Demonomania (for Omerta and I)

[Raziel99]

It was a dark and cloudy night in the middle of fall, the trees already showing the colors of beauty before death, some already falling to the ground to nestle the earth to warmth on the eve of winter. The full moon illuminated a single spot behind the clouds. The soft rumbling gave way their future intentions. The air was already getting cold, the ground hard, but that did not stop the rejoicing of the people, as many carriages led people towards one of the larger castles of the kingdom.

It was in one of these carriages that Alexander sat with one of his good friends, Markus. While Markus seemed to be in good nature about what they were doing, Alexander seemed distracted and haughty.

“What is it, Alex?” Markus said after a hour of the ride, the soft bumps of the carriage on the dirt road not bothering him in the least.

“This is taking forever.” Alexander growled, as he lifted the curtain from the window and looked at the mountains in the distance, over the sea of trees in the large valley between them. “We could have enjoyed the weather, and been there a half hour ago.”

“Ah, but we have to keep our cover, don’t we? If we ran the whole way, they would suspect something.”

“…” He couldn’t argue with him, but Alexander hated having to wait so long with something so simple as getting somewhere.

Markus looked out the window as well, looking over the dark sea of trees. “It’s not like I’m happy with this either, Alex, but if we are to keep the upper hand here, we have to act like humans. They won’t know the difference. Hell, last time we came up here, they were dropping all around us, wanting to know more about us, the women wanting to bed us. Just keep your head, and it will be easily under our control.

It took a great deal of effort not to snarl at Markus. “You’re acting like I’m a fledgling, but I’m even more ancient than you are. If anything, I should be telling you not to be so energetic. They might try to figure out why you’re so… bouncy.”

Both of them couldn’t help but smirk at that, leaning back in their seats. They were both dressed similar, in dress pants and a white shirt, hair pulled back at the napes of their neck, and black cloaks. But Markus’ hair was longer by about a foot, and was wearing dark brown besides the cloak, where Alexander preferred the black of night. Where Markus’ face was round, Alexander’s was sharp. Where Markus’ eyes were a dark brown, Alexander’s was a deep sea blue. They acted like brothers, and some would confuse them as such.

Soon enough, they did reach the castle, one of the last groups to get there, and Markus was out first, smelling the charged air while Alex slowly stepped out, gazing over the scene. They both walked in unison towards the great hall of the castle, and as they broke the threshold, the rain started coming down, hard…

 

[Omerta]

"Sharyn Cassidy!" A firm voice came from a short hallway behind the young princess. More than likely her chamber maid.. her sister.. her attendant. Either way she wanted nothing to do with the lot of them. She continued walking hastily toward her bed chamber.
"Sharyn!" The voice followed yet again. The princess quickly regretted turning to see who it was that beckoned to her oh so eagerly.

Her sister. Of course.


"Shit." Cass picked up the skirts of her gown and intensified her pace. She ran to her bed chamber throwing the door shut behind her. The princess was to make another appearance. She hated these Masquerade Balls. Did her father have no sense of dignity? Parading around his daughters like a colorful garden. "Leave me be Cheyanne!"

Cheyanne pounded on the door like a band of Chinese drums "Sharyn! You have to do it tonight! You have to go out there and you HAVE to make your decision!" Cheyanne would have gladly taken her place if she could but she was of false blood, she was adopted.

The two girls bickered for a moment before Cass allowed her sister entrance into her room. "Fine. I'll go but i'm not just going to throw our name away for someone i don't even know. I can run our kingdom on my own. Daddy would be proud!"

Cheyanne sighed, panting softly after chasing her exceptionally fit sister around for the last hour or so. "Just.. promise me you'll try. Father's in the neighboring kingdom and i'm supposed to watch over you Sharyn. I need you to do this for me"

Their discussion lasted for quite a few more minuets before Cass was ready to attend her party and see to her guests.


A tall lanky man at the top of the stairs leading into the ballroom loudly kissed the tiles of the ground with his cane urging the visitors to prepare for the entrance of her majesty the princess. He removed his top hat, tapping his cane against the ground only three times as the crowd silenced themselves. He cleared his throat before speaking very clearly.
"Her Majesty The Princess, Sharyn Cassidy. Accompanied by Lady Cheyanne."

