A/N: Hi everybody! First of all, thanks again for taking time out of your day to read this! I have written this story before but I'm re-uploading it again. I noticed there was a handful of grammatical errors and phrases which didn't make sense. I basically had to fix it up so the story would flow smoothly :) It's all fixed now so hopefully you'll like this better than the old one!
Don't worry; there's no additional scenes!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: "Before we part, Lightning, shall we honor this memory with a kiss?"
900
Time. Time was nothing. Time was a collection of numbers which continued to rise then reset when the seconds met sixty. Waiting for nine-hundred years finally yield the day the Warrior Goddess was going to be his. For nine-hundred years he battled and wooed her but all his attempts were met by cold rejection. Battling her, he gazed deeply into her beautiful sapphire-colored eyes, determined to claim victory over her.
Waiting patiently by the grand hall, Caius tilted his head back with his eyes locked onto the broken clock pinned to the ceiling. The long arm of the clock was a minute away from midnight. Perhaps it was that very moment, the sound of soft footsteps echoed from the distance, signaling the arrival of his goddess. Clothed in the armor blessed by Etro, Lightning appeared. Accompanying her from behind was a trail of feathers, elevating Lightning into a being far superior than the knight she claimed to be. Extending out his arm, Caius was impressed at Lightning. Just at the mere sight of his goddess brought joy to his stone cold heart.
Lightning was received by Caius's hand but a smile was far from appearing across her lips. "Caius," she spoke venomously.
"What is it, my goddess?"
"Cut it out," Lightning narrowed her eyes, an expression he got used to over the millennia. "I am not your goddess."
"You say things that are false, Lightning," Pulling Lightning closer, he wanted to look deep into her eyes to admire their radiant beauty. "You are aware deep down you belong to nobody but me."
"Says the man who claims so," Lightning replied irritably. "Look, can we get this evening over with? I've honored your request to meet you,"
A smirk crept across his lips. "Of course, my goddess."
Releasing her, Caius guided Lightning through the massive doors and to the center of the hall. The hall was spacious and haunting, illuminated by a large black chandelier hanging from the floral ceiling. Moving his hands quickly, they were soon coiled around her waist and her fingers. Dancing together, their footsteps echoed across the silent hall. Caius was unable to take his eyes away from Lightning's delicate facial features. Her skin was smooth, like ivory, teasing his temptations to touch her. But no, he would never.
Gripping Lightning's waist, the knight sensed eyes buried on her.
"Don't stare, it's rude," Lightning shot, meeting his eyes.
"How can I not, Lightning?" Caius answered, spinning his prize. "You play with my temptations."
Grunting, Lightning remained focused on the dance. "Enough,"
"Do you know how long I longed for this day, Lightning?" Caius lowered his voice to express his demand for her. "Nine-hundred years I waited for this one dance with Etro's Champion."
"…"
"Nine-hundred years is a long time, Lightning. I patiently waited for you to accept this dance by my request."
Irritated, Lightning shot, "I did, didn't I? After this night, I will forget everything that happened here, Caius. We will return to being enemies."
"So cold hearted…"
Coming to an abrupt halt, Caius dipped Lightning backward and leaned forward. He was extremely close to her. So close, his nose caught whiff of the rose fragrance that filled the air between them. He watched her unmoved even if he had the upper hand. Grinning, Caius gently pulled Lightning back up onto her feet and bowed displaying his actions of a gentleman and not a monster as she labeled him to be.
"The dance is concluded," he spoke regally. "I enjoyed our time together, Lightning."
"…It will never happen again," Lightning snatched back her arms. "Tomorrow everything will return to the way it's supposed to be."
Taking a step away from him, Lightning turned around and faced her back to him. She had enough. She wanted to leave. Caius was poison and Lightning had no intentions of succumbing to his deadly, sweet-laced words and gestures. She knew they were lies. They were simply lies to get close to her, to manipulate her mind and to break her.
Taking a step forward, a ghostly gush of wind extinguished all the candles on the chandelier. The metallic structure emitted a haunting creak and swayed from side to side. Its crystal teardrops collided with one another producing soft chimes, singing in the darkness.
"Before we part, Lightning, shall we honor this memory with a kiss?"
