Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ By the Hand of Destiny: Book One; The Journey to Destiny ❯ Chapter Eleven; Destiny ( Chapter 11 )

Thank you to those new followers of By the Hand of Destiny. Hopefully this next chapter will satisfied you and keep you waiting for more. It is only a shame that our original followers seem to have stopped visiting ff.net after the removal of the nc_17 section. At one time we had so many faithful readers and reviewers. *sighs sadly* On a brighter note: Thank you you're your support. Every email and review is greatly appreciated and hopefully this new chapter will inspire people enough to make them leave a constructive review!

Light Lemon warnings in this chapter. Who you ask, well read and find out.

So on with the fic…

Lord Folken, Dilandau, Demitri and even the Slayer Kuja have been touched in some way by Destiny and each sees her in a different way. Is she a woman of deep passion, or a tool to be used by the strength of a man? Warnings come in the night, and confrontations with the newest slayer, Hell, continue to challenge Destiny and her abilities as she discovers a new way to defend herself. Her past revealed her future uncertain what will be the path of Destiny?

Continue the journey of Destiny…

Chapter Eleven: Destiny

Written by Fanilia

It's amazing what an experience, like the one I had just gone through, could do to those around you. Lord Folken hadn't been happy with last night's outcome in the slightest, but in the end he had given in to my wishes; I had been given my own clothes back. I was tired of feeling like a possession, and those gowns Folken had been using to influence my vulnerability didn't seem necessary to him anymore. He believed he now had the upper hand. He had believed me when I told him I could no longer deny him; it had him completely fooled. The fact that I didn't know if I could break the compulsion he had given me wasn't my greatest concern right now.

The servant woman, Caz came to help me change and she plated my hair, weaving it down the back of my head, all the time humming an old Fanelian folk tune. I touched her mind for a moment; she had learned the tune from Folken. She was a gentle woman, loyal to Zaibach, as she had many brothers in its service. The only one she truly feared was Lord Dilandau. She smiled as she left me, a true smile, with the warmth of it reaching her eyes. She had wanted to stay, to help me finish dressing, but I assured her I would be able to manage, and I needed some time alone. I dressed in my tan gown; the green sleeveless over vest laced up tying under my breasts, and drew in at my middle. It gave me the appearance of being someone's sister; sane and passive. Best of all I didn't feel like I was a showpiece in it. I felt as if I'd gained a little of my old self back, the one who had entered the forest of Zaibach with Demitri. It was odd that a familiar garment could give me a small amount of peace in the insane situation I found myself in.

I was resting when Lord Folken arrived. He sat there as he had in the first days I had been on the Vione, in silence. When the knock came I jumped from the sudden sound. "Come." Folken commanded as the door opened admitting Lord Dilandau, and with him Hell, still dressed in the one of the gowns Dilandau had given her to wear last night. Folken raised a brow at Hell as she entered, but made no mention of it.

"I care not why you have summoned me, Lord Folken, for it is you who owe me an explanation." Dilandau announced as the door closed. "What was your spy there doing to me last night, and how?"

"What she was doing was nothing more than a mere test of loyalty, but I have not summoned you here, Dilandau, it was Destiny who wished to see you."

"Ah, Destiny, I'm not sure whether to thank you or beat you for what you did to me last night. I assume a man could become addicted to your pleasures, as I'm sure Folken is by now, but I am not any man."

I was growing angry at the man's arrogance, too late I realized that he as well as Folken knew how to push his victim into revealing too much. I stood and approached him; my fear of him forgotten for the moment

"Did to you! You pulled my mind into yours and wouldn't let me go. And pleasures I can have on my own, I don't need you or her to have them with me." Dilandau face broke into a wicked grin; now he was sure I had indeed felt everything. And Hell, she looked as though she would have killed me given a chance. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go. The anger I felt did nothing to help, so I let go of the anger and when I did I also let go of what little strength I had left. I turned to return to the softness of the bed, but Lord Dilandau grabbed me before I had gone two steps. "Don't walk away from me woman, you summoned me here! What is it that you want from me? I believe I gave to you last night, at the same time as I gave to Hell. I require an answer woman."

"And I require strength." I sighed, linking to his mind, showing him slight glimpses of what had been done to him by the sorcerer. "I took that from your mind in order to break free, now my body needs some of your physical strength." The link I had established showed him the emotions to convey the meaning behind the words I spoke.

