HOME | DD

Description
“Is that...?” Bringing yourself to a complete halt, you narrowed your eyes in an attempt to see better in the dim, evening light. Not too terribly far away from you stood a tall, regal looking figure, a glass of wine in hand. He was dressed differently than you remembered, and his appearance was slightly altered, but it was most certainly the same man. Inwardly cursing at the sight of Gilgamesh, you felt your shoulders go limp. “Ugh, it is him. Why is he here?” Judging by the glass of alcohol in his hand, you assumed that his master must have lived in, or near the building he was standing in front of. If that was the case, you would have to remember to avoid walking this way again. After your last, and first meeting with him, you really didn't want to risk talking to him. Maybe, if you were lucky, he wouldn't recognize you and you would be able to pass by unnoticed. Figuring you would only draw attention to yourself if you stood in one place too long, you resumed walking. At first, you thought you were in the clear. One step past him, however, and you heard Gilgamesh sharply call out to you.

“You intend to pass me by without so much as a glance in my direction?” Slowly, yet confidently, Gilgamesh began to step towards you. You tried not to look back at him, but his voice demanded your full attention. Before you realized it, you had turned around to face him. “You're either blind, or even more bold than I remember you being.”

“I'm sorry?” Actually a bit surprised that he'd even bother to take notice of you, you weren't sure what to say. “I didn't think you'd want to talk to me.”

“I said nothing of speaking. But you should have, at the very least acknowledged me.” Eyes cold and full of judgment, Gilgamesh looked down at you for several long seconds. Suddenly, a glimmer of curiosity flashed in his eyes. “Tell me, who is unlucky enough to be your servant?”

“My servant?” Blinking back your temporary confusion, you shook your head. “I don't have one.” Your answer seemed to upset Gilgamesh. You weren't sure if he thought you were lying to him or not, so despite the fact that you owed him no explanation, you found yourself giving him one. “I'm not actually part of the war, I just kind of got dragged along.”

Looming over you like a dark cloud, Gilgamesh roughly took your chin in his hand and glared down at you. His piercing, furious gaze caused a shiver to run down your spine. Though you had been honest with him, you had only succeeded in making him angry with you. Not that doing so was a difficult task, of course. “You mean to tell me I've been wasting my time talking to someone even more unworthy than I thought? Just when did you plan on telling me this?”

“Um, never.” You knew that was the wrong response, but it was true. “Honestly I didn't think you'd ever talk to me again, so I didn't think it would matter. I never said I was part of the war either, so it's not like I lied to you.” Needing terribly to distance yourself from him, you took a large step back. This allowed your mind to clear slightly, bringing with the clarity, a rather curious thought. “Why are you talking to me anyway?”

“You filthy mongrel.” Now completely enraged, Gilgamesh threw his still full glass of wine to the ground, staining the pavement a deep red, similar to the color of his eyes. Though he wasn't yelling, the earth around you seemed to shake as he spoke. “You made me look like a fool.”

Flinching at the sound of shattering glass, you were finding it difficult not to simply run away from him as fast as your legs could carry you. Doing that, however, would have only made him angrier with you, if that was even possible. Not only that, but even if you did run, you knew you wouldn't be able to get very far before he caught you. And when he did catch you, there was no telling what he'd have in store for you. For now, regardless of what you wanted to do, your best bet was to stay put. “I'm not forcing you to talk to me. You can walk away at any tim-.”

Cutting you off just before your sentence was through, Gilgamesh took your chin in his hand once more. Jerking your chin up, so that you had no choice but to look at him, he spoke with his jaw firmly set. “You still haven't learned your place, have you?”

Though you did fear his rage, there was something strangely alluring about it. It wasn't that he was mad at you, or the danger that you were in, of course. It was something about his countenance. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but whatever it was made it impossible for you to truly be scared of him. “Look, I'm really not trying to upset you, but-”

“Do no speak to me so familiarly you little fool.” His voice now little more than a hissed whisper, he released your chin and crossed his arms. “I asked you a question. Answer that, and say nothing else. Am I clear?”

Fear turning to annoyance, you felt your brow begin to twitch. At this point, you really just wanted this conversation to end. Nothing good was coming of it, and you knew already that it wasn't going to end well for you. Trying your very best not to say something stupid or lash out, you bit your tongue and answered his question. “No, I haven't learned my place.”

“As I thought.” Pleased with your obedience, a cocky grin began to work at his lips. “Then I suggest you learn it, fast.”

You should have just been quiet. You should have just nodded and let it go, but you didn't. Even after all this, you hadn't learned to just be quiet and play along. If you had, this whole ordeal would have more than likely come to an end. You could have gone home and forgotten all about this. Unfortunately, as it so often did, your mouth ran away with you, digging you an even deeper grave. “How am I supposed to do-.”

His pleasure vanishing the instant you opened your mouth, Gilgamesh took the front of your shirt in his fist and pulled your body against his. Ignoring the fact that he had clearly forced the breath from your lungs and caused a wave of dizziness to wash over you, he barked his words out at you like you were little more than a dog. “Did I not tell you to say nothing else?”

Still fighting off the dizziness his actions had caused, you nodded weakly. “You did, bu-.”

“Good, you can hear after all.” Cutting you off again, he released your shirt and shoved you away. He did this so suddenly, and with such force, you almost fell to the ground in a heap. “Then I suggest you do as I said.”

That was the last straw. He was demanding you do something, despite having no authority to do so. And on top of that, he wouldn't even explain how you were supposed to do what he was commanding of you. Though you were sure you would regret it, you couldn't stop yourself from what you were about to do. Standing up as straight as you could, you squared your shoulders at him and spoke in a firm, yet painfully sarcastic voice. If what you were about to do didn't kill you, nothing would. “Oh my Lord, King of Heroes, I don't mean to speak out of turn, but your constant cutting me off is really starting to tick me off. If you don't like how I speak to you, maybe you shouldn't have stopped me to talk.”

For a moment, Gilgamesh seemed to be at a loss for words. He still looked angry, but that wasn't the only emotion on his face. You couldn't tell however what that other emotion was. Was he amused? No, that wasn't it. Maybe it was a look of shock or surprise. Whatever it was, it softened his features considerably. Finally, after a long, uncomfortable silence, Gilgamesh spoke. “You simply won't kneel for anyone, will you?” For the first time since speaking to you, he didn't sound like he was demeaning you for something. As a matter of fact, he sounded almost like he was praising you. But that couldn't be right.

Even though you were sure his sudden change in mood had to be a trap, you couldn't help but feel a it more confident. Nose lifted into the air, you answered him firmly. “I haven't knelt to any one yet, so no.”

“I see.” A wicked smile spreading over his face, Gilgamesh very gently, ran his fingertips over your cheek. The gentleness of his touch did nothing to mask the cruelty in his eyes. Just as you feared, this had been a trap, and you'd fallen right into it. Leaning down, so that his lips where right next to your ear, Gilgamesh whispered softly, his breath tickling your neck as he spoke. “Then it seems I'll have to make it my mission to remedy that.”