Chapter 28 - Days Of Yore

"Your Majesty, will you really let me hold my breath until I suffocate to death?"

Aries looked up, holding her breath for several seconds now. And yet, the culprit of why she was doing that was feigning innocence while pretending to sleep.

"Darling, it's not me who told you to hold your breath. Don't blame your death on me," came out an indifferent answer while opening his eyes slowly. "That's not fair."

Hearing his shameless reply, she finally breathed out. Who told her that every time she breathed, she was seducing him? Aries was simply proving her point, although it was pointless.

"Do you hate it?" her brows rose, eyes moving back up at him. "The sheer thought of copulation with me. Would you rather suffocate yourself to death just to avoid that?"

For a second, Aries held her breath. Was she toeing too much on the line? Her eyes scrutinized his expression, reading every slight movement of his eyes.

"No..." she breathed out, averting her eyes away. "I just don't want you to misunderstand."

"What's there to misunderstand?"

"That I'm trying to seduce you..." She snuck a look at him briefly to check if death was what she would see. "When I'm not."

Abel arched a brow, letting out a faint breath. "I'll indulge with you. So tell me, my Aries, what gave you the impression that I won't touch you even if your body turns cold after you suffocate to death?"

"Have you done that before?" She blurted out in horror.

"Do you think I'm mad?"

"No, of course not! I'm just..." Aries trailed off when the side of his lips curled into a playful smirk. "Your Majesty."

"Abel. The next time I correct you again, hah... I'll smash your skull open and carve my name in your brain and stitch it back."

'I hope he is joking...' Aries coughed lightly, clearing her throat right after. 'He's not joking.'

Aries lowered her head, resting her forehead against his chest. Her eyes narrowed, feeling so exhausted just talking to him. It hadn't been half an hour since she woke up, but she felt drained. She couldn't even remember all the things they talked about. But what she remembered was this instinct to indulge with him just so he could forget about last night.

'Why is he so complicated?' she wondered, having a bit of headache wracking her brains before opening her mouth. Yes. Aries was slowly getting used to responding after considering it hundreds of times in a flash. Be it a silly response, taunting, or even a joke, she had to weigh it to match his mood.

"Back in Maganti." Aries' entire body stiffened, eyes dilating and pupils constricting the second he mentioned Maganti. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

His hand, which was buried in her hair, casually massaged her scalp with his fingertips. Abel narrowed his eyes until they were partially closed, while feeling her careful breaths against his chest. This was the first time he stayed on the bed this long. He was a person who was always out and about, for he would go mad if he stop doing anything and indulge with the demons in his head.

But today... he didn't want to get out of the bed. Aries was fun to tease; although he still had this thought of wanting to have a taste of her. If not for what he had seen in her nightmare, he wouldn't mind even if she screamed, 'no.'

That was Abel. A man who would get whatever he desired by means or foul. So why... for a mere nightmare, he was stopping himself? He didn't know. That was why he was staying longer with her. He wanted to find some answers or clues.

He snapped his eyes, taking a peek at her, only to see her eyes closed. "Asleep?"

She fell asleep. Considering she stayed up late and woke up only to deal with him, she was mentally exhausted. Not to mention, he was massaging her scalp.

"I don't know if you're that confident I won't kill you during your sleep... or you just don't care anymore," he whispered, eyes brooding as he pulled her body closer to him. "Either way, I am looking forward to what kind of trick you will perform next. Keep me hooked, Aries."

Abel rested his chin on top of her head, eyelids falling down until they were partially closed. The smirk, the mischief, the amusement, the anticipation... all was gone and faded into nothing. His eyes slowly grew empty, with only the deafening silence screaming in his ear.

If not for the faint sound of her breathing, he would've snapped. He closed his eyes to rest them for a second because he didn't sleep a wink last night. But as he focused on her deep breaths, his mind slowly drifted into the days of yore, sinking deeper and deeper. Until...

Once again, Abel found himself in his bete noire.

*

Fires from the torches that lighted up the night waved in front of him, along with the yells of the people rallying around him. The thorns and straws underneath his feet dug into his sole, but the blood that was dripping from it paled compared to the multiple stakes stuck into his body.

"Kill the devil!"

"A devil! Kill this spawn of evil!"

Those were the only words he could make up from the howling chorusing in the air. Abel wiggled his body, but he was tied on the tree securely. And yet, the look on his face was... blank.

"No," came out a whisper, shaking his head as he tried to see through his blurring vision. "I don't mean harm. Why... do you hate me?"

The only answer he got was the recurring plea for his execution. Why did these people were publicly executing him? Wasn't he... their family, just as they claimed? Just as Abel blinked, a figure stood in front of him with a torch in his hand.

"You..." His eyes dilated as Abel recognized this person. He was his friend — a close friend whom he trusted and helped cheat death. But his heart sank when this friend of his, which he treated as a brother — just like everybody else — looked at him in disgust.

"Monster." the man scorned through his gritted teeth.

That was all he heard last before everything sounded distant. All he could do was watch this person unhesitatingly guide the torch to the woods underneath Abel while the people behind him cheered him on.

"Why..." A tear rolled down his cheek as the fire slowly spread around him. "... I just want to be friends..."

The body that was littered with bruises didn't hurt, just as intense as the pain of betrayal. As the fire slowly devour him, Abel denied, denied, and denied, that they wanted him dead.. But the disgust in their eyes grew clearer the harder he denied the truth.