A/N- I hope and pray that this entire chapter flows alrighty. I had half of it written, then I changed a majority of it, and then I had a minor bout of obsession with playing The Sims 2, and needless to say, ti distracted me from writing. Anywho, here you go. Truthful reviews would be awesome. :)
Chapter 10
Zuriel was still there when Celine awoke. She had hoped, in an embarrassing sort of way, that she would awaken before he did, so that she may see how a man that exuded such an immense aura looked when he was sleeping and defenseless. However, he was wide awake, his ponytail straight and his face showing only the smallest hint of newly grown facial hair. It was more of a shadow of a beard than anything, barely noticeable.
It was rather daunting, really, to awaken knowing that her hair was not smooth and fearing she may have spoken in her sleep or worse, and seeing that the man that had watched over her looked positively perfect.
Zuriel smiled enough to reveal the tips of a series of white teeth, sharp and dull in all the correct places.
Very daunting indeed…
He spoke first, naturally, being the more confident one. "Good morning" he said formally. Celine blinked her wide eyes and sat up in bed, self consciously and subtly smoothed her hair with her hands. "And to you" she said, letting only the slightest hint of her courtesan training shine through, as to mask her lack of confidence. She half smiled in a seductive manner that was meant to be mild, but, of course, came on stronger than she meant for it to, in a thoroughly positive way. Zuriel's mysterious whisper of a smile widened ever so slightly, but other than that, he made no acknowledgement of the girl's show. Besides, he knew all too well how shy she was, and knew that it was only a cover up when she unleashed such weapons upon him. Flirting was not part of her regimen.
"Did you sleep at all, my lord?" she asked, feeling that some form of formality was needed, given the awkward situation she had put them both in. Zuriel seemed accustomed, as always, to being less than proper, and still seemed evermore the gentleman. But Celine would normally never do such a thing as sleep in the same room with a man she was not wed locked to.
"Now now, I thought we were past all that. It is Zuriel" he said, his tone bossy as it was last night, but somehow it lacked the harshness of a normal teacher. Blushing at her mistake, Celine nodded slowly.
"Will you excuse me, Zuriel?" she asked, blinking less often than needed.
"Of course".
Celine rose gracefully as always, and padded into her bathroom. She washed her face and cleaned her teeth, and chose to leave her hair be after a quick look in her mirror.
She returned to her bedchambers and slid into her robe, as to appear more dignified, and turned to face her master.
He was standing now, hands behind his back, and seemed to have changed already. His coat was not the deep blue velvet it had been last night, and instead was replaced by a silk jacket that was a dark enough red to appear black in the shadows. Celine, knowing how quickly the servants here operated, did not think twice of it. She knew he must have asked Amara or some such member of the castle staff to retrieve him a new set of clothing while she had been in the bathroom.
Zuriel stepped forward, admiring Celine from a short distance. Her hair glowed subtly in the sunlight, turning it a deep, golden hue. Her cheeks were still damp from her recent face washing. A few rainbow droplets of water clung to the dark, thick sweep of her eyelashes. She smiled a little, unsure of what to do next. Normally she would be with Fiona at this time, preparing to meet Zuriel for breakfast. The smell of fresh morning foods was already wafting into her bedchambers. She wondered why Fiona had not come yet.
She opened her mouth ever so slightly, about to question whether or not they were to attend breakfast this morning, when Zuriel closed the small gap of distance between them to silence her. He seemed to be searching her face for a secret she did not have. Finally, he moved, leaning forward carefully towards her forehead. He kissed her there, sotfly and tenderly, and straightened again, looking almost mournful. She tried stared up at his throat as he did this, unsure of how to react. Instead of feeling joyous that he had finally touched her romantically, she felt that the gesture was not romantic at all, but sorrowful, and was confused by it.
Celine blinked too quickly, looking from his face to the floor in turn. She wondered if it was at all appropriate to voice her thoughts about him before he did of her… He had just initiated physical contact, after all. Perhaps it was alright…
"Zuriel… I… You make me feel very…". She fumbled over her words, and a blush, deep crimson in colour, rose to her fair cheeks.
