"Why do you hate me, Amber?" Luna asked after a long moment of quiet.
Amber did not expect Luna to ask this question, but she didn't necessarily hate Luna. She could never truly hate anyone. But Luna had done so much, did she not realize that?
"Because of what you've done to my family," Amber told her. "Why do you hate me?"
"Because of what you've done to my family," Luna quietly said to repeat Amber's previous answer. It made sense, though. They both disliked each other because of the same reason. They had both caused destruction. Amber hadn't thought of it that way before.
Amber didn't know what to say, so she looked down at the ground. She wondered if Eva was close enough to hear the conversation.
"I don't want to hate you, Amber," Luna slurred, surprising Amber.
Amber looked up to face her once more. "Then why do you?"
"Because of what your parents did! We had everything, Amber! Do you know how great being royal was? We got-"
"Stop! Just stop!" Amber shouted, knowing what Luna was about to say. "You're being selfish again! It isn't all about money and power, Luna!"
Amber watched in shock as Luna tried to lunge up with her vampire abilities, but only stood like a normal human being. Luna glanced down at her body.
"What the fuck did you all do to me?!"
"Joel...Joel drugged you to make your powers dead for two hours," Amber told her timidly. She didn't want Luna taking her anger out on Amber. She had tried to stop him.
"Ugh, that son of a bitch," Luna grumbled, making Amber laugh softly. Luna then sharply glared at her, cutting her laughter short.
"Am I evil, Amber?" Luna asked, even though she wasn't even facing her. The woman had moved her eyes to the side of the cage.
Amber once again was at a loss of words. Wasn't it obvious? Of course she was evil. She had done horrible, wicked things not even the devil would think of.
"Um...yes, Luna. You are," she told her, despite how scared she was to admit it to her. She didn't want to lie to her anymore, though. It was about time they were honest.
Luna sighed, almost sounding sad. "I don't want to be evil, Amber," she said, still sounding drugged. Amber hopped the drugs weren't forcing her to say these things. Well that was whatever she was saying. Did she feel bad for all the damage she had done?
"Do you know how hard it is to be so mean?!" Luna suddenly screamed and sharply turned to face her.
Amber jumped back in fright. What was she talking about?
"What are you saying, Luna?" Amber softly asked.
Luna's eyes filled with tears, surprising Amber even more. "I regret it...everything. It wasn't your fault and it wasn't your parents' fault either. They just fell in love. I mean, they shouldn't have gone and had you without even thinking over the consequences, but I was way too dramatic. I realized that once I got to know you, Amber," Luna said. She stepped up close to Amber, the only thing separating them being the cage. Luna grasped the bars with her hands. "You changed something in me. I just don't know what to do, Amber. I can't just suddenly act like I don't care anymore. Yes, it still brothers me, but I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to hate or be hated, do you understand me?"
Amber was staring at her like she was a psycho. Did she really not want to be so evil anymore? Amber had caused her to be better?
"Luna..." Amber muttered as she took a step closer. "Why would you be afraid to admit you were wrong? And do you think my parents don't feel awful? I'm sure they do. When exactly did you realize all this?"
"Because I thought everyone would be even more angry if I suddenly didn't care anymore. I know they do, but still...I realized this after I burned you. I had gone mentally insane. When I got to know you, I thought that possibly I had taken it too far, but it wasn't until I had done that to your chest that I absolutely felt guilty. And with Eva. She's so innocent. I'm a horrible person, Amber!" Several tears streamed out of Luna's eyes which were now back to their original pink state.
Amber had never before seen this side of Luna. She was still catching her breath. All this time, Luna wasn't even sure if she still cared anymore?!
"Don't just stare at me like that. Say something," Luna said sternly.
"I don't...I don't know what to say, Luna."
"You think I'm fucking crazy," Luna said as she rubbed at her eyes.
Amber shook her head. "No, I'm really happy right now. This is a huge relief to me."
The two stared at each other in silence. Amber then thought of Eva who was probably still standing right outside the door. Was she hearing this? And was she just as shocked as Amber?
Luna broke the stare by moving her gaze to the floor. Amber lost view of her face as her long hair brushed over her shoulder and fell with her head.
"Will you come in here with me?" Luna asked the ground.
Amber didn't know if that was such a good idea. Luna sounded truly sorry, but was it all just another lie? Was she acting upset, but then once Amber stepped inside with her, did she plan on doing something to her?
After a long hesitation, she opened the cage door and stepped inside.
Luna looked up and turned around to face her. Amber became scared that she had been fooled, so she took a step back.
Luna's face suddenly dropped. "God!" She yelled, making Amber's eyes grow wide. "You're terrified of me! No one trusts me."
It was Amber's turn to look down at the floor. She didn't have anything positive to say since Luna's words were true.
"Amber, you're the only one I trust myself," Luna said, grasping Amber's attention. She whipped her head back up and blinked at Luna. Was this even Luna anymore?
"That's why I'm telling you all this," Luna continued. "I just don't know what to do now. Everyone hates me except for Samuel and Dave. None of them are going to believe my words. Do you know how much it hurts to be hated by so many people?"
"But Luna, you hate just as many," Amber argued.
"I do not, Amber! Not anymore, at least. I mean, yes, I'm upset with some, but I no longer hate. Please believe me."
Something hit Amber, and she instantly stepped closer to Luna. She then wrapped her arms around the woman and gently pulled her into a hug. She believed her. Luna was truly sorry. But she was also right. She couldn't convince the others. Just by knowing their personalities, it would take more than an apology to get their trust. Amber was a forgiving person, and she hoped Luna wasn't secretly laughing at her as she trusted Luna.
Amber felt Luna's arms gently wrap around her waist. Amber tensed as she expected to feel pain from Luna.
