Snippet #2170049

Talazar nodded at the woman's explanation, at least content with the fact that she'd left them with a parting gift, no doubt a volley of magic. When she told of Aelianus, his expression wasn't shocked at all, especially considering past experiences with the boy, though they were memories he refused to revisit. Nevertheless, Talazar watched her carefully; her expressions and posture, her figure in the dim lighting, before suddenly he readjusted his gaze, turning now to the boy who hung from the vines.

"I'll allow you to help," Nira said behind him, "If you do one thing for me. Make him bleed some more, but don't kill him. I think a slow death is suitable for this insolent whelp who continues to get in our way."

Talazar, who had been frowning while observing Nira's wounds now smiled again as he watched the boy. He could tell the pain was intense, the scream from earlier would've surely woken and alerted all animals or people within a mile radius, maybe more. At her request, Talazar obliged happily. He hadn't intended to kill him anyway, but he was hoping for more of a fight. Indeed it would've been better with his scythe, but he wouldn't complain now. Not while he had a victim to torment, someone whose life he could make a living hell, someone he could completely destroy, savoring every ounce of pain he could draw out before the final breath had escaped idle lungs.

Carefully Talazar placed the flat of the blade under the boy's chin and lifted his head up. He was fading, the pain and sudden loss of blood probably cluttering his head and fogging his mind. "You've still never answered my questions," he finally said. His words were just above a whisper, but they were just as devious as ever. "You're about to die, you could very well confess it now while you have the chance. I'd be happy to pass it onto her, the Princess." It was still a mind game for the man, ripping down what was left of barriers, finding the supports of morale and sending them crashing down. Completely and entirely breaking the will to live. Perhaps though, Talazar could spark some fight, though it seemed unlikely.

"I'm curious how the girl will look... Wonder if she'll cry, scream your name even though she knows you'll never respond. And then, if she'll continue while she allows herself to give in." Talazar thought back a moment to when he'd first encountered her. He could see she was so tempted to simply allow herself to die, yet something inside her willed her to continue, to persevere. The man spoke again, his face now devoid of any emotion and his words still soft, completely belying the way they probably felt, a sharp as any blade.

"Perhaps she shares the same feelings you do, but oh yes, that's right. Weren't you simply intending to use her like everyone else? Certainly someone like you couldn't see anything in the girl besides a tool, something to be used, especially with the abilities she possesses. Oh no, you could never get past narcissistic ways and feel anything more... But then, even if you could. What would come of it?" Talazar turned to Nira now, removing the sword from the position it was in. "I wonder if this boy could possibly pull of the oldest trick. If she indeed feels something for him, and I do believe I saw it, could she fall madly in love with him and use him to cling to as hope? Use him as the pillar upon which she builds her iron will to survive? While he goes around with no intention of reciprocating, but instead allowing her to follow blindly while he bends her to his will?" His last words were a mixture of a question and a statement, as if he already knew the answer but still felt the need to ask no one in particular.

Suddenly Talazar was spun around and the blade was up in the air and back down before a second had ticked by. In that moment he'd made a clean, precise but not deep cut across the upper part of the boy's left arm. Talazar pulled the blade back to admire the tip, knowing that it penetrated just past the skin, but no further. He then dropped the weapon down in his grasp, rolling it over his fingers until he held it in the reverse, the blade pointing down. "You won't die tonight. We'll make sure of that, but you certainly deserve it. The poor Princess, she's a gentle girl, scared, without friends, no wish to carry what she's been cursed with. But oh, the knight comes parading in to give her hope, to help her on and then live happily ever after."

Talazar jabbed the blade into the ground and looked at the boy, not entirely sure if he was still conscious. Leaning forward, his last words were a complete whisper. "If love conquers all, you mustn't love her, not truly. You're still here, fading... slowly..."