Fantasy The Death of Count Airien // CLOSED

Cataz

Cataz tried and tried! Portals were difficult magic but they shouldn't be this hard! Something was blocking him over and over, the cards in their holster at his side were screaming with the need for attention but all he cared about was getting Elora out of here. But no matter how hard he ignored them, the portal wouldn't open. "Fine!" He finally yelled and let go of the connection, turning back to Elora only to find that everyone had gathered while he was preoccupied. Aldus was holding onto Elora's wound but it looked bad... very bad. "Shit." He looked around wildly and an idea hit him. He peered back at the situation behind him and found the cloaked members separated from both their group and Caine. That would at least buy them a few minutes before they came up with a plan of their own.

"Aldus we're going to have to move her." Cataz looked down at Elora as he tried to calm his panic. "I-I'll be right back." He tore his attention away and made his way to the back of the shop they were taking refuge next to. He used his elbow to break out one of the rear windows and climbed in over the broken glass, gaining a few superficial cuts as he did. Once inside he quickly pulled one of the bakers racks in front of the now exposed window before making his way to the door and unlocking it, stepping back outside, a few feet from where the group was standing.

Cataz moved over to Elora and Aldus and knelt down, gently sliding his hands under her body and looking up at Aldus, "I'll carry her but you just need to keep pressure okay? There's a table in there we can set her on. I can't make the portal... I don't know why but I just cant. So we have to make due." He lifted her as carefully as one would hold a butterfly and slowly made his way to the bakery he had broken into. He set Elora on the table and removed his arms from under her body. He wanted to stay here and do nothing but hold her hand. He wanted to ignore the nagging at his side. But before he knew it, the intensity of the call from the tarot knocked him straight on his back as he was pulled into another realm.

"Who did this?!" Cataz growled as the world of the arcana began to glow around him. Two shadows appeared, the lovers. Was this some form of sick irony? "I swear if this is something ridiculous I will throw the deck into a fire pit." Then they whispered and he pulled back with a raised brow. What could that possibly mean? Did they mean he could save Elora? No that didn't make sense. At least not in this context.... He stopped for a moment. Why couldn't they ever just say a straight fact? It was always some fucking riddle. Then it dawned on him. The blood of the true love can heal him? They were screaming about how to save Caine.

Suddenly Cataz was back in the bakery, staring at the dark ceiling and letting out a giant gasp as he took in a much needed breath of air. "Aldus, you knew about the plague a bit right. There's no cure? Not even like age old story book type true love cure?" Cataz stood and returned to the table that Elora laid on, reaching out and pushing back some of her hair, keeping one hand cupping her cheek and another moved to hold her hand. "I know you're a man of logic but I also need you to combine the two for a moment. I know that personally I would give my everything to save this woman. And I know that passion that strong can do strange things in this world. Do you think that could be possible to help Caine as well?"

Brielle

As Aldus scooped her up, Brielle's arms went tightly around him to keep balance, a small yelp coming from her lips as he stumbled near the crevice that Elora had created. Once they were near the others he placed her on the ground and went to help Elora. Brielle couldn't believe the amount of blood... weren't elves supposed to be very resilient? What could have pierced her so easily like that?! Cataz let out a groan and she watched him with wide eyes, "Cataz wait, we can just-" But he was already gone. What was he going to do? A small crash rang through the square and soon enough he was exiting out through the front door of the bakery besides them.

Cataz and Aldus moved Elora into the shop and Brielle stood to her feet, faltering for a moment as she looked back at Airiette. Aldus was right... she wasn't going to be safe out here alone. But as for now there was nothing she could do. Getting involved would only make things harder for Airiette, Brielle would be a distraction. "Airiette!" She called out and thought for a small minute. "Cataz got the portal, we're getting out of here!" The group was behind the intruders view, hopefully Brielle's small trick would throw them off, just long enough to get Elora back in commission.

Brielle ducked into the shop and looked around, Cataz was on the ground. "D-Did he pass out?! What a lovely fucking time!" She looked over at Elora and tapped her foot nervously on the ground. Aldus didn't have his bag here, they needed that portal to get back to a place with medical supplies. Her hazel eyes looked around the place as the cogs turned in her head. Stop the bleeding. Towels. Stitches. Staples. Antiseptic... Something. Brielle moved behind the counter and began rifling through drawers and cabinets. She found a pile of dish towels that she prayed was clean, some knives small and sharp enough that the could stand in place of a scalpel, she found some clear liquid in a bottle and after smelling it she thanked the gods that the baker must have had a drinking problem. Brielle gathered all of the items in her arms and made her way back to the table, placing them all in the empty space next to Elora's body.

