Repercussions
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fable. If I did, we'd all be able to romance Reaver, lol. Lyrics below are from Truth and Consequence by 18 Visions.
A's/N: Real quick, I'd like to say that, since your obviously reading this, I'm happy I didn't scare you off with that intense last chapter! I did think about toning it down, but late last year I was lucky enough to meet my favorite author in the world, and she told me that creativity should never be restrained or compromised for the views of others if you feel like it's whats true to your creative flow. I did that and I hope it came out alright.
When I was holding you I think I died
Your touch, Your kiss
Its killing me so slowly I think
I lost the feeling in my heart tonight
Consciousness trickled slowly into the sleeping Heroes mind, rousing her from a dreamless slumber. With an undignified groan that no doubt would have Jasper lecturing her on courtly manners any time now, Nix groggily fished about for another pillow and plunked it down over her head to block out any incoming reprimands and the pounding of those damned hammers. It was still early morning, or at least she assumed it was since her personal butler poltergeist had yet to wake her, so what in the world were mason's doing working around the castle at this hour? She really hoped Logan wasn't having another godawful statue put up somewhere.
It took her another minute of lying there, completely miserable, to belatedly realize the pounding was really inside her head. Being sore from head to foot, coupled with the splitting headache, she could only surmise that she must have gotten completely foxed and fallen down a flight of stairs or something of the like. Hadn't she promised herself to never drink that much again, after the horrible night of her twentieth birthday two years ago? Clutching the pillow closer, she then noticed its faint yet wonderful smell that caused her heart to stutter over a beat. What could it be from, she briefly pondered?
Rolling over onto her stomach, she began to rub her temples delicately, trying to recall what happened. Nothing but a blank slate disturbingly came up, her head fuzzy and clouded. There was a strange, niggling sensation that she was forgetting something extremely important, but damn it all, she couldn't remember for the life of her. Exactly how much had she drank last night and who in their right mind had let her? She wondered irritably.
She mulled it over a moment, and the best she could come up with is that whatever it was, it started with the letter R. Some sort of royal obligation? No, that wasn't it. Reception, ransom, recruitment? No, no and no. Something about Regal? Other than he wasn't in bed with her, she didn't think anything was wrong, it wasn't unusual for him to be down in the kitchens begging for some tasty leftover scraps from the previous evenings dinner.
Rebellion? Yes, that had to be it! She thought, thankful for the slim ray of clarity that cut through some of the fog in her mind. She was in the middle of trying to overthrow her power-mad brother, Logan! How could she have forgotten? Well, for starters, all she'd known since leaving the castle was hard cots and even harder bedrolls, so being in such a comfortable bed was a bit disorienting. She'd even go so far as to say that it was even more luxurious than her own royal bed.
Although she was relieved to remember something that was definetly classified as important, the annoying little niggle wouldn't go away. Frustrated, she threw the pillow from her head and pushed up from the mattress, moving into a cross-legged sitting position. As the tangle of silk sheets slipped down and chilly air swept over her skin, she didn't even have time to wonder or care why she was sleeping naked. Light pierced through her eyelids, causing her headache to spike so bad it nearly sent her scurrying back under the covers.
"Can't stay in bed all day..."She groused, lifting her arms up high and stretching out the soreness in her body languorously. If only Jasper could have heard that, he would have been so proud. Alright, so first order of business was to find out where she was, then to see if she could get something to eat, because she was absolutely ravenous. Daring to squint open her eyes defiantly against the light, hoping to take a quick peek around the room to get a better understanding of her surroundings, she stopped, and gaped.
A frigid numbness washed over her, like someone had just plunged her headfirst into a wintery river, as her light sensitive eyes grew wide, despite the pain, and stared up at the large crest that adorned the headboard, bits and pieces of hazy memories finally arising. The golden insignia sporting two elegant R's surrounded by a cog emblazoned into her mind, a sign of the indisputable line of demarcation she had crossed. The answer she'd been looking for was glaring her unabashedly in the face. There wasn't a soul in Albion who didn't know that sigil.
