Word Count: 1981
~Kiva
I let them come to me first.
Their faces are concealed by shadows, but I don't need to see them anyway. They are just more rebels who would rather kill me than risk allowing me redemption.
The tallest one lunges for me first.
Anticipating their attack, I slash the shard of glass along their arm in a similar fashion as with a knife. Ark's training rings in the back of my mind, giving me some confidence in my ability to get out of here.
The rebel hisses in pain but barely flinches, still advancing on me. They manage to grab my arm in a firm grip, holding the glass away from themselves.
Someone kicks me in the lower back, a jolt of pain accompanying me in my fall to the floor.
I hadn't even realised someone had come up behind me...
The rebel who kicked me climbs on top of me, trying to wrestle my arms behind my back while another readies the rope to wrap around my neck.
With my cheek pressed against the cold floor, I try not to let my panic exhaust me.
They really are going to do it. They are going to kill me.
Twisting my arm, I manage to cut at the fingers of the rebel on my back. She fists a clump of hair in the back of my head, pulling it back.
"I wonder if Ark will still think you're pretty when you're dead," she seethes in my ear. The familiarity of her voice drenches me in cold, overwhelming dread.
It's the girl Ark was talking to outside my door.
Gritting my teeth, I muster all my strength to roll over. I only roll onto my side, but it's enough to disrupt her sitting position, sending her toppling onto the floor.
Someone else grabs me, but when I turn to slice them with the glass, they let me go. That must have been a deep hit...
I can barely see anything as I scramble up, but I know someone else is lunging for me.
They slam me against the door, the sound making a horrible thump. I cough as the breath is squeezed from my lungs.
As hands reach for my neck, I slam my knee into their stomach, listening to them groan. I do it again, and then another time until their grip loosens.
I don't want to kill these people. I could stab this shard of glass into his neck and this would be over, but I can't bear it.
Instead, I fumble with the handle, managing to shove the door open.
I stumble out into the hallway, knowing I'm being pursued by the girl. I don't turn to face her, opting instead to run as fast as I can down the hallway.
If I stay a moment longer, either she will kill me, or I'll kill her.
The sounds of her footsteps cease quickly as I pace down the stairs, practically flinging myself around every corner. She knows that now I've escaped there is no chance for them to finish me off.
All of a sudden, I slam into a body. The impact sends me hurtling into the wall. I nearly keep running until I see it's Ark, looking at me for a moment like I'm a complete stranger.
He blinks as he registers it's me.
"What's going on?" he questions, looking over me.
His eyes flare wider as he takes in the sight of me clutching a shard of glass, blood dripping from the wound it has cut into my palm and fingers.
"I was attacked," I tell him. I sound numb, shock still gripping me.
"By who?"
"Them. Your people!" I motion with my good hand back up the stairs, terrified that they may come down to face me again.
With Ark here though, they don't stand much of a chance.
He sobers from his shock, stepping forward. Carefully he raises my hand, plucking the glass out. I wince, the pain slowly starting to bloom as the shocks wears away.
"Come. I'm getting you away from there," he murmurs, forehead creasing as he examines the wound.
I can see the conflict in his eyes. He has chosen to get me to safety instead of following up on the rebels who hurt me.
Keeping true to his word, Ark did get me out of there.
He had my hand quickly bandaged before hurrying me into a transport, driving me away from the compound.
We travelled for at least three hours. Most of the time I slept, exhausted from the shock and the adrenaline which finally diminished. I could have thrown myself out the door of the transport and made a run from it, but I don't have it in me anymore.
I've fought enough.
Ark shakes me awake as we arrive, encouraging me out.
I follow him, my legs wary as I register that early hour in which we are awake. The air is fresh, breathing some life back into me as I'm led up sturdy wooden steps and into a house.
I blink as a light is turned on.
"Here? Really?" I gasp out.
I hadn't even realised, but Ark has brought me to my family's lake house. Him and I visited here months ago...it feels like a lifetime, when I thought he was nothing more than my personal guard.
It seems he still takes his duties very seriously...
"It's a familiar place for you," he notes, only letting go of me when he is sure I won't collapse. "And no one will come here."
Seeing a space I once adored, once shared with family in such a delightful way nearly cripples me. It takes all my courage not to collapse into a fit of tears, wishing for a simpler time.
"So, what now?" I breathe.
