Castle Hydra: Next Generation

[frostmourne]

Skulni seemed to relax slightly, but Aza looked seething mad, especially since what they weren't telling her seemed to be rather important. She looked at Kenan questioningly, her eyes search for answers. Whoever Jared was, he must have been someone important to her, otherwise Adrian wouldn't have made a statue of him. She could go ask Adrian. She dashed off, looking for the familiar figure in the perfectly tailored suit. Skulni made no move to stop her, shaking his head. "Let her go. He doesn't remember either. Very soon, I won't remember and eventually, no one will." he sighed. "Princess." a cold, terrifying voice rang out in her mind. Aza paused, her expression wary. "I want to make a bargain. I can make you remember who he was and even bring him back to life in exchange..." it purred, its silken voice still bone chilling. "In exchange for what?" Aza said suspiciously. "How about I show you what memories youq had of him first?"

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan followed, knowing better than to leave her alone when upset. "Aza?!" He called, unfamiliar with the grounds and merely following her footsteps.

[frostmourne]

A a turned and opened her mouth to respond, but a dark shape put a hand over her mouth. It pulled her away and into a dark space. Both of them were gone. They went through a different location every fraction of a second, likely an attempt to throw anyone following off their scent. "Now..." Aza could see several disjointed images flashing through her mind before they started running in chronological order. She didn't need to see every moment. That would take centuries. One image was enough to bring back a decade worth of memories. The entire process only took a few seconds. They came to a stop at the same place they had started. "I want you to be the personification of darkness. Since you are already housing yours truly, it wouldn't make much of a difference if I decided to fuse with you completely. Everything would stay the same, only we would have to bother each other less. You won't be just the container anymore. I expect your answer by tomorrow." The voice inside her head fell silent. Aza only started blankly at the wall in front of her, numb. A choked gasp escaped her lips and her eyes brimmed with tears.

 

Jared stopped his pacing and gazed into the distance. He closed his eyes and sighed at what he saw, not even seeming to hear what Judeao was saying. "She remembered." he said miserably.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan couldn't find her and started panicking. "AZA!" He combed he castle, most likely startling anyone he stumbled upon.

[frostmourne]

Aza heard her name being called out, quite loudly too. She stilled her trembling and sighed. This was not the time to mourn. She made her face back into an empty mask and wiped away any trace of tears. The perfume the maids had sprayed her wih would likely mask the scent of tears. She smoothed the creases on her dress and marched in with a broad grin. The servants were happily chattering among themselves as they passed each other. She knew they would miss him if they remembered and knew. They would certainly miss Jared and his gentle manner, fragile good looks, and his willingness to lend a hand. They wouldn't miss her. But whose fault was that? She had played the game. In truth, she was still playing it. The courtiers only saw it as a marriage of convenience. She was engaged to someone easy for her to manipulate and in a position of great power. Someone politically correct. In the end, she would always be her father's daughter. Cold as ice. Hard as steel. Every action considered. Every speech rehearsed. Superior and mocking. She ran up to Kenan and threw her arms around him, laughing. She kissed his nose. "Sorry for running off. I was mad you weren't telling me something, but I suppose if you don't want to tell me, I don't need to know." she chirped. He should hate her. They should all hate her. Remembering how she had hurt Jared, she had reconfirmed somehing she had long known. She had never deserved either of them.

Edited January 2, 2013 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

He stiffened. "Since when do you laugh and stay within boundaries? You are not my Aza." He locked up around her. "What's wrong? Please, be alive to me. I have enough walking and smiling corpses." He grew distant and held her wrists enough to restrain her without hurting. "Aza, for once be yourself to me. You're being fake!"

[frostmourne]

The words stung like a slap to the face. She didn't have to fake the hurt that flashed across her face. "Fake." she whispered. She tore herself away from him. "Would you prefer to see the real me then? Would you like to see the bloodthirst and ruthlessness? Would you like to see the monster behind the mask?" she snapped, stumbling away from him. She stopped and seemed to quiet. "Not today. Today is suppose to be happy. Today I'm suppose to be the sweetest fiancé on the face of the planet." she mumbled, sounding lost and tired. She slid down to the floor and hugged her knees. He was right. She was fake. She had been raised in a world where deception was essential to survival. Lies became instinctive and pretending came naturally. She had worn the mask for so long that she could no longer take it off without tearing her own skin.

[lycrawaterz14]

He sat down beside her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I've already seen the monster Aza. I've already seen the raw anger and instinct, and I fell in love with it. I don't care.That's what today is about. I love you Aza, not the sweetest Fiancée ever. If the latter were so Arachne would be beside me. Not you." He hugged her close. "I'm sorry. I won't do that to you again." He kissed her cheek. "If you need to be your diplomatic self today then do so. I shouldn't have to give you permission, I apologize. I do miss you when you're away though." He chuckled a little, awkwardly.

