Chapter 17
"Yes. He said he didn't trust anyone else to get the intel for the Mythril and…your powers. I knew it was my chance to escape the castle, to get help for all of us, so I accepted the task. He didn't know my true intentions, I made sure of it, but…Undertaker, he's going to come for me." Now her eyes rose to meet his, fear, and uncertainty swirling through them. "That's why you have to strike him first." Now her voice had taken on a darker tone as Abigail got to her feet, letting the fire's warmth wash over her. "I know all of his weaknesses, I know how he thinks and I know all the secret passages inside and out of the castle. I can get you and your men in and you can take them all out. If this happens at Wonderful, if Bray comes for me…he won't stop until he has me unless he's dead. He's…obsessed with me and the fact he hasn't bred with me yet…it just makes him even more dangerous. I want nothing to do with him or the DOV. I don't want to be a Queen Mother of anyone. I don't want to rule over an entire world with a cruel monster like him! A monster who allows a barely one-year-old girl to be raped, after her tongue is ripped out, all to teach his sorcerer a lesson! I'd rather be dead than ever go back to him."
That info of hers would prove useful, though he didn't see them attacking straight away. However, the knowledge, that Wyatt was likely to come for her, made him uneasy because Wonderful was only impenetrable when he was within its walls. Taker wasn't within the walls right now; he didn't like that, especially after hearing what she had just said.
"He did what?" He asked finally, listening as she repeated about the sorcerer, Malcolm, frowning. That was just barbaric. "When is he likely to come, do you know?" Taker would eventually discuss more about Malcolm with her, but for now… that would have to sit on the back burner. He needed to know if there was an immediate danger to Wonderful.
"It's only been a month and I told him I would need a couple of months to get the intel and whatnot. I told him I'd have to get close to the leader, which is you, in order to learn about your powers. Those were the two things he wanted, so I'm thinking in 3 months and he hasn't heard from me, he'll come for me." Abigail had 2 months…2 months to prepare, train, and get ready to take Bray down, refusing to let anyone else get hurt. "What sickens me is he claims this is all for me. I never wanted this. I never wanted ANY of this! I never asked him to torture women and force them to breed for the sake of building an army! I never asked for people to lose their homes, to be ripped away from their families, and be treated like animals! I just wanted to live peacefully without conflict, but his hatred for that foster home, and religion in general, drove him and warped him into a monster. And yet, he claims it's all for me." Shaking her head sadly, Abigail jumped when a loud BOOM echoed outside and knew the storm had grown slightly stronger outside. "Their blood…is on my hands…everyone that's been killed, all the babies that have been…enhanced, it's all because of me…"
Would Bray have done all of this, created the DOV, if she never existed? Sighing, Taker gestured for her to come over to him, guiding her down until she was settled between his outstretched legs. The floor was hard, but warm now, and he rubbed her arms with his hands, feeling the goosebumps erupting under his palms. "Don't blame yourself, Abigail." He said gently but firmly. "You are his EXCUSE, not his reason." At her confused look, he sighed. "It sounds like what happened to him… warped him." Obviously, Taker would bet money that there had been something wrong with Wyatt in the head, to begin with. Something that had been pushed out by what he had suffered. "He's not doing this for you, darlin', you're not his reason. You're just the excuse he uses to justify it."
Any man who could do what Wyatt had done didn't need a reason, besides the fact that he had suffered. However, if he was in love, or whatever he felt for Abigail, or if he needed a way to help him sleep at night, she was his justification. Either way, it was wrong and it would stop.
"You're our last hope, Undertaker. You're the only one who can stop him…and I don't care what happens to me." Abigail was willing to accept the consequences of Bray's actions, to be executed, if that's what this man wanted to do. "Use me however you see fit against him. Just please end the destruction, end the suffering, and destroy the DOV. Save Vesperia."
This wasn't about her, it was about the people trapped and tortured in the DOV and saving their world from the DOV. Taker's hands continued rubbing her arms, trying to warm her back up, but all Abigail could do was cry, covering her face with her hands as shame and guilt coursed through her. She may have been Bray's justification, but she did nothing to stop the torturing and breeding from happening either. This was all she could do, and it was pathetic. Her entire body screamed out guilt; Taker knew how that went because he had suffered his fair share in his younger years, after his brother died.
"Abbie…"
He had let her cry for a good spell and now gripped her chin, bringing her face up to meet his. The fact that she had offered to be used for whatever he saw fit told him this woman was way too used to a life hanging on a precarious thread, of having to submit to survive. That was not how it was meant to be. Not all men were created equal, and that was a fact, but all people should still be treated equally with respect.
"You are the bravest woman I've ever met." He informed her honestly, and it was true. Taking this chance, this risk, and banking it on him and his, took courage.
"I'm sorry I lied to you, Taker. I wasn't trying to deceive you or anyone, but…I had to protect myself and see if you treated your people differently than Bray or if you were just another monster. I saw on day 2 that wasn't the case at all. I was scared…and I was a fool because I've wasted a month. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second is precious right now and could be used to devise a plan to bring the DOV and Bray down." Abigail couldn't believe he was being this gentle with her when he should've been raging at her for being a deceitful liar. It just proved to her how different he was from Bray, from the DOV, in general. "And I'm not brave. I'm merely doing what needs to be done in order to stop the DOV…" She was far from brave – if anyone was brave, it was the man she was currently being consoled by.
"Are you scared shit less, Abbie?" At her nod, he hid a smile. "And knowing what you were about to do, that makes you feel like throwing up and running?" Another nod. "And you still did it anyway?" Yet another nod. "Darlin', nobody ever said being brave was easy because it's not. Easier roads are easy for a reason." Nothing worth doing was ever easy. "You're brave, it took guts to do what you've done, don't you forget it."
