Broken
Memories
Rated:: PG-13
Summary:: A princess is becoming broken and she is in need of a bodyguard. When a certain ex-assassin comes and aids her in her quest, will love cross between them or will betrayal tear them apart? {Malink}
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Malon stared at her reflection in the mirror, the figure in the glass giving the Princess a cold glare. She absolutely hated how she looked. Her fiery red hair lived up to its owner's attitude and personality, but if the Princess wanted to get out of the castle, she would be very easy to find. Her eyes, however, she adored. She had gotten them from her deceased mother, as her father told her. She gazed at her ears, tiny diamonds pierced onto her earlobes. Her hair was tied into a high bun, a dark, velvet blue ribbon wrapped around it. She wore a long, blue dress that reached all the way to the floor. It had spaghetti straps and around her arms were bracelets of all sorts. She looked like a dress up doll in all of the jewelry and clothes...
She exhaled sharply, causing several tendrils of hair to fly away from her pale face. The pale texture seemed to give her an exotic glow, something princesses always seemed to have. After a few more moments of stalling, she stepped out of her room to see no one in the hallways. She relaxed. Everyone would coo about how gorgeous she looked, dressed up in such extravagant clothes. She hated it. She knew they were just trying to get close to her to get money...
Well, alright, not all of them, but one had caused her trust for her servants to tumble...
--
"Do you really love me, Shane?" She whispered, her long fingers reaching up to touch his face.
He nodded, "Of course I love you, Mal..."
A breathy chuckle was heard from the girl. "We're getting married tomorrow, hunh?"
Even in the moonlight, Malon could make out his silhouette. His head dipped down, gesturing that he was nodding.
Her strong voice faltered and she whispered, a choked sob leaving her, "Aren't you scared?"
He smiled weakly, and brought her in his arms. There, she began to whisper into his shirt, her words muffled by his clothes. Malon had always wanted to marry the man of her dreams, but her mother had warned her: Being a princess meant problems. One of the problems being the fact that most suitors would come after her money...
His calloused hands ran through her silky hair and he whispered, "I'm not afraid..."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm marrying the woman I love..."
At that time, his words were so romantic and sweet to her. They were like honey...sweet. But those romantic words would turn calloused and rough in the next few moments.
"Say, Malon..."
"Yes?"
She looked up but was quickly surprised to see Shane, an evil grin on his face. On reflex she moved away, suddenly aware that this was like one of those horror movies she always watched. Was this a nightmare?
"S-Shane, what are you doing?"
She was suddenly aware of the knife he was drawing away from his back.
A breathy maniac laugh escaped him, "From the beginning I set eyes on you, I knew you were a dreamer. A weak damsel in distress."
Malon began to grope blindly behind her, trying to find anything she could knock him out with. Suddenly, she felt something...it was hard, calloused, and very rough. Great. She was against a wall. Shane continued his advance in her direction, that evil smirk never leaving his lips. Those lips she had loved to kiss, the lips that had just said wonderful words to her just minutes before...
"What's wrong with you?" she whispered.
"From the beginning I've wanted your money...it was so easy to get you to fall for me. Those compliments I made about your beauty...they were true. You are beautiful," he grabbed her chin forcefully, causing her knees to buckle slightly. "But, alas, money and greed seems to have overpowered it all..."
"What are you going to do with me?" she whispered, her eyes watching him. They looked away from her direction and she took that moment to reach for anything...anything she could use against him.
"Well, first off, I'll hold you ransom for all of the wealth you have. After your father gives all the money, I'll rape you, and kill you."
Her hand finally felt a cold metal. She attempted to raise it and found it light enough for her to carry. "And why won't you kill me right away?"
"You're to beautiful to kill so quickly."
"Pity...I was about to say the same for you."
Shane's eyes widened suddenly as Malon whipped out the large bar, knocking him out cold. The knife dropped with a rather loud clatter and Malon stood above his fallen figure, panting in a labored manner. She had taken training for two years...even if she was restricted in a dress, she would be able to move with a lot of fluid grace. Tears brimmed at the edge of her eyes, and another choked sob left her. He had tricked her. Used her. She suddenly felt tainted and dirty...
--
After that, guards had come across from their patrols and taken him away. Her father immediately sentenced Shane to death... Her fiancée was to be beheaded. And he was. His head was brought on a silver platter to the king and princess, his eyes giving off a dead vibe. Blood spilled all over the platter and on the marble floors. At that moment, Malon wanted to barf. Seeing an ex-lover's head on a platter like that...well, let's just say it didn't suit her stomach very well.
