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 Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:29 pm
Deste was thankful when Iris' father called a break in the discussions, though either way, Lenore was about ready to leave. She'd had enough of Amun staring at her; she'd asked Deste to trace a circle in her palm every time the pervert started to "look her over." It was so...very irritating. He wanted to make eye contact with his Egyptian flower, but had to refrain from doing so.
"Are we leaving?" he muttered to Lenore, who had remained where she was even though most of the rest of their assembly was getting up to move around. Auster settled down to place her head in her guardian's lap, and the woman stroked the avian's head thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, she answered, "Yes, before anymore trouble starts." He 'Hmphed' in response, knowing that she was referring to -him- starting any trouble, as he had nearly cause earlier when they had arrived. Well, he wasn't exactly at fault when he refused to give up his knives. He couldn't be much of a bodyguard without them...though he did have several dozen sets of backup throwing daggers at his disposal, hidden of course.
Trailing his eyes around the room, he noted that the elder group of politicians/businessmen were gathering in a group to chat. Where did...ooh no. He wasn't letting her go off alone with her b*****d of a brother. But he couldn't move, not yet; hopefully she'd be able to handle it herself and he could remain "professional." But he had a feeling that he'd have to interfere.
"Deste." He glanced down to his employer. Her voice was quiet, and more resigned than she had been earlier. "You know you have to go if you do." she said, dropping to a bare whisper. Blinking, he considered her words, wondering if the blonde-haired girl knew. Probably; Lenore, while lacking eyesight, was very, -very- perceptive and intuitive, often annoyingly so.
He black gaze found Iris and her brother in one corner of the room, detached from the rest of the gathering. She looked mad...and she was backed into a corner. Suppressing the urge to throw steel - barely - he touched Lenore on the shoulder to indicate that he was leaving, and quietly began to make his way over to the siblings. Iris was angry, yes, and by the way her mouth was moving, she was hissing her words at him. But he couldn't judge what the other was saying, as his back was to the thief.
Something snapped inside him when he saw Amun's hand clench into a fist, though. And he was there in a flash when he heard his love say, "Go ahead, hit me."
Over his dead body.
The thief was behind her b*****d brother so fast that even Iris was surprised - and relieved, he was pleased to see - to see him there. Politely, but with the threat just hanging behind his teeth, Deste quietly informed the brother that, regardless of circumstance, he was not to touch his sister. He didn't seem to understand that, though. Stupid boy. And then he made to grab her. Perhaps the idiot had no idea just how fast a professional, master thief and assassin could move, because Deste was on him before he had so much as moved his arm five inches. Resisting the urge to pull out a blade to his victim's throat, he twisted the offending arm around and slammed the boy into the wall. "I don't think you understood what I meant. Don't. Touch. Her."
His storm-black gaze went to Iris for a moment, wanting to ask her if she was hurt. She didn't appear to be...but she the look of appeasement on her face at seeing her brother pinned made Deste very...happy that he could be of service.
But then a touch on his shoulder snapped his eyes away from his woman. He tensed slightly, unsure whether or not the Senior Nefretiri would make himself and enemy or not. However..."Now now, let's play nice, kids." Hmph. Deste would have protested, but at the moment, Iris' father had the authority. Best...not to make an enemy out of the father of the woman he loved. Slowly releasing the son with obvious loathing, he nearly punched him in the face at the mockingly triumphant look on the b*****d's face. Turning away, he began to stalk away with a scowl...that is, until the Sr. said, "I was talking about you, son." Hm....interesting. Perhaps the father liked his daughter more than his son. Any person in their right mind would, really.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:30 pm
Iris knew that her father loved both herself and her brother, but if anyone saw the fury in his eyes after the guests had left, after Amun had gone to his estate and his wife had left for gossip purposes....they might think otherwise. The woman simply sat there, letting him pace and rage about the actions of his son. There would be nothing gained in trying to stop him - the Egyptian would stop whenever he pleased, and no sooner.
A good twenty minutes passed before he calmed, running a hand over his face and taking a deep breath. Iris smirked a little. "Finished?"
"We'll see."
She watched him for a moment more, before frowning with a sigh. "He knows."
"Knows how to handle himself? No Knows about you, yes.....that's a great issue for you, is it not?"
"I don't know," she said, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "I don't know how much he's found out. I don't know what he could do, will do, if anything..."
"You know.."
"I know, you can't do anything." she said, smiling at his apologetic look. His position forbade him from interfering in either of the lives of his children, at least in matters such as these. Perhaps he could do something if Amun actually acted, but until then...he was only someone she could talk to.
"I like him, though."
She blinked. Subject change, but it wasn't unlike her father. "Oh really?"
"Mhm. He knows how to stand up for you....and how to make that...son of mine become well acquainted with the wall."
"Whatever happened with him?"
*sigh* "I don't know. We raised you both the same. I'd like to blame genetics, but then, either my wife's cheating on me or I made a very bad business deal somewhere along the line....or both."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iris felt a wave of fatigue whenever she returned to her home. It was nightfall, but the only thing she thought of was bathing and bed....and Deste, but he would arrive soon enough. The woman had given up being concerned over the situation with Amun - as of yet, there was absolutely nothing she could do..but wait. So she waited.
