Concordia: Part 2

Together

To push open the doors to his room was nothing to Demetrius. The only significance it had held for him was for him to have a place to rest safely. To push open these doors now though, made him wonder what lied on the other side. The room would look no different than it had looked before he set out for Animus Castle, but just the fact that the room’s significance changed made it feel renewed.

The doors opened with a slight creek, before showing the two lovers the beautiful living space. The room was unbelievably huge, dwarfing the size of the king sized bed toward the center. The sheets were a pure white, like the snow that covered the ground outside the castle. The huge circular room was surrounded by many windows displaying everything in the direction south of his castle. Animus Castle could be seen a long distance away. There were blue curtains that currently weren’t covering the windows to keep the light of day outside. The floor was covered over by a royal blue carpet with gold designs that he had never given any attention to. By some of the windows sat a table with two chairs to go with it. Demetrius allowed Cleo to take everything as he looked onto her with a smile. He stepped back to shut the doors behind them.

“What do you think?” Demetrius asked before kissing Cleo on the cheek as he passed her, walking deeper into the room. Demetrius had the slickest of grins on his face as the temperature in the room rose. “Do you remember when you tried to intimidate me my undressing when we were younger? Do you remember what I would do to get your clothes on?” Demetrius asked.

Cleo is going to take over the grounds

Cleo’s eyes opened wide as the doors were opened and she laid eyes on the bedroom. It was beautiful and much bigger than she had ever expected. The rich blue carpet was soft underfoot as she took one step inside of the room. It was bright, yet sophisticated. It also very much suited Demetrius with the white and blue, both cold colours. The bed also looked amazing, both soft and homey. In fact Cleo was looking forward to testing it out.

As Demetrius spoke and kissed her cheek softly she smiled at him. “It’s amazing, I love it” She whispered to him, watching him walk as he continued to speak. Cleo grinned at the memory. “Of course I remember. I used to see how long I could hold out against the cold. I even remember that one time you almost gave me frostbite because I refused to put my clothes back on” Cleo said as she wondered over to one of the windows. She noticed the temperature in the room rising and just assumed that Demetrius was either happy or he was trying to make the room more comfortable.

Looking out of the window she could see her father’s castle off in the distance. It looked so far away, like it was a whole didn’t world away. Yet still her father’s power could cross that distance and affect her and Demetrius. Cleo frowned a little at the thought but quickly pushed it away. Now was not the time for sad thoughts. Her eyes shifted from the castle in the distance to the castle grounds around them. There was so much space and so much potential for beautiful gardens. Cleo certainly wanted one that could be viewed from this room.

Heating up!

Demetrius let himself sit on his bed, before letting his body fall back. His back hit the bed softly, not even making a sound. His bare back heated the entire surface of the bed from the heat radiating from his body. With his hands rested behind his head, Demetrius just smiled as he awaited Cleo’s reaction to the rise in temperature. Cleo seemed mesmerized by the view or perhaps the entire room itself. He was facing the ceiling, but he could clearly see Cleo in his head. He unintentionally rose the temperature much higher from just thinking about how much he loved her. He had made the room very uncomfortably warm, which was his intention.

“I see you love our castle. Perhaps more than you love me.” Demetrius jokingly pondered as he sat himself up on his elbows so he could see what Cleo was doing.

Is it hot in here... or is it just me?

"Mmm... well it is a very pretty castle" Cleo said with a smile as she turned away from the window to look over at Demetrius, noticing that he had moved over to the bed and was sitting down. "But you should know by now that there is nothing I love more than you" She said in a soft voice, it quite clear from the way that she was looking at him that she meant every word of it. Cleo had gone against her father, she had defied him for Demetrius which in itself was a demonstration of how much she cared about him.

As her attention had been drawn back to the room, Cleo noticed that the temperature had risen quite a bit. It was then that her mind made the conection between Demetrius' memory and the temperature in the room. No longer was he using the cold to make her put her clothes back on, but heating the room up to get her to take them off. Cleo ran her fingers through her long dark hair as she began to walk over to him as he was half naked and half proped up on the bed. Sure, Demetrius had been half naked since he had arrived at the castle but Cleo was more aware of it now that they were in his bedroom and he was on his bed.

"If you wanted my clothes off all you had to do was ask or take them off yourself, you didn't need to play games with the temperature" She said with a small smile, walking towards him slowly as her hands moved behind her back to undo the dress.

