Prince of Darkness, Prince of Deception
By: Nymbis
Summary: To her, he had always been a God, someone beyond comparison. But as time wore on, the stinging truth settled. A look at Stanton through Cassandra's eyes.
AN: Well, I've been wanting to write a Cassandra/ Stanton type fic for a long time, and now I am! Yay!
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She remembered the first time she had set eyes on him.
It had been at a friend's party, and somehow, he had managed to stand out and above everyone else. He had a serenely handsome look, an aura that one would easily imagine the Devil having as well.
But then, it didn't matter.
She was transfixed on him. Her eyes never leaving his.
Those eyes....
Those eyes held a promise of adventure, excitement, and most importantly danger. They offered her something that she had longed for since birth. A hazard and wildness she had been craving for.
She had longed for freedom, a break from her over-bearing parents, her half sincere friends, and the constant struggle to appear, and be perfect. Her thirst for an edge to her straight and narrow lifestyle had suddenly come to notice when she stared at his eyes.
She had pretended, feigned a party girl exterior in hopes that he would notice her, acknowledge her presence.
And he did, he did in a very big way.
It was that night that Cassandra's hope was robbed from her, that night that all dreams and aspirations had died and rotted.
It was at that single moment, where Stanton had held her gaze, that her world came tumbling down on her.
The moment where she was welcomed with open arms to the Atrox.
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Time wore on, passing in a decadence that somehow defied the rules of physics. There were nights when Cassandra would wake up screaming, eager to remain real and part of the world she knew and trusted.
There were nights where nothing seemed to matter, and that she was merely a ghost, already dead to the world.
But nothing, nothing, compared to the moment when Cassandra had taken up a blade. She had numbly dragged the sharpened edged across her arms, reveling in the fact that she could still bleed.
The odd ecstasy she had felt when she had intentionally harmed herself was phenomenal. She felt human for a moment. Masochism was something that defied all the rules, broke all the barriers, and most importantly, liberated Cassandra for a moment from her cruel nonexistence.
Yet through all of her sufferings, there was him. Like a God amongst mortals, he stood out like a beacon, something about him was undeniably attractive and seductive.
Cassandra bore the brunt of her scars because of him. She gritted her teeth and tried to become more like the Atrox, the creature she despised, because of him.
She had made up excuses, and undeniably false reasons to study with him as much as she could. She tried to learn all of his secrets, to learn all of his lies and manipulations. To become as cruel and as heartless as him.
And she was an excellent student.
Through her apprenticeship, she had met fellow Initiates. They were called Tymmie and Karyl.
She hadn't thought of them as friends, more like comrades in arms, and it took her a long time to get to that point. Cassandra didn't trust easily.
Actually, Cassandra's system of trust had been destroyed. Another thing of her innocence that was discarded the night Stanton had brought her over to the dark.
She was closer to Tymmie than any of the other Initiates. It was Tymmie she would confide in, and it was he that she first admitted her infatuation with Stanton to. He was the closest thing she had to a friend, even though the word was foreign to both her tongue and her mind.
As time drew on in its endless monotony, her infatuation with her mentor grew to lust, and then to love.
Looking back on it now, she could see that he had been amused by her girlish charms, and had been toying with her all along.
Yes, he was definitely the master of deceit. He had led her on, making her believe that her feelings were returned, making her think that he had a certain love towards her.
And she had fell for it. She had worshiped the ground that Stanton had walked on, had loved him more than she felt ever possible for one of their kind to love.
And in return, it was thrown back in her face.
His intentions were never clear, nor easily discovered. He always had a plan in the back of his mind, whether it was for good or bad, no one could be sure. He had said things to her, proclaimed that he had feelings towards her. She had even gone as far as to carve his initials in her chest.
And all it was for, were lies.
She remembered when the Daughter had stumbled upon Yvonne's Cold Fire. It had been a dull night, her relaxing lazily while staring at Stanton the entire time. Her eyes had never left him.
But when she saw him walk over to Serena, she literally felt her heart break. Her fragile heart, that had suffered so much, had finally fallen in seeing the rejection Stanton had for her.
Serena, how she loathed her. What made her believe that she was a better match for Stanton than she? It was Cassandra who had spent nights wanting him, Cassandra who had spent hours with him, trying to master a talent she really didn't want in the first place.
It was Cassandra who had truly loved him.
She had left the celebration, trying desperately to tame the tears that were threatening to fall. Followers don't cry.
Followers weren't allowed to cry.
As the saying went, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' she had plotted her revenge. Revenge on Stanton for using her, and revenge on Serena for stealing her Stanton away from her.
Her attempts had failed.
She had even involved Lambert, and her attempts had failed. Stanton would not be won over.
How considerate, being that he had twisted her feelings into an emotional wreck.
It had been months since she had last seen him. She was Outcasted, afraid, and alone. No one would be associated with her anymore. Tymmie had joined Lambert and his traitors, Karyl had disappeared all together, and Stanton-
Stanton pretended like she didn't exist.
Yet, somewhere in her heartless heart, she forgave him. She forgave him for all of his lies, his feigned interest, and even for leaving her for Serena.
She forgave him because deep down a tiny part of her still loved him.
He had been her Prince, and now he was her lament.
Finis