muscles ached and sore to the bone, only nathaniel’s eyes flickered to the entrance of the dungeon when it opened. if he hadn’t already been grimacing before, he was now; warden cousland, the woman he’d been previously dispositioned to MURDER in the night, stood before him, and it made his blood boil.
but he didn’t have the strength nor the energy to act upon it. his legs were lead, and he simply stared at her. cold, hard, and unwavering. when she spoke, he might have flinched at the sheer vexation, but he repressed the reflex.
“ that was the plan, ” his voice held a strange lilt; mockery, perhaps, of himself, of her, of this whole mess. he rose, slowly and carefully, scrutinizing the woman with peering eyes and a sneer that could only be a howe’s. “ but that didn’t exactly work in my favor, now, did it? ”
it was true; he was at her mercy and if she wished, she likely could slit his throat there and it wouldn’t matter. nathaniel howe was a man with nothing to lose, so he too stepped closer to the bars, jaw tight. “ you killed my father; and because of you, my family lost everything. so, yes, i wanted to kill you, and let you rot like you let my father rot. but … there were many things lost, and many things that still remain in these walls that i wanted to take back. it’s all we—i—have left. ”
she didn’t want to display the ANGER she was feeling, but it was impossible. as soon as he started WHINING about his family losing everything, about belongings that he wanted to retrieve, lillian could feel her blood boiling inside her veins. slowly she grabbed onto the bars of his cell and stepped in, getting as close as she possibly could to him while still outside his cage.
❝ your family lost EVERYTHING? ❞ she repeated, fingers wrapping so tightly around the steel of the jail that the tips turned white. ❝ the couslands ARE GONE! ❞ she screamed. she didn’t want to, but it was more than she could bare. ❝ highever BURNED! i have NOTHING left, NO ONE, because of YOUR father’s treachery! even my nephew-- a boy of EIGHT-- he was pure, he was kind and never harmed a SOUL in his life and YOUR FATHER gave the order to slaughter them all! why, in your mind, should he still be breathing air?! ❞
it was only after she was finished that she realized that her emotions had gotten the better of her. eyes wide, shaky hands, and the breathing of the guard behing her becoming incredibly LOUD to her. she stepped away from the cell and took a deep breath. ❝ i don’t care about what belongings you have left here. this land isn’t yours anymore. you are TRESPASSING. and given your intentions and who you are, tell me HOWE, why shouldn’t i just kill you right now? ❞
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