Not really caring, she practically threw herself on her bed, hair one big black wet mass sprawled out around her as she laid on her back, eyes closed. Sighing, she let herself rest, but not sleep - unless he was extraordinarily quiet, she would hear him come in. Then, she would become alert, but the bed would be her comfort until then.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:33 pm
Deste swooped in at the average time - somewhere after nine o'clock but before ten - and found Iris relaxing on her bed. His entry caused her to stir, and she sat up with a welcoming smile. He sighed, shaking his head even as he returned her expression. Despite needing to NOT soften down right now, he had to at least come and say good-bye before leaving again.
The thief went and sat down beside her, wondering how he should phrase his next words. Bah..."I like your father."
"Heh, so do I."
Well, that settled that. Reaching over, he pulled her into a one-armed embrace, noting vaguely that her hair was damp and smelled lightly of summer roses...hm. Perhaps he'd get a chance to get back early enough tonight and fall asleep to that smell. "I have another job to do." he murmured quietly.
"When?"
"Tonight." he said, releasing her from his grasp and standing up. She looked a bit startled; he tried to smile reassuringly. "It won't take long. I'll be back later tonight, I promise." And yet something felt very...wrong about this now. He didn't know why...there was a nagging feeling, saying not to go...bah. He had to.
"...Be careful, Deste." She was suspicious too.
"Hmph...I'll be fine." he stated, and turned to walk out of the room, but halted when he heard the rustle of cloth; she was getting up after him. "...I love you." she voiced quietly...and for the strangest reason, the thief felt as though she were really saying goodbye. It felt...wrong. For the first time, this strangeness that often accompanied his being around her felt...bad. Trying to keep from frowning, he returned her words. "And I you. Stay safe."
------------
This should have been easy….this job required no effort whatsoever, it was just that common, everyday burglary that he was used to being hired for.
But it had gone deathly wrong. First, he’d been spotted -inside- the place where he would have been thieving from…he’d been told that no one would be around that night. He’d managed to get out, but hadn’t been able to grab the thing he was supposed to be stealing. Failure number one. And then, outside, there had been city guardsmen waiting for him.
He’d been set up. And he’d fallen right into the trap. Beaten and weary, Deste became acutely aware that his body was trembling from fatigue…and possibly from blood loss. He was breathing heavily, his own heartbeat ringing in his ears. Only sheer will to live was driving him forward now...he didn't even feel rage anymore. Well, no...that wasn't true. Of course he was angry...and he intended to find out who it was that had tried to get him caught and/or killed, and where they lived so he could pay a nice visit to them later.
They were all dead by the time it had started to rain, a heavy rain that thinned the blood on the pavement away. Armored bodies didn't save their lives when they didn't wear helmets that covered their faces. There was just one left...a man who had gloated about the thief's stupidity at having "fallen into such an obvious trap." Then the gloater had tried to run when everyone else had been taken out. Not very far...Deste still had enough daggers left to torture the answers he wanted out of the man. Dragging him up the front of his shirt, the bandit stared down at the man's face with menacingly deranged eyes. "No games....who hired you to do this."
His answer stunned him. No. This b*****d was lying...he dropped the man, screaming as blood spurted from a cut throat. Numbly, he began to run, run to safety before someone else caught him.
It was still raining when he dragged his broken body up the steps of Noria Rosaylen's home.
He could never go back and consider -her- home safe again.
------------
He fell and fell. Darkness, light, pain, light, darkness. He saw her, and didn’t, and then remembered, and didn’t want to. All she had given him gone all he had sacrificed nothing. Voices…coldness, heat, ice, burning, blackness. Lenore…he heard her, far away, hysterical…let him sleep. Tired...let him rest. Make the pain go away with sleep. Red…blood red, black rose, dying…He couldn’t die yet. Not yet not yet not yet. What would they say, if he just disappeared? Light again, fleeing, she was gone. No reason, no more…gone gone gone…Betrayal….
She was there, smiling, happy, loving, beautiful, fiery, his everything, his reason, his heart, his mind, his love. She came to him smiling. Blackness warned him; he heeded no one. Speak to her, ask her, no communication, she touched his lips with a finger, still smiling into his blackness…and then red...he touched his face to find blood. Shock hurt pain.
Dying. Betrayal.
His heart fell away with a knife in her hand, dripping red and black. Sorrow…and anger. Red and black, black and red, no more light no reason no more.
He hated her.
She cried for him.
He never loved her.
Burning eyes, wilting flower.
He wanted to kill the treacherous snake.
She cried for him.
He fell.
------------
The voices again....shut up shut up shut up let him rest.....
"...out for a week now....might be in a coma...."
His aunt...be quiet....And then Lenore....
"....did this to him, I know she did....been screaming betrayal in his fever...."
"....is delusional....you said....love her."
He didn't. He couldn't love her anymore.
"....came early this morning....crying...."
He fell.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:34 pm
It didn't make sense.
Iris sat on her bed, clinging to Ma'at...who only chirped softly, knowing no other way to help stem the flood of her tears other than offering her feathers. She hadn't done anything...how could they believe such a lie? How could anyone? And how could that heartless b***h not even let her see him. She didn't care if he was in a coma - he would hear her, if she told him the truth...
But then...why should Lenore let her see him. Everyone thought she had betrayed him.
They hated her...he had to hate her. He would, if he ever woke up.
She knew something was wrong the moment he left that night...but she attributed it to Amun, not anything that the future immediately held. He felt it too - that was obvious enough..and after two nights of being gone, she could wait no longer. Investigation told her that so many people had been killed that night...they were looking for the one who did it, for Deste, for her Deste...she searched as well. Every nook and cranny of that city was scowered, until she came to Lenore's. And then when that..witch called her a liar, betraying Deste....well, she was crying before that, but now, the pain of being accused of betraying the man she had been worried to death over for the past week, the man she loved more than anyone else..it simply overtook her. Why? Why didn't she stop them that night? Why would anyone do that to them? Who knew enough to do so?
