Dark Woods Tree House

[Silquestnocte]

His dark eyes softened as the met her crimson ones. He hadn't meant to make her feel inadequate, hadn't meant to make her feel anything other than happiness. He stroked her hair again. Softly he replied, cupping her face, "What you can do, doll, is let me fight a few battles alone. There are somethings I need to do by my own hands, although I'm sure you could make short work of it." Malphas stole her lips in a hungry kiss. "Although right now, I think the handcuffs are nearly crying from lack of use." He smiled at his small joke briefly then in a blink of an eye, had her on the bed, securely restrained by the cuffs attached to the head-board. For a moment, he paused to admire her clothed form stretched out, arms above her head. Then his gloves were discarded, and his pale hands were swiftly unraveling her clothes, traveling over her curves, him mouth burning a trail of kisses down her jaw, then her neck, and chest.

He didn't want to think anymore, feel his heart being torn in two by a new set of desires and his old ones waging a war upon each other. He did however, want to feel Ilea's pale skin against his own.
[The rest of this post has been censored, due to steamy going-ons]

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Nicely done! Edited it to make it easier to reply to.

By the time they were finished, Ilea was laying beside him on her belly, one hand still secured into the cuff but no longer attached to the headboard. Her pale skin now bore a new set of marks, including one bite mark at her shoulder, from him and was nearly gleaming from the sheen of sweat that covered her. They'd managed to 'go around the world' on the bed until he'd finally let her rest, leaving her panting for air beside him.

But what amazed her was that he'd done all of that without ever drawing her blood. She wasn't used to that and found part of her confused by it while the rest of her simply told that part to shut up and enjoy it.

She finally shifted so that she was facing him and lifted one hand to gently trace her fingers over his arm, closing her eyes at the feeling of being able to touch him without worrying about how he would take it. She left her hand resting over his wrist and shifted so that she could press a light kiss to his shoulder before she gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep.

As she slept, another facet of the master/servant bond between them opened her mind to him, allowing him to see her memories. Through that, he would be able to see any memory of her time with Goh from the moment she opened her eyes to his death and her acceptance of her own in that moment. But what would likely intrigue him were her memories of her everyday life under Goh: never looking at him unless he invited her to do so, taking the brunt of his anger in the hope that it would appease his rage, the more bloody intimate moments, her training and the harsh punishments when she failed to learn something fast enough, the constant talk about Esabel and how inadequate it made Ilea feel, and the constant experiments on her as he tested out various tortures, poisons, and spells to see what they would do to her.

In alot of ways, her life under Goh mirrored his with Deluge so well. But hers was the more harsh, almost a combination of his and Dancer's lives under Deluge. Like Malphas, she never received an unharsh word. Unlike him, she never gained even a nod, only a pet of her hair when she'd done something right. And every single scar on her body spoke to a different memory. In each one, she'd hoped to prove her worth, hoped that it would lead to her being enough for the one she'd served so selflessly and loyally, only to gain pain in return.

But with those memories, he was able to learn that she carried abilities that even she knew nothing about. And the extent of the abilities she'd told him of was woefully inadequate to grasp at their full scope. Goh hadn't lied when he'd said that Ilea was the perfection he'd tried to accomplish with Esabel, that Ilea was the perfect servant. For she truly had no will other than to please whoever her master was and would die attempting any task she was given or to protect who she served.

She, of course, had no idea that Malphas had such access to her memories and they proved that she would likely apologize for it if she learned of it.

That part of the master/servant bond had been created in her by Goh to ensure that she never lied or betrayed him. It gave full access to her thoughts at will by whoever she served. But it also showed that Goh had to have known how she'd felt about him and how betrayed she'd felt over his obsession with Esabel, that she'd always wondered why she'd never been enough for him.  

[Silquestnocte]

Malphas lost himself in Ilea's scent, the sensation of warm flesh, in an animistic drive for pleasure. It had worked, his chest wasn't hurting anymore, nor did he really feel like caring about anything that was going to happen tomorrow. He was just sweaty, slightly bruised and sore in a pleasant way, and tired out from his exertion. He was about to nod off when he felt Ilea shift next to him, he lazily opened half an eye to see what she was up to.

Malphas smiled at her light touch and butterfly kiss, somehow, it was just as gratifying, if not more, than the workout he had just put the two of them through. His hand turned slightly to hold hers while she slept, then he closed his eye completely, expecting the dark embrace of sleep, maybe a jumbled dream.

