The unforgiving truth of my predicament was like a stone that weighted itself in the pit of my stomach and forced my emotions to the surface. Anger, anxiety, and fear all became a hurricane of feeling so strong that I could nearly feel them, tangible and alive. The more I fought to remain unaffected by the approaching duo, the more I was inclined to strike out with word or action alike. Somehow I’d transformed into this headstrong zealot, ever devout to my place in the Hidden Falls, and changed from the naïve young femme I’d once been. Wherever I’d decided to hide my weaknesses was slowly coming unglued and now I was becoming situated for self-combustion… or a proper ass-kicking- whichever came first. Either way, the newest additions to my quiet personality proved quite difficult to bury beneath the soil and roots of my desperation. At least I was anything but complacent… for now.

As the distance between us became small and the moonlight dipped across his shoulders and back, I realized just how utterly – and for lack of a better term- screwed I was. It was still incredibly hard to determine the fine details, but from what I could see in the dim smattering of twilight, my captor had charismatic, intelligent eyes. Humor lurked somewhere just behind his intense gaze, but it was quickly masked in favor of mocking my own valiant stabs at sarcasm. I was tempted to laugh at his second-rate idea of derision in response to my taunting, but it wasn’t enough for him to simply poke and make fun… Instead, he went on to degrade not only myself, but my family as well. That was it; I’d had enough already and our little soiree hadn’t even reached the sixty-second mark. If one of us made it out alive, I would call it a miracle. It if happened to be the sack-of-shit that thought it wise to “trap” me, it would be a godsend.


At least that foreign accent didn’t grate my nerves as much as I’d hoped it would. Did that mean I fancied the idea of a “Beauty and the Beast” love affair? Perhaps. But did that mean I would ever fall for an ignorant, egotistical, selfish, reprehensible beast such as himself? No. In fact, I would have been more inclined to kick him and his little mutt across the width of Thistle Meadow before I ever admitted to any likeness for the way he spoke. “Funny that the pot would call the kettle black, but maybe if a spot in the Basin opens up you can give me a call,” I said with an exaggerated wink. “From what I hear, they could use a bitch of my caliber.” It was a far-fetched of me to assume that this particular brute hailed from the North, but then again, if I stood correct, I’d be on my way to figuring out what the land of ice and snow wanted with the Falls.


It seemed a fair exchange to me.

However, it was still up to me to rein in my desire to huff and puff and scowl for having been tricked. There was a long time spent in silence that I willed the clasps the fettered me to place to shatter and break so that I could sink a few pearly whites into that flawless, black coat… But I also had to keep Romul in mind and since I’d never allowed him into the arena with me, I was terrified that my attachment to him would distract me. The idea of enduring even one, painful, yowl caused my heart to shudder even now… if I had to walk the straight and narrow to keep him safe, then I would. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t give my captor a little hell in the meantime.

essetia
ONLY YOU CAN COOL MY DESIRE
I'M ON FIRE