[center][h1][color=6495ED]Kira[/color] [color=lightgray]&[/color] [color=7D2933]Marek[/color][/h1] [color=7D2933]Time:[/color] [color=lightgray]1am, Ignis 2[/color] [color=6495ED]Location:[/color] [color=lightgray]Kira’s bedroom at the Manor[/color][/center] [hr] [color=lightgray]Kira sat on a bench staring out her window. Beside her a music box played gently and her moon necklace glowed in the light. She hummed as she combed her hair out–she’d showered after returning to the mansion from the hunters. After checking on Wren and her sisters, she was relieved to find they were safe and sound. Their security was top notch so it was unlikely they would be hurt, but she still was worried. Her mind was pulled towards Zane, Yuka and Felix soon–she wanted their company more than usual. Recounting the tale of the hunters to them would be amusing. She smoothed out her jumpsuit and watched the woods around the mansion. She distantly could hear the ocean waves and its magnetic pull. Subconsciously, she clutched the necklace and sighed. The music box suddenly stuttered—a tiny, wrong hiccup in the melody, like the mechanism had flinched. Though the sound kept going, it was thinner now as if the song itself had been stretched tight. The air in the room cooled in a way the ocean never did, as if warmth had simply decided to leave without asking permission. Kira’s necklace still glowed, but the light looked dimmer. Behind her, the shadows seemed to take their time. There was no knock. Just a pressure at the back of the room and the sensation of being observed. When Marek finally spoke, it wasn’t loud. [color=7D2933]“Tigerlily. I hear you’ve been enjoying yourself.”[/color] Kira’s attention snapped to the music box and she set down her brush. When it stuttered, she scooped it up and began examining it. What happened to the mechanism? Her head tilted to one side with confusion. However, as the room cooled and her necklaces' light dimmed, she pieced it together. The sensation of being observed was not new to her. Bewildered, she turned and watched as the room announced Marek before he had uttered a word. The name Tigerlily caused her to blink; normally she didn’t hear that name outside her family–it had become her codename to help keep her safe from hunters. [color=6495ED]”Yes, I have been. How are you??”[/color] She set the music box down with slight disappointment. It was helpful in not thinking of [i]him[/i], the hunters, or… [color=6495ED]”what can I do for you?”[/color] she inquired, her attention now turned to the sound of his voice. The shadows hid him, but she had an idea of where he was standing. [color=7D2933]“I suppose… [i]I’m curious[/i], Tigerlily.”[/color] He answered simply, his voice heavy as he held her gaze with an otherworldly steadiness. There was a long stretch of silence before he added, [color=7D2933]“Tell me… How has your mission progressed?”[/color] It was as though a thousand knives were pointed at her. Kira focused on him fully. While she didn’t show outwardly hesitation or fear, she definitely was picking her words carefully. Her voice was steady and calm. [color=6495ED]”While Felix and the others attacked Violet and Cassius, I watched until I could approach. His skills are as outstanding as usual. I tested him by stabbing him. The next day at the Charity event, I bid on Charlotte Vikena, and he raised the bid fairly high. Callum tag teamed with me, but Cassius won. It’s clear he has affection for the Vikena girl. I’ll be trying to befriend her too, but I’m sure Cassius warned her of me ahead of time.”[/color] [color=6495ED]“In addition, Kazumin has been keeping a closer eye on Olivia. I believe she had something happen and again tonight, I saw her cast dark magic on Marius. She also beat the shit out of him. Kazumin came to her side. I’m going to start watching his family and estate, including Asteroth, because I don’t think he’ll be leaving her side at all. She was brave and foolish enough to check out the warehouse district on her own. So we can leverage her foolishness to our benefit. The Vikena girl was studying magic with Olivia–I was watching them one night.”[/color] She paused and began thinking of others. [color=6495ED]”Roman disrespected Violet Damien publicly at the banquet so there’s something going on there. I’m going to try befriending her to get closer to Cassius. Crystal is easily moldable so that won’t take long.”[/color] She paused and then added, [color=6495ED]”Also I heard more Varian and Alidasht royals are coming to town so I plan to befriend them as well.”[/color] When she finished, he did not answer at once. [color=7D2933]“You’ve spoken at length... And you’ve brought me very little.”