Darkened Hearts (Orcus/LeBella)

[Orcus]

Rome has always been a city of bloodshed. Not just the obvious kind in the arena of the slaughter carried out in the name of a pacifist, or that old general who the old senate stabbed to death. There's always been conflict of different sort. Sneaky conflicts. Sometimes those are even more bloody. That's what it all comes down to in the end. The blood.

Drinking some old bastard dry was the best way to get rid of him. Do it write and it looks like his death was natural. No questions asked. That's a good thing when your target is the only thing standing between a very powerful man and greater power.

Cashis was perfectly able to infiltrate it and get to his client. There was some sneaking required. Even if the guards were armed with those ridiculous weapons that could only fire one shot in the time an archer could fire 20 the one shot they would manage would alert the other guards that there was an invader.

Besides, killing his client's guards would be disrespectful. Cashis was waiting in a darkened room under Mancini villa awaiting payment for his deed. He could smell someone new. An interloper? No. A woman. But women could be more dangerous them men. Who was she?

 

[LaBella]

Cecilia sighed as she finished getting dressed. It was an almost nightly ritual to go to St. Peters Basillica and pay alms though her father disregarded her want to go there every day. She was lucky she had the money to do so tonight. Someone had to pay for her family's sins and paying tithes every night. Slipping into the hallway, she fixed the cloak and then started from the room. Her brother Cesare would probably kill her for sneaking out but she wouldn't be gone long. They lived close to St. Peters. Less than a quarter mile and her father had always enjoyed living close to the home of the Pope as well as his friends from the Borgia Family. Spanish they might be but her father enjoyed their company. She didn't trust Cesare Borgia or his brother. Lucrezia was thirteen and she was nice enough but soon to marry some Sforza. The same family that her father was wanting her to marry into. SHe was old for a bride but she had wed before. Her husband had never consumated the marriage and had died in a sword fight not a month later. So by all accounts she was a widow but still a ready bride. Much to her dismay.

Like her mother, she had English coloring and that gave her paler skin then most women and green eyes like emeralds but her hair was definitely inherited from her father. A dark rich coffee brown that fell in thick waves down to her waist when it was loose. At the moment it was braided. She glanced behind her and then fixed the hood of her cloak over her hair before walking down the corridor and toward the steps that were dimly lit with torches. She heard her brother Alfonso's voice and quickly opened a door to a room downstairs and slipped inside then placed an ear to the door, listening as Alfonso and some other man were speaking. She sighed. "Wonderful..." she muttered, putting a hand to her rapidly beating heart. She heard a noise behind her and turned, seeing a figure in the darkness.

 

[Orcus]

The English girl. What was her name? Cecilia. Cashis had seen her sneaking in and out many times, but this was the first time he'd been seen. He was unbelievably picking the girl up and and rushing her to one of the hall's pillars as it was the only acceptable hiding space. "Remain still." He ordered protectively before zipping back to where he had been standing.

Fransico Mancini did seem sad as he came down the hall. Something about Rome always made terrific liars. Even Cashis had trouble seeing the joy behind Mancini's frown. "You seem to be baring sad news." Fransico lied.

"Cesare's instructor has passed away." Cashis answered, not a bad liar himself.

"Such a shame we were unable to reach an understanding before he died. His death was not an act of foul play, was it?" Fransico asked only letting his mask of grieving slip enough to let Cashis know what he was asking.

Cashis would have know the answer regardless. "There is nothing to suggest that his any more or less than a whim of God."

"Such a shame." Fransico handed Cashis an oversized purse of florines. "Here, for baring this news to me."

Cashis took the purse and said "You are too generous, sir," as Fransico walked away.

 

[LaBella]

She gasped as she was lifted up by this stranger and hid behind some pillars. He was quick and strong and she hadn't even seen him in the light. She was the product of her father's second marriage and the only full blooded sibling she had was Emilio and he was two years her senior. Cecilia watched as her father entered and she wished she could see the front of the man but she didn't move. Her father would kill her if he found out she was roaming about at night. As he spoke of Cesare's instructor, she thought of who that was. A man who was old but very scholarly. Cesare didn't care for him much and there were rumors the old man spied for that horrible cardinal Roderigo Borgia. She frowned as the man spokke to her father and then her father handed him a leather purse. It looked quite filled for someone just bringing bad news. She had a bad feeling but to think her father would be involved in something sinister was absurd. He was a good Christian man.

