First and foremost, as always, many many thanks to my reviewers. All of you, every single one. I'm sorry I don't follow suit like some writers here and name you all one by one, but you know who you are, and I do try to reply to each review individually as they come it, the signed ones at least. Like I said, many thanks and keep it up! I need it right now especially because my enthusiasm for this story is waning so I REALLY need the support. REVIEW PLEASE! Pretty pretty please with (insert topping of choice here) on top!
Oh yeah, no monkey wrenches this chapter. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but never fear, there will be twists. Alrighty, enough from me.
Disclaimer: It's all mine, except what isn't. ;oP
When they arrived back at the Chamber it was late afternoon. To avoid eating at the Chamber and possibly being poisoned or whatnot, they had grabbed a quick bite to eat at a small restaurant not far away. They were met at the door of the house by three attendants, one of which Jonas recognized as Raoul. He carried himself differently than the other attendants, with more fear and apprehension; Jonas hadn't noticed before because he was the only servant in the room. Raoul had been more abused during his time here, Jonas guessed, and held less revere for his master than the others. 'Good to know,' he thought absently. He glanced over at Riddick and by the look on his face Jonas guessed that he was probably thinking the same things. Or possibly which one would be the most helpful eventually.
The other male servant, an older, shorter, white haired man with a big nose and small eyes, stepped forward and spoke first.
"Salutations, my name is Orn, I am head of the household staff. This is Raoul, and the lady to my right is Jora." Orn motioned to his right and Jonas finally noticed the third member of the entourage. She was middle aged, or if she wasn't her round face was careworn like she should have been. Her curly blonde hair was pulled back making her look even older and her light blue eyes spoke silently of untold burdens and things she'd born witness to that she didn't particularly want to see. She fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable with Jonas' scrutiny. 'Interesting.' Orn continued, "If each of you will come with one of us, we will show you to your rooms and assist you with your wardrobe and other preparations for this evening's festivities."
Riddick looked at Jonas with visible doubts. He was obviously not happy, but he played along well. Jonas nodded reassuringly and the three were led to their own chambers to get ready.
Some time later Riddick emerged and was hastily led by a highly agitated Orn to the end of a hallway where he could wait for his companions. He smirked as Orn sauntered off mumbling something about manners. Riddick hadn't intended to scare him, but sleeves just weren't his thing, and if Orn couldn't understand why he'd ripped the ones off the simple black silk tunic outfit he'd chosen there was little he could do. He'd gotten a kick out of Orn's face when he'd done it though. A look of near convulsion had crossed it and Riddick could tell the man had to bite his tongue to keep from coming unglued. The sound of footsteps coming down the hall brought him back and he looked up to see Jonas walking sprightly toward him. Jonas whistled approvingly.
"Not bad, not bad. You clean up nicely… for a convict. Whaddaya think?" He was practically glowing as he spun around so Riddick could look him over. It had been far too long since Jonas had a chance to wear clothes so finely tailored and he planned to take full advantage of it. He had chosen a gray tunic outfit with silver piping, much the same design as Riddick's, only his still had sleeves.
"You too, you know, minus the convict part. Where's Kyra?"
"She'll be down soon, I suppose, hey…" Jonas motioned for Riddick to lean closer, "I put the squeeze on Raoul while I was getting ready and questioned him about Tobias."
"And…?"
"And… there are rumors going around about dark forces of some sort at work in this place. He told me that there are mysteries here, mysteries that no one has had the courage to unlock. People who've asked questions have been disappearing for the last five years, and Tobias owns the authorities so nothing's been done about it. Tobias has secrets, and I want to know what they are." Jonas backed off and the look on his face was dead serious, though Riddick thought he must have been joking.
"Look, if you want to go play detective be my guest, but let Kyra and I get the hell out of here first. This isn't our fight and-"
"What's not whose fight?" came a silken voice from down the hall. The two men looked toward the voice and mouths went slack and eyes bugged out as Kyra ambled slowly toward them (slowly because she wasn't quite used to the two extra inches under her feet yet).
Riddick had never seen her in a dress before. As a matter of fact, this was the first time since he'd met her that she actually looked feminine at all. Her dress was black with forest green trim, a wrap style bodice with a slim flowing skirt tapering down to the floor that covered the heels he knew she had to be wearing, since she was exactly two inches taller now than she had been upon arriving. The dark green in the dress enhanced her eyes so that they looked like fresh cut emeralds, entrancing Riddick even more than usual. Her curly, coffee black tresses spilled over her soft shoulders, almost covering the silver earrings dangling from each ear. Jonas was the first to regain the capacity for coherent speech.
"Who are you and what have you done with the real Kyra?" Jonas poked. She smiled, blushing a little as she walked up to the two men.
"What? Oh my god, I am a woman after all! Shock, awe, amazement!" She leaned forward to Riddick's ear and whispered, "Your mouth is hanging open." The light smell of flowers mingling with her natural scent was enthralling for him. Riddick closed his mouth and cleared his throat, clearly flustered. Kyra found great amusement in his reaction; it was just the one she was hoping for. It's always good to have the undivided attention of the man you're enamored with.
"You two don't look half bad yourselves," she snickered a little, "I'm assuming you guys aren't going to embarrass me, hm?"
Another clearing of throat grabbed all their attentions and they turned to see Orn opening a set of double doors to a grand ballroom. Exchanging looks, the three stepped forward and into the huge and crowded room. It was even more ornately decorated than the rest of the house, making Jonas' stomach turn to think of how it all had made its way here. Gold was strewn everywhere, even flecked into the stone of the floor. The ceiling was painted with scenes of flowery fields, and what Jonas recognized as the burned remains of the old city. Kyra too looked up and could guess what the scene was through Jonas' paled expression.
