Proposal [2430-1-4 Wed 8:00 pm]

[Titus Vere]

It had been an interesting month. Titus had not planned for any of this to happen, and yet it had. He had grown accustomed to Skye's presence in his apartment and found that he enjoyed having the company. He'd been alone for so long that he'd forgotten the simple pleasure from having another being occupying the same space as you.

Skye's panic attacks had levelled off after whatever had happened between her and Persephone. It wasn't that Skye didn't seem to have moments when her emotions would take hold, but they no longer seemed to cripple her and leave her terrified and shaking. Titus approved of the change. She was beginning to master those emotions that had made her a slave for so long. The fear turned into anger, and anger could be dealt with.

There was one way of dealing with it, a way that Titus had often exercised and found worked wonderfully. He always felt so calm and so reasonable after he'd held a knife in his hand and felt it work the flesh of another. Couldn't the same be done for Skye?

Persephone had been infuriatingly tight-lipped about the things Skye had told her. When he asked for them, she just shook her head. "They're private things. When she's ready to tell you, she'll tell you." But even without Persephone's words, it wasn't hard for Titus to guess why Skye was so terrified of her father.

He'd strayed by the man's home more than once on his excursions into the Below. Skye's father was insane, clearly suffering from some form of dementia. It would take very little to part him from his life, and nobody would look twice, not in the Below, and not to a man like that. It would be the perfect crime. And Titus had no doubt it would be so easy to lure him away with the promise of money, to call him down into an alley and carve him open from stern to stem.

But that wasn't his choice to make.

Titus washed his dishes, passing them to Skye to dry and put away. He had initially resisted letting her do this, not wanting her to feel as if she were here to be a maid or servant. But he'd come to understand that she needed to help. If she didn't, she didn't feel as if she were being respected.

He waited until the last plate was dried and put away, squeezing the water out of a washcloth and hanging it to dry, before looking at Skye. "Do you like it here? Are you happy?"

[Skye Thompson]

Most of Titus’ dishes were made from porcelain, a material Skye had never seen in the Below. Everything was metal there, dishes, buildings, roads, everything. Compared to some of the things she worn in the Top, Skye might even have believed her old clothes were woven from rough metal threads. Everything Adrian had told her was true. The Top was all she had ever dreamed of and more. It was a complete paradise. Except… except that something wasn’t there.

When she’d run away from home, she’d been running from her father, from the cruel things he did and said to her. She’d wanted to rid herself forever of pain and fear, but most of all, anger. But somewhere on her way to the Top, something had gone wrong. Something she hadn’t intended to lose had escaped. Skye wasn’t quite sure what it was, only that it wasn’t there. And slowly, day by day, the lack of it was eating away at her.

Skye turned sharply to face Titus, surprised by his sudden question. “Of course I am.” She nodded fervently, her eyes wide and solemn. “This has been the happiest time of my life. I just wish…” She just wished she could believe deep down inside that it was real. Truly real and forever. That she wasn’t going to wake up one morning in her old too-small bed, to hear her father screaming at her, calling her by her mother's name.

[Titus Vere]

She didn't need to finish. Titus knew what she was thinking. She didn't believe this was real, or that this would last. Perhaps she had the same niggling thoughts that Titus sometimes did: that he would grow bored of her, that he would discard her.

"You'll never return to the Below, not unless you wish to." Titus told her. "Even if we no longer live with one another, you will never be without money. I have set up an account in your name with enough money to keep you comfortable for life. Whatever you wish to do, it is within your reach."

It was a dangerous move. Perhaps he should keep her dependent on him, forced to rely on Titus for everything. But another part of him said that he could trust Skye. She wouldn't turn on him. She would never betray him. And if she did, he was an assassin. The solution was simple.

[Skye Thompson]

“What about you?” Skye blurted out. It was the first thing that came into her mind when Titus spoke. She knew he had a lot of money, but everyone had limits, didn’t they? There was no one who had so much money they could literally never run out. Life was expensive, you needed food and clothes and a place to live, for all the years you were alive. Yet Titus spoke of money so simply, so offhandedly, as if he really did have an infinite amount of it.

He couldn’t really could he? Of course not, but he must have enough to provide for both of them, or he wouldn’t, shouldn’t spend so much on her. His words comforted her, but all the same, she knew that Titus could still get rid of her anytime he wanted. He could withdraw the money and send her back to her rightful place in society, he could even kill her. But he wouldn’t do that. No, Skye trusted Titus. She had to. The last five years had been to terrible for her to stand not having someone to go to, someone to believe in, someone to love.

[Titus Vere]

Titus gave a small smile, amused by Skye's concern. She had no real understanding of money beyond the most basic level. To her, money was finite and could always be wasted. Of course, that was true in a way: money was finite. But beyond a certain point, so long as you weren't wasteful, money became infinite, particularly if your money was invested in multiple sectors. The returns were more than Titus spent in an average month.