Green eyes watched her father disappear from the room and then her eyes fell on the man that had moved her so quickly and efficiently. She slipped from behind the pillar. "I suppose I should thank you...father would be rather displeased if he found me out of my room this late at night. Or any of my brothers for that matter...I am Cecilia...but I suppose you must already know that if you know Cesare and my father..." she cleared her throat. "I should perhaps get back to my rooms..." she said, turning and walking toward the door, nervous because she knew she would be in big trouble if she were caught, especially caught alone with some man.

 

[Orcus]

Cashis eyed Cecilia as she walked away. He had seen her many times while he came and went undetected. It was a brave thing for a woman of standing to do as she did. Cashis found it highly respectable. He was suddenly behind her. "Aren't you going to St.Peter's Square tonight?"

 

[LaBella]

She turned and looked at him. "Oh no...I've probably already risked it to much. I'll just double the tithes I put in the pot tomorrow night when I go..." she trailed off and looked at him, the hood falling to reveal her silken dark brown hair. "How did you know I was going to St. Peter's tonight?" she asked. She'd been very careful. No one in her family knew that she went to the Square at night to offer tithes and prayers. So how did he know? She suddenly was quite frightened. "You aren't going to tell my father or brothers are you?" she asked. It would be quite a war in this household if any of those overprotective males found out that she was sneaking out at night. They'd never believe she was going to St. Peters. They'd think she would be finding a lover or something. Her reputation would be ruined. Well it would be ruined now if any of her family or a servant found her with this man. "Forgive me...I...should probably head back to my chambers. I've wasted to much time hiding from my father..."

 

[Orcus]

Cashis had never been this close to Cecilia before. She was quite attractive if a bit risky. He wanted a taste. "You're not the only one who sneaks in and out of here at night." He said to answer her first question. "I'm the keeper of many of your family's secrets." To her second question. "Well than, goodnight, my lady."

He watched her walk away and knew now that he would taste of her blood before the coming of dawn. Cashis carefully made his way to the patio outside her bedroom and waited silently. Watching for her to come in and sleep. This was no regular hunt to quench his thirst. He wanted a treat.

 

[LaBella]

Cecilia was glad he had let her go. There was something truly frightening on his part. Especially as he spoke of sneaking in and out and hinting at family secrets. She sighed and undressed down to her chemise and loosened her hair, unaware of her observer as she slid the covers back after putting her money in her secret hiding spot. After that, she climbed into bed and snuffed the candle on her bedside table and then went to sleep. She was curled up in the fetal position under her blankets, looking much like a porcelain doll and child with her hair fanning behind her head. She shifted in her sleep though so she was laying on her back with the covers pushed aside and her head turned to the side, leaving her neck exposed.

 

[Orcus]

Cashis was patient he waited for Cecilia to dose into a deep sleep. This wasn't his first time. He knew the right time to make his move. Like a pervert he entered her room and silently made his way to where she slept. He could see her eyes moving to look about her dream world. He wandered for a moment what sorts of dreams a girl like her would have. Cashis pulled his wandering mind back to the task at hand.

Cecilia had the most lovely veins. As he gently slid his fangs into her neck he was dumbstruck by the flavor. She was a virgin! He'd known she was a widow and would never have guessed she was still untouched. He had to stop now.

Slowly Cashis parted his lips from her neck. Part of him wanted to take her from this place. But he could never be so cruel. Cashis licked his lips and slowly left through her window. He would return.

 

[LaBella]

Cecilia was completely unaware of anyone entering her room that night and when morning came, her neck was a little sore but hardly worth being troubled about. Her maids entered waking her and she was soon out of bed and dressed, being told that one of the men her father was looking at for a marriage was downstairs. Wonderful. She cleared her throat and was finished getting dressed with her hair loose and her dress very fashionable. She walked downstairs and saw him. He was fat, rich and old. She gave a soft smile and curtseyed. As he took her hand and kissed her cheeks, she realized that he was leering at her. Wonderful.

