Chapter 123

"Sire, it's been over a week. We believe she's strong enough to start moving around again, as long as she's careful and doesn't overdo it."

The Horned King nodded once in acknowledgement, but a thread of unwillingness tainted his pleasure the news. If she had recovered that much, surely she would be able to sense Arawn again any day, leaving her vulnerable to his attacks once more. The Invisibles would have to keep their guards up at all times to ensure his old master was kept far from her.

"Well, don't just stand there, go tell her, Randall!" An Invisible urged, followed by bouts of cackling.

The Horned King stared murderously at the empty air, which only brought on more helpless laughter.

The Invisibles had sang that detestable thing they called a song in a nonstop loop whenever he was within hearing range for three days now, and it was beyond annoying.

He deliberately strode away, snarling behind his gritted fangs as they burst into song behind him.

"Randaaaaaaall's a Yankee Doodle Daaannndy. . ."

"Yes!" Avalina cried joyfully, pushing the covers back as he entered, relaying the news. When the Horned King was absent (which was not as common as it felt, thankfully) she had been unbelievably bored, but no more!

"Finally!"

"I would advise. . ." The Horned King started, but got no farther as Avalina practically leaped from the bed, only to crash full length on the floor with a sharp gasp as her legs promptly gave out from the unexpected exertion.

"Caution." He finished, as she stared up in shock at what had happened, eyes wider than normal in surprise and a little hurt.

Striding over, he grasped her forearms and lifted the prone girl to her feet, holding her steady in front of him.

"You are not yet strong enough for strenuous activity," he said, feeling her faint trembling beneath his hands and lowering a brow ridge faintly in concern.

"Right." Abashed, Avalina looked down for a long moment, her cheeks flushing, before glancing sheepishly back up at him.

"I sort of gathered that. Um. . ."

Here her flush deepened and she ducked her head again as her embarrassment compounded.

"Thank you."

She heard the faint growl of amusement in his chest, looking up as it morphed into a soft, dark chuckle that made a chill run up her spine.

"You're laughing at me," she accused, her cheeks getting even redder, but she couldn't keep the half-grin off her face upon seeing the Horned King's own faint smirk. It resembled more of a snarl than a smile, (at least, to other people) but she knew his facial expressions (however rare or indistinguishable they may be) and this one warmed her heart every time.

"How observant," he rumbled dryly, before slowly releasing her. Seeing that she could stand on her own, he stepped away.

"I will wait for you."

After the door closed Avalina was left still flushing madly over her embarrassing ordeal, not quite able to decide if she wanted to go hide somewhere until it wore off or do it again in the hopes she could get the same response out of him.

She loved it when he was happy, even if it cost her some of her pride.

A few minutes later when she stepped out, the lich was there as he'd said, and to her surprise, gallantly offered her his arm. Avalina accepted with a soft word of thanks, blushing all over again, but nonetheless grateful for something to help her stay upright.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Mitternacht has missed you greatly," the Horned King replied.

"So the Invisibles tell."

Avalina smiled happily, touched that he would remember she and Mitternacht's relationship.

After crossing the courtyard, the Horned King stopped a distance from the stable.

"Can you walk without aid?" He questioned.

"I think so," she answered.

"Thank you for helping me."

The lich nodded, and after a moment, upon realizing he was not going with her, Avalina crossed the distance to the stable by herself, pausing briefly to look sadly back at him before slipping inside. She knew why he didn't come, but her heart hurt at leaving him alone in the courtyard, and it hurt more when she realized there might not be anything she could do to fix it.

"I regret that I cannot anymore."

Avalina's heart throbbed painfully as the Horned King slowly turned away.

Neither of them had touched the piano since the pig-keeper incident, but now that things were falling back into their old schedule Avalina realized that she was not the only one out of practice.

"I can show you again," she said softly, watching him.

"It would be no trouble at all."

"I know you mean well, child, but it would be a wasted effort," the lich ground out.

"It was wasted the first time."

"No it wouldn't," Avalina insisted, "And it wasn't. You were doing very well. I know you haven't forgotten what I showed you. It's still there, you just have to remember it."

Seeing him about to refuse, she spoke again.

