He really had no idea why people were always saying that cooking was a skill, as if it were some sort of sublime measurable art. All it was in the end was an exercise in proportion and control, a little game of knowing what needed to be added when and in what amount. Anyone with a bit of intuition could do it, and if there was one thing that Jade Curtiss, infamous Necromancer, always prided himself on, it was his innate sense of exactly what needed to be done.
Six attractive glasses arranged just so, cream and tart fruits layered in perfect strata (just enough of both to provide textural contrast without being overwhelming), a single cherry placed in the center of the top layer of cream in each glass ,and the Fruit Parfaits were finished – edible homages to his steady hand and exacting eye.
Jade placed the desserts onto a tasteful tray and carried it toward the door connecting the Tartarus' private kitchen and dining areas, stopping briefly to check his appearance in the door's reflective finish. His reflection stared back at him with eyes as cool and impassive as they were red, and he nodded in satisfaction. Good, he thought to himself, it really just wouldn't do to betray my own internal affairs. He allowed himself a small smile and then smoothed his features as he opened the door and entered the dining room.
It was a pleasant domestic scene. His companions were seated around the dinner table, chatting amiably over the remains of a particularly satisfying cream stew. Anise was the first one to notice the door open, and when she saw what he was carrying, she let out a little squeal of delight.
"Oh, Colonel, is that what I think it is?!" she yelled, clapping her hands together excitedly.
"Why, yes, " Jade replied, sketching a small bow. "Since everyone had been such good girls and boys and finished all of their dinners, I thought that a little treat would be in order." He walked over to the table and began to place the glasses in front of their respective owners, each giving a murmur of thanks that he accepted with a smile and a nod.
Except for Him, of course.
"Jeeze, Jade, is that where you've been all this time? You excused yourself so long ago that I thought you had died in the bathroom from old age or something."
Jade felt his heart begin to thud in his chest, as it did every time He spoke to him, but he was far too good to actually show any external change. Instead, he simply wagged his finger in mock admonition. "Now, now, it's not nice to make fun of your elders. I could hardly control my palsy long enough to get the ingredients into the glass, and this is the thanks I get? I'm hurt." This elicited the usual wave of laughter from the others, and Jade set the parfait glass down in front of Luke, his Light of the Sacred Flame, his Shining One, his life.
Now that all the others had been served, Jade sat at his place at the table and let the conversation wash over him, offering witty quips from time to time and unobtrusively keeping an eye on Him. Oh, how he loved Him – His silly banter and His childish charisma, His beautiful hair the color of His namesake. There was not much that could move the Necromancer, but this man unnerved him. Every time he was in Luke's presence, he felt pangs of longing emanate from the very core of his being, into parts of himself he had long assumed cold and dead.
Not, of course, than anyone would ever know that. Jade kept his features under strict control whenever he was around Him, and he had no question at all about his ability to keep something hidden from a group of teenagers.
As the group continued eating and socializing, though, Jade noticed that something was amiss. His Shining One was spending far too much time talking to Tear, and as such hadn't even touched his parfait. When Jade realized this, he was stunned at how hurt he felt. It was as if someone had taken his arm, torn it from his body, extracted his spear from the severed limb and then driven the point through his heart. This is totally unacceptable, he thought as he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Time to show Miss Grants what it is to slight the Necromancer.
"My, my, Luke," Jade said, raising his voice slightly to cut through the on-going conversations. "You've hardly touched your dessert. I really think you should start in on it before Tear eats it all." He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as Tear's eyes flashed with anger, but then He spoke.
"Oh, yeah., sorry about that Jade, but I'm actually still really full from the cream stew. I've never really like this kind of fruit much, either; I like the one with the strawberries than Anise does a lot more. Still, thanks a lot for making it!" With that, he turned back to his conversation with Tear.
Right then and there, without much fanfare, Jade's world ended. Never before had he felt such pain and despair, as though every force in the entire world were turned against him personally, and he knew that he would never again feel happiness. It was all he could do to keep himself still, looking down at his plate, as he struggled to come to terms with this new reality. He was pulled out of his reverie by Anise – that traitorous whore – tugging at his sleeve and giggling.
"Well, Colonel, " she said, her voice tainted with strawberry-flavored deceit, "it looks like we know who Luke is going to marry now, huh?" She stuck her tongue out playfully and the others laughed as if it were the most humorous thing in the world.
It was then that the dam broke. Jade was awash in emotions that he was totally unequipped to handle, and he lost all sense of propriety. He rose from his seat with a formless roar, his perfect hair flaring about him like the wings of an avenging angel of god, and in one sweeping motion he summoned the fonon of wind and shattered all of the parfait glasses on the table, leaving the others no time to do anything be gawk as they were showered with broken shards of glass and confectioneries.
Nothing more happened for an eternity; Jade reeling in shock from what he had done as the others struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Eventually, though, He broke the silence.
"Jade, what the hell was that?!"
For the first time in his life, Jade Curtiss was at a total loss for words. He began to visibly tremble, his crimson eyes unfocused and moist as he tried to come to terms with himself. "I...Luke...I just..." he stuttered, trying to force himself into coherent thought.
"You just what, Jade? Huh?! Have you gone totally insane?!" Luke's voice was thick with condescension.
Luke's tone cut through what tatters of dignity Jade had remaining, and he let out a loud sob. Realizing that he had now lost all control, Jade spun around with a wail and ran from the room, half-blind with tears. His heeled boots clacked like gunfire as he careened down the hall, weeping and pulling at his hair, until he reached the door to his room and bolted inside, just barely remembering to lock the door behind him.
He threw himself onto his bed and buried his head into his pillow, his body wracked with sobs, drumming his legs on the mattress as an ineffectual outlet for his crippling shame. He wanted to die, just die. He stayed that way for a long time until exhaustion finally reared it's merciful head, and he dropped into black nothingness.