[Tiki Time]

After the Auction

When the auction ended and Alyisse had been officially transferred over to Brandon Baxter, Max approached Amalia. She smiled softly and spoke to him, "Shall we retire to a private place to chat?"

Max had nodded, the stress of it all quite obviously showing, she knew he would like to speak. He must have many questions...I can only hope he doesn't outright try to kill me for any of the heartache I may have caused him by Tyrael's needless confession.

She walked with him to his house and waited for him to open the door. Although she had a key, she felt odd using it until she was sure the two of them were on good terms. She entered the house with both curiosity and a little bit of hesitation. Max had proven to her several times that he was a man of action, not thoughts. He often acted out of impulse without thinking of the consequences, and she feared that his rage or sadness might cause him to strike out at her. She took a deep breath and crossed the threshold into the private quarters.

During the auciton, Amalia had tried to inform Max of some of the lies and secrets Alyisse had been keeping. Naturally, he seemed very distracted by the bidding on his slave and did not seem to take in very much of what she had said, so she tried to inform him once again.

"It wasn't Tyrael's idea to have her sold, Max. It was mine. After you took her name from her, she begged me to convince you to sell her. I thought that offering the deal would be the best way to keep you out of trouble but she never told you about it."

Max seemed a little taken aback, but unsure of her words, "What? She never told me that."

"There are many things she never told you, Max. She told me that you used her to assassinate your enemies, and that she could no longer risk her life for a Master she couldn't trust. She wanted to be sold, but she let you believe it was Tyrael because she wanted you to be more angry with him."

This seemed to jab Max, setting off that impulsive rage Amalia was so used to see, "IF I'd have known I'd have had her flogged!" He stomped towards the table.

Amalia took a deep breath and frowned. She knew Max and Tyrael were on thin ice long before Alyisse stuck her pesky little nose in it, but she wondered how deep Alyisse's lies had run. Did she start all of this herself? Is she the reason why Max attacked Tyrael that night? Was she feeding his hatred and making him more impulsive?

"Max...Please tell me why you hate him so much, I just don't understand it." She looked over at him, somewhat pleadingly.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, perhaps trying to think of some lie to tell himself so that he didn't have to admit the truth, "Jealousy," he finally stated.

She took a deep breath and nodded. I knew jealousy was part of it...of course it was..., "That's it? Jealousy?"

Max did not respond this time. Perhaps ashamed of it, not wanting to shame himself further.

"Max, it is your jealousy that has pushed me away. You had nothing to be jealous of until you began acting so wildly. I care for both of you, Max and it pains me to see this rivalry between you. I don't want to have to choose but, honestly...There was once a time when if Tyrael asked me to choose between the two of you, I would have picked you. But now...I would have to pick Tyrael."

She knew that would hurt him to hear, but she also knew it needed to be said. She couldn't keep shielding him from the truth of her feelings, but she needed to explain,
"You've been aggressive and impulsive, and you've scared me. Even now, I am standing here in fear that you might strike out at me in a moment of anger."

It was true, she was worried that at any moment he might raise his hand to her. Part of her wanted to believe he'd never do such a thing, but she'd seem him act out over small offenses before.

This time Max had frowned, turning away from his table and heading over to sit at his desk. She could only imagine what he must be thinking, Does he understand that he did this to himself? That everything between all of us was just fine before he began acting crazy with jealousy? Does he understand that it's that very jealousy which pushed me further and further away from him?"

Despite her belief that Max brought this upon himself, it still pained her to see him so upset. She moved towards him and the desk and took his hand, "There was once a time when I dreamed that you, Alaric, and I all lived together in a manor. That the two of you would playfully fight over me but that there would never be any true jealousy...that we'd just live happily all together." She smiled weakly as she squeezed his hand.

"What do you dream of now?" He looked to her hopefully.

She looked down at him, her eyes filled with sadness. It took a moment but she finally said, "Now, I only have nightmares."