Chapter 19
Weakening
The next day, Raden spent quite a bit of time with Gabriel. She was still crying from the previous day when she shunned Toko. He sat on the bed with her in his arms, scooted up to the headboard so that she could wrap her arms around his waist while she cried. He just kept smoothing her hair and shushing her sobs. "I can make you happy again, pet." He purred in her ear. She stopped crying as he pulled her away to look in her eyes. "What can I do to make you happy? Besides letting you go, you have become too weak to move during your stay in the dungeon."
Gabriel sniffed and wiped her face of on her sleeve. They stared into each other, far past their eyes, into their very souls. He saw that Gabriel was hurt, and afraid. He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead gently. "What will make you happy?"
"Well, calling me by my name first." She said very shyly. Raden nodded, "Alright…Gabriel." He kissed her face. "What else would make you happy?" She leaned on him and thought. He waited patiently for her answer; she shook her head, making her hair get even more tangled than it already was. She examined a lock of her hair; it was filthy with sweat and tangles. Raden smiled and took her hands in his own. He kissed her lips for a moment and unlocked her chains. He stood up and then turned to pick her up off the bed, but she had crawled under his arm and jumped toward the bathroom. Her legs could not support her and they gave out on her. She gave a cry and scrambled the rest of the way to the door. She curled into a little ball and sat there. Raden came to her and raised her head, "You know the door is that way?" he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
She nodded and inched away from him. He looked at her for a moment, he under stood. "Oh," he said and made a move to pick her up. She cowered away from him. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." He laughed softly and whisked her up in his rams. He carried her like a bride into the bathroom. He sat her on a chair near a vanity mirror while he ran her a bath. When the tub was full, he lifted her up again and put her on the edge of the tub; she jerked away from him when he reached for her clothing. "Don't…!" she whimpered. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't violate you, I just want you to have a bath." She whimpered again. "If I close my eyes, would you let me do this?" he asked. She nodded her head slowly.
Raden closed his eyes and began the task of preparing Gabriel to be bathed. Every now and then, she had to help him with the buttons because he was now blind. Finally, he put her in the tub. Luckily, it was full of thick, white bubbles so he could open his eyes again with out embarrassing her. "Let me wash your hair, you can reach everything else." He said. He dumped the contents of a small bottle onto her head and worked it into a sweet-smelling lather. She managed to bath herself thoroughly before he poured a large bucket of water over her head to rinse out the shampoo. She gave a small scream and whipped her head around. "Sorry" he laughed and plunged his hand under the water to pull the plug. The water began to drain at a rapid rate; Gabriel covered her modesty while Raden went to get a towel. He closed his eyes again while she wrapped the towel around her self; he picked her up out of the tub and carried her back into the room. How he managed to dress her with out removing her towel was a mystery. He had also brushed out her hair.
She sat on the bed dressed in a loose fitting white shirt and long pants. The bath was very refreshing and it made her sleepy, but not sleepy enough to hear her own stomach growl. Raden remedied the situation with a large bowl of rice and chicken, which she made disappear into her small frame. Drowsiness swept over Gabriel as she pushed her bowl away. Raden held her for a while. "Are you…happy, now?" he asked softly. She managed to nod sleepily. He sighed and lay down on the bed so she could sleep in his arms. He felt something sharp jabbing into his chest and looked down; her necklace had been on through the bath and everything. Not wanting her to have a green neck, he removed the gem and fell asleep with the girl.
It was nearly midnight when Youko sat up in his bed, suddenly wide-awake. "What is it?" Koronue looked at his partner from his bed across the room. "It's her, she's here." He quickly got out of bed; Koronue looked at the clock and sighed. "No rest for the wicked,"
Two minutes later, they were out the window and ready. Youko led the way up to the castle, mugging a pair of drunken servants to the castle along the way. He and Koronue infiltrated the security very easily with the stolen clothes and the Mark of the family, but once they were inside, it was another story. Now that they had the disguise, they needed a place to stay until they could reach their target.
The guards in the castle were more professional and a lot stronger than those around the gates. They decided to hide for the time being in a bell tower. It was drafty and unbearably cold, but it was all they could find. Youko resolved to search the entire castle until he found Gabriel. Koronue stopped him, "It's nearly sunrise, and you would get caught." He said. Youko sat down anxiously: his patience was wearing thin, and his sanity thinner.