|
Post by clouds just clouds on Sept 13, 2014 17:20:39 GMT -8
The house--or was it a manor?--came into view. Calix remembered when he first came here. He had been frightened, hopeful, and desperate. Right then... he felt a small bit of anger burning beneath his stomach. The servants immediately recognized him, rushing around him. He felt unattached and at first didn't respond when they spoke to him. Lifting his stormy eyes up to one of the servants, he put the car keys in his hands and spoke quietly, "They're in the car, passed out. You'll need to get people strong enough to carry them inside. The car is a bit away down the road."
His voice didn't even sound like his own. It was distanced and broken, as if he spent too long screaming or hadn't spoken in a while. "Bring me to the king." Calix's lips twitched around the words. The servant offered to help him walk, but Calix ignored him, limping away.
He had gotten so use to the tears that he didn't even feel them tracing down his cheeks anymore. The servant slid open the door and looked up at Calix, "King Rucian is in here."
With a nod, Calix limped inside the room, feeling his lungs swell to the size of balloons. It felt hard to breathe. It took all that Calix had to not break into sobs. He refused to look up at anyone in the room. "The others..." He began, but his voice cracked and fell away.
And then, he swallowed, but this time a sharp breath of a sob cut through him. All his walls were crumbling. "The others are knocked out in the car which will arrive soon." Rorik ordered him to tell, right? He couldn't get anymore words out. His ankle throbbed painfully, and his arms wrapped tightly around himself, trying to hold himself together because at any second he would fall apart.
|
|
|
Post by Bakery on Sept 14, 2014 11:23:48 GMT -8
Erisanna was quick to get to her feet upon seeing him, almost dropping the tea in her hand as she abruptly scrambled to crash into him. She barely noticed how he looked- or heard a word he said. All she knew was that she was happy he was back and quickly flung her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Calix!! You're back!" she beamed happily and finally noticed his state- he looked miserable. "Calix..?" she asked quietly, lessening her hug to pull back and look at him.
Rucian, who had noticed as soon as he had stepped foot into the room, refrained from rejoicing. He knew something bad had happened...He knew it.
He wanted to ask what had happened- no, demand that Calix tell him what had happened and who was responsible- but he couldn't. Seeing Calix so broken angered him, yes, but he was not one to rush to rash decisions.
"The others...Knocked out?" he asked carefully, his eyes calculating and calm. Despite what emotions were brewing beneath his skin he had to remain calm for the younger ones- showing any glimmer of fear or anger could turn things into chaos- if it wasn't heading there already..."Calix...What happened?" he asked softly, his eyes on his tea.
He couldn't meet his eyes. He knew what happened. He didn't need to ask.
Rorik had taken them and done something. Something terrible, something horrible..
Something that couldn't be undone...
But what?
|
|
|
Post by clouds just clouds on Sept 14, 2014 11:39:49 GMT -8
At first, Calix didn't do anything, and stumbled back a bit, only to wince in pain. Slowly, he reached forward, the bond between them comforting him, and loosely wrapped his arms around Erisanna. His head rested in her shoulder and he closed his eyes tightly, using her to make sure that he wouldn't fall apart. He couldn't. Not then, he had to explain.
That's what Rorik said to do. A shudder ran through Calix. He had to do what Rorik told him, or else... or else...
Rucian's voice made him flinch, and his fingers clenched tightly onto Erisanna's clothing. His breath trembled from his lips. He couldn't look up at him. Instead, he focused on Erisanna's blurring form. Eyes beginning to ache from all the tears. Lips trembling, Calix croaked, "He drugged us. B-But with them he put them asleep, he kept me awake... but I couldn't move..."
Anger flashed in his eyes and he finally looked up at Rucian, giving a watery glare. "R-Rorik... h-he... he experimented on us. H-He did something. I-I..." Calix began shaking and he slowly felt all his walls crumble and he gave a whimper, smothering a sob into Erisanna's shoulder. Taking in a deep breath, he shook his head. "Ask the others what happened. I-I can't... I can't right now. I can't..."
|
|
|
Post by Bakery on Sept 14, 2014 12:59:33 GMT -8
Erisanna clung to him further as he crumbled into her embrace- she didn't know who Rorik was or what had happened- but she knew she didn't like that Calix was like this. She felt defensive and angry- and when he sobbed she swore she ached.