Lightning hesitated at first and bit her lower lip. Breathing in deeply, she turned around and locked with amethyst gems staring right back at her. She was all to familiar with his games. It was difficult to decide whether or not he was toying with her, judging from the sincerity in his voice. Maybe his last request wasn't a game, she thought. One last request and Lightning would be free. Nodding, Lightning approached Caius without caution and stood proudly in front of him. She observed him smile, then placed his hands on her exposed arms. Stroking her arms with his thumbs, Caius slowly pulled Lightning towards him. Locked in a deep embrace, his hands gripped her tightly not wanting to let go of the one thing he desired close to a thousand years.
Lips were suddenly pressed against the side of her neck before inhaling Lightning's distinctively teasing rose fragrance.
"You are truly stunning, Lightning… Stunning indeed."
Gently moving her hair out of the way, her neck was exposed directly beneath his fingers, playing with his arousing temptations stirring the beast from within.
"My beautiful goddess…"
Lightning jolted. Her hands shot to his torso pushing as hard as she could to free herself from the constricting embrace.
"Caius!" Lightning exclaimed, curling her fingers on his armor. "What are you—!"
Scarlet streams left his lips to travel down Lightning's body, staining her decorative armor. A groan escaped her lips feeling the deepened bite on the side of her neck. Digging his fingers into her hair, he made sure Lightning had no window of escape, hungrily feasting on his prey. It was as he imagined; the warm blood sliding down his throat was sweet, further enticing his starving taste buds.
Releasing a groan, the knight snapped back to her senses and commanded her limbs to move. Slowly applying pressure into her limbs, Lightning pushed against his torso, as hard as she could to escape the feast. Her attempts were met with a playful lick to the side of the neck followed by a bloody kiss on the lips.
Staring into the eyes of a hungry beast, Lightning summoned the powers from within to deliver a stinging blast into his chest. Caius casually released Lightning, watching her stagger a couple of steps back. Her right hand was now cradled her blood-painted neck. Even when she was painted red, she was still beautiful—stunning even.
"You monster!" Lightning hissed. "You… You fiend!"
Summoning her sword, Lightning pointed the silver blade at Caius. He did not flinch. Wiping his lips with the back of his hand, he watched silently wondering what the goddess was going to do. Slowly glancing down to his chest, he saw the wound Lightning inflicted on him; a large gaping hole burned onto his armor and slightly charred his flesh. With a wave of his hand, his wound healed and his armor was resealed.
Grinning, Caius voiced, "Must you be so hostile?"
"Get the hell away from me!" Lightning took a step back, fixing her eyes on Caius. Biting her lips, she cursed herself for falling for his games.
Feeling her fingers fully drenched in her own blood, Caius's eyes glowed a murderous shade of red. Lightning swallowed hard; she could only imagine the monster would wish to sink his teeth and continue feasting on her.
Caius smirked, taking a bold step toward Lightning. Lightning was not having any of it; quickly unleashing a wave of lightning strikes, she hastily escaped from the area away from his advances. Rushing down the darkened hallway, Lightning could feel the blood escaping from her wound. Heaving, Lightning concentrated on a healing spell, desperately mending her neck. Quickly snapping around a corner, Lightning groaned feeling slightly light-headed from the bite. Removing her palm, she witnessed its bloodied mess sliding off her hand. Knocking her head on the wall, she never expected Caius would be a Blood Feeder.
Her heart skipped several beats hearing the sudden sounds of footsteps approaching her way. Lightning to seal her lips, listening to the sound of the arriving monster.
"I know you are here, dear Lightning. You cannot hide from me. You cannot escape."
Gripping tightly onto her blade, Lightning counted down, ready to plunge the sword through his heart. The seconds ticked by were intense. Gluing herself to the wall, Lightning gently breathed, trying not to not give away here hiding spot. Counting down to the last few seconds, Lightning shot out from her hiding spot to face him. With her blade poised proudly in the air, she was met with an empty hallway. Pulling her sword close to her torso, Lightning's eyes traveled around the hallway. Lightning carefully took a step back and listening to the sound of her boot touching the polished floor.
