"Doll, ya came back." Solomon's gruff voice greets me. It was hoarse today, like he hadn't spoken in days. He lifts his head to look at me and I bite my bottom lip. His left eye was basically swollen shut and it was black and purple around it.
"I brought you some cake." I say meekly, thinking about how stupid that sounded.
"Why?" He let out a little chuckle, followed by a cough and clearing his throat.
"I don't know, it isn't your birthday?" I shrug helplessly, trying to lighten the mood. "Because I didn't know if they were feeding you, and come on, who doesn't like cake?" I ask him, offering a forkful.
"What a stupid question. Everyone likes cake, for the record I don't remember my birthday." He rebuts, taking the bite. "I don't like being fed." he grumbles.
"Well, I can't let ya loose because they'll probably figure out it was me and because I don't trust you enough not to hurt me." I tell him honestly. He takes a couple more forkfuls, thinking about that for a moment. "How does someone forget their birthday?" I basically scoffed, shaking my head.
"The first thing I'd do is back you up against that wall behind ya, and fuck your brains out." He states in a lusty tone. His eyes were locked with my own. While my face may have looked shocked, the comment literally made my core involuntarily clench. "Sorry doll, was that to blunt? I'm not known for my subltly." He shrugs.
"A little." I reply with wide eyes. New subject please. "Do you know what's all down here and why they're here?" I ask curiously in a desperate attempt at a subject change.
"Everything is down here for the same reason." He basically scoffed. "When the Demon wants information he does whatever he wants to do to get that information out of you. Regardless of if it kills you or not, though he enjoys to drag out the torture. If that ain't obvious already." He looks down at himself. My heart broke. I didn't want anything of this to be true. How could the sweet, charming, caring man that I knew be so cruel?
"Oh." Was all I could respond with. A few minutes of silence pass between us. I was trying to process all this information while basically just staring at him. He stared right back, his gaze just as unwavering as my own.
"What do you keep comin' down here for, doll? You must like me." He smirks.
"Because you're probably the only one down here that'll talk to me." I admit. "How old are you?" I ask curiously.
"1200 years old." He answers without hesitation. "Give or take a few." He adds with a shrug. "How do you make it down here without getting caught? he asks back.
"Finn leaves me alone in the castle most of the day." I answer. Another thing that was starting to annoy me. He'd be gone in the morning, waking me up to let me know he was leave, then he wouldn't come back until dinner. Which I suppose is a regular 9-5 job, but seems like eternity if I'm by myself all day. "If I time it right and leave in the morning, then I get back in time for a late lunch and no one really notices I'm missing. No one really notices me in the castle anyway, besides a few people." I shrug.
"Why would he leave such an extraordinary creature by herself all day?" He wonders and I actually blush, letting red creep up into my cheeks.
"Probably to find more creatures to torture in his creepy ass dungeon." I sigh. We both look at the door when there's voices walking down the hall towards us. "Shit." I mumble, glancing around the room. There was no way out, and literally no where for anything or anyone to hide without being obviously seen.
"There's a hidden door behind the shelf on the wall, doll. When the Demon comes down here, that's the door he comes through so it's gotta lead into the castle or close." He says quickly, nodding his head towards the shelf. I pick up the plate that the cake had been on, and scramble to the shelf.
"Thank you." I whisper to him, pulling it shut behind me. I jogged down the hallway until there was a narrow, tall, spiral staircase going up. Figuring I had nothing to lose and no other choice I followed it up. By the time I reached the door at the top my legs were literally on fire. Quietly I cracked open the door, and was met by what seemed like clothes. As I pushed my way through it I realized that it was the closet in Finn's master bedroom. Luckily he wasn't back yet, because the room was empty. Well, I guess that didn't really mean he wasn't home, it just meant he wasn't up here right now.
***...***...***
"Ok well the problem with that idea is that he could suspect it was I who lets Solomon go." I glower at Baron who was on the other side of my kitchen counter.
"Why would he think that? You're the precious girlfriend that can do no wrong in his eyes." He basically scoffed. So Baron and I were trying to put our heads together to think of a fool proof way to get Solomon out of there.
"Because he already knows that I'm sneaking around doing something." I sigh. "He kind of caught Kelly and I a couple weeks ago. He went out looking for us and he couldn't find us." I tell him, leaning back against the stove. "Not only that but I'm sure he's getting suspicious about the house too. We can't keep hanging out here. He smelled wet dog the last time you were here, I blamed it on Kelly's cooking." I say and he smirks.
"It's that bad, huh?" he teases making me chuckle.
"Well, usually it's not awful but she does make this nasty ass mushroom dish. That's all besides the point." I add with a shake of my head.
"You can always come to my place." He suggests.
"I shouldn't be seeing you at all." I shake my head. Truth was, I was really starting to like Baron. Not like in a sexual way, but he was actually a pretty nice guy and I enjoyed his company a lot. If the situation wasn't how it is, we'd make great friends.