Her arms where back around him immediately, squeezing him into her arms as if to keep him glued together- to stop the sobbing and collect what parts she could. She may not be much to him- but in that moment she wanted nothing more to be the one who could stop all his pain.
Seeing the anger in his eyes didn't phase Rucian- he simply glanced up neutrally, listening as Calix spoke. "Very well...I shall speak to one of them about it. For now, you should rest. Erisanna, it would be best for you to escort him to his room." Rucian suggested and Erisanna gave a quick nod.
"Do you want to go clean yourself up first and then go to sleep? You look terrible..." Erisanna frowned attempted to soothe Calix. She had soothed her sister and brother many times before- but then she had known why they were upset- with Calix...She had no clue.
Dare she say it was okay now? Whatever had happened was over with, yes, but was it truly okay?
Probably not..Still..
"I won't let anything else happen to you..." she assured and squeezed him tightly in her arms.
Experiments...
How..How..
Terrible.
|
|
|
Post by clouds just clouds on Sept 14, 2014 13:12:29 GMT -8
Calix felt sickness building up in the back of his throat. He didn't want to say anything else, so he gave Erisanna a nod and split himself for her, only enough to turn and limp towards the door. Though, he waited for her at the doorway, suddenly too afraid to be alone anymore, as if Erisanna could keep Rorik away but in reality, she couldn't. And the one person that could keep Rorik away was sitting in the room before them.
Drinking his damn tea.
Stop, he was sick. If he came, Rorik would have overpowered him.
But he didn't even try. He didn't even care.
How do you know?
That's right, Calix didn't know. Rucian could be feeling a hundred things under that neutral mask of his. But it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. What was Calix to Rucian anyways? Just someone expendable. Bitter tears filled his eyes, which felt like sand underneath his eyelids. If Erisanna stepped out into the hall, he draped an arm around her and held her tightly, limping down the hallway.
He didn't want to speak anymore. All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and disappear. Before that, though, he would take a long shower and scrub off ever inch of himself. And then he would crawl under the bed to hide away from the monster. "Erisanna..." Calix's voice continued to crack, "c-can... can you sing to me? Th-Through the bathroom door..? Or.. t-talk..." He looked at the ground and his face kept twitching as if ready to turn into the face of a wailing child, but quickly being chased away. "I-I.. I don't... I don't want to be alone."
Just as they left the room, a servant rushed in, breathing heavily. He dipped dipped his head to Rucian and unsuccessfully tried to gain his breath. After a few seconds, he said, "The car is here, and those who were in it have begun to awake, yet they are still very tired and I'm afraid that they can't walk properly by themselves. What would you like us to do, your majesty?"
|
|
|
Post by Bakery on Sept 14, 2014 15:09:36 GMT -8
Erisanna did indeed help him- steering the two of them to his room as he limped.
When he called her, she felt her bones shatter in sadness...He sounded so horrible...
Her? Sing?
"Absolutely." of course, anything you need I will give. "I won't leave you alone, I promise." she grinned happily, giving a nervous laugh. "I'll get you a change of PJ's and a towel...here, sit here." she guided him to his bathroom to sit on a chair Psuedo decided the bathroom was big enough to have.
She returned shortly and gave a nod, looking at her feet as she asked, "Will you be able to handle things on your own..?"
Rucian watched as the servant caught their breath, his eyes only mildly interested in what they had to say. "Grab Drexel and Khalida and put them in their respective rooms to rest. I will grab Seraphina." he stood and walked outside, toward the car.
Worry had begun to lace his face- seeing his beloved barely even conscious and trying to move nearly broke his mask. Mixed with the picture of Calix he had just witnessed, Rucian was lucky he could hold himself back enough to not weep and go on a rampage in anger.
Just as Seraphina limped out of the car, stumbling toward the ground, he caught her. She wasn't heavy- but his heart felt chained as he looked upon her face.
