A Most Graceful Life Ch. 11

"Why now, Stephen?" She sniffed. "Why would you bring this up now? Today was supposed to be a happy day."

"I'm sorry, Grace. It's been on my mind for a while now. Eating me up inside. I just had to get it out," he replied, honestly.

"I knew something was bothering you, but I was trying to give you the space you needed, hoping it would help bring you out of it. I should have linked with your mind, perhaps I could have stopped this soon," she cried.

"Surely, freedom can't be so bad...," Stephen started, before being interrupted by Grace with a huff.

"You know nothing about freedom, Stephen. No one alive does! I have never heard of a genie being set free. Not once, not ever. Who knows what it will do to us. You might destroy me in doing so, Stephen! Is that what you want?"

"Grace, no! How could I..."

"Because that might happen!" She pressed, an angry look in her eyes. "I could be gone forever, completely destroyed. Or you could revert me back to my original form. One second it's me, the next you have the half dead body of a fourteen year old Arabic girl in your U-Haul. Would that make you happy, Stephen?" She was crying openly now, but the fierceness of her words prevented her from completely breaking down.

"Grace, no, let's just talk about this..."

"We are talking now, Stephen. Tell me what this is truly about. Are you tired of me? Do you wish to be rid of me? Is that why you are doing this?" She crossed her arms under her breasts. Stephen had never seen this side of her before. Anger and pain were combining together to form one truly hurt soul. In that moment, he instantly regretted bringing up the whole ordeal.

"No! I love you, Grace, you know that..."

"It doesn't feel like you love me, if you want to give me 'freedom' by having me destroyed," she yelled. "Is this why we couldn't finish sex this morning? You no longer desire me, so you couldn't even stay hard for me?"

"No! This was on my mind! About what I must do. It has nothing to do with my attraction to you, Grace!"

She finally broke down, putting her head down into her hands. Heavy sobs cascaded down her crystal cheeks. She didn't swat his hand away when he tried to give some measure of comfort, but the damage was already done. There didn't seem like much else he could do to mitigate the pain the both of them felt. One way or another, one of them was going to lose. Could he afford to lose Grace?

"You... speak of things... you don't understand," she sobbed, her voice muffled by the arms covering her mouth.

"What are we do to then, Grace? I can't stand the thought of you enslaved to me forever," groaned Stephen, feeling his own tears form in the corners of his eyes.

"Was our time together not perfect? I tried everything I could do to make you... happy," she sobbed, looking up at him with red shot eyes.

"Of course it was perfect. I think that's what makes this so hard. You're so real to me, Grace. You don't feel like a genie, but a real woman. That's why this is so hard, and why I had to make this decision."

She put her head back down, her light brown locks cascading around her head and arms. "I don't know how you could come up with this... silly idea," she replied.

"Look around us, Grace," urged Stephen. "Look at all the couples we know. Jack and Shelly, their wedding was perfect. Both of them so right for each other, that it was obvious they were meant to be together forever. Yet, they chose each other freely. My grandparents, together for over sixty years! Of their own free will. Look at Jim and my Mom. Getting closer by the day, together because they choose to be," said Stephen, before looking away in shame. "Then there's us. You are compelled to be with me, not because you want to."

"I do want to, Stephen. You know I do!" She moaned.

"Would it matter if you didn't? You'd still be here," he asked.

Grace thought about it for a moment, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, before shaking her head and resuming her sobs between her arms.

"I just can't do it, Grace. It reminds me... of my father. I feel no better than him for keeping you like this."

"Stephen, you aren't him! There's no greater distinction between the two of you. You are your own man, and not a carbon copy of him," she cried.

"I won't know until we figure this out," he replied, quietly. His will was set, and he would see this through.

Grace let herself cry for several more minutes before finally putting her head back up, her face assuming a tranquil neutrality. It was a look he had seen before. It was the same look she had given his father back in the diner. Seeing it ripped his heart in two.

"You may do as you wish," she sniffed. "As your genie, I'm bound to obey you to the limits of my power. Yet I do not like this. In fact, I hate it. And my opinion of you is lessened for it. With your permission, I'd like to separate myself from you right now. I don't think any good will come about from your increased presence right now." Grace folded her arms back under her breasts, lending a serious tone to her words.

