"Find her. I want you to find my sister ... And kill her.""But Miss Nerine-"
"Did I stutter, Xander, or have you begun an outright defiance against your Queen!?""N-Never, Miss Nerine. I could never defy you! You are beauty personified!"
A sly smile curled up the lips of the young woman, her dark eyes flashing with malevolence. "Good. Now find my sister and her children ... And kill her. The twins must live, but my sister is to die."
The large room was deadly silent, the inhabitants of it pale and wide-eyed. How were they to react? Were they to listen to the woman, or defy her? If they were to follow her orders, they would therefore kill their beloved Princess. If they refused her wishes,
they would die instead.
The first one to speak was the Bonded human to Nerine, who stepped forward, his head held high and his eyes dark with with irritation.
"Did you not hear your Queen? Find the Princess and kill her, and retrieve her children!
Now!"
The scurrying of the servants was nearly comical to the young woman, who leaned back in her seat, one leg lifting to dross over the other, her elbow coming to rest on the arm of the throne, her chin dropping onto the back of her hand. Her opposite lifted in the direction of Vane, her bonded mortal, who approached her obediently. The room was once again silent, having been deserted, and as soon as he reached her, Nerine tugged him onto the seat with her, the sixteen-year-old more like that of a loyal dog than a human.
"You were quite the stunning defender, Vane ... You did well defending your Queen ..."
He shivered under the touch of her fingers, which ran across his cheek and down his throat. His head fell back, and for a moment, she simply smiled at the boy.
"What an obedient little human you are ..."
The sex and blood that followed were equal in pleasure and deliciousness.
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I can't ... I can't stop running ... If not for my own sake, then for Diana and Michael's!Lycoris coughed, the cold evening air causing a shiver to wrack through her body. Her arms huddled the two bundles against her chest, her coat little protection from the chill - something that could undoubtedly cause serious harm to such young infants, even those of the vampire race. One was wailing - from hunger, cold, or both, she did not know, but she could do nothing for either at that moment. Instead, she pushed on, the snowstorm causing great difficulty each time she took a step, the snow weighing down her booted feet.
Why? Why did her sister have to be so cruel? Without
Anthony alive, all Hell had broken loose, and now her sister was determined to kill her and take her children. How could someone be so cruel? With her fiance dead, she was no match for Nerine, who only wished to raise the twins as her evil followers, or something along those lines.
A soft sob escaped her lips as Lycia stumbled, clutching the infants more tightly to keep from dropping them.
The words from her closest adviser, Tsune, echoed in her mind.
Follow the trees. Enter them beside the red rock, travel North and only North, and once you reach the end of them, you will find a small village. From there, go a mile into town, take an immediate left, and speak to the man in the third house on your right.The man had turned out to be a good friend of Tsune's, and had given her food, clothes, and a small car. He also gave her directions to the famous, or so she had been told,
infamous, Ivanov Mansion, with the order to speak to Viktor Ivanov, the eldest of the five brothers, and also the kindest.
"Oh, please ... Please do not turn us away," she whispered, burying her face between her twins's bodies. When she looked up again, she could just barely see the looming home that belonged undoubtedly to the Ivanov's.
Thank God she had made it. If she had been forced to travel much longer, she was afraid that she would have collapsed.
It seemed to take her hours to reach the mansion after that, her excitement and joy building with each step, and by the time she reached it, she was more then eager to sleep for hours afterwards. After a bit of adjustment of her hold on the twins, she managed to rap loudly on the front door.
Several moments later, during which time she had managed to quiet Michael, a
young woman clad in simple yet beautiful maid's outfit opened the door, a curious expression on her face. The curiosity vanished as soon as her eyes fell on the shivering young woman before her and the two bundles in her arms, and was replaced by worry and fear, undoubtedly for the children's safety.
"My goodness, whatever happened to you?" the girl gasped, opening the door more widely and beckoning for Lycorise to enter, who quickly took advantage of the invitation. "You're nearly purple from the cold, and the clothes you are wearing are incompatible with this weather. Please, follow me. Jezabel! Fetch some tea and blankets for the guest!"
Another maid appeared, gave a nod in reply, and disappeared through a doorway. The one that stood before her turned and gave her a gentle smile.
