'Closer, My Darling'
Authors Note: It's quite difficult to maintain Reaver's aloof form of flirtatiousness the closer he gets to the queen. It's becoming quite challenging to write him spot on character, as the Fable franchise never really allows your character any sort of intimate actions with him, so I'm sort of treading on uncharted waters here. He revels in making her feel uncomfortable and exposed, but the more time she spends around him, the more immune to his antics she becomes. This means he shall have to raise the stakes a little. In doing that, he may show what could be interpreted as uncharacteristic amounts of attention to her when she is in his presence. He is a predator and she is his prey, and the more the rabbit evades the jackal, the more fixated he becomes on devouring her.
'Now tell me all about your pain
Down to the detail,
Don't say it's love, your fragile heart feeds my contempt
Reminding the mortal of death, I am the spore of your pride
An angel heaven sent, the master of all
I am the urge of the flesh'
The slight smell of dust and ancient oak lingered in her lungs as she stood facing her estranged brother. It had been many months since she had laid eyes on him, as he had been forced from the castle shortly after the great battle for his own safety. When the threat of apocalyptic destruction no longer loomed on the horizon, the people demanded his blood, on account of he was spared for his men and the promise of his help in rescuing the land, yet he was far from forgiven in the eyes of the people. After he had fulfilled his end of the agreement, the people of the kingdom had demanded their sacrifice be repaid in blood. His blood, to be exact.
The Queen hadn't entirely forgiven his trespasses upon her either, but she refused to condemn him to death for it. She always held a soft spot for family and those who she had grown up with. She recalled his face, twisted and vile when he had sentenced her childhood friend Elliot to death. The fear it provoked had stayed with her all throughout her journeys as the Rebel Princess, driving her to claim the throne. She refused to bear the same face as she watched the large and terrible headsman's ax take away her life's blood.
He stood before her now, his stone like face hadn't changed in the slightest since she had seen him off. The darkened mauve trenches still bore heavily underneath his eyes, and his lithe, tall frame seemed just as pale as it had the day she usurped the throne. Other than that, his appearance was impeccable, his slick slate hair oiled back and his skin showed no signs of discord other than the flesh colored scar that graced his upper lip since his returning from Aurora so many years ago.
It brought her satisfaction to know that he had been taken care of since taking his leave. His clothes were expensive and well fitting, and no doubt clean. He had refused to say where he was adjourning to when left, leaving her to wonder if he was simply taking on the life of a vagrant. It was clear now that he had made plans far in advance to be kept well off in at least slight luxury. How he had ended up here at Reaver's estate was an entirely different question.
"Brother... Logan, what are you doing here?" She was in far too much shock to ask any more specific questions. Logan heaved a sigh, a seemingly hereditary trait, before standing from the table. He remained silent for several moments before speaking.
"This is the only place it's safe for me to be at the moment." He directed a glance at Reaver. "Well.. Safer than most."
"What are you talking about? I had you royally pardoned. You're a free man, held in no forms of contempt against Albion's court."
"Not in the eyes of the kingdom." His voice was harsh and cold, and hidden deep in his eyes was a twinkle of regret. "But perhaps this isn't the place to discuss it." He shot a cold look at Reaver, who in turn threw his hands into the air innocently.
"Oh, by all means, don't hold your family meeting off on my account. I would never come between siblings.. Although there was that one time..." He pretended to look off reminiscently into the distance. Logan grunted and tapped his fingers impatiently on his crossed arms, realizing that Reaver wasn't planning on giving them any privacy. He pursed his lips and looked over at his sister, pulling out a chair for her to sit at the table. Seraphina gave him a peculiar look before taking her seat and watching him take the place adjacent to hers.
"Logan, what's going on? I thought you were safely hidden. This is one of the most ostentatious places in all of Albion on a regular basis, let alone on nights like this. If what you claim is true, then we need to get you out immediately." Her voice was authoritative, and it gave Logan a small smile.
"Aside from a gravestone, this is one of the safest places in all of Albion. Reaver has a guard that rivals Bowerstone Castle, and even if the perpetrators managed to find a way in, I doubt they'd find me in this.. maze of a mansion. I have to imagine it was built for quite such a purpose." Logan sent a sideways glance at Reaver, who was humming pleasantly in the corner, examining books and then tossing them lazily on the ground for someone else to clean up. "I tend to think of it as a poisonous spider. Although the outside is bright and flamboyant, there is a deeper meaning. It's almost daring someone to mess with it."
"How did you come to be here? Are you trying to tell me that he's just allowing you stay here free of any sort of charge?" Her voice was palpable with disbelief.