"A trade." Dilandau uttered thoughtfully, "What do I get out of it?"

"This!" I replied as the link strengthened, allowing him to see my need to save both of us from Lord Omadon. I reached up to brush a lock of silver hair from the Lord's face as my eyes stared into the depths of his magenta ones. Reaching out I cupped his face in both my hands and our lips meet. I could feel him start to give me the strength I needed so badly. The kiss deepened as his hands fastened on my hips, drawing me closer to him. He gave more to me than I needed, his mind holding me there just as firmly as his hands held my body. Even when I felt him weaken, I couldn't pull away. I was vaguely aware as his hands fell limply to his side. Suddenly I was pulled away from him, by Hell; her hand gripped tightly around my arm. There was blazing anger in her eyes, anger so deep that they appeared to be black with rage. She hit me hard with her open palm in the face and as stars exploded all around me, I felt my body hit the bed behind me. There was an instant of pain both from the blow and from the link as it broke. Then the world went black.

I came to a short time later to find that Hell had left the room; stormed out would be a better word, from the statement Lord Dilandau had just made. My cheek was tender and I had a very large headache. My body had been renewed and I felt stronger than I had in quite some time, but what had the cost almost been. What I felt for that woman, Hell, was gratefulness. She had a lot of reason to want to hurt me, and a lot worse than she had. Dilandau had been so close to doing damage to himself, and I hadn't broken the link. I'd continued to drink him like one of those night monsters of children's tales. The ones disguised as human, but with no soul, they consumed the life from others. The sooner I got rid of Dilandau's pain and insanity, the better.

And what of Hell, she was a smart woman, I was sure she had already begun to put the pieces of her own behaviour together. She would soon realize that an outside influence had been at work. Would she still continue to let her new feelings grow; or would she repress them and try to finish the job she had come here for?

Lord Folken and Dilandau left together, Folken deep in though, and Dilandau looking as drained, as I'm sure he now felt. My energy was high, but my body still felt tired; my mind had been active with out rest for too long. The bed looked good, and stripping out of my clothes, I climbed under the soft blankets too ready for sleep to bother with a nightdress.

The dream came from the Old Ones; flavours assaulted me from all sides. There were so many flavours of so many beings. I could feel them all mixing inside me. Until then, I hadn't realized the scale of which destiny was going to change. Something big was going to come to pass in the future of this world; and some of the beings here would be part of it. As the dream progressed it changed, the flavours blending to form into the beings whose minds I'd touched these past days. I had the sensation of spinning as my sight blurred. I closed my eyes for a moment and as I opened them to find myself in the training area of the Vione.

I wore a white gown; the soft fabric of it flowed gracefully to the ground. In the background I could hear music; the tune the servant Caz always hummed the one from Fanelia. The sparring area in the centre of the room, which was normally occupied with men training, was filled with dancers. I think I should call them dancers; the dance was in a way the reflection of life. Sir Allen danced alone with his sword; he fought with invisible foes only he could see; his long blonde hair swinging about him like a curtain as he moved to the tune. Hell and Artemis were there, dancing together with daggers. Each held a pair of twin blades; one in each hand; four hands, four blades. As they clashed they seemed to do so in time with the music. The sound of metal striking metal sounded sensuous, and I found myself swaying to it as Demitri wrapped his arms around me from behind. I feel my need for him growing, fuelled by the sounds of the daggers, but as I turn in his arms, he was gone.

I looked down at myself; no longer was I in the white gown, but a purple creation in the style of a Zaibach uniform. My hair was up and I had tears hanging from my ears. I looked and felt like the possession the man that approached. Lord Folken took me into his arms to dance. He glided me across the floor toward bed, which sat off to the side of the training arena. I wondered at the bed, its existence here where men had fought seemed totally out of place. We danced close to it, and then Lord Folken released me and with a gentle shove I fell backward into the waiting softness. My eyes closed and I felt my body sink slightly as a hard male body landed on top of me, pinning me further into the softness. I opened my eyes to stare into in the depths of magenta eyes and… silver hair. Lord Dilandau… he pressed himself harder into me as if to establish dominance, a smirk tugging at his lips, and he turned his attention to Hell as she danced with Artemis. He turned back to me, the smirk now a satisfied grin as he rose and moved away to seat himself upon his Lordly throne. I stood and was approached by the large Slayer Kuja. He smiled at me, bent slightly and lightly kissed my hand then released it as he turn to go back to the dancers. I stood there by the bed as the music dimmed and stopped.

