Webs of Manipulation

All of a sudden his presence just seemed to leave. She…She has no idea why he left but she finally found the courage to move from her spot. Maybe it would be best to try and hide somewhere else before he came back.

But of course, he was just toying with her.

   He always did that why would she think any differently.

When he appeared again, far too close to her, Paintra let out a scream as she quickly stumbled back from Dark Taranza into the bookcase again, making a few more books fall around them. His smile, his energy that was coming off of him… He was not pleased at all and she was trapped with him. She knew running would be useless now and it would only serve to make him even angrier.

{✽} “ M…M-My king I…I-I..” Her voice came out meek and wavering. She was afraid…She was afraid and she wasn’t even going to hide it as she stuttered and trip over her worlds. The queen can’t even finish what she was saying as she felt her voice get stuck in her throat. She couldn’t even make eye contact with him as she just looked down at the floor scared of what he was going to do.

Why did she have to mess up? 

   The King watched her panic, listened to her scream, with some vague amusement in his eyes, books tumbling to the floor, and a short chuckle escaping him, but it stopped too abruptly to be real. His scarlet eyes narrowed as they stared at Paintra, the corner of his mouth twitching.

     "Oh, sweetie, what's got you so spooked? Was I too sudden? So sorry..."

   The voiced strained with just how sweet it was obviously forcing itself to sound. With little hesitation, a hand shot out to grab Paintra by the front and pull her close to him. He knew she hated it. All of this. He could feel every ounce of her fear, and there was a part of him that relished in it.

Overtime Paintra could feel the room getting much colder, getting darker as tension grew thick. Dark Taranza was here looking for her and he seems to be taking his sweet time. Maybe…Maybe if she was quiet enough he would just move on to a different room in the castle, thinking she wasn’t here.

Well…She was hoping that until he calls out for her.

He knows she is here.

Gods, the sound of his voice is enough to send chills down her spine.  She could feel her body stiffen up as out of fear, too scared to move. She really doesn’t want to be caught, she knew that it might be a good idea to try and move but what if he spots her trying to move? But if she stays in one place he could find her as well.

She leans back against the bookcase, gripping her chest tightly, trying to think of what to do. Trying to calm herself, trying to keep herself grounded. But…Unfortunately for her, leaning against the bookcase caused one of the books to fall, giving away her location.

She felt her blood ran cold when that happened.

Oh nonononononono-

   The second the book hits the floor with a loud thud in the quiet room, red light flares to life behind a few bookcases as the King's bright eyes snap towards where he hears the noise. He's still, silent for a moment.

   Then, the light vanishes, and so does his presence. As if he simply left. Is it possible he was sparing her, for once leaving her be? Perhaps he wasn't as upset as was originally thought.

   No, that was silly.

   It wasn't long until Dark Taranza bursts into existence far too close to Paintra, his piercing red eyes holding a sharp stare on her. And as always, he had a smile, but one far from being pleased. If that wasn't unsettling enough, maybe the dark wisps that float and crackle around him were.

     “Believe me, I’ve thought about it a lot.”

     “Force it?”

So he felt hopeless…

To be honest, she don’t blame him for feeling such a way. After all the life of a mirror was not pretty at. Especially someone in his position. Betraying someone powerful as Dark Mind was dangerous. But so is serving under him

But he did mention something that caught her attention.

{✽} “ Really?” She looked back up at him when he mentioned that there were someone that he cared about. She thought she was the only one he cared about. Maybe she could use this fact to push him to be more willing to fight for his own freedom.

{✽} “ Who say you have to leave him? Don’t you think he would want a better life for the both of you?” Do you think you would want a better life for the both of you?”

   There may have been a violet tint to his face. It wasn't completely noticeable though. It was strange. He was appearing more stable from what his corruption made him to be. A rare moment that drew out his real emotions and his own thoughts.

   How long it would last was something else entirely.

   The King continued staring downwards for a while, then took a small glance at Paintra.

