Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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Exposed

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Chaor has a room with a recessed tub, practically a pool, on the ground floor of his palace. Pipes carry water through a heater and into this tub, one of all of Perim's few plumbing systems. More pipes in the walls of the tub can pump air into the water, making the entire system one enormous jacuzzi. Troughs filled with stones line the walls of the room itself, and below those are small alcoves where fires can be lit.

Agitos smirks at my expression when we stop in front of the massive doors to that room. "His Majesty offers the use of his private facilities," he says with a bow. "A small step toward restitution for the poor accommodations thus far."

I want to ask him what the catch is, but my retort dies in my throat. This is yet another unexcepted event to pile on top of all the rest. I hear a small muttering of thanks come out of my mouth while I'm trying to put my head back on straight.

I reach for my clothing, but Agitos tucks them under his arm. "Your belongings will wait for you in the room you will be staying in. Now, enjoy yourself. Oh, and don't drown yourself." With that final remark, he opens the way to the bath, pushes me through, and closes the door behind me.

The heat and steam are like a slap in the face, knocking back to my senses, but too late to do anything about it. I push and pull against the exit, but nothing budges. I call out to Agitos. No answer.

Focus, Michael, focus. You've let all this get to you. Yes, nothing makes sense, but nothing made any sense back when this nonsense all started lifetimes ago. Just take a deep breath and take inventory again.

...Oh, right. I have nothing.

I scream into the empty room for a bit. It accomplishes nothing, but I feel better. A little bit, anyway. Well, if I'm stuck in here for the moment, I might as well put the room to use. I carefully feel the water with one foot and, after determining that it's not quite hot enough to boil me alive, slowly lower myself in.

For the moment, I can pretend I'm not in the UnderWorld. It's deeper than one back on Earth, but in the end, it's just a giant jacuzzi. I delay my initial plan of immediately scrubbing myself and just lay back in the bubbling water, floating along the surface. Floating as well as I can, anyway. Eh, unimportant. I just need to relax.

My mind continues wheeling away, though. I can't stop wondering. What did I do wrong? Or, not wrong, different. It's not wrong unless it kills me, and this hasn't killed me quite yet. I replay the first moments of this life back in my head. I preempted the soldiers arriving, but I've done that before with little issue. I've gotten caught plenty of times, to the point that, were I thrown in the Pit like I usually am, I know exactly how to butter up the guards to get special treatment and, eventually, an early release.

To the best of my knowledge, this is simply a quirk of fate, circumstances, and choices all leading exactly to a completely different result than I'd expected. I probably couldn't get this exact thread of fate again if I tried to. Regardless, my goal is still the same-

My thoughts are interrupted by the muffled sound of the doors opening. Has it been long enough that they expect me to be done? I tread water enough to right myself and look toward the exit.

Chaor's silhouette stands at the doorway, eyes shining blue.

I flail in the water before remembering how to swim, and I make my way to the far side of the tub. I scramble out, coughing up water, and crawl into a corner, as far away as I can.

Chaor closes the door behind him. I hear the deep clicks of his hooves on the floor as he approaches until he's close enough to the firelight from the shelves for me to see him easily. His skin already shines in the light, slick from the spray and steam, and he's wearing nothing at all.

I realize my hands are covering my mouth. What's the point? Even if he didn't see me, he knows I'm here. I don't drop them, though. I'm frozen in place. I even feel the chill, despite the oppressive heat of the air around me.

Chaor steps into the water and sits down, causing waves of displaced water to spill over the edges and across the floor. The glow of his eyes vanish as he closes them, and he leans back and lets himself sink further into the water. Columns of steam rise from the sides of his mouth.

Chaor scares me, and I feel it's for good reason. Most of my lifetimes that start in the UnderWorld end at his hands.

The tub is deep enough that I can't stand at the bottom of its deepest point, and if I stand on the seat around its edge, the water reaches up to my hips. Chaor, sitting on that same spot, has to slouch into the water for it to reach the bottom of his pectorals, to put the massive difference in size in perspective. It goes without saying that he's a tremendous deal stronger than I am, and that isn't even getting into his various supernatural abilities.

After what feels like hours, Chaor lifts his head and looks in my direction. He rises, and my heart hammers faster as he begins to approach. He lifts himself up and sits on the edge of the tub, next to me, then reaches his enormous hand out to me. I press myself further into the corner as if somehow I could melt into the walls, away from the giant about to grab me.

Chaor tousles my hair with two fingers, and his chest heaves as he laughs. "Do you find me intimidating, Michael?"

"Terrifying, sir," I squeak.

If the grin Chaor is giving me is supposed to be comforting, it isn't working. He pats the tub's edge beside him and says, "Come here."

I slowly crawl over. Despite his attempt at a friendly tone, Chaor's every word has a hint of a threat behind it. I lower my feet into the water, but the heat is no longer pleasant.

