No Exit

               [Sephora]

          Her breathing had started to become ragged, by the time she'd sprinted out of the city and into the forest, heading for the veil. The rumbling in the earth had stopped and the cries in the city had been hushed, when Sephora realised that the Lord had probably decided to come after her.

          But he couldn't stop her now, she was already too far away for him to possibly catch up - she was almost at the veil. So much so that Sephora was sure that she could even smell its power radiating towards her, as she closed the distance between herself and home.

          Home. She could see her family again, she could show her father that she'd made it, she could see her brother's smiling face, she could cook side by side with her mother. Sephora hurtled through the trees.

          She could have sworn she heard the faint rumbling of hooves behind her, and quickly glancing behind her, confirmed that a troop of soldiers on horse-back were rapidly galloping towards her. Sephora swore, realising they would easily catch up to her - she'd have to run faster. Ignoring the burning in her lungs, and blinking against the sun that struck her eyes through gaps in the canopy of trees; she raced toward the veil.

          But running round a corner, Sephora suddenly slowed, and stared with confusion and desperation at what was now blocking her path. She could see the veil before her, glowing with that familiar red/pink light along the grass. But towering in front of it, like a thick sheet of ice, was a wall of translucent stone, looking like it had grown out of the ground.

           Sephora's breathing became strained, as she looked at the wall, stretching before her, observing that it had covered the entire length of the veil - blocking her way through.This wall wasn't here before.

          She ran toward it with an angry cry, slamming her shoulder into the hard stone, in an effort to break through. It didn't move. She repeated the same movement, again only hurting herself, than the wall. She ignored what was happening behind her, as her ears registered the troop of guards coming to a halt behind her; their horses braying and stamping the floor.

          As she continued to punch the wall. She stared at the veil, with every slam of her fists, as though she could make the stone disappear, so she could just touch the veil with her fingers. She punched the wall with all her strength, until the skin on her knuckles split, leaving bloody fist marks on the unblemished stone, as she continued to pound against it.

          She heard the familiar rumble of a voice, as her punches began to slow with exhaustion.

           "Sephora."

          Sephora hadn't realised she was crying until she heard the Lord's voice say her name. She ceased her punching. Sephora let out an anguished cry and crumpled to her knees before the wall, not caring that she was sobbing in front of the Lord and his guards, as she sat helpless in the grass. They were all silent behind her.

          After a few seconds, Sephora almost jumped, when she registered a faint tingling feeling in her knuckles. Slowly lifting them, face-up to meet her - she was shocked to see the skin on her knuckles steadily knitting back together. Before she knew it, her hands were completely healed, as though nothing had happened. She stared at her knuckles in disbelief.

She jumped for real, when she suddenly heard the Lord's voice next to her.

          "That's your accelerated healing kicking in. The same as the rest of our kind." His voice was void of any kindness, nothing in his words but pure fact. And the words he'd used: "our kind".

           Sephora realised she'd have to get used to those terms very quickly. Have to get used to saying, thinking and knowing that she was one of them now. Some dark, ironic side to her commented that at least her brother would be proud to have a Nuanam for a sister. Sephora hunched her shoulders in defeat. She would never be able to see her brother ever again.

          Sephora slowly turned to glare at the Lord beside her, his beautiful pine green eyes piercing hers. And it finally dawned on her, how that wall had conveniently appeared out of no-where. Who would want her to stay in Igritann, to prevent her from leaving. The same one who had accepted her as his citizen, the one who's declared her as his mate, the one who had control of the rocks and stones and the earth beneath them.

Sephora slowly stood to face the Lord.

           He observed her with a simple blank expression, that mask of stone. It was enough for Sephora to realise what he'd done; but then for him to act as if he'd done nothing wrong…

          Sephora exploded. She hurled herself at the Lord. He only had enough time to brace himself, before she knocked him to the floor. Punching, kicking and screaming, as she sat atop him. Swearing under his breath, the Lord effortlessly blocked every one of her attacks.

           His guards came rushing to his side to drag Sephora off him, but he held them back with a single word. "Don't."

          He wrestled with her, until she was beneath him on her back as he straddled her, holding her wrists firmly to keep her from hitting him. She let out a roar of fury that sent the birds flying into the air, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

          "I hate you!" She bellowed, her eyes filled with loathing.

