Ria
I tried to speak, to scream and thrash around, to tell Arsheus to let me down, but my body didn't listen to me as Arsheus held me and run up the stairs.
I didn't know what was happening through the fog that was now my brain, but I did know I wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
I also knew the world had been happy and then he had appeared, hickey in his neck, as if he was so proud of having fucked the girl by his side that he just had to show it.
My screams didn't reach anyone despite how hard I tried.
I was beginning to feel fear. The plan was to go out the main gate, but that wasn't where Arsheus was taking us. I didn't know what he was going to do and fear gripped me.
Had he finally decided I was useless and he was going to kill me?
My body refused to quiver in fear or even hitch it's breath as it obeyed Arsheus's orders and stayed still. As still as a doll that could neither move nor think for itself.
That was what I was to him.
Whatever.
It wasn't whatever, but there was nothing I could do about his lover or about our destination. Both of them were controlled by him and I didn't have anything to do with it.
My eyes darted to our sides every time darkness surrounded us. Even my foggy and drugged mind could tell this was dangerous just by the way they were both moving and hiding whenever guards were going to pass by. The were so good at guessing when guards would appear that for a few seconds I thought they really could predict the future and what they would do.
Time in between Arsheus's arms seemed eternal. I kept quiet and still until we reached the top spire of the castle. By when we reached it my spirit was already crushed. I no longer wanted to fight with him about the woman by our side nor about what he was doing. I just wanted to go to sleep.
When Arsheus finally let go of my body and let me to my own free will I stayed in his arms, too tired and bothered to care about anything at all.
I could've sworn his eyes were filled with concern when he looked down at me, but it was just for a second. The next one his eyes were hard, cold and unrelenting again. I hated him and those eyes of him. I hated everything about him.
I wondered how many times I'd have to repeat it until it actually became the truth.
" Are you okay?" When Arsheus asked me that question my heart couldn't help it but beat faster, happy to think he did care, but the hatred in his eyes told another story completely.
" I'm fine" I gathered all my hatred and disgust into those words, not looking him in the eyes as I said it.
" Okay" For whatever reason Arsheus sounded hurt when he spoke, but when I looked at his face for signs that he was truly hurt there was only coldness and hatred in his face.
" Come on, let's get going"
The woman Arsheus had fucked was pretty, I'd give him that. She seemed straight out of a fairy tail. Her long, straight hair and her sharp eyes, as if she was about to tell you a solution to a problem you didn't even know you had made her beauty spark even more.
Arsheus looked at that woman and smiled. It was a genuine smile and not the thing he did half the time. My heart ached and I wanted nothing more than the rip that woman's skin off of her so that Arsheus would never look at her again.
" We'll go back to the inn"
Arsheus walked up to me and held me as if I weighed nothing, which I could say was not true. His arms enveloped me and now that I wasn't blinded by rage I could appreciate his frosty smell. He smelled so good. Like sin and frost.
When he walked over the edge of the spire and jumped, his wings flapping with the right strength to make us fly over everything I was left speechless.
We were high up and for once I was looking down. It wasn't like the fear was gone, but rather that I was tired of life and didn't care as much if he let me fall.
From our position the whole city seemed so little, with people walking up and down and enjoying the festival. From my position I could see the artistical troupes representing the fall of the demons. Everyone was having so much fun.
" What's that?"
Arsheus was dumbfounded as he pointed down at the same artists I had been looking at.
" They're representing the great war"
Arsheus gritted his teeth. I could feel his muscles going taunt underneath me. He was pissed and I could see why.
The demons in the performance were all but killing themselves, jumping into the angel's blades. No one actually believed it had gone like this, it was an obvious misrepresentation, but a lot of people did believe the demons were weak.
" They weren't there before"
" The festival starts at midnight"
I could tell Arsheus was going even more stiff under me. He surely knew what that meant. The festival was at midnight because that was the moment when they had decapitated the demon King. It was a show of power.
" Let's go"
I tapped Arsheus's shoulder and pointed up ahead at the inn. The guards hadn't noticed it yet, but I had no doubt in my mind that they would eventually find us. We had to get out of here fast.
I tried to get Arsheus's attention, but he was too focused on the platform in the middle of the city where the executioner was already preparing his axe.
We had to leave before Arsheus actually caused some big problems.
" What's that?"
" That's..." I could've lied, but it didn't feel right even if he was a bastard and he treated me like shit. " It's an execution platform"
Arsheus looked at me as if I was stupid.
" And it's where they'll execute a demon at midnight"
Arsheus twisted his head to look at me, his eyes twitching with anger.
" What do you mean?" His voice was deep and dark as he glared at me.
For a second I felt fear until I saw the direction of his gaze. He was mad at them, not at me.
" They kept some demons alive and every ten years they execute one in the middle of the city to show their strength. That's also the reason why the ball happens"
Arsheus gritted his teeth as he looked down at the platform.
" Where do they keep them?"
" I don't know"
From his side, flying in her own with her unkept black feathers, was the woman, who also looked horrified as she looked down.
" We have to save them, Arsheus"
" We will"
I didn't want to crush their hopes by telling them that the elders oversaw the whole thing and that rescuing would be impossible, but someone had to.
