Dilandau scowled as he walked down the halls. His hands itched to fight, to draw blood, to kill. He searched for an unfortunate slave or someone, anyone, but no one was out at that time of night.
"Damn it," Dilandau cursed and finally stopped his frantic pacing and searching when he was at the melef bay. It always made him feel better to be there with his Alseides. It was like his best friend.
"Dilandau-sama?" a voice rang out, and Dilandau immediately grinned. He'd found his victim.
"Sir? Is everything alright?"
Damn it, it was Miguel. He couldn't kill Miguel. But he could fight him. And that was all he really needed; a good fight.
"Fine, Miguel. What are you doing out here at this hour?" Dilandau asked, turning around and resting his elbows on the rail while smirking at Miguel.
"Oh, I was just, uh, working on my Alseides, sir." Miguel looked down, knowing he was caught being out past curfew.
"Was it damaged?"
"Um, well, no sir. Not exactly damaged, sir, I was just uh, tweaking it up a bit. Making sure everything is in top working condition, uh, sir." Miguel stuttered and Dilandau smiled.
Good old Miguel.
"Are you finished?" Dilandau asked, not really caring what Miguel's answer would be. He was finished as far as Dilandau was concerned.
"Huh? Oh, yes, yes sir. I'll go to the dorms immediately." Miguel wiped his hands on the towel he was holding and headed towards the dorm.
"Wait, Miguel. I have another job for you…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miguel grunted as he found his back shoved into the wall again. His sword held off Dilandau's only inches from his face. With a burst of energy and adrenaline, Miguel growled and shoved Dilandau back with his foot.
Dilandau jumped back, his sword still out front and ever ready, and he grinned at Miguel. "Very good, Labariel. Now, come at me, hard, like you want my blood." Dilandau waved his hands at Miguel, encouraging him to charge.
And charge Miguel did. He had such a rush of adrenaline in his system. When Dilandau had asked him to spar, Miguel had been speechless. Hardly anyone got to spar with Dilandau-sama. He spent most of his time sparing with one of the four generals, saying the slayers were a waste of his time. They all believed he was right. Dilandau was five times the soldiers the slayers all were and they knew it. While they were the best of the best, he was the best of them.
Miguel grunted as his sword met Dilandau's with a loud clash when Dilandau blocked his strike.
"C'mon, Miguel, I know you can attack harder than that, I've seen it. Come get me!" Dilandau yelled.
Miguel came at him again, this time swinging for his midsection. Dilandau blocked it and yelled for Miguel to attack still harder, and faster. Miguel kicked out with his foot and took Dilandau by surprise, knocking his sword from his hand.
Miguel then took Dilandau's feet from under him with the same move Iris had tripped Miguel with. Dilandau landed on his back then immediately tossed his feet back over his head, rolling into a standing position. He circled Miguel with no weapon, and grinned at him again. "Better and better, Labariel. I like this better and better. I don't know where you learned that move, but I like it."
Miguel glowed with more than perspiration as Dilandau complimented him.
The other slayers had heard the action coming from the training arena and had risen from their bunks. They were now littered around the wall and cheering Miguel and their captain on.
Miguel stood up straight and wiped his brow. Dilandau cocked his head at him.
"What are you doing? We're not finished here." Dilandau said, still circling.
"I was going to let you retrieve your sword, sir. But if you want me to get it then I can-"
Dilandau sprung at Miguel and the next thing he knew his sword had been removed from his hands and he'd been knocked to his knees with his own weapon pressed against his throat.
The dragonslayers all went into a hush of awe at their leader's quickness and skill.
Dilandau leaned down and whispered in Miguel's ear. "I don't need a sword to kill you, best you remember that."
Miguel quaked a bit. "Y-yes, Dilandau-sama."
Dilandau released Miguel and stood, looking at his uninvited audience. "I hope you all took good notes, because in battles you may not always have a sword to use. Now back to bed all of you. You're lucky I don't punish every one of you for being out of your bunks."
Many murmurs of 'Yes Dilandau-sama' could be heard as the slayers hurried to file out and back into their dorms.
Miguel sighed and picked up his sword and Dilandau's, handing it back to his captain. "Here you are, sir."
Dilandau took his sword and sheathed it, brushing his wet bangs from his forehead. He walked away then, and Miguel heard him mutter over his shoulder. "Not bad, Labariel. Not too bad at all."
