Don't ask where I've been. . .I don't even know O_o Enjoy. . .
The next day they went back to their home. Arielle went to the library and stayed there. The Kurgan went to an alcove off in some corner of the castle and sat down in an elegant, wing-backed chair, much like the one in their room. He propped his boots up on a table and rested his chin on his fist. It was well into the night when one of his man servants entered the room.
It was one of the upper servants who had been there most of his life and was used to all the colors his master's personality had to offer and so he wasn't timid when he walked in. "My lord, you have a visitor. I believe you were expecting him and so I showed him to the sitting room."
The Kurgan stood abruptly and grabbed his sword from where it rested against the chair. He growled as a response and the man bowed as his master walked passed. Afterwards he went off to attend to his other duties. As the giant stalked by the library, the sound of his boots resounding off the walls, Arielle heard and peaked out of the doors. She waited until he went into the room and then silently crept up to the room door and put her ear against the wood.
She was prepared to jump back at the first sound of a fight but instead she heard the carefully steady voice of her master on the other side. His deep voice rumbled in response to something the other Immortal said. Both were eerily calm and it made Arielle almost afraid. For some unknown reason she was uneasy about her own safety.
When she suspected they weren't about to fight she slowly crept away from the door and retreated back to her library. There she sat close to the door and listened for any sound. It felt like hours before the door could be heard opening. She rushed to peak out of the library and could see Belfeiro making his way to the front doors, before he walked out he turned slightly and met her eyes. He grinned devilishly and then chuckled and was shown out by a man servant.
Her eyes widened and deep down she wanted to smack him, she shrunk away behind the door. When he was gone she ventured out to find her mate. She ran into him as he was stalked out of the room they had been talking in. He looked gravely furious, yet calm at the same time. It was his eyes, pitch black and full of anger.
He brushed past her and she became confused. She fell into step behind him and looked up at him. "What did he want?"
He kept walking, "He wanted you. What else do you think he would want?"
Her eyes widened, "And what did you tell him?"
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his hand gripped the banister and his knuckled turned white. He turned his body to face her, "You question what I would tell him?" His voice was deadly calm but on the edge was plain fury.
She shrunk back where she stood and looked at the ground, her face turned red. "I, well, I-I had to ask, didn't I?"
He took deliberate steps in her direction causing her to back up until he reached out and grabbed her shoulders. He yanked her close to him and smashed his lips to hers passionately and heatedly. She melted against him but was still confused. When he pulled away he sucked in a lungful of air and let it out slowly, his warm breath washing over her skin. She shivered and he opened his eyes to look at her, they were blue again. She stared back breathlessly.
"Does it feel like I would give him to you?" He asked her.
She shook her head and he gently let her go. When her feet touched the ground again she looked up at him and he saw a flash of her old self in her face before it disappeared. He spun back around and continued up the stairs, leaving her at the bottom. She wandered in a daze back to the library and shut the door.
In his room The Kurgan was preparing to leave and his woman didn't know it yet. He never traveled with much, just his armor packed with his bow and most importantly his sword. It was all he needed. He looked around his room one last time knowing exactly what he was doing. As he walked down the stairs he recalled what had transpired behind closed doors.
Belfeiro stood there with his back to The Kurgan, his hands clasped loosely. When the master of the castle entered the Italian didn't even turn to respectfully greet him, no one was offended. He merely kept looking out the window.
"She's a beautiful woman Kurgan, feisty too." He finally turned to look at him, his eyes glittering with a plan. "How ever did you find her?"
The giant raised an eyebrow and stood by the door, it kept him from bursting into a fight which is what he knew Belfeiro wanted. "I pushed the boundaries of our universe."
The other Immortal showed mock surprise. "You mean you went to their world? So she's a human?" He chuckled, "But then again, in the end aren't we all?" He smirked.
The Kurgan wasn't amused. "Not us, and not her any longer." His scowl darkened, "She is mine, if you wish to take her draw your knife."
