Edie

Edie

SasatheShy

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Chapter Thirty: Cain’s Remorse

--

He had retreated. They had all gathered without him, prepared to rid the streets of two fallen bodies. Mark was helping. Aleah, as well. But he? He had fled. He was nothing more but a coward.

Entering his bedroom, Cain slowly removed his gloves. Silence greeted him as he stepped inside. He slowly moved across the floor, eager to get out of his uniform. He removed his jacket, and he set it down on his desk chair. He undid the buttons on his shirt. Halfway down, he paused. He eyed his bed -- just the night before, he had shared his bed with Edie. And now? Now she was away from him, helping that damned hunter.

And he hated that.

Grumbling, he sat on his bed. He kicked off his boots. He rubbed at his sore, cold feet. Thinking he should had stayed, Cain slowly got to his feet. He went to look out his window. Looking down, he saw hardly anyone outside. The snow had picked up again, and the wind was blowing it around.

A usual small blizzard.

Shivering, suddenly, Cain went to start a fire. He fixed three logs into the chimney before lighting them ablaze. He closed the iron gate to keep the sparks from flying out. He brought his hands to his mouth, blowing into them to warm them up.

“Damn,” he sighed.

Then, there was a few knocks at his door. Cain jumped, actually startled. He took a deep breath to slow his heart down. He faced the door, straightening up best he could. “Come in.”

The door opened, revealing Mark. He was alone. He closed the door and bowed. “My captain…”

Cain sighed. He knew he could always count on Mark. “I -- the bodies…?”

“They‘ve both been bundled up,” Mark whispered. “Edie‘s friends are taking care of their fallen comrade’s body. What should we do with Hyatt’s?”

“Just -- burn it,” Cain suggested.

Nodding, Mark did not budge. He was hoping his captain would want further information. When Cain didn’t speak up, Mark decided to.

“I spoke some with Tonisha,” he said. “She’s angry that you left…”

Rolling his eyes, Cain finished unbuttoning his shirt. “I don’t need to hear about her complaints. I just --” he paused. He bit his bottom lip. “Did you happen to -- see how Edie was?”

“No,” Mark whispered. “She quickly left into the inn with Lavan.”

“Oh,” Cain said. He sighed as he removed his shirt. He folded it neatly. “Well, I suppose I’ll go back tomorrow -- and see how she’s doing.”

“If you -- think that’s wise,” Mark nodded.

Raising a brow, Cain glared at Mark. “Dare to repeat that?”

Gaping, Mark bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”

Sighing, the captain shook his head. He walked over to Mark, and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder. “Sorry. I know you mean well, Mark. But I‘m still going tomorrow.”

“I understand,” Mark said, though he did not. He bowed again before taking his leave. He only hoped that his captain knew what he was getting himself into.

Cain finished readying himself for a good night’s sleep. He put out the fire. It had nicely warmed up the room. Once all the flames were put out, he moved over to his bed and laid down. He sighed. Edie’s beautiful smell was still scented on his pillows and covers. He smiled as he closed his eyes. Sleep soon found him.

--

“Ouch…”

Lavan winced. Doctor Tiller was cleaning at his wound. Edie was standing on his other side. She had her hand in his. She was still crying. She wiped at her tears every few seconds. Tonisha and Leigh both stood behind Edie.

“You got lucky,” Tonisha whispered.

Frowning, Lavan shook his head. “What does it matter? Pip’s dead.”

Tonisha sighed. “We’re sorry for the loss of your friend, but if he hadn’t stepped in to protect you -- then you would have been…”

“Please d -- don’t finish t -- that sentence,” cried Edie.

Holding her tongue, Tonisha folded her hands.

Lavan winced again, but his direction turned on Edie. He smiled lightly at her. She had not stopped crying. It made him realize that she still liked him.

“I didn’t think you cared this much about me,” he said.

Rubbing her eye, Edie touched his cheek. “Of course I do! I never stopped caring a -- about you. How -- can you even say that?”

“You’re right, Edie. I’m sorry.”

Sniffling, Edie looked at the wound. Tiller was stitching it back up. The sight was a bit gross. Edie had to immediately look away. She kept her hand in Lavan’s.