Miguel went to bed happy that night.
****
Dilandra: Heh. Had a hankerin' to write a fight scene.
Miguel: *Shoves the other slayers, pointing to the written scene and bragging* Did you all see that? I almost beat Dilandau-sama.
Chesta: It's a story Miguel. It didn't really happen.
Dalet: Sheesh, and people think I'm self-centered.
Gatti: *pout* I could've done that…
Miguel: *puts his arm around Dilandra* Well, she wrote it, so she thinks I could almost beat him, don't 'cha sweetheart?
Dilandra: *pushes his hand off of her shoulder* Get over yourself, Miguel. Dilandau kicked your ass.
Dilandau: True 'dat.
Other slayers laugh and make fun while Miguel pouts.
Iris tossed and turned in her sleep. Something was nagging at the back of her mind and it would not let her brain be at peace.
Iris…
"Gods, leave me be all I want is sleep…" Iris moaned half-conscious.
Princess Iris…
Iris growled and tossed her pillow across the room, hoping whoever it was would get the message.
You're needed, Princess.
"You know what else is needed? Sleep is needed. And I need it. So shut up and leave me alone!"
He needs you…
"Great mother of Gaea I swear on everything that is holy that if you don't LEAVE ME BE I'll…" Iris stopped. "Who does?" she asked quietly.
Dilandau, he's in danger…
Iris raised her eyebrow skeptically. "I highly doubt that Dilandau is in any kind of danger he can't get himself out of. Why would he possibly need me?"
He doesn't know of the danger, he's asleep, and there is an assassin in his room…
"What? An assassin?" Iris sat up completely awake now and tossed off the covers on her bed. Her entire body was mechanical now, her brain overridden by instinct as she grabbed her weapon and took off down the hall.
****
Dilandau lay in his bed on his side facing away from the approaching boy, not moving, seemingly asleep. He'd known the second the boy had entered his room. He'd sensed him, then smelled him. The boy reeked of fear, and underneath that, anger, frustration, and a bit of insanity. He knew who it was, and it surprised him immensely. The boy was a new dragonslayer, one Dilandau had been particularly hard on, only because he saw the potential the boy had. But when Dilandau was 'hard' on someone, they prayed for hell because that would be like a sweet vacation.
Dilandau smiled a bit as he listened to the young man's breathing. It was growing more and more panicked every second.
Sweat dripped down the boy's back and into his eyes. He blinked it away and raised his shaking hand, drawing his sword from it's sheath.
Dilandau heard him remove his steel, and he smiled wider. Why I do believe he's actually going to go through with it…
Of course there had been others who had tried to assassinate him, but this was the first time one of his own slayers had gone off the deep end and decided they just couldn't take it anymore.
Dilandau felt absurdly proud as the slayer stepped closer to his captain's bed and raised his blade. Dilandau tightened the hold he had on his dagger, ready to parry the blow as soon as his slayer decided to give it. Dilandau nearly cackled as he thought what the boy's face would look like.
He'll probably piss himself, Dilandau grinned.
Suddenly Dilandau heard another in his room, and sensed the immediate movement of the boy and his downward swing of steel. The boy gave a cry as he swung for his master's neck, a sob really, only to be interrupted by another sound as he cried out in pain as his sword fell to the floor.
Dilandau reached back behind him under the blankets and plunged his dagger deep into the boy's thigh, making the boy fall immediately to the floor screaming in more pain.
But someone else had made him scream first.
Dilandau jumped from his bed and turned the gas lantern up all the way, causing Iris to squint and the boy to gasp.
"Iris? What the fuck are you doing in my room?" Dilandau asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Saving your life, apparently," Iris said, leaning around the bed to see who the assassin was. Her eyes widened at the black and blue armor she saw. "A dragonslayer? One of your own dragonslayers tried to kill you?" Iris asked incredulously.
"The day I need a woman to save my life is the day I'll stab myself in the face!" Dilandau yelled angrily.
Iris noticed the other dagger in the boy's leg and looked at Dilandau questioningly. "So, you knew he was in your room trying to kill you?"
"Of course I did!" Dilandau walked over to the boy and grabbed his hair, yanking him up and gesturing with his writhing body. "Do you think I'd let a moron like this sneak up on me?"
