#dark villains | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arealphrooblem · 9 months

Text

Kidnapped by the Boss Part 5

Part one here

Synopsis: Civilian is a secretary to the Prime Minster. But when the political summit between the city states goes awry, she finds herself kidnapped by the very boss she tried to protect and nothing is what it seems.

CW: Now with named characters

She awoke to a knock on the door. Outside the window, the sunlight had faded into twilight. It took several moments to swing her legs over the edge of the bed and stand, head fuzzy and hurting from crying. All the while the knocking became more and more persistent.

“I can’t open the door!” she snapped. Normally she spared the servants any vitriol because they were just doing their jobs. But none of them ever pounded on her door like this either.

“Is the princess awake yet?” came the driver’s voice through the door.

Of course it was him.

“She is now,” she grumbled, scrubbing her face and crossing the room.

“I hope you’re decent, then.” Was the only warning she got before the door swung open to reveal the driver holding a tray of food in his hands.

“Sleep well?” he asked, gaze roving over her hair.

The urge to run a hand over the back of her hair was almost overwhelming. But she refused to give him the idea that he could make her feel self conscious.

“What are you doing here?” she asked instead.

His gaze darted down to the tray of food. “Is it not obvious? I’m a delivery man tonight.”

Bitterness laced his tone. Apparently he thought the chore was beneath him.

“I thought you’ve killed for him. Isn’t this a bit below your pay-grade,” she asked. “Or did he demote you?”

The dark glare he sent her way made the petty vindictiveness in her heart glow.

“Who says I’m not here to kill you?”

“If you were, you wouldn’t announce it,” she retorted, trying to swallow down the flash of fear, “seeing as you can hide in my room and hurt me when I least expect it.”

That made logical sense, right? If the king wanted her dead after all it wouldn’t be like this, would it?

A flash of discomfort crossed his face before he quickly buried it.

“You going to let me in or not?”

Reluctantly she stepped aside and allowed him access to the room. He made a beeline to the small table and chairs that sat near the window and set it down. Then he pulled up on the metal cover of the plate with a sarcastic flourish. The smell hit her first, making her mouth water, before she caught sight of a perfectly seared steak, stuffed mushrooms, and au gratin potatoes.

Her favorite indulgence dinner. One the prime minister had insisted she order on company money many times.

Now it felt like a slap in the face. And yet she couldn’t stop herself from stepping closer, and picking up one of the mushrooms.

“Bold of you to eat something an assassin gave you,” he replied, his gaze piercing.

Again that flash of fear. She met his gaze and popped the mushroom in her mouth, swallowing it down with her unease. When nothing happened, she smirked.

“So you did get demoted.”

The driver crossed his arms. “I am many things to my king besides his assassin. And right now he deems you important enough to waste my time on. You should be grateful for that. I don’t know how long that’s going to last with the way you keep resisting him and it won’t end well for you when it does.”

Anger flared, hot and sudden, in her chest. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact. You’re in a very precarious position right now. Whatever favor you have with my king is fragile and you’re not going to last long if you keep taking a hammer to it.”

But she wanted to take a hammer to it, just like he took a hammer to her trust. If anyone struck first, it was him and he deserved nothing from her in return. She should spit in his face the next time she saw him.

The driver looked at her expression and shook his head. “He’s right — you’re as stubborn as a goddamn mule.” Then he shrugged and added, “ Well, it’s your funeral,” before striding off to the door.

“Your concern is touching,” she said acidly.

He stopped at that, hand on the knob. When she met his gaze again, it had turned serious.

“By the way, I need you to understand something: you will always know when I’m in the room with you.”

Her brow furrowed. What did that have to do with anything? “ . . .Okay?”

“When I psychologically torture someone out of their sanity, it’s done on purpose.”

He was talking about her breakdown that morning. Embarrassment crept up her neck in a heated flush at the reminder. She hadn’t believed him that morning when he tried to claim his innocence. He sounded more believable now. Almost . . .contrite?

Before she could respond, he shut the door. The click of the lock sounded after him.

When she looked back at her food, all appetite had left her. She tossed it in the trash and went back to sleep.

She slept all through the night until dawn, jerking awake from a nightmare where she was buried alive under the castle. There was no sleeping after that. Instead she took a long hot bath to calm her heart and settle her thoughts. Only after she had dressed in fresh leggings and a dark red t-shirt did a soft knock sound at her door.

