carnal greed upon inspecting the round, soft mounds of her breasts.

With his hands, he continued his assault on her heaving chest, kneading and squeezing his way to badly-stifled moans from Amaranth. She jerked reflexively into him as he clamped his lips over a pert, sensitive nipple, drawing circles around her breasts with his tongue.

Her own fingers dug deep into Thresh's inky black locks, willing his mouth to explore every inch of her raw, exposed body. Every caress of his sent a dizzying explosion of sparks through her mind, heat blossoming in her chest like a roaring inferno.

She groaned in tortured frustration when he stopped once again, his cheshire grin gleaming in the shadows. Gradually, he prised her legs apart, fingers clasped firmly around her knees.

Amaranth felt her breath hitch as the Warden ran his tongue along the smooth, lean contours of her inner thigh. A mixture of panic and excitement washed over her, helpless creature held within the devil's embrace.

Hot breath washed over the slick entrance of her sex, and the two stared unblinkingly at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

He inhaled the sweetness of her scent, purring with smug satisfaction at her arousal. Amaranth froze as he ran a calloused finger along the moist lips of her slit, craving and yearning and wishing for more. Blood thundered in her ears, her excitement spiking feverishly close to breaking point.

"Thresh," she breathed, "Please."

For the first time since they'd collapsed into her bed together, he spoke.

"Please what, Amaranth?"

His voice echoed eerily throughout the room, like it had been amplified and hollowed out a thousand times over. It was strangely alien... yet familiar at the same time.

"Please," she begged, her arousal continuing to pool between her legs, "I want this."

"This?" He arched a brow at her, cynical beast of a man.

She drew a shaky breath, fighting against her own thundering pulse, "You. I want you."

He smirked, victorious, and dove into the fray, ravenous wolf to the hunt.

In the most agonizing fashion, he slid a finger into the soaked, wanting need of her womanhood, exploring every exquisite ridge and edge of her inner walls.

A breathy moan tore from her throat as she writhed and thrashed with pleasure. Slowly, he added another finger to her drenched, tight sex. He then began to pump his fingers in and out of her at an increasing pace, eliciting more moans of encouragement with each ripple of pleasure he brought her.

Amaranth's fingers curled tightly around her sheets, head swimming with ecstasy while the Warden continued to bring her closer and closer to the edge. With a final, rough thrust, he pulled his fingers out of her, the sticky nectar of her fluids trickling quietly down her thigh.

Before she could even respond to the sudden change, his head dipped beneath the crest of her thighs, and he plunged his tongue into her dripping folds. She felt his warm tongue snake its way into her snatch, filling the aching void between her hips.

Thresh continued his ministrations, rewarding her desire for him with his roaming tongue, hands clenched around her firm buttocks. And then he flicked his tongue, crafty, cruel instrument of pleasure, against her throbbing core, sending fresh shocks of pure bliss coursing through her.

Amaranth arched her hips towards his mouth, enraptured by each intensifying sensation he granted her. The beginnings of her climax threatened to break like a tsunami crashing onto land, body quivering limply.

"Thresh!" she cried, "Thresh, please! Don't stop!"

In complete surrender, she thrust her head back into her pillow as Thresh paid silent heed to her request. With one last flick of his tongue, Amaranth's orgasm closed in on her, primal tremors rippling through her like an earthquake. Breathless, she rode out the waves of pleasure, crying out his name countless times as white hot sparks streaked across her vision. When it was over, she went limp, eyes fluttering shut in content. She felt him shift between her legs, a dull, soreness left in his wake.

And then suddenly his touch turned deathly cold, icy fingers making themselves at home on her hips. His grip tightened, painfully, burning with the ferocity of winter's harshest bite.

Something wasn't right.

Her eyes flew open at once, only to be faced with the sight of a flaming, spectral skull. A scream caught in her throat, unable to force its way to the surface, as she stared in mute horror at the monster in her bed.

Ghostly green fire crackled around the… thing's head, empty sockets peering back at her in morbid curiosity. Amaranth squirmed frantically in the specter's grasp, but to no avail, heavy green gauntlets holding her hips firmly in place.

"T-thresh?" she whispered, hoping to the heavens that this was some… mistake of sorts, that Thresh would burst through the doors at any moment now and rid her of this ghastly terror.

The monster said nothing, still as stone and terrifying in its silence.

"Thresh?" she repeated, this time with more conviction.

There was a harrowing pause, until the clink of metal on metal finally broke the silence. Chains burst forth from the shadows, like an army of metal snakes obeying the commands of their master. With a life of their own, they rattled forward dauntlessly, seeking out their target.

Amaranth's eyes widened with unbridled fear as the chains wrapped themselves around her ankles and wrists. She could only watch as they coiled up her legs, almost sensually, snaking up her calves and thighs.