"There is something I want to show you" he interrupted. "Break your fast first, and then meet me outside of the dining hall"
Frowning in confusion, she nodded and obeyed. She felt hurt- more than she cared to admit. Was she so undesirable, then? Surely he could tell what she had been trying to say.
He left her then, seeming unmoved by her pain. Fiona entered moments after, to find Celine with the same expression on her face.
"Mysterious, is he not?" Fiona commented, once again overstepping her boundaries as chambermaid.
"Indeed", replied Celine, remembering herself. She let Fiona dress her in a becoming ice blue gown, its sleeves coming to a point at her middle finger.
"Frustratingly so"
_______________________________________________________________________
Zuriel, even if he was hungry- and he was not- had the small matter of questioning Rhys to attend to. While Celine had slept peacefully last night, Zuriel had sat awake, thinking of who could have been here at the castle. He knew that if he had been alone, in his own chambers, he would not be thinking, but angrily fumbling around in his mind for answers. Celine's presence had calmed him enough so that he remained peaceful throughout the night, even if he could not sleep.
Zuriel burst through the doors to the servant's quarters, his pace fast but not rushed. Given the high time of morning, there was hardly anyone there now. They were all either busy frolicking where they wished or completing morning chores- depending on which set of servants was working this week.
These quarters were a rather unique part of the castle. Not only were they pretty, rather than dull and undecorated as servants quarters tended to be, but they were almost like a small castle in and of themselves. There was a main hall, where seating areas were plenty. This was a room he had designed for them to collaborate amongst themselves. There were couches and chairs aplenty, and a fireplace- larger than any other in the castle- was still crackling merrily. The fire there had by now died down, but last night it would have been roaring with life.
All their loyalty to him did not go unrewarded… He treated his staff fairly.
His eyes searched for Rhys. Normally he would already be dining, but today he knew Rhys would be somewhere within his own quarters, wracking his brain much like his master. It was not the most frustrating of happenings, really, having seen a man watching them. It was disturbing, because for all his years of spying on Celine, he had never experienced the feeling. However, the castle was filled with far too many servants to be of any real danger.
Still, the matter would not go undealt with. Without a map, this castle was very frustrating to find. He wondered vaguely if that damned witch he had made that deal with ten years ago had anything to do with this.
No… that was much too dramatic. Roland and William were both too stupid and too full of themselves to even know to seek out a witch in a situation like this, let alone find this exact witch's location…
"My lord". It was Rhys' voice. Zuriel turned to find him seated casually on a nearby chair.
"You must be truly smitten with her to be so careless. You did not even notice me" said Rhys. He rose nimbly for a man of his size. Though not as tall or as well- muscled as his master, Rhys was well built in height and in stature. His blond hair flowed in waves to the middle of his back, and his even-present smirk was fastened to his lips.
Zuriel cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. He loved his friend and ally, truly, but now was not the time or the place.
"Ahh, right", he said, sobering his tone. Some of the sparkle in his blue eyes faded. "Well, we have searched everywhere we can. I do not know how the hell the man was able to get away. He was have truly been terrified to have gotten to his mount with such haste.
"We suspect that he may be Roland. The man looked-"
Zuriel interrupted his speech. "Roland? How in God's name…"
"If I may be so bold, old friend, I believe you- we- underestimated him. It is not impossible that he could have found his way here. He is just as obsessed as Celine's father with the girl's beauty. Obtaining her as a bride would be the greatest feat in his family's history"
Zuriel nodded and waved his hand in dismissal. He knew all of that. He was pacing now, staring at the ground. His expression was frustrated.
"You are quite right. Very well then. I assume there are already others who are watching him, then?"
"Of course".
Zuriel sighed and nodded. He turned to go.
"You are going to tell her today…"
Rhys' words were more of a question than a statement.
"Yes I am". Zuriel felt heavy, weighed down by the task at hand. He was glad, for what may be the first time, to not be with his love. He needed this time to prepare…
"Any known strategies?" asked Rhys. This, at least, made Zuriel smile.
"She is not a battlefront, Rhys", he told his friend softly, and with that he was gone, halfway down the hall before Rhys could reply.
