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 Nine - The Ties That Bind

She nodded slowly, still not looking to him. Then, gaze flickered over to him briefly, a faint touch of weariness in her face. It had been a long day and even longer night and she was tired.

"Yes, I'm fine.. Again.. Thank you.."

The woman sighed and then gently began to braid her hair, fingers weaving three sections together into a very loose braid, simply to keep it all together now. Arcadia wondered what he would do now..

Outside of the room, Raziel twitched a bit, lip curling in disgust at his brother's words.. How could his brother, the most powerful man ever to exist, be so.. soft..?

He gave a slight nod to her before watching her in silence. After a moment he rose from her bed and started towards the door, stopping a few steps from it and looking over his shoulder to her.

"If you'd like I will remain outside your door while you sleep, in case my brother thinks to try anything again tonight."

Kain's offer was genuine; the last thing he wanted was for Raziel to force himself upon her again, and so soon. He waited only long enough for her to reply before he would step out of her room.. He thought she would be safer if he remained in the room, he knew his brother, but he wouldn't suggest that. If she wanted him to remain there with her, he would.

Slowly, she blinked and then nodded gently..

"Thank you.. I accept.."

Arcadia bestowed a quiet sort of smile onto Kain before her gaze lowered. Then, form slid off the foot of her bed and she pulled the covers back, slipping into it and leaned back against the headboard, moving her feet under the blanket as she watched him.

"You're a true nobleman. Even if you are rather arrogant."

Her eyes sparkled playfully before the girl slid down under the covering of her blanket and sheets, growing into a relaxed posture.

He offered the faintest trace of a smile and for a brief moment it threatened to become more than just that, but it passed as he watched her. She was so perfect in his eyes; he'd never seen a woman, mortal or vampyre, as strikingly beautiful as she was. She possessed a natural beauty that no other could even hope to match or compete with. Without another word the vampyre moved to the door and slipped out of the room with deathly silence.

Raziel had made himself scarce when he heard that Kain would be standing guard outside her door. Kain had humiliated him in front of a woman, a mortal woman no less! He couldn't do anything to his brother, not directly. He simply didn't stand a chance if he did. There had to be something he could do to get back at him.. There HAD to be!

Arcadia slipped into sleep easily, oddly comforted by the fact that Kain was out there watching over her. When she awoke, it was around noon. Not bothering to get dressed, the woman pulled out the materials she had stolen last night and began to get to work. The day passed in a blur of hours and the girl jumped when she heard someone knocking at her bedroom door. Moving over to it, the girl pulled it open. Turel, Kain's head butler, blinked at the sight presented to him. His master's fiancée had blue paint smeared over her cheeks, a dab of yellow right on the tip of her nose, green decorating her right temple and white crusting her bangs, hands and nightgown. The girl smiled at him before shaking her head and pushing the door shut. Blinking more at the odd dismissal, the butler turned and left, baffled. In her room, the girl continued working until finally, her creation was finished. Exhausted, Arcadia plopped onto her bed and passed out before she was even fully on it.

As the sun rose, Kain had retired to his chambers to rest knowing that even his brother wouldn't remain awake during the day. Raziel hated the daytime even more than Kain did and he always, always slept through it. Kain tolerated daytime when he absolutely had to which was on the occasion that an emergency arose and he simply had to tend to it. But today the vampyre lord simply would not be disturbed; he was mentally exhausted from having to deal with his brother as he did. Though he slept, Kain's mind raced, keeping a distant watchful eye on Arcadia through the ring she possessed, whether she was aware of it or not. He knew he would have to watch his brother closely though he loathed the chore almost as much as he did his brother. He knew he shouldn't feel that way about Raziel, but he did. The hours wore on, day began to turn to night and Kain started to rouse from his slumber, sensing that his younger sibling was as well. He didn't bother going to his pantry to feed, more concerned with locating his brother then going to check on Arcadia. Satisfied that Raziel had remained relatively out of sight for the time being, the vampyre went to the room he had set the girl up in. He knocked quietly on the polished wood of the door and waited a moment for a reply. None came. Furrowing his brow slightly he knocked again, still no reply. A slightly concerned expression crossed his features before finally he opened the door and blinked, staring at her in silence as a faint smirk crept over his lips.