A child's cry echoed ominously in the background, twin cries, one high one low. The dancers stopped at the sound as they turned in the direction of the sound. Then Hell turned back to me, a sad look on her face as the crying too faded leaving nothing but silence. She wavered slightly in my sight and began to change, her dark eyes lightened to the colour of the sea, and her hair waved about her face in soft curls. The sad look on her face was replaced by one of anguish and pain. And as she extended her hand to me in a silent plea for help her body dissolved into nothingness.

Where Hell had been only moments before a black wolf appeared, it ran across the room to stop in front of me. The wolf was Blade, her fur standing on her back as she regarded me for a moment before she began to change her form, becoming the human. Red armour covered her body; her head concealed by a scaled helmet. Even in this form the only thing I found remotely human about her appearance was the brown hair coming out from the bottom of that helmet and cascading down her shoulders and back. She held out her hand to me, in it was a single red rose. I reached out to remove the flower from her, but before I could touch it, the rose disappeared. I looked at her and she returned my look with shocked eyes as the blade of a sword burst through her chest. It glowed an eerie orange, as if lit by an inner fire. I stepped to the side and watched as she fell in slow motion toward the bed. I could see the hilt of the sword buried in her back as she fell, it was a dragon; the orange blade the fire it breathed. She hit the bed and her body exploded, changed into red rose petals that covered the area and floated through the air. I held my hand out as one of the petals landed on it, the petal there melted into a drop of blood.

A tall, cloaked man stepped forward to retrieve the dragon sword from where it lay on the bed among the rose petals. He was but a shadow, made of the purest evil. The room had changed; no longer were there dancers in the sparing area, but bodies. The broken forms of women, their faces twisted in the pain of death. The blank eyes held no souls, and I realized that had been their fate; their souls had been shattered never to journey to the next world. They had ceased for all time, never to exist again.

He turned toward me and grasped my hand, taking its warm into the ice like grip of his. I looked up and stared into the depths of his eyes, black orbs devoid of everything, no true emotion, and no soul. He pulled my form close to him, and ran his cold hands down me. His intentions were clear to me though he never spoke. He had been sent for to finish his past and retrieve his reward; that reward was me. I held all the emotions he lacked, he would kill me little by little, with each life he took. He would feast on the lives of the ones I loved as he shattered their souls. His lips came down to mine and as they touched….

I let out a strangled cry as I came awake with a start. My heart was pounding and I was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. The door of my chamber opened and the Slayer Kuja entered. He had heard me cry out and was checking to see what was wrong. I sat there the covers pulled up and wrapped around me as I trembled. Kuja came closer,

"Lady Destiny, are you all right?" I didn't answer as the trembling became more violent. Then Kuja was there next to me, he grasped my shoulders shaking me gently, "Destiny?"

That dream had turned so suddenly into an all-consuming nightmare, one so frightening, that the mere thought of it made the trembling grow worse. The shadow man was pure evil, no trace of humanity, no emotions, no soul. I began to cry, tears streaming down my face as I tried to control the sobs that were freely escaped me. Kuja sat down on the bed shooting a look at Gatti, as he stood just inside the open door. The look must have been a signal to go get someone because Gatti shut the door and I could vaguely hear the sound of his boots receding down the hall. Kuja gathered me to him as I let the blanket fall to wrap my arms around him. I cried into the hard shell of his armour. He pushed me away gently, and unlatched the armour to remove it, tossed it to the floor and pulled me again to him. In the silence of my chamber he held me and let me cry.

I felt completely drained when the crying subsided, but still the terror of the dream held me. Kuja tried to lay me down, but I pulled him with me and would not let go. My mind reached out and linked to his, the strength of my fear made him go for a moment ridged. Then he shook it off and allowed his calm to travel back across the link to me. It was the same calm that made him an excellent Slayer and solider, and it allowed me to drift off. I fell asleep curled up against the warmth of the man beside me, both his body and his mind.

