Alana is facing out the window. She ignores the silent tears running down her face. She thought that marriage with Jeffrey wouldn't be easy, but she hadn't expected it to be impossible.

The door is thrown open angrily and Jeffrey comes storming in, "Alana!" Her name isn't yelled but spoken almost in a whisper yell. There is no doubt that he is angry. She can't think of a possible reason for him to be angry with her. Plenty for her to be angry with him about but not the other way around.

"Yes, Jeffrey?" Alana says turning around and not bothering to wipe her tears away.

"Why are you crying?" His anger of just moments ago evaporating as soon as he sees her tears.

"Why do you care? What actually brings you to my room?" Alana asks softly.

"You are my wife, of course I care why you're crying." Jeffrey says as he moves closer to her. He only stops when her bitter words come out.

"Am I?

"Yes, we finished all three parts of the ceremony. You know that, you were there." Jeffrey says more than a little confused at her words and bitterness. 

Michael comes in unseen by either of them and silently closes the door. They are finally talking and he doesn't want them interrupted. The way Jeffrey has been treating Alana the last week has hurt her greatly and it needs to stop.

Before the door fully shuts the Hag slips into the room as well. She watches the proceedings with a great deal of interest. She is less than happy with the way Jeffrey has been treating her granddaughter and it needs to stop now.

"You could have fooled me, Jeffrey. Ever since you came home from saving Talia you've made yourself scarce around me. Locking yourself in with your mistress for hours at a time. Then when you weren't with her, you spent several hours with Mary. Her, I understand was likely just bonding and a quiet place where you could work. But Malia, no," Alana holds her hand up to forestall Jeffrey from speaking. "Yes, I know you need to spend time with your newly risen child. But I also know, because I asked Chronos about how much time you need to spend. He told me that you don't need to spend nearly as much time as you have. That Malia has great control over her blood lust already and you are even allowing her to eat unattended. That she was like that from the third day.

"I have tried to talk to you several times and you wouldn't even let me get near you in the same room. I would come in and you would leave. I would send Michael with a message and you wouldn't let him give it.

"This is the first time in a week I've seen you, forget about speaking to you. Even at your busiest I thought you would at least come to my bed at night. But no, you found other accommodations."

"Malia isn't my mistress. I told you that before our marriage, Alana."

Jeffrey is cut off by Alana's bitter laughter.

"Then you forgot to let Malia know that. She is telling the servants that once you get tired of me, and it shouldn't be much longer, that she will be by your side as your wife. She is encouraging them to treat me like shit so that I'll leave sooner. It's gotten so bad that I can't even leave my room."

Now Jeffrey is angry as well. That's not what Malia was telling him earlier.

"Master," Michael, greatly daring interrupts. "It's true. The servants won't speak to her. They'll leave the room. If she talks to them they are as likely to ignore her as respond and if they do respond it's a simple Yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, or is there anything else, Ma'am? Yet they will speak at length with Malia. When they do they will look over at my lady and sneer at her. Chronos has caught them at it and has reprimanded some of them more than once." At Michael's words Jeffrey begins to feel sick. With those last words he has a hard time keeping a blank face. This is so completely different than what Malia had reported to him.

"It has gotten so bad, that my lady hasn't left her room in several days, not even to eat. When I go to get her some food, even though there is plenty for the servants, they won't let me take any. They say that there isn't any left, even though there is plenty in plain sight. I am forced to cook and I am not a very good cook, if my lady is to eat. Many times she's told me not to bother, she wasn't very hungry any way." Those words make Jeffrey take a more intensive look at Alana and he has a hard time not inhaling sharply. The progress Alana had made on regaining her lost weight was gone. She was back to how she looked when he found her.

"You've broken almost all of the promises you made me before our marriage. You didn't make me your slave wife and I don't believe you've slept with your human servant, at least not yet. Other than that, you've broken them all. 

