Potent

Gemini stood in the doorway of the dungeon, trying to think and process all that she had just seen. Valentine stared at her in horror and--fear?

Valentine was afraid?

He had tortured and punished a demon. Why? What had Zotox done? Valentine had looked far more enraged and crueler than she had ever seen him. It terrified her. What had made him so angry?

Gemini tried to blink back her tears. Valentine had just seemed like a completely different person. She had been afraid if he did turn around… he would’ve blasted her with light too.

But now… Valentine was nowhere near angry.

He looked more terrified than ever before.

“Well, hello, Gemini,” Zotox hissed.

Valentine whipped around, eyes blazing. The rage was back.

“That’s it.” He threw a bolt of white energy at Zotox. The demon was too hoarse to scream and barely had enough strength to jerk in pain. The white energy shocked Zotox over and over again. Valentine stood there, watching. He didn’t turn away.

Gemini stood there for a moment as well, shocked. Why was Valentine doing this? She forced herself to swallow her fear and move.

“Valentine… Valentine! Stop!” Gemini ran towards him.

Abruptly, Valentine whirled around and faced her. His eyes still blazed.

“Don’t touch me.”

Gemini froze. She wanted to burst into tears but the tears wouldn’t come. “Go home. Go to your family and don’t come back.”

“But--but--” Gemini couldn’t form a word. She forced herself to speak through her tears that had finally come. “What about our deal? What about my family’s souls?”

Valentine snapped his fingers three times. Three small waves of black energy rippled away from him.

“All their souls are returned. Now leave.”

“But how will I get home if the Dark Crea--”

“Daniel-Kane will take you.”

Heartbroken, Gemini stared at Valentine. “Go!” He snapped.

She fled the room.

Valentine transported himself back to his private chambers. He took a few steps… and collapsed on his bed.

I had to do it… she never would’ve left otherwise…

Valentine tried to list all the reasons why this was a good thing. It never would’ve worked out for either of them. It had only been a matter of time before she saw the monster. She hadn’t even seen everything. But then his brain kept picturing her shattered eyes and face just moments ago. The image was branded into his mind.

Why is this so painful? I feel like I’ve punctured my lungs.

Of course you do, you idiot. You loved her. But you broke her heart and sent her away. His mind hissed back at him.

No, I did it to protect her.

You mean to protect yourself.

I’m a monster! Once she knew it, she was never going to keep loving me.

You don’t know that. But now she certainly won’t now that you’ve crushed her just like all the others. The only woman who truly loved you… and you shoved her away.

Valentine closed his eyes, not caring that tears were falling and his face was scrunched up into a painful expression.

He buried himself in his bed, wishing to stay in his room forever.

Daniel-Kane dropped his quill. Gemini stood his doorway, tears on her face and her shoulders slumped.

“Gemini! What’s wrong?” He inquired. He stood and walked over to her. More tears and sobs came from her.

“V-Valentine--sent me--home… he said you--would take me back,” Gemini cried.

Daniel-Kane pulled her into a hug.

“Shhh, tell me what happened.”

Through many tears, pauses, breaths, and sobs, she managed to tell him how Valentine tortured Zotox, told her to go home, and now their contract was finished.

He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his head. “Gemini, listen. You won’t like this. But what you need to do… is talk to Valentine.”

Gemini flinched and backed away, her face pale.

“No! He’s angry at me! Talking to him will just make it worse.” She turned towards the door. “He locked himself in his room anyway. He doesn’t want to be bothered.”

“Gemini.” Daniel-Kane put his hands on her shoulders, gently forcing her to look at him. “You need to do this. He needs this, even if he doesn’t want it.”

“I can’t…” Gemini began, fresh tears cutting her off.

“Why do you think he locked himself in there? Yes, he doesn’t want to be bothered… but I think he’s ashamed too.”

“What?” She looked up at him through her tears. “Why? Why on earth would he be ashamed?”

“Because he didn’t want you to see his other side, his darker side. He was afraid that you would see it and no longer…” Daniel-Kane paused. He felt awkward saying it.

“But I’ve already seen it--”

“No. No, you haven’t. He can be much worse, believe me. And from what you’ve told me, it seems you’ve only seen a little of the worst,” He said.

Gemini’s eyes filled with tears again. He sighed. “He doesn’t want to hurt you. Besides me and Mira, you’re the only other person he cares for.”

She shut her eyes and hung her head. Daniel-Kane smiled. “Show him you’re not scared of him. Tell him how you really feel.”

With a newfound determination, Gemini wiped her eyes and managed a small smile.

“I… I’ll try.”

Gemini stood outside the door to Valentine’s personal quarters, having found it based on Daniel-Kane’s directions. She ran through a list of backup plans should it start to go wrong. She raised her hand and knocked.

“Go away, Daniel-Kane,” Valentine called through the door.

“It’s actually Gemini,” Gemini said, her voice sounding small and weak.

Silence. “Please… let me in. I want to talk to you.”

More silence.

“Go home,” Valentine snapped. But Gemini could hear his voice waver.

“No.” She crossed her arms. “If you won’t let me in, I’ll stand out here and yell what I have to say.”

That must have gotten a shock out of Valentine because his tone changed.

“Gemini… leave me alone.”

“Please,” Gemini said, softer than before. “Let me talk and afterwards, if you still want me to leave, I’ll leave.”

No reply. Gemini heard footsteps and the door opened.

Valentine stood in the doorway of his room, looking down, refusing to look her in the eye. But he stepped aside and let her come in.

When she walked inside, she did a double-take.