.....no.
Amun.
It was the only thing that made sense. He was the only one who knew...he was the only one who would do such a thing. Ruin her life, watch her suffer - that was his goal. Well, he won - this was pretty much rock bottom. He had taken the only think that could truly break her....
And all of a sudden, that characteristic fire became a supernova. She was done. That was the final straw. He was not going to do this and get away with it...he was not going to ruin her life, not without sacrificing his own. If she was going down, he was going to go down with her...that b*****d was going to pay.
That night, the tears ended. She left Ma'at at home.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:35 pm
The woman stared up at her brother's estate. There were lights on, there was laughter....her face was blank, and her eyes were without any fire at all - they were stone. People saw her, but frankly, she didn't give a damn. She hoped they all knew, she hoped her name was known far and wide for what she had done. What she had really done, that is.
The guards said something, but she did not notice. The woman walked with a frightening calm t'wards the house, up the steps, and inside. She heard commotion upstairs - entertaining, again. His emaculent home only fueled the intensity of each step as she walked up those stairs, pushing open the door of his room to find all of his 'entertainment'. And him, startled at her sudden entry.
She walked in the room, the room where - in her mind - he was the only occupant. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded, utterly embarrassed and outraged.
"I'm giving you what you asked for." she said softly.
"What?"
Before he finished his word, the gun hidden in her coat had sent metal flying through his hand. He screamed, and his guests fled down the stairs in a flurry of panic and movement. He got up. "Have you lost your mind?!" he screamed, making his was t'wards her.
He shouldn't be standing. She unloaded another bullet into his knee.
Iris stared cold and calm down at her brother, unaffected by his screaming and curses and inquiries about why she was doing this. He started to say something else - he would make it easier if he just shut up. So, she did it for him. Also hidden under her belt was her whips. He was in close range, so it wasn't at all difficult. The steel rope wrapped coil by coil around his neck in a flash, silencing him..and also making it incredibly difficult for him to breath.
"Pay attention." she said softly. Not like he had any other choice. "I warned you. I warned you not to meddle with us. You did so anyway. You would be pleased to know that from this point on, I have little to no reason to stay alive. Several people want me dead because of what you have done. However...I will be living. I will keep going, because I'm not going to let your sorry a** have the pleasure of knowing that you destroyed me completely. Instead, you will be the one dying tonight. I will let you go and visit Anubis in my place. And I will feel no remorse when I return home tonight, because you are not my brother - you are too worthless to hold the title."
She released the coils from his neck...and fired yet another round into his other knee. Calmly, oblivious to his screams, she walked down the stairs. A bottle of one of her Egyptian liquids was spilled on the carpet and a small section of drapes. Pausing at the door, she turned back to toss a match into her handiwork. The house erupted into flames.
"Burn in hell, Amun."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:36 pm
He'd come out of his coma about two weeks after his incident. He ached. Badly. And not just his body...the fresh knowledge of how...stupid...he had been in trusting her racked his heart, making it feel as though there was no longer anything in his chest. He couldn't make sense of anything...there was no reason to his existence. None.
Noria found him sitting up in bed, staring at the opposite wall with a blank look on his face. Beneath his listless, brownish hair, his black eyes, usually so full of cunning and strength, were dull, sunken. It wasn't just the physical breaking of his body that was causing him to become a spiritless shell....The woman's granddaughter had been right; the apparent "betrayal" had left Deste utterly stripped of all he felt was his right in life. Or his "existence," as he liked to phrase it. The poor boy had always considered himself worthless....and in the eyes of the political world, he, born an illegitimate son to High King of the Kingdom of Albion, he was. And yet he was worth so much more. Killer and thief though he was, the old woman knew him to be an honest, strong, and passionate person. Roughened from all the years of ridicule at court, and from the pain of seeing his much-loved mother shamed, but he was a good man.
"Deste?" His great-aunt entered the room slowly, unsure of where his condition stood. He'd wrenched his shoulder badly, putting his left arm out of commission for at least another few weeks. Three cracked ribs, the doctor said, and a fractured leg that he had to keep off of if he wanted it to heal properly. Plus all of his flesh wounds, and the blood he had lost, and the fever that had almost killed him. Foolish boy, dragging himself through a mile of country to get here. He could have easily gone to his other safe house. But no...he believed she had betrayed him.
"Deste?" she asked again.
His voice was a bare whisper. "...She won't break me."
------
Lenore was thankful that the whole fiasco over the death of 15 of Xuan City's finest guard was overshadowed by the burning of the house of the Nefretiri's son. It would have been a big deal anyway; but it was made an even bigger scandal by the fact that the man's own sister had been the arsonist. But honestly. Three weeks after the fact that she had burned his house. Stop gossiping already. Hm...Deste had woken up the morning after it had occurred, actually. So he was...three weeks healed, but not allowed on his feet yet. Surprisingly, he wasn't complaining. He merely...sat in silence for much of the time, eating when he was brought food and taking whatever medicine he was given without complaint. The man was...brooding certainly, but he also seemed to be waiting for something.
Kalei stuck out his master's bed-ridden stillness in good humor, taking only a few minutes every day to romp outside with Auster, before returning inside to sit diligently at Deste's bedside.
