Post by Calmay on Mar 20, 2011 4:21:20 GMT -5
Azreal stood in front of his apartment, wondering if he should go in. His hand shook as he reached for the doorknob. His wife would be waiting inside for him as always, unaware of what he had been doing. He was tired of lying to her, and yet he could not tell her the truth. Azreal was a modern day assassin.
He looked at the knob. It had been so simple to lie to her when they first met and started to live together but now it was unbearable. He could come home once or twice a week and using excuses like he had to travel for work or had to stay late to avoid her, yet he could not leave her. He loved her so much.
“Did you lose your key?” his neighbor asked, he walked out of his door.
Azreal had been so focused on the door he had not even heard his neighbor open his. He mentally scolded himself for lowering his guard.
“No, I was just thinking about work?” Azreal respond with a smile.
“Well you better not keep your wife waiting. All she has been talking about for the last day and a half was your return home,” the man said, heading towards the elevator.
Azreal took a deep breath and opened the door. He was going to have to go in eventually. There was no point in delaying it more then he already had. He was going to have to see her.
“I’m back,” he said as he entered.
He smiled at his wife, Lucie; she stood in the foyer with the usual smile on her face. Lucie was Azreal’s perfect woman. Her brown hair, going slightly past her shoulder, was always straight with no stray hair and her eyes were blue as the ocean. Her face, while thin, held high cheekbones, making her smile have a greater impact on Azreal each time he saw it. A small bulge in her stomach had been added to her normal thin frame. She was pregnant.
“Welcome home,” she said.
Her hair was tied up in a bun which meant she had been cooking recently. The apartment was filled with the scent of the handmade meal. Keeping it to himself, he guessed that they would be having filet mignon with asparagus. He did not want to ruin the small ritual they had before their meal. Lucie loved surprising him with her creations.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
“I managed to close the deal. You were right, it was a good idea to go out and meet the client in person,” he lied.
“I’m glad I could help.”
He looked at her, and suddenly noticing he was there. Bloodrose was hovering behind his wife, smiling at Azreal. Bloodrose was Azreal’s codename when he worked and a part of his persona he despised. He did not remember when he first appeared in his life, but the one thing he was sure of was that Bloodrose was the darkness that lived within him, the part of him that loved the chaos and thrill of taking a life. Even though he hated Bloodrose, Azreal needed him to stay sane. He would focus his negative emotions on Bloodrose.
He took off his shoes, while walking over to Lucie. He reached out to hug her, bit stopped, hesitating. He wanted to touch her so much, but he was afraid. He feared that if he touched her she would shatter, and all the happiness that he had gained by being with her would disappear. He looked at her and smiled again, this time with a hint of sadness.
“It’s okay, Azreal. I know you’re afraid of me disappearing, but I won’t. I will be here,” she said as she touched his face. “No matter how long you are away, the two of us will be here waiting for you.”
“As long as the guild allows it.” Bloodrose added.
He had told her when he a child anything he loved would be taken from him. It was the truth. The guild took his parents away and raised him to be their perfect weapon. He could never tell her the truth of all that he endured. He did not want her pity, just her love. He needed her touch and her warmth, more than she would ever understand.
He hugged and held her tight.
“I know and I love you for it,” he said.
After a moment, Azreal let her go. He smiled seeing that she was still there. He still had his light in his life.
“I’m almost done making dinner. You can sit in the living room and wait if you want. It won’t be long,” she said, making her way to the kitchen.
“I wonder how long the two of you will last. You know that once she finds out the truth she will leave. You and I will be alone again,” Bloodrose commented, watching Lucie.
“I did not ask your opinion,” Azreal retorted as he made his way to the living room.
He sat down on the couch and relaxed. As much as he hated keeping the secret he loved being home, with its familiar, and it was the one place that he knew inside out. There was no way he could be surprised here. The room much like the house had the bare minimum to be habitable. There were to couches separated by a coffee table. The walls remained barren with no pictures on the walls. The fireplace held the only photograph. It was of Azreal and Lucie. It was not that they could not afford it, Lucie just wanted to keep the house simple until she gave birth.