_________________________________________________________
Celine rather rushed to the dining hall, and ate very little, somehow managing to ignore the tempting scents of the banquet before her. She was finished in moments, having hurried so that she may all the sooner be with Zuriel again. She did not like being separated from him as of late, and it was for more than the comfort of seeing an actual human instead of only feeling them like she felt the rest of the people here.
She walked so quickly that she almost missed him. He called out her name to draw her attention to his location. He was standing just outside the dining hall doors.
"Come with me", he said, though his tone was humble. Unlike yesterday, he was speaking in requests, and not instructing her. He held out his arm that she may take it in her own, which she did. She was feeling fearful now. His actions pointed to a surprise in the works, but she feared it was a negative surprise, in the way that he behaved.
She immediately recognized the path they were taking as they walked. Her first day here, she had been lost many times over. Her first time trying to reach the dining hall, she had come across a rather medieval looking hall. The way there had seemed longer then, because she had gone in circles so many times. But Zuriel knew his castle's every brick and painting, and thus led her to the hall within a minute.
The hall held a sort of unwanted nostalgia to it. As she had grown closer to Zuriel, she had begun to miss her home less and less, and found the castle more and more comfortable. Now, seeing a place she had not seen since she had first arrived here, memories of her initial anxiety flooded back. She pushed it aside.
The corridor was dark, with no windows and only one small chandelier lighting the way. This chandelier was unlike any that Celine had thus far encountered in the castle. She stared up at it, having already seen the rest of the room and remembering its features. She must have overlooked it when she had passed by this hall before. It was black, and hung from a chain of some sort of steel, rather than the shining silver and gold that Celine had now grown accustomed to. The chandelier itself looked like plain black wood, and candles were set precariously on its edges, free of decoration or any kind of flattering detail. Strange…
But not as strange as the suits of armor that lined the hallway. There were at least a dozen on each side, all baring the same crest. It was based off of some sort of wolf head, and was blue and silver. A gray moon was placed behind the wolf head silhouette, which seemed to be howling at it.
"To what family does that crest belong to?" Celine asked softly. She was beginning to relax, thinking that perhaps Zuriel only sought to share a bit of his past with her, at last, and there was no cause for panic.
"My own", he replied.
Celine's arm was still looped through his, with her hand resting on his upper arm. It was unnecessarily tensed, and the hard muscle there was warmer than Celine would have expected. Was he nervous?
"Do you it is mean your ancestors'' crest?" she asked innocently. Zuriel shook his head, his silver eyes scanning the hall, as if to avoid her own.
She stared up at him intensely, daring him to meet her eyes. He did after a silent moment.
"No. It is my family's crest… My immediate family's".
Celine lowered her eyes, letting their gaze rest on the floor so she could contemplate what he was telling her.
"But it is medieval", she said finally, having wracked her brain and finding no solution to the puzzle he had just presented her with.
"Indeed it is", came the quiet reply. He began walking forth, towards the large, dark and looming doors at the end of the corridor.
"What is behind them?" she asked, inclining towards them with her head as she waited for his answer.
"My bedchambers".
Celine's face twisted into a delicate frown. Despite their unorthodox sleeping arrangements last night, she knew Zuriel to be a gentleman of a higher class than she had ever encountered before. Surely… surely he was not being suggestive?
No, of course he was not. Silly notion, really.
Celine's mind reeled as he pushed open the entryway. It was silent as it opened, though Celine had been expecting some sort of creaking noise, given the old style of the entire space.
Within was indeed what could only have been Zuriel's bedchambers. There was a bit more light in here due to a few slim windows, but those were covered by sheer curtains, which were billowing slightly in the breeze. Many standing candelabras were placed randomly throughout the room, and the heat from their candles made the room warmer than Celine was used to. Still, it felt nice, given the chilly conditions outside the castle.
There was a large bed in the middle of the room, backed up against a wall. A black canopy was draped about the entire thing, but it was gauzy enough to reveal what the bed beneath it looked like. There were midnight blue covers and too many pillows there. The walls themselves were exposed brick, gray in colour just like the castle walls outside.