It didn't come. It was jumbled alright, but it was mostly because it zipped by so fast, and many similar scenes were repeated. Ilea bleeding in chains seemed to be prominently featured, and it was somehow enraging. Malphas himself had tortured countless people, creatures, he was a fighter, used to blood, gore, and the expression of pain painted on someone else's face. But he hated it when it was on Ilea's. Those lips were meant to be kissed, to smile. Not to be bitten as she held in a scream.

Ilea on a lab table with Goh looming above, Ilea in a vibrant puddle of blood of fallen enemies to only be scolded for not being more efficient, and possibly the most sickening to him, Ilea on Goh's bed, beneath his hands and dagger.

He managed to wake himself up in time to loosen his increasingly tighter grip on Ilea's hand before he snapped a few bones. He sat up, head in his hands, trying to sort through what he had seen, it was obvious they were memories, and most of it left a sensation of a stone in his stomach. He glanced over at Ilea, still snoozing away, and reached out to stroke her dark hair.

It suddenly occurred to Malphas that he would have tried to kill Goh if he wasn't already dead, for putting Ilea what she went through. It wasn't particularly surprising for some reason, his brain merely accepted the new fact. He sighed, the sensation of a tug-of-war being carried out in his chest was returning. Where did his loyalty lie? Truly? A few days ago he would have answered in a heartbeat, Deluge. Now, he wasn't quite so sure.

He eased himself down, and snuggled up to Ilea, resting the tip of his nose and forehead against her's, wrapping an arm around her, holding her to him. His dark eyes studied her sleeping face for a moment, dark lashes, such a peaceful expression, a face of an angel. "You really are perfect ya'know babe." he whispered. It was true, she had more firepower than him, he had seen a bit of it in action. It felt wrong for him to try and delve back into her memories, at least not without her permission.

Then he closed his eyes, this time greeted by blissful, silent slumber.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea made a soft sound and snuggled into him a bit more, settling her head below his chin and against his chest where she could hear his heartbeat. At that sound, she smiled in her sleep then slipped back into a deeper sleep.

She slept like that for hours and finally woke to find herself held tightly to him and had to smile over it. She'd never been held like this before, as if she were about to break or disappear. She wasn't too sure how to react to it, to tell the truth.

She eased herself out of the hold then carefully moved to the edge of the bed and got up before turning to look at him for a long silent moment. She found herself thinking of what she could do for him or give him that would make him smile at her again.

That thought sent a shiver of fear through her. She'd thought things like that before, with Goh. But each time, it hadn't been good enough. Not even the personal guard she'd created from freshly killed corpses and filled with demonic souls that were suitably twisted to be as loyal to Goh as she was. He'd found a flaw in their creation and had destroyed all of them then made her clean up the mess by hand.

But as she looked at Malphas, she pushed her thoughts and memories of Goh to the back of her mind. He'd told her that he intended to join his beloved master when he was finished with his revenge. Which meant she wouldn't have too much longer with him, certainly not long enough for him to find any flaws in her or her work.

That thought lead to another and she created a robe for herself of crimson silk to ward off the morning chill coming in from the windows and slid it on as she considered something she could give him, what gift would be worthy enough for the attention and care he'd given her so far.

As she looked out over the forest, her thoughts ran with possibilities, all of them shot down as not enough. Then one idea occurred to her and she considered it carefully for a long moment, turning it over in her mind while trying to discover any flaws in the idea. In the end, she couldn't think of any flaws in it and decided to go with it.

She turned back to the bed and moved to stand at the baseboard where she could watch him sleep. She wanted him to wake up now so she could present her idea to him, but didn't. She could see that he needed his sleep and finally shed the robe to join him in the bed again, snuggling into him and smiling when he wrapped his arms around her.  

[Silquestnocte]

A small wrinkle appeared in Malphas's brow as Ilea left his embrace, his arm shift slightly as if he was trying to reach out and grasp her again. But he remained stubbornly in sleep's grasp. He blinked his eyes open when he felt Ilea's warmth return, wrapping his arms around her. "Good morning, sweetheart." he mumbled sleepily before pressing a kiss into her hair. Malphas took in a breath of her scent, an interesting mix of wisteria, salt, and the dark tang of blood. A smug smile briefly found itself on his mouth when he realized that the spicy scent of cloves had found their way into the mix for now, no doubt from being in close proximity with him for the past several days.