"Please?" She begged softly.

He stayed still so long she thought he would decline, but after many moments he loosed a soft, deep sigh like a bellows, before slowly approaching, and after a long pause, sitting somewhat gingerly at the bench beside her.

"Very well."

Although she had taken care not to overdo it, her weakness hit like a dead weight that night in the entrance room when she returned from feeding Mitternacht and she barely made it to a chair before collapsing.

Shaking uncontrollably, she took a few deep breaths to try and steady herself, elbows on her knees, before looking up as a familiar dark shadow fell over her.

"Did I not say you were not ready for strenuous activity?" He questioned firmly, glaring.

"I didn't mean to!" She protested, her breath hitching in a little fright as she straightened up, "How is grooming a horse hard?"

"When you are hardly strong enough to walk," he replied, and Avalina flinched upon sensing his displeasure.

"I forgot," she nearly whispered, looking down and fighting tears. The Horned King's anger terrified her, and she shook at it in dread. She had been stuck in bed for days, and the joy and adrenaline rush she'd gotten upon being allowed out of the bedroom had shoved all thoughts of weariness and warnings to the back of her mind, until her body simply couldn't take any more.

"I'm sorry," she managed out, trying not to cry and embarrass herself even more than she had already. But she was tired and having a great deal of trouble keeping herself together, particularly with the Horned King staring at her in such a frightening manner. When he fixed her with one of those glares she felt she had turned to dust.

A soft, growling sigh escaped him after a moment, before he spoke rather heavily.

"It is not your fault. Can you stand?"

Slowly, the girl tried to obey, accepting his arm, but nearly fell on the first step. Only the Horned King steadying her prevented her from actually doing so.

"I'm sorry I'm weak!" She finally burst out, not able to hold in her tears anymore as her legs forced her to sit back in the chair.

The Horned King stared, feeling this emotional pain spring forth like a dam breaking. It was so strong...it must have been building inside her for some time...

"I can't help it! I've never been strong and I've always wanted to be so bad but I'm just not! I wish I could be! I wish. . ."

"Silence."

The word was a growl.

She instantly fell quiet, shaking with silent sobs and her fear of the lich, not able to look up at him.

She jumped when she blinked a tear away and saw him kneeling on the floor in front of her, his deathly eyes seeming to pierce her very soul.

"I do not want to hear that," he nearly hissed, staring directly into her eyes.

"Ever."

"But it's true," she shivered, unable to look away from his gaze.

"I'm. . .really*not* strong..."

A shudder passed through her as another wave of pain wracked her, and the lich stiffened. This wasn't. . .just something that had came up on the spur of the moment, oh no...this pain...he concentrated...it stemmed from somewhere else. Something deeper, but he couldn't ask her what it was right now. This latest frustration and her own exhaustion had just set it off, and his chest grew heavier than he thought possible when he knew that she was right.

The child was not strong. Not physically, not mentally, and definitely not emotionally. She was too fragile and too innocent to stand the horrors the world dished out, and too young to have been hardened by anything. She would just break under the strain.

And the first thing the world had thrown her way was him. The lich stiffened even more at this realization, but tried to shove away the guilt that pulled at him.

But. . .nor was she weak, either. Someone weak could not have survived the torment he had put her through.

"No, you are not strong," he dredged out heavily, seeing her flinch painfully at his words.

"Not in the way others are, nor in the way you feel you should be. I will not lie to you and tell you otherwise. But. . .child, look at me. . .you possess a different kind of strength, something more powerful than any other strain combined."

After a pause he added, "It is also the most uncommon."

"Like what?" She sniffed, watching him forlornly. She said nothing more but he knew what she was thinking.

'What's possibly strong about *me?*'

The Horned King took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully to make sure she understood.

"You have the strength to show compassion and kindness to anyone you meet. Even...something like me. And child, that is. . ."

After a brief, silent battle with himself, the lich placed his hand lightly on her shoulder, causing her to glance away for a moment, surprised at the action, before looking back at him as he finished.

