Castle Hydra: Next Generation

[lycrawaterz14]

"Well, that's all I have." Archne hugged her knees calmly. "What's wrong?" she asked, leaning on his shoulder.

[frostmourne]

"Ghost of the past." Jared mumbled. He pulled away slightly from Arachne, doing his best to keep his composure. He was uncomfortable with the attention and still thinking about the dead boy. He suddenly stopped short and put an arm aroound Arachne's shoulders. "In fact, I think it owes me a resurrection. And I owe it one." he said slowly. "I need to do something I should have done a long time ago. Please don't follow me. I'll be right back." He seemed surprisingly cheerful as he gave her a swift peck on the cheek before springing to his feet and dashing through the mansion. He impatiently entered the room where Aza was trying to pull the flowers out of her hair. He addressed Adrian without as so much as a glance to Aza. "Get out. If you try to listen in, I will personally tear your limbs off and cook them in a stew of your blood." he said it with a grim cheer that was more frightening than a deadpan. Adrian scurried out of the room, shock still carved onto his face. Jared spun around to face Aza. She looked somewhere between surprised and amused. The humor slid right off of her face at his next words. He took a deep breath before beginning. "Aza, I'm leaving. Permanently. I did kill that little boy and I will ask your father to allow me to be arrested on charges of murder. Maybe the executioners will find a way to kill me. Ask Kenan to reverse whatever he did to me and thank him for me please." Aza looked paler than usual. "You can't. I won't let you. I don't care if you killed someone." she stuttered out. Jared contemplated his for a long moment. He stepped closer to her and slapped her. Aza sank to the floor, disbelief distracting her from the pain of the blow. She touched her cheek lightly, wincing when she felt the red welt. Lowering her hand, she saw he had drawn blood. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and thought she saw regret, but he immediately turned away and refused to look at her. "Why won't you look at me?" she whimpered. "If I cannot look at you as an equal, your Highness, I will not look at you at all." he said coldly. "Why have you become so cruel? It's not like you." she sniffled. "Aza, you've cut my arm off, broken my wrist, broke my ribs, and bled me dry in one day. Now I'm the cruel one?" Aza started sobbing and Jared sighed and helped her up from the ground. She quieted slightly at his touch. "You made me promise." he said softly. "I'm sorry." she choked out. "I'm not." Aza started crying again, but quietly now. "Do you remember when Kenan asked you to not give him the politically correct answer? You did. They would rather be ruled by Kenan than by me. They gain nothing out of me." he murmured. "They would have gained a wise king. And a good friend." Aza said with a tearful smile. "They would have gotten a coward." "What coward dares to chase his own death and strike a queen?" "Let me correct myself. A coward and a fool." "I can't make you change your mind, can I?" Aza said quietly. "I'm afraid not, your Highness." he said with a touch of sorrow. "Aza, I lied when I said I wasn't sorry. I'm sorry that I'm breaking the heart that broke mine. I'm sorry for dragging on a dead hope. I'm sorry for not telling you I couldn't bear seeing you with someone else. I'm sorry that I'm jealous and selfish and a coward. I'm sorry." Jared drew another deep breath. "But I am not sorry for loving you. Wih all my heart and for all eternity. I love you." Jared visibly lightened, the obvious secret that had been kept for so long finally gone. Aza had no response but to cry harder. She was shaking with sobs. Jared lifted her chin, trying to wipe away her tears. "Don't cry. You were worth it, and I shouldn't have given up. I gave up, so I'm not worthy." He rose to leave, but Aza grabbed his sleeve. "I'm not asking you to stay. I'm begging that we will see each other again." "I can't promise that." he said softly. Aza let him go and sank miserably to the floor. Jared walked out and the mark on her cheek wasn't healing. Jared ran out of the castle and grabbed Arachne's hand. "I need to go before I realize everything I've just done and undo it all." he said briskly, mild panic shining in his eyes. The odd lightness was still there, but the deep sorrow still haunted his features. Edited May 22, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Arachne looked afraid, and kept up for a few steps before slowing. "Y-you're leaving me aren't you?" She muttered. She started to say something again, but couldn't for a large black-hooded figure grabbing Jared by the throat. He slammed against a sudden-erupting stone slab. That horrid feeling produced by Kenan's father was back, an ancient furious evil, consuming and despairingly powerful. Just its touch felt like slow-roasted near-melting knives.

 

How DARE you! It slammed Jared by the head. How DARE you! You were given a gift, and you strike your master's queen! You deserve to DIE LIKE A DOG!! A rasping angry growl hissed as its claws sunk into his shoulders, seeming as if they pierced his soul.

