Chapter 50

The Horned King sat in the chair behind the piano bench, waiting for Avalina to come.

In the two weeks since she had begun to play for him, he had had a chair moved in so he would not have to just stand there for a whole hour. He had felt her relax the tiniest bit when he was sitting down, rather than standing.

He had had much time to think, and he realized he felt more in control of his situation, calmer and more calculated, more like his old self.

And yet, he did not.

He enjoyed the power he held over her, so that she was constantly in a state of terror, but after a while he realized it didn't quite hold the appeal it used to. The way she acted around him was slightly irritating now, although he enjoyed it to an extent. Not that she really could act differently in his presence, he mused.

After all, he had locked her in his castle, nearly killed her more than once, threatened her family, the list went on. She had every reason in the world to fear him, especially since she knew his bloody history, and if he were honest with himself, he could not blame her for that. She would have been a fool not to fear him.

But he had not been as cruel to her as he could have been. She could still be in the dungeon. He could have refused her request to see her family. He could have banned her from the stable (Where he had observed that she spent nearly all of her time, no doubt caring for her horse) or she could be dead. And yet she still treated him the same as she had before.

True, she had thanked him for allowing her to see her family, but he supposed that had been merely out of habit. She seemed like the type of girl to thank people.

Except for the hour at noon, he saw Avalina every night at mealtime. She was terribly frightened, and he could feel her shrink under his gaze every time he looked at her, although, more often than not, she would not move a single muscle.

He didn't stare at her like he had, but she was the only thing of even remote interest in the castle to him now, and his eyes were simply drawn to her, every time she was in his presence.

She watched him too. Like a mouse waiting for a snake to strike.

'I don't deserve to have her here. I don't even deserve to lay eyes on her,' he thought.

'For I am a monster of the very worst type, and I suppose, if such things existed, most people would compare her to an angel.'

His thoughts returned to the incident with the Creeper, a fortnight ago. She had came back to beg for his life, despite the fact that she was terrified of him, and he had hurt her nearly as badly as the Horned King had himself.

The girl had backbone on her, and seemingly a forgiving nature, if she would beg for the goblin's life like she had. The Horned King pondered silently on this, before brushing it away.

'If I possessed any hope, I might hope that she could eventually forgive me, as well,' he thought. 'But this is a foolish dream. I have no hope, and I deserve no forgiveness for anything I have done.'

But neither had the goblin.

'Its not even close to the same thing,' he thought, baring his fangs slightly, angry at himself for even comparing the goblin with himself.

'If the goblin had a reputation like mine, she would be just as terrified of him, and unwilling to forgive. And, even without my reputation, after the way I've treated her. . .were I in her place I probably would not forgive either. If I had thought my actions out a little more carefully when she first arrived, things might have played out differently. But I do not blame the girl. Nobody could ever forgive me for all I have done.'

He growled softly to himself in frustration.

'Why did those Fates bring me back in the first place? They knew I could not ever hope to accomplish what they required of me. I must find out how they brought me back, and why. Perhaps the secret to staying here lies there.'

Realizing he was getting himself worked up, he calmed.

He doubted Avalina had noticed, but when he was relaxed, her fear would lessen very slightly, although it would spike again if he so much as twitched.

He had kept himself calm the last few days, and he had noticed a faint difference in her playing. It was better, a little stronger. He enjoyed it more as well.

Every time she played or opened her mouth to sing, that feeling in his chest that he had felt the first day would return to burn softly. He still did not realize what it was, but it stirred him and he realized it was not an unpleasant feeling.

Since she had returned, he had not approached any nearer than ten feet from her. The aura of Death he carried with him would overwhelm her at such close proximity, so he had stayed his distance.

The Invisibles had informed him only yesterday that he had 15 moons left before his deadline, something that had him in a silent rage of despair, reminding him again just what awaited him when his time was up.

He was jolted from his agitated thoughts as the door softly came open.

Avalina straightened her shoulders with as much strength as she could muster as she walked toward the music room, wishing with all her might she could be somewhere else.

She had been playing for an hour everyday for the Horned King for nearly a fortnight, and it was still not getting any easier.

