« I don't CARE if you are not the Pride I used to know! I don't care because somewhere in your core, there is still that part of you I loved and still do! »
She was flustered, angry, worried but determined. Her voice did shake but did not falter. Her eyes were glowing so brightly that it did felt as if they were two suns burning and they were staring at the King of the Underworld. She was breathing hard, her chest heaving up and down as the goddess' energy just burst out in the room, literally burning the virgin rolls to a crisp. It did hurt him, not enough to actually wound him but enough for him to feel uncomfortable. Despite her anger and blood lust, Elpis still remained a force for good. The antithesis of what he actually was. She was upset, he could understand why, he'd been very dismissive of her words, of her grand speeches about love and how powerful that was. He'd been very dismissive of the way she talked about him, his former self. It wasn't useful to him because this version of Pride didn't exist anymore. It seemed like an anomaly to him, like an aberration that Hades got rid of but there was something to it he would never admit, caught his attention. To the goddess, this version of him was better, because he was more. In what ways could he be more than what he actually was? He was the king of nothing, he was taking her opinion and emotions as if they were the only thing that mattered to him. He was concerned about her well-being and was also nauseatingly soft with her. That Pride was a version of him he could never be and she knew that. She knew he was violent. She knew he was rough. She knew of the darkness he was the embodiment of and yet she still remained by his side.
At first, he believed it was loyalty. All of those under his rule was to be loyal to him, but she didn't bend the knee. She wasn't like Asma who was devoted to such extremes, all that mattered to her was him. His needs, his desires, his everything. She loved him so much that she literally gave into him, perhaps, influenced by his very corruptive nature. She put herself at his service, executed his very will but NOT Elpis. Elpis did not bend and this very fact, alone, was enough to both frustrate and intrigue him. She cared for him, for his success but she was very firm in what she wanted and how she wanted it. Her personality shone through, brightly and so strongly that he couldn't crush it into submission, nor did he actually want to. She wasn't a subject, she was his equal. At least that was how she always behaved. That was the reason why she didn't cower when he became angry and angry purple hues stared into the bumblebee hues of Elpis. She stood her ground and butted heads with him. Ah! He didn't quite know what to make of it, but it quickly proved challenging and attractive.
« You speak as if there is something more for you to find inside of me than what you can already see. I am who I am, Elpis. » -He curbed a brow as she put her hands on her waist.-
« You are who you always have been, Pride. » -She pointed out- « But you've been alone for thousands of years, with nothing but an ally by your side. » -She watched as he walked towards her, still fuming for her burst of anger that cost him new scrolls and her bold attitude. His aura increased, nefarious, cold and purple dark, as the night but she didn't move from her spot. Instead, she watched him as he moved slowly, like a predator surrounding its prey.
« Lust is the only ally I ever need. You... »
« Yes, me. What about me? » She said, lifting her head and chin as he started to walk around her. His eyes still intensely staring at the beautiful white dress that hugged her very curvaceous body. Her pink hair was braided and tossed on the side so reveal her naked shoulders, her exquisite and gracile neck and the earrings he offered her, shaped like skulls. Her eyes followed him as once again he faced her.
« You are nothing but a means for me to get revenge from your people. »
« Lies ! If I was nothing but a means, you would not have set me free! » She pointed out, She lifted her chin, her gaze still burning brightly. « You wanted me out because you were curious. You saw what that older version of you experienced and you wanted it for yourself. Yet, you're not willing to try. You're afraid. » -She dryly said. He walked towards her, making the goddess walk back until she hit against the wall. His aura became overwhelming. She resisted as much as she could and refused to kneel before him, regardless of the pressure his aura was applying to her.
« I do not lie. » -He prided himself in never having to say a lie.-
Pride might hide some truth, he might conceal some elements of truth but he would never say a lie. He didn't need to, the truth was a far more powerful weapon than all the lies combined. However, she had a point. While he was using her to get his revenge on the primeval gods at first, Pride was now considering her as an individual. She wasn't just a prop anymore, she was Elpis. She kept her gaze on him, intense golden orbs stared at him and he held her hands.
« You are not being true either. I am more than just an excuse to wage war at my pantheon. » -She let him lift her hands above of her head, not resisting him and not fearing him either.-
« And what is it that you think you are to me then ? » He pinned her hands on top of her head, using his strength to keep her from moving. She was at his mercy, still overwhelmed with his dark aura. It was sending shivers down her spine. Elpis' chest heaved up and down at a faster pace, her skin covered itself with goosebumps. « What is it that you think I am to you ? »
« You are the one I chose to love. » She boldly claimed, her eyes still holding onto his gaze. « I am...a question mark for you . » She admitted, her tone changing into something softer and sad. « I represent what you lost, what you could have again. I know I have lost the Pride you once were, it's...I know it. » She paused and shut her eyes. He could see that she was troubled about that, but he couldn't exactly help what happened to his old body.
« I am a better version of myself, whether you like it or not. »
«I know ! I accepted that you are different ! I accepted you ! » -She yelled before she furrowed her brows and groaned. Her head leaned against the wall.- « I accepted you. »
She repeated again, in a softer tone before she moistened her lips again and wiggled her hands so he would set her free, but he didn't. Her words echoed in his mind, sounding strange to him because he never truly heard them before. Nobody said so, nobody spoke to him as if they chose him as if they had the choice not to. She could have rejected him, she was free to do so after all, but strangely enough, he was content that she didn't. He was content that she chose him. She arched her back, jerking her chest against his. He released his hands to see what she was going to do and she cupped his cheeks. Her eyes softened and she pulled his forehead against hers. She surprised and he didn't quite know how to react to her words but to oppose some silence to her. Her aura became stronger, spreading in the whole chamber and balancing his. They found some balance, a tiny moment of balance between their auras which fed into each other. His eyes were confused for a brief moment as he never saw it happen before; He never saw her this confident before and never felt this warmth until today. It engulfed him, put him to ease without fighting against him and his very nature. It felt..
« Well...Of course, you'd choose me. » Was all he could say to her before she pressed her lips to his. « You've been quite stubborn, Elpis, upset even because I keep you safe in my chambers. »
« You mean you keep me /prisoner/ here. I know you don't want to expose myself to Ayasha and Ishtar and risk my death. »
« It would be unfortunate, yes. » He admitted, stroking her soft cheek with his forefinger. « I'd like for you to stop being upset at me. I cannot protect you when you're making this difficult for me. »
« I do not need protection like some damsel in distress. I need companionship. I need to participate in your plans. I do not want to be kept in the dark and wait as my vessel had. » She ran her hand over his shoulders and then held his hands.
« Are you begging ? » He teased her with, making the goddess roll her eyes and shake her head. « It would be so much better if you did beg. » He teased her with a nibble on her neck. The goddess moaned softly and held onto his hands harder.
« Mmhhh I do not think you deserve...I do not think... »
« You don't think ?.. yes that's good if you don't.. » He teased her again, nibbling the chin strap, forcing several shivers down her spine. She released his hands and gently wrapped her arms around his neck.
« You can't possibly think...it's going to work. »
« I think it's working just fine. »
And he was right, it was working. He distracted her from this intense moment they just had shared and she let him. She had planted the seeds in his mind, reaffirmed her desire to be with him, was determined to try and be patient because he was worth the try. He always had been.
-TBC-
No comments:
Post a Comment