At that precise moment, Malon inwardly gagged. She erased the images and memories from her thoughts as she stepped down the spiral staircase. She came eye to eye with a certain oil painting, however, when she reached the bottom step. In the painting was a beautiful woman. She had scarlet hair, much like Malon's. Staring back at the viewer were crystal clear blue orbs, seeming to pierce through one's soul. A smile was plastered on the woman's lips and her skin was tan, unlike her daughter's. Malon stopped mid-step and couldn't help but gaze at her mother's beauty. Inwardly, she was jealous. Her mother was pretty much everything she wasn't.
Her mother was beautiful, her mother was kind, compassionate, patient, and loved the outdoors. Malon, on the other hand, was ugly (in her opinion), rude, arrogant, impatient, and hated the outdoors. The gardens were to "happy" and "peaceful" for her. The Princess preferred action and horror and adventure and hanging around peasants and poor people. There was one characteristic the two shared, however. That was their ability to be headstrong/strong willed. When their mind was set on something, they were going to do it, regardless of the consequences.
"Ah! Malon---I mean, Princess..." Zelda cried out before hushing, "You have finally come down. You look beautiful. You know, that was your---"
"My mother's dress. I know." Malon interrupted, a rough edge laced around her voice.
"You look stunning." Zelda murmured, unfazed by the Princess' action. "Come, come...your father awaits you."
The lady-in-waiting slowly led the Princess in the direction of the dining hall, causing a thick silence to sit between them. After what seemed like eternity, Malon and Zelda finally reached the large doors. Without knocking, Malon barged her way through the doors, shocking Zelda. Malon had done this before, but it was only when she was pissed. She was pissed quite often, but not this pissed. As she entered, she saw her father, Talon, dressed in dark maroon, giving off a aristocratic vibe. He had dark brown locks and a bushy mustache. Ever since she was little, Malon used to call her father "Bushy caterpillar." However, she seemed to have grown out of it. He was sitting at the top of the table, a genuine smile on his lips. In front of him was an empty plate. Seems the servants hadn't brought the food yet...
"Ah, my favorite daughter..." the king stated, smiling kindly at his only daughter.
"Hello, father," Malon murmured, mutating her voice to sound sweet and happy.
"Come, sit." He stated, gesturing for her to sit near him.
Malon obeyed, out of habit, and eyed the empty plate before her. "What do you want?"
The king was surprised. "Whatever do you mean, Malon?"
"What do you want from me? You never call me your 'favorite daughter' unless you want something from me."
Talon twitched slightly. "You make it sound like a crime."
"Well, it is, father. In my book, anyway. No one goes around, prodding their descendants to do their work."
Talon squinted slightly, "It might just strike your fancy this time..."
"Oh? And what might interest me?"
"I'm getting you a bodyguard."
There was a thick silence.
And more of it.
...and...erm...much more of it.
"WHAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!?!?!" Malon shrieked, falling out of her chair.
"Malon, please!" Talon hushed, trying to calm his daughter down. Many servants had poked their heads through the open doors to see what was going on.
"You're getting me...a bodyguard!? Do you not think I can't protect myself!?"
"Of course you can protect yourself! I know you can! But...I want to be sure! You remember Shane, don't you?" Talon murmured, trying his best to convince her. "If you had a bodyguard, he would have died right away! We wouldn't have had the hassle of beheading him so slowly."
"But he deserved it!" she countered.
"That's true, but...please. Just give it a chance. As a reward, I will allow you to roam the villages we own as freely as you want. You will not, I repeat, not, ditch your bodyguard."
Malon rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, father. I won't. I'm not stupid or anything."
Yeah, yeah...just keep telling yourself that.
"Well, then. You agree on the guarding term, right?"
Malon nodded.
"I'll go and post an advertisement tomorrow morning. After that, we shall hold auditions for the man who will be the best bodyguard for you..."
A/N:: Woohoo! Another chapter done! XD I think I'm gonna post a new chapter every day or every two days. I like this story and we're going at a pretty good pace. ;) Anyway, onto the review replies! =D
Rachiru Blaze:: Bleh! I suck! Did you see this chapter? It sucked monkeys...
The Dark Eyed One:: Glad you do. ^_^
Chel Bel:: Heh. I still think I suck though. But you know, that's the whole point...make the viewers stay on the edge of their seat. ;)
Starlighter S-14:: Lol. Glad you like it! ^__^