Deception

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Sipping on her iced tea in the hope it would mean they wouldn't question her, it ended up almost being spat out across the table in the genuine horror at hearing that word. Pregnancy. She wasn't planning on ever EVER getting pregnant and having babies and doing all of that lovey-dovey family stuff. She knew her mother adored having her large family, surrounding herself with children, but it wasn't wise to start a family like that when she didn't have the money to support them.If the same happened to Hope, she knew the situation would go one of two ways: either she'd escape and have to raise the children by herself, struggling to put food in the mouths, or she'd be forced to stay in the castle with Apophis for the rest of her life.

Neither option was favourable to her, so avoiding getting pregnant was the solution. Hell, she didn't want to have sex with the man again. She wanted to shove some poison in his wine, watch him die than head off to greet her friends again.

"I... I don't... oh god, trust me, that's not happening--"

"Why on earth are you so muddy?" Raven muttered, interrupting Hope's clearly shocked babbles in order to scoop up her children. Like Nadia, she wasn't the most hands-on mother in the world, preferring to spoil herself than her daughters. She was cruel in some ways, still blaming them for ruining her perfect figure. When she fell pregnant with them both, every day of the nine months was spent angrily cursing them for making her feel swollen and bloated-- and while she was slim again, in perfect condition, she still felt that way. "Have you played with Felix again? I told you not to, that boy's too rambunctious-- Avery, look at you, you're so dirty!"

"I'm not, Mama. I... we had fun..." The little girl began, appealing to her twin sister with a fearful frown. She was scared of both her parents - Raven scared her with her fierce frowns, and her father was so big and large that it terrified her. It was sad that the girl felt like that, but she at least had her siblings-- and she did love Angelina and some of the maids, who were like mother figures to her.
 
Azula was a loveable child and adored her parents because...Well, she was a child Children love their parents no matter what. She was only six. "I was having tons of fun~! The maids told me you were here, so I came to say hello~! Oh, look it's Hope~!" She giggled, wiggling at her mother to hug Hope. "I hope you can play later, get it? Hope~" She giggled at her little pun, moving to hold her hands tightly. She glanced over at her mother excitedly. "I saw Papa earlier Mama~! He was with this beautiful lady, is she going to be another wife?"

"Lady?" Seraphina snapped, her eyes wide. "...What do you mean, dear? What did this lady look like?" She asked sweetly, yet she was fuming again. Another problem?! She was barely solving this rodent problem.

"Hmm...Well she was pretty, and she was holding Dax, and her hands were glowing."

"Ah, isn't Apophis supposed to be meeting with a witch about Dax's health?" Nadia mumbled, before looking at Hope. "You should go meet the witch. Ask her to give you a potion so you won't get pregnant."

Seraphina's eyes lit up at that. For once Nadia said something smart. "That's a terrific idea! Hope, you should do that! Wouldn't want you falling pregnant and sullying good blood." Grinned the woman, finally relaxing. "Darling Azula, where did you see this witch and Papa."

"In the east wing, where Dax's nursery is." She grinned, before moving to hug Raven again, nuzzling to her side.
 
A small part of Hope wanted to actually have a child. It would be the most reckless thing in the world to go ahead and have a baby, especially when it would just tie her to Apophis when she hated the man more than anyone else in the world-- maybe not as much as the dragons she'd had to sleep with who insulted her and made her feel dirty, anyway. But a child -or children- would make all these woman furious. Maybe not Angelina, who seemed the nicest of the bunch, but the others clearly hated the idea of Hope entering the family as a mother. So the idea of making them that angry was hilarious to her.

But she knew that was immature and creating a child purely to annoy some people was idiotic. Despite how much she hated these wives, the potion was... a good idea. If she was stuck around for a few weeks, trying to find ways of killing Apophis, knowing she didn't have a risk of getting pregnant was at least comforting.

"I suppose," she mumbled as she got to her feet, briefly smiling at the twins, making notes of how cute they were. At least they weren't like their bitter, rather mean mother. That was a positive. "I just want to get to sleep, you all exhaust me, no offence."
 
"None taken. These women exhaust me too." Nadia mumbled before standing up herself. "Well, this was a lovely chat ladies. Let's not do it again sometime, hmm?" Grinned the woman, before leaving the garden to go on about her day.

Seraphina rose elegantly, glancing at the other women. "It was nice, really. Hope, maybe you and I can have a chat in private later on. I barely got to know anything about you."