He would stand about ten feet behind her, staring a hole right through her, watching every little move she made.

It made her so nervous she could barely play properly, and it took all of her willpower to keep her voice from constantly breaking in terror.

She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

She had been so nervous last night that when she had went back to her room after eating supper with the Horned King in the dining hall, she had promptly brought up her food, leading to the Invisibles fussing over her for nearly an hour before she felt enough like herself to quietly ask them to leave so she could go to sleep.

Mitternacht was suffering too. He rejoiced every time he saw her, but judging by the way he watched her like a hawk and sniffed her over every time with more care than he had ever done at home, it was obvious he was nervous.

She had started taking him out into the courtyard and carefully lunging him over the cobblestone, as the drawbridge had been kept tightly closed and there was nowhere to take him to run. This frustrated him immensely, even more so than her, as she had always granted him plenty of room to be himself, and being locked up brought back unpleasant memories the horse didn't need to be reminiscing on.

Mitternacht understood something was very wrong, but as to what, he had not a clue, and it worried him even more.

He showed no signs of the madness the Horned King had mentioned, but Avalina had already brokenheartedly resigned herself to the fact that if Mitternacht began to show the signs of it she would have to put him out of his misery herself. She loved him so much, there was no way she would let him die a slow, painful death.

When she had taken him about the courtyard, she had stayed away from the other stable on the other end like the Horned King had ordered, but she couldn't help being curious about it.

Avalina was so homesick her stomach hurt. She tried not to think about it, as it only worsened her morale. Trying to be positive, she had told herself that she could have been in the dungeon instead, but it was so hard to think positively here! So very hard. . .

In truth, the entire place here was a prison. A giant, stone prison with only one prisoner. Two if you counted Mitternacht.

Avalina was actually very surprised that the Horned King had released her from the dungeon and let her walk about as she pleased. She had expected vastly different treatment from a monster like him.

She had seen the goblin Creeper once more since that first night, and it had been much the same as last time.

Shivering, she pushed open the music room door, seeing the Horned King sitting in a throne-like chair about ten feet behind the piano bench, waiting.

He turned his head as she entered, and those cold, empty eyes seemed to look right through her, right to her soul.

She couldn't help flinching when he did that.

After bowing from the waist, she shakily went over to the piano and sat down.

His aura of Death settled over her faintly, not enough for a side effect, (She wasn't THAT close) but enough that she closed her eyes as it drifted over her skin, in a futile attempt to block it out.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, (With no success) she headed into a song, watching her fingers carefully. Her nerves grew tighter as she willed her fingers not to slip or her voice to crack.

It was the same every day.

Almost immediately after she finished, her stomach knotted as she heard the Horned King speak.

He rarely spoke to her when she played.

"Do something new."

She flinched. She had been expecting this for quite a long time now. She hadn't known many songs to begin with, and she had used them all up within three days of this. Honestly, she was a little surprised he hadn't said something about it already. He sounded a bit irritated now.

Turning around so that she faced him, she answered him, barely above a whisper.

"I can't."

The Horned King stared at her hard, and she tried to explain herself.

"I d-don't know any more."

"Then. . .learn something new."

Avalina was almost ready to cry but she held it in.

"I c-can't."

"Explain."

His voice had taken a darker edge than usual. The hair on Avalina's neck stood up.

She hadn't noticed til now, but the last few days he had been rather. . .well, she didn't know how to say it, but he had been different. This behavior he was exhibiting now was how he had been the day he had thrown her in the dungeon.

"I-I. . "

She fought with how to answer without sounding like a whining brat, but there was no way.

A soft growl from the Horned King indicated she had better think fast.

"I-I can't learn new things when I-I'm n-nervous!"

Avalina choked out, trying not to cry.

She stared at him in terror, The Horned King staring back blankly.

After a silence, he answered.

"Then. . .don't be nervous."

His voice had an odd tone to it. Almost as if he were. . .asking, rather than demanding.

But that was silly. His voice stayed the same all the time, in a cold, dead, monotone.

"I c-can't help it!"

She said softly, looking down.

"Why not?"

". . .Um. . ."