Holding back his words he carried her inside, ignoring servants and everyone else as he made his way to their room. Everything blurred. All he knew was to get her to their room- to get her away from everyone else and try not to break into tears before he could get there.
After he set her down he dropped to his knees beside the bed, his eyes searching over her as she took in a breath, her eyes just barely opening to meet his own.
"Rucian....I'm...home.." she said with a small smile, her dry lips only able to lift so far before her eyelids drifted down again.
Hearing her speak was almost torture. What had happened to her? What had he done?
Rucian's hand found Seraphina's and he brought it to his lips, kissing the soft flesh of the back of her hands and her white knuckles as he clung to her. Gently he caressed her skin with his fingers, tracing the folds of her hand with his fingers. "My beloved, what in gods names....Why hadn't you.....I..." his voice cracked as he let his head fall into the side of the blankets, his forehead meeting the soft fabric softly.
Rucian attempted to swallow the rock in his throat- the dryness that had claimed his body beginning to make him feel brittle. "I'm sorry." he finally whispered and forced himself to look up into her opening eyes. "I'm so sorry."
Beginning to stand when she said nothing, she had loosely grasped his hand and his eyes ventured back to hers.
"Rucian, I don't want you to go..." she whispered, "Please lay with me...A while.."
Unable to deny any request she could make at this moment, he made his way to his side of the bed and laid beside her, turning on his side to cuddle her into his chest. She turned as well to snuggle into his embrace, her head tucked just barely under his own.
"What did he do...?" he whispered softly, letting his tail sneak out to wrap around hers as he ran his hand down her back and then back up, rubbing her shoulders and spine softly. He could feel his own heart beat erratically in his chest...Could she feel it to?
"Rorik...Did what he always does." she frowned and moved her head to look up into his eyes, her face stricken with a flurry of emotions. "Experimented. But this time..One more reproductive organs.."
Rucian took her face into his hands with a guilty face, his eyebrows furrowing and knitting together, "I'm sorry, my love, I-"
"I didn't call you. Don't beat yourself up about it...We're scared but we're alive- that's what matters most, right?"
He couldn't hold himself back anymore. Quickly Rucian hid his face in her hair as tears slipped down his face, a shaky breath pulled from his lips.
Seraphina said nothing- only shifted closer to Rucian as she wrapped her arms around him, tucking herself into his chest. He was warm and safe....And now so was she.
She could cry later...For now she wanted to sleep. With Rucian here, that could happen.
"Shhh...Let's just go to sleep.." she sighed as Rucian nodded, clinging to her.
As it always had been, it was clear he needed her more than she needed him. In this moment, he was living proof.
But sleep forgets reality and as the two of them fell into the clouds of dreaming, he let her voice lull him into slumber- leading him into the most peaceful and restful sleep he's had in a while.
|
|
|
Post by clouds just clouds on Sept 14, 2014 15:28:25 GMT -8
Calix blinked at her, and his mouth twitched as if it tried to remember how to smile. Though, it quickly dropped and he watched her leave. His breath quickened and panic settled in on him until she returned, and he slightly relaxed when she had. "I-I... I can get in the b-bath on my own, b-but... I'll keep a towel on, so... so you can stay."
"C-Could you... turn on the bath?" Calix's voice cracked. Not wanting to get up again--it felt so good to sit, not to mention his ankle felt like he had torn it off--Calix back to pull off his shirt and carefully shimmied out of his dirty pajama bottoms, though he kept his boxers on, for Erisanna's sake. He stood, wrapping the towel around his waist before dropping his boxers. He limped over to the bath and sat on the edge, shivering even if he wasn't cold. He had kept the dirty cloth of his torn shirt on his ankle because it ached too much to lean over and take off. His tears had stopped, for now. It felt good to be doing something normal.
Drexel first felt himself stir. When he realized where he was, he ignored the servant and reached over to the front of the car. His movement was jerky and uncoordinated, but he knew what he had to do. His fingers slipped to the compartment between the two chairs and blindly grabbed what he was looking for--his phone. "Sir?" He heard one of the servants. Jerkily, he slipped out of the car and allowed a few servants to help him up.