Stephen almost flinched back at the solidity behind her words. He feared his relationship with Grace would never be the same again. All because of his stupid morals.

Sighing, Stephen agreed, "That's fine. Take all the time you need."

She nodded, before hopping off the truck. In the space of mere moments, she had disappeared back inside.

Stephen groaned out loud to himself, cursing his stupidity, his recklessness, and for being so callow to someone who only offered him love in return. He began to reconsider his thoughts, especially given her strong response. Was this truly necessary? Was it worth a complete sacrifice of Grace?

It seemed that no matter his intention, he was going to lose something in this request. He just hoped that one thing wasn't the only women he ever truly loved.

Stephen hopped off the truck, and debated whether or not to go inside, and have another talk with Grace. He stopped short in his tracks, halfway to the house, and returned, shaking his head.No, she wanted space, and she'll get the space she needs, he decided. Yet, as his back was turned, he felt a presence behind him, something that made the hairs on his neck stand up on end. He turned around in fearful curiosity, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw Mr. Lopez standing there a few feet away.

"Oh, hey Mr. Lopez. How are you?" Stephen asked, looking at the strange man, who looked completely wired, as if he had drank four cups of coffee in the space of an hour. His eyes were wild, pupils dilated, and his expression was set. There was a steely determination in his eyes. Stephen let his eyes drop to Mr. Lopez's hands, which contained a variety of tools. He recognized a hammer, a pair of silvery looking handcuffs, and something else. Something that looked like a taser. But why would he be holding a taser?

Stephen received his answer when Lopez calmly raised the taser, pointing it directly at him, and pulled the trigger.

He was dropped to his knees in an instant, as fifty thousand volts of electricity coursed through his body. He lost all thoughts, all sensations, all emotions, everything but the word 'stop' which struggled to get out of his lips. He found himself face first into the pavement, flopping about as the electricity did its job. There was no feeling to describe it. Seconds felt like eternity. The only thing that he felt more than the pain was the confusion. What was Lopez doing?

Soon enough, the voltage stopped, having run its course. Yet, Stephen ached entirely all over. His muscles felt fried, his bones brittle. He felt disillusioned, and couldn't make any of his limbs respond how he needed them to. Instead, he could only just barely control his eyes, looking up at Lopez, who was looking down at him with such disdain.

"Filthy American," he swore, before spitting on the ground beside him. "I'm going to ask you this once, and once only. Where is the genie?"

If Stephen could have gawked at him, he would have. Who was this man really and how did he know about Grace? He struggled to regain some kind of motor function, but nothing would move as he commanded it to. Stephen felt himself screaming internally trying to force his limbs to move, but the message was blocked. He could only look up helpless and snarl his mouth, putting out the only question he could think of, "Who... are... you?"

Lopez smiled, a cruel gesture that showed stained teeth and soulless eyes. "I will tell you who I am, not that you will have much use for the information. My name is Hanif, and I am a warden in the Order of Light. I am here to restore balance to the world." Hanif then looked at himself, smoothing out his clothes as if to present a more impressive appearance to match the title.

Stephen managed to roll onto his back, sending pain searing across his entire body. The feeling was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was like having a cramp that had spread to your entire body, forcing every thought or idea from your own head. What made it much worse was that Hanif kept leering at him as he struggled.

"You'll take a while to recover from that one," he sneered, before looking all around the driveway. "Now, where is the genie?"

"Fuck you!" Stephen exclaimed.

Stephen watched as the face of Lopez/Hanif twisted into rage. In a smooth blur of motion, he wound his leg back, and launched it against Stephen's torso.

Stephen howled. The pain of the blow caught him directly in the ribs, and pain exploded across his chest. He could have sworn he heard a crack once the toe of Hanif's boot made connect with his flesh. Taking the moment to roll back away from the warden, he tried to cover his body as his only means of protection. He just wished he was stronger, able to force his muscles to stand up to protect Grace. In that moment, he wished he had joined the gym much sooner.

