Arsheus
When I came to everything was nothing more than a blur. I could tell where I was, but I knew it wasn't a good place.
As I tried to move, shaking my hands and trying to get up, failing miserably, I remember what had happened yesterday. I remembered the way Ria had writhed on the floor, the way she had screamed.
I immediately wanted to get up and go to her, but I didn't know where I was, much less where she could be. I had to wait.
Instead of getting up and running to her, which was what I wanted to do, I looked around for the first time.
Only darkness surrounded me, but my eyes were used to the lack of light. I could make out the room perfectly fine in the middle of the blackness that was everything.
I was in a cell. That much was obvious, the bars holding me prisoner looking very far away.
The cell didn't have anything, nothing at all, not even a cot to rest on. It was clear they didn't want me here for the long term.
I was chained to something very close to a metal chair, which in turn was chained to the floor.
I tried to shake my body and break the restraints, but they were too strong. No matter how hard I tried they wouldn't bulge. Getting tired of everything I tried to call my magic to my hands. It didn't work.
I could feel my power just out of reach. It gave me the feeling that if I stretched my hand just a little bit further I would be able to grab it, but no matter how much I stretched my magic remained out of reach.
Frustrated, I rested on the chair, waiting and planning. If I had the chance to get out of here I was taking it, just after taking what I wanted from Cordelia.
That was the name of the woman that had fucked up my plans and apparently had been fucking them up for a long time.
I imagined how it would feel to have her looking at me with fear in her eyes as her body shook, my hands on her neck, choking her and taking the air she needed so much away from her.
A crooked smile spread across my lips before I could stop it. Just thinking about messing up with that bitch brought a smile to my face. She was going to pay for fucking up everything I had ever cherished.
I was in the middle of my fantasy, my hands in the woman's neck as she died slowly, thrashing around in pain, when I heard footsteps approaching me.
I immediately dropped the smile and pretended I wasn't awake.
It didn't work. As soon as Cordelia, I recognized her cologne, entered she walked up to me, fake smile in place.
" I know you're awake" Her voice was saccharine sweet as she spoke. I hated that tone she used. I hated the fake sweetened tone she embedded into her voice, as if she was some kind of saint. Both her and I knew it was fake. She could drop the act already. All of us would be happier that way.
" What do you want?" Despite my better judgement I answered her. She knew I was awake. There was no more pretending I wasn't.
" You know what I want"
I looked at the woman, the angel that had broken everything and laughed. Yes, I knew what she wanted.
" Are you that desperate to take it all?"
Cordelia didn't fall for my provocations. She just smiled and took a chair I hadn't noticed, dragging it until it was by my side. She smiled as she sat down, her smile never faltering.
" You know what I want. Now give it to me"
" I'm not giving Ria to you"
Cordelia gritted her teeth, the first real sign of irritation she had shown during the whole time.
She looked murderous before a smile spread across her lips again as she took something from her pocket.
I immediately knew what it was. It was what I had been looking for all along. It was mine.
Cordelia must've seen the eagerness and hunger in my eyes because she laughed before she dropped it into my lap with a smile.
" Isn't this what you wanted?"
I didn't listen to her, my attention focused solely on the bleeding heart in front of me.
It was just like how when I had had it. Maybe a little bit older, but fundamentally the same. With the heart I could get everything I wanted back. I could turn the desolate landscape that had become my land into what it used to be again.
All I had to do was betray Ria....again. My heart constrained just thinking about betraying her. I imagined her face all broken and in tears as she found out I had also sold her out. Everyone in her life had betrayed her at some point. I had sworn to myself I would never do that after I saw how deeply the scars went, but, could I really say I wouldn't when everything I had ever wanted was right in front of me?
Before I could hesitate any longer Cordelia made a sound with her tongue and took the heart away right in front of my eyes, just like how she had done before.
I growled and launched myself at Cordelia. I wanted that heart more than anything. It was the key to making life as it used to be.
Before I could even touch her Cordelia chuckled and got up, walking away from the chair.
My eyes were focused on the pocket I had seen her put the heart on as she walked away, only turning back to look at me when she was near the door.
It was all a power play. She wanted me to know that she could go at any second and I wouldn't be able to stop her, but she was truly stupid if she thought it would work on me. I knew she wanted me too. She wasn't walking out until she got what she wanted and neither was I and we both knew it.
" Now, now. If you want it back you'll have to give me something in return"
I looked at Cordelia and smiled.
" Why are you so obsessed with that woman?" I refused to say her name, because if I did then that meant that I was thinking about her as a person. No matter how much I loved her I had to think clearly.
If it had been any other person Cordelia had wanted I would've sold them out without hesitation, so why was I hesitating now?
Cordelia's eyes shone with madness as she walked up to me, taking my chin in a power move.
" Why would anyone want an army of undead?" She chuckled as she sat back on her chair. " Everyone would look up to me if I had them. I would finally be the true queen"
Looking into those deranged eyes of her I felt for her. No, I didn't. I knew the story behind her madness, but I wasn't about to forgive her. No one messed with me and lived to tell the tale, even if I knew her life was as fucked up as mine, if not more.
" You being the queen won't change Raphael's mind" I knew that wasn't her main reason for doing this, but I was sure it helped.
Cordelia pursed her lips and glared at me, the anger she had been holding in finally bursting.
" It's all your fault! If you hadn't killed my husband I would still be the queen "
I couldn't help it but laugh at her words. If I hadn't killed her husband he would still be cheating on her with everything with legs.
" You really think so?" I couldn't keep the hatred I felt for her out of my words.
