Beyond the Deep Water

Questions

"I've heard Azzel, Kaiden, and Silvanus talked about you, but..." she stops to raise her eyes and look at him directly. Camille realizes that indeed she's lucky to be able to experience something so magical, like having him so close. Her violet eyes gaze at the moon as he rests on the sofa. The cool breeze of a hot night makes its way in through the sliding door. Camille breathes in the sweet scent of lavender.

"To be honest, I feel the same way about your presence here." The god comforts her with a friendly tone. "I am certain Silvanus made sure to let you how selfish and stubborn I am or how terrifying and temperamental I can be. Do you believe him, Camille?" He asks, trying to measure the depths of her resolution for him.

Camille meditates on the question for a moment. From all the information she's gathered and her personal judgment, she can see how his servant may hold back because of fear or maybe for loyalty. Although she hesitates to speak honestly, deep down, she can't ignore the fact that Axl is a god, and she has seen glimpses of his power. "You may be a god, you may be powerful, but I don't believe you are selfish." Camille's eyes clearly express the loneliness and pain she feels, which reflects his own. "I do admit, the fact that you can open the ocean, summon the Kraken and make the ground tremble is terrifying, but your kingdom is a beautiful place full of life. You can't be bad." She explains cautiously. Although he's already aware of her thoughts, Axl is still surprised to hear her actual words.

"So, if I decide to keep you here, will you consider it a selfish act?" Axl attempts to distract her from seeing the black haze that follows her everywhere she goes. The shadows she fears so much seem to be only visible to him, which is also a sign that someone more powerful is trying to get a hold of her. "Do you?" He insists with seriousness.

As a god, Axl can see the faded marks on her body, old ones and new ones, even without a word coming out of her mouth. He can hear her screams, her pleading cries. In her memories, he can see her crying face, her terrified expression when the darkness takes over. Although she doesn't belong in this place, it's better than to dump her into a world she'll be left to the merciless hands of her own people. Axl takes a deep breath. "No." Camille tries her best to fulfill his expectation, she glues her eyes to his, her plump lips slightly quivering like she's cold, but she's not. She's merely afraid of ruining this incredible encounter.

"I would consider it an act of mercy, of pity even because I have nowhere else to go, and you probably know that," Camille admits deliberately. "Azzel said that you brought me here. Why?" Her eyes narrowed as she tries to sound composed under his intense gaze.

Axl turns to the window again, fighting his animal instincts to have all kinds of women do as he pleases. But to have Camille looking at him with invisible tears in her eyes, the only thing that he can think of is to ease the pain she's gone through; he can't help but to want to monopolize her mind, make her stop thinking about someone else that makes her heart tremble. Realizing that he might be falling for the great gods' tricks, Axl becomes irritated with the troubling emotions Camille is stirring in his heart. "Azzel is wrong," he clarifies while struggling with his rising temper. Raising his eyes to the peaceful moon to remind himself that someone is watching. "This is not something I decided, nor you," he accepts the fact that he doesn't have such power to choose who comes to this world. "But looking at you, I do see the reason, if that is indeed the reason you were chosen," Axl finally finds a way to compose himself and soften up his tone with her.

The confession only baffles Camille's tired brain. More questions arise, and the uncertainty of her fate doesn't let her enjoy the extraordinary experience it is to be here, standing before him. "Chosen... For what?" Camille asks nervously, trying to ignore the uneasiness crawling up in her stomach. Axl lowers his gaze to pierce hers, immediately making her fall for the perfect smoldering expression.