• CHAPTER 188 - IS IT RELIEF OR AN ILLUSION?

    When the tensions are high and death is nigh, bring out the comfort.

    After my vomiting fit from Kaiba's attempted abortion passed, Kaiba approached me with a couple of towels and some new clothing. I was mostly dried off since I spent several minutes vomiting immediately after I jumped out of the bath. For a while, I refused to move anymore, keeping my head down and my body hunched over. Kaiba was generous enough to drape one of the towels over my shoulders.

    "What is your issue now?" he scoffed, kneeling next to me.

    "If you could bring Kai to me...if even for a minute..." I sobbed, "I won't fight against you and Minoru anymore."

    "Too bad," Kaiba stood up. "You two were granted over a year to say your goodbyes. You two shouldn't have fallen in love so blindly and ignorantly."

    "It's human nature; it can't be helped." I hissed.

    "Uketomeru is no longer human," he said sharply. "Inside, he's as callous as any other Vampire."

    I shook my head, "He's not. Not towards humans."

    Kaiba gripped my bicep firmly and pulled me onto my feet. He picked up the towel that had slid off of me and he handed it back to me. Obediently, I dried myself off completely and he handed me the new clothing--clean underwear and bra as well. I dressed myself under Kaiba's supervision and groaned a little at the lingering pain in my stomach.

    "Come," Kaiba turned and started walking away.

    He didn't need to lead the way; I knew where my cell was. I was curious, though; what did they do with my other clothes? Why were they suddenly being a little more chilvarous than before? While those thoughts were running through my head, Kaiba pulled me away from the direction of my cell.

    "This way,"

    Without another word, I continued to follow Kaiba obediently. I had no clue what was going on; either they were taking me to my death unannounced, or they were planning something else malevolent. Either way, my death was most likely being stalled.

    "Have a seat," Kaiba offered and pulled up a random chair.

    I had to blink several times to absorb what I was seeing in front of me. In front of me was a large wooden table, but that wasn't what surprised me; the table was completely covered with dozens of plates of food. Every meat, fish, fruit, and vegetable known to man. I could have sworn I was hallucinating, but the more I looked, the more it seemed real; it was real food in front of me, not the dirt and bread I had been fed for the past six days. Wait...six days have passed?

    "Sit," Kaiba ordered and I obeyed obediently.

    "Pick whatever suits your appetite," a dreaded voice came over me and a pair of callous, cold hands rested themselves on my shoulders from behind; Minoru.

    I froze where I was, suddenly losing my appetite for a short moment. It was no more than a few hours ago that Minoru last punished me and yet he was acting so casual and chivalrous? He was acting as though it never happened; was it something he always did? I swallowed the fear lump in my throat and looked down as he slid his hands off of my shoulders.

    Minoru and Kaiba took their places on either side of the table and both stared at me, "Go on," Minoru encouraged. "Gorge yourself."

    I reached towards a beautiful red-green apple and held onto it with both hands and gasped; it felt so heavy. I was deprived of real food; I lost all strength I used to have. The apple inched closer towards my watering mouth. Just as I was about to take a bite, a sense came over me and I held the apple a couple of inches from my mouth, refusing to take a bite.

    "It's poisoned, isn't it?" I looked up at Minoru and Kaiba. "You're trying to poison me?"

    Minoru chuckled lightly, "Always jumping to assuptions; just eat."

    I thought about it hard; why would they poison me? My blood would be pointless after that, so why would they kill me like that? Were they going to try to abort my babies again since Kaiba failed the first time?

    I took a large, slow bite of the bittersweet apple and chewed on the piece slowly. The juice from biting into the apple freely drained down my chin and I paid no attention to it. That one bite of apple sent a wave of euphoria through me and I lost my breath for a moment. It was delicious; I could have sworn I was hallucinating. There was no way Minoru and Kaiba could be so nice to me all of a sudden.

    Once I finished the apple, I continued on to the rice and vegetables. Nothing more could satisfy me than the heap of food placed right in front of me. I continued to feast on the meal with the two cousins staring at me, knowledgeable of their intentions in store.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    After stuffing my face for forty-five minutes, I rested my arms on the table and rested my head on my arms. The food was all an illusion; I couldn't have just eaten three times my weight in food. I couldn't be pampered by my murderers.

    Minoru stood next to me and shook me gently by my shoulder. I lifted my head and noticed Kaiba cleaning up the rest of the food that I never touched. Minoru gripped my bicep firmly but pulled me up onto my feet a little nicer than he used to, "Come, Mademoiselle,"

    Despite their sudden kindness towards me, my reflexes kicked in and and slapped Minoru across the face before I could think about my actions, "Don't call me that. Don't you ever call me that." I hissed.

