Rena and Mozenrath were escorted via armed guard to one of the more extravagant bedrooms of the wooden palace. At one time it had more than likely been the captain's quarters of the ship as many of the surfaces were polished and hand carved with decorative inlays and even a window or two were still solid with glass but now it seemed more like a prison than a place of relaxation.
As they entered one of the guards ripped the blood stained moon tear out of Rena's hand, informing her she'd get it back once the fight was over, more than likely as a wedding present from the prince. As for Mozenrath, the pasty-faced youth stayed surprisingly quiet all throughout the halls and into the room, at least until the door was shut and bared from the outside.
"Great! Just great!" He yelled at her. "Look what you got us into now!"
"Oh no you don't!" She was in front of him and in his face in an instant, which caught him off guard. "You will NOT put this on me again! I let your belly aching about seducing men go last time because you were falling down drunk but like hell am I going to let it go this time!" She poked him in his bare chest, propelling him backward slightly through the water. "You were the one who told me to flirt and use my 'feminine wilds' to get you a moon's tear. You're the one who threw me into a literal collision course with the prince and started all this. You're the one who told me to go all in otherwise you'd reverse the spell and just let me drown down here and by Allah I will not let you bully me into thinking this is anything but YOUR FAULT! Running errands for you and cooking your meals is one thing but I'm not some slut you can whore out just to get what you want so stop trying to use me like one then get mad when other men actually start to fall for me! So just shut up and stop whining like some love sick puppy and act like a MAN for a change! YOU got me into this so YOU get us out of it!"
Her vision was blurred by then due to tears so she couldn't see his expression and frankly she didn't really care if he was pissed off or not. She swam away from him to sit on the edge of the bed, facing away from him and cradling her injured hand as her shoulder shook with sobs. The room was silent for a long while minus the sounds of her crying. She didn't know if he was still floating there or if he'd moved yet but again, the stitching on the blanket underneath was more interesting than whatever the hell he was doing.
Rena heard him clicking and thumping around somewhere off to her left for a moment before she felt the spot next to her sink a little as he sat down next to her. "Turn around." He commanded.
"No." She snapped back, curling deeper into herself. He stopped her with a gloved hand on her shoulder and pulled her around to face her.
"Give me your hand." He said, reaching for it, which she coiled back, again, with a solid 'no'. He growled and snatched her wrist, yanking her arm forward with his left hand and slapping away her feeble attempts to stop him with his right. "Let me see it, Rena."
At the sound of her name she stopped fighting. It was a rarity for him to speak her name and the tone which he used sounded almost…concerned. Tentatively she uncurled her fingers to reveal her blood stained palm, a large crescent shaped gash crossing over her tender flesh. She hissed when he touched it delicately, the rough texture of his glove making it sting. He instantly pulled back and muttered a word she hadn't heard from his lips since the day she'd met him.
"Sorry." He said under his breath, reaching for a strip of bandage he'd procured from the attached washroom and began to slowly wrap the wound, being careful to keep the wrapping snug but not overly tight.
"What did you say?" She asked, wiping away her tears with her free hand, still sniffling slightly.
"I'm not going to repeat myself, Rena." He said with a warning tone, focusing on his work. He tied a small knot on the backside of her hand, his movements finally becoming still. He didn't look her in the eye but did something that nearly knocked the softly spoken apology out of the park. He brought her palm to his lips and kissed the wound, almost motheringly.
Her heart felt like it was suddenly doing backflips with her stomach. He was actually showing…care! Mozenrath never CARED about anything, except his gauntlet, his lab, and occasionally Xerxes. He never…I mean why would he…ugh, her head was starting to hurt.
They sat like that for a few seconds, him holding her injured hand in his before her fingers began to itch and tingle, needing to move before they fell asleep. She cleared her throat, "So what do you think will happen tomorrow?"
"More than likely a trial by combat. Starus is renowned for his excellence with a spear and sword." Mozenrath let go of her hand and turned, looking out the windows at the ocean blue. "Needless to say it will be a fight to the death."
"Death?" She squeaked, swallowing hard. "Surely he wouldn't…"
"Mermen are very territorial over whatever female they've chosen for their mate. They will kill any male that gets too close for comfort to their female. That's why mermaids outnumber mermen 3 to 1." He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, like he was repeating something he'd read in a book, his expression bored with a hint of irritability. The youth let out an exasperated sigh and flopped back onto the bed, glaring up at the ceiling. "Guess I'll just have to kill a prince."
Rena looked down at him, watching as he moved his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. She hadn't really noticed just how exhausted he looked. "Can't you just…mortally wound instead? What about using magic to take the advantage?"
He opened one eye and looked at her for a second before closing it again. "Same reason I didn't use magic to simply steal a moon tear, and take us home the moment you got your hands on one. There's magical barriers up all over the palace that prevents me from doing even simple tasks like healing your hand. Now it's just a simple waiting game on getting into the arena and finding the perfect window of attack."
She looked down at him, watching him slowly inhale and exhale the water around them. "Do you think you can win against him?"
He said nothing for a brief moment. "Do you want me to win?"
The question surprised her. She sat up a little, to look his expression over. "What do you mean, do I want you to win? Of course I do!"
His dark eyes met her caramel brown ones. "If I died you would be released of my service, free to go wherever you chose to go. I know Salazar would be more than happy to take you into his care and…ow!" He shrank away from her, yanking his arm back from where she'd pinched him and sitting up. "What was that for?"
"Let me make one thing very clear, Mozenrath. You are a horrible person. I know this better then anyone. But I also know the reason behind your horribleness. And despite this, and all of your many, many faults, I for some don't much like the idea of your dying." Her look softened a hint, just around the edges of her eyes, leaning over him a bit. "So, do me a favor and don't die tomorrow. Alright?"
He made a face of irritation. He took her wrist and pulled her into his arms, tipping her chin so her lips were a breath away from his, dark empty eyes staring down into her caramel ones. "Don't claim to know me so well, woman. I'm not some cliché bad guy who's all soft in the middle like you hear in tales in the marketplace. If your death meant the difference between ruling the world and not I'd kill you in a heartbeat without a second thought."
Rena stayed there, looking up at him, the roar of her own heartbeat in her ears and blinked at him. She pulled her hand from his grip on her wrist easily, pressing her bandaged palm into his gloved one, feeling the magic tingle against her fingers. That familiar feeling of something squeezing around her heart like a thread, pulling her towards him came back and she knew without a doubt.
He was lying.
She leaned up and past the space that separated them, pushing her lips against his own. They were warm and soft yet demanding as they had been then first night they'd kissed. His arm snaked around her waist while her fingers laced with gloved ones, closing her eyes as a slight whimpy moan escaped her lips. That feeling of magic, growing again the palm of her hand snaked it's way through her bloodstream up to her heart nearly knocking the breath out of her as she opened her eyes to look into his own until a pounding on the door pulled them apart, a guard yelling through the door a warning that if they tried to use magic one more time there'd be no need for a battle the following day, they'd both be executed on the spot for using magic without strict permission from the queen herself.
Rena pulled herself from his lap, floating a ways back from him before excusing herself to the washroom, closing the door behind her. Tenatively she looked down at the bandage on her hand, peaking under it a smidge to find the cut now completely healed. Had he done that on purpose, or did it have something to do with that feeling she got whenever she was with him like that? The brunette looked over to the mirror and eyed her reflection, who seemed just as lost as she was. What's a girl to do?