EDITED APRIL 2019
PARTIES AND PUNISHMENTS
The first half of the party is beautiful. Its filled with food, dancing, wine and meet-and-greets. Castiel has a huge pile of gifts stacked near the stage and he's in all his glory tonight, Jasmine and Ivana are clinging to his arms and Harley is right beside them.
Serafina narrows her eyes from beside me. She's a stickler for attention and she's used to the spotlight being entirely on her. She's clad in a little red dress that attracts attention from lower gods and servants alike. “I don't know about you, but I'm not begging for anyone's attention. Even if it's a Prince.” I can see her gaze traveling towards some of the other men nearby.
“No,” I catch Xavier's waiting gaze. “Neither am I.”
“You could do so much better than a servant, Miss Caverly,” Serafina goes to refill her wine glass. “Know your worth, will you?”
I do know my worth.
Being a servant does not define him. He may be obedient but I can see how much he cares, even if he's not supposed to. Xavier's gaze lingers a little too long, especially in places it shouldn't. He said that he could help me reconnect with Anna tonight, but this party is so busy that one of the competitors are bound to begin whispering rumors if I sneak off with him now.
We all get the pleasure of meeting several gods and goddesses that make me so nervous I stutter over introductions. The wine helps, but it clouds my judgement and continues to make me spill secrets that were well kept.
Eventually the lesser gods and elderly rich relatives of Castiel dwindle, leaving his much-younger cousins and young mischevious gods and goddesses to our whim. Fluorescent lights begin to flash. Alcohol is passed around and so are shots of tequila. There's a smoke machine clouding the warm, sticky air, and its hard to breathe. The music is new and the vibrations flow through my bones with the alcohol. Harley and I are dancing together.
I could just make out Serafina in the crowd, dancing closely — intimately — with a darkly handsome stranger. But dearly sweet Serafina wasn't the only one innapropriately dancing with someone. I could just make out Jasmine in the crowd, being twirled around by a close friend of the Prince. Secrets are hot on the dance floor, and they make my skin buzz with warmth.
The Prince himself is currently infatuted with Ivana. She has his full attention.
“You did promise you'd save me a dance,” I hear his tempting voice whisper against my ear, making me shiver, goosebumps rising on my arms. “unless you're too much of a good girl . . . Princess.”
Xavier has drifted through the party goers and towards me. He'd been lingering near other off-duty servants near the liquor table and was dressed in plain clothes. He smells of honey and blood and his scent is more intoxicating than any liquor at the party this evening. Xavier's gray-green eyes are filled with throbbing pleasure, and his full lips curl into a genuine smile. His breath smells like Jack Daniels.
I can see the throb of muscle beneath his ivory t-shirt.
This isn't the Prince, a sober part of me whispers.
But the drunken side of me is pulled towards Xavier, and he takes my hand in his. “I'm nobody's Princess tonight.” the words left my lips before I could stop them.
Xavier twirls me around. Our movements are in sync and his body aligns perfectly with mine. “You could be my Princess,” he whispers back. His voice is ragged and breathless. When we're not in the presence of Hades and Persephone, Xavier speaks freely and his body is relaxed. His skin is soft, but his hands are rough and his eyes want something they'll never be able to have. Secrets pass between us. His touch is electricifying and immediately leaves me wanting more.
“They brought me here for the Prince,” I tried to stumble over my words. I don't even know if he heard me over the music. I'm so tempted to kiss his neck as I breath words against his ear. “he needed six twenty-four seven booty calls.”
Xavier shakes his head. “What if you're not meant for a Prince? You're worth so much more than that. You have no idea how great you could be.”
“You don't even know me . . . ”
“I know enough to know how beautifully a crown would look upon your auburn curls. You aren't corrupted like the others are. I can help you get the attention you want; I can help you make history. These other girls are just standing in the way.”
“What if I don't want to be Castiel's Queen?”
“Then be mine,” Xavier's gruff voice is serious and full of want. His lips hesitate a mere inches from mine. It would be so easy to separate these inches, to feel his lips against mine. Xavier is intoxicating — intoxicated — and desire is hungrily gazing at me in the form of gray-green eyes. “I'm no good for you, but I can protect you.” Hades most trusted servant has been corrupted by a competitor.
