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 Five - Gentle Midnight

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him over her shoulder.

"Agreed.."

Then, gaze was moved back around and her hands flexed slightly before the woman finally spoke once more.

"So.. where am I going to be sleeping at..?"

An unbidden thought, a whisper of her sleeping there alone the rest of her life, touched her mind before she brushed it away. Who knew..? Maybe he'd want her as his wife completely.. But most likely not. Most likely, she would serve to be his wife in name alone. Head bowing slightly, she closed her eyes, shivering a bit before swallowing hard. What did it matter..? He wouldn't care for her.. All he wanted was the ring.. Nothing else.. Nothing else at all.. Well.. perhaps some of her blood, but.. The man was an enigma. Arcadia had indeed been hearing things about him since she was only a babe, horror stories told about this man to scare children into listening to their parents. But what was he like..? She didn't know.. and perhaps.. she didn't want to know..

However, something in her did..

"I was planning on leaving that up to you. Since you know what I am I highly doubt you'd want to be anywhere near me."

He felt it was true, she wasn't even looking at him now and it led him to believe that she loathed him for what he was. Though she was here, he was still very much alone. He thought with certainty that she didn't so much as want him to touch her, let alone be anywhere near her. More likely than not she would insist on spending her life as a mortal, grow old and die then leave him to his abysmally lonely existence. Not that it mattered, such was the way of things for those like him. He had eternity, but it would be an eternity of loneliness and darkness marked with the rare, one time light of something beautiful.. yet fleeting..

Her head turned slowly and she peered over her shoulder at him. Slowly, she turned back to face Kain, empathic powers sensing a profound loneliness within him. One foot lifted and then was set down, other following suit before she stood just inches before him now, peering up at him with those white flecked orbs of deepest blue. Then, hand lifted.. Then paused. Grabbing the tip of one finger of her glove between her teeth, she pulled it off and then reached up with her now bare hand, laying a warm palm against his cool cheek, dropping the glove to the ground and removing her other one also with her teeth and allowing that one to fall as well.

"Well, I'm near you now.. Tell me, Kain.. what would you do if I took a lover..? A man to take your place in my bed as husband..?"

She wanted.. no.. needed to know..

The corners of his lips twitched out of some unfamiliar emotion mingled with a flash of anger. It would be impossible to mask it from her as close as she was. As he looked down at her, he pressed his cheek into her hand, pale lids sliding over yellow eyes as the facade fell and shattered completely. For the first time she saw him in the light as he truly was, pale as death, hair white as freshly fallen snow and lips as black as the moonless night.

"He would most likely end up dead, Arcadia.."

A faint smile touched her lips in amusement before one hand moved, coiling some of his hair about her right index finger. Thumb rubbed over the strands, enjoying the feel of its silken cords.. A tiny imp wondered how it would feel on her skin, if it would be that same silky smoothness.. Arcadia blinked, her fingers pausing in his hair.. Suddenly, she was very aware that she was a woman and he, even undead, was a man. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed before shaking her head and peering up at him again.

"Really now..? I would have thought you wouldn't care less about what I'd do.. I don't know how much of a wife you'd want me to be.. After all.. you just said I'd be yours in front of the ton to save a reputation I don't give a damn about and to just give you an image of being a normal man.. How much of a wife am I to expect being, Kain..?"

"Judging from my last statement.. how much of a wife do you think I will ask you to be, Arcadia..?"

Golden eyes stared down at her, a trace of sadness touching them for the briefest of moments. The way she was speaking it sounded to him that she didn't particularly want to be wife to him, not at all. Fate, it seemed, was being remarkably cruel to him for he was quickly coming to like this woman. In time, he was almost certain he could love her.. but what would it matter? How could she love one such as him? She was mortal, he hadn't been mortal for more than two thousand years, he was vampyre. One of the oldest that he knew of. She was nothing more than a passerby in the long tale of his existence, her life a mere flicker compared to the span of his eternity.. unless..

She wasn't stupid. Arcadia had seen that touch of pain in his eyes and slowly, her hand lowered, resting upon her skirt lightly. The woman blinked up at him before she shut her eyes and looked down..

"Could.. could you show me to a room, please..? I.. I'd like to.. have some time to think.."

His.. wife. A real wife. To him.. Oh, yes, he was a handsome man and a strange thrill ran through her every time he spoke. But she needed more then that.. She needed love.. Needed to know she was cared for. But the woman swallowed a bit, looking up at him through her bangs. Arcadia felt such a profound loneliness from him.. A loneliness she wanted to save him from.. To save him always and bring him back and show him there was still good in the world..

"Of course.."

And that was all he said before he started off ahead of her, leading her to one of the finer rooms in his manor. He had all but given up at that point, given up on hoping that she would want to be with him.. to show him how to love.. There was nothing for him in the world, not even love was granted him. And so he resigned himself to a cold and lonely existence, watching as the world simply passed him by and those in it left, while he remained. None of that concerned him, there was only one that he was beginning to feel a pang of grief at losing..