She froze. It didn’t sound like the assassin’s knock. He practically busted the door down, hoping to wake her up. No one else knocked because they didn’t need to -- it wasn’t like she could open the door for them.

The knock sounded again, soft but insistent.

“ . . .yes?” she asked warily.

“Val?” The king’s voice twisted her stomach into sudden knots. “May I come in?”

As if he would let a simple no stop him. Shel debated saying it anyway, just to be contrary, just to fight the habit of always granting him what he asked for because that was her job.

But she didn’t think she could handle another death threat this early in the morning.

“ . . .fine,” she said, terse.

The door swung open and he stepped in, dressed in loose jeans and a soft t-shirt looking not like a king but an ordinary man, someone stepping out to check the mail or buy groceries. As prime minster, even his casual outfits included slacks or a button down shirt.

But more shocking than his clothes was the pointed lack of another’s footsteps behind him.

“Where’s your shadow?” she asked, arms crossed.

He gave her a lopsided smile. “He prefers not to be conscious at this hour unless I have a need for him.”

“I can’t say I miss him,” she muttered.

“Yes, you two mix like oil and water.”

“Well that’s what happens when someone tells you they’ll happily kill you the literal second their boss gives the order.”

He snorted, a tiny huff of laughter she’d heard a hundred times before and that certainly does not make her heart twist. “I can’t fault you for that. He has a very intense flavor of loyalty.”

Some demented bitter thing in her chest twisted at the sound of that, a hot spear of jealousy, which she snuffed out immediately.

“What do you want?” she asked instead.

“We didn’t get to finish our discussion yesterday,” he replied.

“Discussion? You mean the one where you told me I could never go back home again or my life is over?”

“I never said it was a guarantee. Just a risk. You’re free to go home any time you like. I’m not forcing you to stay here.”

And yet her door stays locked and she can’t watch the news.

“Well excuse me for not wanting to risk execution or life imprisonment for your bullshit.”

There’s that crooked smile again. He didn’t look the least bit guilty and it infuriated her. “You don’t know even a quarter of my bullshit. There’s still more to share. Shall we?”

He held out his arm, bent at the elbow, like they were about to enter a charity gala. It made her want to throw something.

“Do I have a choice?” she asked.

“Not particularly.” He cocked his head to the side, looking pensive. “I want you to know who I truly am. You deserve that much.”

All his deadly glares, casual threats on her life, the guiltless ease in which he took over her life flared to her memory.

“I’ve seen enough, thanks.”

“I promise you have not.”

Something about his steady, insistent tone made her pause. Whatever he wanted to tell her, he considered it deeply, unshakably important. It stirred morbid curiosity in her. What could be bigger than the king of the hidden kingdom wanting to invade the other city states? How the hell do you top that?

“Fine,” she relented. “But I’m not holding onto your arm.”

“As you wish.”

He guided her down the halls with a faint touch at her lower back which was worse. It was too intimate, too loaded. After several minutes walking, they came to a large, ornate sitting room, every inch of the walls lined with art. One wall contained nothing but royal portraits.

“This is my family, all the way from the very first of our dynasty,” he said with obvious pride.

At least twenty portraits hung in gilded frames. She tried to feign indifference but it was difficult. Not only could she track the changing fashion trends throughout history, but she also kept discovering all pieces of his features, like a scavenger hunt. This king had his nose, this queen gifted him her eyes.

It carried on all the way until the third most recent portrait, which looked unsettlingly like him: King Aris. They could have been twins. In fact, she thought it was him, save for the date of his reign, which occurred over a hundred years ago. The portrait next to it looked nothing like him. And neither did the last.

“Even in the age of photography, each ruler has had a traditional portrait made and hung here,” he said softly behind her.

“Except for you,” she realized. “Did you not have time for it when you were pretending to run another city state?”

“I do have my portrait up there. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it.”

Her eyes flickered over to what would have been his great-grandfather. “Are you such a genetic throwback to your ancestor that they didn’t bother painting another one?”

He chuckled, stepping up beside her. “No. That one is mine.”

She squinted at the dates again. Had she mis-read them? But if it was him, why wasn’t it the most recent portrait?

“He died a hundred and seven years ago.” She shot a glare at him. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“I think you’re brilliant,” he said seriously. “And you’re right — I did die.”

One of his hands lifted to gently brush against his portrait almost with the wistful nostalgia of a parent looking at photos of their child.

