In His Castle. In Her Presence.

Chained Up.

Again, I found myself in darkness. Darkness and tears. My life, my actions in this house were flashing before my eyes.

What did I do to deserve this?!

The chains were as cold as ice, but I didn't care. My body was warm enough, as long as there is anger in my body, my body won't cool down.
I screamed.
Nothing else but an echo.
Alone in the darkness, crying. Not only this room was empty, but life felt empty. And that is something I never wanted to feel again.
"Hugo! Come out, come out, wherever you aaaarrreeee!" He was there, I know he is. Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Look at what you have done to me! Did you have fun, being in my head?! DID YOU?!"

I crawled over the table to get to him.

I want to hurt him, like he hurt me!

"Do you know the side affects of your little game? DO YOU?!" I shouted.
With one swift move he got out of his chair. He putted his hands on the table. With a cocky voice he asked: "No, Gwyneth, tell me, what are the side affects?"

Is he playing games with me?! How dear he?!

"Everything..." tears were filling my eyes. "I saw everything again, my life, the past, the things you made me do and the worst one..."
I could read on his face how hard he tried to read my mind, but he couldn't.

Just a few more minutes of this mind-reading freedom and I am done for.

"the hope you gave me." I stood on the table, a meter away from him. His eyes looked confused.
"Of all those horrible things you did and the chores you made me do, making me your personal maid, are forgiveable in time. But you gave me hope, the worst hope on earth."
I kneeled a reached for his face. Trying to smile through my tears was as painful as stepping on nails.
"The hope that you could love, maybe even love me." I smiled as my hand went trough his thick black hair.

Now, feel guilty!

And yes, a spark of guilt appeared in his dark brown eyes.

Now it is your turn to feel pain.

My other hand cupped his face and before he could say a word I pulled his head towards me roughly.
"If there is one thing I learned from my past, is that women posses the art of seduction and that can be used in two ways." I smiled evil and jumped up, with still his hair in my hands. He let out a little groan, not of pain but of the unwanted surprise. I kicked his face with my knee. Hugo landed back in his chair, his nose was bleeding.
"You can use it for love... and for combat!" To look how bad it was he touched his nose. Black blood appeared on his fingers. He didn't looked scared or angry, more excited. He smirked, which made me even more angry. I jumped from the table and kick the chair so it fell backwards. My hands crabbed his collar and made him stand. Hugo didn't even resist, he kept smiling.
"This isn't the Gwyneth Winsley I met in her mind."

The nerve!

Multiple fists landed on his face.
"How dear you! You will clean the blood right? Make your own diner from now on, huh?! Will you?!"
One kick on the chest made him stumble and fall in the curtains. He climbed up and stood straight again.
"This isn't you, Gwyneth. Stop this nonsense." He calmly said
"Not after what you did! Making me feel worthless and powerless!"
Before I could attack him with my right fist a cold metal embraced my fist. I looked at it.

Chains.

"COWARD! Why don't you fight my evenly!" Before I could step to him, both of my ankles were chained up too.
"YOU traveled in my past, YOU should know that I never wanted to feel like that, worthless and powerless, again! That I wanted to LIVE....in peace!"
My right hand was also captured by a cold metal chain. It seemed they came from the walls behind me.

There is nothing I can't do now, but I tried.

"You did, Gwyneth, you really did try."
That confirmed that he could read me again. He looked genuinely concerned. Hugo came closer and tried to put a string of my hair behind my ear, but I looked away. Tears of exhaustion and failure traveled down to my chin.
"Go to sleep, Gwyneth, it has been a long day." I heard Hugo softly say.
"What?..." Before I could say something else, everything went blurry. My body wanted to fight, but failed me and went numb. I could feel him catching me and that was it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What?..."

Her lifeless body fell in my arms, her pale head rested on my right chest, her body still shaking because of the barrier removal.
The chains pulled her body slowly backwards as I walked forward and eventually pinned her against the wall.
"Some people worship this man, he was good and did well to the world..." Sigh. "and he reminds me of you." My head looked away, it was to painful to watch her like this. "You... you are the good here and you are unfairly treated, by me, the bad."
I bit my lip, but I had to do this...

For her, for me and for Blair.

The way her head hung was unbearable to see. I held her chin up. Shadow on the wall took her into the wall, hands and feet first.

Loving you, was the most exquisite form of self destruction... and with my curse I created a bomb of destruction. And you, my dear dear Gwyneth, were dragged in my flames...

Her body was almost swallowed, except her chest and head were infront of me.
"I, Hugo Oliver Theodore Cobalt, promises you, Gwyneth Emilia Winsley, to try making my mistakes up to you."
Her face was almost gone, I could only see her closed eyes. But before she was gone I had to say: "My deepest apologies, Gwyneth."
And with that her whole body was absorbed by the chains and shadows in the wall.
I was left alone again, in my castle and everything was a mess.
I looked at the paintings on the walls.
"I did it for you, Blair." The door opened to the main loungeroom. As I walked towards the big staircase in the main hall, my shadows cleaned the whole dining room and kitchen.
Chairs were put on their right place, paintings were cleaned up and her broken plate was fixed again. I turned around to see everything the way it was yesterday, the day before that and all the days before that day. I sighed.

Tomorrow will be a new day...

"With new chances and new possibilities."
That thought did made me smile, even after hurting Gwyneths feelings.
The doors closed behind me and I found myself in the hallway again, there were this whole adventure began in the first place. My hand traced the railing while I walked towards my room.
Before I took my left turn however, I looked back at the spot where I healed her.
Where she first cried, she first smiled and where she first spoke to me.
Where she first thought of me and promised me to make up for my help.
"Until tomorrow,..." I turned away with a little smile.
"Until tomorrow, miss Gwyneth..."