Finally he came to a stop and opened the door to an expensively furnished room, the room he had thought she would like best.

"Here, Arcadia.. you may use this room if it pleases you.."

Then he turned to leave, his gaze falling upon her for a brief second.. His face wasn't quite as hard set as it had been.. there was a softness there, as if a crack in his armor.. then just as quickly, it was gone. The harshness of his expression having returned as he started away down the hall..

Arcadia entered the room, contemplating upon the look on his face she had just seen before gasping quietly. The room was.. well.. to put it simply.. perfect. A large canopy bed was set in the exact center of the wall adjacent to the door, the cover a dark blue to match her eyes, the sheets stark white in contrast, yet pale in comparison to Kain's hair. Across from it was a large hearth, flames crackling merrily within their stone confines. Across from the door were two large bookcases, filled with books. Darting over to them, Arcadia couldn't help the loud squeal of delight that escaped her, just knowing Kain would hear it. But books..! She loved books..! Near the bed was a large dresser, a mirror rising up from it, framed by rosewood carved into designs of gently rolling waves of wind. A trunk at the foot of the bed revealed dresses and ribbons for her hair. A box of jewelry was on the dresser surface, which she would explore later.. But how could she thank him for this..? Think..

Then, she knew it.. Moving over to the desk by the fireplace she opened it and pulled out a sheet of paper and a piece of charcoal. Sitting down, the woman began to work, bending over it.. And later that night, she was slumped onto the desk, head pillowed on her arms, fast asleep.

Hours had passed since he left her to think and he want to check on her, finding her asleep at the desk in her room. As silently as death he moved over to her and gently picked her up in his arms then carried her to the bed, laying her upon it and pulling the covers over her. Then just as quietly he left, choosing not to linger, but instead went to the library and seated himself at a table. There were a few books there, he had an odd habit of partly reading one book then starting on another, and so there were many books scattered across the tables, all of them marked at different places and each one on a different subject. Despite her presence he still felt utterly alone, he felt as though she was keeping her distance. Idly Kain picked one of the books up and opened it to the bookmark, spending the rest of his lonely night in silent reading..

She stirred with the movements, shifting before sitting up and peering after him blearily. Crawling out of the bed, she stripped out of the dress and changed into a nightshirt with a drawstring neckline and lace along the wrists and hem. Grabbing the drawing, the woman exited the room, just.. following the feelings of loneliness.. Slowly, she came to a halt, peering into the room at him before her voice husky and soft with sleep slid through the air like a caress of black velvet, the rough tones hinting subtly at more delicious things..

"Kain.. I've got something for you.."

She moved into the reading room and stopped before sitting down beside him, her pale face turned upwards to his own visage even as a sleepy smile touched her lips.

Slowly he looked up, lifting his gaze from the book he had been reading to meet her blue eyes. A thin black brow quirked slightly as he lowered the book, placing on the table. Apparently he hadn't been as gentle moving her as he had thought. Looking over her slightly he couldn't help but notice two small nubs pressing against the fabric of her nightgown before quickly diverting his gaze elsewhere.. it had apparently traveled too far down..

"Alright.. what is it that you have for me, Arcadia..?"

He hadn't been paying particular attention to what was on her desk when he had checked on her earlier. He didn't feel the need to so he wasn't prepared at all for what it was she had for him.

The girl was sitting with her back to the window, causing the thin linen of her shift to create a gentle silhouette of her body against the material. Blue eyes were a bit hazy with sleep and she smiled up at him before holding up the picture she had drawn. It was a remarkable likeness of the vampyre lord but she looked up at the man, awaiting his opinion of it.

"Well..?"

The moonbeams were caught in the white tips of her hair, causing them to glisten slightly, even as silver highlights rippled through the thick mane of her hair. Those blue eyes of hers swirled slightly, something in them glowing ever so lightly even as her lips curled into a sleepy smile. The girl looked like a young child, woken up far too early, but her body.. Well.. That was another thing. Here she was, sitting in front of her intended husband, wearing only a thin white nightgown that was rather revealing thanks to how the girl was sitting.

That brow arched higher as he looked over the drawing, it was quite an impressive work and it was obvious by looking at his expressions that was indeed impressed, and pleased as the slight smile attested to. Shifting his gaze from the drawing to her, his smile broadened slightly.

"I like it, Arcadia. It is very good. But you really should get some sleep."

Gently Kain took the drawing and laid it on the table before taking her hand in his, and as she stood, he led her back to her room and to her bed, pulling the covers over her before he left.

"Now sleep, Arcadia. I'll see you again tonight. Good night."

And with that he quietly left her room, closing the door behind him so as to minimize the chance of her being woken up by him. Then he returned to the library and simply gazed at the drawing. No one had ever drawn him before, then again no one hadn't been afraid of him at all. She was a very intriguing woman.. and he felt as though he were being drawn towards her ever so slightly.. As the night drew to an end, Kain retired to the sanctity of his crypt below the manor and slept.