Roughly, my body was deposited onto the hard chair. Scorn coated my eyes as I stared at the man in front of me, leisurely allowing my tongue to swipe over the cut on my lip. Sweetness exploded on my tongue and I scooted up, righting myself in the chair.
"You're going to have to stop putting your hands on me, Avril." Restrained contempt laced his voice, his chilling eyes matching my glower with one of his own. "I've been very lenient, but my patience runs out."
I released a short, haughty chuckle. The noise echoed in the small room, and I took a moment to glance around. The walls and floors were white. The only piece of furniture was this stupid cold table and two chairs.
I then turned my attention to one of his annoying soldiers who followed him around everywhere he went. Our eyes connected, and I just stared, more like glared, at him hoping he could see how much he was hated as a living being.
Beady eyes widening, they quickly looked away from me and I couldn't hide the smirk. Hell, I wasn't trying to hide it as I turned back to Zeddicus.
Bruising was quickly developing under his right eye. The fact made me chuckle. It was masterpiece done by Avril herself.
"My patience has run out." I rolled my eyes. "Does it hurt you to act like a decent being for a second?"
"If I wasn't decent, you would be dead and not merely sporting a bruised lip from me dropping you in shock." The cruel timbre to his washed over me, his anger exploding out. He slammed his hand on the table, and I jumped. "You would actually be dead for putting your hands on me, Avril."
I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. He hadn't exploded on me before and it was like I was falling into a pool of ice cold water. I was letting my mouth and my temper run me. It was well deserved, but it wouldn't help me.
With the malevolence burning in his eyes, the fight in me was dying out and I was just exhausted. "Can you just tell me what you want from me? Can you stop playing with me? Why did you come to Terra? Why did you attack Yetheria? Why?"
"One question at a time." A lazy grin crawled along his face, his body slowly straightening till he was standing well above my sitting height before placing him in the chair across from me.
"Why did you attack Terra? Why do you want to destroy us? What did the Nobellians do to you?"
Still looking at me with that infuriating smirk that probably had the power to bring many women to their knees, like Niet had went on and on about, he repositioned his body on the chair. Extending his body, he crossed his ankle over the other and rested his clasped hands on his hard abdomen.
"To be honest, the Nobellians didn't do much. I mean, Terra is a planet that I could only dream of having for my own. The environment is in one the best conditions I had ever seen on a planet, but besides that, nothing really interests me about Terra as a whole."
"You're lying." I hissed, leaning closer to the table, eyes narrowing at him. "If that's true why have you attacked Terra more than once and abducted Nobellians?"
He tisked as if disappointed that I didn't believe him. He nodded his head towards the door, but I didn't turn to see why. "Come on, beautiful disaster I need you to think. "He tapped his index finger on the side of his temple. "They were both strategic tactics to know the enemy better. The abductions were simply to gather Nobellians."
"So you could test on them like lab rats and find out their strengths and weaknesses?" My mind was going numb. I knew that, but actually hearing it out loud made it a harder pill to swallow.
"Precisely." He nodded pleased that I had got that. "The attacks were a show of dominance. However, I was very pleased to find out that the Nobellians were harder to take down than we thought. We had lost so many in the first war."
"So did Nobellians." I told him, but if he heard my words he surely didn't act like it.
"I remember my father being shocked that the Nobellians had decimated our numbers after the first time. But one thing I could say about my father that was pleasant was that losing only made him more determined." He tapped a thoughtful finger along his chin, artic eyes that flashed white languidly going over the features of my face. "Our lost just pointed out things we needed to change and fueled the need for my father to figure out Nobellians' weaknesses, so the next time we visited we abducted. I thought I had finally had things figured out when we decided to do this war thing with the Nobellians one more time but before the war could began, it ended."
My mind raced back to that day, long ago, when the Dynoats had invaded knowing exactly what day he was talking about. They had been so close to hurting my best friend, Simon, when something overtook me and out of nowhere the invaders were materializing into snow. The day I wiped out his soldiers.
"It was me." I raised my eyes which had been looking at the table, contemplating the words he had been saying moments before. My eyes caught his seeing something heated melting the glaciers swimming in his gaze. The look gave me goosebumps.
"Yes, it was you." A smile lit his face, changing his features into something hauntingly beautiful. The smile was different from the other ones I had seen. It was the smile of the devil. It was stunning, almost angelic to eye, but behind it I knew laid the malicious intent of a fallen angel. "You managed to wipe out all my people and when I found out it was a girl, imagine my surprise."
