Chapter 25: The ceremony- Act 4
Water was a funny substance. Cool and hot, it could soothe the body after a long day in the form of a bath. It could stab it too.
Like dozens of knives piercing skin if you happened to fall into a frozen lake. It gave life, by drinking, it took life, by drowning.
Sometimes it was pure like a maiden's dress and sometimes it mixed with other substances.
Like the poison soaking the veil on the ground.
A last drop of liquid screams hung from the cap of the vial as Izaya's mind succumbed to numbness in an agonizing slow moment.
Shizuo saved him from taking poison.
The grip on his wrist hurt.
It was strong.
The mirror had fallen.
Why?
Eyes blown wide Izaya tried to think.
He thought Shizuo hadn't seen-
He thought he wasn't paying attention.
He thought-
"Kururi?!"
…fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck-!
And just like that Shizuo's voice shattered the moment like the mirror on the ground-
Nausea slammed into Izaya's face like his father's cane on a bad day as he realized what had just happened-
Fear-
Like a hot wire burning his skin, his throat, his head it overwhelmed his conscience.
His father.
He was going to come for him, for his sisters- Torture for all three of them was what he had in mind and suddenly Izaya's mind provided the most magnificent memories, burried deep within his mind.
Images of their servants. The maids having been led into the basement- the stench of blood, piss and puke mixed with mold and puss.
The sickening sound of chains rattling against hard and cold stone walls and screams fading only to be replaced with gurgling sounds.
Too well Izaya could envision his own body hanging there- the rats scurrying about- the shrieks-
Air-
He needed air-
The corset he was wearing was suddenly way too tight-
To tight-
Mere seconds had passed since Shizuo tore Kururi's wrist from the vial and an expression he couldn't quite understand flashed across her face in rapid succession.
Her breathing suddenly accelerated, faster, faster-
"Kururi?" She didn't even seem to notice how fast her breathing was as her eyes blew wide without focusing on anything clearly. "Hey-" Dropping to his knees he let go of the wrist as he gently turned her head to face him.
Only for a brief second did their eyes meet as Kururi choked.
"Can't- breathe-"
Body jerking into motion Shizuo jumped to his feet. The window next to the bed was ripped open and nearly unhinged at the force that met its peaceful frame but Shizuo could give less of a damn.
Turning around his hands slipped beneath his wife as he picked her off the ground.
Swiftly as if never having done anything else in his life he carried her to the ledge of the window.
The walls wider than a table provided a good seating spot and he placed her right into the frame. The air was cool, fresh, all that someone who couldn't breathe would need and yet he only seemed to worsen her condition-
What was wrong with her?
She was trembling- was she cold?
Worry made his hands shake slightly as he pulled the stola off his body. Silken and thick it almost resembled a blanket as he put it around her shivering shoulders.
He was gentle.
And Izaya's expression only churned even more at the treatment. It was funny, the action was pretty fruitless, but it had broken the cycle of nightmares in his head nonetheless.
Wrist covering his eyes he swallowed the lump that had built in his throat.
Guilt weighed heavily and his conscience hurt all the more at the treatment he received. He didn't deserve it- "Don't be so nice to me."
He didn't.
He didn't.
Utter confusion, worry and fear reflected in Shizuo's eyes. "Kururi, what's going on?"
A bitter smile forced itself onto Izaya's lips as he shook his head. He had to tell him. It was over.
"I lied to you- I-"
And suddenly a knock resounded throughout the bedroom. Loud, heavy and threatening and it's as though all color had been wiped off Kururi's face.
"He is here-" she whispered and Shizuo's confusion only tripled.
"What?" he asked, and the answer set his bones cold.
Quiet, as if telling a sleeping child good night as to not wake it, the disturbing words left her lips.
"He is here to collect my corpse."
All of his breath was taken away as goosebumps traveled down Shizuo's spine.
Something was really wrong here.
Again the knock resounded and this time both of them flinched.
"My king? Is everything alright?" A thick hollow voice asked from outside.
Shizuo looked at Kururi and his throat constricted. He felt as though someone had set cords around his neck.
His wife.
She was clearly afraid.
An unmeasurable urge to protect her at all costs overwhelmed the king as his expression grew stern.
His hands stilled and the trembling ceased as unexplainable calmth spread throughout his body.
