Tenebrae Immortalis

By Arcadia, Kain's Queen and Kain, Lord of Nosgoth

Disclaimer - Raziel and Kain are © Eidos and Crystal Dynamics, everyone else is © AKQ.

Summary - Never mind. You'll see.

Chapter Three - Shadowed Trust

The woman awoke, gasping, staring up at her canopy even as the images of the dreams faded, leaving behind just the feelings. Form shook, nearly violently, before she moved and retched over the railing of her balcony, thankful no one was nearby. Wiping her mouth clean, the woman got dressed, taking care to strap two daggers onto each thigh, not going to go to his mansion without any type of means of defending herself. Dressing in a simple gown of pale blue, shifting to conceal the outlines of the daggers, she walked to the dining hall, sitting down and eating. It had been nearly four when Arcadia had woken. An hour of getting prepared followed by another half-hour of eating. And now.. Now, she was staring out at the darkening sky, sitting in the rocking carriage, across from her father. A collar of midnight blue velvet was wrapped about her neck, a locket hanging from it.

But she was left to just feel those dreams.. Those gold eyes of his haunted her mind, predator's eyes.. Aware of her father's gaze, the woman merely remained still. And when they stopped, her heart began to pound again..

With the rising of the moon, so too arose the vampyre lord from his slumber. A single clawed hand came to rest on the edge of his coffin before the creature himself sat upright. Pale lids snapped instantly open to reveal those yellowish gold pools of hate. Black lips drew back from ivory teeth in a hungry hiss, he would need to feed, and very soon. How fortunate that he kept a small herd of cattle chained down here with him. Slowly and with a predatory grace Kain rose from his coffin and stepped out to the dungeon, several men and women chained to the walls and some hung from hooks in the ceiling. Moving over to one of them he drove his fangs into the neck of a young peasant girl, draining her to the point of passing out. He had to be careful with his herd lest he kill one and be forced to capture another.

His hunger sated, the duke ascended from the dank, foul depths to the main level of his estate. At the very moment the carriage came to a stop before his estate the doors opened, and standing on the threshold was Kain, a smile on his face and an outfit very similar to the one he wore the night before on his person. It would almost seem to be the exact thing he had worn, actually..

"There he is.. Arcadia, please.. Just.. listen to him.. He is a powerful man and I don't trust him.."

The girl just nodded, eyes riveted upon the vampyre. She had been thinking and something about the dreams he'd given her lending some color to his nature.. Every civilization had its own legends and myths. The ekimmu of Sumeria, the chiang-shih of China, the vrykolakas of Greece. Arcadia had been so certain the stories had been mere fables to scare her and young children. But.. Something about him was unnatural, not right. As her father helped Arcadia out of the carriage, her eyes remained upon Kain even as they approached.

"Greetings, my lord.." she whispered through bloodless lips..

It fit.. No one ever saw him eat anything but dark red wine. He was never seen during the day. Mirrors could be seen in his home, but never in the main rooms. She could feel something about him that was simply unnatural. Swallowing, Arcadia held her hand out to him, satin gloves black in hue running up her arms to her elbows. She looked elegant, a beautiful necklace wrapping about her neck, a teardrop-shaped sapphire embedded within the silver of the necklace.

"How are you this evening..?"

Her voice was cracking faintly.. But she couldn't help it, staring at him with those blue sapphire eyes that reflected the darkening sky. Sebastian's fingers curled at his side, growing into a large fist..

"Greetings, milady. I am well this evening, and yourself?" he asked in a cordial manner, the faintest trace of a smirk crossing his lips at her appearance. He knew that she was utterly terrified of being here, being in his presence, he could smell the fear on her. Lifting his own hand he bowed and brought it to his lips in a kiss, he knew why she wore the gloves even if she didn't truly know.