With that smile still on his face, from his pocket, he slid a picture in my direction
I let out a breath looking at my mug shot, the paralysis that had seemed to seize my body at his smile halting. "So for me beating you, you invaded my planet and killed millions of lives? Why would you do that? Why would you take the most sacred thing from my planet? You don't know how fail gracefully?" I hissed, trying to remain calm but the more I thought about this entire situation, the more I began to become indignant.
He suddenly stood up and strolled around the table to my side with patient steps. He stooped to my level, the woodsy scent of him caressing me and trying to pacify my emotions. He was entirely too close and I found myself leaning back. He noted the action and merely smirked.
"Besides the Orb of Tranquility, which I could sell in the galactic black market, Terra really presents nothing for me. The Orb of Tranquility was simply bait. The soldiers you fought against and won, they were our weakest. They were expendable, a mere test to gauge how powerful the Nobellians still were."
Perplexity caused my eyebrows to furrow before the realization of what he was saying began to sink in. I felt my lip wobbled. "But I-I-."
"Didn't you find that it was too easy to defeat an army that had taken on multiple planets before you and won? You thought you did something phenomenal when you did that arctic blast?" He chuckled. It sounded harsh, taunting. "I guess you did, it surely got my attention. It was cute, but in the grand scheme of things, you merely just put yourself on the market, especially after I found out you were also behind the decimation of one our prisoner camps."
Heart sinking, watching him step on the belief that I had single-handedly saved a planet. "But Terra?"
He huffed seeming annoyed that I kept asking about Terra. "Darling, I personally never cared about Terra, more so my father. The destruction of it was just a little entertainment while I waited for the main course to arrive."
I shuddered, mind racing to that horrible day remembering the smoke that painted the once peaceful sky, the screams of terror that had rang through the air, and distress that had coated the air like pheromones. The thought that he could find that all entertaining was sickening. "And what was that?"
The smile of a fallen angel reappeared on his face and softly his finger came and stroked my cheek, while I tried hard not to flinch under his touch. "You my darling. I wanted you all along."
He stood up and moved back to his chair allowing everything to settle for me.
____
I took a deep breath feeling the onslaught of information settle over me like pricking pins.
Hands out in front of me, I could only stare at my chained hands. Even though to the naked eye you couldn't see them, I could feel the invisible restraints snapped around my wrists locking them in place. A safety measurement that had been put into place after the incident.
If I struggled in them, they only grew tighter and tighter until they felt like they were going to cut my hands clean off from my wrists.
My eyes finally looked away from my awkward positioned hands that were palmed together and facing outwards. Simmering eyes, connected to a pair of arctic eyes that were icy blue but felt darker than a black hole. Eyes that had seen centuries watched me stoically. Eyes that were such a light blue that they resembled cartoonish colored ice perfectly and seemed almost godly. Eyes that flashed completely white at our eye contact.
Silence consumed us and I could hear the ringing in my ears. The resentment and hatred bubbled through my blood, yet I couldn't do anything. I wanted to hurt him, but I was the prisoner. My nostrils flared as he continued to stare at me, saying nothing. Red was beginning to dance in my vision as he continued to watch me. He was always staring at me. I hated it.
"Why?" I finally asked, barely able to get the words out of between my clenched teeth. My throat was beginning to burn and I wasn't for sure if it was because of my rage or the tears of frustration that I was refusing to let spill.
His full lips stayed shut. Once again his eyes flashed white before turning to their original cold color.
His silence only worked as a counteractive method to chaining my anger, and before I could stop myself, I slammed my restrained fists on the table. The loud bang echoed around the room.
"I said why!" I yelled, shooting up from my seat. My chair scraped back, hitting the wall behind me, but I barely paid attention glowering down at him.
The scrambling behind me alerted me to his followers only seconds away from coming in and playing damage control.
"Why! Why! Why!" Each word was punctuated with a hit to the black glass table, as that was the only way to release the sudden disgust and outrage that consumed me. The slow prickling shocks erupting from my neck told me to calm down or I would surely be stopped by force, but there was no way I was calming down now. Not after this.
How could things have come to this?
He raised a hand, silently telling his men to not come in. Veins raised from his skin flashing a silver color before dulling out. Eyes still trained on me, a small smirk crawled along his abnormally handsome face.
"Why you say?" His words were low, husky, and completely foreign sounding. Something I had never heard that normally would have intrigued and even attracted me, but now all I could do was curl my slightly chapped lips and scowl. "But you already know the reason." He leaned against the table his words doing what they always seemed to do. They curled around me, caressed me, and yet I held my resolve and refused to be tempted.