"I'm fine," Drexel meant to say, but his words blurred on his tongue and it came out more like a weird noise. Though, he turned to see Khalida, keeping a protective eye on her. "The... the...?"
"Calix and Seraphina are already inside," a servant said gently to him. Drexel must have blacked out, because when he came to again, he was in a room on a bed. His entire body felt stiff, and he wondered if he was alone.
|
|
|
Post by Bakery on Sept 15, 2014 20:30:43 GMT -8
Erisanna was thankful for him keeping a towel on- but she didn't watch as he changed. Instead she busied herself with running the bath. She made sure the water wasn't too hot or too cold, her gaze intently staring down at the water- as if the temperature would rise up from the bottom in numbers. They didn't, but it was easier for her to keep her blush away when she focused on something other than the almost indecent Calix.
She eyed his ankle with a frown as he limped over. "Calix...Do you need medical help?" she whispered, and flicked her gaze up to his. Should she go get a servant to help? Rucian? No...He didn't seem too worried about it... "Does it hurt..." she asked and almost reached for it, but stopped halfway as she realized what she was about to do.
"Uhm. Talking. Right. Well. While you were gone I was so bored...Those two aren't much fun- Rucian and Callaghan. But Callaghan left with some lady that stopped by to tell Rucian one of his friends died and they went somewhere- I'm not sure where though...They left a little while ago...I think..."
~ Khalida hadn't even bothered to try and move or speak- she'd been in a position like this before, after all. She was used to the hangover of the drugs he pumped into their bodies- but as Drexel was being carried away by servants she was able to motion for her to be place with him. Gods knowing Rucian had come to collect Seraphina- and no one should be alone when they woke up from what they had...
But it wasn't anything romantic. In fact Khalida, by the time Drexel woke up, was sitting in a chair silently, still a bit loopy from the medicine. She couldn't be romantic...Besides...What would Drexel want with a girl like her anyways? Broken, damaged...
She was just useless...He couldn't gain anything from being in a relationship with her- not when she had nothing to offer him...Rorik had made sure of that a long, long time ago.
She remained quiet as he awoke, waiting for him to ask. If he had any questions, she would answer. If not...Well..She would be quiet.
|
|
|
Post by clouds just clouds on Sept 15, 2014 20:56:56 GMT -8
Carefully, he slipped into the tub and let out a shuddering breath when the warm hit his body. His eyes flickered up to her and he reached over, gently running his fingers through her hair. Tears came to his eyes again. "It does hurt, but... it's a twisted ankle that hasn't been treated well. After my bath, you can get a servant to ask for some ice. It will need to be elevated..." His voice fell away and he lost interest in speaking again.
Instead, he listened to her. Despite his anger with Rucian, some interest perked at her words. "A woman...?" He asked, grabbing the soap so he could start thoroughly scrubbing his skin. He wanted the scent of that lab off of him. "What did you do when you were bored?" His voice shook lightly.
He was afraid to ask how long they have been gone.
Drexel didn't feel anyone beside him, so he gathered that they probably put him in his own room. Why wasn't Callaghan there? Probably, his brother might have been too mad to even speak to him, which was why Drexel grabbed his phone. He would leave voice messages so that Callaghan could listen to them when he wasn't angry anymore. Though, a huge hole had been ripped through Drexel.
He thought Callaghan would be there for him, even if he was angry.
Sweeping his legs off the side of the bed, Drexel numbly started dialing Callaghan's ring tone. He held his head in his hand, unable to sit up on his own. To his surprise, Callaghan picked up. Though, he had been too shocked to say anything.
"Drexel?" Callaghan seemed panicked, and then, his voice set in anger, "Ro-"
"No," Drexel said quickly, a tear escaping from his eye. "No, Callaghan, it's me. I'm back. I'm surprised, Rucian didn't tell you, I'm back..."