"What should I reply?" His voice sounded firm despite his words being hushed quietly.
His question seemed to surprise Kururi as she looked at him like a thief caught in the middle of action.
"You know what's going on, I don't," he whispered quickly, and the impatient knock resounded once more.
"Shizuo?" God, Kururi's voice sounded so frail, so scared, just so-
"Just tell me, what's the safest way to answer right now?"
Swallowing hard, Izaya wrecked his head.
An answer.
Shizuo had to give one. But what was he supposed to say?
Right now?
Unless he was dead?
Right now.
Buy time.
Gathering a shaking breath he hesitated. "... tell him I'm sick and that he should get some herbs and leave them in front of the door."
As if having issued a command Shizuo steered towards the door. Creaking louder than Izaya liked, it opened- and Izaya was suddenly very glad about Shizuo's stature. Broad shoulders, height exceeding most, he covered the small opening without fail as he told the guy in the hall what Izaya had asked him to.
"She seems to be asleep now, until tomorrow." The king empathizes a bit louder.
The guy was probably being persistent. Of course.
They were risking a lot here with their sharade.
Only uneilling the response followed.
"Rest tight my king."
Another wave of panic threatened to take over as Shizuo closed the door.
What was Izaya supposed to do?
"Now tell me," Shizuo started and Izaya felt his guts drop to the floor.
"What's going on here?"
Coldness clutched his body and he lowered his gaze. How?
How was he supposed to tell this man that everything he had dreamed of was a joke?
"Do you remember what I told you when you arrived?" the king suddenly said, startling Izaya slightly. His eyes met Shizuo's and his guts churned at the gentleness displayed. "I will never lay a hand on you. No matter what it is that you did, I will keep to that promise." Sweet like honey the declaration sounded. A soft smile spread across his worried face as Shizuo tried to calm Izaya down. "After all, we are husband and wife now, what kind of man would I be to hit my wife?"
The blow those words dealt to Izaya's guts was worse than the knock at the door.
He should have never agreed to this. This shouldn't have happened-
He should have thought of a different solution-
He-
"... aren´t."
Shizuo blinked at the short word. He had missed the beginning as Kururi's voice had dropped so low it was barely perceivable.
"What?" he asked gently, but he seemed to do nothing to calm her as she tensed up even more.
"We aren't." Kururi repeated with a shaky breath, "... husband and wife."
Confusion of a different kind caused Shizuo to blink as he tried to get behind what Kururi was trying to tell him.
"... you were very much present before at the altar as far as I remember." He tried slowly, his expression turning into a quizzical smile.
But his answer seemed to only worsen the situation as Kururi frowned.
"I'm sorry-"
"What for?" Nothing his wife said made any sense. "Hey- No matter what ́s going on, I will protect you, you don't have to fear anyone," he tried again, reaching out for her, but she flinched away.
Almost as if she didn't want to be comforted.
Husband and wife-
Maybe-
"... have you been married before?" It was the only logical conclusion. If he had married her while she was married to someone else… well it would require a pretty awkward conversation with the bishop, but still- "If so I don't care, no one needs to know a thing." Shizuo assured her quickly, but her expression only churned all the more.
"Please- just stop being so nice to me-"
"Why?"
The truth.
He had to say it. But why did it feel so hard to do?
There was no point in lying any longer nor did Izaya feel the wish to continue doing so.
"Because I'm not the duke's daughter-" Shizuo paused shortly, but nodded. So she wasn't a noble, right? Maybe she was an illegitimate daughter of the duke?
It was something he could understand, something he could act upon. Something they could fix.
And then it was not.
As Kururi continued.
"I'm his son."
to be continued~
Hey guyyys~ xD Welcome to Saturday and another chapter of Shizaya xD A bit late Saturday to be fair since I'm an airhead and completely forgot to update x'DDDDD
This chapter is a little shorter, which is because for one thing - I couldn't get more done xD and secondly- I couldn't really cut the next few sequences without interrupting the flow of the story xDD Next chapter will be massive in exchange haha The climax of the wedding day ~ And what's to come C: .. C: C: C: C: C:
Anyway~ Have fun reading aaaaand sorry I couldn't update my other stories as I promised x'D I got almost all updates halfway done tho so updating everything finally (including the finale of Ast) should be a realistic goal for next Saturday xDDDDD
So, see you then~! :3