Daddy's Little Girl

Right Here

I walked until I found a clearing and instinctively cracked my knuckles; preparing for what I knew would be a long and arduous fight. The sky above seemed to sense the ominous shift in the air for soon thick clouds rolled in leaving the moon to light the area. The moments ticked onward and still no sign of the source of my demise. This waiting was straining my sanity and soon my fists were clenched at my sides. With a scream of defiance, I cursed the world around me.

"Here I am Corbin! Come fucking get me! You know just where to find me you bastard!"

The earth seemed to shiver as my screams faded away into an echo. Cutting my eyes from side to side, I braced for the surprise attack he loved to use. A flash of movement to my right caught my eye and I spun to meet the emerald gaze of my executioner. I called upon the demonic rage and felt the surge of power race through my veins. In an unexpected gesture, Corbin held out his hands. I felt my eyes narrow in wariness at the display of nonviolence.

"What are you playing at Corbin?" I hissed and crouched, ready to strike.

His expression was somber and almost pained as he stepped closer.

"Isolde please," he whispered.

Violently I shook my head, refusing to hear anymore of his plea.

"No! We both know why you're here so c'mon! Do it!"

Venom filled my voice even as the silent tears burned behind my eyes. Only my father could arrange something as twisted as this, for even with all of my bravado, I'd grown to care for Corbin. In my father's eyes it was only fitting he be the one to destroy me.

His jaw clenched and he raised a hand, summoning his scythe. My breath came in pants as he stalked ever closer. One of us would die here; we both knew that. Flames sprang from my palms as I braced for his strike. His body shook as he reached striking distance but he merely let the weapon fall to the ground beside us. Tears swam in his eyes as he fell to his knees.

"I can't," he whispered once again.

I blinked but the realization soon hit me; he had refused an order.

My own knees buckled and I reached forward to cup his face in my hands.

"Corbin you have to!"

I scrambled to pick up the scythe and forced it back into his hands. To defy a direct order meant death of the worst fashion. Tears ran freely as I pleaded with him.

"Take it! I won't fight you just...do it."

I dropped my head and waited for the blackness to greet me. Only the clatter of the steel met me once again. I risked a glance back up at him and found only the look of a man who had lost everything. Tears streamed down his face as he leaned forward, drawing me into a chaste kiss. All too soon, he pulled away and whispered against my lips.

"I won't."

As if he had been struck by lightning, Corbin's body convulsed and contorted in a twisted dance of pain upon the ground. His scream of agony ripped through the night and tore more tears from my eyes.

"Isolde go!" he rasped out one last plea before the blood gurgled up in his throat.

I shook my head and pulled his now limp body into my lap. Blood seemed to run from every pore and soon it coated both of us. Gently I brushed the hair off of his sweat drenched brow. His breath was slow and ragged as he struggled to stay alive. As if sensing the sorrow in the atmosphere, slowly a curtain of rain gently began to wash the blood from our skin. I closed my eyes and fought against the sobbing that wracked my body.

"Isolde..."

It was barely a whisper but I still was certain I heard him speak.

"Isolde...never forget. You were never one of us," he gasped out with great effort.

I shook my head and took his hand.

"Yes I am."

Violently he shook his head, using what little strength he had left.

"No...I had to swear...to never tell. Muriel was your mother's name..."

My brow furrowed at his words but that name resonated with me.

"Muriel...the angel of justice?" I asked quietly.

He merely nodded and took a labored breath.

"Never one of us..." he repeated before his eyes fell shut.

Panic flooded my body as I struggled to keep him awake.

"No! Corbin no! Stay with me!"

My mind raced, scrambling for any way to keep him alive. Blinking back tears I stared up at the night sky with a silent plea.

'Please...mother...help him. There is no justice in this'

Only the cold bite of the wind answered me as I watched Corbin's chest fall one last time. With a scream of pain I reached deep for any power I had left and found the long dormant celestial light dwelling within my soul.

'Isolde my child. You now know the truth. You now hold the power of judgement. Tell me daughter, did he deserve this fate?'

I opened my eyes as my mother's voice sounded out in my mind. With new strength flooding my senses I gazed down at his lifeless form.

"The judgement is found unfit."

My voice boomed with new found authority and the trees themselves seemed to quake. The words felt so natural as they left my lips and I placed a hand over his heart.

'Speak it child.'

I closed my eyes and whispered.

"Ego tibi vitae."

The wind swirled, kicking up the leaves surrounding us to create an almost surreal scene. The tattoos adorning Corbin's skin sprang to life in what seemed like defiance before slowly fading from sight. My eyes burned with the presence of tears as I watched him still lying motionless. My head fell in defeat as I the ever present wind chilled me to the bone. The breeze caressed my face like a lover's hand but did little to erase the despair. The weight in my lap suddenly shifted and drew my eyes open to gaze upon the man now smiling up at me. As gentle as the wind sweeping through the willow trees, he spoke.

"Accipio munus vitae"

The bond to his father was broken and in it's place a new one was forged. No longer daddy's little girl, I knew I'd be hunted for eternity but gazing into those green eyes, it didn't seem so bad. I met his smile and sealed our fate with a kiss and a whisper.

'Nos unum sumus'

Ego tibi vitae- I give you life

Accipio munus vitae- I accept the gift of life

Nos unum sumus- We are one