C3: Breaking Point
"Haven't you sent the emissary yet? The board is breathing down my neck like a dragon."
"We sent the emissary out hours ago. But this 'Hunter' keeps moving around. We can't get a sufficient lock on him to transmit him to the Arena."
"I should have known it would be something like that. Dammit all, send the Ambassador."
"You really must be desperate to get this one if you're sending them."
"You have no idea."
Quite naturally, the Hunter and Doll arrived before the carriage Queen Annalise had sent for the survivors. As such the Hunter was obliged to explain where they were twice, once to the Doll (although she had not asked for such clarification), second to the rest of the ragtag group. "It's more or less empty. The only people who live here are a few maids and the Queen herself. I made sure of that, VERY sure. Believe me, the only things left alive are the things I let live."
Not that Annalise could die, but that particular detail could be glossed over to avoid scaring Gascoigne's daughters any more. The two young girls clutched at Arianna's skirt and shivered with cold and fear as they looked upon the grim castle. The Hunter's attempts to placate their misgivings met with only marginal success as he led the motley group through the massive keep. It was certainly warmer within, somehow he never saw any snow inside despite the fact that there obviously should have been at some points. The warmth, however, helped the new arrivals adjust, which the Hunter appreciated immensely.
By the time they reached the throne room, the girls were tired, and even Arianna was stumbling slightly. Only the Hunter and Doll were unaffected by the trek, despite having helped to bear the Chapel Dweller through the many hallways and rooms. Under the cover of allowing them rest, the Hunter took the opportunity to educate the survivors on how to properly address and behave before Queen Annalise. Arianna needed little instruction, which solidified some of his suspicions about her.
After a painstaking hour, during which both meals and relief breaks were had, and as much instruction as the Hunter could manage to give without the sensation of his Queen's impatience overwhelming him, they finally entered the throne room. The Hunter entered first, the rest trailing behind him, and presented those he had brought to Annalise.
Kneeling, he spoke, "My Queen, I have brought those thou hast permitted within our aged halls. And I shall introduce them, shouldst thou allowest such." After waiting for a response and receiving none, he rose and beckoned to the Doll, who was carrying the Dweller in her gentle arms, "This is the Doll, whom I mentioned afore to ye. In her grasp is the Chapel Dweller, who gave such survivors as would come, shelter and friendship, throughout the Hunt."
The Queen looked upon the two as the Dweller attempted to bow and the Doll curtseyed with surprising grace, given her current state carrying such. Quite lost for words, the Dweller was relieved of the duty of speech by the Doll, who simply stated, "Honor unto thee, o Queen. And many thanks for thy care of the Good Hunter." Gehrman, it seemed, was able to instill much more into the Doll than the Hunter knew.
Annalise inclined her head slightly and the Hunter gestured. In response the Doll carried the Dweller off to one side, and Arianna brought the two girls forward. The young ladies curtseyed as best they could, their unofficial guardian doing so with far more skill. The Hunter cleared his throat and introduced the three to his Queen.
She looked upon them inscrutably before saying, "Not not afraid, dear children. For, though mine castle may seem bleak, thine friend hath made safe our halls for all who so wish to live here, free of ill intent. And thy stay will be a comfortable one." Her statement seemed to mollify her audience, the Hunter observing much tension flowing from them.
Arrangements were then made for each to live within the ancient keep, rooms for all, and new clothes pulled from long untouched closets for all to wear. The Hunter, of course, seemed to avoid having the same treatment applied to him, always dodging the issue by being busy with something else. He knew that ploy would not last, so he resolved to depart sooner rather than later.
Of course, Annalise had to speak with both the Doll and Arianna privately. Not even the Hunter knew what transpired in those conversations between them, but judging by how pleased his Queen seemed to be afterward, he decided not to worry too much about that. As evening approached, he found himself at the walls, looking out over the frosted countryside surrounding Cainhurst Castle. He mused upon the days events as he surveyed the grounds. The Hunter knew Annalise would never admit it, but his Queen was elated by even this little activity within her walls.
He felt Arianna behind him then, the shifting in the air proclaiming her presence before even sound or scent reached him. Scent, hers had changed. She and the others he had brought had all been allowed to bathe and change. He knew the smell belonged to her, but for the first time, the scent was true, no longer buried by the sweat and tears the Hunt had brought. The Hunter allowed her to approach him without speaking and she stood by his side, also looking out over the grounds, "Home..." she whispered the word as if it were sacred.