Hair hid half of my face as my chest pumped up and down from my indignation. Already I was thinking of a way to destroy this entire place.
Eyes sparkling, his smirk grew into a full-blown perfect smile. "You are my little beautiful disaster."
Then the epiphany hit me that had been staring me plainly in the face. All along they never truly wanted Terra. They wanted me, not just as prisoner but as something much, much more.
****
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Ike sneered, the fire engulfing his hands beginning to travel up his arms, a warning to all to not come closer. Slow, calculated steps were directed in Othana's direction as she stood close to her only protection: the trees
Not even the seven body guards she had angled around her would save her. He would make sure of that.
Othana raised her hands, there was a slight tremble to them that she hoped the people poised in attack stances in front of her wouldn't notice. "Please just here me out."
"Did you try to hear us out?" Kaiya jeered, her green eyes speckled with yellow began to darken.
"What do you want?" Ike hissed, now in the front of his group, the crackling and flickering of the blue flames engulfing his arms but causing him no pain putting the other blue creatures on edge.
Dark, apprehensive eyes surveyed the Nobellians in front of them. Warily they glanced at Ike, before she took a slow step towards the group. The Nobellians only angled themselves better, body all faced towards Othana as if they would all destroy her at once.
"Get to talking." Aeon snapped. The happy-go-lucky guy no longer there. Instead resentment filled azure eyes glowered at the blue alien in front of him. A mixture of guilt, loss, and anger rattled inside of him. Avril and him were finally getting back to how it use to be, before everything was ruined, and she was gone. His partner in crime was truly gone, and he was putting the blame on this evil witch right in front of him.
A tense silence filled the afternoon air before Othana finally gained enough courage to talk to the creatures in front of her. "You have to understand..." Othana began to stress the words, her voice shaky.
"I refuse to understand anything you say. You have five seconds to tell us why you are here before we decide to hell with it, and end you where you stand."
The thunder in Ike's voice gave her pause, her eyes sliding to one of her horned guards that had agreed to accompany her. He glanced away, body practically quivering at the mess she had gotten him into.
"The tree..." Her voice shook. "The tree is alive and brighter than it has ever been."
At her words, the whole group paused and then tensed. The implications of her words falling upon them like acid rain, it practically burned.
Fury couldn't describe the molten feeling bubbling in Ike's stomach. Rage couldn't hold a candle to the emotion churning in his chest. Animosity came a little closer to the sensation crawling through his veins. Yet, it wasn't enough.
"Ike..." Nydale's voice was only background noise. The feeling overwhelming Ike was painting everything around him red.
"Ike!" Mist yelled, but all Ike could see was red.
However, when Ike came back, Aeon and Nydale were holding him down. Kaiya's barrier was enclosed around the three of them. Despite the fact that two grown men, one man with more muscle than Ike, was holding him down the boys still struggled to calm Ike.
Off to the side, Mist struggled to reign in Kaiya's wrath. The Nobellian currently sat on top of a passive Othana with her hands wrapped around her neck, dangerously shaking her.
"He can't touch you because you're a fucking female, bitch, but I can!"
"Stop! Stop Stop!" Mist's shouts sounded through the hectic air. Four of the seven guards she had came with sat around them...as piles of ashes. The other three were helpless to hold back the Nobellians, still in a state of paralyzing shock at the show the male leader had just put on. The walls of blue fire that had rushed at them were nearly unavoidable. It was only thanks to their quick reflexes and the two Nobellian men that had tackled the leader the moment he fired at them, that the other three creatures were only sporting second degree burns and not burnt to a crisp...like their other friends
"That's enough, Kaiya!" Mist tried to pull at the enraged females shoulder, attempting to pull her off of the blue creature who wasn't even attempting to block the punches raining down on her face.
"Argh!" Kaiya screamed after a few seconds of complete static from Othana's end. "I can't fight someone who won't even fight back. It's literally like an Othana type of move. It's weak and useless." Kaiya hissed, shooting to her foot and kicking the dead grass around her.
Stepping away, Mist's griping voice was merely like a bug buzzing in Kaiya's ear. Kaiya easily ignored her taking a deep breath to calm her raging thoughts. Their attention turning to the boys who were still trying to calm down Ike.
"Just breathe brother, please." Nydale was trying to pacify his best friend. The man had murder written clear across his face. Nydale hated Othana just like the rest of them, but they would be a fool to not listen and hear what the vengeful bitch had to say.