The girl remained quite still on the bed, face and whatnot still smudged with paint. As the vampyre lord moved towards the room, something nearby caught Kain's attention before he slowly turned his head, seeing it - the sun rising over a mountain lake. Bright ribbons of color were splashed against a dawn sky - brilliant shades of orange and ocher and scarlet. The lake, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflected the colors back to the sky. Flowers blossomed near the edge of the water. Red and yellow, pink and lavender, and pure clean white. A blue bird perched on the limb of a willow tree, its dark eyes so bright they seemed alive. He stared at the painting. Arcadia had given Kain a sunrise, one he could enjoy without fear.

Kain simply stared, his mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. He couldn't help but be shocked, it had been ages since he'd seen a sunrise in any form.. and she'd made one, just for him. Kain could only wonder why, why she had made such a kind gesture as this, but he didn't complain. He simply reached out to the painting and lightly trailed his fingers over it, eyes taking in every last detail as a quiet smile formed on his lips. No one, absolutely no one had ever been so kind to him. No one but Arcadia. He looked from the painting and over to her, smiling a bit more before he moved over to her and gently lifted her onto her bed more, trying to make her comfortable as she continued to sleep. He wouldn't wake her; she was obviously tired.

A quiet sigh escaped Arcadia before she nestled closer to Kain, one small hand moving to curl tightly in his shirt, her head pressing into his shoulder before her chest continued to rise and fall in the soft rhythm of sleep. At least, it seemed that way. But, the girl had for some reason woken up as he'd entered the room and she'd watched from beneath lowered lashes as he'd touched the painting. It had been dry for about an hour since it had been finished and easily longer since she'd fallen asleep. But the girl found she didn't mind him picking her up, didn't mind him holding her in his arms. But as it seemed he was going to put her back down onto her bed, the girl's fingers tightened even more in Kain's shirt. She didn't want him to put her down.. Not yet.. But she didn't want him to know she was awake, so, her fingers gently... reluctantly.. began to loosen from their grasp upon his garment and Arcadia made herself grow limp, not fighting him as she was placed in her bed..

One of the vampyre's brows arched slightly; he could have sworn he felt the girl's fingers curling into his shirt. But there was nothing now and she seemed to be asleep. He gave a faint smile before he pulled the covers over her, lifting a hand to gently brush her hair from her face. Lightly he scratched at a bit of dried paint on her cheek and chuckled softly, shaking his head. Kain stood there a moment, simply watching her as she slept, or so he believed. After a time the vampyre stood up, folding his arms over his chest he watched her a moment more before he turned and started towards the door, pausing briefly as he looked over his shoulder to her.. A vague thought, a faint image had touched his mind.. Kain laying in bed with her, and Arcadia pressed gently against him, neither of them were out of their clothes.. It was an image of a simple, kind gesture to make the girl feel safe. She was in his care, after all, and his brother did pose a threat to her.. one that only Kain could keep her safe from..

And thus it was that she was drawn into his dark world. Arcadia found herself being pulled into the vortex of beauty and death and terrible, horrible, wonderful delights that surrounded her fiancé. Kain's wealth opened up everything to her. Anything, everything she asked for, was purchased, received, used for things she made into gifts for the vampyre. A Stradivarius, paints, oils, canvases, books, swords.. It was all given to her. Arcadia would curl up for hours in his library, devouring novel after novel before leaping up and grabbing her violin, playing almost furiously as she moved about the mansion, the deep, passionate notes of her music infiltrating every corner of the massive house. Kain took her out nightly to dances where she was free to mingle among other mortals, dancing, living, breathing, heart beating, delighting in it all. She'd started a garden on a whim, but was working on restoring a maze on Kain's grounds at his request. As it was, the girl had her own bodyguards in a way and she enjoyed that feeling, knowing that Kain's protection was with her at all times. Tonight, she and Kain were riding back to the mansion from a long, rather exhausting ball and the girl was leaning heavily into his side, being lulled to sleep by the gentle swaying of the carriage and the quite clop of the horses hooves upon the cobbled street. Her head was leaning back a bit, throat pulsing with life..

Things had progressed rather well, so Kain thought. He was pleasantly surprised at how readily she had taken to his dark world and he was delighted to see the smile light up her face when he gave her everything and anything she wanted. Amongst the things the vampyre enjoyed more than the rest was taking her out and just letting her dance to her heart's content. It was a rare thing that he didn't take his fiancé out onto the floor and put the other dancers to shame. All who attended the balls that the Duke and his wife-to-be went to could only watch on in slack jawed awe. The grace with which they both danced, the passion and skill, why it was simply otherworldly. All in attendance could only applaud wildly when they finished, to which they would both bow, out of breath and with smiles on their faces. This night had been more strenuous than most. Kain could tell by the way she was close to drifting off to sleep. Without realizing it, the vampyre's gaze had fallen to her neck and remained there, unable to look away as he watched the artery just beneath the skin pulse with each beating of her heart.. His vision started to become clouded with a red haze.. his lips parted as his tongue slipped out and over his lips, wetting them and revealing sharpened ivory points.. He could bite her, feed from her and she probably wouldn't notice..

