Mira Ch. 02

Rillan stared at the rugs on the floor and wondered if it would be easier to clean the mess from the rugs that had been in Mira's room. He was looking over the layer of dust and trying to guesstimate how many times he would have to beat the damn things to knock the time from them versus how much water and soap it would take to clean the bile and urine off the others. He smiled to himself, wondering what the druids would think if he left the rugs outside with a note asking for them to be cleaned.

Suddenly sadness descending on him like a tidal wave. He looked up and ran his eyes over the things in the room. He couldn't take Elizabeth's rugs out of here. They belonged here. He turned and left the room, closed the door quietly, wishing he had never gone back in there, and went to find the soiled rugs to clean them.

Mira lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She hadn't left the bed except to eat and use the chamber pot. A couple times she had heard her door open. She would lay still and keep her eyes closed. She didn't think he ever came all the way into the room. As far as she could tell he just looked in and then left again. Mira wasn't really sure why he kept coming back. She hoped he wasn't still hungry. She was only barely feeling better from the last round and didn't think that she could handle going through that again already.

The tired feeling had left her and Mira was becoming restless. She memorized every crevice in the ceiling. It was the only part of the room that looked like cave. What she really wanted was to see the stars, her friends, grass, so many things. She thought back to the shaft that she had seen in Rillan's room and wondered if it was the only view of the sky inside these caves. She was starting to really feel the loneliness here. It was one of the things that made her feel bad for Rillan. Mira had always been very logical. She knew that no matter how lonely she might feel, Rillan had been dealing with this awful place a lot longer.

The sigh that escaped her lips almost startled her. Mira didn't even realize how long it had been since she had said something. Even the sound of a sigh seemed loud and inappropriate. By all the Gods I can't live like this, she thought. I need to see the sky and to feel the breeze and the rain. I need to speak and sing. I need someone. Tears started to form in her eyes.

Throwing the blankets back, Mira sat on the edge of the bed. She braced herself for the jolting cold of the stone floor beneath her feet. The chill that ran through her was exceedingly unpleasant after she had spent so much time in her nice warm bed. Throwing open her closet doors she found a simple dress and pulled it on. Then she slid her feet into a soft pair of shoes, deciding to leave them near the bed in the future. Maybe I can ask Rillan to get me some slippers, if he'll even talk with me.

Mira had found herself wondering if she had been wrong. At first she had believed that Rillan wanted girls around because he was lonely and wanted a friend as well as food. But the more he growled and glared, the more Mira found herself doubting that original conclusion. He was mean and unpleasant no matter what she said. She didn't know what to do.

She forced herself to stop thinking about Rillan. What she wanted right now was to see the sky and the only place she knew where she could do that was his room. Her brain was working on an excuse, in case he found her there, as she walked out the door of her hallway and headed toward his. She held the lantern high in the air, sending light scorching down the dark hallway. Mira started by checking the main room at the end of the hall, where she had always found him before. The room was dark and cold. He hadn't been there for some time.

Mira crept around, opening doors and looking for him. But every room was dark and there was no sign of Rillan. A sick feeling started in the pit of her stomach. What if he was sent on an assignment? She didn't know how much worse what had happened to her could be. The idea of finding out wasn't high on her list of things she wanted to do in the near future. Once she had established that he wasn't anywhere nearby she snuck down the hall to his door.

Reaching out she grabbed the handle and started to turn. A noise down the hall made her jump and she held the lantern up to see if he was coming down the hall. An image of a gaunt, pale, beast with black cold eyes returning from an assassination or some other evil assignment flashed through her imagination and she suddenly felt eyes on her back. Mira held the lantern up higher and looked around at the darkness. The idea of returning to her room and going back to hiding under her blankets was becoming more tempting.

