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theywhowriteandknowthings · 7 months

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Blood Money Chapter One: The Capo - A Reader x Dave York x Max Phillips fic - Vampire Mafia AU

General Warnings: 18+, as is the whole of my blog, I will mark anything specific but be aware this is predominantly a smutty blog that writes porn with plot. DNI if you are a minor. By reading further you have taken the responsibility to do so with the warnings I have given. Specific warnings: Reader is in captivity, chained up, a servant of a malicious vampire mob outfit, blood, gore, horror elements, existensial dread, thoughts of death and ending reader's life. Max Phillips is a warning in himself. Canon/horror trope-typical violence. I'm going back to tag lists so please let me know if you want to be added! Big thanks to @wannab-urs and @pascalispretty for beta-ing and proofing this one! And special thanks to @pastelnap and @patti7dc for being my muses on this one, even if I am so mad you made me start a new work with my WIP backlog as it is (I love you really thank you so much!!) Without further ado:

Summary: Stuck in a basement for over a year, fixing the books of one of the most ruthless Mafia outfits in New York City has no perks, only pain, misery and servitude. But when your masters are murdered by a rival clan, you wish for a swift death, but Max Phillips has other plans for you. [Ao3 Link] Masterlist Next Chapter->

Chapter One: The Capo

The clink of chains, the dripping of a leaking pipe. The combined smell of your own body odour, blood, and mould. The flicker of the too-bright fluorescent tube lighting burning your eyes. The cool air of the basement hits your bare skin, a pleasant distraction from a fever burning through you.

These were the only sensations you have known for over a year, but getting kidnapped by the vampire clan that runs this part of New York City renders such discomforts mundane. The fact you are still drawing breath is a blessing and a curse.

“Come on meat-sack, work time.” The vampire guarding the door snaps you out of your sleep-deprived haze. You look up to see Ren, a sadistic underling with a habit of trying to scare you enough to make you piss yourself. Although, that hasn’t happened in months. His jet-black hair is slicked back in a ponytail and his dark eyes devour you, his tongue snaking over his lips as he lingers on your exposed chest.

You sit at your desk, atop a faded leather office chair that creaks and wobbles from age. But it’s not like you could tell the Vampire Mafia that they needed better facilities for their staff. You flick through the disorganised mess of papers, receipts, shipment manifests and try your best to ignore him. But he saunters over to you, coming to hover over your shoulder.

“Shame Hiro’s going to fuck you up later, you’ve become so obedient.” Ren chuckles as he rattles your restraints. He snaps his fanged teeth against your neck, you’re almost sure the blunt ridges of his incisors brush your skin but you’re so desensitised now that you just nod. He wouldn’t risk puncturing your skin, even today. But you doubt you’d care even if he did.

“You’ve gotten boring anyway.” He grumbles at your lack of response and leaves, locking the secure door behind him as you sit in your concrete box. Your calloused, raw hands sift through the documents once more, but your mind is foggy and sluggish. You actually think you might be dying. You sip at the canteen of water chained to your desk – the metallic tang of contaminated water burns your throat – but it’s better than dying of thirst.

Your head pounds. You try to balance the manifest against the ledger in front of you but your vision blurs. Your body aches with cold numbness that spreads to your extremities like a spill of oil, slow, sluggish, suffocating. You’re falling asleep, face pressed against the desk when you hear it, the unmistakable rattle of semi-automatic weapons above you.

Your head perks up, something about the break in monotony appeals to that dim, flickering ember in your chest that wants to live. You know there’s no point trying to break free, you’ve spent the best part of a year trying to free yourself. So, you wait, skin buzzing with tension as you wait for whatever is coming your way.

Footsteps in the corridor beyond your prison door make your heart race. You can hear the blood rushing in your ears as the locking mechanism clicks and you hold your breath. The door swings open and the realisation hits you; who would even come and rescue you? The FBI? The Police? Fucking Columbo?

“Let’s see what Hiro’s got hidden away in here.”

A low rumbling voice floats through the door as you feel your stomach lurch. You try and cover your naked body with your free hand, palm splayed over your right breast, forearm draped over the other.

“Help, please!” You call out, desperation getting the better of you for fear that they would miss you and you’d end up stranded, starving to death in your concrete prison. The door swings wide and you feel the blood leave your cheeks as another, unfamiliar vampire darkens the doorway.

He’s tall and clean shaven with perfectly styled hair that sweeps over his brows. His dark eyes glimmer in the harsh tube lighting, they rake over your naked form with a deep, primal hunger.

His three-piece suit is tailored to perfection. Grey suit jacket and slacks snug enough to show off his lean body but loose enough to not hinder his movement. The red and black baroque waistcoat and pocket square ooze opulence. If there wasn’t a semi-automatic rifle in his one hand, and a bloodied knife in the other, you would probably think him dashing.

But the fangs that jut over his plush lips extinguish all hope of escape. They glimmer, almost luminous, in the harsh lighting and you sit down slowly, crumpling into the decrepit office chair.

“Just get it over with.”

The vampire cocks an eyebrow at you, baring his perfectly white teeth at you in amusement. He saunters over, weapons still clutched in his large hands. You lean your neck to the side, eyes closed, you can’t even bring yourself to cry. You just want it all to end.

You feel him hover over you, the smell of his floral cologne invading your senses as you try not to react. The less you seem meek the quicker it’ll all be. The chains clink and you feel the restraints on your right ankle and wrist pull taut.

“Poor little thing, naked, dirty…” The vampire mutters in your ear, he inhales pointedly against your hairline, “But not afraid? Why is that little lamb?”

You go rigid as you feel the chains jostle once more, then an audible crack as your restrains fall away from your limbs. You whimper involuntarily at the blissful relief that radiates from the abused flesh; you’ve not had your restraints off in so long. You hear the vampire hiss, a curse in Spanish leaving his lips before he barks orders to someone else in the room.

“Just kill me!” You wail as you open your eyes, you turn to your captor and try to push against him, goad him on, rile him up to just rip your throat out and get it over with. You pound meekly against his chest with little effect.

A warm, heavy jacket weighs your shoulders down and you look up to see a strange look on the vampire’s face. A mixture of curiosity and pity, which only serves to makes you angry. But the world lurches around you before you can form another thought. You fall forward, nose pressed against the vampire’s silk waistcoat, and you welcome the sweet release of death.

----

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Dave finally snaps as he paces behind his desk. Not for the first time, he’s glad for the hardwood flooring. He knows there would be a worn patch beneath his feet if his office was carpeted. Max is splayed out on the chaise lounge in the middle of the office, a smug smile causing his cheeks to dimple. His buttons popped open to display the gold chain around his neck.

“She’s useful. She’s been running those books for well over a year, judging by the sores on her, we could use her.” Max says with a shrug, eyeing his superior with such challenge that would spell death for any of the other Capos.

Dave falters at the comment, searching Max’s features for a hint of a joke, or even deception. But for once, he reads Max like a book; something about this human is special. And Dave intends to find out what it is.

“We’ve been a team for a very long time Max, don’t make me regret this.”

----

You cough violently as you jolt awake, your mouth is dry and your tongue like sandpaper. Your head swims as you try and take in the dark surroundings.

Gone is the smell of rot and decay. Instead, you find your face pressed into clean, soft sheets that smell so fresh it’s almost surreal. You blink sleep from your eyes and roll up into a sitting position, you gaze around the darkness with tired eyes. You spot two doors; the one is firmly shut to your left. The other is ajar but the lack of light prevents you from seeing where it leads.

You turn back to look at the nightstand: there’s a pitcher of water and a glass waiting for you with a small note tucked under the base, and a lamp with a pull cord. You close your eyes and turn it on, opening your eyes slowly to the newly illuminated room. The colour scheme is deep brown and white, minimalist, yet dripping with wealth.

There’s a closet with mirrored doors at the far end of the room, next to what you can now safely assume is an ensuite. The mirrors let you look at yourself for the first time in so long and it makes your stomach roll. You’re too far away to make out the details but the sight is horrifying. You’re forced to look away from the gaunt, emaciated image of yourself, instead looking anywhere else.

The light from the modest lamp spills out over deep brown wooden floor, you let your eyes roam away from the mirrors, up to high-vaulted ceilings and down to the thick blackout curtains which effectively block any and all light from the outside world.

Not underground.

You think absently to yourself as another cough erupts from your throat. You pull the note out and place it on your lap as you pick the pitcher up with both hands, not bothering to decant the untainted liquid. It tastes like nectar on your abused tongue.

You groan aloud as the water washes over your dry tongue, rehydrating your mouth like an old sponge. You feel better with every gulp, but you force yourself to stop. You know if you drink too quickly you’ll just make yourself sick. You instead pour a glass of water, putting the pitcher down on the nightstand before unfolding the note.

The door is unlocked, the vampire guarding your room will arrange a car to take you wherever you need, if you so wish to leave. Her name is Amalia, and she is tasked with looking after you.

I hope you stay. We could use someone like you on our side.

Max (The handsome vampire that saved your life)

Your brow furrows as you try to make sense of the whirlwind of events that led to this point. You’re not dead, nor are you chained up, yet the sense of imminent danger remains. It clings to you like wet clothing, dragging you down, chilling you to the bone.

You look down at your body, lifting the sheets to check for restraints, you notice you are wearing someone else’s clothes. A white dress shirt that smells of orange peel and cinnamon, and a pair of loose, grey, cotton sweatpants. Both articles of clothing are too big for you but there’s a strange sense of comfort wearing something not your own. Not that you’ve owned anything substantial for some time.

You force yourself out of bed and make for the closed door. You knock gently on it before speaking through it to your vampire guardian.

“Amalia?”

“Ah, you’re awake, excellent. Have you made a decision yet?” Her voice is gruff and coarse but there’s a warmth to the way she speaks, setting you a little more at ease.

“No, but I am starving and I need to wash. Can you get me something to eat?”

“Of course, what kind of thing do you want?”

“I don’t know.” You say softly, realising you haven’t eaten a hot meal in as long as you can remember.

“I’ll figure it out. Try not to get your bandages wet, Max will kill me if he has to redress them so soon.” The sound of Amalia’s footsteps heading away from the door sets something off in your brain, the instinct to flee hits you like a punch to the gut.

No matter what the note says, you know that trusting vampires was foolish and often deadly. You have the chance to flee, but to where? You don’t even know where you are; are you still in New York? Did they move you across state lines?

And what would you even do? You’re weak, malnourished, they’d catch you before you even leave the building.

You scold yourself internally as you feel the desire to run ebb away, leaving hopelessness in its wake. You trudge into the bathroom and strip out of the shirt and sweatpants. The ensuite is large, with a walk-in shower taking up much of the right wall. The floor is tiled, large blue squares with streaks of silver and white arcing through the tile like the veins in marble.

The walls are bright white, and all the light fixtures and faucets are sparkling gold. You wonder for a moment if it’s all real gold. You spot the sink and mirrored medicine cabinet which you immediately cover with a towel from the heated rack fixed to the wall next to it. You’re not ready to see yourself, not yet.

You open the medicine cabinet to find it stocked with expensive shampoo, conditioner, and soap, as well as generic deodorant sticks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, even mouthwash. You feel a strange twinge of gratitude as you note the effort put in to accommodate a non-vampire like this. But you can’t trust it, your brain automatically lurching to thoughts of being buttered up, coaxed into a false sense of security. You grab the things you need and close the cabinet.

You turn the shower on and angle your body so that your right arm and leg stay out of the spray. You wash as best you can, taking twice the normal time due to only having one functioning arm and leg. You work through the products you had selected, making sure to wash your hair thoroughly. You can’t even remember the last shower you took, let alone the last time you washed yourself so thoroughly.

You towel off before using some of the fancy moisturisers on your face and skin without thinking, a strange appeal to your life before as you fall so easily into a muscle memory routine. Tears spring from your eyes, tracking down your cheeks as you feel something you can’t put into words. Like a burst of anguish and elation all at the same time. Like a burning blade being quenched in oil, it hisses and spits, but something about it all feels right.

You pull on the sweatpants and button up the dress shirt, subconsciously nuzzling into the collar as you head back to the bed. You still don’t know what time it is, but you really don’t care; you’re hungry and tired, and once you’ve eaten your fill you plan to sleep for as long as your captors allow.

You sit on top of the sheets, knees pulled up to your chest as you try to occupy your thoughts with something other than the looming inevitability of the servitude to your new vampiric overlords.

