{FIN}Rumple and Stiltskin {Risti & Prince Craevan Evarcrest}

[Regal Renegade]

The darkening leaves above his head were the only indication Craevan had concerning the progress of the day. His chilled blue eyes gazed up at the canopy that had become his sky due to the constraints of the curse that had been laid upon him. As he mused, the tendrils of darkness that often preceded the appearance of his dark side began to stroke his consciousness with a lover’s touch, and he soon banished the thoughts for fear of what would come. With a defeated sigh he began walking, barely noticing the healthy looking trunks of trees surrounding him as he walked the familiar path. Nothing of this forest was new to him, he had explored it in it’s entirety many times. So many times now that even the natural beauty and splendor of this forest had become entirely lost to him. Each day seemed to simply blur into the next, and he hardly ever slept which simply served to elongate those dull hours. He was lonely, wishing that there were someone for him to talk to, but he knew he would only endanger the life of another once the bloodlust called to him. Over time he had become resigned to this fate and determined that he would devote his time to trying to dissuade others from coming to this damned place.

He would rarely leave the confines of his forest but when he did it was only to circulate rumors about a monstrous entity haunting these woods. He had hoped the tales he told would continue to be spread and that no one would risk their lives to see this forest. Alas, there were still those in this world who sought adventure and wished to dispel these rumors. A few had come and gone, disappointed that there was nothing to see…others had not been so lucky. He would awake with a fresh blood mask coating his face and feelings of grief and guilt would wash over him once more. This was no life, but it was a life he had been fated to lead. There was no one to blame but himself.

Bored of walking he stopped to lean against the trunk of a particularly haggard old tree. It had obviously gotten some sort of rot because its bark was all bleached and sickly in appearance. All of the leaves had fallen, leaving nothing but skeletal little limbs reaching for a sun in would never see. A humorless chuckle rumbled in the depths of his chest, who knew he would find something in common with a dead tree?  

[Baby Pandah]

"Some say that he buried all of the bodies and planted the seed of the signature flower of the kingdom on the mounds. It would be a beautiful sight to see white lilies covering the hills of the dead. Others say that he ate the bodies without a care in the world, and that he could never again touch lilies as a condition of the curse. Either way, it is known that a monster resides within Evarcrest forest, and that to enter most assuredly means certain death."

Evarcrest forest...it seemed so familiar. It was as if she had strayed into one of her visions again, as if she were trapped in one. She had heard whispers, rumors and hushed story telling through her travels. Evarcrest forest. She had heard the name and had seen how others shied away from it and she knew it meant something. She had never actually meant to seek it out. In fact, she had commanded herself not to. But her feet had taken her here, just as they carried her off to other distant places. There was something there that she had to see. The monster, yes. But there was something else as well. She approached the forest now, and was faced with a fork in the road. Faced with a decision. Right or left?

The paths. She shuddered at how eerily matched to the ones in her visions they were. The right seemed welcoming, the sun seemed to shine through the leaves more strongly in that direction. The left had a forbidden feeling, leading directly into the heart of the forest. The tall trees were taller that way, a little darker. They warned her, like everyone else, to stay away. But something else pulled her inward. Something enchanting was calling her name. She knew too well which path she had to choose, and knew that even if she resisted, her feet would lead her back here again someday.

She glanced upward at the bits of sky peeking through the leaves of the formidable trees and jumped suddenly when a raven crashed upward out of a bush. She gripped the handle of her knife more tightly in her tail and watched as her flesh cracked under the stress of her movements. Not now. Almost in understanding, the cracks reformed slowly and she looked ahead again, giving the forest a curious glance. Nothing moved. It seemed that the forest was holding its breath in hopes that she would change her mind and turn away. But there would be no chances of that.

Her cloven hooves dragging slightly against the mossy earth, she continued forward, choosing the left path and her fate...  