She wasn't sure how much time fell away as she sat there, staring, paralyzed by incredulous shock. She should have felt something, anything, but she didn't. Emotions seemed deadened and frozen. What could she say? What could she do?
Nothing. The damage had already been done.
Doing a clinical and methodical mental check of herself, she noted a slight, dry stickiness on her thighs, an internal rawness that couldn't be explained by a simple fall. Not that she was bothering with futile, cleverly concocted reasons for her physical condition.
After a time, something behind her made a high pitched squeak, and half-turning at the waist, she cast a listless glance over her shoulder. The something, in actuality, was a someone whom was standing at the threshold of the secret passage. A short female of slight build, clad in a black dress neatly trimmed with gold, a wicker basket overflowing with crimson sheets in tow, was staring at her.
"H-hello, ma'am." Came the stuttered response, accompanied by a bob that should have been a curtsy, made awkward by the laundry hamper.
Somehow the woman seemed familiar, and looking through the plainly coifed hair, worried expression and dark rings under her eyes, recognition set in.
"Jacqueline?" Nix inquired with detached curiosity. If she was correct, the woman was the daughter of one of the wealthier noblemen at court. Under normal circumstances she would have found her being dressed in a servant's attire and her presence here to be quite peculiar, but these were definetly less than normal.
It was now her turn to be the object of scrutiny as the maid peered hard at her, then gasped.
"Your Highness!" Jacqueline exclaimed, seeming both happy and relieved to see her, rushing forward, dumping off her basket at the end of the bed as she did so.
"I knew Lord Reaver had a...guest...over, but I never would have guessed it was y-..." Her voice faltered, then trailed off completely. The troubled countenance that befell the woman's attractive face as she got close enough to truly observe her withdrawn and undressed state spoke volumes.
With a sympathetic smile Jacqueline leaned down, honey brown eyes centered on her own vacant grey hues as she reached out and brushed a wayward strand of hair from them.
"Why don't we draw you up a nice bath?" She asked gently, concern evident in her voice. When she nodded her compliance, the other woman wasted no time in scooping up the sheets that had pooled around her and snugly pulling them around her body. Nix grabbed hold of them, clutching them to her chest as she slid out of bed, staggering as her legs nearly giving way beneath her own weight.
"Oh my." Said Jacqueline, sliding an arm around the unsteady princess.
"I'm fine." Nix snapped lightly, trying to gather the tatters of her dignity while pushing her away.
Startled and intimidated, she immediately cast her eyes downward, offering a hasty, disheartened apology. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
Noticing the effect her less than friendly attitude, Nix sighed. The surreality of her situation had left her reeling, but that was no reason to take it out on an innocent bystander.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. You were just trying to help." She plastered on a fake smile after giving her empty response. Apparently it was enough to fool Jacqueline who gave a bright, sunny smile and leapt forward to pull her into a tight embrace.
"Forgive me, your highness, but it is so good to see a familiar face!"
"Likewise." She said, wincing. Something of her pain must have came through in her voice, because she was immediately released.
"Oh right, sorry. Come on then, Lord Reaver is out right now, but we should go ahead and get you all fancied up for when he returns." She said, turning and making for the door.
Well that answers one of my questions, Nix thought sullenly. Not that she wasn't
overtly glad that the no good, treacherous, lying bastard wasn't here, but that only left her with the desire to pummel something. Namely him, without the object of her ire there to vent her frustrations on, however, she was left feeling oddly iced over and desensitized.
"I think I could go without the "fancying up" if you don't mind, I'd really just prefer to have my own clothes back, if that's possible." She wouldn't even mind if they were dirty, just as long as they were hers.
"As you wish, my lady. I'll bring them up once we get you set up, their clean and dry now."
They'd already been washed and dried? How long had she been mindlessly out of control? She wondered, panicking silently. Just then, her stomach growled loudly as if in a rather embarrassing answer to her question. She'd just eaten a small dinner before Hatch, damn him, had locked in her that cage downstairs. At the very least, it would have had to have been over several hours.
The thought of that alone made her feel faint as she was led out of the room and down the short hallway. Stopping just outside the last door on the right, Jacqueline opened the door with a cheerful "here we are" and stepped away to allow royalty in first. Stepping forward with a light nod of appreciation, she entered the room.