Same shit, different choice of designer suit.

----

“Food’s ready. Do you want it in there or in the dining room?” Amalia’s gruff voice calls through the door and your head perks up from its position atop your knees as you wake from a daydream.

“I can come out?”

“Of course. Max told me he left you a letter, didn’t you read it?”

“Well, yeah,” You call back, your voice stronger than before, a little self-confidence bleeding through, “But I just assumed that was some sort of trick.”

“Smart, I’ll give you that, but Max and Mr York are men of their word.”

“I’ll have it out there.” You say, crawling off the bed with weak legs. Your bandages were bleeding through a little and you wince at the deep crimson spreading across the off-white mesh.

“Alright I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be just outside the far door, the one with the peephole, if you need me.” Amalia says and you wait until you hear the closing of a second door before you twist the doorknob, mustering up the courage to leave the modest sanctuary of your room.

The next room is dimly lit, enough light to see by but with an ambience to it that felt almost romantic. There are no windows in this room, in their stead are lavish paintings in gilded frames. The long dining table sits at the centre of the room and you want to spend some time exploring this new space, but the smell of food draws you deeper into the room.

Three paper bags and three cup drinks sit on placemats and coasters, protecting the rich mahogany of the tabletop from grease and condensation. Each bag has the contents scribbled in Sharpie somewhere on the exterior, the drinks the same.

Cheeseburger and Fries

Chicken shawarma (Dairy Free)

Vegan jackfruit loaded nachos (Gluten Free)

Once again, the care and attention to your wants and needs strikes you like a physical blow. None of this was necessary or even reasonable. You’re a meat-sack waiting for the inevitable chaining to a desk and eventual draining when your value diminishes. Yet here you were, with a choice of three meals, and three sodas, as if they want you to be comfortable.

You rip all the bags open, sampling from each as you go. You can’t remember a time when you had variety in your diet, let alone a warm meal. You barely touch the soda, the fizz harsh on your tongue after so long without it; but there’s almost nothing left of the take-out bags by the time you’re done.

You settle back against the dining chair and let out a soft noise, somewhere between a whine and a burp. You sit for a while, letting the post-food coma take over as you feel giddy. You’ve been feeding on pouches of brown or grey mush for too long – you know you’ve overeaten, but you don’t care.

Freedom tastes sweet.

You ignore the little voice in the back of your mind that tries to remind you that this isn’t freedom. You want to acknowledge the small win, savour the brief reprieve from crippling despair.

The sound of the apartment door opening has you jumping to your feet, backing away slowly from the table, subconsciously making for the bedroom. Your heart hammers in your chest, your limbs feel heavy and unresponsive as you try to fight the Pavlovian instinct to submit and drop to your knees and bow your head.

“Max, come on, she’s still fragile, I don’t think she wants to see anyone yet.” Amalia’s voice has lost all the warmth she had used with you, and you hear Max hiss at her denial.

“Amalia, get out of my way or I will move you, and I can’t promise you’ll still have all your limbs when I’m done.”

You’re frozen, glued to the spot as you wait for Max to force his way inside, your skin slick with sweat as you wring your hands in front of you. You hear Amalia make a huffing noise of dissent, not quite a sigh, but something similar in tone.

The door opens slowly and Max slips inside, closing it with a soft click, as if after his explosive conversation with Amalia he could pass inside undetected. You let out a shaky breath and watch as he turns to see you standing there, arms crossed over your chest.

“Ah, shit, you heard that then?” He says with a dazzling flash of his perfectly white teeth. It’s disarming, leaving you feeling more confident than you know you have any right to be.

“It’s hard to ignore the threat of dismemberment when it’s practically roared through the hall.” You say softly, immediately clamping your hands over your mouth, eyes wide and pleading as you watch Max stalk over to you.

He’s wearing the same pressed slacks as before, but gone is the suit jacket and waistcoat. The sleeves of his white dress shirt are rolled up, the material accentuates his firm biceps; and gold shirt garters sit just above his elbows, holding them in place. His shirt is open, revealing a gold chain resting against his tan skin and small tufts of chest hair. You shamefully feel a spark of attraction for the monster before you, but you can’t deny he’s attractive, vampire or not.

“Glad you’ve got some fire in you, was worried you’d be deathly boring.” Max says with a dramatic roll of his eyes before opening a door to your left, gesturing for you to follow.

You hesitate, unsure if you should follow, but ultimately you decide to do as you’re told. You follow Max through into a large study, the walls are lined with bookshelves – mostly non-fiction but you spot a few unmarked ledgers bound in leather with gilded lettering interspersed amongst them.

Max flops down on one of the cream sofas that surround a small black coffee table. Beyond you spy an expensive looking desk with an equally extravagant looking green leather chair. You take a seat opposite Max, tucking your bare feet underneath you as you try to stop fidgeting with the hem of your shirt.

“So, you’re probably expecting some grand monologue about how you belong to our Clan now, how you are to serve us as a diligent little worker bee until you serve no further use and we dispose of you. About right?”

You nod curtly, your eyes roaming over the vampire so casually sprawled out like a cat before you. His rich brown eyes are almost kind, but there’s a stony edge to them that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

“Did you read my note?”

You give another nod and Max rolls his eyes and sighs, a deliberate action, seeing as vampires don’t breathe.

“I’m not in the business of being the only one talking, as much as I like the sound of my own voice. It gets tedious,” He pauses and sits up straight, resting his elbows on his knees before cradling his chin on top of his interlaced fingers, “Please, I meant it when I said we would let you go; for vampires, we’re actually pretty reasonable.”

“Sorry, I’m just not used to being allowed to speak.” You bow your head, averting his piercing gaze. He makes a small tsk sound and you feel the warmth of his fingers brush your jaw. You try not to shudder but it’s like fire is being breathed into your skin, vitality returning to you like sunshine after unending rain. His large hand cradles your face, and he coaxes you to look up at him. He’s leaning over the coffee table, his eyes soft and vulnerable as he tries to reassure you without words.

“If you choose to stay, you will never have to worry about being kept mute, nor caged. You will be part of our family, you have my word.” His voice is serious, fringed with emotion and a fragility you don’t understand.

“And if I choose to leave?”

“We will let you go, but you will be on your own. Hiro is in the wind, and he won’t stop until you’re back under his heel, or dead.” He says with a sympathetic twitch of his lips, not quite a smile, not quite a grimace.

“So I don’t really have a choice?”

“No, I guess not, but I know which option I would pick.” Max goes to move his hand from your face but you snatch his wrist without thinking, holding it against you. The tender touch of a monster is too sweet on your touch starved skin.

“But I mean it, we don’t intend to keep you prisoner, we’d like you to work for us, bookkeeping just like for Hiro, but without the chains and nudity.” Max doesn’t try to pull away and you drop your hand back into your lap. You lean into his touch, your mind softened by the promises of his silver tongue, your body mending at the tenderness of his fingers.

“Fine, I‘ll do it.”

“Excellent. Well we don’t expect you to start straight away, you’re, frankly,” He pauses as he pulls away to look you up and down, “A hot mess, and we want you healthy and fit before putting you to work.”

Max stands and holds his hand out to you and you wobble to your feet and take it as firmly as your weakened body can manage.

“Thank you.” You feel tears well up as you feel the rush of emotion coursing through you.

“No crying now, I don’t know how to deal with that shit,” Max scrunches his face up at you, like you’ve just dropped a dead rat at his feet.

“Noted.”

You feel a small laugh escape your lips as you shake your head in disbelief. Max takes you back to your room, hovering behind you but never touching you. Even if you secretly wish he would, he bids you a good morning, informing you that it’s just after four.

“Oh, and I’ll be by later to redress your bandages. Sleep well.”

The door clicks shut behind you and you take a shaky breath before climbing into bed, nestling amongst the soft sheets before closing your eyes.

Here goes nothing.

Thanks for reading! I'm going back to tag lists so please let me know if you want to be added! Let me know what you think!

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acefaun · 1 year

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Just a small request if you don't mind. 😅

Can you please add two endings to the Tauxolouve yandere fic?

PLEASE! 🙏🙏🙏

• Mc leaves Tauxolouve for good.🌝

• Mc stays with him. 😈

Please!!!!!!! ♥️

Yandere Tauxolouve

Synopsis: Tauxolouve was a very loving boyfriend… too loving, in fact. Well, maybe love was too kind of a word. The best way to describe someone like Tauxolouve was obsessed and unhinged.

🩸Yandere Masterlist🩸 Female goldfish! Warnings: violence, major character death, stalking, captivity, manipulation

A/n: Lou’s turn to be scary! This came out long with or without the good/bad endings. But the good ending is a little longer than the bad ending, so congrats!

–Word Count: 17,286–

I was an artist. That's what immediately attracted me to Tauxolouve. Okay, that's... not entirely true. He just seemed like a nice god—and he was! I didn't find out he enjoyed art until he told me more about himself. I learned about him and his family, and I shared a bit about my life in turn.

But back to art... Tauxolouve was the only god to enjoy doing art as much as I did and so I often sought him out for company. I was much more inclined to use a pencil and Tauxolouve was an excellent painter, so we often shared our craft and took joy in drawing or painting each other.

It had been some time since the incident with the Dark King where we survived and proclaimed our love for one another. As per our usual customs, I was hanging out with Lou in the living room. I narrowed my eyes as I tried my best to match the color of his tie to the paint that I had on my pallet. Unlike the gods, I couldn't just snap my fingers and get the perfect color. I had to mix them meticulously myself. "Uh... Lou, the purple isn't coming out right and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong."

He glanced at me, finally moving from the pose I made him sit in. He hummed before coming over to peer at what I was mixing. "There's too much red in your mixture. Here, let me show you how I look at things." Sitting beside me, he removed his tie and placed it hanging on a sofa in front of us. "Do you see the orange of the chair? What's the difference between that chair and my tie?"

I stared between the two. I wasn't excellent at painting and I rarely ever had to color-spot to work with colored pencils since the only colors were what I had in front of me. Painting was much different. I glanced at Lou and hurriedly looked back at the two objects. He was waiting for an answer, but I really didn't know. Starting with the obvious, I tried, "One's purple and the other's orange...?"

Lou's lips subtly curled up in amusement. "Yes... But look deeper into the colors and tell me what's different about them."

I hummed, trying to peer deeper into the colors like he wanted. "Well... I guess one is a lot warmer than the other. But does that really make them different? It's not like your tie is a cool purple."

"But you've spotted the difference," he replied with a proud smile, ruffling my hair. "That's how you should look at your paint. There are warmer colors and there are cooler colors. You might think red and blue are different, but their temperatures can trick you."

I stared in wonder as he passionately explained to me the differences between the colors of red and blue on my pallet. He really loved painting, and the passion in his voice took me. I was almost jealous of the paint with how he was speaking of it. "Lou..." He stopped his explanation and looked at me again. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realized I interrupted him. "Uh, s- sorry! I was just thinking... You're really passionate about this. It's... cute." My face heated as I shyly suggested, "What if you started hanging your paintings in your room? I think it would look nice." His room was always so depressing and empty despite how he promised to change it. If he hung his paintings, it might liven the space a bit more.

He thoughtfully tapped his chin, wondering about it for a moment before a grin spread across his face. "That's a wonderful idea. You can help me."

"Help you? I mean... uh... sure."

"This can be the first piece we put up!"

He was obviously excited about hanging up this painting in his room and I couldn't do anything but nervously argue, "I meant your work, Lou..." I wanted to do what I could to make sure Tauxolouve was happy, but I was certainly beginning to feel shy about how excited he was over my art. Still, it wasn't like I was about to tell him no.

His smile, however, made me happy that I suggested it in the first place, regardless of his embarrassing idea to hang my work. His eyes shone with love as he beamed at me. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed. Don't worry. Your painting is going to look lovely. I'll become your painting teacher from now on and we'll paint things together."

My lips curled up in bliss. I absolutely loved how he took joy in the smallest things I tried to do for him. On the bright side, if he wanted to teach me how to paint so badly then that would only give us more time to hang out together. "Okay; I can't wait to learn everything you know."