Cass was only a slight bit shorter than her sister whom she had her fingers placed gently of the wrist of as the approached the steps. She had on long silken black gloves in addition to the extravagant gown that covered her slender figure. Her skirts were also formed of silk, purple silk with gold and black. White lace trimmed every seam of th dress. a tight corset around her tiny waist and matching mask adding to the mystery of the Ball. Her long red hair was curled to perfection and placed beautifully atop her head. The light gave the princess's milky skin an almost angelic glow as the two ladies proceeded down the stairs. She courtesied her sister as they parted. The lanky man with the top hat motioned the band to begin playing and with such the ball had commenced.

 

[Raziel99]

The two men walked into the great hall of the castle, dusting off the little bit of rain that hat hit his shoulders. Alexander was half tempted to walk back outside and enjoy the rain, but Markus grabbed his arm as a warning. Not that he needed to. It felt like he had to stay here, that something important would happen very, very soon, and he would be lost in time if he wasn’t here.

They turned to face each other, nodded, and reached into their cloaks, pulling out their masks and putting them on immediately. Markus wore the plumage and face of a phoenix, bright reds and golds that shimmered in the light inside the castle. Alexander’s mask was that of a wolf, the tuft used to look like fur dark, his blue eyes accented by the faux fur and protruding nose.

As they walked into the main hall proper, they spotted a man gaining the attention of the crowd. A hush fell over the people as they looked towards the main staircase, as the princess and her sister came down towards their guests. Everybody bowed down in honor, except for Markus and Alexander, who simply watched on, gaining some sideways glances from those nearby. Their own power was evident to those close enough to feel the almost aura-like presence of the two.

Even then, Markus turned to look at Alexander, who had fallen a step behind before stopping, looking towards the staircase. “Alex.” Markus said, turning fully and putting his hand on the other’s shoulder. It was a moment before Alexander turned to face Markus. A hesitant smile graced his face before moving off, looking through the crowd for seemingly nothing, followed by Markus.

It wasn’t long before Alexander went to hovering at the corner of the party, Markus fluttering around with the energy of a human princeling learning of his subjects. It was about a half hour in before Markus came back towards him, with a woman under both arms, both of them looking up at the phoenix visage with warm wishes. He shrugged off the two of them before moving closer to Alex, so they could talk without being overheard.

“So what was that about?” Markus said, using a language that the two of them had made a few hundred years ago just to make sure nobody would listen in.

Alexander simply nodded his head up, towards Sharyn. “Her.”

Markus looked up at the princess, who was halfway across the hall. “Oh? I see.” He moved closer, speaking in almost a whisper. “So, was it a premonition, or…?”

Alexander’s head bowed slightly, his eyes closing. “…Both.”

The silence was thick enough for a moment that it could be cut with a knife. Markus knew the seriousness of the situation: No Vampire in known history had both occurrences happen before. “I see…” He finally said, his tone becoming serious, almost gravely so. “Then, I suppose that it’s about time that I assist you as you have assisted me in the past.” Markus shot Alexander a smirk before moving off into the crowd.

Alexander almost scowled at Markus’ words. He liked to do things on his own when it came to such serious things. The idea that someone else would try to help him with something that he should do on his own was almost insulting to his ego. But he shrugged it off after a moment, heading to a adjoining area, finding a balcony where he could rest in clean air, watching the rain coming down heavily. He leaned against the railing, watching the rain fall just out of reach, blocked by a overhanging section.

Markus made a slow beeline towards Sharyn, bowing down low before addressing her. “Princess Cassidy, I have a missive from Alexander Dalmascus De Vaux. He would like to see you at your first opportune moment.” He bowed down again before walking off towards where he knew Alexander was, following their mental link. He didn’t even give Sharyn a moment to ask him a question, figuring that it would be better that she found Alex as soon as possible.

 

[Omerta]

Cass had yet to dance or speak to any of her guests before she was approached by Markus. She wasn't expecting to be approached by anyone, especially not by someone who was carrying a message. She waited a moment contemplating her options before making up her mind. This 'Alexander Dalmascus De Vaux' seemed like he was one of the more important of her guests. Her sister was not within sight so, she would have no problem sneaking away from the ball for a moment to speak with him. Besides, father would appreciate it, right?