It was only when the chains began tugging at her legs, easing them apart so that she was spread out intimately before her hellish captor, that Amaranth finally screamed.

The shriek ripped through the night, causing the specter to shift, with unearthly grace, towards her. Now that they were in closer proximity, she could faintly discern that the wraith was indeed, male. He leered down at her, skeletal features stretching wide in a dreadful grin.

And then he laughed. It was a terrible sound, madness resonating straight from the very fires of hell, chilling and cruel and frighteningly familiar.

It was his laugh. And Amaranth screamed again.

"Amaranth," his voice echoed distantly in her ears, "Amaranth. Wake up."

She stopped struggling for a moment. What?

"Amaranth," came Thresh's voice again, free from all hollow reverberation, "Curse and blind the girl. Amaranth, for heaven's sake, do wake up. Wake up!"

Wake up?

Oh… Oh! Yes. She had to wake up, somehow. Wake up!

Wake…

Up…

…

She jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath, beads of cold sweat clinging to her forehead. A very human, very much alive Thresh sat by her side, arms draped securely around her shoulders. Strong hands pulled her into sitting position, her pulse hammering noisily away against her rib cage.

Once her racing heart had settled into a calmer rhythm, Amaranth finally mustered enough willpower to look up at him.

"W-what happened, Thresh?"

"You tell me."

"I… I don't know," she stalled, a deep blush beginning to darken her cheeks.

To her dismay, he leaned closer to her, brows knitting together in puzzled discontent.

"Mordekaiser again, I presume?"

"No, it wasn't him this time," she answered quietly.

"Then what was it?"

"A dream," she inhaled sharply, flashes of the specter still lingering in her mind, "No. A nightmare."

"Is there a really difference between the two?"

"Well… er. Yes, obviously."

"Enlighten me."

She sighed, relieved that he didn't choose to press for details of her dream (or was it a nightmare...?).

"Dreams," she began, steadiness returning to her voice, "Are about our fantasies. Our desires. Nightmares, on the other hand, are filled with monsters. And fear." Swiftly, Amaranth turned away from him before continuing, "What I experienced was neither."

Thresh said nothing for a while, silent gaze flitting over the blushing girl. And then a warm hand gripped her chin, tilting her face towards his.

"Or perhaps it was both."

He knew.

He knew, and she couldn't bring herself to care. He would continue to haunt her subconscious, caught somewhere between a daydream and a nightmare, and she didn't care.

Why?

In that moment, Amaranth allowed herself to entertain a truly frightening thought. It was a harsh truth, one revealed in the stark, sudden clarity of her mind.

How strange, and how terrifying it was, to love something that could only destroy. And so she loved him as all dark things are loved, in secret, somewhere lost between shadow and soul.

A/N 2.0: So that happened. Yes, it was a dream, and no, I don't know why Thresh went full on Chain Warden during sexy time. I kind of wanted to show how Thresh has now infected Amaranth's mind without being too obvious or jarring. She's no longer haunted by Mordekaiser, instead, her thoughts and fears and desires have all been taken over by Thresh. It's pretty awful. But yeah. Don't know how I pulled it off in the end

Aaanyway. If you haven't already, please spare me a favorite. Oh, and leave a review :P It's really the most rewarding and humbling part of writing all this, not to mention that I LOVE reading your comments.

Review/PM replies:

Gmp1000: Thank you for the reassurance! It's really nice to know that you think the story is progressing, and that the characters are developing and growing (as they should). Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

zRedgrave: Hehe, I do believe we've discussed this already, but I assure you, the butterflies are mutual! :P

A fan of this: Thanks! That certainly lessened any worries I had :)

iHookGirls: Awww, thank you! I don't really think it was EPIC as you said, but I'll take the compliment! Totally agree with you and Layla about character development and relationship building, I'm glad you've stuck around to read this! :) anyways, I hope this chapter was an 'interesting' enough path for Amaranth and Thresh to take ;)

guisniperman: Aw, shucks, sorry to hear about your bad Thresh experiences. I guess I'll see you when Mordekaiser finally comes into the fray!

EDGLayla: Yeeeeah! I'm so glad you liked Thresh's 'pick-up line'! And I also hope that you enjoyed the uh, path, taken in this chapter ;)

Haruzaki: Hi dear! Sorry to hear about your horrible day, hope you'll have none of that BS in 2017. It's nice to know you like the AmaThresh relationship so far, and I hope that you'll continue to enjoy their interactions!

Maxaro: Hellooo, funny seeing you here :P I know! It's weird, reading the first chapter and then this, I mean. Nonetheless, thank you for the inspiration for the 'fresh start'!