Sweet Songbird (G/T)

Chapter Eight

Seraphina had almost fallen asleep on the hard surface of the drawer when there was a harsh movement from above. Blinking, she let her blue eyes adjust to the new light and found herself staring up into the massive eyes of her captor. The glint in his eyes made her breath hitch in her throat. Anger. Pure, horrifying anger. "S-Sir?" She stuttered out, her heart hammering in her ears.

Eric had to somehow calm himself. He wasn't angry at his scared little robin, he was angry at himself. "What?!" His voice barked, startling even himself on how loud and harsh it was. Certainly, more than the giant had planned.

She flinched at the volume of his voice and had to force herself from making any noise of fear, or moving backward. "W-What's wrong?" She whispered, making herself take a step towards the furious being.

Now, this surprised him even more. Even though the human girl was clearly terrified, she had come closer. She couldn't really run away in the first place as she's in the drawer, but it was still...dare he even think it, heartwarming. "It's none of your business." He grumbled, averting his eyes from the attractive woman.

"O-Oh, I-I know. I'm terribly sorry. I-I just thought that-" Seraphina stopped herself from continuing and lowered her head. Staring at her feet she lowered her voice to a mere whisper. "I'm sorry." Memories began to rush through her mind about her father. Her brother. How abusive they had been to her.

A sharp crack across her back made Sera flinch and nearly scream in pain, but she knew she couldn't. It was always where the bruises couldn't be seen where they hit her. "P-Papa, please!" The not even ten-year-old girl cried, hot tears pouring down her face.

The drunken man only cackled, crashing the thick, thorny branch into the child's back for a second time, listening to her screams of pain. His eyes glinting furiously, his lips curled into a wicked grin. 

Her elder brother stands on the sidelines, peeking through the doorway with a sad look on his face. He always feigned innocence when their father would do something, but whenever he got the chance he'd hit her in the back, striking the still sore bruises.

Sera shook the images away before the memory could continue, and only when she was lifted out of the dark area in the drawer did she feel the water trickling down her cheeks. She forced herself not to look at the owner of the large hands, not wishing to be seen in such a weak state.

"Seraphina...my sparrow. You're crying." Eric arched a brow, using a finger to force her head upright to meet his eyes. He kept his voice in his normal tone so he didn't sound as concerned as he truly was. Of course, it still wasn't a lot. Mostly just a slight twang in his chest. Sure enough, tears were brimmed in her eyes and dripping onto her hands. "Tell me why. It's not a request, it's an order."

Sera's lip quivered in fear and sadness, but considering this is probably the only person or beast she'll ever have to comfort her again, she leaned into his always surprisingly gentle touch. "M-my father, and my brother. B-Before you took me, they were the only ones who trapped me. Wh-Who beat me." The words were like fire in her throat. She had to force them out, as she's never confided in anyone.

"Your own family?" The giant mumbled in a slightly curious tone. 

"Y-Yes...which brings up a question th-that I do not wish to get in trouble for asking." Sera lowered her head once more as she worked up the courage to speak once again. "Do you have one? A-A family I mean."

This struck Eric right where it hurt. His eyes shifted just off to the side of the human woman, looking at the hardwood floor below. His family. The one he hadn't seen since...

Seraphina watched the massive man's face. She saw how for only a moment, his eyes went from dark and menacing to soft and sad. His face wasn't hard and stern, but once again, soft and gentle. What had happened to his own parents? Surely he had to have come from somewhere. "Sir?" She said softly, resting her hand on the tip of his finger.

The small touch seemed to have shaken him from his thoughts and once again his eyes turned dark and his face hard. His fingers curled tightly around her thin frame. It sent a sharp pain all throughout her body and she let out a small squeak of both fear and pain as she was lifted in front of his cruel stare. "I don't have, nor need one." He said with a hiss in his voice.

As his grip loosened she swallowed a lump in her throat. She knew it was a lie, yet he didn't seem to want to talk. And she was fine with that if all he was going to do was nearly crush her ribs. 

"Oh, my little songbird, forgive my harshness. It is just...I do not wish to speak of it." His large finger brushed over her curves, sending a chill through her body. But his voice was once again calm and gentle, as was his touch. "But I have to get to the meeting. They are waiting in my study room."

"Y-Yes sir." She squeaked out, pulling the fabric of her blue dress down over her legs as far as she could without revealing her chest too much.

Eric inhaled deeply as he walked through the halls of his mansion. His heart was beating fast in his chest as he struggled not to see the images from way back in his childhood. When his mother and father, his little sister, were all...No. He shook his head swiftly as he once again pushed the images away. 

See, that was the day everything changed. It was the day he went from being a gentle, caring person to everything around him. The day he chose to hate humans with a burning passion.