Barely a foot into the octagon shaped room, Nix drew up short, overwhelmed by the barrage of luxury before her. From the large mirrors with their frames of brilliant, shining gold that hung on each wall, the sumptuous red velvet drapes that separated each one, to the tall brass incense burner set off to one corner, it was like nothing she had ever seen.
In the center of the eight sided room, stood a dais of black and white swirled marble, a thick white rug covering the front portion of its steps and onto the floor in front. Atop it stood a modern marvel of a bathing pool, because her mind simply refused to accept something that large that could fit six or more people should be considered a bathtub, cut of clear crystal into the shape of an enormous half shell, the different facets sparkling magnificently in a beam of sunlight. On one side of the dais, a tall, bronze statue of a beautiful nude woman stood next to it, bent provocatively at the hips over the lip of the shell, an urn in her arms.
Stepping further into the room, her reflection caught her eye. She stopped and gave herself a long hard look. No wonder Jacqueline, who was now skirting in behind her, murmuring something about getting the water going, couldn't recognize her, she could barely recognize herself.
The wild haired temptress she saw staring back at her was a stranger, with the crimson sheets bundled around her and pouty, kiss swollen lips. Nix edged closer to one of the mirrors, closer to this mystery woman, and reached out to touch the cool glass with trembling fingertips. The cold, empty stare was at such odds with the amorous looking woman that it was frightening. Was it really her?
Her self reflection was interrupted by the gurgling of water, and turning around, she found that Jacqueline was leaning over, messing with a lever at the base of the statue, and water was now flowing from the urn in the bronze woman's arms and into the crystal shell. Jacqueline stood and gave her another smile.
"If you'll just excuse me, you're majesty, I need to pop down to the laundry room to bring up some fresh towels. Feel free to just pick out a scented oil there on the steps and add it to your bathwater." She gestured to the other side of the dais, where an assortment of many different colored jars and bottles sit, glittering like jewels, before she hopped merrily down the steps and disappeared out the door, shutting it behind her.
Nix stared at the door a moment, feeling a little lost. Alone now, she was subject to her mind and all its insisting pondering and its damning, albeit oddly hazy, memories. With a sharp shake of her head to banish such thoughts, she set about looking through the bottles of oils and salts. The bathing pool was almost full by the time she had gone through the different bottles, selecting one made of bright yellow glass that contained an oil that smelled of roses and lilac's. Adding it to the water absentmindedly, she replaced it back in its proper place, turned the water off, then gave the door a suspicious glance.
When certain it was fully shut and no one was spying on her, she dropped the sheets from her body and was just about to step over the edge of the crystal shell when her reflection drew her attention a second time, and what she saw made her gasp with the first true reaction she'd had since waking.
In muted horror she stared at a multitude of bruises that were scattered haphazardly over her body, the little love bite marks across her neck and shoulders. Her eyes lingered on a set of especially upsetting handprints on the back of her upper thighs, dark fingermarks curling around onto her bottom. Just what in the name of Avo and all the Heroes had they been doing down there?
Summoning up all her will power, she tried to block out the darker details of her dilemma. What she needed to do now was take a step back and concentrate on a way to get out of this mess. Easing down into the hot water, sitting down on a small ledge that had been crafted for sitting, she couldn't help the small sigh that escaped. There was no denying it was soothing on her aching and weary muscles.
She leaned her head back onto the lip of the crystal, gazing up to find a circular, golden chandelier hanging above, filled with at least a hundred unlit red candles, more mirrors somehow mystifyingly attached to the ceiling around it. In the center of the chandeliers mount was where the sunlight was streaming in from, a unique little window cut directly into the ceiling. Would wonders never cease?
Gazing up to the small sliver of blue skies beyond, her head started to spin with questions. They all boiled down to the one fact that she couldn't deny, even as she vehemently wished it wasn't true.
She'd had sex with Reaver. Not just any sex either, but ridiculously uninhibited, feverishly erotic, and if the marks on her body were anything to go by, passionately rough sex. With the parts that she could recall, it'd been a little bit dirty sometimes, and a hell of a lot raw.