"My name is Imora. If you would follow me, please, I will settle you in a room where you can warm yourself and the children, and perhaps rest for a while. I will fetch Master Viktor and return shortly. May I ask of your name?" Imora turned, already beginning away, and therefore forcing Lycorise to hurry in order to keep up to speed with the woman.
"Lycorise Dimozi ... My name is Lycorise Dimozi ..."
Imora stopped mid-stride, opened a door, and motioned inside of it, dropping into a small curtsy as she did so. "I will fetch Master Viktor. Jezabel will return momentarily with your tea and blankets."
With that, the girl disappeared from sight, leaving Lycorise alone. She stood there for a moment, but finally, with a slight sigh, made her way into the sitting room, which was quaint, yet welcoming, and extremely warm. She lowered herself to the floor, placing the twins before her. They were gazing our with large, wide eyes, their cheeks rosy from the cold, but otherwise healthy due to the intense bundling of their clothes and blankets. In fact, they seemed a bit warm, she noted after touching their foreheads.
It didn't take her long to remove them from the blankets, during which time Jezabel had come and gone, leaving the trey and blankets for her to do with what she wished. She managed to settle the six-month-olds on a large, fluffy blanket without much trouble, and they settled in to sleep, undoubtedly tired from the occurrences of the day, and their missed naps. She moved down and stretched out beside them, her eyes too growing heavy, and within seconds she was asleep, the infants curled in her embrace.
Imora, however, was hurrying in her search of Viktor, darting from room to room. It was ten minutes after she had admitted the Dimozi woman into the household that she had managed to find the man, who had just recently finished contacting the families' physician in order to assist Avalon - whom she had always seen as sickeningly faithful to the brothers.
"Master Viktor? There is a bit of an emergency ... A young woman arrived with two infants in her arms, claiming to be a Dimozi - one of the Spirit families that is pining for a seat at the Throne? She was quite cold and the babies seemed to be so, also ... I have settled them into your Sitting Room, and Jezabel delivered tea and blankets to them. She was wishing for an audience with you - the subject of which is unknown, but I believe that it would be a good idea to at the very least speak with her," she said softly, dropping into a curtsy as she spoke.
“Big sisters are fighting again, Vina …”
Rimu sighed, moving the stuffed animal across the floor in an attempt to make it appear as though it were walking. Instead, it made a sliding sound, but the idea of it walking was enough to make her content, a small smile crossing her lips. “I wonder if mommy and daddy will intervene and butt in this time. I hope so, because if they don’t, Nee-Nee’s going to kill Ri-Ri. Nee-Nee’s so spoiled … But don’t tell her I said that, so shh,” she giggled, placing a finger over her lips. She moved the kitty’s head so that it appeared to nod, a satisfied look on the girl’s face. She paused and leaned in close, her ear beside it’s head.
“Oh, yeah, I know! She’s a psycho. I like Ri-Ri
so much better. She sings to me. I feel bad, though, because Anthony died and she’s really hurt now, especially since Nee-Nee wants to kill her and take the twins. What a mean sister!”
She paused, turning Vina to look into her face. A serious expression appeared on Rimu’s as a thought arose. “What if I told Nee-Nee that Ri-Ri went to visit grandma and grandpapa? D’you think that she’d believe me?” She gasped after a moment, a giggle exploding from her, causing her to flop backwards and toss Vina in the air, catching her in a light grip. “I know, she’d be silly to believe that. But you’ll always be there for me, won’t’chu Vina?” She bloomed into another smile, hugging the stuffed kitty to her chest. “I knew that I could count on you!”
“W-we … Teddy and I came t-to apologize... for our misdeeds ..”He was
apologizing? Apparently people who claimed the impossible cannot be done would be incorrect, because the only times that she could remember Yuri apologizing, were when he would accidently bite or push her down.
"I-I don't know...what... why…sorry…we will never hurt your sister again, Teddy and I promise... we really do. W-we won't even look at her anymore... o-or think about her, if that would make you feel better. J-just please, Ethy.... please don't cry or be sad …”Her tears had already dried, but she sniffed a bit at the reminder of her sorrow, one hand lifting to rub at her eye. She looked up at him, her green eyes wide, swollen, pink, and damp from crying. Ethel was quiet throughout his apology, her finger curling and uncurling without her conscious control.