"I-I just couldn't find anything to close the wound..." Brielle breathed heavily, not realizing how quickly and aggressively she had just been moving as she looked over at Aldus. Beyond him she could see Cataz standing up once again. "Great timing old man." He joined them at the table and began spouting off about some cure of some form. What was he even talking about? "Cataz did you hit your head?"

Airiette

Push it down. Airiette stopped and stared at the man who was once Caine for a long time. It was his body but it wasn't him, don't let it get to you. She repeated herself over and over for a moment as the monster went on his dramatic monologue. He called for her to battle him and she let out a long exhale. "It's not him." She turned and removed her bow from her back and let it clatter to the ground below the roof before she moved her hand to the sword's hilt at her side. It was so hard to look at his body with the two arrows she sent into him, it was so hard to hear such hateful words come from his lips and with his voice. It was so hard to not break down and cry right here and now. But she had to do this, not only for Caine but for her friends. Airiette looked across the giant separation in the ground and saw them all huddled over as Cataz looked ready to pass out from focus. Elora was hurt. Delphina was also covered in blood. Brielle and Aldus looked terrified... They needed to get out of here. Brielle turned to her and yelled something... something very untrue! Airiette had watched Cataz exit out from the inside of the bakery! They needed to actually leave! Oh. Now she got it... something was wrong with the portal. Brielle's lying skills were scarily impressive sometimes.

"We both know neither of us here now are true knights." Airiette turned her attention back to Caine and pulled the sword out as she jumped to the ground, crouching a little to absorb the shock before she stood once more and walked a few steps closer to Caine. "But I'll gladly take a few stabs at you."

Her arms tensed as she tightened her grip on the sword... she wasn't sure she could actually do this. Up on the roof she was much further away from him. Down here she felt small, like she had already lost and like he had already lost. Airiette could remember standing outside of that cage and clutching onto the bars, reaching for him and crying. Back then there had been a flash of his humanity come through. It was a flash that had scared the evil part of him. All she had to do was get that flash back, exploit it. Airiette just didn't know how to do that... "Y-You talk to me like you know me or him! You share his body but you're naive! We both know any bodily harm will hurt you nor him and nothing can hurt me more deeply than you already have by taking him. I'm numb. That's where you'll make your mistake." She got within range of him and strongly swung her arm towards his with a silent prayer that this thing didn't have the muscle memory of Caine's swordsmanship.

Warrin

Warrin couldn't help but let out a bout of nervous laughter as they ran away from Caine, Delphina's hand tightly around his. Had he really just done that? He couldn't believe that he was able to get away from that with his life. He turned back and looked at Airiette as they ran, thankful that her aim was amazing enough to not impale him or Delphina but also that her quick thinking helped them. As the crevice formed in the earth Warrin turned his attention forward once more, his grin falling when he looked at Elora. "Oh my." Delphina moved to hold the wound and Warrin placed a hand on Cataz's shoulder. "Cataz..."

Suddenly the large man let out a yell and Warrin jumped away from him. "What's going on? Cataz!" Both he and Brielle yelled for him to stop but he didn't. Though Warrin was glad that he hadn't, Warrin would have never thought to break into the building to get some shelter.

Aldus and Cataz took care of Elora and Warrin made his way to Delphina, wrapping an arm under hers and around her waist to help lift her up. "I've got you okay?" They moved inside, Warrin pausing momentarily as Brielle yelled over to Airiette but making his way inside anyways. "You sit here and don't over work yourself okay?" He placed Delphina down on one of the chairs in the bakery and watched as Brielle scrambled around the shop and back to the table.

Elora

All Elora could do was bite at her lip and try to stifle her cries. It was overwhelming the amount of blood on her. Delphina held her wound and then Aldus put pressure on it. She tried her best to listen to everyone but their words were muffled, her eyes felt heavy and she felt like she was dozing off. Well, until Cataz left. "W-Wait..." She whimpered quietly as she stumbled back. Soon enough he was back and picking her up. They all entered the bakery and he laid her down on the table right before he fell back onto the ground. "Oh..." Elora let out a small groan as Aldus squeezed her shoulder tighter. "Let it go, I'll heal it." She swatted him away and pressed her own hand to the wound.

