Gladiator (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

“Don’t you dare think you know what I’ve been through.” Angelica hissed him as, her anger rising completely as he tried to tell her what she needed to do.

"This isn't like simply losing your parents. If you've never been in love, then you wouldn't know." She said, her cheeks glowing red at the very thought that he could even try to understand what she had lost.

“My well being is none of your concern. You are here to make sure that no one tries to do bodily harm to me. I don’t need you prying into my private life.” She hadn’t been this angry in a long time and soon she was storming from the kitchen, slamming the door behind her to leave him alone.

She didn’t need anyone telling how and when to mourn for her husband. It was an ache that would never go away and some man that she had just pulled off the street wouldn’t be the one to make that go away. It made her so incredibly angry and anger was something she never dealt with well. She soon found herself outside, walking towards the pond that was adjoining the house. She could sit and fume and get her anger out before she did something that she truly came to regret.

 

[JadeKnight]

Kieren blinked for a moment at her outburst, but he didn't say anything further. He simply listened to her rant and watched her storm out the door. He sighed and and shook his head softly. Things didn't quite go as he expected, but then he had been away from the real world for awhile. He moved from the kitchen, making his way back through the house to look for Joe. He spotted for a moment when he spotted Angelica outside, near the pond.

He leaned against the windowsill as he watched her for a few moments, talking to himself.

“Exactly what do you expect from me? Guard someone who has given up on life, retreating into a shell for the rest of your life? I may have lost my parents, but I still feel the hole where they were. If you expect me to protect you by myself, then I do need to be let in. Even the guards in the arena were expected to take care of our well being, and not just from each other outside the arena.”

He shook his head for a moment before pulling back from the window, continuing his search for his trainer.

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica sat at the little pond, watching the ducks as they paddled along. She hated the way her life was. She felt so isolated from everyone that she’d ever held dear, but it was her own doing. The hurt that she had was so great that she didn’t know if she would ever be normal again. Thoughts of her husband filled her every moment and she was haunted by the ghost of a man that hadn’t been alive in nearly a year. Maybe Kieren was right…maybe she did need to take down the photos…

That thought made her ill. She couldn’t part with the image of her husband. She couldn’t even imagine giving up that very thing that gave her comfort in her sorrow. She sighed softly, leaning back against the stone bench for a long moment as she tried to decide what to do. The entire situation felt hopeless.

She sat there for an hour until the sounds of a fight caught her attention. Turning towards the house, she saw Joe training Kieren in hand to hand combat, teaching him what he would need to protect her. She had always thought that the training was unnecessary, but there had been threats on her life lately. No one had been able to figure out who had been sending the kidnapping notes, but the police had informed her to take every threat seriously.

She stood from the bench and made her way towards where they were, standing a respectable distance away to simply watch the two of them.

 

[JadeKnight]

The only type of fighting Kieren had been used to was the fast and dirty fighting in the arena. Most of his focus had been just be the last man standing. So in a since, he was having to do a bit of relearning in the style of fighting that Joe wanted him to. He had to roll back his intensity in fighting, doing his best not to kill his opponent.

His training with Joe started off simple enough. As they went through some simple stretching exercises, Joe explained the basics of Kieren's job. It was not any different from some of the jobs he had down in the past, protecting dignitaries when he wasn't assassinating them. It had been Joe's idea to test Kieren's fighting skills, which the Kitsune agreed to. He was used to fighting in the semi-loose style of jeans he wore, but he took off his shirt, laying it off to the side. Though he was well built from all his time fighting, his back and chest were covered with scars from bladed weapons. Most of the scars were barely visible.

By the time Angelica made her way to where she could watch the two males fight, Kieren was covered in sweat from the intensity. He had manged to keep his attacks at half strength so that neither of them would get injured. The kitsune noticed Angelica from the corner of his eyes, the momentary distraction costing him. He stepped back to avoid a kick from Joe, his left foot stepping on his discarded shirt. As he put his weight back, the shirt moved forward, causing him to fall backwards on his ass. He growled softly as Joe chuckled for a moment.

“You're lucky the ground is so soft. Though you should pay more attention to your surroundings.”

The kitsune smirked and shook his head.

“Yea yea. Maybe next time it'll be a puddle.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled over her lips as the watched Kieren trip over his own shirt, falling on his backside. He had been fighting well before then and she wondered if it was her that had distracted him. Joe took it in stride, chuckling before telling him to pay more attention to his surroundings. With that, the training was over and Joe excused himself to go and check on his wife who was staying on the estate since she was with child.

