Deadly Desire
XO'MagickMoon'OX
A/N: Wheeeeeee…okay… so I decided. I just couldn't do it in one go, so there will actually be four more chapters, including this one. I think it still works okay… maybe even better than what I'd originally planned.
W00T! FOUR MORE CHAPTERS! Aren't y'all excited? :shot: Okay, well, maybe not, but anyway…
Oh with the show!
000
000
.507 AD.
After Cloud's funeral, it seemed as if the oppressive weight of death would never be lifted from the castle. Even though life appeared to carry on normally, underneath it all were tearstains that could never be removed and fractured hearts that could never be fixed. The only thing Sora found solace in anymore were Riku's visits.
Naturally, the visits weren't exactly as they used to be, since Kairi shared Sora's bed every night. But neither Sora nor Riku seemed to really care about that; all that mattered was being together.
Sephiroth talked little more of war. Peace seemed to find a home again on Sora's father's land. It was somber, but, it was peace nonetheless. Although Sora felt despairingly lonely whenever Riku wasn't around, he found that he was becoming closer to Kairi and Naminé. Slowly, gradually, but surely enough, they were becoming friends. Sometimes, he even thought that maybe life could return to normal. Roxas and Cloud—two of the people he'd loved most in the world—were gone, but with Kairi and Naminé, and Riku's regular visits, sometimes…life didn't seem so terrible.
Even if it didn't seem feasible for Sora, that life could possibly go on when Roxas and Cloud's had ended, he found that, like it or not, life would go on.
The spring passed quickly, and the summer dragged by with a wave of sweltering heat. The air seemed to have melted, and in so doing, cemented peace into the castle, like mortar cementing bricks. By the time the fall had returned, Sora felt he could smile freely again.
He felt that, perhaps, life really had returned to normal.
000
"You know what this feels like?" Kadaj asked.
Riku glanced at his cousin, a small, amused smile on his lips. "What?"
Kadaj didn't share Riku's amusement, and instead continued to gaze sternly out across the grass. The leaves were changing, the wind was gusting again, cool and soft against their china-doll faces, playfully grabbing at their black tunics and gently pulling at their hair. "It feels like the calm before the storm," Kadaj said at last, just when Riku was beginning to think that maybe he'd forgotten about their conversation.
Riku tilted his head and followed Kadaj's distant stare. "The…calm before the storm…?"
Kadaj nodded and leaned against the stone ruins at their backs. They were on the outskirts of Sora's father's fief, hanging around the crumbling walls of an old and forgotten fortress. A white rabbit hopped by then, and Riku was on it in an instant. He wasn't really that hungry, but anything was a welcome distraction from Kadaj's ominous statement. The rabbit frantically beat its feet against Riku's arms as the vampire straightened and observed it for a moment. He could feel the race of its small heart, smell the blood pulsing through its wriggling body. All struggling ceased when Riku sank his teeth into the creature's neck. Kadaj said nothing.
Riku leaned back against the stone with Kadaj and tossed the bloodied white carcass aside once he'd finished. He passed his cousin a thoughtful, sideways glance. Kadaj was one of Riku's closest cousins. Like almost all of the vampires in their clan, Kadaj had a curtain of silvery silken hair, fair skin, and aqua-blue eyes. Kadaj also had two brothers, Yazoo and Loz.
Loz was built like an ox but acted like a child with his wayward emotions and inclination to cry at inappropriate times. Not to mention, he seemed to have the intelligence of a child, when compared to his much cleverer brothers. Everyone loved him, though. Riku himself couldn't say that he wasn't fond of Loz.
Yazoo was the shrewdest, and oldest, of the three. He was taciturn and soft-spoken, but cunning. He was also remarkably beautiful, his hair long, his body lithe, his face gently curved. He never seemed to let his emotions get the better of him, unlike his siblings.
Kadaj… Kadaj was the youngest brother, though he seemed to have a leader's attitude and was usually viewed as such by Yazoo and Loz. While not as emotional as Loz, he was prone to getting carried away by his heart. Riku would even go as far as to say that Kadaj was emotionally unstable. But he was smart, and he was quick, and he…
He looked up to Sephiroth. Riku couldn't, for the life of him, understand why, but Kadaj idolized Sephiroth. Sometimes, Riku wondered if that was the only reason he and Kadaj were close, wondered if Kadaj only valued him because of his relation to Sephiroth. But, at other times, Riku knew that what he and Kadaj had was stronger than that. Not only were they cousins, but they were friends, and had been for as long as Riku could remember.
