"Just give them a minute Damien. She's just through the door." Kai says shrugging as Damien thuds his back against the wall. My loud screech streams rapidly through the air. Damien hears the desperation in my voice and barges through the door, charging at Chris. He opens the door to Chris's fists wrapped in my shirt as he stares down at my breasts. Kai runs close after him, equally as appalled by what is in front of him. Damien comes behind me, his arms surround my ears as he pries Chris's hands off of me. He holds so tight his knuckles begin to turn white. He bends Chris's wrists unaturally sideways, cracking them in the process. Damien wraps his arms around me, pulling me behind him. I quickly grab each side of my shirt and hold it closed, since the buttons were no longer there to hold it. I felt embarassed and confused, betrayed even.
Chris winces in pain, hunched over. He turns to Damien, screaming at him. "How could you do this to her!?" Damien clenches his teeth and takes a step towards him. Kai intervenes, stopping him. "We need him Damien." Kai reminds him. I didn't know what to say. How could I defend him? "Y-you're going to kill her." Chris blurts out as he tries to contain his pain. Damien furrows his brows and jerks his chin back. "What?" Chris shakes his head. "You gave it to her too soon." Chris continues in riddles. Damien shoves him back. "Spit it out!" Chris turns to Damien, finally gaining the confidence to stand up to him. "The necklace!" Damien freezes and Kai takes a step back baffled. I shove passed Kai. "What are you talking about!?" Chris takes a few breaths before looking at me sympathetically. "It's absorbing your soul." He says queitly. The room couldn't be more silent. "What the hell is going on!?" Kai looks at each of us. Damien let's out a shaky breath before turning slowly to me. He wraps his hand around the gem and makes an attempt to rip it off but it only pulls me with it. "Take that shit off!" His instantly pulls his hand away, shaking it. "What the hell!? Why won't it come off!" Damien makes every attempt to remove it from my neck but he continuously burns his hands in the process. "It's a defense mechanism." Chris contunes quietly in between breaths. "It didn't burn me before!?" The desperation in Damien's voice grows. "It's a piece of you. You and Aryah are the only ones who can touch it. However, it sense you want to take it way from it's host. It's like a parasite." I had never seen Damien so dismayed and I was still in shock. Kai turns to Damien, "Is that what you meant when there were other ways than the traditional!?" Damien walks in a circle throwing his hands in the air. "What do I do!?" He turns to Chris and he shrugs in response. Finally, he looks to me; his eyes glossy. His voice cracks into a whisper. "Aryah..." I simply stare back at him. He reaches up grabbing my hands lightly and opening my shirt, exposing my chest. I do nothing to resist as my body begins to tingle into numbness. "What the fuck is that!?" Kai whispers harshly. The darkness had spread down my chest to my left side and up my neck to my right ear, branching off into each capillary. Damien stops breathing, this was his fault. My heart was on the floor and my legs begin to lose feeling. My knees give out as Damien sensed, wrapping his arm around my waist holding me up. "Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on." Kai states angrily. But none of us could respond. "I... I don't know." Damien finally says. Rage fills me and I gain enough energy to shove him away from me. "You told me you knew! You lied!" To my surprise he flinches at my reaction. "I thought I did." He pleads. I turn to Chris who looks at me sadly. "Am I going to die?" My voice becomes increasingly shaky. "No! I'll figure this out." Damien holds onto my upper arms tightly, promising me with his eyes. In this moment, it meant nothing. "I'll fix this." Damien turns and sprints away from us.
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<-Damien's P.O.V->
I run around the house looking for a specific person. Finally I spot her reading a book in the sun by a window. "Braelin." I say exasperated. She looks up casually. "Hey D, why the long face?" I shake my head. "No time to explain. I need you to do me a favor." She closes her book and places it on the small table beside her. "Anything. What do you need?" I kneel down to match her gaze. "Go get Cain. Please Brae." She nods, not asking any further questions. "Of course. I'll leave right away." She leans over kissing him on his cheek. "I'll get him here as soon as possible."