I wasn't paying any attention to our surroundings, and that was dangerous. Hades and Persephone could be watching, other competitors could be watching. But I don't care. Between the alcohol and the temptation Xavier holds, I want to know what his lips will feel like pressed against mine. The other servants are staring at us as though Xavier has gone crazy, and maybe he has.
But before Xavier could touch his lips to mine, the entire party shuts down and the lights turn on. Lighting is (of course) faulty in the Underworld. But everyone was immediately caught off guard, drunk and irritated, shouting complaints and insults as the fog from the smoke machine drifted through out the room.
Xavier and I immediately separate. I could see Angelique lingering nearby, her heartbroken gaze tinged with jealousy and hate.
Eventually, Hades and Persephone quiet the crowd long enough to make their own announcement. They are cleared to enter the raised stage. Hades looks a little champagne happy as he welcomes his son's guests. He looks every bit like the lord of the Underworld; a fierce but beautiful Queen at his side. “Thank you all for making my son feel so special on his twenty-first birthday. We have never seen him happier . . . As you know, Persephone and I are reaching our final millennia as rulers of the Underworld. Our only son will soon take over in my place. We have come to a vital part in our evening. The time for introductions as well as punishment. When I call your names, please allow each competitor to rise to the stage.”
"Serafina Rose."
"Ivana Nilov."
"Harley Chambers."
"Jasmine Ellestone."
None of the other girls were wearing that plain Greek dress anymore. They walk like supermodels and movie stars, they walk with intention and pride swimming in their eyes when the spotlight hits them. They — like me — are all surrounded by large groups of powerful enough looking people, or better yet clinging to Castiel's side.
"And finally . . . Ariel Caverly."
Whispers pass through the audience as the white spotlight is placed on me. It's hard to swallow the lump in my throat. I meet Xavier's waiting gaze first and then Persephone's — who stands by Hades' side — and walk slowly up towards the stage to stand beside Harley.
“Nice right hook.” I could hear Harley whisper beside me. Her eyes sparkle with a mischievous glare and her smile seems genuine enough.
I try to smile back but can't.
“We would like to wish our only son a happy birthday, and thank everyone for coming today. We're at the part of our evening where punishment is necessary and vital. Our usual bash fuckery will resume shortly after. However only competitors and their servants are allowed beyond those doors. Further punishment will be given to anyone who disobeys. Our first punishment of the evening will teach her a lesson in obedience. Miss Ariel Caverly is faced with a serious offense, and will face punishment accordingly. Oscar — Kyle — tie her to the post by the void.”
Fear moves through my bones, and I try to look for Xavier in the audience but can't.
Oscar is the big brute Jasmine had been dancing with earlier. He's darker skinned with full lips and dangerous looking. His previously alluringly soft gaze holds no remorse. There's blood already staining his gray T-shirt. He immediately steps onto the stage for me.
Kyle is another one of Castiel's close friends, a higher demon of Hades that regularly corrupts the world above. His black eyes look alien and cruel. He's extremely pale as though he's never seen the sun before, and his dark hair is neat and hidden beneath a backwards black baseball cap. He follows Oscar up.
The entire meal hall is cheering with anticipation.
“Wait, no. I didn't do anything! I-I didn't — ”
“You didn't do anything? You gave my son a black eye on his twenty-first birthday. You deserve more than suffering, Miss Caverly,” Hades looks down at my chest and then returns his eyes on me. “I will make sure he feels your pain. From here on out, anything he wants is his. Your body belongs to my son. You belong to my son. You should be lucky that Castiel saved me from throwing you out of this competition. You are not worthy of the Prince of Darkness,” he nods towards Oscar and Kyle. “Take her. Tie her in tight.”
Despite the many many glasses of wine, the shots of tequila and various other dangerous mixes of alcohol, sobriety was closing in on me. Maybe the alcohol could help numb the pain. I still fought them, tried to fend them off. I tried to hit and punch and kick, screaming at the top of my lungs as the brutish boys hauled me away with ease, throwing me from the stage and onto the floor of the meal hall.