Chaor lifts one leg out of the water and turns toward me, placing his hoof on the floor behind me. I feel surrounded. That has to be deliberate on Chaor's part. Even when presenting an amicable face, he must be the most powerful one in the room.

Chaor leans his face closer to mine. "I wanted to talk. Not an interrogation, just a simple man to man conversation." Those last words are emphasized with Chaor pointing first at his own chest, then poking mine. The force almost knocks me over.

"Okay..." I rub my chest and try not to wheeze. "...So... What did you have in mind?" I realize my voice is still shaking, but I can't help it.

Chaor puts his hand back on his far leg. "To start with, how many times have you suddenly appeared in my palace before today?"

Ice shoots through my body again. I stare up at Chaor's face, mouth open to speak, but nothing comes out. I try to ask what he means or imply that he's mistaken, but my voice is as frozen as my blood.

Chaor grins. "Too many to count, yes? Your words then were practiced." He leans further down until his nose is against my neck, and he inhales deeply. "You smelled of fear just as much back then, but your voice was steady, your actions smooth. It was practically art how you escaped back then as if everything had lined up exactly as you had planned."

My heart is in my throat, trying to fly screaming from my mouth. "I-I was just-"

Chaor pulls back and laughs again. "There is no use in denying it. I had you observed for days, your every action and reaction recorded. When you were put through what any other intruder would be put through, you were rational, prepared. Each time we put you through Ulmar's experiments, through events further and further beyond what was normal, you behaved more and more as you do now." Another grin. "Like a mewling pup, taken too soon from its mother."

I don't have a strong enough word for how deep the pit in my stomach feels. "I-I thought this wasn't supposed to be an interrogation."

Chaor stares at me a moment, then grins. "True, I did say that. Then let us talk of other things." He lifts up the leg behind me and puts it back into the water, and I can feel myself breathe again. He leans backward, elbows on the ground and fists at his waist. "Humans are an interesting lot. I have seen so many of you by now. You all look so similar, but are so different when you really get into what is inside." Chaor turns his head a puts on a toothy grin. "Almost exactly the same when it comes to your literal insides, though."

I try not to think about the implications of that last bit. "Does anyone, in particular, stand out?" I force out.

Chaor puts his head back until he's looking at the ceiling. "Besides you, you mean? Yes. A woman. Maria."

Finally. Something that hasn't changed. "Oh?"

Chaor grits his teeth. "She is rallying other Humans around her. They look up to her as a leader, pushing back against my efforts to have them fall in line. Her tongue is sharp and her heart is hard, nothing seems to scare her."

I had been doing my best not to look this whole time, but as Chaor speaks about Maria, it's impossible for me not to notice his growing arousal.

"Stubborn, unreasonable woman," Chaor growls. "So many demands. Courageous though. She has a bigger pair of balls than half my army."

I burst out laughing. I had forgotten that Chaor was fond of that phrase. When I look back up, I see Chaor's glowing eyes narrow at me, and I quickly spit out, "I'm sorry, it's just, the image that evoked..."

Chaor glares at me a while longer, then sighs and looks back up at the ceiling. "If this keeps up, I might have to recognize her as the leader of the Humans. Not now, though." Chaor closes his eyes and sighs. "Several solans time, if she does not bend her knee..."

I realize that I have a bizarre and unique opportunity, a chance to change maybe one thing that, in the long run, will probably make no difference. At least if it does work, one thing that has irked me these lifetimes will be different now. "Wow," I breath, with what I hope is a wondering look on my face, "she sure sounds like a Lilith."

Chaor turns to look at me. "A what?"

I lean forward a little. I can feel the ice leaving my body. "Oh, a woman from one of Earth's creation myths. God formed the first man and woman out of clay, and he named them Adam and Lilith. Lilith refused to be Adam's lesser, so another woman was made from Adam's rib and called Eve. Modern popular culture tends to portray her as the first demon, or something like that."

Chaor looks as if he's looking through me. "Lilith," he whispers with a grin. He leans back and repeats the name a few times. One of his hands wanders to between his legs, and a purr rumbles from his chest as he begins massaging his manhood.

I'm not sure how long it is before I realize that I'm staring at Chaor's performance. I honestly shouldn't be surprised at his lack of shame, but all the same, it's still a shock. I tear my eyes away and see Chaor's eyes on me, a wide smirk on his face. I look down quickly, and I'm certain I'm blushing in mortification.

I hear the water splash beside me, and I let out an undignified whimper as I feel Chaor's hands grab my torso from either side. "Look at you," Chaor chuckles. "Have you never bathed before? Let me help you out there."

Chaor places me on his lap- or rather, atop his still-firm- no, don't think about it- and he slides back into the water before working his fingers and claws across my skin. The rest of the bath passes by silently, me a humiliated doll being washed in Chaor's grasp.

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Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.