You couldn't help but sit there frozen in confusion as Aizen made his way closer. Aizen on the other hand just smiled brightly at you which only made you furrow your brows further. You opened your mouth to ask what was going on but you were interrupted by the sound of Renji clambering off his horse. "Explain yourself!" He demanded as he tried and failed to stumble his way towards Aizen.
Aizen gave a small chuckle and whirled around towards him, "It seems you've already figured it out, why bother with an explanation." Renji growled and lunged towards him only to be thrown to the ground by a pale man with black hair.
"I can assure you that if you try to harm Lord Aizen again I will be forced to kill you." The stranger said while still standing over Renji. The stranger had a bone mask that framed his face and came off in a horn near the top. He was also more pale than anyone you'd ever seen before. You didn't pay much attention to him though as Aizen began to make his way over to where the stranger and Renji where.
The brown haired man in front of you was clearly not the same man you once thought he was and as he made his way towards the person who had tried to save you. Panic rose in your chest, you couldn't help but fear that perhaps Aizen was just going to kill Renji and be done with it. "Wait, please!" You pleaded as you jerkily climbed off the horse and made your way towards Aizen. Between your exhaustion and panic you stumbled a bit on weak and tired legs.
Aizen whirled and quickly caught you before you could hit the ground and pulled you close to him. You put a hand on his chest trying to put some distance between himself and you but failed. He kept a firm hand on your hip and gave you a saccharine smile, "You have nothing to fear sweet girl," Aizen calmly tried to reassure you while he rubbed small circles with his thumb across your hip, causing a blush to break out on your face. No one had ever dared to touch you like that and you were at a loss of what to do. "I have no intention of hurting him, I just wanted to get a good look at the man who replaced me." Even though he said it kind enough you doubted his intentions, especially as he continued to hold you without allowing you to move. "Ulquiorra, take the lady to her room so she can wash and rest." Aizen ordered the pale stranger. Ulquiorra bowed his head to Aizen and approached the two of you, "Get washed up, get some rest and I'll send for you at supper dear. I'll see to it that your friends' wounds are seen too." Aizen said into your ear causing you to shiver as he released you.
Ulquiorra led you through the large manor in complete silence. You came to a large dark wood door that he opened for you and gestured for you to enter with a nod. You thanked him as he left, closing the door behind him leaving you alone. You let out a shaky breath as you looked around the lavish room. The bed was decorated with a number of fine red and black pillows that matched with the expensive embroidered comforter. The bed sat nicely on a high bed frame surrounded by a thick canopy, it looked like a bed fit for a king and you couldn't help but wonder if this had been high lord Yamamoto's room. There was a larger wood carved dresser with an equally large mirror on the back of it that faced the bed. There were nice end tables on either side of the bed that matched the dresser in its intricate carvings as well as a small rounded table with two chairs in the corner of the room. A large window stood taller than you that looked over the lavish and well tended gardens you walked over to it and gazed out of it for a brief minute before focusing on your own reflection.
The bottom of your dress was completely shredded and your hair was wind whipped and tangled. You were covered in dirt that stains that streaked up your ruined dress. When you looked at your face you almost didn't recognize yourself though the heavy bags and almost shell shocked look in your eyes. You stared into your own eyes for a long moment before deciding that you needed to bathe immediately.
You made your way to a smaller door that you assumed held the bathroom and pushed the door open. The tub was larger than any of the ones in your own manor, it looked as if it would hold at least five of you, not that you were complaining, seeing as how much grime you had to get off yourself. The bath had already been drawn and warm steam billowed off the surface. There were an assortment of soaps, scrubs and shampoos of all sorts of smells left out for you as well as a heavy looking fluffy towel. As you entered and closed the door behind you, you noticed a beautiful silk nightgown had been hung on the back of the door for you. You didn't dare touch the pristine white fabric until you had washed yourself.
You walked to the counter to look at the multiple soaps before picking out a lavender one and a shampoo that matched. You striped yourself from your filthy clothes and threw them into a small wash basket before stepping into the tub. You let yourself sink into the water all the way down to your chin. You lied there for a long while and thought of the events of the past twenty four hours. Your mind drifted to your father again and if he knew what was going on. You wondered if he and the men he'd gone with were on their way back here. Clearly Aizen was not the man you all had thought of him. He was very clearly in charge of these strange people that wore the bone masks. They seemed to do whatever he asked and you couldn't help but wonder how that had come about seeing as how he hadn't been missing for all that long. Unless he'd been planning this long before he'd left, which sounded like the most logical answer.
