8th Shot: Bound

8^th Shot: Bound

            After Nyx left Vincent alone to dress the ringing of his cell phone startles him. He jumps back in shock that he even had such a thing after being captured by Wallis and his two peons. What kind of half bit criminal leaves his victim with a cell?

            “Hello,” Vincent plainly answers rolling his eyes.

            “Hey, Vincent I’m just checking on you for Shina. She thinks you are in trouble or something.” Horris’ familiar voice comforts Vincent.

            “Yeah, she can be a bit of a worry wart sometimes.” Vincent says laughing at how epically correct Shina is.

            “I know, but it is all too understandable why she worries about you so much. Ever since you were a child you had a hard time staying out of trouble and now that you are a full adult, for the most part…” Horris says joking about Vincent horrible aptitude for getting into horrendous situations. “…there’s no telling what kind of things you’ll get into.” Horris finishes.

            “Aw, that’s so sweet you guys worry about me?” Vincent jokes.

            “Vinnie, hurry breakfast is almost done.” calls Nyx from down the hall.

            “What was that? Horris rings with an unfamiliar concern.

            “Um, that would be the two nymphs that saved me.” Vincent says returning to reality. “Why so concerned Horris?”

            “Vincent you need to see Shina as soon as possible.” Horris says sounding as if someone had just stabbed through his heart.

            “Horris, what is going on?” Worry wheels into both of the men’s throats.

            “I’m not sure Vincent, but from here on out be careful, go to Shina as soon as possible and don’t leave the girls alone for any reason. I’ll see you when you enter the city, please hurry Vincent.” Horris signs off on the conversation hanging up.

            Vincent places the phone on the translucent nightstand next to his bed and proceeded to get dressed wearing a black v neck T-shirt, white jeans with black chaps and shoes with spurs, inspired by Wallis’ boots.

After dressing and heading down to his kitchen Vincent claps to open his blinds and sees Nyx outside playing with Shiva. The horse kicked up and down and ran with the small nymph. An unwarranted smile cracks along Vincent’s face and he is thrown into one of Nox’s memories.

The memory was of a toddler Nyx running from a new born stag back at their old home in Aurora.

“Nyx had not yet fully learned about life yet she was so innocent.” Nox startled Vincent walking toward him as he stood on the last step of the staircase.

“Why am I having your memories? What did you two do to me?” Vincent begins to interrogate Nox. “A simple healing only binds me to do a labor for you. Why am I having your memories and why can you know what I am thinking?”

“…Because it is a part of your labor for us.” Nox says with a saddened look in her eyes. What had Nox to be sorrowful for? She had a zooanthrope bounty hunter under her employ, to bow to any one whim she had.

“What is the labor that you two have bound me to?” Vincent questions, looking at Nox as she slowly backed away from him.

She is afraid of his reaction. No man wishes to be bound, but to be bound in such a way that the nymphs bind would be of great discomfort and of an even amount of anger. Nox fears that Vincent will strike her or even worse refuse and prefer death to the labor.

“We have bound you to be our protector.” Nox answers timidly.

“Oh, you want me to take you home. That’s understandable; I would have done that if you had just asked though. After I collect the bounty for that boy and girl from the camp I’ll take you right away.” Vincent says joyfully without being ready for the nymph’s reply.

“You misunderstand Mr. Leone we don’t have a home to return to anymore. We wish to stay with you and that you become our protector.” Nox says as she begins backing away even further.

Vincent’s face cringes as he realizes what she has just said to him. The stipulations of the healing spell used to save his life are strictly based on wording. If the wording is used well enough, the person being healed can be bound to the healer immortally, and that is the exact thing that the nymphs have done to him now.

“So you are saying that am eternally bound to two beautiful nymphs?”

Vincent bends his head down and begins a hysteric laughs, and Nox grow deathly afraid of him.

As Vincent turns to look at Nox, he is stricken confusion. He looks upon Nox’s face to see perfect fear expressed vividly. The look of Nox activates another one of their memories.  

The scene like the first shared with Nyx, was of the fields of Aurora, but among the grasses lays Nox and Nyx hiding as men in white cloaks and masks burn down wood homes with nymphs and elves still in them. Among the nymphs trying to fight the attackers off is the girl’s mother who is quickly slashed across her face and thrown into the fire, and along with her was their already dead father who was the first to die in the attack.

            The girls hid in fear until the attack was over and then the Styx members came taking the survivors as slaves. They were caught by Lorek and a blonde jackal zooanthrope with bright green eyes, his tribal mark branded under his left eye, and he was dressed in one of the white cloaks without his mask.

            The vision skips to years later as Nox and Nyx were beaten, labored, and many more things. The visions made tears of blood rage flow from Vincent’s eyes. Vincent could not hold back a single tear. Sobs echoed in the room and Nox stepped in closer to console him.

            Nox escorts him off the steps and to a long family sized fur couch that sat in the middle of the room with a glass table sitting in front of it along with a wide plasma screen TV a few feet ahead of it.

            “I’m so sorry Mr. Leone I will prepare your food now, you must be hungry and…” Vincent interrupts her.

            “You don’t have to do that, I’ll fix myself you are no longer a slave, and I will protect you.” Vincent says holding her hand in his as he dried his tears. “You are not my slave so just call me Vincent please, Mr. Leone is my father and he is nowhere as cute as me.” Vincent returns to hiding behind his jokes and wit.

            Nyx reenters the house waving bye to Shiva and skips over to Nox.

            “Shiva is so beautiful Nox, what kind of horse is she?”

            “Shiva is an appaloosa, and a very strong one at that.” Nox answers returning a smile to her face and looking out the window of the fawning horse.

            “The food is ready; I made eggs, bacon, pork chops, and pancakes.” Nox calls while she walks to the kitchen.

            Vincent’s eyes finally dry look at Nox and sees her dressed similar to her sister, wearing one of his T- shirts like a dress, but Nox’s fuller body fills it a tad bit more. The nymph’s body made his shirt looks so much better to him.