"I have my inheritance from my parents, and my job pays very well. As well, Digeo has indicated that I'll inherit part of his fortune when he passes." He assured her, "And if Persephone does not find someone before her 28th birthday, the two of us will marry and I'll have access to her fortune as well. I will never be without money, no matter how much I give to you."

[Skye Thompson]

So it was true. People really could have an infinite amount of money. Well, of course they could. This was the Top. Any of the rules about things that she’d learned a child just didn’t apply here. This was a place of joy and opportunity, where anything was possible. Literally anything could, and in many cases would, happen. But paradise wasn’t perfect. The chill Skye felt when Titus mentioned Digeo told her that.

In many ways, Titus’ mentor frightened her more than her father did. Her father’s anger was intense, crazed, and passionate. Digeo’s gaze was cold, cruel, and calculating, but just as frightening. Perhaps even more so. Brute force was her father’s only weapon, but Digeo still had a mind to reason with, to think of ever more creative ways to hurt her. Terror spread through her at the thought of him, but Skye still allowed herself a small smile when Titus mentioned marrying Persephone. It was confirmation of something she had suspected for quite a long time. “I knew it!” She whispered excitedly, realizing a moment to late that she’d spoken aloud.

[Titus Vere]

He nodded at her whispered words. Titus and Persephone had done their best to keep it quiet, but Skye was observant. And they were both still quite fond of one another, even after their break-up. Persephone complimented Titus, and he complimented her. There were other problems, ones that Persephone couldn't handle at the moment. In eight years, he would have a handle on his madness and the fits of rage, and she wouldn't need to be afraid anymore.

"That is still eight years away." He gently reminded Skye, "But whatever your worries, money will never be one for either of us. Whatever it is that you wish to do, it can be done. School, travel, your own home, anything your very heart desires is within reach."

Titus paused, then carefully approached the subject he'd been thinking of all day. "And... not such mundane activities. You have the power of revenge, Skye. You have the power to strike back against the man who hurt you. And I offer my hand, if you need a hand to strike for you."

[Skye Thompson]

Hope had kept Skye alive for so long. She’d always thought that once she was in the Top, once all her dreams had finally come true, she wouldn’t need hope. How could you hope for anything when all your wildest dreams were reality? But Titus’ words brought that wonderful emotion rushing back. It filled her with warmth, making her feel as though her heart was expanding. Anything she wished for. It was just like in the stories Adrian used to tell her, where the magical creature promised to grant a person one wish. Except that Titus wasn’t exactly a mythical creature, and that Skye already had her wish.

This was all she had ever wanted. To be in the Top, to be with someone she could trust, and people who cared about her. And to be rid once and for all of the fear that always accompanied thoughts of her father. Strangely enough, that seemed to be exactly what Titus was offering. Revenge. But did she want revenge on her father? The honest answer was yes. Badly. Anger boiled deep inside her, anger at a man she hated more than words could tell, because he’d done things to terrible to remember.

But Skye was more frightened of that anger than she was of her father, or of Digeo, of anyone or anything at all. She recalled a long ago conversation with Adrian, his words echoing inside her head. “Don’t you see Skye? The only way to fight evil is to play by his rules. You can only expect to have a chance of defeating a monster if you have become, for the time you are fighting him, an even more ferocious creature than he is.” “But what if you can’t go back?” Skye murmured under her breath, remembering her response to her brother’s words. “What if you stay a monster forever?”

[Titus Vere]

Titus frowned. Skye had withdrawn into her memories and he couldn't follow her there. But it was clear she was conflicted about the offer. She thought of death as something terrible. He still remembered how she had reacted to his announcement that he was an assassin, like he was a murderer. Of course, Titus was a murderer, but that had nothing to do with his chosen profession. That had everything to do with twenty years of nightmares and two black body bags.

"There's nothing wrong with being a monster." He told her, voice soft as he spoke. His eyes slid over to the block of knives, and then snapped away. "But, you wouldn't be, not for this. As for me... you know what I do for a living." And for fun..., he thought, mind still on the knives.

[Skye Thompson]

Skye nodded. She knew well enough, although she preferred not to think about it. It was just a job, she’d told herself over and over. Being an assassin was what Titus did, it wasn’t who he was. But something in his eyes told her differently. However much she wanted to deny it, Skye knew there was something more to this than making her safe forever from her father. Titus wasn’t telling her he could kill her father. He was telling her that he wanted to, that he would enjoy it.

That should have terrified her. It should have made her want to run from the apartment, to get as far away from here as she possibly could. But it didn’t. Instead, she was seeing Adrian’s face in her minds eye, his angular features taught with anger. She could hear his voice once more in her head. “He deserves it Skye. You know he does.” Skye couldn’t recall Adrian ever having spoken those words, but the voice was his, the inflection, the eagerness for her agreement was undeniably her brother’s.

“Yes. Yes, he does deserve it.” Skye pictured her father lying motionless on the floor, blood on his face, soaking his clothes and matted hair. She screamed.

