Cave of Shadows

Chapter 6- Roxanne’s POV

“Your mother?  How is that even possible?  She’s not even married!”

He chuckled darkly.  “I keep forgetting that you have been completely oblivious to the Real World for pretty much your entire life.  You therefore have no point of reference for these things, so it’s hardly your fault, but it’s frustrating all the same.”

“Then explain.”

“Alright.  I was created almost twenty years ago because the Ringmaster needed someone to help her get an heir, and the Minister needed a successor.  So, they married to make sure I would become the next Minister, and then they had me.  I grew up here, in the Circuses, and I have met my father a total of three times in my life, one of which I don’t even remember.”

“So, you’re the product of an alliance between the Ringmaster and the Minister?  Who else knows about this?”

“Well, it’s been going on forever.  We keep the gene pool nice and fresh by throwing another person in- that’s you- to create some genetic variety.  Technically, though, the Minister and the Ringmaster are cousins.  No one knows about it because if people knew, they would start to get suspicious about the marriage orchestrations in the Colony, but you kind of blew that secret out of the water when you objected to your own wedding.  Very tactful, by the way.”

“For your information, the Minister blew the whole thing totally out of proportion.  I didn’t accuse him of anything, I just pointed it out when I discovered a discrepancy in his story.”

“You’re right.  You didn’t accuse him of anything.  You did something much worse.  You-“

“Yes, yes, I know, I opened the eyes of the world, showed them a hidden walkway full of things they didn’t want to know, and so I must be made an example of.  I didn’t do it on purpose, though!  It was an accident!”

“And what if I were to accidentally murder you, Roxanne?  I would still be held responsible for my actions, as you are being held responsible for yours.”  He jammed the needle he had been preparing into my skin a little more forcefully than necessary and pushed the plunger down.  I was so shocked by the sudden pain that I screamed, and the tears I had kept at bay for so long started to fall.  He immediately pulled the needle out and started apologizing.

“I’m so sorry, Roxanne.  I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.  I was just frustrated, and I’m really really sorry.  Please forgive me.”  I could see through my rather blurry vision that his face was right above mine, and I could feel his fingers running through my tangled dirty hair in an attempt to try and calm me down.  After a few minutes, I had returned my breathing to normal, and the crying had stopped.  He didn’t move, though. 

“I forgive you, Melchior, but why do you care if I forgive you?  You have my cooperation whether I hate you or not, so what do you care?”

He sighed.  “Roxanne, I grew up in a government torture facility.  I have never had any friends except for my mother, and her being the Ringmaster and everything, she and I only rarely see each other.  You are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a friend; okay, maybe not friends, more like allies, but I’ve never even had an ally before, and I would really prefer not to screw it up.  Okay?”

“Okay,” I finally responded. 

“Good,” he whispered, and I saw the traces of a smile playing on his lips.  “Roxanne?”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering… when you were with Connor… did you love him?”

I thought about it for a minute.  “Yes, and I haven’t stopped.  I don’t think I ever will.”

“He really got you to fall for him, didn’t he.”

“Yes.  I wish I could stop, but I can’t, so I’ll just have to learn to live with it, now won’t I?”

“Yes, I suppose you will,” he whispered.  I hadn’t noticed before, but his face had been getting closer to mine the whole time we had been talking, and we were so close together that our lips were just barely touching.  Before I could break the awkward silence that had started to form in the air, he kissed me, stifling any words I might have been about to speak.