The Arsenic Widow #Wattys2015 (mxm)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Aaaand here's another chapter!! I hope you enjoy it!! <3
Thank you once again for all the reviews :D

The frost on my eyelashes woke me from my heavy sleep. It seemed to be the crack of dawn, so the sun was unable to warm anything yet. Against my personal will, I backed into the warmth behind me. I wasn't one to wake up and be confused about where I was unless I had been injured the day before, and other than a few scrapes after being pulled up the tree, I was fine so I knew exactly who was behind me.

A clawed hand reached around and pulled me closer to his body. I heard what sounded like a small hiss of approval (if that is even a thing) and I shuddered, squeezing my eyes shut again. I reached up and rubbed the frost from my eyes and felt my clumpy eyelashes grow soft again.

"Cold?" the voice sounded from behind me and I stiffened, my eyes flashing open. He chuckled at my body's response, his claws growing longer with the reaction. I tried to pull away from them, lest they scratch me, but sadly the only place to go was closer to the creature behind me.

"Stop messing with me, you monster!" I ducked beneath his arm and pulled away from him. The next hadn't changed but it seemed like it had gotten higher in the sky. Maybe that was because I knew there was no escape and my mind was making it look more hopeless. The scraps of fabric danced in the soft, cool wind.

I looked over at him as he lay there languidly, not even bothering to get up. He knew I couldn't leave. "Monster?" he chuckled. "Why would you call me by that word?"

"Because you are one!" I sat down at the edge of the nest and began playing with some of the fabric. Maybe I could make some sort of parachute?

He grinned, his lipless face making the expression terrifying instead of nice. "Monster is usually the term given to someone who does bad things for no reason. I do have a reason."

I shook my head, tying two ends together in my hands, "No. The word is used when someone does bad things but enjoys it. I've done bad things. I've had to kill, but because I have to, not because I enjoy it. Soon, I won't have to do it."

"So you hope that you'll never have to defend yourself against?" He slid into a crouching position, but his eyes glinted with curiosity, not the will to pounce. "You really think it's that easy to just leave your occupation?"

Glancing up, I met his reptilian eyes. "Yes?" I realised the word came out sounding like a question, but it was too late to take it back so all I could do was wait for his response.

"I've been around a long time," he nestled himself against the tree trunk calmly, his eyes never leaving mine. "I've seen many Kingdoms and met many leaders of these lands. Your King is one of a kind. He never lets his people go. And those that demand their freedom? Well, there's a reason why a lot of hunters have never said good bye to you or come to visit."

I frowned, "They don't want anything to do with us once they're free. Why on earth would they come back just to visit us? The second the door to escape has been opened they're out of there, as soon as possible. We don't expect them to wait around."

He laughed loudly and I jumped at the harsh sound. It was like someone laughing with glass stuck down their throat – raspy and painful. "Have you ever been down to the palace's dungeons?" He asked, his eyes twinkling with knowledge. His dark tail flicked around his legs like a dog's does when they're eager for something.

Shaking my head I sighed, "We're not allowed down there. Only royalty and the palace guards are down there."

"A lot of hunters are down there too," he smirked. "But only for a short time. When they're denied food, it can... take its toll."

"They..." I couldn't finish my sentence. While I didn't want to listen to him, it made sense. How come, with all my travels, I had never met an ex-hunter? I thought that perhaps they had assimilated into the real world so well that I couldn't tell them apart from the normal people. Or that maybe they had tried to hide from others because they didn't want to be brought back into the fold and feared that would happen if they spoke to one of us. Most demon hunters were young, but I never thought about it in a suspicious manner.

"Your King is offering you freedom if you kill this Prince, but what's to stop him from simply killing you?" He raised his brows. "He might pretend you were an assassin from another Kingdom and kill you to 'avenge' the Prince's death. Or perhaps hand you to them so they can kill you. I have a feeling Queen Esmeralda would have so much fun skinning you alive."

I narrowed my eyes. "You seem to have so many ideas about this, from how the King might frame me to what they Queen of this Kingdom might do. I feel like you're acting just as suspicious as any of the royals at the moment."

The demon laughed, "Do I really need to act anything to be suspicious? For fuck's sake, I'm a demon."

I paused for a moment, surprised at not only his statement, but his swearing. He seemed almost human saying that.

"What is it?" he asked, watching my face. "You have a funny look."

"I just... sometimes your kind can act very human," I admitted.

He smirked, "I just said that we don't need to act anything. But, with the idea that I'm acting human, how are you feeling towards me? Any hate? Anger? Feelings of wanting to kill me?" At my silence which was reigned by my internal confusion he nodded. "Our bond stops you from hating me. When we're further apart, you'll begin to regain your sense of self, but the more we're together, the more the bond will strengthen and you'll begin to adore my presence."

I shook my head, "There's no way any of that will happen!" But deep down, beneath my denial, I knew it had already begun. I used to not only hate this monster, but was also terrified of him, yet here I was having a conversation with him. I didn't want to call him by his chosen name, Lothaire, or even think about it in case it began to make him more human in my mind and I no longer saw him as a monster.

"Little Incent," he chuckled, reaching over to a bag made of leaves and opening it, revealing dried meat. "You'll learn that you can't escape this. Soon you'll love me and beg for my love. Then, when you're ready, you'll be my lovely trained pet. You can kill all of my demons for me." He threw some dried meat my way, and I'm ashamed to admit that I dived for it and ate it quickly.

"You want me to kill demons?" I asked in between chewing up the stringy meat.

He grinned, his tongue flicking out to taste some of the meat in his hand. "Not the demons you're used to though. Consider them more... personal demons. We should start at the top though, and work our way down the list. I have a debt to pay, so we'll start with the royal family. Should you kill Esmeralda or Acorn first?"

I froze, slowly tilting my head up to stare at him in shock.

He shook his head, "Silly me. Of course it has to be Acorn! You were going to kill him anyway! Might as well take the main target out first!"

If you're struggling with what to write, tell me who you ship more out of these two! Queen Esmeralda x Incent or Lothaire x Incent xD MUA HAW HAW

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