Ruan
I had been kicked out, again. It still hurt even if now I knew Ashmoder loved me and I also knew that he had been fighting with his daughter, with her very naked daughter and her humans. A smirk spread across my lips when I thought about it. I knew it! The way they looked at each other was so obvious that the hard thing was to miss it. Even Ashmoder must've noticed.
I chuckled thinking about how much of a mental breakdown Ashmoder would be having right now. Catching your daughter in bed with her lovers wasn't a father's dream, that was for sure.
" Now what to do?" I stared at the wall of my bedroom as I thought. I couldn't go back, Ashmoder would be mad and I also didn't want to see his daughter naked with her lovers, that was a sight I would unfortunately never get rid off.
" Well, I'll just go have some fun with the prisoners" I smirked as I got up. This was going to be so much fun.
I ran up to the dungeon, all because I wanted to have fun, not because I wanted to check if anyone I used to care about was still alive. No, that wasn't it, I didn't care about that at all.
" Hi" The guards in the door bowed down to me and let me pass without a problem, I was a high commander after all.
" Guard here and no matter what you hear or see keep it to yourselves, understood?" I let my power rise in accordance to my words.
The both men that were guarding the door shivered inside their armors and lowered their heads.
" Good" I pated the one near me in the shoulder and went inside as I whistled.
The dungeon was as dark and as smelly as always, the smell of death and decay permeating on my skin. After this I would definitely need a shower, but right now I had to do what I wanted while Ashmoder wasn't here. It was my only chance to get away from here with what I wanted, even if I didn't even know what that was.
" Ruan?"
A soft voice coming from my left calling my name made me tilt my head that way. I walked to the cell where the voice had come from with confidence.
Inside was Luan, her once bright yellow hair turned black. She looked like a decayed version of herself as she looked at me with her brown eyes as if I was an apparition, not a real person.
" How did you escape?" Her voice was steady, unlike her appearance as she spoke. I looked her all over and noticed she had no wounds besides a big, red bump in the middle of her porcelain forehead. They must've knocked her out and captured her, but fortunately they hadn't started the torture yet.
For whatever reason my heart calmed down once I saw her, happy to see her. Stupid heart, I was the one that betrayed them for my love. I had no right to be called a friend, or even an acquaintance. I was the most evil person they had ever seen. It was funny that they hadn't realized it yet. I would kill them all just to show them how bad I was.
For whatever reason my heart didn't agree with me. Weak heart.
" I ran. Let's get you out of here"
Luan smiled as she inched closer, trust in her eyes. She didn't know I was the one that had betrayed her. She didn't know I was the reason why she was here. She didn't know I was the bad guy.
" How did they even find us?"
The truth wanted to escape from my lips, but the look of pure trust in her eyes and all the years we had spent together doing so much pushed the words back in. She would find out eventually, I didn't have to be the one to tell her.
" I don't know" I shrugged as I went closer to the lock. " We were getting sloppy"
Luan nodded as if she agreed with me.
" You can't force it, believe me, I tried"
I smirked. It wasn't what she thought, I wasn't going to force the lock.
" What makes you think I was going to force the lock?"
I smirked as I called fire to my hands and burned the lock away, the hot remains falling to the floor.
" That's one way to do it" Luan was smiling as she stood up on her own, her legs shaking. " Help me up"
I didn't have to be told twice to run to her side and hold her. I held her shoulders as she walked slowly, trying to move without much success. Looking down at her leg I realized it was broken, the bone visible, poking out from her skin.
" Wait up" I gathered my power and pressed it into her leg slowly. Her leg began fixing itself as the bone went back to where it should be.
Luan stopped wincing and laid her leg on the floor, stepping hard with a smile.
" Thanks"
I smiled at her as I grabbed her hand and headed to the entrance.
" Sir, what are you doing? Prisoners are supposed to stay down there"
Oh, a brave guard. He was going to regreat going up against me. I spun my head his way, his hands shaking despite going up against me, his shoulders firm. He had guts, I'd give him that.
" Who do you think you are?" The guard shook with fear as I looked at him with my black eyes, where I knew the black had overtaken the white in my pupils, making me look unhinged. It was one of my favorite intimidation tactics, and one that almost never failed.
The guard shook his arms as he tried to stand, the fear patent. I could smell his fear as he peed himself, the orine running down his armor leg and into the floor, where it pooled.
" What did you say I couldn't do?"
" Nothing sir"
I smirked as I grabbed Luan and took her away.
" And soldier?" I snapped my head back. The soldiers seemed ready to have another little accident. It was amusing seeing how much they feared me, and they hadn't even seen my worst version yet. " Clean that up"
The soldiers relaxed when they saw I wasn't going to kill them. They were that stupid. Killing them would just proclaim to the whole castle what I had done and they'd look for the missing prisoners, but this way they wouldn't even know someone was missing.
As we walked away Luan chuckled by my side. I smiled with her. That had been fun.
" There you go" Once we were right outside the castle, in the gates, I let Luan go. With a sad smile I turned around as Luan looked at me confused. I was going to miss messing with them, but it had to be done. Soon enough she'd hate me anyway.
" Aren't you coming?" Luan sounded confused as she asked me, her head tilted in a question.
I was like a brother for her. It was normal that she wanted me to go back with her, but I couldn't do that, not now or ever. I'd had my choice and I had chosen what I had wanted. I had chosen my love over them, and although I would do it again without hesitation it didn't mean it didn't hurt to see all the relationship that I had spent years cultivating going to hell in a single second.
" No, I'm busy"
Luan's eyes shone in admiration as she looked at me. I wanted to scream she shouldn't look at me like that, that I was the moster, but I guessed I was still selfish. I still wanted her to look up to me.