[Regal Renegade]

He had just resolved to go back to Castle Rock when the sound of a bird’s wings frantically pounding the air and foliage caught his attention. It wasn’t unusual for wildlife to stir in the forest but there was something about this instance that caused his gut to knot and turn cold. From the moment the thought entered into his mind he had begun to hope that he was wrong. The darkness coiling and uncoiling within his belly seemed to confirm what he feared; someone had found their way into Evarcrest forest. Squeezing his eyes shut and lowering his head in defeat he sighed a deep and mournful sigh. Even if the darkness didn’t take him he would still have to somehow rid the forest of this potential victim. If they wandered lost for even a night their blood would be upon his lips by dawn. Wearily craning his head in the direction from which the noise had come he knew what he had to do, but the mere thought made him feel ill. When it came to confronting others there was always a fifty/fifty chance that his dark side would take over and they would end up bloodless and rotting in a clearing somewhere, but if he let them wander it was almost a certainty.

His hooves felt heavy and bogged down as he turned himself in the proper direction and began walking. The rumors never seemed to keep others at bay for very long, he often found himself wondering what level of stupidity it took to ignore such a warning. Never having been a particularly brave soquili himself he just couldn’t understand the rationale behind wandering into a forest with such a horrid reputation. Be that at is may, no amount of internal grumbling would keep him from having to confront this individual.

Clearing his thoughts he slipped easily into hunting mode and moved effortlessly through the trees and brush. Keeping his head low and his hooves muffled on the spongy moss coating the ground he followed his keen sense of hearing, and soon the gently rhythm of a heartbeat called to him. The darkness within pulled against his restraints, wishing for nothing more than to gorge itself on the blood being pumped through that strong sounding heart. His vision began to fade and blacken but, amazingly, he managed to shake himself out of it just in time to draw near enough to make out a figure and a few minor details.

By the slight build he could tell it was in fact a mare, and by the way she was positioned he could tell that there was a bit of fearful hesitation. Her heartbeat was steady but he could tell she was not thrilled to be there, perhaps she had truly gotten lost. Silently moving closer he was surprised to see something glinting dully in her maw. It was still too distant for him to make out exactly what it was but he could only assume it was a weapon of some sort. It didn’t look like any lantern he had ever seen, nor did it jingle like a piece of jewelry. Hope bubbled in his chest like the beginning of a small spring, perhaps she had come prepared to dispatch of the beast. Lifting his head high he stepped out from his hiding place but remained concealed in the shadows.

“Why have you come to this damned forest?”  

[Baby Pandah]

The voice found its way to her heart before it found its way to her ears. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest at the question. She could feel her blood pumping thickly and felt a chip in her flesh. She begged the breaking not to start, and luckily it didn't. Why had she come here? Against all reason and demands upon herself she was here. If she had roped herself to a tree she would still be here. If the world had put her in chains and buried her six feet under ground her heart would still wander here. But why?

"You tell me..." she barely said it and turned to face the other. She looked up at him and gave an out of place smile upon meeting the blue of his eyes and the darkened red of blood on his mouth. She knew nothing of monsters, nor beauty, nor hideous evil. She saw no curse upon his face despite the blood, heard no call of danger in his growling belly. Nothing was ordinary to her, so nothing was extraordinary. That was how her world worked.

And yet, there was a familiar sense of dread about the place and the stallion that stood before her. A feeling of dispair that could not be escaped. He smelled of death and his presence felt like murder...but there was something else in the endless blue of those eyes. That was what frightened her. The feelings in this place...the hopelessness of it all was what made her feel endangered. It certainly was damned, despite the beauty of the bushes and the strength of the trees, despite the even air and the sun peeking through the leaves. Everything here would normally be considered beautiful to most, but it was tainted, menacing, unnerving. Perhaps it was just the stories, just the rumors...but she felt in her heart that there was even more to the tale than the gossip she had collected thus far.

