Diamant

Chapter 21 - Spill

"Malik?" Lewis asked doubting himself. Was he the Master? Was he betraying the Black Mask? Betraying the whole of Alusa.

Malik stepped closer to him and smiled to Lewis.

"Welcome to the Winning side." He said with a devilish smile.

"So, you are The Master." Lewis said quietly to himself but audibly to him.

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course not, I am not the Master. The Master won't show himself to anyone." Malik said laughing in amusement.

"So, you do not know The Master?"

"No one knows The Master." Malik said like it was an obvious fact.

There was silence and Lewis said again.

"So you are the betrayer. How could you betray Alusa?!" Lewis said walking closer to Malik in anger.

"What are you doing too?! Isn't it called betraying?!" Malik hissed angrily. "They reached to me, The Master, his offer is promising. He is different from the Dragon Lord. Have you gone to the people to see how the Dragon Lord makes the people of Alusa live? The Master won't be like that! I am on the Master's side. If you are here to question The Master then you shouldn't be here!" Malik ended.

"I am here for Clara." Lewis said lowering his head in defeat.

"You see, something the Dragon Lord will never be able to give you." Malik laughed in mockery.

"So you were the one that took the handkerchief?!" Lewis said his eyes widened in realization.

"You are so ridiculous and stupid. Why does the Master even want you?" Malik said his eyes angry.

Lewis clenched his fists in anger and said nothing.

"I didn't take the handkerchief! It was somebody else, somebody who also works for the Master." 

"It isn't just you?!" Lewis said in awe.

"I told you that The Master is winning." Malik chuckled.

He drew his sword and leveled it to Lewis head.

"Do you vow to be loyal to The Master?" Malik asked.

He thought about the fact that he would be betraying Goben, then he thought of Clara.

"And what if I don't?!" Lewis asked.

"Then you die. You won't have a third chance, The Master isn't that generous." Malik said distastefully, angry with Lewis indecision.

"I vow to be forever loyal to The Master." Lewis pronounced and Malik withdrew his sword.

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Diamant fell again as Goben hit her with his stick again. 

"I said you can't attack yet! You should defend yourself." Goben said as he hit her continuously.

Diamant keep on receiving the hit with her back as she back away slowly. He stopped then started walking away as he was saying something about how useless she was. 

Diamant stood up slowly as she stalked up to him slowly and stroke him on his back.

Goben turned furious eyes to her and he started raining her with the stick. Diamant tried to protect herself but she was slowly getting weaker and weaker.

"That is what your kind does! They stab people in the back! You disgusting creature! I don't know why you are still here! He should have killed you!" Goben said as he continued to hit her.

"Goben!" DL shouted and Goben stopped immediately. He turned to where he heard DL's voice. The look on the Dragon Lord's face was a angry one. DL was walking closer to him in angry strides. Goben looked around to see that everyone was already watching him.

"Dragon Lord." Goben bowed. The DL was in front of him now.

"What is wrong with you?!" DL asked with clenched teeth.

He looked to Diamant who now had blood running down her nose.

DL walked away and Goben followed him immediately. There was a silent order for him to.

Diamant followed him with her eyes wishing she could kill him right on the spot. Then she turned away and her eyes met that of Aliyah. She was standing next to Diamant now.

"I thought you said it would be the last time. Look who is on the floor now." Aliyah laughed.

"You must have a poor memory." Diamant said as she stood up."I said it would be the last time I was on the floor because of you. This time is not because of you." Diamant said as she walked closer.

"I can't say the same for you." Diamant said as she pushed Aliyah to the floor.

Aliyah fell with shock on her face. She stared up at Diamant in hate.

"You look perfect where you are, below me. Get used to it because that is how it will be from now on." Diamant tortured. She walked away with more determination and Aliyah huffed in annoyance. 

Diamant was fighting her back.

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"What was that?!" DL asked as Goben closed the door of the study.

Goben was silent.

"That wasn't training, Goben! Tell me what that was!" DL demanded furiously.

"She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be among us. She is a mere servant, one that should be killed." Goben said angry.

"I decide that, Goben. I am the King." DL declared.

"She is just like them. The ones that stab people in the back." 

"I can control that, she is loyal to me." 

"She still hates you! She is like them, like Lily." Goben said and clenched his fists. Lily been a sensitive topic for him to discuss about or to even make mention of.

The room was silent.

"That was a trap you fell for, Goben. I am not like you." 

"That is what you think. I can see you bringing down your walls. I am not complaining about how things have changed and how you now take care of Alusa better." He paused. "I am your best friend, DL. You let her live and you also brought her to The Black Mask. She could stab you in the back. You are losing yourself!" He ended in anger.

"You have crossed the line, Goben! I am the Dragon Lord! My decisions should not be questioned. Not by you, not by anyone else. I am the King, I control the Dragon!"

"The magical staff controls the Dragon, not you!" Goben declared his eyes gleaming in distaste.

"How dare you?!" 

"Landrus obeys anyone with the magical staff. Without it, you are nothing! Without that staff, you are nothing! Nothing without our loyalty, nothing without Alusa. You refuse to see that and that is why the enemy is always a step ahead of you!" Goben said.

