A villain's secret

Chapter 4: Memories pt2

Lillian's POV
5 years ago (age = Lillian-14 / Nox-17)

Lillian had been living in the fourth ring in a small makeshift house for the past two years. Ever since the reaper boy, Nox, had brought her here the night he'd come to kill her.

Lillian remembered it all so vividly. The way her body was too weak to wake up, but despite that, she could still remember the taste of sweet water on her cracked lips, soothing her dry throat with each droplet. A cold cloth being pressed against her forehead, cooling her overheating body. Everything felt heavy and too hot, like warm honey slushed through her veins instead of blood.

There was that weird heat still buzzing around her, scratching under her skin. Lillian had felt it before but everything was so fuzzy it was hard to think for too long.

She remembered how she'd woken to the sight of blood staining the stone floor and a boy with the most beautiful face kneeling next to her, clutching his bleeding forearm and glaring at it like it was annoying him. That was the first time she'd seen Nox's face. Just a boy but no less a god of death. But to Lillian he was also her saviour. That haunting face, the hero in her nightmares.

The splashing of water, leaking through the roof drew Lillian's attention away from her thoughts. She pulled her knees to her chest listening to the driving rain outside. She was low on food but it wouldn't be long until he was back with more.

Sometimes Lillian hated Nox. He saw her as a tool and nothing more. Her life was absolutely meaningless in his cold eyes. And other times she didn't hate him as much. He gave her a better life then she would have faced on her own. He'd built her a safe place to sleep. Fed her, looked after her when she was sick. There were stacks of clothes scattered around the room, all of them bought for her by Nox. And she didn't make it easy for him either but still he came back. She would annoy him and complain or even lash out in anger when he didn't deserve it. He'd threatened to kill her many times and she'd seen him come close more than once. But in his own cold, silent, arrogant and annoying way he was there for her like no one else was.

Lillian rested her chin on her knees with a huff.

When I said I wanted someone to help me, it would have been nice if that someone wasn't so annoying.

Two years of eating as much as she could stomach everyday and nights full of peaceful sleeping, had started to shape her body into the makings of a woman.

Although, a year ago she'd come close to killing Nox the day he had told her, all this time he'd thought she was a boy. At that she'd kicked him out, quite literally kicked him and let the swinging wooden door smack him on the way out. Lillian had roughly just turned thirteen then, while Nox was sixteen. She'd pouted on the other side of the door waiting for him to apologise. Instead, Nox had simply stood in silence outlasting Lillian's patience, until she had opened the door to check he was still there. Nox didn't understand most things Lillian did and she believed he went along with her crazy antics just because it was easier then resisting. Understanding emotions or how to avoid insulting people wasn't something that came easily to Nox, but Lillian was working on it.

Life was getting boring for Lillian and she thought it was pathetic that the most exciting thing to happen to her was waiting for a grumpy reaper who acted like an ass most of the time, to turn up and bring her snacks.

She wanted to explore, or paint, or something other than just sit with her eyes counting raindrops from her roof. She wanted to see what was outside the fourth and third ring. But Nox had one main rule; remain in the fourth ring and stay away from people.

She guessed it was something to do with her new found ability to heal, that people may find her and use her just like he did. One time she had broken that rule, when Nox had pissed her off again. She had headed straight for the gates, knocking out the half dead guard on the way passed. Muttering to herself like an angry maniac, she'd unlocked the small door to the third ring and stomped through the streets ready to find a new jailer in exchange for her power. She'd thought about negotiating for a house in the centre ring like the ones Nox had told her about. Rooms so big you could ride a horse inside them. But her reaper had soon found her and dragged her back. After that she hadn't tried again, but she doubted it would be long before she was triggered to do something else.

Hours passed and there was a literal lake in the middle of Lillian's bedroom.

I should probably do something about that.

Lillian only continued to stare at the hypnotic drip of water.

"Is that a leak?" Nox stood in the doorway having entered silently without Lillian realising.

He was already too tall for her little home and she could tell every time he returned that he was still growing. A big brown duffel bag was slung over his broad shoulders and his new all black mask securely in place. Lillian snapped her head up with a bright smile.

"Did you get those cookie things??!" Lillian scrambled to her feet hovering around Nox like a pest as he brought the bag into the other room that acted as a sort of kitchen.

He opened it so slowly Lillian considered if he was doing it deliberately.

"I'm dying of old age here. Hand over the goods." Nox only sighed at her and tipped the contents of his bag onto the small table in the middle of the room.

Lillian squealed with joy as she dug through all the different foods completely oblivious to anything that wasn't edible. Her favourites were anything sweet and chocolatey. None of the sugary delights would last long, a day maybe two. Breaking off a piece of milky chocolate, she shoved it into her mouth before looking for anything to wash it down with.

She must have looked like a wild animal- one that hadn't been fed in days. But she didn't care how she looked as she stuffed her mouth full of sugared fruits. Nothing made her as happy as food did. Or maybe it was simply because there was nothing else in her life quite as sweet. She'd never seen fancy jewels or beautiful clothes. Only in her books had she been able to experience anything other than loneliness- except when she got to eat the best cakes and cookies in the whole kingdom. 

After a long while Lillian took her eyes off the table to notice Nox was no longer standing next to her with that blank expression judging her like it always did. Lillian peered around the corner looking for the grumpy reaper. He wasn't there...and neither was the dripping water.

Another few minutes passed and Nox's dark figure walked through the door back into the main room. His clothes and hair untouched by the rain with his shield of power hugging him tightly.

"Did you just fix my roof?" She questioned him sceptically as he stood there, his mask staring back at her.

"Yes." His cold voice so at odds with what he'd just done. It was the voice of someone who couldn't care less if she froze to death and yet he'd stopped the leak.

Nox obviously wasn't in a talkative mood so she nodded and turned back to her mountain of supplies.
As he walked back into the room with that unnatural grace he always moved with, Lillian thrust a round sugary cookie towards him.

"A thank you for the roof." She waved it a little, telling him to take it.

Nox took the cookie from her hand and lifted his mask to eat it. Lillian turned away. It always felt strangely disrespectful and awkward to watch Nox without his mask. Like he was a different person without it and she was spying on a stranger. A small blush coloured her cheeks as she stared intently at her own cookie.