Ike seethed, his breathing rough and haggard, as he still tried to push his friends off of him. "I'll kill her."
"We're not moving until you calm the hell down." Aeon rebutted, pressing his weight down onto Ike even more. The clear struggle was a complete 180 from the memories of him being able to tackle and successfully pin Ike down with no problem when they were younger.
After what seemed like hours but was just minutes, Ike's struggle ceased. His eyes closed and the rapid breathing of Ike and the out of breath respiration of his friends were only the audible noise in the barrier containing Ike's rage.
Grabbing Othana's shoulder, Kaiya yanked her up not caring for her discomfort at the movements and began to drag her struggling body to the barrier. Othana did not put up a fight. She was thrown in front of Ike, who was now sitting on the grass, trying to take even breaths to calm his temper. Aeon and Nydale sat on either side, eyes staring between him and Othana and thanking the fact that Kaiya still had her barrier up.
"I'm getting really tired of your fucking barriers, Kaiya." Ike hissed at her. Violet eyes narrowing at the unfazed stature of Kaiya.
"And I'm getting really tired of using them to save you from yourself." Kaiya replied back without missing a beat. "If it wasn't for me and the guys, sorry not sorry Mist you didn't help much, the blue bitch would be ashes just like her fellow friends. Then we would be at square one again! So you're welcome!"
At her words, amethyst eyes that reflected nothing but vengeance and animosity turned to the bruised Othana who was currently on her knees. Bruising was beginning to form around her left eye and the black liquid dribbling from her nose made Ike feel a sliver of retribution. She didn't look like the ruthless queen who had given the go-ahead for him to be tortured or the go-ahead to kill them. Instead she looked weak. Just like how he always knew she was. Couldn't even look Ike in the eye, the guilt was probably too much.
"She's been taken?" Othana questioned quietly.
Mist crossed her arms. "No of course not. She's frolicking through enemy territory right now just for the hell of it. What do you think!?"
Othana sighed, eyes connecting Ike's. "I'm sorry."
The loud smack as Ike's hands collided with the protective barrier keeping him locked away and Othana protected from him caused everyone to jump. "Sorry? Fucking sorry! You better thank the higher beings or whatever shit you worship that I'm behind this barrier! Sorry isn't fucking good enough! Because of you, Avril is gone! And don't for one second think this barrier is going to stop me. This can only stay up for so long, you evil bitch..."
"I'm trying to right my wrong!" Othana yelled.
"It's too late!" Ike thundered back, his tone and level exceeding hers. "It's too fucking late to be a good creature! The minute you smirked at my pain it was too fucking late. No, the second you decided you were going to hurt Avril in any type of way, it was too fucking late."
The other Nobellians around tried to act like his words and presence weren't affecting them. But even Mist had to wince at the power exuding from him, and she was a royal herself.
"I-I didn't know. I'm sorry...I'm here because I realize my wrongs. I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm giving you guys another chance at food, shelter, and protection."
"We don't want your shit!" Kaiya snapped, internally knowing they needed all three of those but just enjoying watching Othana squirm.
"You do." There was conviction in Othana's words, like she was telling herself more than she was telling them. "I'll make this right..."
Mist furrowed her eyebrows. "And why should we believe you? Why would you want to help us. This could be a trap for all we know..."
"And the minute we realize it's a trap we kill everyone involved. No being nice this time, no sparing anyone." The cruelty in Ike's tone gave Mist paused as she eyed her older brother before slowly drifting her attention back to Othana.
"Because Avril deserves it..."
Kaiya sucked her teeth. "Weak as reason coming from you. Tell it like it is. The guilt is eating you alive. You couldn't handle the fact that some new alien came and could rule your people better than you. The hope she restored back into the people you had beaten it out of them, just like the Dynoats made you sick, jealous, envious. Weak" Kaiya emphasized. "Ruler."
All was silent as the Nobellians stood around watching the silent, tense blue-skinned alien.
"Yes." The guilt-ridden queen finally said. "You are right. It was jealousy that guided me back then and now it's guilt. It's enough guilt to push me out of the safety of my cave, that I created, to look for you Nobellians and offer you protection in my sanctuary again." Her voice wavered sounding almost child-like, like a confused misguided child. "Avril and I had a talk one day and I realized what she told me was right. I was just too arrogant to allow myself to receive any advice. I can't make up for what I did, but I will try."
"How?" Ike's voice low, a mix of emotions swam in them – anger, agony, longing, vengeance
"If you need an army, you'll get an army."