He looked at the coffee table and smiled. In the center sat a flower, a single red chrysanthemum. He leaned forward and touched it. It was just like Lucie to always have some sort of flower around her. The first time he had met her she was tending the garden of her old home. He could still remember those days.
He had always passed her home when he headed home after work. He lived apart from the other members. He wanted some time to be away from the Master and the Master’s need for undivided attention. Meeting Lucie was an accident. She had been weeding her garden when she pulled a little too hard on a weed. It went flying though the air, landing on Azreal’s head. When she saw what had happened she laughed at the sight. He just stood there with the weed on his head.
“Sorry about that. I guess I pulled too hard,” she said as she took the weed off of his head. She gave him a chrysanthemum from her garden in apology. Azreal accepted it to appear kind. The next time he passed the house; she stopped him and gave him another flower. Eventually Azreal started to look forward to their meetings and the gifts. Their short conversations made him forget about what he had done earlier or what he was going to do later that day.
“I see you found the flower. I gave you the same type of flower the first time we met,” Lucia said, bring Azreal back from his daydream.
Azreal ignored his trained impulse to attack when she spoke. He was taught to attack anything that surprised him. He knew that she was not going to harm him. She wrapped her hands around him from behind. He looked up at her.
“I always saw you walking by, but I never had the courage to say anything, until that weed. ”
Azreal let out a small chuckle, and kissed her.
“Is dinner ready?” he asked.
“Yup. You will never guess what I made today,” she said letting go.
They made their way to the dining room. Lucie lifted the covers, revealing filet mignon and asparagus. He had been right.
“This was the first and only meal you ever made me. I thought it would be perfect for today’s dinner.” Lucie said.
He looked at the plate. It was the first meal she ate with him after her father’s death. He never told Lucie, but the guild had issued her father’s death. He had not taken the job himself; he had only heard of it. He had returned home to find her sitting in front of his door, crying.
“I’m sorry. I had nowhere else to go.” She wiped away her tears.
He took her inside and stayed with her until she calmed down. He
had never thought about what happened to the families of those he killed before. He never knew it could be this bad. They had to get away. He knew the guild would be after her. He was not going to let her get hurt, she was too important to him. He was sure that with his skills he could stay hidden from the guild and protect her.
“Let’s run away. Somewhere we can forget our troubles,” he suggested.
Having no one left to call her family she agreed. When they found a place, far from where they lived and the guild, he made the same meal. He called it the ‘start of a new life meal’.
“It’s perfect,” he said. “What are we celebrating?”
Lucie looked at him, no longer smiling. Azreal looked at her concerned. He began to worry that he had done something wrong.
“It’s falling apart. Shattering,” Bloodrose sang with a grin.
“Lucie, please tell me what is wrong,” he said, with a hint of panic in his voice.
He took her hand, but she pulled it away. His worst fears were coming true. He was losing the small joy he had in his life. She was going to leave him.
“Are you having an affair?” she asked him.
He looked at her, dumbfounded. She thought he was having an affair. He thought she had found out he was an assassin.
“I would never do that. I love you too much,” he protested. “What possessed you to think I would do something like that?”
“I met one of your coworkers today … and he told me some interesting things,” she said.
“Busted,” Bloodrose added.
“He told me that you meeting me ruined your position at work. That before you were able to choose the jobs you took, and now you take whatever jobs your boss gives you. Did I ruin your life? Is that why you don’t want to come home? I know I said I will be here, but it does get lonely being here alone.”
Azreal grabbed her arms and looked her in the eyes. She had not ruined his life. She was the only light in it.
“You did not ruin it. If anything, you gave it purpose. If not for you, I would have given up long ago. Don’t ever think that you ruined anything. If I had to do it all over, I would make the same choices” he told her.
She smiled at his comment; however it was only for a brief moment.