The girl sighed, murmured something and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. Then, Arcadia thought she felt a broad hand gently curling about the back of her neck, a slender thumb gently tilting her chin upwards. Her eyes began to flutter open and then a faint gasp escaped her, the woman feeling something prick her neck before an incredible euphoric rush covered her body, leaving her to lean limply into Kain. She felt smooth, cool lips against her throat and inhaled faintly, albeit sharply. What was happening..? A firm, muscled arm wrapped about her, pulling the human closer into that dark embrace before hazy blue eyes blinked up at Kain as he lifted his head, lips smeared red with blood.. His gold eyes locked upon hers and the girl's thoughts drifted away before she seemed to blink and opened her eyes before sitting up, sunlight pouring in through the French-styled glass doors leading out to her balcony. Lifting one hand to her throat, the girl encountered nothing but flawless skin there.. Had it just been a dream..? Had to be. After all, otherwise, there would be wounds there, showing where Kain had fed from her, wouldn't there..? But she did feel a bit weak for some reason, yet she attributed that to coming home so late and not getting enough sleep. Her sleeping habits had begun to change somewhat lately and she knew that came from being about a pair of vampyres.

Rising, the woman moved, skirts swaying about her ankles and moved to the kitchen where she was free to pick whatever she liked. Picking up some croissants, the girl wandered outside to the garden, the twisted remnants of the roses sprawling over the area. Yet, green was beginning to show again and Arcadia smiled as she ate her rolls. Kain would be pleased. Wandering through the maze, she soon came to the center of it, a hidden grove within the slowly reviving flowers. Her shoes clacked gently on the stones beneath her feet and the girl moved to sit on a marble bench, fingers softly stroking over the rose designs carved within it with the gentleness of a lover's caress. Then, eyes lifted, moving upwards, drawn as always to that building of black marble within the center of the garden. Shivering, she continued to just stare and study that building, cold and ominous and deadly all at once, but darkly beautiful too. Was that where he slept..? The girl's fingers flexed, twitching a bit before she shook her head, pulling her gaze away, fighting down her curiosity. That was the one place on the entire grounds, aside from Kain and Raziel's rooms, that she had yet to enter and explore. But, her eyes were perpetually drawn again and again to the brass handles upon the doors and finally, she decided to assuage her curiosity. Rising, the girl moved over to the doors and pushed one open, slipping inside of it. To her surprise, torches were lit, illuminating the entrance. But the flickering light only reached so far and Arcadia could see stairs nearby, descending into a gloomy darkness. Swallowing hard, the thief took up one of the torches and gathering her skirts up with her free hand, began to descend the stairs, unsure of what she would find down here.

Kain tried to remind himself of his vow, to never partake of his fiancé's blood without her permission, but he couldn't help it.. He was being drawn in to her. Gently wrapping his left hand about her throat, the vampyre tilted her chin up a bit before bending down; ivory strands of hair hanging over his broad shoulders before sharp eyeteeth carefully pierced her skin. A tremor shook him as he tasted her blood; it was so.. perfect. Never before had the man tasted blood of this texture and richness and the mere first mouthful left him craving more. Pulling her closer, he continued to drink from her until he felt the girl go limp against him, her exhaustion and his feeding sending her into sleep. With a great effort he pulled his head away, a low, guttural snarl tearing from his throat. Her blood, it was exquisite, perfect, delicious... and arousing. Never before had the act of feeding from a mortal made him so, but when he fed from her it left him with a deeper hunger, one that gnawed at him, clawed and tore at him. But no, he would not; he could not take advantage of her like this. Taking a steadying breath the vampyre lifted the girl, his fiancé, into his arms and carried her within the manor, taking her to her bed and laying her upon it before carefully and gently pulling the covers over Arcadia. He stayed for a long moment, staring down at her with a hungry longing look in those golden eyes. Then he left, forcing his feet to move, to carry him to his crypt. Perhaps rest would allow his now hot blood to cool...

