The dungeon didn't change in the slightest over the years.
Sitting on the floor with his legs folded, Lucian pulled at the long, heavy chain connecting his hands to the wall. 'How nostalgic.'
The sound of footsteps echoed in the dungeon, and Lucian knew who was coming. His ears were already used to the sound of her steps, and he opened his eyes to look at her.
She was wearing a military uniform, her long hair braided in a bun. She was all set for a battle and war, not love and peace.
"You know this is not how you ask for second chances, right?" Lucian asked her.
Celine stood in front of him, her arms crossed before her chest in a way that made her look more threatening than she already was, "As if you would give me any."
He looked to the side, his lips pursed in a sulk at the truth of her words. It was hard to forgive when Voice kept repeating what she did over and over in his head.
At least he got a hunch of why she seemed to hate him as much as she loved him, and treated him like he was the worst person on the planet, only to turn around and act like the sweetest and most loving wife he could have asked for.
He remained quiet, so she nudged him with the tip of her boot, "You almost tricked me by not turning into one of them five years ago. Almost had me, didn't you? You could have killed me instantly...not only me, but the whole Royal family during the banquet that day."
Lucian was silent, and Celine continued her monologue, "But you didn't," she said almost disappointingly, "I thought creatures like you were bloodthirsty monsters without any self control. But you, you're a different breed, aren't you? Lucian's influence must have been too great, that's why you're so...tame."
His gaze moved from the side to her boot, keeping still and not moving, "What about me makes you think that I'm someone else?"
Celine took out a drawing from the inner pocket of her jacket, and showed him various angles of a skull. She pointed at a specific part of the drawing, and at the same exact place she had dug her heels in on his head.
"Their regeneration around the head area is the fastest among the other body parts," Celine explained, "The force from my heel is more potent than my whip, but there's barely a mark left behind on your head."
Lucian didn't know much about his kind, and Voice never explained it. The number of cases was too little for him to make any accurate assumptions.
"Since when did you start suspecting me?" Lucian asked her.
"Since I caught you talking to my brother as if he just didn't turn into a shackled," Celine answered, "I want to know when you became one of them."
Death was a trigger for transformation, that much Lucian knew from his own experience with shackleds, but he didn't remember dying at any point of his life.
Voice was such an integrated part of his life, he never thought of himself as a shackled that could only bring bloodshed and destruction.
'Don't worry, I won't betray you, Voice. You're the reason I'm still alive, and I owe you my life.' Lucian calmed the voice in his head that was starting to stir.
"I don't remember clearly, but it probably happened after a carriage ran over me in the street," Lucian said, seeing no point in denying anything since the power he showcased earlier already sold him out, "I was six."
She stepped away from him and started circling around, her eyes narrowed in thought, "Whether it's a truthful answer, or a lie to deceive me, it's still worth looking into."
Lucian tugged at the chains, "From your words it looked like you were ready to die with me that night?"
If she already knew he was a shackled, then she knew the risk with being near one.
Celine paused her circling, looking up at the ceiling, "I think I died the moment I realized that my lover is probably dead and someone else is using his body and memories against me."
A sigh escaped her lips, "One day he was ready to marry into my family despite the consequences, and the next day...he become a coward with guts of a chicken…what…?!"
His leg shot out, using them like pincers to grab at her and pull her to the ground. He didn't know why Voice would lend him powers only when going against her, but he suspected it had something to do with the grudge he held against Celine.
His chains rattled as they pressed to her throat, choking her. She knew he wouldn't kill her, yet still tried to struggle away, but the more she fought the more his chains pressed to her neck.
"So you did all that while knowing Lucian is no more?" Lucian couldn't help but tease her, "Isn't that considered cheating?"
Her elbow shot out and struck him in the ribs, forcing the air from his lungs, but he refused to let go of his hold on her.
"I don't know how you control your shackled side, but I would never have allowed you to lay your hands on me if you weren't Lucian, well except when your eyes become more gold than they should."
She twisted her body around to face him, and brought her fist down on his face, knocking him back.
He grabbed her hair as she was trying to free herself, and pulled her down to the ground.
Celine was on her knees, her hands pressing against the ground, and her face against his crotch. "If you wanted to get castrated so much you should have said so sooner," she scoffed.
"Do it," he said. Maybe it would finally erase the need to fuck her.
His grudge didn't lessen one bit, though he should be happy that she wouldn't hurt him that much if he were a human and not a shackled in control of his body.
She didn't hesitate and opened her mouth to bite him through the fabric.
"Hngh─" he grunted.
He expected it to hurt, but it was more arousing than anything else.