N I N E T E E N

N I N E T E E N

Death's Wrath

PERHAPS IT WAS because I had never seen Dimitri so angered before, that's why I had never really anticipated his reaction to the last detail about Minnie and I's abrupt departure. Even back in the boathouse, Dimitri had always held on an air of sinister mischief rather than desperate fury. He treated everything like a game, a simple 1v1 match that will not even harm a single hair on his head. Yet now, his face was of pure rage when he had teleported us back to castle grounds.

When our feet had touched the carpets of Dimitri's room, Minnie disappearing from my side, there was no one to block me from Death's warpath. I was left on full display with Dimitri's angry eyes shining on me, eyebrows furrowed in a combination of fury and disappointment as he took a step towards me. Almost instinctively, I took a step back, making Dimitri frown deeply.

"You left." He stated as plain as day while I struggled for words to reply. Noticing that I had not answered him specifically, he took yet another step forward, anger pulsing through his veins all too clearly. "You disobeyed my orders and left."

"And what did you expect me to do?" Unable to help with my sudden burst of courage, I started to counter with a step on my own. The thing was, Dimitri had not stepped back like I had. He simply stood a little taller before glaring down at me quite literally. "Did you expect me to sit still and look pretty? To be a little china doll decoration for this insane castle?! And honestly, did you really think that I would not have wanted to go home? To my family? My friends?"

"Your friend is already here-"

"-Minnie isn't my only friend!" Throwing my arms out wide, my voice was raised a little higher as anger flushed on my cheeks. "What about Bella? Or Gabriel and Cassiel?-"

"Do not mention his wretched name in my presence." Dimitri's voice grew lethal as he pointed his index finger straight at me, a hint of warning and malice tinting his tone. "Cassiel had never been your friend. In fact, if I so recall, it was I who took his place. I was your friend! Not him."

"You're not my friend!"

Perhaps I shouldn't have said that, for all of a sudden, the room grew so quiet that the silence pounded in my ears. Dimitri stared at me with a shocked expression, eyes growing wide with disbelief before he blinked a few times rather slowly. He acted as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard, stumbling a step back with his eyes still traced on me. For a split second, I had thought that perhaps there was a touch of hurt gracing his silver eyes, but it was gone before I could confirm it for myself.

"Hear me and hear me well, Pilediah," Dimitri's voice dropped into a lethal tone, much more of angry than evil taunting that I had grown accustomed to seeing him use. "You are not allowed out of these castle walls. For the rest of your miserable mortal life, you are to stay here in the depths of Hell. You either stay here in the comfort of your room, or you stay in the dungeons. If I ever see you attempting to leave again, rest assured that grave consequences will be awaiting you."

With that as his parting words, Dimitri disappeared using his strange set of magic, and I was left with the eery quiet of the room now that I was the only soul in sight. The world had never felt as silent before, and all at once, it felt too loud as it rang in my ears.

-----

The darkness had just settled in when I finally awoke from the nap. My head felt way too heavy against my once-soft pillows when I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes very much reluctantly. It took a split second before the events of the previous conversation with Dimitri came crashing in, hitting me like a tidal wave during hurricane season, and all I had felt then was a truckload of pain.

I messed up. I shouldn't have said what I did. In all honesty, Dimitri had been much more than a good friend since the time in which he had rescued me from Lucius. Maybe I had been too trusting with his honey glazed words and handsome pretty boy features, but having my trust ripped away from me by way too many people in my life had educated me about the telltale signs of impending betrayal.

Dimitri was someone I could trust. He had told me of his past, his emotions; showed me a whole new side to his personality and the way he held himself when the rest of the world was not available to judge him. He proved himself different from the sinister little bastard I had thought he was a year ago, and yet, I happened to be on the other side of the sword, holding the handle.

They often say that trust was a mysterious thing. On one side of the gun, you will fear to see that one person behind the barrel, aim targeted straight to their heart. More often than not, you will unconsciously become the person behind the trigger. It was the same both ways. That very person you fear seeing hurt could be the one hurting you.

This time round, though, I wasn't sure if I was the one hurting Dimitri or was it he who had hurt me more. My scars were mental, hints of my traumatic past originating from his sadistic little game on my last birthday. His possible scars from me were emotional. Perhaps he had trusted me before, but I had broken every last possibility, smashing it to the ground and allowing it to break like a pretty china vase.

Trust was fragile, and I should've known that better.

The large doors creaked lightly as I pushed it open, tiptoeing my way out of the room as I made my way down the large hallways. Just like every other night I had ventured out of my room, the place was desolated, almost as if it were an abandoned castle where it existed only in the memories of souls that could not depart this earth after death.

It was only when I had ventured a little further down had I noticed hushed whispering, slowly raising to shouts from the room where a little bit of light leaked out of the crack of the wood.

"This is madness, brother! You expect that mortal girl to stay here? With us? For all of eternity?"

"Quiet down, Fabian. You know very well what that girl means to Dimitri. He had been waiting for her for centuries."

"You know very well that so have I, Calvin. The young Pilediah girl meant as much to me as she does to Dimitri."

"And yet you have made no effort to befriend or woo her of sorts, and had instead resulted to petty works of annoyance, agitating and scaring the poor mortal! Or is that what you've planned? To scare the girl into a life of guilt just because of a destiny in which she did not chose?"

"Kind of rich coming from you when you decided that throwing massacre parties would be a fun way to win the maiden's heart. And don't forget, brother, I already won the girl's heart before." Fabian snorted slightly as I swallowed down a lump in my throat, unpleasant memories flooding my mind.

"It is not a matter now for her heart is obviously as cold as ice." Dimitri's clear cut voice sliced through the air, causing me to stiffen slightly.

"My my, had the great Death given up?"

"Oh please, Wilhelm, you know fair well that Dimitri isn't just courting the girl because of the prophecy. He had truly fallen well in love with the girl."

"He better had. I've given up so much of my life just because of this absurd prophecy. If his plans turn into failure, my sacrifices would've been in vain," Fabian scowled.

At that moment, I could feel my heart falter for a second, skipping a beat as I took in a large gasp of air. Unable to listen on any further, I took to my heel and hightailed out of the room before anyone could notice I was ever there.

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