"Perhaps after breakfast, we can visit St. Peters," the man was saying. "Your father tells me that you are quite a good girl and love the church.." Deciding it was best not to be rude, she nodded. And so began a long day.

(OOC: Not sure if you're vampire is like the 'Moonlight' type where he can be out in sunlight just has sensitive eyes to light or if he's the night and only night type and not sure if you're wanting to play any of her brothers or not so I'll just leave it at this and let you do as you please )

 

[Orcus]

((I'm gonna go with the Buffy style vamps who can go around during daylight but need to stick to the shade. His royal fatness is going to turn out to be a major creep, right?))

It was a good thing humans liked walls. They offered Cashis enough shade to make it around Rome in daylight. He was on the fringes of St. Peter's Square now. It was a close as he could get without feeling that burn. The kind of pins and needles annoyance that comes from standing on holy ground. He'd felt it in the temples and other places before the one god people took over. So he knew this place was nothing special. It was kind of pretty, not that he still cared about that.

Than he smelled her. Cecilia was coming this way. He felt a kind of hot lust rise in him. A blood lust. There was something else in there. Something small and quiet for now, but the lust was what he could name in himself. He saw her now. He saw... she was with someone?

 

[LaBella]

(OOC: Sounds good and yeah. Major sleaze-ball)

She cleared her throat as they walked along the paths and he spoke of his country house. She pretended to be interested but she was not impressed. He was a glutton and greedy and that was two of the deadly sins already. She had tried to release her arm from his grip but he held firm and it was rather annoying to be sure. But she couldn't be rude. He was probably some high standing man socially and to offend him would disgrace her family. She had one of her ladie's present to provide a chaperone but the girl was so distracted that Cecilia might as well be on her own. As they entered the chapel, she finally managed to disentangle her arm and reached in her skirt, pulling out a few coins, placing them in the offering plate before crossing herself then looking at him. He continued to leer and she cleared her throat. "Signore I do wish you would stop looking at me like that. Especially in a church of all places," she said turning and walking along one of the corridors that was mostly empty except for a passing priest.

"Ah but signorina you are a beauty...any man would be lucky to have you as a bride," he said and stopped her. She looked at him.

"I suppose so," she agreed softly. "But I fear you and I would not make a very good married couple," she said, gasping as he pressed her into the pillar and wall. She swallowed. "Signore De Luca, you disgrace me and the church doing this. Please...let off," she said, slightly panicked as he touched her. She slapped him and managed to escape his paws and rush quickly from his hands, wondering where her maid had went. She didn't run but she did walk quickly. She couldn't believe he'd touched her so inappropriately and in St. Peter's of all places. She escaped to the front steps, lifting up her skirts from the ground to keep walking hard and steady through the crowd.

 

[Orcus]

Cashis had been distracting himself by shopping for wine. He turned away just in time to see Cecilia, quite frantically, walking away. She was alone. He could see her "gentleman caller" was in pursuit. He thought he saw a weapon but couldn't be sure. Cashis through some coins down to pay for the bottle he just happened to have in his hand and perused the bloated noble. That tiny emotion he'd felt before wasn't quite so tiny now.

 

[LaBella]

Cecilia managed to skirt into an alleyway, not looking behind her when she was suddenly grabbed. She gasped and turned, looking at him. "You'll release me...and I'll see to it that father ignores you when it comes to a match," she said then gasped as she was pushed against a wall again and he started to kiss her neck and mess with her skirts. "Stop it," she hissed but he looked at her and glared. "I'll have what I want. The marriage is as good as done..besides you are a widow. Let's see if you really are a virgin beneath those skirts," he growled and her cheeks flooded with color as he spoke so candidly about taking her virginity. She glared and shoved at him as he kissed on her neck. If only she weren't so slight. "Let go," she ordered, gasping as he managed to get a hand under her dress and she did the only thing she could and rammed her knee inbetween his legs. He groaned, doubling over in pain and she looked at him, panting for breath. "You are no gentleman and I am not going to allow you to...disgrace me so..." she said then gasped as he came up and slapped her. It was done with such force that it literally slammed her to the wall. She gasped in shock then felt his grubby hands on her breasts through the folds of her gown and started to fight, not wanting to draw attention because she didn't want her reputation to be ruined and be thought no better than trollop. Her good name was at stake and she was not going to have it sullied. Nor was she going to let him sully her body for his own perverse pleasure.

