I'm pretty surprised that I actually made it to the second chapter. I usually get sidetracked...And this isn't up to par either. There's a ton of things I would have rewritten but at this point I'm just churning words out simply to get this done.

Well, it isn't midnight so my juices aren't flowing with that half-asleep spark as in the first chapter, but we'll see how this goes.

More Than Willing

When I finally made it to the Daroga's humble abode, I had every intent to kill him. It would likely not be a quick or painless death either. My cold hands wrapped around his tanned neck for starters, then probably a few fingers removed, and quite possibly ending with his head disconnected from his body. Yes, that sounded just grand-

"Erik?" I heard a heavily accented voice call from a crack in the door. Apparently in my daze, I had knocked.

"Who else would be standing outside your house in the middle of a damned blizzard, you buffoon?"

"Oh yes, that's definitely you," Nadir sighed before opening the door a bit more to let me in, but not the frigid air. "Allah, it's bad out there." He shut the door firmly before leading me to a sitting room with a warm fire.

"Hmph," I commented, having lost the will to kill the man. That warm fire was melting all the cold off of my bones as well as the bitterness latched to my brain. I took off my cloak and tossed it on a coat rack, directly under which it was sure to leave a horrendous puddle due to all the liquifying snow.

After I found a place in a chair by the fire, Nadir watched me closely for a few moments. Probably trying to figure out if I was going to kill him or not. 'Well, don't give it too long or I just might do what I intended to moments ago.'

As if reading my mind, he jumped into action and offered me some tea. "It's a little bitter, but-"

"The more bitter, the better," I said, eyeing the fire and not the man I was actually talking to. If I stared long enough, the heat would burn away my optical nerves and organs, rendering me with limited vision or at the very most, blind. But then again perhaps my eyes were designed to withstand many physical stretches such as absorbing light in complete darkness…

Nadir came back into the room, drawing me from the train of thought with a cup of tea. I took a sip and softly shook my head. "Bitter," I said shortly. He chuckled and took a seat in the chair opposite mine. We looked like an old married couple seated contently before the fire, drinking our tea with muted conversation.

But I was hardly content, wasn't I?

I set my tea down on a small table with shaky fingers, knowing that this course of thought would lead to many more, making me dizzy from their assault on my consciousness. 'Not to mention, making me terrible company,' I thought with a hint of angry humor. Leaning forward, I caught my forehead between the thumb and index fingers of both hands and applied pressure on my temples. At least I could still access the point of pain without removing the mask. I didn't have enough control to handle a disgusted Daroga.

"Is something wrong, Erik?" Nadir questioned, already alerted to my distress. I sensed him reaching across the space between us (probably to offer some useless physical comfort) before second guessing his actions and withdrawing. Smart man.

I laughed, the coarse sound unnatural to my usual liquid-like grace. I think it frightened Nadir a bit because out of the corner of my eye, I saw him jump. "Is something wrong? Is something wrong?" The jump to delusion was swiftly approaching and soon I would be lost to a darker temper. It had been a long time since I'd told myself to 'get a grip on things, man!' Those attempts at dominance over the shadows were futile.

"Of course something is wrong, you fool! When has there been anything right?" I demanded, suddenly jumping up and facing him. I must say, he put up quite the strong front. Only his quivering knees revealed fear.

"I'm stuck in a tunnel, a pitch black tunnel so dark that even I can't see the ground or my hand in front of my sorry excuse for a face." My hands leapt to the mask, threatening to tear it off. Only Nadir's very visible flinch kept me from doing so. "There's no light ahead or behind me, Daroga. It's as if I suddenly woke up and found myself there, as if I were forced blindfolded and handcuffed."

Eyes racing quickly over the room, I tried to find objects that might rip me from this madness. Anything to spur any other memory, any other emotional outburst other than this one. Teacup, mantle, bookshelf, mirror (oh don't go there!), window showing the swirling white world outside, my cloak-

Not the cloak. That's not the place to go, Erik…

She had once worn that cloak.

... ... ... ... ... ...

After one of her lessons with me-underground-I was reading in my favorite armchair (my favorite because one night she had curled up in it and fallen asleep) and happened to look up and see her shivering with the black fabric in her tiny hands.

"Do you mind if I…," she started in that sweet voice before trailing off uncertainly.

"What is it, my child? Are you cold?" I was disturbed by her obvious discomfort with something. The way she bit her lip and looked down at her feet told me so. Had I said something? Done something she didn't like? Had I said a critique too harshly in our lesson? What had I-

"Could I wear this?"

My jaw dropped beneath the mask.

Horrified by what she had just said, she stammered. "I was just a bit cold and I saw it sitting over on a chair by the bookshelf I happened to be looking at and I…I thought maybe you wouldn't mind…" She blushed and dropped her gaze even lower.

I jumped up, the quickness of my movement startling her. She took a hesitant step back, clutching my cloak in white hands. With a tender slowness, I tilted my head until I caught her eye. She blushed even deeper, the red making her absolutely beautiful.

"Everything I own is yours to use as you please, dear. If you are cold you may use the cloak." I made sure to say "the cloak" instead of "my cloak" just in case the intimacy of the situation caused her to change her mind.

'Everything is yours. I am yours, dear. Use me as you please, dearest. Use and toss me aside like the cloak, my darling.'

She smiled, thanked me with a mumble, and skipped away with my cloak covering her body.

... ... ... ... ... ...

No, the cloak definitely wasn't the place to go.

"No," I whispered. I didn't notice Nadir anymore-he could have ran from the room for all I was aware. I was focused on the black tunnel again. "I wasn't drug here. I came very willingly." I imagined that beautiful girl grabbing my hand and pulling me forward, deeper and deeper into the blackness.

"Come on, Erik," she teased.

I wasn't able to see her, but I could feel her hand on mine like fire across my flesh. What did it matter where she was leading me as long as her hand was right there?

"She took my hand and led me into the tunnel. She was my guide…" I paused, horrified by my next realization.

"And she left me here."