At least, you thought, he didn't seem to want to kill anyone at the moment. He'd promised to have Renji's wounds treated and even Grimmjow had said that he wanted as many people brought back alive as possible. But that hadn't seemed to stop them in their carnage when they'd arrived here. You thought about all the people that had been slain for simply being unlucky enough to cross these strange masked wearing peoples path. You thought about the maids and servants of your home and if it was their blood that had been spilled across the front steps. The thought of this brought tears to your eyes and for the first time since you'd left yesterday you let yourself cry. You cried for yourself and the fear and uncertainty that faced you, you cried for Renji and his injuries that he'd gotten trying to protect you, you cried for the servants of your home that had done nothing wrong and you cried for your father who you weren't even truly sure was alive.
You allowed yourself to cry until the water lost its heat and became room temperature. You sniffled and you began lathering yourself in the lavender smelling soap. You washed quickly and then began on your hair which was a matted mess. You ran shampoo through it twice before lathering more conditioner than was probably necessary into it and beginning to work out the knots with your fingers, then with a wide toothed brush, then with a fine comb only rinsing when all the knots had been worked through. You fumbled for the drain on the tub, rising and wrapping the warm towel around yourself. You walked over to the mirror and looked at yourself again, you still had the bags underneath your eyes and they had gone puffy from crying but you were no longer covered in dirt and grime, besides your eyes you looked like yourself again.
You pulled the silk nightgown down and slipped it over your head. It was shorter than the ones you'd wear at home, coming up just above your knee. It also had a wide and deep v-neck to it that showed off your chest more than you would like. The material was thin and clung to you leaving very little to the imagination. You shifted uncontrollably as you looked at your reflection feeling exposed even though no one was in the room with you. You walked back into the bedroom and began looking through the drawers on the dresser for anything else to wear, only to find all of them empty. Giving up with a sign you made your way back to the window and looked out. No one was out there and the sun had fully risen in the sky only to be covered by the overcast clouds that hung. You didn't know how long you stared out of the window before your eyes got too heavy and a headache began to pound behind your eyes. You were hesitant about going to sleep and weighed your options but eventually the need for sleep won out and you crawled your way under the comforter. You were asleep the moment your head hit the pillow, body and mind being much too tired to put up any kind of fight.
~~~
Nightmares plagued you as you tossed and turned. First you dreamt of Nnoitra skewing Renji as Grimmjow held you and made you watch. Then you dreamed of being chased through the woods, but this time Grimmjow clearly meant to kill you, you ran and ran as your chest pounded. There was no way out of this fictitious forest no matter how you turned, there was no clearing to save you here. Just as you felt yourself being pulled back you awoke to someone slamming the bedroom door shut.
You shot up from your slumber, blankets falling from you only to see Grimmjow in your doorway. He was dressed much more casually, wearing only a white woven shirt that came to his mid bicep, some dark brown pants and black worn boots. The daylight allowed you to actually look at him, you couldn't help but notice that he was handsome, his electric blue hair matched his eyes in an unearthly beautiful way. He was muscular and very clearly a skilled warrior, small scars scattered across his arms. He still wore his bone mask as he gazed at you. The two of you stared at each other for a moment before you broke the silence, "Can I help you with something?" You asked harsher than you'd meant to.
He gave another barking laugh, "Seems the little princess found her words." He said, still grinning at you. Your eyebrows furrowed at his comment and you signed. His gaze dropped from your face and raked down what of you he could see, stopping when he got to your chest and giving a lazy smile, "I like this dress much more than your last one." He said slowly, tearing his eyes away to meet yours again. Your whole body flushed at his comment and you pulled the comforter up to cover yourself a bit since you'd forgotten what you'd been wearing. "Something wrong?" He asked, "You look a little red." He said, still staring into your eyes.
"Is there something you actually need or have you just come here to screw around with me?" You asked, irritated and flustered. You wanted him to tell you why he was here and to leave, being this close to a strange man who had no problem making his lewd thoughts known made you uncomfortable. Especially since you doubted there would be anything you could do to stop him from doing whatever he wanted with you if he deemed it so. You hoped that whatever Aizen wanted with you would be enough of a deterrent to keep him and anyone else who prowled around away.
His lazy smile grew to a full blown smirk, "While I would love nothing more than to stay here and screw you," He said, raising an eyebrow and taking a few steps towards you, causing you to stiffen your back. Your breath caught in your lungs and your heart pounded in your chest so hard you were sure the blue haired man himself could hear it. You were frightened that he wasn't going to stop as he inched closer and closer to you but he stopped a few feet shy of the bed. "Lord Aizen has asked me to escort you to him and I don't think he'd take too kindly to me touching you. Though I do appreciate the invitation." He said throwing something at you. Upon closer inspection it was a pale pink dress and a matching pair of delicate flats.
No one had ever spoken to you the way he was and you had no clue how to respond to anything he had said. He had you completely flustered and you hated how everything he said seemed to make more heat rise in your body, which only seemed to amuse him more and more. You expected him to turn to leave but he stayed firmly planted and just stared at you. You didn't understand how he could look at you for so long without shying away. The seconds dragged on and on until finally, "Can you wait outside or something?" You said voice rising in pitch and irritation. He just snorted and rolled his eyes like you were the one being unreasonable. He turned on his heel and let himself out of the room without another word.