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After I left Braelin, I went straight to the garden in search for the same glow in the forest that met me just weeks ago.
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<-Lucan's P.O.V->
I walk through the castle cells in search of my unreliable side kick. I take a slow stroll down the long hallway of cells until I reach one in particular. I turn to face him, placing my hands in my pocket. "Wake up." Jace laying in the dirt, rolls over squinting his eyes at me. "What happened?" He says groggily. I chuckle, "I was just about to ask you the same question?" He uses the wall to help him stand, limping over to the cell bars. "What are you doing here?" His voice raspy, still covered in blood. "What the hell do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to do your job since you've proven useless." I take a second to observe his barely recognizable face. "I can barely recognize your face." Jace looks up to me, whispering. "Damien and Aryah are here." I chuckle, tilting my head. "Damien wasn't happy to see you, I presume? Well it's good to see my creation isn't lacking strength." I pause. "Kai has been lying to me. I should pay him a visit." I turn to walk away, Jace reaches through the bars to grab my arm. I look down to his filthy hand and he quickly let's go. "Please, he's going to kill me." I brush off my arm from his unappealing hand and grin at him.
"Perfect. See you on the other end."
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<-Aryah's P.O.V->
I walk quietly into the bathroom and close the door. I hold onto the knob for just a moment, leaning my head against the cold wood. I close my eyes and take a breath, stepping back. I take a few steps toward the large wall mirror. Tears threaten to spill as I look at myself in the reflection. My gaze shifts to my collar bone, where the gem lay. I gently touch my skin, skimming the darkness that is spreading across my body. I glide my hand down to my towel, taking a second to prepare myself for the worst. I hadn't checked how far it had spread and I was afraid to find out. I unravel my towel and pull it to each side, dropping it. My hand follows from my collar bone, over my breasts, across my stomach and down to my hip. I bite my lip to prevent it from trembling. I twist to see the darkness growing down the side of my thigh. I turn my head to see it crawling up my neck, reaching the edge of my ear. My hands begin to sweat and my face soaked from the tears I hadn't noticed were spilling down my cheeks. I gently pick up the gem, rolling it around in my hand, holding it for a second. I slowly wrap each finger around, gripping it tightly, pulling it as hard as I possibly could.
It immediately send a jolt of electricity down through my body, causing me to tense and crash to the ground. I convulse on the cold tile for a brief period of time, gasping when it finally releases me. I push myself back, shuffling my hands and feet until my back hits the wall. My breathing shaky, now terrified of the hold this gem has on me. I sob as my body slides down to the floor until I'm curled up laying my head on the tile.
Damien spent all this time protecting me and in the end, it was him who caused me hard. I sob until there weren't anymore tears to cry. I quickly become dazed, in my own world. My face dries and my expression becomes blank as I stare off into nothing. I was numb.
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<-Kai's P.O.V->
After what had just happened, I needed a moment to process everything. An energy shift in the room and I sense someone behind me. When I turn around, I see Damien who is visibly in ruin. His entire appearance was disheveled. "Have you come to explain?" Damien stares at the floor for several minutes. "You can tell me." I say calmly. "I need your help." His voice faint. I nod at him and listen intently as he explains the situation to me.
I take in his words and think about them thoroughly. "We will figure this out. We won't let her die. Distract yourselves until Cain arrives. Act normal, unconcerned; It will comfort her." Damien nods. "Thanks, Kai." I nod at him. "I will always look out for you little brother. Everything I do is for you and Cain. You're all I have left."
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<-Aryah's P.O.V->
I push off of the bathroom floor and drag myself into the empty bath tub. I turn on the water and sit as the temperature of the water changes from freezing to boiling hot. I don't care how it made me feel, the discomfort it cause; as long as I could feel. I won't feel anything when I'm dead. I let the water reach just underneath my armpits and turn it off. I wrap my arms around my knees and stare into the rippling water. I sit long enough for the water to become cold again.