“Then please tell me why you lied about where you work. I looked it up. The company you work for exists only on paper. I went to the location, there was no building. I called the number, it was disconnected. If it was not for work, why did we move?”
Azreal looked at Lucie but said nothing. He had not wanted to move. He had done it to protect her. He could remember the day he told her that they were moving. He had been working as a clerk, making just enough money to get by. His life was not as luxurious as before, but he was happy because Lucie was there. That life shattered when he saw the last man he wanted to see, the Master. He had gone out personally to find Azreal. Though his mind told him to run, the fear in seeing that man kept him from moving.
“You caused a lot of trouble Azreal. You know you are not allowed to leave when you wish. The normal punishment for desertion is death; however I will not allow that. You are too valuable to us, to me. Instead, I will kill that girl you are with. What’s her name? Lucie,” the Master said. His voice might have sounded calm but Azreal knew that he was angry.
“If you kill her, I will kill myself,” Azreal managed to respond. He was not going to live without Lucie.
“So you grew some sort of backbone. Well then, if you came back I will allow the two of you to live together, but you will have to do everything I say. No questions asked. Do you understand Azreal?”
Azreal agreed. He knew full well what the Master was capable of. He had seen him kill without a moment’s hesitation. He would kill Lucie if he did not agree. He told Lucie that same day that they were moving because of a job offer he could not refuse.
“You have to tell her. No matter what you tell her she will know it is a lie. She will look to find the truth. Do you want to her die like her father did? By looking too much into your past.” Bloodrose said, bringing Azreal back from his thoughts.
“I did not completely lie to you; I did get a job offer I could not refuse. It was just not the job that I told you. Please trust me. Everything I told you was to protect you. I lied because it was the best option at that time. I did not want to lose you,” he pleaded.
“Then what do you do?” she asked.
“Please don’t ask that again. Once you find out you will never be able to look at me again,” he said grabbing her hand. “I will tell you anything you want to know except for what I really do for a living.”
“I need to know. If I do not find out I will always be imagining the worst possible profession. Please tell me,” she begged as she held his hand tightly.
“Don’t be scared. Once she knows, you will see if she truly loves you. You don’t need to worry about being alone. I will always be here,” Bloodrose said. “After all it has always been just the two of us.”
Azreal looked at her. He did not know what was worse. Telling her that he killed others to survive or allowing her imagination to run wild. His hands started to shake as he looked at her. He knew that no matter what he did he would lose her.
“I love you. From the moment I saw you crying on my doorstep, I knew that I wanted to be with you until I died. Without you I will no longer be able to live. So, it kills me to not tell you the truth. That was why I did not come home when I could. That was why I lied about staying at work late,” he said, avoiding the answer.
“You cannot do anything that could make me hate you,” she said.
“That she knows of. No one wants to be with someone that can kill like we can.” Bloodrose added.
He looked at her with the saddest smile he had ever given before. He already reached the conclusion that he was going to lose her. He was going to tell her the truth, so that she could understand his reasons.
“I am an assassin,” he said.
She looked at him. She was sure that is was another lie. She had been around him long enough that he was not someone that could just take a life.
“You’re kidding right. It’s a joke. You can’t really kill for a living. You’re so kind and gentle. You couldn’t hurt a fly,” she said.
“I was personally raised and trained by the Master. He gives me the order and I take the life. It is the only way I know how to survive. Please believe me. I do not wish to show you want I can do. I never wanted you to find out.” Azreal looked down. His voice had become flat.
She got up, silently. Even though she did not want to believe it, she knew it was true. Some part of her wished he would smile at her and tell her that it was a joke, but she could tell by the way he was acting that it was not a lie.
“My father,” she started. “Did you kill him? Did you do it so that you could have me?”
“No I did not. I did not find out about his death until after it occurred. He had started to dig into my past. That was something the Master could not allow.”
He continued looking down. He could not look at her face; the face of someone looking at a monster. He had seen it so many times when he killed someone, but it hurt to think that it was on someone he loved.
“I see,” she said.
