Chapter Forty-Eight: Kiss with a Fist
Everything was quiet when Xaphile, Amelia, Vrael, and Ella came walking into the campsite.
He immediately noticed that Sinmir was nowhere in sight, but Gus was whittling a piece of wood like always.
"Gus," Amelia called, making the man jump and turn with a startled glance. "We're back... and we have much to discuss."
"Did you find him?" the blonde man lowly demanded, hand falling still. "Tell me."
"Yes, we did," Ella grumbled, waddling over to the flames with a reddened face. "Heat, blessed heat... I'm going to relax for now. Where is Sinmir?"
"He's out relieving himself," Gus grunted. "He'll be back in a moment."
"Good," Ella mumbled.
Getting to his feet and turning to glance at Xaphile, Gus opened his mouth, but halted when he saw Vrael sheepishly standing behind him, looking uncomfortable.
Xaphile instantly frowned.
"Ella," Gus said slowly, "who is that?"
But it wasn't Ella who answered.
"His name is Vrael," Amelia said softly, giving him a smile. "Due to certain circumstances, he's going to be traveling with us."
Gus's eyes narrowed.
"And what would these circumstances be?"
When Amelia winced, Xaphile lowered his eyes.
"He and Phil have become blood brothers through magic," she quietly informed him, biting her lip when his jaw tightened. "They can't be too far away from each other until we can assess the strength of the bond between them, as well as the side-effects."
"Indeed," Gus muttered, stalking towards them. "Phil... look at me."
For a long moment, he merely stood where he was... but then, ever so slowly, he lifted his eyes and met the man's gaze. Gus looked beyond angry... almost murderous.
Green eyes livid, the man suddenly stepped forward, lifted his arm, and punched him dead in the nose.
The blow was so hard and unexpected that he squeaked, seeing stars, and blindly stumbled backwards, but his feet slipped on something and he lost his balance, falling flat on his back.
Amelia gasped, Vrael jumped backwards, and even Ella looked a little startled. Gus's jade green eyes narrowed as he glared down at Xaphile's quivering form, watching with an expression of cold satisfaction as he slowly sat up and clutched his face with both hands.
"O-ow..." he whispered, blinking blearily as a warm sensation started trickling from his nose. "Why did you hit me?!"
Before everyone's stunned eyes, Gus squatted and glared.
"If you ever again put your hands on either of these girls without their permission," he said in a quiet, slightly pleasant tone, "I'll beat you black and blue, boy. Am I clear?"
Xaphile felt shock run through him, and hurt... but those feelings quickly became anger.
Muscles quivering, he shot the blonde a savage glare as his vision flickered and was slowly covered with an odd black haze.
"Phil!" Amelia gasped. "Your eyes! The whites have turned black and your irises are yellow!"
He barely heard her.
His attention was focused on Gus.
"Excuse me?" he quietly demanded, tilting his head with a feeling of cold fury blooming deep within him. "If you value your hands, keep them to yourself... because if you ever, and I do mean ever, hit me like that again... I'll break your fucking arms, you asshole."
Amelia covered her mouth and Ella stared, visibly uncertain about what to do, but Vrael merely glared at the blonde man with intense dislike.
"You deserved it after what you did to her," Gus retorted, not breaking eye contact. "It doesn't matter if you were under the influence of your magic... you put your hands on Ella."
Before he could stop it, a fit of rage bubbled up his throat.
Shoulders bunching up like a wildcat about to pounce, Xaphile bared his fangs and let out a feral sound that shocked everyone into stepping away from him.
"If that's all you want," he harshly hissed, tail lashing against the snow like a cracking whip, "you should tell her to keep her hands off me, because she's been crushing her mouth to mine ever since that first time in the forest."
"Don't make this about you," Gus retorted, glaring at him. "Just make sure that you keep your hands off her."
And just like that, the unfairness of it all made him black out.
Amelia obviously saw the warning signs since he saw the way she paled out of his peripheral when his shoulders bunched and knotted.
"Phil, just calm down," she hesitantly pleaded. "Take a deep breath."
He couldn't hear her past the rushing in his ears, all he could focus on was the sound of his own anger.
Breathing hard and fast, sharp fangs bared, face locked into a furious snarl... he finally snapped, months of barely restrained fear, agony, and mental stress unloading in a single instant.
With another savage snarl, he lunged for Gus with outstretched arms and tackled him.
"STOP!" Amelia shrieked, watching with horrified eyes as the two started to tumble madly across the snow. "BOTH OF YOU! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
"BASTARD!" Gus howled, pinning him down and punching him in the jaw. "MONSTER!"
"SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Xaphile roared, lifting his hands and jabbing his claws forward; the man yelped and lurched back in pain, but when he was pinned against the ground, Xaphile was right there.
With a barrage of rapid punches, he unloaded everything, all of his hate, all of his anger, his fear, swinging blindly and landing every single enraged blow.
He didn't know how long he punched the man, but when he came to, it was only because Sinmir was dragging him off.
Still, he fought to get at the blonde, nose streaming blood and teeth bared in a savage expression of rage.
But Gus wasn't finished, not by a long shot: he charged and tackled both Xaphile and Sinmir to the ground.
"Octavius!" Sinmir spluttered. "Are you mad?!"
"STOP!" Amelia screeched, stomping her foot. "STOP FIGHTING!"
Xaphile only vaguely heard her, focused as he was. Sinmir still had him beneath the arms, which left him vulnerable, and Gus took advantage of that.
Eye blackened lip split, he snarled and fought against each kick Xaphile threw at him. After pinning his bucking, flailing legs, Gus started belting him as hard as he could in the stomach.
"What are you doing?!" Sinmir roared. "Have you both gone mad?! Stop, Octavius!"
"Shut up, you filthy bastard!" Gus snapped, each crushing blow sending stars shooting into Xaphile's skull. "He's had this coming for a long time!"
Xaphile flinched, stomach clenching in agony, but his rage only increased. He gathered as much energy as he could and lunged.
"FUCK YOU!" he bellowed, throwing his leg up and kicking the man in the balls with all of his strength; in that moment, it was over. Face going bone white, Gus let out a strained wheeze and fell over, curling up into the fetal position.
"Its over," Sinmir soothed. "Calm yourself, Phil, calm yourself."
He was having none of it.
Thrashing heavily, legs kicking and bucking, he fought to get free, breathing heavily with the force of his fury. His tail snapped around, whacking the snow.
"GET OFF ME!" he finally screamed, throwing his legs back and kicking Sinmir's shins. "LET GO OF ME! RIGHT NOW! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT! FUCK ALL OF YOU!"
"PHIL!" Ella finally shrieked, tearing over and clutching his shirt. "THAT'S ENOUGH! STOP IT! CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HER?!"
He paused just long enough to swallow his rage: breathing hard, he glared at Ella with disgust on his face... but then, he heard it.
Soft, muffled weeping.
Blinking in confusion, he turned to look for the source of the noise... but when he saw Amelia, his eyes widened.
With a tingle, the black haze obscuring his vision slowly receeded and he stared through clearer vision.
During a moment he'd somehow missed, Amelia had squatted down with her hands clamped over her ears, and she was now having a total panic attack.
Shaking violently, she rocked back and forth, weeping to the point of hyperventilation.
Gus glanced at her, still in pain, then stiffened in horror.
"A-Amelia..." he wheezed, struggling to sit up while clutching himself. "Calm down... everything is all right... it's over."
She didn't respond: blue eyes blank, she stared at nothing with stricken, unseeing irises that held no reflective sheen whatsoever. Sobbing in a jerky manner, she simply continued rocking back and forth, mouth quivering violently, hands to her ears.
Ella, clenched her fists, then swept over to her, squatting down herself and pulling the shivering girl into a gentle embrace.
"Amelia," she whispered soothingly, rocking her back and forth, "it's all right. Shhh.... you're safe..."
Xaphile swallowed, but he was relieved when her eyes began to return to normal.
Eventually, Amelia glanced up at Ella, then looked straight at Gus and Xaphile with a pale face, mouth still quivering.
"Stop fighting..." she whimpered. "Please..."
When she tried to take a breath, more sobs escaped... and she covered her face.
Looking furious, Ella stood up and whipped around, stomping over to Gus and glaring at him so dangerously that he shivered.
"I'm disappointed in your conduct, Octavius," she stated coldly, then lifted an arm and pointed at Amelia without tearing her gaze from his. "Her current state is a direct result of it. I understand your feelings on the matter at hand, because what happened definitely wasn't right... but you cannot condemn him, because I have actually forced myself on him more times than any sane person would put up with."
Gus's eyes widened, and he gaped.
"Ella," he whispered. "What?"
"It is true," she said firmly, tilting her head back. "I admit, I am... to some degree... attracted to him."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!!" Gus bellowed, making Amelia cover her ears and hunker down once again. "ELLA, WHY DIDN'T YOU---!"
Before he could finish, Ella squatted and gently set her finger against his lips.
He blinked.
"Not another word," she warned. "You seem to have forgotten that Amelia cannot handle this kind of yelling. It triggers her attacks."