The Hunter nodded, "A good home for all of you, I hope. My Queen will provide, I'm certain." He again felt her tensing up, knowing she had picked up on the way his words separated him from the rest. If only she wasn't so perceptive, this could be easier. But that selfsame perception gave her some of that brilliance that set his heart to aching.
"Dear Hunter...Why do you speak like you are leaving? Can you not stay with us?" He knew she was begging more for herself than for the others, but still that weight pressed upon him. He stared at a dead snag of a tree in the distance, not trusting himself to speak. Arianna would not let him remain silent, however, and turned his face toward hers, "Dear Hunter, please. I need to know, my heart aches for your words."
He looked into her storm colored eyes and sighed, "I... never intended to stay where other humans lived, Arianna." The pain her sorrowful expression gave him was like a cold spike through his body, "I... can't. Not because I don't care about you, but because I care too much." He felt his throat begin to tighten, "Hunters...we can become the worst beasts of all. Killing our own families, forgetting everything but the thrill of violence..." Looking away from her to hide his own tears he continued, "I can't do that to you... In a way... I am the last beast to protect you from."
Arianna grasped his hand, "I...Understand, dear Hunter. But..." He couldn't help himself, he looked back into those stunning eyes, "Please stay with me this one night. Share with me the one thing we have not yet known together. Let me forever hold in my heart the memory of the Hunter who makes it beat."
He stared at her, lost for words, and to some extent lost for thought. She was asking of him the one thing that would irreparably bind them together. She was not asking for an act of lust or simple physical companionship, as she had given to many who had paid for such services. Arianna had laid before the Hunter a desire to be one with him to the point that neither of them would ever be entirely separate again.
Arianna's soft, lilting voice came to him again, her deep grey eyes locked onto his with a quiet yearning that almost brought him to tears, "Darling Hunter..." Silently he begged her not to say that last word, the one he knew was coming. He tried to speak, to do something to stop her, but he could not. "Please." She spoke that final, fateful, word.
The Hunter, already straining to resist her, broke. How long had he fought the feelings he held for Arianna now? Ever since she had come to Oedon chapel he had been drawn to her for some reason or another. First driven to protect her, then seeking out soft words of some comfort from her, then simply wishing to look at her. There was no helping it anymore, no resisting what both of them had burned for.
With one swift motion the Hunter lifted Arianna into his arms, eliciting a small gasp from her. She looked at him, eyes wide with gentle shock as he turned to bear her within. She lightly allowed her head to rest on his shoulder, blonde locks falling over the alabaster skin of her face as her Hunter carried her to his chambers.
As the Hunter lay her upon the bed, they looked into each other. Both knowing that this would be the first, and likely last, time an embrace would be shared between them. With this knowledge they came together with both fervour and patience. Yearning for the touches and gasps to come faster, yet aching for all of it to last forever. Together they spent the darkness, as one they warmed the long cold air of Cainhurst.
Morning came and Arianna opened her eyes to see the scarred torso of the Hunter before her. Slowly she touched his chest, wondering once more at these symbols of how hard he had fought for her, for all of Yharnam. He shifted beneath her gentle fingertips and she looked up at his face. He was awake, golden eyes shrouded beneath the curtain he used to hide his emotions. She had seen that curtain lift last night, and never would she forget his raw and wild feelings.
The Hunter kissed her brow before rising, and Arianna fought back a sob. Her Hunter was leaving now, for good. And she had next to no hope of ever seeing him again. She forced herself to remain silent as he donned his clothing and the long armored coat he wore on the hunt. She bit her tongue as the tattered hat settled atop his head.
In his own mind, the Hunter fought to control himself as well. Trying not to dwell on the glorious warmth of Arianna's skin, fighting the memory of her caressing touch, suppressing the urge to go back to her arms and let go of all else but the feeling of her affections. The Rakuyo's familiar weight settled at his hip and he turned to look at the blonde woman he had allowed to shatter his convictions.