The things that caught her eye most prominently were the tapestries. Ten or so of them hung from the dark walls. Creatures of the night decorated every one of them. Werewolves, Celine guessed. She had heard a few horror stories as a girl, but had never actually seen one. The long fangs, wolf heads, and hairy but human-esque bodies could be nothing but the night prowlers she remembered. They all looked almost handsome, sensual somehow in all their power. But that did little to distract Celine from the feeling of terror that they gave her.
"Why do you surround yourself with such darkness?" she asked Zuriel. She did her best to keep her voice steady and understanding, lest she scare him off. She had, for what now seemed like forever, dreamed of seeing the place where he laid his head to rest every night. Though this place was nothing like she had imagined, it seemed to suit him.
Zuriel cleared his throat. Celine had always thought him somehow above acts of nervousness. Yet here he was, tense and anxious, doing little to hide his emotions from her. This was a side of him that Celine had never seen before, and she felt honored.
She withdrew her arm from his and walked in front of him to draw his attention. Still, he stared off, deathly still and quiet. She reached up and placed her small, pale hands tenderly on his cheeks. They were hard, and his cheekbones were high and slightly hallow. It only added to his good looks. She stroked them for a moment before gently forcing his head down so that he may meet her eyes.
"Tell me", she said simply, knowing he would know what she meant. "Please…" she added pleadingly.
Zuriel's loud, frustrated sigh filled the silence. He jerked his head out of her hands and began pacing before her. "I cannot figure out how they work, Celine. I have tried for countless years, to uncover why the moon forces them to change, where the curse originated from, how to stop it. I cannot!" His voice raised in volume slowly, from a soft explanation to a sort of hopeless bellow. Celine's eyes widened in surprise. She had not seen him behave this way since he had first lost his temper with her when she had tried to seduce him into letting her go free from this place.
She waited quietly for his breathing to calm and even out. "Why do you wonder such things? Surely… surely it does not matter?" She somehow sensed that her words would appear foolish to him, though she could not gather why.
"Yes it does", he shot back quietly. His voice was shaky, and his eyes were sorrowful. Thankful as she was that he was allowing her to see this part of him- whatever part this might be, she felt frightened and wished she could make him stop.
"But why?" Her voice was barely above a whisper now.
"Because I want to be cured".
Every tiny muscle in Celine's marble-esque neck tensed as the weight of his words bore down on her. She dropped slowly to the ground, her hands gripping the bedpost behind her for support.
"I do not understand, my lord" she whispered so quietly she feared he would not hear. She was unsure of what to call him now, frustrated and passionate as he was.
"Yes you do", he replied simply, bitterly. He had calmed himself, and a heart-breaking sort of remorse had taken a hold of him. His face was twisted into a look so powerful and yet pitiable that Celine felt frozen in her place.
She breathed shallowly, and her gaze dropped from his statue-like form to the ground beneath her. She dropped her head, thinking as quickly as her fragile state of mind would allow her.
He could not be serious… Invisible servants, witch's spells… those she could take. But werewolves?
But then, it made sense. His absence during dinner, the howl that night…
The howl outside her bedroom window two moons ago.
"O my God", she breathed.
Her words stung him, though he did not show it. He had recovered, externally, at least. His hands were once again behind his back, and his expression was aristocratic and regal enough to mask every one of his reeling emotions. He was prepared for her to run. For her to scream for help. For his precious angel to look at him scornfully and wish for Roland, her more normal suitor.
She did none of these things. After awhile, he realized that he could no longer hear her panicked breathing. He turned to find her still on the floor, but not sitting in an upright position, deep in thought. She looked more ethereal than he could find words to describe. Her face, calmer than he could ever have imagined, was tearstained but peaceful. Her chest rose and fell at a perfect, mild pace.
Unable to stop himself, he kept his distance, but spoke. "What are you thinking, my love…"
She seemed almost startled by his voice, as if she had forgotten he was there.
She blinked rapidly, in the way that she tended to do before she said something profound and unexpected. She held out her hand to her, asking with her eyes for assistance in standing.