She turned around and walked into their bedroom. He looked up when he heard the door close. He made his way to the door and placed his hand on it. He was going to leave. He could not be in this house filled with all their memories.
“I will move out. I barely have anything here. You should stay. It will be a perfect home for our child. I just ask that you tell him some good lie about what I do for a living,” he said.
He made his way to the exit. The meal had kept its meaning. This would be a start of a new life for both of them. He would find a way to live and keep her safe even if he could not be with her. He was about to reach for his shoes when he felt something grab him from behind.
“Let’s run away. Let’s go somewhere where we can be free. Where you do not have to kill and I do not have to worry. I will find a job if we need the money,” she said.
He placed his hands on her hands.
“It will not work. I tried once. I am theirs until they no longer need me, but my heart belongs only to you. Please remember that, for that is something they will never have.”
She said nothing, but he could feel the tears soaking through his shirt. He started to lift her hands so that he could turn around and hug her.
“Don’t move. I don’t want you to see my face when I’m like this,” she said, holding him tighter.
So he stood there, letting her cry onto his back. If that was what she wanted he was not going to refuse her. He could never refuse her.
“It’s a lot to understand, but I love you. I loved you the first time I saw you walking on the street. When we talked I was always so happy. When you suggested running away, I didn’t second guess that choice. It doesn’t matter who you are outside of this house. Inside you are the man that I love, and I will always see you as that man. I should have never asked you; I should have trusted you.”
Azreal held her hand tightly. He meant every word of what he told her. He wanted to tell her how he feared she would leave him if she knew everything, but he stayed silent.
“No matter where you go, we will be waiting here for you. I will always wait for you to enter that door. I just ask you one thing. I want the man I fell in love with to enter. Not the man that they made you to be.”
“I promise that he will never enter this door again,” he said.
She let go of him and he turned around. The little makeup she had on had been ruined by her tears, but she still looked beautiful to him. He hugged her tightly. He was never going to let her go. He looked at Bloodrose and mouthed ‘I do not need you anymore’.
“Your world is not as delicate as you believe to be Azreal. If you ever need me again, I will be there,” Bloodrose said as he vanished.
With that he was finally alone with Lucie. There was no more need to lie to her. She would be his support.
He looked at the knob. It had been so simple to lie to her when they first met and started to live together but now it was unbearable. He could come home once or twice a week and using excuses like he had to travel for work or had to stay late to avoid her, yet he could not leave her. He loved her so much.
“Did you lose your key?” his neighbor asked, he walked out of his door.
Azreal had been so focused on the door he had not even heard his neighbor open his. He mentally scolded himself for lowering his guard.
“No, I was just thinking about work?” Azreal respond with a smile.
“Well you better not keep your wife waiting. All she has been talking about for the last day and a half was your return home,” the man said, heading towards the elevator.
Azreal took a deep breath and opened the door. He was going to have to go in eventually. There was no point in delaying it more then he already had. He was going to have to see her.
“I’m back,” he said as he entered.
He smiled at his wife, Lucie; she stood in the foyer with the usual smile on her face. Lucie was Azreal’s perfect woman. Her brown hair, going slightly past her shoulder, was always straight with no stray hair and her eyes were blue as the ocean. Her face, while thin, held high cheekbones, making her smile have a greater impact on Azreal each time he saw it. A small bulge in her stomach had been added to her normal thin frame. She was pregnant.
“Welcome home,” she said.
Her hair was tied up in a bun which meant she had been cooking recently. The apartment was filled with the scent of the handmade meal. Keeping it to himself, he guessed that they would be having filet mignon with asparagus. He did not want to ruin the small ritual they had before their meal. Lucie loved surprising him with her creations.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
“I managed to close the deal. You were right, it was a good idea to go out and meet the client in person,” he lied.
“I’m glad I could help.”
He looked at her, and suddenly noticing he was there. Bloodrose was hovering behind his wife, smiling at Azreal. Bloodrose was Azreal’s codename when he worked and a part of his persona he despised. He did not remember when he first appeared in his life, but the one thing he was sure of was that Bloodrose was the darkness that lived within him, the part of him that loved the chaos and thrill of taking a life. Even though he hated Bloodrose, Azreal needed him to stay sane. He would focus his negative emotions on Bloodrose.
