Part 4

A Deadly Lesson to Teach

A/N: This is a total rewrite of 'The Butterfly Room'. The first version was rather rushed, and sloppy, plus I thought it would be a good idea to push up 'The Butterfly Room' to part five instead. I hope you find this rewrite a lot better. Enjoy!

Larsa is in one of his usual pissy moods. He snapped at his servants, he snapped at Basch, he even snapped at Mai, Rachel's head servant and closest friend. Mai made the awful mistake of snapping back at Larsa, calling him a narcissistic, self-absorbed bastard.

Everyone knew not to mouth off to Larsa. Everyone: butlers, maids, servants, guards, even Basch knew to keep his mouth shut when Larsa was in a bad mood, which seemed like everyday. Mouthing off meant being fired, being beaten until you piss blood, or death. Death, usually gruesome, is one of Larsa's sick penalties.

Mai is about to find that out the hard way.

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Meanwhile, three of Larsa's servants help him dress in a replica of Vayne's armor. Unknown to everyone, he is planning Mai's death. He wants it to be quick, yet painful. That is his way of being generous.

No one tells Larsa he is a narcissistic, self-absorbed bastard. No one! And that impudent bitch is about to get what she deserves.

Come to think of it, Larsa has never cared for Mai in the first place. He has always thought of her as whiny, needy, and especially clingy to Rachel.

One of his servants, Adrian, dared to question Larsa about his armor.

"Sir, what made you want to look like your late brother on this fine evening?"

Larsa glares daggers at Adrian, instantly intimidating him.

"Is it any of your business, servant?" He asks Adrian in a belittling tone of voice.

Adrian shakes his head 'no.'

"Um…no sir, it is not."

"Do you know I have the authority to make it so you will never again find employment?"

Adrian stares at the floor. Larsa's words make him feel very small. "Yes sir. I am fully aware."

"Then do not question me. Do I make myself entirely clear?" Larsa says through clenched teeth.

He nods his head 'yes'.

"Leave my sight!" Larsa says through clenched teeth. Adrian quickly bows and hurriedly leaves the bedroom.

Larsa smiles, suddenly in a pleasant mood. "He is a dolt, is he not?"

The remaining two servants nod their heads in agreement. Erich, another servant, puts the final touches on Larsa's armor.

"All done, my Lord," He says. "Now, all you need are your gloves and—"

"Hold on to them for me, Erich. Better yet, just leave them in here. The both of you are excused."

Erich and the other servant bow and leave.

Larsa steps off of the pedestal and goes to his dresser drawer. He opens the top drawer and takes the newly sharpened dagger out from its hiding place. He then takes the dagger and looks at it. He tests the dagger's sharpness by scraping his thumb on the blade.

"Perfect," Larsa says darkly. He smiles and leaves the bedroom to search for Mai.

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Larsa is about to give up when he literally bumps into Mai on the stairs. He is holding the dagger behind his back with his left hand.

"Oh! I'm so sorry my Lord! I—I didn't mean to bump into you! I wasn't paying attention----"

He puts a finger to his lips. "There will be no need for apologies, darling Mai. Come with me."

Larsa forcefully grabs Mai's upper arm and rushes her upstairs.

"Sir! You're…hurting me!"

"I am not hurting you…yet." A depraved smile forms on Larsa's lips. He places the tip of the dagger's blade on the small of Mai's back. She now knows there something is terribly wrong with him.

Larsa gets to an empty guest room, which is only down the hall from his own room. He opens one of the double doors and pushes her inside.

Mai stares at Larsa, her dark brown eyes full of fear and confusion. She had no clue why he is doing this in the first place. Is this one of his cruel fear tactics she has heard so much about? The sound of Larsa locking the double doors gives her a feeling of fright.

"Sit down," he says demandingly. Mai takes a seat in a nearby plush white velvet chair, which is conveniently in the middle of the guest room's floor. Larsa turns around and stares at Mai, his steel gray eyes emotionless. A satire of a grin spoils his handsome face.

"You…are one annoying pest. Do you agree?"

Mai is silent and trembling in fear. Tears fall down her bronzed face.

"Are those tears I see? Cease your weeping this instant."

She tries to stop crying, but the chilling feeling of sheer terror will not allow it. Mai's tears further aggravate Larsa, causing him to lose his patience and raise his voice.