You sat there for a second watching the door to make sure he didn't try to make his way back in before getting up and dressing quickly. The dress had a similar neck line to the nightgown, the deep v of it stopping a few inches below your sternum. You went into the bathroom and fixed your hair as quickly as possible, letting it fall naturally rather than trying to put it into some kind of style. You looked at your reflection and were a bit relieved to find that you were back to looking normal. Your mind wandered to Renji and if he was alright and what they had done with him after his wounds were treated. Had they put him in a room like yours or a cell? Probably a cell if you were being honest with yourself.
There was a loud banging on the bedroom door causing you to jump, "Hurry up! I don't have all night!" Grimmjow yelled from the other side. You rolled you eyes and slipped on the flats giving your reflection one last glance. You weren't too thrilled with the dress, already dreading the lewd looks and comments that your escort was sure to make. You hoped that if you were to stay here longer and live that you'd be given a choice in your attire.
You made your way to the large door and pulled it open and stepped into the hallway. Grimmjow was leaning against the wall across the hall. He yet again let his eyes wander from your face down your body and back up. He pushed off the wall, "Remember what I told you on the way here?" He asked seemingly out of nowhere as he came up in front of you to tower over you. You recalled what he'd whispered in your ear and nodded to him unsure of where he was going. "Good, just play your part and behave, he should be satisfied with that." You didn't like how serious he'd gotten. You'd expected something different and his constant changes in mood were starting to give you whiplash.
"And what exactly is my part to play in any of this?" You asked, finally meeting his eyes again. He just scoffed at you and motioned for you to follow him. Evidently he was done talking to you and didn't say a word as he led you through the halls. Another part of his dumb cat and mouse game you thought as the two of you walked. None of your questions had been answered and you were getting another headache trying to think of every little bad thing that could potentially happen. He led you into a nice dining room, there was a beautiful grand fireplace lit. In the middle of the room sat a rounded wooden dining table with a breathtaking crystal chandelier hanging above it. The wall opposite to the fireplace was lined with long windows like the one in your room.
"Lord Aizen will be here shortly so don't run off." Grimmjow said, turning to leave, "I'd hate to have to hunt you down again." He threw over his shoulder before leaving you alone. You gazed around the room awkwardly for a moment. You again made your way over to the window to gaze out at the gardens, on a normal day there were always people tending to the numerous plants, especially here at the high lords manor. Today though not a single soul had entered the gardens. No one to tend it, no one to stoll through it, though it was a bit cold and nothing was in bloom yet, there had always been at least a couple of people out there. You'd always loved to be out in the gardens at your home, whether that be to stroll or to tend to the plants yourself. You'd often been lightly scolded by your mother before she'd passed about ruining your nice dresses by kneeling in the dirt to pull weeds. Eventually your parents had just gotten you clothes that you could wear while doing garden work much to the other high families' displeasure. They didn't understand why you felt the need to do the dirty work yourself when you had servants to do it for you. But truthfully you just enjoyed it, you liked when the servants would teach you about how to care for the various flowers, bushes and trees. You always made a point to thank the servants for their time and if you could you would make sure to slip them a few extra silvers.
You were so lost in your own thoughts that you didn't hear Aizen enter the room until he slipped his arm around your waist yet again. You gasped and took a step away from him, he let you, his arm falling to his side as you stared at him with widened eyes. "Apologies," He said, giving you a small smile, "I didn't mean to frighten you, I take it you slept well." He asked, taking in your appearance. "You are more beautiful than I could have imagined in that dress."
"Uh, yes, thank you." You stuttered out awkwardly not really knowing what to say. He wore a finely decorated deep violet tunic with a shining silver belt. He had forgone his sword more than likely assuming that you were no threat to him, which he was not wrong for thinking. You still couldn't wrap your mind around how he'd come to be in charge of these strange people or why'd they attack not only your home but his own. You wanted to ask but you thought better of it, you remembered Grimmjow's words from the previous night about him being a cruel man. While you'd never known him to be cruel you certainly didn't want to take your chances, especially if a man like Grimmjow feared him.
A few servants entered with a cart of food and began setting the rounded table. You watched them but none of them looked at you or at Aizen, rather keeping their heads down. You did notice that none of them had those strange bone masks so they were more than likely your own people. One of them, you noticed, had a huge cut that ran from one side of her face clear across it to her chin on the opposite side, her face had more stitches than you'd ever seen, she kept her head down, her long brown hair falling and obscuring your view. It was enough to make you breath in a shaky breath and stiffen. You couldn't believe she was working with an injury like that, it made you sick to think about, you knew that there was no way that this girl had been fighting on the front lines so why had she been hurt like that? What could that poor girl have possibly done to deserve that? The servants had set the meal out quickly and left, not that you could blame them if that girl was working with an injury like that, you couldn't imagine what it was like for the ones that were too hurt to work.
