It was a task to follow the person assigned to showing me to my room. I had eaten to my own content and then tasted two glasses of wine before deciding to go ahead towards my future. I realized pretty quickly that the wine had caused a rather strong reaction.

My world seemed fuzzy, like I had grown entirely sleep-deprived and yet I wasn't quite sleepy. I found the person meant to lead me to my room standing outside the door and then spent the rest of my time struggling to keep up without stumbling.

The woman stopped in front of a door, gesturing to it easily but not daring to open it herself.

"You'll be staying here as per King Cyril's orders," The woman said to me when I didn't move to open it myself. I stood in front of her a moment further and then reached to open the door to what would be my room while I stayed here.

The woman didn't follow me into the room and the door closed behind me rather loudly. I jumped in surprise, turning to stare at the door as though it had threatened me. But then I wondered why the woman was so strict in not even touching the door...

I turned to the room curiously, taking it in all at once and lifting my hand to my head to steady myself. For one, it didn't look like an unused room or a guest room prepared for me. There were clothes absently draped over a chair before a large desk in one corner. A tall mirror stood along one wall, catching my attention for only a moment. I stood in the reflection, my hair a bit wild from the trip and my skin a deep red even though I didn't feel embarrassed at the moment. I touched my face, my neck, and chest as though I could determine the cause, but then abandoned the thought altogether.

The bed was a large canopy type, as though I would want privacy even in my own room. The drapes around it were black as night, but that seemed to be the theme of Seola altogether; night. I opened a set of doors nearby to find a walk-in closet nearly as big as the bedroom itself. I only stood in the doorway, peering at the clothes, shoes, and such inside before hesitating with a slow realization. They were men's clothes.

I took a step back into a solid form and yelped in surprised, twisting around quickly to find Niko standing just before me. I stepped back quickly, lifting my hands to my cheeks as I realized this wasn't my room, it must be his.

"Niko," I greeted him with surprise before hesitating, narrowing my eyes as I looked at him. The wine seemed to make things slow, but Niko's concern was still clear. He wasn't Kol. He was still Niko. "Yes, Niko." I confirmed with a solid nod, crossing my arms firmly.

"What did my father speak to you about?" Niko asked with concern, "You obviously didn't give away what you were or you wouldn't be here now..."

"Oh," I answered in a daze, "He just asked me about you. I think he wanted to know my secrets. I didn't tell him all my secrets." I lifted my hands to just brush my fingertips over my cheeks absently, trying not to give away my embarrassment.

Niko peered at me closely. He was entirely too close, but I didn't step away. I liked being close to him. He smelled nice. He looked nice. He wanted to keep me safe. I liked the way the rough skin of his fingertips felt on my own skin.

"And? What else?" Niko asked, drawing me from my daze further. I blinked hard, then shook my head to bring myself out of my own thoughts.

"He gave me his blessing and let me eat. I drank some wine. I feel...," I lifted my hand further, gesturing towards my temple as though I could share my current state with just a wave of a hand. "Outside of my own head. Is this your room?"

Niko sighed heavily, lifting my chin abruptly to look at him. "You're drunk," He stated with realization. I lifted my hand to wrap around his wrist, closing my eyes pleasantly in response and entirely forgetting his statement in the process.

"Do you want to know my secret?" I asked and then giggled at the absurdity of it all.

"No," Niko responded sharply. "Come on. You need to sleep this off."

He gripped my wrist in his hand and pulled me to follow him but instead I stumbled forward and nearly fell. Niko caught me by my arms, pulling me closer to him to steady me. I gasped, looking at him, caught off guard.

I swallowed with difficulty. "Why did they send me to your room?"

"I told you the rules of engagement are different here than the humans," Niko answered carefully. "Our lives are immortal. Marriage is far more eternal than any human contract. We must know we are compatible before agreeing to the ceremony, so we are allowed access to one another and must live together as one. It's expected."

"Allowed access," I said naively, holding my arms across my chest almost defensively.

"I won't harm you, Rin," Niko told me darkly, a frustration in his tone.