I need to focus on something other than my crushing emotions. I need to focus on Ark, and what is going to happen next.
He turns to me, his expression blank but his eyes are filled with fear, sadness and dread.
"I'm going to tell you everything. And from there, you may make your decision," he tells me.
There's an uneasiness to his tone that stirs something up within me. He knows this is going to be bad. He knows that this information will force me to decide whether I want him or my father.
Swallowing thickly, I look in the reflection of the windows, seeing myself.
"What choice do I have?" I breathe, reaching up to touch my face. I don't remember being hit there, but a bruise is starting to form.
Ark sits himself on one of the couches, motioning for me to rest on the other. I oblige him, pulling a fuzzy blanket over my legs.
"You can choose to support me in what I'm going to do, or you can choose to condemn me. Either way, I understand," he says.
This is it. This information is going to change my life.
"Alright then. Tell me."
He holds my gaze, never breaking eye contact.
"Quite a few years ago now, my sister went missing. At the time, I was a mercenary who didn't spend much time at home and cared little for anything other than the money I was making for my family," he starts.
I nod, already knowing this information.
"Okay..."
"When my sister disappeared, I knew something was wrong immediately. She was a kind, soft soul, but she was also incredibly naïve. It wasn't her fault, my mother spoiled her, but her open heart was constantly open for manipulation."
He pauses, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
I may not trust Ark yet, but his love for his sister was real. The guilt he carries with him is one of the only emotions I am sure about when I look at him.
"Really?"
"Mmm. So when she vanished, I knew she wouldn't leave mother behind, and because she was speaking to an older gentleman in the village at the time, I figured he had something to do with it."
I watch him laces his fingers together, trying to restrain an old, lasting anger.
"Did he?" I ask breathlessly.
"Oh yes. I learnt much later that he had seduced her. He had lured her away to an entirely different part of the land that I knew nothing about. As I was trying to find her, I came to learn about a King, who had connections to the man who was involved with my sister."
His dark eyes sweep over my face, seeing if I'm understanding what he is inferring.
"My father?"
"Yes. Your father," he mutters grimly. "On the surface, this King had an excellent reputation, however, I started digging a little deeper, talking to the right people. It was then I learned about a sinister truth that my sister likely got herself involved in."
Nausea bubbles in my stomach. I clutch it, trying not to be sick as I begin to understand where this story is heading.
"Just tell me..."
Ark draws in a deep breath, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment as he braces himself. When he opens them again, they are cold.
"Your father owns a business in which he allows very wealthy people to come and do terrible, hideous things to innocent people. They bid on them, then torture and kill them as they please."
It takes a long second of staring at Ark's face to comprehend what he is telling me.
Business. Torture. Killing...
An old memory suddenly emerges from the back of my mind. A woman came to me when I was outside the manor walls, telling me that my father was responsible for her missing child...
"What? Why would anyone do that?" I whisper, horrified.
I believe him. I believe Ark.
"There are some very sick people in this world," he tells me. "I spent a while hunting those down who actively participated in your father's business, taking their lives far more swiftly than they deserved, but eventually I realised I needed to go after the person who created the business in the first place."
I stand up, still holding my stomach.
"I feel sick."
"Every rebellion member experienced a loved one falling victim to the horrors of your fathers business. It is why they are struggling to trust you," he tells me softly. "But that does not mean that those that tried to hurt you won't be punished."
I pace back and forth, needing to expend some anxious energy.
"I swear I know nothing about this. I've never known my father to be evil, let alone have an entire business based on it..."
My father has always been secretive with his personal affairs. What he does after dinner is beyond me, and honestly I never cared.
Now it seems clear that while I peacefully slumbered, innocent people were being tortured and murdered by a man I thought I loved.
Ark stands, grabbing my forearms, forcing me to look at him.
"I don't believe your father actually partakes in what he sells. He merely collects the money, which is just as much a crime."
"So you're going to kill him?"
"Yes. Not just because of my sister, or his other victims, but because there are many more that will be harmed for letting him remain alive," he insists.
I can tell he is concerned for my reaction as he scans my face, fingers trembling against my skin.
"Do you object to this?" he asks.
I need evidence. I need to know for certain that I am not being tricked, that this isn't part of another, bigger agenda.
"If you're right about this," I breathe. "Then no, I don't object."
🤎••🤎
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! and as always it is available 10 chapters ahead on Radish!
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~Midika 💜🐼