"You shouldn't but that hasn't stopped you yet." He shrugs. He rakes a hand through his shoulder length hair that for once wasn't pulled into a pony tail. "Where's he at anyway?" He wonders.
"Honestly? I have no idea." I reply, glancing at my phone. "If I work all day then I usually don't see him until dinner time, but I got off early today." I say to him. I neglected to tell Finn I was off early, but that's because Baron was in my living room when I got home today.
"All you've gotta do is get Solomon out of that room. He'll morph and snap himself back to his cave." He says, bringing Solomon up again. I've figured out that these guys were pretty close friends. Apparently you'll find friends and allies in creatures you wouldn't generally get along with if you have to team up against something as powerful as Finn.
"Ok listen... Again, I don't want to get the blame for this. I don't want the wrath of the Demon on me." I chuckle, "And secondly his ankles are chained to the wall with a key that I don't have, nor do I know where it is." I sigh. If I had to take a guess it was either on Finn somewhere, or hidden in the bedroom somewhere. Or I could be totally wrong. Shit, he might keep those keys hanging on a wall somewhere like you would your house and car keys at home. "How come you can't do that were transport thing?" I ask him curiously.
"Hey, I'm just a dog." He shrugs with a smirk. "I don't come with any powers besides shifting forms."
"Yeah, a dog that doesn't listen for shit. I don't know how many times I told you that ya shouldn't be here." I grumble at him. "How about you break in and get him out? Finn and I will both be gone here soon for a couple weeks to go visit my family in Louisiana." I tell him. He stares at me, thinking about that for a moment.
"That could work." He finally agrees. "Why do you want him to meet your family?" He furrows his brows at me.
"He's still my boyfriend." I raise my eyebrows at him. "He's still good to me. He still treats me with respect. Every morning he wakes me up with kisses. Always tells me to have a good day. Checks up on me. Sometimes he makes me dinner. Fucks me hard and makes sure I'm satisfied." I rattle that last part off quicker, trying not to smirk.
"Alright, alright." He sighs, rolling his eyes. "Gross." He adds, making a face.
"You should probably get going though. I'm not sure what time he'll come here, and I need time to mask the wet dog smell from him." I say honestly. Which shouldn't be a problem because I'd already started to make up some Chili for dinner.
"Alright. Talk to you later." He agrees, starting for the back door.
"Bye." I murmur, turning around to the cupboards.
***...***...***
"That smells good." Finn murmurs against my ear. His fingers hook into my belt loop and he presses soft kisses along my shoulder and neck. "Is that soda bread?" He questions, looking at the loaf on the counter. Soda bread was an Irish thing.
"Yes, do you like it?" I ask him hopefully. "I've never made it before but I wanted to make you something Irish for once..." I say with a shyer look. I wasn't really much for going out of my cooking comfort zone, but I wanted to try something new tonight.
"It's one of my favorites." He grins, "I'm sure it'll be great." He kisses my cheek. "Thank you for making it." He adds, hoisting himself up on a stool across from me.
"You're welcome." I murmur.
"I booked our tickets to Louisiana." He smiles, looking actually a little bit excited.
"Yeah?" I grin, "For when?"
"Exactly two weeks. Is that too soon?" He questions.
"No it's not. But... We're not getting married in three weeks, so just remember that." I rebut, raising my eyebrows at him.
"Nor was I expecting to wed you in three weeks." He smirks.
"My parents are going to wonder why I'm bringing home a man that I've only been dating for a couple months." I sigh.
"Do you know how old your parents were when they got married?" He questions curiously.
"Well, my momma was 16... So my daddy was like 19 or 20 probably." I answer simply. "Which has nothing to do with how long I've been with you." I tell him. "I miss Gannicus." I sigh.
"Would you like me to get you a puppy?" He questions.
"I want you to transport yourself home, get Gannicus and bring him back with you." I state, "What does my dragon have to do with a puppy?" I narrow my eyes at him, confused.
"Nothing. You realize Gannicus can't live here right? A dog can. He'll eventually get to big for me to bring him over here." He explains before he disappeared. I only grinned, because he really just went home to get me my dragon. A minute or so later he reappears in the dining area, holding my little monster.
"Oh, there's my baby!" I coo at him. He had been glancing around the house like 'where am I?' and when he heard my voice his head perked in my direction, wiggling himself out of Finn's arms to waddle over to me. "Hello sweet boy." I pick him up, snuggling him against my chest. His head rests on my shoulder while I run my fingers along his wings.
"His love for you is... What's the word you always use?" He murmurs, thinking about it for a minute. "Ridiculous." He finally states and I grin. "He and Dillon both. Ridiculous." He smirks.
"And you." I return his smirk, pressing my lips lightly against his.
"And I." He agrees.
"Do you want a treat?" I ask Gannicus, setting him down on the floor. He has a moment of difficulty trying to walk on my tile floors, but gets the hang of it after a minute or so.
"He doesn't need a treat." Finn rolls his eyes. "He is not a dog."