"Come, dine with me." Aizen said as he placed his arm around your shoulder and led you to the table. You flinched a bit as he touched you but if he noticed he didn't comment on it. Aizen pulled out your chair for you and you thanked him as you sat. The table had been arranged with a feast, though you hadn't eaten in over twenty four hours you didn't feel hungry in the slightest. Aizen prepared a plate for you and then for himself before sitting directly across from you. "I hope the room was to your liking?" He asked as he began eating.
You pushed your food around but didn't actually eat anything, "Y-yes, it was lovely." You answered truthfully, the room was lovely, all of the manor was. He hummed, taking a drink from a wine glass and offering some to you. You politely declined not wanting to be inebriated around him, much less on an empty stomach.
"I had hoped you would," He said leaning back in his chair to look at you, you didn't meet his gaze. "It was the High Lord's personal quarters after all." You're breath caught and your eyes shot to meet his. You couldn't believe how nonchalantly he'd said it. What he'd implied by saying it. Had he killed the high lord? Aizen held your gaze before offering you another sickly sweet smile, you couldn't return it, you didn't even know what to say, your mouth had gone dry and you could feel your hands beginning to shake. You placed your utensils down and held your hands under the table hoping that he hadn't seen them. A thousand questions popped into your head all at once and you opened your mouth to voice one of them but thought better of it. You averted your eyes not quite knowing where to look. "Are you scared of me, sweet girl?" He asked, resting his head on his fist. You shook your head no not trusting your own voice and not wanting to upset him, you still had no idea what he wanted with you and figured it would be in your best interest not to anger him right out of the gate. Aizen called your name softly making you look at him, "Let's agree not to lie to each other, it'll be much easier that way." He said calm as ever as if he hadn't just basically told you he'd killed your high lord.
You let out a breath before answering with a simple, "Yes." He hummed in response and set his wine glass down gently. You clenched your hands so tightly together it hurt but you couldn't let go.
"I have no intention of harming you, in fact I would like for us to work together." You had no idea what you could possibly have to offer him, but he continued, "You come from a noble family with a strong name, you would be very helpful in convincing the rest of the families and members of court who still intend to hold out against me." He explained.
"I don't know that I'd be much help to you." You answered honestly. "I am not the head of my house and I'm unwed, I don't know that I could convince anyone of anything." Your father had been very firm with the other lords that he would not be marrying you off, that instead he would allow you to marry for yourself just as he'd done. So you yourself had no real allies on that front, and with being a daughter and not a son none of the other lords of court took you all that serious. While you were grateful for the freedom you knew it caused many of the other families to look down on your family and your father.
Aizen gave a small chuckle, "You can help me so much more than you realize dear. It's actually your status as unwed that I'm after," You felt like you'd been hit in the chest, everything snapped into place before he finished saying it and suddenly all the comments from Grimmjow and Nnoitra made sense. You knew what he wanted before he said it, "I'd like for us to be wed within-"
You stood from your chair, cutting him off. "No." All rational thought had left you, you would not marry a man who had killed your people, innocent people. Not for power or convincing or whatever else he wanted that went along with being married.
Aizen straightened in his chair and observed you with a tilted head before continuing as if you hadn't said anything. "Within the next three days everything should be ready. I've already informed the Lords who've aligned with us, everything's already being taken care of." He picked up his wine glass and said to you, "While ideally I'd like to not force you, your refusal means little." He took a sip of his wine and looked at you again. "Afterall, I can assure you that you will enjoy it much more than a cell right? You want me to keep having that knight that tried to run with you treated right? When your father and his men are found you want him brought back alive right?" He pushed himself from his seat and stalked closer to you with every question. You were frozen in place, mind reeling, weighing everything against each other. Aizen pulled you close and gently, with only a single finger he raised your chin to look at him, "I will have you, I'd like you willing but I'll have you either way." He shifted to whisper in your ear, "I've taken your home, I personally killed your high lord, imprisoned your warriors and brought my own army, you cannot fight me." His warm breath fanned your ear and his words echoed through you as he straightened back up.
He told you that the two of you were done for the night and called Grimmjow back in to take you back to your room. You followed Grimmjow through the halls in complete silence, neither of you even bothered to look at the other. He held open the heavy wooden door for you and looked like he was about to say something but you slammed the door shut before he could and leaned up against it. You didn't think you could handle any more of his taunts or whatever game he was aiming to play with you. You could hear him scoff from the other side of the door before footsteps sounded indicating that he'd left. You let yourself slide to the floor, thinking of all that you'd learned in the last hour. Your father was alive, or at least he hadn't been killed by Aizen and his forces. Renji was alive and being treated but that hinged on your corporation. Aizen himself had killed your high lord and taken his house, who's room you currently resided in. You were to be married to Aizen and had no choice in the matter. And lastly, that other members of your court had already aligned themselves with Aizen.