He nodded his head, immediately becoming serious about his new job as my painting teacher. "I'll make sure your paintings surpass mine. First, why don't you finish this painting you're working on and I can get an idea of what I need to show you? That will make these lessons a lot easier for you." I watched him as he returned to the sofa, settling his tie around his neck as he got into position for me to finish the painting on my own. With his previous tip about mixing colors in my mind, I did my best to create a perfect painting of him—this was going to be the first painting in his room after all.

***

Tauxolouve was a member of the Department of Wishes and he was my boyfriend, but Leon's orders were much more important than spending time with me. I knew he had a duty to uphold in his department, but I was still disappointed to have come all this way only for Karno to tell me he wasn't in the mansion. Still, rather than going all the way back home, I borrowed some of Partheno's time since he was on the sofa sifting through his own work.

"Do you think it would be alright if I sketched you?"

My sudden request surprised Partheno. After all, it was usually Tauxolouve that I was taking my time to draw. But he did also know that Tauxolouve was busy, and I was alone and in need of company. "You want to draw me? I don't see why not. I just have to sit still for you, right?"

I nodded my head, explaining what I needed, "You can just relax. I don't need you in any complicated pose or anything like that. This is actually just for me to pass some time. I hope I'm not wasting any of your time...”

"I'm sooooo jealous!" Ichthys cried, startling me as he leaned over my shoulder. "You're always drawing Lou, but when Lou's not here you choose him instead of me? Is it because I'm not beautiful enough? Do you think they're prettier than me?! I fixed my hair extra nice for you today. Didn't you notice?"

I huffed, but I wasn't truly annoyed with his pestering questions. Ichthys and I were friends, so it wasn't like I hadn't heard his fake whining before. "Why are you whining? You used to let me draw you when I was helping you with your sin. Besides, I know when you're faking being upset, you know."

"Aw, man," Ichthys crossed his arms, plopping on the sofa beside me. "I can't get away with anything around you. You're almost as scary as Zyg."

"Pfft, well you still don't have to whine about it. If you wanted me to draw for you, then you should've just asked." I gestured for him to move beside Partheno. "Go over there. I'll draw you together. I need to practice drawing more than one person in a portrait, anyway. Lou always says practice makes perfect."

With an excited squeal, Ichthys threw himself on top of a surprised Partheno who fussed, "She said to join me, not to jump on top of me like a child!" Usually, I was doing art with Tauxolouve so I was missing out on this kind of fun banter that the gods got into. Maybe I could convince Tauxolouve to do art with the other gods as well. I was sure some of them would appreciate us letting them join in on the creativity and fun. Ichthys would definitely enjoy me showing him how to draw something that wasn't a stick figure.

“(Naaaame),” Ichthys called from where he was sitting on top of Partheno’s lap, exactly where he plopped himself fifteen minutes ago. “Can I see it yet?”

“Give me a second.”

“How about now?”

“Almost.”

“Is it finished?”

“Hush! You're disrupting my creative process.”

He paused and Partheno taunted, “You're disrupting her creative process.”

Ichthys blinked, his face scrunching up in disbelief. “Really?”

“Pfft,” I chuckled, holding forth my sketchbook. “Nah, not really. Check this out! It's a real masterpiece if I do say so myself.”

“Hold on,” Partheno squinted his eyes, both of them leaning closer to the scratchy-looking pencil sketch. “Is that… I'm afraid I have to critique you. I would not wear a dress that looks like that if I were marrying anyone; least of all this fish.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ichthys pouted, his eyes shifting from between my work and Partheno. “I think it looks great. All of your feminine qualities are showing. And I look super… Uh… Super manly?”

I shrugged my shoulders. Maybe if Ichthys hadn't thrown himself on top of Partheno, then I wouldn't have been tempted to make them a married couple. “I just call it how I see it. Maybe next time act less like a married couple and I'll consider actually drawing what's in front of me?”

“Don't do that,” Ichthys immediately argued, looking severely disappointed at my threat. “I like when you add things to your art! It makes it funny.”

“Funny, huh?” Partheno inclined his head, flicking Ichthys in the forehead. “Next time, give this fish an actual fish head.”

“I’ll definitely have to consider it,” I offered, glancing between him and Ichthys. “But couldn’t you just snap your fingers and give him a fish head yourself?” They were definitely a strange pair, but at least they kept me amused for the day.

“Now there’s an idea,” Partheno hummed, glancing Ichthys up and down.

Ichthys glared at me, his eyebrows furrowing together. “What?! Why are you two ganging up on me like that? I need someone on my side too!”

Seeing that he was prepared to flee from the living room, I quickly latched on him, pinning him to the sofa. “Oh, no you don’t! Where do you get it would be fair to me if you go get another god? Right now it’s just a god versus a god and a human. You can’t cheat your way out of this one. C’mon, Partheno! Hit him!”

Having my assistance, it was pretty easy for Partheno to snap his fingers, turning Ichthys’ head into that of a fish. “There. Now he’s a Pisces.”

I tilted my head, my eyebrows furrowing. “Hey… if Pisces is a fish… then… Should Virgo be a beautiful lady?”

Ichthys quickly snapped his fingers, turning his head back to normal as he stuck his tongue out at Partheno. “Yeah! Your manly appearance is upsetting (Name).”

“Is it?” Partheno glanced himself over. He thought he was fine as the god of beauty—but if I wanted to see him as a woman… He hummed, snapping his fingers. We didn’t expect him to turn himself into a woman without Ichthys giving him a push. But… my cheeks turned hot with how she obviously was trying to over-do her seductiveness. “I had no idea you swung in that direction, dear. Wouldn’t Louie be so jealous to find out you prefer women?”

I scrambled to get off of Ichthys who was amused by how flustered I was getting over a female Partheno. Ichthys laughed, grabbing my arms as he pulled me back onto his lap. “You’re not afraid of Lady Partheno, are you? Do you like her?”

“Ah, stop teasing me,” I shouted at them. “I’m dating Lou! You back off or- or Lou’s going to yell at you!”

Ichthys tilted his head, his index finger tapping his chin curiously. “Come to think of it… I don’t think I’ve ever heard Tauxolouve raise his voice at anyone other than me. Partheno, how would you feel getting yelled at by him?”

Placing a delicate hand on her chest, Partheno answered, “As a woman, I’d be absolutely appalled to have a man yell at me.” Still, winking at me, she pulled me into her arms, swinging me around to where my back was pressed into her chest. “But aren’t you lucky? He’s in the Heavens working and I have an adorable little thing like you to play with.” Leaning forward, her cheek pressed against my head. “Don’t you want to know what a goddess feels like?”

“I… Ah… Uh…”

“(Name)?” Three pairs of eyes flickered to the door of the living room.

“L- Lou!” I stuttered, catching sight of my boyfriend who looked fairly disturbed by the scene laid out before him. I said that Tauxolouve would yell at Partheno and Ichthys, but now that he was there, I didn’t actually want him to be yelling at anyone.

Overwhelming confusion when a smile crossed his lips quashed my anxiety over his arrival. “What’s going on here, little lady? Have you found yourself a lady friend to occupy yourself with while I was gone?”

“But…” I faltered… “This is…”

“Of course it is,” He interrupted me, making me freeze in anticipation. “Partheno,” he paused. “Ichthys,” he paused a second time, his eyes narrowing on the two as his smile made an unsettling combination with his glare. “Do you two have a death wish I can grant?”

“Not at all,” Partheno said, quick to snap his fingers, turning back into his usual self before directing me straight into the vicinity of my boyfriend. Quickly retreating to where Ichthys had scurried off to, he added, “We were just keeping your darling company while you were gone. We’ll just leave you two lovebirds to it now…”

The room fell silent with the absence of the other gods. Tauxolouve still appeared pretty tense, and I quickly averted my gaze. Quietly, I offered, “They were just messing around. You know how they are. You weren’t… seriously mad at them, were you?”

He sighed, but he didn’t offer me anything else. Clearly, he was fed up with the other gods for the moment. “Let’s go back to my room.” Without waiting for me to follow, he took my hand in his, pulling me to his room. Usually he waited for me to at least say ‘okay,’ but I quickly realized he was in a less than stellar mood. Maybe I should have put a stop to Ichthys and Partheno’s antics sooner…

Tauxolouve’s room was less depressing than usual. I noticed he’d put more of his own works up besides mine.

My gaze returned to him as soon as he released my hand, closing the door behind us. Though, he elected to leave me standing at the entrance as he moved to sit on his bed. His elbows sat on his knees and his fingers laced together as they rested against his lips. His eyes were glued to the floor, very intent on not looking at me.

Awkwardly, my gaze trailed across his newly decorated walls. Deciding to turn his room into an art studio was definitely the right choice. Seeing the natural colors across the different sized canvases brought a life that wasn’t there before. It was embarrassing that most of the paintings were ones he had done of me or that I had attempted to do of him, but if it made him happy then he was free to decorate his room as he pleased.

However… my eyes fell back to the stoic god that sat on the bed. He didn’t look very happy now, and that was probably my fault, leaving a pit of guilt in my stomach. “Lou?” I called his name carefully, not receiving a hint of a reaction. “I’m sorry… they took things too far while you were gone. They were just teasing me. I know you don’t like that.” I fell quiet, and he didn’t speak up. The sight of him ignoring me was enough to chip at my delicate heart.

I couldn’t let him ignore me like that, I couldn’t handle it. Walking up beside him, I took my shoes off before climbing up onto the bed. He shifted as if to see what I was doing, but I simply wrapped my arms around him from behind, my fingers interlacing over his heart. I pressed my forehead into his back as I held him tight. Finally, he whispered my name, “(Name)?”

“Lou,” my voice cracked. “I’m sorry… Please, don’t be mad at me. I was just waiting for you to come home. I won’t let them do it again.”

Feeling my arms quiver around him, he took my hands in his own, turning around to face me. As soon as he took in my expression, he reached out, gently wiping my tears. “Don’t cry, little lady. I wasn’t upset with you. I won’t let them do that to you again.” His eyebrows furrowed. “What did I even walk in on?”

Wouldn’t it make him more upset to hear the explanation? Still, he deserved answers to his questions, at the very least. “They were just making fun of me, saying that you’d be jealous if I liked women more than you. But, I’m dating you, Lou. It doesn’t matter what anyone else’s gender is; they’re not you.”

He huffed, shaking his head at their antics. They were always trying to get a rise out of me. “How typical of them,” Tauxolouve sighed, passing his fingers through my hair as if to soothe me. “I’ll have to make sure those gods know who you belong to. I’m the only one who can tease you until your cheeks light up.” Leaning closer, his lips pressed against my forehead. “So tell me… would you prefer me if I were a man or a woman?”

Knocking my fist into his chest, I whined, “Don’t you start too!” I muttered quietly, “I’d love you no matter what gender you were. I love being with you, Lou. I love you, Tauxolouve, my God of Sagittarius.”

Caressing my hair, he chuckled. “You sound very romantic right now. If you keep declaring your love to me, I might just have to do something to keep you talking.”

“Do something to keep me talking?”

“Well,” he shrugged. “Maybe talking isn’t the right word. I should say moaning my praises is more where I was going.”

“Lou!”

“Are you against spending the night with me? You waited all day for me. I have to give my love something in return for her loyalty. I’ll even give you a nice bath later. Say yes for me?”

I pressed my lips against his, pulling away just enough to breathe, “Yes…”

***

After that day, the gods were extremely hesitant to tease me as they usually did. I was relieved that they’d backed off, but it felt more quiet and sad in the mansion without their usual banter with me. I mean, it’s not that they completely stopped talking to me—we were still friends and hung out in the living room while I waited for Tauxolouve. I just felt like everything lacked its usual energy.

On the other hand, Tauxolouve seemed oddly more intense in everything he did. When he painted me or when I painted him, everything felt far more intimate. It wasn’t an unpleasant thing to be so close with my boyfriend… but he seemed like he was getting more… possessive? I could have been overthinking things, but I tried to ignore my ‘warning’ feelings. It wasn’t like Tauxolouve would ever hurt me or any of my other friends.

Still, the anxious feeling wouldn’t leave me alone as I returned to the mansion on my day off, searching for Tauxolouve who wasn’t there once again. As usual, it didn’t bother me. But instead of going to find the other gods, I settled with going to wait in Tauxolouve’s room, hoping the comfort of being around my boyfriend’s things would help me feel better.

