Castle Hydra: Next Generation

[lycrawaterz14]

(Platinum hair with black underneath, her eyes gray, face all angles and petite.)

 

Arachne bent down next to the stone and shrugged. "I don't know..."

 

Kenan shuddered happily and looked at Aza slightly shocked. "Still sorry... I thought you'd be more upset..." he looked like he was debating on something, his face slightly ashen in is weird blush.

[frostmourne]

Aza grinned and pressed herself closer against him. "For what? Being incredibly sweet?" she asked lightheartedly. She noticed his blush and ran her fingers along his cheek, fascinated for a moment. "Something you want to tell me?" There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

A small smile danced on the corners of Jared's lips, but the weariness in his eyes remained. He was standing up straight and looked cheerful and energetic, but internally he wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. The frog gave a almost musical croak and tried to hide in the few drops of water in the rock. Jared added a few more drops of water to the rock and picked up another one. This one didn't split when he tapped it.

[lycrawaterz14]

"N-No..." he mumbled, backing out. He thought about kissing her, but changed his mind last minute. What if she got mad or uncomfortable? He shook his head. Arachne picked up the rock and smashed it harder. "It didn't work!!!"

[frostmourne]

Aza raised and eyebrow but said nothing. "Okay." she said cheerfully, resting her head on Kenan's shoulder. The naive, trusting side of her had returned. The predatory gleam in her eyes had vanished, and it was hard to believe it was ever there.

Jared blinked and thought about taking a step back, but that would offend Arachne. "Not all of them have it. Some are just rocks." he murmured sedately. He suddenly was reminded of what Aza had done once in one of her tantrums. "Aza, what are you doing? This isn't right." Aza merely laughed, her bright gray eyes vicious and cold in the shadow-tinged corner of the dark room where they stood, squaring off. "Why... this?" He stopped short, mid-sentence, and gestured to the only other person in the room. A girl, strapped to a chair while Aza towered over her. She was a pretty sort of thing, about fifteen. She might have been beautiful, were it not for the tears streaming from her green bloodshot eyes. Tethered tightly to a weathered chair with barbed wire wound thick at her wrists, ankles, neck, knees, elbows and waist, she shook against her bonds. A belt fastened her head in place just above her eyebrows and a white cloth was stuffed into her mouth for a makeshift gag. Every joint shook, stuggled, and fought, reflecting the mannerisms of a cornered animal. Beads of blood formed where the rusting wires dug into her skin, a shocking crimson against the off-white she had become. Whimpering sounds that were not entirely human almost sifted themselves through the cloth in her mouth. Her hair a golden blonde, hung limp over the edges of the headrest. An asssortment of pristine silvery knives laid upon a white cloth on the floor. Jared looked away from them as quickly as possible. The trapped girl's pupils darted from the knives, to Aza, and to Jared. He swallowed nervously.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan took her hand and held her close, wrapping an arm around her. "Aza...?" he leaned his head entry on top of hers. "What do you look like? I don't want to hear it from anyone but you. You can let me picture you however you like..." he murmured. "I didn't want anyone else to describe you. I remember our talk of stars... I want to feel that again." he rubbed her sides.

[frostmourne]

"Um...I have black hair and um...gray eyes...and..." Aza trailed off, not sure how to describe herself. "I'm sorry, I don't know how..." Adrian listened and snorted softly. "You should ask Jared about it. He'll talk enough to write a book on it. Besides, she can change her appearance. " he snickered.

