Morals of a Villain

Chapter 25: Ready at Last

Damon showed Pandora the light blue skirt and white short sleeved dress shirt that had been laid out for her, figuring that if they were going to be seeing the king, they might as well be dressed properly. His lover agreed, and quickly ducked into the shower while Damon ran a brush through his tousled hair and changed into a more formal suit. It took him a good few minutes to find his dress shoes, since they were usually shoved to the back of his wardrobe when he didn't need them for parties and such. 
By the time he had finally discovered them pushed all the way to the corner underneath a few of the ornate hip-height walking sticks he had used as fashionable crutches the last time he'd been kneecapped by a hero, Pandora was out of the shower and fully dressed. "How do I look?" She asked, spinning in a circle and letting the skirt flow out around her. Damon smiled, his worries fading a little bit at the sight of her being so happy with the new clothes. "Perfect." He said, taking her hand and twirling her around again. She laughed, allowing herself to be pulled into the brief dance as Damon did his best to let the fears hanging like a heavy cloud over his heart dissolve. He really did want to be happy with Pandora. He wanted to share in her careless joy and throw any thoughts of danger to the wind. It was what he had done so many times in the past, and even if he had gotten hurt because of it, he had still enjoyed himself. But it was different now. Something about there being a good possibility that someone he loved so deeply would be harmed just as badly as he might be made the thought of the danger they were facing a lot more unbearable. Things had changed in the blink of an eye, going from him being totally fine with any amount of torture or trouble, just so long as it was fun, to him wanting so desperately to protect the one person he really held any sort of connection to. And he didn't like it. 
But he supposed there was nothing he could do. Pandora had made up her mind about this, and she clearly wasn't willing to compromise. Besides, Glevthop had seen her with Damon, and that meant that any chance they might have had at getting him to believe she just escaped was pretty much gone. If they tried to play the same trick on him now, Glevthop would just blame Damon and have him arrested for sheltering a dangerous criminal or something.  Which would probably lead to the king using him to set up a trap for Pandora that she was almost certain to fall into, even if she knew it was a trick. She was very clearly willing to do a lot for the people she loved. Which would have been a good thing under most circumstances, but in a world of villains and cold blooded tricks, it was more of a hindrance than anything. 
Damon took a deep breath, keeping his smile in place and pushing down his thoughts of the danger he and Pandora were facing. It didn't matter what happened to them. Just so long as it happened while they were together. The world could fall apart around their ears, and it would never even begin to matter if Damon was able to hold his lover in his arms and feel her heart beating against his chest. "We should get going." He smiled, pulling Pandora into a tight hug. "We don't want to keep Glevthop waiting." 
Pandora nodded, pausing in Damon's arms for a brief moment before letting out a little sigh and pulling away. Her smile wavered for a moment, showing the worry beneath her mask of cheer. But it only lasted a second, and the she returned to her previous cheerful air. "You're right, our time is almost up." She said, glancing at the clock sitting on the mantel. They had three minutes left, which were ticking away faster than Damon liked. "Oh, hang on." Pandora added, unraveling the bundle of armor and clothes she had been wearing a few moments before and retrieving a large leather thing that looked like a cross between an apron and a skirt. "This is how I keep most of my weapons hidden. It ties right across your chest and tucks into a belt underneath a shirt, adding another layer of protection and giving you somewhere to hide knives and things." She said, selecting two large machetes and a tiny pistol from the dozens of pockets stitched into the thing. "Here." She said, handing Damon one of the machetes. "You might need it." She added, shoving the second one into the waistband of her skirt and slipping the pistol in her pocket. Damon smiled, setting the weapon down on the bed and picking one of the many swords that had been dumped into a large vase next to the wardrobe. "I really like that you want me to be armed..." He smiled, strapping the sword to his belt. "...But I'd prefer to use something with a weight that I'm used to. That way, I won't have to worry about adjusting quickly if things get out of hand." He said, making sure the blade was securely fastened in place. Pandora shrugged. "Suit yourself. I think these are a lot easier to use than regular swords, but that might just be because I'm used to them." She smiled. Damon nodded. "Probably." He agreed, glancing at the clock again. Two minutes. "Alright, let's go. I don't think we can stall much longer." He sighed, double checking that his revolver was firmly tucked into the pocket in his jacket with enough ammunition to take out an army held in a box next to it. Together, Damon and Pandora rushed down the hall and into the foyer, stopping for a split second to double check their reflections in a mirror next to the door before they pushed through the front doors and out into the early afternoon sun.
Glevthop stood in the driveway, next to a large luxury car with a chauffeur in the driver's seat. "Finally. I was beginning to think you'd decided against common sense." Glevthop sighed, pulling open one of four passenger doors lining the back half of the car. "Get in." He sighed, looking both tired and ready to punch something. Damon hesitated. "I think Pandora and I will take my car, if you don't mind." He said, not particularly caring if the man had an opinion about the matter. He didn't trust Glevthop enough to get in a car with him, especially not when Damon had no control over where that car was going. Glevthop shook his head. "People will recognize your car, and the king wants to keep this under wraps until he's made up his mind about what he wants to tell the kingdom. Your choices are either to trust me for the half hour it'll take to get to the castle, or I'll report you to the king as having refused to come of your own will." He said. Damon scowled. "This feels bit manipulative." He said, curling his lip. He already didn't like Glevthop. But the way he was making everything a choice between what he wanted, and what he knew would ruin any chance of Damon and Pandora pleading their case to the king with any sort of conviction put that dislike a hundred times closer to actual hatred. Glevthop laughed. "That's because I'm manipulating you. Now get in the car, before I have to do something that I would really rather we avoided." He said, scowling.
Damon was about to dig in his heels and completely refuse. But before he got the chance to, he felt a little tap on his shoulder. He looked down, puzzled what his lover could want. "Damon, it's alright. I don't think either of us are going to let anything bad happen." Pandora said, smiling comfortingly up into his eyes. Damon paused and bit his lip, knowing she was right. If there was even a hint at danger that would warrant real concern, they would both do everything in their power to protect each other. He doubted either of them would really even have to think about it; they would do it on instinct. He really didn't have anything to worry about. But that didn't stop him refusing to trust Glevthop. "I suppose you're right." He said, taking a deep breath. "But I want you to stay close to me." He added, wrapping one arm around Pandora's shoulders and pulling her against him as he stared down into her eyes. She smiled, nodding a little. "Okay." She agreed, seeming a little relieved that Damon was starting to see things from her point of view. "But we still have to go." She added, pulling away from him with a smile and climbing into the car. Damon paused a moment longer, wishing there was some alternative to letting Glevthop take the two of them where he wished without even having to tell them truthfully where they were going. But he supposed that was an impossibility at this point, and he was just wasting time now. With a little shake of his head, Damon sighed and stepped into the car, placing himself right next to his lover and wrapping one arm around her. Glevthop sat on the seat across from them, closing the door with a little thud and signalling to the chauffeur to pull out of the gravel driveway and onto the cobbled streets of the romantic old city of Carpture. Damon watched the road roll by through tinted windows as they got further away from his manor, swallowing hard and pulling Pandora even closer to him at the thought of what sort of judgment might await them at the king's castle.