08-26-2020, 06:28 PM
Sabbath barely remembers what it was like before she was always so angry. It feels as natural as her breathing and yet she wishes she knew how to be soft again - soft like Mother, soft like Prayer. But what has being soft gotten them? She reminds herself of this and bathes in the black water of her rage. Being cruel has kept her alive, kept her safe from the troubles the others have faced.
And it’s left her alone.
She doesn’t expect the gentle tone when he agrees with her. But he curls back into his usual self when he speaks again. He commands, he says, and she laughs softly at the idea of him trying to command her without the help of his magic. For all his strength, he could never make her yield of her own accord. Maybe that’s why he’s here today.
Kill it, he commands, and her laughter stops. Her eyes narrow as she goes cold toward him. There is so precious little of her kindness left anymore, and she spares every ounce of it for her brood. Eight has only ever wanted to touch her where it hurts and only where it hurts. He never seems to marvel at her eyes or the softness of her lips. He likes to trace the outline of her scars, her bruises, and leave her empty when he’s done.
He presses closer and she doesn’t step back the way she thought she might have before. His neck is there at her lips and the claws of his magic scratch at the door of her heart, pleading and pining. This might have brought her to her knees when she still carried Prayer, when her child was hardly more than a whisper on her lips. But she has held her newborns close to her and tasted the perfect heart of love.
“What have you ever given me to warrant your request? Your blood? Your attention, for a while?” she asks and this time her voice does not falter. “My children are all that I have. They come when I call, and when I tell them I love them, they always say it back. You want me to sacrifice even one of them for you?”
Sabbath steps forward then to press the warmth of her chest to his as she lifts her mouth to his ear. She lets him feel the pulse of her fractured hear that goes on and on despite how easily it breaks in two.
“In the beginning, you were the sun of my entire universe. Everything revolved around you. But all stars die and I mourned you for as long as I could.”
And then she kisses the corner of his jaw with the last embers of her affections for him.
And it’s left her alone.
She doesn’t expect the gentle tone when he agrees with her. But he curls back into his usual self when he speaks again. He commands, he says, and she laughs softly at the idea of him trying to command her without the help of his magic. For all his strength, he could never make her yield of her own accord. Maybe that’s why he’s here today.
Kill it, he commands, and her laughter stops. Her eyes narrow as she goes cold toward him. There is so precious little of her kindness left anymore, and she spares every ounce of it for her brood. Eight has only ever wanted to touch her where it hurts and only where it hurts. He never seems to marvel at her eyes or the softness of her lips. He likes to trace the outline of her scars, her bruises, and leave her empty when he’s done.
He presses closer and she doesn’t step back the way she thought she might have before. His neck is there at her lips and the claws of his magic scratch at the door of her heart, pleading and pining. This might have brought her to her knees when she still carried Prayer, when her child was hardly more than a whisper on her lips. But she has held her newborns close to her and tasted the perfect heart of love.
“What have you ever given me to warrant your request? Your blood? Your attention, for a while?” she asks and this time her voice does not falter. “My children are all that I have. They come when I call, and when I tell them I love them, they always say it back. You want me to sacrifice even one of them for you?”
Sabbath steps forward then to press the warmth of her chest to his as she lifts her mouth to his ear. She lets him feel the pulse of her fractured hear that goes on and on despite how easily it breaks in two.
“In the beginning, you were the sun of my entire universe. Everything revolved around you. But all stars die and I mourned you for as long as I could.”
And then she kisses the corner of his jaw with the last embers of her affections for him.
may my enemies live long so they can see me prosper.
sabbath