Valentine’s room was nothing like she had expected… and yet it was. Hand-drawn portraits of people she didn’t recognize were nailed to the wall. A desk was full of papers and books and other odd objects. A simple chestnut chest sat against the wall. His bed was unmade. One lone window seemed to be the only source of light. Valentine stood near his bed, leaning against the wall, his back to her. He seemed so… desolate.

And he was waiting for her to speak but Gemini wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him, and burst into tears. But that would just confuse him. She needed to use her words.

“Before I leave, there are a few things I want to know.” Gemini took a breath and glanced at Valentine, wishing he would look at her. “What happened while I was unconscious? Why were you so angry at Zotox?”

Valentine’s shoulders tensed.

“After Zotox kidnapped you, he made you go crazy. So I put you to sleep so you wouldn’t hurt anyone. I found Zotox and forced him to heal your mind,” Valentine stated. “Then I punished him for what he did.”

Gemini blinked and stared at him, dumbfounded. She had never seen someone other than her family so vengeful on her behalf. He tortured that demon because of me? Part of her felt strangely warmed at these revelations. He really did care for her… in his own, strange way, of course.

Instantly, Gemini steeled herself, realizing she had never been so determined. She walked over to Valentine and forced him to face her, surprising him.

“Alright, there’s one more thing I want you to do. Hit me.”

Valentine’s eyes narrowed.

“What?”

“Hit me! Use magic, use a weapon, but hit me, alright?” Gemini insisted, firmly.

“What? Why?” Valentine asked, slightly outraged.

“Do you even need a reason? What happened to the old Valentine? Show me you’re really him! Show me you’re a monster!”

Valentine stood there, his mouth slightly agape, his fists clenched, and shock in his eyes.

Gemini shoved his chest, barely pushing him back. By this time, she was shouting. “Don’t hesitate! Monsters don’t hesitate! Hit me with all you have!”

He took a shaky step forward, bringing his hand up. He had a torn look in his eyes. “Valentine, just do it!”

Valentine stared at her for one long moment.

Suddenly, Gemini couldn’t tell if something sparked or broke inside him. He immediately tensed, looking far more pained and upset than she had even seen him.

Out of him came a black wave of energy, shaking the ground and tearing through the walls. Gemini was about to cry out when Valentine thrust his hands out. The quivering, rumbling, moving of the manor stopped.

He dropped his hands, making fists. She gaped at him, wondering what she’d done to him. But she swallowed her uncertainty and mustered all her willpower to not be devastated at the pain on his face.

“You can’t, can you? Because… the thought hasn’t cross your mind for awhile,” Gemini said, wryly.

Valentine whipped his head towards her, his gaze full of realization. “Valentine… please.” Gemini took a deep breath. How could she explain this nicely? “You were so wrapped up in who you were and what you’ve done… you didn’t see who you’ve become.”

“Wait, you didn’t really want me to hit you… ”

“Exactly,” Gemini whispered. “That’s what I was trying to show you. I wanted you to see… you’ve changed so much. Perhaps you’re not--”

“Stop. Please.”

Gemini eyes popped. She had said please so many times to him… but rarely had he said it to her. “Why are you doing this? Why didn’t you just go home?”

That took her by surprise. What? Why is he asking that?

“I-I thought…” He glanced up and she realized she was trapped. No, no, no! I didn’t come here to… well… maybe I did…

Her entire face grew hot. “I…”

Valentine cocked his head at her, confused. He opened his mouth to say something--

But stopped. Gemini realized the tips of his ears had gone red and his eyes were wide. She would’ve laughed had the situation been less awkward. Valentine--embarrassed? Never…

Moments passed. It seemed neither them knew what to say.

The longer it was silent, the more they seemed to blush. Gemini glued her eyes to the floor, pecking at her knuckles, mortified, and completely unsure of what to do.

Poor Valentine stood there staring blatantly at her. Gemini risked a glance at him and their eyes met. She could’ve sworn his ears visibly turned even redder.

Like a creature finally breaking free from it’s cage, Gemini burst out laughing.

Valentine flinched at the loud noise, which only caused her to laugh harder.

“I-I fail to see why you’re laughing…” Valentine commented, still embarrassed.

“Oh, Valentine…” Gemini heaved in long breaths, trying to regain a serious composure. “It’s impossible for you to be scary when your ears are red.”

“My ears are RED?” Valentine exclaimed, growing horrified as he felt them.

Gemini lost it. She doubled over, laughing hysterically. “Why is this so funny?! How is this funny?”

“I don’t know…” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Maybe there’s still a little insanity inside me.”

Valentine furrowed his eyebrows.

“Did the demon not do his job? That lying--why are you laughing again?”

“You’re just--I can’t--take you seriously… when…” She giggled, laughing too hard to finish. “Valentine. You’re being too literal. I’m fine.”

He blinked at her, a smile starting to creep up on his lips.

“You are not fine. You are on the floor giggling about my ears.”

“Sorry… I guess I haven’t had a good laugh in a while,” Gemini smiled, sheepishly at him.

“That’s wonderful but you just changed the subject,” Valentine said, trying to stifle a smile.

Oh. Right. How am I going to say this without melting into a puddle? She opened her mouth but Valentine spoke first.

“Gemini…” He trailed, as if searching for the right words to say.

She jerked her head up at him. Was he… could it be--

An object hurled through the air, faster than Gemini could blink.

Valentine hit the floor, his eyes rolled back in his head, clearly unconscious.

“Shame. I think he was just about to profess his love for you.”