You don't know how long you sat there thinking about everything, you felt like you should be crying but you couldn't. Whether that be because you'd already cried yourself out earlier or because you were still in shock and therefore numb you couldn't tell. You hated how weak you felt, how out of control everything seemed to be, how hopeless you felt. Eventually you picked yourself up and went to sit on one of the chairs that you'd dragged to look out the window. Everything was dark and motionless, lit only by the moonlight. You sat there until dawn, unable to even think about sleep, your mind too busy trying to think of answers to questions that you didn't have.
A while after dawn a young woman knocked on your door. She wore a bone mask, a simple one made of just two thick lines that each started at her ears and ended in a point near her nose. With her she brought a midnight black dress and a pair of matching heels. She bowed to you and informed you that Aizen had requested you for breakfast while placing the dress and shoes on the unmade bed. You thanked her dryly and she excused herself telling you that your escort would be here shortly. You didn't want to see Aizen, you didn't want to hear his voice and you certainly didn't want to wear whatever outfit he'd picked out for you. Upon closer inspection the dress again had another deep v-neck, it also had a rather high slit on the side meant to show off your legs. He seemed intent on dressing you in more revealing clothing which made you sick. Not seeing another option you dressed and brushed out your hair before waiting for whatever escort was to be sent.
A knock sounded on your door and after a quick deep breath to steady yourself you answered the door. You pulled open the door only to yet again be faced by Grimmjow. He wore the same uniform he'd been wearing when he found you in the forest. His eyes raked down you in the same way they seemed to everytime he looked at you. "I like your dresses more and more each day." He said casually meeting your eyes. "I can't wait to see what you'll wear tomorrow."
You hated how quickly he was able to get under your skin. You wished that Aizen would send someone else and wondered if it was perhaps intentional. "Don't you have anything better to do?" You asked in irritation, "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of fearsome beast, shouldn't you be out hunting innocent people?" You snapped back already done with him and his nonsense.
He raised a brow and laughed at you again, only making your face go red, "Apparently not, looks like I'm going to be one of your guards, so you better get used to me." He said with a shrug, "I'm not going anywhere." You rolled your eyes and took off in the direction you'd come from the night before. He barked another laugh and followed close behind you. After a few twists you came to a split and couldn't for the life of you remember which way you'd come from previously. "Lost?" Grimmjow rasped in your ear before placing his hands on your shoulders and turning you in the direction you needed to go. You shrugged his hands off of you and continued. When you came to the dining room entrance he again opened the door for you before nodding and closing it behind himself.
This time Aizen was already there waiting for you. "Good morning sweet girl." He beamed, giving you a once over before coming over to you, placing his arm around your waist and leading you to the table. He again pulled your chair out for you before making his way to his own seat. Plates had already been prepared for you but again you felt too sick to eat. You hated how he looked at you, how he smiled at you and how he talked to you. At least with Grimmjow and Nnoitra you could tell what they wanted, lewd and obnoxious as it might be, but with Aizen you couldn't and it frustrated you beyond belief. "I take it you have questions that I'd be happy to answer for you." He said politely.
Your mind raced with everything you'd thought of the night before, but eventually you picked one. "Why me in particular?" You asked, "When Grimmjow and Nnoitra found us they said they'd been looking for me. Why?" You said trying to elaborate.
Aizen tilted his head at you as if he was confused as to why you were picking that as your question, "Any man with knowledge of the people here would pick you, dear." He said eyes meeting yours again. "Ignoring your family name entirely, you are a lovely girl, one that was previously off limits." Your eyebrows knit in confusion at this, "Your father refused to marry you off no matter the offer, wanting you to choose for yourself, you showed very little interest in picking a match for yourself," he explained, "You'd be an amazing prize for anyone that'd come to conquer your land." Your face heated a bit at how he talked about you like some war prize, which you guessed, you technically were, a depressing thought to say the least.
He watched you, waiting for you to ask something else. "Why take a wife at all? Wouldn't it just slow you down at whatever it is you're trying to achieve." You asked after another moment. Aizen chuckled at you.
"What I plan to achieve is total and complete rule, of not only our own lands but the surrounding lands as well, across the continent. You see, I know that I can lead our people much better than these old incompetent lords can." He explained, "Why take a wife you ask? Well every king needs a heir does he not?" He asked rhetorically. "Our union will not only gain an alliance with your own family, but all the families you ally with. Your father would never leave you here alone with me once he figures out what I've done with you. He won't try to fight us directly as long as I have you here, he'll be too afraid of the repercussions of such actions." He finished nonchalantly. You hated the idea of bearing his children to fulfill some fantasy of him conquering the continent. You couldn't even begin to imagine what kinds of war he'd drag your people in to do this.