'Odd,' she thought, 'what sort of leader paints the remnants of a an atrocity on their ceiling?'
Riddick too thought it was strange, but even stranger was the trace of scent he picked up in the room. Nothing strong, and nothing he'd noticed anywhere else in the large house. It was the scent of decay, pain and death. He kept it to himself, not wanting to alarm the others but he put himself on alert just to be on the safe side.
The last of the guests arrived as the three mingled together, munching on oddly presented hors d'oeuvres and listening to music that floated over the dull hum of conversation from a small stage to one side of the room. Kyra was fascinated by the variety of clothing styles the other guests presented and though the colors were all dark, the mood was amazingly light.
Suddenly there was a clanking to get everyone's attention. Everyone's eyes drifted toward the sound and found Orn standing on the small stage by the musicians.
"Attention, may I have your attention please," the conversations tapered off and an opressive silence filled the huge room, "Thank you one and all for joining us for this joyous occasion; the fifth anniversary of the Peace of Lazarus." Orn paused for applause and was obliged by the zealous crowd. After a moment he continued, "Now I have the esteemed pleasure of introducing the bringer of this Peace. Ladies and gentlemen a warm welcome to your host and High Lord, Tobias Rothchild!" More roaring applause as Tobias emerged from the side somewhere. He wore sumptuously decorated robes of burgundy with gold trim and his presence was undeniably powerful. He had the crowd in an absolute uproar. Not just the crowd, Jonas noticed; Kyra too was totally enthralled by him. In fact, every woman attending had the same rapt expression. It was a little disconcerting, to say the least. Once the applause finally died down, Tobias spoke.
"Hello friends and esteemed nobles of Lazarus," Tobias' voice carried far over the crowd, even though he had no amplifier. 'Interesting,' Riddick thought to himself. Tobias continued, "Before I speak my words for tonight's occasion, I would like to introduce someone very special to all of you. The woman who has made my life complete, I feel. The woman I plan to make my wife very, very soon." Jonas' heart almost stopped as he realized whom Tobias was speaking of. "My light, my one and only, Sariah Derue."
The crowd disappeared and time stood still for Jonas as his once best friend strode out onto the stage beside Tobias with a fluid grace that was almost unnatural. She too had grown, now standing only a few inches shorter than Tobias himself. She was slender, having lost the chub of adolescence, and her deep burgundy dress fit her form well, accenting her curves and contours. Her raven hair was done up in twisted braids all wrapped about her head and Jonas could tell that if it were down it would hang past her waist. She was pale, like Tobias, but she still had the same delicately featured oval face he remembered. As she gazed out over the crowd suddenly their eyes met and Jonas gasped. Her eyes were callous now. The warm violet pools he knew were now cold and empty. Her fire was gone, replaced by something… uncanny and cruel. She held his eyes and let out a tiny, broken smile before hers moved on as though she thought she was seeing his memory or his ghost and not the real him.
"Is that your Sariah?" Riddick's voice rumbling in his ear brought Jonas crashing back to himself. Suddenly he felt as though his skull would burst. It was too much, the roar of the crowd's applause coupled with the crush of seeing her again, even the sound of his own blood in his veins was too much. He had to get out, get away. He turned and started trying desperately to move through the mass of people who had accumulated behind them to see the two together. Kyra and Riddick only looked at each other with alarm and tried to follow him through the throng of bodies.
'She's not even her anymore. What was I thinking? Why did I come here? Why?' The questions wouldn't stop as he moved through the sea of bodies, trying urgently to get away. Out of sheer panic he softened his form just the slightest amount to squeeze through the people and get out. He'd heard Kyra calling out to him, but lost her somewhere in the crowd. All he could think about was getting away. It would drive him mad to stay here. 'Just get out, get out, get out.'
Kyra had tried to keep up with Jonas, but he moved to quickly. She thought she'd seen his arm bend in a way it normally shouldn't have, which told her he really was desperate to get out, so she dropped back and let him go.
"He needs time, we'll find him later." She told Riddick, but when she turned and looked behind her, he was gone. 'Shit.'
Suddenly she felt hands on her arms, and a tiny prick in her shoulder. She turned expecting Riddick and caught a glimpse of Jora before everything went black.
Riddick had lost Kyra in the crowd and had been searching for her for nearly an hour when he saw her advancing toward him from across the room. Something was different about her walk, her demeanor, but he shrugged it off. 'Probably just the party going to her head.'
"Where the fuck have you-" she shushed him and took his hand, leading him out onto the large dance floor. He hadn't even noticed the music he'd been so preoccupied with finding her. It was a slow and hypnotic song, with some sort of violin type instrument in lead. It was hauntingly beautiful. She stood him in the middle of the floor and began to move, slowly, sinuously, matching the beat perfectly.
"Kyra, we need to-" yet again she shushed him. Never saying a word, or missing a beat she danced for him, and only him. Sure others watched but neither paid them any mind. He couldn't say he wasn't happy to watch, though he was curious as to what brought this on, her movements mesmerized him and kept him speechless. She closed her eyes and moved closer, brushing his body with her own, moving her hips so close to his it was all he could do not to groan.
He noticed something then. He grabbed her by the upper arms and lifted her to him, inhaling her deeply. He growled.
"You're… not… Kyra."
P.S. The music mentioned above, imagine something like Lorena McKennit's Marco Polo, or something similar. Oh yeah, review please!