With a bow to the Marquis, Kain turned towards the door of his estate, holding his arm out to her. As his eyes met her own a chill ran down her spine, threatening to freeze her heart in fear. There was a hidden menace in those golden eyes, a danger that lurked just at the edge of perception. For all the bravado of her father and herself, there was nothing that could be done to alter her fate now. She was irrevocably his, no one could save her, no one would want to as he could enthrall even the strongest of men to his will.

"F.. fine.."

Slowly, she moved, placing her hand within the crook of his arm. And, as she touched him, the fear receded for some odd reason. The girl looked up at him and suddenly, those blue eyes were free and clear of the debilitating terror he had been causing in her. And slowly, a sweet, saucy smile curled the lines of her mouth.

"Are you going to just stand out here with my father and me, or are you going to invite us inside?"

Voice had developed an asininely cheerful tone now and she just beamed up at Kain, fighting the grin that threatened to form on her mouth.

Kain simply returned the smile before he answered her question. "Of course, of course. Won't you both come inside? Dinner should be ready for you shortly."

Should either of them ask if he would be joining them he would easily explain that he had pressing affairs to attend to and would be unable to join them until later in the evening. The truth of the matter was he would be watching them both from the shadows in form that none could see.

As he started inside, he placed his own hand over her own in the crook of his arm. He was slightly confused by the sudden change of her mood, the fear replaced by something else. How strange, he struck fear into the hearts of beings far more durable than she was; yet now that she was in physical contact with him she was as calm as she could ever be. At once he was both irritated and intrigued, there certainly was more to this woman than he imagined. He decided then that he had to know more about her. While waiting for dinner to be served he lead the two on a brief tour of his estate, showing them the large library that took up the majority of the second floor, the armory on the first floor which housed his most prized blade. The Soul Reaver, the blade roughly six feet in length with a wave to it all the way to the tip. The tour continued until one of the duke's servants came upon them and told his lord the meal was prepared and awaiting the guests. Dismissing the servant, Kain led them both to the dining hall, pulling out Arcadia's chair as he did, and left the room, informing them he would return later to see on them.

The woman looked about the dining room before she looked over her shoulder at the stairs, wanting to go back to the library. She had a passion for books and fidgeted in her chair, trying not to inhale the meal. But she felt him in the room somewhere.. And couldn't explain it. Ah well. But it was odd.. When she had touched him, of her own accord, the fear had just.. vanished. As if something in her had said.. 'Trust him'. And so, she would. Arcadia's instincts had very rarely, if ever, led her wrong during her span of two-and-twenty years. Most women would have been married long ago and have a pack of children, but she had been lucky enough to have a father who dedicated himself to her wishes on gaining a husband. But this.. This was almost too much.. But an armory.. And a library! A library full of books, larger then her fathers'..

"Arc.. Are you going to be alright here..?" Sebastian inquired..

"Yes, father.. I.. think I will.. Kain is, if nothing else, honorable. I feel that I could trust him.." she said, not adding on the fact that he was steeped in darkness so thick, it made her feel nauseous.

"... Alright.." rumbled the marquis.

Finally, Arcadia shoved her plate away. At least she'd shown her manners while eating, not gobbling her food down like her uncles did. A quiet groan escaped the girl as she thought of the lairds of Scotland.. Those men, thinking her father weak for not choosing another wife when Arc's mother had died..

He had been watching the two of them, seemingly clinging to the ceiling as a shadow the entire time. Honorable.. he had been at one time, he still was after a fashion. Trust him? She could trust him? This was a peculiar turn, indeed. As far as he knew, there wasn't a single soul who trusted him. Not truly. When they had finished their meal he allowed ample time to pass so it would not seem overly strange that he returned just as they finished. Descending the stairs to the room, he greeted them with a pleasant smile as he made his way over to the table.

"I apologize for being unable to dine with you, but business doesn't take care of itself. I trust the meal was to your liking, my lord, milady?" He looked first at her father, then to her, patiently awaiting their reply.