She made her way through the crowd gracefully, keeping low on the radar. Which, believe it or not, was much harder than she made it look. Everyone was dancing and wanted to chat or take her hand. It was a very nice turn out compared to the last two balls that were thrown in her father's kingdom. She stopped in the middle of a small group due to having noticed a young prince that had shown up to every event thrown in the kingdom.

He was fairly good looking, kind, well mannered, someone her father would approve of. Once she had stopped he immediately approached her. They spoke for a short while, thirty minutes or so. Cass had forgotten about where she was going. Their conversation had been dwindling. The young prince had asked about her hand and status thus far. She honestly replied that she had yet to chose a suitor and was keeping her options open.

Sharyn Cassidy thanked the prince for attending yet another of her silly dances and proceeded to find the man who beckoned to her. There were quite a few balconies to her ballroom, she wasn't quite sure which he was in or even if he was still there considering how long she had put it off. She saw a man looking off into the pouring rain from the railing and she walked toward him.

"Excuse me?" Cass spoke with a soft, smooth voice, "Are you Alexander?"

 

[Raziel99]

“It’s almost too easy.” Alexander heard a voice behind him say. He didn’t even turn to look, knowing that it was Markus, coming back from relaying the message. Alexander scoffed. “You knew that I would have preferred to do that myself.”

“I also know that you wouldn’t have done it in the next decade.” Markus said, moving to the balcony edge with Alex, leaning over it a bit and looking over the landscape. “Humans don’t age like we do. A decade is a long time for them.”

“You know what what I saw meant. A decade would be much too long for me to stall in my actions.”

“A fortnight is probably too long, Alex.”

A few minutes passed in the air around them, interrupted only by the sounds of the party and the rain falling heavier just out of arms reach.

“You know that this is going to be a pressing matter, if not more, Markus. More than life is at risk here.”

“Yes, yes. We all hate dealing with demon vampires, not just you, Alex.”

Another long few minutes passed by in silence, Alexander’s eyes peering across the darkened lands, deep in thought. But it was soon interrupted by a approaching presence.

“Ah, there she is.” Markus said, smiling a little bit, holding back a smirk. “Do what you do best.” He disappeared from view, turning into a form of mist and heading to a better spot to reform unseen.

Alexander scowled, but turned it into a pleasant smile as he turned around at the request. He bowed, almost humbly so, as a response. “Yes, I am Alexander. And you must be Princess Sharyn. Please excuse my friend. He brings up issues that are best not discussed at a celebration. Might I request an audience on the morrow?”

 

[Omerta]

The young princess removed her glittering mask, nodding once. "That i am." She courtesied and walked toward the balcony, leaning over slightly to feel the rain beat down upon her fingertips. Cass turned smiling softly, curiously. "What matters need be discussed? Might i inquire why it is that you would not seek council with my father instead?" She paused for a moment and looked up into Alexander's eyes. Her cheeks were a soft pink from the cold outside. "This.. celebration. I would much rather speak business than attend. So.." Resting her froearms on the railing behind her, relaxing, she watches Alexander. "What is it that you would like to discuss?"

 

[Raziel99]

He watched her take her mask off, seeing the beauty of her, almost blindingly so to him. She slowly strolled to the balcony edge, and he became how easily it would be to just grab her and jump from the ledge. It would look like a suicidal homicide on the princess by him, but he could have the two of them out of the country before guards were looking for the bodies.

He looked at her for a long moment before his hand taking his own mask off slowly, in a easy movement. His blue eyes were perfect for a wolf, and now they shone on his own face, looking over hers. “It would be better to have taken council with your father. But, this is about you, princess.” He said, finally turning from her to look over the balcony into the rain. He reached out, cupping his hand to take a small handful of the rain, before bringing it to his lips. It was utterly refreshing to him.

“You should find solace in these celebrations, Princess.” He said, in a lower tone. “They are a calmness away from the crazy tone of the world that you will soon have control over. They will be your only large vent in the years to come.” He let the next handful of water fall from his hand, watching it go to the ground before turning to her.

“Princess, I have dire news that only you can hear. I will have to speak to the king later, but you must know. The Seers have seen a terrible possibility in your near future. Watch everyone, trust nobody, until a plan is set forth by the king. But until then, the castle is dangerous for you.”

