FREE REIN
CHAPTER FOUR

Dahlia's body felt as though in flames, heat charging through every vein as the hot fire that came with Caliban's teleportation landed them at a carnival before dissolving in the air. It took several seconds for the suffocating feeling in her throat to fade, and for air to successfully ventilate through her lungs again. Almost instantly, though, the scar on Dahlia's back began to tingle again, and a burning pain seared through it. Too bewildered by everything going on, Dahlia brushed the fiery feeling off.

Eyes wide, Dahlia tried to take in the sight before her. She was almost tempted to latch onto Caliban's arm or hide behind him like he was a shield. He stood so confidently, unbothered, unfrightened by the creature in front of him... by anything, for that matter, unlike Dahlia, who felt her heart thump in her chest and her breath catch in her throat when her eyes landed on a large swamp-like man. His face, shaped like a skull, was hardly the scariest part of him; it was the black blood, the dirt, the root-like and tree bark-like substances all over him... and the awful smell he radiated... that made bile rise in Dahlia's throat. The entire place, although outdoors, smelled revolting and insufferable, bringing involuntary tears to the brunette girl's eyes. The beautiful lights surrounding her, the sweet smell of caramel popcorn in the air, the music playing in the background were like nothing, imperceptible, in the presence of King Herod.

When Dahlia glanced down, she was even more shocked to see Sabrina, sprawled out on the floor, her hand reaching out to grasp onto something. As Dahlia altered her focus, she noticed it was the crown... and Caliban stood directly before it.

"Caliban, help me!" Sabrina cried.

"Beautiful as you are, I am tempted..."

Dahlia watched the tall man, waiting to see what he was going to do. She was almost hopeful; part of her believed or hoped that he wouldn't just stand there condescendingly, looking down at Sabrina before picking up the crown and leaving her stranded.

But, he did just that.

Dahlia gaped as she stared between the blonde girl lying helplessly on the floor, and the patronizing man who bent over slowly as he picked up the crown. Like a grand prize, he held the crown in his hand, twirling it to torture Sabrina even more. "No, I think not." He said lowly, a supercilious smile on his face.

Dahlia was about to interject, fury and frustration filling her chest at the way he treated Sabrina and her boyfriend who were clearly in need of help. Seconds after opening her mouth to speak, however, she felt his cold, calloused fingers grip onto her upper arm before the entire scene blurred, and seconds later, she found herself and Caliban back in Pandemonium.

She took a moment to catch her breath, but the second she felt stable again she spun around and glared at Caliban, her eyes boring holes into his.

Caliban hesitantly peeled his eyes from his beloved crown and looked at Dahlia. "What?"

"How could you not help them?!" Dahlia bellowed, mentally throwing daggers at his forehead.

"Sabrina Morningstar can handle herself."

"She asked for your help, Caliban..." Dahlia hissed, raking a hand through her hair. "And... and you cheated! You took what she was fighting for and left her there for dead."

"You helped me." He shrugged, completely nonchalant. The more he spoke, the more Dahlia wondered if she would have been better off in her bottle. This man had no sense of morality, no conscience... but what else could Dahlia have expected from a Prince of Hell– the potential King of Hell? It was her own mistake for selfishly taking his offer without considering the price that others would have to pay.

"The least you could have done is help her. She could be seriously hurt, if not dead!"

"Well it's too late for that, isn't it?"

Dahlia huffed in frustration, her blood boiling and ears hot at the anger she was feeling toward Caliban. "I can't believe you." She paused. "No, actually, I can. You're no different than I expected and it didn't take a long time for you to prove me right."

The smug grin on his face faltered at her words, surprising Dahlia. She kept her slight shock to herself though, waiting for Caliban to speak. "That really hurts my feelings," he said right before exaggerating a pout. Once again, Dahlia felt naive for believing him for a second.

"I'm done." She began walking away slowly.

"Finally. I was worried you'd keep ranting on and on."