Later in the small hours of the night I came awake; the terror of the dream now only a slight twinge in the back of my mind. Emotions I understood but dreams were cryptic things, that one very much so. I didn't want to remember it let alone tell it to anyone; but Demitri was the expert on magic and on dreams. At some point I would have to tell him of the dream; but it would have to wait till a time when there would be no chance of being overheard. I snuggled closer to Kuja only then realizing he was in bed with me; and still linked to my mind. The poor Slayer was getting his share of strange experiences where I was concerned. Again I fell asleep my mind wrapped in his protective calm.

When I opened my eyes again day had broken; it filled my chamber with watery light. I looked at Kuja as he slept taking the time to study his features. His hair was different from that of the other Slayers'; the natural spikes in it looked springy. I reached out and touched one to see what it would do. My finger barely made contact when his hand shot out to grab my wrist. In one fluid motion he pulled it up over my head and rolled on top of me pinning me down. His tunic had come partially undone in his sleep and a portion of his warm chest was pressed against one of my breasts. His eyes shot open instantly, the awareness dawning in them causing the man to blush.

"Sorry." He mumbled as he rolled back off me, pulling the blanket back up to cover me. He quickly stood, and retrieved his armour from next to the bed. "Lord Folken wished to be informed as soon as you woke." He had almost made it to the door when he turned to me. "Uh, can I leave here with you still, uh?" I don't think the Slayer knew what to call the link I still had with him.

"Sorry." I said as I instantly released it and let my mind flow back to me.

I knew from experience that Lord Folken would arrive in his own time and with questions that I was unwilling to answer. I went to the bathing chamber; again the pool was filled with steaming water. I wondered how it always seemed to be filled when I needed it, but the thought was gone as quickly as it had appeared. I soaked for a time, letting my braided hair get wet, but in no mood to undo it and wash. In the other room I began to hear soft humming; Caz was in there, that tune seemed to always be on her lips as she moved around. A quiet knock came at the bathing chamber door followed by Caz peeking in,

"I brought fresh linens for your bed and clean towels for in here. I can see I came just in time." She said as she leaned down to pull end fastening off the end of my hair, and she preceded to un-plaited it, still humming. I never knew that there could be pleasure in having hair washed, but there was. It felt so good to have someone else do it for me just for the enjoyment of it. She held up one of the towels for me as I exited the pool, leading me to the small stool in front of a dressing table. She towelled my hair dry and then braided it again. "Come I have something for you."

"You've done enough already, I have nothing to give you in return."

She chuckled as we walked to the bedchamber.

"I require nothing in return. My pleasure is in serving those aboard the Vione, and serving a woman here doesn't happen often." Her smile widened as she saw the look on my face as I noticed the clothes she had laid out on the bed for me. "I had many brothers, but I was the only girl. My mother forbid me to wear the breaches and shirts like my brothers, but gowns get ruined so easily when you're climbing trees and running to keep up. But like all good daughters I was trained early in the art of clothing, so I made a few improvements in my gowns that made it easier to keep up with my brothers, and at the same time kept my mother from fits of temper."

I first picked up the tan breaches, the soft material of them stretched as I put them on. They moulded my legs tightly, but didn't bind them. Over the breaches I was to wear a tunic, it was of a lightweight material in a pale, off white. The neck was scooped and the sleeves moulded my arms as the breaches did my legs. The tunic was almost as long as a gown, going down past my knees, but slit on both sides up to my waist. Next she handed me a wide belt to cinch the middle. The outfit was comfortable to move in, not cumbersome as a gown would be, but when I looked at myself in the glass, I saw that it still gave me the appearance of femininity. It was daring yet beautiful in the simplicity of its lines. I wished that I had some gowns like this when Demitri and I had travelled in the forests, it would have been so much easier.

"I have a couple more in different colours, they are in your wardrobe."

"How can I thank you?"

"You have thanked me; I can see how much you like them in your eyes." Again that smile as she turned and silently left me.

Folken arrived later in the day, after I had eaten and slept again. He took in my appearance as he sat in the chair by my one window.