I hear Damien calling out for me from the bedroom.He slowly opens the door, peaking his head through. His eyes lock onto me as I continue to stare into the water. He stands paralyzed for a moment as he assesses the situation. Finally he walks in and closes the door quietly. "Ary..." He whispers quietly. He takes his time approaching me, almost nervous that I will snap. He reaches the edge of the bath and kneels down; It hadn't phased me that I was naked nor for him either. We sit in a minute of silence until I feel his light touch on my back, a domino of goosebumps spread down my back as his fingers trace along the darkness that covered my body. I sit very still, allowing him to examine me. He tilts his head to attempt eye contact.
"You are so beautiful." He whispers. I can feel his soft breath on my ear.
I glance over at him, seeing the concern flooding his face, sadness as I connect mine with his. He had small hope that I could bring him from this feeling; but today I was in my own sorrow and it was him who needed to bring me from this anguish.
"Come on baby. You're sitting in cold water."
I look at him for another minute before turning my head back to the water, not moving. He reaches his hand up, brushing the hair from my face and looping it behind my ear, tensing when he notices the darkness just underneath my ear. Leaning over, he wraps his arm behind my back and one underneath my knees, his clothes getting soaked in the process, but it didn't matter. He pulls me from the bath and places me down in front of it, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my body. Using both of his hands to pull out my hair from underneath the towel and kissing my forehead. I stand openly allowing him to see all that I am allowing my mind to take me into a place that didn't feel like reality. He wraps his arms around me once more, picking me up and carrying me out of the bathroom and into our bedroom.
He sets me down beside the bed as I continue to stare off into nothing. He turns around, digging through his drawers, pulling out a oversized shirt and shorts. He gently picks up each of my feet, stepping into the shorts and pulling them up. He reaches for the towel, pausing for a reaction from me but gets nothing. A grim expression on his face, knowing that I'm in a dark place in my mind. He looks at me again for permission but gets nothing. He slowly unwraps the towel, giving me every chance to stop him, but I just don't care. He grabs the shirt, pulling it over my head, helping me pull my arms through. He gently guides me backwards, to sit on the edge of the bed as he makes his way to his knees in front of me.
"Aryah, please..." A quiet desperation in his voice.
I tilt my chin down, moving my eyes to his. Taking his index finger and thumb to cup my chin, looking between both of my eyes for some sort of light. "I will not let you die." I shift my gaze to the side and he shakes his head, bringing my chin back to meet his eyes once more. "No, look at me. I will not let you die. Do you hear me?" The uncertainty in his voice wasn't at all convincing. I nod once lightly. He sighs a shaky breath, pushing himself up off the floor. "Let's get some sleep."
He quickly changes his clothes and slides into bed, pulling me under the covers and into his embrace, impossibly close to him. His nuzzles into my hair, squeezing me tighter. "I would never let anything happen to you." I close my eyes, letting his words sink in.
Hours go by and his grip remains as tight as it started, even as he falls asleep. I remain awake, staring at the wall as if waiting for it to change colour. I don't want to waste my time sleeping if my time was limited. I lightly grab onto Damien's wrist, removing it from my waist and sliding carefully away from him. To my surprise he doesn't shift, he must have been exhausted.
I queitly walk into the hall and close the door. I wander around the corridors until I somehow make it outdoors. I inhale sharply when the cold air hits me as I step outside. I take in the scent that filled the air, light hint of the garden and the night air. I follow the path for several minutes until I reach a large barn; The royal stables. I dark shine catches my eye when I enter. A magestic black horse standing calmly, staring back at me; the moonlight hitting his coat perfectly. He becomes slightly restless as I approach but I didn't feel fear, I felt tranquil. I gently reach up, touching his mane. He immediately calms at my touch.
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The bright light fills the room as Damien's vision comes into focus. He reaches for me but feels nothing. His eyes burst open as he jumps into a seated position, whipping his body side to side, searching for me. "Aryah!?" He yells out, but no response. He jumps out of bed, calling out my name again.