Settling himself in his coffin the vampyre gave a long, low growl. How he'd wanted to partake of more than just her blood... He knew that he shouldn't have done even that much for look what it had gotten him. Filled with a nearly insatiable lust for the girl as well as her blood. Giving a sharp shake of his head he lay down, folding his hands over his chest as pale lids slid shut over golden orbs. He slept. He dreamed. Dreams of coming to her and taking her with unbridled passion and lust, draining her of her strength and almost all her blood in his lust for her. Many times he thought he might wake from the vividness of the dreams, but he did not. He lingered on the edge of waking and dreaming, nothing being there to push him either way. Then he felt something, a vague sensation as of one nearing his crypt, that place of rest for the vampyre, that 'sacred' place. Nearer and nearer the intruder drew but Kain did not wake, he couldn't held in the grip of such erotic dreams. The vampyre stirred in his slumber, twitching and shifting as his mind tried to make the dreams of his subconscious real.

As the girl moved through the darkened confines of the crypt with only the feeble light of the torch she carried, Arcadia couldn't help but notice how well kept the interior was. That was to be expected, she reminded herself, this being the demesne of the vampyre, Kain. There were fine tapestries hung along the walls, all of them depicting some great battle or other, all of them featuring Kain as a prominent figure with other vampyres with him, among them was his brother. As she moved deeper into that place she couldn't help but hear the unmistakable sound of chains rattling and feet shuffling, all punctuated by a piteous moan. The girl drew closer and her eyes opened wide in horror at what she found. People. Living people strung up by their wrists from the walls and ceiling by chains. All of them looked horrible, as though they had been drained of their vital fluids more than once. All of them cringed, moaning in despair and pain, thinking her another vampyre, one in service to their keeper. Arcadia quickly left that place, horrified at the reminder of her fiancé's true nature before moving on, determined to explore this place further. After several moments of silent walking she came to an elaborately crafted stone door, which she boldly opened. Within she found a coffin, lid open. All she could see within was a pair of pale hands laced together. Drawing closer with a sense of trepidation, the girl discovered that this was him; Kain. He looked peaceful.. dead, almost. He hardly drew breath, but his sleep was obviously disturbed as his faint, jerking movements attested to.

The presence drew closer and he could feel it, could smell the intruder though his sleep-dulled mind couldn't place the scent, but it was familiar. The intensity of the dreams grew, as did the vampyre's arousal from them. Kain began jerking more and more, faint growls coming from him as well as quiet moans of her name though the girl couldn't quite make out what he was saying. As the dream reached its climax, the vampyre was keenly aware of someone standing over him, looking at him. And then he awoke; snapping upright with a cry that the girl could have swore was one of pleasure and her name upon his lips. Kain looked about wildly, frantic gaze falling on Arcadia and it took a moment for him to recognize her. He blinked, first once, then twice before slowly and calmly collecting himself as though nothing strange was occurring. Looking at her he arched a brow slightly before straightening his shirt and speaking to her.

"Is there something you require, Arcadia, or did you simply fancy a stroll into my crypt?" he asked in gentle tones; he wasn't angry at finding her there. In fact he was rather pleased.

The girl jerked back as he woke, obviously startled at the suddenness of his waking, words and myths flashing through her mind, whispering through the corridors of her thoughts and feelings, leaving her to stare at him with obvious astonishment as he awoke. Vampyre.. But.. wasn't he supposed to be asleep..? The stories and texts said that a vampyre slept during the day and arose in the night when his powers were at their strongest, but here he was, awake obviously and speaking to her now.. If that myth about sunlight, at least them sleeping while the sun was out, wasn't true, what of the other myths were fake..? Crucifixes, garlic, silver, holy water.. She knew the basic defenses against a vampyre and had read over ways to destroy one, but the thought of Kain being destroyed, this beautiful, terrible, wonderful, incredible being who'd turned her life upside-down, made the girl feel.. upset.. Saddened.. She didn't want to ever see Kain suffer such torments, didn't want him to ever be killed. Worrying her lower lip with her teeth, eyes closed briefly while she thought, trying to connect things before hearing that soft rumble of his voice, causing her eyes to open. Arcadia slowly tilted her head to the side, staring at him with slightly blank blue eyes before she shook her head, hearing his words.

"I.. I was.. j-just.. exploring.." she whispered softly, cheeks flushing delicately in subtle embarrassment before she turned her gaze away from Kain, visage growing warmer as her blush increased.