 

"Stop!" Arachne yelled, trying to get imbetween the two. A strike from its hand and she went sprawling.

[frostmourne]

"Don't Arachne. He's right." Jared laughed. A rare look of happiness was on his face. For the first time since he was a infant, his eyes shone clear wih joy, unclouded. He didn't care about the pain, only aware that he was no longer hiding in the dark anymore. He was free. He laughed again, grinning with boyish excitement. He welcomed the pain. He deserved it. As the pain grew, flowers started to grow over the marble slab, brushing away the ashes. He suddenly looked back to Arachne with somehing like regret. He wished life had been kinder to her. He closed his eyes, immersed in a memory he had long forgotten. A happy memory. One where he wasn't keeping to the shadows for Aza's sake, but running on wet grass in full sunlight. He had only been four at the most.

Adrian looked concerned after Aza didn't come out. He briefly glanced in to see her unmoving on the cold flagstone floor. He could see she was still alive, but probably wouldn't appreciate him bursting in to help her. "Oh, what a mess..." he muttered rubbing his temple. Aza couldn't feel anything other than the shock. She knew the pain would return later with greater force, so she clung to not feeling anything. She slowly rose to her feet and gazed out the window. She looked but she didn't see. The wound on her cheek still bled. She refused to let it heal. It was her fault she had lost her friend. The pain of the cut reminded her of that. It was her fault she had been heartless. Her fault that she took him for granted. Her fault she treated him like something disposable. It. Was. All. Her. Fault. Aza closed her eyes and tried to hold off her emotions just a moment longer.

[lycrawaterz14]

Suddenly at Jared's voice it was contained, for a fraction of a second.

 

Arachne was out cold, bleeding heavily from her head. She seemed quite hurt, her leg and one arm at odd angles. Immediately the thing grabbed his hair and mercilessly started slamming with one hand, the other yanking his body in a different direction as if trying to beat his head off his body.

[frostmourne]

Jared was perfectly cooperative, not even attempting to defend himself. He was as limp as a rag doll, and he kept his eyes closed. He remembered sledding down a snowy hill, sailing across a turquoise lake, and a handful of other bits of perfect happiness. He forced away memories of Aza, brushing them away like cobwebs. He briefly opened his eyes again, but it was only to glance concernedly at Arachne. He hoped she wouldn't die or get punished for his sake. He wasn't worth getting hurt over. He closed his eyes again and let his memories erase the pain. He wished it would just hurry up and get it over with. After a moment of consideration he changed his mind. He should suffer something long and painful.

Aza suddenly noticed a troubling feature in the gardens. Why is Jared... The thought broke off as fear spread in her eyes. She started to try to find her way out of the mansion, panic in her eyes. Adrian grabbed her and forced her back into the room. She couldn't hear what he was saying, her mouth open in a silent scream. Finally, Adrian opened a void and pushed her in, unable to restrain her. In the darkness Aza could feel the conditions bend her more and more. She hoped she wouldn't snap.

Edited May 22, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

It grew bored with his inability to break, or even to draw blood from his head. It grabbed his ankles, slinging his face into the ground and drug him by it.

 

Its other hand grabbed Arachne's hair, picking her up more like a rag doll, and preparing to swing her at him, as if seeing if she would destroy him better.

[frostmourne]

Aza shrieked, feeling like she was having her heart torn to pieces. The walls of he void ripped violently, Adrian going wide-eyed wih surprise. Aza paid no mind to him, crying so hard she couldn't see. She ran into chairs and tables, over turned vases and cut herself in their shards and as she was rushing down the staircase, tripped and tumbled ungracefully to the bottom. By the time she made out of the mansion, she had a couple broken bones, countless scrapes and bruises and was a complete mess. Her dress was torn and she was still sobbing. She ran across the garden path barefoot, having lost both her shoes on the tumble down the stairs. She was so incoherent that she ran straight into the stone slab. She sank to the ground, to tired to run any further. She looked confused and dizzy with grief and pain. Her hand went up again to brush the mark on her cheek. It was starting to become a habit. She tried to get to her feet, but stumbled and winced at yet another pain, this time in her ankle. She gave up and remained on the ground, but she attempted to say something. Her throat was dry from all her crying and all that came out was a broken squeak.

Jared looked worried and alarmed as it picked up Arachne. He opened his mouth to tell it to leave Arachne out of this, but he caught a glimpse of a fast moving figure. Aza rammed into the stone, looking battered. "Aza! Don't move. You look terrible." She coughed a few times and looked at him. "Says the person who's being ripped to shreds." she said hoarsely. "Please let them go." She slumped a little and stopped talking.

