~ Twelfth Night ~
Visions of fires and screams filled my head. Bodies upon bodies, my home up in flames under a blood blanketed sky. Something cold touched my face, and I moaned, swiping at it viciously, annoyed when it returned. Bram, where was Bram? I did not see him amongst the broken and the empty.
"Bram...Bram?"
"Shh, Liliana, everything is going to be alright." A woman's voice, like bell song.
I shook my head. "Bram."
The woman did not answer, but she would murmur soothing songs. Some were in a language I recognised, others were not. Eventually the nightmarish visions faded, and I realised with some relief that I must have been dreaming. When I awoke properly, I was met by a pair of gentle rubies, concerned as much as they were elated. Didyme in all her beatific glory, the fire behind her adding a divine glow to her already celestial form.
"You are awake." She noted gently, a genuine smile gracing her full lips. "You had us most worried, Princess."
My gaze darted suddenly around the room, concerned who the 'we' referred to.
"Mircea is not here." Didyme assured me knowingly, noting my distress. She looped her cold fingers tightly through my own. "I convinced him that it might be best for me to care for you. Men do not tend to handle delicate well, and you were in no state to be roughly handled." She tittered lightly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "You've slept through two moons, you know. I think the fall must have done a lot more damage than you realised. What were you thinking?"
Her words hung damnably in the air, and I shook my head, a weight descending painfully across my chest as I recalled that night's events. But as the panic began to rise within my throat, I felt an invisible warmth touch my skin, it soothed me as it spread, and sighing, I found myself leaning back into the furs I laid upon. My heart beats settled once more.
"I do not think that I was." I confessed softly, wincing against the painful light that shot across my vision. "I just wanted to get away... Mircea, he..."
"I know." Didyme murmured comfortingly. "I was passing a few corridors down, and I heard perhaps more of the conversation than I should have." She smiled apologetically, a strange expression to see on any demon. She continued. "If I might say, men often believe they have a right to things that they do not. It is up to us to show them otherwise."
I managed to smile. "Just perhaps not by throwing ones self out of a very high window?"
Didyme giggled. "Perhaps not."
My smile widened, rolling my eyes at my own stupidity. It was a strange scenario, a demon playing nurse maid, but it suited Didyme somehow. Her company was a very welcome thing I realised, and unlike the time by the lake, I did not find myself questioning my sudden fondness. I was simply grateful for her.
Suddenly the door sounded, and I must have noticeably flinched, because Didyme laid a comforting hand upon my arm.
"Be still." She murmured softly. "It is only Marcus."
When the door opened, another deity with gentle features entered my chambers, his face lighting up considerably upon seeing the image of his wife. Didyme left my side then, her husband folding her into his tight embrace, as he laid loving lips lightly against her forehead.
After a moment, Didyme pulled away to meet his gaze.
"Where is Aro?"
"Hunting."
"He is what?"
"He hasn't fed in the last few days, Didyme, he thought it best." Marcus murmured, his red gaze flickering briefly in my own direction.
"Did he now." Didyme continued haughtily, and how strange it was to see this darker emotion on her cherub features. "I do not wholly disagree with him keeping some distance, but he needs to smooth things over with Mircea. I can only do so much, Marcus, my gift does not fair well with matters of the heart, and if Mircea convinces the others that..."
"Hush, my love." Marcus purred quickly, stroking soothing knuckles lightly across her cheek. "Aro knows what he is doing. Have faith."
"It isn't that." Didyme glanced worriedly at me over her shoulder, her tone more careful when she spoke again. "He needs to decide how serious he is about certain... things. If he keeps lighting fires under Mircea like he is, who knows what other damage will be done."
Marcus sighed. "Didyme..."
"I know." She breathed softly, catching her husband's hand and bringing it to her lips. "I know. And I do love him, Marcus, but we both know how carried away he can get. What if he ends up doing something he later regrets?"
"I'll speak with him." Marcus promised, seeing that his wife wasn't going to let the matter drop. "Though he heeds my council lately almost as little as he does yours. Just be thankful Caius isn't here. We would have been at war before we'd even crossed the moat."
Didyme laughed whole heartedly then, and any tension that had been in the room dissipated, her tendrils of titters dancing happily around us in the ether.
I watched the couple with quiet interest, not just for the conversation that had unfolded, but because of how different they were to the other pairings I'd seen in the castle. There was something inviting about them, homely.
Love, I guessed would have been the naïve term.
"Liliana, you should rest now." Didyme suddenly advised quietly, snapping me from my thoughts. "Marcus and I will not be far should you need anything."
"You're leaving?"
The panic in my voice was disgraceful. I cursed myself as soon as the words escaped me. It was unbefitting of my breeding and title, and yet the pair offered no judgement or mockery. They understood how trying the times had been, and the sentiment had me grateful.
"We will not be far." Didyme said again. "Please. Rest."
They left, and I found my gaze following the tapestry of vines that covered the stone above me. At first there seemed to be no order to it, no plan, but if you looked carefully enough, you could see a pattern forming. That was what life was, I silently concluded, trying to find the pattern through the chaos – why, I was becoming quite philosophical.
Sighing, I shifted carefully against the furs, once again gritting my teeth against the ever present pain in my side. My body felt stiff and unused, and it was with a second fleeting thought, that I realised it was now unclothed beneath the thick heavy pelts. Lifting the edge and peering cautiously beneath, I noted the night blues and purples that roughly painted my body. There was a particularly nasty mark beneath one of my breasts, a pool of deep onyx, no doubt the culprit behind the fierce pain I had been feeling. It was an awful thing to behold, and so I looked away, returning my attention to the vines above.
Chaos indeed.
R&R!
Are we missing Aro? I'm missing Aro – hopefully you liked this chapter though. I felt guilty for the short one before, especially after so much time had passed since my last update.
Take care chickens. x