Heart of Darkness

She remained frozen in place as Lord Rayven walked by her and began to head upstairs.

Tomorrow morning?

No. She couldn't leave. She had nowhere to go. When she turned back to ask him to let her stay a little longer, he had already left.

He had just walked by her. When did he even reach the top? She hurried upstairs to see if she could catch up to him but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it was better this way. She had until tomorrow morning to think of what to say to him so he would let her stay.

Angelica went back to the room where she had been sleeping and curled up under the sheets. How could she let him know about her offer? It wasn't something she could easily say. She was in no place to negotiate with him. After thinking for a long while she couldn't find a good way to say it. She would just have to tell him as it is.

Closing her eyes she tried to sleep away the anxiety that was causing her to tremble.

"Everything will be alright." She told herself.

After a dreadful night of not getting much sleep and beginning to feel sick the morning came. Angelica woke up feeling wet on her back and her hair. She was sweating and her whole body ached. Her throat felt dry and all she could think of was to get some water. She got out of bed and wobbled her way out to the kitchen. She took a cup and went outside to the water container. The fresh air felt cold against her damp skin and she shivered.

Why did she have to get sick now when she needed her strength? Would Lord Rayven have mercy on her for being sick? She doubted that. Filling the cup with water from the container she gulped it down.

It felt so good. She was burning inside. Angelica touched her sweaty forehead. It was definitely a fever. She took some more water and washed her face. Then she looked at her clothes. She was dirty and probably smelling as well. A bath would be great but that was a fantasy and would probably remain so.

Taking more water she sat near the container. She unwrapped her feet knowing that her wounds could be infected if dirt got into them. She examined them and was glad that they looked alright. After washing them she washed the cloth as well and rapped them in the fabric again. She knew her wounds needed better care but she didn't have the resources for that.

While taking care of her wounds she was reminded of Lord Rayven's face. She felt her stomach turn at the memory. Who did that to him? Who would dare?

She was so confused. Was he not in pain? God knew how much pain her feet were causing her, she couldn't imagine how the face would feel like. Could he even eat something?

Angelica sighed. That should be the least of her concerns now. She tried to get up and went back inside. In the kitchen, she ate the rest of the rice even though it tasted strange. Keeping her stomach full would be important in case things went the wrong direction.

But after eating she felt sicker for some odd reason. Her body became slow, her eyelids felt heavy and her head throbbed in pain. She remained seated on the kitchen floor for a while but the cold from the floor made her shiver. Getting up she decided to go back to the warmth of the bedsheets. She wobbled her way through the hall unable to focus on where she was headed.

Suddenly she saw a pair of black boots in front of her. She halted and slowly lifted her gaze. A pair of black cold eyes met hers. She could see the fury in them.

"I see you haven't left yet." He said.

"I have nowhere to go." She breathed.

"So you came here?"

She could see the confusion in his eyes. This place should have been the last place someone like her should come to.

"I… I wanted to see you." She said even though that was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Looking at his scars pained her.

Lord Rayven's eyes widened in surprise. "Why?" She could hear the thousands of questions behind that one question.

Angelica shivered again feeling cold. She wrapped her arms around herself. Her legs felt strange. As if they didn't exist and soon she felt like she was falling until Lord Rayven caught her in his arms.

Angelica tried to see his face but there was a fog covering her sight. What was happening to her? She felt another arm under her knees and then he was carrying her up. After a while of confusion, she felt a soft mattress behind her back. She was in bed.

"What am I supposed to do with you?" She heard him mutter. Angelica couldn't keep her eyes open and soon her heavy eyelids covered her sight.

*****

Rayven paced back and forth in the room, not knowing what to do. He was panicking. If he kept this woman in his home longer than this, Luciana would not kill him. Finally when he found a way to die he was ruining it because of this woman.

Why?!

It couldn't be that difficult to just carry her outside and leave her to die. She was the one who came to his home uninvited and she called him ill-mannered. He scoffed.

He looked at where she lay in bed. She was sick and hurt. He already knew she would go through many difficulties so why should he care? When did he ever help someone in need of help? She was human. Not even an animal.

Animals were the only living thing he could tolerate. He leaned over her. She didn't even look like any kind of animal. She was…

He shook his head and averted his gaze.

Maybe he should call Skender and let him take her. At least he knew how to take care of someone. Rayven had no clue. Even if he didn't throw her out she would die in this bed. What was he supposed to do?

He groaned in frustration and decided to call Acheron instead. The only one he could talk to and who could give him some good advice. He called him telepathically and the demon arrived instantly.

"Rayven." He smiled. "So you finally want to see someo…" He stopped when he saw Angelica in bed. His eyes widened.

"Oh. Look who we have here. It seems like you decided to take her after all." He said with eyes lighting up.

"No! I haven't taken her. She came here on her own."

Acheron's eyes widened. "On her own? She came to you?"

Rayven nodded.

"Oh," Acheron laughed. "That is even better." He said.

Rayven frowned. How was it better?

"What a brave lady." Acheron drawled looking at her where she lay.

Foolishly brave.

"She looks terrible. She must have been through a lot." He said.

Well, he didn't care.

"So why did you call me?"

Rayven's eyes darted. He felt stupid.

"I can't keep her here." He said.

Acheron raised one brow. "Then why are you?"

He decided to be honest. "I can't throw her out either."

"You can do what you want, Rayven. What. You. Want."

He emphasized the word 'want'.

"You want to throw her out yet not. Since she is here you want one thing more than the other it seems." He said.

"I have only wanted one thing for the last four hundred years," Rayven said.

Acheron looked at him knowing very well the one thing he desired more than anything else.

Death.

"Yes. For the last four hundred years minus the last two weeks perhaps."

Rayven frowned.

"I think you are so used to wanting death that you are not rethinking what you want. What we want changes with time," Acheron explained. "Why don't you take some time to rethink?"

"I don't have time. Luciana has finally agreed to give me what I want."

Acheron smiled. "Fate is full of irony." He said. "I can't help you with this one. You have to figure it out yourself and I am curious to see what you choose to do."

He smirked at him before vanishing.

"Wait!" Rayven clenched his jaw, not used to asking for help.

He looked over at Angelica. What was he supposed to do even if he let her stay? He should help her recover fast so she could leave but helping was not something he knew how to do.

He went closer to the bed. She was covered in sweat and her clothes were wet and dirty. His first thought was that she needed to change. The bloody bandages around her feet needed changing as well but he just looked at her. He couldn't do this.