Damon led Pandora downstairs and into the dining room, passing Kirk on their way. The butler looked puzzled for a moment when he saw his boss escorting the one enemy he would have expected Damon to keep as far away from himself as possible, but unlike the guards he decided not to question it. After all, he knew his employer was odd. That was half the reason he even worked at the manor; it was a lot less boring than any other job he could have picked up to support himself. With a little shake of his head, Kirk turned and continued on his way, figuring that if his boss needed help, he would call for it.
The young Duke smiled down at his companion as the two seated themselves at the dining table. "You know, I bet everyone I know would kill for a chance to hold you hostage." He said, more to himself then to the girl sitting next to him. She had chosen a seat directly beside the one at the head of the table, where Damon usually sat, putting them both close enough together that Damon was a little apprehensive towards it. There seemed to be a sort of sensation that descended over him when he saw Pandora, and it got worse the closer she got to him. Still, it wasn't painful, so he supposed he didn't have any reason to ask her to move. He did wish that the feeling would go away, though. He didn't like that his heart was beating as fast as if he had drunk a full three or four cups of coffee.
Pandora grinned. "A lot of them have." She said, arranging herself in her chair carefully. "And none of them succeeded." She added, her grin growing wider. Damon laughed. "Well, if they had, it would have been a nation-wide event for us. There probably would have been a holiday named after it and everything." He said. Pandora chuckled. "Is my death really that big of a deal to your kingdom?" She asked, almost a little apprehensive. Damon shrugged. "I mean, probably. The one major hero that we did manage to kill had a whole memorial and everything, plus now we have the Day of Triumph to celebrate all of our wins that we've had throughout the year because of him. I remember it being a debate of whether we should celebrate on the day that he was born, or the day that he died. Most people agree it's the day he died, but some still choose to think of the holiday as his birthday for some odd reason or another. And he didn't have half the world-wide influence you do, so I imagine your death would be an even bigger thing." Damon added. Pandora tilted her head to one side, contemplating this. "You know, that's disturbingly similar to how we celebrate him. It's more a day of mourning for us, though. Everyone wears a black scarf and goes to put flowers on the graves of their loved ones who were lost in war or killed by villains. It's sort of a solemn affair. I never thought you people would care about that kind of thing." She added, sinking into thought. Damon nodded. "Oh, yes. If a big hero dies, they're remembered and celebrated. It's sort of like a way of us saying 'you had a good run, you bastard'. A lot of people take it as an excuse to drink a lot and throw parties, and the ones that don't are usually opposed to interacting with heroes in any sort of way. But the villains that hate our culture of celebrating people who bothered us in life by rejoicing in their death aren't the ones that get through more than one battle. Most of the time they either die, or realize that there really isn't any way to stay so hateful of the rest of the population's coping mechanisms without getting on the bad side of villains they'd much prefer to be friends with." He said.
Pandora smiled. "Oh, I've met a few of those people. Most of the time they're the ones I'm sent after, since killing someone that's widely recognized as dark and brooding is pretty much the best way to get people to see villains as truly evil. It's like, if I come back and show everyone that I got rid of someone who dresses in black and acts evil, then it's easier for them to see that person as a horrible human being that should rightfully suffer for their actions. It's a bit sad to think about it like that, but it's true." She added, with a little sigh. Damon bit his lip, slightly unsettled at this. "You really only ever killed people for appearances? None of it was because you actually saw them as a threat?" He asked, a little hesitant. He wanted the truth on this matter. But at the same time, he was a little worried that he'd get it. Pandora shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure why I killed people. Most of the time, I was just told to do it, and so I did. There wasn't any particular rhyme or reason to it that I could see. The way it worked was I got handed a map with a certain point marked out, and I was ordered to kill the person who lived there. And I did. Early on, I figured I was doing a good thing, or that the person I was sent after was truly awful and deserved what I dealt. But after I dropped out of the whole hero thing and then got dragged back in by my ears, I started to see the stuff I'd blinded myself to before. The large plots of land my boss would effectively seize and hold hostage until his demands were met once the person owning that land was gone, the people that could be raided and brought back to our kingdom against their will to serve our needs without having any say in the matter, the assets my kingdom took from yours through me. It was all very depressing to see without the rose-colored glasses I'd had glued to my face for years on end. It was even worse when I realized that it was my fault so many horrible things had happened to such innocent people. I'm responsible for a lot of pain and even more destruction. I've torn millions of families apart, destroyed eons of hard work and carefully preserved history that's been passed down through the hands of generations. I've taken so much from so many people, and most of the time I didn't even know it." Pandora took a deep breath, something dark and sad coming into her eyes that pulled at Damon's heart in a way he absolutely did not like.