"Relax, Amber. I'm not going to hurt you," Luna whispered, making Amber calm.
Amber couldn't stop the smile from growing on her lips. Luna wasn't all bad. This was fantastic! But what were they going to do?
Amber slowly leaned back from the hug, but stayed close to Luna.
"Now what are we going to do?" Amber asked out loud."Joel isn't hesitating to kill you. I know he will. You have to leave, Luna."
Luna obviously took a moment to swallow back tears. "Leave?"
"Do you want to die?" Amber asked. She knew the others would kill her. She had just done so much to them. Yes she had done a lot to Amber's life and childhood, but nothing like what she had done to the others. They had it even worse. The only solution would be for her to go away and let them be.
"Well, no. But you think there's no chance of convincing them?"
Amber slowly shook her head. "If you stay here, you'll be miserable. I don't want that for you, no matter what you've done to me and the rest of them. You're sorry, and I accept that. But think, Luna. Do you really want to stay here? Run away with Samuel. You two will be so happy together, I promise."
The corners of Luna's lips tugged up, but then dropped again. "You're right... I can't stay. There's too many negative parts to staying. I love Samuel, but I'm not sure he's committed to me, Amber."
Amber tilted her head. "But he asked you to marry him."
"I know, but...never mind," Luna said with a slow shake of her head. Amber wanted to hear what she had to say, but didn't want to force her to explain if she didn't want to. They were on a good roll, and Amber didn't want to stop it. Samuel and her had been dating for so long. Did she think he was cheating?
"The problem is," Luna spoke up to break Amber's train of thought, "that I'll miss you. I won't see you again if I leave."
Amber blinked at her before coming up with a response. "Sure you will. You can still visit us, Luna. Anytime you would like. I mean, you can come see me anytime you'd like."
She didn't know what was coming over her. She suddenly wasn't mad at Luna anymore. She had done so much, but Amber was in the middle of forgiving her. This was crazy.
"I know you're with Hailey, and that makes me jealous as hell. Okay...there! I admitted it," Luna said as she refused to make eye contact with Amber.
Amber's heart pace fastened although this shouldn't have been a surprise to her.
"And when you were with Eva, it broke my heart. I wanted to make you happy, because I had never done that before. I wanted to love and I wanted you to love me." Luna shook her head. "Ugh...I don't know what it was, but I almost broke it off with Samuel for you. But then I realized you were with Hailey, so I let it go."
Amber gaped at her aunt. She seriously felt that way? Amber knew Luna had a crush on her, but nothing as serious as what Luna was explaining to her right now.
"That's...that is so sweet, Luna. How did you find out me and Hailey were dating?"
"Asher. I forced him to tell me at least some amount of information on you since he had not been giving me a darn amount of it. Please don't be upset with him."
Amber sighed. She wasn't mad at Asher. He had done so much for her that this didn't really matter.
"I know I'm not making much sense, but that's how I've been feeling..."
"We should probably get going now. The others are most likely wondering what's going on," Amber said before really thinking. It was true, though. They had been down here for quite some time. She was surprised no one had come to check on them.
"Are we going to tell them all we've talked about?" Luna asked, somehow acting like she needed Amber to take over for her.
"Let's just keep it simple and tell them the deal, okay? I'll talk to them all once you're gone. I'm trying to avoid anyone getting anymore physically or emotionally hurt."
Luna slowly nodded and sighed. "Okay, but can you...can you kiss me first? Just one last time?"
Amber stared at Luna and she sucked on her lower lip. She immediately thought of Hailey and how much she had already failed her. But what was one kiss going to do? Luna would be leaving, which honestly upset Amber. Even after all this, they had been through a lot together.
Without responding, Amber slowly leaned in. She watched as Luna closed her eyes and then Amber mimicked her movement as she shut her own.
Their lips softly pressed against each other, and they sat like that for some time. Not once did Luna try to force her tongue inside of Amber's mouth, and Amber was thankful that she kept limits to the kiss.
They both leaned back simultaneously, and Amber knew she would miss all the sexual activity from Luna. That woman knew how to work her sexual attraction.
"You ready?"
Luna took a breath but nodded as she gave Amber a small smile.
Amber returned the smile and interlocked her arm in Luna's. She guided her mistress out of the cage and down the hallway.
They reached the door quickly, and the pair headed up the several stairs. Amber saw Eva standing right by the door just like she had promised.
The girl perked up and stared at Luna and Amber. Amber gave her a small smile but walked past her. She couldn't tell if Eva had heard anything, since her face was blank.
Amber glanced to Luna and saw her staring intently at the ground as they walked. Amber felt bad for her now. It was still all unbelievable, but she was trying to stay strong and be mature.
Her parents stood clinging to each other, and her father opened his mouth to speak, but Amber stopped him by raising her hand. Her mother was staring at her with wide eyes, but appeared speechless. Neither she nor Luna needed questions. Amber was just going to go and help her pack, then they could explain everything and she would get going.
She was wondering where Hailey was at, but figured it was a good thing she didn't see Luna and Amber the way they were then.
Amber knew it would take effort and time for Luna and Samuel to find a good place to live in, but they would figure something out.
With arms still interlocked, the two headed up the stairs. It did feel odd to be so considerate to Luna, but it was the right thing. The woman had no one besides Samuel.
But even that grew questionable as the two reached the top stair. They came into view of the hallway which contained Luna's bedroom. There, not far from the bedroom or the two girls, stood Joel and Samuel. That would have been just fine, but the men were entangled in each other. Samuel leaned against the wall, with Joel leaning in front of him. Their faces were inches away from touching, and both of them were smiling.
What the hell?
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You all shocked? :O
...Yeah, I thought so.
<3
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