" It's impossible"
The both of them turned to stare at me.
" The elders watch over the whole thing"
Arsheus clenched his fists around me but didn't say anything else.
I didn't have anything else to say either so I kept shut as the wind carried my migraine and brain fog away.
" We'll rescue them later"
Arsheus didn't look too happy with the solution even if he had been the one to propose it. The woman didn't look happy either. She looked murderous.
Arsheus's eyes were focused on the platform as he gritted his teeth. If he got this mad just by the execution then I certainly couldn't tell him what would happen to their bodies after.
I was still looking at his face when I felt the fall. I screamed when the ground suddenly got closer to us as Arsheus's wings stopped flapping. My heart nearly stopped during the time it took him to begin flying again, giving it his all to run away from the castle.
" What's going on?"
Neither Arsheus nor the woman answered me, too focused flying away from whatever had spooked them.
When I looked back I also paled and wished they could go faster.
Behind us the guards were following, their eyes shining with hatred as they readied their weapons. I wasn't supposed to be able to see their eyes. They were way too close for my taste. They were going to catch up to us any minute now.
I knew that Arsheus could fly faster but he didn't seem to want to leave the woman behind. Now that I thought about it what was the thing I had risked my life to get? Was it just that woman?
I immediately felt hatred in my stomach. I hated her.
" Where's Rin?"
The woman seemed in a panic as she spun every few minutes to look back at the angels gaining terrain.
They didn't even seemed to care that Arsheus and I looked like angels. We were suspicious enough just by having a demon by our side and even more so if she had been somewhat like a prisoner, which I could see with her tattered clothes and unkept appearance.
" He's taking care of some other guards. He'll be with us soon"
So he did answer questions, just never mind. Good to know.
The city passed under us in a flash as Arsheus gave it his all to outrun the angels. Once we were outside the city all hell broke loose.
The arrows they had kept tucked inside by fear they would hit a civilian were now soaring through the sky towards us.
" Arsheus!"
I screamed and pointed at the arrows. I couldn't protect myself right now or even help us fly away, but I could at least still point at the threats. It was something.
Arsheus turned and glared at the arrows, which went up in flames before falling down to the snow as ash.
That was so cool.
My awe died when another batch of arrows passed right above us.
I held onto Arsheus as hard as I could, holding on for dear life. If I let go not only would I fall down but also the angels would catch me. It was the worst case scenario.
I forced my eyes to stay open and look back to see if we were in danger.
Despite for the fact that very angry angels were after us there was nothing immediately dangerous that jumped at me, so I turned to look at where we were going.
I heard a piecing scream and turned my head back.
One of the angles was falling down as he fluttered helplessly with his remaining wing, his body covered in red. The other one was in Rin's bloodied hands as he flied up to us, fast as lighting.
The angels immediately noticed him and turned around, ready to face him, but Rin was already focused on another thing. His eyes didn't leave the woman as we flew away.
Rin looked at Arsheus in the eyes and both of them nodded, agreeing to something only the two of them knew.
Arsheus kept flying away as the angels stopped in place, glaring at Rin as they tried to kill him.
I didn't like the guy or anything, but even I could see that abandoning him was wrong. We weren't gonna do that, right?
Despite what I thought Arsheus didn't turn back or even look as his wings flapped harder, giving it his all.
It didn't take us long to lose the tiny white dots in the dark sky. For once their black wings were an advantage. They made us invisible in the night sky.
After flying for a while we finally landed on the snow and I could've sworn I recognized the forest we were in. It was awfully similar to the one I had run away from.
" Where are we?" As soon as we touched the ground I let go of Arsheus and walked on my own even though my whole body wasn't warm anymore now that I wasn't holding onto him.
" We're in a safe place"
When he leaned down to pick up the latch I knew I was right. We were in the same fucking forest I had ran away from.
" I'm not going there"
Arsheus turned to look at me, his eyes twitching with anger.
" You'll go inside"
I felt he command ingrain itself into my soul.
I was unable to stop myself as I grabbed onto Arsheus's chest and went down of my own volition.
The woman followed us, but her mind wasn't quite with us. Her eyes darted to the outside all the time, where Rin was.
She seemed to care about him.
Whatever. I didn't care.
I glared at Arsheus and opened my mouth once my body was my own again.
" Go get Lilu " It hadn't hit me until I had seen the hatch, but now I couldn't take the thought that Lilu was all alone from my head.
" Later" Arsheus didn't seem to have patience for anything right now.
I didn't care, neither did I.
" Now"
Arsheus glared at me and opened his mouth.
I knew what was going to happen before he gave me the command and my body was forced to obey.
" Go to your room"
I wanted to scream and refuse, but my body obeyed him, taking a path I didn't even know to my room.
I hated everyone.
As soon as I was inside I regained my senses. I could try to run but last time that hadn't gone very well and if it weren't for Lilu I'd be dead now. He wasn't here now.
I laid on the bed without even bothering to take off the fancy dress and pretended I didn't care and wasn't listening in to them, waiting for Rin to come back.
I fell asleep like that.