The Twelve Zenati Pt. 32

"I desperately needed a shower and came back to the house. Hope that's okay?" she asked sweetly. Too sweetly for Noah's liking, but he let it go. He had threatened her in multiple ways last night about leaving him again. Maybe she took it literally though he doubted it. "Viv brought me a bag of my clothes and things from Darwin, so I am feeling much better today."

"That was good of Vivienne. I was so eager to get here I hadn't thought of anything like that," Noah admitted, mentally reminding himself to thank Vivienne for doing that when he saw her next.

"That's what friends do, even when the other friend has been a dreadful one," Marcella sighed. "I'm lucky to have her and Liv." She nudged her sister, playfully. "Anyway, I'm all packed, and as soon as I eat this, I will be ready to go. Just in case you wanted to leave straight away."

"I think we can spare time for you to finish eating," he chuckled but inside, he was cringing. Where had her fire and fighting spirit gone? This wasn't his Kitten. This woman was something or someone else entirely. "I will go check what time we are planning to leave," he said in a subdued voice, still trying to puzzle out the change in Marcella. He already knew the schedule, but he wanted to catch up with Vivienne and find out what the fuck was going on with Marcella this morning.

As soon as he left the kitchen, he saw Vivienne and Gideon in the hallway. Vivienne was in tears as Gideon tried to make sense of why she was so upset. Noah pointed to a sitting room off to the right and followed them in, sitting close as Vivienne took a deep breath and stifled her tears.

"I'm sorry. Do you think it's too early for hormones to be kicking in?" she asked and fanned her flushed face.

"You're doing fine," Gideon kept his arms around her. "Start from the beginning again for me. I'm not sure I understood what you were saying."

"Okay, our friend Marcie, who we all got to know in Darwin. The Marcie, who is compassionate, loyal to a fault and fights for what is right, is gone. She splintered. She broke apart. I don't know how else to describe it for you. From what Olivia said the last time she was broken like this, there were two distinct personalities. First, Marcella, the Warrior princess who I think probably took over after we forced her into the hospital, and the Battaglia came the same night. That Marcella has been running the show since then. Still, whatever happened last night," she flicked her eyes up to Noah and swallowed before continuing.

"Did you need me? Olivia thought you might need me for something important," Genesis asked as he came into the room as if drawn by his brother's emotions. Gideon held up a hand and turned back to Vivienne. "Go on. He'll catch up."

"Well, whatever happened between the two of you last night was probably just the last crack in her shell, but it allowed the other side of her personality to take over. This version prefers to be called Chella and is the woman Apollo was looking for when he arrived in Darwin. She's polite, sweet and, for lack of a better word, docile. She seems to be the ultimate people pleaser. Unlike the warrior Marcella who fought against every restraint, the world tried to put on her. Unlike Marcie, who held both sides of her nature in balance within her to be the fiercely independent but very likeable woman we knew."

"We need to get her help," Gideon said softly.

"Olivia made me promise not to let you put her in the hospital or lock her away again. She promised me that Marcie would eventually come out of it, and we might lose her forever if we put her in hospital. Marcie came out of it the last time Olivia saw it happen," Vivienne rushed on. "Please, don't do something she can't come back from," Vivienne pleaded as she looked at the three men.

"I think she did come out of it for a time when I spent that week with her, especially when Olivia came to see her," Noah nodded. "We can get her back, Vivienne. I know we can. No hospitals, I agree," Noah said softly and looked at his brothers for their agreement.

"We'll see," Genesis said, frowning. "I'll talk to Olivia about what she knows. There are bigger things in motion now rather than just looking after Marcie. I know how you feel, brother, but having a people pleaser rather than a warrior on our side right now will ease more than one worry for us."

"And if it was Olivia?" Noah growled.

"The world would have burned the moment the Suebi and Konrad took her," Genesis admitted sadly. "But I am not the man you are, brother. You have done well to keep your head so far, and now is not the time to lose it. Let's end this game of Konrad's, and then, we will do what needs to be done to show Olivia and Marcella what it is like to be loved completely and by a whole family." With that, he turned and left the room in search of the woman who made his world complete.