“Every ruler of this kingdom has been born with a power. In fact, most residents of this kingdom are born with one. Everyone thought I was the rare exception, that I was born with nothing. My enemies thought I was an easy mark because of it and they banded together to assassinate me and split the kingdom up into their bartered pieces. That’s why the city states are no longer united.”

She knew the city states had once been one continuous kingdom and that civil war had split it apart. But nothing in her textbooks explained this part of the story.

“How did you survive?” she found herself asking despite herself.

His gaze cut towards hers. “I didn’t. I died. And then I was reborn.”

“ . . .reborn.”

“I do have a power, as it turns out.” He smiled and it held a terrifying edge to it. “Reincarnation. I spent my second life rebuilding my support, gathering my forces until I died again. And now I’m on my third life, back in the position I belong in.”

“So you’re effectively immortal,” she said slowly, the process of the truth and all its implications a slow trickle.

Immortal. He could die, sure. But he would come back -- with all of his memories. He would always come back. No one could ever stop him — just delay him.

She swallowed down the anxiety spiking in her chest and dared to ask, “So what’s the goal here? What’s all these secrets and plans for?”

“Reunification,” he said softly. “To piece back together what was taken from me.”

“You mean reuniting the city states.”

A steely glint surged in his eyes. “By diplomacy, blackmail, or force. I don’t care what it takes.”

Her mouth fell open. “It’s been over a century! You can’t just slap it back together like they’re puzzle pieces. The cultures have shifted, economics are specialized, national identities have split. You saw all that!”

“I did,” he said evenly. “I also saw how much they struggle alone. All the trade disputes between each other, all the political spats and blackmail, the half hearted cold wars between them and alliances that change with the wind. They are so much weaker apart than we were together.”

“So strong together that you were assassinated and they split to pieces?” she pointed out, crossing her arms.

“That happened because I trusted the wrong person,” he nearly growled. “And that will never happen again.”

“A paranoid monarch who uses violence — that’s never gone badly in history.”

He breathed in sharply and she felt grim satisfaction at getting under his skin. She’d heard that rarely during his time as prime minister and never directed at her no matter how she nagged him.

“You don’t understand. That's alright,” he said, voice tight. “I don’t expect you to. You don’t have all the pieces. You weren’t raised here.”

“Don’t you dare condescend to me,” she snapped, anger sparking like a match on kerosene. “You lost and you couldn’t handle it so you’re going to make millions of innocent people suffer the price of your tantrum. It’s insane and it’s not going to work.”

For a moment it looked as if she pushed too far. A deadly, icy glint hardened his gaze and his fingers curled into fists. Was this how she died, mouthing off to her former boss? Was his shadow lurking around, invisible, ready to stab her with a knife?

But then he took a deep breath and unclenched his hands. When he spoke again his tone was even and calm.

“I know that it will be difficult. I know that I could fail. But that isn’t going to stop me because I believe the end result is worth it. Maybe one day you will see that.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

He dared to smile at her, something small and fond and he didn’t deserve to look at her like that after everything. Like they were friends.

“You’re very stubborn. I should have remembered that.”

“Your shadow said the same thing.”

He gestured to the doorway. “Shall we get some breakfast?”

“No thanks. All your talk of forcible invasion kind of killed my appetite,” she said. “Just take my back to my cell.”

“A cell.” He snorted. “Your cell is more luxurious than any apartment you ever lived in.”

“A cage is a cage. It doesn’t matter how pretty it is,” she shot back.

He looked at her speculatively. “You know, we do have real dungeons in this castle. You could be languishing in one of them.”

“Then why aren’t I?” She refused to cower at his threats, not this time.

“Why indeed?” He stared at her, like a teacher waiting for the light bulb to go off.

And it did it. Of course. “You want something from me. What is it?”

A wistful look crossed his face. “I don’t think you’re ready to hear that part yet.” Then his hand appeared between her shoulder blades. “Come. Let's get you back to your cage.”

Part 6

Taglist: @rivalriotrenegade @sunyside-world @fishtale88 @those-damn-snippets @suspiciousmuffin @thats-alittle-gay @girl-of-the-sea-and-stars @tobeornottobeateacher @burningkittypoet @kurai-hono-blog

#hero x villain #villain x civilian #enemies to lovers #writeblr #my writing #kidnapped by the boss #dark villains #fantasci tumblr

138 notes · View notes

bet-on-me-13 · 3 months

Text

The Villains Daughter

So! Years ago, back when the Justice League was only just starting out, only a year or two after their initial team-up, they had one of their biggest battles to date. A group of Extra-Dimensional Beings had burst into their reality, hellbent on destroying a Government Facility and the nearby small town in Illinois.

