The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg - Part IV
The journey to the palace was long and the General Kunzite was untiring as he insisted that they continue at their quick pace. When they finally arrived at their destination, Jadeite and Rei were lead away to a guest room to wait for the new king to meet with them. The couple watched as Kunzite led the cloaked woman down a hallway that Jadeite recognized would lead towards the private rooms once belonging to King James. Rei unconsciously clutched at Jadeite’s arm in concern over watching the exhausted girl trying to hold herself upright. Kunzite wrapped his arm around her in an attempt to support her weight while speaking to her in a hushed tone that they could not hear.
Once they arrived at their room and were left alone, Jadeite wasted no time in turning his attention to the dark haired woman at his side. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the bed, pushing her down on the soft padding. She landed heavily on her backside and struggled to right herself. “You lied to me,” he hissed.
“I’ve done everything that you’ve asked of me,” she sputtered.
“You allowed me to believe that it was you who had the gift of turning objects to gold, but it’s not you is it?” He reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking off one of the dainty gloves and grasping her hand tightly. “That’s what I thought. Why did you lie to me? Who are you protecting?!” he demanded angrily.
“There’s more to this than you think.”
Jadeite released her hand and pulled a chair alongside of the bed. He sat down and put his boots up on the mattress, his fingers folding in his lap as a calm smile fell over his features. “Then maybe you should start talking.”
She screamed as his fist made contact with her face sending her flying to the cold hard floor. Her wrist bent at a sharp angle, but did not break despite the force behind it. Pain throbbed through her body from her many injuries and tears fell freely from her eyes, but that did not cause her captor to halt in his actions.
He yanked her off the floor and threw her into a chair, her long blonde hair falling over her face. A whimper escaped her lips as she prepared for him to hit her again, but the blow never came. Instead a hand brushed her hair out of her eyes and caressed her swollen cheek. She wasn’t sure what she feared more at this point - the pain of his fist connecting with her body or the stroking of his hands that inevitably ended up with his body pressed over hers.
It was all a rouse, something she was more than willing to endure for the sake of the cause, but the man above her was growing ever impatient with her inability to produce the results that he desired. Alchemy was not her gift, and she feared that by further enduring his abuse she was bound to slip up and show him her true element. But for now she would close her eyes and pretend that it was not his lips sucking painfully against her neck, nor was it his hands now pulling at the hooks fastening her dress closed.
After what felt to be far too long, he finally finished, satisfied with himself. She did not move for several minutes, her body sore from his mistreatment. Rubeus was never a gentle lover. He thrived from the power he held over her and maybe even liked the way his skin burned as her palms pushed against his chest. Did he know what she was restraining herself from doing? Or was that why this ritual continued? Maybe he enjoyed receiving pain nearly as much as he liked to inflict it.
Finally the day arrived when her savior came for her. She knew that he would come, but as the days grew longer and more plentiful, she began to have doubts. But seeing his face now, as he loomed over, checking her injuries, gave her renewed confidence that everything had worked out as planned.
Her eyes opened in small slits, at first afraid that Rubeus had come back for more of his fill. Hands worked quickly to pull her dress back over her not stopping until she was more appropriately covered. Then just as quickly the same warm hands worked at bandaging her injuries. Dry lips parted in an effort to thank her savior, but she was immediately silenced and allowed for her eyes to drift closed as a sleep claimed her weary mind.
Was she dreaming? Could it be that only minutes had passed and not hours? She pulled herself up and brushed the golden strands away from her face, something that she had yet to get used to. A pair of green eyes greeted her from across the room and a sigh escaped from her lips. “You came for me,” she spoke softly, her jaw sore from being struck earlier.
“I would have been here sooner, but unfortunately things took longer than Endymion had anticipated.”
“Did he win the war?” she asked hopefully.
“He did.”
“Then this is all finally over?”
“Almost.” Her savior moved out of the dark doorway and into the light of the room. “I will bring you back to Endymion shortly and a doctor will look you over properly. Unfortunately I have a limited amount of supplies and can do very little for you.”
“No, what you have done for me was enough.” She paused, hesitant to ask her next question. “What happened to Rubeus?”
He ran one hand through his long silver hair. “He’s been dealt with appropriately.” He didn’t continue and she was afraid to inquire any further. “We should leave at once. There is a stop that we must make first before we can continue on to the palace.”
“Is she ok? Was she caught?”
“She’s fine and safe with Endymion. I have been sent with the task of reining in one of King James’ former lackey’s named Jadeite. Endymion believes that he’ll be of use to the new order.”
“I’ll go anywhere with you, just get me out of here so that I never have to come back.”
He extended his hands and held out a long dark clock in one hand and a pair of gloves in the other. “I hope you don’t mind, but we need to continue with the charade until it’s time.”
“I understand.” She rose from the bed to accept the objects, slowly pulling them on while trying not to further agitate her injuries. He walked around her and bundled up her blond tresses, tucking them safely into her cloak.
“I’m sure you’ll be happy to cut off this long mane and return to your normal color once we return,” he said, smiling warmly.
“It’s all I think of most days.”
The tall man slipped his arm through hers and they walked out of the room slowly. “I promise you, you will be taken care of personally by one of my own guards once we return. You’ve done a great thing for this kingdom, Ami.”
“I’ve done no less than my part, Kunzite.”