Edited January 3, 2013 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

Aza buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." she mumbled. "I don't want to be diplomatic. If it were up to me I would kick all of those squabbling politicians out right this minute." She suddenly lifted her head and a mischevious grin played across her lips. "You know, they wouldn't notice if we just slipped away." shw said, her voice gaining a playful edge. "I will strangle you if you do that Aza." Adrian snapped, his arms crossed. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. A person ran up to him and handed him a note. He scanned it quickly before crumpling it up. "What's wrong?" she asked. He didn't reply storming off. She half expected to see steaming coming out of his ears. A few moments later, people were departing, chatting happily as they did. Aza stared at Adrian with amazement. "How?" "I manipulate people's emotions. Do you really need to know anything more than that?" Adrian said briskly. "...Thanks." "You have an hour to yourselves before they start coming back." he said, following the crowd of departing people.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Thank you Adrian. And thank you for the statues, I finally know what you look like now. Do you have black hair as well...?" He asked, but heard him walk away and instead held Aza closer. "I'm sorry too. I was being selfish. Everyone deserves to at least see you a couple times." He teased and crushed her in a hug.

 

[frostmourne]

((Sorry. Me and my bad posting habits. ))

"Really? Then why do so many people hate seeing me?" Aza mumbled, blushing slightly. She nestled against him comfortably, feeling all the worries that had been gnawing on her fade away. "So what do you want to do now?" she asked, not caring as long as he was there. She knew Adrian would come back with the crowd if the weather changed and she wanted to make the most of what time they had before they were whisked back to politics and dancing.

 

Jared resumed pacing, as if considering something thoroughly. He stopped walking and seemed to make a decision. "Well, I suppose I'll be a reaper then. I don't think I want to be one like Adele, but I can't leave now that she has remembered." he mumbled half to himself. He sounded unhappy, as if he wished she could have just thrown him away rather than prolong their misery.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Well alright. It will hurt. Have you heard of bathing in the Styx before?" He smiled sheepishly.

 

Kenan just held her on his lap. "I don't know. I could take you somewhere. Anywhere actually. And I think everyone enjoys seeing you. Jealousy just consumes people sometimes." He had a small package in his hand, and offered it to her. "It's rightfully yours. It's for after the wedding, of course, but I want you to have it too bad to wait." He lifted up the lid for her and a delicate platinum crown laid inside, and it glittered with how many diamonds were enlaid.

[frostmourne]

"Wow. It's so pretty." Aza murmured. It looked so fragile that she was afraid she would break it, but she suspected it was harder to break than it appeared. She looked up and smiled. "Thank you. I'm tempted to give you your present right now-" she said, breaking off as something hard hit her squarely in the forehead. She saw a gray figure walking off, likely Adrian and suspected he had thrown a rock at her. She glanced down to see a tiny gray box with a tag that had Kenan's name written in ridiculous, curly script. What concerned her was that there were air holes punched in the box. "Well, Adrian seemed to have overheard us and doesn't seem to want to wait." Aza mumbled, cautiously handing the box over to Kenan.

 

"I've heard of it, but not in great detail." Jared mumbled. Why did everything have to hurt?

[lycrawaterz14]

"Will it bite me...?" Kenan opened it gingerly, and held out his hand just in case. "Do you like it? It's the queen's crown..." He suddenly grew attentive to his surroundings. "Do you smell that? A faint... Sulphur..." He clutched her close.

 

Judeao looked sheepish. "Imagine boiling the life out of you...literally... I'm sorry. But it's over quickly. And then you will have your own life."

Edited January 15, 2013 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

"I adore it." Aza mumbled. A locket tumbled out, silver with words engraved into it. A shadow leapt out at Aza and ran around her neck before disappearing. She scowled before realizing it had put a matching locket around her neck. She smiled despite herself and ran a finger over the engraving.

"The silver swan who living had no note,

When Death approached unlocked her silent throat..." Aza read. She flipped the locket open to reveal a exquisite portrait of Kenan inside. "I have to thank- Sulfur?" Aza broke off and looked around. She smelled something faintly acrid, but couldn't quite place it.

 

"Hooray." Jared mumbled, wishing he could just get it over with. "I've been slow roasted before, so boiling can't be much worse."

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan gently fingered the locket before attaching it around his neck. "Yes... Make sure to stay close please." He murmured worriedly.

 

Adele approached the two, hiding the child in her cloak. "Could you two take care of him for now? He won't quit fussing..." She whined. Kenan sighed. "Have you fed him?" He put a hand to his head. "No! What am I supposed to feed him?! He doesn't have a mother!" She hissed.

