With Sin, Condemn You

The two sides met, the sounds of weapons clashing, victory screeches, and cries of pain filling the air. I watched the two sides try to annihilate each other either in my name or in Alden's. I tried to keep an eye on Matt, Brian, and the other warriors I was especially close to and found it too difficult. And I thought finding someone in a crowd at a concert was tough.

I watched flashes of light of every color erupt from both sides, some going astray and others doing whatever damage they were intended to do. I finally manged to find Brian and Matt and let out a sigh of relief. The two were thankfully unharmed so far and making their way through our opposers successfully. I could already see the path to Alden starting to form, making me excited and even more nervous at the same time.

I shivered involuntarily and bit my lip, my head again filling up with failure scenarios. Every time I managed to see myself defeating Alden, the image was immediately ruined by some random event.

Jimmy snuck a glance at me and frowned when he saw my worried expression. "Hey, I'm going in for a minute to clear my head. It's nearly impossible out here." Without waiting for a response from the others, he opened the door to re-enter the mansion. Before going in though, he discretely waved, wanting me to follow.

I gave him a small nod and turned my attention back to the war raging in front of me. After a few minutes, I said, "Is it okay if I go in to study what I'm suppose to say? I don't want to forget it when I really need it."

The three remaining in front of me merely nodded. "Find Jimmy just to be safe," Zack cautioned without tearing his from the scene before us.

"Okay." I turned away from the battle and opened the door, stepping back into the hallway. After shutting it behind me, I searched the hallway for Jimmy. Despite my uneasiness, a smile managed to make its way onto my face as my eyes rested on him just down the hallway. His hands were buried in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. Obviously he hadn't noticed I had come in because he was still staring at the opposite wall.

I quietly sauntered over to him and planted a light kiss on his cheek. Jimmy jumped a little; he must have forgotten he asked me to follow him. "Oh. Alex. Hey," he muttered softly, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I rested my head on his chest and draped my arms over his shoulders. "Hi." The nervousness in my voice was unavoidable at this point.

"Just relax babe," whispered Jimmy, squeezing me tighter. "Every thing's going to go our way. I promise."

I let out a pathetic laugh. "I don't think I can."

Jimmy tilted my chin so I was looking up at him. He smiled warmly. "With that attitude you can't."

The now seemingly permanent frown remained glued to my face. Jimmy saw this and released my chin. "Sorry. That probably didn't help at all."

I shook my head and buried my face in Jimmy's chest again. If only this whole thing would have never happened. Yeah, I wouldn't have met Jimmy or the others, but there's a much better chance that my life and the lives of demons I cared about wouldn't be in danger. I'd just be a normal college student living a normal life.

I sighed. "Maybe I should have just met Alden's demands. Then we wouldn't be having this war and you guys would all be safe."

Jimmy's grip on me tightened, causing me to bite my lip to hold in a small cry of pain. "Alex, please don't say that. He would just kill you and everything would go back to the way it was. We'd all be treated like the low-lives he thinks we are." He paused to think a second. "Actually, I'm pretty damn sure he'd just kill us. There's no question that he'd kill me and the other guards; he's wanted to do that for ages, he's just never had a reason until now. That immunity was just a bunch of shit to get us to give in."

I felt tears sting my eyes; Jimmy was right. Going with Alden would only solve the fighting part of this. And on top of that, Jimmy probably thinks I'm just like my predecessor now: cowardly and stupid.

"I'm sorry," I whispered with a sniff. "You probably think I'm just as cowardly as the queen before me now."

After loosening his grip, Jimmy lifted my chin and pecked my lips softly. "I could never think that of you Alex." He kissed me more passionately before continuing. "You've already shown a hundred times more bravery than Halie ever did. You wanted to protect us more than yourself whereas she was only thinking of herself. You two are completely different and I'm glad for that."

I smiled up at him as tears trickled down my cheeks. "Thanks Jimmy."

"It's only the truth," he mumbled as he wiped my cheeks with a thumb. I moved one hand to the back of Jimmy's head and pulled it toward my face gently. He chuckled, catching on to what I wanted, and pressed his lips to mine for a third time. I played with Jimmy's hair as his tongue entered my mouth. I moaned into his lips and pressed my body closer to his. I know what you're thinking: is this really the time to be making out? My answer: no it's not, but if I'm to fight a demon who is a million times more powerful than me, then I need to be calm.

The sound of slow clapping from behind us caused us both to freeze and pull apart. I turned in Jimmy's arms to the source of the noise as it stepped out of the shadows. Jimmy held me tighter and my eyes grew wide at the intruder.

"Well, well, well," Alden said, his face contorted in a smirk of amusement and what seemed to me like satisfaction. "I'm honestly shocked to find you with her, James. Did Halie not crush you as much as I thought she did when she ran away with my predecessor?"

Jimmy growled lowly, but didn't answer; he just pulled me closer and scowled at Alden. The prince just scoffed, his grin growing wider. "So how long have you been going behind your guards' backs, hmm Alex? A day, two days, the whole time you've been here? Either way it makes you a terrible queen."

That definitely struck a nerve. I had known from the beginning that this whole thing with Jimmy was wrong, but to be told this by Alden was even worse than my guards finding out. "Take that back you fucker," I snarled at him.

"Oh, she really is a feisty one. Is she like this in bed Jimmy?" Even though I couldn't see Jimmy's face, I knew he was ready to tear the demon before us to shreds. I tried to release myself from Jimmy's death grip to do just that, but Jimmy held on tight.

When he didn't receive an answer, Alden just shrugged and began advancing toward us and his face became serious. "I think you know what I want, James. So hand her over and I won't be forced to hurt you."

Jimmy pushed me behind him. "Never."

Alden unsheathed the sword at his hip. What I didn't notice from before is that it had the same glow as my dagger. My eyes widened once more and a lump formed in my throat. Jimmy was in danger, more danger than I thought before, and I'm pretty sure he knew it from the way he stiffened at the sight of the blade. My whole body was rendered useless by fear and the knowledge that this was the end.

Alden has won. Our rebellion has already failed.