Dahlia halted in her tracks, taking in a deep breath to stop herself from lashing out. Slowly, she turned around and looked at Caliban. "No, I mean I'm done with this. I'm done working for you."

"We made a deal. You can't back out."

"You clearly don't have a problem with breaking rules, so why should I?" Dahlia retorted.

"Come on, Dahlia." He folded his arms over his chest, an air of seriousness filling the room for the first time.

"I'm not happy serving you, Caliban. You're selfish and I can't bear the idea of being stuck in Hell with you," she started, "I'm not doing this anymore. You can put me back in my bottle, for all I care." Finally saying what she was feeling felt like a weight off Dahlia's chest, the built up anger slowly starting to fade as the words left her mouth. She watched Caliban silently, waiting for him to say anything. But when a minute passed and the man remained quiet, towering over her with a blank expression– as though shocked or deeply affected by her "harsh words", which Dahlia doubted. At the delay in response, Dahlia rolled her eyes and spun around again beginning to walk away.

"Wait! Wait..." Caliban's loud voice followed her down the hall, and soon after, she felt his hand wrap around her upper arm, spinning her around to face him. "I'll make you a deal..."

"Because we all know how well the last deal turned out," Dahlia muttered sarcastically, amusedly folding her arms over her chest.

"Will you just shut up and let me speak?" Caliban snapped. Mockingly, Dahlia pressed her index finger and thumb together and dragged them across her lips to signify that her mouth was zipped. "You cooperate, and I give you free rein. You can go where you want, explore Greendale, but I can still summon you whenever I want with your bottle."

It took a moment for Dahlia to fully process Caliban's offer. Free rein. The words had a sparkle to them as they left Caliban's mouth. It was what she had always wanted, before and during her entrapment in her bottle, and so easily, Caliban was willing to give it. She had annoyed him so deeply in just a few minutes that he was going to give her freedom, finally. She couldn't even feel offended by the fact that she was clearly a pest to him. The words "free rein" were all that mattered to her.

"Okay." Dahlia nodded, wiping her clammy hands against her silk clothes. She eyed Caliban closely as he closed his eyes and muttered a spell under his breath. Simultaneously, he held his hand out into the hair, and the moment he stopped murmuring incoherent words, Dahlia's eyes widened and glued to her bottle that appeared in his large hand.

Dahlia's parted lips closed upon seeing her bottle. She almost felt guilty for having completely forgotten about it. The bottle had been a big part of her life for so long, but after being free from it for a few days, it already slipped her mind.

Seeing it brought her a sense of comfort, though, and part of her missed the softness of her bed that reminded her of her mother's hugs, and the scent of Middle Eastern agarwood and oud that constantly lingered in the atmosphere. She missed the feeling of home and comfort– which for a long time, is what the bottle had been to her.

Here, in Hell with Caliban, Dahlia felt unwanted and used. Whenever she thought about how cold Hell was, or about her family... whenever she felt like she needed a hug, she felt her heart squeeze, bringing a light pain to her chest and tears to her eyes. Every time she thought of Caliban and how cold he was, or how alone and lost she felt in Pandemonium, she would have that painful feeling in her chest and have to fight back tears– the last thing she wanted was for Caliban to notice that he made her feel sad; that would be just another power over her that he had.

She watched him close his eyes again, this time with the bottle in his hand and mumbling another spell. Seconds later, he peeled his eyelids open and looked at the girl. "Okay, you have your freedom. But... I can summon you back whenever I want to." Dahlia couldn't resist the grin that curled her lips as the words left Caliban's mouth.

Before he could utter another word, Dahlia had closed her eyes and wished herself away. Where to, she wasn't sure of. All she knew was that she didn't want to be here, where her heart was torn to pieces and her soul was consumed by the ruthless fires that burned in Hell.

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→ note

again, not one of my most favorite chapters, but i promise you the good stuff is coming soon!!

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