True Colors Never Lie (Rowan, Atticus, Ares) (R)

A flash of lightning lit up the hall followed closely by a loud clap of thunder in reply. Rowan had hoped to venture outside this afternoon, but a late autumn storm put quite the damper on that idea. Instead, she wandered the halls without any real goal or destination in mind, with nothing with the patter of rain and soft footfalls her steps made to accompany her. Finding herself in one of the many corridors in the upper levels of the castle, she paused, resting her forearms on the sill of one of the many windows that overlooked the grounds and simply watched as the heavy rain fell. Looking up as yet another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder split the dark and stormy sky, Rowan's mind drifted slightly as she pulled the front of her open sweatshirt a little closer around herself. A glimmer of a smile touching the corner of her mouth as she thought about Atticus and the promise he made for them to get through her troubles together. Together.... She wasn't alone, now. Well, at least, less alone... Rowan didn't know how he would help, but just the idea alone was enough to make a difference, however small.

Her focus elsewhere, Rowan didn't notice the watching eyes from the shadows at the end of the corridor. Had she been paying closer attention, this would have been the last place she would have stopped to watched the raging storm outside...

Ares' whispers were carried by the wind that ran amok inside the old hall, and they slithered up Rowan's cheek entering her ear, "Peekaboo... big sister," he walked from the shadows taking two steps forward, his boots resting on the hard floor. A twisted grin on his face, he couldn't believe Rowan had yet again allowed herself to fall into his grasp. It was as if she was begging him to do what she supposedly wanted him to stop doing. Women and their riddles, he shrugged and took out a small butterfly knife from his pocket.

A chill ran up her spine as the familiar whisper from someone she knew all too well tickled her ear. Snapping her head to the shadows, Rowan's blood ran cold when the one person she didn't want to come across stepped from them. Her brother was the last person she wanted to be alone with, or with at all, for that matter. She had been so careful to stay out of his way, but, as this term was showing, the threat he posed to her did not distinguish between whether she was alone or not. Her fear filled eyes dropped quickly to the blade he was brandishing before looking back up at his twisted grin. "Ares.... Wh... What are you doing here?" she asked in a weak, quivering voice, thick with fear. Taking a small, slow step backwards, Rowan put just a little more distance between them. Hopefully, if she had to, she could get away quickly...

Shaking his head, Ares hurled the knife at her head hitting her hair, nailing several strands of it to the wall behind Rowan. "Tsk tsk tsk... foolish question my dear sibling," he laughed bitterly before taking another step closer to his sister, the only ravenclaw in the family. And she lived up to the reputation Ares made up for her: coward. Not that he expected she'd still be like that after she eventually healed from his experiments. "... I am terrorizing you," he stated.

Flinching as his knife sailed by her head, she felt as it cut several strands of her hair and pinned others to the wall behind her. His laugh at her question only set her on edge, ready to run as soon as she could. Taking another step back as he advanced on her, Rowan jumped when she felt the stone wall against her back. She didn't need to hear what he was doing, she already knew. Even when he wasn't there with her, Ares was terrorizing her. Freezing in place, Rowan's mind raced. She needed to get away. Run, Rowan... Run.... Now! Not wasting any time, she turned to run, but was stopped by the sharp pull of her hair secured to the wall. Reaching up, she grabbed the handle of the blade and fought to pull it from the wall.

Ares inclined his head as he was suddenly on top of her. His hands latched to her wrists and he ripped her hands from his dagger, holding them above her head, whilst he parted her legs with his own so she couldn't knee nor kick him. Kissing her forcefully, he licked down her neck and then leaned his head to the side grabbing the dagger's hilt with his teeth, and grinning widely.

It was a foolish attempt, and she knew it. The moment she had turned to run, gripping the hilt, he had her. His cold hands were hard on her wrists as he pinned them above her head. Rowan tried to shy away from her brother as he placed himself between her legs, removing the last real defense she had against him. Pressing her head against the wall, in a purely reflex way to try and keep as much distance between Ares and herself, Rowan let him kiss her hard. A soft wordless whimper of a plea for him to stop sounded in her throat as he licked down her neck. Looking at him with tears welling in her broken eyes, fear drove her pulse to race as he bit his dagger's hilt. "Ares..... You don't want to do this..... Stop...... Please......" she begged weakly as she tried to free her hands and move her pinned body to get away from him. As always, she knew her words would only fall on his deaf ears, but....she had to try....

Leaning his head down the blade of the dagger was pushed against her skin by Ares, but not deep enough to draw his sister's blood yet. He took a step back letting the dagger fall from his jaw's grasp to his hand. "You're right... " he whispered, "I attacked you on a whim, I thought you were good person at first, I'm a monster... " he sobbed taking further steps back to the wall he had been leaning against earlier, hitting it with his back. Sinking to the floor, he covered his eyes with his hands, hiding his grin.