"Lenore, can I speak with you for a moment?" Her grandmother's voice.
"Yes, I'll be out in a moment!...Deste?"
He grunted at her, indicating that she could leave. So, rising, the blind woman placed one hand on Auster's wing when the griffin slid it beneath her hand, and allowed herself to be led out. "Yes, grandmother?"
"You need to go and find that Iris."
"....Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Go. He needs to speak with her if he's ever going to get out of the state he's in."
"....Fine."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:39 pm
She was staying at her father's estate. Only out of suggestion, however - he didn't want her alone after what she pulled. Of course, the first night of being there, her mother decided to wail on her about what she did. Understandably. He was still in the hospital, and wouldn't be on his feet for a long time - third degree burns on a few parts of his body, second and first on others..not to mention two shattered patellas and the bullet in his arm. Iris simply stared at her mother while she was assaulted. She didn't feel any of it. She didn't care.
Her father was who saved her. "Leave her alone, Estha."
"What?! How can you sit there and not say anything, Amun?!"
"Because the boy is an a*****e. He deserved it." he said as kindly as he could, still earning a shocked stare from his wife. "Please, leave her be. She will come to you when she is ready."
Her father in no way supported what she did...but he understood her reasoning, and did not punish her. Instead, he just watched over her while she was in his home. The fire was much more dim - still there, but dim - and the only thing that made it a little better was Ma'at, and the promise of new life held within that egg. Maybe when it hatched she would be better.....not completely better. This was one of those things she would never truly heal from, unless there was explanation, forgiveness...but it could be improved, if nothing else. Staring out the window, glass of wine in hand, the man stared out at the city, thinking...always thinking...
What's this, a visitor.
He watched with docile eyes as a carriage was allowed into his estate, pulling up to the stone steps in front of the lavish mansion. Amun Senior did not need to go down yet - if it was of any importance, it would be brought to him.
"Sir?"
There it was. He turned, giving the servant his attention.
"Miss Lenore Rosaylen is here. She requests Iris' company."
"I will be down there in a moment."
Taking his time, the man descended the stairs of his home, leisurely getting to the foyer, where Lenore waited. Auster hissed briefly at him, before settling. "Yes, Miss Rosaylen?"
"I would like to speak with Iris."
"I'm afraid that is not possible."
"All due respect, why?"
"Because I will not allow it. You may speak with me, if it is possible for your business to be conducted with me instead." he said...not threateningly, more matter-of-fact...kindly.
She stayed silent for a moment..thinking? He wasn't sure. "My Grandmother requests her presence at our estate."
"My turn - all due respect, why?"
He didn't mean to mock her, it just came out that way..not that he needed to apologize. Her treatment of Iris when at her estate was atrocious. It held fair that he respond in the way he did. He was surprised the witch even answered at all. "She believes the two must speak."
Amun Senior remained quiet for a good while...the grandmother was right. They did need to speak. But on what terms? - that was the issue. And if this was to happen, Lenore would certainly not be the one to take her, or the only one besides her grandmother that would be present. If they were going to see each other, Iris would have her father behind her...possibly to cushion her fall. Besides, he had a feeling she wouldn't go unless he assisted her.
"Very well." he stated. "I will bring her by in the morning."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was very quiet. Even more-so than normal. Her father watched her as they rode to the estate, wondering what she was thinking. T'was hard to tell anymore...but she wasn't crying. She hadn't cried since she arrived. Amun wondered if this would bring it out of her, because she needed to cry.
Iris stared at her father's feet. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do this or not. It wasn't he who had requested her, it was Lenore's grandmother....she had heard that the lady was no where near as acidic as her granddaughter, so Iris' fear was partially put to rest. But....this must mean he was still alive, even better. Or partially better. Perhaps he was like her...or perhaps not. The woman had no idea what to expect, but she was mentally bracing herself for whatever onslaught was waiting in store.
The carriage slowed. "Are you ready?" her father asked gently. A moment's silence, and she nodded, just barely. He helped her out of the carriage and the two walked up to the estate. One scared to death, the other concerned about her fear.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:40 pm
There was quite a...commotion going on round the back of the house, actually.
Noria answered the door herself, her expression pale and tight-lipped. "Thank you so much for coming." she said, genuinely sincere. "Especially you, Iris." the old woman spoke familiarly...simply because she felt it would make things less formal. "Come, I'll take you to the one-sided yelling match...." She moved lightly through her elegantly-furnished home, motioning for the two to follow her. The seasoned politician knew that she was acting more like a mother hen than she would have preferred, but she had promised Kestra that she wouldn't let Deste do anything too rash. She had failed at that once; best not to make it a double-jeopardy.
Opening the back porch doors, Noria presented, with a quite a bit of worry mixed with exasperation, her granddaughter and her great-nephew....the former of whom was raising hell at the latter who was currently sitting, a smirk gracing his face for the first time in weeks, high up in a tree. Lenore was screaming at him to come before he injured himself further, and Kalei was nearly having a fit of his own. Auster alone sat in silence, staring up at the man as if he had gone utterly mad. Which, for all anyone else knew, he had.
"Deste, for the love of whatever you hold dear, come down!"
He waited for anything further...ah, she'd either finally given up, or had screamed herself hoarse. b***h, berating him about not getting up, and then yelling at him when he actually got on his legs and went out for some air and muscle stimulation. Perhaps he shouldn't have climbed up to where he was with his multiple bone fractures, but hell if that was going to stop him. He glanced down to see Lenore "looking" back towards the house....oh?