    "Very well, then," Minoru gestered me to follow him. I was shocked; he normally would have turned around and slapped me, or even force himself on me for a third time.

    "Where are we going?" I asked nervously.

    "Back to your cell, of course," he scoffed. "Where else?"

    I silenced myself as we continued our way through the prison. As the seconds passed by, my heart was weighing heavier and heavier with depression. In a way, the food I ate was my last supper. The two cousins were probably trying to prepare me for the afterlife by making me comfortable. If anything, their chivalry was making me more uncomfortable.

    "Here you are; enjoy it while you can." Minoru advised as he opened the cell door.

    I peeked inside and paused; there was a clean white mattress with a huge white comforter on the floor in the middle of the cell room. It was calling my name, I could hear it. Instead of immediately jumping into the beckoning bed, I turned around and glared at Minoru.

    "What are you planning?" I hissed; their kindness was going too far.

    "We've realized how heinous we've been acting towards you, so we're making up for it," he smiled malevolently. What a filthy liar.

    My fists clenched and I pursed my lips, "I'm not falling for it,"

    "Come now, we've fed you," he fowned. "The least you could do is thank us."

    "You're so full of bullshit; I'm not falling for anything else." I glared at him.

    "There's nothing to fall for," Minoru sighed and dug into his pocket.

    My refusal to accept his offer must have been annoying him because he pulled out a huge syringe, much like the one he used on me the day he took me from Kai. I gasped and backed away and into a wall; there was nowhere for me to run. Minoru inched closer to me after adjusting the needle and he scoffed at me.

    "We try to be nice to you and you b***h and moan about it," he hissed. "Nothing seems to satisfy pregnant women."

    "Stay away..." I mumbled and clenched my fists. "Stay away!"

    When Minoru was merely a few inches from me, my adrenaline kicked in and I ran away from him. I didn't get far, though; Minoru gripped my bicep and pulled me back, nearly pulling my arm out of its socket. Minoru wrapped his arm around my torso and moved the hair from my neck. I started kicking and sceaming; I didn't want the pain of that needle to come back. As he inched it closer to the surface of my skin, I braced myself for the worst.

    "No, don't! I'll sleep on my own!" I begged.

    Minoru's arm wrapped tighter around my torso, agitating my ribs he had splintered earlier that day. Slowly, the needle pricked the surface of my skin and dug into my neck, sending excruciating pain though my whole body. I shrieked and stayed still, just as I had before. My body was falling numb instantly and I was slowly getting more tired. Minoru quickly pulled the needle out of my neck and dropped it to the ground in order to scoop me into his arms.

    "That wasn't so hard now, was it, love?" he smirked.

    The only way I responded was by crying; the pain from the needle was horrible; it was probably a thicker needle than the one he used before. Of course, if I could barely stand the pain of that needle, then how painful would the execution be?

    Minoru laid me down on the bed and pulled the comforter over me. He seated himself on the ground next to the bed and stared at me. I glanced over at him for a long time with heavy breathing; I was trying desperately to keep myself awake.

    "Tomorrow," Minoru spoke up. "Are you prepared?"

    I closed my eyes and let a couple of tears slip silently, "That was quick..."

    "Six days later and you still haven't learned a single lesson," he tsked. "Except for how to piss us off."

    "I don't want to die," I opened my eyes a little. "I don't want to die, not until I have my babies..."

    "Shouldn't have planned to get pregnant in the first place," he lectured.

    I smiled faintly, "They weren't planned. They were...a pleasant surprise." Those words were perfect to sum up my pregnancy.

    "Their heartbeats are rapid," Minoru glanced over to where my stomach was.

    I smiled a little more, "So they do have a heartbeat,"

    "I can only imagine the look on Uketomeru's face," Minoru chuckled. "He has to suffer though the guilt of killing his lover and his children."

    "Shut up," I demanded weakly. "He's not the one killing us."

    My body was getting weaker and my eyelids were getting heavier. I wanted to argue with Minoru but I didn't have the voice or energy anymore. I might as well have accepted the chivalry while it lasted. I was given a comfortable space for my last full day. Even so, I couldn't void the tension in my body; I didn't know how Kai was doing at all. I didn't have any word on the rest of my family either; did Kai tell them I was gone?

    Just as Minoru was starting to get up, I gripped his shirt sleeve and looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Have you...ever thought about...your victims?" I asked through heavy breathing.

    He stared at me in apathy for a moment before he easily pried my hand off of his sleeve. My eyes shut and I drifted into a deep sleep; the deepest sleep I would probably ever get where I would wake up alive. There was an image of Kai burning into my head, making my guilt resurface. My last night's sleep. I was going to make the best of it. I couldn't say a last goodbye to Kai, but I could do my best to be strong for him and my babies. I was prepared.