Anxiety

After undoing her dress, Demetrius could barely keep playing his game with Cleo. He was waiting for this moment since he arrived at his castle. He had let his body temperature lower to make contact with her body without burning her, but there were still instances where Cleo would feel heat coming from Demetrius’ body. He knew this time around, that the sex would be much more enjoyable in his own abode.

Whether he was right or not, Demetrius felt like he had given Cleo everything he had to offer. It was hours later, and Demetrius was now lying on his back while holding Cleo close to his chest. He didn’t know if she was asleep or not, but he softly stroked his fingers across her back to keep her comfortable. Again, he was facing the ceiling, but this time he didn’t just think of Cleo. His entire life was going to change with this war. His body dropped in temperature a bit before fixed it. He sighed as he forgot how much his emotions got the best of his powers. He hoped he didn’t stir up Cleo’s sleep, even though he couldn’t get any sleep himself. Just when he thought he felt better, reality comes to keep the man in check.

Hot & Cold

Cleo hadn't thought that anything could be better than the first time the two of them had been intimate with each other back at her father's new castle yet Demetrius had just proved her wrong. It had been amazing and had left Cleo quite exhausted. Hours later Cleo was resting against Demetrius. She was dozing in and out of conciousness, just content to let the world remain outside the walls of the bedroom. All that existed was Demetrius and herself. Cleo would have been happy to stay like this all afternoon, just being lazy in bed and being next to the man who she loved more than anything. In her mind Cleo was already planning the garden which she was going to create outside one of the windows.

However that didn't last forever. As Demetrius' body went cold a shiver ran down Cleo's spine. Without moving her body from the comfortable position that she was in Cleo spoke in a whisper. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" She questioned quietly, letting her lips kiss the skin of his chest which was right next to her lips and didn't require much movement on her behalf. It was surprising how quickly Cleo was becoming acustomed to picking up on the small temperature changes in his body. It had only been a small drop in temperature this time and she wasn't sure if this meant that there wasn't something horribly wrong or if it meant that Demetrius was getting better at picking up on the changes and trying to prevent them.

I Almost Had Him Just Go to the Bathroom

Demetrius thought he would stare at the ceiling for hours until the sun rose again, but he felt Cleo’s soft lips against his chest as she spoke. He couldn’t believe she caught that second of cold so easily, and knew what it meant as well. His fingers stopped stroking along her back as he tried to think of what to say. He was going to lie, but was going to explain how he felt in the best way possible.

“I’m still thinking on the things your father has told me. He whispers to me every so often. Reminding me of what I owe him.” Demetrius said before giving Cleo a quick kiss and easing his way out of bed. He went into one of his drawers to grab pajama bottoms and a shirt. “He has given me power that I refuse to use, but I’m slowly thinking of digressing… If the princess has gathered all of her brothers like rumors tell, then I must be stronger if I am to defeat them.” Demetrius said, knowing the League of Twelve wasn’t what it was five years ago. It had been mainly because the League had one single goal. There were smaller individual goals as well, but once those were met, there was barely any need to work together again.

Demetrius began walking toward the doors of the room before stopping in the center. He didn’t want to do what he was thinking of doing, but it would surely come eventually. He wanted Cleo to know who her father was, and he made what Demetrius is today. He knew she was strong, and though it took him long to realize this, Demetrius has learned to remember that the woman he loved was the same person who had strived to rival him in everything he has done under Valius’ rule. “Come my love, I want to show you something.” Demetrius said softly as the moonlight shined onto his body through the uncovered windows.

Interesting thought... if Valius can see everything that Demetrius does and all that... did he just see what Demetrius did to his daughter?

Cleo frowned at the mention of her father. She didn’t want to talk about her father. He was already so ingrained in their lives that she had kind of been hoping from some space from the idea, at the very least just for the time that they were in bed. Her lips were in a soft pout as Demetrius lent in and kissed her softly and she groaned as he got out of bed. Was it really time to get up? As he walked over to get dressed Cleo stretched out on the large bed, arching her back and stretching out her muscles. Her eyes though watched him get dressed, taking in every inch of his body before it was fully clothed.