*****
3 weeks later
Feeling the frustration set in, Ike ran a heavy hand down his face releasing the pent-up sigh. It had been like this every day since they got here.
Constant bickering back and forth between the cave dwellers. A clear divide on who wanted to fight the Dynoats and who didn't. The supporters for the cause were not enough, and they would surely be stomped out if anything was attempted against the Dynoats at this point. Ike was trying to keep a level-mind, but with each passing day, just using the cave dwellers they already had on their side seemed like an acceptable choice.
It was after Ike had reluctantly came to the decision that to survive, him and his crew needed to go back to the caves and hide out there and come up with a plan to action, Ike found himself now. After surveying the tree and realizing that the tree did appear stronger and brighter, Othana had made herself scarce. Not even herself could come up with a reason on how Avril had restored the tree. All the Nobellians stood around, trying to come up with ideas on Avril's heritage and her powers, yet not one Nobellian came close. Throughout the discussion, Mist had stayed oddly quiet, but no one had noticed.
Ike had believed coming back to the cave dwellers with the known fact that Avril had saved the tree would ensure everyone's loyalty to fight the Dynoats and rescue her in the process. However, his hopes were quickly snubbed out when the dwellers had learned that Avril had been taken. Instead of vengeance-seeking mob he expected, he got a fear-filled crowd, discouraged and beaten before they even began.
"I already told you, if they can take down Avril, they can take down us!"
"If we just try..."
"There's no trying, it's a lost cause! They took our strongest ally!"
Voices were thrown around, echoing around the cave walls while the other Nobellians and some cave dwellers tried to keep the peace, and all Ike could do was rub his temples. The one thing his girl had paraded around like a beacon was gone for these cave dwellers: hope
Without hope, they had no foundation to stand on.
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. "Just hang in there man, we're going to get Avril."
Tired, saddened oceanic eyes glanced up at Aeon who gave him a timid smile. Chest feeling tight, the arguing between the creatures just background noise, the mask that Ike had kept on since she left, faded for just a few minutes. Out in the open, Ike's torment and fears were available for anyone to see and decipher. Yet, Aeon blocked his openness from the rest of the world with his body.
"I don't know..." Just like the rest, he was beginning to sound hopeless too. "She still has her mind blocked out. I can't communicate with her. I don't even have a clue on what they are doing to her." His voice was low, tired and lacked the normal steel it usually had.
"Listen Ike, you have to keep the faith. You can still feel her connection, right?" Aeon questioned with a frown and Ike only nodded. "So that means she's alive. Avril is a smart girl. She knows how to play her role. She won't be fighting the leader killing his soldiers, and picking at his patience, she's smarter than that." Aeon grinned slightly, trying to bring Ike's fading mood up.
At his words, Ike only gave him a wary smile. Once upon a time, Ike would have thought the same thing about Avril. He would have full heartedly agreed, but Aeon didn't understand Avril like Ike did. Avril was intelligent, yes but Aeon didn't understand how she acted when she was scared. At one point, Ike hadn't understood either but now he did.
Avril was smart, but when she was scared she acted out. She acted tougher than she was and allowed her emotions to control her, especially her anger. It was a defense mechanism he realized a while ago, something she had probably developed in her horrid childhood. She acted unbothered so her enemies could not feed on her fear and pain. If they couldn't figure you out, they had a lot harder time breaking you. When she was scared, she acted out because it was what she knew. It was her second defense mechanism. You back a fearful animal into a corner and they attack. Ike had to admit that with time Avril had grown, but that part of nurturing still was deeply rooted in her character.
He used to chide her on it because it was a horrible character flaw to have in high stress situations, especially being a princess, but with time he had learned to care for and love her flaws. He just feared that one-character flaw would harm her more than it would help. The worst thing about it was that he knew he couldn't do anything to stop it either. With each passing day, time was ticking. His resolve was weakening and his desperation was strengthening. The tides were not in their favor, not yet, but he had a princess on the line and he couldn't afford the luxury of waiting.
He didn't want to walk into the Dynoats as a one-man army, but the pangs in his chest were growing stronger and every day. He was dreaming about Avril every time he closed his eyes, more than what was normal. At times it felt too real. He would be so close to touching her and then she would fade away, out of his existence.
Ike feared there was meaning to these dreams. He was terrified that when he did manage to get Avril, he wouldn't get her the same way she went in. He knew how atrocious the Dynoats were. His chest clenched at the thought of them breaking Avril, extinguishing the fire she had.
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