Angelica took the moment to get close to Kieren, a chagrined look on her face. “Look…I need to apologize for what I said earlier. I know I spend a lot of time saying I’m sorry, but this is the first time I’ve ever had someone…well talk about Christoph like you did. It hurts, but it’s always good to hear some honesty from people.”

 

[JadeKnight]

Kieren dusted himself off as he stood back up as Joe decided to end the session there. He shook Joe's hand for a moment before watching him head off to another part of the estate. He had leaned down to pick up his shirt when Angelica spoke up, apologizing to him. He looked at her as he listened for a moment. He grabbed the shirt and pulled it on before responding to her.

“Well, I'm glad some good came of what I said, ma'am. I'm sorry myself if it came out hurtful for you. I do understand what it's like to be alone, as I lost both of my parents by the time I turned 18. I was an only child, so I really haven't had anyone to turn to. I was in a funk for a little while myself, but I managed to pull myself out. Not exactly where I planned on ending up.”

He gave a little bit of a smile for a moment. He frowned for a moment as he felt a drop of water on the tip of an ear, glancing up towards the sky.

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica nodded as he told her a little about himself and she opened her mouth to reply when suddenly a drop of rain hit her on the top of the head. Raising her gaze to the sky she saw the slate grey clouds building over head and then a booming clap of thunder sounded before sheets of rain started to fall in earnest. She let out a shriek as the cool rain soaked through her clothing and she laughed for perhaps the first time with pure joy at the strange turn of events that day.

She ducked her head, soaked to the bone as she took Kieren's hand and pulled him towards the house to escape the sudden storm.

 

[JadeKnight]

He watched the slate gray clouds as the opened up, closing his eyes as the rain poured down on them. He had always loved the rain, and it had been a very long time since he could enjoy a good time in the rain. His attention was refocused when he heard Aneglica shriek for a moment, looking towards her. He blinked for a moment as he noticed her soak clothing, almost revealing her body beneath.

He glanced towards their joined hands as she drug him into the house, one eyebrow raised. He wasn't quite certain what caused this turn around of her behavior, since she reacted so strongly to him earlier in the car. Once inside her released her hand to begin wringing out the water from his tails. He chuckled softly for a moment.

“Didn't quite expect that, but it seems things are looking up.”

He didn't elaborate on his words, seeing where she would go with them.

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica was soaked to the bone, her red hair heavy in her ponytail as she watched Kieren wringing out his tails. He looked at her, telling her that things were looking up. She supposed that they were in a way. He wasn’t in the Dome any longer, that was certainly a plus. Then Angelica realized that he was referred to the moment of laughter that she’d let slip free.

“I suppose so.” She said as she shivered in the cool interior of the mansion, her hands crossing over her chest as she tried to warm herself up as the sudden shower pounded against the windows. “In more ways than one.”

 

[JadeKnight]

He had finished wringing out two of his tails when he noticed Aneglica shivering. He shook his head softly for a moment.

“Maybe you should go get a warm shower and change into some dry clothes. Getting a cold probably isn't high on your list of things to catch, though I'm a little more resilient to that stuff.”

He continued to wring out his tails, leaving a puddle of water on the floor. He grabbed his wet shirt and peeled it off slowly, more water dripping on the floor. He gave her a little smile for a moment before he made his way up to grab a shower himself and some dry clothes.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I suppose you’re right.” She said as she watched him continue to wring out his tails, leaving a large puddle on the floor.

Angelica’s eyes were locked on the naked chest that was revealed as he peeled off his shirt. Her mouth suddenly went dry and Angelica blushed, trying to avert her gaze but finding that next to impossible. Kieren was very attractive, she thought to herself and she instantly felt guilty at betraying the memory of her husband. What kind of woman did that, she asked herself as Kieren smiled at her and then moved on his way.

With a long sigh, she did the same, heading to her room to shower and dress in something warm and comfortable. When she was done, she wrapped her black robe around her body, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt as she went back to the kitchen for a hot cup of coffee. The rain continued outside, beating against the roof with a ferocity that she hadn’t seen in a long time. It looked as if this rain would continue all throughout the night as well.

 

[JadeKnight]

After getting himself cleaned, dried and changed, Kieren decided to spend some time outside. He had enjoyed the rain since he was young, but he was never allowed outside of his cell in the arena when it did rain. Pulling on some warm sweats, he made his way out to the porch.

He smiled for a moment as he inhaled the crispness of the rain-soaked air, catching the boom of thunder in his ears. He sat down in the middle of the porch, cross legged as he watched the rain. He didn't have anything else to do, so he decided to stay outside till he was ready to sleep. It had been a somewhat exciting day, his first day of what he considered freedom.

Even though he was under a contract, he was still freer than he had been earlier. It still bothered him about his sentence extension, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment. He closed his eyes as he just relaxed, taking in all the senses of the storm heavy surroundings.

