Chapter 5 - Fear..

[Keth Pov]

The rain and mud that seemed to be ever flowing, finally became somewhat stagnant but did not stop, my hand placed by a stone door frame, bringing my head slowly in a off shot kind of room used by the maids and aids to move outside the castle. My hand reaching to my hair, pulling it into a bun as I pulled, allowing the build up of water to be pushed out as I dragged it down. My body leaning back on the wall as I looked around the hexagonal shaped room. Doors lined the far ends of the wall within the keep, while the hallway itself had cut outs like the windows of stone that could be seen throughout the keep. The two way open doorways that led from outside were pretty, with stain-glass windows at either side of them, but in this light it looked as if a dark purple dragged along the ground.

"How long do you plan to hide.." I spoke out, it did not matter if the long hallway had is share of rain along the floor, washing away and obstructing muddy tracks from either of the doorways. It was easy to see the marks of mud leading down the hall to the keep.

"I know you think yourself clever, but the least you could do was leave, after passing across this service area to the next not far away.. right.." I spoke again, seeing the person did not speak at all, my mouth turning into a smile as I chuckled lightly.

The hall lay quiet as death, the rain that seemed staggered once again beat down, nothing seemed to make a sound, except for the humming of laughter Keth had let slip from his lips. The torches of fire that usually lined the hallway were now but embers, the high ceiling and dark corners of the hall were now more pronounced in this environment. The shifting of something in the darkness was out of place, while from a corner a figure wished to move away from this service area, only to have a hand reach out, pulling their body back before being choked as they were placed against the wall.

"So tell me, when did I tell you to follow my shadow, was your place not already established?" From the darkness of this long hallway, leading paths into the keep, a pale hand reached out as a voice asked.

"...." Yet the person in question said nothing, their head moving back and forth as they looked down at the hand on their neck, their eyes moving up his arm, then to his chest, and face with pale blue eyes that looked into the person.

"Why do you not speak? Yet struggle to leave, or break free.. I asked you a question." I said, applying more pressure on the person's neck, watching as they struggled more, digging their nails into my skin as saliva dripped down each side of their lips.

The person in question struggled more, feeling the pressure grow over time, their hands moving to pull at my arm, but the strangeness of it couldn't even be hidden from anyone who would be a on looker. No, the strangeness only grew, because while so close, the person never lashed out at me. Their eyes becoming more watery under their dark hood of their cloak before I let go.

"*uhhhh!!" The person yelled out, dropping to the floor in a mess, their hands desperately reaching out to the ground, as they struggled to pull air into their lungs. Their cloaks hood falling as their head swung back, gripping at their neck as globs of saliva fell along the floor.

My eyes looked over the person on the floor, long black hair that looked like night was given meaning, pale almond skin that gave off a sun riched feeling. Their white cloths hidden under their cloak moved, showing a body of a slim and well proportioned frame, as they looked up into my eyes with a pained look, their brown eyes looking into my own eyes before I tilted my head.

"What are you doing here, Mysaria? or should I call you white worm for now.." I said, walking away from her crumpled body, leaning over on a wall as I watched herself stand with shaky legs.

"Was it *Cough.. truly necessary Lord Keth.." Mysaria whose eyes still watered looked at me with fear, but it was only a flash for a moment, as I looked at her as if talking to another soldier, not a woman.

"No, just like it was not necessary for you to follow, and more so to hide from me, Mysaria.." I spoke back with a uncaring tone, it had been years since I'd seen this woman as she was put to task in other matters.

"I merely did not wish to disturb you, with your talks with your men, nor your talks with lady Rhaenys.." Mysaria who looked over my face to see any change, pulled her cloak off to either side, showing her arms as she tried to look elegant once more.

"So you saw everything, or merely put it together.." I tilted my head at this, Clover had said nothing of this, grinning a little as I felt she had gotten better.

"It seems you gotten better.."

[Flash back]

The sounds of steel meeting steel rang out, the sparks of edges meeting with each other, the screams of men, women, and childern ripped through the air, along with the echoing of violence at every corner. My hands shook, looking at the dead bodies on the ground, a boy not even old enough to hold a sword, fell to the ground infront of the door. My eye only peaking through the crack as I watched the life leave his eyes with a heavy heart.

"..." I covered my mouth, the words caught in my throat as I couldn't even call out, my body moving back as I slipped, falling onto the smooth stone floor below. My body hurt slightly from the impact, my hand slipping once more as I brought it to my face.

"Ah.." The scream didn't last long, my hand covered in blood, shot to my mouth to cover it as I remembered something, heat came from my stomach as I felt vomit wanting to wretch from my throat. My throat moving as I pushed the feeling down into the pit in my stomach.

My eyes turning to look around me, looking at the once beautiful furnishings of this large home, expensive wears and silk, along with everything one of the wealthy could ever ask for. Yet all around me were dozens of corpses left to rot, a pile of a woman, child, and maid laid together. I could not bring myself to care, no matter how I looked at it, this home in this state did nothing to change the feeling in my heart.

At the start of the night, I was taken to the guest house of this home, told to strip, and beaten. The man of this manor was not one of the others, he did not take pleasure in my flesh, but to harm it. Saying a whore like me did not deserve better skin then his lady wife, when the beatings stopped, I was pushed down and fed like a dog by the lady of this house for provoking lust within her husband. The same woman who laid on the floor, along with her son who took pleasure in treating me as if property for him to own later.