Where did I have to go once I get away? Where would I run to? Hades is all knowing and punishment would only get worse. Bile churns in my stomach, threatening to rise in my throat as my blurry vision tries to settle. I try to crawl away from them but the crowd backs away and cheers for punishment. Pain moves through my side.
Xavier is running forward in the crowd, drunkenly trying to shove his way through the other partygoers.
But it was already too late.
Oscar and Kyle grab me from the ground with an unrelenting grip. They don't care if I put up a fight. Their nails painfully dig into my skin as they drag me unwillingly — screaming and struggling — forward through an opening set of glass double doors.
I don't know if I can ever get used to this unnatural Underworld air. There are no sun and no stars and no moon; blacker than inky black darkness swirls overhead and gives me an infinite endless feeling. I look over my shoulder for Xavier, but I can only seen Hades, Persephone and Castiel walking in front of them. Harley, Jasmine and Ivana walk powerfully and idyllic behind them. But I don't see Xavier.
His name is on my lips but calling for him would be dangerous. His honey-blood scent is still lingering on my body. Calling for him would be selfish. Despite my underlying fear, I remember the urgency in Xavier's eyes as he tried to get through the crowd to me. This is my punishment. He'll have to stand by and watch. I can't let him bear this pain when thats already all he's used to.
The path we're on is cracked and desert-like, fire runs just beneath the surface. It burns my bare feet but Castiel and his parents are used to it. They know where to step even though it feels like stepping upon hot boiling rocks.
The path is short and the looming palace is still visible. I could still here the strange bloodthirsty echo of the crowd beyond. The path leads to a river of flame, churning, and running slowly into a huge circular black void where the demeaning and nightmarish screams are coming from. I see the rest of the servants hanging cautiously back.
I didn't fight with Oscar and Kyle anymore.
“Your body belongs to my son. You belong to my son.”
I was never meant to belong to anyone.
There are huge cliffs and a desert-like quality in the Underworld. There is an unstable looking jump-spot Hades designed and stained by whomever he thought deserved his void instead of Tartarus. It juts out a little further and is pointed forward. Blood stains the ground surrounding the jump spot, and two sturdy wooden posts six feet apart from one another.
“Oh, it'd be such a shame if our dearest Ariel fell.” Persephone singsongs.
“What's down there?” I ask Oscar and Kyle, repeating the same question again. “Please. Just tell me whats down there?”
“Who is down there — ” Kyle gives me a toothy grin.
“What's down there,” Oscar's cackling laughter was contagious for Kyle. “these are the screams that haunt your nightmares. They say the Void is worse than Tartarus, holding nightmarish like creatures that can eat you with a single bite. It's endless, just as dark and terrifying because only Hades really knows what resides down there. Servants are down there too, anyone who disobeys the Gods. I've seen people and Castiel's friends alike being pushed, dragged, shoved into the Void. Don't worry Princess, the fall isn't long enough for you to experience a Second Death, and by the looks of you . . . a good girl can't become bad enough for the Void. Your servant friend on the other hand . . . you should stay away from. Far away.”
They each grab my arms, and I feel breathless and strong, trying not to struggle as Oscar and Kyle tie my wrists to either sides of the posts. The wood and the rope cut into my skin. The ruby red dress surrounds me, and soon my red blood will drip onto the ground with those previously punished.
Fear is making my fingers shake, and I'm forced to my knees.
Castiel is the first to approach. “My sweet Ariel,” his lips hesitate inches from my cheek. He smells invigorating, like stale cologne and liquor. He was completely drunk. “if only you would have let me have my way with you. I don't think you'll be trying to give me a black eye again anytime soon, will you?” his lips touch my cheek, and tears build in my eyes.
“No, Castiel. Please, I promise not to touch you again. Please don't do this.”
Castiel leans down to kiss his neck. His fingers move downwards to touch my breasts and the tears move down my cheeks. “Oh but darling, I want you to touch me again. I think I like you tied up, and I think I'll enjoy this kinky punishment even more.” he kisses my neck once more before allowing his hands to drop, moving to join his father and mother.
Tears are running down both eyes, and the sobs are caught in my throat. “Your body belongs to my son. You belong to my son.”