 

[heartofcourage]

Glancing out on the porch as she poured herself a cup of coffee, Angelica noticed Kieren sitting there on the floor. He seemed to be at peace as he relaxed and enjoyed the fall of the rain around him. He was a strange man, she told herself, finishing up her coffee before she walked towards the windows that overlooked the porch.

Christoph had loved a good storm as well. He would pull her out of the house and into the middle of a shower that would leave them both soaked to the bone and shivering. Then he would bring her down into the soft grass and make sweet love to her until she couldn’t stand it any longer. She felt tears rising in her eyes and she quickly forced them down. She didn’t have any room for sorrow in her life any longer.

With a deep breath, she moved towards the door that led outside, standing there in silence as she watched Kieren concentrate. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him questions, but she stood silently to the side, her cup of coffee in her hand as she simply watched him.

 

[JadeKnight]

He felt like he could almost sleep out on the porch in his position. His tails had settled down around him, curled up around his waist and legs. His ears twitched for a moment at the sound of the thunder crashing, but that was the only movement he had showed.

Kieren stayed in that position for another half an hour before slowly getting up, stretching. Feeling relaxed and stress free, it was time to head inside. He turned to move inside when he saw Angelica standing inside the door, watching him. He gave a little bit of a smile for a moment.

“Been there long? I hope you weren't kept from anything important.”

He opened the door, stepping past her carefully. His tails whisked slowly behind him, hitting lightly against her robe.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Not very long…” Angelica said, trailing off as he smiled for her and then opened the door, entering the house as his tails brushed past her, hitting her robe.

“I’ve never been this close to someone with a tail before.” She blurted out, blushing as she realized how much of an idiot she sounded like in that moment. Of course she hadn’t. The only time that she’d ever seen someone like Kieren was when they were fighting in the Dome. Most of them were hardened and too far gone to try and save, but Kieren was somehow different.

“I’m sorry. Usually I talk with more tact, but I guess it’s been too long and emotional of a day.” She said softly, looking down at her coffee cup as she let the silence hang around them for a long moment. Truth be told, she hadn’t been all that good with social interaction since Christoph was gone. He truly was her better half and she felt like such a large part of her personality were missing with his passing.

 

[JadeKnight]

Kieren blinked for a moment at her comment about not being close to someone with a tail before. It wasn't exactly something he had ever thought he would hear from someone. His kind wasn't exactly rare, but it was something he had never been told. However he thought it might be something to let slide for the moment.

“True, it has been a long day for both of us today. And things are probably going to take a little bit to get used to, for both of us.”

He gave a little smile and laid a hand lightly on her shoulder for a moment.

“Perhaps we should both get some sleep and see what tomorrow holds.”

He stood for a moment longer before moving past her. The kitsune made his way up to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He stood in front of his mirror for a moment, studying the face looking back at him. He wasn't sure what his future would hold, but things seemed to be turning for the better.

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica went to bed shortly after Kieren left her. She couldn’t believe that she had said such an incredibly insensitive thing to him and she was extremely embarrassed. It would take time to get past the awkward stage that they were currently in and she knew it would take even longer for her to trust Kieren completely. She hoped that came quickly, but she held out little hope.

She made her way towards her room, slipping into bed after she turned out the lights. In the dim light from the storm outside, she could make out her husband’s face on the side table. Her heart most definitely ached for him but she was ready t o start moving on. He would always be a large part of her life, but she couldn’t make him her entire world.

With a deep sigh, Angelica pulled her pillow over her head and turned her back on the photo, settling down to sleep to the sounds of distant rumbling from the thunderstorm outside.

 

[JadeKnight]

Having been conditioned to wake up just before dawn, Kieren was up before the rest of Angelica's household it seemed. After dressing in a pair of jeans and a short sleeve shirt, he made his way down to the kitchen. He sighed for a moment, his stomach growling it's displeasure at being empty. Since no one else was around, the kitsune would have to create his own breakfast. He wasn't a world class chef, but he knew his way around the kitchen.
He had a reasonable decent breakfast of scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and hash brown done up, more than enough for four people. Satisfied everything was ready, he had a plateful of breakfast, eating alone at the dining room table. A photo book on a nearby shelf caught his eye, pulling it out. If anything would help him settle in, finding out who he worked for would help.

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica slept late into the morning, emotionally and physically worn out from the day before. She hadn’t been prepared to go through so much when she rescued Kieren and she hoped that the rest of the days together would go much easier then what she had already experienced. It was nearing ten when she finally rolled from bed and showered, dressing casually in a pair of jeans and a plain grey long sleeved tee. She would work from home today, having no desire to leave for the city at all.