If anything, I loved that Tauxolouve was a dedicated boyfriend. I never had to worry about him cheating on me or neglecting me. Though… we could have done without how pouty he got when I hung out with Dui and Krioff—it wasn’t like either of them ever messed with me like Ichthys and Partheno enjoyed doing. Well… Shadow Dui was occasionally there, but he never intentionally pushed Tauxolouve’s buttons.

Sitting on Tauxolouve’s bed, I hummed to myself. What were ways I could push Lou’s buttons? Taking a glance around his room, my eyes fell on the door of his closet. Tilting my head, I wondered if he had any of his clothes in there or if he just snapped his clothes on and off. I knew he was too clumsy to dress himself the manual way without help. Curiously, I walked over to his closet, taking a peek inside.

Unfortunately, there were no clothes inside but there were certainly some ugly coats. My nose scrunched up. There was no way those were for him and I prayed to god he didn’t get them for me. Why were they even stuffed in his closet like that? If I thought they were bad, I’d hate to hear Partheno’s condescending review as the god of beauty.

Shoving them aside to search for anything that I’d usually see Tauxolouve in, my eyes widened. Was that… a secret door? What would he have something like that for? Unless those coats were just to cover up his real closet where the real fashion was. I knew he was more stylish than that.

Confidently shoving my way past the coats, I stumbled through the door, finding the room exceedingly dark, only illuminated by the lights that came from the excessively enormous walls. More than a closet, this was like a trophy room.

Only… my heart stuttered.

What… What were those?

Almost tripping over my feet, I rushed closer to the wall, my eyes scanning the glimmering images that lined the walls. There were… hundreds. Maybe more. But… were they all of me?! Trying to get a closer look, my face contorted in confusion. These didn’t look like paintings. These looked like images frozen in time—like photographs but… not. They looked like they were… water? Wait! Were these images frozen and taken directly from the reflection pool? No wonder they all gave off a faint glow.

My heart raced, but not in flattery. These looked like pictures from my everyday life. Is… that what Tauxolouve spent his time doing in the Heavens while working?! My eyes trailed over the hundreds of images, coming to a stop when my eyes caught a movement in the room's corner. It seemed like pictures were still being added…

I froze in fear and realized that’s the exact expression that was staring back at me. This… had to stop. I didn’t like these images from every aspect of my life. Any normal person would call this stalking. Fleeing from the room, I carefully made sure everything was the way I first found it before I slammed the closet door shut. Turning to leave, a shrill yelp left my lips, adrenaline rushing through me as I found Tauxolouve standing in the doorway staring at me.

He didn’t look distressed or anything, his face was relaxed as usual. He simply commented, “You look frazzled, little lady. What’s wrong?”

I faltered, refusing the urge to glance back at the closet door. But there were images in there that would prove my guilt—in fact, I was more than positive he was watching me through a reflection pool the whole time. He knew exactly what I did and what I saw. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I questioned, “What was that?”

He hummed, wondering why I would’ve been so upset about it. “That’s my photography room. I’m sort of surprised it’s your first time seeing it. I like to keep images of things I love. Though, I have to say, I never would have come up with the idea if you hadn’t told me to decorate my room with things I love. Only… I had little wall-space out here since I wanted to decorate my room with paintings that you made yourself. Nothing makes me happier than seeing our work every day.”

My gaze flickered down to my hands that were nervously clasped in front of me, avoiding his gaze that I now knew was constantly on me every second of the day. Releasing a shaky breath, I raised my head, meeting his unwavering stare. Immediately, I wanted to look away, but I needed to show him I was serious about this. “I- I’m glad that you love me, Lou. But… this makes me uncomfortable. This wasn’t what I meant when I suggested decorating your room with things you like. The paintings… those are nice… but I don’t like you watching me all the time like that and then keeping every minute of my life on display.”

Things fell silent between us. I wasn’t sure how he was going to take my harsh criticism, but I needed to put my foot down. I couldn’t handle a relationship where even my privacy was being exploited by him. Besides… if that was what made him happy, then I wasn’t sure I wanted him to be that happy…

“I appreciate your feedback,” he said kindly, making me inwardly relieved that he was listening. Though, my relief was fleeting as he softly continued, “But this isn’t your room, is it? You didn’t have to go in that room; I placed separately it from this one so that you would be comfortable being in a room of our paintings. It would be pretty contradictory for you to tell me to do what I love and then come and tell me I can’t just because you personally don’t appreciate that aspect of my work.”

I scoffed, my lips drawing back in displeasure. “So you’re saying you made that spare room, assuming I’d be uncomfortable with it. Well, I am. I’m asking you to please stop because it makes me uncomfortable. I appreciate your art, and I could appreciate that you were getting into a completely new medium of photography, but I don’t like your subject matter. I don’t like you watching me like that.”

“I completely respect your opinion,” he said, reaching out his hand to calm me down, only I avoided his touch, stepping away from his advance. He wouldn’t smooth things over with a loving touch or two and ignore my concerns. He sighed. “You’re being difficult. Art that’s avant garde is difficult to accept sometimes, but you’re the love of my life. Aren’t you supposed to support my aspirations? I’m just trying to express my feelings for you. I have so much love for you, (Name).”

“Well, express your feelings differently,” I argued, on the verge of yelling at him to get my point across. I hated what he was doing, and he was refusing to stop. “I’m serious. You’re making me uncomfortable and you’re not listening to me. No, don’t call this ‘avant garde.’ That’s actual bull shit. This is borderline stalking that I didn't consent to.”

He huffed, an incredulous chuckle leaving his lips. “Is this going to be our first argument? Are you honestly going to fight me over the way I express my love for you? Is it honestly so bad to want to keep you frozen in time with me for all eternity?”

“The fact that you can’t recognize that it’s wrong to make me feel this uncomfortable with your art is the reason we’re arguing. So, yes, it’s bad.” Clenching my jaw together, I turned away from him, sighing heavily. “I… don’t want to fight with you like this.”

Shaking my head, I moved to walk past him; only, he was quick to reach out and grab my arm. I knew he had a problem invading my privacy, but I didn’t think he’d stop me from leaving. Before I could yell at him, he asked, “You’re not leaving me now, are you? You’re going to break my heart yelling at me and then storming out. You told me you were going to help me make my room a happier place yet here you are yelling at me over what makes me happy and then abandoning me as if that’s all supposed to make me feel better.”

Trying to pull out of his grasp was useless as he refused to loosen his grip around my forearm. “If you weren’t being so petty then I might try to talk this out with you but why should I waste my breath on someone who isn’t listening to me?! I actually couldn’t care less about your room right now. This is not how I want to be treated by someone who loves me. Let me go, Tauxolouve.”

“What happened to ‘Lou’?” I flinched as he pinned me against his wall. His fingers curled under my chin, tilting my head up as he met my gaze with those seductive eyes of his. “You said a room should be filled with things you like.” It was something he kept reiterating over and over as if that was suddenly his life motto. Maybe I never should’ve told him that. If it would have salvaged our relationship, then maybe I should have left his room as depressing and unexpressive as it was.

“You have more than enough personal items, I think,” I snapped back, tearing my gaze away from his. I wouldn’t let him reel me back in with his sad eyes and pretty face. “I don’t need this right now. I’m going home.”

His gaze fell. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Tauxolouve snapped his fingers, but I had to blink a few times, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. No, I prayed my eyes were playing tricks on me.

But the coolness of the leather around my neck wasn’t a trick. Pulling away from Tauxolouve who had loosened his grip, I tugged at the collar. It was far from choking me, but there wasn’t a latch to take it off. It was just a singular ring of fabric that only he could choose to snap off. The only additional thing on the collar was the chain that was connected to the column by his bed. As far as I could tell, it was only long enough to let me reach the rooms closest to the bed, like the bathroom and the closet. The door to the hall was something just out of my reach. Returning to the bed’s column, I tugged on the chain from both ends, neither side giving any slack.

There was no way he was seriously going to keep me chained up in his room… This was so much worse than him stalking me—it had to be a horribly timed joke. “Tauxolouve… This isn’t funny,” I whined, turning back to find him. “Stop messing around.”

“Oh, I’m done messing around,” he said, his tone serious, matching his expression. I really didn’t like that expression on his face. It didn’t look like my Lou at all. But just as quick as it was there, he was back to smiling as if he were proud of himself. “You really tie this room together, (Name). Here… I’ll be able to paint you as much as I want.”

“Please,” I faltered, my fingers helplessly tugging the collar that refused to budge. “I don’t like this…”

“Well, I didn’t like the way you were leaving me, yet you had no problem doing that,” he admitted, returning to his bed to sit down now that he had everything solved. “That look on your face… you weren’t going to come back if I let you walk out. So, now you’re going to always be with me. You’re granting all of my wishes by being here for me.” Glancing over at me, he reached his hand out, a familiar soft smile gracing his features. It made my heart pang sadly, but I refused his offered hand. Still, he didn’t force me to join him on the bed. “If that room makes you uncomfortable… I’ll stop taking the pictures. I thought once I made an impressive collection that made my heart burst with love for you I could finally show you. I hadn’t even finished and still you hated me for it…” A soft sigh left his lips. “I’ll try to do better from now on. I’ll try to be the reliable boyfriend you can love again. I hate seeing you upset with me.”

It was one thing that he was giving up his passion for photography, but he had a chain keeping me trapped in his room! What the hell was he expecting?! “Tauxolouve…” My voice cracked, and I twisted my head away to hide my tears from him. “I always trusted you; I loved you so much. But everything you’ve been saying and doing has just been breaking my heart… I can’t handle this.” I flinched at feeling his hand on my shoulder, but he only pulled me toward him—an attempt to comfort me from his painful betrayal. I whispered, “I don’t want your comfort now… I don’t want you…”

“Shhh,” He hushed me, his lips pressing against my ear as he held me tight against his chest. “It’s okay. You’ll get used to living with me. You’re just upset because of our little argument; I understand. I wasn’t treating your concerns fairly. Don’t worry, you can feel however you need to feel. I won’t push aside your feelings, I’ll listen to you. I’m going to love you and take care of you.” I would have been thrilled to hear such words and promises leave his soft lips if he weren’t treating me like an animal, something under his ownership. Still, I knew my anger was misplaced against a god. It was useless now. The best I could do was bottle it up and save it for a better time. Sighing, Tauxolouve interpreted this as me relaxing in his arms. Stroking my back, he whispered, “Good… I love you, my beautiful sweetheart.”

***

It had been painstaking weeks that he locked me up in his room, having me entertain his every whim. If he wanted to paint me, it was all I could do to lay there and let him. If he wanted to massage me, he didn’t ask as his fingers danced across my skin. If he wanted to take a bath with me it was nothing for him to make the quiet request and find me in the bathroom not ten minutes later waiting for him. The other gods? They were concerned about me, of course. It was only Tauxolouve who threw them off by convincing them I was getting over an illness. This received various reactions, including Huedhaut offering Tauxolouve various books on human health and some homemade medicine for me. How unfortunate that wouldn’t help my case. If Huedhaut really wanted to be helpful, he should have sent a knife or something sharp enough to cut the god-forsaken collar off my neck!

The only thing that could save me at this point was me. Using all this time to gain Tauxolouve’s trust was worth it as he left me alone in his room with his painting supplies. Did I want to paint something for him? No. I just wanted his palette knife—it was the only unsuspecting thing I could even think to use to cut through the collar. It wasn’t sharp, but it was made of metal and I wasn’t squandering my chances.

My heart raced at each minute that passed. The longer I remained stuck here, the sooner Tauxolouve would return. Ever since he agreed to stop stalking me from the reflection pool, his next best bet was hurrying to do his work in the Heavens in order to quickly return to me. That didn’t give me much alone time at all.

Snap

I flinched, the metal chains hitting the floor with a clatter as the collar fell from my neck. Tossing the metal knife aside, I grabbed the small band of leather that had been keeping me trapped there all those weeks. At the very least, I was taking it with me—not for sentimental purposes, but if I were to be caught by another god… I didn’t want to be returned to Tauxolouve’s room. As a last resort, I could use it to prove what Tauxolouve was doing to me. Unless… they were all on his side.

My best bet was to avoid all the gods together. The fewer witnesses to see me leave, the better. Only… that was easier said than done in a mansion of 12 zodiac gods. It seemed I was destined to fail. Not ten minutes out of Tauxolouve’s room, I ran into Aigonorus who was staring at me intently. His gaze made my heart drop as I waited impatiently for him to either act on my escape or say something.

“I thought you were sick.” His blunt statement made a sigh of relief leave my lips.

