171 Pain of letting go

Jos paused at the foot of the stairs as voices wafted from above. She set the bag down on the large wrap-around porch as she neared the slightly a jarred door. Her heart pounded painfully against her chest as a obviously female giggle sounded from within. She pushed the door open hesitantly almost wanting to turn and run instead.

"Your back!" Called a booming voice from inside. "We thought we'd cheer you up a bit." More giggles sounded this time. "Hope you don't mind we started without you."

Jos froze in place as her eyes fell on the big-bosomed brunette straddling HIS lap. Her heart shattered as a blonde ran a hand down over his chest pressing the fabric of his shirt aside to touch bare tattooed flesh.

Ry's drunken eyes danced merrily to the door expecting to find Arei standing there with a disappointed glare, but his breath caught as his eyes landed on a smaller, dramatically more petite form standing there clutching her chest. "Shit..." He breathed in surprise and regret. He pushed the brunette out of his lap and slapped the blonde's hand away from his body as the familiar silver head turned and moved away from the door and back out it. "Wait!" He called after her ignoring the women's teasing banter.

Arei dropped the bags he'd been carrying and wrapped his arms around her. "How could I what, Kitten?" He tried to calm her down, but it was no use. She hit and smacked against him fighting to get out of his grip. "Kitten, stop and talk to me. What is going on-" His words trailed off as movement at the top of the stairs caught his attention. "Fuck!" Arei growled. He clutched Jos's squirming body to his. "What are you doing here? And what the hell have you done now?"

Arei finally loosened his grip on her and glanced down to meet her troubled eyes. "Kitten, I... I didn't want you finding out like this..." He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. "Get these whores out of here now!"

Ry motioned toward them to leave. "It is my house after all." He grumbled as they made their way down the steps and past Arei and Jos. "Just thought we'd come and cheer you up... didn't think you'd already... cheered yourself up..." He nodded toward the silver head poking out from the top of Arei's bulging forearms.

As soon as the women had vanished down the path leading into the town, Arei loosened his grip on Jos again. "Kitten, this is my brother... this is what I've been trying to tell you..." He carefully turned her in his arms. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her as her eyes trailed from him up to the top of the stairs.

"Had you known; you wouldn't have brought prostitutes from the damn inn back with you? What the hell man?!" Arei growled.

"I agree we should have told her from the start, but we didn't." Ry shrugged in exasperation. "There's no changing that. All that can be done now is explain as best as we can and fill her in on the parts that were me and the parts that were you."

These words stuck in Jos's head, repeating on a loop. 'the parts that were me and the parts that were you'. Her eyes widened as understanding dawned. She pushed against Arei's grip and quickly turned in his arms. Pinning his gaze with knowing eyes, she bit out. "The parts that were you? It hasn't been you with me this whole time, has it? That is what you've been hiding?" She used his surprise at her outburst to her benefit and pushed farther out of his grip. "You have been passing me back and forth?" She shot her eyes back up the steps to the man crouched there. "Like you planned to pass around those women?" When his troubled eyes met hers pleadingly, it only caused the anger to flair inside her.

"No, Kitten. Nothing like that." Arei pleaded.

Jos pushed hard against him, breaking the last of his hold on her. "Don't call me that! Never call me that! I don't want to hear that name on your lying lips again!" She spat out as she fought against his grasping arms. "Don't touch me!" She growled as she slapped away another hand as it shot out toward her. The second she was free of his reach; she ran back toward the lagoon.

"Kitten, wait!" Arei yelled as he chased after her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop. Angry white slitted eyes glared back at him.

"I said don't touch me!" A heavily accented almost inhuman voice bit out.

When he only tightened his grip and tried pulling her closer, a barbed tentacle came out of nowhere and slammed hard against his face. The sudden shock and pain of the attack was enough to force him to loosen his grip.

She pulled away and instead of continuing in the direction of her cavernous home she turned and dove into the water instead. Arei was pulling off his shirt and unfastening his trousers to follow after her, when a hand cupped over his shoulder.

"It may be best to let her cool down first." Ry whispered. He waited until his brother turned toward him. "I'm sorry... Truly I am... The old man I'd been drinking with the past days mentioned you and in my drunken stupidity I thought I'd bring the party to you."

Arei's eyes narrowed, "That old man gave you this idiotic idea?"