His words made her think. It wouldn’t be long before she would have to try and use her ability in his mind. Cleo more than anything wanted the privacy and the control that it would give Demetrius and also herself. As he spoke for her to follow him as he moved to leave the room, Cleo sighed softly. “Alright then” Cleo said in a curious voice. She had been quite content to stay in that bed and never get up. Slowly she got up from the bed, walking over and slipping on her underwear. It was then that she realised that she didn’t have any clothes apart from the dress which she had worn here. She would need to organise that. For the time being though she just walked over and opened one of the draws near where Demetrius had got his pyjama’s from. Looking around for a moment she found a large t-shirt and slipped it on over her body. It was long enough that it acted like a dress and would do for the moment. She guessed that they were not going anywhere formal due to what Demetrius was wearing.

“Is that what you want though? You talk about defeating the princess and Markell and the other brothers but is that the side you want to take?” She said bringing the conversation back to what he had said before. Cleo still wanted to be on her father side. She wanted things to go back to the way that they had been before she had failed him. Yet Cleo also knew that Demetrius had issues with her father and wanted him dead. She wanted him to have the ability to make a choice about which side he wanted to fight on just like she had the choice.

Choices That Can't be Made

Demetrius just stood almost still after Cleo’s question. It was a very peculiar one too, and he wanted to answer it, not only for Cleo, but himself as well. He fell silent as he tried to look at both sides, while taking both Cleo and Valius into account. He held nothing against the former rulers of Concordia, but he had no reason to help them either. His only drive would be to see Valius dead. The room temperature seemed to go from warm to cool sporadically as he thought hard about how he would answer. It wasn’t until the temperature remained neutral that he spoke.

“I want to fight against your father… but that will not happen. I will take Valius’ side whether it is by my will or his. I’d rather fight as myself, than become a puppet.” Demetrius said before pulling open the doors leading into the hallway. He seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything else before speaking again without facing Cleo. “If I… If we can overcome your father’s control, I may change my mind.” Demetrius added. The two headed down the stairs before reaching the first floor halls, heading to the bolted door. His body had remained cold to the touch since he had exited the room.

I enjoy how you can't lie to my daughter's face...

Demetrius made no effort to respond, but instead let his body warm up once again before his emotions were read through his powers.

You say locked door... I say hospital

As Demetrius thought about his answer Cleo could feel the temperature in the room shifting from hot to cold and then back to hot. She could tell that he was having trouble coming up with an answer or at least his emotions were torn. Cleo had come to the conclusion that his temperature control was very much related to his feelings and not so much his thoughts. The silence which had fallen over them went uninterrupted by Cleo as she left him to think about it. She wanted an honest answer so she left him to answer it.

Even now, before there was a choice to even make Cleo could tell that this would be a deciding point in their relationship. He wanted to fight against her father and Cleo was still drawn to fight with her father. They would need to talk about it at some point and at this stage Cleo just wanted to know what he was thinking. She could have guessed the answer that Demetrius eventually gave but she still needed to be certain about it. Cleo needed to know because she needed to try and figure it out herself. A simple nod of her head was all she did in response even though he couldn’t see it as his back was turned. Cleo didn’t feel the need for words.

As they walked down the stairs, Cleo reached out for his hand. She touched it as his body temperature rose back up to warm so she didn’t notice anything was up. She gave it a small squeeze as the two of them headed back down the hallway which they had taken to go to the small medical clinic earlier on. Cleo paused, causing Demetrius to stop as well due to her hand being in his. “We are not going to see the doctor are we?” She said in clearly a worried voice.

Is Having a Library of Your Life a Little Too Much? Nah!

Demetrius took Cleo’s hand with a firm hold before bringing it up to his lips to kiss it. He already knew Cleo’s reaction to what he would reveal to her would be far worse than her thinking he was taking her to the doctors again. He would keep himself calm, and only hope that he could be more ready for what was going to come.

“Of course not. This…” Demetrius stops in front of the bolted door. “…is where we’re going to.” Demetrius answered. He placed his hand on one of the lock before concentrating on it. Within a few seconds, blue runes appeared around the first lock opened. “You know, I wasn’t going to show you this, and I’m surprised your father hasn’t stopped me yet.” Demetrius spoke so things didn’t get quiet as he unlocked the other locks on the door. They had all required his cold touch at the highest concentration to open. “There.” Demetrius let out before opening the heavy door.

In the room he had opened the door to, was a huge shelf holding many books and a table with a chair to it. On the table was an open book and what looked like a writing utensil beside it. He didn’t really know how to present it, but he would try.