He took off his shoes, while walking over to Lucie. He reached out to hug her, bit stopped, hesitating. He wanted to touch her so much, but he was afraid. He feared that if he touched her she would shatter, and all the happiness that he had gained by being with her would disappear. He looked at her and smiled again, this time with a hint of sadness.
“It’s okay, Azreal. I know you’re afraid of me disappearing, but I won’t. I will be here,” she said as she touched his face. “No matter how long you are away, the two of us will be here waiting for you.”
“As long as the guild allows it.” Bloodrose added.
He had told her when he a child anything he loved would be taken from him. It was the truth. The guild took his parents away and raised him to be their perfect weapon. He could never tell her the truth of all that he endured. He did not want her pity, just her love. He needed her touch and her warmth, more than she would ever understand.
He hugged and held her tight.
“I know and I love you for it,” he said.
After a moment, Azreal let her go. He smiled seeing that she was still there. He still had his light in his life.
“I’m almost done making dinner. You can sit in the living room and wait if you want. It won’t be long,” she said, making her way to the kitchen.
“I wonder how long the two of you will last. You know that once she finds out the truth she will leave. You and I will be alone again,” Bloodrose commented, watching Lucie.
“I did not ask your opinion,” Azreal retorted as he made his way to the living room.
He sat down on the couch and relaxed. As much as he hated keeping the secret he loved being home, with its familiar, and it was the one place that he knew inside out. There was no way he could be surprised here. The room much like the house had the bare minimum to be habitable. There were to couches separated by a coffee table. The walls remained barren with no pictures on the walls. The fireplace held the only photograph. It was of Azreal and Lucie. It was not that they could not afford it, Lucie just wanted to keep the house simple until she gave birth.
He looked at the coffee table and smiled. In the center sat a flower, a single red chrysanthemum. He leaned forward and touched it. It was just like Lucie to always have some sort of flower around her. The first time he had met her she was tending the garden of her old home. He could still remember those days.
He had always passed her home when he headed home after work. He lived apart from the other members. He wanted some time to be away from the Master and the Master’s need for undivided attention. Meeting Lucie was an accident. She had been weeding her garden when she pulled a little too hard on a weed. It went flying though the air, landing on Azreal’s head. When she saw what had happened she laughed at the sight. He just stood there with the weed on his head.
“Sorry about that. I guess I pulled too hard,” she said as she took the weed off of his head. She gave him a chrysanthemum from her garden in apology. Azreal accepted it to appear kind. The next time he passed the house; she stopped him and gave him another flower. Eventually Azreal started to look forward to their meetings and the gifts. Their short conversations made him forget about what he had done earlier or what he was going to do later that day.
“I see you found the flower. I gave you the same type of flower the first time we met,” Lucia said, bring Azreal back from his daydream.
Azreal ignored his trained impulse to attack when she spoke. He was taught to attack anything that surprised him. He knew that she was not going to harm him. She wrapped her hands around him from behind. He looked up at her.
“I always saw you walking by, but I never had the courage to say anything, until that weed. ”
Azreal let out a small chuckle, and kissed her.
“Is dinner ready?” he asked.
“Yup. You will never guess what I made today,” she said letting go.
They made their way to the dining room. Lucie lifted the covers, revealing filet mignon and asparagus. He had been right.
“This was the first and only meal you ever made me. I thought it would be perfect for today’s dinner.” Lucie said.
He looked at the plate. It was the first meal she ate with him after her father’s death. He never told Lucie, but the guild had issued her father’s death. He had not taken the job himself; he had only heard of it. He had returned home to find her sitting in front of his door, crying.
“I’m sorry. I had nowhere else to go.” She wiped away her tears.