With sharp shake of her head, Nix closed her eyes and really tried not to let her mind wander too far and focus this time. She needed to find her belongings, even if she had to unfortunately leave behind the Black Dragon, getting the gauntlets was paramount. What good was she to the Resistance, and the rest of Albion for the matter, if she couldn't harness her power as a Hero? For the first time since learning she was one, she felt a pang of humiliation that unlike her father, she had to rely on a crutch to be of any use.
A few minutes later, Jacqueline returned with not only fluffy white towels, but her clothes in tow, breaking Nix from the melancholy musings she'd had as she scrubbed her skin thoroughly. She stored most of them on some shelves secreted away behind one of the mirrors, then brought one over and helped her from the water.
Quickly she dried herself, toweling off her hair to the best of her ability, and took her clothes. While she was dressing though, she noticed something about one particular article of clothing, or rather, the lack thereof.
"Um..Jacqueline?" She asked to the other woman, who had turned around to give her princess a little more privacy.
"Yes, your highness?"
"I..uh, I think something's missing." Hm, awkward.
"O-oh. Them's was all the clothes that I could find, my lady." By the embarrassed tone in her voice, it was apparent she knew exactly what was missing. Immediately they both dropped the uncomfortable subject.
Once dressed, she was led back into Reaver's bedchamber, and she got the distinct feeling suddenly that Jacqueline, while completely friendly, wasn't so much here to see to her needs as she was to keep an eye on the royal prisoner. The maid produced a fine silver brush and gestured to one of the creme colored wingback chairs in front of the hearth. A mild fire had been built inside to dispel some of the damp chill that had crept down from the Mistpeak mountains to wrap Millfields in its wintery embrace.
Unsure of what else to do, Nix sat. She could most definetly knock the girl out and start snooping about, but what if another servant came up, or Reaver himself? It was a big house, and without a clue to where her things were, that outcome was highly possible. Maybe she could talk a certain maid she knew into helping her out, but first she'd need to see where her loyalties lie. She was working as a servant for Reaver after all.
Jacqueline pulled the brush through the wet, disheveled mane of dark chocolate, working so gently through the tangles that Nix actually enjoyed it. Made a little drowsy by the primping and warmth of the fire, she listened on to the maid's excited chattering, hoping she could glean something from the conversation. Between the rush of compliments and the complaints of the recent change in weather, she started to think that she'd learn nothing of use from her. Until that is she was bombarded with a horde of questions about people from court. Nix filled her in on the one's she knew about, but before she could finish giving her unfortunately dour report, she was interrupted.
"Do you know if Lilian Varens ever accepted Sir Thomas's proposal?"
"Yes, they were married late last spring. Logan let them get married in the gardens at the castle. It was very beautiful ceremony." Nix said, happy to be the bearer of some good news. It had come to a shock to most of everyone that her brother had allowed their request to get married in the royal gardens, with the erratic and temperamental state he was always in these days. The warm sunny day had been perfect for the happy couple, she remembered fondly. Not a single thing had overshadowed it, which could probably be attributed to the fact Logan hadn't bothered to attend it, choosing instead to hole himself up in the war room as was usual.
"Oh, how romantic! I'm so happy to hear that, she was my best friend, you know. She is lucky to catch such a good looking man who is also quite the gentlemen." She sighed reverently.
Nix saw the moment of opportunity finally present itself for her to test the waters and pounced.
"I do agree with you, Sir Thomas is an attractive man, but I don't think he holds a candle to Lord Reaver. Wouldn't you agree?" She said, laying on a thick coating of feigned, sugary sweet admiration to her voice.
I can't believe I just actually said that. She thought bewilderedly while doing a damn fine job at ignoring a cheeky inner voice that said she wasn't exactly lying.
The brush stopped midstroke, the careful ministrations coming to a halt. A long moment passed by in silence, and Nix could feel the sudden agitation coming from behind her.
"Yes, he is very pleasing on the eyes, ma'am." The strain to Jacqueline's voice was terribly obvious, and it made her wonder. Was she not here of her own accord?
