Chapter 16

He was chilling by a fire, getting warm, and she – supposed virgin that she was – had come sashaying over in those bits of hers… there was no way she was as innocent as she claimed. That or… stupid. His hands had automatically gone to her waist and adjusted her because he was now sporting an erection and he wasn't letting her crush that. His eyes darkened slightly when he felt her panty clad sex rub against him.

"I-I'm aware…" Abigail muttered, her eyes widening at what she brushed up against and her hands had gone to his shoulders.

She did NOT sashay over to him, she had walked and went to extend the makeshift pole to him, only to trip herself up on her OWN pole! Her coordination wasn't that great, though she had gotten better, or so Abigail thought. Not so much now. Instead of getting off him like she should've, she made the crucial mistake of meeting his eyes and her body was no longer cold. It was heated through from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, the sparks surging through every vein of her body. Her cheeks were red hot, her body flushed, and she began to tremble slightly from nervous energy, trying like hell to stay calm.

"S-Sorry…" What else was she supposed to say?

Nope, in his very male mind, she had sashayed. With a pole. In lingerie. It had been a long time since he had really desired a woman. Taker had taken a few to bed for sex because he liked sex, but true desire, not so much. He was feeling it now, and she probably was too because… he was naked. For all intents and purposes, he was naked, and fate needed to intervene because he was starting to think of a lot of 'metaphors' for her.

"You feel that electricity, darlin'?" He could feel it coursing through his veins and he bet she was too, by the way her eyes were beginning to darken.

Electricity and fire…she felt both intensely and swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat, her hands moving of their own as she caressed his chest. "Y-Yes…" His eyes had darkened along with hers, the emeralds turning into forest green orbs with a hint of smoky grey in them. There was a storm brewing between them and it was stronger than the one currently raging outside. "I-It scares me…" Abigail admitted, needing to be honest with him and felt him pull her closer to where her arms draped around his neck. "A-And excites me…at the same time…" Never once did her eyes leave his, only blinking every few seconds normally, but she couldn't break eye contact. "I-Is it supposed to feel like this? I-I feel like I'm fire and I can't stop it…"

Now that was what he wanted to hear, and Taker practically purred his approval. "Yes, darlin', it's supposed to feel like that." He whispered, his face moving ever so slowly near hers, not wanting to startle her. "Wild… fiery… passionate," His lips brushed hers. "Uncontrollable…" If she wanted to stop him, now would be a good time, but Abigail seemed to be… a bit dazed. Taker moved in for the kill, kissing her gently but firmly, letting her feel his mustache and goatee tickle at her skin as he tasted her lips.

It wasn't her first kiss, so she knew what she was doing and moaned softly against his mouth, the goatee he sported causing a whirlwind of sensations to flow through her. Abigail tightened her arms around his neck slightly, their chests pressed tightly together now and felt those sparks turn into a raging inferno. Never had she experienced something so exquisite as she did with Taker. With Bray, she had to force herself to enjoy being with him, though he was a good kisser and made all the right moves. Taker, it was pure unbridled, unadulterated passion, something so explosive, she was afraid they'd both erupt like a volcano.

However, as wonderful as this felt, as addicting as his lips were, Abigail couldn't ignore the alarm bells ringing in her head. Stephanie's words came back to her full force – We need him. Fate was a really cruel bitch because she needed him too, in several ways apparently. Tears swelled in her eyes as Abigail came back to reality in a screeching halt as the kiss broke and a single tear slid down her cheek. Taker felt something for her and it was now or never to tell him the truth. She would not have sex with him, to let him take her virginity, without him knowing who she truly was.

"T-Taker…I…have to tell you something…and you're not going to like it…" Another tear fell.

"Darlin', you already told me you were a virgin." He reminded quietly, reaching out to brush away the tear, frowning as he studied her face.

Now – now Taker was quite glad she had blurted out that piece of information because…. he was very tempted to relieve her of that burden. He watched as Abigail shook her head, capturing another tear on his thumb. She had said he wouldn't like it and felt something heavy settle in the pit of his stomach.

"What is it, Abbie?"

Deep breaths, she mentally coached, feeling every part of her tense and was afraid she'd completely fall apart. "I-I need your help, Taker. T-That's why I came to you…to Wonderful. I-I'm not who you think I am…and I know you've had suspicions about me…"

Another deep breath, Abigail was afraid her heart would explode out of her chest at any given moment. She had to continue. There was no turning back now. Pushing herself off him, Abigail had to put some space between them and began pacing back and forth, chewing her thumbnail.

"I am originally from Salny, that part I didn't…lie to you about. And my mother did die, but…she died a long time ago…a lot longer than I told you. I was fostered at age 5 and…the place was cruel. They were harsh when it came to religion. Catholics. My Mom…I saw her death, Taker. I saw my Mom die before my eyes and…I didn't speak for 5 years. When I was 10, that all changed. Everything changed. Everything changed the day I met…the leader of the Dominion of Vesperia…Bray Wyatt. My name is Abigail Waters, that wasn't a lie either. But most know me as the Queen Mother of the DOV…and you're my last hope. You're OUR last hope. I need your help…to put a stop to the DOV and to end this war, once and for all. Or we're all doomed. Vesperia as a whole will fall and be destroyed! Bray is out of his mind with what he's doing and…I can't take it anymore." Her voice cracked, more tears falling. "You can hate me all you want, but I need you to help me liberate my people. Women are being killed on a daily basis because they can't…breed like they're supposed to. There's been so much innocent blood spilled, so much death, so much darkness…I found a way out, but I won't let those people continue to suffer. And I didn't lie to you about being a virgin either. I am…though, not by choice."

