Daniel blinked through the tears as he knelt before his lover, struggling to breathe through several broken ribs. Those brown jewels glittered dangerously in the light. He understood, now, what the Shaman had proclaimed. Their love was gone. There was no recognition in those cold eyes. Hands that had once twitched to hold him, now gripped the long knife that was to take off his head. Jack may be alive, but he was nothing more than a shell.
Pain came from every part of his body. Once he had understood what was happening, Daniel had fought back as best he could. But he could not bring himself to hurt the man he loved so much, despite the fact that Jack seemed to be doing his best to kill him.
The Iskat standing around the pasture-turned-stadium yelled, screamed and raged murder at the two near naked men. Only one set of eyes weren't shouting blood lust. Old eyes that had seen too much blood. Daniel found those eyes, and nodded his apology that they would have to once again witness the death of something beautiful.
The Iskat had set the two against each other. Jack was heavily drugged, and seemed to have no other thought than to kill him. The only sound that had come from his lips had been war cries and heavy grunts on the rare occasion Daniel managed to hit him.
Despite the pain in his body, having to fight Jack off was killing Daniel's soul. Arkaya had quickly explained that the drug would wear off in a few weeks. During that time the two men would be pitted against each other until one of them died. Failing one of their deaths before the drug wore off, they would both be executed.
The winner would be free to go. Daniel had tried to refuse to fight, flat out, denying the surrounding mob their amusement, but Jack had been relentless, and apparently had every intention of unknowingly being the one to walk away. Daniel had been eventually forced to defend himself.
Now, he knelt before his partner, trembling with weakness, tears staining his cheeks. He was done. He had nothing left to fight with. He wanted this contest over, because going one more day having to face off against his friend would leave nothing left of Daniel's already tattered soul. This was going to end. He wasn't afraid of dying. In fact, there would have been a certain peace in it, if it hadn't been Jack who was going to deliver the final blow.
He knew this would destroy Jack, when his memory returned. He couldn't stop another flood of tears. "I love you, Jack, and I'm sorry I'm not strong enough to take your life to save you this pain. I'm sorry that I'm not strong enough to live through this. I hope someday that you can forgive me. I love you, and I get to die knowing you love me. It's a gift I had never thought possible. Thank you, Love, for being stronger than I am," Daniel whispered, aware of the muted silence surrounding them.
Taking a deep breath, Daniel reached within himself to gather up every moment of love Jack had shared with him, both before and after their relationship had started. He hoped a part of his lover could see it in his eyes as his met Jack's. As Jack took a final stance, Daniel bared his throat, whispering one last time, "I love you, Jonathan O'Neill."