Slightly braver due to this possible stroke of gracious fate, he strode forward slowly and took her hand in his, more careful than ever not to crush it. She was so delicate, so fragile…
She rose gracefully before him, her gaze meeting his, daring him to look away. He realized that she was standing on her tip toes, and she placed her hands on his chest for balance. Slowly, nervously, she leaned towards him, until finally her soft lips met his hard cheek. The kiss made the softest and sweetest of noises. When she was done, she dropped back down, even more slowly, to a flat-footed position.
Celine waited patiently, hoping silently that he would not take her answer to his confession in a negative way. She hoped he would not think that she mocked him. She hoped… she hoped for the strength to keep hoping.
Zuriel's stony expression lightened to a small, cocky smile. Whatever emotional drain he may be feeling, he hid it well.
"You will not run, then?" he asked her.
She thought for a moment. "If I did, would you chase me?" Her playful tone was raw, given the strained atmosphere they had created around them.
Zuriel swallowed, finding her words struck a chord he did not wish to sound. His smile faded. "Yes".
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"I could kill you, Celine", he said seriously. "With you, in your presence, it is easier than I ever imagined, keeping this… beast"-he spat the word-"at bay. But I am not perfect".
"I would be honored to die at your hand" she said honestly, and dropped her head.
Morbid little thing, she was. "You do not know what you are saying".
She stared up at him once more, blinking too quickly again.
"You are an old man, I think", she said. This comment took him off guard.
"How would you know such a thing?"
"Your pictures, from when you were a child. They are in some of the galleries…"
Zuriel held back a quiet curse. "I did not think you would recognize them to be me".
"You underestimate me more often than I would like, my lord. I find it rather offensive".
How she kept managing to be light and playful in this dark hour, Zuriel was unsure. Somehow it broke the tension though, and for that, he was grateful.
"How old are you. Truthfully, please". Her tone was more timid now. She was afraid of and intrigued by knowing the answer.
"I was twenty-six when I was bitten. That was just over 300 years ago".
Celine held back a gasp. It did not matter, she told herself.
"I suppose I seem to you a very foolish child, then, with every mistake that I make? You must have gathered much wisdom over so many years".
Once again, Celine's reply surprised him. Her face held no horrified expression. Only curiosity and embarrassment for herself; for her flaws.
"I am intelligent, Celine… not wise. I was a fool to drag you here. A fool to believe that I could force you into love. A fool to believe that you could accept this".
"I think I am accepting everything just fine", she replied, looking genuinely offended this time. Zuriel's lips turned upwards ever so slightly.
"Indeed you are angel. Forgive me".
She smiled a fairly hollow smile, seeming satisfied with his acceptance of her reactions. Her body was with him but her mind was not. She seemed to be drifting off to another place again.
"May I know your story, Zuriel?" she asked, looking off into nothing. It was almost like a self defensive strategy… If his story hurt, she was only half here anyway, so she would not feel it very much.
Zuriel swallowed hard. It stung him to see the girl he had loved so deeply, for more years than she had known until recently, in so much turmoil. Her emotions were one small high and one deep low, one after the other. She would not need him tonight in order to rest- fitful or not, her sleep would come quickly and on its own. Surely she would be exhausted by this day's end.
"What would you like to know?"
Celine answered slowly. "Where were you born? And to whom?"
Zuriel could have sighed with relief. These questions, at least, were simple enough to answer.
"I was born in Vassenbone', to Queen Elspeth and King Gerard".
Celine gasped.
"Surely you have heard of it", said Zuriel, his tone lightly teasing now. He knew the true reason for her shock.
"Well, my lord, that does explain a few things", she said. And it did. The regal air of him, the hundreds of servants, the complete knowledge about the building of castles…
"It is still Zuriel to you, my love", he corrected. She smirked and nodded.
"And how… how were you made this way?" She chose her words carefully, not wanting to wound either one of them any further.
Zuriel cocked his head ever so slightly to one side, finding himself unprepared to answer this question. When he had prepared to tell her of his origins, today, he had assumed that by this point she would have already fled the castle and been done with him. He had not expected her to not only stay, but be sweetly curious.