"Destiny, we will speak now, you and I. Had I realized the danger I was putting you in during my experiments to discover what I needed to know about you, I may have chosen a different course." He was giving me that look, the one that he had just as he was about to make me do or say something I would regret. "I can no longer protect you if you don't tell me that which I need now to know. This fortress has many ears and some of them report to those higher up than I." As he spoke he again removed a small orb from his cloak, pressing it so I understood that the conversation would be private. "Tell me about the Old Ones. Who are they, what country do they work for, and how did you come to be in their service?" I thought that Lord Folken had grasped the meaning of me more that he had, but there was no use denying him the truth.

"You think too small for one as intelligent as you seem to be, Lord Folken. The Old Ones are just that, they have no country, I have never seen them, but to me they are what I can only describe as the gods of this world, wise, loving and vengeful. They came to me right after I was driven out of my village. Right after I found out I was different."

"Different?"

"I woke on the day of my 16th cycle to find the world changed, it was somehow brighter, full of the emotions of the animals around me, the air vibrated with it. I didn't realize that all beings didn't see the world as I did. I was happy. I had longed for a boy in my village, he was older, but I knew that he wanted me. So when he approached me that evening I was ready to receive his advances. When he kissed me, I instinctively linked with his mind, I didn't hide the link from him, but instead of the love I felt for him being returned, I saw his true self, he enjoyed hurting others, especially women. I was repulsed and I let him feel it. He stormed off angry getting into a fight and getting hurt. He told others about my "invasion in his mind", he swore that I had forced him against his will to fight, trying to harm him. He said I was a monster. I was stoned and cast from my village. That first stone was thrown by my own stepfather. I could feel it in him; he wanted to hurt me as much as the others. I was the only child of my mothers first husband, with me gone, he and his sons would have the land and the farm which otherwise would have passed to me..." I stopped, tears brimming in my eyes. I had never wanted to think about my stepfather or the village again.

"The Old Ones called my ability a gift, to be used wisely and only at their discretion. I was to use it help others along to the proper end. But like all things there is a price, using my abilities drains me. Demitri discovered the danger shortly after we first met. I had used too much of my ability to protect myself from the dangers I thought were all around me. I grew weaker each day. I would have died if he hadn't figured it out. He started giving me some of his strength to help me recover each time I did the Old Ones bidding. The strength restored my body, but the energy of the emotions in my mind still required rest to balance. At the same time I felt that Demitri had been denied his future when he left the temple and his training to protect me. And I wanted a way to pay him back for all that he did. He is of the elfin people and as with all elfin people he is a creature of pleasure. Therefore the trade, I gave him pleasure in exchange for the strength he gave me. In doing so I also discovered that when I climaxed I released the extra energy that built up in my mind. By mating with Demitri I no longer required the time to rest to restore the balance." I could feel the blush that had spread across me as I spoke, but I kept my eyes averted from the Lord in the room with me and continued. "My emotions are not the same as others. I have to have a release for them; I guess I too am a creature of pleasure." I shrugged my shoulders as I finished.

"Why are you here?"

"You tell me, I don't really know anymore, maybe the Old Ones don't need me anymore and have given me to a new master." I answered quietly as Folken only looked at me. The answer was not the one he wanted, but I had revealed as much as I was going to; I believe he knew that.

"You spoke to Dilandau of his pain; he owed you I believe you told him. What did you do?" Folken looked at me shaking his head, in the way that told me I wasn't getting off easy. "And don't tell me to ask him, I already have and he refused to tell me." How was I to answer and not reveal more that I already had?

"You tell me, Dilandau has the body of a young man, but his emotions are those of one with vast life experience. Where was he before he came here? I have been honest with you to a point, you owe me the same up to a point." All I wanted was for him to give me a general idea, in order to give him the answer I already knew.

"He trained with the troops of our generals."

"And what of him before that?"

"He was in the care of the Sorcerers."

"These sorcerers, they were all good, kind men?" Folken opened his mouth to answer. "That didn't require an answer; that was the answer! Dilandau buried a lot of the memories associated with that time in his life." A lot of memories had truly been buried, but what else I wouldn't ever tell anyone, ever. "His mind is as well trained as his body. When I entered his emotions surrounded me; they trapped me in there as an enemy. The same as he would have trapped a spy caught in his camp. I didn't have the strength alone to free myself, so I took his memories of the pain the sorcerers inflicted on him. It was the only thing I could take with out harming him. I had no desire to live out my life trapped in his mind."