My eyes glossed over this pitiful family, my heart did not care before, and it did not now, but when the fire in the city took place. A long with the killings, I was told to bring the whip from the guest house for the man that owned me, to have his pleasure. I had no where to go, men in black armor killed people without care, no matter status or age, even if my heart was pushed into hell long ago, my body betrayed me as I hid, trying to not be seen by these men until I reached this place of torture.

"P-pl-please.. My,my, my, my son.." while in the midst of reminiscing about recent events, I heard of stuttering voice quiver in the Darkness, my eyes roaming over the room as I watch the lady of the house, her hand bloody and shaky as she reached out to her son's face.

it seemed the mother still drew breath, and the boy next to her was merely clinging to her half lifeless body, His Eyes Full of Tears as he laid next to her in her own blood, even as I watched, there was no sense of guilt, or pity within my heart. they clung to each other, the only thing that moved me, like how I clung to my survival so heavily, wanting to be free from this world of pain.

"So I miss some, I was not expecting that.." Again, when I was absent-minded other situation around me, I heard another voice echo out. Yet, this time it was far different from any voice I've known in this house. my eyes wandering around, watching as the thick silk drapes that separated this house were pulled apart, a man and a black cloak and black roundish like hat stepping out. my eyes looking at the blood that covered his cloak, The Sword in his hand, that yet still dripped fresh blood.

I froze again, if I had not been so absent-minded about these people, I would not be in this predicament, I should have hidden without caring about their well-being, but yet even now as all of us are equal, they still drag me into the pits. my eyes watched his movements, his body farther away then me from the lady and her child, my eyes moving around searching, stressed as I look for anything to turn this situation around. Any gleam of Hope left my eyes of leaving this house, but still I saw what I searched for, and as if fire burned within my stomach I rushed forward.

"Can you actually fight.." the man standing in his cloak said something, and while my eyes were fixated on him, it did not matter if I answered or not, my hand reaching out to grab what I looked for, as I made my way towards him.

"Just die.." in the moments the words left my lips, the world seemed to go silent, the loud thudding in my heart, the blood rushing in my veins seemed to deafen, the spinning in ruminations of my thoughts coming to a head as I brought down the object.

My eyes became fixated, my heart silent as the wounds in my heart broke, threatening to break me down to my core, threatening to let the darkness that slept within my heart be set free. Yet to me now, I did not care, the yells and slashs of blood on my face and hair were drowned out by the laughter and yells of the past. My hands trembling only once as I brought down the object over and over and over again.

"Just! Fucking! Die!" I yelled out is my throat cracked open, the flood within my heart no longer able to be contained, oozing out every dark feeling, allowing it to Echo within this home. my eyes that had lost their light, soon gained awareness again as the object dropped Loosely from my hands, looking down at the woman and child I had stabbed over and over again.

The cacophony of loud echoing sounds within my mind once again sped up, my body trembling Loosely as I leaned over on my hands, my legs had already long given out as I sat on my knees. the darkness that slept with in my heart finally set free, my body was trembling with laughter before I could even tell, while my Vision began to become blurry, looking at the stone floor as drops of water mixed with the blood, my laughter stopping as a moan escaped my lips. I may die, and that was fine with me, but I will take back some of myself from this world of fear before I died.

It seemed like a lifetime, I sat, and let the pent up feelings ooze out of my body. the longer I sat the more my body adjusted itself, slowly the dark feelings whispered their way back into my heart, I had long forgotten about the man, maybe in these last moments I felt that the world moved slower, yet maybe it wasn't so as I felt my shirt be torn apart from my back. my body trembled as I held my sides, again I tried to close my heart off, maybe he would partake in my body before killing me, but it was all the same.

"Tell me was it them.." while letting myself become numb, another voice rang out, this one far different from the man in the cloak earlier, my head slowly turning to the side as my eye looked at the man through my hair.

His body was stained all over with blood, along with his sword in his hand, his armor were far different from the other men that I've seen tonight, his hand reaching to his head as he pulled the helmet free, my eyes Shining but for a moment as I watched the lustrous white hair fall from his helmet, only to be mesmerized by the paleness of his blue eyes, looking as he leaned down to me.

"Tell me, did they do this to you?" The man asked in a gentle tone, his hand free from his armor as he touched my back, his rough hands gentle as they rubbed over the scars I hid within my clothes. His voice calm as I turned my eyes from him, not wanting to answer, I had seen men gentle but still used me.

"It is fine if you do not wish to tell me, like broken clay molded into something beautiful, as nature chips away at it.." he spoke lightly, his hands gently bringing my clothes back together, my ears picking up the sounds of his feet lifting him to stand once more.

"The world is the same no matter where you go, piece by piece it takes from you, for you it was in the form of men, so you took everything from them.." even as I didn't speak he still spoke words to me, and even if they were lost on me now, they felt like words of comfort.

"You may stay here, sun touched flower, or you can come with me, or always be ruled by your fear.." The man said, my head turning around as he threw a cloak on my back, his armor beating along the stone as he walked to the door with the cloaked man behind him.

'Fear..' the word echoed in my head, round and round until it reverberated in my heart, this man wanted nothing from me, and even as my heart protested that it was only a mere faint to partake in me later, I still turned on my knees to look at him, his head looking back at me one more time as he spoke words.

"Or I could shield you from that fear.."