Belfeiro's smirk slowly faded into an expression a scolded child would make.
Both of them stood still knowing that neither wanted a fight at that moment.
The Italian spoke, "I actually carry news from a clan in Scotland, one you know."
"What would an Italian be doing in Scotland?" The other asked irritably.
Belfeiro rolled his eyes and dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "Maters naught, but I was there. You are familiar with the Fraser clan. Well they asked me to carry a message to you that they want you to fight again for them. You helped them to victory once many years ago and they know you live today."
The Kurgan's eye flashed with longing but it vanished quick.
The ever-smug Immortal grinned, "You know you crave war. You also know you crave to have your woman back." When his rival showed surprise he went on. "Oh yes I know all about how she was drugged to the point of amnesia. That is what she suffers from and it's particularly hard on you isn't it? Go to Scotland again, fight and she will be cured."
The Kurgan knew there was more to it, "What else?"
Belfeiro was surprised this time, "We may be rivals but I know how it is to lose the woman you love." It was true even though he was prone to rape many women. Like almost every other Immortal he had been in love and it had destroyed him when she grew so old her mind went and she no longer recognized him. After many years of that she finally passed away but watching her slowly forget him made him sympathize with his top rival. It was surprising to them both. "In return the Fraser clan is to give me a castle and an entire loch if I can get you to go fight them. I want it and can't get it alone. If you help them you help me and even though we will eventually kill each other I will, in turn, help you."
It was an almost perfect offer.
The Kurgan didn't trust it and Belfeiro knew.
He sighed and turned to fully face the other man. "It's only natural you don't trust me. Hell! I wouldn't trust me!" He suddenly looked exhausted. "As impossible as this deal sounds its true. Everything I say is true. Fight for the Clan, get me that loch, and I'll bring her back. The real Arielle."
The look in his eye was so deadly serious that The Kurgan knew Belfeiro wasn't lying. There was more to it but he knew the Italian wouldn't say and no amount of threatening or torture would make him say it. Inside he was desperate to have the woman he knew come back to him but he would never admit it to a living soul. He knew Belfeiro would offer a chance like this and while it would most likely be true he knew it would leave his woman alone and unprotected. He knew in her mental state that anything could become of her. Yet, he was willing to take this chance. He knew by instinct that she wasn't going to die, no, Belfeiro wouldn't do that. He wanted something and when someone helped he kept his word, he was a vile creature but an honest one when he wanted to be.
After staring off at the stone wall in thought The Kurgan looked back at his enemy. "I sail when I reach the sea."
The other smiled, "So it's settled then?"
The Kurgan growled deep in his throat and his eye turned pitch black. "Yes. It is," he rumbled.
Belfeiro laughed heartily and clapped his hands together. "Very well done! You will be a happy man when you return." He began to walk out of the room but as soon as he passed the master a grip of iron latched onto his arm. He dropped his smile and looked up into the piercing gaze of The Kurgan. "You're ruining my sleeve."
He squeezed harder, the discomfort was obvious on the Italian's face. The Kurgan didn't move, "Watch yourself Belfeiro."
He knew perfectly well what the count meant; Arielle was not to be violated in any way. He could respect that. In truth he really did want that loch and he really couldn't get it on his own, but he also wanted to wage war on The Kurgan in a new, unique way. He simply stared back at the giant and was released, the look in his eye was enough for the brutal Immortal. He brushed the wrinkles out of the fabric and left the room.
The Kurgan turned to watch him go and knew he had just sparked a very hot inferno in his and Arielle's life. Whatever Belfeiro had planned for her would be unpleasant, but if what he said was true then The Kurgan had no choice. Nothing was truly helping her to come back and while he knew she had an idea of her past life, she was still not herself. If giving her over to the mercy of his most hated rival besides the Scot and Effete Snob is what it took to get his cosmic mate back. . .then so be it.