"But?" Nix pressed delicately. This was it, the moment of truth, the moment when she found out if she could trust her or not, and she didn't want to bungle it with improper handling.
Another pause full of anxeity, and when she finally responded, it was so low it would have been inaudible had she not leaned down, hands now on the princess's shoulders, and whispered into her ear.
"Please, my lady, exercise caution with him. He may be charming to you now, but some of the things I've seen here are quite...unsettling. I know you must have seen the marks on you're body, and a little bit of rough love is the least of your worries."
"Why are you here?" Turning around, Nix fixed the other woman with a inquiring gaze. At first she had thought maybe Jacqueline had taken such a fancy to Reaver that she'd offered her services as maid in his household, yet her plea of concern said otherwise. This didn't make any sense.
"Because she wants to be, isn't that right?" A sharp voice cut from across the room.
Both women gave a startled little jump, but only one of them whipped around to face the owner of said voice. Nix kept her eyes firmly on her newfound, unsuspecting comrade, watching the fretful expression transform her wisplike face while she performed a hasty curtsy.
"Of course, my lord." Jacqueline said nervously, wringing the gold hem of her dresses black overcoat.
"You may leave now."
The frightened woman hurried across the room and out the door, not even casting so much as a backward glance, leaving Nix terribly alone with the man she wasn't so sure she wanted to face now.
"Good morning, princess." Reaver chimed cheerily, coming closer.
The warrior within that Walter had worked so hard to train demanded she turn and face the enemy, reasoning that it wasn't safe to be unaware of his every move, but still she turned away and fixed her eyes on the crackling fire, determined not to see him out of her periphereal. She wasn't ready for this confrontation, but sadly she didn't have a choice.
A whisper of sound on her right told her that he was closeby, and quickly Nix steeled herself as best she could, willing her heart to stop its ridiculous pounding that had started from the moment she'd heard his voice. A long, flexible rod bound in black leather appeared in her line of vision, its flat tip reaching out to touch her left cheek.
When he applied pressure in a wordless, arrogant prompt to look at him, it set her teeth on edge and she reached up to knock it away from her face with irritated incredulity. That he had the gall to treat her in such a subserviant manner had her turning an acidic glare his way.
"How dare-" A sudden, unsteady inhalation killed the begining of her angry tirade before it was ever truly born when she locked eyes with him. Even if one could transmute all the galvanized steel in the world into some sort of potion and inject into one's soul, to be used as a barricade for the spirit, it wouldn't have been enough to prepare her for the sight of him.
The deep emerald depths of his gaze were focused on her face with an all too intimate familiarity, masculinely full set of lips, the mouth of a born seducer, curled into a half smile of indolent lechery. Dressed in a pair of tight black leather trousers, knee length boots, and a loose fitting, elegant satin shirt of scarlet that was tucked in, unlaced in a V to allow for an inviting view of his chest, he was sinfully gorgeous. Like some sort of divine being fallen from grace, or more like a roguish descendent of the God of darkness and chaos. Perhaps even Skorm himself, come to torture her with his wickedness.
Emotions, which had been repressed after waking to such a shock and had only increased to a minutely less dimmed state with the advent of Jacqueline's kindness, flooded her with torrential magnitude. Regret, guilt, resentment, humiliation that he'd seen her in such an wild, unguarded state. A damning, intense attraction coupled with an uncontrollable, primitive satisfaction of a woman who knew she'd had sex with one of the most desireable men in Albion led to an even deeper sense of humiliation and shame. But when the urge to lower her eyes away from the unbearable truth that faced her so handsomely came, a tangible feeling that could she could cling desperately to reared its head of fierce indignation.
Anger. A fiery rage that comes from being taken advantage of when you were at your lowest point.
With a cocky, boastful smirk he bent at the waist and leaned in to bring his face close to hers.
"What's the matter, princess? Cat got that ravishing, talented tongue of yours?" He purred mockingly.
Oh yes, she was going to kill him.
Author's Note: Thanks to all my readers, you guys are great! Just keep the reviews coming! ^_^