“This… This is my library. The library of my life. I have secrets in these books that would make some think their lives were lies… I have truths in here that that should remain hidden from others.” Demetrius fell silent when his eyes stopped on a book on the shelf. It was a vibrant yellow color, but he had only seen it as an ominous and dark book. Demetrius turned from it to shut the door, or rather shut the door to turn away from it. “I just don’t any secrets between the two of us. You are welcomed in here whenever you like, just as long as I’m here to open the door.” Demetrius said, wondering what Cleo’s reaction would be to all of this. He knew she would have a question, he just couldn’t anticipate what it was.

Gives a whole new definition to an open book relationship...

Cleo could feel her heart stop racing as they came to stop in front of the doors which she had been curious about before. She was just thankful that they were not headed back to the clinic and to see the doctors. However a new set of nerves settled in her stomach. Cleo could tell that he was a little nervous about her seeing what was behind this door and this in turn made her nervous. What was it that could make Demetrius feel anxious about showing her? Cleo couldn’t think of one thing that he could show her that would make her love him any less than she did at the moment.

She watched as he unlocked the door, seeing that it wasn’t just a normal lock. Only someone with Demetrius’ powers would have been able to unlock it. Not even she could have gotten in here, even with her fantastic ability to pick locks with a bobby pin. She stayed silent as he spoke about her father. Cleo knew that he could make assumptions on what her father would or wouldn’t allow but she also knew that her own knowledge of the man was different. She continued to stay silent as he opened the doors, although her mouth dropped open a little. A library was the last thing she had expected to see behind this door. Cleo stepped inside, looking around at all the different books on the shelf. None of them had titles on the spine and they all looked different. Some of them were bright and others were dull, while some looked new and others looked old.

Cleo walked over to the shelf, running her fingers along the wood of the shelf as she moved over to look at the desk. Her eyes glanced at the open blank page, reaching down and flicking through it and seeing on the pages before Demetrius’ handwriting. Her eyes didn’t linger long enough to take in the words. Instead she was listening to Demetrius speak about what this room was. It was his own written history. Cleo couldn’t believe he had written all of this. It was amazing. As he spoke of why he had shown it to her, Cleo finally spoke up.

“Why are you showing me this?” Cleo said as she turned to look at him. “Already know everything I need to know about you. I love you” She said, meaning every word of it. Cleo didn’t need to know every single detail of everything that he had done over the years to know that he was the man of her life.

The True Battle of Demetrius and Valius

Demetrius had waited for Cleo’s reaction to the library and what she would say about it, only to hear her speak with words he hadn’t predicted coming out of her mouth. He took her words, not being able to speak for a few seconds. Could he really hurt the one he loved just to show her a truth she had never known of her entire life. Demetrius could then hear a cackle in his mind as his body started to warm up. Valius didn’t believe Demetrius could even go through what he planned to do, which was the reason why Valius had let the man do as he pleased. Demetrius could take the words from Cleo and take her back upstairs, only letting her think he just wanted to show her the library, or he could not only go against Valius, but himself to keep Cleo from believing lies.

At this moment, he knew exactly what he had to do. He had to do something Valius saw him nearly incapable of doing. Demetrius took a breath as he shut his eyes. He had to be straight forward, he had to be strong… he had to be cold. His body’s temperature dropped tremendously upon opening his eyes. The room’s temperature dropped somewhat before his eyes opened. He tried to keep the temperature change focused around him in order to keep Cleo from feeling it too much. His eyes held a darkness that he hadn’t shown since he laid eyes on Valius when he saw Cleo’s previous injuries. He looked into her eyes for a few seconds, only to see if he himself would falter.

“We aren’t here because of me Cleo. I’ve come to show you something about you… about your birth.” Demetrius said as he walked toward the shelf, his cold eyes never leaving Cleo’s as he grabbed the yellow book he had looked at before. Just touching the book caused the wood of the book shelf to crackle a bit. Demetrisu then made his way over the desk and chair. Grabbed the open book on the table and swept it to the floor before replacing it with the other one. He opened the book, and flipped through its many pages before stopping. “Right here… read of how you father sacrificed your mother’s life for his own gain… Learn why he truly is disappointed in you. Learn how he couldn’t have held a single ounce… a single ounce of love for you.” Demetrius found it difficult to say the last words. His body temperature finally faltered as he felt the coldness slipping from him. He sighed as he just stared down at the ground in order to keep his body cold to the touch. He waited for Cleo to approach the book and to read its contents.