She could feel the world telling her to run, could feel the wind pushing her away from him and figured this must be the monster. But her legs stayed rigid against the tremors of the earth beneath her. There was something here, and she had to know what it was. She held the knife tightly and in plain sight. She had been practicing with it, though not for this occasion. At least that's what she told herself.

"Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly in suspicion. She knew what he was...but not who he was, and she was determined to find out after getting herself stuck here, in this peculiar situation.

XBlind-DarknessX

 

[Regal Renegade]

The air was thick and tangible as mere moments passed while he awaited her response. Blood dribbled in an unsightly manner from his chin as he shifted his stance to appear more formidable. A vast majority of his inner self wished that she would simply turn and run but another part, the darker part, was glad she was here. He could almost taste the coppery sweet taste of her blood as he listened to each beat of her heart, the rhythm growing quicker with the tension. His eyes remained trained on the mare waiting with a mixture of anticipation and horror for her reaction. A gentle breeze lifted the deep purple shroud upon his back and played with the dark tendrils of hair falling into his face, causing his muscles to shiver beneath the skin. He wanted to move; desiring either to tear into her throat or come forth to introduce himself but her wooden stance held him fast.

Just as he was analyzing her he could tell she was doing the same to him. For a brief moment he felt very conscious of her eyes upon him, very ashamed. With every droplet of blood falling from his tinged maw the sensation of being a horrid abomination grew stronger. He could only imagine what she was feeling…what she was thinking. His eyes nearly darted from her but the fingers of darkness tainting his soul caressed his cheek and told him to remain strong. He instead distracted himself by glancing at the knife she held so menacingly within her mouth. The blade looked strong and fierce, strong enough to fight off his bloodlust should it arise, maybe. Feeling a small swell of confidence he took a step closer, his icy gaze once again fixing upon hers. “How am I to know why you have come?” He enquired, a wicked gleam coming to his otherwise dead eyes.

The moment she asked who he was a chill ran through every fiber of his being. If he was not trying to scare her away from this place he might have told her that he had been asking that question of himself for years, but he could not do that. Instead, swallowing the lump forming in his throat, he tossed his head in a gesture of irritation. “I am nobody.” He answered simply. He kept a wary eye on her knife as he took another step forward, narrowing the distance between them in small increments. “Now, why have you come?” He repeated.  

[Baby Pandah]

As he advanced towards her, she took a step closer as well, observing the descent of his eyes upon her knife. Knowing he was aware of it gave her comfort, perhaps too much comfort for such a dangerous situation. She only wished he would stop asking that question, because she had no answer for him. She moved around him slowly, making sure not to turn her back to him so that they were caught in a twirling and careful dance. How can you be nobody? You have filled my head with visions so often that I have come here unwillingly and yet of my own account. She didn't say it out loud. She couldn't tell him why she was here when she couldn't even tell herself why she was here.

"I don't know why I have come," she whispered, pouring honesty into the statement. All she knew was that the forest was alive with feelings and familiarity, and that while his presence begged her to leave, her heart commanded her to stay. She had seen something strange in his eyes when they met the silver of her blade. Was it...relief? Hope that she would end some sort of suffering? Is that why she was here? Did he deserve an end to any guilt he felt? She could only imagine what he must be feeling. He didn't seem like a monster, only a lonely and feared stallion with no hope left in life. But she was no merciful savior whose job it was to free lost souls. She could provide no release for him through death. Not that way. Neither of them were perfect, but she was just as curious to know why she was here as he was.

She blinked at him and stepped closer, her catlike tail reaching around and gripping his chin softly so that it lifted high into the air and so that his dark mane fell back, revealing every detail of the blood patterns on his pelt. If he was a monster she would have her proof when he attacked her. If he was not then there was no need to fear the bite of his teeth, which she could see were sharp and bloodstained. It was a gamble, but one she felt she had to take.

