The pain, as Mahlikai had said, lasted a full twenty-hours before it finally faded away. The woman was now sitting alone in her white nightgown with old tears dried in streaks down her rosy cheeks. The burning from earlier had finally mellowed which had her shivering at the sudden temperature change. The branching feeling had finally settled beneath her skin. It had actually stopped in the twelfth hour, but throughout the other half of the pain-filled hours they could still be felt slightly above her muscles and bones. It was like snakes were hibernating in her veins. Unsettling, to keep it short.
Though none of that compared to the effects of being a newly-turned demon. Well, she assumed she was newly turned. Her mother still had yet to explain in depth why she wasn't the same as him. Her throat was extremely dry and itchy as if she hadn't drank in centuries. Yet, no matter how much water she tried to guzzle down, the uncomfortable feeling wouldn't go away. There was an aching in her gums as well. She had felt her teeth as well and noticed that her canines and their neighbor right in front of them seemed to be sharper than before. Her mismatched eyes were extremely sensitive to the fire of the lamp that was settled on her left nightstand. Not to mention, her ears were able to pick up the slightest creak within the house.
Abigail and Nesryn retired to their respective bed chambers hours before. Though she had heard them discussing in hushed whispers just outside her door. They were pitying her for what she was going through but it was clear that they thought this was something she brought on herself. They would have kept talking in that annoying manner if Nesryn didn't try to pry for more answers. Their mother was quick to shut it all down and send the younger twin to bed.
"Briar, love." The girl flinched at the soft voice of the man she thought she would be willing to bind her life to. The voice was meant to be used in a low whisper though it sounded as loud as a balloon popping in her ear. "Apologies for coming in so informally as this."
She tucked her knees further under her chin as her sharp gaze watched him climb through her open balcony doors. He was slow with his movements as if he thought she'd launch at him any moment. "You said you would help me," she accused in a sharp tone. He grimaced as if she had slapped him. The idea seemed like it was what he deserved now, but she couldn't imagine herself lifting a hand to anyone.
"I wish I could have been with you," he said with true desperation in his tone. He started to move even closer to her spot at the center of her queen sized bed. However, when he saw her slowly shield the bottom half of her face behind her legs. "I hadn't known it would hurt as much as it had. I would never have put you through this if I did."
Her mouth tasted sour and her eyes were dark as they followed each of his movements. He seemed sort of uneasy at the idea of it. She glanced down at his feet as the wood groaned nearly silently by the shift of his feet. "You know why, don't you? Why it had hurt me so bad?" If he knew she had suffered so much that meant he had to be somewhere close by when it was all happening. Yet he decided to stay on the sidelines while she screamed and cried into the arms of her mother.
Her words were a soft whisper in the wind, but it was obvious that he still heard her. He had a sorrowful expression though she was far too tired to acknowledge the feeling as it built inside her. He simply shook his head to keep from bringing up what he must have heard.
She let out a short chuckle at his denial, "My mother says I wasn't human from the beginning. I don't even know what that could mean for me now." Her dainty hands pressed into her tired eyes like a toddler rubbing tears away. "Did you know this?"
He frowned and panic flashed in his eyes when she suddenly began to cry again. Like hell she was going to let him go without experiencing just a small amount of her sorrow. Mahlikai couldn't seem to stay still anymore. In the blink of an eye, he was sitting beside her on her large bed. He pulled her aggressive hands away from her eyes and let the pads of his thumbs lightly brush away the heavy tears.
"Oh, love, I am so sorry. I hadn't known," he hummed apologetically. "I would never have even thought about it if I knew how much displeasure it would force on you." Briar let out a hiccup at his blatant lie but allowed herself to be pulled into his chest. No matter how much torture he put her through, she couldn't help but crawl back into his comforting arms.
"You didn't know even a little bit?" He tensed at her fishing, but slowly continued to rub her back slowly. She initially tried to listen for his beating heart except there was nothing. Not a single thump from deep within his chest. It was something she should have expected. He was a demon after all.
He took a minute to respond. Trying to find words that weren't entirely a lie, she suspected. "You-... Smelt in a way that-... Separates you from others." She cried quietly into his chest without trying to cut him off. Anything he could tell her would help. She didn't want him to think she couldn't handle the truth. He breathed in a heavy breath like he needed another whiff to explain it accurately, "Like rainy nights or freshly dug up dirt."