She tried to focus on the wound, her hand emitting a faint green glow. But the pain and all the magic she used up had her drained of magic. She needed to stop the bleeding though. The light from her hand got brighter as she focused more. The wound slowly started to meld together with her healing powers, her hand falling when it was nothing but a small cut. "Ugh..." She laid her head back on the table as she blacked out.

Aldus

Aldus found his eyes narrowing down at Elora when she swatted him away, sighing quietly as she healed herself. "Don't worry Brielle, she's got this." His brows arched as Cataz stood up and started spouting his crazy talk. "Are you insane?" Magic of true love? That was a fairy tale, nothing more than a bedtime story for children. Maybe if they fed him something, that was the only way they could get him. "They survive solely on blood. Maybe if we poison one of our blood and get him to drink it." Then again poison could kill them, and he knew they were against killing Caine. "Okay, hypothetically we do your fairy tale idea. True love blood could act as a poison, right? Poison that evil thing out of his body." Or it could kill him. Or Caine would kill Airiette. "Right. So we're willing to risk Airiette's life on your idiotic theory?" He understood what Cataz was saying, he would do anything to protect Brielle.

"Alright, alright." Aldus walked out of the bakery and looked over at Airiette. "Hey, Airiette! Get him to drink your blood! Even just a little might be enough to cure him!" With that he was ducking back into the bakery so he could watch the fight through the window.

Caine

Caine couldn't stop smirking. This little thing was going to take him on? He almost felt bad killing her. Almost. "Alright, say goodbye to your kingdom, kid." The towering man got in the fighting stance and grabbed hold of his heavy sword. His eyes never left her, he delved deep into Caine's memory and remembered watching her fight. She was quick, fast, and light. Not that a few jabs from her would hurt. He wanted to play with her. As she swung the sword he took a step back, stopping as he heard Aldus yell. True loves blood? Were they serious? "You moron-" His eyes widened as he froze. The sword cut into his arm and his body seemed to stiffen up. It hurt. "What the fuck is this?" His body was paralyzed, he couldn't move. This reminded him of something. Of Delphina stabbing him at that party. He couldn't move his body for a minute. "Did that holy fucking bitch give you that weapon girl?" His black eyes stared at her as his brows angrily furrowed at her.

"It's not very honorable to fight when the opponent can't move, is it? Go ahead, take a few jabs at me if it'll make you feel better. I'll just kill you slower."

Airiette

"Get him to what?" Airiette yelled back at Aldus as her sword connected with his arm and she nearly threw up from the feeling of the sword through flesh. This was why she liked her bow. Her attention faltered for a moment and Aldus was already gone back into the bakery. What was he talking about? Why would that even help? Her mind swam for a moment, maybe being her would cause some sort of internal recognition? Like it had back at the cage.... Caine's voice drew her out of her thoughts and she glared up at him. Honestly Airiette had forgotten about the affect that the blessed weapons would have here but she had to admit it was useful.

"That won't be necessary." Airiette swallowed hard and pulled the sword back from where it had cut his arm before taking a few small steps back and away from him. She looked up at him for a moment before chuckling and closing her eyes. They had never gotten a single peaceful moment together, they hadn't had a real talk about their feelings, Caine didn't even have the memory of their kiss. But Airiette would do anything for him and if Aldus thought this would work, she would try it. If Airiette died in the process she had to place her trust in her friends, trust that they wouldn't give up helping Caine, trust that they would rule Stonevale effectively and fix this entire mess.

"Please god." Airiette sighed and lifted the blade to the skin on her throat and gently dragged across. It stung but didn't hurt and as of this wound, she would be fine. Strictly superficial. Her mind flashed to the image of Caine's red eyes, the first time she ever saw him this way. When they were in the forest heading to Adlus' old home. She wasn't scared then and she wasn't scared now.

Caine

Caine laughed quietly when she pressed the blade to her own neck. "What? Are you going to kill yourself? Are you trying to ruin all my fu-" black eyes flashed to red before he growled loudly. He regained movement and leaped forward to grab Airiette by the neck. He picked her up effortlessly and let his fangs sink into the flesh she had cut. As he drained the blood from her veins he felt...weird. The grip on her neck loosened and the black eyes faded. Before long the black eyes were gone and it was normal red eyed Caine.

