Relentless

Part I

"You can wear it until I take you back."

"Take me back?"

"yes," he answered as if it were obvious. "It's not safe for you out here." He urged and straightened, a mask of strength covering his emotions . He grabbed her wrist, preparing to lead her back to camp.

"It's not safe for you either." she countered, pulling her arm away from his hold. The vacant spot turned cold from the loss of contact.

"Please, please go back to bed." He looked so concerned and worried, Levinia almost wanted to do what he said. But still she refused.

"No, not until you tell me where you're going." She said stubbornly. No way was she letting him go without explaining anything.

"I-I can't." he shook his head.

Then it clicked. Levinia didn't know why she hadn't seen it before. "You're handing yourself in aren't you." It wasn't a question. His eyes pleaded with her not to be upset. "I'm not going to let you do this." She told him firmly, while blocking his path.

James let out a strangled groan, running a hand through his dark hair. "This is why I didn't tell you, Levinia." he fused, anger rising up. "You can't stop me or change my mind. I'm going to save them." With that he turned his back to her and started pacing in frustration. A habit of his. Levinia bit back a remark about him holding this decision from her.

"What if it's a lie? Which it most likely is. Did you think about that?" Levinia wasn't about to let this conversation slip away. She followed his footsteps while continuing her rant. "They're deceiving you. They want to kill you, they have wanted to kill you and they found out how to do it perfectly. By threatening the ones you love most. This isn't the time to turn yourself in. It's the time to act, to rescue your family, fight back! At least consider what I'm saying."

James said nothing, keeping his back to her throughout her entire rampage. She took a few steps forward, reaching out and touching his arm. He whipped around, making her cower back when she saw his bright angry eyes.

"You don't think I thought about this? The consequences? I make my own decisions!" His voice raising caused her to take a step back. Then he looked toward the ground when he saw her reaction, his shoulders sagging as he added quietly. "We aren't a couple anymore, stop acting like we are."

She flinched harshly, as if fire had scorched her. "I... I'm" her voice cracked. She quickly composed herself, her face became neutral. "I didn't know you felt that way."

"I didn't mean it like that." He winced. She wasn't making this any easier for him.

"It's fine. I understand."

He looked at her helplessly as if he wanted to say many things through this one glance.

He didn't want to do this. He had told himself that he would never hurt her. That he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and happy. And here he was causing unbearable pain to her and others. He couldn't let that happen. He didn't want to part this way.

"No, you don't understand. You don't know how you make me feel." he blurted, kneeling down in front of her and taking her small hands in his strong ones. He wasn't sure what caused him to do this strange action. Maybe it was his desperation for her needing to understand that he was being completely honest. "You don't know how much you agitate me and calm me at the same time. You don't know how angry yet blissfully happy you make me. You don't know how much I want to kiss you when you bite your lip or when you laugh at my dumb jokes. Levinia... I adore you."