Daddy Issues

As Cleo was looking at him she noticed a change. He seemed to become colder in expression if not temperature. She looked into his eyes and was met with an expression she had never seen before on his face and in his eyes. Something was going on here that she didn’t understand and Cleo was beginning to feel annoyed. Why couldn’t he just come out and tell her what was going on? It was as if she was missing a piece of the jigsaw puzzle and Demetrius had it hidden in his pocket the whole time. Before she could demand him tell her, he began talking again.

Cleo shook her head as he spoke. Why was he telling her this? She already knew about her birth. There had been complications which no one at the time could fix. The Doctor had tried to save both mother and daughter but in the end there was nothing that could be done to save her mother. Cleo had lived and in that instant she had killed her mother. She had been responsible for the death of the one woman in her father’s life who brought him happiness. Cleo didn’t understand why Demetrius would want her to read that. She didn’t care what had happened at the time, all that mattered was that her father had blamed her and that she was responsible. She watched as Demetrius took down one of the books and placed it on the table as he began to flick through it. Her ability flared up and she was about to make him close it and put it back. Part of her was scared as to what she would find in those pages. Although before she could stop him he had already found the page and began telling her what she would find on those pages.

His words rang through her ears and it took a moment of silence after he finished speaking for it to actually sink in as to what he had just said. Her father sacrificed her mother? That couldn’t be right. It wasn’t those words with hurt the most. She could cope up until the point where he mentioned her father’s inability to love her. Cleo felt as if Demetrius had just ripped out her heart and the shock played on her face. Slowly though she began to speak. “Why would you show me this?” Cleo said quietly before looking up at him with a hurt expression. “I don’t want to read it. You are wrong... he can love me. I just...” Cleo said pausing for a moment to wipe her eyes which had started tearing. “I just need to be better” For such a strong and confident woman, when it came to her father Cleo felt like a little girl again. All of the confidence being swept away from her and all common sense being thrown to the wind. Deep down she knew what Demetrius was saying was true but she wasn’t ready to hear it.

For years Cleo had made it her mission to get her father to love her and to look at her the way that he had looked at Demetrius when they were children. Demetrius could never do a thing wrong and always had the focus of her father’s attention yet Cleo found herself struggling to even get noticed. She wanted her father to be proud of her, to even just spend a moment looking at her with a kind expression. She craved his love. Without a second glance at the book, Cleo created a vine out of thin air which wrapped around the book, closing it and moving to place it back on the shelf where Demetrius had got it from.

Just Great....

Demetrius had waited on how Cleo would respond with his fists tightened as he kept the love he held for her from breaking through. He was afraid that he would have put her to tears with his words, but when Cleo answered, he looked up at her with coldness. This time it was slightly different than before, because this time it wasn’t forced. Was she serious? She said he was wrong… Demetrius could hardly get a word out, only because he thought he might yell at Cleo. His head shook in disagreement to her words, and just before he could tell her how he felt, he heard the book close beside him. His eyes then darted toward the yellow book being carried toward the shelf by a green vine. Without a single thought, a black sword appeared in Demetrius’ hand before he sliced up and through the vine. The book had dropped to the ground, and the rest of the vine froze over.

“Cleo… Stop being foolish! You didn’t know your father like I did. That man is not capable of loving. The moment he knew he could gain power, he discarded the emotion.” Demetrius said as he thought about when he had spoken to the devilish man in his chamber when he needed answers to countless questions. His thoughts then sprinted through his past with Valius until reaching their battle. “If you still feel the same way about your father, then I don’t believe I can trust you using your magic on me.” Demetrius said before picking up the yellow book and placing it into the shelf himself. He made the black sword vanish as he turned from Cleo to get the book he had tossed to the ground, and picked it up to place on the table. He didn’t want things to go this way, but he didn’t see any other choice. His body warmed up the more he kept his mind on it and took a seat at the table. Grabbing his writing utensil, Demetrius began writing in the book, starting with the beginning of the day yesterday. There was much to write on, but he would only cover key confrontations and moments. “You may go back to bed if you’d like.” Demetrius said as the utensil traveled across the paper with speed.

What?! Cleo and Demetrius had a fight and the castle is still standing

Cleo was hurt and upset and by the looks of it Demetrius was furious. She knew the signs and had seen it many times before. In fact, she had been the cause of his anger on more than one occasion. However Cleo hadn’t expected him to get angry with her over this. She knew that he was angry well before he lashed out with the black sword towards the vine which she had created and then proceeded to freeze it. Cleo knew Demetrius but why didn’t he know her? Cleo couldn’t understand why he would think that she would want to read what had been written about her father. Demetrius had grown up with her and knew her almost better than anyone so it confused her as to why after all these years he didn’t understand her relationship with her father.

