Retribution

I had debated what I should do, but bit the bullet and opened the door.

Two heads met me, with their mouths wide open in perpetual agony. She had perched the last and final head on the side of the bath, with Unya speaking as though it was communicating with her.

I cleared my throat, a weird thing to do to get her attention I’ll admit, but I was in shock.

She turned her head towards me and her face broke out into a wide smile, spreading from cheek to cheek.

“There’s my loving fiancé, you have been gone for such a long time.”

“Unya, what happened in here?” I asked, astounded by her reaction.

I saw something shift within her eyes, almost like unbridled anger but that wouldn’t fit with the Unya I used to know. Not unless her emotions had returned to her, the day her full potential was released.

“I got bored Malachi, you just kept sending these pitiful creatures to me with your food. The boy had seemed fun but he stirred nothing within me, so I tried to sate my boredom another way. His screams were so much fun, but they ended too quickly. But more just kept coming and I prolonged the experience, it got messy so I thought I should clean up in time for the next one.”

She sounded so matter of fact about it all, it was strange and difficult to hear her talk about these atrocities like that.

“Love, I heard you speaking a moment ago, who were you talking to?”

“Don’t be silly, when you experience something like that with another being you become acquainted on a very personal level. We are such good friends now Malachi, can’t you hear them laughing. They keep talking about the stars and how dark it gets at night, up on the earth, it sounds wonderful,” She stated, sounding almost wistful.

“I’m sure it does love, I’m sure it does.”

She hurried over to me and her palm connected with my face, as her nails bit into my cheek and then dragged further down. I could feel the sting as she broke through flesh, drawing blood almost instantly.

“Do not call me that, you can’t just abandon me for weeks on end and then stroll in here like nothing is wrong. I have no idea who or what I am, but you just carry on pretending like nothing has changed,” she screamed at me, as her fists pummelled into my chest.

Seizing her wrists within my hands, I stilled her movements. I knew she could have pulled away and done a lot more damage to me, but she stopped moving and just stared up at me.

“Do you think this is easy for me Unya, I can’t stop remembering the person you were. I tried and almost kidded myself you hadn’t changed, but the Unya that I knew would never have done something so sickening towards another person. You have no idea what it is like being around someone who does not understand who you are or what they meant to you.”

“I have no idea, I’m the one who can’t remember anything. I am the one who hears and sees strange things that make little sense, and you left me alone. You abandoned me to face all of this by myself, I have no idea who I used to be but instead of helping you just disappeared,” she sounded so defeated as she spoke that the guilt ate away at me.

“Unya I’m sorry, I just couldn’t cope with it. I know that isn’t fair to you, but I’m not a saint. I can’t just push my feelings aside and I can’t stop hoping you will return to the girl that I once knew.”

“Well that’s the thing Malachi, I don’t know that girl. This is who I am now and if you can’t deal with that, then we can no longer be together. Hades gave me an out you know, offered to fix me up with someone else. I declined, reasoning that, although I may not know you, at least you cared for me. I was wrong, so maybe I should go back to him.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, how could Hades make an offer like that behind my back. I knew I hadn’t been willing, but he knew I would have done anything to offer a haven of sorts to Unya.

“Please Unya don’t do that, I know I should have been here for you and I promise I will not abandon you again. Let me get to know this new you and then you can get to know me.”

She nodded her agreement and I led her out of the bathroom, she looked around the room and asked me what would happen to her ‘friends.

“Someone will come and clean this up and replace your items, but if you can hear them then I am sure they will still be here even after they have removed their remains.”

I had spoken hesitantly in my reply, unsure if anything I could have said would set her off. But my words seemed to appease her but before she would follow me she just stood in place for a few moments, if I hadn’t have been watching her so closely, I don’t think I would have seen her staring at the same corner as before and nodding her head.

Funny thing was, that corner was the only part of the room that had been left unscathed.

9

Unya

After myself and Malachi had that little showdown, he had been true to his word. He came to me every day and escorted me to dinner every evening, we were getting to know one another but it had been easy to see he was comparing me to the girl I used to be.

It aggravated me, but I let out my anger, once he left me alone, on any unsuspecting servant that dropped by.

Whispering had started about me, but the fools knew better than to defy me, otherwise they would have to face Hades’ wrath. He seemed pleased by my new pastime, something about removing the weak from service to go towards a greater good. I had never chosen to question him on what he meant, it just hadn’t seemed relevant to me. As long as I could practice my skills and shut up the angry voices inside my head, then I was a happy girl. And trust me, everyone preferred the happy version of me, over any of the others.