Electress [Makai Ouji]

Chapter Two

There's something soft underneath my head. Something gentle and warm engulfs my body, chasing my remaining fear away. My heart isn't racing. My body aches slightly. The ache intensifies to severe discomfort, edgy pain, but doesn't grow beyond that. I try to delve deeper into this cocoon of security. "I must be dead." I groan, burrowing into something both soft and firm.

"I wouldn't say that." The words surprise me.  My eyes slide open lazily, and with great effort. All I can recall at the moment is fear and dark, ruby eyes and fire and screams. I groan and try sitting up. "Don't move. Your body can't take it." A low voice speaks from above me as I redirect my gaze. True to his word, my body shudders and collapses. Red, red eyes stare at me, brow furrowed. My head rests on this man's lap, and my body is blanketed in a red cloak that seems to suit him.

"Who..." I frown slightly. "Do I.. know you?" The man's eyes widen slightly. "You look familiar..."

He smiles slightly. "You wouldn't know me." I frown at that.

"No... I know you from somewhere." His eyes crinkle. "You... saved me?" I chide myself for a moment. I shouldn't be asking what appears to be obvious, but confirmation won't hurt. The man nods his head. "Thank you." Again, he looks surprised and offers me a slight smile. "Who are you?"

He hesitates, and I turn my gaze away. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's okay." My head throbs spitefully, as if to disagree with me.

"Dantalion. My name is Dantalion." He looks at me, almost hopefully.

"Dantalion." I murmur, practically tasting his name. "That's a nice name. It sounds strong." My head throbs again. "It sounds so familiar..." I murmur quietly. Dantalion doesn't seem to hear it.

Gathering every ounce of determination I can muster, I pull my strength together and sit up, my head spinning from effort. "Thank you, Dantalion. You saved my life."

Why is it that he looks so utterly surprised when I thank him? So at peace just from hearing his name? I look at Dantalion carefully. "I swear I've met you before." He shakes his head. "Well if I haven't met you in this life, maybe a previous one... although reincarnation probably doesn't exist." Dantalion appears amused and pleased.

I look about the room carefully. This is most certainly not the room from before. "Where..."

"Floor above." I nod my head. This room, although dusty and filled with long-forgotten furniture, doesn't carry the same hopeless abandonment it probably had last night.

"My guitar... Is it downstairs?" Dantalion looks confused. "Probably." When I move to stand, he panics.

"You shouldn't move!" He exclaims. I smile wearily.

"I need to get it." I soon discover that I can't stand on my own. My legs instantly buckle beneath my unsupported weight. In the end, and after several minutes worth of arguing, Dantalion agrees to help me retrieve my guitar from the floor below.

The trek to the basement, or what appears to be the basement, is slow going. Dantalion supports most of my weight, and my legs refuse to move as I will them to. My stomach is full of butterflies at the thought of last night, and my head is filled with stabs of pain. "Sorry. I'm forcing you to help me." I murmur through clenched teeth. Dantalion risks a look at my face, which is beaded with sweat.

"We can rest if you need it." He says quietly. I can tell he wants me to take him up on the offer, but I can't.

"If I rest," I say, beginning to feel breathless, "I won't move again for a very long time." Dantalion frowns as I struggle forward. "I'll rest when I'm dead."