[Titus Vere]

He didn't know who she was talking to. It wasn't him. Whoever it was, it wasn't Titus. Skye's eyes were somewhere else, or somewhen else maybe. Back to some past conversation. Maybe her biological brother had proposed the same option once, long ago. If so, he was a coward for not following through.

The scream caught Titus off-guard. It was good that he'd finished the dishes before he started, because if he hadn't, he would have dropped whatever was in his hands. But, empty-handed, Titus reacted more out of instinct than out of any real thought. One hand caught Skye's mouth, quickly cutting off the noise. And the other snagged a knife out of the block.

He caught himself before he did anything he would regret later, but he was still standing there, a hand over her mouth, Skye backed up into the counters, and a long sharp knife in the other hand. "Skye." He said sternly. "Don't do that. And when we're speaking, speak with me, not your memories."

When Titus was sure Skye was looking at him, really looking at him, he withdrew his hand from her mouth, and set the knife down on the counter.

[Skye Thompson]

Titus’ sudden movement surprised Skye so much that she fell silent. The sharp edge of the counter dug into her back as she stared at him with wide eyes. She nodded franticly as he spoke, willing to agree to anything that meant he would let her go. Suddenly, though she couldn’t explain it, she felt trapped. When Titus let her go, Skye let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. But her relief was short lived. She heard the clang of metal against the counter top and turned her head to see the knife Titus had set down there.

Skye froze. She took a step backward, then another. Slowly, shaking, she backed out of the kitchen. Skye didn’t really know what she was doing, what she was feeling, but she did know that the kitchen was a terrible place to have an argument, if that was what this came down to. Adrian had always made sure there were no knives in the Thompson’s kitchen, but in his earlier, more lucid years, Skye’s father had had excellent aim with such things as soup ladles and frying pans. At the moment however, for the first time in almost a month, Skye was afraid of something besides her father’s memory.

[Titus Vere]

Titus didn't follow her. There was no reason to. Skye had nowhere to run. And chasing her would have been a mistake. It would have gotten his heart pumping. That was the last thing he needed to get working. It had been five days since he took a life, and like an alcoholic, he was starting to feel the inescapable itch.

Persephone would never forgive him if he killed Skye. And on some level, Titus would be unable to forgive himself. She was innocent. Yes, she was testing his patience, but that wasn't enough of a reason to kill, at least, not in the Top.

He stayed in the kitchen, watching her back away. "If you want me to leave him alive, I will. If you want me to kill him, I will. If you want to kill him... that can also be arranged. There is no wrong answer."

There was a wrong answer. If she went for the door, he would have to stop her. This was illegal. It wasn't a lawful contract and it wasn't Guild approved, and if Skye breathed a word of that to Digeo or his little spies or any other assassin, then Titus would lose more than just his chance at promotion. He would lose his life, and while Titus was insane, he wasn't tired of life.

[Skye Thompson]

She shook her head. Skye covered her face with her hands as tears began to stream down her cheeks, and slowly shook her head. “Please.” She begged through her fingers, “Please. Just- Just leave him. I-I can’t stand it. Please.” Skye envied people like Titus and Adrian. Revenge made sense to them. If someone hurt you, then you hurt them in return. The phrase ‘Do unto others as you would have them do to you,’ could work in reverse.

But Skye was afraid. More than being afraid of her father, she was afraid of becoming her father. Skye couldn’t remember the first two years of her life very well, but Adrian had told her that their father had been kind then, gentle, caring. In the end, anger had been his undoing, anger and a terrible addiction. Skye already had plenty of anger hidden away inside her. But in the end, it was Titus she feared for, because he had both the elements which had turned Jack Thompson into the monster he now was.

While she doubted Titus would ever end up as a penniless, dim-witted drunk, she was scared that his anger would twist him, the way it had done to her father, the way she could already feel it doing to her, until he was unrecognizable as a being capable of human emotions. Yet, at the same time, Titus was so like Adrian in his anger, brave, strong, vengeful and rightuos. How could she trust, and yet fear, the same person so strongly? Skye wasn’t sure, but she knew that nothing now could ever be as it had been before.

[Titus Vere]

He nodded, reluctantly. Titus could snuff him out in a second, and perhaps Skye would never find out. Or perhaps she would. He knew there would be an overwhelming feeling of relief when that man died, but maybe there wouldn't be. Titus didn't know what it felt like to kill his parent's murderer, but he'd dreamt about it. "I'll leave him. I won't go near him."

Titus looked at the knife lying on the counter, something that he could never take back. But... maybe it was better this way. Let Skye see who he really was. What he really was. He hid so often, from every single person he met. He hid from Digeo, from his girlfriend, from the endless parade of women and men he slept with and quickly discarded before they could wonder why his eyes were always so cold and his hands so fast.

"I won't hurt you." He said, meeting Skye's eyes. "But don't scream again. I... I don't handle screaming very well." Normally, he handled screaming with a carefully placed knife in the ribs. That made it stop.