hiya. trying something new, in a new fandom. kinda came out like a inner monologue in third person, but that's okay with me and my beta! in compliance to the 30 romances community of livejournal.

Fandom: Cantarella
Title: Intruder in Eden
Alternative Title: Selfish
Theme: 17. Garden Vista; Elysium El Dorado; Carnaval
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Here's me, not owning. Cantarella belongs to You Higuri.

Chiaro had a bad habit of finding his way into beautiful people's garden. These people weren't only beautiful, they were saintly.

First was Prince Djem, the suicidal songbird with the face of an angel. He was lured to the Turk through his siren's song, and, for a while, Cesare worried he had lost the shinning light that led him to his second savior. But when he saw the darkness around the brooding prince, his fear vanished as the prince's thin veneer of indifference was ripped off, showing Cesare that Djem's acquaintance with Chiaro was just as selfish as his. But Cesare actually cared for Chiaro; to Djem, the assassin was just a means to his end. But Chiaro actually care for the bastard, which would have made it all the more painful when he was forced to kill the professional hostage to "save" Cesare from a bloody death. It yanked something Cesare would swear were his heartstrings to think of his light being used in such a fashion, so he did the killing for him with the quick poison that welled from his black heart, barring the gates to this particular Garden Vista.

They were as happy as they could be, for a time, acting the roles of cardinal and friend. A friend who spent all his time either with his cardinal or vanished somewhere only the same cardinal knew. Even Volpe, who mildly hated Chiaro for being even more devoted to Cesare than he was, felt that something had changed between his master and his master's friend. They were drifting apart, Cesare throwing himself into the fulfillment of his vision of a war-torn world, Chiaro trying to find some redemption for following the devil.

Then Chiaro found his personal salvation, in another Garden of Eden, specifically in Cesare's sister. She was innocent, her only sin being her love of her brother, the intimate type of love that reeked on incest. In some way, she found her savior in the same man her brother did, and in a manner the elder sibling had only dreamed of. A seething rage of jealously rushed through Cesare every time he thought of Lucrezia stealing a little more of his loyal companion every time he glimpsed her. It faintly registered in the back of his head that Chiaro was chipping away and the firm foundation of trust that made Lucrezia such a good pawn, but the demon inside him was calling for her blood more than his, despite what it would mean for it if Chiaro returned to Cesare's waiting arms.

And Chiaro would return, or at least Michelotto would. Despite her single sin, Lucrezia was innocent and would turn away the love of an assassin, despite the times he saved her. Yes, Cesare wasn't worried about losing Chiaro this time, just worried about the condition he would come back in. Despite disobeying the sixth commandment "thou shall not kill" more times than he wished to admit, Chiaro wasn't capable of malicious thought of others, only of himself, the rejection would crush Chiaro. When he was turned down by his mistress, Michelotto would return gladly from his brief release from guilt and return to the deserts outside Eden, back to temptation, back to the devil, back to Cesare. He might, in despair, even return that token of romance he had given the blond so long ago.

But even if he didn't, he would help Cesare raze the God-fearing world and create a new one in his own image. There, and only there, could Cesare be truly happy, letting his emotions free for the first time since childhood while basking in Chiaro's glow. And maybe, if Cesare leap that last hurdle, Chiaro would finally stop trying to scale the walls of the pure, distant El Dorado, at last content being a denizen of the dark and sin.