Satan's Kitten

Chapter Twelve

It was the next day when Josh took me back to Chris' office for another meeting. Despite the fact that I didn't want to, I found myself sitting in an office chair across from him.
None of this made any sense to me anymore. Yes, I had wanted out of this place.. but to do something that drastic was out of character for me. Even thinking about the fact that I was willing to burn with the place was insane to me. And the peace that I had found with that in the moment made me sick. How could I ever even think that way? Yes, I wanted out but risking my life? It's like I didn't even know myself anymore. Like someone else had taken over this vessel. But even that thought was insanity. Man, I was losing my mind.
"She belongs here now." Chris had stated plainly when asked for answers by Josh. Since this was information that Josh already knew and it wasn't what he was looking for, this answer visibly agitated Josh.
Even I had already known that, thanks to the conversation he and I had during the morning.

"No one wants to be here, Noey. No one ever wants to be here. But it happens."
"Why are you here?" I had asked him out of curiosity, I knew the short answer, but.. I wanted more. What was he like before all of this?
"I told you, Noel. I failed you when I was supposed to protect you.. and I've failed you yet again." The sadness and guilt in his eyes as he looked at me was enough to break my heart. "The thing is, I dug my own grave with all of this. I chose to be selfish and leave you unattended to get hurt. I made that choice. And most people here do."
"Most? So some people end up here on accident or something?"
"Not necessarily. You see, sometimes when people leave a loved one behind or someone they were close to, they can be a bit.. selfish. Granted, it doesn't happen often. But every now and again, someone ends up here who just can't let go of one they once loved. When that happens, they can end up dragging them here with them.
And while those people dragged her don't belong well... it's like when you're in high school and you get dragged into the wrong group of friends. This place -its people - have a very strong influence and well.. they end up sealing this as their fate."
"I don't understand..."
"People get dragged here against their will, and once here, there's never been anyone in history who has been morally strong enough to end up gaining their key out of this place."
"No, I get that. I mean, I... I didn't know Chris.. so why me?"
"No one, but Chris has that answer. But I can tell you that never in history has something like this ever happened.
What Chris has done was out of pure selfishness. You had a different fate that you were destined for. And he was no stranger to that, he knew. And truth be told, it would've been possible for you to be saved. I tried Noel,  I was trying. But that mark? Once he did that, there was no coming back.
To be honest, none of this was your fault. The fire, I mean. He knew that when he marked you that it was going to cause you to do something to seal your fate of being here. We can't blame you for that."
"I just don't understand.. If I was meant for something else, then.. I'm not even special."
"Again, no one, but Chris has that answer. But I'll be honest when I say that this is a first. No ruler has ever done what he has. The closest was thousands of years ago when the devil at the time just couldn't let go of the wife he had left behind. "
"So what happened to them? To her?"
"She was drug here, and understanding that this was the only way to be with her husband, she killed herself, and since suicide is a sin, then obviously, she now belonged. She woke up like nothing had ever happened, and they ruled for hundreds of years. Until the wear and tear of this place mentally got to the king, and he ended his own life. When she found his body, she did the same.
"I thought this place makes you immortal or something."
"To some.. mostly to those of power. But even they aren't immune to everything. Of course, the only threats to their lives are only known by them - else we'd be seeing a lot more deaths around here."

