William Holloway

I'm a devil in disguise

In those nearly four years of captivity, William had nothing but time to think. In between those ever increasing bouts of madness, the Dark Hunter would lay within his cell and allow his mind to wander when he was truly sure that he was alone. Though his captors had never shown any indication that they were able to access his thoughts, he was always too cautious of allowing his mind to go free while they were around. There was too much to risk, his love for those he cared about being used as a weakness. His captors were not above using his love for Sebastian against him, as they had clearly demonstrated. William had no doubts that if he had given them any indication of the other person that held a piece of his heart, they would go after her in some way if only to get to him. He could do nothing to protect Sebastian - or at least, that's what they'd convinced him of - but he would do his best to protect the witch that he found so utterly captivating.

But when he was alone, truly alone, he allowed himself to think about the assassin. Those sleepless nights when his captors had left him alone were the only times he thought about the girl. He wondered so often about what she had thought of him. One moment, he had been uttering promises about staying and declarations of loving her. The next he had vanished without a trace. Of course, what she didn't know was that his disappearance hadn't been voluntary. No, those cruel Hunters had captured him as he'd left Sebastian's home all those years ago and had kept him locked away in an attempt to teach him to control a power that was becoming increasingly uncontrollable. But what did she think of him? What damage had his perceived abandonment done to the girl that he loved so dearly?

Her street was empty, lit only by the flickering orange glow of the street lights. The dingy warehouses of the western district were hardly a frequent haunt for any of the city's citizens, supernatural nor not. He'd thought, once upon a time, that that might have been why she preferred this neighborhood. The man leaned against that brick wall, every nerve ending on edge for any perceived threat. Where he might have been wholly unprepared four years ago, he was anything but now. He would not leave those he loved again, at least not without a fight. The sound of footsteps pulled William's attention upwards, his spine tensing as he observed whether or not the being was a threat. But no, that flash of brilliant white hair allowed his body to relax. The Englishman observed her for a moment, watching as the girl stumbled into the brick wall, the motion sending her keys clattering to the pavement. William's instincts nearly screamed for him to move forward, to collect them for her, and yet he remained glued to the brick wall as though his life depended on it.

Vhalla was as beautiful as William remembered. Even now as she stumbled along the sidewalk, that look of anger across her features, William remained entirely enamored by her. How he had missed the girl, how he longed for their reunion. He wasn't naive enough to expect that it might go flawlessly. Her fiery nature meant that he would hardly escape this encounter without being yelled at, at the minimum. But it was worth it. She was worth it. The Hunter waited until she was closer before his voice called out to her, that pet name holding all of that affection that he'd so often shown her, though his tone certainly held more... exhaustion than he'd previously held. William pushed himself off that brick wall as he watched her gaze find him. He wasn't sure exactly what he might have expected out of the young witch, but the way she seemed unable to look at him was not it. He'd expected that fighting, fiery personality that he'd grown to love, or maybe that very set of keys thrown at his head, or even a knife or punch in his direction. The cold, icy response was certainly a surprise.

William paused at her question, his eyes following her thin fingers as she unlocked all those locks. "I want..." William paused then. What did he want? He wanted her, of course, but he wanted to explain. To seek out some sort of comfort in her knowing that he'd thought about her every single day that he was away. "I want to ta..." Again, the man cut himself off by the way she shoved her way into her warehouse. He hesitated, not quite sure if he should follow, and yet she hadn't slammed the door in his face. Slowly, William stepped over the threshold into her home. Shutting the door behind him, William continued up the stairs after her. He was well aware of the inebriated state of the girl - from the way she stumbled to the slight slur of her words. His heightened Hunter senses could easily pick up on that smell of alcohol on her. But William didn't say anything as he joined her in her loft, his eyes instead watching her.

William's eyes didn't leave her form as she drank from that bottle. If he was surprised by the drinking habit that the young girl had picked up, the Duke didn't show it. Instead, he was still struggling to answer the question of what he wanted. "I didn't leave you, Vhalla," William said after several tense moments of them staring at each other. His voice was far more gentle than he usually used with her, his tone holding no hint of the teasing he was accustomed to. "I know it... it looked like that. But I..." He reached up, running a hand through his dark locks before he crossed the room to her. Gently, he plucked that bottle out of her fingers, setting it aside. His hand caught hers, his fingertips gently exploring the skin of her palm. "A group of Hunters working for the Council found me. I've been their..." The man hesitated, the edges of his sanity threatening to fray as he struggled to force the words out. "Prisoner... ever since." He lifted his gaze from her hand then, looking her in the face. "I didn't leave you willingly, Vhalla. I love you. I thought about you every day."