Which was why he didn't blow off Kadaj's words. The calm before the storm. Riku shivered, but played it off as a chill from the wind when Kadaj looked at him curiously.
000
Food was becoming scarce around the castle. With the heat of summer came dry soil and the death of most of the serfs' crops. The winter was coming upon them again, and the people in the castle were getting restless. Some of them blamed the vampires, claimed sabotage. Others with more sense in their heads stayed quiet and worried amongst themselves in hushed voices. Sora still overheard their conversations and started to worry himself.
As the summer drew to a close, Sora turned sixteen.
Kairi obligingly spent the night in Naminé's room while Sora and Riku celebrated.
When Sora awoke in the morning, Riku was still there, sleeping peacefully beside him.
Sora started crying. He tried to be quiet, but his sniffles and hiccups immediately roused Riku from sleep. He sat up slightly, his expression one of concern, and pulled Sora tightly against him. "What's wrong?" he asked, quietly, and kissed the saline tears from Sora's face.
Sora shook his head and laughed through his crying. "Absolutely nothing. I…actually, I've never been happier…"
Riku understood, and smiled. He leaned forward, and in the light of day that spilled like honey through Sora's window, kissed his lover. Something about it just tasted so…sweet; Sora wouldn't let Riku go when he tried to pull away.
Eventually, they parted, and Riku sat up in bed. Sora took a moment to marvel at Riku's bare upper body, which brought a grin to Riku's face. He touched Sora's lips, and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Sora smiled and rubbed one of his eyes. "I'm a little hungry, but otherwise…"
"I can get you some food," Riku offered. "I'm sure I can find some somewhere…" His eyes drifted to the window, but didn't stay there long as the sunlight started to make him itch.
Sora shook his head and took Riku's arm to try and pull him back down. "You don't have to do that… I'm sure breakfast is waiting for me downstairs…"
Riku smiled fondly and bent over to present Sora with another kiss. "All right. I like doting on you though…"
Sora giggled. "I like being doted on by you."
"I would give you everything in the world you've ever wanted…" Riku whispered as he slid back down under the blankets beside Sora.
Sora blushed slightly, still smiling, and brushed his lips against Riku's. "You are everything in the world I've ever wanted."
Riku grinned and tucked one of his arms under his head. "Well then, I suppose my work here is done."
Sora laughed again. "Well, I don't know about that…" he murmured slyly as he rolled over on top of Riku. He squirmed a bit, which promptly caused Riku's whitish skin to ignite with a faint flush.
"S-Sora…" he sighed, closing his eyes briefly. When they opened again, he looked at Sora and pulled the brunet's head down for a kiss. "Sora…"
Celestial blue eyes gazed unblinkingly up at the vampire. "Yes?"
Riku exhaled softly and smiled. "Happy birthday."
There came a knock at the door then. Sora's head twitched towards the sound, and he called, "Who is it?"
"It's us," a familiar female voice responded.
"Kairi? Naminé?"
The door opened a crack to allow a slice of cornflower-blue to show. Naminé's smile was evident, even in that small part of her eye. "The very same," she replied.
Sora grinned and rolled off of Riku, much to the vampire's displeasure. Sora sat up in bed and made sure the blankets were sufficiently covering him before inviting the girls in.
Kairi closed the door behind them and smiled gently at Sora. The brunet could see glimmers of amusement in her expression, however, as she looked at the two on the bed. "Sora, it's time for breakfast," she said.
Sora shook his brown spikes and nodded. "All right. I'll be along in a moment."
Satisfied, Kairi and Naminé turned to leave. Before they were out of sight, Kairi said quickly, "I'm glad you two enjoyed yourselves last night," and then hastened out of the room. Their muffled giggles were heard for a moment until they disappeared down the hall.
Sora was blushing again, but with a smile. Riku sat up and kissed Sora's cheek. "I guess I better go…" he murmured.