Something about the way he'd been moaning and that final cry had stirred something in the girl, leaving her to be a bit confused. But the sounds had made her body feel a bit.. Odd.. Achy, even. Arcadia had never felt such a way before, and it felt just slightly like she was empty on the inside, needing to feel something.. something more.. But.. no, it couldn't be.. Eyes closed and then opened again, dark lashes fanning out over her smooth white skin. Shaking her head from side to side, the human dipped her head downwards. Even if he sounded gentle, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Her free hand lifted up a bit to her neck and then another shudder rippled through her body before those twin sapphires of her eyes turned up to him now, a soft pink tongue wetting her lips slowly so she could speak what was on her mind..

"W-why do you have those people down here? I mean.. I.. I know.. you.. you need blood and all, but do you have to keep them in such a condition..? I.. I mean.."

Her eyes widened a bit and then she cringed, closing her eyes and waiting for his words. The girl had been able to push his true nature out of her mind for the most part but seeing those people had brought it rushing back. Arcadia recoiled a bit even from the coffin, wondering how he could sleep in it. Shudders rippled her frame, just looking at it and she wondered how he was able to sleep in that. She was far from claustrophobic, but the child associated coffins with death and that was one thing, which she was unsure of. A vague memory brushed her mind and she closed her eyes again, pressing her hand more tightly against her throat.. Feeling a faint prick on it.. As if she'd been bitten. But no, that was unlikely.. After all, Kain had made no such moves indicating that he wished to feed from her and that left the girl to just be confused. No, no.. He hadn't done such a thing, otherwise she'd surely remember. Yet, Arcadia's cheeks that had been cooling began to grow hotter before she shut her eyes tightly and stared down at the dark, midnight blue shoes on her feet, unable to look to him.

The girl had.. had.. the strangest dreams ever in her entire life. Dreams that had been dark and passionate and fierce and wonderful and had made her wake more then once, body sticky with sweat, chest heaving as she panted. But.. it wasn't the dreams that had her blushing in such odd feelings.. it was the fact she had been dreaming of Kain coming to her in these dreams and doing things to her that nearly made her scream in her sleep and when she'd woken up.. When she had awoken, the girl had been left to just stare blankly through the darkness of the night, salivating a bit, body humming and tingling with odd feelings, feelings that just left her to finally turn over in her bed and remain still, eventually falling asleep again.. It had continued all through the night, leaving the woman to just finally lay awake, confused and unsure of herself on what to do now.. Finally, her gaze turned back to Kain, cheeks still hued faintly pink before she swallowed hard and awaited his words, his explanation to her words.. Arcadia realized she had almost sounded accusing of him earlier..

His brow arched slightly at her words, it almost sounded as if she were being nearly possessive of him, like he shouldn't be feeding from them, or anyone. And if not from those of his herd, then who? Herself? He mentally scoffed at the thought, as if she would willingly let him feed from her. But what was to stop him from doing so again? The vampyre already had once, if he so wished he could continue to do so at his leisure.. The thought skittered through his mind enticingly.. feeding upon her while she slept, the dark kiss bringing to her deep and erotic dreams while it elicited intense lust and hunger from the vampyre himself.. If he did that he would no doubt lose control of himself and take her... As he had in his dreams, the very dreams that Kain had before he woke so suddenly a moment ago.. Realizing his mind had wandered, Kain forced himself to return to reality, to the present and her near accusatory words..

"I keep them in such condition so that they will not struggle when I require sustenance. I do not expect you to understand, as you do not require the same nourishment that I do. Nor do I pretend that it is not a cruel thing I have done to them. It is a far better fate than they would have met had I left them where I found them. Homeless and abandoned, all of them. Had I not taken them to provide me sustenance they would have met their ends on the streets. This is a far kinder fate than withering away from starvation or disease. I merely keep them incapacitated enough so that they can't escape. They know what I am, but I swore an oath long ago that I would not kill while feeding. I have not broken it once since making that oath. I simply cannot allow them to go free. They would tell whoever would listen what they've been through, rumors would start, and a mob would form and then come to claim my foul head. It is for my own protection that I keep those poor souls chained in this place as well as for my continued existence."

His mind had continued to wander without his consent all throughout his explanation. Her scent was so distracting and her proximity to him, arousing. Though he had found some degree of release for the building tension within him, the vampyre found himself wanting to feed from her more and more... and to take her, to make her his completely... to make her cry out his name in ecstasy and pleasure... Kain barely stifled a low, lustful growl as his golden eyes traveled hungrily over her form, stopping on her throat more than once... Though he tried to keep himself under some modicum of control, the vampyre couldn't help but feel that the girl noticed his eyes moving over her... and the hungry, predatory gleam in his wolfish eyes...