Rain was one of her favorite scents, but it was slightly insulting to hear that she smelled like dirt. That couldn't be a good thing. "What do others smell like?" She decided to let curiosity get the better of her.
"Sweat and iron." He grimaced as he relived every other moment he was stuck in an event with crowds of humans. She frowned, wondering if this would be all she had to smell around people that she previously enjoyed spending time with. "There are very few that smell good originally. To be honest, it was what drew me to you from the very beginning."
"With your demon lineage, I don't think that is as flattering as you're trying to make it out to seem." The woman pulled back from staining his suit and looked up into his dark eyes. "You've condemned me to hell because I smelt nice…" A deep frown flickered onto her face. It was as if her body just realized that he was the one that turned her into a monster. Her body was battling with her brain to willingly trust the creature in front of her. It was giving her whiplash. "You condemned me to hell." She shoved him away, but he was too quick not to fall on his rump.
"You won't see hell if you don't die, my love. Don't you see?" He didn't seem put off from her newly formed distrust. He even moved close again to cup her hands in his while moving them close to slowly press to the backs of both. A rosy color dusted her cheeks. This was the first time he kissed her hands with her gloves on. "I've given you a gift. Nothing could ever harm you again."
Her mismatched eyes stared down at where their hands were conjoined. There was a war within her again. One side wanted only to give into him while the other found it hard to even look him in the eyes. "I didn't agree to this. You didn't say you would do this to me."
Mahlikai seemed angry at this new accusation. His grip tightened painfully and it was only when she flinched did he release her. "How do you assume I should have told you?" He threw his hands up while he turned away to pace across her wood floors. "Yes, my Briar. Allow me to show you that I am a vicious demon that needs to draw blood so I could make you just as I am? Would you have agreed to that?"
"I wouldn't have agreed to any of this though that is the point! You would have explained the consequences of your deal and I would be allowed to truly consent to such a thing." While his voice was raised at these new accusations, her's were soft while she tried to keep her composure. More tears ran down her cheeks and her hands gripped the comforter below her at the loss of the warmth he provided. "I would have never wanted any of this, Mahlikai."
"You don't know that yet!" He flipped around to her with a deadly gaze. He let his green eyes slowly look over her face, taking note of her red cheeks and her wobbly chin. His yelling lowered to a soft cooing while he cupped her jaw to force her to meet his eyes. "Let me show you how beautiful a life like this can be. You will want for nothing. Life will be completely in your hands. Fate will bend at your will."
She decided she would need to give into one side of the war within her. As she looked up at the monster before her, Briar could only see the reflection of herself in his eyes. This was a lifestyle she was already forced into. The girl might as well learn from someone that had already had to live through all the firsts she would be experiencing.
So, she rubbed her cheeks into the hands that had a gentle grip on her jawline. He smiled at the show of her slowly giving in. "You're right. I am sorry for accusing you like that." The woman still wholeheartedly believed that he was in the wrong but she couldn't go through all of this alone. He had to know this.
"It's okay, my darling Briar." He removed his hands from her person entirely, smiling down as she looked up at him with an innocent expression. "There is so much I will be able to show you. You will love it!"
He stretched a hand back down to her, helping her to a shaky stand. Again she flushed as she remembered that all she was wearing was a white nightgown with embroidered flowers around the seams. "I thought you needed to leave town. That was why you had to do all of this, is it not?"
Mahlikai didn't answer right away as he began to pull her back towards the balcony he climbed up from. She looked over his shoulder uneasily into the night. Any straying eyes of notorious night owls would be able to ruin her reputation like this. Her balcony looked over the heavily used streets of their home. "It is. There is a council of our kind. They think me a traitor and, so, I am. If they were to find me here, they would take me before their judge and jury and sentence me to whatever punishment they see fit."
"Did you do something bad?" He was close to the edge of the balcony, looking down at the ground below, then back to her at her question. He had a frown on his expression as he chose his words carefully. "I apologize, was that a rude question? I was just curious."
"Nothing terrible, my Briar. They just have a vendetta against my person for a few rebellious comments. No matter, I still have time before they find me. When they do, you will be alone until I can find you again." She wanted to ask more, but it seemed like he was cutting the conversation there. He smiled sadly down at her, "Aren't you hungry? Let us find you something to seek your teeth into."