Sora sighed, but nodded. "I guess so…"
"I'll see you again soon, don't worry."
Sora nodded again and held the side of Riku's face as he gave him a kiss. "I'll be waiting."
"I know." Riku returned the kiss tenderly, and briefly. Sora was only aware of Riku's absence when a chill hit his lips.
With another sigh, he got out of bed and set to the task of dressing for the day.
000
Winter was fast approaching again. It was the end of fall when Sora awoke in the middle of the night. For a second, he sat upright in bed, his heart pounding, his head spinning as he wondered what had startled him from his sleep. He didn't have to wait long for his question to be answered as a scream pierced the otherwise serene nighttime air.
Sora was out of bed in a heartbeat.
He ran out of his bedroom and down the corridor towards his parents' bedroom, where he was sure the scream had come from. It had sounded like his mother. As he ran, his mind continued to spiral and whirr uncontrollably, confused, disturbed. The last thing he remembered was Riku kissing him goodbye before leaving his room for the night. Kairi, smiling, had murmured her own goodnight, and together they'd curled up in bed, the blankets cocooned around them as a shield against the blustery autumn chill…
Speaking of Kairi, Sora realized then that she was calling his name, and he could hear the gentle patter of her feet against the stone behind him. He didn't stop or turn around, but kept running. Why was his parents' room so far away? For now, he forgot about the times when he was glad for the distance because it made being with Riku at night that much easier; right now, it seemed like the corridor stretched for eternity and a day.
There was another scream. And another, and then finally—nothing.
Sora stopped outside of his parents' bedroom, stared up at the solid oak doors, and then without another moment's hesitation, barged through them.
The first thing that hit him was the smell of blood, and then a flash of silver hair, a glint of aqua, a shimmer of white skin. And then the figure was gone, and Sora found himself alone with two bodies laying inert, one on the bed, one against the wall beside the window.
Sora's heart had ceased to beat, his lungs to function. That must have been why his head was still spinning; not enough oxygen.
But he didn't have time to ponder over that.
A loud, horrified gasp sounded behind him. Sora knew it was Kairi who'd just arrived upon the scene, and he could hear others coming down the hall, the quiet thundering of many feet on the stone floors, but all of this only registered with him subconsciously.
Slowly, he approached the body that was propped puppet-like beneath the window. An orange flame flickered over his shoulder, and he looked up fleetingly to see Kairi and Naminé there, both holding candles. The moon outside was only a sliver and too small to provide much light. With the glare from the candles, Sora turned to look at the face of the motionless figure, though he already thought he knew who it was.
His stomach turned nauseatingly when his suspicions were confirmed.
It was his father.
Sora screamed. Already kneeling, he didn't have far to go as he collapsed, as he crumbled, his hands fisting the sides of his head, his eyes screwed shut. He's dead he's dead he's dead was the mantra churning in his mind, dominating all other thoughts so that it became omnipresent within his skull. He knew, he just knew, that his father was dead. His father's eyes, endless and unfathomably blue like his son's, were open and staring lifelessly at the ceiling, as if gazing through it towards the heavens. His face was pale and looked sickeningly wan in the dancing orange candle flames around Sora. There was blood oozing from two puncture wounds on the side of his neck. Which could really only mean one thing, though Sora didn't want to—though Sora couldn't believe it…
"Vampires!" someone in the room bellowed. The frantic murmurs increased in volume and tempo, so that they grew to be maddening, like the buzzing of a beehive, in Sora's ears. He shook his head as his hands continued to clutch the sides of it. Tears had sprung into his eyes, and he squeezed them shut tighter, as if he could keep the tears there. Rebelliously, a few escaped; they slid down his face, dripped off his chin, and dotted the floor.
People were talking louder now. All Sora could hear was a jumble of words that made no sense to him at all. Kairi's hand was on his shoulder, but he could barely feel it. His own hands moved from their painful grip on his hair to cover his ears as she tried to talk to him. He closed his eyes so tightly that it hurt and caused flashing stripes to streak across the blackness inside. His heart was pounding, his throat dryer than the desert, his mouth likewise parched, his breath thin—his head spun, and his surroundings began to blend into each other, and the tears started to fall (he just couldn't hold them back anymore) and he was almost sure his heart was going to escape from his chest at any moment, pop out and drop to the floor where it would jump like an oversized flea with how fast it was beating and this isn't real it's just a horrible nightmare I'll wake up soon Riku where are you? and then—
He passed out cold.