     "I don't know what he wants. I don't even know what I want... He's always seemed content... He's always tried to keep me from straying, not that I know why... Maybe out of pity."

   He huffed out a breath and looked away again. It was hard to say what any of them truly wanted. Especially since who they all are, isn't really them anymore. He's long forgotten who he used to be.

     "...There's a part of me that doesn't want to get away from this. Maybe because I know I'll die if I attempt. But I suppose I also... Enjoy it..."

She frowned at what he said. Even though he was King here he was still a servant. And the whole reason he did all of this is because he wanted something for himself. And he was right if he did try to stray away he can get in trouble.

But..

What is living if you are not free?

{✽} “ But don’t you think your free will is worth fighting for?” She let go of his hand as she look down back at her cup. Funny that she was saying this to her own captor.

It’s ironic.

She was silent for a moment before she took a long drink from her cup, not looking up. When she spoke again her voice took on a much sadder tone.

{✽} “ Freedom is something I’ve longed for my whole life, got it, then lost it…Believe me when I say being free is wonderful. It’s worth fighting for…”

   He listened to Paintra's words, doing his best to take them in, then he simply let his hands fall, and leaned back on the sofa. His eyes still stared downwards, holding little emotion but maybe a melancholy bitterness.

   These thoughts crossed his mind more often than they should. What would it be like without this corruption? What would it be like if he could be free? If he wasn't a servant... He was held so highly for his abilities. He was powerful, loyal, useful with his manipulative nature.

   But his failures still hung heavy over his head, always with the threat to crush him. The last time he failed, he was shattered with no hesitation.

   Who knows what would happen if he had another failure like that...

     "...Not if it's a losing battle to begin with. There's no fighting Dark Mind. Besides..."

   He slowly brought a hand up to rub his cheek, his look turning more... Saddened.

{✽} “ You think?” He sounded unsure about his own answer.  LIke he wasn’t sure if he was really happy. He claims that he has her but does he really? She may be his wife but he doesn’t have her heart.

It still belongs to Taranza…

She let out a sigh and placed a hand on one of his.

{✽} “ It doesn’t have to end badly. You have the choice of making things better for yourself. You can continue on with this or choose a different path.” A soft look came to her face. She REALLY do hope he will take what to say to hear. The path he was going down was not a good one and she feels that he can still change for the better.

He can give up his crown….

   He can set her and everyone free….  

      He can do the right thing and find him something that will TRULY make him happy.  Something that dosen’t involve pleasing someone else. A life of peace..

Or he can continue this madding endeavor as ‘King’.

{✽} “ Please…Make the right choice…”

   Dark Taranza tensed up when he felt her hand on his, then let himself relax. He did listen to her words. He had a choice... Did he really though? Despite now being the taker of a kingdom, he was still a follower to someone else, a servant, ready to take orders with no question.

   That's all he's been for as long as he can remember, which to be fair, wasn't long.

   He slowly placed his cup down on the coffee table, before letting another sigh escape him, and only proceeded to put his head in his hands.

     "I don't have that choice, Paintra... I don't have as much free will as you think. Even if I wanted to, if I strayed that much, I swear I'd be hunted and either shattered, or reset. Maybe both..."

So he was feeling like a failure. 

It wasn’t every day she gets to see Dark Taranza like this. He was normally cruel, fearful, and cunning. But like ALL Taranzas they had a softer, broken side deep down inside.

She still has a spark of hope that he will change, That small spark hasn’t gone out yet.

{✽} “ But is this really a success?” She knew she was asking a dangerously loaded question and his mood can flip any way because of it. Normally she wouldn’t say anything about his decisions and just stay silent but for some reason, she found a bit of courage to speak up for once.

It has been ages since she did so. She let out a shaky breath, clearly nervous as she gripped on to her cup, continuing with what she was saying.

 {✽} “ You always talk about how I never seem to smile so let me ask you the same thing. Are you happy with all of this Dart?” And I mean truly happy.”