DL walked to him in anger, drew Goben sword from its scabbard and slashed him with it. It all happened so quickly.

Goben held his stomach and went on his kneels.

"That is a lie and you know it. Without all these, I am still King." DL said, his voice venomous.

"Forgive me but I do not regret a thing I said. As your best friend, I must warn you. I do not have a good feeling about Diamant." Goben said still on his kneels, his voice now sounding weaker as he tried to cope with the pain.

"You no longer have a right to give your opinions, Goben. As from now, I will take on training Diamant. Now, you are dismissed." DL said, his back turned to Goben.

Goben stood up heavily wanting to protest but he kept quiet. He felt terrible, like something was lost between them. Their relationship between them felt strained. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. 

DL questioned what happened in his mind. He started doubting Goben's loyalty. He had never done that before. Could he even still trust him? Goben had questioned his place in Alusa. What if Goben was the Master? Although, Dragon Lord greatly felt that Goben could not betray him but had he not changed? Had he not just told him that he was powerless without all these? 

The thoughts that Goben could be The Master put him on edge, still he could not help but consider the idea.

He would have to be careful.

*****************************

Daimant woke up with a start as she was sweating profusely. She was having the nightmares again. She placed her hands on her banging head.

"Finally, you are awake!" Sunain said with excitement.

"What happened?" Diamant asked as she slowly stood up and went to the table which had her food on it.

"Well you came back home bleeding and it looked like you took a lot of hits. You fell asleep after I treated your wounds." Sunain explained.

"Goben." Diamant hissed.

Diamant started eating as she pushed the food down her throat. The food was cold.

"Why does he hate you?" 

"I wish I knew."

A knock came from the door and Sunain went to the door.

"It is pretty late. Is it an urgent matter?" Sunain said to the person at the door.

Diamant continued eating and didn't pay attention to it. She was very hungry.

"Of course it has to be important, silly me." Sunain said when she didn't receive any reply from the intruder.

Diamant then turned to see who the person was. Her food turned sour in her mouth and she forced herself to swallow it, her appetite lost.

She stood up and went towards the door.

"You disgust me!" She said to him when she got to the door.

"I would trade words with you but I here to treat an injury that you should be blamed for." Goben hissed.

"Whatever it is, you deserve it!" Diamant said and left the room.

Sunain came back to see Diamant gone. She properly couldn't stand him. He took off his shirt and she attended to his injury. They both didn't speak to each other as they tried to avoid each other's gaze.

After dressing it, she looked at the long scar that ran across his chest all the way to his stomach and she couldn't help but stare at it. The scar made her curious.

"A war?" She asked looking at the scar. He was silent, ignoring her.

The room relapsed into silence.

She ran her hand along the scar and Goben stiffened. He wasn't expecting that. He held her hand after sometime, pushing it away. He averted her eyes again and Sunain went to the other side of the room.

"Why do you hate Diamant?" Sunain dared to ask. It remained silent in the room after she asked and so she thought he wouldn't answer her.

"She reminds me." He said quietly.

"Of what?" Sunain asked hopefully. She was so curious.

"You mean of who?" Goben corrected with a scoff.

"Oh..." Sunain flushed with embarrassment and smoothen her gown, trying to get her hands busy.

She looked to the fire place and it was burning slowly.

"She reminds you of who?" Sunain pressed.

"Lily. One that stabs people in the back." Goben said as he stared on distantly.

"What did she do?" Sunain pressured lightly, wanting more than just a summary.

Goben remained silent again. He pressed his lips together, determined not to say anything on it.

Sunain walked closer to him again. Something was pushing her to him. She wanted to know. 

She ran her hands across the scar again, this time he wasn't stiff. He was relaxed and he let her do what she wanted.

She looked up at him and he stared back at her. She looked down again, her hand still in the scar.

"Does it still hurt?" She asked.

She was close to him now and she could feel the heat from his body engulfing her.

"Yes, the memories." He replied staring down at her hand.

She looked up at him and they stared an intense gaze for sometime. He stared into her eyes and suddenly his jaw tightened. His walls came up and he stared away. He pushed her away from him and reached for his shirt.

Sunain staggered back. She looked around embarrassed. She turned away from him. 

He hated how he felt about her, how she had made him feel. This had happened before, these feelings. It had happened with Lily and see where that got him.

He opened the door and looked back at Sunain who was now staring at him. Her big eyes burning with rejection.

He closed the door firmly and made a decision in his heart.

He would not come back.

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"I want a lot of things. People will finally respect me, I will have all of what I desire. Expensive dress, expensive perfumes..." Natty chanted as she giggled.

She lay her hand on Malik's chest as she gently stroke him.

He hummed in pleasure and watched her with amusement.

"As I have promised you, you will have everything. Just keep telling me about every minister that visits." Malik reassured.

"I will tell you everything. I am happy to be on the winning side, to serve the Master." She paused then took his face in her hands. "And the one that makes me happy the most is that I have you." She smiled to him.

"It makes me happy too that I have to." He pulled her closer.

The room filled with only the sound of their breathing. 

"I love you, Malik." Natty said.

"I love you too." Malik said back immediately. Although something felt off about his affirmation, Natty wasn't one to care. He said it and that was all that mattered.