As she kept talking, his face had gotten grimmer and grimmer. Taker was now leaning back, his hands palm down on the marble floor as he stared at her. Damn right he had had suspicions about her, and he hadn't been the only one. Good to know he, Steve and Stephanie had all been right.

"I am… upset, Abigail." He informed her, his voice low and stern. He watched as she opened her mouth and raised up a finger, gesturing for silence. "I need a minute." Taker had to sort out why he was angry, deal with it and they could continue from there. "Why not just tell me outright?" He guessed that was his problem. She must have known she would be safe here.

"B-Because I thought you'd…kick me out of Wonderful. I didn't think you'd believe me, much less anyone else. But they're not the ones I'm worried about anyway. I didn't know you from a hole in the ground, I didn't know what kind of man you were, and I had to be able to trust you first." Abigail didn't blame him for being upset, wiping her tears away and grabbed her clothes, beginning to pull them back on. "I don't trust men easily…and you can reach your own conclusions on why." Sighing, she didn't care if her clothes were still damp and sank down on the opposite side of the fire, trying to warm herself up again. All she felt was bitter cold. "I'm not here for me. And I will tell you anything you wish to know about Bray Wyatt. I know him inside and out…I know what he's planning to do, and I will tell you why he sent me to Wonderful in the first place undercover. That was my way out, when he offered me the chance to go, I took it and eventually, he will come for me. He will want me back, so we need to strike him first if you're going to help me and my people." That meant taking the fight to the DOV directly and going to the castle to do it, so Wonderful was out of harm's way.

Taker stared at her, considering her, and he couldn't lie… the Queen Mother or whatever the hell she was to Wyatt… they had known Wyatt kept a consort, a private woman, but her… Abigail? "How do you know Wyatt?" He asked, getting up to add more wood to the fire, the anger fading as pragmatism started kicking in. "What is your connection to him?" Because the more they knew about the colossal bag of dicks, the better. It did cross his mind she would be great bait. He would sit on that one for a while.

Abigail expected that question next and was prepared for it, or so she thought, the memories flowing through her not necessarily good. "When I met Bray at age 10 in the foster home, he was the first person I spoke to in 5 years. We instantly had a connection and…because I talked to him and nobody else, the people at the foster home that was supposed to take care of us thought he was the devil. They whipped him every day and night, kept him in the attic and refused to tend to his wounds, so I did it for him. After 6 years of the abuse, Bray couldn't take it anymore and we snuck out at age 16. Bray hated religion and vowed to…start up his own. H-He promised me…he promised me nobody would be harmed. He promised me that it would be a religion that everybody would believe in and trust and love. But as time went on and he started building the DOV, and doing all the horrible things he did, such as breeding women, I saw the monster he became. He dubbed me the Queen Mother, but kept me away from the women, from everyone, isolated me to where I only could rely on him. And he told me…that when the time was right, he would…breed with me. He actually used those words. He said once he could make the world completely safe for me, to where I would never have to worry about a single thing again and he had a strong enough army to take care of us, he would breed with me and make an heir. That was my breaking point. I REFUSE to be bred like some fucking animal the way those women are. And the worst part of all this is…he has a sorcerer, Undertaker. The only sorcerer in Vesperia. His name is Malcolm and…he was captured by the DOV and forced to help Bray figure out a way to make the babies that are born grow faster to build his army. They injected the mothers with some kind of serum, directly in the womb, and when the babies are born, within a year's time, they are full-grown men and women. At age one, the grown women are forced to breed, and the new men are the ones that do it. I don't know what kind of serum it is, but…the women have been birthing more girls than boys. He's slaughtered women who have had 3 consecutive girls and sometimes even kills the babies themselves." Now she was crying, the horrors she'd been forced to see almost too much for her to take. "He's not the same Bray I once knew. He's someone I don't even recognize anymore, and he needs to be stopped, even if that means putting a bullet in his head. I'd rather him die instead of people dealing with his tyranny and horrible so-called religion." Sniffling, Abigail had to take several deep breaths and took the bottled water he handed to her, taking a long swig of it. "That's why he sent me to Wonderful. He wants to use something called Mythril to enhance the serum to make it to where the women have boys instead of girls. He heard that Wonderful has a supply of it from Malcolm and…they also know about your disguises. Malcolm told Bray everything he knew, and they kept me in the dark about most of it, regarding your…powers."

All he could do was stare at her, his mouth slightly ajar. They had known magic had to be involved. There was just no way Wyatt had bred that number of soldiers and then waited for them to grow up. It just wasn't happening. Forcing women to breed for the sake of soldiers… and all this had stemmed from an abusive religion. Taker felt like laughing and crying all at the same time.

"Mythril." It made sense why she was here, why she had come to Wonderful. "You were to find it and report back." He wasn't about to tell her anything about his powers, not just yet. There was still that layer of caution that had come down. He had heard the name Malcolm a couple times fall from her lips, frowning. How many magic users were there? He knew it was rare, a genetic anomaly.