“How many lashes do you think she deserves, Castiel? Ten? Twenty even?” One of Hades uniformed servants presents the Underworld God with a long black box. “I want the screams of the Void to be dull in comparison.” Hades opens the box to reveal a glowing golden whip stained red and black as soon as he touches it. Hades dangles the whip in the fiery river nearby, making sure that the lashes will be felt.
“Enough to settle the hellfire,” Castiel grins. “I know my dear new friend here is as masochistic as they come. Give her twenty-five; that's what she deserves.”
“Would you like to do the honors, my boy?” Hades offers the glowing fire-infused whip to his son.
Harley coerces him back to her, and Castiel refuses.
“Wait!” Xavier's scream is painful and urgent. He's out of breath, running for us with a thin layer of sweat covering his forehesd and a bloody lip. He reaches us quickly, and moves in front of me trying to protect me. “Wait, please.”
“You're lucky I don't strike you down right here, Mr. Reyes,” Hades voice is a menacing growl. “You cannot protect her; these lessons are not always easily learned, and Ariel must learn them. Servsnts are better seen than heard. Learn your place and get back into line among the others. I don't want to hesr another word out of you for the rest of the night. Now move.”
Xavier holds his hand out. His lower lip is trembling and his gaze is pleading with Hades. “Punish me. Punish me instead and double it. You've always enjoyed that sir, don't you remember? I can take your beatings. Ariel can't. She doesn't deserve this. I can teach her obedience in another way.”
Hades considers this for a long moment. The god's eyes don't soften or show any other signs of emotion, but he finally nods in agreement. Hades seems to connect the dots as he looks from Xavier to me. “She was meant to receive twenty five lashes. You will receive fifty. If you beg or flinch even once Xavier, then I'll double your lashes by five and Ariel will still be punished. Are we clear?”
“But Dad — ” Castiel begins.
“I asked ‘are we clear?’” Hades interrupts his son. He seems so much more hesitant.
“Yes sir.” Xavier says.
“Cut her down from there, and Ariel will tie your wrists to the posts instead. You better hope she ties you in tight.”
Xavier quickly kneels down as he comes to untie me. His fingers are shaking so bad that they can hardly get grip on the rope. “Don't do this, Xavier. No. I can't watch them hurt you like this.”
“You're going to have to be emotionless . . . just like them, Ariel. Don't show fear or sadness or any visible emotion in front of the Gods. They can use it against us. Any emotion you think you have for me will all too quickly be twisted, destroyed and manipulated. Be strong, Princess.”
“Enough talking. Let's hurry this along.” Hades says.
Xavier's fingers finally stop shaking enough to untie the last knot on my wrists. “Be strong. I need you to tie me in tight, as tight as you can and don't worry if you're hurting me.” He takes off his shirt and quickly kneels in my place when I stand. His chest is pale but muscular and solid from hard work.
I do what Xavier asks. Shared thoughts, fear and desire passes through when our hands ache to reach out towards one another. If it hadn't been for Hades and Persephone's announcement, I might have been lucky enough to feel Xavier's lips on mine. Now I'm trying to keep my fingers steady tying Xavier to each post.
“This will be over faster than you know,” Xavier whispers, glancing over his shoulder. He bravely faces the Void. “please look away if you must. You're going to hate them if you watch this.”
Once Xavier was tied tightly to the posts, Hades snaps: “get back in line beside the others. My dear servant won't always be around to bear your punishments for you, Miss Caverly.”
The long-awaited tears finally manage to spill over, and I get back into line beside sweet and blonde Harley.
“I will not be easy on you, Xavier. You didn't have to take her place, but you will be responsible for teaching her the lesson of obedience. Count every lash outloud. If you flinch you will make it worse for Miss Caverly. Am I understood?”
“Yes sir.” Xavier's voice is strong.
Harley slips her hand into mine, and the connection caught me off guard. But she was warm and her gaze is sympathetic. Harley let me be her shoulder to cry on. She didn't judge and didn't ask questions. She's fit to be Queen, but not a Queen of the Underworld.