"Pathetic," Hanif laughed, a cruel sound that echoed into the air. "You almost make this too easy. If you excuse me, I know the genie is inside. Her time is now over." Hanif then opened the silvery pair of handcuffs, as if getting ready to spring them on an unsuspecting victim. Stephen groaned when he realized that victim would be Grace.

Hanif made a step towards the house, which brought him over Stephen. The warden spit on the ground next to Stephen for a second time, and he felt the splatter coat parts of his face. He could not get up off the ground, with his head still spinning and his body still cramped from the taser, the electrodes still pierced through his clothes into his very skin.

I must get to Grace!

Hanif entered the home through the main entrance, finding himself in the kitchen. He knew the genie had to be close. He had watched her disappear into the house only minutes earlier, and knew she couldn't have gone far. He readied the Restraint, and remembered his training. Most wardens were killed during this part of their duty. A cornered genie could be exceptionally lethal. Slowly, he made his way through the house, making sure to be as silent as possible. Hanif stiffened when he heard the feminine voice he was looking for, coming from just down the hallway.

"Stephen?" The voice rang out. It sounded distressed, as if there was something terribly wrong. Hanif smiled cruelly. The genie would soon find out its intuition was correct.

He stood near the door frame, planning his attack for getting the Restraint on the genie. Luckily, he only needed a moment's hesitation on her part in order to have the Restraint full locked on both hands. Once that happened, her powers were virtually disabled, preventing any hope of escape.

"Stephen, are you there?" came the voice again, this time with an added layer of concern. Hanif waited by the frame, hearing the sound of footprints against the floor. The sounds grew louder still. He readied his position, as per his training, and prepared to pounce.

The first thing he saw was hair. Light brown, wavy locks that appeared just past the door frame. Her hands were out front, making for an easy target. Hanif launched at once. With mighty effort, he brought the Restraint down and locked one hand effortlessly.

The genie realized she was under attack almost instantly. She pulled back into the room that she had just emerged from, and the force dragged Hanif with her. Her left hand was still uncovered, yet in her human form, she was a small woman, light and delicate. She was no match for a man nearly twice her size in weight.

Focus, thought Hanif, as he wrestled her to the ground. He had her hand pinned above her head, which had dragged her already restrained hand up above her face, blocking her vision. An orb of blue energy came out of her hand, her only form of self-defense, but the aim largely missed Hanif, and prevented any damage.

Again, the genie struggled, yet her human formed tired quickly. Dodging another orb of energy from her, the genie largely exhausted herself against him. Finally, the satisfying click of the Restraint on her left hand set Hanif into a grin of accomplishment.

"I've got you now, bitch," he sneered with pride. The genie still struggled, presenting a target that was half crying, half angry. She wailed with all her volume, proclaiming the name of the master. "Stephen!!" She wailed despondently.

Hanif struggled to regain his feet, looking around the nearly empty room. The only piece of furniture in there was just a bed, placed up against the wall. Hanif went over to the bed, sitting down, and trying to catch his breath. The struggle with the genie hadn't been with difficulty, yet he thanked the Creator that she wasn't able to use her magic on him. He looked down at himself, and was pleased to see all his limbs intact, and no bleeding in sight.

The genie lay writhing on the floor, trying to get out of the Restraint. Even though it appeared to be no more than ordinary handcuffs, the Restraint absorbed all the genie's magical powers to it, causing it to glow with a light green aura when engaged. It rendered the genie almost powerless to act with magic. Yet the Restraint also restricted muscular movement as well, preventing the captives from too much motion, such as walking away, or any plans to attack. It was the perfect weapon for capture, and Hanif was thankful for its successful deployment.

"You were a hard one to track down, I must admit," Hanif chuckled, looking at the panicked genie.

"Who.. are you?" She breathed, her voice coming in ragged pieces.

"I'm your worst nightmare, bitch. I'm a warden of the Order of Light, and I will be the one to destroy you."

The genie's eyes went wide in fear, realizing the full extent of the predicament she was in. Her mouth opened, letting out a piercing scream of agony.

Hanif sneered. "Your kind always likes to scream when caught, as if someone is going to hear you and save you. It's happened with every genie I've destroyed," he tsked away at her.