"Would you like it if I used this?" she asked smoothly and daringly, indicating towards the knife and then returning her brown eyes to his blue ones. Still holding his chin in her tail and the knife in her mouth, she searched his face for answers. "Tell me who you are," she demanded, though her voice shifted to a more sympathetic tone now and she looked at the mournful stallion with pleading eyes, awaiting either his answer or his attack.  

[Regal Renegade]

He didn’t realize they had been circling one another until her response to his question brought him to an abrupt stop. One dark eyebrow lifted in a look of evident confusion and amusement, she had bewildered yet intrigued him with one seemingly simple and honest response. Returning his expression to one of cold determination he snorted and allowed his gaze to shift from her to the forest surrounding them. He had never had someone enter into his forest without reason before. It was evident that she had not come there by mistake though. Unlike others she did not ask where she was or how she came to be here, she merely owned the fact that she had come of her own accord. The matter of her having no reason at all was a perplexing one; though a part of him buried deeply within warned of danger.

She surely was not like the rest, stepping near to him where others would have fled. His own body subtly tensed with each step she took. The closest he had been to another since the curse was when he was draining them of their life water, he found himself suddenly unnerved. It had been his initial intention to intimidate her into leaving this forest but now he was the one being intimidated by the nearness of her body to his. The knife glinting in her soft looking maw caught his attention once more and he began to wonder if she was preparing for an attack. If that was the case, he would not fight back. But what happened next was altogether unexpected and not entirely unwelcomed.

A soft brush of fur against his chin caused his muscles to lock and a look of utter surprise to wash over his countenance. He felt his head being lifted, felt each muscle within his neck straining and then letting go, yielding to her movement. Blinking a few times he rolled his eyes downward so that he could once again see her, and in that moment a myriad of emotions fell upon him. The darkness stirred in his gut, widening the all too familiar pit in his belly, calling for blood. But there was something else, a desire he hadn’t felt for many years. He found himself involuntarily leaning into her touch with a very small and nearly imperceptible movement. He wanted to be touched. It had been so long since he had felt the touch of another that, even though she was asking if he wished her to use her weapon, he felt overwhelmed. Closing his eyes momentarily he struggled against the darkness and the urge to jerk away from her in order to enjoy the contact that had been long absent from his life.

The moment was brief and he knew it had to come to an end, opening his eyes he smiled humorlessly at her and gently removed his head from her grasp. “Would it matter to you if I did, or didn’t?” He answered her question with another. His look softened as he noticed she was not so much threatening him, but truly desiring an answer. With a sigh of defeat he smoothly responded. “I was once called Prince Craevan Evarcrest.”  

[Baby Pandah]

She waited for the bite, waited to use the blade that was clamped between her teeth, waited for the feeling of her throat being ripped out. But it did not come. All the rumors, all the stories and warnings...all lies? Her visions had led her on a wild goose chase? No...there was still something here. There had to be. She felt it still.

The weight of his chin felt heavier upon her tail for a moment and she wondered if he was enjoying this. Could monsters enjoy such things? She could see him fighting with himself on the inside and she wondered what was going on in that troubled mind. She watched those bothered eyes close and could see the fleeting bliss underneath the eyelids. It was strange to her, she had never experienced such a reaction to touch.

What was even more odd was the small glimmer of feeling it instilled in her. She wanted to stroke the arch of his cheek, to calm the worry in his brow, but hesitation made her pull away slightly and before she knew it his eyes were open again and he was speaking. Would it matter...? She blushed slightly at his hollow smile. Would it matter? A few moments ago she would have said no. She still wanted to say no. But something inside her was leaning towards yes. She released him from her grasp and sighed as she looked at the ground, stringing her knife onto the beads that hung around her neck in an answer to his question. She had received her answer, it seemed he would not attack. But his reply sparked interest in her once again and she returned her gaze to his face.

Ah, there you are. She thought to herself with amusement. So it was the cursed prince that stood before her. An answer, finally. "And what are you called now?" she asked, looking down again and noticing that her tail had chipped slightly under the weight of his head. She hid it casually behind herself, shuffling slightly and not wishing to seem weak at this moment in time. If he saw how fragile she was, perhaps he would change his mind and attack her after all.  