Cordelia smiled sadly as she sat back down, calm again.
" I don't " Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough.
When she wasn't acting like a crazy angel you could almost feel sorry for her. It was true that her father had sold her out to a man with almost triple her age, but he had been the king. Out of all the fates in the world hers wasn't the worst.
" I hate people like you"
The attack came so out of nowhere that I couldn't help it but laugh.
" Demons?" I asked, although I already could've guessed the answer.
" Kings"
I tilted my head, but Cordelia didn't tell me how she knew I was the king of the demons. Probably had something to do with Allea.
" Why'd you do it?"
Cordelia didn't have to guess to know what I was talking about. All she did was turn her head to look at the woman standing near the door, her eyes darting from Cordelia to me, as if she was trying really hard to ignore some impulse deep within.
" I found something interesting and kept it. Is that wrong?"
Cordelia seemed happy as she looked back.
" How?"
" You're not the best when you're hiding" Before I could ask her what she meant by that she turned back to look at Allea and called for her. " Allea, come here"
I saw Allea's jaw clench as she walked up to us, she eyes trying to dart over to me but always stopping on Cordelia.
" Isn't she a good girl?"
All I could do was clench my fists. At least that was one mystery less. Allea wasn't listening to Cordelia out of her own free will. She had her ensnared in some way.
I blamed myself for not noticing as she looked at Cordelia as if she was everything in the world for her. My heart bled for Rin. If he had seen them like this his own would've broken into a thousand pieces. Now I also had to find a way to free her. The tasks kept piling up, but I could get rid of almost half of them if I gave up on the annoying demon that claimed she was an angel and that I had come to love.
Just thinking about her my heart warmed up. Without reaching a conscious decision I knew what I was going to do. I wasn't going to betray her. I would find another way to get what I wanted. I wasn't going to lose something I cared for.
" If you accept my deal I'll throw in a freebie" Cordelia gestured to Allea and hatred began brewing inside my gut.
She talked as if she was disposable. I hated it. No one talked about my people like that.
All I did was clench my teeth and turn my head.
I could feel Cordelia's frustration growing when she understood I wasn't going to do her bidding.
After a while of staring at me she finally got the gist of what I was trying to say and got up angry, toppling the chair and sending it to the floor.
I ignored both of them as they turned to leave. I only looked at them when the scent of blood wafted into my nose, igniting my every instinct.
Cordelia chuckled as she took a bowl filled with blood from god knew where and placed it on my lap. The blood was suspicious, but I wasn't going to ask.
I hadn't drank for quite some time and I was starving. As soon as the bowl was in front of me I drank like a man that had been dying from thirst for a long time.
Only when I finished did Cordelia pick up the bowl and turn, smile on her face.
" Goodnight" As she spoke everything began moving.
I noticed the drugs laced into the blood too late, but didn't specially care for them. They couldn't kill me.
I said that to myself as I heard Cordelia speak one last sentence before the door locked behind them again.
" You'll change your mind soon"
No, I wouldn't.
That was all I could think about before sleep took me and everything disappeared. Only then did I realize the pain hadn't gone away. It still hurt, just that less than before. So they feared me, huh?
That was good.
Ria
We walked through the streets covering ourselves as well as we could. No one turned to look, our disguises good enough to fool them. We had changed our hair color with the help of some plants that grew near the brothel and had put on some glasses, even if they gave me a headache. The result was that no one even looked our way as we made our way to the castle.
Turns out the brothel had been the right choice. Who could've said? From now on at least I knew.
As we walked I kept checking on Rin. His steps were unsure, slow and with barely any strength. I had managed to close all his wounds, but his wings were still destroyed and he had lost a lot of blood he hadn't managed to replenish.
He had told me he needed blood to survive, which kind of made sense if they didn't eat nor drink like normal angels, but that meant we were now searching for a victim while we tried to check the security on the castle.
It would've been great if they hadn't changed anything at all, but after they caught us last time I was sure they had changed some things. They couldn't be so stupid, or so I thought.
Just as I had dreaded the patrols weren't the same. It was easy now that we were close enough to notice. There were more guards, looking way more dedicated to their jobs than before.
Getting in would be a problem, but right now we had another one.
As we walked through the back alleys it didn't take us long to find a man completely passed out, alcohol bottle still in hand.
He looked as if he was carrying all the diseases on earth, but I doubted he would miss his blood, and if he did he wouldn't remember jack shit.
I shook Rin slightly, but enough for him to notice and pointed at the drunk man.
He didn't need to be told twice. He was as fast as I had ever seen him as he launched at the man and began sucking on his blood. I turned away, disgusted.
As I heard Rin feasting on the man I looked up ahead. The castle was right in front of us, but we wouldn't be entering that way.
When I was about to give up and ask Rin to come back another time, even if it broke my heart the longer we didn't save Arsheus, I saw the servants coming out and walking into the forest to clean the clothes. There were no guards following.
An idea began to brew inside my head as I looked at the women and men chatting happily.
It could work.
A smile began spreading across my lips at the same time as Rin finished eating, leaving a puddle of blood under the man that I hoped wasn't dead, and walked up to me.
He didn't need to be told what I was thinking. He smiled at me as he looked at the servants.
This was going to be fun.
I looked up to smile at Rin and noticed he looked way better than before, healthier too.
I patted his shoulder and he nodded at me.
We had a plan, now we just had to wait for tomorrow.
I couldn't take my eyes away from the servants as they finished the tasks for the day and came back inside at the same time as we walked back to the brothel, invisible in the middle of the crowd.
' Wait for a little longer, Arsheus. We're coming for you '