Summary: See chapter one
Disclaimer: See chapter one
Warnings: See chapter one
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Chapter Eleven: Broken
"Where is it?"
Rummaging through his belongings, Neris tossed shirts and pants over her shoulder in a vain effort to find the vial. It had to be here somewhere! She had already torn apart much of his room to no avail and she was running out of time. There was no telling how long Albel would be gone for and the sun was setting quickly, throwing lengthening shadows over the walls.
She paused mid throw, her brown furrowing slightly. This hurried and mindless searching was getting her nowhere, she had to think.
Where would Albel keep something as important as that drug?
It was certainly not amongst his clothes that was for sure. She sat down with a muffled thump, chewing one fingernail thoughtfully as she gazed around the room. Of course, the most obvious was the trunk from which he had taken the dagettes (the memory of which still brought shivers running like spiders across her skin) but somehow she did not think that it was there. He would place it somewhere where it would be readily available to him, since he was not the most patient of men at times.
And then her gaze fell on a beautiful box that lay hidden behind the old, slightly musty clothes she had just tossed out and she moved closer, her curiosity piqued. It was a wooden box, quite long but not very wide, with a delicate pattern of roses inlaid in the lid. Tiny rubies sparkled as the petals while even smaller emeralds trailed like vines around the rose pattern, and they winked invitingly at her in the dimming light. The box was an exquisite piece of work and she lifted it carefully in her hands, feeling surprised at the heaviness. It was far too beautiful to have come out of Airyglyph and she guessed that it was an Aquarian creation. But why would a man with such hatred towards Aquaria keep this so carefully? Gently, she raised the lid and gasped.
Nestled inside on a bed of black velvet was a gauntlet, more vicious than any she had ever seen in all her experiences of war. Designed to fit over a hand, cruel spikes jutted out, the tips purposefully sharpened into jagged points to rip flesh. Three smaller spikes to cause even more damage preceded each spike and what disturbed her most was that the gauntlet was gleaming, almost lovingly maintained. But as much as she wanted, she could not feel disgust.
Only a deep sadness.
Neris bit her lip and was about to close the lid when she noticed a small compartment adjacent to the gauntlet. Using one finger, she nudged aside folds of black velvet and her breath caught in her throat when she saw what lay in the box. She lifted the gold chain into the fading light, her eyes fixed on the striking medallion. Evidently of Glyphian design, she thought, since the three emblems entwined around the sign of the Royal House of Airyglyph were symbols of the three military brigades: a magnificent dragon with wings wreathed in flame, a proud knight seated upon a rearing lum and one man reaching into the sky with his sword held high. One side of the medallion seemed oddly warped, as if it had been melted. She frowned, running the chain over her hand. This was obviously a gift from his king, but why would he hide it? Should he not wear it as a symbol of his esteemed position as captain of the Black Brigade or that he had the favour of the king?
Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the door open quietly.
"Get away from there!"
She whirled around, her eyes widening in shock to see Albel, who was standing frozen in the doorway, his face white with anger. His fists clenched in cold fury to see his meagre belongings strewn over the floor, but then his eyes fell on what she held in her hands.
The box. The medallion.
Time stood still as they stared at one another until he shattered the tense silence. "Get your filthy paws off of my belongings!" he hissed, moving swiftly towards her in one smooth step and yanking the necklace out of her hands.
There was no excuse for what she had done and she knew it, but something in his eyes made her want to apologise.
The look in his crimson eyes was one of betrayal.
The box laid out for her to see, displayed inner secrets that he had vowed never to share with any living soul. And she had dared to pry into his private matters, knowing what kind of man he was!
"Albel, I…"
At the soft sound of her voice, his body jerked strangely and he lashed out, catching her on the mouth with his fist. With a choked cry, she fell back onto the bed and in an instant, he was crouched on top of her. Her first instinct was to struggle and she fought desperately to push away the heavy weight of his body crushing her own. She cried out again, but it was drowned out by the wild growl that ripped from his throat when he kissed her hard.
"You will learn, Aquarian scum, what it means to cross me!" he snarled, ripping her clothes off viciously and she thrashed in his grip, realizing what he meant to do.
Passion was gone, lust was dead.
All that was left was this awful rage that was forcing him to violate her. A trickle of blood stained the corner of her mouth and she pushed against him with all her might but he forced her back down with one hand, undressing himself with the other.
No, she could not let him do thisto her. But when she tried to chant the incantation for a spell, the words just would not come and her runological energy faded, leaving her with nothing. Except him.
"No, Albel…stop…please…"
He ignored her pleading, his fragile emotions ripping him apart in the face of her anguish and her eyes filled with tears as she felt the pain of his burning hands exploring her body with no gentleness, no tenderness. Desperately, she clawed at his face, but he merely jeered her attempt to stop him and claimed what had been rightfully his from the beginning.
"You belong to me," he hissed, his hands tightening painfully on her wrists. All Albel knew was the uncontrollable rage that held him in a poisonous embrace.
A deep, shuddering gasp filled her lungs as he pierced her to the core in one ferocious thrust and her body arched as the virgin muscles clenched painfully around his heat. She cried out from the sudden influx of sensations flooding her body and the tears flowed freely down her face. He gave her no time to adjust, a dull roar in his ears drowning out the cries as he began to move within her.
Teeth clenched, he grasped her lithe body with an iron grip and leaned closer to her ear, warm breath mockingly caressing the lobe. "I will make you hurt, Neris and I will make you want it!" he breathed, humiliation sweeping over him as he felt the familiar slickness of virgin blood around him.
Her head fell back as he relentlessly pounded into her, each time reaching deeper, moving harder. Each time she gasped, refusing to find pleasure in what he was doing to her, but he was equally determined to coax every last bit of reluctant, shameful desire out of his possession.