[Regal Renegade]

His flesh tingled where she had touched him for a time, reminding him of his sorrowful days wasted hiding away in this forest, reminding him of why he could not be touched. The darkness still pulled at his innards, threatening with each toxic kiss to claim him. His expression changed to one of masked despair as he watched her hang the knife at her throat. Even after the small victory he had felt just moments ago he still longed to feel the chill of that steel biting into his flesh and ending his misery forever. He soon settled into somber resignation and his icy blue eyes met with hers once more.

Her question was not one that was easily answered for he could barely speak around the lump growing in his throat. His thoughts were drawn to the blood slowly oozing from his mouth, to the pink stain upon his abhorrent fangs. For the first time since encountering this perplexing mare he allowed his eyes to fall helplessly to the ground. He knew what he was called, it was a name he had given himself yet it still stung to repeat it. Clenching his teeth he lifted his head and looked at her with a severe gaze. “Beast. Abomination. Fiend. Murderer. Wretch. Monster. Take your pick.” Sorrow and bitterness tainted his otherwise flat tone as each treacherous word formed. He was giving her the answer she had so sought, but he began to wonder if she would get any joy from it. Perhaps she would, maybe she was just another soquili looking to find and taunt the beast dwelling in Evarcrest forest.

At this thought the sound of her blood flowing in her veins sang tantalizingly in his ears, the beat of her heart once again tugged at the darkness within. He suddenly became very aware of the feeling of his fangs upon his lips and the taste of the blood upon his tongue. He could end this conversation quickly; he need only give in to his dark side. All it took was for him to allow the darkness to envelop him in a deadly hug. The thought hovered for a moment more and was banished by the thought of her tail sweeping beneath his chin. He could not attack her, not now.  

[Baby Pandah]

Every time his icy gaze met hers, she felt like she was in one of her visions. Half of her wished he would stop looking at her, the other half wanted nothing more than his eyes on her. There was something so intriguing about him, something so alluringly dangerous.

She saw how each word stabbed into his heart, and she was glad she had put her knife away. There is no way to hurt one who is already wounded mentally. She stayed silent for some time, allowing the words to sink into her heart, trying to feel his pain. "I like Craevan better..." she said quietly, peering up into his face once more and stepping a little closer, wanting to offer what little comfort she could. What am I doing? She asked herself. The world had warned her she would fall into some sort of trap...was this what he had planned? Rope her in with pity and then murder her cold-bloodedly?

But she felt odd...she felt...trust. Something she rarely bestowed upon others who were not family. She looked into his face, past the blood and saw him for what he really was; not a monster, not a beast, nor an abomination, simply a living being with feelings and a heart. It was in there somewhere, she could hear it beating beneath the silver of his chest plate, could hear it striving to escape from the curse that consumed him. And yet trust was a part of her visions, the part that always doomed her in the end. Trust was something easily betrayed. It was why she feared it so much, perhaps even more than she feared him.

"You don't seem like a monster to me...there are worse things in the world. So much hate...deception," she said, pausing and peering at him at side angle and circling once more, "but you seem...different." He was different, just like her. A reject, an outcast of the beautiful world. She looked at him, knowing he must know this already. She wondered if he saw the small connection between them. She was no stunner, nor did she make an effort to be. But he must know that she was strange, cursed in her own way even. For a moment she thought he could see right through her. And then, to her horror, the breaking began...  

[Regal Renegade]

Her silence was as soothing as it was terrifying; in the quiet he could only imagine what she was thinking. All the world seemed to become still as he held his breath in anticipation for her response. No leaves danced upon their boughs, no small animals rustled in the bushes; there was no sign of life aside from the mare standing before him. Her eyes upon him suddenly became weighty, as though her unspoken thoughts were pouring forth from her gaze. And when he heard the soft whisper of her voice he half expected for her to call him a monster, but she didn’t. Again she had successfully stunned him and he stood, rigid and lost.