"You see, it's not just about the leaders I kill." Pandora continued, swallowing hard. "It's about the people that they protected. The people that looked up to them. I've been responsible for so many children being torn away from their lives and their homes, then taken to a kingdom that they aren't familiar with and have no clue how to navigate. And that's what the people who take them prey on. They know that their captives can't find a way out of any cage they might be put in, and they know that they can force them to do whatever they like because of that. And it's my fault. If I hadn't become a hero in the first place, none of this would have ever happened." She said, her voice fading into a whisper as she lost the words to express how horrid she felt about everything she'd done. Damon looked her over, a little conflicted. On one hand, he knew he should have been furious at her for ever putting herself in a position where she might have been responsible for the deaths of thousands. But on the other, he knew she wouldn't have ever done any of this if she had known how many people it would destroy. He could see it in her eyes, and hear it in her voice. She genuinely hated herself because of the many horrible things she had done in her short five years as a hero.
"It's alright." Damon said, subconsciously reaching out to take her hand. He stopped himself before he actually touched her, playing it off as though he was taking a slice of pork from the platter in front of him and putting it on his plate. He wanted to kick himself for almost showing something more than decent human courtesy to his enemy, but decided not to be to harsh on himself yet. He'd always been mockingly affectionate towards the people he despised. This was probably just a product of him being used to acting soft around the people he hated. "I doubt it's really something that could have been avoided." He continued, trying to ignore the awkward pause that had fallen for a split second. "I mean, if you hadn't done it, then someone else would have. There's got to be someone in the world right now who can do the same things you can. And I'm sure that they would have joined the whole hero sharade and done the exact same things as you if you hadn't been the one to step up." He added. Pandora shook her head. "It's not like that. I'm a prophecy child. There's only ever one of us at a time, and everyone's always looking for us. I still remember waking up extremely early one morning when I had just turned fifteen and there being three or four strange men in our living room, talking to my parents in hushed voices so that I couldn't hear without coming down and asking what was going on. They told me all about there being a prediction that someone in my area the same age as I was who could be the next major hero, and how if it was me then I would be able to live a life of complete luxury and be seen as the best person in the world by many regular people. I was excited, of course, so I went through with their tests and everything to determine if my future truly matched with the life every child had always wanted to live. And it did. Apparently, I was so much better than all of my competitors combined that there was no question. Right from the start they knew it was me. And that's how I got into this whole mess. I was just a stupid child, willing to follow whatever anyone told me was best without actually looking into it for myself." She sighed. Damon contemplated this, a little confused. "How do you determine a prophecy? I mean, of course I know people who dabble in magic, and even a few who are heavily wrapped up in it. But this just sounds more like an excuse to make putting children through a bunch of tests to see whether or not they fit what people are looking for sound sane. It's not like any real mage would just say 'oh yeah, the person you're looking for is right about here and this is their age'. If this whole thing is really important enough that it determines that next major hero, then I doubt your king would leave things that undetermined. He'd probably get someone to clear it all up, and figure out exactly who is the 'chosen one', or whatever you want to call it." He said. Pandora shrugged, a tired look replacing her sadness. "I imagine you're right. But it still doesn't change the fact that I'm more of a villain then many of the people I've killed." She sighed, biting her lip. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she brushed them away. "Let's talk about something else. This isn't exactly the sort of thing I imagine is fun to discuss." She said, refusing to meet Damon's eyes.
Damon frowned to himself, unsure what was going on in his heart as he watched someone he should have hated and feared get emotional over the horrible things she had done. A part of him wanted to turn a cold shoulder to Pandora and say it was still her fault, or that she could have dropped out any time before things got serious. But the better side of him knew it would be ignorant to say such a thing, not to mention it would hurt his guest's feelings more. She was already sad enough, he didn't need to make it worse. And on top of that, he felt a sort of aching pain in his chest as he watched her try her best to pull herself together, as though he'd been stabbed. His first thought was poison, but he quickly realized that he hadn't touched the food on his plate. So unless it was something kicking in from the last time he had eaten, foul play was impossible. What was possible, probable, and disturbingly fitting was that he was for some reason he couldn't fathom sharing in Pandora's pain. Seeing her like this definitely seemed to be the source of the horrid sensation, and Damon couldn't help noticing that it seemed to eb and flow with how she was acting. Why he would have developed this sort of connection to her over such a short time with seemingly no reason was a mystery to him, but he was sure of one thing; he didn't like this. He wanted to comfort Pandora, to put his arms around her and pull her close. He wanted to cry with her. He wanted to comfort her and make her feel safe. He wanted her to trust him and feel better when the two of them were close. He wanted her to nestle up close to him and put her head on his chest. He wanted to wrap the both of them in blankets and keep her warm and safe. He wanted her to love him.
YOU ARE READING
Morals of a Villain
General Fiction(Completed) Damon, a Duke by right, has never particularly liked the morally righteous narcissists he frequently has to deal with in everyday life. While others might see them as heroes courageously pitting themselves against the horrible and sadist...