Avalina fought for an answer, one that wouldn't get her killed, but she had none.

The Horned King was losing his patience, she could tell by the way he was gripping the arms of the chair tighter, and it scared her even more.

"Answer me."

It was hardly more than a soft growl from him, but it compounded her fright tenfold.

"I. . .I. . ."

This was going nowhere. She wished she hadn't said anything, but she couldn't take the words back now.

She gasped in fright as he rose from his seat, causing her to leap from the bench as well.

'Well, now you've done it! He's angry now!' She thought.

Tears of fright burned her eyes and she finally burst out the very last thing she should have said.

"Because I'm locked in a castle with a monster!"

Avalina slapped her hand to her mouth in horror, not able to believe what she had just spoke.

The Horned King stood there like a stone, stockstill.

Avalina's heart was nearly ready to break out of her chest, it was beating so hard and fast.

The Horned King stared at her with those cold eyes, and she saw a tiny dot of red in them, a sign that she had truly ticked him off.

The silence was thick enough to cut with a knife, and Avalina gasped when he took a dark step toward her.

The ten feet of distance between them was the only thing preventing her from being completely overwhelmed by the aura of Death and Decay he carried with him, and when he began to close, it filled her lungs and made her cough.

"Stay away!" She cried in a panic, backing against the piano as far she could, her eyes never leaving him.

"I let you live, and roam the castle at will," he snarled out softly as he advanced, "And THAT is the thanks I receive!"

"I'm sorry!" She sobbed as he got even closer, her terror making it nearly impossible to breathe. "Stay away!"

"Silence!"

Everything else happened in less than a second.

The Horned King's eyes suddenly turned blood red, and he lunged at her with all the speed of an uncoiling viper, snarling like the monster he was.

Avalina screamed in terror and fell back against the piano, and as her hands felt frantically for a means to defend herself, her right came up against the glass of water sitting atop the piano that an Invisible had brought her.

As he struck his hand out to grab her, she threw the glass at him with all her might as she stared in horror into his blazing eyes.

Her aim could not have been better. The entire amount of water hit him straight in the face and eyes right as he swiped at her.

A screaming roar unlike anything Avalina had ever heard in her life erupted from the monster towering right over her as he screamed in pure agony.

Screaming herself, Avalina was thrown to the floor, as, now blinded, his aim was thrown off and he hit her hard across the back.

She cried out in pain at the impact.

The sizzle of burning flesh could plainly be heard, along with the tinkle of shattering glass on the cobbled floor.

Leaping to her feet, she scrambled clumsily away, gasping and choking as she fought to get out of his aura. As it snapped loose from her as she got farther away, she stumbled against the door, the wood being the only thing holding her up, as she gripped her chest, trying to breathe again.

Casting a glance at the Horned king, she saw him holding his face in his hands as he snarled in agony, nearly bent double by its intensity, still near the piano.

Not sparing a single second, Avalina fled from the room as fast as she could, knowing now that he would kill her if he ever got near her again.

Tears poured like a fountain as she ran to the stable, noticing that the drawbridge was down for some reason.

Thanking the gods, she burst into the stable, bridled Mitternacht and galloped him out as fast he could go.

'I have to get out of here!'

The Horned King had not even seen her throw it. Yet he knew instantly what it was the moment it hit him.

Water. His only weakness.

And it burned with the intensity of a thousand suns.

Screaming in pain, he had covered his face with his hands in a habitual gesture, trying to block out some of the pain, although he knew it would not help in the slightest.

It was that damnable Pig-Keeper all over again.

He roared in pain again as the liquid seared his flesh and worked deep into his eyes.

The pain was so intense he couldn't remember his name.

The flashbacks started, eliciting another screaming snarl as he sank to his knees on the floor from the weight of his agony.

Everybody put your hands together for my 50th Chapter Anniversary! Whoot-Whoot! XD How in the World did I come this far? I mean, it doesn't seem like that much, but then I look at the list of chapters and I'm just like, ". . .Whoa, man, dat's awesome." O_O And the best part is, this story's not even over yet! *Parties* Ya'll better fasten your seatbelts, its gonna be a ride you'll not soon forget! (I hope) XD