Folken thought for a moment as I finally sat down in the chair across from him; I hadn't realized till now that I had been pacing the entire time we had been talking. Folken reached over taking my hand in his,

"And what of you, Destiny? You said yourself that you too are a creature of pleasure, but you haven't been with Demitri in some time now." An even brighter red flush spread across my face and I lowered my eyes as I answered him.

"That too was seen to by Lord Dilandau last night."

"Hell… How I understand the woman's furry. If she hadn't knocked you out with that first blow…" He then laughed, a totally alien sound to be coming from such a solemn man, "Destiny, is there ever to be a time when life around you will be less than surprising?"

"I don't think so, Lord Folken." If my plan against Omadon worked then Folken would have a surprise, one I'm sure he wouldn't like at all.

The next day or so passed uneventfully, except for the nightmares that plagued my restless sleep, I spent them by myself in my chamber. I had found that the only time I was able to rest was when Kuja was stationed outside my door. My mind seemed to know when the tall Slayer was there, and even though I resisted, I found that I would link to his mind. There I found a protectiveness that allowed me to sleep with out dreaming. Caz visited, to change the linens and to talk; I was growing very fond of the woman and her sunny outlook on life.

"That Demitri is quite a handsome fellow, him being elf and all."

"I think he knows that Caz."

"And his fighting skills are rather good for one starting to train so old."

"He's begun training with the Slayers, then? I wondered why he hasn't come to see me. He must be very exhausted. I miss him." I murmured absently, fingering the fabric of my gown.

"Yes, It's hard work training under Lord Dilandau. I like to watch them when I get a chance, that Lord Dilandau gives me the shivers, but the rest of the slayers, they are all good men."

Demitri training with weapons, he hated them, or so he had told me on many occasions. I wanted to see him, but was unsure if would I be allowed back into the training room? I sent Caz to find Lord Folken with my request.

Unlike the last time I had been to this training room. I had no task to complete and could just watch as the sparing between Slayers' took place. Demitri was in the centre, already sweating as his sword clashed with that of Kuja. The latter slayer not even close to sweating himself, he seemed to be enjoying the match with the less experienced man. They had both noticed as I entered the room, with two guards and in the company of Caz. The look in both men's eyes told me that the fight would change now that they had women watching. Caz turned to me and whispered low,

"The Slayers' are all here except for Dalet, poor man, I don't know what he did, but Dilandau's wrath is imbedded in the marks on the man's neck. He has been with the healers for some time."

Their swords clashed harder the two both giving it their all. But with years of training Kuja was by far the better fighter. It looked as if the match would end very shortly when Demitri began chanting "Succendo formotego texi tectum Hell Fire Earth Ice insideo!" He held his hand out as a shield of fire appeared in it, and his sword glowed like ice, blue ice. He was incorporating the magic he had been learning while on the Vione into his fighting, making the match slightly more even. But the training Kuja had received under Dilandau was very complete, without hesitation the fighting continued as if nothing had changed. The bout ended with Demitri on the floor with Kuja's sword pointed at the elfin man's throat.

I now had a chance to look around the hall; Hell was there as were the remainder of Dilandau's Slayers'. The look in the woman's eyes made me glad that that first blow she had landed on me that day in my chamber had knocked me out. There was a break in the sparing as Demitri was summoned to Lord Dilandau's presence. Kuja took the chance to come over to me.

"It is nice to see you out of your chamber Lady Destiny, though I have felt you in me whenever I am on guard duty outside."

I felt myself blushing as I looked down at the floor.

" I…"

"No, I would miss the company if you were to stop." He smiled as he used a hand to raise my head back up. I then noticed the sword he still held in his other hand, I had never touched one, not even the small one that Demitri kept in his pack, and this one was much larger. I reached out to finger the blade lightly "Here." Kuja said as he put the hilt in my hand. It was still warm from his recent grip on it, and the weight was more than I thought it would be.

I jumped as a voice startled me; Dilandau had approached only a few meters from where I stood.

"I see I have a new Slayer to train. Come here woman." I just stood there for a moment, and then I reached out with the sword to return it to Kuja. "No," came the harsh, authoritive tone, " With the sword; do it now!"

Fear gripped me, but I did as he had commanded, entering the circle of the now silent Slayers'. I stood there all eyes upon me as Dilandau spoke again.