She flinched as he spoke harshly to her, although she expected it. He was angry and the calm composure he normally held with such tightness was slipping away as he spoke to her. Cleo stood there crying as he stated that he wasn’t going to let her use her ability on him. She was about to argue that she didn’t need his permission when he seemed to regain control and move towards his desk where he began writing. This annoyed Cleo more than anything. It was like he was dismissing her especially when he spoke about how she could go back to bed. She wanted to scream at him but instead she just stood there watching him for a moment.

“Fine...” Was all Cleo said to him. Cleo wasn’t in the mood to talk to Demetrius, in fact she didn’t even want to be in the same room as him. When he didn’t look up at her, Cleo turned to leave the room before stopping as she reached the doorway. Slowly she turned back around to look into the room, tears still flowing down her cheeks as she walked back over to the bookcase and picked up the yellow book. Without saying anything she turned and walked from the room with it in her hand, heading towards the front doors of the castle. Despite it being dark outside, Cleo felt the need to be outside and amongst nature. She also didn’t know where else to go because she certainly wasn’t going to go back up to their bedroom after he had just yelled at her and what he wanted her to read.

Even though all she was wearing was one of Demetrius’ shirts and her underwear, Cleo pushed one of the big oak doors open and stepped outside into the cold snow. She was hardly paying attention to it though as she walked out into the snow, it was cold against her feet but as she walked Cleo used her ability to create lush grass beneath her. Once she got about fifty meters away from the house, she once again used her ability. This time she generated a large oak tree which she sat at the base of, her back against the trunk as she looked down at the book in her lap.

Did she want to read it?

It was like a choice between her father and Demetrius all over again and she didn’t know what to do. If she chose to trust her father and not read it then she felt as if she was going to lose Demetrius. Yet if she chose to believe Demetrius then she was turning away from her father. It was the love of her life against her father and Cleo couldn’t have felt more torn. She had chosen Demetrius back at the castle but that didn’t mean that she still wasn’t hoping to earn her father’s trust and love. All Cleo could do was sit there with tears streaming down her cheeks and the bright yellow book clutched to her chest.

Trapped

Demetrius had continued writing after Cleo had said “Fine”, but that didn’t mean he had just swept it from his thoughts. He had accidentally written her reply in the book, but erased it with a grunt. For the first time in years, Demetrius found himself frustrated because he found himself unable to do anything. The writing utensil pressed down on the paper harder than usual, making his words darker and bolder in his writing. The more he wrote, the more he was being reminded of how helpless he felt. Defeated by the man he hated, being unable to make his own choices without judgment from that same man, seeing the only person he loves praising the man in her heart… He thought that was the worst of it, but there was far more, and it was slowly crushing him. Demetrius had tried his utmost best to keep himself tranquil and immovable by the things that seemed to collide into him straight on. It was so much however, that it was surprising the man was still writing. The last words he wrote into his entry were…

…and now I must go on, knowing that my heart is enslaved by the tyrant Valius. I must endure seeing my love continue to believe lies she’s made realities for herself. To sit there and allow her to do something like that to herself hurts, but… I

Demetrius stopped there as he couldn’t seem to move the utensil to form another trail of words. He stared at the page, his mind unable to go where he wished to write. There was a heavy tingle in his eyes as he sat in silence. He ignored the tingle, but that wasn’t enough to halt the first tear drop from falling to the page. A second tear drop followed soon after.

With one quick shove, Demetrius pushed the book off of the table and watched as it smacked against the wall. He let go of his writing utensil as he stared at the desk that was now receiving his tears. There had been two instances where he had found himself feeling as if he was unable to do anything, but this time was much different. The first time was when he was nothing but child lost in the cold wilderness. He had awakened that morning to his parents’ bodies being frozen to death after he had suffered from a nightmare. He ran from his home, knowing it was his doing. He didn’t know where he was going, but all he could do was tell himself to run as far away as he could.

Demetrius discovered that everywhere he went received the deadly cold that had killed his mother and father. He soon found himself to be starving from the harsh conditions of the wilderness. He had been on the brink of dying, and he hadn’t seen or heard a person in so long that he finally gave in. He curled up into ball, and let himself cry frozen tear. He was saved however… by the man he now despised.