"Mm, you smell delicious, did you know that?" He rolled over so he was lying on top of her, feeling a bit more playful than normal. He grinned slowly, much like a cat that had just discovered an open bottle of milk. He leaned down to teasing lick the bite mark her had placed last night in a particularly intense moment. With a chuckle, he murmured "Taste good too."

He pushed away the shreds of thoughts left over from last night, today he was going to stay in the present, and hopefully in the presence of the lovely Ilea. Neither the future or the past was going to spoil today. Malphas was for once, not going to plan anything, and just let things happen as they happen. It was tiring, constantly following a schedule, a lazy day was something he had precious few of, between his first master, then Deluge, and now revenge he had never really rested. Today seemed like a good day to do that.

So he looked down at Ilea, a small smile on his face, and in his eyes. Malphas was in an uncharacteristically good mood, and was enjoying it.
[[edited slightly]]

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea gave a soft chuckle before she finally opened her crimson eyes to smile at him, "I'm glad you like how I smell and taste. I'm also glad you're in a good mood," she told him softly, her voice still carrying that slightly husky tone one generally got from sleep as she moved her fingers lightly through his hair.

She was careful not to touch his horns, though. She wanted him to know she understood that was a privilege she wasn't going to take advantage of.

She tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, finding that she liked him resting over her as he was. But she pushed that thought away, knowing that she wouldn't be liking it for long.

"I want to do something for you today... Take you somewhere... If you don't have anything else planned today, that is..." she offered, searching his eyes to see if he didn't mind it.

She was justifiably cautious, though. Goh had never liked it when she tried to give him gifts or surprises.  

[Silquestnocte]

Malphas continued to grin as Ilea smiled at him. Happiness likes company, and she was every-so-pretty when she was smiling. He nuzzled against the smooth skin at the junction of her neck and shoulder, this time the one without the bite mark. He placed a small kiss there before answering her

"Well I'm also happy that your happy, doll. Who wouldn't?" His dark eyes twinkled with simple happiness. When her nimble fingers ran softly through his hair, Malphas closed his eyes and sighed. The simple contact was relaxing, unhurried, and really it made him want to cuddle up to Ilea all day.

If Malphas was a cat, his ears would have perked up when Ilea mentioned doing something for him. But he was a demon, so instead his eyes focused on Ilea attentively. He grinned the same wide, lazy grin Ilea would probably be seeing a lot today.

With a small, pleased sigh he murmured "You know, you really are too good for me Ilea." He rested his forehead onto hers, their noses almost touching. "I'd be honored if you'd do so. I love surprises! Well, within reason."
He made a happy sound in the back of his throat before grabbing her by the hips and rolling them both over so she was resting on top of him. Malphas grinned up at her "Hm. This reminds me of a bit certain moment last night..."

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea gave a soft laugh, letting him move and shift her as he liked. She actually blushed when he mentioned last night, though, and leaned in to give him a light kiss to his lips to distract him, "We should shower and get dressed now if you want any time to explore when we get there," she told him simply and nipped at his nose before she danced nimbly from the bed and his hands.

She didn't say it, but she would miss moments like this when he was gone. Instead, she moved over and got the shower going before she returned for him but stayed a few paces away and held her hand out to him with a teasing smile, knowing that if she got too close he'd flip her into the bed again.

"Come on. I want to get there while we have plenty of sunlight to look around," she urged him softly, finding that she was actually excited to be doing this instead of dreading it. It was a welcome but strange change for her that she wasn't too sure how to handle just yet.

She knew he was planning to die when he was finished with his vengeance, to join his beloved master in the afterlife. He'd said a week, most likely. She would be alone after that.

She didn't know what she would do when she was on her own. She had no idea how to plan for the future. Well, anything beyond a day or two. But it was the prospect of being alone that somehow terrified her, though she did her best to hide that from him.

Instead, she concentrated on today, on where she wanted to take him and why. She didn't want to think about the fact that she found herself realizing that she would miss him when he was gone. She didn't want to think about going through day after day alone, night after night without laying beside him. So she did her best to push it all to the back of her mind and offered him that small smile of hers as she urged him out of the bed and into the shower.