“Yeah,” I hesitantly agreed, coming up with a story on the spot. “But I’ve been feeling better. I was just going to go out for a bit… I’ll be back later though, so no one has to worry.”

Aigonorus’ eyebrows furrowed and my heart raced in anxiety. I thought it was a pretty convincing story, but he didn’t look sold. It took him a moment of silence before he asked, “Can one of my heralds go with you? The human world’s been pretty rough lately and Lou would be upset if something happened to you.”

I wondered… if Aigonorus’ heralds could sense ill-intentions like other animals could. They were divine beasts, surely their instincts were far superior to a normal animal. “O- Okay… That’s fine.” Maybe I’d feel safer with one of his heralds anyway.

Accepting the offered protection, I left the mansion with the fairly large goat without running into any other gods. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with Aigonorus’ herald since I didn’t actually have any intention of returning to the mansion. Did this mean the goat would just follow me until I returned? Or would Aigonorus just summon it back whenever he decided I was gone for too long?

I successfully made my escape from Tauxolouve, but what was my next step? I couldn’t go home, I’d easily be found. Hell… he would probably search the reflection pool as soon as he found me gone. I’d be found within the next 24 hours, that was for sure. So, what to do with my temporary freedom… and a goat?

I came to a halt as my knees hit the firm body of the divine animal in front of me. “Huh…?” The goat stood firmly between me and the path ahead, its eyes locked on the empty road before us. “H- Hey, what are you doing? I have a limited window here, buddy. You better think about moving or I’ll tell Aigonorus that my guard was a pretty stubborn choice.” I didn’t think it could understand me, but with the way it turned its head toward me and started ushering me with its horns back toward the mansion, I assumed I offended it. “I was just kidding! We’re not going back to the mansion, little guy!” Though, trying to get around the herald, it refused to let me pass. “Honestly, what is wrong with divine beings and telling me what to do and what not to do?”

“Don’t worry. We’re not divine beings, so maybe you’ll obey us without trouble.”

My head snapped up at the sound of that familiar voice. The herald turned around as well, standing in front of me like the guardian that it was. It had been a long time since I’d seen anyone from the Under Realm. It was strange to see Servillah again, especially in the forest that was so close to the mansion. But these dark gods always came in pairs, and I turned quickly, rightfully expecting the second of them to be behind me.

Crow chuckled at how fast I turned to find him. “You’re pretty clever. I’m honored that you remembered me from our last meeting, goddess of fate. What’s this little pet you have with you? A gift from that god?”

“My guard,” I answered sharply. Though, I wondered if I should willingly go with these guys instead of letting Tauxolouve lock me away again. I faltered, a dangerous idea entering my head. If I let them take me, Tauxolouve would come to save me in no time… But he’s just a demigod against two dark gods. …Still, did I hate Tauxolouve enough to want him to die over this? Did I want freedom that badly to risk the entire world?

Lost in my own thoughts, it startled me when Crow lunged at me, causing the herald to charge forward, landing a direct hit on him. Only, this left me open for Servillah who was quick to grab me while simultaneously landing an attack on the goat. My eyes widened as the goat cried out before vanishing. Did they just kill it?

Servillah huffed in disappointment. “That was easy for a divine beast. C’mon. Let’s go before those gods come to interfere.” It was terrifying to be dragged around by dark gods, especially when I was brought to the under realm where I could hardly breathe without choking on the air. “You’re absolutely weak. Good thing all we need in there is your soul.”

“Wait…” I muttered quietly. What possessed me to go to dark gods with a request like this? Couldn’t I have just gotten help from one of the other gods? No… They’d have been on Tauxolouve’s side. These dark gods are the only ones who didn’t care about anything besides their dark king. “I… I’d like to make a deal.”

Both their faces scrunched up, disbelieving what I was saying. Glancing at each other, Servillah took the bait and asked, “And what’s that? We’re not sending you back to those gods.”

“That’s not it,” I shook my head, my heart thrumming in my chest. “I want to know if it’s possible for you to kill a god… a demigod,” I corrected myself. They needed to know exactly what they were going to be dealing with.

Their eyes widened. I could see the wheels turning in their head that they must be jumping to the wrong conclusion—but they were right. I wanted them to kill someone. Crow’s eyes narrowed as he finally asked, “What’s the deal?”

“I’ll give you my soul… If you can stop that demigod from getting me.”

Servillah scoffed, grabbing my arm to continue dragging me as he lost interest in my offer. “What the hell do you think we mean when we say we’re taking your soul for our King? It doesn’t matter if that god dies, you’re gonna die, regardless.” That’s right… taking my soul meant I was going to die—Zyglavis had explained that to me once. But if Aigonorus found out that his goat died protecting me then that only meant that Tauxolouve was going to show up soon.

“I don’t care,” I uttered, my eyes glued to the ground as I tried my best not to trip over my own two feet. “What’s the point of being alive if… if I’m - I can’t livI know he’s going to come… I just want to know if you’re powerful enough to kill a crn obsessedmigod.”

Crow scoffed, following close behind Servillah as they dragged me to where they were intent on resurrecting their Dark King. “What a pathetic goldfish… choosing to die over being saved by a god.” Yet again, the two dark gods glanced at each other. They played it off that they weren’t concerned with anyone coming after me… but if I feared getting rescued by a god, then they weren’t entirely sure they wanted to keep me for longer than necessary. The best thing they could do is resurrect their King and let him deal with the crazy god. Crow muttered, “Let’s hurry and get this over with.” The two seemed to agree at least.

Did I want to die…? Not really. Still, I meant what I said. Maybe if I were lucky, the two dark gods would kill Tauxolouve and then the other gods could rescue me. At least then I’d be free. But what were the chances of that happening? A short scream left my lips as a flash of light skimmed past me, hitting the ground ahead of us.

Servillah spun around, his eyes locking onto the god that hovered above us with his bow in one hand and an arrow of divine light in the other. Servillah hissed, “The god of Sagittarius…” They wouldn’t be able to do their job if this god was hovering. Shoving me into the arms of Crow, Servillah said, “Go summon him. I’ll handle this half-god.”

Only… that’s not how things were going to go. Tauxolouve had his own plans, and he wouldn’t let these dark gods get away with stealing me for their own means. It was bad enough that I’d willingly run off. His divine powers only seemed to grow in tandem with his desperation to get me back. Sending a singular arrow to make Crow pause, the second was enough extra time for him. He impaled an arrow through Servillah with his quick descent, his eyes landing on Crow.

Now… Servillah wasn’t dead just yet, but Tauxolouve’s intention wasn’t to kill them right away. They threatened his love’s life. They didn’t deserve a merciful death—they were demons.

Crow glared at the god before us before promising, “This human belongs to our Dark King! Whether or not you kill us… she won’t live long enough.” As if to keep his word, he shoved me backwards, a door slamming shut in front of me as I stumbled to the floor.

Frantically, I glanced around the dark space, realizing I was cut off from the fight outside. This palace was likely for the Dark King, but he wasn’t resurrected. As far as I was aware, I was trapped in there until either side came out victorious. But that look in Tauxolouve’s eyes terrified me… Did he really mean to nearly hit me with that arrow? As the God of Sagittarius, his aim was true. There was no way he was aiming for Crow or Servillah… but why?

Scrambling back to my feet, I glanced down the hall, cautiously making my way through the dim halls. The air of the under realm was enough to suffocate me, but I couldn’t sit there and wait for the victor to come to me. At the very least, I could postpone my fate.

***

Tauxolouve hated this. Taking down two dark gods was nothing for him, but now he was back to tracking me down. Hadn’t I ran for long enough? Was his warning not good enough to stick in my head? If I’d rather die than be with him, then he’d show me just what a mistake that was.

He took his time with extinguishing the two dark gods, momentarily wielding their powers for his own use. It wasn’t like I could go very far, it wouldn’t take him long to track me down. Those pitter patters coming from down the hall… that was me scrambling around for an exit. His heart ached at the thought that I’d be trying to run from him so desperately. Well, perhaps I had a right to do so. After all, Tauxolouve had no intention of holding back this time. Everything was clear to him now.

***

Every house had a back door, didn’t it? Well, this wasn’t a house but still! There had to be an exit, at least some way to get out! After hearing the door that separated us slam into a wall, I knew their fight was long over. No matter how I looked at it… even if I escaped this palace, there was no way for me to escape the under realm without help.

I stared helplessly at the wall that ran down two separate halls. There were two directions to pick from, but nowhere that could save me from the inevitable.

“You know… this is funny,” Tauxolouve’s voice made me shiver as he slowly approached.

Though, turning around, my eyes widened as my heart stuttered. Why was his bow ready at his side as if he were ready to attack… me? I willed my legs to back away from him, my eyes trained on the arrow that could lift to me at any second. “There’s nothing funny about this situation, Lou… You need to calm down!” I wanted him to put his weapon away.

“You’re the one yelling,” he pointed out, his expression uncharacteristically blank.

“You’re…” I faltered, almost too panicked to come up with a convincing argument when I didn’t even know what was going on in his head. “This is out of hand. Aren’t you… overreacting…?”

“Overreacting?” He repeated, testing the word on his lips before shaking his head. “But… maybe I should apologize first. I’m terribly sorry. This is my fault, isn’t it? If I had explained everything while you were still being good and obedient for me then things wouldn’t have gotten this far and I wouldn’t have to instill this into you now.” He sighed, almost sounding disappointed with the way things turned out. “You know… my power allows me to see the death of the person I kiss. I’ve never understood why you were always going to die by my hand… not until now.”

I froze in fear as he pulled his arrow back, tilting the bow upward until I was left staring down the edge of a light-made arrow. “L- Lou… Please, you can’t just…” I trailed off. What did he really want to hear right now? He wasn’t serious, was he? He never hinted that he would be the one to kill me—that kind of thing isn’t just something you can hide from the person you’re holding captive! “I- I’m sorry if you’re mad about me running off! I didn’t know-”

“Don’t apologize now. You’ll be okay,” he said, offering me a gentle smile without lowering his weapon. “I’m going to kill you.”

***

Tauxolouve sighed, his weapon vanishing from his hands. He wasn’t sure he could bring himself to actually kill me as soon as he saw the tears rolling down my cheeks. But in the end, I let this entire thing happen. If I’d stayed in his room, then fate might have been kinder.

His fingers gently trailed over my cheeks, wiping the tears that had fallen. He noted how warm my body was, though he knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long if he didn’t act quickly. Taking me into his arms, he made a swift return to the mansion. Of course, he expected the discord.

“So…” Leon stared evenly at Tauxolouve, not betraying his emotions. “The dark gods failed to bring back the dark king… but they still got away with one last act.”

The living room was silent, no god daring to speak during such a grave moment. Tauxolouve had failed to save me—no one was willing to point that out. It still made quite an impact as Tauxolouve requested, “Let me use the stars in my eyes. Let me bring her back.”

Partheno’s eyebrows furrowed as he asked, “What are you trying to do? (Name)’s… gone. Is this worth weakening yourself over?”

Ichthys quickly stood from the sofa, his eyes flickering between me, Tauxolouve, and Partheno. “I’ll heal her. If you use your stars, I’ll heal her wounds.”

Their gazes snapped to the young god and Partheno started, “Ichthys-”

“We’re not permitted to interfere in human life or death,” Karno reiterated the law that was going through all their heads. But, he added with a hopeful gaze, “But (Name) didn’t die on Earth. We failed to protect her… It’s only right that we fix this.” His eyes trailed back to Tauxolouve. “Are you willing to make this sacrifice for her?”

They all knew the answer was yes. Tauxolouve was nothing if not a devoted boyfriend. “I’ll do anything for her. Even if it means facing the repercussions of what those dark gods did…”

This time it was Dui who worriedly asked, “Won’t this severely weaken the Department of Wishes?”

Leon scoffed, glancing at Huedhaut before he watched with careful eyes as Tauxolouve was setting me on the sofa next to Ichthys. Quietly, Leon commented, “We’ve handled it once before. They’ve made their decisions. You best worry about your fish.” Their eyes flickered to Ichthys who didn’t seem to care much about restraining his powers for me.

Still, Leon was by Tauxolouve’s side for the exchange. He knew Tauxolouve would be weak afterwards and was prepared to offer his power to keep him stable.