000
Riku appeared in Sora's room the next night, oblivious to the events of the night before. He was greeted by Kairi's tearstained face and Sora fast asleep on the bed.
Kairi rose slowly from her place on the window seat. Riku was taken aback at the broiling, angry thoughts he felt surging through her mind. "Wh…What?"
"Get of here!" she hissed at him.
Riku took a wary step back, eyes widened. "What are you talking about? What happened? What…"
"He's been through too much; the sight of you will only make things worse!" Kairi glared at Riku through glassy purplish eyes.
"Kairi…what…"
"His parents are dead!"
Riku started. "What?"
"They were killed by vampires last night," Kairi explained, her tone lowering as if suddenly remembering that Sora was sleeping just a few feet from them.
Riku's eyes widened further. "What?"
Kairi's glare held fast. "You heard me! Sora doesn't want to see you—I don't want to see you! Get out of here!" Then, quite suddenly, she collapsed, her face in her hands as she started to sob.
Riku went to her side and knelt down, touching her shoulder. "Kairi… I…"
"G-Get out!" she demanded through her tears.
"Kairi, I had nothing to do with it—"
"It looked just like you!" She looked up at him, her eyes pink, her face gleaming and flushed.
"What?"
"The vampire… it looked just like you! It had… It had your hair, and your eyes—Sora told me!"
Shakily, Riku got to his feet. "Kairi, I had nothing to do with it—I…"
"Get out," she said for the umpteenth time, now sounding more tired than angry. Sora stirred on the bed and groaned in his sleep. Riku looked over at the brunet and made to go to him, but Kairi grabbed his wrist. "Please, Riku, not now… please get out of here. He can't see you right now… He's exhausted. He needs to rest… h-he…"
Riku's brow was knit with pain, but he nodded. Within moments, he'd disappeared into thin air.
000
Sora rested his chin on his laced fingers and gazed sightlessly at the floor in his father's study. He inhaled brokenly and rubbed his eyes, which now constantly stung with impending tears. They'd stopped falling, though, which Sora was somewhat grateful for.
Axel, sitting on the arm of the couch that Sora had occupied, crossed his arms. "We have to do something about this," he declared to the room at large. "We can't let the vampires continue to rampage like this, or before we know it, we'll all be dead!"
"Axel!" a scar-faced, one-eyed knight barked. Xigbar cast Sora a worried glance, and then returned to glaring at the redhead.
"What?" Axel matched Xigbar's angry gaze with one of his own. "It's the truth! There's no point in sugarcoating it; we're all adults here now."
"Sora's not an adult yet," Xigbar argued, and a few of the others in the room murmured their agreement.
Axel held his arms out and said, "He's the lord of the castle now, and not only should you address him as such, Xigbar, but you should treat him as such."
"But he—"
"What," a cold voice interrupted, "are we going to do about the vampires? They're still terrorizing the fief, they've killed three of us already—we can't let them carry on like this."
Axel nodded to Saïx. "My point exactly."
"None of this would have happened if Sora hadn't let that one monster in like he did," someone remarked.
Sora glanced up sharply at the speaker; Demyx actually seemed taken aback at the fire in Sora's normally smiling eyes. Sora said nothing.
Axel shook his head at Demyx. "Whether that's true or not doesn't matter. If you ask me, I think this was all just a catastrophe waiting to happen, and there's nothing we could've done to stop it, regardless. And now that it's upon us, we have to take care of it swiftly."
Demyx leaned back in his chair, looking annoyed now.
"We have to find out where they're based," Xigbar said.
"Yes," a serene, gray-haired young knight concurred. "Every vampire that we've come into contact thus far has resembled that first one, who Sora danced with at the feast. Silver hair, blue-green eyes, pale skin. I can't believe that that's just mere coincidence; they must all be related, and they must all have a…a headquarters, of sorts, somewhere."