Once in the hot water, she saw to it that he was cleaned up first, as she'd done before, then cleaned herself up. She was surprised yet again when he helped her as well and loved the simple feeling of his hands moving over her. But she pushed that thought away as well as they got out of the shower to dress.

As she watched him dry off, she considered what she should wear for this trip and finally conjured up an outfit for herself. Crimson leather, of course, but a different outfit than what he'd seen so far. This time, it was a full bodice, gloves, heeled boots, belt, and pants that rode low on her hips and hugged every curve of her lower body before disappearing into the boots. Attached to the belt were two daggers that were secured to her thighs, set in silver and carrying wickedly sharp edges, and light enough to throw accurately.

Her hair wound up in a simple braid down her back. Not for the purpose of flying with him, but to keep it out of her face.

She'd already conjured up clean clothing for him that perfectly matched what he usually wore but for the basilisk leather, that she knew was his own and knew he'd wear it anyway.

She put on her outfit then waited for him to finish getting ready as she worked at preparing for the trip through the shadows to the destination she had in mind, silently hoping he'd like it and appreciate why she was taking him there....  

[Silquestnocte]

Malphas was picking on the glimmers of sadness that Ilea was going through as well, although they were close enough to his own thoughts last night that he didn't pay any heed to them. He just smiled and helped Ilea wash her back. Malphas found himself just finding the smallest reasons to touch her, brush against her if he could get away with it. A particular sensation of being pulled in two different directions returned, although this time it stayed, almost imperceptible, but there.

But he kept himself smiling, and refused to let this feeling grow. He did his best to drown it out with happy thoughts of anticipation of wherever Ilea was going to be taking him.
Malphas eyed Ilea appreciatively when she was dressed, she could probably make gray rags look hot, but damn did leather suit her. Then he slipped into the clothes Ilea conjured up for him, Malphas didn't realise how worn his own clothes were getting, these conjured ones were on the same level as his old ones when they were new, and they felt almost completely different.

He strapped his stiletto to his waist, the needle-like blade the length of his forearm secure against the small of his back. Perfect for stabbing someone should the occasion arise, then shrugged into his Basilisk leather jacket, the black scales dully shining. Malphas wrapped an arm around Ilea and kissed her cheek. "So where are we going sweets?" He couldn't wait for the rest of the day, not because of the surprise, but because he'd be with the one person he had let his guard down around in all of his years, and possibly because this person was the source of the strange warm sensation that was building in his chest.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea smiled as she slipped an arm around his waist, "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you," she whispered to him softly as she stepped in close to him then gathered the shadows around them both.  

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea's shadows brought them back quickly and she moved away from him to set her bag on the bed, opened it, and started unpacking it without a word. She set the clothing aside then started putting the weapons on the table, revealing them in the process: daggers of silver, iron, bronze, and steel; three whips that could be used to channel her powers into various attacks; smaller whips tipped with silver or gold, perfect for most species; and a shortsword made perfectly for her smaller stature sheathed in crimson leather that was embossed with small gold skeletons in various poses over it.

Next came the other items she'd collected: the small vial from her room marked with only her name on it, a small metal can containing an ointment that carried the smell of graveyard dust, a book of necromantic spells, and the large black crystal from Goh's throne that gave off an eerie indigo glow.

She put the bag under the bed and moved back to the table, "The ointment can be used to heal most injuries, useful if we wind up in a fight. The crystal can channel my powers into more powerful spells," she explained to him in a slightly distanced tone.

Then she picked up the vial and turned to him, "This stuff... You can coat the edges of a blade with it and give someone a tiny cut, it doesn't have to be much at all. They'll wind up screaming in agony within a matter of hours. There's no antidote to it, no way to counter it at all. They simply have to deal with the pain until it wears off. It starts small, just a bit of an ache. As it hits the bloodstream, though, and starts moving through the body, they start to feel like their blood is boiling. It acts a bit like an acid and a bit like a nerve toxin. Takes about three days to get out of the system. By then, they're begging for it to stop," she explained, still in that distanced tone as she tried not to think about the memories the items she'd brought back gave her.

She finally set it down on the table and gave him a small smile, "I thought you could use it for Dancer. You can even put a small amount in food or drink to get it into the system. Then it leaves no marks behind," she added with a small shrug and moved over to the clothes she'd brought back that she'd left on the bed.

