(You and me both, full time uni, two jobs, and an unhealthy addiction to watching Arrested Development and playing Guild Wars 2. I find time to post. It's called six hours of sleep.
)
Aninka slammed a blade into the wall with such force that it stuck deep in the wood, "Aninka. Or Aleksandrov. Call me woman again and we'll see how fast he can shoot me dead. And you both better hope your lucky stars are in order." She breathed in her hand wrapping around the blade as she began to pry it loose from the wood, a task that was going to prove harder than she'd want. "I'm absolutelty fine, I mean if you ignore the fact my world has come crashing down, and that one of my boyfriends wants to kill me and the other is just going to be furious, I'm doing great."
She glanced at her attire again and sneered, "Then I guess it's lucky I'm only half a ranger." She paused against the wall, "You two can scamper on, I'm in no mortal danger, and I'm not particularly interested in dinner right now." She could see that they were going to protest, until she looked past both of them causing them to turn to see an out of breath and very angry looking Yuri.
"Speak of the devil." Aninka said with a grin that did not match her feelings, "These men were just leaving. Weren't you boys." Yuri brushed past Daichi and Kiro straight for Aninka. Unlike the two men, he stared her down not taking notice of her outfit. "Invite me inside." He said with barely contained rage.
Aninka shook her head, "You know I don't like letting anyone into where I live." He leaned close to her, "You really want to do this in the hall?" She grimaced in response to this, "In the hall, in the street, this won't be fun anywhere." Yuri reached past her pushing the door open behind her and then her through the door. She let out a sound of protest as he turned towards Daichi and Kiro, "We'll be along in a few." The door slammed in their faces after this announcement.
Yuri was surprised by the room, although it was sparse in many regards, it still was nice. There were potted plants of a flower he'd never seen before, but that was a deep red color all over. The room smelled faintly of whatever this was, and everywhere else there seemed to be furs from various animals.
Aninka had retreated
Yuri attempted to cool his temper, but the truth was, he was far past raging. “So. A tank and a militia sieges us, and all the want is the bride of Lord Vladmir. And you sway up pretty as you please and go off with them. Then, naught two days later, you’re back with Dimitri who looks like something the cat dragged in after a fight with a daemon. Why don’t you start explaining there.”
Aninka folded her arms putting up a very weak, stubborn front, “It sounds like you’ve about figured it out. So what’s left to explain? I’m clearly with not only a Lord, but also Dimitri, and also, I have loose morals. (please do not swear) you, get out of my apartment.”
Yuri glared at this, “You don’t get to be stubborn. You answer questions to me, or I’ll drag you by the hair to the Spartans and turn you in for what you are. Let them pry the truth from between your lips.”
Aninka refolded her arms and looked away, “You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t do that.”
Yuri came forward and grabbed her wrist, “You’re right. Because you’re going to tell me.”
Aninka shouted in his face, “What’s to tell. I’m intended for a Lord back in Reichland. I couldn’t leave Dimitri to die because of a stupid mission his betters sent him on. So there, that’s it, now get the (please do not swear) out of my apartment.”
Yuri’s hand rose up sharply to slap her, but slowly, it came down to hold her by the shoulders, “Aninka. I’m trying to understand. I’m trying to see you. I just want to know the truth. And you’re going to tell me.”
Aninka looked away from him shaking her head, “I’ve told you everything.”
Yuri leaned forward towards her face, “No. I mean this. You’re going to tell me.”
Aninka continued to stare at the wall, “What do you want from me?”
Yuri’s voice rose sharply at this, “I want you to tell me why you’ve been (please do not swear) playing me, if you think that’s fine to just spin a boy’s head when you’re (please do not swear) to be married, why you walked into my life and then were going to so easily leave it.”
Aninka stared at the wall her jaw set in defense, “I’ve been intended since fourteen. I was only staying here five years before returning to Reich. You were just an accident.”
Yuri looked like a poked wolf at that, and he continued to shout, “(please do not swear) that. I don’t believe that. You could have not gotten involved, you got involved.”
Aninka’s voice rose up to a shrill note, “Got involved, this wasn’t me, you wouldn’t leave me alone. And then we became partners and then I found out Vlad was with another woman. Alright, I was angry, and sleeping with you was cold, but I was also drunk, and it isn’t as if you’re bad looking.”
Yuri shook his head suddenly, “No. No (please do not swear) you saying that. You could have transferred units, You could have not spoken to me again, you stayed, you kissed me, and (please do not swear) that, I know you felt something.” It was then that his eyes fell on the bruise marks around her throat.
His right hand moved to lift her hair up as the left pulled her forward and turned her head so that he could see the bruises were finger shaped and ran the circumference of her neck. Slowly, he pressed against the bruise only to feel her shy away.
“Aninka. What is this?”
“Nothing.”
“Aninka, this isn’t nothing. What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Yuri lost his patience and shouted at her again, “Aninka, what the (please do not swear) is this on your neck. Why do you have choke marks on your throat. Don’t make me ask Dimitri. Don’t do that to me.”
Aninka tear up, “Vlad was angry. I helped Dimitri, like I said. He was furious, and when he gets like that, he tends to lose control, it’s natural. It’s nothing.”
Yuri continued to touch the bruises on her neck with a furious curiosity, “No. No this isn’t natural and it isn’t nothing. Your husband to be throttles you when he gets angry?”
Aninka had finally begun to cry, “It isn’t like that.”
Yuri having reached a limit laughed, “It is like that. How can you not see that it’s exactly like that. Aninka, please promise me that you aren’t going back there.”
Aninka looked away and Yuri reached to turn her head, “You aren’t going back there.”
“But if I don’t he’ll/” Yuri was staring at her hard, “He’ll what?”
“If I’m not back in two months, then bounties on you and Dimitri go live. And if those bounties go live, the prices he’s named will draw the best of the reich. And then when they catch you, and drag you back to him he’ll send you to be practice for the Academy students. And it will make things very rough on me.”
Yuri shrugged, “Then that’ll happen. But you aren’t going to be held hostage.”
Aninka weakly looked at Yuri, “He just does it because he loves me.”
Yuri leaned forward and kissed her forhead, “No. He doesn’t. And you’re going to stop telling yourself that. Now, go put on a proper dress, you’ll save this outfit for later. We’re going to meet Dr. Joseph, and I’m going to show you off. And you aren’t going back to reichland.”
Aninka shook her head preparing to disagree and Yuri looked up at her with command in his eyes, “Aninka. Go get dressed now.” Slowly, she moved away from him, dragging open her chest to pull out a red dress and moving to change.
