Scars Will Remain

Chapter Ten

My eyes slowly opened and I came face to face with Aaron. I tried moving away from him but I couldn't as I was in a chair and my hands were strapped on either side of my head and my feet were strapped together as well. I also realised that I was also in my singlet and my tights. My coat and my daggers gone. My fringe covered my left eye and I hardly could get a look at Aaron. He put my singlet down and moved away. "Do you know who did that to you?" I knew he saw my scar. I looked away from him. I was frozen with fear. I couldn't talk to him. Looking everywhere other than him, I noticed that the room was dimly lit and it was very small. There was a furnace to the left side of where I was seated and the door was behind Aaron. "You're afraid of me." He sat in front of me and pushed my chin up. He felt me stiffen and I closed my eyes. His hand left but I could still tell that he was there. "I've never seen one of you so afraid of us before." He pulled my singlet up again and traced my scar. My skin tingled when I felt his hand on me but he seemed to ignore it. "Are you going to tell me how you got this?" I didn't answer and he moved away from me. He stood against the wall and slid down to the floor. Thankful for not having to breathe I fell back into sleep. I no longer wanted to be aware of what I had woken up to.

"...what is going to happen to her?" "She will become my companion. I'll have to drain her first. Of blood of course. Then she'll have no choice but to drink my blood and I'll drink hers. We'll be eternal blood mates and then we'll return to the human world and attack her home with the rest of the lycans..." "...how do we get her to submit?" "...that's why you're here Aaron. You see that iron over there, I've placed a spell on it that will allow it to puncture her. She'll feel the fire..." They stopped talking and I noticed that the caster had left. "I know you're awake." I hadn't moved but I did shift position so that my head was no longer leaning towards the side. I still avoided his gaze. That didn't stop me from gazing over the rest of him. His chest was bare and there was a tattoo covering the whole of his right side. He was only wearing brown caramel shorts and that was it. He walked over to the furnace and grabbed the iron. Moving towards me, he sat down and then he unwrapped the straps holding my legs, enough to roll my tights up. I froze again and looked as his hand traveled up with the material. He grabbed the iron and positioned it at the top of my thigh on my left leg. The iron met my skin and I broke my hold on my self control. Keeping my mouth closed, I fought against unleashing the scream that was building inside me. The iron left and my head hung forward. Then, it was on me again, this time underneath the first one. My skin sizzled and burned as the iron left its mark on my skin once more. I bit my lip and my fists clenched. He continued and it wasn't long before there were marks from the top of my thigh to just above my ankle. Aaron stopped and threw the iron towards the furnace. My head still hung and I could feel blood draining from my leg. Movement shifted in front of me and Aaron was helping me sit up. He put his hands on either side of my face and my green eyes met his gold eyes. "Please, just tell me what happened to you?" I pulled my head out of his hands and looked to the side. I had begun to shake and it was the fear. I knew. It was seeping through me every time he came close or touched me. "I don't like torturing you." I met his eyes once more. His eyes had changed and they were warm. Muddy brown but warm none the less and there was truth there. "I do it because I have to but there's something inside me, every time i touch the iron to your skin, something burns in me too. As if I'm also getting burned." I still hadn't talked. "I know I keep asking you this but, I really want to know how you got your scar?" "W...wh...why?" He stopped for a second and then sat back. "You have a beautiful voice." I flinched and he looked at my leg. "I really am sorry. Midas made me do it." "I was a child. There was a storm over Transylvania. Next thing I know, my parents are telling me and my brother and sister to move. The doors burst open but I don't see what is happening because my parents are too busy moving us. They leave us somewhere and go back to the noise. Not listening to my brother, I run away trying to find my father. But instead, I run into one of your kind. I froze when I looked at him. He was big and I was only a small child. His arm collided with my body and I landed against the wall. And that's when he raked his claw against me." He was quiet but I heard him even still. "Thank you." Then he stood and grabbed the iron again. I froze and leaned back even though the chair held me where I was. I closed my eyes again as the iron pressed against my skin. The scream inside me erupted and I knew I was broken. My self control was lost.

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My head tilted to the side as a scream was let loose throughout the walls. It was Ariahni. I knew it deep within me. She was feeling pain but I found it hard to understand because we never felt any pain. Only by a lycan's hand otherwise. "How is she being hurt?" "Magic. Of a very ancient kind. One that can get past your resistance to any pain." "What's taking so long with the gate Phaedra?" "Almost there. Just a few more minutes." "Did you not just hear that?" She growled at me. "Of course I did. Why don't you worry about your damn job instead." She went back to her soldiers and I to mine. I didn't chastise her for acting that way towards me, we fought for the same goal and this time it was a family matter not a royal matter. Fane appeared beside me. "There's no guards by the gates. And the courtyard is empty as well. We can go straight through." "We just need to worry about the inside. Did you hear it too?" He nodded. "It's magic. Isn't it?" I nodded. "Well? Lets go." Putting my hand on his shoulder, we walked towards Phaedra and talked about how we were going to rescue our sister.

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"Wake up...Its over...I've stopped." I felt my head being moved and hands as they brushed my hair out of the way. I opened my eyes and whoever it was jumped back. "Your eyes. Why are they red? They were green before." "Blood... I need bl...ood." He looked down at my legs and saw the amount of blood I was losing. "He wants you to be drained." I could feel myself struggling and I pulled against the bonds that were holding me in that chair. Struggling to hold onto my self control even more, I could tell by his face that he saw the veins coming out from my eyes. "Does this always happen?" "Normally I'm well fed so, no." He looked at the door and then back at me. "Take some from me." Even though my bloodlust was past my limit, I flinched and turned away from him. "No..I can't..it's not right."

He rolled his sleeve up and pushed his arm towards me. "Here, please, just take it." "No!" I growled at him. "Just get away from me!" Jumping back I watched as his muscles in his arms tensed. "Why do you bloodsuckers have to be stubborn huh? You need blood so take the damn thing from me." "It's not that simple. You dogs never seem to get that through your clouded heads." He laughed. "Oh really? Well, please enlighten me." He sat himself down and waited for me to respond. Closing my eyes I was beginning to lose against my blood lust. My inner demon was yearning for it. The crave was no longer crucial but vital if I was ever going to retain my humanity. "Whenever we feed, our blood source needs to be from a vial. We can't bite someone because they become bonded to us. The only time they don't is when they have been killed by some other means." "I see. And if you accidentally bond with me what will happen?" "It will never happen. We have soulmates." "As do we but we don't stick with them for very long." "Well we do and I plan on finding mine." "What will happen if you don't get blood?" I noticed his change of subject and I was instantly confused and curious at the same time. "Sometimes, we lose our humanity. We lose ourselves. The thirst takes over and we become the monsters of myths." He nodded and opened the door. "I will get you a bag of blood then. From the apothecary or the meat store. One of them is bound to have something. Is that good enough for you?" I could only manage a small nod and then he was gone. I was left once more to solitary confinement, but this time there was a chance that I would lose myself entirely to the thirst raging within me.