Rowan held very still as the blade pressed against her skin. She had her blood drawn by him enough times to know that he would do it when he was ready. Closing her eyes against the cold steel, they snapped opened when she felt the pressure vanish and he stepped away from her. Utter confusion blanketed her face when he let her go and told her just why he had attacked her, what he was. Rowan didn't know what to think. He let her go... Admitted that he was a monster... Don't be a fool, Rowan. Go! Now! While you can! Turning to leave, she heard him sob, and looked back at the boy that had terrorized her so much over the past two years. Glancing at her hands, red grip marks coloring her wrists where his hard hands had been only moments before, Rowan, against her better judgement walked slowly and quietly to her brother where he sat against the far wall. Kneeling before him, Rowan reached out and brushed his blonde hair. "Ares.... Hey, whatever reason you did all this.... You're still my brother...." she cooed to him. Putting her shaking hands on his shoulders, she took a deep breath and, without knowing why, pulled him into a hug to comfort him, even though her mind screamed for her to stop and get away to someplace safe, away from him.

Propelling himself off the floor, his arms wrapped around her waist and he lifted himself from the floor, hooking her legs around his waist. Gripping her rear, he bit her neck harshly now not only drawing blood but making it pour from her flesh into his mouth, "You fool," he laughed as he pushed her against the wall biting at her constantly and groping her as well.

Gasping loudly as Ares lifted her and positioned her legs around his waist, Rowan kicked herself for falling into his trap. For daring to care for someone that constantly hurt her! Crying out at the painful bite from her brother, she fought to try and get free, all the while feeling her shirt dampen as the red from her blood crept over it. "Stop! Ares! No, stop!" she called over and over as he pressed her against the wall, biting her more and more, his hands assaulting her chest. How could I have been so stupid! I should have run while I had the chance! The tears that had been welling in her eyes spilled over, running down her cheeks, but no sob sounded from her. Rowan was too busy trying to push, fight, and wiggle away from his grasp and pleading for him to stop to bother letting her mind shatter further. That would come later...

Covering her mouth filling it with her own blood he bit her lip, his hands slipping inside her trousers gripping her buttocks harshly, "Shhhhhh," he ordered her before moving towards the floor laying on top of her, his erection rubbing against her over their trousers.

As the metallic taste of her own blood filled her mouth, Rowan tried to pull away to no avail as the wall stopped her. Wincing as he bit her lip, she let out a loud whimper as his hands found her rear inside her trousers. Spraying the blood from her own mouth as her brother lay her on the ground, telling her to hush, she flashed back to the day he took her. Not again! Not again! Feeling his arousal rubbing between her legs, Rowan let out a pained cry, praying that someone, anyone, would hear her. "Ares! No! NO!" she shouted at him between the small sobs that finally began to break through. She didn't care at this point what he would do to her, all she knew was that she wasn't strong enough to fight him off, so she did all she could do: fight against him for as long as she could.

Atticus walked through the corridor his legs threatening to give way, since he had finally returned to training with the maneuver gear. He had missed it a lot, but he had fallen quite a lot of times and nearly broke his arm in one of the falls but by the end of the training session he got the hang of it once again. When Rowan's yells echoed throughout the hall Atticus' eyes widened and he clenched his fists, and began running towards where the sound was coming from, "ROWAN?!" he shouted several times whilst he ran.

Fighting against her brother, her ears heard something... ROWAN!... Over and over she heard it. Atticus... He heard her! Someone heard her! Fighting and writhing beneath Ares, Rowan cried out again, weaker, as her sobs and pleas were dominating her voice, but still enough to carry through the stone halls. She hoped... "No! Ares, no! Please! STOP!" she begged her brother.

Ares heard a familiar voice call out for his sister but he didn't care, whomever found out would die by his hand, so if that person who screamed found out about them, he was in for a whole world of pain. Unbuttoning her jeans and pulling down the zipper, Ares pulled Rowan's trousers down her thighs, and pulled her panties to the side, and began teasing her with two fingers. However Atticus arrived in time before he did anything else and tried to understand what was going on. All he saw was a blonde boy on top of Rowan, so it had to be Ares, but... were he and William right? Was Ares actually the one who was hurting his sister? He didn't care anymore, Atticus just wanted Rowan safe. Sending one of his hooks towards Ares it latched to his shirt and skin, and pulled him off Rowan, bringing him to his side. Ares tried to cut the cable but Atticus shook his head, as the cables were made specially by Atticus' blacksmith. The cable returned to Atticus' sheath once Ares was on the ground in front of him, "... You sick fuck... " he growled and buried Ares' face in the floor with a well placed kick. Raising his head from the other slytherin he ran to Rowan, cradling her in his arms, "... Rowan," he whispered, clenching his fists because he hadn't arrived sooner.