When Hades begins to hit Xavier, my loyal servant counts each outloud despite the pain he's trying to hide. His fingers tighten against the rope until the veins are visible in his arms, until his knuckles turn completely white. I know Xavier is trying to keep his exterior strong no matter how weak his body feels. I want to heal the pain behind his eyes, not create more of it.
Castiel's face begins to soften as it becomes harder for Xavier to control the pain. The Prince of Darkness has a soul, after all. His body softens and he backs away behind us like he's ready to make a run for it back to the palace. Castiel's voice is so low that only Harley and I could hear it. “I'm sorry, Ariel.”
I no longer find Castiel's black eye and bloody lip amusing. Despite the alcohol meant to numb whoever drinks it, watching a beating is sobering me up and anger burns through every bone in my body until my vision turns red. “If you're sorry, you would have stopped it.” I grit through my teeth. “You're the Prince. You can stop this.”
Castiel's voice cracks as he speaks. “I can't.”
By thirty-nine Xavier's almost-black blood is dripping down onto the desert ground. He's shaking so badly that I now know why we were tied in so tightly. Xavier doesn't try to brace himself anymore. He's so delirious and counting his lashes is proving difficult. Hades waits to hit him until he hears a number.
I'm crying so badly that I can feel my body shaking just as bad as Xavier's. I shouldn't have let him do this.
But Castiel does something I thought he never would: he stands up to daddy. “Dad,” he steps forward between us, urgency in his voice as he steps in front of Xavier. “That's enough! Xavier served Ariel's punishment. Look at him . . . he can't take anymore of this.”
There was hellfire blazing in Hades eyes that couldn't easily be put out. Hades enjoys public punishment, teaching lessons and other people's pain. His eyes don't soften when they look at Castiel, but Hades flinches when Persephone softly touches her Godly husband's arms. I can't hear what she's whispering, but whatever it is softens Hades gaze. He licks his lips, “this is not the proper way things are done in the Underworld, Castiel. You know this from experience. Xavier has served Ariel's punishment, yet he is still short his own punishment. Seeing him unable to continue, would you like to take his place? How about our sweet Ariel here?”
Oscar and Kyle have come near Harley and I, looming with their threatening exterior.
“No!” Xavier can barely haul himself up, but he still brings himself to speak. “I will bear this punishment and Ariel will not be touched with that weapon.”
“Xavier knows he deserves eleven more.” Hades is relentless.
But Castiel isn't moving. His eyes are locked with his fathers. “Oscar and Ariel get him down from there. Now,” there was a scowl on Castiel's features. “you wanted me to act like I am worthy enough to take your place. These decisions are mine. Xavier is undeserving of this, and you know it.”
I waste no time moving to help Xavier, stumbling over my own two feet stepping forward to help untie him. As soon as I get closer, the scent of blood is enough to make me want to vomit and Xavier shakes as we untie him. “I can handle this,” he begs. “don't anger him further. I know I can do this. I don't want him to hurt you.”
“Consider the eleven lashes void. Nobody will hurt one of my girl's without my permission,” Castiel growls. “Ariel and Oscar, I want you both to return Xavier to his room. Kyle, fetch any necessary supplies and towels, I want you to get the Infirm Nurse on duty immediately. Make Xavier as comfortable as you can. I'll be by shortly before the end of the night.”
Xavier still couldn't seem to relax. He wasn't used to being saved or being shown mercy. But Castiel savdd him, and as soon as Xavier is free from the binds he immediately collapses onto the ground. It's my turn to take care of him. “I-I don't need help.” he tries to raise himself to a standing position, but hardly has enough energy to sit up or raise his head.
Oscar slowly gets Xavier to his feet, and Xavier puts an arm around me. I can feel how unsteady he is and I can't stop the sobs caught in my throat. He didn't have to do this. He shouldn't have done this. Competitors and servants alike easily move aside for us. Hades gaze lingers curiously on me as I help Xavier forward.
“Are those tears for me?” Xavier's slightly delirious. His gray-green eyes are wide and beautiful when they look over at me. He shouldn't be talking like this with Oscar so closeby. A harsh layer of sweat covers his body and his face. “don't be sad for me, my dulce. I knew I couldn't sit by and watch them hurt you so I let them hurt me, instead. We heal rather quickly in the Underworld. Please don't sob over a little blood and lost skin. I'll be okay.”