"He's right," Gideon said gently. "I'll agree, no hospitals for now, but there are other ways to help her, and we will find them." He patted his brother reassuringly. "I'll go and meet Chella. Then we can talk more later. He led Vivienne from the room, leaving Noah alone to think about what he had learned about the woman he loved.

"It was never going to be an easy road for those two unless they could let their adversities bring them together. Marcie will see that Noah will love her through everything that comes their way, and maybe then she could trust enough to become whole again." Noah heard Gideon's receding voice as he spoke to Vivienne and let out a long slow breath.

He'd pushed her last night. He knew now that he had probably pushed her too hard. Not once had he considered she wouldn't be able to handle anything he did during their night together. There was one point where he believed he had broken through her hard outer shell. Was that when this new personality had come forth and taken over from the warrior? No, she had continued to fight, if not in the same 'all or nothing' way, all night long, so what had happened between then and now?

Had she come to terms with the fact that fighting him now would gain her nothing? He would keep her safe, even at the risk of her hating him. He had told her that. He had told her that there was no escape from him, and all her choices about what happened next were gone. Had he been too harsh? Had closing the door on her cage caused this change? Had he been the one who had done this to her in the first place back in Darwin by rejecting her advances that very first time, she had invited him into her apartment after dinner. Thoughts continued to swirl in his mind as he sat there until his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he answered it with a frown.

"Zanto? What's up?" Noah said in a voice resigned to his fate of loving someone who could never fully love him in return.

"Is she dead?" Zanto's fearful voice came through the phone.

"Who, Marcella? No!" Noah almost shouted in surprise at the question. "Why would you ask that?"

"I can't feel the pull anymore. That inner pull to find her and keep her safe is gone," Zanto seemed ready to panic.

"She's fine, Zan, honestly. She's in the kitchen eating breakfast as we speak. Safe and secure with us here to watch over her. Maybe that's why you can't feel the pull. She is finally safe."

"Maybe," Zanto frowned. "And you, you're okay?"

"All good. We're flying to Perth today and should be home the day after, if not tonight," Noah reassured his cousin, though he wondered at the loss of connection between the two. "You didn't feel any connection with her when she first arrived in Darwin either, did you? The feelings only came out once she fled from the hospital?"

"Yeah, it was weird," Zanto agreed. "I can't explain it. It was when I found the surveillance footage, and you went to help her."

"Maybe it was just a glitch while she was in so much danger, and now that she is safe, your free again to find your true curse breaker. Gosh knows keeping Marcella safe would be impossible for one man alone when she is in fighting mode," Noah suggested.

"But it felt so real, and now it's gone. I still care but don't feel the overwhelming need to get to her or you anymore," Zanto said, disturbed by the absence of that feeling.

"We'll be home in a day or two, and we can all talk then," Noah said, not wanting to put a voice to the suspicion that Marcella had a personality disorder which he may have exacerbated last night during their fight. I'll call you when we land," Noah said.

"Alright, look after her," Zanto agreed half-heartedly and ended the call.

"I swear, Noah, if you didn't have bad luck, you would have no luck at all," Xavier chuckled, entering the room. "This isn't your fault. Look at everything that has ever happened to that girl. All we can do now is help her pick up the pieces and heal in her own way. Olivia is right. Forcing her back into a hospital is not the way to go, and you know that. You also know that she loves you; she would not have fought so hard to keep you from danger if she didn't. Hold onto that, my brother. Put a stranglehold on it if you must to get through this next obstacle and get one step closer to the future you want."

"Word travels fast, huh?" Noah groaned.

"Yup, though it's pretty hard not to notice the complete transformation overnight," he nodded. "Look, man, I need your head on straight for the circle meeting. I don't always make the meetings they have, and I am not the most comfortable in this circle for reasons of my own, so I need a solid wingman. You got me?" he asked, looking earnestly at Noah.

"I got you. You can rely on me," Noah nodded. He rolled his eyes at himself and chuckled that everyone looked with disdain at Marcella being the very thing he was and what his father always warned him about, a fucking people pleaser. He sighed, and Xavier mistook the sound for something more.

