DISCLAIMER: I do not own SQUARE, SQUARESOFT, SQUARE ENIX or the characters, places or ideas from their games. They own me.
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The guardian Auron tired to scream but couldn't. He felt the hot breath on his neck and his arms pinned effectively to his sides, unable to escape the pain; both physical and emotional. He felt himself pushed roughly to the floor to lie staring up at his captor. The sneering blond man was nearly a full head shorter than him and yet had proved to be dominant in the relationship. Kinoc. Everyone thought they were best friends, blood brothers; only three people knew otherwise. Being the quiet, deferential man that he was, Auron had borne the abuse and the derision all in the hopes of some admiration, love from his overpowering fellow monk. Kinoc grabbed him again, his cruel laugh reverberating off the walls in his room. Auron woke up.
He shook his head, trying to clear it, and sat up. They had camped out under the stars on the south bank of the Moonflow and the pyreflies hovered in their peripatetic dance over the water, unperturbed by the fact that Auron had just experienced another nightmare.
"Hey, you okay?" The increasingly-familiar scratchy voice broke the stillness of the night. Unwanted. Auron glanced in the direction of the sound and tried to stare the Blitzball player down. It didn't work.
They had traveled together for a few weeks already and while Auron still found himself constantly annoyed by the boisterous Jecht, he had to grudgingly admire the man's skill with a sword. He was a natural at sensing when fiends would appear and then disposing of them. Together they actually made a good team to protect Braska.
Not that the summoner was without his own means of fighting. Auron had found himself in a mild laughing fit at the look on the other guardian's face when Braska summoned his first aeon, Bahamut. They had been in Macalania forest, just a short distance from Bevelle when they ran into one of the more dangerous fiends; Braska had smoothly called the aeon to their aid and the fiend was defeated in a single mighty blow. Jecht had just stood there and gaped; apparently he had harbored certain misconceptions about Braska's abilities.
"I'm fine." Auron lied. He wasn't about to start telling his deepest, darkest secrets to Jecht. He turned over and tried to go back to sleep, dreading the dreams that might find him. He did dream again but this time of the young Chella, Kinoc's enigmatic secretary. It was the first time they had met besides the brief encounters where she had served him food. She would come in after their violent trysts and tend to any injury Auron would have acquired, using her healing skills to prevent bruises and ease the pain. She was the third who knew of their deep, dark secret and yet had never judged him.
In his part dream part memory, Chella stepped into the dim room and quickly activated the lights. Avoiding Auron who was sitting on the bed in nothing but a pair of loose shorts, she placed her bag on the bed beside him and opened it. Still not looking at him, she began to select some swabs and rubbing alcohol. Giving him a cursory glance up and down and keeping herself from meeting his gaze, she started her work.
Auron couldn't identify any emotion from this girl - what had Kinoc called her? He had formerly recognized her as the waitress, but that was all he knew about her. He assumed she could judge what had taken place, but her motivation to help clean up after Kinoc was a mystery. Then again, Kinoc was an exceptional manipulator. Perhaps the girl was in love with Kinoc as well..
He sucked in a breath of air as the alcohol came in contact with his tender inner thigh. She hadn't been gentle in her haste and had simply slapped the alcohol-soaked swab on the fingernail wounds. He looked at her again - it seemed she could show more care if she was fixing broken furniture.
The opposite was true - she was taking too much care to show no emotion. She marveled at the steadiness of her hands as she pushed the fabric of his shorts up to reveal the side of his thigh. She thought her heart might leap through her chest and give away her true feelings. A feeling other than ecstasy coursed through her, she hated the being that caused such pain to her beloved, if only she had the power to stop him.
When she had cleansed the lacerations on his thigh and applied the antibacterial ointment, she began to move her hands along the side of his torso, probing the newly-formed bruise that discolored his muscled frame. She heard him inhale sharply again and couldn't stop herself from glancing at his face.
"You've cracked two ribs." she quietly informed him, "Don't put too much of your weight on this side for about a week and try not to lift anything too heavy." While saying that, she applied a burning poultice that eased the pain and swelling somewhat.
Whatever else the young girl was, she was certainly adept at medicine. She seemed far too serious and sober for her adolescent looks. Auron sincerely hoped that his friend didn't scar her for life when he used her to further his own plans.
Chella finished tending to the last few small cuts and bruises, shut her bag and promptly strode out the door. Auron watched her go, a sinking feeling overpowering him. He supposed Kinoc was waiting for her...or perhaps she could not bear being in the same room as him any longer. The dream ended and the guardian lapsed into a dark, restful slumber just as another sphere flared awake to show the events that led up to the memories in his dream.