But it hurt, oh Apris, it hurt.
He entwined his arms around her, lifting her up to meet him as he shifted into a kneeling position and she kept as motionless as she could, but her body jerked of its own accord, her arms falling forward to dangle limply at his sides as she was held in a cradle of human limbs.
Instead of feeling the intense satisfaction that he had expected, he was flooded with a powerful loathing and bitterness. Consumed by hatred.
He jerked her chin up to meet her eyes and froze mid thrust when he what was reflected in their clouded depths.
There was no hate.
Only a desperate pleading for him to stop.
The fire was dimming, the fire that he loved about her was fading, and in that moment it was all that mattered.
And she knew that he saw.
Suddenly, without knowing why, his arms tightened around her in a fervent embrace and with one last thrust he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
Her body betrayed her as it gave Albel the orgasm that he both wanted and hated and as she tightened around him with a dry sob, he came with a groan, flooding her with unwanted warmth and both collapsed onto the bed. Neris wilted, unable to pull away from the arms still wrapped around her but she wanted him out of her as a wave of nausea washed over her exhausted body. She shut her eyes, unable to meet his as she felt him move away from her before she could gather the strength to, and cringed at the brief touch that strayed near her cheek.
Neris curled into a foetal position, unable to stop the shivers of hurt and disgust from rolling over her. When she heard the rustling of clothing, she knew he was leaving. How could he leave her like this?
How could he have forced himself on her?
"I trusted you. I..I…" her words dissolved into nothing, lost in his betrayal.
He paused while buttoning the shirt, which clung to a chest still damp with sweat and did not answer her.
She raised herself to look at him. "You got what you wanted from me. You have my dignity, my honour. Are you satisfied, Albel? Does it please you for me to tell you that you have killed every shred of feeling that I ever felt for you?" She bit the inside of her cheek fiercely, refusing to cry in front of him.
He continued dressing without a word. Only the briefest flash of something in his eyes gave a reaction to her words.
"You are the monster I always knew you were. Nothing more, nothing less!"
At last, he finished clothing himself and he moved closer to her, watching as she flinched but kept her gaze locked with his.
"Proud and defiant till the last possible moment," he whispered. "Yet you do not know of how undeserved you still are of my attentions."
The fire sparked and died as the tears flooded her and it was as if a dam had burst. "Get away from me, get out, get away…" she moaned, her voice rising to a scream of hurt and rage. Neris raised her hand to strike him but he caught her wrist and she struggled to break his grip as he stared into her eyes.
"Your words meant nothing to me, do you hear? Nothing!" she spat. "Why did you say it, why!"
When he had seen her standing there with the medallion in her hand, something deep within him had snapped. The anger he had felt had frightened him but he had been unable to stop himself. In that moment, he had wanted his pain to be her pain. In some twisted way, he had wanted to share it with her and that was the only way he could have done so. But to see her now…
How could he even begin to tell her what it meant to him? How could she even begin to understand what the medallion meant to him?
It was the last remnant he had of his father.
All the remnants of his lost family were held in that box, the box that had belonged to his mother. They were all he had left. By touching it, she had touched him inside and he hated her for that. All his life, he had found deeper satisfaction in hatred than in love. The moment he touched love, love was taken away. Why should this woman be any different?
Why did it hurt to see her cry?
Why did it hurt to see that she did not hate him?
She should, Apris knows he wanted her to. He had never meant for it to happen, he had wanted her to give herself to him in a moment of sweet clarity where he could see himself as a whole man in her eyes.
She was never meant to see the sinner inside.
"Do you know why you are undeserved of my attentions, Neris?" he hissed, his lips inches away from hers.
She flinched at the sound of her name but he continued, his crimson eyes burning. "Everything I touch, I destroy. Everything precious to me dies. My mother died bringing me into this world, my father died to keep me here. You feel my pain because I hurt you, because that is what I do. This is the kind of man I am, Neris, are you satisfied with that? I want you to hate me!"
"I…" her heart broke, shattered into a million pieces as his hate flowed into her.
"Hate me, you bitch!"
Her answer was in her eyes.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips as they twisted into a cruel smile. "You were untouched by the diseases of war, pure in the eyes of your pathetic god. I saw that, I destroyed it. How does it feel, Neris, to have your innocence ravaged by a man who promised he would not hurt you? I broke your heart, I know I did when I was inside of you!"
Her hands clenched so hard that her nails dug painfully into her palms, she bit back the waves of hatred that threatened to flood her but she forced herself to speak to him, to ask the one question that would not demolish her completely. "Did your heart break?"
"My heart could not possibly break when it was never whole," he answered quietly and for a moment, their eyes met. "Hate me for that. Hate me for what I did, Neris!"
A shudder passed over her and pain clenched her body. At the look on her face, faced with the knowledge that her pain was his doing, he leaned forward to cup her cheek in his hand and he kissed her with a silent desperation.
"D-Don't… don't touch me! Don't touch me!" she recoiled from him, fear and disgust in her blue eyes.
A sharp burn lanced across his chest and he jerked back, clutching the shallow wound with one hand. An indescribable emotion flickered and died in his eyes and without another word he pushed himself away from her and strode towards the door and stopped, his head half turned towards her.
"I said what I did because I meant every word."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
And then he was gone.
Neris finally crumpled, sobbing as she buried her face into the sheets and a wave of nausea gripped her stomach in a vice. She fought the urge to vomit, but the smell of him was everywhere…
The room…
The bed….
Her body.
And through the fog of tears, her eyes caught a glimpse of gleaming silver, beckoning on the bedside table. Slowly, she reached out and grasped the forgotten dagette in one trembling hand.
To be continued…