They'd sort out all of this when they got back to Wonderful. Wait until she had to repeat this in front of the crew. Because Taker wasn't just a one-man show, his men needed to know. He wanted input on how they'd take advantage.
"W-Why are you being so nice to me?" Abigail didn't understand it and it made her feel…cautious and more scared than ever. "I mean, I know we kissed and we feel something for each other, but I just told you I've been lying to you and everyone in Wonderful for a month…and you're calling me brave. I just don't understand…" If this was Bray, he would've beheaded her by now or seriously punished her, shuddering at either possibility happening. "Y-You should be yelling at me and tying me up and punish me and…and why the hell are you laughing at me?!" This man was out of his mind! He was LAUGHING at her, not comprehending what she could've said to set him off. "You make no damn sense!"
"Compared to what you're used to, darlin', probably not." He agreed, wiping tears out of his eyes as he watched her get up to start pacing again. Then raised his closed fist, slowly dragging it. She came with the motions, until she was right back down again in front of him. "That right there is the most you'll get from me, now sit still and take some deep breaths, Abbie." Taker watched her, green eyes thoughtful. "I'm not Wyatt and I don't do things the way the DOV does. You haven't learned that by now?"
"To be honest, I'm still trying to get used to it." Abigail murmured softly, taking another deep breath and then another, closing her eyes as she did.
Taker gently pulled her back until her head was against his chest, his hand rubbing her arm up and down soothingly to try to calm her further. He was right; he was nothing like Bray. He was kind, compassionate and would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need, even someone like her. He was still technically naked through the clothes illusion, but Abigail didn't care at the moment and soaked in his warmth as much as she could.
"It wasn't that…I didn't want to have sex with you earlier, you know." Abigail spoke after a long stretch of silence fell between them, the crackling of the fire being the only sound besides their breathing. "I just…didn't want to take that step until you knew the truth about me and why I came to Wonderful. Until you knew the real me." Now he did, and the ball was in his court.
"You didn't want to go to bed with me carrying a bunch of lies, I get that." Not to mention, she would be giving him her virginity, not that Taker was exactly as eager to be diving into all that at the moment, not like he had been earlier. He could see why she wouldn't want to go into that situation with all those secrets. "You don't trust me all the way yet, do you?" He was pretty sure she didn't, not if she was panicking about his lack of a brute reaction.
Looking up into his eyes, Abigail reached up to caress his face tenderly and cracked a hesitant smile. "No, I do trust you. I wouldn't have told you everything and confessed if I didn't. I just…I'm not used to being treated this way, like an equal. Bray never hurt me, but…he didn't treat me very well either. Constantly telling me not to do this or that, keeping me isolated to where only it was him surrounding me and nobody else. He…executed several of his men for talking to me." She shuddered at the memory of watching one of the soldier's heads decapitated and swallowed hard. "My trust for him died a long time ago, and it's hard for me to trust these days, but with you, it was surprisingly easy. Maybe it's because I've been lonely for so long, with only Bray, I…I put my own hope and faith in believing you were going to help me and the people suffering. I put my hope and faith in you, period."
"Betting all your chips on me, huh?" She didn't get that, it was a gambling joke, sort of. So much had been lost to them and she had been a kid, a little girl when the wars began. "Myself, and the rest of Wonderful, won't let you down, darlin'." Hell, it wasn't even just her; there was a whole world out there depending on them. She had just given them the keys to the kingdom so to speak.
She believed him when he said that. He wouldn't let Vesperia down, which included her. "I won't let you or Wonderful down either, Undertaker. I promise."
Then, Abigail took a chance and softly brushed her lips against his, knowing they would have to get to know each other better before anything besides kissing, touching and cuddling happened. It would though. Unlike Bray, she wouldn't be 'saved' for breeding at the 'right time'.
"T-That wasn't out of line, was it?" She felt stupid for asking and lowered her eyes, letting out a shaky breath.
"All things considered? No." He laughed, wrapping his strong arms around her and pulled her flush against him, knowing she could feel his erection prodding at her again. Their clothes might've been dry by now… maybe. "Darlin', up…" With the way the storm was raging on out there, they were going to have to bunker down for the night and he wasn't planning on sleeping on a marble floor. "Let's… look around for shit, something relatively soft to lay down on." Hell, she could use his shirt as a blanket, she was tiny.
Abigail followed his instructions and started tearing the curtains from the windows, which were quite heavy and surprisingly useful. Mark had managed to find some cushions from an old sitting chair near the back of the library, so they used those for pillows. He added more wood to the fire to keep them warm, after they spread the curtains down on the floor to make a palette of sorts. Abigail slipped her jeans off, since they were still somewhat damp, but luckily her top was dry along with her bra. Panties were somewhat damp, but they were doable to sleep in.
"This is another first for me. I've never…slept with a man in bed before."
Bray had always gone back to his chambers once she fell asleep, after one of their make-out sessions, or so he would think. Abigail wound up crying herself to sleep almost every night in the castle. With Taker, she knew it would be different and slid under the curtain blanket to get comfortable while he finished stoking the fire. His jeans were still a bit on the damp side and he wasn't chafing his balls for her comfort. Not happening. Besides that, Taker preferred to sleep in the nude anyway. He did, for the sake of false modesty and her delicate sensibilities, keep up the illusion as he crouched down by the fire, extending his hands. Taker hadn't slept outside of Wonderful in years and he wasn't overly keen on it now, not after what she had told him.
