Music is "Brothers" from Fullmetal Alchemist. 😍

That man...the man that single-handedly shattered my world. He broke up my family and scattered them to the winds. In one night, one dance, he stole our bread winner away and ruined our family's chances of ever escaping this kingdom.

And it was all because that woman couldn't see that the ball was a waste of her time. She insisted on using precious resources to craft a dress, seduce the man and cause him to fall in love with her in a single night. Who does that? Right?

I initially though this wouldn't last long, but alas, I was proven wrong and was forced...to go into hiding. For after my sister abandoned us, she quickly turned her attentions toward getting rid of us...blotting us, her family, out of her life forever.

They made a strange pair, the shadow drifting along and the young woman hobbling on a broken, wooden staff. No words passed between them. A slight uncomfortable silence hung in the air as the phantom of the mansion escorted Eliza back to warmth...but not safety.

Eliza bit her lip, frustrated at her slowed pace with the staff. She could only hobble, barely hobble at that with the staff being as short as it was. But her new gait did succeed at taking her mind off of the night's events...which she still struggled to comprehend.

Who is this phantom? Does he truly have two minds? Does he remember anything when the different voices take over?

She turned her head to face the phantom as he floated beside her. He certainly didn't look as crazed as he did when the blindfold was off. Did his state of mind have something to do with his eyes being covered?

"How...do you...remember what happened back in the cabin?" she stammered out, not looking at the phantom's reaction. "It seemed like you were two different people, one with the blindfold off and another with it on...but that doesn't seem right. Maybe I'm exhausted...and I probably am, but my idea here seems really far fetched...wouldn't you agree?"

The phantom guided her up the stairs and into the mansion again. "Eliza..." he said, "I'm sorry to answer your question with a question...but...what did you mean by 'I haven't found a way to kill him yet'?"

She stopped, struggling to keep the staff underneath her arm. "I...I guess we both have some explaining to do... and I have an apology to make..."

Making their way into the house, she set the staff down and crumpled into a chair. That walk took a lot more out of her legs than she elected...but she was determined not to let the phantom see...for the confessions she would be making would be far more personal than she wanted to do.

"I...I was sent here to kill you."

She didn't see any change in the phantom's expression, not that his face expressed much in the first place, so she went on, the words spilling out of her faster and faster the more she said.

"The king, you see, he threatened to kill my niece, the only member of my family I have left. He also hinted that my parents were alive, although the Maker knows if that's even true given what I've seen here so far. So...I agreed to come...to protect the only family I've got left...and to possibly save the rest?"

Glancing up at the phantom's imposing form, she realized his position had changed. He was slumped down, as much as a phantom could crouch in the chair, holding his head in his hands.

"I see...you're just like the rest of them."

"What?"

He drew himself to his feet, standing at full height, towering over her as she was forced to stay seated in the chair to prevent herself from collapsing. "You're just like the rest of the people the king sent in here. He's been trying to get rid of me ever since he created me..." His voice trailed off as he whipped around sharply and strode toward the exit. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Wait! He created you? Why? Why is he trying to kill you then if he created you for a reason?" The new information spun around in her mind as she tried to reason it out.

Her entire life, she had been told that the monster was the king's servant who he used to dispose of people he didn't want around: those he saw as a hinderance to his power. Sure, she could see the king actually creating the monster (since it was a useful thing to have a monster around to serve you), but now, he wanted to destroy the monster?

But this creature standing before her wasn't truly a monster...was he? He has no form or substance to him, only an uncanny way of unsettling you...except when the other side of him came out...

Why...why does the king want to destroy the thing he created to serve him?

Maybe...it's his weakness

The phantom turned around to face her, the transparent blindfold still tied firmly around his eyes. "Because...I'm no longer useful to him." He floated to the door, bypassing the shards of glass that littered the floor. "You should leave while you still have a chance. He'll probably come back tonight."

Finally, Eliza had had enough. She stood up sharply, the staff clattering on the ground. "Who's HE?" As she tried to take a step forward to confront the phantom, her knee gave out and she crumpled to the floor. The phantom, hesitating for only a second, flew to her side, but was unable to do more.

She sat there, almost in a daze, her mind finally cracking from the strain of the last couple days. Her eyes filled with tears, even though she begged them silently to stop. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing.

"All I want is to get my parents back, and rescue my niece from that crazed madman who somehow became king. That's it, really. Once I've done that, we'd get out of this insane country and finally be free from the worry that any day, someone else will be taken."

The phantom said nothing, but remained at her side.

"And when I met you, and you were nothing like the monster in the stories at first, I thought, 'Oh great, this will be easy. I'll just stab it and move on.'" Smiling a sad, pathetic smile through her tears, she finally worked up the courage to face the phantom again. "That...wasn't my brightest plan."

"So now, I don't know what to do. I can't kill you, clearly, and that was the condition for me and my niece's freedom... Clearly, you don't have a dungeon here, so that rotten king was lying about that too..." Her voice trailed off. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm bothering you with this. I'll just go, try to get out of this place and live the rest of my short life alone. Until I'm captured, of course."

Finally, the phantom spoke. "You...do realize you're being completely unrealistic, right? That's not a rational way to live the rest of your life. Look at you. You still have your hunting skills, your life, and even..." his voice lowered "...a body." The phantom sighed, hovering just slightly over the floor. "Well...I suppose you're not completely like the rest of them."

Raising her eyebrow, she stared at the phantom. "Okay, who are these "others"? Has the king been sending people in to kill you for a long time? What on earth happened?"

"Well..."

"I think I deserve to know something, seeing as you almost killed me."

"Well...you stabbed me. I think you got closer to killing me than I did."

"Touche."

"But yes...you're partially right. The king did start sending in people to try and kill me...a month ago. People have been trying to arrange my death for a long time. You know, you hear there's a monster in a castle and hunters flock to it. Once they were trapped inside...well...they didn't meet the same fate you did."

Eliza's eyes widened. She pushed herself back on the cold, stone floor, edging away from the phantom ever so slightly.

The visible features on the phantom's face hardened. "I'm...not proud. Some of them did ultimately deserve it...I think, but I shouldn't be the executioner. After what I've done, I was kinda hoping someone would kill me. Just to finally get away from it all."

Eliza said nothing. Her legs still felt weak, but now, she thought she might be able to stand. She could leave now, while the phantom was distracted by thoughts of his past. This was a murderer, one who was quite capable of doing away with her whenever he wished. But that side of his personality didn't appear to be present.

She turned to face him. "Well, I won't give you that satisfaction."

"Oh really," he said, "After what you said earlier about giving up and going to live the rest of your short life alone till the king found you? Tell me that's not the same thing."

Eliza stared at him with a deadpan expression. "Fine. You win for now." She stumbled to her feet, leaning heavily on the staff. "Can you help me back to my room?"

"I can float beside you for moral support...again. Is that enough?"

She raised her eyebrows again. "That'll do...for now."

Bless you Ellowyne, autumn_sunfire, and KittyCat for the many writing sprints we did today. I finally got some blasted words written for this book.