"Surely there had to be a better family to choose from, the high lords own or one of the other great houses that aren't as looked down on." You tried to reason. You didn't want to be a pawn used against your father and you didn't want your children to be warlords.
"Perhaps," he answered with a shrug, "But after all I am only a man, and as I've said you make a lovely prize. What man doesn't want a beautiful girl like you, much less one that they'd never been able to obtain before. If I'm being completely honest with you, the thought of crawling between your legs has been on my mind since the first time I met you." Your face completely flushed at his admission and you couldn't keep his gaze any longer. He gave a light chuckle and you knew without looking at him that he was smirking at you. "Anything else to ask my dear?" He asked sweetly.
You shook you head no and continued your meal in silence, not that you'd eaten anything, just pushed things around again. After a while, Aizen rose and informed you that he'd have business to attend to but that he would see you for supper. He said that Grimmjow was to escort you anywhere within the manor that you wanted to go before leaving.
You got up to leave shortly after Aizen left, you flung the door open and just as he'd said Grimmjow was leaded against the wall waiting for you. "Where to, princess?" He asked mockingly.
"Somewhere quiet." You bit back not wanting to hear him at all. He laughed at you again, making your anger grow, you were sick of men laughing at you.
"Whole place is quiet, you're gonna need to be more specific." He said. You thought about it for a second before it dawned on you. How quiet it was. Sure Aizen had killed the high lord but what of the rest of the family, his wife, his children, his grandchildren and various other family members? Did he kill them too, or was he simply holding them somewhere like he was with Renji and the rest?
"Did he kill them all?" You asked before you could second guess yourself. You weren't sure you wanted the answer but a part of you desperately needed to know.
Grimmjow's smile slipped from his face, "Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to." The two of you stared at each other for a few heartbeats before you had enough and began to storm back off to your room. You'd barely stepped past him before he grabbed your wrist in a bruising grip that made you flinch. He loosen his grip once he'd seen you flinch but didn't let go, "Yes, he killed them all. Is that what you wanted to hear?" He answered harshly.
Your head dropped and you sucked in a shaky breath, "He had kids here." You said defeatedly. Grimmjow let your wrist slip from his grip.
"You're a delicate little thing aren't you." He scoffed in more of a statement than a question. You shook your head but he just looked at you. "That's just how it is, that's war. You can't change it." He continued cruelly.
"But it wasn't war!" You snapped back, "We had no idea you were coming! No warning! No-" you started to say anger rising in you.
"You think everyone gets a warning, you and your people need to consider how lucky you are that he doesn't want you all dead, that he wants you all alive. We would have had no problem wiping you out, you understand that princess?" He sneered back, taking a step towards you and making you take a step back in turn. "You should consider yourself the luckiest of all." He said taking another step towards you, you took another step back trying to keep the distance between the two of you. "Do you have any idea what Nnoitra would have done to your little knight if I hadn't been there?" Another step forward for him and another step back for you. "What he would have done to you when he was done?" Your back hit the cold stone wall of the hallway but he kept advancing. "How he would have held you down?" Grimmjow's hand slammed into the wall beside your head making flinch and try to shrink into yourself, "Do you have any idea of how brutally he would have fucked you?" He whispered so close to your ear that you could again feel the bone mask that he always seemed to wear. "You should be nicer to me princess, some of us might not be so loyal to Aizen and right now, I'm all that stands between them and you. Got it?" He waited for you to answer, only stepping back when you nodded your understanding to him.
~~~
You spent the rest of the day held up in your room, not wanting to be near Grimmjow after your fight. You knew he was just outside your door though, you could hear him pacing around the hall after a few hours. You were bored out of your mind but you didn't want to have to ask Grimmjow to take you anywhere, even though you couldn't help but think of how a book might be nice to take your mind off of everything.
"She in there?" You heard a muffled voice ask from down the hall, Grimmjow's pacing stopped and you recognized the voice as Nnoitra's.
Your heart rate picked up and anxiety bubbled in your chest as you thought about what Grimmjow had said to you that morning. "Fuck off." You heard Grimmjow bark back. You felt a bit relieved that he didn't seem willing to hand you over to that psychopath.
"Woah, just asking. No need to get so hostile. Not my fault you're not getting to go out and hunt these sniveling brats down." Nnoitra said, "Besides, didn't you volunteer for this job?" He asked, sounding smug.
That was news to you, you assumed that Aizen had just assigned him to watch over you, not that he'd volunteer for it. "What I do or don't do is none of your damn business." Grimmjow answered him back.
"Don't bite my head off, I was just curious." Nnoitra scoffed as you heard the sound of retreating footsteps. You heard Grimmjow growl some vulgar curses before he resumed his pacing. You were relieved that Nnoitra had left and dreaded the thought of running into him again.
