The ghosts that we knew
Chapter 11
~Press my nose up to the glass around your heart
I should've known I was weaker from the start
You'll build your walls and I will play my bloody part
To tear, tear them down.~
It had been many weeks since her return and Riddick was beyond frustrated. While she had told him the generalities of her captivity she hadn't went into specifics. When he tried to question her, her voice went flat and she got an expressionless look upon her face telling him she wasn't ready to talk about it yet.
She simply wanted to enjoy her freedom.
He hadn't dared to touch her after that one night. He was afraid she would shatter when he did.
Carolyn was having a hard time adjusting to being able to come and go as she pleased, sometimes disappearing in the ship for hours when she knew that Riddick would be preoccupied.
She also bullied her guards into sparring with her every day. Vaako had even joined in on occasion, commenting on her skill. Riddick would simply look at her nicks and bruises with a raised eyebrow.
Carolyn knew his patience was nearing an end.
Riddick found it amusing that everyone assumed she was his wife based on one mans comments but had never pushed the issue to find out the truth of the matter.
Carolyn found that she wasn't as ready to give up the illusion of them being married as Dame Vaako was. Some how, the woman knew that she and Riddick hadn't had sex, even though they were sleeping in the same bed, and made sure that everyone else did as well. She was quickly becoming a thorn in Carolyn's side. Carolyn had bitten her tongue but the day was coming when she wouldn't have any tongue left.
Vaako had watched the Lord Marshall and his woman dance around each other for weeks now. He wasn't quiet sure what Riddick's strategy was, only that it was slow. He knew that the Lord Marshall had watched her spar everyday since he had found out about the afternoon ritual. He also knew that Riddick hadn't told Carolyn that he knew.
Vaako had found the Breeder desirable on many levels and had begun to slowly step back when his wife blatantly accused him of wanting her. He knew his wife too well. For both his and Carolyn's sake he had to distance himself.
It was all Vaako's fault that things weren't going as they should, Dame Vaako fumed as she watched Carolyn enter the throne room where the rest of the commander's wives had gathered. He had become enamored of the little chit since he had found her. Dame Vaako turned up her nose. Even the Lord Marshall had stopped sniffing around since she had been back, but she was about to put an end to that. By the time she was done with her, Lady Riddick would be begging her husband to send her back from where she had come.
Riddick knew that she had changed on a fundamental level. He had seen the various scars on her body and knew they could be no less than battle scars. It was merely confirmed for him the day that he had stumbled across the room in which she spared with her ever-present guard.
He just happened to be passing by one day and stuck his head in when he heard the fighting. She had an animal grace to her movements and there was a look in her eyes. A look that said you should prepare to die because she wasn't.
He made a habit of making sure he watched every day. And every day he was so stiff with wanting her that he could barely walk out of the room. His patience was coming to an end. He would have his answers and he would have his lover.