He took her inside and stayed with her until she calmed down. He
had never thought about what happened to the families of those he killed before. He never knew it could be this bad. They had to get away. He knew the guild would be after her. He was not going to let her get hurt, she was too important to him. He was sure that with his skills he could stay hidden from the guild and protect her.
“Let’s run away. Somewhere we can forget our troubles,” he suggested.
Having no one left to call her family she agreed. When they found a place, far from where they lived and the guild, he made the same meal. He called it the ‘start of a new life meal’.
“It’s perfect,” he said. “What are we celebrating?”
Lucie looked at him, no longer smiling. Azreal looked at her concerned. He began to worry that he had done something wrong.
“It’s falling apart. Shattering,” Bloodrose sang with a grin.
“Lucie, please tell me what is wrong,” he said, with a hint of panic in his voice.
He took her hand, but she pulled it away. His worst fears were coming true. He was losing the small joy he had in his life. She was going to leave him.
“Are you having an affair?” she asked him.
He looked at her, dumbfounded. She thought he was having an affair. He thought she had found out he was an assassin.
“I would never do that. I love you too much,” he protested. “What possessed you to think I would do something like that?”
“I met one of your coworkers today … and he told me some interesting things,” she said.
“Busted,” Bloodrose added.
“He told me that you meeting me ruined your position at work. That before you were able to choose the jobs you took, and now you take whatever jobs your boss gives you. Did I ruin your life? Is that why you don’t want to come home? I know I said I will be here, but it does get lonely being here alone.”
Azreal grabbed her arms and looked her in the eyes. She had not ruined his life. She was the only light in it.
“You did not ruin it. If anything, you gave it purpose. If not for you, I would have given up long ago. Don’t ever think that you ruined anything. If I had to do it all over, I would make the same choices” he told her.
She smiled at his comment; however it was only for a brief moment.
“Then please tell me why you lied about where you work. I looked it up. The company you work for exists only on paper. I went to the location, there was no building. I called the number, it was disconnected. If it was not for work, why did we move?”
Azreal looked at Lucie but said nothing. He had not wanted to move. He had done it to protect her. He could remember the day he told her that they were moving. He had been working as a clerk, making just enough money to get by. His life was not as luxurious as before, but he was happy because Lucie was there. That life shattered when he saw the last man he wanted to see, the Master. He had gone out personally to find Azreal. Though his mind told him to run, the fear in seeing that man kept him from moving.
“You caused a lot of trouble Azreal. You know you are not allowed to leave when you wish. The normal punishment for desertion is death; however I will not allow that. You are too valuable to us, to me. Instead, I will kill that girl you are with. What’s her name? Lucie,” the Master said. His voice might have sounded calm but Azreal knew that he was angry.
“If you kill her, I will kill myself,” Azreal managed to respond. He was not going to live without Lucie.
“So you grew some sort of backbone. Well then, if you came back I will allow the two of you to live together, but you will have to do everything I say. No questions asked. Do you understand Azreal?”
Azreal agreed. He knew full well what the Master was capable of. He had seen him kill without a moment’s hesitation. He would kill Lucie if he did not agree. He told Lucie that same day that they were moving because of a job offer he could not refuse.
“You have to tell her. No matter what you tell her she will know it is a lie. She will look to find the truth. Do you want to her die like her father did? By looking too much into your past.” Bloodrose said, bringing Azreal back from his thoughts.
“I did not completely lie to you; I did get a job offer I could not refuse. It was just not the job that I told you. Please trust me. Everything I told you was to protect you. I lied because it was the best option at that time. I did not want to lose you,” he pleaded.
“Then what do you do?” she asked.
“Please don’t ask that again. Once you find out you will never be able to look at me again,” he said grabbing her hand. “I will tell you anything you want to know except for what I really do for a living.”
“I need to know. If I do not find out I will always be imagining the worst possible profession. Please tell me,” she begged as she held his hand tightly.
“Don’t be scared. Once she knows, you will see if she truly loves you. You don’t need to worry about being alone. I will always be here,” Bloodrose said. “After all it has always been just the two of us.”