The boy reached his hands up and grabbed Dilandau's arms trying to free himself from his master's painful grasp.
Dilandau didn't seem to notice, or care, as he continued to glare at Iris.
"You knew he was there the entire time and you let him get that close to taking your head off? Dilandau, he was four inches from-"
"What?!" Dilandau growled, tightening his grip on the boy's head making tears come to the boy's eyes and wrenching a gasp from him.
Iris immediately recognized her mistake. "Dilandau-sama," she corrected. "Why did you let him get so close?"
"Because I was…proud…I guess you could say." Dilandau smirked.
"You…you were?" the boy asked meekly.
"You keep your mouth shut." Dilandau yanked on his head for good measure.
Iris just stared at them blankly.
"He was doing so well until you came in and ruined it for him. Of course," Dilandau said, looking down and ripping out his dagger that he had stabbed into the boy's thigh, and causing the boy to yell quite loudly. "I was going to stab him anyway, which I did, but only after you intruded and stuck this," Dilandau pulling out the dagger in the boy's side that Iris and thrown. The boy screamed again and sagged in Dilandau's grasp, growing faint from pain. "Into him." Dilandau continued, tossing the bloodied dagger back to Iris.
Iris caught the dagger and it seemed to knock her out of her stupor. "You…you were proud of him?!" Iris choked, and madly gestured with her messy dagger. "Dilandau-sama, he tried to kill you!"
"I know," Dilandau smiled happily and looked down at the pale and sick looking boy. "None of my slayers have ever tried that before. He's a brave son of a bitch, I'll tell you that."
"I give up. I fucking give up!" Iris yelled. "One second you act like a normal person and the next you are happy to have assassins! I will never understand you." Iris tossed up her hands in frustration and stalked from the room.
"And that's the way I like it," Dilandau said, and then focused his red eyes on the shuddering boy in front of him. "Well, Joshua, not bad for a first assassination attempt."
"Th-thank you Dilandau-sama! All I've ever wanted from you is a compliment…" The boy was crying, Dilandau could tell by the way his shoulders shook. But they were tears of happiness because he thought he finally had his master's approval.
"Well," Dilandau said, taking his dagger in one hand and the boy's head in the other, "You got one," Dilandau sliced the boy's throat wide open. The boy gurgled and choked for a second then went slack and Dilandau dropped him to the floor, kicking his limp body out of the way.
"I hope it was worth it."
*****
Dilandra: Well, it was funny, 'til I did that.
Iris: Eww…*Places a hand to her neck*
Dilandau: *shrug* The bastard deserved it.
Miguel: I didn't even know there was a Joshua.
Dilandau: *smirk* Doesn't matter now, does it?
Iris sighed and walked back to her room. She sat on her bed, but soon stood to pace. She was antsy, she was wired.
And it was all his fault.
Well, that wasn't exactly true, she told herself. She had been the one to barge into his room uninvited. That was another thing that bothered her. Why had she gone to Dilandau's room?
She was sleeping, she remembered, in a deep sleep, when something had wakened her. What had it been? She couldn't quite remember. It was like waking up and not quite being able to remember a dream you've had. It was frustrating.
Iris decided she needed some air, since she obviously wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight, and headed for the hanger. She grasped at the edges of her mind to try and remember what had awakened her. She had an inkling that someone had told her. She almost remembered a voice, but not clearly.
She was still deep in thought when she reached the hanger, and was startled when she looked up and saw Dilandau at the railing with the boy who had tried to kill him.
Iris saw Dilandau whisper something to the boy, then touch his face gently, almost lovingly, before he picked him up and held him over his head for a moment. It was enough time for Iris to see that the boy was quite dead, and just as she realized it, Dilandau tossed the boy over the railing.
Iris gasped and Dilandau turned his head to see her. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned back around, watching Joshua's body until it was a speck, and then nothing.
She stood there, quiet, waiting for him to explain. Somehow she knew he would.
"It's not like I could let him live. He committed high treason." Dilandau spoke quietly, not turning around.
Iris swallowed and slowly nodded, walking forward again. "I figured you'd kill him sometime, but why get rid of his body like that?" Iris asked, stopping at the railing and looking down, a sick feeling starting in her stomach. "Why not let his family give him a resting place?"