"But worse than making me your besotted slave, you've treated me with disdain and contempt and I have done nothing to deserve it. You've made it so that nearly the entire household treats me with contempt. I've become a prisoner in this house. Perhaps the prison is far nicer than the one I escaped from and I'm no longer wearing chains, but they didn't treat me with contempt. They didn't make me feel like I am a waste of space." Alana is angry and the tears are flowing faster and hotter down her face.

"I have given you everything I could. I married you to give you the power to be stronger than your enemy and the extra abilities to help you do so. Every time I've tried to invite you to my training to learn how to use them, you refused to listen to the message.

"I know you didn't want another wife, so I've decided I won't weigh you down with one. I'll be leaving with my grandmother. She'll take me somewhere and leave me. Since our marriage ceremony was finished you'll still have the benefits and won't have to have me nearby. It also made it so that the prince won't be able to trace me and since I'm no longer a virgin he won't be able to use my body to make his little hell children. Since one of the wedding gifts was me being able to choose when I get pregnant he won't be able to force me to have a child with one of his minions. I don't think you'll care all that much if I get captured by him now."

Alana moves to go to her grandmother and Jeffrey grabs her arm. "You can't leave, Alana."

"Let go of me Jeffrey. I'm leaving the house so that you can be with the one you really want to be with. She'll be thrilled to finally be at your side."

"No, I don't want her at my side."

"But you don't want me either. I don't know what I was like before the demon took me, but I won't tolerate being treated like you've been doing and allowed Malia to do. You promised me that you would treat me with respect. You lied. You broke my trust and now I don't believe a damn thing you tell me."

Alana's words are like daggers to his heart, but he has to admit they were valid. He still has a hard time believing that Malia would betray him like she had. "Michael, go get Chronos please."

Michael doesn't want to leave Alana, he knows that she is leaving and nothing Jeffrey does will change that. He also knows that she plans on leaving without him. But Jeffrey is his master and gave him a  direct order and Alana didn't countermand it, which was the only way he could remain in the room.

He leaves and luckily finds Chronos coming up the stairs. "Master Jeffrey would like to speak to you, Master Chronos. He's in my lady's bedroom."

Chronos stops abruptly, "Father is talking to Alana, and he actually is talking to you?"

"He was furious when he went into her room, the wall will need to be fixed where the doorknob went through it."

Chronos stands up straight all amusement wiped from his face. "He didn't hurt her did he?"

"No, but she's told him that she won't tolerate living here like this any further. Better not keep him waiting, sir." Michael says and Chronos nods and keeps in step with Michael back to the battlefield.

"Father, you sent for me?" Chronos says entering the tension filled room.

"Have the servants been treating Alana badly?" Jeffrey demands immediately.

"Yes, I've had to discipline them several times. I've tried to tell you but you wouldn't let me. I've seen Malia talk to them and they become even worse than they were before, which was bad enough."

Jeffrey is now completely sickened. He lets go of Alana's arm. 

"A gift, Jeffrey. Video footage from the security camera's you had installed, complete with audio. Guess you forgot to tell Malia about them. Good bye."

Alana walks away after throwing the thumb drive to Jeffrey who catches it without thinking.

"Wait, aren't you taking anything with you? You aren't taking Michael?" Now he's starting to panic.

"No, I'll leave like I came, just the clothes on my back. If I end up dead you'll be free of me so you might want to go against the prince before that happens."

"What about Michael, why aren't you taking him? He could at least help you."

"You don't get it do you? I won't take Michael away from the only family he has ever known, his chosen family. As for everything else, I don't want falsely given gifts and I don't need your money."

Alana turns her back completely to Jeffrey, "You will still have the benefits of this marriage until the day I die. There is nothing more I can give you, I refuse to allow you to make me feel like shit. Goodbye."

The Hag pulls her into her arms and whispers to her something. Alana nods and remains standing in that spot when her grandmother releases her from her arms.

"I would speak with you, Jeffrey." Her voice telling him just how unhappy she is with him. He stiffens and does his best to hide his fear. Memories of what she did to those that ran afoul of her centuries ago run through his mind. He swallows hard. As she comes up to him.