She was passing down the hall into the kitchen when she paused. Standing in the doorway, she watched Kieren leaf through a family photo album that rested on the shelf in the kitchen. It was full of images from her life, from her birth to her marriage and she knew that as her protector it was important that he knew about her past. It would be painful, but she owed it to him to trust that he could do the job that she had given to him.

“Good morning.” She said with a smile, brushing her hair out of her hair as she moved past him and started to prepare a light breakfast. “Did you sleep well last night? If you have any problems, I can talk to the housekeeper about it.”

 

[JadeKnight]

He looked up from the latest photo album as Angelica came down into the dining room. He glanced for a moment at the nearby wall clock, noting what time it was. It didn't surprise him that so much time had past. A stack of four photo albums was on the left side of his position at the table, a fifth one halfway open in front of him. He gave a smile and shook his his head for a moment.

“No, I didn't have any problems sleeping. It was the first time in a very long time that I got to sleep on an actual bed.”

He looked back down at the photo album, noticing he had gotten to her wedding photos. The photos had been well done and he thought she looked beautiful in them. He didn't comment about the photos, but watched her get her breakfast and eat every few moments.

“So how did you get into the business of buying prisoners and what future plans do you have for that line of progress?”

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica sucked in a deep breath as he asked her how she had happened into the business of rescuing people. It had always been her husband's venture that she felt the need to continue after his death. She didn't have to tell him that though, she thought to herself as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal and took a seat at the island to look over at Kieran.

"Well, it's a long story." She said softly, bringing another spoonful to her lips. "My husband always disliked the way that most of the prisoners were treated and he started using our money to make life a little better for the most hopeless of them."

"I guess when he died I felt the need to continue that work. I have nothing in mind for nefarious purposes, you can rest assured about that." She brushed a lock of hair out of her face and took in another deep breath. "There are things about to happen in this society. Things that are not nice and I can't let people suffer because of that."

 

[JadeKnight]

He closed the photo album as she fixed her bowl of cereal and sat down at the island. He put the photo album on top of the others as she began to answer his question. He gave a bit of a nod as she continued to speak. He leaned back in the chair a little as she finished, folding his hands on the table. He had a feeling about her last statement, with things turning bad for society.

“Your husband sounds like he would have been hailed as a hero, if he had lived longer.”

He sighed softly for a moment as he closed his hands into fists for a moment. He slowly relaxed his hands once more, laying them flat on the table.

“I had the feeling myself that something was wrong when my sentence wasn't ended like it was suppose to. I was in the military long enough to know that they keep their standards in everything they do. Though the actions I took were justified, it was a political move, of sorts, to put me in the Arena for a short time to make a statement. We'll only be shielded from things for a short while, given your social status, I believe.”

 

[heartofcourage]

"My husband was a good man." She agreed as she finished her cereal and put the bowl in the sink. "I miss him horribly all the time. Sometimes too much perhaps but I feel close to him when I continue on with his passions."

"There are men that are threatened by soldiers. They know that the only way they can survive is to get rid of the men that might become great one day. It's a sad way of life that can turn dangerous very quickly." She said as she made her way to the table and took a seat next to him. "I'm afraid you got caught up in that."

 

[JadeKnight]

Kieren listened quietly as Angelica spoke about her husband, nodding a little. Although he hadn't lost anyone in life, he did have some empathy towards how she felt. Although he truly knew that he wouldn't completely understand until he lost some he cared for, which he hoped wouldn't happen anytime soon.

He looked over at her as she sat down next to him. He shook his head softly for a moment about her remarks on the situation.

“Soldiers are but the foot in things. We may be able to become great, but requires the need for the desire to obtain greater power in life. Not all of us do. Most just want to serve our time and retire to a quiet life. Unfortunately for the ones who did this, politics is a double-edged sword. If I do find who did this to me, they will pay.”

He reached over, laying one hand over one of hers. He gave it a light squeeze for a moment before standing up.

“However I won't let those thoughts get in the way of my debt towards you. I will make sure no harm comes to you while I am around.”

He picked up the stack of photo albums, moving behind her chair towards the bookshelf. As he did, one of his tail-tips brushed lightly against the back of her slender neck.

 

[heartofcourage]

Angelica let out a soft sigh, turning to look at him as he moved to place the photo albums back on the shelf. She shivered as his tails drifted against her neck. She hated to admit that she liked the feel of someone's touch, totally different from her husband's.

"I know that all of this has happened so quickly, but if you don't want to risk your life for me, I won't force you into the bodyguard position. I want you to have your own choices in this situation." She insisted, not wanting to push someone into a position they did not want.