[/color] He stepped nearer and his gaze settled on her face. The mention of the banquet did not anger him the way a normal man’s pride might; it seemed to amuse him in the faint, indulgent manner of someone watching an animal wander toward a trap it has seen before. [color=7D2933]“I heard you found time to be charming. A princess, wasn’t it?”[/color] He didn’t smile, but the expression was the suggestion of one. [color=7D2933]“Obedience is not a mood you enter when it suits you. It is the price of remaining useful.”[/color] His attention drifted, almost lazily to the necklace at her throat. [color=7D2933]“You confuse proximity with progress and noise with leverage.”[/color] Marek stopped there, deliberately, and then his eyes darkened. [color=7D2933]“Tonight, you will remember what it costs to waste my attention.”[/color] Kira stood up swiftly once he began speaking. She glanced around like a cornered animal, but there wasn’t anywhere she could go. Her heart rate accelerated. It was like hearing the Iron Wolves and her father talking to her–not good enough–-words she was too familiar with hearing. It was like being dunked into the ocean during winter. Kira took a step back and fidgeted with the necklace and glanced out her bedroom door as if someone might appear and help her escape. The mention of Nahir caused her chest to tighten. Kira braced herself and tensed up. [color=6495ED]”I won’t do it again. I promise,”[/color] Her voice came out quiet as fear rushed through her. [color=6495ED]”I promise… I don’t need you to show me. I’m sorry,”[/color] She backed away from him and calculated her odds on running off but knew they were slim to none. A wicked smile of satisfaction spread across Marek’s lips. He lifted chin and asked darkly, [i][color=7D2933]” Tell me, Tigerlily… Do Maya and Talia mean nothing to you?”[/color][/i] Kira’s chest tightened so tight she was wondering how her heart continued beating. Sweat began pouring down her forehead and into her hands. Kira stared at him and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, and then spoke. [color=6495ED]”No. No. They mean everything to me, Marek.”[/color] Her voice was shaky as she searched for a way to end the conversation before it escalated. Without looking away, Marek lifted one hand and brushed his thumb across the signet at his finger. It seemed to be an idle, almost bored gesture. His gaze stayed on Tigerlily as he spoke again. [color=7D2933]“You misunderstand me,”[/color] he said quietly, voice low enough that it did not need volume to command. [color=7D2933]“I do not punish you for distraction.”[/color] His gaze dipped down to the space the lamplight failed to reach, where the corners of the room pooled into black. [i][color=7D2933]“I punish you for forgetting what you belong to.”[/color][/i] A whisper then slid out into the air. [i][color=black]“Umbrae vorantes… carnem dilanient… in dolore periant.”[/color][/i] Shadows shifted in response, subtle at first, until they began to gather with purpose, slithering along the floor slowly and began to swirl around their master. Marek smiled as dark energy practically radiated from him, his eyes black as the night as he chuckled darkly; a noise that could unnerve even the bravest soul. Then the first sensation hit Kira: a hard, sharp pressure at her ankles, teeth without mouths, a bite that didn’t tear cloth yet convinced every nerve it was tearing [i]her[/i]. It spread in increments, not like a single strike but like something feeding with patience, the pain arriving in waves that had rhythm, each one teaching her a new level of agony before the next replaced it, and with it came the sickening certainty that she could feel pieces of herself being taken while nothing on her skin actually broke. Shadows climbed her calves in ribbons that felt wet and heavy, then tightened as if testing where she would flinch most, and when she tried to pull away the darkness seemed to follow the movement, as though it had been inside her all along and she was only shaking the cage. Her stomach lurched with the primal terror of being eaten alive. There was no blood, no wounds, only the brain-splitting clarity of imagined consumption until the line between illusion and instinct collapsed. Kira went to speak, but her voice betrayed her temporarily. Then–agonizing pain began to envelope her. Her ankles were the first target. The thousand knives turned into the sensation of a million teeth. A scream of pain broke through the silent corridor and echoed. It was not an unheard thing in the mansion. Kira jumped from the pain and tried to move away, but it followed her and continued up through her body like a ribbon made from snakes. Dizziness from the onslaught caused her knees to unbuckle and for her to collapse onto the floor. Screams of agony and wails escaped her. The wait as the magic climbed up her body was more terrifying. It wasn’t a few seconds of pain–it felt like hours. She grasped her head and hair and clutched it tightly, knowing it was futile to fight against the shadows. Tears streamed down her face as she began wishing she were dead instead of enduring this hell–the hell of belonging to, and serving, this witch asshole. She became breathless from pain and began choking for air as she sought a way to end it all while the magic continued consuming her. [i]Fifteen minutes.