Here Be Dragons (Completed)

Impart

***So this one's dedicated to AcademyPrincess so thank her for the quick update. This definitely veered off course but it made me laugh so I'm sticking with it. Enjoy!***

The weight of nine eyes sat heavily on my shoulders as I held Owen's silver gaze and I bolstered my confidence. I didn't want to tell them my story but I knew they'd get it out of me one way or another, and I figured if I cooperated, we could do it the non-lethal way. My acceptance here was still tenuous and I knew one slight breeze could snap the thin thread that kept me alive. I would have to continue to tread carefully, very carefully.

"What do you want to know?" I asked Owen but it was Victor who responded.

"Tell us about Volto, tell us everything." Everyone in the room except Owen wore confused expressions so I assumed that Victor had filled Owen in, at least to a certain extent, about my overly enthusiastic stalker.

I squared my shoulders, unwilling to show weakness as I opened my mouth to tell them about my life the past three years. They didn't need to know anything about the first sixteen, that would stay buried six feet under with my step mother. "I don't know his real name, but I call him Volto. He's been following me for at least two years if not longer and, if I had to venture a guess, he's the one who messed with your equipment and called the police about your car." At the mention of his car, Owen's lips thinned even more into a line of displeasure and I had a feeling he'd taken the offense personal.

"So she's got a crazy stalker, too?" North growled. "Fucking perfect!"

I clicked my tongue in impatience and the room fell silent again. "I left home when I was sixteen and less than a year later I started receiving...things; cards, flowers, gifts, you name it. At the time, I thought it was this boy who I was kind of seeing. I thought maybe he was trying to be cute and was too shy to tell me how he felt, but once we actually got together, he admitted to never sending me anything.

"I moved in with him rather quickly because I had no place to stay and he was..." I paused. I hated talking about this and I felt my shriveled heart lurch at the memories. "Good. He was kind. Unfortunately, Volto wasn't a fan and that was when things changed. He'd send me clothes or jewelry and then get pissy when I refused to wear them. He started sending me pictures, pictures of me in various situations, some of them private. He wanted me to know that he could see me, that he was always watching. He killed my cat, that was annoying."

Victor cleared his throat and I nodded at him to interrupt my rambling. "You said he hurt people who gave you problems. He'd kill them?"

I grimaced as I thought over some of the times Volto had "avenged" me and it made what I'd done to the poor priest look like a cake walk. "He didn't kill them." I said, looking each one of the guys in the eyes before continuing. "He butchered them." 

"Why?" Kota asked, his head cocked in curiosity as his eyes lit up with the new puzzle I was dumping in his lap. 

Glancing at Victor, I addressed him first before answering Kota. "I assume you did your research before kidnapping me and if you're any good, you would have figured out my name isn't Jane." He nodded, confirming what I already suspected. "And I also assume you exhausted every resource to find me and was unsuccessful?" This time his nod was accompanied by a scowl and I knew I'd hit a nerve. He didn't like being bested and, though my circumstances gave me an advantage, I was still good at covering my tracks.

"It's because, technically, I don't exist. My birth was never registered or recorded which was both a blessing and a curse. Once I was out on my own, I could only find work at businesses of a more unsavory nature which attracted rather uncouth clientele." I refused to acknowledge the times that I'd been cornered by men who wanted more than a drink or lap dance, instead opting to look down at my perfectly manicured nails. "Whether they were successful or not with their...endeavors, Volto brought it upon himself to bring justice on my behalf. In the times I was unable to extract my own revenge, he sent me proof of their suffering."