[frostmourne]

Aza held her arms out for the child and cradled him gently. She crooned a softly lullaby as she rocked the baby back and forth. "Skulni." she called. He was at her side near instantly, his lips covered with blood. He seemed more sickly than usual. She raised an eyebrow. "What? I have to subsist on something." he mumbled. "Didn't I tell you just to use my blood?" she asked, stroking the baby's cheek with a finger. "You have to give express permission." he muttered, brushing her locket out of the way. She winced slightly, but otherwise stayed still. He withdrew eventually, being careful not to take too much. She was feeling rather lightheaded, but she knew it hadn't been enough. He still looked unhealthy, if a bit more energetic. "I'll be back with a bottle in a minute." he said, heading into the mansion.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan hissed, but kept from attacking Skulni. "He does know that I deal with dying people every day?! He could get blood from them." He prickled, but the child had slowly stopped sobbing, and was contented to fussing. Kenan instantly relaxed. "Still haven't named it..." He grumbled.

 

[frostmourne]

"Skulni needs the person to be alive, and I'd rather not have the last thing a person remembers before they die to be a leech. Besides, I can take it." Aza mumbled. She felt a bit anemic whenever he did decide to use her as a snack, but she was otherwise fine. Skulni came back and handed Aza a bottle. He still looked like he was going to fall over. Aza gently handed the child and the bottle to Kenan. "I hope you don't mind. I can't feed both of them at the same time." she said, glancing at Skulni with a hint of annoyance. He leaned forward, but she pushed him away and handed him a vial of blood. Her wrist was still bleeding slightly from the cut she had made. "That should be fresh enough. Finish that first." she said. "Why? You usually aren't bothered this much fron skin contact." Skulni said, taking a tentative sip. He pulled a face and handed the vial back. Aza grumbled and tugged the collar of her dress down a bit. She still wrinkled her nose with disgust when his mouth touched her throat.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Stop! Stop that now! I don't care!" He wrenched Skulni off. "You feed of my dying or you won't eat. I'm puttin my foot down! I'll wipe the memory of the feeding." He growled, and held Aza close enough he could feel the vibration in his chest as he growled at him.

[frostmourne]

Aza slumped a little, feeling an odd exhaustion in her limbs. "You, my dear, have just breached our contract. You should have told your future spouse the terms. Now we'll have to sleep for anywhere between an hour and a century." Skulni said irritably. He was gone quickly, disappearing into the marking on Aza's wrist. She mumbled somehing indistinctly that sounded vaguely like an apology to Kenan. She curled up against him, the odd heaviness making her long for sleep. It was comfortable in his arms, the warmth relaxing. She forced her drowsy eyes open briefly. "Don't let me sleep." she muttered, closing her eyes even as she said it.

 

"So are we going or...?" Jared asked, impatience giving his voice a slight edge.

[lycrawaterz14]

"Breached your contract?! Wake up!" He shook her, and picked her up. "Darling, please wake up..." He pleaded, making sure be shook her a little.

 

"You aren't ready just yet. You have to be trained..." Judeao sighed. "I have a wait until you're cold before we go to Kenan's realm."

[frostmourne]

"...Dar...ling?" Aza muttered sleepily, seeming amused by the word. She snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes completely and slipping into a deep sleep. She was practically comatose. The thin black threads began to weave themselves around her, excluding Kenan this time. It wrapped itself around her over and over again like a spider wrapping up a moth in silk.

 

"And I thought death would simplify things." Jared murmured, an odd gleam in his eye. He paused at Judeao's next words. "I'm still warm? I wasn't aware I had a body temperature. I don't even have a body anymore, considering Adrian just vaporized it."

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan looked worried, and clutched her to him. "I'll stay with you, for as long as you need me to." He whined.

 

Jared sighed. "Just an expression. Your spirit hasn't settled. It's like shaking up dust. If you want to gather it up, you have to wait.

[frostmourne]

Aza said nothing, encased in a blackened cocoon. It was almost like a coffin, the silky black threads seeming to form one continuous, gleaming surface. She slept in it, nestled in the folds of the cocoon. "Well, it was only a minor breach, so it probably won't be all that bad." Skulni muttered, leaning casually against the wall. He didn't seem concerned at all about his mistress being in a coma or sorts. "You know, you probably should put that thing in her room or in the tower. There will be questions if the guests come back now." he said, rapping on the surface of the cocoon lightly. It wouldn't have mattered if he had taken a chainsaw to it. It wouldn't have left a scratch.

 

"So I suppose this is not a good time for someone to attack me with a spiritual feather duster?" Jared asked, his humor rather bleak. He wished he could get the entire ordeal over with already. He had a feeling Aza wasn't too far from completely breaking down again.