Aza took two fingers and lowered them to the girl's wrist, pressing down upon either side of a single metal spur. The girl cried out as blood quickly seeped out. "This is research." She lowered her hand and spoke again. "Doctors are smart, aren't they, Jared?" Aza said. Jared's brows met, and his eyes narrowed. She wasn't going in the direction her thought she was with this, was she? "What does that have to do with hurting this randomized girl?" Jared would do anything for her, whatever her pleasures. But this was just going too far. This was going to be murder. Torture. Aza bent down so she could look the girl in her eyes. Timid forest green met hollow black. The girl's breathing got heavier, shakier, louder. It filled the room. It became the very heartbeat of the intensity of the moment, slowing and speeding time, suffocating Jared until he could hardly bear to stand in the room for one more agonizing moment. Aza smiled in the girl's face. "I want to be a doctor. And a doctor needs to know what the insides of a human body look like, don't they?" Aza said in the face of the convulsing girl beneath her, smiling sadistically as she did so. She gazed upwards from her frightened, captured young thing, staring Jared in the eye. "Regular doctors always use corpses, but I find that so dreadfully boring. It's so much more entertaining..." She looked back down at her tethered specimen. "...With company." She threw her head back and giggled maniacally, her straight, glossy ebony locks whipping back to coat her pale white shoulders. It's all just a big joke to her, Jared realized. No one was safe inside the building until she was satisfied. And quite frankly, that made the situation all the darker. He thought of what the place would like like when she finished. "It's completely scientific." She said, licking her pink, full lips and smiling as though there was no more innocent activity in the world than dismembering a fully-aware young girl. "I'm just learning." She cooed, showing her teeth in a grin. But this was not an average smile. It was the excitement of a thrilled killer, the very essence of sadism captured in a single facial expression. She turned away and reached for her own left wrist, grasping the end of a silky blue bow tied there. She pulled away the loosely-tied ribbon and freed her arm, bringing the thin cloth up to her hair. Quickly and easily, Aza gathered her dark strands into a ponytail, pulling two royal blue loops out as they formed a perfectly symmetrical knot. She turned around again, and reached for something behind the chair. She pulled out another white cloth. It unfolded into a apron. White. Everything was so white, so seemingly pure. Oh, Aza loved white.

 

But more importantly, she loved red.

Edited March 11, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan tensed and snarled inhumanly. "Adrian! Leave now, or I swear I'll hunt you down and use your capillaries as a strainer! I'm tired of your intrusions! Go find yourself someone I love as much as Aza and realize how much of a nuisance you are!" he yelled in anger.

 

"You alright?" Arachne asked Jared, laying a hand on his shoulder.

[frostmourne]

Adrian blinked in surprise and took a slight step back before recovering. "Someone's in a bad mood..." he said in a sing song voice as he waltzed out. Aza pulled away from Kenan slightly, instinctively wanting to help after seeing the almost invisible flash of hurt. Anyone who hadn't been around him as long as she had would have missed it. She frowned and stood up, looking in the direction Adrian had left in.

Aza smirked and lifted the neck strap of the apron slowly around her head, reaching down and carefully tying the larger bow at the small of her slim back. She appeared pristine, almost like an angel. But that appearance faded when she looked at Jared with her glistening eyes once more. She cocked her head. "Jared," Aza began, giving him a smile in the near-darkness. "Do you want to join?" Jared's pupils contracted. "Jared?" Aza said. His mind snapped back to sanity. He took one look at Aza, his brilliant, beautiful pupil. He looked at the quaking, brown-haired girl beneath her. And he made his decision. He shook his head and backed away. "Then you must stay and watch." Jared swallowed deeply. He couldn't. He had to leave. "As you wish." Jared stepped away from the shaking captive and avoided looking into her eyes, accepting the apron strap Aza lowered around his slender neck. His knuckles turned white. She tied the back of it for him as well, pressing their bodies together for a moment. She backed away, smiling.

 

Humming, she picked up a silvery knife.

Jared didn't respond to Arachne, horror in his eyes.

Edited March 11, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan looked rejected, not responding to her wanting to leave. He hid it after a second or two, replacing his look of rejection with anger.

 

Arachne hugged him for a moment before pulling back a bit and petting his hair. "Hey... I didn't mean to freak you out." she cooed.

 

 

[frostmourne]

Aza sat down beside Kenan again, but refused to even glance at him. She looked lost in thought. If anyone else had said that besides herself, Kenan and Jared, she would have been biting off their head. But this was Kenan and he had recently lost his memory. Besides, Adrian was being annoying. She decided she would just turn a blind eye this time. She sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. She felt that her head had somehow gotten heavier. She turned partially and saw that her hair now was almost floor length. She pulled out a pair of scissors and started snipping away. After she was done, she shook her head slightly. "Can we go outside?" Without waiting for a reply, she took Kenan's hand and started to head outside.

Jared blinked and his eyes seemed to focus. "It wasn't you. I'm sorry, I got distracted." He watched Adrian leaving the tunnel. He seemed to lack his usual enthusiasm. A few moments later he saw Aza exit. He quirked an eyebrow at her new haircut. "What? You don't like it?" she asked. He held up a pair of scissors. "May I?" Aza nodded and turned around, knee length black hair swirling like a cape. Jared trimmed it until it was back to its regular waist length. "You're right." Aza admitted.