"Essentially yes, although I'm not foolish enough to believe that there won't be any sort of delayed cost. I'm just savoring the moments between finding out what that might be." He rubbed the soft spot on either side of his nose with his thumb and his index, resting his head on the arch of his fingers.
"But how did this come to pass? Why are you in danger so suddenly? I thought you left for that very reason. At least if you would have stayed in the castle, we could have protected you!" The Queen was frustrated now. She hadn't much liked the thought of sending her brother out into the land that he had so venomously provoked, and finding out that it hadn't helped definitely didn't soothe her unease.
"I admire your fire, sister, but you forget there are those who walk among you in the castle walls who would have my head as well, I would have only have been putting you and those you care about in danger. There are those who are so enveloped with thoughts of hatred and revenge, and it's a fire that can only be doused by my blood. They have even gone as far as banding together, tracking me down and stalking me. They watch my every footstep and memorize my routines. The only moments of safety I have known are in these walls, as hideously uncomfortable as that man makes me. He has however requested that I take my leave in a few days time." Both of them could have sworn they heard a small cackle coming from the corner of the darkened room where they assumed Reaver made off to.
Logan lowered his voice. "Reaver is the most hated man in all of Albion, second only to me. He has the means and cruelty to protect himself from his enemies. I wasn't entirely sure where else to turn. When he told me of your presence in his estate, I knew I had to see you one last time, if only to say goodbye, and... apologize for all the horrible things I have put you through. I thought I was doing what was right for the kingdom and for yourself, but I was wrong. I was foolish to think that the cruel means and iron fist I ruled the kingdom with were reasonable. At the time, I was blinded only the images of destruction that were to be with the coming of the Darkness."
His eyes darkened. "That cave changed me. Watching my men enveloped in darkness and falling before me like flies... I knew I couldn't allow that to happen to my kingdom. I shall pay for my sins, whatever the cost. I can only thank you for redeeming our family from the depths that I dragged it to, and tell you how much I care for you." His eyes were glistening in the low lamp light.
Seraphina felt a tight retching in her gut, and she shook her head furiously, small droplets escaping her eyes. "No, no, I won't let you do this. I won't let you fall for this. No other man in this kingdom would have done any differently. You did what you thought you had to do to protect your kingdom and its people."
Logan offered her a small smile before taking her hand in his ice cold one. "Someone did do differently. You did. You earned the money through other means and raised enough to keep your promises to the people and still have enough to defend them. I couldn't have asked to be a better monarch than you are now."
"I won't let you do this, I won't. I don't care what I have to do." A small heave escaped her stomach as she threw herself around Logan, clinging to him tightly and burrowing her head in the crook of his neck. He placed his arms around her and closed his own eyes, enjoying what he thought would be the last few moments he would ever spend with his baby sister.
A slow clap came from the corner of the room and the click of Reaver's cane came steadily closer. "My! What a touching sentiment! I myself despise sappy endings, but I'm sure someone somewhere is bound to appreciate it." His made a mocking gesture, placing his hands over his heart. "The two siblings torn asunder by an enraged kingdom! Oh, it's almost like something out of one of these tatty books." He shoved a disheveled book across the floor with his cane, successfully ripping a few pages and scattering them across the wood.
"Reaver!" The Queen quickly turned from Logan to face the aloof aristocrat. "You will help him."
"I'm terribly sorry, my dear, what was that? That sounded terribly like a command." He placed his hand to his ear, mimicking hard of hearing. The Queen rose and stampeded towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into a nearby bookcase. He laughed joyfully, a devious smile overtaking his features as he saw how beautifully flustered she was. Parts of her skin began to glow a furious aqua underneath her gown in symbols and lettering unknown as she gripped his shirt tighter. Logan only watched in utter amazement at the raw power his sister wielded.
A quick flick of his wrist and he was wielding his Dragonstomper .48 in his hands and placed it to her chest. "Now, now, my dear, I believe that it's best that we calm down before someone gets hurt." This only made her eyes glow more violently than before.
"If you condemn my brother to die, than you condemn me to death as well. You have the means to help him, to save him! Yet you refuse, and for what? He is no nuisance to you!"
"My little Queen, I know I have quite the track record of being so delightfully caring and selfless, but I have yet to see what I have to gain from all this." The meaning behind his words took hold and her skin began to fade as she softly let go of his collar.
"What is it that you want, Reaver? I cannot offer you coin, though I doubt that matters to you." She lurched her shoulders forward and gave a deep breath. Being at Reaver's whim didn't fill her with very much optimism.
"Hmm... What could I possibly want from a monarch, let alone one as ravishing and striking as yourself." His eyes narrowed. Logan jumped forward from the chair.
"No sister, I won't allow this, I won't take it, not at this cost!" He slammed his fist down onto the table.