"What the devil is wrong with you two?" Sinmir growled, finally letting go of Xaphile. "This fight was completely unnecessary!"
Xaphile didn't agree.
The prince watched with wary eyes as he shakily slid into the snow, clutching his aching nose.
"You," Ella muttered, moving to stand in front of him; he didn't move when she squatted down, not even when she set a small white hand on his knee. "Look at me."
He didn't want to... but something within him tugged his eyes upright. Her eyes were twisted with a mix of emotions.
"What just happened might not have been your fault," she said, "but your reaction to it bothers me. Explain yourself... explain why you attacked him."
Xaphile could only glare sullenly.
He was so sick of everything.
"I'm the kind of person who holds stress and other negative emotions in," he quietly explained, "until something makes me snap. Then, everything unloads all at once. I finally hit my breaking point... I really just couldn't take anymore."
Her eyes narrowed upon hearing that.
"Apologize," she commanded, pointing at Gus. "Both of you."
He bristled, the fur on his tail fluffing out.
"No," he snapped, making her stiffen. "If I said I was sorry, it would be a lie."
"You're not sorry?" she asked, frowning. "But... you hurt him more than he hurt you."
Xaphile lowered his hands and wiped the blood off of his mouth.
"I doubt that," he coldly informed her. "His words hurt more than any of the punches he landed on me. And for once, I'm not feeling sorry or guilty for doing what I did."
Gus glared at him.
"You don't repent?" he coldly inquired. "For what you did to me? To Ella?"
Xaphile returned his glare with thrice the anger behind it.
"I've regretted what I did to her since the moment it happened back in Ordin," he hissed, spitting out a glob of blood that stained the snow red, "but I don't regret what I just did to you, because your reason for being angry is the most hypocritical fucking thing I've ever seen."
The man's eyes widened.
"Hypocritical?!" he barked, instantly lunging upright with balled fists. "In what way?! DO explain it to me, because I truly think that my reasons are justified!"
Xaphile's anger slowly shifted into a feeling of confused hurt.
He didn't understand how Gus, of all people, couldn't put together why he was so angry since the guy was usually the first to spot these sorts of problems.
Plus... it didn't make sense.
"Well, you know," he muttered, shaking his head and dizzily getting to his feet. "You never got angry at her even once when she forced herself on me... so..."
"What does that have to do with ANYTHING that just transpired?!" Gus spat, looking beyond outraged. "Trying to make this about poor you all over again?!"
An unpleasant shock went through Xaphile's heart... but then, those words really sank in.
And when the reality of things hit him, something within his heart actually broke a little.
Gus didn't care about him.
He didn't care at all.
It made perfect sense.
His shoulders sagged as the fight left him and for a long minute, he couldn't even gather enough energy to say anything.
His heart ached.
"It has everything to do with it," he somehow managed to mumble. "Thanks, Gus... for showing me how you truly feel."
Wiping his mouth, he hobbled away, not looking at Amelia's shivering form as he went.
Vrael glanced around uncomfortably, then cursed and quickly followed him.
Silence descended.
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Gus leaned back once Xaphile and Vrael vanished, grumbling under his breath.
"That brat's logic is just as scrambled as his mind," he muttered, nursing his wounds with bitter eyes. "Gods above, why is he so damn irritating?!"
"The real question is why you're so mental!" Sinmir abruptly growled, face locked into a frightening grimace. "You're a dumb, idiotic coward, Octavius! Scum!"
Ella's eyes widened with fury.
Face going red, she made to step forward, but Amelia abruptly snatched her wrist and jerked her down into the snow. Neither of them could see Gus's expression since he was facing away... but his posture was more rigid than a pillar of marble.
"You're the crowned prince of Adanac," the hunter muttered. "Who are you to criticize me when your pampered arse has likely never seen a shred of blood or hardship?"
Sinmir stiffened, burly muscles bunching and knotting, but he calmed himself quickly.
"I've never thrashed a man to the point of bloodshed and then locked him in a cage for weeks, like some sort of wild animal," the prince icily retorted, making Gus wince. "In this instance, let's put away social status and stick with humane morals, shall we?
"We reacted the way we did because we didn't know what he was," Gus muttered, not lifting his eyes even though he knew the man was right. "We simply didn't know!"
"Ignorance is NOT an excuse for what you bastards have done to that young man!" Sinmir spat, slamming his fist into the snow. "If all you're going to do is make excuses, every single one of you disgusts me to my very core!"