[lycrawaterz14]

"He's right about what?" He asked, knowing he was in trouble. He just felt it, Aza didn't have to say a word. Arachne grew cold again at Aza walking in, not resounding to the two.

 

[frostmourne]

"That my old haircut was better." Aza replied, twirling around to get a better look. Jared quietly started to back out of the scene. He seemed uncomfortable with something. Aza noticed it immediately, dashing his hopes of a inconspicuous escape. "Is something the matter?" "Not at all." Jared stuttered out. Aza looked curiously at him, but didn't question him further. Adrian joined the group, grinning, but without the same cheer. "Adrian, you've always said nothing when I asked you before, what's your middle name?" "What's your middle name?" "Myranda or Amaranthe. I can't remember which." "'She who must be admired' and 'eternal, unfading'." Jared muttered. "Sicarius." Adrian said shortly before starting to walk away. "'Assassin'." Realization dawned and Jared seemed to pale slightly. "Dark one, assassin, and darkness. How gloomy. Comfort, she who must be admired, eternal, darkness. Eternal darkness? Even worse. Jared, what's wrong? You look like you have a knife in your back or something." Jared shook his head and said nothing, faraway look in his eyes.

Edited March 15, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan still looked like he was in trouble, pouting. Everything was mush in his head and heart, now. Ot only did he admire Aza, he was reliant on her. Longed for her. Adele was like this mother now, reliant on her fo his own identity and food. He was like an infant, only now he recognized his childlike behavior, but didn't know better. Arachne hun outside he door, hearing his voice even made her take a hi to her self-esteem.

[frostmourne]

Aza looked confused and glanced back at Kenan. She noted that he seemed upset as well. Why is everyone upset around me? Am I really that bad? She immediately dismissed the thought as childish, but the doubt still remained. "Oh great. There's two of them now." Adrian snorted. "Hmm?" "Overgrown children." Aza looked like she would have vey much liked to slap him. She raised her hand as if to strike, but only brushed away a loose strand of hair. Jared stepped over to her and whispered a quick phrase in Latin. Adrian's expression soured, tone becoming sharp as vinegar. "What's with the secrecy?" he snapped. "I could ask the same of you." Aza murmured, eyes wide but voice still even. She had one hand behind her back, slowly pulling out a dagger. Adrian stepped forward and easily knocked the blade out of her hand. A hurt expression flickered over his face for a fraction of a second. "You don't trust me?" he demanded. "You're an assassin." Adrian hid his expression of surprise. "Of all the things Jared could come up with, is that really what he told you?" Doubt flickered over Aza's face. Sensing weakness, Adrian pressed forward. "If I was an assassin, I would have killed you already." "Not that you didn't try a couple minutes ago." Jared murmured under his breath.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Nothing wrong with assassins..." Kenan mused to himself. What had made him say that? Arachne glided into the room, standing beside Jared as if she had gotten lonely. Adele sat beside Kenan again, and laid his hand upon a book. "I just remembered your favorite passage..." She murmured, and he laid his hands over it, frowning. "It's like Aza's speech..." he murmured back.

Edited March 16, 2012 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

"Yes, there's nothing wrong with them." "Is that a confession?" "No." Adrian replied flatly. Jared turned and offered a smile to Arachne before starting to speak. "He isn't suppose to kill you. He's your assassin." "I have an assassin? What's the point?" Aza asked, looking more confused by the second. "He's suppose to assassinate anyone who seems to be a threat to you." "Do you have any idea how silly that sounds? She's more than capable of defending herself." Adrian snorted. "She has no id-" A shadow bound and gagged him and started wheeling him away. Aza glared and the whole thing faded. "Just forget it. If you're an assassin, it's fine. If you aren't, sorry for doubting you." she said. Jared and Adrian turned to look at her, both exasperated and amused.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan blinked. "May I use your services then, Adrian?" He asked quite seriously. "I cannot kill, only take their soul, if it is time for someone to die and their soul is taken then they will rot... I might actually need someone to complete their death, and there is no use in training a child if you already know how."