   This question made him go silent again, and only fueled his self-doubt. Was this a success? And if it was... How long would it really last? How long until something went wrong? How long until he slipped?

    And what would happen afterwards?

   The King twitched, then let out a somewhat shaky sigh.

     "I... Think I'm happy? I did what a lot of other Mirrors haven't accomplished yet. And... I have you. But..."

   His words faltered again. His emotions weren't flaring, he wasn't reacting drastically. He was just... Vulnerable. It might be the most stable he's acted in some time. He gazed at the liquid in his cup, before taking another sip of it, and spoke again.

She could feel his eyes on her but she didn’t look back up. She was too busy lost in her thoughts while the warmth of the tea washed over her. Thoughts of her past life. Thoughts wondering why she ended up in such a situation. Thoughts of how she wishes she could properly help Dart.

It was making her head spin a bit really…

After what seems like forever Dark Taranza finally broke the silence making her look back up at him.

Do you ever feel like you’re a failure, no matter what you do

Funny…Those are passing thoughts that she has herself sometimes. No matter what it feels like she can’t protect people. She failed her lover, she can barely protect Milo. She sometimes feels that all of this was her fault because she didn’t fight back harder against Dart.

But she will never openly say that…

But she could see why he is thinking that as well considering the rough past he has. Even though she is afraid of him and wish he would go away she did also feel bad for him. She did wish she could help him.

Curse her soft heart…

{✽} “ Somethings on your mind Dart? It’s not every day that you ask me something like this.”

   He jumped a bit and looked over at Paintra, stuttering for a second, before stopping himself and looking away again.

     "N-no. I mean... Well..."

   It wasn't too often he felt... Fragile. Not often he needed to be grounded, or reminded. Not often he felt like he needed to be reassured by anyone else. And it was only Paintra here at the moment.

   She wasn't the same. But...

   Dark Taranza didn't look at her anymore, only focusing his gaze downward. He did end up speaking again after a while though.

     "...I've had so many failures. More than any successes, probably. I feel like I'm a disappointment to our Lord. I don't understand why I'm still around..."

Pretty…

He really does use that word a lot with her.

Its how funny how she used to think that she was just average looking, always believing she was just okay and there were many more ladies who were much prettier than her. Now as Queen she gets called pretty almost every day. And not just by her ‘king.’

The whole Kingdom basically says that she was a queen so beautiful yet so sad.

Now, she doesn't even know how to feel about herself anymore. 

Being pushed down to take a seat,  she watched him go for the tea for a moment before looking away since he was staring at her again. It always felt awkward when he did that but he loves to do that. He loves looking at her so much.

At least they were doing something nice, having tea…

     And the tea smelled lovely. It smelt warm and sweet, almost welcoming

When he mentioned how he used to make it a long time ago and about his own world her eyes shifted back over to him.

She always wondered about his world. How did it fall apart and how he got stuck as a servant, becoming what he was. But she didn't dare to ask. She felt that she didn't have a place to ask about such a thing. Besides who knows what kind of emotions that would cause the Dart to feel.

But…Just like his world, her world has crumbled as well. Ironically when he stepped into her life.

Letting her eyes close, she took a sip of the tea to help her nerves.

 It did taste nice.

   As he watched his Queen, a more gentle smile came to his face. He really did love to look at her.

   Even if she was sad... She was still pretty.

   Finally taking his eyes away from Paintra, he looked at his own poured cup and placed the teapot down. He let out a small sigh and took a small sip, making a content hum at the taste. Somehow, he still knew how to make it right...

   He let them both sit in silence after that, and during it, he found himself thinking again, drifting into his own muddled mind. Every now and then, he would take a brief glance at Paintra, not with a smile, but a frown that looked like he wanted to say something. Eventually, he just settled for staring at the liquid in his cup.

   And then his voice finally broke the silence, with something rather unexpected.