Apophis walked into the garden, Dax still in his arms, the child seeming to look better. Apophis hadn't let Dax go since last night. The child didn't cry in his arms. Seraphina bowed to her husband out of respect before eagerly gliding over to him. "My husband, to what do we owe this pleasant surprise?"

"I came to see if everyone was getting along." He mumbled looking down at Azula as she ran to him to cling to his legs with giggles. "...Azula, Avery why are you covered in dirt?"

"Adeventuring~!" She exclaimed.

"I see. I hope your travels had been fun.' He joked...Yes, King Apophis joked. Ever since Hope came around with her wit, Apophis had been a tad bit loving to his children. She had a small positive effect on him.

"Oh, Daddy they were marvelous!"

Chuckling softly, he walked over to Angelina, handing Dax to her. "The witch gave him some potion. It seems to be working. The bottle is in his room. Make sure he has it every two hours with milk. Hope, come." He mumbled, holding out his hand for her to follow him.
 
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Unlike her sister, Avery cowered away in instant fear. She didn't want to cling to her mother, who she was also afraid of, and Seraphina was just too daunting to even approach, even if she was her step-mother. Her only options were Angelina and Hope. With the former currently busy cooing over her son, that left the bunny, and even if it made Raven furious to see, Avery clung to Hope's legs in refusal to let her leave, appealing up at her with silent, almost teary eyes.

"I-I... stay with me, I like you, I... don't w-want you to... to go..."

Surprised by the action, Hope did freeze and weakly glance towards Raven, who looked like she wanted to murder both her daughter and Hope in that moment. Instead of backing away from the embrace, though, Hope leaned down to offer the adorable Princess a light ruffle. "I'll see you later, I'm sure. I... need to have an adult talk with your Papa, sweetheart. Nothing you need to hear," she laughed, playfully dotting her nose while her own began to twitch happily. Turning to Apophis finally, she made a dramatic sigh.

"Eating with your wives went as badly as you could imagine. When they weren't insulting me, they were insinuating I should just... have some potion so I don't become pregnant, which I guess is understandable. Trust me, you don't want me having a baby. You don't want me being a permanent feature in your life either. I'll end up really annoying you. Think I'm irritating now? Just wait until a month has gone by. You'll hate me," she snorted, that mischievous grin appearing on her face again, her small hand fitting in its place inside his much larger one. "Imagine me pregnant, I'd be a nightmare. I'd rather down a potion or two to stop that happening. I'm... not the sort of girl you should be with, either. I'm a rabbit, a peasant. You should dump me, really."
 
Laughing softly at her, he motioned her away from the garden, his thumb running over her knuckles. "I don't think it would be so bad I find you adorable. And besides, it would be funny to watch you whine and complain about how big you've become." Chuckled the man. He let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her waist, leaning down to whisper sweet nothings into her large floppy ear.

"Honestly, you're going to give me cavities. You're so sweet~ So adorable~ And your nose always twitches adorably." He whispered, softly leaning in to kiss her cheek. "What do you want to do? I feel like I haven't been giving you enough attention as of lately."
 
"Oh yeah, that'd be hilarious, wouldn't it? Unable to bend down to tie my shoes, waddling around, crying over stupid stuff-- my Mom has 18 children, I've seen what it's like, it ain't fun," she smirked, unable but to enjoy the affection he was showing her. She was a rabbit - it was literally ingrained in her to crave affection like that, regardless who it was from. Besides, Apophis wasn't the monster she thought he'd be, at least not with her. She'd watched him torment servants because they'd brought him tea that was a degree hotter than he wanted it. That was the man she disliked.

But when he was like this, acting not like that horrid King but a loving man... that was the guy she couldn't help but like. That said, it was her influence on him that made him like that.

"You're kidding, right? To speak bluntly, you don't need to apologise. You were with your kid, that's understandable. Jeez, the poor thing was sick and you stepped up to that-- I mean, it was adorable and it shows how good a Dad you are," she smiled, leaning up as far as she could to kiss him-- even if she only got to his neck. "I just... I guess I'd like to eat. I like food. Some cake would be great-- you know how jealous my sisters would be of me right now? I don't want you ever meeting them, though. They're so pretty and thin and-- I've honestly put on so much weight here," she groaned, pouting for emphasis. She'd been far too thin in the first place, so if anything, she'd at least put on weight to be more healthy. To her, though, she felt bloated with the new fuller figure. "Honestly your wives are all so gorgeous and they don't eat anything sugary, and then there's me, stuffing my face with carrot cake."
 
