Leviathan's Daughter GoldenEagle
Author's Note: ANOTHER shorter chapter! Ick. Well, it's taken me a few days to put this part up because it was hard for me to write, due to another bout of depression. I kinda struggle with an *chokes on words* eating disorder, which effects my writing sometimes. There's a little personal fact about me to show you how messed up I am. Anyways, no big deal, happens to a lot of people. As for these chapters, I think I may have overdone Persephone a bit, and these just seemed hard. Except for the last. I think I enjoy torturing my charectors when I'm depressed... Speaking of torture, I'm going to go write some more of the Playing God story I wrote. If you're reading that, don't expect the charectors to be all fluffy and good natured. They might even be downright horrible, but that's more fun! Anways, read and review, as always! And enjoy! (if you don't like this installment, tell me, and I could maybe rewrite it...)
Chapter Forty-Two
There were no words said as they stared for a few seconds in silence, a turbulent sea of emotions whipping about in the air between them. It was him that broke the silence, his voice deep and cool and professional.
"Hello, Lord Persephone."
Her mouth gaped a few times, like a fish out of water, before she spoke, a warm smile and glow flowing across her face. "Folken, surely you know better than to call me by the title. Especially now."
The two were standing at the loading bay, where the prince's guymelef had just been docked. Persephone had been waiting, looking to see who Zaibach would send in hopes of retrieving they're insane, pyromaniac captain. She had stepped from the shadows when seeing him, her heart in her throat. And now... It sunk, into the depths of her stomach. He looked at her as if... As if he did not truly know her. Somehow this struck deeper in her heart than a harsh word from him may have done, for there was no anger to cover the hurt. Just the sudden knowledge that it seemed... it seemed as though she had lost him.
He looked back at her coldly, emotionlessly. "Ah, yes. I forgot. You left. Have you found your fate yet?" His tone was slightly sarcastic, carrying notes of a mocking nature.
Persephone was slightly taken back by his tone, and she spoke softly, her eyes squinted in speculation. "Folken... What... What's wrong?" At her question, a flicker of anger crossed his face.
"So, it's you. Why am I not surprised?" A voice from behind the two said. Folken was relieved for the interruption, his emotions too overwhelming, too enraged to keep quiet much longer. She stared at him as if he should take her into his arms, or some such nonsense. But not after what he had seen... The traitor, the liar... The thoughts only angered him more, and he clinched his jaw, pushing them away. He was faced by a boy with ruffled, black hair, his shoulders slightly hunched from habit of drawing his sword. Folken smiled a cold, empty smile. As his flesh and blood, his kind, this family, led him away, he couldn't resist looking back for the woman he had once loved. All he saw was empty air and cold metal.
She had disappeared. He scowled. How typical.
*************
"I'm afraid we can't let him go. He's a war criminal. He must pay for his crimes." Allen's voice was cool as he spoke to the strategist before him.
Folken was brimming with frustration and rage. It didn't help that the man before him was that Schezar, *the* man. He glanced away, gritting his teeth as he spoke. "I have stated very plainly that, if Dillandau is not returned, we will be forced to make an attack on your ship. Is this vengeance really worth that battle?" Grey eyes finally flashed up to meet blue ones, but his gaze was quickly drawn away as he saw her approaching the man from behind.
Her red hair hung lazily around her shoulders, and she had an unreadable look on her face, though she kept Folken's gaze evenly and with strength. Persephone had retreated earlier, overthinking the previous scene, and had come up with little explanations. When she had come in, she noticed Allen's stiff form. As she came to stand beside him, she squeezed his shoulder encouragingly, giving a faint smile to the knight. Folken's scowl deepened. "Let me talk to him." She said to Allen before stepping down and approaching the cloaked figure. She gave him a quizzical, questioning look.
"Why are you acting this way? I mean, why are you looking at me like that? What's going on? Folken-"
He jerked to the side slightly as she reached out to touch him, avoiding her hand. Pain and confusement crossed her face as she stared at him. The look only added more unstable emotions to pile on Folken's shoulders, which only made him more angry.
"I'm sorry if I'm not as warm as you would have wished. I guess things change people." He said with a small, bitter smile on his face, though it looked more like a grimace.