Everything she'd brought back was either crimson or black and there wasn't much to any of it, proving that every outfit would reveal alot of skin if she wore any of it. It was also almost all leather. There were a few in silk, but not much.

She sorted through them then moved to set them on top of the dresser, "These should make it easier for us to move through the base if we need to. I noticed that if I'm dressed as one of their slaves, they don't look at us too closely," she said simply.

Every word she spoke proved that she'd thought only of what would help him in his tasks to eliminate Dancer and finally join Deluge, that she hadn't thought of herself. But her next words proved that she was going to try.

"I'll work at getting other clothes made, ones that'll let me move around other people better, help me blend in a bit until I can find a place to stay where I won't be bothered. Maybe I'll open up a potions shop or something like that. He taught me alot about potions and poisons. Maybe I can use that. My other skills won't really be useful for everyday living but maybe that will," she tried to make some kind of effort at plans for a future for herself, trying to prove to him that she wasn't going to hold him back.

Maybe she was avoiding the proverbial pile of elephant crap that now stood between them, but she was trying to guard herself in some way. If he asked her about it now she'd tell him why but she wasn't sure how he take it. And she didn't want to hold him to a place that he didn't want to be in. Maybe if she made the effort to make plans for a future, he wouldn't guess what her real plans were...

No. She wouldn't even think of those plans until he was asleep. Until then she'd keep any thought of it deep in the back of her mind where no one else could even get a glimmer of it.

Of course, she didn't know about all the aspects of the master/servant bond so she had no way of knowing that he'd eventually learn of her real plans soon enough.

For now, she simply kept her mind thinking of the possibilities she'd spoken of and made a face over one aspect of it all, "Of course, that means I'll have to start wearing browns and colors like that as well as long skirts like most of the regular women wear. But I don't have to do it just yet. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time, though," she said as she put the clothing into one of the drawers of the dresser then moved over to the table to sort through the weapons and get them put up as well.

"I'll find one of those towns along the outskirts of someplace. I should be able to open a shop easily in a place like that. Getting the money for it might get a bit complicated, but I might be able to go raid Goh's coffers for it. Seems fitting that he pay for a new life for me, after all. Don't you think? That should get me the building and whatever furnishings I'll need, supplies for the potions and poisons I'll make. I can live above the shop, I guess. That's what people do, right?" she kept on with those plans, trying to show him that she could do it, that she wouldn't hold him back.

She put the weapons in the drawer below the clothes then returned to look through the book she'd brought back, "See? There's some recipes for a few of the potions in here. I won't have to rely entirely on memory for them. There's even a few in here that you could use on Dancer. Some of them are pretty nasty," she told him with another small smile, trying to be encouraging for his plans.

She had no intention of doing any of what she spoke of, of course. But she'd spoken of it all in the hypothetical so she hadn't lied. They were plans she could make, things she could do. She just had no intention of doing any of it after he was gone.

But the picture she was painting showed a very simple lifestyle, living in the proverbial shadows instead of the literal ones. It was really half of a life that she spoke of and a pretty bleak one at that. Especially since she would be living it alone. She hadn't spoken of sharing that life with anyone, after all.

In truth, some part of her was remembering a song that she'd overheard once, before Ren dropped those blasted bombs all over the place. She didn't know who sang it or anything like that but the words had stuck with her, well, part of the lyrics. They'd just fit her life with Goh so well that they'd stuck with her:

I've lived a thousand years in darkness
Banished all alone
Inside my mind with just my madness
Behind these walls of stone

I was falling apart at the seams
Holding my breath just to breathe
Tasted the sting of my tears

I was wakin' up stuck in a dream
Ran out of air, couldn't scream
Wasted away by my fears

That was what she remembered the most about the song. It had described her so well. But even now, she knew she was being ruled by her fears. Particularly the fear of being alone.

Still, she offered Malphas another small smile and offered him the book to show him one of the potion recipes, "See? This one is really easy to make. Causes hallucinations from memories induced by whatever the person touches whenever the stuff is introduced to the system. So you could offer something of Dancer's past, put the potion on it, then let it all simply happen. Whoever he sees then would be replaced by someone from his past. He'd see Deluge instead of his current lover. He'd hear whatever Deluge had said to him instead of whatever his lover was saying. Really messes with the mind," she offered with a slightly devious small half grin, thinking that it would fit in perfectly with his plans.