"I SAID STOP CRYING!"

Larsa grabs her hair. The pain makes her let out a terrified whimper. He traces her jugular vein with the tip of the blade, creating a visible welt on her neck.

"Hmm…what shall I do next?" Larsa says with a wicked smile. "Shall I decapitate you, or shall I slit your throat from ear to ear? But first, I must restrain you."

He grabs Mai's ponytail, painfully jerking her head back. "I do not trust you, and I never will. You have always been a thorn in my side."

Larsa lets go of Mai's ponytail and goes to a linen closet. Shuffling through numerous cotton pillowcases and sheets, he finds the perfect restraint: a silk sheet. He rips the silk sheet with the dagger, creating thick ribbons.

"Now, I must keep you from screaming. May the Gods have mercy on your soul if you give me away," Larsa says calmly. "I have a reputation to defend, unlike you."

With that, Larsa forcefully places the longest strip of silk fabric around her mouth, purposely tightening it. Mai winces in pain. Larsa places his lips on Mai's right ear.

"I noticed you winced, Mai. Did I harm you? Did I cause some sort of pain?" With that, Larsa ties Mai's hands behind her back, tightening the silk strip around her wrists. He does the same with her ankles, securely tying them to the legs of the chair, restraining her very well.

Larsa stands up and grabs Mai's hair, touching his full lips to her ear once more. "I'm going to gain pleasure from this, perchance a little too much."

He grabs the dagger from off of the floor, tightly gripping its ruby handle. Larsa grips Mai's shoulder and plunges the blade into her stomach and buries it to the handle. Blood pours from the sides of her mouth, staining her face as well as the collar of her dress and the makeshift gag.

"I see the look of agony on your face. Isn't it excellent?" Larsa hisses. He takes the blade out of Mai's abdomen and stabs her once more, this time under her navel. Her blood stains the dagger's handle and Larsa's hand. "Isn't this fun?"

Mai tries to move, violently squirming in the once-white velvet chair, stained a dark brown from her blood. Larsa tilts his head to one side while observing his work.

"I think we need to put the final touches on my…work of art." He raises an eyebrow and smiles brightly, revealing perfect white teeth. Upon taking the dagger's blade out of Mai's abdomen, Larsa walks behind her, grabbing her hair and tilting her head back so he may look into her eyes. Her eyes, wide and full of fear stare deep into Larsa's eyes, gray and inert. Mai felt sorry for the young emperor due to the fact he hasn't a soul. He's a shell of a person, a tangible ghost.

She closes her eyes, bracing herself for the worst.

"Farewell Mai. Enjoy your eternal rest."

Mai doesn't feel any pain as Larsa severely slices her throat from ear to ear. Blood spatters onto his face and stains the light-colored parts of his armor, including his white wyrmskin collar.

He releases her hair, letting her near-decapitated head fall limply forward. Larsa raises an eyebrow and goes to the guest room's bathroom as if he did nothing at all. He turns the sink's water on full blast, using the stopper to fill the sink. As it fills with water Larsa searches for a clean washcloth. Finding one he places it into the filled sink.

Larsa turns the off the water, and saturates the washcloth. He wipes his face and hands, staining the once-white cloth a light crimson. He uses the cloth to wipe the dagger's blade clean.

He takes out the rubber stopper, draining the scarlet water. Using the same cloth, Larsa wipes the sink clean, removing any evidence of his horrid work. He stashes the blood-stained washcloth under the sink by stuffing it between the drainpipe and the wall.

Larsa leaves the guest room without so much as taking one quick glance at Mai, whose body is barely cool. He locks the door from the outside and checks to see if anyone has saw him leave. Luckily, no one has.

He arrives at his bedroom and opens the door. Before he steps inside, he checks to see if Rachel's there. She isn't. Larsa replaces the dagger into its sheath and back into its hiding place. He finds a writing pad and a pen to leave a note for Rachel:

Wear something beautiful and meet me in

The Butterfly Room.

---Larsa

Larsa tears the piece of paper out of the writing pad and leaves it on their bed. He grabs his white wyrmskin gloves and puts them on.

His footfalls follow the sound of the double doors opening and closing.

Unknown to Larsa, while he was busy covering up his dirty work, he neglected to wipe off the blood on his armor's collar.