Damon spent the rest of the meal trying to ignore his infernal emotions, while also holding a steady conversation with Pandora in an attempt to cheer her up. It didn't take a lot to change to subject, since she clearly didn't want to be talking about her past either. But keeping her mind from wandering back to the dark place that she seemed to be sinking into more and more with each passing moment was considerably more difficult.
"Do you think you'd like to see the garden after this?" Damon asked, hoping this would be enough to switch her mind onto a different track. It was about all he could think of, frustratingly. But the hero's little laugh told him that it was probably enough. "Really? You would let me go outside when you know I might run?" Pandora asked, incredulous. Damon nodded. "I mean, it's not like I'm really keeping you here. I imagine you could have escaped twelve times over by now, if you had wanted to." He said. Pandora chuckled. "I actually could have gotten out in around thirty different ways. But that doesn't mean that I would have escaped; I don't have a car, and I doubt anyone in Carpture would be willing to help me. I could very well leave, but it would take a miracle to actually escape." She smiled. Damon shrugged. "After seeing some of the things you're capable of, I doubt a miracle is really all that far out of your grasp." He said. Pandora laughed. "Perhaps not. But still; I doubt it's something I'd want to risk without reason." She said. "Well, that's good." Damon said, grinning. "Because the last thing I intend to do right now is give you any excuse to go."
Pandora blushed a little, which was certainly not what Damon had expected from her. "Are you alright?" He asked, confused. Pandora nodded. "Oh, I'm fine." She said, hastily. "It's just...that's the kindest thing any villain has ever said to me. I wasn't expecting it." She added, tucking a hair behind her ear extremely slowly so that she had an excuse to hide the red tint in her cheeks. Damon tilted his head, perplexed. "It wasn't even a compliment." He muttered, more to himself then to Pandora. The girl blushed deeper, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on with me right now. It's probably just stress." She said, not even convincing herself. Damon was inclined to press her and figure out if what they were feeling was the same thing, and if so where it was coming from. But he decided not to. She obviously wasn't any more comfortable with the situation then he was, and he didn't want to push his luck and risk her refusing to tell him anything. He was already on thin ice when it came to figuring out what she was thinking and feeling, he didn't need to start prying and have her shut down completely and refuse to tell him anything. It would just add a whole new layer of complication to this whole situation that he didn't want to deal with.
"So, is that a yes to seeing the garden...?" Damon asked, trying to break through the awkward air that had descended over the table. Pandora nodded, relieved to have something else to focus on that wasn't whatever was racing through her mind at the moment. "Sure, I wouldn't mind. It would probably help quite a bit." She smiled. Damon grinned. "Wonderful. The roses are in full bloom, and I've always been very proud of them at this time of the year." He said. Pandora looked a little surprised. "Roses? I didn't think you would be the kind to pay attention to flowers." She said. Damon nodded. "Oh, yes. It's not exactly a passion or a hobby or anything, it's just something that I like. In truth, I'm not even the one that tends to them; I have a gardener for that. But I still love to walk through the flowerbeds and enjoy the way everything looks." He smiled. Pandora tilted her head to one side, examining him playfully. "I figured you were just stuck up and vane like everyone else, not that it would really be your fault if you were. Not after thousands of years of heros saying that's the way things are supposed to be and trying to fit everyone into the same mold. But I had no clue you had a soft side underneath all that." She said. Damon shrugged, returning her playful grin. "I suppose I do. I can't say it's the bit of my personality that I like, but it's there." He said, glancing at his watch. It was already almost an hour since he'd told himself he would write the letter to his king. But despite how much it should have bothered him that he hadn't done so yet, he was finding that he didn't particularly care. After all, he could write a thousand letters later. But he might never be able to recapture the chance to walk side by side through a garden with his worst enemy.
Pandora smiled, looking out the large french doors that were reminiscent of the Victorian era and watching a few birds flit through the massive trees beyond. There were three of the large redwoods that dotted the garden in her direct line of sight, all of which were nearly a hundred feet tall and at least ten feet in diameter at the base. They looked straight out of a fairy tale, with a mess of strong, thick branches spreading out all around them. The garden spun out from around their bases in little lanes framed by flowers, with a fifty-foot circle underneath each of the trees that was clear of anything other than soft grass and small flowers. A series of fountains, benchs, and gazebos were arranged neatly in these circles, lending to the fairy tale look even more. It wasn't something Damon had really had a hand in, since he'd basically just given his gardener permission to do whatever he liked. But he did enjoy the way it all looked. Damon hadn't thought of using the trees as a centerpiece for the garden, but he rather enjoyed the look it gave. The same thing had been done with the other trees on the property, so that if someone were to look down at the manor from above they would have seen a series of spirals made up of flowers that were placed at random in the garden.
Damon could tell Pandora liked it, even if she wasn't saying anything. And it made him extremely happy for some annoying reason. With a little sigh of exasperation towards himself, Damon pushed his chair back and offered Pandora his arm. "Shall we frolic on a sweet dancefloor of grass, my mistress?" He grinned. Pandora laughed, the same blush coming back into her cheeks. She made no motion to hide it this time, however. "Oh, don't be such a fool." She said, standing and taking his arm in hers. "I would absolutely destroy you if we were to dance." She grinned. Damon looked down at her, raising an eyebrow at this statement. It was a bold one for sure, considering he was one of the better dancers he had ever met. "Is that a challenge?" He asked. Pandora met his gaze, her crystal blue eyes boring deep into his soul. "Depends." She grinned. "Are you to chicken to see it as one?"
Damon smirked. "Oh, you're asking for it now." He said, pulling Pandora into the stance a waltz would start from. The young hero chuckled, switching her footing so that she would be in the lead. "I do hope so." She smiled.
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...