"Hush now, Prince Logan. The adults are talking." Reaver gave a small maniacal laugh before placing his hands to his chin and pacing around in small circles, mimicking intense thought. Logan only stared at him malevolently, wishing to choke the breath from him and watch the light leave his eyes. After several moments, he spoke again.
"I do believe that I shall be most satisfied if you only.. ask nicely." He tilted his head, giving Seraphina a smirk of epic proportions and batting his eyelids. She stepped back slightly, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Ask... Nicely?" She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Yes, quite out of character for a monarch, I'm aware. Yet I feel as if I am going to offer my services, I shall at least have them rendered willingly, and not demanded of me." He pulled a chair out of a nearby table and fell lazily into it, lacing his hands into one another on top of his cane which sat between his legs. Logan seemed to relax a little, though still quite tense. Seraphina looked at Reaver with suspicious eyes.
"I'm waiting, my darling." He tapped his fingertips impatiently on the handle of his cane. Seraphina felt her lip twitch and frustration build in her stomach. This request had nothing to do with any sort of nicety. It was about bending her to his will, and establishing dominance.
"Reaver, you will host my brother Logan here in your ma-" She was cut short mid sentence by Reaver clacking his tongue at her.
"Ah ah ah, your Majesty. Still seems slightly too much like a demand for my taste." His sing song voice was all to pleasant. She bit her lip hard, kneading her nails into the skin of her palm. She took a deep breath before speaking once again.
"Lord Reaver, will you please host my brother Logan at your estate until further notice." She spat out the 'please' as subdued as possible. Reaver put on a faux pout and waved his hand, as if awaiting the rest of the plead. She closed her eyes, pretending to be talking to someone, anyone else. "He is in grave danger and needs to be kept somewhere safe, and your property is the only place I see fit. He needs-" She stopped short, remembering Reaver's weakness. "I need you. Will you do this for me?"
Reaver seemed positively delighted as he stood from the table. "Oh alright, but only because you begged so nicely." She rolled her eyes to the point of pain, relinquishing her hands from fists, only happy the ordeal was over with. "Although we are so short on space, I don't know how we'll ever manage." He threw his hand into the air in mimicked frustration, kicking another unfortunate book that happened to cross his path, walking god knows where into the stark room.
Logan approached her, his eyes contemplative and somewhat regretful. "You didn't have to do that, you know. Not for me. I wouldn't expect anyone to grovel to Reaver, not even my worst enemy." She placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"You are my brother, and therefore one half of me. Now you shall be safe until further notice. After all, it's not I who has to stay here with him. You're the one who has to keep his company." She chortled, and Logan let out a light laugh with her.
"Luckily for me, this house is large enough that I could have lived here for weeks without him ever taking notice. I should be able to avoid him for a bit longer." He placed his hand nervously on the back of his head. "But I cannot thank you enough for what you have done here tonight. I only hope that this will be the end of it."
As if on cue, Reaver waltzed back into the room. "Oh, your Majesty, there is also the matter of the treasury donation to be made, and your brother's parole hearings." She stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.
"Parole hearings? I wasn't under the impression he was a prisoner." She crossed her arms over her torso defiantly.
"You see, your brother is quite the trouble maker. He had the entire kingdom in riots! It was quite the time to be had! So of course you'll understand my hesitation upon thinking of the kind of trouble he'll stir up in a single house. Excuse me, mansion." He beamed at her. "All I ask is that when I call, you shall come. I shall give you notice of course." He grinned, leaning arrogantly on his cane.
"I fail to see why you could not make appearances at the castle." She raised her eyebrows at him, tapping her fingers.
"Of course you understand the sensitive nature of what we're undertaking together. I like to think of it as give and take. I give your brother a safe haven for the time being, and I take a little of your precious time. I, after all, have to ensure my own well being ." He leaned forward toward her. "Not that I mind your company when it is given, of course."
"This was not a part of our deal, Reaver." She sneered.
"Hmm.. Wasn't it?" He drummed his fingers contemplatively on his chin for a moment. "Ah, yes, well it appears it is now. Tatty Bye for now, my little Queen and her fugitive brother! I shall send for you early next week to discuss the matter of the donation. Logan, you no doubt know your way around here by now." He boastfully moseyed down the stairs toward the doorway.
Logan came up behind Seraphina and placed his hands on her shoulders comfortingly, both of them wondering what kind of deal with the devil had just been signed. Nothing with Reaver could ever be taken at masked-face value.
"That room is an absolute mess! Total discord, it's disgraceful. You've made me out to be a terrible host, all of you! Send me the wing master. Him and I must have a little chat about proper etiquette!" Reaver's voice could be heard scolding staff members from just outside the hallways. Both Logan and Seraphina cringed at his last sentence.