Persephone's face grew more concerned. "Folken, what is it? I know you don't feel that way. The letter, it said-"
"Persephone, maybe we should just deal with this." Allen interupted, far enough away that he couldn't hear what they said, but close enough to see the tension building. Before Persephone could speak, Folken spoke out to her in pure bitterness.
"So, I see you're popular with the boys again." Her gaze snapped back to him, a bit of anger and hurt in her eyes. He chuckled a cold, empty sound. "Yet still playing the innocent, playing the victim. But I know, and you know, that you've enjoyed the male attention, despite your claims." A part of him cried out for him to stop. What he was saying wasn't him. It wasn't him. It was the anger, the jealousy, the pain.
It was out of shame for the words that he let her deliver the blow, cold and hard. He stumbled to the ground, catching himself, before looking up to see her form stiff and strong. She stared down at him, her eyes brimming with a tortured pain and a dying hate. Yet, even as he watched, the rage was traded for tears and her shoulders slumped. She screamed out something he couldn't understand, and he realized with a grim knowledge that he had used the one thing that she was most pained about. He had struck the most vulnerable part of her, a part that was still trying to heal, and had shredded the wound open once more, bringing back memories she had momentarily forgotten. "Persephone..." He choked out. She turned from his words, pushing away his concern. She was gone moments later, running from him, running from a shattered dream.
**********
Allen watched in stunned clarity as words he could not hear were said, then the tension snapped. Persephone raised her hand and brought the back of it down across the strategist's face. A blow from a normal woman would have left a stinging and red cheek, but from the warrior before him, it hit much more true. Folken Strategos stumbled down to the ground, holding a pale face as blood poured from a busted lip.
Persephone stood there for a moment, looking as if she would kill the man. And then she broke, her body slumping, sobs overtaking her. She screamed out something Allen couldn't quite catch, and then she fled. The knight was shocked as he watched the perfect warrior before him turn into the woman she must truly be. Tender, soft, capable of normal and exaggerated emotions. She suddenly didn't seem so minacing as she ran out of the room, her hair tangling, her tears making her eyes swollen and her nose run. She was a woman. She was human.
****************
"What was that about?" Allen growled out as the strategist stood, slightly swaying from the disorientation of the blow.
"Persephone and I have a... complicated... relationship." The man said, rubbing his jaw slightly and wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Relationship?" The younger Van asked, a thin eyebrow raised. Hitomi stayed at his side, slightly behind, though, so that he could draw strength off of her presence. His brother looked up to him with a small glare. If it weren't for the hatred in his brother's eyes, Folken could have mistaken the comment as some sort of sibling tease.
The Zaibach servant didn't say anything in response to the younger boy's words, but continued with the situation at hand. "I am responsible for the boy, even more so since it was me that he was out looking for before being captured. I'm sure there is some deal we can arrange for his safety?"
"I am afraid not." Allen answered, his face stone. Was this the man... The man that Persephone had hinted at... The second of the two? 'Well, if it is, she sure does have a taste in picking trouble...' The thought slightly amused the knight and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. It was gone almost instantly as someone shoved into the room, interrupting the meeting within.
The cat girl ran in on all fours and skidded to a stop, bumping into Folken slightly before jumping back, bristling. Yet, at the same time, she was breathing so fast that she couldn't really speak. Her eyes were wide, her mouth in an "o". "Merle..." Van started, annoyed at the girl's actions.
"Lord Van! You- You ha-have to come quick! Som-something terr-terr-terrible!" She said through wheezes, her big feline eyes brimming with tears. The urgency in her voice seemed out of place in the form of Van's immature partner.
Unnoticed by the others, Hitomi's eyes glazed over slightly. A ringing echoed through her ears, no, an inhuman scream... The same scream she had heard during her tarot reading for Persephone... Gaea's scream. A scene flashed behind Hitomi's closed eyelids. One of machinery, then a flash of tangled red hair surrounding the face of a fallen, unconscious form. And on the ground, matching the vibrancy of the red strands, was a crimson puddle of liquid. Blood.
"Oh, no." Hitomi whispered, her eyes going wide. "Persephone."
The cat girl whimpered, big tears streaming down her face. "Blood... There's so much blood..."
Author's note: Ah, yes, a cliffhanger. What DID happen to Perseph? You don't think it could be... hehe. Maybe, maybe not. You'll just have to wait for the next chapters to find out!