He bursts into the hallway to see Joan startled by his outburst. "Your grace!? What's the matter!?" She says, catching her breath. "Where is Aryah!?" He says demanding. She shakes her head. "I haven't seen her, your grace!" "FIND HER." His voice rings down the hall, causing Joan to flinch, nodding her head and bursting into a sprint down the stairs.
He bursts into a sprint behind her, running into the grand entrance, where Rickie and Kai stand calmly having a conversation. They both turn to him, throwing their hands up and raising their eyebrows. "Woah, slow down." Kai calls out. "What's wrong D!?" Rickie looks at him startled.
"Where is Aryah!?" Damien asks as his eyes zip around the room. "What do you mean!?" Kai asks confused. "She wasn't there this morning when I woke up." Damien's breathing increases as it becomes desparate. "Relax, take a breath. She probably woke up before you." Rickie says calmly. Damien takes a small sigh of relief, thinking that he may be overreacting. "I need to find her." He quickly exits the room as Rickie nods to Kai, running off in the opposite direction of Damien.
"Jane!" Kai calls out. Jane enters the entrance quickly, bowing to him. "Your grace?" "Alert the soldiers, Aryah has gone missing." She nods, pausing. "Your grace, the entire estate will know of your guests then..." Kai sighs, "It's fine, I'll deal with that later." She nods and leaves the room.
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<-Jane's P.O.V->
I run into the garden and see a well dressed man strangely observing a tree. "Excuse me. The king is looking for a girl by the name of Aryah. She has gone missing this morning. Could you please alert all the guards to go on a search for her?" The man turns to me and silently looks me over causing me to feel uneasy. "As soon as they find her, alert either King Kai or Prince Damien." The man tilts his head intrigued. "It's true the prince is here?" Unsure how to respond to his question, I ignore it. "Just alert one of them... please." I turn around and quickly run back into the estate.
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<-Aryah's P.O.V->
I'm startled awake by the horse becoming restless, panicking. When I open my eyes, I see a familiar young man staring closely at me. How long had he been there? "There you are, little one." The horse begins to buck, the young man turns to it. "Calm down." It immediately obeys and stops moving almost completely. "Lucan...?" I whisper quizzically. He chuckles, "Looks like you fell asleep here." I quickly jump up and leave the stable, closing it behind me. Naturally I would have expected him to move, but he didn't; instead he took a step forward, backing me up into the door. The horse once again begins to go wild inside the stable. "Lucan... What are you doing?" I whisper, "How did you get here?" Ignoring my question, he moves my shirt to the side to expose my neck, immediately frowning. "That is spreading quickly Aryah." I say nothing, but sit still as his hand rests on my shoulder. He inhales and leans back, turning around to walk away.
"Come. Your prince is frantically searching for you."
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We walk into the throne room to Damien screaming orders at people and Kai silently taking a step back. I burst into a sprint, wrapping my arms around him on impact. "I'm so sorry I went for a walk because I couldn't sleep and fell asleep in the stable." I murmur into his chest. He relaxes immediately and returns the tight embrace. "You scared the shit out of us Aryah." Kai sighs. I apologise as Damien takes a sigh of relief. Lucan stands only a few feet away, hands shoved in his pockets.