Azreal looked at her. He did not know what was worse. Telling her that he killed others to survive or allowing her imagination to run wild. His hands started to shake as he looked at her. He knew that no matter what he did he would lose her.
“I love you. From the moment I saw you crying on my doorstep, I knew that I wanted to be with you until I died. Without you I will no longer be able to live. So, it kills me to not tell you the truth. That was why I did not come home when I could. That was why I lied about staying at work late,” he said, avoiding the answer.
“You cannot do anything that could make me hate you,” she said.
“That she knows of. No one wants to be with someone that can kill like we can.” Bloodrose added.
He looked at her with the saddest smile he had ever given before. He already reached the conclusion that he was going to lose her. He was going to tell her the truth, so that she could understand his reasons.
“I am an assassin,” he said.
She looked at him. She was sure that is was another lie. She had been around him long enough that he was not someone that could just take a life.
“You’re kidding right. It’s a joke. You can’t really kill for a living. You’re so kind and gentle. You couldn’t hurt a fly,” she said.
“I was personally raised and trained by the Master. He gives me the order and I take the life. It is the only way I know how to survive. Please believe me. I do not wish to show you want I can do. I never wanted you to find out.” Azreal looked down. His voice had become flat.
She got up, silently. Even though she did not want to believe it, she knew it was true. Some part of her wished he would smile at her and tell her that it was a joke, but she could tell by the way he was acting that it was not a lie.
“My father,” she started. “Did you kill him? Did you do it so that you could have me?”
“No I did not. I did not find out about his death until after it occurred. He had started to dig into my past. That was something the Master could not allow.”
He continued looking down. He could not look at her face; the face of someone looking at a monster. He had seen it so many times when he killed someone, but it hurt to think that it was on someone he loved.
“I see,” she said.
She turned around and walked into their bedroom. He looked up when he heard the door close. He made his way to the door and placed his hand on it. He was going to leave. He could not be in this house filled with all their memories.
“I will move out. I barely have anything here. You should stay. It will be a perfect home for our child. I just ask that you tell him some good lie about what I do for a living,” he said.
He made his way to the exit. The meal had kept its meaning. This would be a start of a new life for both of them. He would find a way to live and keep her safe even if he could not be with her. He was about to reach for his shoes when he felt something grab him from behind.
“Let’s run away. Let’s go somewhere where we can be free. Where you do not have to kill and I do not have to worry. I will find a job if we need the money,” she said.
He placed his hands on her hands.
“It will not work. I tried once. I am theirs until they no longer need me, but my heart belongs only to you. Please remember that, for that is something they will never have.”
She said nothing, but he could feel the tears soaking through his shirt. He started to lift her hands so that he could turn around and hug her.
“Don’t move. I don’t want you to see my face when I’m like this,” she said, holding him tighter.
So he stood there, letting her cry onto his back. If that was what she wanted he was not going to refuse her. He could never refuse her.
“It’s a lot to understand, but I love you. I loved you the first time I saw you walking on the street. When we talked I was always so happy. When you suggested running away, I didn’t second guess that choice. It doesn’t matter who you are outside of this house. Inside you are the man that I love, and I will always see you as that man. I should have never asked you; I should have trusted you.”
Azreal held her hand tightly. He meant every word of what he told her. He wanted to tell her how he feared she would leave him if she knew everything, but he stayed silent.
“No matter where you go, we will be waiting here for you. I will always wait for you to enter that door. I just ask you one thing. I want the man I fell in love with to enter. Not the man that they made you to be.”
“I promise that he will never enter this door again,” he said.
She let go of him and he turned around. The little makeup she had on had been ruined by her tears, but she still looked beautiful to him. He hugged her tightly. He was never going to let her go. He looked at Bloodrose and mouthed ‘I do not need you anymore’.
“Your world is not as delicate as you believe to be Azreal. If you ever need me again, I will be there,” Bloodrose said as he vanished.
With that he was finally alone with Lucie. There was no more need to lie to her. She would be his support.