[lycrawaterz14]

The thing hissed at her now, dropping the two and reaching out for her. It stopped short though, and a ragged breath drew back in.

 

The black hood that covered the thing drooped to reveal a shell-shocked Kenan, and he trembled slightly. He slowly turned to his hands, one now coated in Arachne's blood. He gasped a bit, and slowly registered his surroundings. "I-... no. I wanted to... h-hur..." He trembled faster, and held his head.

 

Arachne wasn't doing well, not breathing at the moment. There was a nice sized dent in her head, showing off the impact it had taken.

 

(The thing and Arachne Except Arachne's hair is slightly darker brown underneath.)

Edited May 22, 2012 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

((Oh, never mind .))

Aza wearily looked at the both of them on the ground. She dragged herself to Arachne who was closest. She was covered with so many cuts she didn't need to cut herself. She let a few drops fall on the dent and a few drops on other parts that seemed to be badly injured. She collapsed before she had healed Jared. Adrian ran up to them, eyes blazing. "That is enough!" he fumed. He picked up Aza like a little child and examined her various injuries. "Haven't you hurt her enough already between the two of you?" Adrian was struggling to bottle his anger back up. He set Aza down on a nearby bench and looked at some of her injuries. He plucked out bandages from a black bag that had been floating behind him as he came over. When most of her major injuries were taken care of, he looked at Jared. Jared either was completely fine, or merely vey good at hiding his pain. From the blood that was running down his arms, Adrian guessed the latter. He took out a needle, walked over to the hollow eyed Jared and stabbed it in his neck. He injected the clear fluid quickly and threw away the syringe. Jared was out almost immediately. He started to prod around his injuries too, pointedly ignoring Kenan.

Aza stirred and attempted to allow her injuries to heal. Most barely sealed, leaving pale scars that would fade when she recovered fully. Only the red welt on her cheek remained vivid as ever. She tried to pull herself to her feet, but Adrian stopped what he doing wih Jared and pushed her back down. "Don't worry. Everyone will be alright." he said soothingly, hoping he was right.

Edited May 22, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan was crying, a very rare thing, but that was occurring more and more recently. He took a step toward Aza, before shaking his head and disappearing.

 

Arachne stirred. "N-nonono... Jar... don't leave me... don't hurt him... you hurt so much, hurt everything, everything..." she whispered, like a child in the dark.

Edited May 22, 2012 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

Adrian remained by her side for a few moments longer until she placidly laid back down again. He rose and then went over to Jared again. He considered him for a moment and then injected another fluid into his arm. Jared blinked and noticed everything felt numb. As he gazed at the scene, he felt something inside him die a little. Adrian smiled a little, thinking that it was as if the world had started chipping away at Jared's innocence again. Jared pulled himself to a sitting position with a little difficulty and glanced over at Aza. Her eyes were shut, but tears will still running own her cheeks. He noticed Adrian looked troubled too. "What's wrong?" "Besides the obvious, Aza ripped apart a void to get to you three." "That isn't possible." Jared said, seeming concerned. "That's my point. Aza can't control herself anymore. You know what would happen if any of the Court find out." Adrian muttered under his breath. Jared looked to Arachne and tried to stumbled towards her. Adrian grabbed him and shoved him back down. "No. Aza is doesn't like Arachne too much already. Don't give her a reason to hate her." "But...why?" "For someone who's part of an ancient group of scholars who are supposedly wise, you're really dumb. You just told Aza you're leaving. Then you run off with Arachne. See where I'm going with this?" "Surely she can't think..." "You just saw your best friend and someone who you've known your whole life run off with someone else. What would you think?"

[lycrawaterz14]

Arachne shuddered, attempting to sit up. She rubbed her eyes. "Ow..." SHe whimpered. "Jared?" She asked sleepily.

[frostmourne]

Adrian put a hand over Jared's mouth. There was a quick flicker of black as soon as Adrian noticed Arachne was starting to sit up. Jared vanished and Aza and Adrian were they only ones left besides Arachne. "He left. Said he needed some time away from everything. I didn't even get to finish patching him up." Adrian said in a bored tone. Aza got up again, looking too worried to remain lying down any longer. "I'm going to check on Kenan. He's probably beating himself up over this." she muttered. Her hand instinctively went to her cheek again. Adrian noticed the vivid mark. "Are you planning to keep that as a memento or something?" Adrian asked. "I will let it heal at its own pace." Aza said stiffly before disappearing in a cloud of shadow. She opened her eyes in the throne room again. "Kenan? Kenan!" she called, wandering through the rooms.