“All finished,” Tiller soon said. He had bandaged the wound. “No work until the stitches heal up. Do not strain yourself. No lifting heavy objects, and avoid bending down. When you bathe, use a cloth around the wound.”

“Okay,” Lavan sighed.

“Thank you, Tiller,” smiled Tonisha. She led him out with Leigh following. They wanted to give Edie some alone time with Lavan. But Lavan had other plans.

Edie stood back as Lavan slowly put a clean shirt on. He winced, but he managed to get the shirt down to his waist. He got to his feet, then, and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Edie asked.

“I need to talk with Roddy and Blythe,” Lavan said.

Blinking, Edie started to follow. But Lavan stopped her.

“Just us three,” he said. “It’s better that way.”

Frowning, Edie nodded. She watched Lavan leave. She suddenly felt a little sick. She slowly sat down on the stool he had occupied. She sniffed, thinking of the challenge. She was glad that horrible Hyatt was dead. But she had hoped Cain would stick around.

“He left,” she whispered.

She still wanted to see the captain again, even after what had just occurred. She knew if she shared this information with Lavan, he may want to complete the challenge he accepted. For her sake, she hoped Cain would not allow it to happen. She could still hear Lavan repeating, ‘You’re next!’ over and over in her mind. She shook her head, wanting to rid herself of them and the event. She was certain she would see Cain again. She was sure he had just left out of courtesy. Lavan could not fight with him… Lavan was too weak and exhausted from his duel with Hyatt.

Yes, that had to be his reason for leaving.

And to give her time with Lavan.

This was what Edie believed. It’s what she hoped for, and what she’d use as an excuse to keep herself from feeling sad.

Cain would come back. She was certain.

--

Lavan was surprised to find his two friends in the kitchen. Walking in, he found them packaging up all of the frozen, butchered meat into many small bundles. They placed the meat in a well-sealed box, and tied it around some supplies. Lavan tilted his head. He slowly made his way over to them. He started to speak before they noticed his presence.

“What’s going on?”

The two jumped. Blythe kept quiet. Roddy, on the other hand, didn’t.

“We’re packing up,” he said straight-forwardly.

“Packing -- up?”

“Yep,” Roddy nodded. He was boiling with anger. “Blythe and I are leaving for Naltin -- and we’re taking Pip’s body with us. Tonisha and Leigh bought us some horses and a small wagon. We will bury him back in Naltin.”

Gaping, Lavan eyed the supplies. “You’re -- really going back?”

“We can’t stay here any longer,” Roddy argued. His voice was rising as he spoke.

“But -- you can’t go…”

“Yes we can!” Roddy shouted. Blythe went to put her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away from her. He stomped up to Lavan, wagging his finger. “We stayed with you this far, Lavan! Pip insisted that we did! He kept telling us, ‘It’ll make Lavan happy!’ But you know what? He wanted to go home the most! And now he’s dead, Lavan -- fucking dead!”

“If you want to stay here, then that’s fine!” He went back over to finish packing. “But Blythe and I can no longer stand this place! We can no longer stand the Cretchens, and forgive me for saying this -- but we can no longer stand you’re little lover!”

Blythe looked down. She crossed her arms, knowing Lavan was looking to her for some sort of support. But she supported Roddy. The slightest thought of Pip made tears come to her eyes. She wanted to go home.

“F -- fine then,” Lavan said.

Stepping forward, Blythe took Lavan’s hands. “Please come with us? Please?”

“No…” Lavan shook his head. “I can’t… I love Edie, and I need to stay here. I just know that -- I do.”

“Then you can stay alone,” Roddy growled. “Because we’ve had enough!”

Roddy finished up. He placed the supplies over his back. He walked over to them, and wrapped his arm around Blythe’s shoulders. “We’re leaving tonight…”

And they left the kitchen.

The two turned to go upstairs. They froze, discovering Edie had been eavesdropping. Roddy glared at her. Blythe frowned. They continued upstairs, disappearing through the door.

Slowly, Edie entered the kitchen. She found Lavan sitting on a stool. His head was lowered, and she could hear him sobbing. She knew he was crying. Hearing him cry made her heart feel weak. She made her way over to him.

“Lavan?” she whispered.

Sighing, Lavan wiped at his eyes. He looked up at Edie. “S -- sit with me?”