Dilandau sighed. "He had no family. I found him."
Iris was becoming more and more confused, Dilandau's voice almost sounded…sad.
"Found him?" Iris echoed.
Dilandau nodded.
Iris tipped her head to the side and studied Dilandau, trying to decide whether his emotion was real.
Dilandau felt her eyes on him and he shifted his own towards her. He raised his eyebrow and turned around, resting his back and his elbows against the railing. "Yes, Iris. I am sad to see him go," Dilandau stated, guessing why she had looked at him strangely. "Yes, I know I killed him, and yes I know I tossed him over," Dilandau continued before Iris could open her mouth. "But it's such a waste of potential. I spent time with him, I trained him. He could have been great. It's always disappointing when one lets you down." Suddenly, Dilandau's body went rigid, and he clamped his jaw shut, but his voice still came forward through his lips. "You see, Iris, I can care."
As soon as Dilandau said that, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm down.
But Iris hadn't noticed that, she was angry about what he had said. She narrowed her eyes. "When 'one' lets you down? You talk about them like they're your pets instead of real people. The way you talk about them-"
"Don't you mean, us?" Dilandau interrupted, grinning. He laughed and walked away as Iris turned red with rage.
*****
Dilandau: Heh. I'm so clever.
Dilandra: Hey, it's the writer that makes her characters clever…
Dilandau: NANI?!
Dilandra: *sigh*
Iris: Why don't I ever get to be clever?
Dilandra: Because you whine.
Iris: *whining* I do not!
Joshua: (The dead slayer) Well, my fifteen minutes of fame are up.
Dilandra: It was more like eight minutes…
Joshua: Details, details….
"'You see, Iris, I can care'?" Dilandau growled, sitting in his room in front of his mirror. He was now resigned to the fact that there was another presence in his head, and Dilandau just decided to ride this experience out. It no longer surprised him to see a different half to his face when he looked into the mirror. He figured he'd better not let it bother him anymore, seeing as though he almost killed himself the last time he let it get to him. "Where do you come up with shit like that? And how dare you make me say it?" Dilandau snarled.
I am only trying to help you win Iris…
"Who the hell said I needed you help?" Dilandau stopped and realized what he had just said. He raised his eyes to the mirror and saw the light blue eyed girl smiling triumphantly at him. "And who the hell said I wanted her?" Dilandau recovered and stood, walking to a table in the corner of his room and pouring vino into his cup.
She came to your rescue earlier…
"I sure as hell didn't need her then. She ruined my fun," A smiled tugged at Dilandau's lips as he raised his cup to his lips. "I wanted to see him piss himself." He chuckled at bit, then sobered. "How did she even know to come? There was no noise…" Dilandau looked back at the mirror then, and saw her smiling smugly at him. "You? But how?"
It's amazing the power you can have when you add two psyches together.
"You mean, using the power of your mind, and mine? You could speak to her like that?" Dilandau asked, interested in this new power source.
The image in the mirror just smiled back at him.
"So, could it be reversed? Could I use your mind to make mine more powerful?" Images of just how he could use that power began to toss and swirl through his head. No one would ever be able to lie to him again, he'd know an enemy's next move before they could make it…
I would be a fool to let you have such power.
Dilandau narrowed his eyes. "If you won't share it, then I won't let you have it at all." He threatened.
You have no control over your own psyche. That is why you are as…unstable…as you are.
"I am NOT unstable!" Dilandau shouted as he picked up the table that held the bottle of vino and threw it.
Of course you aren't.
"Who are you?" Dilandau raged, frustrated now. "Tell me!"
We've been over this, Dilandau…The voice sighed in tired frustration.
"You aren't telling me the truth!"
What reason do I have to lie?
"You can't be telling me the truth, it doesn't make any sense! I'm me, not anyone else. It is not possible for you to be me when I am right here!" Dilandau placed a hand on his chest for emphasis.
I cannot make you understand. You just have to open your mind and except. I had this body before you invaded it, though it cannot be held against you because it was not your fault. You did not ask to be created. I tire, Dilandau. I must leave you now.
Dilandau shivered as he actually felt something, or someone, recoil in his mind. Something shove itself into the back of his brain, like a distant memory or dream.