"Don't worry my prince. I was there to take care of her." Lucan grins mischievously. Damien looks up, just noticing his presence and scowls at him. "What are you doing here, Lucan?" Kai questions. "Good thing I was huh?" "Get out." Damien demands. Lucan pouts, "That's no way to treat your lover's savior." Kai takes a step forward, knowing Lucan was pissing Damien off on purpose. "What do you want?" Lucan inhales and begins circling us. "Well if you want that gem to take over your lover's body?" Damien turns, letting go of me. "What the fuck would you know about that!?" Lucan shrugs meekly, "I know many things." Damien clenches his fists, "Spit it out!" Lucan stops walking, turning his body to us. "You expect me to give this information out for free?" Kai raises an eyebrow. "How do we know if you're telling the truth?" Lucan chuckles, "I wouldn't go making the same mistake as your father, Kai." Kai and Damien's face twist in confusion at his response. "What do you want in exchange?" Kai lowers his tone. Lucan takes a moment to ponder. "Jace." Kai looks to Damien who looks increasingly frustrated before nodding at him. "Fine." Lucan nods once. "I thought the answer would be obvious but it seems we're all a little slow. You need to have the ceremony. It's spreading quickly, meaning you have less time." Damien's tone weakens, "This will save her?" Lucan nods confidently. "As of right now, death is taking over her body. The life aspect isn't there to balance it out." Kai shakes his head. "But she's a light? wouldn't that be enough?" Lucan shakes his head. "It's not in the proper form to contradict it. The gem is much stronger." Kai looks to Damien. "We need the other gem, but where do we get it?" Lucan cuts in, "Are we all that dense?" Before I could blink, Lucan appeared in front of me, pulling me away from Damien and Kai. He raises a hand, paralyzing them. The colour from their faces drain as panic fills them. "Death!?" Kai yells breathlessly. "Don't touch her!" Damien wails. I couldn't move, his grasp was like stone. He pays no attention to them and keeps his eyes fixated on me. I begin to hyperventilate as he places his palm in front of my face. As he closes it into a fist, I become winded, as if I had vomited a thousand shards of glass. I fall into him but he doesn't move an inch. "Ugh!" An unpleasant sound releases from my throat. Damien and Kai continue to threaten him but he seems unphased. Lucan leans into my ear, whispering. "As much as I love you this close to me, It's not time for that yet." He leans back, opening his palm to reveal a pure white gem. He shoves it into my mouth, placing his hand over top to avoid me from spitting it out. I panic, hoping not to choke on it, struggling to breath. In the same moment he removes his hand from my mouth and smashes his lips to mine. Damien goes wild yelling profanities but his voice melts into the background. He pushes his tongue into my mouth. A strange coldness comes with it, like I had an icicle in my mouth. He takes his time interwining his tongue with mine, becoming increasingly aggressive. I look into his entirely black eyes, as if in a trance. I feel a shooting pain run through my body, causing me to convulse in his arms. A cold liquid spills out from the corners of our lips, dripping down my neck. I scream, echoing throughout the room. Soon he his tongue retreats as he places a soft peck on my lips and the pain subsides as we disconnect. "The kiss of death?" Kai whispers as they watch helplessly, now silent from the shock. Lucan grins at me, the liquid dripping from his lips, it was black and thick. I only imagine that is what I look like as well. "Not quite. More like, the kiss of life." He takes a step away from me, reaching into his suit jacket, pulling out a tissue. He wipes his face and turns to Kai and Damien. "This has been fun gentlemen. You have my blessing, for now." He casually strides out of the room, leaving us all dumbfounded. They both fall forward as Lucan releases their paralysis. Damien shuffles to a stance and runs towards me. "Are you okay!? That asshole kissed you!" I ignore him completely as the gem falls from my mouth; a beautiful white gem with a silver glow. We all look down to the gem in my hand. "We needed a blessing from our opposites?" Damien questions out loud. "Why would he give me his blessing?" I throw out my own question. Damien shrugs. Kai lost in his own dismay. "Lucan has been death this entire time!?" Damien looks up to me. "We know how to fix this, are you okay with it?" I nod, thinking about everything that's going to happen in the next few days a sense of excitement and anxiety mixes in my stomach. "We'll get to..." Damien grins, raising an eyebrow. "That's what you're thinking about?" He asks intrigued. I immediately blush and look away from him. He tilts my chin up with his index finger as a fire ignites in his eyes. "The things I have planned for you, baby." He says quiet but seductive. I become lost in Damien as Kai continues to rant on until he finally leaves the room to pour himself a scotch.
Rickie bursts through the doors, "Aryah! I have been looking for you everywhere young lady!" Rickie's loud obnoxious voice startles me, bringing me back to reality. "You gave me a stroke, woman! You cannot do that to me again!" I nod, giggling at him. "I'm sorry." Rickie sighs and nods.
"Just in time because someone is here to see you."