"-You knew this when you marked her." I shook out of my own head and realized I was now lost in the current conversation.
"She didn't have to do that."
"You don't get to choose what she does to secure her spot her. Neither does she. You and I have no idea how that mindset works. We've never been put through it."
"She ruined my kingdom."
"And you rebuilt it in minutes. Get over it already."
"Fine. Fine, I'm willing to accept for now that possibly it wasn't in her control. I'll let it go this time, but Noel, you better watch it." He warned me. I nodded my head quietly but couldn't resist the urge to speak up for myself. So after a moment of hesitation, "If you want someone to point your finger at, point it at the mirror. I'm not being held responsible for something I didn't want to do, only something that I was made to do by whatever you've done to me." I stood to walk out, but as I reached the middle of his room, his voice stopped me.
"Noel, we are not finished here." His voice was demanding before I heard, "Josh, I'd like some privacy with her, please." In this situation, I would normally be nervous, but instead, I felt a strong power coursing through my veins. It wasn't a foreign feeling as I had felt it every time I had talked back to him, every time I had done something against his wishes. It was this feeling that I ran things, and I was unstoppable. An immense amount of confidence and a bit of rebeling.
"Make it quick." I hissed, turning back to him as Josh walked past me to let himself out.
"You're forgetting that we're on the same team here." Chris spoke, his hands folded as he sat at his desk watching me. "Stop making me the enemy."
"Then stop acting like it."
"I've done nothing to you, Noel." As he stood, he slowly made his way to me. As he reached me, he held a hand out for me to take. "I could've phrased it better when I broke the news of the counterpart thing.. but my words still stand. This is your kingdom, our kingdom. Stop making me the enemy when, in fact, we're supposed to be running this together. As my queen, I need you to be fighting on my side instead of against me." His voice softened the more he spoke, untill eventually his tone was almost a vulnerable whisper as he gently held my arm, finding the mark with his fingertips and softly running them across it.
I looked up at him through my lashes. The attitude from moments ago vanished as I watched him.
He had gone from telling me I was here to serve him to telling me we were equals. That he had chosen me to rule a kingdom by his side. And ever since the mark, his people had shown me nothing but kindness and protection. Maybe it wasn't so bad here.
"I want to give you everything you've ever wanted. You're not here to be a slave, but you have to work with me here." He leaned his forehead against mine, letting out a sigh as though he was giving up a fight. He slowly leaned in until our lips were pressed against each others and I melted into him as he gently ran his nails up and down my arms, occasionally running over our mark.
My arms found their way around his neck as my body pressed into his. Our lips moved in sync as we kept each other as close as possible, feeling like the other could slip away any moment. Without breaking the kiss, Chris lifted me up, moving us flawlessly to his desk. I couldn't imagine how much time he had spent in this office, but it was obviously enough to know where everything was exactly by memory. He sat me atop his desk as he pressed himself in between my thighs, his arms keeping me close as his fingers slipped under my shirt, drawing shapes on my back with his nails as my nails dug into his shoulders through his shirt.
"Fuck. The things you do to me." He growled as we broke our kiss, his lips hovering right above mine as his breath fanned across my face. The room was filled with our heavy breathing as we collected ourselves, our foreheads pressed together and eyes still closed. We didn't need to take it far. Not now.
"Noel." His voice sounded like a song as he nuzzled his nose against mine, catching me off guard for only a moment. It was hard to imagine the big bad devil being so sweet and romantic but I quickly remembered how our mark had changed everything. His words rung in my head, we were each others weakness. He was my king as much as I was now his queen. He didn't have to be soft for anyone else, but I had the pleasure of experiencing that side.
And I wasn't complaining.
I was starting to fall for everything he was. Our personalities meshed well, for what I lacked he had and vice versa. When we weren't hating each other, we weren't bad together. But neither of us could bare to hate each other these days. Not with the tie. And I think at this point, even with everything that had happened, we both just wanted the same thing. We just wanted to get along and be on the same page. We were tired of the games. Getting along one moment and at each others throats the next. If we were going to work together than we needed to put effort into getting along. Both of us.
"My queen." He whispered, his lips turning up into a smile as my eyes fluttered open, finding his which studied my face. "Let's go out for the day." He suggested, hesitantly letting me go and stepping back as his fingers brushed over my skin as if he was savoring every single moment we touched untill his arms fell to his sides. He motioned his head to the door before offering me a hand.
"Let's just go get lost and forget everything." He smiled as he grabbed his black leather jacket from the back of his desk chair. He squeezed my hand in his as they fit perfectly together.
I let him lead me as we left his office, making our way down hallways and eventually to the garage.
Getting into his blacked out sports car, he held the door for me before getting in his side after I had been settled.
We drove through city streets for what felt like hours as we watched everything grow darker as it faded more and more into the evening.
Quite music played through the speakers and we occasionally made small talk, or occasionally asked each other a question.
After the sun had went down we found ourselves parked in an empty parking lot, the surrounding buildings only having a few lights on here and there.
"So? I'm just me. And you're just you. No kingdom to rule, no people to be responsible for. It's just us." He spoke, reaching over the center console as he took my hand.
I had seen Chris let down his walls before but, perhaps he just wanted something different. Maybe he just wanted to see what we were like outside the walls that we had always been trapped in.
And I was willing to see this side of him. I was more than happy to experience the two of us with no pressure or distractions. I was looking foward to seeing what it would bring.