...Her.
The thief felt very....cold, suddenly. Not cold as in horrid and bitchy like Lenore, but...physically chilled. Hmph. As if to make a point about being able to use his "injured" arm, the man swung down through the branches using only it and his legs. He landed neatly beside Lenore, who wheeled around to face him, expression livid with icy fury and expecting to hear him wincing.
Honestly. He didn't hurt anymore.
Kalei probably would have tackled him if he hadn't been whistling a happy greeting at Ma'at, but the griffin's attention quickly went back to his guardian and Auster's mistress. She looked about ready to yell at him again, but instead hissed, "Are you -trying- to worsen your injures?"
"Of course not. I just needed to get away from you for a while. Not that going up there helped any."
The look on her face was priceless with a look of shock; she hadn't expected him to fight back. Not that she would let him have the last say. "Well, don't do it again until you've healed-"
Deste saw that she was much more than just startled when his palm collided with the side of her face. He hadn't slapped her too hard; he was feeling someone forgiving today. But any more and he wouldn't have any reservations about disappearing on her. And he knew that him doing so would pain her more than anything. He then noticed a very low hiss aimed at his direction; ah, the faithful guard-dog Auster. But Kalei was growling back at her...and then Ma'at was there as well. Auster couldn't stand up against two griffins of her size, and elder than her as well. With a sheepish chirp, the crested avian went over to touch the hand of her mistress that was not up at the side of her face.
"Lenore..." the man said quietly, once the griffins were through, "Don't act like my mother...and don't act like you're the woman I love. You are neither." She paled considerably at this quiet retort, actually looking like she was on the verge of tears. Hmph...he wouldn't waver now. If anything, her tenacity and overall bitchiness had been building up to an eventual retaliation.
"Let Iris know that I would like to speak with her privately, if you would."
Meaning, he didn't want neither the blonde nor his aunt listening in. Preferably, not her father either....
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:42 pm
Iris glanced to her side, to her father, quickly - she could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he wanted so badly to laugh, but he held himself in check. The man was such a big..teenager, sometimes, at least in these matters. Despite the severity of the situation, Iris had to feel some sort of emotion at Lenore getting what she deserved. About time.
The woman felt a tentative longing at seeing Deste for the first time in weeks, but knew she could do nothing about it. Not yet, anyway. Their eyes met but once, fleeting, during that whole scene. Better than nothing, she supposed. The entire thing certainly did lighten the mood, at least for her - it was entertaining, watching him smirk triumphantly down at the bitchy girl. Normal Deste, in that respect. And the kind treatment from his great-aunt helped as well. Maybe this wouldn't be quite so painful...
Her breath caught when he made a rather surprising statement to Lenore. Iris certainly didn't expect him to refer to her that way, still....she expected b***h, liar, even Delilah, if he was feeling creative, but not that. And he wanted to talk to her in private, as the grandmother told her a few moments later, as he had said that particular little statement a bit too softly for her to hear. That was, in all reality, what she wanted as well. Her father would most likely oblige...glancing at him once more, she asked him with her eyes, and he nodded, albeit solemnly. Well..alright. Here we go.
They were led to what she assumed was the bed he had been in the past few weeks, and the door closed behind them. She sat in a chair a few feet away from the bed, Ma'at at her side, the two of them facing Deste. Silence floated between them for what felt like eternity. It felt so good to be near him again, even if it was on such terms...but it was those terms that kept her from getting too comfortable. If he decided to explode on her, she was ready for it. If he was just going to speak calmly, she was prepared for that as well. Obviously, she hoped for the former - if he was as angry at her as he felt he should be, thinking that she betrayed him...she'd rather him yell.
Might as well start this off, though.
"How are you doing?" she said softly, deciding not to be afraid and looking into his eyes, if he would let her.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:45 pm
Deste's face betrayed nothing as he stared out the window of the room where he'd been healing from his injuries, but when he spoke to answer her question, there was a lilt in his voice that sounded to a scar much deeper in loathing. "Better than I was....but worse than I would have been, had I not gotten caught." He knew his tone was reflecting the utter disgust at having her...show up to mock him after he had given her everything that was him.
Oh, but she denied it. "I know you won't believe me, but it has to be said...I did not betray you Deste. I swear it on my life."
"You're right, I don't believe you." he said without a moment's hesitation. He sounded almost...cheerful, that he didn't believe her.
"If I had seriously done something like that, I would have approached you and gloated. Just as I have done for my brother, who, by the way, no longer has a house nor working legs because of what I did."
He almost wanted to laugh at that. But he wouldn't. He refused to let himself be drawn into her again. She'd torn him up once...and for her sake, association with him had to end unless she wished to have her heart torn out the same way. "My..." he started, sounding overtly incredulous, "That is a low blow, even for you..."
She laughed, and he nearly faltered. It was like they were bantering again. God damnit..."Deste, come on! Why the hell would I work with him?"
He knew his face had settled into brooding mode again. Why indeed. She would have to be playing a very careful facade if she really was pretending to hate her accursed sibling. "You tell me." he stated quietly, still staring out into the yard. "You tell me. I was given two names that night."
"...What?" She looked incredulous. But he could tell it was only because her brother had taken some of the blame. He believed that he knew her well enough to determine that. "Two names. He said right before I slit his throat. 'Amun and Iris!' So, perhaps I'll be needing to take care of your father now as well, as the Junior and Senior titles were never specified."
