Twisted Love

(Chapter 2 will be much less violent, Chapter 3 will be full blown.)

For years now Tia was in love with Maxim; it was something that burned in her heart ever since they were children. Every day he went out and fought monsters, and every day she felt fear; the thought that it was the last time she would see him wore heavy upon her mind. But Tia never had the courage to tell the man with fiery hair the truth of her feelings; the fear of rejection was something that scared her even more than his death.

As the years wore on, Tia grew tired of her fear; she knew that one day, Maxim would have to find out her feelings. But every day she kept putting it off, every day she kept silent. She tried to show him her worth in other ways, from cooking him dinner to helping him with his daily life that was beyond his experience of killing things with a sword. But Maxim, he never noticed; he was polite and thanked her, of course, but he never could see that what Tia was subtly trying to show him.

Time passed, Maxim became famous for his sword skills. Tia's fear of losing him to monsters slowly vanished; he was too good for the local beasts to kill him. But the fear of rejection still weighed heavily on her heart. But that, too, was being worn down by his lack of interest, his lack of taking the hints. Tia found herself growing more impatient, her heart getting closer to an explosion of boldness that would allow her to tell him, once and for all.

And one day it came; she had enough. It was the day, she told herself, that she would tell Maxim of her feelings and demand to know what he felt. But she was still scared; what if he rejected her? What if he said he didn't love her? Couldn't love her? It would rip her heart apart... but it was something she would deal with when, and if, it happened. That night she made him a meal beyond any before; she crafted all of his favorite foods from scratch. If that wouldn't show him that he could do what it took to make him happy, than nothing would.

Inviting him over, Tia filled her table with all of his favorite foods; she lit candles to give the place a more relaxed, romantic mood. She drew the curtains, placed a sign telling all that her shop was closed for the night. When Maxim came over, his nose was assaulted from all sides with the scents of his favorites; but he was weary. The candles were something odd to him, and seeing Tia in a formal evening dress, something he had no idea that she even owned made him think something was going to go down.

The night progressed, Maxim gorged himself on his favorites; everything was delicious as always. He complimented her cooking, they made small talk; he said she looked good in her dress. Very feminine, he told her; Tia was in Heaven. The very concept that he could see her as a woman made her heart beat swiftly in her chest; there was a chance now. With dinner came wine that took her forever to find a good bottle all the way out in the sticks in which they lived. But she did it.

It flowed freely as they talked about the old days, about his prospects for the future; he didn't want to change his monster fighting. But Tia could accept that; such was his calling in life, she knew. But while Maxim could hold his drink, Tia could not; her frame was small, her body light. Soon, she was giggling like a little girl, the alcohol getting to her brain. She slurred slightly in speech; Maxim knew the night was going to come to an end with her falling into a sound sleep.

Maxim tried to excuse himself, but Tia didn't let him; indeed, she physically grabbed hold of his arm and pressed her body against it as she pulled him down. He sat, and then Tia took her chance; she sat upon his lap. Taken aback for a moment, Maxim put it aside; she was drunk, he told himself, she would act differently than normal. But it was when she drew her body close to him, wrapping her arms around his neck that he knew this was more than just drunkeness.

He tried to excuse himself again, but Tia clung tightly. She said she needed to tell him something... something important. She looked him in the eyes, her face flushed with excitement, booze and love; she told him that she loved him. That she had loved him for so many years. That everything she had done was for him to look at her as a woman, and as a wife.

Maxim looked pale; the whole thing became so clear. He had been oblivious to her feelings, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't see her that way. He was silent, and she trembled; she was scared. Hoping that it would cause something, she leaned toward his face and kissed him on the lips, pressing hard against him. He was shocked, she closed her eyes; but he reacted in a way she feared.

He lifted her from his lap and put her down on the floor, standing up. He told her he should go and turned to leave; she panicked. She got up as he went to the door, grabbing hold of him, begging him to stay; he wouldn't. Pushing her away, he walked out the door, leaving her alone, heart broken.

Days passed after that; Maxim didn't see her. She didn't see him. The two made no attempts to talk, a wall formed between the two close friends. The town could feel the pressure between them, but the close knit people didn't do anything. It was their own thing to deal with; though they hoped the two would come together. But Tia had lost all hope; her shop remained closed. She shut herself off to the world, finding herself in sorrow.

In the darkness of her home, she sat; her heart had been shattered, her feelings spurned. She couldn't cry, such was her own mental conditioning, born years ago to not shed tears. Her hurt and pain remained trapped inside of her, it was bottled up. But it slowly began to consume Tia; her broken heart turned her bitter, her sorrow turned to anger.

Tia found herself a changed person; she still loved Maxim, but now it was something different. She didn't just want him to love her... she wanted him to exist only for her. She became twisted in her thinking and desire; a plot was hatched. She kept a whip for times when she had to go out and brave the monsters, she had several lengths of rope that she used from time to time to carry wood. She even had various potions and medicines to numb wounds.

A dark, vile plan formed in Tia's mind in the darkness one day; she would make Maxim hers. She would have to break him just as she had been broken; she could have to make him want to be only hers. She felt a twinge that day between her legs; she could tell that she was depraved, for she had gotten horny at the thoughts of abusing her dear Maxim.

Quickly Tia went to work, making a tea she knew he liked so very much. Mixing all of her most potent potions and herbs together, she crafted something that would put even Maxim down for a period of time. She mixed and altered the tea, fortifying it with sweetness to cover the taste of her nefarious plan. It was all coming together, she prepared her home, the ropes were pulled out, her whip at the ready; her bed was jury-rigged for her dark, rope binding purposes.

Tia went out that day, looking for Maxim. She seemed cheerful and normal, asking for him in town. She found him, coming into the square, another hunt done. They looked at one another, she smiled at him. She told him that she was sorry for what happened, that she wanted to repair the damage done. Maxim trusted her, hoping to make things right; he followed her back to her home.

Served the tea, Maxim drank it, noticing it was sweeter than normal. He shook it off, thinking Tia possibly wanted to give him a slight boost with sugar from his hard day of monster slaying. They chatted for a few moments; Tia was as chipper as ever... then things began to blur. His mind swam, eyes getting foggy. Maxim told Tia that something was wrong; she smiled and then gave a chuckle.

Maxim felt fear rip through his heart, he tried to get up but his legs were too weak. He tried to ask what she did, but nothing came from his lips. His eyes grew heavy, his limbs were like lead; the last thing he saw was Tia stand, smile still on her lips. He fell backwards, hitting the floor... and he faded into the darkness.