"I know," I responded sincerely. "Can you help me to the bed? Everything is spinning a bit..." Niko paused a moment and then suddenly chuckled with amusement, bending down to abruptly sweep me from my feet. I cried out in surprise, but then clung to him for support before he led me onto the surface of the bed easily.

Niko helped me remove my shoes carefully, his fingers brushing over the skin of each foot in the process as he held my ankles in his firm but gentle grip. I watched him curiously, an unfamiliar courage keeping me from being frightened of the idea of sharing a bed with a man.

"Should I take my clothes off?" I asked quietly, my skin heated from liquor and something else altogether. Niko froze immediately, turning his gaze from my bared feet to my face. There was a sudden darkness in his features and I lifted my hand to my lips absently, shy but also uncharacteristically brave.

"This isn't a valid engagement, Rin. You don't want that with me," Niko said cautiously, his tone dark with something besides anger. His words were logical and I knew it. I hadn't felt right since the wine, I knew it, but I didn't lie, not even to myself. The engagement may be false in its true intention, but I was stupid and too easily swayed by gentle words and invasive touches.

I covered my eyes with the back of my hand, turning my face away absently.

"I'm sorry," I muttered in embarrassment. Niko didn't respond and I meant to look to see what expressions troubled his features, but before I knew it, I had sighed carefully and drifted into a dazed slumber under the influence of the wine.

~...~

When I awoke, I was alone. A light remained just dimly in the distance within the room, preventing it from falling into complete darkness. I sat up in the bed sharply, looking around in momentary confusion before remembering the heavy spell of the wine I had tasted too much of. This was Niko's room, but he wasn't here.

I hesitated, moving to crawl off the bed. My feet brushed the soft carpeted floor, comforting me in the dim light. I pushed myself to my feet and moved to the door slowly. There was a speaker beside the door with a button under it. Father had something similar to it in his own room, so that he wouldn't have to call out for help so much.

I pressed the button just once and then waited.

"May I help you?" A male voice said solidly through the speaker. I hesitated, but then held down the button before responding.

"Where's Prince Nikolas?" I asked uncertainly.

"He's resting," The voice responded, "May I help you?"

I thought about his words with confusion. Niko was resting, but not in his own room? It didn't make much sense. I thought over my options, but decided to try a more risky approach.

I held down the button and spoke further. "I'm his intended. I'd like to rest with him. Can someone take me to him?" There was a solid silence on the other end. Perhaps they hadn't known I was officially engaged or perhaps they didn't think I would request to be taken to Niko. Either way, the silence hung for a moment before he finally answered.

"Someone will be there shortly to take you to the Prince," He answered agreeably. "Please wait outside. We're not allowed to touch the door." I paused and then laughed lightly at the absurd statement. Kol, no doubt, would have demanded such a rule. But I obliged and opened the door before waiting just outside it for whoever would be coming for me.

A man stepped around the corner and surprisingly it wasn't a human. He stood before me, tall and graceful with deep crimson eyes. I felt as though I had seen him before, but in the chaos of my past couple of days, I couldn't be certain where.

"Prince Nikolas doesn't like humans to know where he rests during his madness," the Daemon explained to me without introducing himself. I suddenly felt uncertain all over again at the statement.

"His madness?" I asked carefully.

"When he seems to be conflicted... you'll understand when I take you to him," the Daemon tried to explain before giving up. I understood his own confusion. He didn't know the true conflict between Niko and Kol, or the true nature of his "madness". But I still didn't understand what he meant in his statement either.

"Okay... take me to him, please," I asked politely. The Daemon seemed startled by the request or maybe just the politeness of the request, but he shrugged it off and began to lead me through the quiet halls determinedly.

The walk was a surprisingly long one. We moved through hallways, down stairs, through doors, until I was entirely lost and not so sure this daemon wasn't planning on just doing away with me entirely. I lifted my hand to my shoulder absently, hoping the mark kept me as safe as Niko said it would.