[frostmourne]

Adrian was fuming when he turned to look at Kenan. He looked like there should have been steam coming out of his ears. He abruptly cooled, deciding his secret was out anyway. "So I'm not a nuisance now?" Adrian said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "So you are an assassin!" Aza exclaimed. Adrian bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming out a stream of curses that would have made a drill sergeant's ears bleed. "Don't you remember that night in the library? Maybe you were too young." Aza thought for a while, trying to recall what Adrian was talking about. The maps she was looking over were still sprawled across the table. Aza leaned down, prepared to go over them again. Almost immediately, an uneasy feeling made her straighten. She peered down the aisles of bookshelves behind her. The lamps on the outside walls barely illuminated the rows, but nothing moved among the deep shadows. None of the tables within sight were occupied, nor had she seen or heard anyone else since entering. Still, she sensed eyes upon her. Slowly, Aza tilted her head back. A man stood on the balcony above, his arms draped across the railing. It was not Jared. “You’re not what I was expecting.” His dark eyes ran up and down her body. In one liquid motion, the man vaulted over the rail, dropped fifteen feet and landed on the table in an easy crouch. She skittered back, bumping against the end of a bookcase. His soft boots hadn’t even rustled the papers. “Can I assist you? What are you looking for?” she said smoothly. “As much trouble as you’ve given me, I figured you’d be some giant monster. Not a delicate, frail flower. Yes, you’ll have to assist me quite a bit before I hack off your head.” he chuckled. She eased to the side so the bookcase did not block retreat. He only smiled, his eyes chilling and invasive. She backed into the aisle. Nothing but books stood within reach; she doubted throwing a book at someone who moved like him would help. “I don’t think so.” He leaped off the table. Aza sprinted down the aisle. At the end of the row, she darted behind the bookcase and dropped into a crouch. She dared a glance down the aisle. It was empty. She looked down the one on the other side of the bookcase. Empty too. She looked up. Too late. The dark form dropped from the top of the bookcase. She leaped to the side, slashing at the inside of his ankle. Too fast to see, he kicked the blade from her hand. By the time it thudded onto the carpet, he was on her, his hand around her neck. He tore her cloak from her shoulders. She tried to struggle, but he blocked and pressed her into the end of the bookcase. He loomed broader and several feet taller than her. He pinned her with his body, trapping her arms. His hand tightened on her neck, a vise on her windpipe. “More fun if you’re alive,” he rasped, hot breath flooding over her, “but not a requirement.” She wasn’t going to be able to get away from him. His fingers denied her air, but she couldn’t give up. He drew back his arm to punch her. But a spasm jerked through him, and his eyes bulged wide. Shock plastered his face as he grabbed at his back and staggered around. A knife hilt protruded from between his shoulder blades. Twenty feet away, Adrian stood, rolled up maps in one hand and a second throwing knife ready in the other. Aza sucked in deep breaths, dropping her hands to her knees for support. “You should have screamed.” Adrian said blandly. Aza slid down the bookcase, and pulled her knees up to her chin. Feeling vulnerable, she watched Adrian with more wariness than he deserved. After scanning the shadows and listening for a moment, he handed her the maps but she did not reach out to take them. “Just a minute. You can...” Go? Stay? She wasn’t sure what she wanted. For a moment, he simply stood, gazing down at her. She was about to tell him that she’d be fine but he stepped around the body, and sat beside her, not quite touching. Sitting in the shadows, with a killer, in an empty building, gazing at the corpse of another killer. When had her life grown so strange? “Anyone you know?” Chin on her knees, she pointed her nose toward the body. “An assassin. I’ve met him before.” “Then I appreciate your willingness to stab an acquaintance in the back on my behalf.” “Any assassin who allows himself to be distracted by his work deserves a knife in the back. It’s not professional.” Aza almost laughed, imagining some handout in Assassinry 101, where rules of etiquette were passed out. She doubted he had intended the statement to do so, but it lightened her mood.

Edited March 19, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan blinked in confusion. Adele tapped his cheek. "Pay attention..." She growled. Kenan whimpered, wanting to comfort Aza.

[frostmourne]

Jared was holding a magnet in his hand and staring down at it curiously. A vine shot out and seemed to prod Adrian lightly before withdrawing. It tightly encircled a dagger made from pure black metal. Jared expected it to be icy cold, but it was actually slightly warm. It was as if it were alive. He barely touched the edge of the blade, but even the light touch drew blood. He balanced the dagger tip on one finger. "What metal is it made of?" he asked, looking intrigued. Adrian waved a hand dismissively and the knife faded and reappeared in his hand. He casually wiped off the few drops of blood on the edge. "Frankly, it's none of your business." The magnet Jared still held wobbled when Adrian moved to slip the dagger away. The magnet jumped out of Jared's hands despite his attempts to hold on to it.