When he held out Teddy to her, however, she was struck speechless, not merely from her own wishes to remain quiet, but from the utter surprise that instilled her. Yuri
never allowed anyone to touch his stuffed animal. Even she had only done so a few times during her life.
"L-look... Teddy even wants to give you a hug…”Ethella stared at the stuffed animal for several long moments. Finally, she looked up at him, accepting Teddy and clutching him to her chest, his face pressed against her cheek. She snuggled him for a moment before, out of nowhere, she threw herself forward, her arms wrapping around his neck and her face cuddling into his shoulder.
“… I accept your apology … But don’t hurt Avy again, okay?” she said softly, tightening her embrace, Teddy dangling from her finger tips against his back. She leaned away slightly, her nose touching his, for they were still that close to one another. “She’s my big sister, and I don’t want her to be hurt. Besides … Jealousy isn’t a nice feeling,” she mumbled, her green gaze turned downward.
Was this a dream, or had Master Andrei truly just kissed her cheek?
No matter how intensely she willed her eyes to open, they wouldn't follow her commands, and it didn't take long for her to realize that this was, in fact, reality. The heavy feel of the blankets told her as much, but she could not move. Perhaps whatever drugs the physician had given her, had inadvertently rendered her incapable of moving ... Or perhaps that had been his intention. Who knew with that old man ...
"Tell me, Avalon ........ Tell me sweet little doll ......... What is the point of life ... If all God has to give us is pain?"Whether it was the gentile nickname for her, the way that his voice gave off a sorrowful tone, or the question itself, something about it pierced her heart. It went out to him, the fingers of her unbroken arm curling against the mattress. It wasn't until he had been gone for nearly five minutes that she was able to move.
Avalon had heard everything the doctor had said, and found it ridiculous that she would need to remain bedridden for so long. Yes, she was exhausted, and yes, she wasn't truly able to think straight, due to the drugs that he had slipped into her system, but it was her decision if and when she would leave her bed. And the decision had come to that moment being now.
It was a slow progression from laying to standing, and by the time that she was on her feet, she was exhausted. However, she couldn't quit when she was only just starting - besides, Andrei deserved an answer, even if it made her sick to her stomach to stand. She pulled a robe on over her naked, bandaged body, along with an extra blanket, which she held together with one hand.
Who knew that walking could be so difficult? It was hard for her to even leave her room, and even more difficult for her to traverse the hallway, peeking into each doorway as she did so.
When she heard the water running in the bathroom that was connected to his room, she hesitated. What if she walked in on him in the nude? Not that she hadn't done so before, so there was nothing that she hadn't already seen - in truth, she had seen all of the brothers without clothes, having had the misfortune to dare to enter their rooms early in the mornings. She had learned long before to knock before entering, but with the water running, it was doubtful that Andrei would hear her. After a moment of thought, she wrapped her fingers around the knob of the door, turned it, and slid inside.
"Master Andrei?" she called quietly, her hand lifting up to her blanket once more, the rub of the sling against her neck annoying her ever-so-slightly. She shut the door quietly behind her, moving further into the room. It was empty, but steam was curling out from the half-open door to his bathroom, and the familiar sound of water pattering against flooring reached her ears.
Bundling up all of the courage that she could manage, she made her way to the bathroom, pausing just outside the door.
"Master Andrei?" she called, a bit more loudly than before. She frowned, her expression uncertain, before she leaned in just enough to see inside.
"... The point of life is to live it to the fullest. Even in times of great despair, there is always something that you can find happiness in. No matter how difficult something may seem, you need only to find your motivation to continue going, and push right on through the barrier that stands in your path. Whether it is an inanimate object or not, you need to find that one thing, or person, that you can depend on for joy and happiness. And once you do, all of those heartaches and heartbreaks make sense. They were leading you up to you meeting that one thing or person that gives you the peace and love that you have been seeking - and it makes all of that pain worth it," she said quietly, her fingers curling around the door. Halfway through her speech, she had turned around so that her back was pressed against the door, her uninjured hand flattening against the door itself. "And there's sex," she joked, a slight smile twitching at her lips. "Sex helps with all of that, too," she laughed softly, her face turned slightly downward. "Oh, I forgot ... You are not very experienced with the art of sex, now are you? How long has it been since you took a woman? Seven months?" she teased, humor obvious in her features. "Why, you are practically a virgin in your mind!" she laughed.
