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Masquerading By Moonlight [Gypsy x Bishop]

Bishop

Moon
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
Location
Eastern U.S.
That was sloppy, Virgil. The work of a novice. No one will appreciate that display, no one will admire that amateurism. Dispose of it and don’t make the same mistake with the next one.

He stared at his reflection in the water basin, its clarity corrupted by the crimson taint of blood. Ophelia’s blood. Its ripples had calmed, giving him clear view of his likeness, its red hue demonic. The symbolism was not lost on him. He returned to his cleansing, dipping calloused hands within the water. Try as he might, no amount of scrubbing would remove the residue from beneath his fingernails. It was no matter, it wouldn’t be much later in the night that he would once again be wiping fresh blood from his flesh.

Thus far, the night's foray into the recesses of his darkest ambitions had been a resounding failure, if the mangled specimen behind him was any indication. He turned to face it, his brow furrowing and lips curling downward in disdain. Where there was once a beautiful woman, there now lied a grotesque abomination, a hideous corpse. There was no precision, no majesty in the outcome. He took something beautiful, and instead of guiding its ascension to grandeur, he decimated any remnant of grace. A resounding failure. His failure. And yet another corpse destined to sink to the bottom of Havard Bay.

The human anatomy is a fickle thing, wrought with many a vulnerability. With surgical precision, one could extinguish life nearly instantaneously without so much as a twitch from the victim. To say that Ophelia twitched would be an understatement. She had thrashed, and his measures had grown drastic.

When a shepherd is forced to slay one of his lambs, he will hide the blade from their line of sight, as to prevent fear from tainting the meat. Fear had tainted his masterpiece tonight. When she saw the blade, an evening of risqué ventures was seen as precisely what it was: the end of her life. What generally ends with a swift dagger to the heart collapsed into multiple gashes to her chest and throat. Sloppy.

Fortunately, despite his misgivings, the night still held some hope. The evening had been far more successful than his late-night endeavors, stemming from his arrival at the masquerade.

~~~​

His overcoat wasn’t enough to combat the crispness of that late September evening chill. The sun was just starting to set over the horizon, and throngs of the city’s wealthiest strolled onto the patio, masks in hand. Naturally, Virgil Dunstance received an invite. With such a last name, it was an obligation. Wealth had its benefits, such as a classical education and invitations to the most prestigious of events. And it is here that he would prowl.

He had already chosen his next target. In fact, she had been the subject of his attention for a couple of weeks now. He was very particular about how he selected his playthings. Ophelia’s beauty was matched by her grace, and her emerald eyes shimmered in the moonlight, even through her mask. They had danced as strangers, elbows locked with one another as they spun elegantly to tunes of flute and violin. And without a trace, she vanished.

She had run to the arms of a dear friend. He was entirely unfamiliar with the woman, but he could not deny her charms. She far surpassed Ophelia in every manner, and he found himself staring in admiration of this stranger. He approached without caution, eager to enact his plans with the potential of a second suiter. To his surprise, not only did he manage to convince Ophelia to return to his manse, but her companion would accompany them as well. Juliet was her name, he had learned. Juliet Rosendahl. A last name unfamiliar to him. A rare, precious jewel, unsoiled by the taint of prestige. He absolutely must have her.

The carriage ride was far more enjoyable than most. It was plain to see that Ophelia was quite accustomed to the courtesies of her stature. It was all very boring, and reeked of familiarity. It seemed as if all of these young aristocrats had been raised with the same personality. Juliet was different, Virgil could sense. Her laugh was genuine, her bright blue eyes containing a light of innocence. It was this innocence he wished to preserve, and as they slowly drifted into unconsciousness from the sedated wine he had provided them, there was a pang of regret in Virgil’s heart.

For over a year he had been collecting his playthings, but it wasn’t their deaths that brought him pleasure. No, he would draw pleasure from their bodies in the moments before he would take their lives. The methods would vary: some would be bound and gagged, taken like the beast they desired to be; some would be caressed passionately, eased into their pleasure; some would require a combination of each. The one overarching similarity with all encounters would be their climax. No matter how much they struggled, in the end their orgasm would overtake their reservations. And that’s when he’d do it.

He didn’t do this for that pleasure, but for their redemption. They had sold their souls to society, taking their mantle with their true self abandoned, and to Virgil this was no life at all. In their moments of bliss, all else was naught. Their only focus was the heat growing in their bellies, the moisture coating their thighs, and the man who would provide them with such a sensation. In that moment, their souls would return to them. In that moment they would die, jubilant and beautiful. All people die, yet not all meet such a graceful end. Ophelia had not been blessed with such an end.

When she regained her consciousness, she was bound and gagged upon the duvet in his basement, as some are wont to awaken to. There was panic in her eyes as she set her sight upon Virgil. Her eyes widened and her feminine frame began to tremble. He took her without a word, and she fought against him. At first. Before long, she had resigned to her fate, and had even begun to become an active participant. It was in these moments that Virgil knew he had succeeded.

Yet something wasn’t right about the scenario he found himself in. It was very familiar, yet far different than any he had experienced prior. In the back of his mind, he knew what it was, was aware of what kept him distracted. Juliet. He found himself unable to take Ophelia any longer, deigning to the use of fingers and other apparatuses to finish the deed. She seemed unfazed, bucking her hips upon the faux phallus that he used to replace his own. She reached her peak, then saw the blade.

