The next morning when I awoke, a small groan escapes my dried lips. There was a note and a glass of water waiting for me on my bedside table. I crawled weakly over to it; noticing that dried blood caked my scarred chest.
'Remember what I said', in brilliant and curved letters with a pink mark where Angelique kissed the paper. Angrily, I threw the glass of water at the wall and the glass smashed... It's contents fizz and bubble against the wall and then the floor. I stare.
This means war.
Feeling more determined than ever, I pull on a sweater to cover the bruise and gather a bundle of clothes that will conceal it.
I don't feel safe walking these halls anymore. I look behind me every time I turn a corner. I can't help but feel that I am being followed. But I'm not. Since last night, I know that I'm just being overly paranoid, and I can't help it.
Thankfully, the bath-house is empty for once.
I quickly draw my bath, and don't undress until I know that it really is empty here. Quickly, I undress and slip into the bath. The blood washes away into the bath, and I drain it once and watch as it watches away into the drain. I scrub it free of my blood, and fill the tub again.
I rub my skin red until it's raw, and smells thickly of ivory and silk and flowers. I sink a bit lower in the tub when someone walks in. But it's only Akari, and I make sure that no one can see the mark that Angelique left.
And suddenly, my head is under the water and I can't breathe.
I have a brief flashback, thinking about what happened on that bridge. My lungs fill with water, and I remember fighting the waves. But why would I fight the waves if I wanted to die? They hadn't been peaceful. . . Rain pounded against the water, and they had thrashed me around. I hadn't been able to reach the surface.
Getting yanked up by my tangled hair, I gasp for a breathe. Something sharp is pressed against my neck. "You haven't been very good at keeping your secrets." I recognize Ivana's sharp Russian accent.
I spit out water, and cough. My throat burns. My eyes hurt. Every bone and muscle in my body is tingling with adrenaline and the need to fight back. "Death by drowning, wasn't it?" I remember when I first saw Ivana. She had been bloody, with twigs in her hair as if she had been in the woods. "How does it feel to relive your death?"
I felt the knife edge cut against my bone as Ivana ducked me back under the water.
At the very last moment, she pulled me up. "You're going to tell me everything that Jasmine is doing to sabotage this competition." She grips my hair harder. "I've seen that handsome ex-servant of yours leaving your room. Those threats and rules Persephone made . . . You'll pay for breaking them. Now, tell me what the hell she is up to."
"What makes you think I know?" I grit my teeth. I resist the urge to turn this over, pull her into the tub and have her slide the knife across my neck.
"She tolerates that relationship. I've seen it in Jasmine's eyes. You've danced with them. You were the one who got Harley eliminated." She grips my hair harder. "Weren't you?" She hissed. "Weren't you?"
I purse my lips, gripping her arms and throwing her into the tub. Unlike me, Ivana is fully clothed. She coughs and sputters and drops the knife into the water. I take advantage - grabbing her in a headlock and making sure that my grip is hard. "Listen to me, and you listen good. If you touch me again, if you ever touch me again, I will end you. I have an advantage over you, Ivana. An advantage that you don't have with Castiel." I ducked her under the water, held her there for fifteen seconds and brought her back up again. "That was just a teaser, sweetheart." I whisper the next few words. "If you attempt to get near me one more time, you'll be the next one to go."
I was very careful getting out of the tub. I kicked her getting out, and walked over to grab a clean towel. Akari was drawing her bath, watching us quietly. "I suppose you'll just keep your mouth shut, huh?"
"Your business isn't my business."
In just the towel, I gather all my clothes and leave the bathroom. Glancing behind me, I leave Ivana in the tub and attempt to hurry back to my bedroom. However, I'm not alone in these halls and Castiel is waiting for me outside my door. He doesn't look very happy.
I hide the scar.
"You look like hammered shit." Castiel compliments.
"In other words, I look exactly like you." I raise an eyebrow as I try to avoid whatever he's come here to tell me. I walk into my room, and Castiel follows. For some reason, his presence makes me uncomfortable. We haven't spoken since that last encounter after the fight.
"Exactly."
Castiel was wearing his sunglasses again, and I couldn't see his eyes. His hair was ruffled and curly and all over the place. He was wearing the same leather jacket as when we first met. He looked.. Well. Different somehow. "Is there something that you wanted?" I ask when he closes the door.
"I honestly don't know why I came here," he doesn't stare at me as I dress. "I miss being around you. I miss you."