Jared looked supremely irritated at the darkness. He hated the dark and the cold wasn't a welcome aspect either. He tried to find a way out of the void. A shiver ran through him as he started to think he heard voices in the slight whispers of wind. He wanted to talk to Arachne and to explain things better to Kenan. He realized just how idiotic his actions had been now.

[lycrawaterz14]

Adele pat Aza's arm. "He is in his bedchambers. You may not enter..." She soothed. "He'll be out in a moment, he's quite angry right now. I heard him sobbing when I left his food... he hardly cries, something must have upset him. Are you alright, my queen? You seem to be hurt...?"

 

Arachne's eyes watered. "He left me didn't he... I told him he was all I had..." She looked away. "Seems everyone tosses me away once my purpose is done."

[frostmourne]

"I'm sure he just needs a minute. He probably feels guilty about getting you hurt and thinks if he sticks around you'll keep getting hurt." Adrian said comfortingly. He lied easily, naturally good at it. Besides, you didn't serve any purpose anyway. I wonder if Aza is that clingy with Kenan. Probably. They all seem to have abandonment issues. Adrian thought. He realized how cruel the thought had been a minute later. He was glad he had kept that opinion to himself. On the outside he appeared to be struggling not to show sympathy, to remain the sarcastic person he was. On the inside, he was laughing at Arachne's dependency on someone she hadn't known for very long.

Aza did no look comforted at all. She looked like she wanted to break down the door. She regained her composure and created a chair for her to sit. "Thank you for your concern Adele, but I'm fine. It's nothing permanent." she said quietly. The torn dress repaired itself, but her hair was put into a simple braid instead of the elaborate system of braids Adrian had made. She traced an already faded scar on the back of her hand. She had scraped it as she was pushing her way through the bushes. Four uneven scratches stood out a paler white than the surrounding skin.

[lycrawaterz14]

Adele sat down beside her. "You look troubled... what is wrong?" She asked kindly, patting her hand. "Is he... giving you a hard time? His people are asking it of him, it is not his own desire." She said quickly. "He doesn't mean it like that, master is quite lonely, but not enough to make half as many demands as the people are requiring." She soothed.

 

Arachne rolled her eyes. "You had more crap in that sentence than a thousand cow pastures."

[frostmourne]

"It isn't his fault. It's mine. Kenan is more than I could ever ask for. He blames himself for what happened, but I lose control more than him. I wish I could have do somehing to make it alright. I made Jared promise he would remind me I was his equal if I ever tried to force him to do something. He hit me when I would have torn me to pieces were I in his shoes. It killed him inside to hurt me. Kenan got angry over that and then I just lost it. My only thought was that I was going to lose them both. I wish I had the magic words to make everything better." Aza sighed her hands clenching into fists. "On one hand, if I never met Jared I would be a tyrant and a bloodthirsty killer. If I never met Kenan, I would be living the life of a hermit, probably in some mossy stone tower in the middle of nowhere. Actually...no, if I never met Kenan I would be dead." Aza murmured. "I don't want to lose either of them. It would have been easier if I was a scullery maid or the swine herder. Then none of this would be happening. Power is not a gift. It's a punishment, for I can destroy everyone without it, but still have the conscience to want to die for killing them." Aza laughed bitterly, realizing how stupid she sounded. "Here I am, the future queen with people falling at her feet, wanting no power and desiring to be the scullery maid. Meanwhile the scullery maid longs for power, adoration, and riches, and she wishes to be queen. I'm a idiotic, spoilt brat who never truly suffered a day in her life."

Adrian chuckled sheepishly, his sympathic expression breaking into a charming smile. "I know. I can't be nice no matter how hard I try." he said, seeming somewhere between guilty and embarrassed. "Let's see if we can find him, shall we?" he asked politely, offering her his arm. "I'll bring you to him, but if Aza breaks down seeing you with him and Jared goes running back to her with his tail between his legs, don't blame me for not warning you."

Edited May 26, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Adele pat her leg. "I'm sorry you feel torn... but I think Kenan would be happy if you just chose him. He would want you even if you were the scullery maid. I've had a couple conversations with him about it, and what I can pry out he feels like you still waver between him and Jared. I think he would still truly love you even if you choose Jared. You wouldn't have to stay a queen for your father's kingdom. Mara is a shapeshifter, she could take your place. Nothing more bloodthirsty than she though." Adele chuckled.

 

"I honestly don't care if she breaks down. It is a cruel thing, luring in them both. It would be better for him if she just made a clean break, instead of slowly welding them back together." Arachne snorted. "Take me to him please."