Aza seemed distant, starting to wander away from the others. Jared easily kept track of her, watching and listening through the grass. He made no move to stop her until he noticed the way she was walking. She looked more like she was being dragged along, silently fighting every step. "Stop following me." she said tonelessly, almost mechanically. She would never command him to do anything. Unless she had to put on an act for the Court, she always treated him as a peer. "Then please do begin your explanation." a stalk of grass murmured politely.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan now seemed depressed as Aza left. He just kept his head down, reading what Adele instructed him to. He didn't mean to make her leave...

[frostmourne]

Aza turned on a dime, stoic expression dissolving into one of fury. "Adrian lied to me, Kenan lost his memory, and my coronation will be any day now. What more explaination do you need?" she demanded. The grass swayed in surprise at the last statement. "I didn't know you were going to receive the crown." The anger vanished, leaving behinds despair and hopelessness. The fear in her eyes made him want to whisk her away from everything. "You know I can't control them. They'll tear me apart like wolves unless I change myself to be the iron lady they've come to expect. I don't want to let them change me. I want to stay myself." she mumbled almost incoherently. Jared appeared suddenly by her side. He dropped to one knee and kept his gaze on the ground. "They are your servants. They will do as you say and...as will I." he said quietly without looking up. Aza knelt beside him, cupped his face with both hands, and forced him to look at her. "You will never be my servant. Do me a favor and slap me if I ever call you that." she said fiercely. "Don't be silly Aza. I would be executed if I raised a hand against you. You can charm the ones who defy you anyway." Jared murmured, helping her to her feet. "I'm serious and I'd rather be executed with you. I can't charm people. They hate me. They'll never love me." "They may hate you, but one of your greatest strengths is that they also hate each other. It is your duty to make them obey your will. You must learn how to watch them, so they will do for you what you need. Don't let them see you waver. Don't let them know you are afraid. Their pain must never be your pleasure, but neither should it be your pain either." he advised as he led her back to Kenan. "Could you promise me something?" she asked timidly, stopping right before they were within sight of the others. "Anything." "Promise me that you won't leave just because I become queen?" Aza said softly, looking nervous. Jared smiled and nodded before nudging her in Kenan's direction. She quickly went over, leaning lightly on Kenan and looking at what he was reading. Jared still stood slightly off the the side like an abandoned plaything.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulder. The pages had dark Spencerian writing, deep enough indentions they could be felt. "You better now?" He murmured, leaning his head on hers.

[frostmourne]

Aza closed her eyes, smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Not by much, but yes." she sighed. She considered telling Kenan about the possibility of her coronation. She decided not to. Hopefully it wouldn't happen and there was no use in worrying Kenan for something that might not even occur. Jared seemed to spot something in the distance. He suddenly looked happier than he had been for several days. He started to walk towards it and inlet for a few moments, disappearing into the tall grass. He had a wood thrush perched on his finger. It released a brief melody. Jared mimicked it perfectly, making Aza glance up. She didn't see him and he didn't come back. Adrian was beside Jared in an instant. "Can you do that with other birds?" "No, only the wood thrush. Even then I sound like a hyperventilating crow." "As much as I hate to admit it, no you don't. You sound exactly like that bird. Too bad you can't do it with any other bird though. Might have been useful."

Edited March 27, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

"Was that Jared?" Kenan asked Aza, pulling her closer to him, attempting to play as he dug his head into her hair. It smelled nice.

 

Adele nodded at another reaper that had appeared in the room. "Master? There is a mandated conference..."

 

"Mandated by who?" he growled. Adele shifted. "For he first time since Ebinezer, the people have demanded one. The Senate has never been utterly wiped out. They are afraid. You must comply, you are their leader now, and you're leaving them in the dark... I've heard horrid rumors, everything from Aza just had your son to you are siding with the demons... " Adele actually looked frightened. "This is the closest thing to a revolt there has every be-" "Okay, I'll go!" Kenan huffed.

 

"Aza has been commanded to come as well. They are concerned." she whimpered. Kenan now looked murderous, but calmed. "Let the people know I am getting ready, such as a parent does before they chastise their child." he growled. A courier did as he demanded.