I try to stop the choking sobs. But I can't stop thinking about the beating that Xavier has taken. “you're so strong,” I whisper. “stronger than I'll ever hope to be, and I never will know how to thank you for what you just did. You're my knight-in-shining armor.”
“Gods, between the blood and all these emotions I think I'm going to puke.” Oscar himself looks a little affected by Xavier's punishment.
“Well well well, look who has a soul after all?” Xavier grunts as we lead him through the doors of the meal hall, where the party has returned in full effect. Everyone avoids the three of us. But its loud here and too rowdy, and Xavier needs his rest.
Angelique drops the platter she'd been carrying as she leaves a swinging door of a blocked-off kitchen area. Her food dish clatters to the ground and I hear the glass breaking. “Xavier?” she fumbles for words. “What happened?” her voice is heartbroken over the music, filled with sadness and raw emotion. She notices me around his arm first. “I thought I told you to stay away from him! Look! Look at what you did to him!” there are tears quickly returning to her eyes — anger radiation from her skin — as she moves forward towards us, ready for a fight.
“She didn't do anything, Angel. I chose this. Get back to the kitchen.”
Angelique knew better than to argue at a time like this. She stares at me with anger and venom laced in her words. She remains lost in the partygoers as we move slowly forward.
Oscar and I manage to get Xavier through the party and out into the quieter corridors. We could stil hear the music; teens and young gods remain in the corridors. Few of their faces are grisly in appearance, and I try not to look as we easily pass.
“Damn Caverly, I hope you know how to fight because Angelique looked like she wanted to tear your head off.” Oscar notes.
“Angelique won't touch her, or I'll drag her sorry ass into the Void. Should have done that a long time ago.” Xavier is always trying to protect me even when he can't.
“Servant drama is always so much better than Royal drama. A millennia episode of Maury can get tiring after awhile, you know?” Oscar says sarcastically, already knowing where to bring Xavier, easily navigating through these corridors even though I'm lost.
Xavier's room is in the servant's quarters which is on the lower first floor. This servants quarters are only accessible through a narrow corridor and a slim swinging doorway you needed an electronic ID to get through. Oscar and Xavier both have them even though Oscar's looks somehow different.
There are posters on the walls with Hades' eyes and bold ominous lettering underneath: OBEY. Rules are posted in a frame nearby with necessary commandments too small too read, and a list full of everyone in the servants quarters and their names/room numbers.
Xavier has room number ‘7’. Each door needs that electronic ID card, and he pauses before opening his door. He shakes his head, “I'm fine. I'll be okay. Just back off for a second, Oscar.” Xavier tries to stand by himself, and is still unsteady on his feet. He falls two minutes later and is left breathless; his blood stains the carpeted floors. Xavier fends the both of us off when we both offer him our help. He falls twice more and can't get up. “Oscar, I think Ariel can handle this from here.” We both help him up despite protests.
That was an obvious dismissal. “I know when I'm not needed. See you both manana. Jasmine promised me a lap dance.”
Xavier waited until Oscar left, “Try not to judge me? I'm not exactly soaking up luxuries down here, but my position does have it's perks.”
“Like?”
“Like keeping me out of Tartarus.”
Xavier's room is averagely small. His bed is a little bigger than a twin, but could fit him and I. There's candles lighting his room, and it's unbearably hot down here. He explained that the servant quarters are closer to the lake of fire, which is why Hades didn't give them any kind of fireplace. Everything has a purpose: a closet which holds three uniforms and very few plainclothes. There's a night table by the bed with books stacked up in an uneven row of four. There's a small dresser with a mirror set up on the wall; broken. Hades’ OBEY is up by the closet.
I manage to get Xavier into bed, closing the door behind us.
He has to lay on his stomach, and he's bleeding so profusely I do anything and everything I can to make him more comfortable. But Xavier is in too much pain to get comfortable; honey and blood wafts through out the room and a glittering red tattoo on his wrist catches my eye. “Wrath . . . ”
“It appears after you're Judged,” Xavier explains. “your classifications tell where you'll end up in the Underworld. The Gods decided that I belonged in Tartarus for the things Angelique and I had done in the land of the living. This job saved us both from Tartarus. You six are being Judged in the morning.”