She sighed...well, smart girl, she knew he was trying to rile her. "My father's got nothing to do with it, and you know it. Honestly, I think all you're doing right now is trying to piss me off. Deste....that day, at the meeting, Amun had backed me into a corner to reveal that he knew about us. You saw me pissed because I was warning him not to do anything or I would ruin him - which, I have followed through on my promise. That night, I never had a chance to tell you - you came, you left. I didn't even know what happened until the next night."
"...Yes, I left. And you didn't try to stop me. I saw it in your face; you knew something was wrong. Guilt, perhaps?" he turned his black, still half-haunted eyes to hers; he saw the small shock in her own dark pupils at the change he knew had occurred within him; drained and stripped of everything which he believed to be true. This woman had taken everything away, he genuinely believed that. But she could break him no more.
Silence, and then..."I didn't stop you because I didn't think anything was wrong. I was just concerned. And you felt it too - I could tell. You wanted to stop."
He nearly laughed. "Just concerned....just concerned about what? A common, low-class thief who should mean absolutely nothing to you?" He got up from his seat to approach her, and the Egyptian woman stood to meet him. He could see in the whole of her body language the denial that she ever wanted to hurt him. Perhaps then, it would be better if he dealt the first blow. "Miss Nefretiri," he stated formally, "Please do not give me the pains to treat you as I did my arrogant cousin. If you will, I believe our meeting may now be closed."
He heard her start to protest, but he jerked her up - rather roughly - by the arm and almost threw her out the door - his restraint came from the knowledge that this would be their final goodbye. She turned back to him, a sort of sorrowful pleading in her eyes, but she refused to let the anger of her heart reach her tongue. She was...as strong as ever. He would have to have the same resolve. "Farewell Iris. You will never again see my face after this day."
And with those words did the door between them close.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:47 pm
She woke up, but refused to open her eyes. Every day it was like this...every damn day. And she hated it. She hated waking up strictly because she had to leave her dreams..which were never that good anyway, but at least they held more meaning to her than reality. She hated rising because she knew she would have to put on the same mask again, and again, and again...
Iris pondered taking her life several times, but she knew she never could - pride wouldn't allow it.
The woman liked to lay there, pretending he was beside her...but he wasn't. He hadn't been since it happened, five months ago...though only four months ago did she get what she felt like was the end. He kept his word, that horrible day - she went back a week later, determined to try again, determined to try and make him see the truth...but he was already gone. She had almost literally beat a confession - a partially public one - out of her brother, and he wasn't there to receive it. No one knew where he was. And she had a bad feeling she truly never would see him again, and he would never believe her. God, if she could just know that he believed her, that he didn't hate her...she could stand him being away. Barely, but she could stand it.
She had moved back into her own home - the egg was to hatch soon, Ma'at missed her bed...and Amun was out of the care of others. She was not staying in a house with him - mother would kill her if she did what she wanted to do and finished the job. There was no point in staying there, anyway. All she was to them was a tiring burden. She wasn't depressed, some of the fire had returned...but her heart was broken. Nothing could fix that, save for one thing, and that one thing wasn't happening. Iris couldn't be normal, especially around them, but she could act it away from them...and she did. Every single day. Again, and again, and again.
Ah, but today, she only had to act part of the time - her father wished her to stop by the home. Fine. Rising, finally, she went to go make herself presentable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He opened the door.
"What." she said, staring up at her father's face. He sighed. "Come now, you don't have to be like that every time..."
If only he knew.
He gently ushered her in. Knowing she didn't want to be near Amun...she didn't need to be, actually...he led her to a room on the opposite side of the house, sitting her down and staring at her long and hard.
"How are you?"
"Fine." she answered, smiling, making sure he knew that she was lying.
"I have news for you."
"He died?"
Amun looked at her with that 'That wasn't funny.' stare. She shrugged. "What, I was just hoping I wouldn't eventually have to do it for him."
God he wanted the old Iris back....shaking his head, he tossed a paper her way. It was a sort of flyer, newsletter, that filtered between all the upper-class of Xuan. "What is the point of this?"
He pointed to a section of the page.
"Infamous Thief Caught near River"
Last night, one of Xuan' most despicable criminals was captured near the border of Albion and Chryseas. The man, identified only as Deste, was wanted for countless crimes throughout Albion and Xuan, one of which being the tragic Guard Massacre approximately five months ago.
The elder Amun laughed as she literally fled out the door, leaving the paper behind her without a single word. "Good luck!" he called after her
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:57 pm
"You couldn't have waited until next month, could you?"
The thief smirked up at his great-aunt; he would have stood it he hadn't been shackled to the wall. He knew very well what could have happened if he had pulled his little stunt next month. Well, technically, it would have been the exact same result. But doing it a month early would make things...rush a little. That, and he couldn't last another week without seeing her face for real. He had cracked a long time ago, but two nights ago had been his first chance to actually allow himself to "get caught." On that note...
"You know, Noria, these papers circulating around you upper-classmen...they like to lie a lot." He snorted with every bit of arrogance that could be attributed to one of his caliber. The elderly woman sighed; he was definitely back to normal. Still...pining after that girl, from the look in his eye, but his mannerisms - his ruder ones - had returned after months of uncivilized behavior. Oh, what would Kestra say when she saw what a delinquent her son had turned out to be....Probably nothing. That woman was far too kind-hearted. "Well, my nephew, how were you captured, then?"