"You are no match for any here, but I think you owe Hell a chance at you." I looked at the woman as she approached; the smile on her face telling me I was in for a brutal time. Hell took a stance, sword raised ready to begin. I raised Kuja's sword before me, holding it in both my hands in an effort to stop the violent shaking apparent in the movement of the blade. Hell hit the blade knocking the point back down to the floor. I thought she would strike me now, but she didn't, she was enjoying belittling me too much. I raised the blade again, and again she struck it sending the point once again to the floor. I wondered how long she would continue to play with me this way, before she really hurt me. I was desperate and desperate times make for desperate measures. My mind flew back a few minutes to the fight between Kuja and Demitri, he had used his ability with magic to even the odds, and maybe I could use my ability to even these odds. I couldn't go into Hell's mind to alter her emotions. it would be wrong, but…

I reached out to Kuja, linking with his mind and finding there what I needed. His training and experience flowed to me, not taken but to share so I could use it. A smile spread across his face as he acknowledged my presence and he nodded his head in acceptance of what I was doing. I could see Hell noticed the change, as my eyes flashed with newfound strength. I raised the sword in one hand this time and moved it in circles in front of me the same as Kuja did at the beginning of each of his fights. This time I charged first, thankful for the outfit Caz had made for me, letting my movements be free. Our swords clashed and this time mine didn't end up pointed to the floor. Hell no longer held back, and from the look on her face she knew I had again done something, she was fighting Kuja, but as in her bouts with that Slayer, she was still the better, and knew it. I could see in her eyes as we fought that she had also realized that I could have taken the fighting ability I now used from Dilandau; his skill was unmatched in the room, even greater than that of Hell herself.

The fight ended as it should have, with me on the floor and the blade, held by Hell, pushed into my neck.

"Go ahead," I said to the woman above me, "You won't be sated till you draw blood." And then in a quieter voice, not quite even a whisper. "The assassin in you needs to be satisfied."

Hell's face didn't even register any change at the words I had spoken as she drew the blade slowly across my throat until a blotch of crimson appeared, then she released me, extending a hand to help me to stand.

"Nothing damaged, it shouldn't even leave much of a scar." She said as she turned and walked away.

I broke the link to Kuja and returned to where he stood, handing him back his sword, again holding it in two hands. He took it from me replacing it back in the sheath across his back with his other three blades.

"Thank you, Kuja." I murmured; I was becoming quickly drained, and I was sure that when news of this reached Lord Folken I would once again have some explaining to do. But for now, I just wanted to make it back to my chamber with out collapsing.

Demitri had returned to where Kuja stood while I had been the focus of attention. He looked angry with me, but for what I wasn't sure. I also could see that he knew I would require strength.

"Destiny, go back to your chamber now, I will come as soon as the session is over." He spoke to me with a harsh possessiveness in his voice. It was then that I realized the basis for the anger I saw in him. He thought that I had physically been with men here on the Vione, and he didn't like the idea. Demitri had been my first and physically my only. He had staked me as his, without me even being aware of it. And the look on Caz's face told me that Demitri hadn't ignored the pleasures that he enjoyed, even here while we were prisoners. He had lain with her and maybe others. Then it struck me, 'he would come to me.' He was no longer a prisoner here, and I was now truly alone, being held here against my will.

Dilandau had again approached where I stood, his grin more evidence that I had again given too much away.

"I have an idea of what was done out there woman, but tell me, if you could borrow such skills then why did you not borrow from me. You could have defeated Hell."

"It was because I would have defeated Hell. I had only wished to survive the encounter. As you said Hell deserved a chance at me." My energy was ebbing badly now, and I leaned against the closest person in my fatigue, that person was Kuja.

"Take the woman back to her chamber. Kuja, I believe she has something she requires, see to it."

"But Lord Dilandau, I will see to her after the session." Demitri said without thinking about the consequences of addressing the Leader of the Slayers' without leave to. He was rewarded with a harsh blow across the face, knocking him to the floor. He gathered himself immediately and kneeled there before his master. "Forgive me Lord Dilandau."

"Kuja take her, and Demitri since it is your wish to go to this woman she is now off limits to you this night; do I make myself clear, Slayer?"

"Yes, my Lord."

