With Sin, Condemn You

The glow of lava in the distance made me let out the pent up breath I had been unaware of holding. For some reason, I felt much safer knowing we'd be in the mansion soon rather than riding out in the middle of nowhere where Alden could easily attack us. I knew, however, that if he wanted to get to me or the others, he'd probably find a way to do it.

Dominion galloped to the stables in the back and stopped in front of it. Without a word, Zacky hopped down and helped me off the horse demon as well. When my feet hit the ground, I found it hard to stand. I guess I was still freaking out.

If Zacky sensed my fear, he didn't make it known. "You should go get changed," he said quietly. I could faintly hear worry laced in his tone. "I'll go give Shadows the details."

He turned to go inside but I stopped him by croaking, "He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

Zacky looked back over his shoulder at me and replied, "At first he'll probably want to. There's no telling what's going to happen after all this. But, I'm sure killing you will be the last thing on his mind." He stared at me a moment longer then headed back toward the mansion's back doors. I managed to get my jello legs to move and followed him.

We went our separate ways when we reached the entrance hall. I meandered over to the silver archway and black doors, which still stood open. Once in the bedroom, I immediately ripped the heels off for fear of toppling over in my shaky state. On the way into the closet, I nearly fell to my knees, but caught myself on the doorway. Fear had gripped me in it's sharp claws hard and refused to let go. I've never been this scared in my whole life.

When I gained a little more composure, I wobbled over to the mirror. What I saw reflected in the glass made fear dig it's claws even deeper into me. My skin was as white as milk and a few beads of sweat were traveling down the sides of my face. My hands were cold and clammy and a slight tremor was traveling throughout my whole body. I looked and felt like a ghost.

I put my hands over my eyes, either to erase the reflection from my mind or to hide from it. At this point, I wasn't very sure of anything. My mind was a jumble of thoughts and emotions, making it seem like someone had ripped my brain from my head, tossed it in a blender, then poured it back in.

Suddenly, I felt two arms wrap around my waist, causing my breath to catch in my throat. Had Alden already retaliated? If so, was he here to kill me, or worse?

Reluctantly, I slowly replaced my arms at my sides, so stricken by fear that I couldn't move or defend myself if need be. Lucky for me, self defense hopefully wouldn't be needed; instead of Alden reflected behind my ghostly figure, I stared at The Rev. I calmed down a little, but as soon as it had settled, I stiffened as paranoia mixed with my fear. He was here to secretly punish me without the others knowing. He heard about what happened and felt I should be punished for it.

I watched The Rev's face move to the crook of my neck. He kissed it lightly, and I snapped around in his arms, shocked by his sudden affection. "Rev...." I began.

"Call me Jimmy," he whispered.

"Jimmy, wh-what are you doing?" I stammered out.

He stared down at me, his blue eyes taking in every detail of my face, my body. I felt my cheeks burn, feeling like I was in one of those dreams. I dug my nails into my palm and winced at the pain. Well, I'm not dreaming, which makes everything even stranger.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling me a little closer.

As weird as this was going to sound, I felt safe in his arms. With is arms around me, it felt like nothing could touch me. Even the seemingly invincible claw of fear had been driven back into the depths of my mind.

"I could ask you the same thing," I told him, my eyes meeting his. "Why are you suddenly acting so...so....different?"

Jimmy's hands traveled up my sides and then back down again to rest on my hips. Goosebumps rose on my skin and I fought the urge to shiver. "We were wrong about you," he muttered after returning his face to my neck. His warm lips attached to it again.

I backed out of his arms and accidentally hit the back of my head on the mirror. I winced a little but managed to ask, "What do you mean?"

I saw something that resembled guilt on his face. "We misjudged you." I raised an eyebrow at him and he went on. "You see, the last queen was a coward to say the least." He paused, as if searching for the right words. "The reason I was coldest to you is, well, I um, fell in love with her and it turned out to be a big mistake. She was afraid that the prince of the time was plotting to take her out and ended up running off and marrying him..." His cheeks were flushed in embarrassment at this point.

Jimmy was silent for a few minutes and showed no signs of speaking. "What does that have to do with you misjudging me?"

He tore his gaze from mine and whispered, "We thought you would be like her. I mean, from what we've all seen, reincarnates have been very similar to their predecessor's. Prince Alden for example is exactly like the prince that she ran off with."

I glared icily at him. So they were judging me before they even knew me? Before they had even talked to me? This is like high school all over again! "So you bastards caused me all this pain because you thought I'd be exactly like my predecessor?" I was surprised at the strength in my voice.

For once, the indestructible Jimmy showed something like remorse. "Alexandra I'm sorry. It was a mistake. I should have known that no one could be as cowardly as her. Especially not you..." He trailed off, his eyes pleading with me.

I rubbed my forehead. A dagger-like headache had settled in either from all the information rushing through my brain or from hitting it on the mirror. I was so pissed, but being mixed with the fear, confusion, and other emotions I was feeling at the moment, it didn't seem to have much relevance. "Okay, it's fine I guess. I have one more question though: I can see why you're pissed but why were the others so bent out of shape about it?"

Jimmy's face contorted in rage. "Oh. That bitch got what she deserved, trust me. Like Alden, the prince was power hungry and ended up killing her. He got all the power and all the demons of the realm were treated like dirt."

I nodded. "I see..."

"So you forgive us?" Fervently, he added, "We all promised to change our attitudes toward you."

I waved him off, still rubbing my head. "Yeah, yeah. Can I be alone though? I have a lot on my mind right now...."

Jimmy nodded, then made a move toward me. Obviously changing his mind, he turned and walked out of the closet.