In My Darkness: La Chatte Noire

Chaper Thirty-Nine: Auf Wiedersehen

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Auf Wiedersehen

"Guten Tag, Liebling."

Camillé backed up a step and he frowned – still not looking to be sane. "What… what are you doing here?"

"Oh, come on, Chatte," he groaned, stepping over Maman's body, "You know why I'm here."

Daniel watched the man and his actions and told Marcella to get out of there. She quickly ran into Camillé's bedroom, and, like he'd told her, locked the door firmly behind her. Granted, if this guy was who he thought he was, it would do her no use. They were her only form of protection.

"Rabe, what can I do to make it up to you? I'm sorry that you were locked away, I had nothing to do with that," she reminded him.

He shook his head, giving an empty, soulless laugh. "But you have everything to do with it, Liebling. That darling captain of yours really loves you, you know that?"

"I know."

"But yet you still left him behind for that deformed freak," he mused, swaying slightly, "Why did you? What could that circus side-show ever give you?"

Camillé bristled. "He's not a side-show or a freak," she stated firmly, beginning to get angry, "He's more of a man than you are."

Rabe gave that soulless laugh again that made chills run up her spine. "He might be. You know, prison does some really interesting things to a person."

She looked down at him and swallowed the lump in her throat – or tried to. Daniel grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to bring her strength. It helped somewhat to ease her fear.

"Oh, look at you two, you're pathetic!" Rabe taunted with a sneer, "Still leading him on, then? Letting him think that you love him when you really don't? I would've thought more of you, Chatte."

The lump in her throat became bigger when Laurien the serving boy came edging into the room holding a kitchen knife. Rabe froze and slowly turned his head to look at the boy. Camillé swallowed her urge to scream at Laurien, to tell him to get out of here. She had to get Daniel away first. He could carry on her company when she had died. She turned to him quickly when she saw that Rabe was beginning to advance on the boy, his full attention turned towards him.

"Daniel," she said, taking both his hands in hers, "I want you to tell me something, and then I want you to run, understand?"

"What? No! I will not leave you here with this madman," he protested, and she took his face in her hands.

"Daniel, please. I'm trying to protect you. Now… just promise me, please, that you'll run. Run and get out of here."

He shook his head fervently. "I will not leave you here, you'll die!"

"No, I won't. Just trust me. Say you'll run. Promise me you'll run."

Daniel tried again to protest, but stopped at the desperate and determined look in her eyes. "I… I promise."

"Good," she whispered, kissing him on the lips quickly, "Now, I want you to tell me something before you run."

"What?"

"Tell me to remember who I really am."

"But… why? What good does that do?"

"Just say it and run, please."

His lips pressed against hers again. "I'll see you on the other side of this, right?"

Below them, Laurien screamed in pain. Rabe laughed.