The Partling

chapter 16

Harumi felt like a deer in the headlights. Like she was about to get hit by a car. She didn't know how to react to this, how to handle this. Even though she had been so careful from the first day on, he still found out.

It was her own fault, really. Because she had betrayed him last time, he knew from the beginning what was going on. Lloyd knew exactly what she had been planning. That she was working with the ninja. That didn't really help her right now.

If she was lucky, she'd be able to distract him long enough until the ninja got into the castle. All she had to do was give him some reason to listen. To make sure he didn't call for the other oni to come and escort her away. Probably to the dungeon.

The glare she was receiving from her first love was unnerving. She had expected him to be furious with her. To lash out and use his powers. But none of that happened. No, he actually looked hurt and confused.

And it gave Harumi time. It allowed her to see that there was still some part of him left that didn't even want any of this. A part that was begging for help. To be released from the oni blood that held his mind captive.

"Lloyd....." she didn't know how to explain it. To explain that nothing had been real except for the love she felt for him.

"I knew I couldn't trust you" he scoffed. "From the second you came in. Did you actually think you could fool me?"

Harumi bit her lip. She thought hard about what she should do next. The chance of escape was slim, and the ninja could be here any second. Sure, she could start running through the castle. But knowing her luck, she'd get caught by one of the oni the moment she left the room.

So, that was out of the question. Maybe she could try to reason with him. Oni weren't soulless and he still had that small part of the dragon inside him, human too. If only she knew how to speak to them.

Harumi was a good actress, she knew it. She had managed to fool them all for days after all. But this was the time for honesty. The time to spill all her secrets and he honest for the first time in forever. To talk some sense into him.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

Tears made their way down her cheeks. Harumi couldn't hold it in anymore. She didn't want to see him like this. Like one of those things that destroyed what stood in their path.

"I didn't see any other way" she tried to explain.

"Oh please spare me the act" the oni rolled his eyes.

"This is no act!" Harumi yelled, shaking her head furiously. Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her skin. She was scared and she knew it. Lloyd scared her in a way that she couldn't even describe.

But that wouldn't stop her from helping him this once. It was all that she could do right now. All she could ever do. And after they had made it, all she can do is beg for forgiveness.

"Is it not? All you have ever done is manipulate the people around you! The emperor, the empress, all the people in the palace. And then there's me" Lloyd hissed, purple eyes narrowing.

Harumi tried not to flinch at that, but she did. "What I have done is unforgivable. But I'm trying to redeem myself" she whispered, looking at the ground in front of her.

The dark marble tiles were smooth, and cold. She hated how cold everything was. How cold her surroundings were. It felt like freezing every day. How cold he had become. Not just his character, but his touch as well.

Harumi noticed it on the first day. Every inch of his skin was as cold as ice and didn't seem to get warm, no matter what she did.

"I'm trying to help you!" she finally yelled.