While most of the worry was on the health of Tauxolouve and Ichthys, they also expected me to have a harsh reaction upon waking up. Dying was a pretty scarring experience—if only they knew why this particular murder was scarring.

My hands weakly grasped at my chest as I gasped for air. My vision blurred and my world spun around me as I tried to regain my bearings, sitting up on the sofa. I was sure I died… So where was I? I squeezed my eyes shut, doing my best to restore my vision. Only, maybe it was too soon to do so. Opening my eyes, a shudder ran through my body at finding Tauxolouve staring down at me. I couldn’t register what was going on, all my body knew was to go.

Fleeing was much harder than it looked, however. The minute I was on my feet and trying to run, I stumbled into the arms of another god. “H- Hey,” Dui, stuttered, trying to keep me on my feet. “You can’t be moving around like that.”

“(Name), please, your body is still weak, sit down,” Tauxolouve tried to direct, unable to get to me himself since he still needed Leon to keep him standing. In fact, he looked on the verge of passing out if not for being held up. Tauxolouve still tried to soothe my panic, “The dark gods aren’t here. They’ve been taken care of. The dark king won’t be revived.”

“I don’t give a shit about the dark gods,” I growled back, pulling out of Dui’s arms only to trip forward and land in the waiting arms of Huedhaut who was trying to get me to calm down. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Were all the gods in cahoots now? Didn’t they care Tauxolouve was a killer? Why were they on his side and not mine? Clutching my chest, searching for the gaping wound from his arrow I stuttered, “Why… Why am I back here? Why am I alive?”

Teorus leaned closer, his hand rubbing against my head, hoping that it would comfort me. “Lou gave his stars to save you, (Name). Don’t worry, those nasty dark gods can’t come back for you. They were all taken care-”

“The dark gods?” I repeated, my blurred eyes locking onto Tauxolouve who was staring at me evenly. I wasn’t allowed to pull away from Huedhaut who was trying to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. My frantic clawing at his hands to release me wasn’t helping my case. “Bullshit!” I howled, my terrified glare boring into him. “He killed me!” My accusation made the other gods regard Tauxolouve with as much surprise as confusion, but I wasn’t finished. “He shot me with one of his arrows! The dark gods saved me from him!”

As weak as Tauxolouve was, he logically explained, “The dark gods got into your head, (Name). Don’t you remember? I’m your boyfriend.”

“No,” I uttered. My boyfriend wouldn’t have raised a weapon to me. “No, no! Stop lying! Stop it!”

I screamed at the weak god, only making Huedhaut’s grip around my waist grow firmer. “Calm down, you’re going to over-work yourself. Look. He won’t hurt you and you have all of us here with you. Don’t you trust us?”

I thought I trusted these gods… but they were siding with him. They didn’t believe me because he already put lies in their heads. “I don’t,” I hissed, glaring at Huedhaut with trembling lips. They were from the Department of Wishes… they were Tauxolouve’s friends, of course they would side with him. The only person who would probably listen would be Zyglavis—the unbiased hand of justice…

Huedhaut rubbed his fingers across my forehead delicately. “What did that monster put into your head?” He sighed.

“I think we’ll need time to recover,” Tauxolouve suggested, some strength back in him thanks to Leon’s powers. “It just breaks my heart to see her hate me so…” He put on the saddest pair of eyes he could muster as I openly tried to kill him with my glower. “It’s difficult to admit, but I can’t send her home in this condition. As her lover, I’m naturally obligated to care for her. I think it would be best for me to return her proper mindset on my own. What do you think, Hue?”

Huedhaut hummed, his eyes scanning me before he nodded his head. “If you think you can handle taking care of her, I have no reason to object. You were there when they manipulated her, after all. It may be best for you to handle her mental health from here on out—it will provide stability of care, in any case.”

None of them understood what they were doing. Huedhaut didn’t even realize he was betraying me for a monster. Not a single god present understood that they were agreeing to let this man lock me up in his room for no reason other than his own selfish and sinful desires.

Distressed tears rolling down my cheeks, I screamed, “I hate you!” The gods in the room flinched in surprise. They’d never heard me so distressed and so vengeful toward anyone before. If anything, this was proving Tauxolouve’s point even further. But the god most familiar with the under realm was Zyglavis. My thoughts returned to him again. He’d be able to vouch for me. This wasn’t the work of dark powers, this was Tauxolouve. Helpless, I did the only thing I could. Swinging my elbow back, Huedhaut’s head reeled back from the impact. With his grip loosened enough for me to escape, I ran from the living room.

Immediately, Tauxolouve was on my case, but his energy was still low from giving me his stars. Unfortunately, he had to rely on another god to catch me. Fortunately for him, he knew Karno and Aigonorus were on his side in thinking I desperately needed their help. My frantic little show to get away from him just proved how warped my mind was. I needed Tauxolouve and even the wise man Huedhaut could agree with him.

I ran through the hall, but even I knew I couldn’t outrun gods. I only prayed that I’d be able to reach Zyglavis—someone who’d believe me, or at least take my words without a grain of salt. Only, the minute I saw Scorpio down the hall, I couldn’t run fast enough as a shorter form appeared in front of me and I tripped on the floor. Aigonorus had summoned one of his stupid goats!

Scorpio’s eyes widened as I laid sprawled at his feet. “What the hell…”

Before I could shove myself off of the floor, arms wrapped around me and they pulled me into a chest. “Let go,” I screamed, desperately trying to break away from my captor. “Don’t bring me back!” This was really life or death in my eyes. I didn’t want to be stuck with him, the man who killed me in cold blood.

Aigonorus tried his best not to get hit by me as I struggled in his arms. He looked frantically toward Karno. “W- What do I do?”

Scorpio’s confused eyes flickered between the gods, not receiving any answer as to what was going on in front of him. Finally, he snapped, “What the hell is wrong with the goldfish?”

“The dark gods have manipulated her,” Karno explained, his pitying eyes trailing over me. “She thinks Lou is trying to kill her… We can’t send her home like this, she might get hurt or hurt someone else. All we can do is give it time and let Lou try to help her.”

“No!” My voice only grew louder, startling Aigonorus.

Karno winced, finally deciding. “We don’t have a choice… She needs to sleep.”

Aigonorus nodded his head, holding my struggling form down. However, like a light at the end of a tunnel, I found Zyglavis walking down the hall toward me. I desperately tried to pull from Aigonorus’s arms, but he snapped his fingers and my vision blurred. “N- No… Zyg…la…vis…”

***

It was considerably quiet compared to how it was when I first woke up in the living room. By now I understood perfectly well that Tauxolouve had manipulated the other gods into thinking I was simply ‘unwell’. Telling the truth would have been too difficult for him. So, I wasn’t that surprised to find myself back in Tauxolouve’s bed. I expected to be discarded there, left to Tauxolouve’s mercy.

But around my ankles were silver clasps that were connected to chains that trailed off the edge of the bed. The length of the chain gave a very slim opportunity for movement—not that I had the energy to move, anyway. My mind felt like it was covered with fog, making it difficult to take in my situation as it was. Sitting up was a lethargic process itself as I tried to investigate my new situation.

Did the gods do this to me for my own good… Or was this more of Tauxolouve’s handiwork? He had me in a collar before… I wasn't about to put this past him. But with the behaviors of the other gods, I wasn't sure I would put this past them either. Huedhaut was more than willing to agree with Tauxolouve’s suggestions. After all… Tauxolouve, more than anyone else in the world, had my best interest at heart. Didn't he?

My eyes flickered to the door, finding Tauxolouve smiling in the doorframe. It wasn't a malicious smile or a smile of restrained anger, as I would have expected. This smile was… soft, one of love and affection.

Those eyes made my heart stutter, and I quickly averted my gaze, glaring at the shimmering chains. He didn't have the right to look at me like that after everything he had done.

I refused to return his gaze as the door clicked closed and he approached the bed. Finally, he broke the silence, “I'm glad you're awake. I was worried Aigonorus might have hurt you with his powers. I would have had to address him about it… But seeing you awake makes me feel very warm inside. I'm glad you're back, (Name). It was torture having you away from me for so long. Aren't you glad to be back home?”

I pursed my lips, my gaze narrowing on the chains that bound me to his room. “This isn't my home.” There was no point in mincing words. I didn't need to pretend to love him, he didn't pretend like he wasn't my captor.

The bed dipped, but thankfully he hardly moved closer as he quietly coaxed, “I know it might feel less like home with the chains… But you terrified me and the other gods. It devastated me when you ran off and were taken by those dark gods.”

He fell silent. It went unspoken, but we both knew my escape was deliberate. My trip to the under realm with Crow and Servillah was also willing. “You deserve to know what fear feels like. You could never understand what you put me through.”

“Please, don't say that,” his voice cracked as he almost desperately reached for my hand. He didn't allow me to pull away from his touch as his fingers painfully tightened around my wrist. My eyes flickered up to his, finding the tears that were nearly ready to spill. “I was terrified… I knew what I had to do when I found you down there. I knew you would die. I just…” He faltered, the tears finally dripping down his cheeks as he desperately pulled my frozen body into his arms. “I just didn't know if I'd be able to bring you back to me once I'd done it! I was terrified I'd have to live out the rest of my life with the memory of you. That thought scares me and really hurts me.”

He acted… as if he had the right to be crying on my shoulder. He didn't have to point that arrow at me. He didn't have to go after me at all. He could've considered me a loss and cried about it with the other gods. Why did he act like he's the one who just experienced the greatest tragedy of our time when I was the one who was murdered by him?!

I hissed, “You mean you'd have to live with the fact that you’re a killer!” He stared at me like a confused child as I shoved him away, putting space between us, lest I lash out and try to unsuccessfully kill him myself. “You're making this sob story and lying to the other gods. I wish you'd have had to suffer alone for what you did! I won't be your shoulder to cry on! I'll never stop trying to leave, to escape, to run away from you.”

First, he was happy to find me awake. Then, he turned into a pitiful mess at recalling the ‘tragedy’ that befell him. But… The fire behind those eyes of his was something that sent shivers down my spine. How could a fire be so cold?

Slowly, he finally said, “You don't really have any more chances at life.” Turning away, he took a moment to collect himself before continuing with his threat. “I can't sacrifice any more stars for you, and I sincerely doubt any of the other gods will feel as inclined as I was to use the stars in their eyes for you. After all, it would be tragic for you to run off and have an unforgiving accident. As much as I loathe the idea of you not existing in this world with me… I loathe even more the idea of you existing with anyone who isn't me. Leave me again and you won't be coming back.” He blinked, his eyes slowly trailing up to meet mine. “Do you understand what kind of position you're in now?”

Did I understand? Of course, I did! I was in the hands of a psycho! How could he be so calm when threatening my life like that? It was as if our past together suddenly meant absolutely nothing to him. I couldn't help but wonder if this was how he always felt about our relationship or if this was fairly new.

“(Name),” he called my name again, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Do you understand what's expected of you?”

I faltered, unsure of what to answer at first. At the very least, I knew how to survive with Tauxolouve and that had to count for something. Hesitantly, I nodded my head. “Y- Yes… I do.”

All I could do to live was stay calm and take rational actions. Eventually, maybe not soon, but eventually I’d convince one of the other gods to save me from my dire situation. Would I survive then? I couldn't say. All that mattered in my mind was giving Tauxolouve the ending he deserved. I didn't really care what the other gods did once they realized his crimes; it was none of my business. But I'd have my justice.

After the cool threat to get me to behave around him, Tauxolouve did a fairly good job at taking care of me. I couldn't say the food was anything less than extravagant, especially when Tauxolouve was hand feeding me to ensure I wouldn't attempt to stab him in the back with so much as a spoon—or better yet, escape again.

I was back in the same habits as before my grand failure of an escape. If he said it was time for a bath, it was time for a bath. If he said it was time to exercise to preserve my muscles, then I'd better be moving in the next ten minutes or he was dragging me out of bed and to my doom. If he said it was time to go outside, he would take me outside—but god forbid I make any unnecessary movements that might make him think I was trying to flee.

It was bad enough he trusted me so little as to ban me from wearing shoes. After all, I couldn't run very far with nothing to protect my fragile human feet, as my captor said. In a way, he was right. Even if I made it outside the mansion, I'd be much slower than I would be if I had shoes.

It was difficult being around the man responsible for my death… How could I face the very god who sent an arrow through my heart? How could I have not been deathly terrified of Tauxolouve's hidden intentions?