When we began down another set of stairs, this time the surroundings far darker than before, I hesitated at the doorway. The daemon took a few steps ahead of me and must have sense my hesitance because he stopped as well, looking behind him at me. I could hear something in the distance; a cry much like a roar, filled with anguish and pain.

"Do you wish to go back?" the daemon asked, not altogether surprised. I looked at the darkness, something I feared greatly anyway without the cries in the distance, and then looked at the daemon waiting for my response. I was afraid. But if it was Niko crying out in the distance, why did he sound in pain? What was hurting him?

"No. Let's keep going," I said breathlessly, despite my fear. The daemon turned to continue and I began to follow him. When the door shut behind us, I could no longer see, and I stopped again. "... Sir? Mister... daemon, sir?"

"I'm here," He answered in the dark with a hint of amusement in his voice. "My name is Gio, Lady Adara."

"Oh. Mr. Gio, I can't see," I told him fearfully, trying not to panic.

"I suspected," Gio responded thoughtfully. I heard steps fading away and held my breath, not wanting to call out to see if Gio still was just ahead of me because I knew if he didn't answer I would probably panic altogether. For a moment, everything was silent. I had thoughts of being in that black room on the ship and I rubbed my wrists anxiously at the memory, trying not to lose myself. But before I could think on it further, a light flickered before me.

Gio stood in front of me on the steps, a lighted candle in his grasp with deep attention on his features. He lifted the candle to hand it to me helpfully and I reached for it with a trembling hand, my racing heart beginning to slow now that I could see again.

"A small light in the dark, just like you," Gio mused absently before turning away to lead me further down the steps. I was too grateful to take notice to the comment and focused on not accidently blowing out the flickering flame as I followed him.

As we descended, the cries began to sound more like roars, though they weren't constant. The sporadic bursts were enough to keep me on edge, making me leap each time as we got closer until Gio stopped in front of a metal door; more a dungeon than a bedroom.

I looked at Gio hesitantly, jumping again when the roar burst from beyond the door in agony.

"Do you wish to go back?" Gio asked me again. I shook my head silently, swallowing hard before pushing myself to reach for the door handle. It wasn't locked. After all, the Prince wasn't truly a prisoner, but I had to know what was causing him so much pain.

Gio had already begun his way back up the steps, not giving me any further hope in the situation. It was as though he either expected me to find my way back myself or that he didn't expect me to come back ever again.

I waited for the roar to fade into silence and then I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. I stepped into the room, trembling with fear, and jumped when the door shut behind me firmly. If it weren't for the candle in my grasp, the room would be devoid of any light. The thought made my shaking hands worse, causing the candle to flicker dangerously.

In the center of the room, a form was laid across a bed, growling repeatedly in anger and pain. I hesitated, not understanding what I was seeing in such dim lighting. Then, in fear that I would blow out the candle, I slowly placed it on the ground in front of me.

I took a brave step towards the bed, my hands tight in fists beside me to control my trembling. The form was Niko, I could see now. He was shirtless, lying on his back with his arms flat on either side of him. There were chains thrown over him, layered over his form like decoration. He twitched on the bed and then cried out again so loudly that I froze.

The chains were burning him.

I gasped and forgot the fear that had held me in its grip just before. I ran to him, closing the distance between us quickly, and fell to my knees beside the bed. I wanted to just rip the chains from him on instinct, but this close I could see they were burned deep into his skin painfully.

"Hey, hey," I called out over his roar, reaching to cup his face in my hands soothingly. "I'm here. Shhh, I'm here." I said to him quietly until his anguished cry diminished into confusion. His crimson eyes rolled from near delirium and then they sharpened to focus on me dangerously.

"Rin," Kol said roughly, struggling to calm himself under his agony. "Kol did this to me. You have to get these chains off me. He won't let anyone release me until he's taken over again."

"He did this?" I asked, startled but beginning to understand slowly. Kol shifted just barely, but it made the chains hiss painfully against his burned flesh. He growled in agony, but kept himself from screaming out again.

