The Princess's Guard ✔️

52

Word Count: 2257

~Kiva

Moments later, a figure emerges at the window, clambering through.

I tense, watching Ark duck his head under the glass, snow dusting his shoulders and hair. I admire the ease at which he climbed up the trellis considering the amount of times I have fallen from it.

He removes his cloth mask, breath clouding in front of me as he meets my gaze.

His expression immediately softens. "Hey, are you okay?"

I look down at my hands, unable to face him. This is the most horrifying discovery I have ever made and I am still reeling from it.

"I...no."

He's crouched in front of me in an instant, grabbing my hands in his gloved one's. The ice still lingering on the fabric burns at my skin, but I welcome the distraction.

"What happened?" he asks gently.

"I found something. Bad," I tell him, fighting past the lump in my throat to say it.

I feel so stupid. How many years was this going on and I never knew about it? Ark allowed me to hate him for weeks, trying to protect me from the horror that I would ultimately have to face.

"What was it?" He sounds reluctant to hear it, knowing what it pertains to.

"A portrait of my father with...victims," I breathe, fighting back the nausea.

His comforting grip on my hands slips a little, his expression shifting from concern to distaste in a second.

"Oh."

"It was bad. Clearly it was depicting something that really happened." I shudder, the image of it still staining my memory. I fear that when I close my eyes tonight, it will chase me all the way into a sleepless night.

Ark frowns. "Did you destroy it?"

"No, I just left it. I don't want my father to find out I'm looking into his business," I tell him.

He nods, letting out a deep breath. Slowly he stands, sitting next to me on the bed. He's struggling to hear his, considering what his sister went through, but he is trying to keep a brave face for me.

"So you believe me now?"

"Yes I believe you." I would feel embarrassed if it weren't for the crushing weight of disgust that still shrouds me. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

He draws my hand onto his lap, kissing it softly. "Hey, it's okay. You had no reason to believe me."

"I found clothes too. And jewellery..." I break off, my other hand clutching my stomach. "He's been hoarding it all."

"Fuck," Ark growls.

He stands again, starting to pace. There's months worth of pent up energy in him, fighting to be taken out on my father. I can tell he is struggling with the fact that my father is under this very roof with him right now.

"I can take you there, if you want to find something of your sisters. I don't know if it would be there, but if it means anything to you-"

He holds his hand up, cutting me off. "I...I wouldn't want to see that."

Of course...

He turns away, burying his hands into his hair. I want to comfort him, I'm just not sure how. I feel dirty, like I'm attached to this.

"We are going to put a stop to this. Why don't we take my father down now?" I offer numbly, motioning to my door.

I haven't confronted the thought of my father being killed yet. He is the last family member I have left, and yet I don't know him or his true nature. He is a monster, who has contributed to the lost lives of many.