Further Conflict

The following day you're sequestered back in the vault room that has served as your chamber and prison. It seems you're no longer being punished, however, you are still **** to remain under lock and key. After a paltry meal is served to you in the morning, you're surprised to find a new set of clothes has been provided to you as well. This time they are far more to your liking, a sensible pair of slacks along with a simple blouse seem a bit more appropriate. Although, they're hardly the type of clothing you would wear while on the go. You can only assume this was done on purpose to further discourage you attempting to escape. Though how you would even manage that has still eluded you. The vault room was specifically made to keep people out, meaning it also serves as the ideal place to keep someone from getting out. As the day continues to progress you find yourself growing increasingly restless. You're surprised to find yourself longing to be put back to work. Especially considering you had found it rather tolerable and it helped make the day pass by quicker.

Something that is not currently happening as you count the minutes passing by. It's hard to tell how accurate your predictions are, as the only marker of time passing is the meals you're brought. After what you estimate to be about four hours, a mid day meal is brought to the room. Quickly rushing to the door, you never thought you'd be so pleased to see one of the guards. However, you're quickly disappointed to see you do not recognize the man before you. After having spent over a week in captivity, you've learned all the faces of the leaders' regular guards. It seems as if Kessler was more agitated by the prior day's events than you had assumed. Enough to the point of enlisting a new guard, one that seems to have been instructed not to interact with you whatsoever, as he unceremoniously shoves the plate of food in your hands before slamming the door shut. Annoyed, you set the plate of food aside, suddenly no longer having an appetite. Had you played your cards right, you might have been able to conscript one or more of the guards into aiding your escape.

Now you find yourself even more isolated than you had thought possible. Pacing around the room, you refocus your thoughts on liberation as you feel a renewed sense of motivation come over. Unfortunately, there are little options at the moment considering your current location. You've already spent the last week looking through any unlocked boxes lining the walls. The few that you were able to pry open proved to have nothing of use, just more jewelry and currency that longer holds any monetary value. You briefly considered trying to bribe one of the guards with some of the more expensive trinkets. Only to realize they too likely no longer carry any significant value. After all, such finery truly no longer serves any purpose other than pretentious adornment. Regardless, you spend the rest of the afternoon racking your brain for any semblance of a plan. By the time the guard returns to deliver your last meal, you've become quite irritated.

"You can't keep me here forever!" You blurt out, shoving the plate of food out of his hands.

The man's face remains emotionless as the plate smashes against the marble floor. The loud sound echoes across the otherwise empty hallway. Seeing a moment present itself, you swiftly duck around the man, trying desperately to get away. Unfortunately, he's far quicker than you and easily grabs onto the back of your shirt, pulling you down roughly. You exhale sharply as your back roughly connects with the hard ground. Wincing in pain, you feel the man's hand wrap around your arm and forces you back to your feet.

"Let me go!" You plead, trying in vain to break free. "This isn't right!"

"Shut up!" The man orders before the back of his hand connects with your cheek.

Your eyes widen in fear as pain quickly spreads across your face. Despite your current situation, you hadn't assumed any of the guards would dare harm you. Bringing a hand up to your flushed face, you eye the man cautiously.

"Where's Kessler?" You manage to **** the words out despite your fear.

The man's sharp eyes flash with anger as his grip around you tightens. Wordlessly he drags you back into the room and shoves you towards one of the walls. You feel your heartbeat increase with dread and apprehension as he moves to close the door behind him.

"Kessler is losing his edge." The man states bluntly, turning back to face you. "I heard rumors he was keeping a pretty thing all to himself without reaping any of the benefits. I didn't believe it 'til he came around town looking for some new guards and I took up his offer.

"Leader or not, I figure if he's not going to stake his claim, why should the rest of us be denied the opportunity?"

"You're wrong." You quickly interject, hoping to deceive the man. "I don't know where the rumors circulated from but I can assure you, I am very much his and he will not stand for this."

"No need to lie." The man smiles wickedly, stepping forward to stand before you. "Besides, I'll be long gone before he finds out anything about this."

You want to scream or fight back but suddenly find yourself incapable of moving or even speaking as the vile man looms over you. Shirking back in aversion, you close your eyes, dreading what is to come. Just as you feel the man's touch on your neck, the large vault door suddenly slams open. The guard quickly pulls away, turning to face the intruder. Opening your eyes, you find you're unable to see past the guards wide frame. Though no words have been spoken, you're surprised to see the guard's figure completely stiff as if in fear. Keeping your back to the wall, you slowly slip past the man to see the leader's large frame blocking the doorway. Without thinking, you push past the guard and throw yourself at the man.

"Did he hurt you?" Kessler demands, his words come out in a low growl, seeming as though he's struggling to keep his anger at bay.

