Beyond the Deep Water

Visitor

"Well..." Axl pushes impatiently as Camille takes a moment to find a way to surprise him. Turning her attention to the beautiful candle with golden dust instead of fire, she glances at him with the corner of her eye, an action that Axl finds amusing. The moment her question becomes clear, he smiles.

"Don't you hate your mother?" Camille bursts out, hoping not to ruin the quiet moment. Axl becomes genuinely surprised by the sudden move she has taken.

"Interesting..." he observes with a slight nod. Camille has managed to distract him with a thought to ask spontaneously. "Resenting the great goddess would only mean that I have chosen to go against her..." he explains patiently.

In Camille's tender expression, Axl finds a hint of compassion for his painful love. All the time, his mother has made him suffer by sending random girls to remind him that he won't get to see Onyx again unless he gives her what she wants. To have someone to love and can't see is painful. Camille understands that pain all too well. Unfortunately for her, she's only human, and the more time she spends with him, the less painful her love for Adam becomes, but the guilt grows stronger.

"I have lived long enough to learn to overlook her methods to get my attention," Axl answers honestly. Recalling the long journey he has gone through to tolerate the irreversible fact that the Great Goddess of Evil and Death is not someone he can run away from.

"It's okay to hate her..." Camille comments silently. A comment that intrigues him, after all, Axl sees how much she has suffered at the hands of Steve, but even then, Camille doesn't hold any evil thoughts about him.

"The Great Goddess of Evil and Death feeds from pain, sorrow, violence, vilest emotions, and I was born with two options, either take her side to let her manipulate me at her convenience," he says with an exhausting tone. "Or take my father's side, which is not as bad, but it would create a distortion in the universe." He adds. Camille trembles at the memory of the evil woman mocking her fear and pain. Everything she's been through, every night that Steve would slam the door of her room, every time he would come close to her body. Every time the darkness approached her, the Great Goddess of Evil and Death has been enjoying those memories, getting stronger with them.

"Am I her target now?" Camille wonders trying not to feel fear. Axl gazes at her beautiful eyes, her pale face, her lively hair. He wants to protect Camille's shattered heart since he found her crying in the middle of the night. To save her, even if he has to go against his mother once again.

"She will not hurt you," he reassures her with a soothing tone.

"Why do you want to help me? Haven't you suffered enough from her?" She blurs another question. Axl stops to think again. Axl has promised to be honest, but this is a question he hasn't found an answer to yet. Not when deep down, he's still hoping for Onyx to show up, but suddenly his desperation and his temper have subsided since Camille arrived. Axl has found a new sentiment of tranquility around her. Knowing that he has someone to take care of, someone who deserves to be healed and compensated gives him a sense of responsibility. "I mean if I'm an offering, but neither of us accepts it. Plus, you have the nymphs, beautiful angels, and even the goddess..." Camille adds, sorely slurping her soup.

Axl wonders for a moment. Before anyone, he had Onyx, someone insatiable that could quickly wrap him around her finger. After her, he has the nymphs. They entertain and do as he wishes, then there's Camille. Axl finds himself enjoying his time with her more than any other it's a strange turn out of events for him. "Do you prefer to go back so I can have my time with the nymphs?" He asks with a hypnotizing glare that exposes her change of heart for him. Camille gulps nervously.

"I don't know..." Camille admits cautiously.

"Humans have the tendency of changing their minds, forgetting whom they promise love to," he says with a seriousness that gives her heart a sudden, painful throb. Her eyes decay for a moment. Unfortunately for her, Axl is right. Again, she tries to keep her eyes away from him, shut her mind so he won't be able to see the damage it causes her to know that he might still love Onyx.

"You are a mystery indeed..." the god continues. Although he does feel attracted by Camille's beauty, shyness, and peaceful energy, she becomes stronger as she spends more time in the sanctuary. Deep down, Axl wants more from her. He wants to see her smile when he surprises her with magic, see her serene expression on her face as she enjoys the freedom to be herself. To appreciate what life has to offer after a painful path. Most of all, he wants to keep her because, strangely, caring for her gives a new meaning to his boring life.

"I just don't want to forget," Camille confesses. "But if I don't forget, I will become unbearable." The dreadful expression in her eyes takes him by surprise.

"Perhaps I am not clear enough..." he murmurs mostly to himself. "It is abominable for me to ignore the pain you have been through, to send you back to a life like that is a cruel choice that I will not make. Even if you beg me too," Axl admits letting his own words sink in for a moment. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem contempt with that explanation either. Simply because in a big part of his heart, Axl can already admit to himself that he can't let go of her.

Camille's soul trembles with a new feeling. Security. To have a powerful god acknowledge her suffering and take action is something she never thought possible. Her eyes fill up with hopeful tears. "Perhaps we do not need to acknowledge why you are here, simply accepting each other's company like right now," he suggests with a comforting tone that gives her complete ease.

"I apologized for my behavior before. It was not my intention to use your weakness as an example. I was wrong." Axl admits with sincere regret. An incredible action that could shock anyone in his kingdom. Axl, the powerful God of Water to bends down and apologize. Camille knows that this is something that can surprise the rest of the gods. But she opts for sealing this conversation in her mind where none can hear it.

"Can I ask you now?" Axl asks. Silent Camille nods. "Will you stay here, under my protection?" his tone turns soft and gentle, awakening a pleasant sensation of serenity in her heart. Camille takes a deep breath and picks up her glass of wine.

"Yes, your majesty," she answers with a radiant smile that moves his heart as he shocks her with a pleasant smile.