"How many?" Grace coughed, caught between fear and agony.

"Of your kind? You'll make my ninth," Hanif smiled, remembering the promise of promotion for catching her. "I'm getting quite good at it now. That's why I always come prepared."

He pulled a roll of duct tape out of his tool belt, and set about ripping off a good sized chunk. Once he had the right size, he slapped the tape over her mouth, greatly muffling her screams.

"Much better," he sighed. "Although if you persist with that wailing, I'll resort to other methods of keeping you quiet. Methods that you won't find so pleasant." Hanif flashed the handle of his knife, which was carefully belted to his waist, letting her know he meant what he said.

Grace ceased her struggle, accepting that she had been caught. Tears once more began to fall down her cheeks, knowing that all genies, once caught by wardens, never survived to tell the tale. Her only hope was with Stephen. Letting out another groan, she worried about what he would have done to Stephen.

At that very moment, a roar of excitement echoed through the house, and Grace watched as Stephen charged through the open room directly at the warden. She scooted back as much as she could, to avoid the inevitable struggle between her master and the warden.

Stephen had gone for a diving tackle against Hanif's chest, which tossed them both back over the bed. Having only recently regained his senses, he was at an immediate disadvantage and struggled to block the blows of the warden against his still fragile body.

"You should have... stayed outside!" Hanif roared in return as his fist made contact with Stephen's jaw. The sound of the punch reverberated throughout the room, leading to a blood curdling scream from Grace as she watched him get pummeled not once, but twice by the burly warden.

Stephen felt the force explode against his jaw, while his vision disappeared instantly. He could feel his body drop against the hard floor beneath him, and his world grew a shade darker. The pain in his ribs from outside, and the aching stiffness of his entire body, was now coupled with shattered vision and the devastating pain against his jaw. He could still hear Grace's screams from across the room, but time began to slow itself. He could hear every tick of the warden's footsteps as he scooped up the screaming genie, and walked out of the room. Stephen could no longer hope to stop him, not with his head spinning like it was. Darkness took him and soon he was unconscious.

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The room she was in was artificially darkened. The blinds were drawn tight, and the curtains drawn in. The room itself was mostly empty, save for one folding chair, that was leaning up against the wall in front of her. Grace looked around, blinking as the tears started to crust against her cheeks. She was in her own form of personal Hell.

Grace struggled against the Restraint as it dug into her flesh, but it was largely for nothing. No matter how she twisted her arms, there was just no way to wiggle out of the it. She looked down at the odd silvery piece of cuffs that secured her wrists, watching the light green glow that was emitted from them.

When the warden had first put her into the room, she tried everything she could think of to free herself. Energy orbs, being her primary matter of lethal self defense, worked until the Restraint was firmly enclosed upon her.

Now?

Nothing.

Nothing at all worked. Reaching in for her magical power as she had done so many times in the past had grabbed at nothing but an empty void. She had no defense, no way to disappear, and no master to command her.

Grace started crying anew when her mind drifted to thoughts of Stephen. She winced when she remembered his battered and bloody face laying face down in his room, their room. The room where they had made love so many times. She prayed he was alright, and that he could recover from this. In the deepest recesses of her heart, she prayed that he would get over her loss, and find a way to move on.

It wasn't hard to give up, and to accept the fate that was in store for her. She knew what happened when wardens caught their djinn prey. In an entirely odd way, she had already accepted her imminent destruction. For it meant that Stephen had a chance to live, and if that was all that was needed to leave her soul in peace, then she was willing to face her executioner.

Only one small part of her regretted her own fate, and that was the entirely new being that was being created within her womb. Stephen's baby was no more than six weeks old, barely more than a fetus, and yet it pained Grace greatly to know she would never get to raise the child of the man she loved. She rested her cuffed hands across her stomach, praying for a quick and merciful death, and that their baby wouldn't suffer.

"Stephen, I love you. Please forgive me," she pleaded silently, while trying to impose her words into his mind. Yet, like the inescapable void that had consumed her powers, this would not happen either. She contented herself with saying them within her heart, where words of that manner counted the most. It would have to do. She wept silently for the future that was no more.