Better that Dancer die with Deluge's image in his mind than that of his lover, after all.  

[Silquestnocte]

As the shadows sublimated back into nothingness after depositing them back into the treehouse, Malphas kept his eyes trained on Ilea, on her handr hs. He was straddling the back of a chair, head resting on his hands. But, her hands... They didn't look like they could so easily handled weapons, summon shadows to rend even a castle to rubble, but they could. He knew how soft they could be, how warm they were. How each nail ended in a neatly rounded nail, not too long or short, he just watched those hands flit through the air as she organized what she had retrieved from the castle.

Her words about the poisons barely registered in his head, he had his own recipies, his own of Cantarella that was destined for the Alchina Dancer had taken up with. Nothing hurt like having your heart ripped from you, a bit of irony before Malphas finished him off. "Mm. Thanks for thinking of me doll. "

He smiled up at her from his position on the chair, weirdly happy just having the opportunity to stare at her. She was almost like a living statue, perfect in form, a face that could easily launch a thousand ships. His dark eyes skirted over her body, registering the perfect angles of her shoulders, the full curves that would make a renaissance painting jealous. The only thing that broke Malphas out of his sudden fascination of the simple beauty of her body was when she started to talk about what she had planned. He tried to smile for her, honestly, but it only came out half-way.

The idea of her alone, living on the edge of some god-forsaken town somewhere, without him, it... It hurt for some reason. He should have been happy for her initiative, that she had an idea of what she was going to do next, but all he could think of was her laying alone somewhere, sadness in her eyes. And it was all his fault. Someone else should have her, given her what she needed, be there when she needed them most.

But he was going to leave. Malphas had no control over what was going to happen to her once he was gone, and this was going to tear him apart. Maybe... Maybe he could find someone else to stay with her, but who? All his comrades were all either insane, dead, or no where near trustworthy enough to even be considered with being charged with caring for his Ilea.

He knew he was a bit possessive when it came to other people, and right now he didn't give a crap. He never had before, and wasn't about to let yet another issue start consuming him.

Then Ilea was showing him a recipe for a hallucinogen, and again, he tried to smile, but the resulting expression was weak. This was when he would normally start humming to chase away all his thoughts, but he had to pay attention to Ilea. How could he not? How could he say no to that delicious half-smile that made him want to laugh out loud and conspire with her take over the world with her?

"That's... That's fantastic baby, we'll really give him a taste of Hell huh?" He reached out a hand to stroke her hair, but stopped half-way there and let it hang loose at his side. Stroking her hair was something Goh did, he had seen that in her memories, and the last thing he wanted to do was follow in that b*****d's footsteps.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea smiled at him, ignoring the hurt feeling when he let his hand fall away without touching her. Instead she returned her attention to the book and the potion, "The ingredients won't be hard to collect. I think I can get everything right here in the forest, in fact. It's easy to make, if I remember correctly. It's been a while since I made this one," she said then chewed on her lower lip as she thought it over then used her shadows to make a deep but simple basket with a few pieces of plain linen in the bottom.

"She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek, "I'll go collect it all now and be back to make it up soon," she told him simply then left the treehouse before he could stop her.

But once on the ground, she paused and looked up at the hidden building. As she did so, a bit of the master/servant bond opened and gave him a glimpse of what she truly had planned. And it had nothing to do with a potions shop.

There was something hidden in Goh's castle that she knew would kill her. After Malphas was gone, she fully intended to use it.

She shook her head and moved on deeper into the forest, not noticing the hidden figure that grinned and followed her...  

[Silquestnocte]

Malphas had hurt her again, he could see it behind her eyes, but what had he done? Maybe he was hurting her just by being here now... But then she kissed his cheek, and that worry was erased. He had intended to grab her wrist so he could pull her in for a real kiss, but then his lovely Ilea was gone to collect the ingredients to the poison.

He sighed moodily, he'd be sure to be as affectionate as possible when she returned now, but for now, he could start his Cantarella cooking now.