Ry shrugged. "Kind of... I guess..."

Arei brushed his brother's hand from his shoulder. "You go find that bastard, I'm going to wait here for her to return. We're settling this shit tonight." He glared out at the sea as the last rays of the day fell below the horizon. Arei gathered his shirt from the sand and stomped back toward the cottage. He gathered the sacks of food and the small package he'd picked up for her and tossed the saddlebag she'd left over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Ry called after him, when Arei turned toward the lagoon instead of going into the cottage.

"You don't honestly think she'd ever want to come back here after what she walked in on you doing, do you?" Arei bit out not even bothering to look at his twin.

Ry swallowed, "I really am sorry, brother..." He whispered roughly.

Arei didn't answer, instead, he trudged angrily through the sand to the lagoon. He set bags inside the door, placing the food on the wobbly old table before turning back out the door. He closed it softly then leaned against it letting the cool splatter of the waterfall sooth his scorched emotions. It had grown quite late by the time he heard the low splash of water in the lagoon and quite soft footsteps coming closer. He pushed himself up from the ground. "Kitten, you're back. Please, just hear me out." Glowing white eyes met his.

"Leave." She growled.

"I'm not leaving like this. Please, just let me explain." He stepped aside as she moved toward the door. When she left it open, he followed behind her. "It was never in either of our plans to share you."

She arched a brow up at him. "So, it has been you with me this whole time?"

He let out a heavy sigh, "No... part of the time was him... but..."

Anger flared in her white eyes again. "Leave!" She spat pointing vehemently toward the door. "I never want to see either of you again!"

Arei took several steps toward her closing the distance between them. He cupped her face. "Don't do this, just hear me out."

Color began to stain the white irises as tears built in them. "How can I trust anything you have to say? This whole time... everything between us has been a lie!"

He lowered his forehead to hers. "Kitten please..."

A strangled cry rattled in her throat as she pushed against him again. "NO! I said get out!" A pained sob burst from her lips as his hands released their hold on her and their warmth slowly faded away, leaving her body to feel as cold and empty as her heart. She watched through blurry vision as he walked in defeat toward the door. "And never come back!" She called after him as he shut the door without the slightest glance back. She sank to the dusty floor of her cold and drafty home, wrapping her arms around herself as uncontrollable grief and sorrow wafted valiantly through her.

Arei forced his legs to carry his heavy frame as far from her doorstep as possible before finally collapsing onto the sand outside the cottage. He coiled his long arms around the back of his head and curled in on himself until he was folded into an upright ball on the beach. He let out a loud animalistic cry as everything he'd just lost came crashing down on him. What options where left to him now? How could any of this possibly be righted? He didn't move from the spot until a fluttering sound caught his attention. Glancing up, he watched as a magnificent white swan landed on the soft ripple of waves before him. The pale moonlight reflected off the wide expanse of wings as the bird spread them wide and flapped hard causing the waters to splash up all around it. When the splashing had finally faded and the waters calmed, a handsome man stood in the bird's place.

Arei gritted his teeth, "YOU! I should have known!"

Zeus shook his head and wagged his finger back and forth, "Tisk, tisk. Is that any way to speak to your elder, nephew?" A devilishly wide smile spread across his lips. "You played so well into my plan, though I have to admit there was a few times I wasn't sure you would."

"What do you want! You've had your fun, now leave!" Arei bit out as he forced himself up from the sand and tried to compose his ragged emotions.

"Ah... See there's where you are wrong, nephew. I'm not quite finished yet." He shrugged. "That was more of a means to... how you say... set my plan into motion." He walked up to Arei and clapped him on the shoulder. "The plan comes once you and your bothersome brother are out of my way."

With a snap of his fingers and a bright clap of lightening everything went dark. Once Arei was able to open his eyes again, it was pitch dark. He felt around, his hands coming into contact with cold metal bars. He shook them hard, trying to gage their sturdiness.

"There's no point... I've already tried. That bastard has us in one of his cells..." Ry said in irritation from the corner. "I swear if we live through this I'll never drink again."

A bust of laughter sounded in the dark and a faint flicker of light neared. "I'm glad to hear that, truly I am. After all, you are my second favorite nephew."

"Zeus..." Arei bit out. "What do you want with us?"

His smile looked evil as his white teeth reflected in the faint flicker of light. "That is easy boys. I want the kraken."