"And what would you have done in that situation?" Gus hissed, feeling beyond vexed. "I've seen demons that resembled Xaphile before... demons with odd horns and exotic human features. They're rare, but they do exist! What if he had been a monster?"
"But he wasn't," Sinmir sneered, bearded lip curling in disgust. "You wish to know what I would have done? Fine! As someone who's been destined to inherit an entire country since birth, I've learned that the first rule of being a king is listening to the story of someone who's being accused of a crime. You didn't do that! Instead of asking him directly, you tortured him."
"Yes, but what does any of that have to do with this fight?" Gus ground out, speaking with a tone of forced patience. "Either way, what he did is unacceptable!"
Sinmir let out a harsh, barking laugh that made the girls jump.
"Unacceptable?!" he cackled, gray eyes fierce with so much fury it was a wonder his irises didn't catch fire or spontaneously combust. "You really are a mental ox!"
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me! Xaphile is such a fine catch that some women in my country would quite literally kill each other just to have him on their arm," Sinmir stated in a surprisingly quiet and collected tone. "If anything is unacceptable, it was that idiot girl spitting on his feelings. And you for getting angry about it the way you did."
"Spitting on his feelings?!" Gus barked, clenching his fists. "He wasn't even in control of himself! He did that based on pure instinct, and it was a direct result of a magical influence!"
"So?" Sinmir snorted, quirking a disgusted eyebrow. "Are we any different after consuming ale?"
Gus, shockingly enough, fell silent and his balled hands unraveled with a jolt.
"This and that are unrelated in nature," he quietly retorted. "Don't compare the two."
"Oh? And why not?" Sinmir chuckled darkly, leaning forward with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "On the inside, men are generally the same... no matter their upbringing, social status, or race. We have urges and instincts that society makes us suppress, and for most of us it seems only natural to do so. However, ALL men lose their inhibitions with alcohol... we lose our fear and give in to our basest feelings."
"Your point?"
"My point is simple," Sinmir hissed, leaning forward and jerking him close by the shirt. "Be it through magic or spirits, that boy of yours was heavily intoxicated by something... and through that state of inebriation, his innermost desires were unshackled. With passion, he grew a pair and attempted to express his deepest feelings to the very girl who broke him not once, but twice... and she still had the gall to trample on his heart. THAT is unacceptable."
"So you're saying him molesting Ella," Gus hissed, "was justified?"
Sinmir actually laughed.
"Who says it was a molestation?" he demanded. "You all seem to think of it that way, but that just proves you know nothing about the Fair Folk or their behavior patterns. The marking of another is a very intimate action, Octavius... it wasn't a simple molestation. He gave himself to her, quite literally, and her negative reaction is what led to this situation. Even I, strong and proud as I am, would have fled were I him."
"Enough," Gus growled, rubbing his face with a tense neck. "I refuse to listen to anymore of this nonsense. Let us simply wait for them to return."
"And avoid the problem? I think not," Sinmir snorted. "Forget that the countess of Nimika tortured an innocent lad until he nearly bled to death... even now, you're all manipulating him into doing what you want using mind games! Have you no shame?"
"We aren't manipulating him!" Gus roared, finally erupting in a bout of rage. "If anything, he's manipulating us! We're only taking this journey to ensure our country's survival!"
Sinmir's eyes sharpened and he lunged over to the hunter faster than Gus could blink.
Looming within an inch of his nose, the prince glared deep into his eyes with irises as sharp and deadly and just as silver as two wrathful blades.
"And that selfishness," he growled, baring his teeth in a threatening manner, "is the very reason his heart can't fully heal. You people left scars on him... and you tortured him to the point where he lost his will to live. Do not try to shirk off your own actions! After all, SHE marked HIM first!"
Ella didn't want to hear anymore.
Tearing her arm out of Amelia's grasp, she furiously stormed over to him with a red face.
"I've taken responsibility for my actions," she snapped. "What I did to him was wrong. Beyond wrong. And I know that. But that's why I'm trying to fix everything."
"Fat chance of that happening now thanks to this idiot," Sinmir snorted, jabbing a thumb at Gus, who bristled. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ran away again."
"And make more trouble?" Gus snorted. "He wouldn't dare."
Ella, however, seemed to puzzle over Sinmir's statement.
For several moments, she stood in place, staring at the ground as if she were mulling something over... but then, a spark of realization flashed through her and her lips parted in shock. Eyebrows raising, she slowly turned her head and looked at Gus, who was still fuming.
"Gus, do you... really not understand what Xaphile meant earlier?" she blankly asked. "You don't understand why he lost his temper?"
