Part 3
"Did you plan on reserving the same brutality your comrades used?" Rachel said.
"Oh that and more Madam. Initially I simply wanted to kill him but as I approached, and as he begged and begged I became angrier and angrier. Then I saw something in his hand, it was Gregory's pocket watch. I'm unsure what truly happened but I felt an anger I had never felt before. It was naught but sheer hatred, a very bitter maelstrom of seething malice that seemed to almost push me towards him. I lost all control; I recall the men backing up to avoid the spray and gore that would surely emanate from the scene. I walked up to him and began to dissect his body," Valkenhayn said, his face was clearly burning with an ancient anger. Rachel sunk into Nago as little Gii was visibly shaking in terror now. Valkenhayn gritted his teeth once more; he had been telling most of the story with his side to Rachel, now he turned his back completely on her. She could feel he didn't want to scare her—and while she always thought that was not quite possible (at least not anymore) she was beginning to wonder. His silver hair shimmered under the moon that so pulled him into oblivion. She could only imagine the pained expression he was making.
"I disemboweled him right there. The hatred pulled me into him, pulled my claws into his body. I pulled out as many organs and pieces of flesh and muscle that I could. His screams and pleads were largely ignored. All I could think of was Lydia and how they defiled her, destroyed her innocence before taking her life. I was going to make him pay with extreme prejudice. He lingered closer and closer to death as I continued eviscerating him. I recall yelling at the top of my lungs, shouting 'for vengeance, for Lydia.' He had no idea what I was talking about, him and his scum didn't care about anyone else. The thought of his brutality and selfishness only drove me even more into frenzy. I gouged out one of his eyes right there. His screams were dwindling now, the profuse blood loss had driven him to the brink of death. I looked him in the eye and the sheer terror that still bled off of it. As far as I knew no one else existed at that moment, it was simply him and I. I grabbed him by the throat—I remember being somewhat shocked at my bloodied claw, after all I had never actually looked at my Lycan claws in light but the campfire lit it up and all of its crimson horror. I ripped out his throat and for a brief moment settled for the sounds of his choking gasps of blood curdled breath," Valkenhayn said.
Gii was now shaking uncontrollably. Nago's eyes were wide with shock as were Rachel's, she had no idea he was truly capable of such animal brutality—although given the circumstances and his young age, she could believe it. "M-my, such violence. . ." she said, looking off at the roses.
"I wasn't finished, not yet. I grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground. I remember yelling at the top of my lungs, asking him to tell me why he had done what he did, why he had his men do the terrible act they had done to such an innocent girl. The blood was so profuse I had a hard time holding on to him but I managed. I began repeatedly slamming his head into the ground, again and again. The blood spatter got all over me, on my face, in my mouth. The taste of blood drove me even deeper into madness. I continued his head bashing until his skull cracked and caved in. In essence—and including the damage my claws were doing to him—his face and body were all completely unrecognizable, simply a pile of gore, cracked bones, and shredded tissue," Valkenhayn continued, his voice a very deep and bitter tone.
"Well did you—return the possessions to the owners, to Gregory?" Rachel said, she had grown quite done with the gory details. Imagining her kind and gentle butler doing such horrid things was very unsettling.
Valkenhayn was silent for a moment, then he spoke, "I glanced down at his hand, at the pocket watch. He had attempted to shield himself from my blows multiple times, needless to say he failed and his arms—especially his forearms—were completely disfigured and sliced to ribbons. The watch was covered in a lot of the gore but I picked it out of his hand. By now my form had begun to revert and the men gathered around me. I opened the watch and there was a picture of Lydia. I had seen Gregory glance at it a few times when he had it but I had never seen the inside. Lydia's face seeing me in such a state broke me. I came to the hideous revelation that she was never coming back, and my killing of this monster did nothing to revive her. I felt a pain that stung down to my very core, an agony that seemed to break my bones. I crumpled right there, on the man's corpse, sobbing uncontrollably. I was never going to see her again. The men slowly began working around me, gathering the things up and preparing to leave. I remember Cecil laying his hand on my shoulder, he whispered to me old hymns of his family. I had never heard him sing before but as I laid there it seemed to calm me down. Eventually I found the will to keep breathing, to stand up," Valkenhayn said as Rachel saw him pull out his pocket watch again.