 

[Orcus]

"You piss drinking shit!" Cashis was still clutching the wine bottle with one hand when he grabbed De Luca's shoulder and threw his fat ass to the ground. De Luca pulled his sword now and took a fencing position. The blade was heavily jeweled to the point that it was ridiculous. On to of that the blade was silver. While the rapier was more than enough to cut someone open, it didn't stand a chance against the ancient steel of Cashis's gladius that he drew and severed the lesser blade with in a single motion.

De Luca screamed in a way any man would be ashamed of and tried to run. Cashis didn't need his unholy speed to catch the gluten and topple him. When the swine tried to rise and flee once more Cashis grabbed him by the shoulder and held him on his knees with his sword pointed downward to the right of his neck. He was ready to kill the man.

 

[LaBella]

She recognized the man's voice from the night before and flushed as she was finally unhanded but then they were fighting. As the stranger put his sword to De Luca's throat, she gasped and rushed toward him. "No...please..don't kill him..." she said, not liking the idea of a man killing another just because of her. "I'm sure he's learned his lesson...please," she said. "No blood should be spilt because of this," she said then wiped her own blood away from her split lip. "Just let him go...a coward is what he is and there's no sense in killing him. Please," she said, her voice soft and begging, her eyes doe-y and much the same as she beseeched the man before her. She swallowed and looked at De Luca.

"Aye...spare me...spare me..." he begged and she frowned before looking back at the stranger holding De Luca, close to impaling his throat.

"He's not worth it..." she said softly. "No man like him is worth your immortal soul...please..."

(OOC: Love to continue tonight but I'm off to bed. It's nearly one a.m. and I have to be up at eight. I'll reply tomorrow)

 

[Orcus]

((Not a problem. I'm about t have to sack myself. Also, I'm glad you made her want to save the bastard. I didn't post killing him for that very reason. I get the impression we're thinking very much alike on this. Good night for now and good morning for when you actually read this.))

Cashis was dumb struck by this. This man wasn't worth letting live. It didn't make sense. Than he remembered he was talking to a Christian. Nothing was gonna make sense. Still this bastard was more her enemy than his own. He shoved him to the side and sheathed his sword. He took he hand and kissed where the blood she had wiped from her mouth was. The taste was enough to make him forget about the kill he'd just been deprived of. "May I walk you home, my lady?"

 

[LaBella]

"Please..." she said gratefully and took his arm, glancing at Signore DeLuca as he righted himself and walked off. She swallowed and then walked with him through the crowds back toward the villa. "Thank you...for what you did...and for not killing him..I...I never did get your name. You're the man that kept me out of trouble last night, si?" she asked then took a deep breath, looking around for her maid but not seeing her. There was no telling where the woman had gone and the fact that she had disappeared at the oppertune moment made her a little suspicious. DeLuca might have paid her off to be elsewhere but what mattered was that she had not been there. The worst part about going home was telling one of her brother's or father what happened if they saw the state of her. She kept her head down, brushing her hair back from her pale features and walking with him as they headed toward the villa.

(OOC: Yeah. Glad we're on the same page but I'm trying to make her as pure and innocent as possible since this is a corruption RP.)

 

[Orcus]

((I picked up on that. It's exactly what I wanted for this RP.))

He guided her through the shadowed path. He knew just the right way to go to avoid direct sunlight. It would have been easier to just let her walk alone and watch from the shadows, but he would have had trouble getting to her in time if something happened.

Something suddenly occurred to him. "You look like you've been assaulted. Your family may not believe your... honor is untouched." He had an idea about what needed to be done.