"He's a pet. My pet. My baby." I raise my eyebrows at him. "My baby that in a years time if I tell him to set fire to your face, he'll do it." I put my hands on my hips, trying to be serious. He grins, a big wide one and shakes his head with a chuckle.
"Give him his treat then." He hoists himself back up onto the stool. I pull out some chicken from the fridge and toss him a couple good sized pieces. "You spoil him." He grumbles.
"I spoil you." I scoff. "Guess I should stop cooking for you then." I shrug simply.
"You're very difficult." He chuckles. "I quite enjoy it." He adds. "Baramire would be extremely unhappy that you spoil him and give him so much lovey attention."
"Why?" I ask.
"We use our dragons for battle, spoiling them with affection and treats will make them soft." He shrugs simply.
"He's my dragon, and he won't be used for battle. If that's what you originally wanted then you shouldn't have introduced me to the eggs in the first place. In no way, shape or form will I ever support a war or battle or anything that involves hurting or killing another living being." I say making myself very clear.
"I know you won't." He smiles.
"I'm serious. Like, ever." I tell him.
"I'm serious. I know." He nods. "I would never ask you to support such things."
"Nor do I support any kind of torturing because you would want something they have." I raise my eyebrows. That comment earned a look, and I received and almost skeptical look. "If someone were to break the law, fine, jail... But that's it." He only replies with an 'mmhmm' which kind of gave me enough of an answer. "So if you have anything tucked away in deep dark places that you're hiding from me, might want to think about letting it go." Oh... May have said too much with that one.
"What sparked this?" He narrows his eyes at me. "Have I hidden anything from you yet?" He asks.
"Well, I haven't exactly asked about anything like that, so you haven't needed to hide anything. Plus you know damn well if I asked about something darker you'd just tell me that 'I wasn't ready to hear it yet'." I wave my hands in the air, before turning around to grab some bowls. Ok, I'd definitely said too much and I was starting to sound super suspicious. Time to stop. "Do you want cheese or crackers with your chili?" I ask him, glancing over my shoulder casually.
"I'm not sure that we're finished discussing this. You haven't answered my question." He states with raised eyebrows. He didn't look very impressed with me right now.
"Nothing sparked it... It's just something that has crossed my mind a few times since you've told me about the whole Demon king God thing." I shrug. "Cheese or crackers?" I repeat. I was now desperate to change the subject.
"Cheese." He basically growled. I turn back to the fridge, trying to hide my 'oh shit' face, and grab the bag of shredded cheese. I chose to not say anything more, and hope that he couldn't hear my heart pounding against my chest. "You're lying to me about something." He says, calming his tone a little bit. It was still dark, dangerous and a little scary, but down a couple levels from a moment ago.
"I'm not." I shake my head 'no'. I focus hard on the chili as I scoop it out of the crock pot, he's staring at me really hard, enough that my entire body feels like it's on fire. "Here, eat" I say, setting the bowl in front of him and tossing the cheese over there too. He's about to say something else when thankfully my phone starts to ring on the counter, I watch him glower at it. I glance at the caller ID, it was my momma.
"Hey momma." I greet her, leaning against the counter furthest from Finn.
"Hey darlin' how are you doing?" She asks me.
"I'm good momma, just finished making some chili for Finn and I." I tell her. I'd told my parents a while ago that I was seeing Finn, so he wasn't a new name in our conversation. "What're you guys doin'?" I ask her.
"Well, you're daddy is out on the boat as usual. I'm in the kitchen, makin' dinner. How are you guys doin?" She asks me
"We're good..." I glance up at Finn who was still watching me. "So uhm, we may or may not have tickets to come visit." I murmur to her.
"What?! You're coming home?!" She exclaims happily. "And you're bringing a man?" She asks.
"Yes, and yes." I chuckle.
"I never thought this day would happen." She tells me and I glower.
"Momma..." I groan.
"When?" She asks.
"Two weeks." I answer. "Please prep daddy to be nice." I sigh and she laughs.
"He'll be fine. How long are you guys staying?" She asks me. "Oh my gosh, I have to clean, and get some groceries..." She starts to rattle off.
"We're staying for..." I glance up at Finn who mouthed 'one week' to me, "A week." I answer her.
"Well, I am excited. And your daddy is going to be thrilled." She states.
"Yeah, until you tell him Finn is coming too." I roll my eyes.
"He'll be fine." She assures me.
"Yeah." I mutter. "Alright momma, I wanna eat my dinner so I"ll call you later."
"Alright baby, I love you."
"Love you too momma." I reply.
"Bye." I hear her say before I repeated it and hung up. I bite my bottom lip and set my phone down on the counter.
"She's excited." I smile at him.
"As am I." He nods, scooping some chili into his mouth. "Again, not to sound like a broken record but this is excellent. You are too good to me." He says.
"Thank you." I smile. Internally I sigh a breath of relief because I think he had dropped our earlier subject. I've definitely made him suspicious though, and that may have been a huge mistake on my part.
A/N: :) - my smirking face for the chapters coming up. Muhahaha.