Your face still stinging from the slap and heart racing from fear, you slowly nod your head in affirmation. You can feel the man's frame stiffen as his now dark gaze slowly turns to the guard behind you. Wordless, he pulls you aside into the hallway. Glancing behind, you see a look of complete terror in the guards eyes before the door is shut, confining him in the large room. The sound of the locks clicking into place is much louder on the other side of the door. A sense of dread and apprehension is still felt as you watch the leader pause for a moment, presumably to regain his composure. When he turns to face you there's still a look of anger across his face, though his eyes appear to be filled with self-condemnation.

"You needn't worry about him anymore." He offers in a marginally softer tone, seeming to sense your fear. "I'll personally see to that."

Nodding absentmindedly, you slowly lower your gaze, unable to take the look in the man's eyes. You can't help still feeling slightly upset at having been put in such a situation, even if the man is remorseful for his inadvertent part in it.

"You're mad at me." He notes under his breath, appearing to speak more to himself than you.

Still unable to speak, you weakly shrug, unsure whether or not this is completely accurate. You're certainly troubled, and likely ought to be mad. However, at this particular moment all you feel is exhaustion. The man seems to hesitate for a moment before reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear. His fingertips gently brush against your injured cheek, causing an involuntary wince. Kessler quickly pulls his hand away before sighing in frustration. You're surprised to find he appears to be more upset with himself than you. Causing that increasingly familiar feeling of guilt to rear its ugly head. Thankfully, your throat is still too tight to speak, as tears have unexpectedly begun welling your eyes. You haven't let yourself cry since your capture, attributing it as a sign of weakness. However, as the fear slowly dissipates it's replaced with every emotion you've squelched down.

Wordless, the leader motions for you to follow him down the hallway, leading you down an area you've yet to below in. You can all but feel the heat from the man's own emotions on your back as he walks behind you. The silence continues until you reach another vault, though the door on this one appears to be backwards. Confused, you watch as the man opens it to reveal another large deposit room. More boxes line the walls, though you can see many of them have been removed or pried open by ****. A large bed, along with more furnishing then your room takes up the majority of the area. You quickly summarize this must be the leaders room, which would explain the modifications to the door. He gestures for you to enter but doesn't follow you in. Turning, you see him move to close the door and manage to find your voice.

"Where have you been?" You ask, causing his actions to falter.

The leader's amber eyes slowly drift down to you before a frown comes over his face at the sight of your tears. Hesitating, he sighs again before joining you in the room.

"Given your aversion to me, I thought you'd prefer some space." He replies, seeming slightly confused and concerned by your expression. "It sounds quite foolish now, but I thought you'd ask for me after a few days. When you didn't, I won't lie, I was quite upset.

"Then I thought punishing you might elicit some type of reaction. Instead it seems to have only bolstered your spirits and pulled you further away from me."

"You're right, that does sound foolish." You can't help admitting, the remnants of fear and anger still clinging to your emotions. "Especially going so far as to hire a new guard to further torment me."

"That wasn't why I hired him." The leader quickly corrects, the look of concern on his face deepening. "I... I was jealous."

"Jealous?" You repeat incredulously before shaking your head. "I think you mean 'possessive'."

"Perhaps you're right." He admits softly, taking a step closer to you. "Can you blame me though?"

You feel your breath catch as his touch returns to your cheek to gently wipe away one of the tears. A plethora of retorts and accusations fly through your mind, yet you can't seem to fully articulate any of them.

"I- you... I don't know." You mumble feebly, cursing your ever changing emotions for further confusing you.

The hint of a smile tugs at the man's lips as he takes in your fluster features. His hand remains pressed against your cheek as his gaze looks over you carefully. Seeming to detect something you weren't aware was on your expression, he suddenly leans forward catching your lips against his. All thoughts momentarily leave your mind as you feel his warmth on your face and the gentle stroke of his fingers against your cheek. Your eyes drift half closed as your body savors the enjoyable moment before logic finally resurfaces. Pressing the palms of your hands against his broad chest, you rough push him away before staring back at him wide eyed and panting. The small smile returns to his face when he observes your flushed and breathless expression.

"I will make you want me." He leans back down to whisper in your ear, a new air of confidence having taken over his tone.

Before you can voice any disagreement, he throws you a wink before exiting the room. You seemed to have gained a modicum of trust as you're able to lock the door behind him. Exhaling shakily, you slowly sink to the floor and lean against the large, circular door. All logic is telling you to continue discouraging his advances. However, the lingering sensation of his kiss remains ever present on your lips, painfully reminding you of the momentary pleasure it brought. Groaning in frustration, you bury your head in your hands as the waves of mixed emotions continue.