57. Reunion

Leviathan ran straight through the doors. But when he didn’t see her, he became enraged. His rage was something he had grown accustomed to. It had fueled him for the past three centuries. He lashed out at the first person that came close to him. He grabbed the woman by the neck and slammed her into the wall.

“Where is she?” He growled in his demonic voice. The women's eyes widened. She had heard that princes of hell could do this, but she had never heard it for herself. His voice scared her. It deeply troubled her, and she instantly burst into tears.

The centuries had not been kind to him. His patience was completely gone. The years of fighting had turned him into a beast.

“Answer me!” He boomed in the womans face.

Baylor came up behind him. “Father.”

“What?” He raged.

“She is in the tub. I sent some ladies to help her wash, but... Before you see her, you need to prepare yourself. She is not herself.”

“Fuck off.”

He didn’t want to hear any of that shit. He had been fighting for so long to get to her. Now that she was within his reach, nothing would stop him from seeing her. Leviathan dropped the woman and charged through the castle until he reached the bathing room. He barged through the door.

She looked so small sitting in the bath. The light she had was gone. She looked withdrawn and empty.

“Leave us.” He yelled at the women who were washing her. They stopped what they were doing and rushed from the room. He crossed over to her and bent down beside the tub.

“Elise?”

She didn’t move. She just stared straight ahead at the door.

“Elise, look at me.”

Still no response. He reached out to turn her face. As he did, she suddenly lashed out and scratched him across the face. He backed away, and she went back to looking at the door. He was furious. He suspected what they had done to her. He knew what his brothers were capable of, and he had imagined the worst every day for the last three hundred years. Seeing the way she was now made his blood boil. They would pay. He may not be able to kill them, but they would all pay. He would make sure of it. One way or another he planned to make them suffer.

How was he going to help her? Her mind had been warped. Mara was the ultimate master of his craft. He was determined though. He didn’t know how long it would take for her sanity to come back or if it would ever completely recover. He was going to find a way to help her however long it would take. As he pondered where to start, he caught his figure in the mirror. Looking back at his reflection he realized it would probably be best if he started by bathing as well.

He was caked in dry blood. His hair had grown long and wild. Every one of his muscles bulged from beneath what was left of his tattered clothes. He had become a beast, a primitive demon prince filled with an endless pit of rage. Leviathan looked back at Elise.

Was it okay to share the tub with her? In the past one of her favorite things had been to soak in the tub with him. But things had changed, and he did not want to risk pushing her further away. He contemplated for a moment what to do, and finally decided it would be best to get into the bath and see what happened.

He walked to the other side of the tub, and stepped in. The water was extremely hot. He reached out to pull her closer to him. As he moved toward her, she pushed herself back against the back of the tub, trying to get away from him. Leviathan stopped and settled back into his side of the bath.

He took a long-time scrubbing. The water was black when he was finally finished. He watched her the whole time. Her body was littered with scars. She even had a few on her face. Her black hair was still long.

“Elise, I need you to talk to me.”

She looked at him. She had not uttered a word in three hundred years. While being held captive she had vowed to not use her voice. She had never screamed out in pain. She never begged. She had just endured every atrocity without making a sound.

Looking at Leviathan gave her courage to speak. At first, she wondered if she still could. But after hesitating a bit she finally spoke.

“Leviathan.”

His face broke into a smile. Just hearing her say his name gave him hope.

“Can I help clean you off?” he asked.

She stared at him and slowly nodded. He was gentle and tender with her. Moving slowly to clean all of her. When he finished, he stood up and offered his hand out to her. She timidly took hold of it and allowed him to help her out of the tub and dry off.

There was not much in the way of appropriate clothes available for her. So, he grabbed one of his shirts and handed it to her to put on. It was big on her and covered her nicely.

“Now let's get some food in you.”

She silently followed behind him. He was sure that no one had bothered to feed her while she was a captive. Now that he was thinking about it, he hadn’t eaten that entire time either. Neither needed food to live but it did help them feel more themselves. They both in their own way had been victimized by his brothers. He led her to the dining hall, and they started to feast. The other residents of the castle had been giving them space since Leviathan’s was quick to rip off at anyone and everyone. While they ate, however Saxon and Baylor drew close.

“Father, may we speak to you?”

“Later.”

They knew better than to ask again. But time was not on their side. If they waited too long, they would end up in the same predicament that they were in before. Only this time they would not have Elise to kill the enemy.

They ate for about an hour stuffing their faces. When they were completely full, they retired to their room. Elise curled up at the edge of the large bed. Her body was turned away from Leviathan. The second her head hit the pillow she gave into exhaustion and slept. But Leviathan was restless. He needed a plan. Not just a plan to protect her but one to get her out of hell so that her body could properly repair itself. Then her mind could start to heal.