She didn't know what to say, nor Gii or Nago.
"We packed up the stolen possessions and headed back to Gvenrich. Yet as we approached I could see something was wrong. When we came to the clearing overlooking the town I saw the horror that we had missed in our absence. War-war had torn through the little town that I had so desperately tried to call my new home. The buildings either laid in ruin or were smoldering in a bitter inferno. Corpses littered the streets, and the near dead wandered the alleyways looking for help. I glanced to Gregory's manor on the other side of town. It was ablaze with a fire that seemed to almost mock me from the distance. I had shed my last tear though, now I was filled with a hatred and anger that approached the heavens. Why had the universe been so cruel to me? Why so cruel to the innocent people around me? How could this have happened? Cecil, his men and I stood there for a few more moments. I pulled out the watch and glanced at Lydia, I decided that for Gregory, for Elizabeth, for Michael, and for Lydia I would hold onto it and remember her—as well as them for as long as I walked this Earth. I had lost my family, my new family, the love of my life, everything," Valkenhayn said, his voice trailing off.
Rachel looked down at her hands. She felt legitimately awful for making him retell this melancholic tale. "I had no idea Valkenhayn. . ." Nago said behind Rachel. Gii was shaking and sobbing now.
"I suppose there isn't much more to say Madam. I traveled with Cecil and his men from that point on. A few years later we came into contact with your father. As I'm sure he's told you we did not get along initially but eventually, we settled our differences and I began to work alongside him. As the years passed Cecil's men died off, either in a war or pointless fighting. William and Cecil were the last to survive, although they died attempting to fight the Black Beast—had I known that they would be so reckless, I would have tried to join them. After all with the other heroes I eventually did. . .I suppose the fates decided otherwise. They were good men, I make sure to remember them every day. I suppose, that's it Milady, I hope that wasn't too boring for you. . ." Valkenhayn said; his back still turned.
Rachel stared at her faithful servant, "I—I'm very sorry Valkenhayn. Thank you for sharing. That was a very. . .unfortunate story."
Valkenhayn chuckled, "I'm very old Madam, you needn't worry about me. Now, what would you like to do?" He turned around, his face looked worn. Scars and wounds she had never seen before seemed all the more visible now. He had truly been through hell and back. She didn't really know if it was proper to make him do anything too hard after having him tell such a grueling tale. She was tired though and decided it was time for sleep. "I'm going to rest Valkenhayn, 12 hours please," she said, getting up and heading to her castle. "Of course Madam," Valkenhayn replied, picking up the dishware. She disappeared into the castle as he cleaned up outside.
Rachel made sure to peak out of the corner of bedroom window down onto Valkenhayn. The window overlooked the garden and all of its eerie beauty. She stood and watched him finish cleaning. When he finished he stood there a moment, there seemed to be an incredible weight on him. He pulled out his pocket watch and stared into it. She couldn't see for sure, but from a distance it looked that a small tear fell down his face. Rachel wondered why he had put up with so much trouble from the forces that be for so long. Most people commit suicide by now; this only confirmed her belief that Valkenhayn was just a truly strong man. She smiled and eventually curled up into her bed, Gii next to her and Nago at the bed's feet. She watched the clouds continue their dance across the moon for a few brief moments. She thought of her mother and father, and her closest and most trusted friend—things that painted a smile on her face as she drifted off to sleep.
Valkenhayn admired the silence, now that the story was over with he felt a bit more at ease. All those memories he had been trying to cover up and push away were on his mental horizon now. He cursed himself for not being able to remember his mother's face, to remember the name of his hometown, where Gvenrhich was or even the rest of its name. Such was life getting old. He chuckled at his condition and stared back up at the moon. He thought of Lydia's face, Cecil and his men, the naïve kindness of Gregory, all things that reminded him of the good in the world. Now he had Rachel to live for—with Clavis gone, he had a responsibility to keep her safe and happy, something he felt he failed to do for Lydia. Rachel reminded him of Lydia, that's what it all came down to. He could see her every time he saw Rachel. Sometimes he felt the universe had dealt him a very cruel and unjust hand, yet as he stared up at the moon, he smiled and reminisced on his life, and the friends with whom he shared it.