The Shadress (MCD x Reader)

Ch. 04- Solitary

As night falls and nature quiets to those that are nocturnal, I rest my head against the stonewall next to me and let my eyes fall closed. The plush fabric of the blanket on the mattress beneath me provides some warmth that the rest of the stone structure does not. I feel relatively at ease since I overheard their conversation about what to do with me.

No one wants to work with Zane. So I'm not being sent to O'Khasis any time soon, but I'm also not being released, which I can work with.

The masked man volunteered to stay behind and watch me tonight. I peek an eye open and take note of him still leaning against the wall from earlier. The feeling of being watched creeps through my bones and I am acutely aware that beyond his mask, his eyes are fixed on me.

I will not gain his trust anytime soon, but perhaps I could goad him into letting down his guard or giving something away. I fully open my eyes to get a better look at him before I tilt my head to the other side bringing his attention fully to me as the sound of fabric rustling breaks through the wind outside. "Are you even a guard or simply someone who has a bone to pick with me?" My smirk is evident in my pitch.

He hesitates and I hear him huff. "Neither." His reply is curt at best.

However, it does pique my interest. "Oh?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. It's not visible, but I do it all the same. "Then what? Out of a sense of duty?" He's silent. "No... revenge perhaps?" Again, silence. "No... love then?"

That gets a rise out of him. "I don't love anyone here." Now we're getting somewhere.

"Oh, you don't?" I lean forward and brace my elbows against my knees. I lean on the back of my right hand tilting my head and directing his attention to my condescending grin. Although he wouldn't know it was condescending unless he saw the rest of my face. "Then you aren't from around here."

His silence was my answer.

"I gander something happened." Pause. "Something tragic. Because no one simply leaves and keeps themselves covered like you."

I lean back to give myself a more confident appearance, absently playing with the skin on my fingers.

"I'd say the loss of a loved one. No, no: all of your loved ones. You don't love anyone here, which means you love them somewhere else."

I watch his jaw tense as he pushes off the wall. He doesn't move more than that, but some progress is still progress.

"Ohhohoho. Ahahaha." I dramatically tilt my head back as I almost cackle from the realization. "I get it. I know who you are now."

My grin widens as my laughter dies down. When I glance back at him, there's a scowl on his face and his arms are crossed. Honestly, the man before me looks ready to pounce, but then again that has always been his way of dealing with things.

I put on a false facade of sorrow. "Such a shame what happened to your family, Aaron. I always pitied the circumstances with Jacob."

The sound of his son's name on my lips is what finally got him to pounce. "You keep his name out of your mouth. You have no right to speak it." His grip on the iron bars is white-knuckled.

"I have any right I desire," I say, standing from the bed and meandering toward him. "Not a living mortal soul has the right to tell me to do anything."

"You are insufferable," he spits.

I lean in, limiting the space that remains between us. "Thank you. That quality keeps me alive."

– – – – – – – – – –

Aaron had left the building shortly after my taunting comments. I could tell he didn't leave the barrier, but I didn't see or hear him within the walls of the jailhouse for the rest of the night. Due to this, I was unfortunately left to my smothering thoughts.