Chella knew that as aggrieved as she was, she would never be able to sleep. She instead turned and resolutely strode towards the unlit training arena. Perhaps she could punch a bag until fatigue overtook her and she would be tired enough to forget her troubles. She slipped into her small room and began pressing her palm against the wall to activate the meager lighting system. She stopped mid-gesture; there were voices coming from the main arena - angry voices. She went to the store room door and carefully eased it open. The sight before her brought a puzzled frown to her face.
There stood Auron, opposing Kinoc - both armed and focused completely on the battle. Hurling a taunt, Kinoc thrust his sword at Auron, only to have it deftly deflected by the huge katana the taller man wielded. The fight went on and the uninvited onlooker could only stare at the whirling figures of the two men, locked in combat. Finally, Auron made a miniscule mistake, his sword was millimeters from the correct position and Kinoc used this to gain himself the advantage as well as the fight. He swung his sword towards Auron in official 'death-blow' fashion only to halt at the peak of the arc and ram his elbow squarely into Auron's jaw, knocking him to the ground. This caused a snarl from the sprawled loser, but the blade hovering above his jugular vein effectively stopped him from retaliating.
"Very well, you win." Breathing heavily, the handsome man conceded defeat.
"Naturally I win," the blond retorted, "I very much wanted my prize tonight." His grin sent a sickening feeling to the pit of Chella's stomach. She never like Kinoc much, despite his being the closest friend of her crush, he always seemed to her untrustworthy for reasons she couldn't put her finger on.
She returned to her room after carefully shutting the adjoining door. She closed her eyes and envisioned herself sparring against Auron, imitating the moves she had seen him execute in the fight she had watched. She went on to imagine the grin that came with every win and the handshake signifying the end of the session. If only he would notice her enough to talk to her..no, he'll go on to become the leader he was meant to be - perhaps even a Maester some day. No orphaned waitress was going to hamper his rise to his destiny.
When she finally tired and left the training centre for the second time that day, she was somewhat saddened by her renewed resolutions to keep away from the one person who enraptured her.
"Enjoy the show?"
She started at the acerbic voice and turned to find Kinoc propped against the arena wall, looking her up and down with a gaze that insinuated unmentionable acts.
"I meant no harm my lord; I was exercising on my own...I apologize if I did anything wrong." This last was said with a small bow of her head, she knew her place with the monks, especially the senior graduates, and she truly was repentant for causing any trouble.
He stood and circled her, she could feel his eyes on her and she fought to keep from blushing. "I think you came to watch the sexy Auron in action."
Her head shot up at this and her mouth gaped open.
"Oh, you certainly hide it well my dear, but I can see clearly how much you adore him." He displayed an evil grin that sent shivers down Chella's spine. "I wonder what he would think of that."
"You can't t.." she trailed off, who was she to give orders to a superior warrior? Instead of finishing her sentence she bowed her head again, tears forming in her eyes.
"Now, now, no need to cry." Kinoc cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her face till her golden eyes met his hazels. "I think we can arrange something. Come with me."
He led the way towards the officer's quarters and she followed subserviently behind. Instead of going towards the doorway of his personal hut, he detoured around the back where a small room had been added to the outside of the building. Oddly enough it had a door on the outside. He unlocked it with a key from his belt and instructed her to sit down inside it. It was just barely big enough to fit a small person inside. She noticed it contained a vent which looked into the bedchambers, but was probably unnoticeable from the inside.
Kinoc lowered his head till she could feel his breath on her ear, "You must keep very still and very quiet. Afterwards, we will have a little talk about what I want from you." With that, he produces several strips of cloth and bound her wrists in front of her. She didn't struggle.
"After what?" she dared to question. She wasn't really afraid of this ambitious man; she could take anything he did to her, especially if it was for the good of Auron.
"After..." he began, gagging her with the last strip of cloth, "I have my way with a toy of mine" With that he gave her a sardonic nod and shut the tiny door, locking it firmly before leaving for the front of his quarters.
She pondered what this could signify. Suddenly she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She peered into the bedchamber to see...Auron? But this was Kinoc's chambers was it not? She watched the man pacing back and forth, his rust-colored eyes flashing with strong emotion. Finally he turned and started for the door with resolve. Just as he reached to open it, Kinoc appeared in front of him with a calculating glare.
"Going somewhere?"
The horrifying events that she witnessed thereafter would torment her for the rest of her life. There was a break in the sphere's conveyance and then more was shown.