The others in the room nodded or murmured their agreement.
"But how do we find it?" Axel asked.
Everyone exchanged glances. No one had an answer, and silence filled the room.
"I'll find it."
All heads turned in Sora's direction. He was resting his chin on his fingers again, his gaze trained on the floor. His eyes were oddly blank, and whether they were void of emotion, or just carefully guarded, one couldn't tell.
"How?" Demyx wondered.
"That vampire, who I danced with at the feast. I'll find out through him."
Axel's eyebrows rose. "The one…that killed Roxas?"
Sora nodded. "The same."
The redhead slid off the arm of the couch to face Sora fully. "You're still in contact with him?" he hissed.
Sora nodded again. Not once did he take his eyes off the floor, not once did his stony façade waver.
"Axel, please remain calm," Zexion said. "We can't afford to let these personal grudges and quarrels blind us from our ultimate purpose. We're in the midst of a war here, and so far, the vampires are winning, three to two. We have to keep our heads and think things through… we have to strategize, we have to plan. Reckless action doesn't win a war."
Sora rose from his seat and finally looked up, meeting Zexion's eyes first, and then Axel's. "He's right. We can't let our emotions get in the way."
Axel, his teeth gritted, looked like he wanted to say something else, but before he had the chance, Sora was on his way out the study. He left without another word, without so much as a backwards glance, and let the heavy door close securely shut behind him.
Sora's feet took him along the corridor of their own volition. He didn't know where they were going, nor did he care. His eyes drifted from window to window as the passed them, and before he knew it, he found himself standing before one, looking down into the courtyard below.
A flash of golden hair caught his eye, and his heart jumped. The golden hair framed a familiar face, which held a familiar smile, a familiar pair of blue eyes. Sora's vision started to blur as he watched Roxas in the courtyard. Sora saw himself there, too. A younger version of himself, that he felt so alienated from now, because that younger version of himself was so happy. Smiling, as he sparred with Roxas in the courtyard under the afternoon sun. Sora lunged at his cousin with his practice sword, and missed horribly as the blond gracefully ducked out of the way.
"Clumsy as ever, Sora!"
They were sitting on the grass now, taking a break from their swordplay.
"What're you talking about? I came this close to beating you, and you know it!"
"Yeah, but you're missing the key factor here, Sora—you didn't beat me."
"But I will, you just watch."
They laughed. Sora's vision swam, and he rubbed furiously at his eyes. When next he looked out the window, he saw another person standing with Roxas and himself. Cloud smiled at them and ruffled Sora's hair as he told him that his swordsmanship was really improving. He looked so proud. The younger Sora grinned happily.
Sora felt the fragments of his already shattered heart drive deeper into his core.
But he wouldn't cry… he couldn't cry anymore. He just couldn't.
His parents strolled out into the courtyard then, regal and gorgeous. His mother, with her blonde hair so like Cloud's, her gentle smile, her delicate laugh. His father approached the boys and asked them how their practice was coming.
The corners of Sora's mouth twitched upwards as he watched the phantoms below. The smile that appeared wasn't happy, though. It was wistful, reminiscent, but not happy. It was broken, tattered, tired, watery… bejeweled with tears.
Tears?
Sora reached up with a trembling hand and touched his face. He was crying.
His knees gave out then, and he collapsed against the windowsill, his head buried in his arms as he sobbed. He could still hear his father's voice in his ears, and a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him when he couldn't fall asleep, and Roxas's laughter, and Cloud's words of praise. He wished they would all go away, he wished they would stop haunting him, he wished…
A breeze touched his hair. He looked up, overcome suddenly with the notion that it was someone's hand. But no, he was alone. He looked down from the window again; the ghosts were gone.
He was truly alone.
He wondered if a fall from that height would be enough to kill him.
000
Sora sat at his bedroom window by himself that night; he'd asked Kairi to stay with Naminé again. He expected Riku to come.
Sure enough, Riku appeared.
Upon spotting Sora, he rushed to his side, wrapped him in his arms, held him close, whispered nonsense in his ear. Sora let himself be held, but did little else. Even when Riku kissed him, he barely reacted.
