Demonic Love

Chapter 2

I watched as Raven tried to undress herself for a bath. She huffed, "Azia, will you help me?" I gave her a smirk, "You never have to ask me to help you get out of your clothes." Her face blushed that beautiful red color I love to see so much. I got the water ready and undressed us both. I lifted her up and got in the bath with her straddling my lap.

She tried ignoring the many wounds and new scars she had on her body. I knew she hated them, but she made them beautiful. I looked into her mind and saw her inner battle. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours," I asked her as I began washing her hair. "I feel so violated from what they did to me," she told me, eyes on my chest. "I still feel what they did, as if it's still happening. When I look at you, I see you looking at me with nothing but love, and as if I'm the most beautiful person in the world." She had started crying now, "How can you even look at me when I can't look at myself?"

I tilted her head up to look into her eyes as I growled. "I can look at you because I do love you and you are the most beautiful woman in the world. If every other word out of my mouth is me telling you, you are beautiful for the rest of our lives then so be it." I moved my attention to her body, gently washing the few wounds that haven't fully healed yet. "I'm tainted Azia, how can you not see that," she asked, her eyes holding nothing but pain and anger. "Because I see a woman who is pure. You've always been pure. What they did can't be erased, but what they did will never happen again. I never saw you as pure because of your body, I see your heart and that will always be pure."

She kissed me softly. The first kiss we've shared in weeks. "I'm broken Azia, and I may never be the woman you fell in love with again, but I will always be a woman that loves you." I kissed her again, rougher this time, "No matter what happens, you will always be the woman I fell in love with." She rested her head on my shoulder silent tears from her eyes falling down my skin.

I held her close to me, running my hand through her hair, soothing her until she stopped. We got out once the water turned cold. I put her in one of my shirts and undershorts before going to go get Dina. When we came back Raven was sitting on the bed with her knees up to her chest, her wrapped hands by her side. Dina gave her a smile, "Good afternoon your highness, I'm Dina." Raven gave her a small smile, "Nice to meet you Dina." I sat behind Raven and pulled her into my lap.

"May I," Dina asked her, gesturing to her right hand. Raven nodded, but didn't say anything. Dina unwrapped it gently, uncovering the malformed hand. It made Raven whimper at the sight and tuck her face into my neck. "I really am sorry that this is going to hurt," Dina apologized before she began. I watched as it changed in severity, reverting back to the how they were when I first saw them. Raven was biting into my shoulder to hold in her screams, and I didn't care one bit. 

Dina had sweat rolling down the side of her face and she was becoming pale, but she continued until the hand was healed. They both were panting afterwards. Raven moved her mouth from my shoulder and looked at her hand. She flexed it and broke out into a beautiful smile. She hugged Dina tightly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." 

Dina smiled with a nod before leaving the room. "She did it," Raven said with awe. "She actually did it." Suddenly exhaustion slammed into her and she passed out. I smiled softly as I laid her down. Won't be long till she'll making weapons again. Just a little bit longer, I thought.

I was going over the reports well into the night when there was a knock on the door. "Open," I called out, not looking up from the papers. Unif came in looking as exhausted as I felt. "I heard a woman came with promise of fixing Raven's hands," He said as he sat in the chair in front of my desk.

I nodded, "Her right hand is fixed. It'll be a little bit before Dina has the strength to heal the other one." He smiled and nodded, "That's good. Did you tell her about the war?" Now that she was getting her hands back she has come out of her depression but only slightly. Telling her that I'm going to the front line was going to piss her off and make her worry.

I shook my head, "No but I need to hurry up and do so." I sighed and sat the forms down. That was going to be hard. I then looked at Unif and saw that he was hiding something. "What is it?" I asked him. "Clarice is my mate," He announced to me. "Oh boy, uh good luck with that," I told him. "I only know because I saw her in my station during the full moon a few days ago, looking at something Raven made. After how Raven grew up I tried to hate her, but when I look at her I only see a woman filled with regret and concern," he said with a sigh.

I nodded, "I see the same." It was clear Clarice regretted how Raven was treated but she seems too scared to say anything. She is mostly quiet as she roams the castle, not really saying anything to anyone. Everyone is on edge around her, conversation neutrally pleasant with her. If she isn't in her room or sitting with Raven, she's in the library reading. When I had first heard of Clarice I had pictured a woman who demanded everything be handed to her. After I met her though, I see a woman too scared to be her own person. Her decisions growing up were not her own, instead they had been forced upon her. The real reason their parents kicked Raven out was because my beautiful mate is a fighter while Clarice is very docile and does what she is told to avoid conflict.

He sighed, "How do I go about this? The woman is scared of her own shadow for Gods sake." I gave him a shrug, "Just give her time. It was clear that in the past she was abused, show her she has no reason to be scared and that she is free to be whoever she pleases." He nodded, running a scaled hand through his hair, "How do you think Raven will like this?"

"To be honest, I don't know. Neither sister has been hostile towards the other but Raven had still been in shock," I confessed to him. "Who knows how they'll be around each other now." And only time will tell us.