Tauxolouve was a fairly graceful god when he wasn't doing something that required precision. So, by all means, he wasn't entirely as clumsy as he claimed to be. His ‘accidental’ sudden movements when he was around me had to be on purpose. How else could he explain it? He always enjoyed teasing me… even before he became my worst nightmare. This was nothing more than another way for him to get a reaction out of me.

At the very least, to soothe my anxiety, Tauxolouve tried to find me a creative outlet. Of course, his go-to option was painting—something I could have done without. Painting was something I’d avoided since finding out his true nature. But if it made him leave me alone, I figured it was worth my time to put colors on a canvas.

“You've been doing very well for me, love. Why don't you paint while I go to work today? I'm not sure how long I'll be gone since I'm making a trip to the Heavens…” He paused, and he couldn't help but smile as he added, “So, I won’t leave the chain on. But, I trust you'll stay in place if I seal the windows and doors.”

Truthfully, he trusted me, and that's what I was banking on. I'd been waiting patiently and biding my time for him to give me an opening to escape and get the help I needed. Whether that day was today… I couldn't say. But this was a start, at the very least, and I wouldn’t push my luck unless success was guaranteed.

Glancing up at Tauxolouve, I realized he was waiting for a response and I quickly nodded my head. “I'll… stay and paint.”

He grinned excitedly as if he had finally won something. He was certain of winning my obedience, that much I was certain of. But he still pushed his luck. “Aren't I going to get a kiss goodbye?” After a long moment of silence, he relented, “Perhaps next time you'll feel inclined to see me off properly. Or maybe I'll get that kiss when I return, hm?” Being met with silence once again, he sighed. “I'll see you this afternoon, love.”

He wrapped his arms around me, something I only copied for the sake of having him leave faster. Though, his lips pressing against my head was something I definitely wasn't copying. He was pleased enough with my behavior and soon left me alone in the quiet room.

The silence seemed comparably enjoyable considering the company I faced nearly 24 hours a day. But the easel in the center of the room didn't make me feel better. It was just another piece of Tauxolouve in my life. Ever since he locked me in his room, I'd been less inclined to have anything to do with art. I'd stopped sketching in my books; why did he think I'd like something he enjoyed?

I stared at the blank canvas for the longest time before finally approaching it, my footfalls quiet on the hard floor. There was nothing in particular that I wanted to paint. I could've painted an ugly painting of Tauxolouve, but I had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate that very much—my goal was to gain his trust, not piss him off and make my situation worse.

All I could bring myself to paint were lines of color, an expression of my morbid feelings. On the inside, I felt like I could scream, throw the paint, make a disaster of his room—but all the energy I once had to fight him was gone, replaced with my desire to escape and win. Still, my repressed feelings only encouraged me to cover my hands in red shades of paint, spattering the unfinished canvas of colors.

A sudden knock on the door made me turn in fright, my foot catching the edge of the easel, sending me crashing into the paint-filled easel. Was Tauxolouve back already? But he never knocked on the door before entering…

The door flung open unprompted, drawing a shriek out of me as I hid my face behind my pain-covered arms. It wasn’t my fault, but I didn’t want to see Tauxolouve’s wrath at my misstep.

“(Name)?” My frightened gaze landed on Karno, who was watching me with wide eyes. “You’re… Are you okay?” Before I could respond, he was already by my side, trying to assess me for any injuries. Though, I was too dazed to comprehend the danger we were in. “Are you hurt? Can you talk to me? Do you want me to get Lou for you?”

No. No, no, no! My brain was screaming at me to cry for help. The tears left my eyes, but I couldn’t describe my situation to Karno. He needed to save me from this demented demigod but he would just brush me off again; I was sure. “I don’t want…” But I wanted to tell him. I wanted him to know everything.

Bad Ending 1/2

“Karno?” My breath caught in my throat, more tears pouring from my eyes as Tauxolouve appeared in the doorframe. If only I spoke up sooner… “What are you doing with (Name)?”

I locked eyes with Karno, silently begging him to save me. But my only hope hesitantly turned from my side to face Tauxolouve and answer him. “I came looking for you before I heard a crash in your room. I thought (Name) fell and got hurt. She didn't want to talk to me, so I was about to go find you. You showed up just in time.”

I held my breath as Tauxolouve approached us, quickly taking Karno’s place beside me. My voice cracked as I tried to apologize. “I'm sorry…” Maybe if I was as cooperative as possible then Karno would be free from Tauxolouve's wrath.

“Don't worry about apologizing,” he stopped me, only making my anxiety rise by displeasing him. “Tell me if you're hurt.” The silence was thick for a moment. If I said yes, that I was hurt, would he take it easy on me? “(Name),” he repeated, directing my attention to him. “Yes or no?”

“N- No…”

“Good,” Karno sighed in relief. At least I didn't get hurt in his presence while Tauxolouve wasn't around. “Lou, you seem preoccupied… Come find me later. Leon and I have something work-related to discuss. It's nothing pressing, so take your time.”

Offering me a smile and a quiet farewell, Karno left the room. Of course, Tauxolouve stared at me the whole time for any reaction to the wishes god. Though, upon reaching for me, my premature wince made him pause. “(Name),” he forced my name, making me draw my limbs closer to myself in anticipation. “I’m serious, are you hurt?” He paused. “I won’t be mad. I want to help you.”

Again, I shook my head silently. “I- I tripped… I just…” I wasn’t sure what to say or how to explain everything he'd seen. Having Karno alone in the room with me looked bad enough, I had no idea how Tauxolouve was feeling. His comforting smile gave nothing away.

He reached his hands out to me, though he surprised me with how careful his motions were. “Well then, if you’re feeling fine enough to walk, let me bring you take a bath. You’re covered in paint. I’ll handle everything else when we get back.”

I was afraid of whatever punishment might have come from Karno being alone with me, but it seemed that Tauxolouve suspected nothing of actually happening for the short time he wasn’t in the room. To make matters worse… I missed a completely golden opportunity to be rescued from him.

But was the threat of death really that bad? So what if I died? Then I wouldn’t have to be around Tauxolouve. I wasn't entirely sure I would mind if he extinguished my stars, preventing me from being reincarnated. I didn’t want to live this life, and I certainly didn’t want a future carnation of myself to go through the same suffering.

But in the bath, I finally revealed my opinion quietly as he washed the paint off of me. “Karno could have taken me away from you…” He glanced at me evenly, but I was annoyed when a smile tugged on his lips. I wanted to spite him. I wanted him to feel scared—threatened. “Then Zyglavis might’ve tried to get you extinguished for what you did.”

“You still think the other gods would suspect me of doing harm to my true love?” His eyebrows furrowed, clearly not wanting to have this conversation. “I don’t know what point you’re trying to get at, but the Dark King hurt you… I’m only doing my best with you. Leaving me isn’t an option, no matter what you try or who you go to. I’m almost tempted to let you try again. Another god is bound to return you to me.”

“You’re cruel.”

“Only because I want what’s best for my darling.”

“I hate you.”

There was a tense pause. He was quiet… too quiet and too still. Before long, I felt a hand over my head, dunking me into the water. I was too startled to have taken a breath—choking and spluttering in the water before he finally pulled me out of the water of his own accord. Staring impassionately at how I spat out water, sputtering for a breath of air, he requested, “Why don't you tell me you love me?” I stubbornly remained silent, though I knew I'd suffer for it. How long would it take another god to realize they sent me with a monster? How long until they saved me? “I hate to do this, but you're making this more difficult than it has to be. I won’t tolerate this behavior.”

Dunking me back underwater, I was doing my best to time when he would drag me back up, only to face the same request. My frantic clawing at his wrist did nothing to help me. Heck, it might have made him angrier, but despite my stubborn behavior, I was terrified deep down. Even as a demigod with one set of stars in his eyes, he was still a god, and he was dangerously unhinged.

I hated him.

I didn’t understand why he couldn’t wrap it around his head. I wasn’t going to say I loved him. “N- No,” I choked out, gasping for air. “I don’t-” And back underwater I went, over and over again.

He was lessening the time I spent above water. When it came down to it, I wasn’t sure he’d even hear me if I told him I loved him. It was a terrifying predicament. But my struggling ceased when I found myself under for longer than I could handle. I needed air! I couldn’t breathe! My vision was blotting out. “I love you!” I tried to scream, though, clearly failed to have him hear me. All it managed was for me to take in water and my vision went out for a minute.

When I next opened my eyes, I was leaning against the side of the tub, hacking up water that was forced into my lungs. My limbs were shaking as I felt Tauxolouve rubbing his hand along my back. “There, there. I think you were trying to tell me something before I nearly drowned you to death.”

He was… willing to kill me over words? Escaping was one thing, but suddenly I couldn’t speak my own opinion without him trying to kill me? Still, I was too traumatized to think he was faking it. Quickly, I began repeating it like a prayer, “I love you, I love you, I love you…”

“Fake,” he muttered, making my heart drop before he sighed and said, “We’ll work on it until you can say it with more honesty… just like you used to. Now, let me finish washing that paint from your fingernails so we can get back to my room.”

***

“I just want to love you…” He would remind me every day. “I want you close to me.” What he wanted, he took.

At the very least, Tauxolouve was calm; he was caring. He granted every single wish, even the ones I never made. I wished for him to hold me closer in bed? Maybe in his head I wished for that.

Though… One thing I wished for that I never got was my Louie back. He always blamed it on the dark gods, never understanding that he was the one who changed in my eyes. Of course, he was a god so we could never really understand each other's morals. But I refused to forgive him. Murder wasn't something I could brush off.

I was sure I'd have more chances in the future to make an even greater escape. After all, it wouldn't be the last time I'd get the chance to speak to another god.

Good Ending 2/2

All I could bring myself to paint was lines of color, an expression of my morbid feelings. On the inside, I felt like I could scream, throw the paint, make a disaster of his room—but all the energy I once had to fight him was gone, replaced with my desire to escape and win. Still, my repressed feelings only encouraged me to cover my hands in red shades of paint, spattering the unfinished work of colors.

A sudden knock on the door made me turn in fright, my foot catching the edge of the easel, sending me tumbling into the paint. Was Tauxolouve back already? He never knocked on the door before entering…

The door flung open unprompted, drawing a shriek out of me as I hid my face behind my pain-covered arms. It wasn’t my fault, but I didn’t want to see Tauxolouve’s wrath at my misstep.

No. No, no, no! My brain was screaming at me to cry for help. The tears left my eyes, but I couldn’t describe my situation to Karno. He needed to save me from this psychotic demigod but he would just brush me off again; I was sure. “I don’t want…” But I wanted to tell him. I wanted him to know everything. But he would reject me again, wouldn't he?

“Hey,” Karno gently called, treating me as softly as he could. “Don’t worry about the mess. Lou won’t be angry about it. I just want to know if you're hurt. Are you?”

My eyes flickered around for any injuries, but I felt fine, if not embarrassed from the crash. But the paint all over caused me a different kind of distress that wasn't allowed to stay for long. As soon as he noted my stress, he snapped his fingers, the paint vanishing from my body as if it were never there to begin with.

Still, I had to answer his question honestly. “Y- Yes,” I whispered to him. “...I want to leave.”

His eyes met mine, and we paused for a moment. “Is your head still bothering you?”

“It's… not my head.” Drawing my legs closer to me, I tugged my pants higher, staring at the bruises that surrounded my ankles, byproducts of the cuffs that I once fought against.

“(Name)...” He said my name in a shocked tone, his fingers lightly trailing across the discolored skin. “Did you show Lou?”

I blinked, my eyebrows furrowing in frustration. “Lou isn't here.”

“Didn't you see him-”

“No,” I interrupted him. That wasn't Lou. I hadn't seen Lou in months. “He doesn't care, anyway. He said it was my fault.”

“What did you do?”

I stared at him evenly before my gaze fell to the floor. I wondered if I stayed calm if he would actually consider my words of complaint? Would he save me? Or would he tell Tauxolouve what I said and get me into even more trouble? It wasn't like I could make the situation any worse by saying the truth. “I was trying to get out of the chains he put me in.”

Karno faltered. “Chains?”

A glance around the room wouldn't reveal anything. The chains were gone now, Tauxolouve removed them as soon as I'd started ‘behaving’. I wondered if Karno noticed the windows and doors were sealed with Tauxolouve's powers. “They were so I wouldn't escape again. But he figured I couldn’t do anything if he blocked the door and windows. So… he took the chains off.”