The stared at one another, etching each other's features into their minds, never to be forgotten in the years of separation. Even should one die, the other would never forget. Then he left without a word, and Arianna kept her peace. She knew that if he heard her weeping it would break him, and so she remained silent until she heard the sound of the great gates of Cainhurst closing. Then she wept, long and bitterly, for her Hunter.
At least two months had passed since the departure from Cainhurst, the Hunter felt dull, utilizing the technique for holding his humanity back that had allowed him to cut brutal and bloody swathes through the beasts of Yharnam, Cainhurst, and the Nightmares of Mensis and Kos. As he stepped out of the hovel he had built, however, he heard an unfamiliar footfall beside him and whirled, Rakuyo leaping to his hands as if it had a mind of its own. Standing before him was a tall man.
The air around the man seemed...unnatural, and the Hunter was reminded of the feel of an Old One as the man approached. The man's clothing was strange, cut in a fashion the Hunter had never seen before, and colored deepest blue. The fit was almost... tight, it appeared, hugging the man's form like a second skin as he bowed to the Hunter, "Lord of Cainhurst, I am the Ambassador." The man's voice was like a silk covered stone, pleasant to listen to but filled with a hardened will.
"What do you want, stranger?" The Hunter kept his guard up, watching the 'Ambassador' with the same care he'd use when confronting a fellow hunter. The Rakuyo traced small circles in the air as he kept his body moving.
"To extend an... invitation, and an offer. I'm sure you'll find the second quite pleasing." The Ambassador straightened, "It is my duty to recruit... heroes, for a certain tournament my employers oversee. You have come to the attention of our investors and they have seen fit to extend the privilege of participation to you." He reached into a pocket and drew forth a letter, handing it to the perplexed Hunter. "That is your invitation. It will allow you to travel to our Arena should you choose to do so."
The Hunter took it and looked at the Ambassador, "Whats the offer then?"
The Ambassador cleared his throat, "I am instructed to present you with the following information regarding our facilities in the hopes that it will sway you to accept. Due to the nature of persons such as yourself, we have found it necessary to... manipulate the Arena's temporal interaction with other realms, such as here." He gestured vaguely at their surroundings.
"What is that supposed to mean? And how is THAT an offer? It sounds less like an exchange and more like an... advertisement." The Hunter opened the letter curiously, skimming the tightly written message within. How in the world did anyone write that small?
"It means, Hunter, that time flows differently in the Arena. A second could pass here while a decade passes for you. Of course we have stymied the effects of aging as well, and are quite adept at manipulating when we arrive in our own independent timeline." The Hunter just stared at him, "Simply put, you can live in the Arena as long as you like, and then return here as if nothing had happened at all. Our offer is this. You will be allowed to travel freely between the Arena and your own world, provided that you fight for us."
The Hunter's eyes widened and he felt his gaze being drawn towards Cainhurst far to the east, where he knew Arianna still waited, yearning for a return that she hardly dared to hope for. This Arena...it would give him time to suppress the blood, to hold the beast within him back. Then... he could come back and...
"I see that the nature of our facility interests you. I am instructed to inform you that in order to travel to our realm, you must take that letter to the creature you call 'Amygdala'. Good day, Hunter." Without further ado the Ambassador walked away, his body slowly turning to dust and vanishing upon the wind, leaving no trace that he'd been there at all.
The Hunter stood there, dumbfounded, for what felt an age. Then he also left, seeking out the nearest lamp, almost a week of hard travel from where he was, but that wasn't about to stop him. This Arena was a second chance at Arianna, at being human. There was absolutely no chance he would pass it up. Gear across his back, coat flapping at his heels, and Rakuyo at his waist, he set out.
Six days later he stood before the lamp. The soft azure glow strong as ever, and filling him with a homesickness he did not know lay within him. As he stepped into the Hunter's Dream, the feeling got stronger, and he had to steel himself not to look at the Cainhurst stone. Instead he touched that of Cathedral Ward, almost weeping from how close he was to returning to Arianna's side.
The convoluted stone streets of Yharnam stretched before him, and the smell of decay was somehow...dulled. Like everything had long since become tired of rotting and smoldering. Dust dominated the achingly quiet roads and alleys of the once wealthy city. Dust that his heavy boots stirred as he stood before Amygdala. As the grey hand reached out to grasp him, ethereal energies whirling in its palm, the Hunter closed his eyes. He felt himself being lifted, then crushed into complete blackness.