[frostmourne]

"I'm not wavering! I'm not!" Aza snapped, jumping up and pacing. She settled back down quickly, regretting her actions. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." she sighed. "But I chose Kenan, and I will stick to my decision. I love him more than I do anything else. I just don't want Jared to feel like I'm throwing him away after all he's done for me. I can't do anything to help him and I can't abandon him." Aza sat down again, tracing the scars crisscrossing her arms. They had started to completely fade now. "As for letting anyone else take the throne pretending to be me...I'd rather let the Court tear me apart. I would sooner kill myself. I can't run away from responsibility and if I do, I will be my first and final accuser."

"You may not care, but Jared will. It doesn't matter if every girl in the world throws herself at him, he'll still be staring at her with that silly lovesick look for the rest of his existence. She can't make a clean break or the pain will eventually turn him into somehing as heartless as Skulni." Adrian said slowly. "But as you wish." They were in the void with a flicker of black. Jared was standing, not facing them. His eyes were closed and was extremely still. After a silence, he turned to face them. He briefly looked the two of them over, detached and dispassionate. He couldn't and didn't care what they were saying over the ringing in his ears. He was painfully aware of his growing migraine.

[lycrawaterz14]

Adele seemed used to being yelled at. "I think you should tell Master that. He worries for you... and he needs reassurance. But not while he's in his bedchambers. You are not permitted to enter those..." She had knitting needles in her hands. "Would you still like Jared in your life though? Or do you just wish to reassure him that you appreciate what he's done for you?"

 

Arachne just smiled at him and stood by his side. She didn't seem to care that Jared loved another, Kenan had always been despondent to her affections. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "You should sit..." She cooed.

[frostmourne]

"Adele, Jared is my best friend. I want him to stay my friend for the rest of eternity. Yes, I still want him in my life, but I don't see how it's possible." Aza said with a pained expression. She glanced at the door to Kenan's room, looking like she wanted to charge in. She would break the door down and scream that she loved him through a megaphone if it would make him feel better. After considering it, she decided to let him have his privacy instead. She wouldn't be happy if someone burst in while she was trying to reconcil herself to the fact she had lost control. Aza hugged her knees, and waited with what scraps of patience she had left.

Jared struggled to not wrench her hand off his shoulder. He instead glanced at Adrian who shrugged. "Arachne, please. I'm begging you. Please just let me be. You're a wonderful, sensitive, enchanting person, but you'll never be truly happy clinging to me." Jared pleaded, not hearing what she said. No wonder Arachne keeps getting her heart broken. Anyone would if they fell in love with the first thing they saw. Adrian thought. He could see the surpressed tension in Jared when she touched him. He probably wanted to live on a uninhabited ice planet several trillion light years away at the moment.

[lycrawaterz14]

Adele smiled. "Anything is possible, I promise. Just let this blow over... you have millennia to do so." A loud crash was heard from Kenan's room, an grumbles. Something slammed and he was still again. "Oh dear... he's trying to write..."

 

Arachne blinked. "Jared, I don't love you. You're just the only person I consider at least tolerant of me..." she drew back like she had been struck. "I... I can leave you too if that's what you wish..." She turned away, tail inbetween her legs.

[frostmourne]

Aza buried her face in her hands. "I hope so. Oh, I do hope so." she sighed, tiredly gazing in the direction the noise was coming from. She wondered what he was trying to write. She rose to her feet when she saw a snow leopard approach. It gestured for her to follow with a flick of its tail. She followed but glanced back to Adele. They were soon out of sight and Aza began to speak. "Father, I-"she started. "I knew this disguise would work." Skulni chuckled lightly, the snow leopard fading. Aza backed away and grabbed a knife. "Don't try fighting. You're still weak. I can see your scars." he said, knocking the knife out of her hand and pinning her down easily by her shoulders. "Don't worry, I just wanted to have a little chat. You no doubt blame me for changing Jared and causing all this." Aza couldn't reply as Skulni moved his grip to her throat.

Let her walk away. Let her walk away. Let her- forget about it. Jared thought. He walked over to Arachne and stopped her. "I'm not suggesting you love me. I'm suggesting that I can tolerate you, but later you might not be able to tolerate me." he said, looking embarrassed. He couldn't make up his mind. Half of him wanted her to leave. Wanted to be left alone. Another half craved for a friend and feared being abandoned again.

[lycrawaterz14]

Adele stuck an enchanded dagger into his throat.

 

An inhuman screech was let out, and the shadows around all of the objects grew into human and humanoid shapes. "You shouldn't have come here. Master has put a price on your head..." Adele hissed. The army surged forward and Adele grabbed Aza's hand and yanked her back.

 

Arachne smirked. "I've seen much worse, trust me. You haven't spent enough time here..."