" I'll come back later after I fix a few things" Lies, all of them, but Luan would realize soon enough, she was a very smart girl.
" See you"
As Luan smiled brightly at me something in my heart cracked, not that I cared or that it was an important part, so I ignored it, pushing those pesky feelings away.
The only person I owed my loyalty to was Ashmoder. He was the one that had found me when I was in the depths of the abyss and had taken me out. He was the one that had murdered the man that had tormented me my whole life for me. He was the man whose voice I heard when the nightmares got too hard. He was the one I had managed to push back my aversion for and grab the heart of my enemy. He was the person I would murder for, betray for, do anything for. Betraying those pesky little flies was nothing. Maybe if I said it enough times it would become the truth.
" What are you doing here?" While I was still looking into the town, absorbed inside my own mind someone grabbed my shoulder.
My mind didn't even process the words before my body moved on it's own, taking down the person holding me by the arm.
" I see your not in a good mood" My eyes focused on Els's smile.
I snorted and let her go. It was just her. She wasn't worth my attention, I had more important things to do.
" I'm busy, leave" I wanted her gone. I was busy staring at the old mansion that I could still see and that used to be the rebellion's base. It was probably still their base if I was being honest.
" Busy with what? Staring at the place were you freed a member of your rebellion?"
My face went pale as I snapped, grabbing Els by the collar. How much did she know? Just how much?
" How dare you!" My face was contorted in anger as I looked at her, but really I was dying from fear.
" The guards talk" Els was pale, but she stood her ground, her hands clenched into fists.
Fucking guards! Their heads would roll for sure.
" I already killed them" Els spoke as if she had read my mind, which I knew she couldn't, Ashmoder was the only one that could do that around here or anywhere else.
I slowly let Els go. I didn't know what she wanted, but if she had killed the guards it probably wouldn't be something bad for me.
" What do you want?"
Els chuckled, her eyes shining as she looked at me.
" Nothing, I just think it's fun that you have always thought we didn't know you were the lider of that pesky rebellion"
Knew? What did that mean?
" Who knows?" I might have to fill the grave with corpses.
I gathered my power in my hands as I hid it as well as I could. Els shouldn't have talked to me as if she was so sure of herself. She was going to die for that.
" Everyone. You thought we wouldn't notice your little rebellion? We only ever let it go because the King told us not to move against you. It was just a game "
A game? All my efforts were just a game? It hadn't been a game for me. I had poured everything I had into it. My emotions were a mess as my power desestabilized and eventually went out in a smoke. I was happy Ashmoder had loved me enough to let it go for so long, but on the other hand it meant all I had ever done had never really done anything he didn't command.
He probably even let Imma live all so that I could play with her. Now that I said it in my head it all sounded plausible and a very real possibility.
" You know?" I barely managed to look at Els through the mess that was my mind. " She would have been better off in the dungeon" Luan.... If they all knew she was dead, but I was no fool, death was better than those dungeons.
" As if the dungeons were any better" My voice was small as I spoke. They were all dead, again, because of me.
" Hmm. At least she could've lived a little longer" Els shrugged as she threw me my helmet, which I hadn't noticed had been in her hands all along, into my arms. " Get ready"
" Ready for what?" I eyed the helmet suspiciously. It was clean and ready for battle. Who were we going up against now that the rebellion was gone?
" To end the rebellion"
" They're already dead" I kept my expression neutral as I lied. I may have betrayed them but that didn't mean I was willing to let them go without trying to at least lie my way out of it.
"Sure" Els's smile was mocking as she grabbed my hand and teleported us to the stables. " Get your horse"
Her voice was commanding as she ordered me around. No one ordered me around.
I pushed Els to the ground in a fluid motion and straddled her, my hands on her neck, pressing hard. Els just looked at me annoyed as she grabbed my hands and twisted.
My hands burned in pain as the flesh melted away from the fire in Els's hands, but I didn't let go. I was too angry to feel the pain. No one disrespected me.
" Fine.....you win" Els let go of the fire and my hands when she realized I wasn't going to let go.
" That's better. Never forget I'm in charge" I got up, leaving my hands on my sides.
Els got up with some difficulties, her breathing ragged as she healed the red and blue patches of skin in her neck where my hands had pressed.
" I didn't want to order you around" Els sounded afraid as she spoke to me from a distance. Good, that was how it was supposed to be. I was the fearless commander, cruel and cunning. A few years with some would be rebels hadn't changed that, it couldn't. No matter that they had treated me with care, as if I was one more, something only Ashmoder had only ever done and that I loved him for.
" Then what did you want to do!?" My expression was serious as I looked at her.
" Guide you to the stables. The King has ordered to end the rebellion"
" He has?" I was confused. Wasn't he the one that had pretended not to see it for so long? Why act now?
Els gave a piece of paper. Written in there was a clear word, written in Ashmoder's letter.
Kill
Fine, I'd do it, for my love.
" Let's go"
I let the paper flutter in the air with the air currents before burning it down in the air with my power as I jumped into my mare, a black monster that had stamina and endurance like no other, a horse breed for battle.
" Let's go kill those rebels"
I put my helmet on, letting go of all of my emotions as I did. On my side Els too got on her horse.
For Ashmoder I would do anything at all.
" Let the blood rain down"
If it weren't people I knew it would be fun, but as long as I didn't kill those I liked it would be okay. Maybe I could just avoid my favourites and kill the rest. That way it wouldn't be so bad.
That was it. That was what I was doing.
I smiled as I took the reins and tugged on them, making my mare move forward without a sound.