Prince Darrius

Part 2 Chapter 38 - The End

Darrius does not kill me straight away, his body still glowing, controlled by Rory. He was waiting for Meredith to arrive. Meredith... who apparently was in league with this whole plan all along.

"If I am inevitably going to die, could I have some answers?" I ask, trying to sound confident – when inside I was dying with fear. Darrius' eerily bright green skin shines as he stalks his way up and down the room, an agitated jerk in his step like he is harbouring too much energy.

"What do you want to know, sweetheart?" Darrius asks me, halting his steps and looking at me with impatience in his hooded, dangerous eyes, "Do you wish to know why I lied to you? Why I made you believe Meredith and Eddrick were opposites, the ultimate of good and evil? Do you want to know why I saved your life, just so I could cut out your heart?"

"All that but... actually I wanted to know why you gave me back my ring, you passed it onto Darrius... it alerts me of danger by heating up, a defence against people who wish me harm –"

"Since I was young I was engrained with the need to be fair, to say the least," Rory admits through Darrius' lips.

"Does saving my life mean you feel I have indebted you with my own, you saved mine, so now you can take it?" I ask, furrowing my eye brows as I try to understand his intentions. Surprisingly he nods.

"Smart girl," he says, "However my interest forever while in this realm, in this life-time, is my obsession of the prophecy – it is all about the future. It holds the answer to who rules, who has the ultimate power."

"What is your ultimate desire?" I ask.

"To return to the fairy world, my darling," Darrius' body sits on the edge of the bed and I see him squint his eyes shut, like he is having an internal struggle.

"Darrius?" I call out, and his head snaps up, his eyes sparking from blue to green.

"R-...R-Run," This time Darrius' voice shines through, overtaking Rory's. His eyes flash back to green once more, however and he stands back up, beginning to pace once more, swinging the sword before him, straightening his back, a determined resolve on his face.

"You're having trouble controlling Darrius, aren't you?" I point out, slowly standing up, wanting to move because my adrenaline was driving me crazy while I sat frozen on the couch in fear.

"Sit down!" Rory screams this at me, and his voice carries. I flinch from the sudden verbal abuse but I glance at the door... someone would have heard that.

I sit back down and Darrius' hand twitches with the sword.

"Stand back up," the change in order frightens me, I can feel a vibe change in the air.

"Why?" I ask in a whisper.

"Get on the bed, I'm not cutting out your heart while you sit on a couch. You're going to lie down – you'll want to, Jennifer, it'll be quicker and less painful," I feel the compulsion in his tone, but oddly it does not affect me the way I know he wants it to.

"Your compulsion doesn't work on me," I snap, suddenly getting impatient myself.

It is at that moment that the door swings open and Meredith walks in.

My heart beat skips a beat... this was it.

Her sliver long hair is unbound and her hands free at her sides, her bag swinging on her hips as she enters with a deadly and determined look on her face.

"Mother," Rory's voice spills forth from Darrius' mouth, and Meredith nods in his direction but doesn't smile.

"Everyone in this palace is half way through turning, it was easy to sneak in," Meredith glances at me, her expression continually neutral.