~~~
The remainder of the afternoon passed without any commotion. You were honestly bored out of your mind but you were not about to go ask Grimmjow for anything. You'd been lying on the bed and staring mindlessly at the canopy. You'd already ran over everything you'd learned countless times and all that you'd managed to do was depress yourself. You were to be some prize that Aizen rewarded himself with for killing innocent people and taking your home while most of your forces were gone, not only that but he wanted you to bear him an heir, and you highly doubted he'd be alright with just one child as your father had been. The thought of any son you'd have being a vicious murder and any daughter being married off to the same made you sick. You'd never given much thought to children because frankly, you hadn't needed to but now it plagued your mind. How could you give children to a man who had just murdered someone else's in cold blood?
A Knock pounded on your door and you shot up. "Your fiancé would like to see you for supper." Grimmjow's voice sounded from the other side impatiently. You pushed yourself from the bed and made your way to the door. Your hand hesitated for just a second over the handle. You didn't want to interact with Aizen again, or Grimmjow for that matter. You were sleep deprived and exhausted but you knew you feared what would happen if you refused. You pulled the door open and stood a step back as you came face to face with Grimmjow, he was not propped up on the wall like usual, instead he was directly in front of the door. You stared into each others eyes for a moment before he broke the silence, "You're really fucking stubborn, ya know that?" He turned to start leading you to the dining room.
"I am not stubborn." You answered back to him shortly. You knew you were being difficult but you couldn't bring yourself to stop as the two of you walked.
Grimmjow let out an annoyed huff, "Whatever you say princess." You huffed back at the pet name, "You cannot tell me you weren't bored as shit today."
You shrugged your shoulders not wanting to let him know that he was right, you wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "Sorry I'm not being an entertaining captive." He rolled his eyes with a scoff and the two of you continued in silence.
~~~
Supper passed with relative ease, Aizen asked a few questions about your day which you answered with short and blunt answers. He seemed like he was content with this, you figured he'd have a life to fluster you as he'd done the previous day. You picked at your food some more, you knew that you should be eating but couldn't bring yourself to actually do so. Before he'd allowed you to leave he reminded you that the day after tomorrow you'd be wed, as if it was something you could forget.
When you'd made your way back into the hall Grimmjow opened his mouth to say something but you cut him off, "Can we not?" You asked with venom. He raised a brow at you but you pushed past him, having the way back to your room memorized. He grumbled something about Ulquiorra being lucky that you were asleep when he guarded you. His comment froze you and he walked past you. "You're not guarding me tonight?" You asked brows knitting together.
Grimmjow stopped walking a few feet away from you and looked back at you like you were stupid. "No, I can't watch you twenty four hours a day." He answered. You didn't know much about Ulquiorra, only seeing him once when you'd first been dragged back. What if he wasn't loyal to Aizen and wanted to hurt you? What if he was like Nnoitra? You didn't particularly like Grimmjow but you'd had somewhat of a grasp on him but someone else? "Don't worry princess, he's not gonna hurt you." He said after a moment. When you didn't budge he added on, "I'd be surprised if you even knew he was there, he's not a talkative guy. He's loyal, he won't touch you." You nodded to him and started walking again. This time he stayed beside you and though you could tell he was staring at you out of the corner of his eye neither one of you said anything.
~~~
Even though your nerves sleep finds you quickly due to your exhaustion. You only woke up a handful of times before you woke for the final time at early dawn. You lied there for a second thinking about your wedding the following day, dread fills you at the thought. Though you'd never much thought about your own wedding this was a mockery to you. Your father wouldn't be there, you doubted any of the women you were friends with would be there, and even if they were it wasn't going to be a happy event for you or them. You thought about if he'd make you consummate the marriage tomorrow night and that thought was enough to push yourself from bed to bathe, the thought made you feel dirty even though you hadn't been touched yet.
You ran yourself a bath in the large tub and scrubbed yourself with the still hot water, you washed your hair then got out. You redressed in the nightgown you'd worn to bed and went to gaze out the window seeing little else to do. When you pulled open the door you were surprised to find a girl in your room. She had been laying out your clothing for the day and her eyes met yours. Or eye you should say, as her other one was covered by another one of those bone masks. She had long black hair tied in pigtails on each side of her head and bangs hung down over the mask. She looked at you and scoffed, face twisting in disgust before she stormed her way out of your room and slammed the door.
You had no idea what her issue was but didn't think much of it as you dressed in yet another low cut, royal blue dress. You could already hear Grimmjow's dumb line in your head before he'd come to get you. When he did come you pushed past him not waiting to hear it, though that didn't stop the lewd comment. You ate with Aizen in the same fashion as the night before, minimal conversation on your end and absolutely no eating, if he noticed you weren't eating he certainly didn't say anything.
After the meal you returned to your room leaving Grimmjow in the hall to pace again, uncaring if it bored him or not. You knew you should be feeling something, dread, fear, sadness, something. But you felt nothing. You were a husk that only drained more and more as the hours passed bringing you closer and closer to the following day. Supper came and went in the same fashion. When you'd stepped into the hall though Aizen caught your wrist and spun you to face him.