"Please, Kol's insane. Help me," Kol said, his voice soft like Niko's but still not exactly the same. I couldn't be tricked by Kol, something he hadn't figured out yet, but I couldn't leave him like this either. Niko must have done it to protect me, but it was too horrible to witness.

I reached for one end of the chain, lifting it with difficulty. Kol couldn't resist the roar of agony as his flesh was peeled along the silver as I pulled it from him. I felt tears burning in my eyes as I continued to rip the chains from him, his body so mangled from the silver that I couldn't imagine it ever healing. It felt like hours, but I finally was able to pull the last of the chains off and tossed them to the floor uselessly.

Kol led unmoving even after the chains were removed.

"Kol? Are you okay?" I asked him, cupping his face in my hands again. His skin was soaked in sweat, but a glance at his wounds show they were already slowly beginning to heal. Kol lifted his own hands to grasp my wrists firmly. "Kol?"

Suddenly, I was thrown to the bed on my back, Kol's grip holding me like my own chains. I gasped in newfound fear, but also felt relief. He could move. He was healing. "You're okay," I affirmed aloud to myself, tightening my hands into fists beside my head. Kol looked confused or just conflicted.

"You knew it was me all along?" Kol asked me with a frown. I nodded. "How?"

"You're... different," I echoed an answer I had given Niko previously.

"If you knew it was me, why did you let me go?" Kol asked further, a restraint in his form as he continued to pin me to the bed dangerously. I was breathless with fear, but also a sense of something else.

"You were in pain," I responded faintly.

"I left you in pain," Kol said darkly, "Alone in the dark. Afraid and bleeding. Delirious."

"You were sorry," my voice trembled, recalling that situation vividly. To make things worse, the candle suddenly flickered and went out. I tensed immediately, my fear palpable in the darkness, but feeling Kol's form above me, his hands wrapped around my wrists, and seeing his eyes glowing in the darkness kept me from panicking.

"Why are you afraid of the dark, hmm?" Kol asked from above me.

"It feels like death," I answered honestly.

"I can make it feel like something else, if you wish," He said dangerously, his eyes raking over me hungrily. My skin burned at the statement, not knowing exactly what he meant but having an idea. Kol released my wrists, but I didn't move to try to run away. He suddenly snaked an arm under me, lifting my torso towards him before pulling the cloth of my dress down from my shoulder to bare the mark Niko had given me.

"He very much enjoyed that," Kol said, his voice thick with hunger. "I want you to beg me to take you. I won't be as rude. I'll do as you ask." I felt breathless in his grasp, my body hot and throbbing under his words. He moved to strike my shoulder and I yelped.

"Don't bite me!" I cried out, grasping at him fearfully. Kol stopped just as quickly, his breath over my flesh dangerously. I gasped, trembling in his grasp, but more afraid of that intoxicating bite than his anger. I had to think of something else for him to do or else he would continue. "You said you'll do as I ask. I've never... I've never been with anyone before. How about... will you... will you kiss me?"

My skin was feverish at my daring request, but the darkness did help in this regard. While I knew Kol could see me clearly, I didn't have to see his own responding expressions.

I felt Kol move away from my shoulder, shifting me until I was in his lap most suggestively. My legs were spread on either side of him and he held me so close that I could feel something solid pressed firmly against my sex. I looked into his eyes widely, the only thing I could see in the darkness. I felt like I was on fire, my skin sensitive to every brush of his skin against me like static.

"A kiss, hmm? That's sweet," Kol finally said, moving closer until I froze in his grasp. He carefully inhaled and then blew slowly on my lips teasingly, knowing I couldn't see any of his intentions in the dark. He lifted his hand to cup my face, running his thumb over my bottom lip lightly. My lips parted without a thought, as though hypnotized.

"Close your eyes," He said to me, his voice dangerously low. I took in his crimson eyes a final time and then did as he requested, closing my eyes until I was left in total darkness. I knew he could hurt me, that he probably wanted to, but at the same time I felt he wouldn't in that moment. Despite my fear of the dark, being in his grasp felt comfortable and I found myself relaxing. "So trusting..."