The second instance was when he was kicked out of the Pendus household. Valius had given him nothing, and discarded him as if he amounted to nothing. Though he was able to strive a little better than before, he was alone and homeless. He wished to pass on his family name to honor his parents, but how could he do such a thing if he was going to die of starvation or be picked off by passing raiders. Valius hadn’t saved him this time. This time, it was a deity that he had been matched with since birth. Ortheniel. Without the god’s company, Demetrius’ will might have been shattered as a child.

Now, he felt as if he had no one to look to, no one that was going to reach their hand out toward him to whisk him away from everything that was slowly collapsing down on him. He could hear a faint laugh in the very deep hollows of his mind. It was a laugh that echoed louder and louder in his head until it settled in order to speak.

I will admit… You put up a splendid fight against me. But, when I tell you that there is no way for you to defeat me, consider it a truth. I don’t believe that I’ve ever lied to you Demetrius… What? Nothing to say? Did you lose your optimism?... Hmm, I guess you have. This is a day I prayed I’d never see. I always thought of you to be my best. You’re emotions remained tamed, you were loyal, and you held power that altered landscapes… Now here you are, tainted by my blood, if I could call her that. You should have stayed cold. Allowed her to be manipulated. Now look at what your interference has landed you! You have become nothing but a shell of what you use to be. You’re crying like a pitiful fool who can’t do anything…… There is still hope for you however. It’s simple. Just stop fighting me… Because there is no way you will ever defeat me. Cleo might as well have her soul enslaved like yours. There is no…

“Shut up Valius.” Demetrius said in a low voice as he pushed himself up from the chair he had been sitting in. His face appeared solemn as he turned around toward the door of the room. His eyes widened only slightly as he noticed the yellow book was missing. If Cleo had taken it, then he would need to try to get it back before she did something to it. As urgent as it would have been to him, Demetrius felt his body moving at a slow dragged pace.

Demtrius had first checked the bedroom first, but found it empty and the same way he and Cleo had left it. He could only guess that she left. She was gone, and she wasn’t going to return. Would he truly be alone? Demetrius’ body trembled as he closed his fists, before hearing a faint voice. It didn’t belong to Valius though. Surprisingly, it was darker, but at the same time soft and gentle.

Demetrius... What you seek is out in front of the castle…

Demetrius released his grip, and took a breath before making his way through the castle. He didn’t know what he was going to say to Cleo, and didn’t even plan to string together the perfect words for her. He did try to keep his composure, but what composure was there to keep. He had to regain it first, which he couldn’t get himself to do. It was as if he was climbing a mountain to reach his composure, but the top only got higher the more that he climbed… No, it was more like he couldn’t get a grip on the mountain. He couldn’t even climb it. His feet followed the path of grass barefooted, until he was in front of Cleo, the yellow book, and the oak tree. He just looked at her for a moment before speaking, if he could speak.

“Cleo… I’m sorry.” That was all Demetrius could get out. The turmoil in his thoughts clashed against his powers over temperature. So much that that his body temperature was neither hot or cold. Even Valius was troubled by Demetrius' current condition, and was beginning to consider whether he should take full control over Demetrius, which was something he truly didn't wish to do. He benefited from having Demetrius using his prowess on his own. No one fought the way Demetrius did with his skills but himself. Valius would never disregard that fact.

The truth hurts

Cleo was afraid. She was afraid of what she would find in the pages of that book. Time seemed to stand still as she sat there out in the cold. If she had been more aware of her surroundings she might have noticed that her skin had taken on a pink tinge from the cold and was covered in light goose bumps from the cold. She was still only wearing one of Demetrius’ shirts and her underwear out in the snow but this didn’t even cross her mind. Instead her mind was focused on the book as she tried to weigh up whether she wanted to read it or not. Cleo even tried to think of what information this book might hold yet she had no idea. Her mind even passed over the fact that it was a stupid colour! Who would colour such a horrible book yellow? It just didn’t make sense to her. Cleo already knew that her father wasn’t a nice man at times but he was still her father and deep down she was positive that he loved her somewhere inside of him.

She had been so lost in thoughts that Cleo hadn’t even noticed Demetrius approaching her and still was unaware of his presence until his voice spoke and she glanced upwards to see him standing in front of her. Looking up at him Cleo could see that something wasn’t right. He was stressed out and worried and on edge. For anyone normally that wouldn’t be such an important thing. People got like that all the time and although it was a worry to their mental stability with Demetrius it was much more serious. His ability was controlled by his emotions and at the moment, because of everything that was happening his emotions were out of control. This scared Cleo and she remembered her father’s warning the night that he had brought Demetrius home not to anger him. However Cleo couldn’t just suppress herself and what she was feeling because he was upset. As much as she loved him, she had to be honest with him about what she was feeling and thinking.