"I know you do, and I truly believe you are one of the strongest men I know. She will recover, and she will come to realise that you, my brother, are the best of us," Xavier said softly and pulled him from the couch. "Come on. We're leaving once everyone is done with breakfast, so you better grab something if you're hungry.

*****

"Val, may I speak to you for a moment, please?" Marcella asked.

"Sure," he said, not hiding his surprise but stopping his pre-flight external checks and walking towards where she had stepped away from the boarding platform. "What can I do for you?"

"I never got the chance to thank you for helping me the day I fell onto the road. I wasn't very gracious at the time. Still, I wanted you to know I do appreciate you trying to help me then," Marcella said contritely.

"Oh, sure. I wasn't going to leave you lying in the road, Marcella," he said, bewildered by the gratitude.

"Call me Chella, please," she smiled softly and stepped closer to embrace him in a soft but short hug.

"Have a good flight, Chella," he said, looking over her shoulder at Noah's blank expression. "I better get back to my checks." He stepped away from her and went about his work.

Marcella turned and started up the stairs of the boarding platform with a small smile on her face. She felt better having thanked the man who all but saved her when Apollo had come for her. In her own way, she missed Apollo and the agreement they had made before Marcie had convinced her to blend with the warrior and become stronger. She wouldn't be making that mistake again now that she was in control. She was turning over a new leaf and showing the world a different side to her nature, a less prickly, more loveable side. She was tired of being alone, and these people wanted to be her family. A real family not like the one she grew up in. A family that she deserved. That meant repairing all the damage Marcella had done to those around her with her thoughtlessness. She took a seat near the window and smiled as Noah sat beside her.

"You don't have to babysit me anymore. I won't run again," Marcella said softly so those around her wouldn't hear.

"Where would you run to while locked in this tin can?" he chuckled. "I want to sit with you and be with you, Marcella. I thought I made that clear last night." He scooped her hand from her lap and held it in his, his thumb playing with the ring he had given her in what seemed another life, glad that she had kept it while with Konrad.

"Do you want it back?" Marcella asked as she looked at the ring as it spun around her finger. "We don't have to pretend while we hide in plain sight anymore."

"No, I was just thinking how glad I was that you hadn't taken it off," he said, turning to look into her eyes. She was still the woman he loved or at least part of her, and he wouldn't walk away from her or stop trying to help her become whole again. The more he thought about Marcella's warrior version he had been dealing with, the more he craved the woman he had first met in Darwin. He wondered how he had never seen the change in her as dramatic until it was pointed out and highlighted by the docile version who sat with him now.

"Do you think I will be able to go shopping with Vivienne and Olivia while you are in your meetings with the Gambaro's today?" she asked, changing the subject. "I feel a bit naked without makeup, and I could use more than that small bag of clothes.

"We will only be in Perth for a day, two at the most. All of your belongings are still at home in Darwin for you," he said, leaning back in his seat, ready to argue with her for her right to shop or do whatever she wanted to while in Perth.

"Oh, okay, but could I at least visit my apartment?" she asked, no argument to her tone, just a compromise.

"We may have time for that, but you won't go without me," Noah said a little more harshly than he had meant to say it, still expecting her to fight him.

"Okay," she said and settled back into her chair, closing her eyes. It was about a two-and-a-half-hour flight, and she fully intended on catching up on the sleep she missed last night for the duration. Things needed to be said between herself and Noah, but she had no wish to have an audience of people who had watched her curiously all morning so far.

"Tired?" he asked.

"That shouldn't surprise you, seeing as you were the one to keep me awake all night," she let a genuine grin light her face.

"I couldn't help it after not knowing what happened to you. I needed you, to feel you, to love you," Noah said, leaning over, so his words were a hot growl in her ear.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't have a lot of choice at the time," she said, meaning it. The sound and feel of him so close made her body shiver with memory and anticipation of the next time he would show her how much he needed her. "I'm not going anywhere now," she said as if giving an open invitation despite not being the only ones on this plane and turned her face to his brushing her lips over his.