This scared him. Now that he knew it was real and not just stress induced nightmares, it scared him. It was becoming all too real now. He had injured himself, very near killed himself because of it. And now it was becoming so powerful that it could speak to others, powerful enough to call Iris into his room.
He feared it because he had no control over it.
"Folken will know what to do," Dilandau thought out loud, and made his way down the halls of the Vionne towards Folken's chambers.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"That pompous jackass!" Iris swore as she stood at the railing of the Vionne, looking down as the world slowly passed below her. Iris took a deep breath. She knew she had to relax, if she let him get to her every time, he'd drive her mad eventually.
"I should just stay completely away from him," Iris muttered, but in her mind, and heart, she knew she couldn't.
Iris sighed and placed her face in her hands. Perhaps she was mad already.
She'd suspected the pulling in her chest was something other than fear when he was near her, and if nothing else, the events tonight had proved it. She'd jumped out of bed ready to defend him at all costs. She'd been frightened. Not at the thought of putting herself in the same room as an assassin, but frightened at the thought of losing him.
It had started the moment he'd kissed her the first time, she supposed, even though it had been under not so lovely circumstances.
This should sicken me, Iris scolded herself. He forced himself on me, and I'm telling myself that I liked it.
It wasn't the forcefulness that she had liked, she told herself. It was only her natural hormones reacting to having been kissed by a very handsome boy. Yes. She decided that sounded much better. And perhaps that was all it was then, but now, now it was something much larger, and Iris had no idea what to do with the huge, foreign feeling growing inside of her. It wasn't love, not yet, but she felt she was drawing dangerously close to that precipice.
The night she'd walked into the medic ward and had seen him at the window, that night had yanked her close to teetering over the edge. His eyes had been so sad, and so vulnerable. He'd almost kissed her that night, and Iris remembered the cold feeling that had swept through her body when his hands left her.
He'd been frightened of her touch. That moment was another that had pushed her closer to the edge. For all the blood on his hands, he was still so innocent…
"Iris?"
Iris jumped, and turned, her hand on her chest.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?" Miguel asked, placing his hand on her arm.
Iris smiled at him. "Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"We know about Joshua." He said, his voice was low and held a touch of regret.
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." Iris said, looking back out over the countryside.
"Why? None of us knew him. He's only been here for a month or two. He never spoke a word the entire time he was here." Miguel stated, crossing his arms and moving to stand next to her and the rail, also looking out over the edge of the Vionne.
"Hmm. I guess it is always the quiet ones," Iris mused out loud.
"You went to protect him."
"What?" Iris said, turning.
"Dilandau-sama. You went to protect him." Miguel turned and gave Iris a half-smile. "I guess I just didn't expect you to do something like that."
Iris smiled back at him and gave a soft chuckle. "Yeah, me neither."
"Why did you go?"
"I…I really don't know. It was the strangest thing really. I just got this feeling like he was in danger. So I went." Iris shrugged ad smiled at Miguel.
"You really are one of us now," Miguel said, taking her hand in his.
Iris went cold at his words. She tried to smile at him. "I guess I am…" Forgive me…
"Iris?" Miguel said quietly.
Iris turned towards him and Miguel leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. This took Iris completely by surprise, and she didn't know what to do. By the time her brain had gotten control again, Miguel had stepped back. His slightly reddened face smiled back at her.
"Goodnight, Princess." He whispered, and disappeared into the hallways of the Vionne.
Iris looked after him, still in shock. It was a touched kind of shock, and Iris raised her fingers to touch her lips, where Miguel's had just been.
Now what am I going to do?
Miguel: Hmmm, I wasn't thrilled with that kiss scene, *wiggles his eyebrows at Iris* I think we should do another take…
Iris: *Scowl* Miguel, it's a story. There aren't any "takes".
Miguel: Hey, writers are artists, and all artists need their models…*Miguel crooks his finger at Iris*
Dilandra: Not this "artist".
Miguel: Dammit, Dilandra!
Dilandra: Watch it, kid. *Holds up her typing fingers* A couple quick flicks of these babies and the next thing you know you're killed out of the story line.
Dilandau: *Pulls out his flame-thrower* And one quick flick of this finger and you're killed for real…
Iris: *Hopeful* are you…jealous??!?
Dilandau: *rolls his eyes* Nope, just in a killin' mood.
Iris: *Pout*
Dilandra: *sigh*