His words didn’t make sense to her. “You are not sorry...” Cleo said in a whisper as her mind tried to make sense of the situation. In truth, Cleo didn’t hate him for what he was doing. It hurt her but she knew that in his mind he thought he was doing what was best. “You wanted this. You think everything through and you cannot say that if you were given the chance again that you would do things differently” She said as she studied his expression for a moment or two before looking back down to the book which she shifted from resting against her chest to her lap. Cleo was still afraid of what was inside this book. Would it really change the way that she thought about her father? Was it that bad?

“Why is everyone so desperate for me to hate my father?” She said rhetorically and in a small voice as her fingers flicked through the pages. Slowly her fingers came to the page which Demetrius had opened for her earlier. She wasn’t going to admit it but she had seen the page number which he had shown her before and had committed it to memory at the time. Without saying a word to him, Cleo began to read the page that was in front of her. If he wanted her to read it, then she would.

Her eyes read over every single hand written word on the page. Cleo read about her father, about the deal he had made to get a heir. Her own father had sacrificed her mother to get a son and in the end had been stuck with her. All these years Cleo had thought that it was because she had killed her mother that her father hated her but now she read that it wasn’t her fault at all that her mother had died. Her mother had died because her father had given away her life in replacement for a child. Cleo then read how her father had been tricked, how he wanted a son yet had been given a daughter. It was reading somewhere along here that Cleo realised that it wasn’t her fault, that she hadn’t done anything wrong or to deserve her father’s hatred. All she had done was be born. She hadn’t chosen to be female. In fact there were times when Cleo would have given anything to be male.

As the book began to discuss her father’s reaction after her birth in simply ignoring her, Cleo shut the book. Her expression hadn’t changed the whole time she had been focused on the book yet what she hadn’t been aware of was how her own emotions were connected to her feelings. The tree which she had grown out of the snow and which she was leaning against had started to die, crumbling and disintegrating away with the more that she read. As Cleo shut the book there was nothing left off the tree but a black mark in the snow where it had once stood.

Slowly Cleo stood up, reaching out and handing him the book. “I... I hope you are happy” Cleo said, her voice unsteady. It was clear to the both of them that she was trying so hard to remain composed. In truth Cleo didn’t know if she wanted to scream or to cry. Her whole world had been about trying to make her father happy and without that then what did she have left? How many years of her life had she wasted trying to win his approval? How many people had laughed at the way she had done anything her father had asked of her? Cleo felt like a fool and a joke.

Yet Demetrius had got what he wanted. Cleo no longer felt that connection to her father. However at what cost had he got it? It was obvious that something about Cleo had changed. She was lost and felt as if her direction in life had been sucked away from her while losing someone she loved. Slowly she turned from him and began to walk back towards the castle. Time... She just needed some time.

(Umm....sorry to interrupt but....where's Part 1? I'd like to read it and possibly join this one if I can.)

Demetrius was taken back when Cleo had pointed out his apology was false. He wanted to argue back, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t say a word about it, because she was absolutely right. Demetrius could only remain silent as he felt himself unable to speak. Why couldn’t he do so? It was a question he had asked himself. It wasn’t until Cleo opened the book, that words managed to escape him as he reached out.

“Cleo do-“ Demetrius had already been too late as he watched the eyes of his love scan over the words that could shatter her heart. His arm that reached out trembled as watched the tree behind Cleo die and disintegrate into the snow covered ground. His hand fell to his side as she shut the book and stood to her feet. He didn’t even have to ask if she was fine, because she was clearly as broken as he had been moments ago. The book being placed into his hands and her words only made him feel so much worse.

Demetrius had wanted to keep her father out of her heart, but the man had already dug in so deep. He turned to watch Cleo as she walked away, but the turmoil within him kept him from acting. He didn’t know what to say to her now, but he had to try. Then again, he felt as if he was putting himself through more pain if he tried to speak with Cleo.

“Cleo!” Demetrius said, not knowing what else to say. He just wanted to see her face, but felt like he wasn’t worth that. “I… I will be heading out. You may do as you wish on the castle grounds.” Demetrius struggled to say as he turned from her and started heading toward the mountain path.

You love her more than she could ever know... To allow yourself to enter such a state for a single person is interesting...