Just then a soft breeze wafted from beneath the door, as if it was calling to her. It had been so long since she had felt anything save the still and dark of this place. With a new resolve Mira turned the handle and pushed the door open. The hall was completely black and there was no light from the end where his bed was, not even a dim light speaking of a fire in the hearth. She crept down the hall. Another noise had her turning and holding up the lantern again. Her heart was thudding in her chest. Mira feared he'd hear the thumping noise and come find her. Suddenly it occurred to her that he might be in bed asleep. She stopped again.

The lantern light began to waver as Mira started to tremble. Why am I so scared? What's he going to do? Bite me? He's already done that. I survived. Her brain was working over time. Mira resolved to leave the lantern on the floor and go the rest of the way with just the light it was throwing. She could see the door to his room, it was open. The lantern was throwing enough light that she'd be able to get inside and she'd decide what to do then. Besides, if he was asleep then the less light the better. She just wanted to see the stars and feel the breeze on her face and then she'd leave.

Glancing behind herself one last time, Mira slunk the rest of the way down the hall. She realized as she poked her head in the door and stared into the dark that the reason she was frightened was because she was doing something she knew she shouldn't. She felt like a little kid trying to sneak a sweet from the jar, when she had already been told 'no.'

Carefully, Mira tip toed into Rillan's bedroom. A sudden flash of light from a square in the ceiling beaconed to her. Mira realized that it would take an awful lot of wind to blow down the shaft as strong as she had been feeling it. There must be a storm, she thought excitedly. She almost forgot that Rillan could be in bed asleep as she eagerly worked her Rillan watched her walk down the hall opening doors and sneaking about. What is my brave one up to?

He had taken the rugs to the cave entrance with the intention of leaving them where air could get to them so that they would dry. But a thunderstorm was threatening. He had stared into the sky for some time. Warm, humid air stuck in his lungs as he breathed in the night. Once he had thought he would grow used to being in the crypt he called his home. It had taken time, but he eventually realized that his desire to sleep beneath stars would never be abated.

When Mira neared his door with the obvious intention of going inside, Rillan nearly stopped her. Tension held him in the shadows as he wondered if he had locked his door when he left, until she disappeared into his hall.

He was swearing to himself as he followed her. But if she's looking for you, shouldn't you be pleased, he said to himself. The emotional torrent that had been plaguing him since her first defiant stare began tugging at his mind. I told her not to be in my rooms, he growled to himself.

The indecision of how to respond to her blatant disregard of what he had told her and the desire to know what exactly she was up to, kept him in the shadows. He was partially amused by her attempts to see if she was being followed. He even made some noises to scare her off. He figured that if she thought she was being watched she might run back to her room. There was fear evident on her face. Rillan was very familiar with fear. But Mira continued in her purpose. First came the soft feelings of admiration for her determination and ability to continue in the face of being frightened. Then came the anger for the fact that she should be listening to him and she wasn't.

Rillan snuck into his own bedroom to see what Mira had come here for. He had expected her to call out or to check his bed. Does she really think she's sneaky and clever enough that she would be able to do this unnoticed? Does the fool girl have no respect for what I am or what I could do to her? The soft feeling hit him in the stomach again. She really doesn't think I'd hurt her. That's what makes her so brave.

Mira stood under the shaft staring up into the darkness. Flashes of light streaked across the sky and were followed by a strangely muffled crackling. "Even the thunder is strangled down here," she said in a sad whisper, without realizing that she had spoken aloud.

Anger and frustration boiled in Rillan again. Such a small comment and yet it stung him deeply. Elizabeth had said things similar. By all the Gods she is so much like Elizabeth.

There was more muffled thunder and then a trickle of water came down the shaft. It was cold and clear and clean. This was the point where Rillan usually put something beneath the shaft to catch the water so that it wouldn't make a tremendous mess on the floor. He almost stepped out of the shadows.

Mira reached her hand up to the water and felt it trickle over her palm and down her arm. She breathed in the fresh clean breeze. Something about the darkness she had been in for all these weeks made her appreciate the experience all the more. Mira stepped under the trickle of water and let it run over her face, down her neck, and across her chest. Goosebumps arose on her skin as the cold water trailed over her flesh.