He had his hand in his pack to he could find the scrap of paper with the ratios on it when something ice cold raced down the bond he shared with Ilea. His eyes widened when he saw her real plan. "No." his voice hung, unheard by any other being. The word ran through his head, he couldn't believe it. She... She had seemed like she was going to try, that she was going to at least attempt a new life, but she was planning on ending it the moment he was gone. Dancer's death suddenly seemed completely irrelevant, unimportant. His Ilea was going to try to kill herself, perhaps he could have left if he knew that somewhere, somehow she'd be fine, safe, happy. But knowing this... He couldn't bear with the idea of her... Dying. To know that her life was going to be snuffed out, that bright flame was going to fade. The very idea made it feel like the hole in his chest that had just started closing expand to new depths.

Malphas lay down on the couch, now humming in an attempt to keep himself from crying about all of this. He had let himself cry once, when Deluge was killed in front of him, and it had left him hollow, defeated by his own emotions. And he sure as Hell couldn't let Ilea come back and find him making a puddle at his feet. But he could certainly fake taking a nap, which was his plan. Possibly actually nap if he could get his brain to shut up. Eventually though, his mind did slow down, he had just about to slip into a light doze when the sensation of Ilea's terror stabbed him like a knife.

The brief image of a masked man standing in a field flashed before his eyes, Goh.

Malphas was on his feet in less than a blink, stiletto and sword re-strapped to his waist, goggles retrieved from where he had hung them, jacket on. He was about to race off to where Ilea was before he realised that he had no idea where she actually was now... And that where ever his girl was, she was safe for now. No pain, or fresh flashes of terrot were coming down the connection after all. So he settled for perching on a large branch, his eyes focused on the forest floor for any sign of activity.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

Silenced Nocturne

Ilea moved to stand at the bottom of the staircase and turned to look behind her and froze where she stood. There he was again, down at the end of the path. Her heart started pounding again and she actually found it hard to breathe. He actually blew a kiss at her and sent her running up into the treehouse like her a** was on fire, panicking like a child who just realized that the monsters were real.

She slammed the door closed behind her and leaned against it as she tried to calm down. But she looked like a startled doe, not seeing anything in front of her, just seeing that silver mask over and over again.

He was alive. How was that possible? He died. She felt it when he died. She knew it had happened because of the pain and her own death. He was supposed to be dead.

"He's supposed to be dead. How can he not be dead? He died. I felt it. He died. Why isn't he dead?" she didn't even know she was speaking out loud, saying the same thing over and over as she gasped for air and her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

But she went instantly silent when she heard that familiar laughter echo around the tree house and visibly flinched at the sound, as if she'd been physically struck by it.

She moved away from the door in a hurry and dropped herself in the corner between the bed and the wall of the shower, her legs brought up tight to her chest and her arms around them, the basket of ingredients dropped and forgotten beside the door.

After a few moments, she remembered the berries she'd collected and scrambled out from her hiding spot to collect the linen ball that held them then went right back into her corner. With shaking hands she opened the linen square and set it on the floor in front of her, considering the innocent looking berries with something else entirely in mind.

She knew what would happen to her if Goh got his hands on her now, after what she'd done. She knew she wouldn't be able to survive it, not and stay sane. She'd wind up like Esabel.

So she stared at the berries intently and reached a shaking hand to lightly touch the linen sitting under them. She knew what they would do to her but had hoped to have more time to prepare them right for it. Still, raw would do the trick.

Better that than what she knew was coming.

She heard something crash outside and jumped, making a startled sound that had her covering her mouth as she looked around the room.

That was when she noticed that Malphas was gone and felt a whole new wave of terror move through her. What if Goh had gotten him? She'd know if he'd been killed but what if Goh had him somewhere she couldn't find him? He'd be able to kill Malphas and restore her connection to Goh. She couldn't live through another thousand years of it. She just couldn't.

Outside, Goh had already left, having done what he intended to for now. He'd return later, though. To collect what was rightfully his and make her pay for what she'd done.

But Ilea didn't know that. There was no way to tell where he really was. She didn't move from where she was, her back against the wall in the corner made by the bed and the outer wall of the shower, the berries laid out on the linen in front of her. She was shaking so badly that she had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering, her eyes so wide that they hurt, her heart pounding so badly that she thought it could be heard outside.

She'd never been more terrified than she was right now. Not even when Goh had been at his worst, had she been this frightened.

She knew that as long as Malphas still lived and her connection to him was still in place, she wouldn't die. No matter what Goh did to her. She could wind up with her eyes missing, her tongue cut out, limbs missing, organs removed... the list was endless, but she wouldn't die. She knew that all too well.