          She continued to struggle under the Lord's iron grip. Realising she couldn't win, she went limp in his grasp, sobbing in defeat. The Lord only stared down at her in silent shock, before slowly lifting himself off her, as she continued to cry. She curled herself into a ball and rolled onto her side, trying to comfort herself, until the tears eventually stopped falling and she just lay there, almost lifeless. She was so tired.

          The Lord lifted a hand and one of the guards brought over a spare horse. Sephora didn't even resist. when Joe suddenly appeared at her side, and hoisted her up onto the black mare. She was completely, physically and emotionally, drained. She could barely stay upright on her horse, as the Lord took her reins and led her horse alongside him. She was silent for the entire journey back to the palace, and stayed silent for the entire day, whilst confined to her room.

            ¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶

          Sephora stared blankly at the pale blue walls of her room. There was nothing for her to do, nothing she wanted to do. she'd given up caring. All the hope and optimism she'd had upon her arrival had been drained away. Why should she help the Ardanams, when they were the reason for all her pain and fear. Why should she try to make their lives better, when her brother would be lucky to reach the age of 10. Why should she enjoy her life here, when her family was living in constant fear of their lives, and now mourned the death of their daughter. Because their daughter had died in that veil, she'd been ripped apart and drained all of she was from trying to hold on and fight.

           The Sephora who had fallen out of that veil, was not the same Sephora who had walked into it.

          Sephora was no longer allowed out of the palace. The Lord had shut off her access to the balcony, and the front gates would no longer open for Sephora, as it had before. She was only allowed in certain rooms in the palace, not that she had any desire to leave her bedroom. She was allowed anything she wished, as long as she remained inside. All the doors were made of stone and were under the power of the Lord, so there was no way she could ever get out. She was stuck here, with nothing to do, with no reason to live. She simply existed.

          Every now and then, a servant would walk in offering her food, which she declined. until the Lord had found out she wasn't eating, and then had forced Sephora to eat with one of her servants every evening, to ensure she ate something.

          Sephora went along with it, mainly because she had no energy to argue. And so that was her life. Floating aimlessly around the palace, without a care in the world, simply going through the motions. Not that anyone cared, they mostly ignored her, so she ignored them too. She felt as if she were back in the veil, that same sense of free-falling, with nothing to grab onto, nothing to make her want to care, to live. she didn't feel anything, nothing in her soul but a black empty void.

          [Ambrose]

          The Lord reluctantly made his way to his mate's bedroom. Enough was enough. She'd done nothing for days, but sat in her room feeling sorry for herself, and it was starting to become rather old. She needed to move on and get a grip.

          Others before her had gone through the same thing, and they didn't put up as much fuss as this. No matter how much she sulked and brooded alone in her room, it would not make her human again. She was Nuanam and she would have to accept it.

          He hadn't spoken to her since the incident at the veil, and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty from ignoring her - but he'd had more important things to worry about, than his mate throwing a tantrum. But since that day, he hadn't forgotten the strength and skill his mate had demonstrated in her efforts to escape.

          The drop from her bedroom balcony was at least 15 meters to the ground. She couldn't have jumped down, so the only explanation was that she'd climbed down that nearby tree. That act alone, would have required an impressive amount of upper body strength and balance to achieve. And then there was the fact that she'd sprinted the entire distance to the veil, and had even contested herself against his mounted guards. she'd lasted against horses. And the most impressive of all, was after all that, the strength at which she'd hurled herself at his wall of adamant stone…

          He'd felt every punch against that stone and couldn't believe the strength that was behind his mate's arms. A small part of him had writhed in pain and anger at the sight of his mate hurting herself, but he'd pushed it down.

          His favourite mask snapped into place, Sephora had to understand that she couldn't touch that veil. As he reached the top of the steps, and made his way down the hallway that led to Sephora's door; Ambrose racked his brain on how to inspire his mate. He knew she was depressed. Not only that but apparently she hated him, which is fair enough. But he needed to get her to care, he needed her to hope again.

          He hadn't forgotten the first day he'd met Sephora either, the spark of excitement and hope that had glowed in her eyes, had surprised him and he'd thought it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He didn't know where all that hope had gone, it had just left her as quickly as it had appeared. It pained Ambrose more than he cared to admit.

          Ambrose stopped before Sephora's door and took a deep breath. He needed her to focus on something, something that would drive her. Something that would make her feel something other than hopelessness. He already knew that she hated him. Ambrose decided he'd start with that. He opened the door.

        [Sephora]

          Sephora tried not to groan, as her door breezed open, to reveal the Lord taking up the doorway. He was dressed in his usual attire, a grey suit and black tie, with black leather shoes and a white collared shirt.

