Emperor Of The Abyss

Chapter 11

Gods, Valerie. She'd run away from him. She looked at him with fear and disgust. But she'd been there. She'd been in the room when it happened. She could tell them the truth. She could save him.

She had to.

Kane didn't know how long he sat there in the darkness. Time felt strange. Meaningless. Could have been minutes. Could have been hours.

His tears eventually stopped. Left him hollow. Empty. Like someone had scooped out his insides and left only the shell.

Then he heard footsteps.

Different from before. Lighter and almost hesitant.

Kane looked up. A figure was approaching his cell. A woman in a dark traveling cloak, hood pulled up to hide her face.

She stopped in front of the bars. For a long moment she just stood there, silent and still. Kane could see her hands were shaking where they clutched the edges of the cloak.

Then, slowly, she pushed back her hood.

Valerie.

Kane was on his feet in an instant. He rushed to the bars, his hands wrapping around the cold iron so tight his knuckles went white.

"Thank gods." 

He breathed. Relief crashed over him like a wave. 

"Valerie, please. You were there. You know what happened. Please, you have to go tell them,tell Morgana,tell everyone that I didn't kill Elara on purpose. She attacked me. I was just defending myself. Please."

The words poured out in a desperate rush. He was gripping the bars so hard his hands were starting to hurt but he couldn't let go. Couldn't stop.

"You saw it. You were in the room. You know I would never hurt anyone. Please, Valerie. Please. You have to tell them the truth."

Valerie stood perfectly still. Her face was unreadable in the dim torchlight. Her eyes were shadowed.

Then, slowly, she shook her head.

"I thought you were different." 

She said quietly.

Kane blinked. Confusion cut through his desperation. 

"What?"

"I thought you were different from them."

 Her voice was getting stronger now. Harder. Each word clipped and cold. 

"From the demons. From your mother. I thought maybe, somehow, you'd escaped that curse. That you were just... human."

"I am human!" 

Kane protested. His voice rose, echoing off the stone walls. 

"Valerie, I am human! I'm not a demon, I'm not…"

"But I was wrong." 

She continued as if he hadn't spoken. 

"You're exactly like them. Violent. Dangerous. A killer."

The words hit Kane like physical blows. Like punches to the gut. He actually stumbled back a step.

"No. No, Valerie, that's not fair. You don't understand. She came at me with a knife. What was I supposed to do? Let her kill me?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore." 

Valerie said. She reached up with her right hand. Started working on something on her ring finger.

 "All I know is that a girl is dead. And you were standing over her body. Covered in her blood."

"Because I was trying to help her!"

 Kane's voice cracked. 

"I was trying to stop the bleeding! Valerie, please, you know me. You know I would never…"

She pulled it off.

The engagement ring. The one Kane had given her three months ago under the rose arbor in the palace gardens. He'd saved for months to buy it. Simple gold with a small diamond. Nothing fancy, but it had been his.

Now Valerie held it between her thumb and forefinger, staring at it like she'd never seen it before.

"Valerie, don't…"

 Kane started.

She threw it.

The ring flew through the air and bounced off the cell bars with a small, musical ‘clink’. It fell to the floor and rolled a few inches before settling in a crack between the stones.

Kane stared at it. At the tiny glint of gold in the darkness. His engagement ring. Their promise. Their future.

Gone.

"It's over between us." 

Valerie said. Her voice was flat. Empty. Like all the emotion had been scraped out of it.

"No." 

Kane whispered. His legs felt weak. 

"Don't say that."

"My father and I are leaving. Right now. Tonight. We're going back to Eldrath immediately." 

She pulled her cloak tighter around herself, like she was cold. 

"The wedding is canceled. The alliance is canceled. Everything is canceled."

"Valerie, please…"

"I'm sorry, Kane." 

For just a moment something flickered in her eyes. Something that might have been genuine regret. 

"For real, I am. I thought you were different from the rest of your kind. I thought maybe we could have a life together. Build something good."

She paused and swallowed hard.

"But it was just a fantasy. Wasn't it? You can't escape what you are. Your mother was a murderer. And now so are you."

"I'M NOT A MURDERER!"

 Kane screamed. The words tore from his throat, raw and desperate. 

"I didn't kill her! Why won't anyone believe me?"

But Valerie was already turning away. Already walking back down the hall.

"It was nice knowing you." 

She said over her shoulder. Soft. Almost too quiet to hear.

Then she was gone. Disappeared into the shadows.

"Valerie!"

 Kane called after her. His voice echoed in the empty corridor.

 "Valerie, please! VALERIE!"

Silence was his only answer.

Kane's legs gave out. He slid down the bars and crumpled to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. His back against the cold iron. His hands were shaking.

The sobs came harder now. Deeper. Shaking his whole body until he couldn't breathe, he couldn't nor could he think.

Everything was gone. Everything.

The woman he loved. The life he'd planned. The future he'd dreamed of.

All of it. Gone.

He cried until there were no more tears left. Until his throat was raw and his eyes burned. Until he was just an empty shell curled up on a dungeon floor.

He didn't know when he finally stopped. When the last sob faded into silence.

He just sat there. Staring at nothing. Feeling nothing.

Then the guards came back.

This time there were six of them. Their footsteps were loud in the silence. Purposeful.

They unlocked the door and hauled Kane to his feet. He didn't resist. He didn't have the energy. Didn't see the point.

They marched him through the dungeons. Up the stairs. Through the palace halls. Kane barely registered where they were taking him. He felt disconnected from his body. Like he was watching this happen to someone else. Like this was all just a bad dream and he'd wake up any moment.

But he didn't wake up.

They took him outside.

Dawn light hit his eyes, making him squint. The sun was just starting to rise over the eastern wall, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold and orange.

A beautiful morning. The kind of morning that promised good things. New beginnings.

How wrong that promise was.

The courtyard was packed with people. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. The entire city had turned out, it seemed. They lined the streets, crowded the walls, pressed against each other to get a better view.

They were all staring at him. Pointing. Whispering.

The guards pushed through the crowd, forcing people aside. Kane caught snippets of conversation as they passed.

"...demon's son…"

"...killed that poor girl…"

"...just like his mother…"

"...should burn him t

oo…"

"...monster…"

"...curse…"

"...evil…"

The words washed over him like waves. Each one a small cut. A thousand tiny deaths.

They reached the edge of the city. Beyond the walls. Kane knew where they were going now even before he saw it.

Dead Hill Valley…