Scar

Scar Part XI

Everything was dark. Thin beams of light coming down from the holes in the ceiling were the only contacts to the world above as Evelyn splashed through the knee-high water. She was weightless. Uneasiness settled onto the bottom of her stomach. Fear now blossomed and reached fruition in panic. Screams tortured her ears. Their words were indecipherable among the thousands that surrounded them. The water churned. It boiled into the shape of hands which were now reaching for Evelyn's legs. She tried to run from them, but for every hand she escaped, another lunged for her. The voices grew louder, and faces appeared. They were infinite, a field of desperate eyes. All stared at Evelyn and begged for help.

"I don't understand. What do you want me to do?" Her questions were met with rising chaos. She panicked when a hand wrapped itself around her wrist. It pulled her into the rising sea of red. Her fight against the whirlpool was futile when met with the strength of dozens. She had only the liberty to turn her head as she descended into the mass. Her chest could no longer expand to breathe. With her last lung-full of air and her head being drawn into the abyss, she cried for help, but her voice was lost among the deafening chorus.

                                                                                           ***

Evelyn's propelled from her pillow, a motion which yanked her from the scarlet Hell of her dream. Silently, she dressed to face Drachma's frigid touch. She stood in the narrow walkway that connected the guard towers of the fortress. Leaning over the guard rail, she surveyed the horizon. She longed to see something besides the bleak white, something to bring back feeling. Turmoil, mystery, and upheaval had stripped her of emotion, and she fought to hide how drained she was feeling. Her head pounded trying on every emotion, but none suited the recent events. Anger could not be shown because she didn't know with whom to be angry. She couldn't cry because there was nothing to mourn. She had a reason for joy, but with the current events with which she was faced, she couldn't bring herself to smile.

The isolated rhythm of footsteps turned her attention to her left. Scar stood with his hands in his coat pockets and smirked. A wave of energy inflated her spirit. Unwittingly, her lips curled and stretched into a tight grin. It was a unique force which worked its way into the ravines of her body. This was the presence of pure intentions, of true love.

"It's freezing out here. You should be inside." His voice was velvet. 

"I couldn't sleep." He wrapped an arm around her.

"Is there something that troubles you, Evelyn?" Her eyes reflected the glitter in his.

"Armstrong agreed to aid in the coup."

"Is that not good news?" 

"I have no idea what we're even up against. We only just recently discovered that homunculi are real. How do we expect to win?"

"By beating them." She rolled her eyes at his cocky smile.

"Smartass." Measured footsteps broke the silence that followed. Reflexively, the private saluted. Evelyn waived him to ease.

"There is someone here to see you, captain."

"Who?"

"I'm under orders not to say." Evelyn rotated to face him directly. Her glare burned hot, and he shifted under its weight. Stuttering, he forced out the name. "It's Major Kimblee, ma'am."

"Where is he?"

"Section 2, wing C, room 312." Her coat snapped the air with the full force of Evelyn's turn. The nobility on her face masked her fury and anguish, and her gait commanded all to step aside.

Kimblee stood before her. His hands were folded neatly behind his back, and she could feel hot blood rush to her face as she laid eyes upon the tattoos on his palms.

"Major Kimblee." His smile assaulted her, and her rage turned molten when he approached her.

"Evelyn, I missed you." It was a benign hiss, the rattle of a sleeping snake.

"What did you need to discuss, Major?" He sighed. 

"Evelyn, you weren't always this professional around me." He traced the tips of his fingers down her cheek. Her stomach lurched. "What happened?" She stepped back and brought his confidence to its knees. Recovering from the blow, he stretched his spine erect. Gazing down at Evelyn, it was evident that his eyes were removed of all that made him the man she had once admired. They had the appearance of the sun, but were unbearably cold to those who dared to look into them. In place of the radiance of kindness, there was a wall of corruption and hunger.

"Fine, I'll get to the point. I've heard about your recent discovery." Her heart was constricted by fear. He took her hand. "Evelyn, my dear, I want to offer you the reward of it all. I want to offer you a place in Father's plan. With the Philosopher's Stone, we could live forever together as the greatest alchemists this world has ever known. We'd be monarchs." She yanked her hand away, but he responded by grabbing each side of her face. The love was now returning to his face, and the pain of his spirit thawing was like knives in his sides. "You'd be my queen. You deserve no less, and that's all you'd receive. I'd give you all the love and respect a queen should have. I screwed up. I took you for granted and abandoned you for orders, but I love you, Evelyn. I want to give you a place in this new world." Hurt returned to his eyes as he remembered the years behind a cage with nothing to think about besides his sins against her. He adapted the cage to confine the guilt of his actions, and its engineering was flawless in keeping out the regret of taking so many lives. Though looking at the rose eyes that looked up at him with fear, he could only see the gallons of blood on his hands. As the feelings of humanity returned, he released them on her. He melted into her lips and wished to absorb everything she was, but his affections were met with struggle. To her, Kimblee's embrace was as charming and passionate as being eaten alive by a Rougarou. She shoved him back and struck his cheek. 

"Listen to me very carefully because the next time we have to go over this, you'll have a minimum of three joints out of place. I will never join your little team, and I'll never be your wife, much less a queen, especially when all those who would be subjected to me will be dead." 

"You realize that you must be an enemy now. I will have to destroy you if you retaliate."

"I can live with that idea. Give it your best shot."