"The greatest kind of strength. One I am sure many see as nothing more than a myth. I. . .believed it to be nothing but complete nonsense myself, all those pathetic stories of young maidens so pure even the most savage of beasts would eat from their hands like pets (here he saw the tiniest hint of a smile through her tears as she remembered one of the fairy tales they had talked about some time ago in the library, and his own heart lightened at the sight) and I believed them so kind it was nearly sickening."

Here she gave a tiny giggle and it warmed his heart.

"I never even pondered the possibility of such a creature existing, so fanciful was the notion. But. . .here you are, right in front of me, something I believed to be nothing more than a foolish tale spun by feebleminded tramps. And. . ."

Here he gave pause, trying to remember what else he had wanted to tell her. What was it? It had been quite meaningful. He wracked his head, but it had escaped him, and he could not retrieve it. So he settled for the next best thing he could think of.

". . .You are anything but weak."

Lest she think he was lumping her in with the stories he detested so, he added, "Or nauseating."

Avalina laughed in earnest this time, something that caused the muscle in his cheek to twitch faintly upwards.

It had that effect on him.

"This purity you carry is a gift few, if any, believe in anymore," he continued, "And child. . .don't ever lose it. An innocent strength like this, once lost, can never be regained. Will you promise me this? Will you keep it?"

So softly she hardly heard it, he added, "For me?"

Avalina smiled at him through her tears, wondering how she could feel so horribly one second and then feel like she would burst of happiness the next.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I promise."

And with that, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

The Horned King stiffened in shock at this unexpected act, but he felt his chest grow warmer at it and slowly returned the gesture, mindful of his own great strength.

'You don't deserve anything she gives you!' A little voice shouted at him, but he shoved it away, feeling more alive than he had felt in many days.

After a few moments, he gently slid his arms under her knees and shoulders and picked her up, reluctant to break her show of thanks, but he could feel her exhaustion and knew she needed her rest.

A faint squeak of surprise from her earned an even fainter chuckle from him, but she did not protest, instead leaning against him, listening contentedly.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Avalina was hardly awake by the time they reached her chambers, and he waited outside as the Invisibles helped her change, before entering.

"I'm tired," she admitted, as she pulled her legs onto the mattress, "But I am really starting to hate this bed."

The Horned King could not help the soft growl of amusement that came forth upon hearing this.

"I cannot blame you very much for that."

As he pulled the covers up over her, she sat up and hugged his waist.

"Goodnight," she murmured, "And thank you."

The lich lightly placed a hand on her hair in reciprocation, hardly able to contain this warmth that spread to every part of him.

"Goodnight," he dredged out softly.

"And. . .thank you."

To everyone who reviewed on the last chapter: Thank you all, *so.* Dang. Much. Your reviews urge me to keep writing, and it just made my day reading every single one of those. And then I went back and read them all again because they're just so awesome! *throws glitter everywhere in celebration* I kid you not, I laugh maniacally and my morale spikes sky high whenever I get a review and I feel like I'm walking on rainbows the rest of the day. (Of course, I laugh maniacally anyway on a half-hour basis and I know a unicorn that poops rainbows but a review means bonus cackles and crap. XDXDXD)

I appreciate everybody who reads and reviews. Y'all are just the best!

Oh, and one more thing. If anyone reading is a fan of the Hunger Games (Just for the record, I was never a fan and *will* never be a fan. Yes, I read the books and didn't even bother with the movies) one of my epical best friends and editors, Crescent Moon Dancer, is brand new to this site and has been posting chapters of her HG fanfiction on here. Go check her story out! =D She would really appreciate a review or something, as long as it's not hateful. And my other bestie and editor is on FictionPress as Brievel with two of her own original stories that are flippin' awesome if I say so myself. XD One's done, she's just updating slow, and the other one is still in progress. You should check her out too, just don't be hateful:) I don't think any of y'all would actually *be* hateful, (I personally think y'all are too awesome) but jus' sayin'...if a person (no one in particular) is stupid enough to be mean to one of my friends, his/her house, car, and anything else they possess will be blown up/set ablaze, and the remnants bedazzled. Then the victim will be relieved of one or more of their limbs and then sent to the hospital to think about what they've done.

For now, that is all. XD Peace, y'all! 0_0