After a moment he was able to regain his composure and give her a rather sorrowful smile. “That is unfortunate.” He murmured, his voice cracking with the evident pain. When she moved closer to him he wanted nothing more than to take comfort in her presence but he feared what would happen if he allowed himself to do so. He could not allow for himself to let his guard down around this mare, she would never be able to come back after all. Despite all of the warnings rumbling within the confines of his mind he was unable to step away from her. He longed for her nearness, took comfort in her lack of fear.

As kind as her words were they dug into his chest like jagged rocks coated in ice. He wanted more than anything to believe her words, to allow himself to think that for a moment he was not a monster. The problem was that she hadn’t seen his dark side; she hadn’t seen it control him. Would she still speak in the same way if she had seen him attack his last victim? Digging his fangs deep into the soft flesh of his throat and drinking as though he had been starved. He was about to speak when he noticed small fractures appearing in her flesh. He hadn't seen anything like it before, at least, not on a living being. Certainly rocks crumbled in this manner but she was not made of stone. Glancing up at her he took note of the panic in her eyes, but guaged by her reaction that this was nothing new. Lifting his chin he spoke calmly. "It seems we both have defects."  

[Baby Pandah]

She stood crumbling before him, the fissures in her flesh revealing hollow darkness and revealing what she was: a freak, an abomination in her own way, a child of the twisted tunnel. His face blurred with the coming of hot tears, and all she could see was the blue of his eyes. She clamped her eyes shut, trying not to stop the tears, crying would only make it worse. The low rumble of his voice calmed her, and his words made her feel bad that she had thought he would attack if he saw what she was. He was the only one besides her family who had seen it get this bad. Others had suspected, guessed, double-glanced at her pelt...but none had seen her fall to pieces so swiftly and thoroughly.

"Defects. Is that what you call them?" she asked with an incredulous and shaky laugh, "What am I?" She looked at him with hurt in her eyes, begging for an answer. Surely dark beings knew about darkness? Surely monsters knew something about freaks? Maybe he could make it go away, perhaps he could make the breaking stop. But of course he couldn't. The poor unlucky prince, coming across a weak and broken mare sniveling and whining before him. She inhaled deeply, regaining her composure and ignoring the cracks that tore her body apart. They soon reformed, meshing back together and fusing as if nothing had happened.

"Would you have preferred it if I had blown away with the wind, Prince Craevan?" she asked with a sniffle after feeling the weight of her feet on the ground once more and feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders again. It was a rhetorical question, she didn't expect an answer. She smiled lightly, giving a slight shrug and looking at him with empathetic yet bloodshot eyes. Suddenly becoming aware of how tired she was, she strayed away from him just a little, finally feeling comfortable enough to turn her back towards him for only a moment. She turned to face him again as she slumped up against the trunk of a tree, her tail swaying methodically behind her. She knew he wouldn't want her to stay here...she had known from the beginning of his urge to banish her from Evarcrest forest. But she fully intended to stay until she discovered the meaning of her visions. No monster could stop her from doing that, nor would the breaking.  

[Regal Renegade]

He watched her crumble as one who understands what it means to live as one who is incomplete. Though he had the urge to comfort her and calm the storm of tears escaping her fear filled eyes he knew there was nothing he could do. He watched as bits of flesh became as fragile and cracked as dried earth and could do nothing but stand there with a cool expression upon his face. Giving a somber nod he responded to her question in a very calm tone of voice. “I have no other word to describe it. For there is nothing within our tongue, or any other for that matter, that puts meaning to our pain.” He could supply her with no answers, impart her with no wisdom, for he was as lost and confused as she appeared to be. Her next inquiry had an ironic grin crossing his blood soaked maw.