Hearing a ghostly thump, Lightning spun around expecting Caius but instead, she was met with cold emptiness. It was the sound of her own heart playing tricks on her. Breathing out of her dried lips, the side of her neck madly throbbed. The more she bled, the less time she had. No. She was not ready to die!
"Face me Caius!" Lightning shouted. "Right here, right now!"
Lightning was unprepared to counter a sudden wave of cold brushing against her. Her hand was suddenly numb, forcing her to drop the sword. Alarmed, Lightning bent down to grab it but her body did the exact opposite; her body was now airborne, constricted by a pair of arms, jailing her to it. Upon another hardened bite, Lightning clawed Caius's armored arms and screamed at the top of her lungs. Everything happened swiftly. Lightning found herself slammed against the window spilling cracks on the surface. Her body was lifted off the ground to match his alluring gaze.
"Monster!" Lightning thrashed wildly.
Succumbing to silence upon feeling the side of her neck licked, Lightning grunted.
"Everything is for this precious moment, my goddess."
"Unhand me!" Trying to thrash, her wrists were pinned onto the cold window surface. "Get your filthy hands off me!"
"You are most beautiful when you struggle, Lightning… Perhaps I should taste you again?"
Lightning shrieked again feeling inch-long canines slip into the wound. Her head spun round and round, trying to cope with the erupting madness. Breathing in deeply, Lightning continued to thrash. Out of desperation, the knight went as far as stunning him with her magic but to no avail; Caius continued feasting regardless if his muscles were beginning to contract. The more he drank, the quicker he healed. Her fingers twitched and her eyelids began to droop, feeling streams of her own warm blood trickling down her body. Caius's hands had already left her wrist and they were now concentrated on handling Lightning, pinning her into place. Lightning's arms dropped to the side. Feeling another hardened, deeper bite, Lightning summoned her remaining strength in her arms to cast him away.
Her vision blurred terribly, unable to focus on him. Lightning was clueless at the amount of blood she lost during the feast. Her head was light, her senses were scrambled and her mind battled desperately to focus. Lightning's head was tilted back to receive a passionate kiss.
"I must thank you for giving me this opportune moment to solidify our bond,"
Breathing in, Lightning repeated the word. "B-Bond?"
Stroking the side of her face gently with the back of his fingers, Caius said, "You will never die as long as I am alive, Lightning. You are cursed, bound to the chains of destiny once again."
He leaned in to meet her lips yet again but Lightning diverted her face away. The kiss land on the side of her now reddening lips. "I am bound… to nobody…" Lightning mumbled, struggling to speak.
"Accept your new reality, Lightning. Once I am through with you, you can die. You can die in my arms as a monster of the night, feared by humanity. Everybody you ever loved will turn against you, raising their swords against you in hopes of ending your existence. They will not accept a monster amongst the living, my dearest Lightning."
Lightning tried to speak, focusing her thoughts on her now garbled words. Disoriented and weak, her fragile frame was cradled delicately as if she was made out of crystal glass.
"But fear not, my beautiful goddess. You shall not die alone in this forgotten realm. When the time is upon us, we will die together, consumed in darkness only to be reborn as gods."
Lightning battled gravity; it was trying to close her eyes and whisk her away into eternal slumber.
"I will... never become fall into the... d-darkness. I will... survive. You will never extinguish the light in me… Caius. I will never give up even if I died in your arms… I will… pre… prevail…"
Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body went limp in his embrace. Caius admired her resolve even if her life-force began to drain through his fingers. Lightning could only die when he allowed her to. For now, as she withered away in his arms, she would be his undying soulmate once she awakened from her sorrowful slumber. Her humanity would be consumed into the pits. Lightning would awaken to be a Blood Feeder to save yet terrorize the people she sought to protect. She would succumb into being a monster prowling the night, awaiting unsuspecting victims to enter the darkness.
Carrying his beloved prize into the darkness, Caius would wait. He would wait for the day countless souls crack open Etro's Gate to unleash a tidal wave of never-ending darkness and Chaos. On the day the world would be consumed in Chaos, the Blood Feeders would die and be reborn. Reborn from the ashes and decay, powerful beings would rise and conquer Cocoon with an iron fist as its new God and Goddess of Death.