The Devil's Game

A Fluttering Heart

Dread weighed heavy on my heart as I raced through the forest, my feet catching on the odd misplaced root sending me stumbling several times. One sent me sprawling on the ground twisting my ankle sharply, I tore it free, not caring of the concerning snapping and popping that resulted. My hands scrambled in the dirt and leaves, desperately trying to find a grip to hoist myself up. My eyes locked onto something peculiar that had appeared in my distracted state. Instantly my heart jumped into my throat. I dared not raise my eyes any further. My hand slid in the dirt and I lost my grip falling to the Earthen floor of the forest, at his feet. I could feel the heat of his range buring into the skin of my back.
I dared not move or breathe, like waiting for a cobra to strike.

His voice cut through like the prow of a ship through thick fog. "My love." His voice was calm and steady, no singular emotion was present, and yet her heart fluttered in her chest like a caged bird. He reached down, taking my jaw into a tight grip, pulling me up so that I faced him. I dared not make eye contact for fear of what I would see when I looked into his eyes. "I thought," he hissed the word through his teeth giving way to the barely veiled fury that boiled inside of him, "that we had gotten past your little escapades."

I did all I could to frantically shake my head hoping to convey deep remorse and that he didn't understand, she wasn't trying to escape.
Mymouth moved, and I begged my voice to come forth from the frozen muscle, but it fervently refused leaving me helpless to explain.

"How disappointing." He tossed me back to the ground, my whole body shaking.

His voice tore forth in a forte that made the birds in the trees take flight. "I gave you everything!" Breathing heavily he continued. "I bathed you! I fed you! I clothed you!"

Striding over he rolled me over with a magical grip so I lay on my back. Peter stood over me hand outstretched in a claw. The pressure moved from my torso to my neck, closing down around it like a real hand, but there was nothing to grab onto even as I tried to wrestle it away. My lungs begged for air and I finally looked up at Peter, tears streaming down my face. His eyes burned with all the intensity of the fire that had taken my parents. Please. I mouthed.
He dropped his hand and life rushed into my lungs. As I coughed he knelt down beside me, stroking my hair, then wiping my tears from my face. "Oh my love, I see the fear in your eyes." Almost to himself he murmured, "So beautiful."

Peter stroked my cheek with a calloused finger. "I'm not going to kill you my dear, no." In a swift movement, his thumb found its way into my mouth and he dragged my head forward by my lower jaw. The flames in his eyes had died and all that was left was a black abyss. "I'm going to make sure you can never leave me again." He drew an arrow from his quiver, the tip coated in an onyx liquid.

A scream broke loose from my throat, broken and raspy, but it soon cleared in tone to become blood curdling. It echoed through the pines and bounced off the distant ocean. All the fight I had left in my bones sprung forth and I clawed at his hand, kicking and flailing above me Peter's mouth twitched in a triumphant look before he switched his gaze and beckoned to something on my opposite side. Out of curiosity I turned my gaze to see what he was pointing at. A willowy figure wandered out from behind a tree and I froze. Before me stood Bevin.

Unintelligible pleas tried to escape my lips as I watched Bevin calmly take the arrow from Peter. Another scream loosed from my throat. He couldn't kill Bevin, he promised, he promised me. Not him, anyone but him. At that moment I wished Peter had suffocated me.

Bevin crouched down next to me, looking me dead in the eyes as he raised the tip and plunged it into my flesh. The tip of the weapon was cool as it slid into the skin.

My eyes widened and the breath caught in my chest found its way out into the world. Nothing made sense, all of their shared moments, their bonding, their connection, everything and yet he would kill her. His eyes were glazed over like a pool in a cave, untouched by the elements for a millenia.

The knife of betrayal had been driven deep into my back, letting my heart cut itself to shreds on it. Bevin then turned away and drifted into the night like a forest spirit.

Peter had meant it when he said he wouldn't be the one to kill me, he had found the most cruel way possible to punish me.

I didn't look at him as he picked me up in his arms, I fell limp still gazing after the disappeared boy. A single tear found its way down her cheek, falling into the oblivion below.

The poison began to take over my already weak body and my eyes closed and as they did I accepted my fate drifting off into blackness.

I awoke to a vigorous shaking. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes I found Peter sitting next to me. I tried to move but was quickly stimed by the complaints of my body. Deciding to lie still I accessed the situation. I was lying on a path of some kind. The soft mist on my face told me we were high enough to be interfering with the cloud layer. Peter held out a canteen to my lips. Sleep still clouded my mind, but the situation didn't make sense. I was dying why hadn't Peter just dropped my body. He pressed it to my lips and without thinking I took a large gulp.

The pain began to immediately recede from my limbs. I inhaled sharply as I realized all too late what had happened. A story Killian told me came to mind, the story of his brother. Healed with magic water, but tied to the island. Immediately I reached up to try and purge my stomach of its contents but Peter grabbed my wrist.

The words fell from his lips with the finality of war drums, "You are mine now, my beautiful tiger Lily."