This woman wouldn't run. He could feel the sincerity of her words, but this wasn't the woman he knew. It was only part of her. He took her invitation and, lifted a hand to her jawline to kiss her, and brought her forward another inch to deepen the kiss and claim this part of her, wishing he could claim all of her so easily.

"Sleep, it will be a long day," he encouraged and sat holding her hand until after take-off and the climb high into the sky before levelling out.

Marcella drifted off to sleep, content that the man who had sacrificed so much for her still wanted and needed her in his life. Was it love? She didn't know, but whatever it was, it felt good, and she had been lonely for such a long time.

"Ah, there you are, Chella," Apollo said, making her spin around.

"What are you doing here? You can't be here! They took you away!" Marcella stepped back.

"What are you talking about, Chella? I made you. You are my pretty little girl. You can't escape me. I gave you the time to end Marcella and her need to fight the inevitable. I gave you the best therapists to help you win that war. Our contract is due, Chella, you belong to me, by Table Law," he said menacingly. "You need to kill Marcella and be done with her for good. She only hurts the people you care for. We agreed it was for the best. You are the one who told the stories and looked after your mother and sisters. Marcella got you locked up time and time again. She is the problem. You are the solution," Apollo urged her, pointing to the corner where a blonde version of herself lay bound in ropes and chains. The fight seeming to have left her.

"No! she doesn't have to die! She can't hurt anyone now. I'm in charge, and I will stay in control this time!" Chella shook her head. "She doesn't have to die."

"Of course, she has to die. She is too strong. Even now, she is calculating a way to get free and retake control. You know you can't beat her alone. She had to step aside for you to gain control because you are weak and useless alone. She must die, Chella, and then you will be free. Free to come to me and live the life you were meant for," Apollo lectured.

Her head dropped down, and she twisted the ring on her finger. She could never return to Apollo. She loved someone else. Someone who would not force her to kill Marcella. Someone who had as much compassion in his deeds as he did retribution for those who needed it. The thought gave her a little strength. Not enough to fight Apollo's claims, but enough to drop the knife that had appeared in her hand.

"No! I won't do it!" she screamed and then gasped as Apollo appeared directly in front of her.

"You are mine, and you will do as I say," he growled and rammed the knife into her shoulder, making her scream and shake almost violently as he twisted it back and forth. "You will kill her and then come to me as you were always meant to do."

"Marcie, are you with me?" Noah's panicked voice asked as Marcella blinked her eyes open.

"Yes," Marcella choked down a sob that had been caught in her throat as the last vision of her dream faded.

"That must have been some dream," Noah said. "Can you tell me about it?"

"Apollo came back to claim me," she whispered. "To demand, I honour our childhood contract." She tried to explain skirting around the issue of her insanity and the need to keep the harmful side of her personality subdued. It was this side of her personality, who endured the worst of her punishments and even revelled in them at times, that was promised to Apollo in a contract she had been too young to understand.

"He's not coming back for you. We made sure of that. The contract is null and void now," Noah reassured her, hoping that was the case. He knew they had fought its validity when the Battaglia had pushed it. Especially in light of the fact that Apollo had almost killed her. He would need to ask Xavier to confirm that for him before making any more promises to Marcella about it. Not that he would let anyone take her from him again.

Marcella leaned into Noah, taking the comfort he offered her. She felt him stiffen at first but then relax and pull her closer. Damn Marcella for making this man wary of any affection she showed him. She lifted the armrest between them and crawled into his lap, snuggling into his warmth before closing her eyes again and dozing lightly, not wanting to fall into a deep sleep again. When she woke, Noah gently placed her back in her seat and buckled her lap belt in preparation for landing.

******

The journey from the airport was mercifully short. Holding Marcella in his arms for over an hour as she snuggled into his body was stretching Noah's control to the limit. Genesis and Xavier might think him a strong man, but he was about to lose his mind if he couldn't take this new version of Marcella the way he had always fantasised he would. He was only human, and this woman had captivated him so completely that he was sure he was going insane right along with her and her changing personalities.