Her Fear, His Obsession

A Plan, Once and For All

He took a deep sigh and grabbed Alia's face by the chin, lifting it so he could look into her eyes. "I swear to never leave you, to never stop loving you, and to never make you feel like I will."

She turned her head away, muttering, "That's what they all say."

Luca looks at her impassively, "Who?" He questions. Maybe if he can learn more about what's happened to her before, he can make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes as them. But to his dismay, she shakes her head and pulls away. She wasn't ready to tell him or anyone. She wasn't even ready to talk to herself about it.

Thinking, Luca comes up with a plan. A plan that just might kill him. Grabbing the knife from his ankle holster, he flips it so the blade lays on his palm. Alia looks at his hand as he holds the knife. "Fine, my love, I swear to you by a blood oath. If I ever even dream of leaving you, may my blood become the Darkness and may it take my soul." He then sliced his palm with the blade, taking it and drinking it.

The Blood Oath was no joke. Breaking it meant not just death, but an eternity of becoming a slave- the very type of slave that Luca commanded now. He was risking his throne to stay with her. But of course, Alia didn't understand that. She grabbed a shirt from the shelf and wrapped his hand.

The man in the shadows did. He smiled evilly as he watched the scene unfold. This meant there was a way for him to dethrone Luca- to allow his master to become the King of the Darkness.

Outside the room, Viraj felt a weird twinge then pain as the Blood Oath set in. As the second in command, he would become the default King if Luca ever stopped. He wasn't sure what the Blood Oath was but he assumed it was related to Alia.

He had seen Luca change in ways he never thought possible. But of course, that didn't come without some form of sacrifice. Luca had lost his peace of mind and honestly, his strength. His biggest asset in fighting was that he had nothing to fear but now every step was wrought with thoughts and contingencies for Alia.

Even today, when he should be strengthening up for the fight with the Darkness, he was more concerned with a blood oath to Alia. Viraj shook his head. He had no right to think about the Queen in such a way- if Luca knew, he would be dead. Either way, it was time to remind him of the meeting. He bravely stepped up to the door and knocked.

Inside the room, Luca and Alia stared at each other as Alia's hand rested over Luca's cut palm. They didn't even realize they were moving closer to a kiss when all of a sudden a knock caused Alia to jump. She broke away and then stood, moving towards the door.

She opened it to see Viraj standing- he moved his eyes down and bowed when he saw her answer. "Apologies for the intrusion, My Queen, but the King must meet with the council." He heard Luca groan as he moved towards the door.

He paused as he walked by Alia, "I'll see you later, my love. Take care of her," he said pointedly to Liam who had been stationed on guard in the hall. Liam bowed in response.

Luca squared his shoulders as he walked down the hall, putting Alia back into the back of his mind while he strategized for the Darkness. He had to figure out a plan, once and for all.