Oz

Evangeline knew that when she is woken up by Zayn’s nuzzles and kisses on her neck that he has done something particularly awful. Only in those moments does she find his sweetness is turned up a few notches as it was this particular morning. His arms were wrapped securely around her and his lips were dancing gently and teasingly along her throat and she could feel his, um, excitement on her behind as he went along. He knew she was awake by the uneven breaths she began to take and she could feel his smile into her skin. He had her, as he always did. Their bodies knew one another and immediately responded in kind.

“What have you done?” She asked, voice barely above a whisper. She didn't even turn to meet his eye, or open her own. She was afraid of what his answer might be. For the first time, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that it was particularly bad.

Zayn stilled and she felt his warmth leave hers as he turned onto his back. “Nothing for you to concern yourself with, love.”

She rolled over and propped up on her elbow to look down on him, momentarily distracted by his good morning and his shirtless torso combined. Neither were clothed and the sheet was gently laid so low on his hips that it was hard to formulate what she knew she needed to say. “Everything you do is a concern of mine. Tell me what you have done.”

“I executed all of the prisoners in the square this morning.” He let it out in one quick breath, quietly but unfortunately not quiet enough.

“WHAT?” Evangeline jumped out of bed, taking the sheet with her to cover her naked frame and stood towering over the bed in a rage. Zayn had done many terrible things – this certainly wasn’t the first execution to take place in his reign – but to kill all of the prisoners? That was low even for him. They had several, she didn’t know the exact number, and most of them were locked away for simply stealing an apple in the market. To be executed for such a tiny crime was … there wasn’t a word for it.

“I had to set an example, Evangeline. A message. To those who break my law … hopefully word will reach the ones that escaped and those that helped them. There will be no mercy!”

“How could you do such a thing, Zayn?”

“I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety.” He stood up, reaching out for her but she stepped back and nearly stumbled over her sheet.

“My safety? You did not do this for my safety – you do this for your power!”

“I do it for you! For us! For all of this!” He waved his hand around for emphasis on what he meant, but she knew already. He was getting particularly agitated with her and she could feel a storm brewing.

“You do it for yourself. I never asked for this!”

“You signed up for this life when you fell in love with me. You knew what I was – what I am. It’s what you are, too, or have you forgotten that you’ve stood idly by and watched me rule?” He wasn't screaming at her, which usually meant he was trying to control himself. He knew he would never hurt her, but his powers tended to take on a mind of their own when he got upset and he could feel the power itching to seep out.

“I did not fall in love with you for your power.” She, too, was more menacing when she dropped her voice down low than when she screamed at him and he knew then how mad she truly was, but their tempers were already flaring and there was no stopping it now.

“I haven’t seen you complaining about living in a palace! Having jewels and pretty gowns!”

To emphasize her point that power meant little to her, she grabbed for the closest tiara on her ornate vanity and smashed it into the floor in a million crystal pieces. “You can keep your jewels and pretty gowns. If you continue your path of destruction I cannot be a part of this anymore.”

Reigning in his temper after a vase full of flowers on her nightstand exploded, he took a steady breath and backtracked. He could not hurt her ... that was one thing he was certain of and it was the only thing that could calm him down. His fear of ever hurting her. “Evangeline, love, you don’t mean it. Let’s calm down.”

“Do not come near me. I have thought many things of you, watched you do some horrid things and even helped and it’s made me sick, but this … this is too far. This is … monstrous. I hardly recognize you.”

She grabbed for her bag and the plainest dress she could find before storming out and into her private bathroom. She knew Zayn could bust down the door in an instant if he so desired but he didn’t make a single move towards it. She needed a moment and so did he … he never thought that he could do anything to push her away. They were soul mates. She had participated in some dreadful things, true none were this horrible, but still she had been a party to death and destruction before. He may have crossed a line with this morning’s executions but she had to forgive him. Without her he was nothing … they were two halves of a whole. So he would wait and calm down while she did the same and he was certain it would all be better.

Evangeline was not so certain. It was true what she had said about doing some things and she knew innocents had been murdered by her plans or actions yet now she was suddenly standing high on moral ground looking down on her one true love? There was no explaining this one away though – it was too awful. And suddenly the gleam of a wand spilling out of her bag caught her eye and she had a feeling she knew why she had become so ‘good’. She had felt like what she was doing wrong before but this was so much more intense. Could it be that Glinda’s wand was turning her darkness into light just by being in her possession? Was that kind of sorcery real?

There was only one way for her to find out.