Author's Note: ANOTHER shorter chapter! Ick. Well, it's taken me a few days to put this part up because it was hard for me to write, due to another bout of depression. I kinda struggle with an *chokes on words* eating disorder, which effects my writing sometimes. There's a little personal fact about me to show you how messed up I am. Anyways, no big deal, happens to a lot of people. As for these chapters, I think I may have overdone Persephone a bit, and these just seemed hard. Except for the last. I think I enjoy torturing my charectors when I'm depressed... Speaking of torture, I'm going to go write some more of the Playing God story I wrote. If you're reading that, don't expect the charectors to be all fluffy and good natured. They might even be downright horrible, but that's more fun! Anways, read and review, as always! And enjoy! (if you don't like this installment, tell me, and I could maybe rewrite it...)
Chapter Forty-Two
There were no words said as they stared for a few seconds in silence, a turbulent sea of emotions whipping about in the air between them. It was him that broke the silence, his voice deep and cool and professional.
"Hello, Lord Persephone."
Her mouth gaped a few times, like a fish out of water, before she spoke, a warm smile and glow flowing across her face. "Folken, surely you know better than to call me by the title. Especially now."
The two were standing at the loading bay, where the prince's guymelef had just been docked. Persephone had been waiting, looking to see who Zaibach would send in hopes of retrieving they're insane, pyromaniac captain. She had stepped from the shadows when seeing him, her heart in her throat. And now... It sunk, into the depths of her stomach. He looked at her as if... As if he did not truly know her. Somehow this struck deeper in her heart than a harsh word from him may have done, for there was no anger to cover the hurt. Just the sudden knowledge that it seemed... it seemed as though she had lost him.
He looked back at her coldly, emotionlessly. "Ah, yes. I forgot. You left. Have you found your fate yet?" His tone was slightly sarcastic, carrying notes of a mocking nature.
Persephone was slightly taken back by his tone, and she spoke softly, her eyes squinted in speculation. "Folken... What... What's wrong?" At her question, a flicker of anger crossed his face.
"So, it's you. Why am I not surprised?" A voice from behind the two said. Folken was relieved for the interruption, his emotions too overwhelming, too enraged to keep quiet much longer. She stared at him as if he should take her into his arms, or some such nonsense. But not after what he had seen... The traitor, the liar... The thoughts only angered him more, and he clinched his jaw, pushing them away. He was faced by a boy with ruffled, black hair, his shoulders slightly hunched from habit of drawing his sword. Folken smiled a cold, empty smile. As his flesh and blood, his kind, this family, led him away, he couldn't resist looking back for the woman he had once loved. All he saw was empty air and cold metal.
She had disappeared. He scowled. How typical.
*************
"I'm afraid we can't let him go. He's a war criminal. He must pay for his crimes." Allen's voice was cool as he spoke to the strategist before him.
Folken was brimming with frustration and rage. It didn't help that the man before him was that Schezar, *the* man. He glanced away, gritting his teeth as he spoke. "I have stated very plainly that, if Dillandau is not returned, we will be forced to make an attack on your ship. Is this vengeance really worth that battle?" Grey eyes finally flashed up to meet blue ones, but his gaze was quickly drawn away as he saw her approaching the man from behind.
Her red hair hung lazily around her shoulders, and she had an unreadable look on her face, though she kept Folken's gaze evenly and with strength. Persephone had retreated earlier, overthinking the previous scene, and had come up with little explanations. When she had come in, she noticed Allen's stiff form. As she came to stand beside him, she squeezed his shoulder encouragingly, giving a faint smile to the knight. Folken's scowl deepened. "Let me talk to him." She said to Allen before stepping down and approaching the cloaked figure. She gave him a quizzical, questioning look.
"Why are you acting this way? I mean, why are you looking at me like that? What's going on? Folken-"
He jerked to the side slightly as she reached out to touch him, avoiding her hand. Pain and confusement crossed her face as she stared at him. The look only added more unstable emotions to pile on Folken's shoulders, which only made him more angry.
"I'm sorry if I'm not as warm as you would have wished. I guess things change people." He said with a small, bitter smile on his face, though it looked more like a grimace.