"What's going on?" He retracted his fangs and realized where he was. It took him a minute to recognize who he was holding, too. The white hair said it all, then he frowned deeply when his eyes landed on her face. "A-Airiette? What the hell are you doing? Are you okay!? I-I am so sorry!" He panicked internally as he sat her down. He pat down her arms to make sure she wasn't injured anywhere else. "Just the neck? Are you insane? What-" Then it hit him. Caine was in control. For the first time in forever he didn't feel the blood thirsty demon creeping in his conscious. He was gone. Completely and utterly gone. "I-I'm back to normal..." He couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

"You brilliant gorgeous woman you!" He couldn't help himself. He wrapped her in his arms tightly for a hug and tilted her chin up to him. His lips landed on hers for a long, passionate embrace. He pulled away with heated cheeks as his heart skip every other beat anxiously. "I-I love you. I promised myself that if I was ever cured the first thing I'd do is tell you. Now let's get you to the doctor and get your neck fixed up." He smiled sheepishly as he looked around. "W-What happened here?" There was a giant hole in the town square and it reeked of more than just Airiette's blood. What happened?

Aldus

It wouldn't surprise Aldus if Brielle could hear his heart pounding while her head rested on his chest. His arms wrapped around her as he watched the events unfold outside, his chin resting on the top of Brielle's head as he prayed to whoever the fuck would listen that their plan worked. It was painful watching Caine bite her, anything longer than three seconds and he'd be out there stabbing Caine. But three seconds in and she was back on the ground. A large smile lit up his face "You can look." Caine was kissing Airiette and he chuckled quietly. Cataz's crazy plan worked! That was hard to admit. "Let's go tend to that wound to her neck. I have a few bandages on me."

Aldus took Brielle's hand gently and walked out of the bakery. "Bravo Caine, I didn't think you'd ever come back to us. It's about time."

Airiette

It took a few days for them to clean up Stonevale. Airiette and Caine spent the days finding and removing the criminals that had moved in and were squatting in the city. Elora repaired her giant crack in the ground and Cataz had bee packing up his shop. Airiette had decided she was done being in charge, she wanted nothing to do with it. Her family was cursed when they were in that leadership position and while she wasn't very superstitious, she didn't want any reason for anyone else to be in danger. All she wanted to do now was be with Caine, to tell him that she loved him every single day and to stay by his side.

Today was Brielle's second coronation, the citizens of Stonevale approved a motion by the council to allow her back into position as Countess. Airiette was hurriedly getting dressed, her hair pulled back into a bun and the knights uniform sliding over her thin frame perfectly. In the mirror was still the faint scar from the sword across her neck and while most people would hate their scars, honestly it made her smile.

"Caine, I let you sleep in but come on you big idiot. Brielle's probably already started the ceremony." Airiette moved over to the bed and gave him a quick boot to the side before leaning down and placing a quick kiss on his cheek. Today was the start of a lot of change... Elora would be returning to her kingdom with Cataz, Brielle would be in power once again, Airiette and Caine were going to be moving to their own cabin on the castles grounds... it was bittersweet in all honesty. But she was so happy she could cry...

Brielle

Was this absolutely mad? Quite possibly. Brielle sighed over and over as she paced in front of the door to Aldus' guest room. She was already ready for the day, her brown locks in ornate twists that tied back into an updo that was secured with a golden hair clip. The dress she wore was form fitting and deep purple with golden beading along the bottom and train. It was the best she had probably ever looked but it was the most small she had ever felt.

"Ma'am, it's almost time." The small voice made her jump and she quickly gave a nod and took a deep inhale. Now was the time to do this. Brielle was done with this game they had been playing, she had real feelings for Aldus. She was in love with him. The night in the bakery made her realize how stupid the two of them had been ever since her imprisonment. She only hoped he actually reciprocated those feelings.

Brielle placed her hand on the door and barged in without knocking, shutting the door behind her and closing her eyes as she leaned against it as if it could offer moral support as well as physical. "You've called me brilliant and mad and beautiful and so many other things since I've known you Aldus." She kept her eyes shut as she spoke in fear that if she saw him she would lose every bit of courage she had. "But I've never been honest or brave about how I feel about you. I-" Brielle paused for a moment, her face heating like the fire of a thousand suns. "I am stupidly in love with you despite you being so aggressively frustrating. And I know this is mad but... I don't want to do this alone again. I-I want you to be with me." Her eyes opened and she looked down at the floor, her ears now red as well, "I've had some pretty shit luck with my relationships but I think with you it would work. I want to be by your side truly and fully. I think we should get married. No I want to get married." Brielle swallowed hard and finally looked up at him, "T-That is if you don't absolutely find me vile after this."

