Change of Heart (NaNoWriMo 2011)

Chapter 25

Watching Elise torture Dawn right in front of him was more than he could bear. He ended up having to close his eyes; he couldn’t stand seeing her like that, in so much pain. He wanted, more than anything at the moment, to punch Elise straight in the face for what she was doing. Maybe he could punch some sense in to her, though he highly doubted that it would work. Elise kept walking in and out of the room, as though she was waiting for someone, but Jariel wasn’t completely sure.

            Night had come, and that worried Jariel. He wasn’t sure if Dawn would be able to make it through the night. She was cut up and bruised, and she didn’t have any means, besides the coat she was wearing, to keep her warm. Jariel could hear Dawn’s teeth chattering from the cold. He wished that he could protect her, not only from the cold, but from Elise. He felt extremely helpless here, tied to the pole. He felt like a complete and utter failure. He had let Elise trick him, not only once but twice, and now he was tied to a pole because he let Elise overpower him. How much more pathetic could he get?

            All of a sudden Jariel could hear foot steps coming from the other end of the room. It couldn’t have been Elise, because she had walked in to a different room. A beam of light, most likely coming from a flashlight hit the wall in front of him and he tried to turn around to see who it was, but due to the ropes that were binding him tightly around his hands and body, he was unable to. He could feel Dawn slowly sit up and the foot steps quickly, and yet quietly come closer. He wondered who it was, and hoped that they were on their side.

            He could feel the ropes around him loosen up, and then a familiar face appeared before him and removed the gag from his mouth, putting a finger to her mouth, signaling for him to be silent. Jariel quickly stood up and rushed to Dawn, who was leaning against the pole, in too much pain to move.

            “Are you okay?” he whispered, placing his hand on her blood and tear stained cheek. She slowly raised her hand and rested it on his arm, like she was grasping on for dear life.

            “I’ve been better.” She whispered hoarsely. Jariel was about to pick Dawn up and carry her out the door as fast as she could, when they heard a familiar, as well as angry, voice behind them.

            “Leaving the party so soon? But we were having so much fun.” Elise said, her arms crossed in front of her. Jariel clenched his teeth and turned around, this time prepared for whatever Elise was going to throw at him.

            “You’ve done enough.” Jariel stated, letting the venom flow freely through his voice. “This is a fight between me and you; you had no right to bring Dawn in to this!”

            “Now, why do you care if I brought a human in to this?” she asked, a false look of concern on her face.  “As far as I know, I thought you hated humans?” A sly smile made its way on to her face. “So, really, I thought I was doing you a favor. But, oh that’s right.” She was starting to circle him now, and Jariel made sure that his back never faced her. Dawn and Annette were cowering in the corner. “You fell in love with a human, didn’t you? Dawn showed you a different side to mortals, and you fell for her. Please tell me that I’m mistaken but, did this fallen angel have a change of heart?” she let out a little laugh, stopping in front of him. Jariel clenched his fists in anger; he didn’t appreciate Elise mocking him.

            “So what if I did? Why do you care?” he asked, completely confused.

            “Because love makes you happy and I want you to suffer! How many times do I have to tell you this?” she shook her head in disbelief.

            “You know what you are, Elise?” Jariel asked, angrier than he had ever been. “You’re pathetic. You have to go and trick your way to the top instead of actually working your way to the top.”