Kuja walked me slowly back to my chamber, Caz had disappeared, but the two guards followed behind and when we arrived they positioned themselves outside my door. I jumped slightly as the door closed leaving the two of us completely alone. I knew that Kuja had an idea of what he was to do, ordered to do, so no amount of pleading from me would keep him for what had been an order from his commander. He smiled at me as he began to remove the armour he wore.

"Come Destiny, we both could use a bath. We have showers in the barracks, but not the luxury of a bathing pool." He still removed garments, but I could not move. I stood there staring as the tall man removed the last of his clothing.

Taking my hesitation as a sign of my fatigue, he came to me, and began to remove my clothing for me. I placed a hand on his chest, it was warm and the musky smell of man reached to my senses making me reel.

"I can see the pool will have to wait." He chuckled as the last of my clothing lay with his on the floor. He placed a hand on each of my arms holding me out from him as he took in my flushed body from head to toe, lingering a time or two in his scrutiny. He pulled me to him then, his head lowering as his lips captured mine. I felt my body melt into his, felt his arousal pressed into my flesh above my navel. I moaned into his mouth at the same time as our bodies met the softness of the bed now beneath us. He positioned me under him, part of his weight resting on his forearms as his hands found and unfastened my braid in my hair. His fingers combed out the plaits so he could entangle his hands in my hair. My mind was swirling with emotion as it reached out and linked with his. He became very still, raising his head, blue eyes looking into the depths of green as he felt the link. "No. Do not link with me, Destiny; I will not make love to your abilities. I am a man and have no need of them to give pleasure to a beautiful woman."

I stared up at him still linked; I could feel he did indeed want me out of his mind. I was confused, without the link what would be the trade for the strength I needed? And he had referred to mating as love; never had I even considered it as such.

"Please trust me, I will show you the true meaning of the act, not the trade I can see in your mind."

I did as he asked, withdrawing completely into my own mind. I felt strange, scared, and very small as he began to kiss me again. First he kissed my lips then his mouth moved to my neck where he lightly kissed the wound from Hell's sword. He moved off me to trail kisses across my shoulders and down to my breasts, taking one mound into his mouth and suckling it as his hand covered the other gently messaging it. I moaned again as I arched my body pressing myself closer to him, one of my hands found it's way to the springy spikes of his hair while the other stroked his hip and thigh. He released my breast as his lips travelled lower, his tongue playing in the recess of my navel. I tensed as his lips again travelled lower, letting out a startled whimper as his mouth fastened between my legs. New feeling started to course through me, ones I'd never experienced before. My hands grasped mounds of the bedding on either side of me as his tongue brought me waves and waves of pure pleasure. He only stopped after he felt me climax. I began to cry, begging him to fill me. He moved on top of me again as my legs opened wider, inviting him in. I gasped at the size of him as he entered; he was so large, that I felt a small amount of pain as he pushed deeper. I welcomed the pain; the sensation of it mixing with the pleasure I already felt drove me wild and began moving under him in my frenzy, but his hands fastened on my hips stilling me.

"No, slowly, move with me."

My body slowed as he released my hips, his own thrusts slow and deep. He stared into my eyes, smiling at me as we moved together. I felt the slick warmness of his back with my hands as his thrusts became quicker along with his breathing. I could feel excitement building in me drawing me closer and closer to a second release. His lips fastened on mine in a deep kiss as shudders racked his body as he climaxed, filling me. His climax sent me over the edge, my body doing its own shuddering as my mind felt as if it would explode from the feelings there. He rolled off me then and I thought he would leave, but instead he held me pushing a damp strand of hair from my face, and kissing me lightly on the forehead and cheek. He waited till I had my emotions calmed and under my control, a struggle which must have been evident in my face, before he spoke.

"I know you require some of my strength, Destiny, I am ready to give it to you."

I linked with him then; I could feel his satisfaction at what had just occurred between us. He had truly enjoyed being with me, the woman. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I took the strength from him. There had been a trade between us, I felt it in his mind, but the trade had been my use of his skill, and his chance to watch his own fighting technique, he had seen the areas he felt needed improvement. And he had done just that as I fought with Hell. What we had just now done together had nothing to do with that trade in his mind.

"Shush, rest now, the pool will be there when you wake." He whispered softly as he pulled me closer to mould me into his warm body. He pulled the cover across both of us as I drifted off to sleep.

Destiny. What is it really, what will be or the vast possibilities of what might be?