{oOo}
She'd only wanted to please him. But Ruin had... and he had been so angry and...
The pain flooded her, bone deep weariness, every single day of her multiple long lives crushing down on her like tons of stone, and all she had was the memory of her lord's rage.
And her eyes burned but she didn't weep, held them in as she made her way down the hallway. Now was not the time or place.
She held her stiff martial posture, walking past the Space Marines, buried deeper and deeper in the ordure of humiliation, of failure with every step.
Never mind that the mission had succeeded outwardly. She'd failed Fulgrim. He no longer trusted her.
And that was the block of dust in her throat, the millstone around her neck that dragged her down.
Ruin fed on emotions. She knew this. He probably thought it was funny but…
She was bound to him. He was bound to her. He may as well have it.
She opened the gates of her mind, her soul to him, and let the screaming pain flow out, like a tide, as she locked herself in her rooms, dissolved her visor, and slumped into the bed.
Her visor had held the tears back, for a long time. Now she buried her face in her hands and wept. Wept for the ruination of her hopes. For the loss of her dreams.
He would never trust her again, would he?
And as much as she didn't want to, until she was sure he was safe, she would just have to live with it.
And on the other side of the ship, Ruin himself went ash pale, frozen, as he tasted what he'd never meant to provoke.
No father wishes to make their child weep. Ruin... despite his own belief in his villainy, was no exception. But this time, there was nothing he could say, or do.
Perhaps the strange white haired Primarch was right. Perhaps he should go see this Emperor.
Hopefully the other Eldritch being could tell him where he had gone wrong.
After all, he was a father too.
{oOo}