Rillan hadn't seen beauty like this in so long. The girls usually lost their glow relatively quickly here. He breathed slow and deliberate, watched the water caress her skin, and wondered briefly what it would taste like to drink it from her as it ran along the curve of her breast. He wished she was naked so that he could watch the water trickle along her stomach and legs as well.

He hated her for making him feel like he should let her go and not curse her with a life below ground with him. "I thought I told you not to come in here," he growled.

Mira flinched when she heard his voice. Then her blood ran cold as his deadly tone sunk into her. She didn't need to see him to know that he was furious beyond anything she had yet to see. "I," she faltered. From somewhere deep inside her anger wrapped around her fear and bubbled to the surface. It wasn't fair. He kept the only air in this place for himself. Why was he so mean? "I just wanted to see the sky. Do you always have to sneak up on me like that? It's obnoxious," she growled right back.

Rillan was taken aback at first. He never, in all his years, dealt with a woman this blatantly defiant and argumentative. He stepped toward her until the light from the lantern fell on him and shadowed his features menacingly. "This is my place. I've never had to punish one of you before. But I'm seriously contemplating it. You have no idea how much your behavior is trying my patience."

Mira flinched again on the word 'punish.' She didn't think there was any way that he could devise something more miserable than what had already happened. But she did get the impression from him that he would try. Somehow, though, she just couldn't stop her mouth. "My behavior? At least my behavior is consistent. You're the one who seems gentle and caring one minute and then turns into a goon the next. You said that I was supposed to be a companion to you and the druids did me an injustice in their training. But you behave companionable one minute and turn into a monster the next and I'm not referring to the blood drinking. Even that was preferable to the way you're treating me now." Mira was trembling. She didn't know what to expect after her tirade.

"Get out before I bloody my hands with you," he sneered at her.

Mira looked up at the shaft and then back to Rillan with tears in her eyes. "This is the reason they wanted away from you," she said softly and started to walk past him toward the door.

The comment pushed Rillan over the edge and he grabbed for her as she tried to pass. Mira dodged the grasp and screamed then started to run down the hallway. There was nothing save silence following her and as she neared the door she glanced back to see if he was following. Out of nowhere he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her back against the wall. Her skull cracked harshly against the stone and the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Mira was trying to fight the spinning and the lack of air as he began speaking.

"You bitch. You have no idea what I've been to others. What do you want? To go outside? For me to be sweet and kind to you? I've gone the route in the past girl. You'll beg for one day. Just one. You'd swear you love me and promise to come back. And as the sun rises above the mountains and I'm trapped in this hell you'd enjoy the feel of the air and the grass and the breeze. You'd feel the warmth that only the sun can give. Then you'd come back. You'd keep your promise. Only now you'd be more miserable, because you'd have seen what you were missing. Then you'd beg for another day and give more promises. Then it'd be a week. Then more. Until you wouldn't come back at all. And I'd not blame you. But for the lies you told me. And even those I would eventually forgive and understand. How could you possible want me over the sun? Then I'd curse myself a fool for having allowed another woman to creep into my soul, when I already learned that lesson once." As he spoke his words gradually lost their vehemence and Mira thought he sounded as though he may cry. "Go back to your room girl. Do not come here again. I promise I won't be so kind next time. I keep my promises."

Rillan dropped Mira to the floor and began walking toward his room. Tears streaked down Mira's face and there was a red handprint that was already beginning to show signs of bruising on her neck. Mira couldn't decide if the tears were from what he had done to her or from what he had said. She walked out the door, knowing better than to push him any farther that night. She had a great deal of thinking to do.

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There you are. I have no idea whatsoever where this is going. I certainly didn't plan it. You guys are nuts! :) I'm half thinking I should start a poll. Whichever story gets the most feedback, comments, and votes will get the next chapter. What do you want? Mira or Leader of the pack? =P

Subliminal message: I see you looking at it, the "add to favorites" button. You want to push it, you know you do…

They like me! They really really like me! *tears of joy*

THANKS

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