A Window To A Soul

Chapter 19: Chloe

Elliott wasn't happy. After everything was taken care of, we went back into the mansion. Elliott was now by his desk, thinking about something. He wasn't talking, just leaning back and staring into space.

I was sitting on the foot of the bed with my back straight, looking at the wall. Then he finally said something. "Why did he use a gun?"

I looked up, confused. "The attacker?"

He looked at me, annoyed, and shook his head. "No. Della's bodyguard. I specifically instructed him to poison her. So why the hell would he use a gun?"

My eyes widened. Oden wasn't just living here in peace. He was trying to kill the Great Ones. But why? Why would he try to kill them if they didn't do anything to him?

Elliott sighed hard. He massaged his temples and looked back at me. He paused, staring at me with a scowl. "What?"

I shook. "Nothing." I looked back at the wall. The bottom of it now.

Elliott got up and walked in front of me. Now I was staring at the bottom of his robe. I swallowed hard, nervous to look up at him. He stepped forward and put his finger on my chin, lifting my face to look at him.

My eyes met his. He smiled. It was a genuine smile. What or who did he see in me? Because he wasn't looking at me. He leaned down to kiss me, his hand brushing over my eyes, covering them, and then brought his lips to mine.

He had never kissed me without covering my eyes. Why?

He leaned away from the kiss, uncovering my eyes. But by the time I opened them, he was turned around, walking back to his desk. "I need to get new bodyguards. I lost 5 of them over that whole debacle."

I immediately thought of Kai. I wanted him to be one of the new bodyguards. But then I remembered that his birthday is tomorrow and he's already assigned to Claire. I wonder if Elliott is going to get another girl. Or maybe it's all just going to be guys. I might remain the only girl he owns.

I silently sighed. Everything from the ball was repeating in the back of my mind. I still remember seeing the anger on Elliott's face. I saw his eyes start to disappear and his hair starting to turn red. His face started to change and his hair got shorter. And then he went back to normal after a few seconds.

I wonder if that was his real form. He started getting distracted from keeping his human form. Sometimes when he's sleeping, the color of his hair will slightly change.

I looked over at Elliott and realized that he was staring right at me. My eyes widened. He smiled a bit, his brows furrowed. "I know what you're thinking."

I gulped. "You do?"

He nodded. "You're thinking about my little slip up that I made today. How I almost changed form."

I shook my head. "N-No. I'm not."

His smile fell. "Don't lie to me Chloe. I am a god. You are a mere human. A bodyguard."

He got back up and walked back in front of me. He kneeled in front of me until we were face to face. He smiled evilly. "Do you want to see my real form?"

I swallowed hard. "U-Um."

His face began to contort, his eyes disappearing, his bones moving, his hair changing. And then it stopped. His eyes were gone, along with his fake marking. Instead, he had straight, red hair that stopped at his shoulders, small slits above his cheeks, possibly for tears. His cheekbones and jaw were slightly different.

He stared at me in silence. At least it seemed like he was staring at me. The place where his eyes were was just smooth skin. He seemed unnaturally still. It was eerily quiet. He wasn't even breathing.

I didn't know what to do or say. His face was blank and still. He looked like a statue, and part of me wondered if he was still alive. How would a god be killed anyway?

Then he finally moved. The rest of his body stayed still and his face contorted into a big smile. But it seemed like an angry smile. Like he was planning something. Or he was laughing at my fear. All I knew was that it was evil... and I liked it.

I gulped as he leaned his face forward and put his hands on my eyes. But instead of kissing me, he moved his hands away and continued to stare at me with a smile. I felt different. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I moved my hands to my eyes, but I was shocked at what I felt.

Instead of my eyes, there was just skin. I had no eyes. I was only sensing everything around me. I felt scared. So scared. I felt tears. But it wasn't the normal feeling of crying. I felt them leave the small slits above my cheeks that would be in the place of the far corner of an eye. I felt them slowly roll down my face.

Elliott, in his Oden form, reached his hand to my face, wiping off a tear with his thumb. He tilted his face and his smile fell. "Don't cry, E-" He paused. "Choe. I'm not going to hurt you." What was he going to say?

He moved forward to kiss me, but I moved back, still scared. But I instantly regretted it. Elliott got angry. He moved his hand away and stood up, looking down at me with rage. "Are you rejecting me?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, he stopped me. "I am above you. How dare you think you have any right to pull away from me. You are just like she was back then. All these years and it's just repeating itself. I should have known that you were just like her."

I was confused. But I was right. He wasn't looking at me for who I was. He was seeing me as someone else. Every night that he used me, every time that he kissed me, every second he looked at me, it wasn't me. It was someone else. But who? Everyone says that Elliott never had a female bodyguard before me. And they haven't said anything about him having a lover. So who is making him this mad?

I quickly got in what I wanted to say, saluting him. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Please forgive me, My Great O-" I stopped, putting my arms down. I quickly got on the ground, on my hands and knees, and put my face into the floor. "Please forgive me, My Magnificence."

I only heard silence. I was scared of what his answer might be. Then I finally heard his voice. His normal voice. The voice of Elliott. Not Oden. "Get up."

I looked up at him, realizing that I can blink my eyes now. My white hair fell in front of my face. I stood up and Elliott moved my hair to behind my ear. Then he kissed me, covering my eyes like he did every time.

But this time, when he pulled back, he didn't look away. He stared at me. Not my eyes, but my hair, and facial features. I wish that I could say that he was looking at the real me. But he wasn't. He would never look at the real me.