Delphina

Over the next few days Delphina spent it healing. The wounds she endured put her out of commission, but thankfully the citizens of the kingdom made sure she was taken care of. The church was active once more, visitors coming in left and right welcoming her back. Several people apologized to Warrin. Whether they meant it or not she didn't know, but it was nice to see people accepting him into their lives. "Warrin are you ready?" She smoothed out the white dress and looked herself over again in the mirror. She only had a few spots with bandages now like her neck, stomach, thigh, and left arm. The rest of her skin was covered in cuts that were closed and healing well.

Today she wore white heels, her hair in a braid with a small flower tucked behind her ear. She pulled on a white shawl before making her way through the church looking for him. He was probably in the new garden. A small smile appeared on her lips as she peeked out into the garden. "Are you going to be joining us at the palace today or are you going to hide in the garden all day?" She gently teased him. Delphina had asked Warrin to stay and help her run the church with her. She'd train him, make sure he was strong and that he would never fall pray to anyone ever again. He was her best friend, she liked having him by her side. He made her smile.

Elora

"Rastell please make sure none of the boxes break." Elora groaned quietly as the red headed guard took yet another box from her and loaded it on the cart. Cataz was coming home to her kingdom with her and they were packing up his shop, though she didn't realize how much stuff he had. The shop was all packed and put away in the cart now, after the coronation they were to head back to her forest. "Oh, my." This was all so stressful. While they were cleaning up the kingdom Elora was dealing with Akkar. She sent him on his way, he told her she'd regret it. She knew that it would play out like that. She knew that she couldn't come back for a while and she couldn't bare to be away from Cataz...so she asked him to come back and be her King.

"Cataz are you ready for the coronation?" Elora turned back into the shop and smiled at him. Her raven hair fell into perfect waves down her back and she wore a bight green silk dress, a dark green sash around her waist paired with dark green heels. Her hands reached up and fixed his collar before smoothing out a small wrinkle in his clothes. "You look mighty handsome, my soon to be king." She leaned up and gently kissed him before looking up at him with an even brighter smile. "Are you nervous at all? I'm sure you can teach my people the way of the cards, they'll be very interested to see how they work."

Warrin

Warrin was out in the garden, it was sad looking for now but it was getting there. This was his new happy place, here with the Church and Delphina. A lot of the church followers had apologized to him about the way they treated him in her absence, honestly he really didn't care, he was just happy they returned and that he didn't completely ruin everything. Outside today the sun was shining and people were walking by with smiles and hellos. It was like a completely new Stonevale, like a re-birth almost.
Warrin jumped a little bit she Delphina called out to him. "While I would rather stay here, I suppose we should get going." He shot her a sheepish smile before pulling off his gloves and checking to make sure he wasn't completely covered in dirt. Good enough. He walked over to Delphina and tossed her gently over his shoulder with a grin and a chuckle. "Let's go miss!"
It was still a mystery to him how he was able to finally be happy, he felt as if he was doomed from the start. Broken almost... but Delphina's company was like a light that shined through him and made everything better. He wanted to do everything he could to help her as well as himself, get strong so he stopped depending on her and instead she could depend on him.

"Say Delphina?" Warrin gently placed the priestess down as they reached the castle and rubbed at the back of his neck, "What about I cook you dinner later? I-I can make whatever you want." He smiled sheepishly at his feeble attempt at asking her on a small date. "If you want."

Cataz

Packing up his shop was a bittersweet thing for Cataz, it had been his home since his teenage years, the place he always had to comfort him. It had been in despair the past few years thanks to his drinking and honestly he barely got customers anymore but it still felt like he was leaving a little bit of him behind here. He had gifted the property to Brielle to either use for whoever she found fit as a new court wizard or just as extra housing. It felt right to leave it that way. Plus, leaving it meant he got to start a new life with Elora. That was the most amazing thing of all. He was still in shock that she actually told Akkar to hit the bricks. It wasn't going to end well, but Cataz knew she could handle it. That woman could handle anything.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I'm just hoping for some good appetizers to be completely honest. I am very, very done with that castle." Cataz let out a groan that was replaced with a smirk when Elora kissed him, his arms wrapped around her waist and held her captive for a moment as his heart beat loudly. "Nothing makes me nervous when I know I have you to help me." He finally released her and pushed back his now mid back length black hair. "Ah not are elves are as special as you. The cards typically don't like them." He winked and moved to the door, holding it open for her. "We should head out though, Rastell can handle things here I'm sure."