Chapter II: The Dance of the Fool
Within the room, the seemingly torn water-lily dropped her woolen gown to the floor, leaving both her fastening brooches on a wooden table as she began carelessly divesting herself of the linen shift hanging from her shoulders. Dropping this on the floor as well, she smoothly walked to the one area of her quarters where Lucian was not allowed to search. The darkness of her bed-chamber. A room, fashioned of solid stone, that remained sealed by lock, and in truth, could welcome neither friend nor foe save by the will of its occupant…the sole owner of the key which opened its door.
Removing the key from around her neck, the torn water-lily calmly fit the circular piece into the hole and turned the stone cavity until she heard a click. Placing her hand into a crevice of the wall, she pulled the door open and stood in the entrance-way, allowing her eyes to adjust slowly as she peered through the darkness…
…a small frown darkening her lips as she hissed at the raven-haired man still strewn across her bedclothes, wool and linens. By Pater's hand, he hadn't even dressed yet. But sensing the exterior light, the familiar voice caught in her bed began to moan…putting a woozy hand to his head and pulling his naked body towards the sound of her hiss.
"Is 't dusk?" he muttered blearily.
"No," she murmured softly. Coldly. "By the rays, it is morning…and by your lingering stench, I still find your presence taxing. Perhaps you may consider sleeping off your diminished manhood elsewhere."
Still blinking sleepily, the man sat up in the bed, pushing the hair from his face. "How'm I supposed to get to my chambers from here?" he grumbled, the bleary voice coming out whiny and croaking with the lilting tongue of misuse. "Sun's out."
"Well, I'm afraid, kind sir…that's not my concern." She smirked in the darkness, allowing a feigned pout to show upon her face. "What is my concern, however, is that you haven't fed for a whole night. Aren't you starving?" She sat on the side of the bed and patted him on the cheek. "Why don't you find yourself something nice to eat before you disintegrate from hunger…"
"Night b'fore…last?"
"Or was it two? I can't really remember …" she whispered with a cruel smile, noting with pleasure that the vampire was already grabbing his things from the floor, trying to dress and walk at the same time in the midst of his drunkenness. It still took him about ten minutes to get a shift over his head…but now almost at the doorway, he suddenly turned around, trying to pulling his breeches on. "What abou' you?" he muttered, the syllables starting to slur.
"What?" she whispered coolly.
"You've-ve eaten?"
She shrugged, already pulling herself into the bed. Her mind caught up with other things.
Other people…
Realizing she wasn't about to answer, he decided to try and push his luck. Wiping his drunk face a little, he yawned. "So when can I…"
"Not tonight…" she murmured offhandedly.
"Bu' why?" he asked. A little confused. Very whiney.
Keeping the smirk from her face, she turned her head to face him, allowing the warmth to shine through. "Because I need my rest. Because I'm weak. Because I have no soul. Or perhaps…let us pretend that for once, 'I…" and suddenly, she smiled viciously in the midst of her sentence. "…require solitude for the night'…is that understood?"
He shrugged unsteadily…
"O…kay…" he whispered sleepily, unnerved by the coldness of her tone. She had been so warm last night.
Silently closing the door behind him and listening as she locked herself in with a sharp click, he made his clumsy way through the dark chamber, groggily trying to come up with a path to reach his quarters from this part of the castle. He bumped into several items and fell over a chair, but soon found himself at what he thought might be one of the doors to Sonja's chamber. He pushed it…yes. Definitely a door…and from what he remembered he was in the…east…wing? Or was it west…
Closing the large double doors of the Lady Sonja's quarters, the gangly nobleman turned into the hallways and looked groggily about. Yes. Easy. Simply a matter of going by the…east…corridor. Which was right. Or left. Or was it ww-est? And then the kitchens.
Disgusting kitchens…
Disgusting lycan kitchens…
…but the ss-stink would be…worth it as long as he found…ss-something to feed on. (yaaawn) Ss-stupid creatures must have b-bblood ready. At least a bit of a veniss-isusis-on…or horse…or (yawwwn)…
Lycan dogs and their ss-tupid, mangy habits, he thought with a grumble, shoving his way past a…
…lycan.
Still rather drunk, he stopped for a moment and pressed his palm onto the creature's shoulder. "Y-uou there…"
The strange creature…this lycan…turned his head slightly in recoil at the "freshness" of the vampire's breath.
"You are…a…dirty lycan," nodded the drunk vampire as he swayed. "I rremember your f-ffuh-face…now, where's your k-kitchen?" He spoke excruciatingly slow as if talking to a child.
Frowning, Lucian raised an eyebrow (the vampire saw this as a warm smile followed by a bow,) and pointed to his right. "Two corridors down, take the far left, follow the stairwell and keep walking until you smell blood…milord." The words were calm, but his tone was one of utter disgust.
"I will see to it that…" the raven-haired vampire paused, and then nodded, patting Lucian on the back. "…I will sss-see to it that you are offered cuh…cu…clemency."
Lucian nodded, the scowl deepening upon his face. (The vampire saw this as groveling.)
"No, no…" said the vampire. "I…will not take… 'nuh-no' for an answer. Now…gu-get out of my…sss-sight."
"I thank you, milord," Lucian whispered with an icy frown. "…for I could not stand here much longer myself."
"What?"
"I said, you must be wary of your health."
"Ah. It is ttrue…because I am vvuery…pale…and the sun's rays…are devasuhst…are deva…are 'bad' for my skin," he shrugged with a woozy smile. "And now…tooo supper," he said.
Lucian remained silent, merely staring icy daggers at the vampire, who nodded a second time and unsteadily headed down the corridor. Watching, it still took several seconds for the vampire to count two corridors, and almost ready to snarl, Lucian finally stepped forward and sent him down the right one.
Fool, he thought…
…but as he said the word, he stared back towards the oak doors from which the very drunk nobleman, Kraven had just exited from. And to his shock, even as Kraven was still making his dull way to the kitchens…another vampire…Benoit…a lowly, but somewhat comely member of Markus' house was knocking softly against the same door with a rather keen look on his face. Backing against the tapestry to his right, Lucian's mouth abruptly dropped as he saw the door slyly open as a pale (highly recognizable!) female arm pulled Benoit in by the top of his shirt.
By the…
She…
…that…
His eyes hardened…
That…Jezebel!
…again! I play the part of a fool…he realized, shaking his head in disbelief.
Not ten minutes past, he'd found himself turning back from his departure from the Lady's corridor. Unable to throw this awful feeling of regret at having misused this naive bird... Thinking her a weakling…frail. Thinking she might be smarting from his insult… neglecting his breakfast, and returning to her door, thinking perhaps to…but now…by the Elders, he didn't know what to think!
Every time he thought he knew, she…just…
...and this was the second time the Lady had caught him off-guard!
Even today, she seemed so…
Immediately the growl began to rumble in his throat. This wasn't right. Though he himself was by no means a virtuous creature, the Lady Sonja of all people ought to be…
…chaste! Pure!
Unsullied! he thought abruptly, not even noticing the prudish and rather hypocritical tone of his thoughts.
Bandying lies, indeed…
And she had the audacity to yell at him for insinuating the obvious!
"Lady of little virtue, you are not, milady, but the word 'slut' certainly rings true," he grated softly to himself, the growl darkening his face as he turned from the corridor, leaving the venue of Lady Sonja's room a second time that morning.
And a pity on the man who marries you…
Still stalking carelessly down the aisles, Lucian sniffed the air and immediately headed towards the kitchens, now in search of something carnal to eat.