Grabbing a stool of her own, Edie joined Lavan. She gently hugged him, so not to rub over his wound. He accepted the hug and his tears continued to flow freely.

They sat together in silence.

--

Come evening that next day, everything had settled down. Edie had to do her job, even with the disaster from the previous night. Now, she was short two people. Amana and Lavan. She worked double hard, asking for assistance from some of the inn’s prostitutes. They agreed to help out, having heard the news.

Tonisha was busily helping out, as well. She was taking orders for Edie, and cleaning up messes. She filled some drinks for three people when the front door opened. She looked up. When she saw it was Cain, she nearly fainted.

Excusing herself, she went over to Cain. She crossed her arms, glaring at him. She saw he seemed a bit nervous.

“What are you doing?” she asked agitatedly.

“I know you’re mad at me,” Cain growled. “But I’m not here to see you. I’ve come to see Edie.”

“Well, she’s busy,” Tonisha said. “We all are -- but I want a word with you, Cain. Come to my office.”

Cain gaped. He was never ordered! He made the orders -- it was not supposed to be the other way around. Grumbling, he decided to follow her, though. He was curious about what she wanted to talk to him about.

Soon, he was in her bedroom. She offered him a stool, but he refused it. He stayed standing, hoping to leave as soon as possible.

“Make this short,” he demanded.

“I’ll make it for as long as need be,” Tonisha glared. She stood before him, keeping silent for a while. She was taking in what had to be said.

“Just what in hell were you thinking?” she began. “Starting a challenge? How could you even do that? How could you even let it go on? Edie was begging for you to stop it over and over! She didn’t need that, Cain! And now Lavan is hurt, and his best friend is dead. An innocent mad is dead!”

“But Hyatt…” He tried interfering, but failed.

“That man was a disgusting bastard!” Tonisha sighed. “The point is you hurt Edie greatly, Cain. I thought that you wanted to love her, and make her fall in love with you!”

“I do,” Cain growled.

“Then start acting like it! Cain -- no one’s probably been as brave as I’m about to be -- when facing you, but you’re a disturbing, sick, selfish son of a bitch!”

In seconds, Cain’s hand was at her throat. He pushed her against her desk, but she did not show fear.

“Go ahead,” she whispered. “Choke me! But you know I’m telling the truth.”

Trembling, Cain pulled away. He turned his back on her, taking a few steps forward. He did not leave, but he was thinking about it.

“Her life is miserable,” Tonisha pressed on. “And it’s that way because of you. Don’t you understand, Cain? You will never be able to have her because of what you did to her! It’s not possible! You are fooling her -- but more importantly, you are fooling yourself. Now, she’s suffering. She loves Lavan, and -- now his friend is dead…!”

Quickly, Cain turned around. He slammed his hand down on Tonisha’s desk. She had moved around it, to feel more safe. “I did not know that that young man was going to interfere!”

“Well, he did! He did, Cain! And even so -- if you had not brought up the challenge, that young man would still be alive!”

“The whole point was for that fucking hunter to fight Hyatt,” Cain growled. “I hadn’t told you yet, but -- Hyatt was in on Verity’s scheme to hurt Edie! I found out through one of my chefs when one went missing! She had overheard Verity and Hyatt one day -- and seeing the rage in Lavan’s eyes I -- well, I was certain…” he paused. He bit his lip.

Tonisha could hardly believe a word he had just told her. “So you figured Lavan could kill Hyatt because -- he was that angry with you?”

“I didn’t think that that young man would interfere! And I didn’t think Lavan was such a weakling! But the death of his friend boost his hate…”

Slamming her own hands down on the desk, Tonisha gave Cain her best dirty look. She wanted to stab at him where it hurt. She was sick of his ways.

“If I were you, I’d stay away from Edie,” she yelled. “You keep hurting her left and right! You may not think that you are, Cain -- but you can’t help it! It’s -- it’s how you are. Thinking that you can fall in love with her to make up for what you did is stupid, Cain!”

“You raped her, you murdered her family, and if you really wanted to make her happy, then you’d keep away from her!”