Feeling Ares undo her jeans and slip them down, Rowan struggled against him, trying to kick her legs even though he had them pinned so she could do little against him. "NO!" she screamed when his fingers touched her most secret area. Then, she heard a sound she never had before and Ares was no longer on top of her. Glancing up, Rowan's eyes fell on what looked like a cable before it sailed back to....Atticus. She didn't know what it was, but it getting her brother off her made it fine in her book. Trying to right her clothes, she couldn't bring herself to look at her brother or Atticus, but she heard the hit or kick or whatever from someone connect with someone else. Rowan's hands and body were shaking so badly that even trying to get her jeans as they should be was a challenge, but she at least managed to get them pulled back up. When arms were around her, holding her, she reacted on pure instinct and cried out in panic that Ares was back, but once Atticus' voice reached her ears, if only as just her name, she shattered. Curling into his chest and hiding her face in her hands, Rowan sobbed finally letting all the pent up pain and tears flow from her freely.

Atticus whipped his head to the side cringing at her shriek but once she relaxed somewhat in his arms he sighed, "He won't touch you again," he promised resting his head against hers, his arms loosely hanging from her waist where his hands met.

He won't touch you again... She hadn't heard much as she cried in Atticus' arms, but that she heard loud and clear. Calming enough that her sobs slowed, Rowan dared to raise her painfully sad eyes to look at him. What he said sounded like a promise. But could he promise that? Dropping her eyes, she focused on the red that her blood had colored his shirt thanks to the wounds she had from her brother. Biting her lip, she asked softly in a broken voice, "How can you promise that, Atticus?"

"I can... Because from now on I'll always be there," he answered in a soft tone, but dared not to move his arms as he was happy they laid softly on Rowan's waist. "I can't kill him, because if I do, I'll be discovered. And then I'll be taken away from you. And I won't be able to protect you," his fists clenched as he looked over her perfect, soft hair at Ares who laid unconscious on the floor, "But I'll be there. I'll push him back whenever he tries to get to you. I'll hurt him back," he added closing his eyes shut his whole body tensing as his heart beat fastened.

Bringing her eyes up to him as he spoke, Rowan didn't know what to think. He'd be with her, always, watching over her and keeping her brother from her. He would do what he could to keep her safe. She had trusted him before, that it would be okay to believe that he would help her through this. Could she do it again, now? Swallowing hard, two tears slipped from her eyes as she felt him tense next to her. Daring to look over her shoulder at the unconscious form of her brother, Rowan shuddered and quickly looked back to Atticus. "But... Now that he knows that you know.... It's not just me in danger.... You are, too...." she said softly, her voice broken and weak. Rowan didn't want anything to happen to her friend, the boy she felt something different for. But, she knew the threat was very real now...

He raised an arm slowly his finger pointing at Rowan's currently incapacitated brother. He raised a brow at her words because if Atticus himself was in danger, he didn't know how to describe Ares' situation, "I just knocked him out with one kick. I can do it again. He's no threat to me," he pointed out.

Looking where Atticus was pointing, but not at her brother's body, she understood what she had heard. He had kicked her brother, and now he was unconscious. Bringing her eyes back to him, she nodded. He had a point. If he had done this, perhaps he could do the same again. But, still, he had taken Ares by surprise... Could he take him when he wasn't distracted? Oddly enough, she believed he could. Resting her head against his chest, he heard his heartbeat, fast but steady. The sound was soothing to her. Putting an arm around his torso, Rowan held onto him tightly. Here she was safe, and she didn't want to lose it... "I believe you..." she whispered softly, curling into him tightly.

Cupping her chin he nodded slowly at her trying to make her keep her eyes off her brother who began stirring slightly. "Rowan, are you only vulnerable at school? He can only touch you here, right? It's me, you can tell me, don't be afraid," he asked and at the same time tried to reassure her that everything would be okay, he was there she didn't have to fear Ares anymore.

Locking eyes with Atticus, Rowan's brow furrowed at his question. Shaking her head, she looked away, not shying away from his touch on her chin. Really, her mind was too broken to even notice. Rowan wanted to tell him that he was right, but decided that he needed to know. Fighting the fear Ares had instilled in her about telling anyone about what he did to her, she slowly drew a breath before speaking. "He comes to visit at my Aunt's house where I live. He can get me anywhere. No.... Nowhere is safe, Atticus," she said, her voice quivering. "Home, here, anyplace... He can find me and..." her voice trailed off as she fought the tears burning her eyes. Atticus had seen... He saw the monster her brother was, and it wasn't just here at school.