"That's just it. I didn't get caught by anyone; I walked into the Guard Tower at the river and gave myself up."
"...Excuse me?"
"I almost had to make a demonstration of that "Tragic Guard Massacre" this flier alludes to."
"....Deste....You WANT his Highness to have to..."
"Exactly. Might as well get back at him now, while I have the chance." Noria had a reason to believe that the boy found this all very amusing. "You'll be sentenced to hang! What if he doesn't get here in time?!"
He considered the possibility for a moment. "I've...learned from someone not to fear death. And if he is too late, then he'll have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life, I suppose."
Goodness...."I pray to God that he isn't late, Deste. And not just for your sake." Turning, she noticed a slightly disheveled woman panting at the door leading into the private chamber of the thief's holding cell. For fear that me might somehow kill one of the other prisoners - how, Deste wasn't sure himself, but he found the apprehensive looks on the faces of his keeper's amusing - the guards had placed him in solitary confinement. Noria offered a soft smile to Iris, and beckoned her in. "I'll leave you two alone." she said, looking once more to her nephew. He merely nodded ascent, closing his eyes and leaning back again the wall of his cell.
When the old politician was gone, Deste chose to speak first. "Well hello there. Sorry I couldn't keep my promise."
But apparently she wasn't going to pay any heed to what he was stuff. "I didn't do it. My b*****d of a brother confessed to it, I-"
"Iris." He said firmly over what he -thought- might turn into psychotic babbling. Hm...apparently she was missing him as badly, if not worse, than he was needing her. He studied her face for a moment; she looked sunken, as he had at their last confrontation. "I know you didn't do it." he said quietly this time, gently and as forgiving as he could. She blinked at him, opened her mouth to speak, then closed her lips and cleared her throat. "Then why..." she began, and he held up a hand. "Because...I wanted you to believe that I really did believe that you betrayed me. Let me explain." he said, when he saw another question coming to her face. He tried to shift his position to face his body more towards her, but didn't get very far. Damn cuffs. Ah well.
"I wanted you to hate me for thinking that I hated you, so I attacked you when you came to talk...I apologize for that now. I saw that I was putting you in danger...I knew what your brother could do, or at least knew what he had the power to do. I'm not someone fresh to politics; I've been dealing with them since the day I was born."
He paused, waiting to see if she would say anything; when she didn't, the man glanced again at her face and said, "I was...brought into a meaningless existence by virtue of my mother. But everything was very dark...for 23 years all I've existed under is a sky of endless night. There were stars, points of light that reasoned out some things, but then the lack of a moon always reminded me of that worthlessness. But then....when I met you half a year ago...it was like a shooting star had illuminated my sky. There was a brilliant fire that drove me forward, and everything made sense."
Deste knew he was being uncharacteristically poetic. But he might as well be nice to her if there was a chance of him dying in the next week or so. "But when you were gone, when I had lost you, I lost that flame. Everything fell again to darkness, but I was too blinded by the lost brilliance to even see the stars anymore. Nothing made sense. I was without purpose again."
He glanced at her, just to catch a reaction...and offered a half-smile. "I suppose...this is a very intricate way of saying I love you?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:58 pm
Iris..smiled. All of that lost light and fire returned to her eyes in one explosion of brilliance upon hearing his words. The weight that had nearly pinned her to the ground for months was finally gone...she was finally with him, and he believed her, and he loved her. Honestly, she didn't believe she would ever be standing there - hopelessness had told her for what felt like eternity that she would truly never see him again. So, finding him, hearing his voice....it was a gigantic mixture of relief and happiness and love and longing and irritation and so many things that she simply didn't know what to do. Or what to say, that could measure up to all that he just told her, so the woman simply put it all in her eyes...with a few words added on.
"I missed you so much....and I love you too."
Granted, he was in a prison cell, so she couldn't exactly run up to him..but if she could, he'd be a very happy man. She'd make sure of that. For a long time afterwards, they simply stared at each other. She got pissed at the bars of steel holding her away from him, and him to the wall. That sounded weird - pissed at an inanimate object..but she was. They needed to get out of the way.
"Mmm....so....how am I getting you out of there and home?"
"...you won't be, unfortunately."
Slight confusion shifted onto her face, and apprehension that made all the good feelings she just felt shy away. "And...why won't I?"
He looked slightly pained. "Iris, I'm being charged with several counts of murder and thievery, and they aren't even considering what I've done in Albion, in this case. I'm not going anywhere - people will be watching me like a hawk to make sure I don't escape."
The woman winced...but with all that she had been through in the past months, that's all she did. "And...what does that mean?" Heh. Asking as if she didn't know the answer.
"I'm going to be hanged within the week."
Iris closed her eyes, taking a deep, controlling breath. Another knife in the heart that had just healed...but if she lost it here, she'd be doing him a disservice. So, when she opened her eyes again, several minutes later...there was great, deep sadness, but she was not going to cry. She didn't feel that he wanted it.
"Iris?"
She was interrupted by his voice..glancing up, she looked into his eyes. "Yes?"
"Don't come."
The woman stared at him long and hard. He was serious...but staying away would make her a coward. And it would be dishonorable to him, she felt, if she didn't go, if this actually took place. It simply would not be right. But if he was telling her to stay away because it would be too difficult to watch...he was right. It would be too difficult. But she would do it anyway...at least, that's what she felt at that point.
"I can't promise anything." she said, smiling sadly at him. The look in her eyes said that he would get no farther than that - she would not directly tell him that she would not go, not when she wasn't sure. Not when her gut was telling her to go. He looked slightly displeased, but...well, that was all she could truthfully tell him.