Sighing, Tonisha leaned back. She glared at Cain, glad he had kept silent for her words. “Stop making everyone suffer for what you’ve lost…”

His muscles tightened. Sweat formed over his forehead. His knuckles turned white. Taking a step back, Cain shook. He glared at Tonisha. “D -- don’t even fucking bring -- that up…”

“I think you should stay away from Edie,” Tonisha said. “Not just for her safety, but for yours, as well.”

Unable to take anymore of Tonisha’s nonsense, Cain turned and raced out the door.

Letting out a deep breath of air, Tonisha fell into her seat. She shook her head. “God, please -- help Cain to think about what I said.”

--

Cain swung his bedroom door open. He slammed it shut, growling miserably -- he kicked over his desk chair… He tossed over his desk. Papers flew. The ink spilled, staining the floor. He stomped over to his large dresser. He rumbled through it, tossing and throwing objects here and there. He made a mess of his room… Glasses shattered, plants broke, and clothes were stained.

Panting, he tried to calm down. But a sudden something then caught his attention. Slowly, he turned to peer down at the floor. There was something shiny there. Moving over to it, Cain saw that it was his mother’s wedding ring. It must had slipped off Edie’s finger when she had hurriedly got dressed the morning of her stay.

Reaching his hand out, Cain shakily picked it up. He stared down at it. An image of Edie flooded his mind -- so, the ring had not fit, after all. Another image came to Cain’s mind -- an unclear image of a lovely woman with long brown hair and deep brown eyes.

An image of his mother.

At that moment, the captain did something he hardly did; something that not a single soul had noticed him do before.

He started to cry.

Stumbling backwards, Cain fell to the floor. His back hit the end of his bed, hard. A sharp pain shot up his back. But he ignored it. He sobbed bitterly while staring down at the ring. He held it close, even as his hands trembled. He eyed the diamond, and he wiped at his eyes. He shook his head. The tears would not stop. They drizzled down his cheeks, dropping off his chin, and they landed on his lap.

Shaking his head, he stared around his messy room. He stared around at everything he had worked hard to obtain. He thought on about his lonely life.

Alone. He was all alone.

Closing his eyes, Cain thought back to seven years ago. He pictured Edie, frail and in tears. He could still hear her screaming for her parents. He heard himself giving the order to have the villagers all killed, including Edie’s parents. He can still remember staring down at her vagina for the first time, and taking it all without even getting her wet first. He remembered the heart-wrenching smell of blood -- Edie’s blood. The blood she spilled that he had caused.

His tears would not stop. He huddled his knees to his chest as he eyed the ring.

For the first time in his life, Cain felt guilty. He felt remorse. He ached by what he had done to her. He ached by how he had treated her. He could still hear her screams and pleas in his mind. He could still smell the smoke and burning corpses. It had all been by his command. Thinking back on that day -- thinking back on how he had almost broke her made him feel sick to his stomach.

Quickly, Cain raced to his feet. He rushed into his private toiletry. He leaned over the bucket, and he vomited. Stunned, he gasped as he closed his eyes. He released again, groaning and sobbing. He tried to take a deep breath. He tried to close his thoughts on the past, and what he had done. His stomach rumbled. He vomited a third and final time, gasping. He wobbled backwards. He fell against the hard toiletry floor. Coughing, he shook his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he felt as if Tonisha had made a point worth sharing. He considered what it would be like to spend time away from Edie… Yet, he couldn’t. Tonisha was wrong about one thing. She was wrong about his fakeness. He truly did love Edie. He loved her with all his heart. And now, he hated himself for what he did.

Tonisha had to be wrong. And Cain knew that he could not keep away from that beautiful, precious, sweet cook.

Cain came to a decision. He would keep away, for now -- he would wait a while until he returned to the inn. Then, when he did go back, he’d talk with Edie -- he’d tell her how he felt.

And he knew it was for the best.

Rubbing at his eyes, he felt slightly better. Sniffling, he slowly got to his feet. He walked out of the toiletry, and over to his dresser. There, he placed the wedding ring on top of it. For now, he would keep hold of it. The next time he gave it to Edie, he promised himself it would be by asking for her hand in marriage. And he’d make sure that when that day came, he’d have Edie’s apology.

Yes. It sounded perfect. He wanted a perfect, wonderful, happy life with Edie.

Nothing could make him more happier.