Riku drew away and searched his face in the scarce moonlight, his own adorned with an expression of raw concern and a bit of fear. "Sora…?"
Sora was a like a ragdoll in his arms. It was terrifying.
"Sora, say something," Riku pleaded. He started to tremble. Did Sora really blame him for his parents' death? Did Sora hate him? Was this the end? Did…
"Riku…"
All thought processes ceased, all attention paid to Sora's mouth, waiting with bated breath for more.
Sora looked away from Riku. "I can't do this anymore…"
Riku froze as a sickening wave of déjà vu rolled over him. "What, Sora? You can't do what?"
"Live."
Riku's heart picked up speed. "Sora… don't say things like that."
"But, I mean it, Riku…" Sora shook his head, his eyes empty, his voice distant, quiet, almost a whisper. "I can't live anymore… Riku, everyone's dying. How is it possible to have the will to live when everyone's dying around you?"
Riku shook Sora gently by the shoulders, as if to snap him out of whatever spell had possessed him. "Sora, don't… don't say things like that!"
A spark of emotion flared to life in Sora's eyes, a spark of cold, dark despair. "Riku… I can't! I want to die, Riku… I want to die, and be with the people I love again…! They've all left me…" His words quivered. "They've all left me… how could they?" Tears seeped out onto his lashes, try as he might to bid them away. "Why should I keep living when it brings me nothing but pain? Why should I keep living when everyone else dies? Why can't I follow them? Don't I have the right!"
"Sora!" Riku shook his head, desperate. "Sora, please… What about me?"
"What about you?"
Riku blinked, stung by Sora's words. His voice lowered, suddenly unsure. "Can't you live for me? I love you, Sora, and I'm still here! I won't leave you. I won't go away… isn't that enough?"
Sora bit his lip, trembling. "R-Riku…"
"I can't stand it to hear you talk like that… Sora… you're so beautiful… you don't deserve all of this pain. You deserve to be happy! Do you know what it's like to see you smile? Do you know…" Riku's hands fell away from Sora, and the vampire took a small step back.
"Riku…"
Riku looked up and met Sora's gaze.
"Riku, we're in the middle of a war…"
For a second, Riku was sure his heart stopped beating. "…Wh…What…? Sora… Sora, not you too!"
Sora drew back from Riku, placing more distance between them. "Riku, a vampire killed my parents. Was he from your family? Your clan?"
"I…don't know."
"Riku," Sora's voice hardened, "I can't forgive him for killing my parents."
Stunned, Riku said nothing for a long moment. Then, he spoke, softly, sounding frightened, "Sora, I'll fix it. We'll… We'll find a way to fix this, I promise."
Sora shook his head, his expression pained. "I don't… I don't think there's a way to 'fix it,' Riku."
"There is," Riku insisted. "I know there is… I'll find it. Please, trust me Sora… I don't know all of the details, but I'll fix it."
"A negotiation."
"What?"
Sora spoke slowly, thoughtfully, as if the idea had just struck him. "Choose… choose someone, maybe one or two vampires, from your clan… and send them here. We'll negotiate with them. We'll try to end this peacefully…"
Riku almost couldn't believe his ears. He was overcome with a refreshing wave of relief, and a smile bloomed on his face. "Sora… we can do this. I know we can…"
Sora didn't seem to share in Riku's joy, and instead stared wordlessly out the window that was now a few feet from him. After a moment, he nodded. "We can."
Riku's elation deflated somewhat, and he said, "Sora… everything will be okay." He closed the distance between them, but Sora seemed to shy away when he approached. Hurt, Riku added quietly, "I promise."
Sora was silent. Riku went to the window and looked out at the nighttime. With a quiet sigh, he prepared to leave, but suddenly Sora whispered, "You can't promise something like that."
Riku glanced back at Sora and replied, "I just did," before vanishing on the spot.
Sora went to the window; he could still smell Riku there. He wanted to cry again, but didn't have the energy. Of its own accord, his hand reached up and clasped the crown amulet around his neck.
000
000
A/N: Ne, ne, ne? Well? Like, hate? Too much death? Not enough? :cough: Well, it is the Medieval Times, folks. Death was all the rage back then. :D;; ANYwho, review, pweeez!
000