"But I think the cake is what makes you so sweet~" He cheesily stated, as his hand rubbed her hip. "And I like your body, you're rather sexy when you want to be~" Flirting with the bunny had to be one of his favorite things to do. She was so cute, so funny and so different from what he was used to. She often challenged him, she kept him entertained and amused.

"Hmm, now what do you want to do? Maybe I bunny like you would like a night out in town? I'm sure this castle is driving you insane. I know how my wives can get. But let's leave that all behind~ Tonight we can go into town, I hear they're having a festival. We can disguise ourselves as peasants and just enjoy the festival. No guards, no servants, just us." He grinned. It would be the perfect chance for her to swiftly kill him, and get away with it.
 
"Disguising myself as a peasant? Love, I am a peasant. I mean, that's where I'm most comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I... appreciate the fancy dresses and the castle and... all this luxury, but I'm more at home in a tavern, drinking beer and having a laugh with my friends, y'know? It's what my life's always been. Granted, I've always been dirt poor so maybe I've had to sneak in and steal beer, but... well, I'm naughty. I'm not good," she purred, that flirtatious tone entering her voice. She did look so innocent, which she purposely played on-- but really, she could be seductive when she wanted to be, and something about Apophis definitely brought that out of her. The two were complete opposites, with different ideas and different backgrounds, but together, they just... clicked. It worked.

Shame she hated his guts and wanted him dead, really.

"I can't wait to be back in one of my peasant dresses, they're so baggy and comfortable. Honestly, the dresses you gave me make me afraid to breathe out. They're so tight," she groaned, pulling at the fabric for emphasis. "So yes, I'm definitely up for going into town-- not that I'll blend in. I'm, like, the only rabbit around. I think they'll realise who I am."
 
"I guess there is no hiding those big floppy ears, huh?" Cackled the man, nudging her softly. "Well, I'll just go in disguise. It'll be fun, sneaking away from everyone. We'll be like children. I used to always try to be on my own as a child." He commented as he pulled her to the servant quarters. Where else in this lavish and luxurious castle would he find peasant clothing?

And so, Apophis and his adorable little sidekick Hope set out to the village, to engage in the festival. Apophis had on a cheap brown kimono, and had on a traditional mask, that mostly everyone at the festival was wearing, so he easily blended in. His long black hair was delicately braided back away from the mask. He held Hope's hang as he eagerly pulled her through the crowds of people. He was acting like a child in a candy store. Everything was so new and so fun to him at this moment. "We should play one of those games, hm?"
 
Being with the King was exhilarating. He ignited a side of Hope that had been missing for years - freedom. She had no inhibitions or worries when she was with him, even though, lurking at the back of her mind was the realisation she had to kill him. She didn't want to think about it too much, it dampened her mood considerably. For now, she just wanted to run after him, hold his hand and engage in the festivities. Everyone around her was so much taller than she was, but none of that barely mattered to her. When Apophis was near her, she failed to really... feel any fear, despite knowing he could kill her just by batting her away like a fly.

Infectiously giggling at just how enjoyable it was to goof around and slip inbetween the crowd, her fun came to a stop the second she saw two of her friends; two members of the little gang. She knew it was them, even with masks on. With how crowded the whole place was, nobody batted an eyelid when the glint of a blade shone. The gang members grinned beneath their masks, assuming that this was Hope's grand plan. They knew that it was Hope, after all - her ears were hard to miss. And, when they knew that, it was easy to realise that the large man holding hands with her was the King.

It made him an easy target, and they lunged forward with little worry. Everything was so loud and vibrant and crowded that nobody even glanced around when the blade was plunged into the King's back. Laced with a paralysing herb to lock his limbs and prevent him acting out, they repeated the stabbing motion a few more times before more of the gang approached to drag Apophis away. That motion didn't go unnoticed by a few nearby peasants, but alcohol was flowing - they assumed that Apophis had had too much to drink, and his friends were carrying him to safety.

Everything had worked out perfectly for Hope and her friends. She managed to achieve Apophis' attack without even planning it out. She hadn't got her hands dirty, and she could trek after her friends without feeling the guilt of harming Apophis herself. Everything should have been perfect for her. She could be elated that the King was bleeding out, paralysed and, once they got him to their hideout, able to be attacked and killed properly. She should be thumping the air in delight.

But she wasn't. She was frowning, uneasiness and guilt hitting her like a train. It felt wrong and she couldn't face dealing with it.
 