“How can one who knows not what they are, tell you what you are?” The pain swirling within those lovely brown eyes tugged at the part of his heart that had often been abandoned since his curse, and it tormented him that he could not magically tell her all that she needed to know. He saw her as being someone who was lost, unable to see in the fog before them, blundering without a map through a world unknown. His head lowered a little at the thought and he could only imagine the kind of strength it took to deal with a curse such as hers. He was doomed to deal damage to others for as long as he lived, but she was doomed to be damaged all throughout her lifetime.

When she turned her back on him the darkness gripped him, pumping adrenaline into his blood and begging to sneak up behind her and attack. It would be the ideal moment to catch her off guard and the thought was more than a fleeting one within his mind, but her final question lingered in his mind. It divided his attention and caused him to pause in thought. “No.” He said rather quietly, the thoughts still formulating in his mind. “No one deserves to be scattered in the wind.” He added with a faraway look in his eye. Clearing his throat and releasing a deep breath he had been unknowingly holding within himself he shot her a knowing glance. “And it is just Craevan.”  

[Baby Pandah]

She knew there was no answer for her curse. She knew it was a separate journey, one that she would probably have to take on her own. But for just a moment there had been hope hovering in the air. Hope that perhaps he could point her in the right direction, hope that he could save her. But that was not why she was here, she knew that much, and the hope fell to the ground like the broken pieces of her body had.

No one deserves to be scattered in the wind. Was that an honest reply? She wondered if he would like to fly away in a million pieces. Surely that would set his soul free. While it was her biggest fear, she wondered if he would like to trade her defect for defect. She didn't ask. It couldn't be done. Even if it could...was her curse that bad? Not nearly as bad as his, no. She could tell he was good, could tell he was kind and maybe even sweet. But there was something else, something that made him crave blood to a horrific extent.

She couldn't help smiling at his next comment, couldn't help toying with him a little. "Oh? I thought it was monster?" He seemed odd to her in the sense that he called himself a monster, and yet he did not know what he was. She knew now that it had been him who had spread all of the rumors. Judging by the blood on his face there had been no survivors...except her. She looked at him curiously, tilting her head and pondering that thought. "If you are a beast, why have you not attacked me?" she asked with slight suspicion, unable to hold the question in. Was she here because he wanted her to be? Was this his doing? No. There was no way he could have known the rumors would reach her ears. There was no way he could have caused the visions that daunted her day and night. She laughed inwardly at fate and how trickily it had brought her here.  

[Regal Renegade]

Shaking his head he grinned. “I have a feeling I will not convince you to call me monster, so I must settle with this instead.” In truth he liked the sound of his name when spoken with such a soft voice. The drop of joy he had begun to feel dried as though it had been lost in a desert. The last time he had heard his name was when it was being screamed in horror when he was massacring the kingdom. He did not remember the event itself, but his nightmares told him it was so. Masking his pain he pushed the thoughts roughly out of his mind for the moment. There was nothing for him to do but brood over events of the past and now was not the time.

“It isn’t a matter of whether I will attack you or not, it is merely a matter of when.” His tone was a little more bitter than he had initially hoped it would be. The only reason he did not attack her in this moment was that he was fighting the darkness within, and it was letting him win. Looking away from her he once again focused on the ground beneath his feet, now stained with blood as it leaked from his mouth. “You take a risk standing here and speaking to me. I am not always this,” he paused in search of a way to put it, “agreeable.” He finished with an edge of warning.

For now the greasy tendrils were content to just play with him off and on, to just remind him of their presence. This would not always be the case and he knew it. Just as much as his dark side tormented others it took pleasure in tormenting it’s host. It was like a parasite he knew he could never be rid of; a large, dark, tic sucking the blood from him and everyone around him. It’s jaws were clamped unyieldingly on his soul and there was no way for him to get it to release. A small shiver ran through his body as the image swept through his mind. It was just waiting for the perfect moment to sever his being and take it for itself.