Nervousness immediately churns through my chest.
“You'll be fine,” Xavier smiles. “It's this place that will twist you into someone you're not. The Underworld will show you just how bad a good girl can get.” An electricifying buzz is filling the warm space between us.
“What do you miss most about the land of the living, Xavier?”
“The sun,” he seems so faraway as he's lost in thought. “I miss watching the sun come up on days where I couldn't sleep.” he readjusts himself, closing his eyes against the pain. “I think I took that for granted. Tell me what — or who — you miss.”
“Facebook,” I joke. “partying with dead people in the Underworld would so go viral. I think I actually miss long showers and Starbucks coffee. I'll definitely miss the thunderstorms.”
“What's a Facebook?”
That's when I realized: Xavier has been in the Underworld for a long time. “Xavier . . . when were you born?”
“1953.”
“When did you die?”
“1977, four days before my twenty-fifth birthday.”
He's been here in the Underworld for over thirty years. I cover my mouth with my hand to hide my surprise. But Xavier still catches it. “What year was it when you died? H-how long have I been down here?”
“It's 2017. You've been in the Underworld for forty years.”
Xavier turns away and momentarily buries his face into his pillow before turning back to look at me. “Every day I always wonder what my life could have been like if I were alive, if Angelique hadn't convinced me into doing all those horrible things to all those good people.” he looks away. “It was a different time, Princess. Things have changed, and I wish I could have met you in another life. My life ended too soon, with bullets and money and power. But I always imagined a simple life. I wanted a wife and children and a house with a white-picket fence. Maybe in another life we could have had those things . . . another world. But you belong to a Prince, and I can't get you into trouble here. I'd never forgive myself.”
“You're worth the trouble,” We look at each other in understanding. I separate those few inches between us, desperately needing to feel his touch. His free hand immediately caresses my face. His lips hold the same need, want, demand . . . his lips move in sync with mine. He's perfection in the form of a man. Our skin is radiating with warmth.
We lean away when a knock on the door interrupts us. Xavier glances at the poster and then the door. His eyes are wide and he quickly leans away. “Answer that please. Quickly.”
The knock comes again, and as I inch the door open Castiel is standing in the doorway with an unfamialar servant in tow filled with supplies. He isn't smiling anymore, with absolutely no chance of cruelty in his voice or features. “how is he doing?” Castiel asks. “I brought snacks, liquor and extra towels. An Infirmary Nurse is coming in half an hour to assess his wounds.”
I open the door a little wider, stepping aside to reveal Xavier laying beaten-down in bed.
“Thank you for what you did, Castiel.” Xavier says honestly. His lips are stained slightly with my red lipstick. “I appreciate you standing up for me despite our past differences.”
Castiel's eyes linger on the lipstick and then move to the OBEY poster as if understanding our secrets. “I had to do something to end your pain,” the Prince admits. “you saved Ariel and did the honorable thing. I had to do so as well. Would you mind if I steal her away for the evening? Cedric here can keep you company until the Nurse comes, and I convinced my father to allow you two days off to rest.”
“She's all yours.” Xavier says sadly, “thank you, Ariel.”
Disappointment surely crosses into my features as the servant — Cedric — comes into Xavier's room to further assist him. “I'll be by to check on you in the morning, okay?”
Xavier smiles softly and sleepily, “please take care of her, Castiel.”
Castiel leads me from Xavier's room and quietly shuts the door. “I'm sorry,” he says immediately. “I'm really sorry and I'd like to make it up to you.”
“How do I know you're not lying?”
“I'm missing one of my birthday parties to be here with you now . . . sober. I'd like to dance with you, and get to know you properly. I promise that I won't touch you innapropriately ever again, and if I do you can punch me in the face. Please? I'll show you my favorite spot.”
“What about — ”
“Xavier will be fine, Ariel. You can visit him in the morning after breakfast with me. Listen, ass comes easy and I promise not to make you feel uncomfortable in anyway whatsoever. Jasmine and Ivana are practically throwing themselves at me. At least give me a chance to prove to you that I can make a better first impression.”