They barely managed to beat the Invading Army back, although the Government Facility and a part of the nearby Town had been destroyed in the battle.

Later, they would learn about what had happened. Apparently the Government Base, called a GIW Facility, had managed to finally Crack the secret to Interdimensional Travel a few days earlier. Unfortunately, they had opened a Portal into a Dimension known as the Ghost Zone, ruled over by a Tyrant King who wanted to enslaved all world under him. Their Breaching of the GZ had alerted the Tyrant King to the existence of their Dimension, and he had launched an immediate Invasion to try and take it over.

And the evidence supported this.

Wonder Woman shared Legends of her People, telling that their Founding Ancestor had fled the rule of a Tyrant King when she passed into the Afterlife.

Zatara shared his Magic Tomes, showing them passages detailing the horrific Rule of the Tyrant King of the Infinite Realms.

They even asked Boston Brand, the Deadman and resident Ghost about it. He hadn't been the the Ghost Zone in Years, but even he told them that he had personally fled the Tyrant King.

And they also learned that when the Tyrant King set his eyes on something, he did not falter on his Warpath to acquire it. The Tyrant King, Pariah Dark, would be back for their World, again and again.

And they needed to be prepared. This Battle was what kickstarted their true Commitment to the idea of a Team. They knew they could not defeat Pariah Dark alone, so they needed to remain as a Team.

But there was another thing that came about from the Battle.

While the JLA had been helping clean up, Wonder Woman came across a strange sight. A Baby had been left in the rubble of the GIW Building.

She asked around, investigated, and did all she could to find the babies parents. At first she thought that one of the GIW Agents had brought their kid to work that day, but their records indicated that none of the Agents had children of that Age. And Neither did any of the other workers who worked on the base, like the Janitors or the Kitchen Staff. And of they did, all of their children were accounted for.

She eventually came to the conclusion that the Baby must belong to somebody in the nearby Town, but that lead led nowhere either.

She finally came to the conclusion that the Baby's parents must have died in the Invasion, a very unfortunate but very real possibility. She was going to place her into the System, but over the course of her investigation she had grown fond of the Child.

She decided to Adopt the baby herself. She didn't know the child's name, so she had to come up with a new one.

"How do you like the name, Stella?"

The baby gurgled in delight.

...

Over the next decade of their Teams Existence, the Justice League had to fend off the Legions of the Ghost King's Army many more times. It seemed that Pariah had grown wise to the fact that they were the ones defending the Human Realm, as almost all of the later attacks were directed on them personally.

It made sense, they were the First Line of Defense against his Armies, if he managed to defeat them, their World would soon fall.

But they dealt with the attacks as they came. They had made it their mission to defend their Home from the Forced of Pariah Darks Army, and they would not falter now, or ever.

In the case of Wonder Woman, he Daughter had grown to be a fine little lady. Stella had eventually developed Powers similar to her mother, in that she could fly and had super strength, and had begged to be trained as a Hero.

And who was Diana to deny her Daughter her greatest wish? Over the next 5 years, Diana trained Stella in the ways of the Amazon's. Then, when Stella was 15, she had her join the newly formed Young Justice.

She made a great group of friends on that Team, and even started going by Ellie as a Nickname. Her best friend was by far Conner, though she didn't know why she felt such a strong connection to him? It felt like she could relate to him, but her situation was completely different?

Ah well, her Mom wouldn't mind having another kid, would she? She always wanted a Brother!

...

Meanwhile in the Ghost Zone, the Ghost King was getting anxious. After 15 years, his Agents in the Human Realm had finally managed to set up the Ritual needed to Summon Him into the Human Realm.

Who knew that accepting the Ghost King's Throne would bar him from entering the Human Realm through normal Means? He couldn't even use the Portal, he needed to be summoned or he simply wouldn't be able to leave his new home dimension.

But now, it was almost time. Just another year or two, and he would finally be able to enter the Human Realm. He would finally be able to Find Her. His Daugther.

Danny would finally be able to reunite with his daughter, Ellie.