Silently considering my words, he finally spoke, “Wait here for a moment. Don't move.” He kept a careful eye on me, but certain that I wouldn’t disobey him, he left my side. His eyes diligently scanned the room, but caught nothing out of place.

Considering my words, he approached the windows, finding exactly what I told him. He found it hard to believe at first, wondering what could have possibly been going through Tauxolouve's head. Though he had no answers to all his questions, he had me, an innocent victim, sitting right in front of him.

But he and the other gods took Tauxolouve's word over mine… So how did that make them better? This only made Karno wonder if my accusations of Tauxolouve having killed me in the under realm… Was I telling the truth? And Tauxolouve ended up with exactly what he wanted: me to himself, locked away with no one to question whether or not this decision would help or hurt me.

“(Name),” Karno hoarsely called my name, frantically falling beside me. My eyes widened in trepidation as his fingers gently searched for further injuries, only falling back to the most obvious ones around my ankles. His eyes imploringly searched mine as if begging me to tell him a lie. “Did Tauxolouve… kill you?”

Silently, I stared at Karno with tears pooling and cascading down my cheeks. So a god finally believed me… Why did they have to realize the truth so late?

“Karno?” I flinched, my eyes flickering to Tauxolouve who stood in the frame of the open door. “What's going on here?”

Karno met my petrified gaze for a brief second before finally rising and turning on his heel to face Tauxolouve. For the moment… he would treat this as a civil conversation. “I came looking for you and heard a crash in your room. I had to make sure (Name) wasn't hurt. I cleaned up all the paint for you.”

Tauxolouve didn't seem overly suspicious. In fact, he only appeared worried at the news, making Karno confused at what exactly was going on between the two of us. Tauxolouve frantically asked, “(Name), did you fall? Are you hurt?”

“She is,” Karno answered for me, making me lower my head to avoid making eye contact with Tauxolouve; he would surely be livid with me the longer Karno spoke. “Though, she wasn't injured from falling. Rather… She refused to speak with me, and I found bruises around her ankles.” His eyes glistened in accusation. “I wonder what those could have been from… if not chains.”

The room was thick with tension, but Tauxolouve was quick to wave the suspicion. “It was for the same reason we couldn't send her home. I feared for her health. The only reason there are bruises is because she was adamant about not cooperating with me. She couldn't attempt to harm me or herself if I limited her mobility.”

Karno hummed quietly, his gaze flickering back to me. The excuse was believable, but my fear was real. The only way he'd know for sure if I was being honest was by having Scorpio come into contact with me. Then they'd be able to judge my innermost thoughts and feelings—still how would they decide if my accusations were real or if they were byproducts of what those dark gods had done?

For now, however, he’d have to settle with getting Tauxolouve's answers in person. “I take it she's gotten better then… Being that she isn't currently in chains? Are the sealed windows and doors another form of insurance?”

“They are,” Tauxolouve agreed, peering carefully at Karno. “It would break my heart to have her run off and get hurt in this state.”

Karno sported his usual kind smile, and my heart ached at how he neglected to say anything even vaguely challenging to take me out of this place. “But I'm concerned about her mental health since her interaction with the dark gods. Have you made any progress with her? She seems… frightened.”

Tauxolouve nodded in solemn agreement. “She is. I'm doing my best to show that I'm not a threat. But, I have to say, seeing me extinguish those dark gods so soon after being manipulated by them must have left a horrifying image of me in her mind.” Sighing heavily, he muttered, “I only want her to love me… Nothing had to change… We could have gone back to being a loving couple…” Shaking his head and unclenching his fists, he asked, “Can we… be alone now? I'll take care of her and make sure she isn't hurt. The only way I can get her to love me and stop seeing me as a threat is by loving her and taking care of her when she needs me.”

“Of course,” Karno nodded his head in understanding, taking this as his cue to leave. Though, he didn't hesitate to shoot me a glance. “I don't want to impede her care. It seems there's still a long way to go, but even small progress is progress.” Nodding he made his way past Tauxolouve, only pausing before he left. “Lou, I need you to meet me in the Heavens tomorrow morning. I have a new assignment for you since you seem to be getting better as well. (Name)... I hope you're feeling well soon. Please, don't be afraid of Lou, he's doing his best to care for you.”

I stared dully at the floor, listening as Karno’s footfalls retreated down the hall following the closing and the locking of the door. It was then that the fated question finally left Tauxolouve’s lips, “You had a delightful visit from Karno… didn't you, sweetheart?”

***

Fortunate; that’s what I counted myself as. Since Karno lacked any suspicion during their conversation, I was lucky that Tauxolouve elected not to act on the incident. After all, I mentally tortured myself over everything he could have done to either me or Karno and that was enough of a punishment in his eyes.

As it was, I thought Karno was going to be my last interaction with any of the other gods, but it appeared he wasn’t the last of my visitors. It was an unexpected surprise for Scorpio to come and find me early one morning when I was sleeping soundly without Tauxolouve’s intimidating presence.

Of course, this turned out better for Scorpio. Since I was sleeping, my thoughts were unguarded, a perfect state for Scorpio to get honest answers from me. However, after a brief panicked awakening, it was time for him to hear my side of the story after telling me exactly what they were up to.

“The only way we can help you is if you can prove what Tauxolouve is doing.” Scorpio observed me for any kind of reaction, but I didn’t instantly reject him, so that was good. All he needed was any kind of evidence of Tauxolouve’s unacceptable treatment of a goldfish.

To be honest, it scared me to go up against Tauxolouve like this. But I knew that with stars in only one of his eyes that he was no match for the Zodiac gods that were unknowingly circling in on him now. All I had to do was provide the evidence. Karno gave me this opportunity to get help; I couldn’t pass it up. Taking a deep breath, I asked, “Will a verbal confession work?”

His gaze narrowing on me, he huffed. “Yeah.”

Nodding slowly, I said, “Then I have an idea. Let’s set up in Dui’s room. If I were in danger… I’d run to a nice god like him first.”

***

Dui was easy to get on board with their plan. As long as it would help me, he was more than willing. All I had to do was hide in Dui’s room while Dui went to get ‘help’. ‘Help’ being my loving boyfriend, Tauxolouve, who was surely going to want to help his beloved after finding that I escaped his room and ran to another god.

“Tauxolouve,” Dui called, flagging the attention of the older god. “This is important; you should come quick.” Dui’s eyebrows were furrowed together. It wasn’t hard for him to act concerned when he was worried about what was going to occur between me and Tauxolouve. “(Name) came find me. She was really freaking out, telling me about how you killed her and have been fooling everyone and even chained her up and imprisoned her in your room. But… You’re a nice guy, Lou. I know you can help her. I know you care about (Name) a lot so, I let her hide in my room until I could come find you.”

Tauxolouve’s eyes were wide, but he was too shocked to react for a moment. After what happened with Karno the other day, I convinced him I was too scared to attempt anything like running off again. He was lucky enough that the other gods still had faith in him as a loving boyfriend. “Thank you for telling me. It’s been hard trying to clear the influence of those dark gods. Tell me, she hasn’t hurt herself or you, has she?”

“I don’t think so,” Dui shook his head, but his concern was only growing. “Has she done that with you?”

“When she panics,” he answered slowly, “She’s prone to injuring herself. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her and make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Offering Dui a thankful smile, he headed straight for Dui’s room. Only, entering the young gods room, he wasn’t smiling as his eyes scanned the darkness. If I didn’t hurt myself, I certainly broke the light switch in an attempt to hide from him. “I told you it was no use trying to run,” he taunted, moving further into the room. There was only one space behind the bed where I could have been hiding, after all. As suspected he found me pressed into the corner where the bed and wall met. He chuckled quietly at the rate tears were pouring from my eyes. “I love all your expressions, I want to immortalize every one of them… Especially this one. It’s so rare and exquisite. It’s a treat to get to wipe your tears.”

He knelt before me, but I refused to let him touch me, ducking my face out of his grasp. All I had to do was rile him up—no matter how terrifying. I needed to get Tauxolouve to say something incriminating. “Dui- Dui promised he wouldn’t let you in! He promised he’d keep you away! He said- He said the Department of Punishments would take care of it!” I hoarsely shouted at him, my hands balled into fists in case he were to try and grab for me.

Tauxolouve tilted his head, unamused with my bold attitude. “Calm down so I can take you home. You’ve been out of my room for a while now, haven’t you? Didn’t I tell you that there was nowhere you could go that would be safe? All the gods believe that you’re just a mentally helpless human who needs my help. You’re my beloved, after all. Why are you so surprised that they would give you up to me?”

I frantically wiped the tears from my eyes, hoping to clear my blurred vision. Though, feeling Tauxolouve’s hands wrapping around my arms to pull me with him, my thrashing around in his grip was the only thing that made him let go, allowing me to stumble away from him, though I knew he’d be coming back to try again… This next time, he wouldn’t let go. “You’re a murderer,” I accused. “When are you going to tell them how you killed me?! When are you going to tell them I’m so mental because of you?!”

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” Tauxolouve said, staring impassively as he numbly rubbed his chin where I’d managed to punch him. “I’ve done everything for you. I’ve given you a loving home where you’d want for nothing. I’ve painted you as my muse, my goddess of beauty. I’ve given you everything a human could dream of.” He paused, his gaze darkening. “But I also sent an arrow through your heart, just as you’d done to me. I chained you to my bed. I sealed off your connection to the outside world. I’ve taken everything from you just as fast as I gave it. Tell me, what left is there? What will it take to please you?”

I could never be pleased with this man, never again. “Die…” I muttered. Though, after a moment of silence, I shouted, “DIE!” What more could I have wanted than the death of my worst enemy and captor… My first true love.

Of course, Tauxolouve wasn’t happy to hear that. His expression was startling enough, but fortunately before he could act, Scorpio and Zyglavis entered, containing the situation. Before Tauxolouve could argue against this rough treatment and them blocking his minimal powers, Zyglavis was already interrupting him, “This will be ample evidence to be used in a trial. Misuse of divine power, tampering with human life and death, as well as a multitude of other charges that will later be described in great detail before the King.”

Tauxolouve scoffed, not understanding what the heck was going on. “You’re arresting me for taking care of my girlfriend? I was trying to help her.” For the moment, he couldn’t seem to comprehend that this was all planned and plotted behind his back. So, how was he the bad guy in all of this when he only ever tried to paint a pretty picture for the world to see? “You’re making a mistake. This must be prejudice because I’m a demigod. The Department of Wishes would never do this to me.”

“Yet it’s Karno who’s the reason you were reported,” I hissed, my repressed anger coming out full force against my ex-captor. “You’ll know what it feels like to die. You’ll know what it feels like to have everyone turn against you! You’ll be lucky if even your parents want to look at you after this!”

I flinched at feeling a hand on my shoulder, but it was only Krioff, making sure I didn’t get brave enough to foolishly get too close to the seemingly volatile god. Though, Krioff’s contact with me only irritated Tauxolouve, who hissed, “You’re mine. No matter how far apart we may be, I love you and I’ll return for you. I will come back for you!” I could see the promise in his eyes, but watching Scorpio drag him out the door made me feel confident that he couldn’t do much.

Zyglavis’ eyes flickered to my frozen form, clearly on edge from what I’d been through. The least he could do was provide me with these comforting words, “(Name) (Surname), you’re free.” Peering at Karno who entered the room, he instructed, “Take care of her.”Karno nodded and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Sure, it disappointed him that everything turned out to be a colossal disaster and not just me having been manipulated by dark gods. The Department of Wishes was losing a talented god… all over something that could have been avoided. But when his eyes landed on me, all he could feel was a pit of guilt in his stomach. Still, he had to do his best for me. He gave me a solemn smile, offering his hand out to me. “I’m sure you’re not feeling well right now. We let this linger for too long… But we’re all here for you and we won’t let this happen again. You’ve done a lot for us and we left you in a dire situation without hearing you out. We’ll make it up to you. But first… let me take you home. Your real home.”

#star crossed myth #star crossed myth fanfic #star crossed myth yandere #star crossed myth imagines #scm tauxolouve #fanfic #voltage fanfic #zodiac signs #zodiac gods #department of wishes #yandere #yandere x reader #major character death #tw: death #tw: violence #tw: abuse #tw: stalking #tw: captivity

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