Eclectic Muses Prompt February: Betrayal
They say betrayal is the worst kind of pain you can experience.
He can feel their resentment, their jealousy. Every time he’s around Maria, their bitterness rises. Nettie and Lucy have never been happy that Jasper had become Maria’s new companion. In the harsh world they lived in, it’s imperative that you remain in good graces with the leader. If you weren’t the favorite, your days were numbered.
Jasper knows this. It’s the only reason he accepted her that night in his tent. He had no feelings for her, nothing apart from gratitude that she had taught him to survive. But that night he had felt her desire, and he knew if he did not oblige her, he would meet the same fate as the soldiers who had just cleared their year mark. He was a good fighter, but he was no match for her.
He did not blame Lucy and Nettie for their jealousy. He was able to offer something they could not, and as a result they were no longer her favorites. It put them in a dangerous position. He knew it would become a confrontation, and soon. Maria knew this as well.
“I need to you watch them for me, Jasper,” she says to him, her hand trailing along his back as she whispers in his ear, noting the two girls conversing from over his shoulder.
“In what way?” he asks, though he already knows the answer.
She slips a hand into his hair, and he feels a spike in Lucy’s anger. He focuses and feels her calm down a bit. Maria smiles her wicked smile. “They do not trust me anymore,” she says, “I need to you to get them to trust you. If they plan to confront me, I want to be well warned.”
She moves to step closer to him, and he grabs her wrist, taking her hand out of his hair. He uses his power to calm her as well, for he knows that look in her eyes.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he offers.
He goes hunting with Lucy, and allows Nettie to help him train the newborns. He avoids Maria whenever in their company. Several months later they include him in their plan, and the next night he relays the information to Maria. Three days later he and Maria attack. He is the one to dispose of Lucy, after they’ve taken down Nettie. He feels her fear, her anger, and also her bewilderment. She did not expect his betrayal. But then again, she does not have his gifts.
Her screams echo in his ears. If he were to be honest with himself, something he never allows himself to do, he would admit he was on the same side as Nettie and Lucy. They had reason for their frustration. Only he, knowing the emotions of all involved, knows it could have been resolved without this. They did not need to be destroyed. But that is what Maria wanted, and he does as his leader, his companion, his lover asks.
He walks away from the pyre, the smell of burning hair and something unique to his kind burning in his oversensitive nostrils. He feels Maria’s approval, knows he will be rewarded, and tries to soak it in, pushing out the pain of his own betrayal. But his power doesn’t work that way. He always feels his own emotions, and if they happen to conflict with that those around him are feeling, it always seems the one he’d rather forget is the one that penetrates him the strongest.
He can feel their resentment, their jealousy. Every time he’s around Maria, their bitterness rises. Nettie and Lucy have never been happy that Jasper had become Maria’s new companion. In the harsh world they lived in, it’s imperative that you remain in good graces with the leader. If you weren’t the favorite, your days were numbered.
Jasper knows this. It’s the only reason he accepted her that night in his tent. He had no feelings for her, nothing apart from gratitude that she had taught him to survive. But that night he had felt her desire, and he knew if he did not oblige her, he would meet the same fate as the soldiers who had just cleared their year mark. He was a good fighter, but he was no match for her.
He did not blame Lucy and Nettie for their jealousy. He was able to offer something they could not, and as a result they were no longer her favorites. It put them in a dangerous position. He knew it would become a confrontation, and soon. Maria knew this as well.
“I need to you watch them for me, Jasper,” she says to him, her hand trailing along his back as she whispers in his ear, noting the two girls conversing from over his shoulder.
“In what way?” he asks, though he already knows the answer.
She slips a hand into his hair, and he feels a spike in Lucy’s anger. He focuses and feels her calm down a bit. Maria smiles her wicked smile. “They do not trust me anymore,” she says, “I need to you to get them to trust you. If they plan to confront me, I want to be well warned.”
She moves to step closer to him, and he grabs her wrist, taking her hand out of his hair. He uses his power to calm her as well, for he knows that look in her eyes.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he offers.
He goes hunting with Lucy, and allows Nettie to help him train the newborns. He avoids Maria whenever in their company. Several months later they include him in their plan, and the next night he relays the information to Maria. Three days later he and Maria attack. He is the one to dispose of Lucy, after they’ve taken down Nettie. He feels her fear, her anger, and also her bewilderment. She did not expect his betrayal. But then again, she does not have his gifts.
Her screams echo in his ears. If he were to be honest with himself, something he never allows himself to do, he would admit he was on the same side as Nettie and Lucy. They had reason for their frustration. Only he, knowing the emotions of all involved, knows it could have been resolved without this. They did not need to be destroyed. But that is what Maria wanted, and he does as his leader, his companion, his lover asks.
He walks away from the pyre, the smell of burning hair and something unique to his kind burning in his oversensitive nostrils. He feels Maria’s approval, knows he will be rewarded, and tries to soak it in, pushing out the pain of his own betrayal. But his power doesn’t work that way. He always feels his own emotions, and if they happen to conflict with that those around him are feeling, it always seems the one he’d rather forget is the one that penetrates him the strongest.