The Belladonna

Chapter 13 - Bonfire

Sky lifted herself off the ground and went to stand up. She stopped when Dustin joined her on the sand. He sat less than a foot away and his posture was laidback and carefree; the complete opposite of Sky's.

"Did you enjoy the show?" He asked looking at the embers sounding annoyed.

Sky swallowed but didn't answer him. Why is he here? And where did his lover go? Sky looked to where they were and saw that she was no longer there. Beyond was the dark expanse of the ocean.

"You look as if you've seen something scandalous." His voice was no longer annoyed and the way he said the last word gave Sky goose bumps. He was mocking her. Sky felt her anger spike slightly. Not enough to yell at him though.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She told him carfule to keep her voice cold and steady.

"Really?" She could hear the smirk in his voice now. "Would you like me to remind you exactly what you saw?" Sky's head snapped to his direction. He was looking at her, but not in the same way he had looked at the other woman; his gaze was calculating as if she was some odd creature he had never encountered before.

"I want to know something." Sky blurted out before she lost her confident or worse; he kissed her. Dustin pulled back slightly his light coloured eyebrows rising.

"What?" Sky looked at him. Would he really tell me? She decided it was better to ask and get nothing than not ask at all.

"Why do you do what you do?" Not quite what she'd wanted to know but it was something that had been on her mind for a while. Why would anyone do what he does?

Dustin looked away from her. His gaze drifted to the ocean his eyes distant. There was no spark in them, no life.

"You ask as if I have a choice." His voice was deep and had an odd tone to it.

"You do have a choice." Sky told him angry with his response. "You chose to board that Brig and slaughter innocent lives." She stood up. "It was your choice to kill them no one forced you." Sky was practically yelling down at him. She didn't care about the passed out people around them, she didn't care that any second he could kill her. All she cared about was the fact that he had murdered people. Lucuss.

Dustin didn't stand up. He merely tilted his head up to look at her. "I didn't know there were innocent people on that ship." He said. Sky temper exploded.

"Didn't know? It was a ship full of innocents. How could you not know!" She screamed. Around them people groaned at her loud voice and rolled over to face away. Dustin stood and faced her; his eyes dark.

"After what you saw today you still think that?" The harsh tone in his voice barely fazed her.

"Yes." She took a step closer to him. "They were people trying to make a living. An honest living." She poked him hard in the chest and he leaned back slightly. "You killed them."

"Trust me Sweetheart it may be honest in the eyes of the King but it's no better than what we do." He loomed over her and in other circumstances Sky would have been intimidated. Not now though.

"There was a boy," She told him wanting to make him understand, Why? She asked herself. Why should I care? She really didn't know but she couldn't let it go. "He was innocent. He was just a kid and your men killed him. And for what?!"

Dustin closed the distance between them so that he was only inches from her.

"I did not know." He snarled, "There weren't meant to be any civilians on that Brig."

"How-" Sky wanted to yell at him but his words stopped her. "What do you mean?"

Dustin frowned down at her. Sky could see that they were both brimming with anger. "You make assumptions yet you know nothing." He pushed past her bumping her shoulder roughly enough to hurt and began to walk away. It took Sky less than a second to decide whether or not to follow.