Heart's Desire

Chapter 27

~TRIGGER WARNING: DEPICTIONS OF NON-CONSENSUAL SEX, BUT NOT SHOWN.~

"Alright, I'm going to go bathe. You coming with me?" I asked Odessa as we entered the palace.

"I'm going to do a few things before I do. Is that alright?"

"That's fine," I said.

"I'll see you later," she pressed a kiss to the side of my head before we parted ways.

After grabbing what I needed to bathe, I made my way into the bathing room. As I was sitting there, there was an uneasy feeling in my gut as the wind swept through the palace. How it sounded, hollow, restless, as if the palace was uneasy itself, too. Goosebumps pricked at my skin as I sat in the warm water. The hair on my neck started to raise as well. I quickly got out of the water, dried off, and placed my toga over my body, scurrying towards our room.

As soon as I was inside the warmth of our room, I let out a sigh of relief knowing I was closer to Odessa. I put my things away and that was when the door opened and closed.

"Got everything done so soon?" I asked.

Silence.

"Odessa?"

I picked my head up, finding no one was there. I swallowed hard, taking a step back towards the bed.

"O-Odessa? I-If this is some kind of prank, stop. I-I don't like this."

A sound came from the bed and I whisked around, finding it was just a bird. I let out another sigh of relief, but I was soon pinned to the bed, my back facing the ceiling.

"W-What the?"

"Don't move."

Fuck.

"G-Get the fuck off of me! How did you even get in here?"

"Bribed one of the guards to let me in."

No.

"Whenever Odessa finds you."

"Odessa won't be finding me anytime soon."

"What did you do to her?"

"She's occupied with one of the guards."

He had to be lying.

"Get the hell off of me!"

He flipped me over and before I could get up, he straddled me, pinning my arms to the bed.

"Get the fuck off of me!"

"I told you I will be taking what is mine. You don't belong with that woman. That beast. She's not even human."

"You're the beast here, not her!"

"Your father missed his chance of removing your mother's tongue. I won't miss that chance when I am done here with you."

He moved my arms to where they were above my head and he held them down with one hand. His other hand reached into a small sheath that was around his right leg. A knife was removed and I found my scared reflection within the blade. He stuck the tip of the knife at the top of my toga, slowly dragging it down until there was a noticeable line cutting into the fabric. He pulled open my toga and moved his aside.

"No! No!" I thrashed underneath him.

"Everything is going to be ok. You will no longer be the stain of this empire once I am through with you."

"No! Get off of me! Odessa!" I yelled as loud as I could.

He put the knife down and placed his hand over my mouth.

"Shut up!"

I bit his palm, earning a slap.

"Shut up! I am doing this for you!"

"You're doing this for yourself and you know that!"

"My mother cannot produce a girl. All she has ever given birth to were men. And my oldest brother was married off to a rich girl."

"So you're nothing but power seeking assholes because your mother couldn't provide a girl? That's fucked up. And what is the point of telling me this? You'll never earn my empathy or sympathy!"

"It's just so you at least know why I am doing this. Because my family is cursed with only providing boys for the family instead of girls!"

"That's a you problem then. Not anyone else's."

"Shut up and take it like the good girl you are."

Odessa has called me that a few times whenever we had sex. It tingled the back of my brain whenever she said it. Made me shiver underneath her touch. But when he said it, I wanted to rip his tongue out with the knife. I wanted to cut him open and slice off his penis.

I opened my mouth and let out a yell that emerged from the depths of my stomach all the way up to the bottom of my throat. I pushed myself upwards, banging my head against his nose. He let out a yell, stumbling backwards as he released his hold on me. I grabbed the knife and my toga, covering myself up as I pointed the knife in his direction.

"Get the fuck out of here before Odessa comes!" I yelled, baring my teeth at him.

"Would you look at that. A beast of a wife for an actual beast. Your father was right," he said, holding his nose that was bleeding.

"Don't speak of my father," I snarled. "He's dead. And you will be soon if you don't leave."

I listened closely as footsteps were approaching quickly. The door flung open and Odessa entered the room.

"Did you call for--"

She didn't even finish her question. She saw the situation we were in. Her eyes widened and her lip pulled back. Her hands formed into fists as she lunged at Aetius, punching him square in the face. He fell onto the floor and Odessa got on top of him. She was just going at him, punching him across the face here and there. The sound of flesh on flesh contact filled the room and soon, blood flecks started to stain the floor and the surrounding walls. The spots flung into the air and onto anything that was in the nearby area, staining and tainting it, even though they were just mere objects in the way of the scene.

"You bastard! You fucking bastard! You don't ever fucking touch her! You hear me! You don't ever fucking touch her and you never will!"

She wrapped one hand over her fist and she raised her arms in the air, about to bring them down onto the remains of Aetius' head.

"Odessa," I placed my hand on her shoulder.

She turned towards me, blood covering her face. She saw the look in my eyes. The terror, the fear. Her breathing became unstable as she slowly turned to face the mess she made. I knew she could easily take down a person with a few punches if she was given a good reason to. But as I slowly poked my head around her body, I too was faced with the horrific sight that was forever going to be attached to this room. A room once filled with peace, laughter, cries of pain and pleasure, the sounds of nothing but pure bliss, is now filled with a deafening silence that will forever linger and burden us.