You stared at him wide eyed as you'd been caught off guard. "Do try to get some proper rest sweet girl, afterall we have a very busy day tomorrow." He said sweetly before placing a small kiss to your temple. You didn't say anything as he released you to leave. When you turned around you took notice of Grimmjow staring after Aizen with a squinted glare but again didn't say anything as you returned. You dressed for bed and slipped beneath the covers.
~~~
You were awoken before dawn by maids coming to dress you for your big day. Your dress was beautiful. Pristine white material fell gently to the floor, the dress was the softest material you'd ever worn. It was not nearly as low cut as the other dresses you'd been made to wear, but still more so than would have been to your liking. The sleeves held your arms tightly until they came to your elbow, then they billowed out thinly and also grazed the floor. The dress had been woven with silver flowers and vines along the neckline with a belt made of decorative iron to match. The women had spent hours manicuring your hands and feet before slipping on heels with white lace that matched that of the silver flowers on your dress. They then began on your hair, brushing through it gently but thoroughly before putting it into an elaborate half up half down braided style. You absolutely hated how beautiful you looked, not wanting anything to do with any of what was happening. You hated the careful craftsmanship that had been put into your dress, the perfect measurements that you had no idea how they'd gotten. You hated how lovely your hair looked and how clean your hands and feet felt. You couldn't stand any of it.
You were escorted outside to a closed carriage as the cold air bit at your exposed skin, not that you could bring yourself to care. You still felt completely numb as you arrived at the cathedral of old faith. You were escorted inside and given a run down of when to walk out and what to expect by an elderly stout woman that you didn't recognize but that must be one of your people because she lacked the bone mask. You nodded to her letting her know that you'd heard her before she'd left to go get things underway.
You'd been in the cathedral countless other times for weddings, special occasions and holidays but never had it felt so tainted. You looked at the beautiful tal ceiling and carved stone as a slow and peaceful harp melody began signaling that it was time. You took one shuttering deep breath before you began your slow walk as you'd been instructed. Once you rounded the corner you tried not to let your surprise and betrayal show on your face as you were met with the faces of countless lords and lady's of your court. You knew Aizen had mentioned other families falling in line with him but the sheer number you were unprepared for. The pews stood almost completely full and worst of all most of them were smiling at you, like they were happy for you. Like this was something that you'd chosen, like you wanted to be here.
You steelled your face and kept your walk steady as you decided that you hated each and everyone of them. Everyone that had lied down for him without a fight, everyone of them who had allowed him and his men to hurt the common people. They were all traitors as far as you were concerned. Filthy cowardly traitors. For the first time since you'd entered the cathedral you looked at Aizen. He was dressed just as nicely as you. His own white outfit was stitched with the same silver flowers and vines as yours were. On his belt hung a beautiful silver sheathed sword that was no doubt for decoration rather than battle. Still you considered cutting him down with it, you knew you'd never be able to, you weren't trained and you certainly weren't strong or agile enough to even try. But the idea still plagued your mind as you looked up to him. His eyes lidded and he gave you a warm smile as you came to stand across from him, not even an arms length of spaced laid between you. Perhaps it was intentional so he could grab you if you tried to run. But where could you go? No one would help you, you were stuck here with these horribly awful cowards and him.
The clergy stepped forward and began his speech that you'd heard countless times before, "Fate in all its glory has brought us here today to witness this most blessed union." If this was fate you hated it, "We trust in the gods to bless these two souls to be the guiding light to banish all darkness and evil from our lands." You wanted to laugh at that, how could he say that when you were being forced to marry the very darkness that was plaguing your land. And if the gods blessed this union then you hated every single one of them just as much as you hated these tretrous lords and lady's. "Let us join these souls in love and in light, let all those who seek to tear apart this union be struck down, in the light of the gods I bind these souls as one." Perhaps you should be struck down for wanting to shred this union apart with your bare hands if possible.
Aizen pulled you to his chest softly, lifted your face gently in both hands and kissed you, gentler than you thought he would as his thumbs gently stroked the sides of your cheeks as you closed your eyes tightly. You expected him to be rough and domineering, taking what he wanted and not caring about you but he wasn't. His lips were softer than you thought they'd be and his hands held you much more loosely than you thought he would. His lips were warm and so were his hands as he held you. He didn't manhandle you more than he needed to and he kissed you until the need for breath had both of you separating with a small gasp for air. He pulled back from you slowly as an eruption of applause and shouts sounded, you opened your eyes and the two of you just stared at each other before he gave you the smallest of smiles. He completely ignored the boisterous crowd as he swiped the pad of one of his thumbs along your bottom lip, watching the movements closely. He bent down and gave you one more much shorter kiss before he turned and faced the crowd, forcing you to do the same.