Apophis hadn't realized what happened until he was being dragged away. He was attacked, he had let his guard down. At first, he didn't even fear for himself or think of how they could have possibly known it was him. At first, he was scared for Hope. He was unable to protect her, and she was so small. Anyone could kill her! She'd die, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. Until...He realized they were doing nothing to her.

"Good work, Hope~" a boy in the group grinned as he helped drag Apophis away. "Damn this bastard weighs a fucking ton. Let's hurry and get this over with." The boy under the mask stated. His name being Zee.

Apophis looked at Hope through his mask. What? She...She betrayed him? She was in on this plan. His blood began to boil as angry tears built up in his eyes. He couldn't do anything about it. At least not now, he would have to concentrate and try to regain control over his body. He wanted to kill Hope, strangle her until she was blue in the face. How? How could she betray him like this?! He...HE actually loved her. He really did, and for her to just...Use him like this.
 
"...I didn't fucking plan this. You guys weren't supposed to attack him like this. You were supposed to let me deal with him, remember? I wasn't going to... hurt him. I was going to end it quickly. Just... look, this is reckless and idiotic and--"

"You feel bad for the guy? Really? You've been living it up in that castle, eating fine ass food and having sex with a fucking King, Hope. We've been starving and... the electricity cut out. It's been rough. Let us fucking torture the guy, it's the least we deserve. He should be paralysed for an hour or two, if the herbs work properly," grinned another of the gang, a burly, muscular wolf-hybrid, who, despite Hope's clear protests, easily lifted her up to be able to hug her. Regardless of her protests, the gang still loved her like a little sister, and they owed her everything. She'd been brave enough to go through with this plan, and they weren't going to forget about that. "Jeez, you look great. Like, you got some meat on your bones, kid. Suits you. You look cuter than usual, doesn't she~?"

"I... fuck off, Jay, I... just don't be a dick," the rabbit muttered, her language and her attitude now a lot coarser. She was hardly going to swear a lot around royalty, but she could be herself again now she was with her friends, even if she frowned more and more whenever she glanced at Apophis and physically sensed the anger radiating from him.
 
The herbs were supposed to last on a regular person for two hours sure. But not a powerful mighty King like Apophis. He couldn't move yet, but he was slowly regaining his movements. Not that he would allow these peasants to know that. He'd wait. Until they were at their hideout to kill them all before heading back to the palace. Low rumbling was coming from him, a deep and threatening growl.

"Aww, is the little dragon angry? Oi shut the fuck up. I've had it with you, your Highness. Not giving a shit about anyone but yourself. How does it feel? Some stupid peasants tricked a mighty king. I bet you feel so damn stupid~" Smirked the man.

Apophis just glared at him. Zee snatched the mask off of him, meeting that piercing gaze of Apophis.
 
Glancing around the hideout, with its boarded up windows, floor full of holes and damp everywhere, it was hard to feel happy about being home when Hope had lived in a castle for the last few days and experienced true luxury-- but this was where she deserved to be. She didn't deserve more than this when she hadn't earned it. She had been involved in a plan to kill the King. However useless Apophis was, he was a father, a husband and the King. It was the highest form of treason to even plan his murder, let alone go through with it.

Sitting anxiously opposite him, with her legs pressed to her chest, she glanced over at the guys high-fiving one another and enjoying the moment. In contrast, she hadn't ever felt as guilty as she did right now.

"...We were desperate, Apophis," she muttered. Saying his name wasn't really allowed-- but what did she have to lose? In her head, he would be dead soon. It made no difference if she said his name or not. "W-We were starving to death and you were just sat on your fucking throne, doing nothing for us or anyone. Do you know how hated you are around here? Your... death would be celebrated and that's sad because you're... not that bad. I-I mean, I... I think you're not as bad as you make yourself out to be and... and I'm sorry? I dunno. We just... we got desperate and we... need change."
 
He was going to fucking snatch the tongue from her mouth. How dare this common whore speak his name? She was desperate? Ha, if she just worked at the damn club where he found her, he was sure she would make a killing there. But no. She wanted to actually kill him. This ungrateful little slut. He'd kill her, he'd definitely kill this dirty little whore. And within a matter of seconds, Apophis was across the room, holding Jay's now severed head in his hands. No one had even seen him move or heard him. How was he able to move so soon after being stabbed so viciously, and poisoned?