          He was devastatingly handsome, with the light of the room highlighting the blonde tones in his hair, and illuminating his bright green eyes that always cemented her to the spot.

          Sephora hated him. And she didn't care if he knew. He could have killed her by now if he wanted her dead. Why she was still alive - was still a mystery to her. He couldn't possibly care about her, she was just a Nuanam. What use was she to him? She fully intended to find all this out, but not at the moment. She was too tired to socialize with anyone, least of all her keeper.

          She ignored him, as he stepped into the room, his very presence making the entire space feel tiny and claustrophobic. Sephora sank deeper into her chair, looking out the window overlooking the gardens. The Lord pulled up a chair and sat across from her. She ignored his gaze, as he stared at her.

          Ignored him still, when he cleared his throat and spoke, "Sephora?"

          She was surprised to hear his gentle voice for once. Nevertheless, she gave no answer.

          He sighed, this time his tone changed to something more formal,

          "You know this is all your fault, right?" Sephora took the bait, and snapped her head round to glare at him.

          "What are you talking about?" She snapped.

          He shrugged, hiding his satisfaction at getting her to reply.

          "All this." He gestured around him with a hand.

           "You wouldn't have to be restricted like this, if you hadn't gone and tried to kill yourself."

         Anger shot through Sephora like a knife. "I could have made it, I could have gone back home - if you hadn't stopped me! Why did you stop me?!"

         "This might be hard for you to believe, Sephora, but I don't willingly let members of my court try to commit suicide, much less my own mate."

         Sephora almost growled at the sarcasm in his tone. "I wasn't trying to commit suicide! I was trying to go back home!"

          "Impossible." The Lord stated, his face hard.

           "The Treaty states that no Ardanam, under any circumstances can pass through the veil."

          "I'm not Ardanam." Sephora argued.

           "What does it say about Nuanam passing through the veil?"

           The Lord blinked in confusion at her words, as they slowly sunk in. He stared at her before saying, "You can't be that stupid, surely?"

          Sephora scowled at his patronizing, and said nothing. Her silence was enough. The Lord scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

           "Ok." He put his hands together and closed his eyes, as though he were praying; before leaning forward in his seat, to look Sephora in the eye.

          "I didn't think I'd ever need to clarify this, but no, Sephora, Nuanam cannot pass through the veil. Any Ardanam or Nuanam that tries to touch the veil - dies."

          The words echoed in her head, before they slowly sank in. And the realization hit Sephora so hard, tears began streaming down her face once again. She looked at the Lord with pure devastation written on her face. His face almost seemed to soften for a moment, before that stone-faced mask snapped back down.

          She glared at him, for his lack of emotion.

          "That still doesn't explain why you stopped me." She spat.

          Surprise and what almost looked like pain, flashed in the Lord's eyes.

          "Because you're my mate." His voice became cold and unfeeling. "I had no idea what your death would have done to me. And I won't put my people at risk just because you couldn't handle the truth."

          Sephora growled this time, "So you don't give a damn if I live or die, as long as your people live in peace, is that right?"

          The Lord shrugged. "You're a stranger to me, why should I care if you live or die?"

          Sephora's rage destroyed the numb feeling in her chest. Her eyes burning in hatred toward the Lord, who didn't even seem to care.

          "Likewise." She countered. Her voice dripped with venom.

          The Lord's eyes glowed with an emotion Sephora couldn't decipher, and he gave a dark laugh.

          "Enjoy your day, Sephora."

          With that, the Lord got up and walked from the room, the door closing gently behind him. Sephora was still burning with rage. She stood from the chair and walked about the room. She hated the Lord. She hated him for always being right, she hated him for not caring, she hated him for being her mate; she hated him for keeping her locked here, in this cold palace.

          Sephora took a deep breath, in and out, slowly and steadily. She stopped pacing and tried to calm herself down, and realised she needed to take a walk. She opened the door of her room and walked. She didn't care where in the palace she was going, as long as she was moving.

          What Sephora failed to realise was that she no longer felt numb inside, and instead she was angry. She failed to realise that she no longer felt tired, instead she felt fired up and full of energy. She failed to realise that after spending days inside her room doing nothing, she was walking around the palace looking for something to distract herself with.

          But most of all, she failed to realise the Lord that had made her so angry, was watching on from the shadows. Silently observing what he'd accomplished. With a sad smile on his face, he had already conjured up what his next provocative encounter with her would be….