Persephone's face grew more concerned. "Folken, what is it? I know you don't feel that way. The letter, it said-"
"Persephone, maybe we should just deal with this." Allen interupted, far enough away that he couldn't hear what they said, but close enough to see the tension building. Before Persephone could speak, Folken spoke out to her in pure bitterness.
"So, I see you're popular with the boys again." Her gaze snapped back to him, a bit of anger and hurt in her eyes. He chuckled a cold, empty sound. "Yet still playing the innocent, playing the victim. But I know, and you know, that you've enjoyed the male attention, despite your claims." A part of him cried out for him to stop. What he was saying wasn't him. It wasn't him. It was the anger, the jealousy, the pain.
It was out of shame for the words that he let her deliver the blow, cold and hard. He stumbled to the ground, catching himself, before looking up to see her form stiff and strong. She stared down at him, her eyes brimming with a tortured pain and a dying hate. Yet, even as he watched, the rage was traded for tears and her shoulders slumped. She screamed out something he couldn't understand, and he realized with a grim knowledge that he had used the one thing that she was most pained about. He had struck the most vulnerable part of her, a part that was still trying to heal, and had shredded the wound open once more, bringing back memories she had momentarily forgotten. "Persephone..." He choked out. She turned from his words, pushing away his concern. She was gone moments later, running from him, running from a shattered dream.
**********
Allen watched in stunned clarity as words he could not hear were said, then the tension snapped. Persephone raised her hand and brought the back of it down across the strategist's face. A blow from a normal woman would have left a stinging and red cheek, but from the warrior before him, it hit much more true. Folken Strategos stumbled down to the ground, holding a pale face as blood poured from a busted lip.
Persephone stood there for a moment, looking as if she would kill the man. And then she broke, her body slumping, sobs overtaking her. She screamed out something Allen couldn't quite catch, and then she fled. The knight was shocked as he watched the perfect warrior before him turn into the woman she must truly be. Tender, soft, capable of normal and exaggerated emotions. She suddenly didn't seem so minacing as she ran out of the room, her hair tangling, her tears making her eyes swollen and her nose run. She was a woman. She was human.
****************
"What was that about?" Allen growled out as the strategist stood, slightly swaying from the disorientation of the blow.
"Persephone and I have a... complicated... relationship." The man said, rubbing his jaw slightly and wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Relationship?" The younger Van asked, a thin eyebrow raised. Hitomi stayed at his side, slightly behind, though, so that he could draw strength off of her presence. His brother looked up to him with a small glare. If it weren't for the hatred in his brother's eyes, Folken could have mistaken the comment as some sort of sibling tease.
The Zaibach servant didn't say anything in response to the younger boy's words, but continued with the situation at hand. "I am responsible for the boy, even more so since it was me that he was out looking for before being captured. I'm sure there is some deal we can arrange for his safety?"
"I am afraid not." Allen answered, his face stone. Was this the man... The man that Persephone had hinted at... The second of the two? 'Well, if it is, she sure does have a taste in picking trouble...' The thought slightly amused the knight and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. It was gone almost instantly as someone shoved into the room, interrupting the meeting within.
The cat girl ran in on all fours and skidded to a stop, bumping into Folken slightly before jumping back, bristling. Yet, at the same time, she was breathing so fast that she couldn't really speak. Her eyes were wide, her mouth in an "o". "Merle..." Van started, annoyed at the girl's actions.
"Lord Van! You- You ha-have to come quick! Som-something terr-terr-terrible!" She said through wheezes, her big feline eyes brimming with tears. The urgency in her voice seemed out of place in the form of Van's immature partner.
Unnoticed by the others, Hitomi's eyes glazed over slightly. A ringing echoed through her ears, no, an inhuman scream... The same scream she had heard during her tarot reading for Persephone... Gaea's scream. A scene flashed behind Hitomi's closed eyelids. One of machinery, then a flash of tangled red hair surrounding the face of a fallen, unconscious form. And on the ground, matching the vibrancy of the red strands, was a crimson puddle of liquid. Blood.
"Oh, no." Hitomi whispered, her eyes going wide. "Persephone."
The cat girl whimpered, big tears streaming down her face. "Blood... There's so much blood..."
Author's note: Ah, yes, a cliffhanger. What DID happen to Perseph? You don't think it could be... hehe. Maybe, maybe not. You'll just have to wait for the next chapters to find out!