"It was good enough," Sebastian replied, before his eyes narrowed upon the nobleman.

'Oh no..' Arcadia thought and opening her mouth, tried to stop her father.

Too late.

"Tell me, Kain, what will my daughter live like here? I swear, if I find out that you've even so much as harmed a single hair on her head, I will call upon the king for an annulment of the marriage. What will she be required to do? Arcadia is not stupid and so, she'd be able to help you out. But with what? Tell me, what would you have my daughter do within your mighty household..?" the marquis asked, inhaling to ask even more questions.

Quickly Kain raised his hand, immediately halting the marquis before the next flurry of questions could leave his lips. A dark brow was arched highly as he looked over the man even as a soft smile crossed his lips. "Why Sebastian, am I to take that you do not trust me? I would never lift my hand to harm your daughter, my lord. I assure you, she will be well taken care of. Whatever she wants she will have. I have no doubt to her intelligence and her assistance would be most welcome in the ordering of my affairs. And as to what my affairs are, I'm afraid that I simply cannot divulge that information, at least not at this time." Pausing, the duke's voice took on a different tone, something akin to commanding. "Now then, I am certain you have more important things to do than to fret and worry over your adult daughter, Sebastian. I give you my word that nothing will happen to her, and I am honor bound by my word." The marquis would simply be unable to do anything other than leave, trusting that Kain would keep true to his word.

The girl watched as her father nodded, spellbound before he stood, bowed.. And left. Leaving Arcadia within the mansion. The boom of the front door closing rolled through the confines of the building like a death knell. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed before planting her hands upon the table and pushed herself up to her feet. Those blue eyes fixated upon him.

"So.. Now.. I suppose one could say that I'm trapped in the den of the lion.." Arcadia said, staring at the man before her.

Moving about the table, she leaned against it, moving one hand to her thigh, feeling the comforting cold, steel kiss of her daggers. That gave the woman some level of reassurance. Then, those blue, blue eyes flicked to him. Arcadia's hand curled and she moved to sit on the table, not caring about what he'd think.. And spoke.

"I'm not going to give it back."

"What good will it do you, hm?" he asked as he turned his gaze on her, now that they were the only two in the manor he was letting his guard down. His demeanor changed and he was a mere step away from being the snarling monster she had seen face-to-face two weeks prior. "It is of no use to you, and you won't get the chance to sell it, I assure you of that." Boldly Kain decided to ask a vital question, one that would determine just what she knew and possibly suspected. "You know that I am more than a man, you can feel with all your soul, can you not?"

Without thinking, she had yanked her skirt up and grabbed one of her daggers, holding it in a defensive posture even as those sapphire orbs stared at him from under those white-tipped bangs..

"Yes.. Yes, I can feel it. You are not human.. Not at all."

That dagger tapped against the tabletop, long, shapely legs being exposed to him with no thought to propriety. Like Arcadia gave a damn about propriety. Those dark eyes stared boldly into his before she leaned forward, staring at him, lips curling.

"Besides.. whoever said I wanted to sell it..?"

An almost mocking smirk crossed his lips even as he approached her. He had nothing to fear from her blade, wounds inflicted by it would simply close on their own, and quickly. There were few wounds he did fear, however, but the means to inflict them were carefully not on his property.

"So you simply want to keep it? For what purpose, it is of no value to you."

The facade was quickly dropping; the only part he maintained was his mortal visage. He didn't want to tip his hand just yet, but she most likely had some idea of what he truly was. Casually he eyed the blade she held and his smirk broadened further as he shook his head slowly.

"Put that away, girl. If I was going to harm you I would have done so the night you stole my ring."

A low growl escaped her before she pointed the dagger at him, the blade carved to look like there were wings spreading out over it, the patterns truly beautiful, if one took the time to study them and the small markings along the tongue of the blade.

"I don't believe you.."

Arcadia inhaled before she spat out the next word..

"Vampyre!"