 

[LaBella]

She bit her bottom lip then winced when she realized it was split. "Oh...I didn't think of that," she said pausing. "Well...surely they would trust my word...I didn't do anything to warrant what he did to me.." She winced and then looked at him. "You...still have not told me your name signore," Cecilia mused then sank against the wall, running her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. "oh what does it matter. If father suspects at all that I'm no longer..." she trailed off and blushed. "If father thinks that he went far in his assault I'll have to marry him. I don't want to marry him...I do not even want to marry at all," she sighed and then looked at the state of her dress and tried to fix her gown but it was pulled and ripped some. There would be no avoiding explaining what happened.

(OOC: I aim to please )

 

[Orcus]

She bit her bottom lip then winced when she realized it was split. "Oh...I didn't think of that," she said pausing. "Well...surely they would trust my word...I didn't do anything to warrant what he did to me.." She winced and then looked at him. "You...still have not told me your name signore," Cecilia mused then sank against the wall, running her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. "oh what does it matter. If father suspects at all that I'm no longer..." she trailed off and blushed. "If father thinks that he went far in his assault I'll have to marry him. I don't want to marry him...I do not even want to marry at all," she sighed and then looked at the state of her dress and tried to fix her gown but it was pulled and ripped some. There would be no avoiding explaining what happened.

(OOC: I aim to please )

"You're right. I haven't." He said in response to her asking his name once more. "I have an idea. If I'm not mistaken, you have another such dress. One that isn't torn."

They were close enough for him to see the patio outside. It was the only way to get inside undetected. "I can help you sneak in so you can change. Your family need never know."

 

[LaBella]

She looked at him and frowned when still he refused to give her his name. It wasn't very gentlemanly but then he had saved her from rape. It meant he probably wasn't completely terrible. She happened to have a gown similiar in color and style but how did he know that? She sighed and and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do and then sighed. "I suppose...that's my only option to not marry him...very well...if you think you could provide enough distraction or something of the sort. Keep my father or brothers out of the way, I should be able to get up to my room without fuss and redress...though it seems...very dishonest...it's not lying is it?" she asked, feeling a little guilty but she had no desire to marry that gluttonous pervert.

 

[Orcus]

"Lying isn't so bad, senora. Not under these circumstances." He was distracted by the sound of someone sneaking around. He knew the smell. A Borgia spy. Great timing. "This just got more complicated." He lifted her as he did the night before and rushed her behind a wall. "That man there works for the Borgias. If he sees you like this he'll tell them."

Cashis looked around for a way out of this. He was still holding her up. He evaded the spy and started climbing with her in one arm. He was moving quickly but quietly and making sure to avoid detection.

 

[LaBella]

She was surprised by his abilities. That was for sure. But seeing one of those men working for Roderigo Borgia made her sick to her stomach. The man wanted to be Pope but he was perhaps the most selfish and devious and most untrustworthy man she'd ever had the chance of meeting. As she was carried up to her room, she glanced at him as she disentangled herself from him and took a deep breath. "I admit signor you are strong," she said then blushed. "Thank you," she said realizing this was the first time she'd had a man in her room since her marriage some three years before. But that man had only kissed her forehead and tucked her in. She'd been scared of the consummation but he'd never lain with her. She counted her blessings on that and hoped that she never had to feel a man's touch. Maybe her father would allow her to be a nun but she doubted it. "I'm sure you can find your way back down...I should change and...fix my lip...thank you...for what you did earlier Signor Misterioso," she said, calling him Sir Mysterious as she had no idea who he was or what his name was.

 

[Orcus]

"As you wish. I will see to it that this Borgia spy isn't around to see you come back down." He was already looking down at the spy. "Don't worry. I will not kill him." He hopped to the other side of the railing and was about to make his way down when he stopped. "And Senora, My name is Cashis."

He dropped away and moved onto the spy. So strange that he was skulking about in the day light. He was literally in the daylight. Cashis had to somehow get this creten to take to the shadows where he could deal with him. Preferably before senora Mancini would need to make her escape.