"Well, Jasmine had your attention. I get it. You were a bit preoccupied."
"Jealous?" He rose an eyebrow.
"A little." I pout.
"Well, now you know what that feels like." He winks at me, and as Castiel approaches, he touches my face, his hands in my hair. "I knew you still cared." Castiel's hands drop to his side. "You were so stupid this morning at breakfast. No one mouths off to my father."
"I did."
"You're different."
"So, I guess that makes you a conformist because you're too afraid to stand up to what daddy wants? He wants me thrown out of the competition just as much as your mother. Will you do if?"
"I am not a conformist, and I will not eliminate you." He held his hand out to me. "Why don't you come with me? There's something I wanted to show you, anyway."
Very hesitantly, I let Castiel lead me out of my room. His hand feels like it's burning in mine. Castiel is burning. Always burning. A flame that can never be put out.
He leads me through a passage that I haven't been through before, and we begin our descent up until I can't feel my legs anymore. Finally, he brings us to a door that's taped off. He grins, ripping the tape off and producing a much smaller set of keys to open the x'd off door.
It groans loudly in protest, and Castiel quickly pulls me inside. "I found this one day... " he begins, letting go of me and switching on a light. "It was an accident; at one of my parties last year - " there were strange curtains covering the sides of the walls, and Castiel quickly stars to uncover them all. "I was drunk and lost - very lost - I stumble into this place, and I begin to freak the fuck out. I was twenty years old, thought I knew and saw every nook and cranny in this palace, and along comes this place."
When all the windows were uncovered, Castiel shuts the door and the room is surrounded with a strange red light.
And I know why.
People are falling from the skies. Dead people are descending to the underworld. I can hear their screams, see their faces as they fall and I back up slowly against the wall. "Why did you bring me here?"
As if on cue, the tall ceiling above us is sliding open. "This room is protected by a barrier. No souls can get into it. You must be invited into this room to even gain access. This room is the safest in this entire palace." He points up towards the falling people, and beyond it, I can just make out the harsh illusion of a bright, blue sky. I stare. "This room is devoid of sound. No one can hear anything from the outside." His smile scares me. He bit his lip and narrows his eyes: a practiced movement. "No one could hear you scream."
"Cas, what are you - "
Castiel's fingers closed around my throat. "I wish I could kill you, again." The anger burning in his eyes made regret wash through me. His fingers tighten their grip, and I try to smack him away, but it's no use. I'm pinned against the wall and there's no way out of this.
Castiel releases me, and I fall to the floor cowering at his feet like a lost little puppy. "Two competitors in one week, Ariel? Don't count me as a stupid man. Jasmine told me your secrets, and I know you've been doing this just to catch my attention." He hit me, and the sound echoes across the room. My cheeks burn. My face is warm. "Do you want to know why I dislike that servant of yours? Why I can't stand to be around the six - four of you? I had a girlfriend before this competition!
"I did, and Delaney was wonderful. My mother's personal servant. Despite what you've heard about me, Delaney had my fucking wicked, black heart in her tiny little hands and she knew it. She pulled my strings and played me like a puppet master. . . Xavier tried to warn me about her, but I loved her. I didn't listen.
"My mother shipped her off to the fields of punishment when Xavier told her about us. 'It was unhealthy', she said, 'you shouldn't be interested in people lower than you are. Del was calm, too calm, when they took her away and I begged my mother before Charon took her from us. I can't remember much, but I remember Xavier saying: 'it's for the best'; the next day, he got a promotion. I'd sulked around this place for months after she was taken. Del leaving is the reason I'm so attached to all of you competitors: even if I don't like you much anymore: I won't let you join Delaney - but I won't let Xavier have you, either."
He leans down and his fingers tighten against my throat. "Under any circumstances will you ever rat on another contestant again. Yes, what happened was my fault. What can I say? I'm a vain, little prick. But the decision of who stays and who goes is ultimately left up to me. Not you. Understand?"
"Loud and clear." I said through faltered breaths.
"Now, get up. You look pathetic at my feet. Unless you want to stay on your knees. Then, Xavier will have to re-polish your tear stains off my shoes." He didn't offer me any help, and I was cautious as I got up. I had a right to be.
I locked my knees into place to keep them from shaking too much. I wanted to spit at him. Hit him. Kick him. Slap him. Punch him. Anger burned in my chest like a devil with the desire to escape. "And stay away from that servant friend of yours. I don't care what the circumstances are."