Now Callaghan was silent, and Drexel heard his own heart drum in his ears. Finally, Callaghan let out a small relieved sob of his own. "Oh Kitkat, my little Drex... I'm so glad... b-but... I'm not at Rucian's right now, Kitkat. Are you okay? What happened? Drex..."
Drexel felt another tear slip down and he smiled at the carpet. "I'll tell you when you get back, Callacat, why are you gone, though? And I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine, Callacat."
"A verengeith, and I am helping her find a woman to carry a bondmate for her. Drexel, I'm sorry I can't be back right now..."
"Don't worry about it, Callaghan, alright? Just... just call me every night, okay? Or even, twice a day. Or three times. Or, you know, never hang up because no doubt we could keep a phone call going for more than three days." Drexel smirked lightly, and then he pressed his lips together when another tear fell. "I miss you." He heard Callaghan's usual hum of amusement.
"I miss you too, my little Kitkat, but I have to get go. I'll call you as much as I can, alright? And if you don't answer, I'll leave voice messages."
"Okay," Drexel whispered. "I love you," he hung up and then lifted his head.
Shock rippled through his body when he saw Khalida. His brows pressed together, "Are you going to yell at me?" Slowly, he pulled himself across the bed so he could be closer to her. "Khalida... I'm so sorry. It's all my fault, I feel so gods damn guilty... I'm so stupid, I know... you can yell at me, Khalida, be angry with me, but please..." Drexel's voice broke. "Please don't... don't leave me."
|
|
|
Post by Bakery on Sept 16, 2014 9:02:08 GMT -8
At the his touch, a tiny blush flourished across her cheeks. It took everything she had not to hold his hand and kiss the flesh of his palm- which would have been a silly thing to do, anyways. So she settled on a grin and glanced at the ground. She listened to him speak about his ankle and nodded. "Yeah, whenever I got a bad ankle from working or school my dad used to always make such a big deal out of it." she grinned widely at the memory, "He used to put some water in a bag and pretend that I was in a hospital, hooking it up to my ankle and saying it was medicine...Hehe, I could do that, if you wanted." she giggled and glanced over at him.
"Mhm. She was pretty. She had this really weird silver hair and her eyes were an amber orange...Sort of. She talked weird." she shrugged, "Really properly, I mean. I don't think she was a royal though- they didn't say she was. But she lost her Bondmate recently through traveling so maybe she went to go make one?" she suggested and looked up as if the answer would be there, "That's probably where they went."
"Oh, I danced in the garden and built a fort in your room- but the maids cleaned it up." she frowned angrily. "It was going to be a surprise for you when you got back- but they messed it up. I tried to watch TV but there were too many buttons on the remote- I could only figure out how to turn it on and work the sound- but other than that its confusing. I think it was a remote for more than the tv, though. Because I pressed one button and the shades went down and then one changed the lights...Maybe you can help me with that later and we can watch a movie?" she asked happily, smiling over to him with a giggle.
She didn't want to ask where he had gone- if he was hurt, it obviously wasn't somewhere good. But maybe she could take his mind off of it? Distractions, yes. She had to distract him. Make him laugh. Make him smile.
Make him forget.
Khalida waited patiently for Drexel to finish, a small smile at their closeness appearing on her face. They really did depend on one another, didn't they? It was cute...
She wished he had the chance to have something like that- maybe not with her own Bondmate, but maybe with Drexel..
No.
She couldn't wish for that. It was wrong. To take him away from Callaghan would be terrible. She shouldn't be jealous or sad or..
What did it matter? She was damaged anyways. He was too good for her..
Yell at him?
"Not at all." she shook her head when he asked her, her face unreadable. If anything, she should be the sorry one..
"Stop apologizing." she sighed and shook her head. "You made one mistake. You weren't prepared for what he would do- he gets under your skin like that. There is no way you could have known, I still wasn't- and I've been his Bondmate for years. So don't apologize. Yes, it was idiotic but you were at the mercy of your anger- speaking of which...What set you off, anyways?" she asked, raising a thin red eyebrow. "I've seen others that angry- and I know I haven't known you that long- but you looked pissed off and ready to murder- your actions...What caused such a rash decision?"
|
|