Before the other's cold scream, run or even fight, he quickly killed them off in quick brutal ways. Apophis had never lost a fight. He killed his own family at the age of thirteen. He was a magnificent warrior. And that showed with how quickly he took them out. All that was left was that damned bunny. Picking up the bloodied blade on the ground, he limped to her. He was stabbed in his back, so he was in pain, but he wore no grimace to show the pain. He yanked her up by her neck and brought his hand down to stab her in her heart, but before the blade pierced her chest...He froze... Apophis wasn't a man to hesitate. He killed his own family without batting an eyelid. But...He couldn't fucking kill this damn bitch.

Grinding his teeth together, he felt tears sting his eyes before he dropped her down on the ground. "...You disgust me." He bitterly hissed.
 
Hope had barely blinked before all her friends, her family really, were murdered around her. One minute she was glaring at Apophis, and the next she was splattered with blood from the massacring around her. How it happened, she didn't know, nor did she understand. But she knew one thing.

They were all fools for underestimating Apophis. He wasn't... normal. Herbs that should last an hour were never going to act the same upon a man like him. He broke the rules and ripped up the rule book.

When the knife didn't make contact with her chest, she should have just sat down and realised how lucky she was that Apophis hadn't harmed her; that he'd spared her life. But she didn't. Her friends had been murdered and Apophis still didn't understand the impact he was having on his kingdom; about how hated he truly was.

"...Yeah? Well, I think you're disgusting. I think you're a horrible father, a dreadful husband and a fucking shit King," she hissed, gripping a knife in her hand-- even if she knew it was useless. He could kill her even if she had an army of weapons with her. "And... And all I wanted w-was you to... to fucking realise that! Do you know how... how badly my kingdom's been since you stopped aid? Not that you care. You barely care for your own family, I don't know why you should care about mine."
 
Apophis began to laugh hysterically, his hand going to cup his forehead as he stared at her in disbelief. "Y-You wanted me to realize? Bwahahaha, are you fucking stupid?!" He asked, now glaring at her, his face wiped clear of the smile. "You wanted me to just realize I was a shit King by trying to kill me? Oh please do us both a favor and just shut the fuck up, huh? You...You betrayed me. You betrayed me and my family by plotting to kill me. Do you even realize what you've done? And why would I care about a kingdom filled with weaklings, stupid little hybrids that overpopulate? The reason Kehsia is so damn poor is because of how populated it is. The poor continue to keep having mouths they can't feed. They don't have enough food to feed all of their people, and they're weak. Very very weak. There's a thing called birth control, that would help your kingdom." He growled, glaring at her as he gripped her up by the ears.

"And you're right about one thing. I don't care about anything. Nope, nothing. But I did care about you. Some stupid little common street rodent. I cared for you, and you just...Betrayed me." He hissed, tears stinging his eyes yet again. "...You...You will be trialed, and publically executed for your crimes."
 
"You're going to kill me, just like that? That's... so uncharacteristic for you. You normally just murder people. I get a trial and a public execution? Darn, don't I feel special now?" She sarcastically replied, even if her own blood was boiling at having her kingdom insulted. Yes, she could hardly argue against some of the points he'd made. Overpopulation was a huge issue in her country, but it was hardly like they could help it. One pregnancy could result in two or three children at a single time; it wasn't as easy as he made the situation out to be.

"You cared for me, huh? Maybe I should have been an actress. It was pretty easy fooling you. Did you really think I liked you? It took everything in me to allow you to even touch me with y-your disgusting hands," she snapped, spitting at him for extra emphasis of her hatred-- though that was a lie. She'd fallen for him. Perhaps not as much as he'd fallen for her, but she clearly... liked him. If she didn't, she'd have killed him the first night they slept together in bed. That was the perfect chance to murder him, yet she hadn't. She'd watched him fall asleep, then snuggled up into his warm body for the night.
 
He glared at her, biting the inside of his cheek. Walking over to her, he grabbed her harshly, before morphing into a dragon, and flying out of the hideout. Holding her in one of his claws, he could have easily just squeezed the life out of her. Or he could just drop her and let her fall to her death. But instead? He flew back to the palace, flying to his balcony and threw her into his room, before he landed on his balacony, morphing back into his human form. Taking the peasant clothing off, he hissed from the wounds in his back.

He looked at his back in his grand mirror, before looking at the rabbit hybrid angrily. "You...You hate me huh. Well, you only have two options. You either jump off my balcony and kill yourself. Or...You continue to be a Nanny. You won't be allowed anywhere near me. No one will know what a disgusting rodent you truly are for plotting my death. Now...What do you want?" He asked glaring at her. He was angry, yes extremely. but...He was still in love with her. Those feelings just didn't fade, so he didn't want her to die.
 
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