"Of course not!" he snapped, shoulders tensing; he finally let go of his aching groin and shifted himself upright, glancing at Amelia, who had calmed down enough for her to take care of her freezing tears. "Who would? He's as opaque as a stone wall!"
Ella, almost immediately, looked as if she had been shell-shocked.
"Gus..." she breathed, staring at him in disbelief. "Are you saying you... don't care for him? At all?"
He actually felt a bit startled by that question.
"Of course I care for him!" he scoffed. "I mean, aside from his moodiness and solidarity, the lad's actually really easy to get along with, and I can't deny that I think he's an interesting fellow."
Ella narrowed her eyes, looking extremely upset.
"Both he and Sinmir were right, then," she said simply. "What you just did was so hypocritical that anyone would have come to the conclusion Xaphile did."
"So, you finally realized it," Sinmir muttered, making Gus glance at him; to his surprise, the man's grey eyes simply looked tired now. "Took you long enough."
Gus glanced back and forth between them with furrowed brows.
"Tell me, what are you two talking about?" he demanded, feeling much less angry. "Explain to me what I cannot see with my own eyes. Am I missing something about this situation?"
Ella sighed, then pressed a hand to her forehead.
"You got so mad at him for doing what he did to me, even though he obviously wasn't in control, that you bloodied his nose and threatened to do worse," she explained, giving him an exasperated look. "Yet, you barely reacted at all during any of the situations where I knowingly did the same thing and blatantly said so."
"And?" he asked, making her jaw drop. "What of it?"
Even Amelia looked stunned by his unexpected denseness.
"He thinks you don't care about him, idiot!" Sinmir roared, finally losing his own temper. "The reason behind your so-called righteous anger literally just crushed him!"
Gus's face went blank.
"I apologize, but I'm afraid that conclusion would only make sense if he cared for me," he muttered, making Amelia's mouth fall open as well. "It doesn't fit at all."
"Are you BLIND?!" Ella screeched, incensed. "OCTAVIUS MACINTOSH! I KNOW YOUR EYES WORK BETTER THAN THAT, SO WHAT IN THE NINE ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?!"
Her reaction startled him.
But then, Amelia finally spoke.
"Phil looks up to you more than you may realize, Gus," she shakily told him, drawing his eyes. "I've seen the way he looks at you. You're someone he trusts and he cares about you quite a bit, even if he doesn't openly express it."
"Why would he?" Gus snorted. "He's never been anything but vague, rude, callous, or obstinate towards me."
"You really don't know?" Amelia asked, surprised. "It's because you were the only one who helped him when he was first locked away."
Gus stiffened in shock, heart growing cold when he noticed how Ella paused.
"How did you... know about that?" he whispered, staring at her in disbelief. "Tell me!"
"I saw you from my window," Amelia weakly explained, not looking at him. "Everything."
"What did you do?" Ella demanded, eyes hard. "Gus..."
His lips tightened and he refused to answer, but it didn't do any good since Amelia answered for him.
"When he was hurting and in pain," she said softly, "Gus unlocked the cage you tossed him in, Ella. He nursed Phil's injuries in secret, and he did so with so much care that even I could see he was grateful."
"Amelia, I only did what was right," Gus grunted. "He would have died had I not."
"But that's probably why he trusts you so much," she insistently countered. "After all, from the moment he ended up here, you were the one person who was always on his side. Even before me, you trusted him first."
Gus's eyes widened when it finally dawned on him.
Sitting back, he stared at the snow blankly, not sure how to react.
"Shite..." he muttered, pressing a palm to his forehead. "What have I done?"
"What haven't you done to that poor kid?" Sinmir snorted, making him wince. "Fix your mistake."
"I agree... go talk to him and make sure he's calm, then sit down and talk rationally," Ella muttered, then gave him a glare and added, "we really can't afford anymore fighting or hostility on this journey. So, please... smooth things over."
For a long moment, Gus sat in the snow... but then, he closed his eyes and nodded. Slowly rising to his feet and clutching his chest, he turned and lumbered off in the direction Xaphile and Vrael had gone, making his way around a bunch of snow-crusted brambles.
Ella and the others stared after him until he disappeared from sight.
"Are you honestly sure it's wise to let them talk so soon?" Sinmir asked after a moment, making Amelia glance at him. "After all, they were at each other's throats not too long ago."
"I have faith in them," Ella stated simply, not looking away from Gus's back. "Both of them."
Amelia lowered her eyes.
Hoping that Ella's faith wasn't as misplaced as she thought it was in this type of situation.
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Author's note: This chapter is a bit shorter than my other chapters... tell me, is it easier to read like this? Or should I stick with longer chapters?