And dammit all to hell, she was not going to let this meeting be nothing but a huge rise and fall of happiness. She had a few minutes...the woman put a smile on her face, trying to return to their normal banter. "You really didn't have to get yourself in here to get my attention, you know. Slipping through my window would have been so much easier."
She had a feeling there was more to it than that, but....well....not now. That would be a matter for a later date.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:59 pm
The thief's predictions and Noria's warnings had been right; he was sentenced to a public hang 10 days after he had come clean with Iris. Hm...that gave brother dearest just a little more time than Deste had planned for. Ah, well, better to have more time and still have him rushing that little time and have him miss.
He was given his rites and a "final request" of sorts - which he had none - and the chance to inform any family about the date of his execution. He let his prosecutors know, all the while with a pleasant smile on his face, that the whole lot of them would be arriving on that day. So they'd best get ready for a big crowd. Needless to say, they obviously thought him mentally ill in the head, but tightened security anyway.
Iris didn't come to see him again after his admittance that he did, in fact, still love her. She was being smart, at least; it would only hurt her more to see him in what she was thinking to be his final days. Hmph. How dramatically ironic if his savior actually showed up when the rope was around his neck.
---
Deste was to die at high noon. That was about an hour away, and Lenore was honestly beginning to worry that help wasn't going to arrive in time. Not that she didn't want her cousin to suffer in some way for how he had treated her, but...seeing him hung was too extreme. The blonde-haired woman was standing, unmoving, at the far side of the river in Albion territory. The cavalry would have to come this way...if they came at all. Auster sat, still as stone, beside her mistress, hissing at any stranger that got too close. Most just passed by the blank-eyed girl, too dissuaded by her cold and glaring eyes to approach too near.
30 minutes....It was too soon. She had to go and try to stop them herself. The girl was about to turn, clicking her tongue for her griffin to start leading her away, when the thunderous sound of horses' hooves began to rattle down the center street. Auster quickly led her mistress to the side of the road, waiting for the many men on horses to pass. There were banners, too, the avian observed. Brightly-colored ones, and several of the humans wore armor, and the horses decorative bangles and straps. And to the young bird's immense surprise, the whole parade stopped near her guardian.
"Lenore!" one of the men, sort of near the front, but behind the front flag-bearer, wheeled his horse and came riding over, followed shortly by two others. The one in front looked important, the griffin decided, but Auster began to hiss again regardless...until a quieting pat came from her owner. Lenore herself let out a relieved breathe. "Dante!" she yelled at the man, holding up her hands in indication for him to halt. "Go! He's set to hang at noon!"
"That blasted...alright boys, let's keep going!"
Moments later the entire royal guard was charging over the bridge and out of sight.
---
Oh yes. this was dramatic irony as Deste had ever asked for. He literally did have the death noose being placed over his head, and some orator was reading off his crimes to a rather large and excited crowd. He didn't see his Iris...but that was all the better, since apparently Dante had given up on him. He hoped their father did something very cruel to his brother later....
But then there was the sound of a trumpet call, one he had been familiar with since his childhood days in the country of his birth. Well...better late then never, big bro. And moments later, people were yelling, shoving, and generally attempting to move into a more compact crowd in order to accommodate a guard of 9 horses, plus the 10th that held the prince, into the square where the convicted criminal was to die. The herd of horses and men forced their way up to the platform where the thief, two guards, and a prosecutor were standing, and by all appearances, the extra security measures were being of little use.
Dante eyed his half-brother dubiously, then sighed, an irritated "You're glad we have the same father" look passing over his face. The expression was quite close to the thief's own annoyed expressions, actually. Family trait, perhaps. Carefully - for lack of space - the Prince of Albion dismounted from his horse directly onto the wooden structure, speaking immediately after he straightened. "If it would please you sir, a word in private before this ceremony continues...."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:02 pm
She was there....she didn't make herself to incredibly visible, but Iris was there.
Her father stood behind her, but she paid no attention to him, at least right now. The pair stood somewhere near the middle of the crowd....except they were a part of the few who were in no way excited about the event that was about to transpire. Instead, Iris stared at the platform where her love stood...surprisingly calm. She didn't know why, but the woman was able to watch as they slipped the noose over his neck without flinching. And as she listened to the reading of his crimes, all she could think was that they hadn't caught even half of them. It made her smile..perhaps because it was true to his nature - they would never know everything he did. He was too good for that.
Standing there, she had also been tempted to haul her brother here, make him watch...and then gouge his eyes out afterwards. Would serve him right.
It shouldn't be happening...but it was. Ok, so, that wasn't entirely true - technically speaking, it was long overdue...but she didn't much care what 'crimes' he committed. He was a good man, and she knew countless other people that should have been up there in his place. But the saying was true - bad things happen to good people...usually more often than they happen to bad ones. And as she stood there, watching a crime that they called 'justice' about to be committed..commotion behind her turned her eye.
Horses and trumpets? And...Albion's prince?
Her father grabbed her as the crowd tried to make itself about 1/3 smaller than it really was. The horses marched right past her, right up to the platform...and she took the opportunity to get closer. Something big was about to happen, something to change this...she hoped. Though she hadn't a blessed clue what it was. Breaking away from her father, she moved with the horses closer to Deste, as far as would allow...and heard the words of the prince. Tentative relief softened her features, but she still had to ask - what the hell was going on?
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