 

[Omerta]

"The castle.. not safe? Well, that's just nonsense." Sharyn stood straight up, her hands on her hips. She was very skeptical of this mystery man now, not only had she never heard his name before but, what happened to his friend? Why was he telling her such 'dire' information instead of someone who could protect her?

"How do i know i can even trust you?" She asked, raising her eyebrow and cocking her head slightly to the side. She didn't want to seem rude but, she wasn't entirely comfortable with a complete stranger telling her she was unsafe in her own home. "Why is my home dangerous? And what terrible possibility have these 'Seers' seen?"

Sharyn turned to glance inside, securing herself a witness to anything that may happen. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, completely unaware of her whereabouts. "Wonderful.." she spoke softly to herself. "Who are you? And why are you telling me this?" Sharyn said as she turned to face Alexander again, looking into his eyes. A strong sense of courage about her. "Do i need to beckon for someone to see you out?"

 

[Raziel99]

He had to keep his head upon him as she interrogated him in her own way. If it was one of his servants that were doing this, he would have hit them hard enough to send them flying into the countryside. But she was merely a human, the one that he had a vision of. Hurting her would break any vow that he had made to himself when he walked into the castle.

“Who I am isn’t important at the moment.” He said in a low voice, moving closer, but not so fast that it would be threatening. His eyes were directly on hers, staring into her. “But know that I am here to keep you save if necessary. The seers cannot tell when exactly something will happen, but it will happen at night, when you are awake. There is a traitor among your people that want you dead, to sent the castle into turmoil. A spy. Just be careful until I can speak with the king, Princess. Then I can know you are safe.”

You seem to be having some trouble, Alex. Markus’ voice rang through Alex’s head, and Alex couldn’t disagree with him. It was only a few more moments before Markus appeared, walking through the archway to the balcony.

“Ah, you found him alright, Princess. Good. I’m sure the good sir has been nice enough to you.” Alexander scowled at Markus. Was he trying to play him the fool? He would have to show him a lesson later. “You two shouldn’t be cooped up here near the rain, though. Have a dance to get your spirits up! Any business can wait until later.”

Alexander turned to face Sharyn, his eyes much softer on her now. His hand slowly reached out, palm up, offering to her. “I think I was too blunt and started with the wrong foot. Shall we have this dance, then?”

 

[Omerta]

Sharyn jumped slightly, startled by the addition to Markus' voice. She was not expecting him to show up. She wanted to know what she needed to be kept safe from. Why had he really shown up? How long was he staying.. Did her father know him? Again, she didn't want to come off as rude, and she especially didn't want to stay outside with both strangers by herself. As much as she loved the rain and might have been uncomfortable dancing she nodded.

"I'm surely not the best dancer here," She said self-consciously as she slowly lifted her warm hand and placed it on his, her fingers resting on his palm. "You would do well to let my sister know whether or not you need to be housed for the short time before my father returns home." She said softly, almost reluctantly. She knew how important it was for her father to get his business done quickly, he was a busy man.

Sharyn returned the glittering mask to her face and allows Alexander to lead her back into the ballroom. Stepping lightly, standing tall. The seam at the base of her dress was damp from the bit of water that had accumulated on the balcony. She smiled softly to Markus and raised her head toward the dancing guests.

 

[Raziel99]

Alexander’s other hand pulled the wolf mask from his cloak, sliding it easily onto his face once more. He turned to Markus as he led Sharyn out to the main hall once more. Their eyes met for a moment before Markus nodded, walking past the two of them in a brisk pace. All it would take between them was a glance and maybe a telepathic word or two, and they would be on the same page.

It was if Sharyn’s motion was a gesture, and another song started fresh. Alexander pulled her, turning to face her. His hands shifted to her hips and her hand, waiting for the note to start at. “I’m not a amazing dancer, either.” He said, with a small laugh. The tone was light, and it definitely was uplifting. “But I promise that I won’t step on your feet.

Markus seemed to part the crowd rather easily, and it wasn’t long before he saw Sharyn’s sister, Cheyanne. “I have a message from both Princess Sharyn and Alexander De Vaux. They cannot finish the discussions tonight, and Alexander and myself are going to need some rooms until the King returns.” He bowed, awaiting the response.”