[/i] That was all it took for her body to forget it had ever belonged to anything except the agony. Two fingers lifted, a motion so small it could have been mistaken for habit, and the darkness disappeared all at once, as if it had never even been there. Her nerves still screamed into the void for a moment, searching for the thing that had been hurting them, as if the agony had become an anchor and now even that had been taken away. Marek watched the aftershock with mild interest. Firelight illuminated scars on his face as he came closer, but left his eyes untouched; they were flat and incurious. [color=7D2933]“There is no escape,”[/color] Marek informed her. [color=7D2933]“Your body, your name, your future, and whatever you insist on calling your soul—are all [i]mine[/i]. By covenant. By consent. By consequence.”[/color] He turned then and made his way to the door with the same unhurried certainty he did everything. His hand paused on the handle just long enough to make the pause feel deliberate and when he spoke again it was with finality. [color=7D2933]“Remember our deal, and remember your purpose,”[/color] he added. [color=7D2933]“Forget either, and you will discover what it means to forfeit what you begged me to spare.”[/color] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWvv2bDpSJg[/youtube] Fifteen minutes had never felt like an eternity until now. Kira laid crumpled on the floor, breathless and soaked in sweat. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might jump out of her chest. She thought it might kill her and longed for it, yet the sweet release of death never came. She heard him speak, though his voice sounded as though it was a thousand miles away. She cracked open an eye and watched him come nearer to her. The firelight illuminated his face and she wished the fire would consume him and burn his ass to the ground. A pile of ash would have been more acceptable. Him or her, she didn't care at this point. [color=6495ED][i]If only I knew magic...[/i][/color] His voice warned her of any disobedience. A sob rose in her throat which she managed to withhold. She didn’t dare shut her eyes again in case it added fuel to his wrath. Each word might as well have been a stab wound to her heart and she almost wished he would. The day of their deal, sitting in a cold and damp cell and wondering what happened to her best friend came back replayed in her mind’s eye, and only added salt to her wounds. If that day had not happened, perhaps she'd be elsewhere.... The world didn’t know cruelty or darkness until it had met him. Her moonlight necklace glowed dimly, reminding her more of their deal. [color=6495ED][i]What the hell did I get myself into?[/i][/color] Once he finally left, Kira released her sob. Tears streamed down her face. It might have been hours she laid there in agony, as her body kept reminding her of what had happened. The aftershock was almost worse than the actual event. Everything throbbed and was reminiscent of being burned alive. Finally, when she gathered enough energy, Kira pushed herself up slowly. Her balance was wobbly, but she limped towards the bed and collapsed onto it. Her gaze met the ceiling as she reminded herself again for what seemed like the millionth time: Talia and Maya needed her---they wouldn't be able to fight Hunters as well as her. How the hell would she escape this? It was a pipe-dream and a childish thought. This was her life now. She had forfeited everything that he’d mentioned the day she met him. Rage, hatred, and grief consumed her, but she couldn't find her voice to yell into a pillow. As she swallowed, she realized how raw her throat was from screaming. Kira finally pulled a blanket over herself and curled up, eventually finding a restless night sleep and cursing herself. Her pillow became damp from her sweat and tears, only further irritating her. One final thought filled her mind: If she had never been born, it might have been better for everyone.[/color]