"Werewolves were once a common part of culture. Everyone knew that they existed, and peace was kept with them at all times- except when they were hungry. It was hard to decipher who was infected and who was not, and by the time one did, the full moon was already raised and it was too late. Werewolves were living within my father's court, and we did not even know it until they changed for the first time. They killed nearly everyone, including my parents. Myself and just under forty servants and members of the court were left alive, and that is only because the bloodshed stopped with the rising of the sun- the lycans had been cut short in their meal by the coming of the morning.
"I did not even realize I had been bitten until that night. I told Rhys first, my most loyal of friends. He kept it a secret at first, and we both began to devise ways to keep me at bay. All month long, even as my newly inherited temper flared and calmed, we, along with the rest of the survivors, rebuilt what we could of the castle. All the while we thought of ways to cure me. Finally, the day of the night of the full moon, we realized it was hopeless. I ate as much as I could, that I would not feed on members of my own court, and Rhys locked me within my own bedchambers. I remembered nothing. That was how it went with werewolves, I soon discovered. We can change at will, with enough discipline, and in such a case, we remember everything when he transform back to our human selves. But when the moon is full and high, we have no choice in changing, and we remember nothing".
Celine listened with patience. To Zuriel she looked more beautiful now than she ever had. God must truly be either astoundingly clever or cruel, to have made such a woman for Zuriel. He hoped that she would not leave him when the shock of it all settled…
She was perfect. He never imagined she would be this understanding.
"My mother had loved roses almost as much as you do. They grew rampant throughout the castle gardens. One day it occurred to me- through my newly gained immortality, my blood had changed. I began researching in the castle library, searching for knowledge about my kind. I found very little but learned that werewolf venom was in the mouth only, and the body only produces it when in true werewolf form. My blood was completely unharmed, even changed as it was.
"I began, on a strange sort of whim, feeding one particular rose bush with small amounts of my blood instead of water. I found that over time the roses bloomed more beautiful than the rest. After consulting Rhys, I began instructing the servants to make teas from the petals.
"It was not confirmed that it was working as I had planned until years later, when Rhys and I realized no one had aged since they had begun drinking the tea. My suspicions had been joyously confirmed. It was then that we ousted my true nature to the rest of the castle, who seemed to have been suspicious anyway. They did not receive the news well until we informed them that we had found the key to immortality. Then, of course, as selfish humans are pat to do, they accepted my fate.
"Eventually, we began to travel, searching for new and better lands. Our castle was too strangely run now to be accepted by others, and the community around us was beginning to grow once more. I gave my servants permission to take anyone they wanted with them- lovers, family… I also gave them permission to give others the tea, but only if, of course, they were absolutely sure of their loyalty to them and to me.
"Over the years our numbers grew from forty to a hundred strong, and finally, as it stands now, there are a few hundred of us".
Celine took in the strange, fascinating story with an open mind. When he was finished, Celine found that his common logic made the words he spoke more believable. He had not said anything, after all, that really sounded so impossible now.
"Where did you live all of this time?"
"We lived mostly in one particular castle, which we built deep into the forest of Vassenbone'. Eventually, however, as the city grew, we were forced to relocate. We have lived here ever since. Of course the castle has changed much since the discovery of you. I had them add on your quarters and things like the drawing room. I have no need for such things, of course, but I knew you would find them familiar and to your liking".
Celine smiled softly at this. The grandeur materials and set up of the drawing room were hardly familiar. But she found comfort in its beauty nonetheless, so it still served its purpose.
"I am… I do not know what to say", she said finally. Her voice was airy, and her mind, which had been concentrating so hard on his words, was somewhere else again, wondering how to take everything.
Zuriel nodded understandingly. An odd sort of relief spread through him. All these years, his servants had been able to tell their lovers- as they found them- their strange tale. All these years they had lived with companions and had children and been, despite everything, fairly normal. He, their source of life, had been the burdened one. And now he felt quite unburdened. It was a blessed feeling, he found.
He wanted to ask her outright if she would leave him. He wanted the peace of mind of having her absolute word. But he could not burden her any further than he already had. She had much to think about, much to swallow. Anyway, he knew, somehow, deep down, that she would not run. She would stay, even in the eye of the storm.