 

[Omerta]

Cheyanne blushed at the sudden attention she had received, even though it was on her sister's account it was nice. She was almost never spoken to outside of her family, but this man seemed to have things on his mind shot she cut to the chase. "We have several rooms.. but i'm not sure which you should be placed in. Do you need separate rooms? A room close to either our father or my sister? Anything in particular?" She lead him towards the slew of rooms down a hallway. "My sister's room is down the hall, father's is locked, upstairs"

Meanwhile:

Sharyn blushed as her body was now pressed against Alexander. She was looking into his eyes softly with her own. Her dress flowed lightly despite the layers of heavy fabrics weighing it down. The music played wasn't exactly for slow dancing, there was a lot of spinning and partner switching meant to be done. Sharyn wasn't quite in the mood for wasting so much energy though, and there had yet to be a slow, ballroom dancing song played. So, with that in mind the princess looked up toward the band, lifted her hand from Alexander's shoulder and motioned for a new, slower song to be played. She smiled a little as she looked back into his eyes a sort of magnetism about them.

 

[Raziel99]

Markus was surprised at Sharyn’s sister, watching her every move. No, it wasn’t like the feeling that Alexander had with Sharyn, this wasn’t nearly as strong. But he could tell that she would be very important in the future, either near or in a few years. He would have to put her under his ward. “It doesn’t matter if we are in the same room or not. Nor the location. But we need to be somewhere near the ground floor, with no windows. Our work is usually during the night. We’re enforcers, you see.” He said, picking up his stride to move almost at her side.


Alexander felt her hand move from his shoulder, lifting up to motion for the musical ensemble, wishing for a slower song to be played. Just as well, he would have hated to see a single other male in this party to take her hand away from his, even for a part of the dance. His eyes drifted to hers when she turned to face him, his blue eyes looking almost sorrowful behind the wolf mask. Would she understand? Eventually she would. But until then, how would she see him? A demon? Less than a person? He would have to wait and see when he decided to tell her his dangerous secret… when she was safe from here of course.

The music started up, a somber start of a waltz, and his legs started in a sweeping motion, step sweep turn, step sweep turn. He wasn’t the best of dancers. He didn’t exactly practice in his many years of life, but he was definitely better than some of the men at the ball.

 

[Omerta]

It was a strange request. Windowless rooms on the ground floor. "We have two windowless rooms. Unfortunately only one is on the ground level. The other is conveniently placed next to the stairs here. That is if you would prefer separate rooms. Like i said, father is up the stairs, Sharyn is right down there. I suppose if you needed me my room is down at the base of the stairs towards the far back." There was a master bedroom on each floor, which they each had. Their father with the largest of the three. Cheyanne handed Markus the key to both rooms just in case. The rooms were fairly large. Big beds, big closets, private restrooms. The windowless rooms were meant to be studies or for storage but, Sharyn convinced her father to puts beds in them on a whim.

Sharyn tilted her head slightly as she looked into Alexander's eyes. It seemed much was on his mind. She hardly needed to get the exact steps right. No one could see her feet from beneath her dress anyway. She turned and moved as all the other women did, with slightly more elegance. Everyone was parting away from the two of them as they danced. The dancing guests seemed to have formed a circle danging in pairs around the princess and Alexander. Perhaps because this was the first Sharyn had danced at a gathering since she was a small girl. She noticed the guests giving them room and smirked slightly, "Let's dazzle them, why don't we?"

 

[Raziel99]

Markus wasn’t surprised when she showed some caution from them wanting windowless rooms. It was a very uncommon request, and he simply took the keys. “Thank you. And, if you don’t mind me asking, are you doing anything during this ball tonight?”


Alexander smiled as they were soon given a wide bearing on the floor, everyone making a large circle around the two. Her smirking smile was devious, her footwork excellent and flashy even underneath her dress. She obviously knew what she was doing while dancing, even ahead of him, and now she wanted to get more showy, to ‘dazzle’ them. Well, it wasn’t in his place to tell her no. Hell, it may be a good time to make his claim on her, to get her on his side just a little more and make others back off. “Of course, M’Lady.” He said, in a low, velvet voice that he was sure she would almost feel go along her skin, just like anyone that would be in earshot.

His steps got wider, more sweeping, leading her a little more across the dance floor. “Just tell me what you want to do.” He said in a low whisper so only she could hear. “It will be done. They will be shocked and amazed tonight of your talents.”