Doomsday Postponed

Maybe I Do

"Well, I'm glad you took my advice to come and see me, kiddo."

You step into the room fully and close the door behind you, soon wondering if you would have enough time to make it back to the door and open it in case things were to go South. Since you were here to see the leader of this quadrant, the leader of Arkadios, or more like tyrant, summoned here by the tyrant himself, there was a very high chance that things would indeed go South. You don't realize you've been staring at the doorknob until Ivan clears his throat. Your head snaps to look him and your eyes widen, thinking for a brief moment he knew you were thinking about cutting and running. Perhaps it was that devious look he always had in his eyes. You then notice the large window behind him, which you find odd that you missed it before, considering you've been in his office more than once. Perhaps you could jump through the glass instead. Your eyes finally wander from the window to where Ivan is seated. He grins at you from his chair, his feet rested up on his desk and his hands rested behind his head.

"Well?" He asks, his eyes now locked with yours. You swallow the lump in your throat. He sighs and rolls his eyes, pointing at the chair in front of his desk. "Really now, we've done this so many times before, one would think you'd have gotten the hang of it by now." He bites out distastefully, watching you stumble to sit down. He gives an amused look as you finally sit down in the chair. "It gives me the impression that you don't like me." He removes his feet from the desk and sits up to lean forward, his hair falling onto the left side of his face. "You don't wanna hurt my feelings now, do ya kiddo?" He asks, placing his elbows on the table and propping his head up on his hands with a cocky expectant look on his rather handsome face. Ivan slams his hands down on the table abruptly, making you jump back in your seat a little. "Of course not!" He exclaims, sitting upright. "Now, onto the less or more important matter. Truthfully, I couldn't care less whether you live or die- or maybe I do." He grins at you again, mischief in his eyes. For some reason, that makes you feel a tinge of warmth in your chest. A very small feeling. Maybe it was from lack of feeling significant, maybe it was just because you were young and looking for approval, or maybe, you truly did see Ivan as a rolemodel, whether you knew it or not. "Here's a hint;" he stands and leans over his desk towards you. "I don't." He whispers to you, grinning. That tinge in your chest is extinguished like a candle in a storm. You don't know why you want this evil mans approval, why you care whether or not he cares, but you do. He sits back down in his chair and looks at you for a while.

"How about that daily report from my favourite scavenger?" He smiles widely. You open your mouth to speak, but are cut off before you even have a chance to start. "I'm gonna be completely honest here, kid." He sighs out and lets his eyes wander around the room in boredom, the smile on his face gone. "I'm getting pretty bored of your reports." He casually reaches into his pocket and takes out a green pocket knife. Your eyes slightly widen. "Oh, what's this?" He asks, looking at you and grinning. "Where did this come from?" He laughs half heartedly, teasing you. Once you're eyes are glued to the knife, he begins to speak again. "Either you're leading an extraordinarily boring life," he flips open the knife and lets his eyes land on yours as you look up from the knife in his hand to him, holding your gaze. "or you're lying to my face." He puts the knife on the table in front of you. You feel a lump form in your throat as you look down at it. You don't have to look up to know Ivan is grinning widely again. "Remember last time you disappointed me?" He asked. You nod reluctantly. You can remember every detail clearly; Ivan had taken that knife and carved his name into your chest. You remember every cut it made, every drop of blood that dripped from the cuts, the painful sting, the smell of wine on Ivan's breath, you can even remember the look of excitement in his eyes, how he egged you on to put up a fight, everything down to the last tear that fell from your cheek. Ivan chuckles lightly. "Good." He leans back and places his elbow on the arm of the chair, resting his chin on his fist. "Now I don't know if you liked having my name carved into your flesh," he pauses and looks into your eyes when you look back up from the knife. "maybe you do, maybe you don't." He shrugs his shoulders, a wide grin plastered back across his face. You feel your stomach flutter as you notice some sort of emotion flash through his eyes. "Anyway. Assuming that you didn't like it, assuming that it was degrading and humiliating- not saying that I planned for it to be," he gives you an obviously fake sincere look before closing his eyes and placing a hand on his chest for more of a dramatic effect. "since I am such a generous and kind example of a human being." He opens an eye to look at you, breaking out into a grin again. He frowns and puts his hand down when you don't reply. "What? No compliment on my acting skills?" He asks, and combs his hair back with his hand. "You have to admit, I'd make a good actor." He says in a thoughtful voice. He pushes himself and the chair back, standing up. "I doubt you want a repeat of the last time you disappointed me." His tone is now dead serious as he places a hand on his desk, leaning on it and looking down on you. You can't help but look up to meet his gaze. Once you do, he turns away and folds his hands behind his back, walking to the window behind his desk. Your gaze follows him. "I have something much better planned than just a simple tattoo." He stops in front of the window and stares out it, gazing at the landscape, not that there was much left to see. He abruptly laughs, his shoulders jerking up and down as he does. "Feel free to leave, now. Leave out the "feel free to", by the way." He turns his head and winks at you. You feel something in your chest stutter, and get up. He turns back to the window as you walk to the door. "Oh, and Jack."

You freeze in place, your hand inches away from gripping the doorknob. You feel a cold sweat engulf you, making the cuts on your chest sting. You contemplate opening the door and running, but realize that there would be nowhere to run, the guards, or Ivan himself, would eventually catch you. You then briefly consider the option of whizzing past Ivan and through the glass of the window. Worst case scenario is that the glass is bullet proof and you bounce off it. You then wonder what Ivan's reaction to that might be, someone flying at him and then bouncing off the window in front of him. Did you even really want to escape whatever he might have planned for you? You were pulled from your thoughts by Ivan's voice. "Maybe I do." You are imedietly confused from what he said. You are tempted to ask Ivan what he meant, but think better of it and open the door. You want to look back, but control yourself and step out of Ivan's office, closing the door behind you.