~~~​

With a rough prod of his cane, Ophelia vanished beneath the frigid surface of the bay, never to be seen again. The benefits of a bayside manse. In successful endeavors, the body would be left to be found by passerbys, his work of art meant to be admired by the masses. Ophelia was not a successful endeavor, and had to be disposed of harshly.

He returned to his home, settling his cane next to the front door. He had mopped the mess from the basement prior to disposal, so he led himself toward his study. It was here that Juliet was resting, nestled upon a couch along the eastern wall. Even in slumber, her elegance could not be mistaken. He simply stood at the foot of the couch, staring for what felt like an hour. Did she deserve this? Would he be capable of remorse if he followed through? These thoughts did nothing to calm the raging storm in his heart as he approached, arms slipping beneath the female’s body as he lifted her to his chest. He dragged her down to his dungeon, the fresh sheets of his bed enveloping her in their warmth.

In pained him to bind her, yet it’s what must be done. It was far too late for hesitation, as she would no doubt catch on to what happened to her dearest Ophelia if she was released. No, she would never be released. The least he could do was give her a proper end, lest all be a waste.

But why end such innocence? Such purity? Let her live, Virgil, and see her reach ascension in another form.

The thought was not lost upon him, as the concept bounced about inside his mind. Yet this was not the time of ponderance, but the time of action. Her hands were bound behind her back, palms pressed to opposite elbows. He pulled her from the cushioned surface, dropping her to the floor at the foot of the bed. Her dress would be soiled by the action, the filth of the ground tainting its vibrancy. It mattered not, as it was only a matter of time before it was torn from her frame.

There was one final touch, fitting of such a plaything. He approached the wardrobe nestled in the corner, the home of his tools of the trade. What he procured had belonged to his first, the one who he thought would be with him forever. She had the same innocence, the same youthful glow. A leash and collar.

The collar was strapped about Juliet’s throat, its accompanying leash bound to the bedpost. As he stepped back from his work, he admired how wonderfully the collar suited her. It was time for the show to begin. He knelt before the sleeping femme, procuring a small packet of smelling salts and wafting it toward her nostrils. He watched as she shuttered into consciousness, bright blues meeting his dark brown gaze once again.

“Good evening, Juliet.”
 
Of all the scenarios that she expected to witness upon awakening, Juliet Rosendahl did not expect immobilization.

It was a dreamless slumber, she realized, upon regaining consciousness. Quite a peculiar conundrum, for Juliet was inherently a dreamer; perhaps the lack of that constant aspect was a foreboding sign in and of itself. Yet in this particular case, when the pungent fragrance that breached the oppressive haze freed her from the tendrils of sleep, none of the familiar wisps of a fading subconscious vagary was present. Everything that had preceded her aromatic reveille eluded her grasp. In its place, a bloodcurdling reality too difficult to comprehend in one sitting greeted her at the van.

A prominent ache in her limbs informed her of the unorthodox position she rested in, causing discomfort and numbness alike. On the cold, hardwood floor, it proved to be a taxing task to alleviate herself of her predicament whilst her arms were bound behind her. The coiffure Ophelia styled her thick, brown locks into erstwhile had unraveled, wayward strands obscuring her field of vision as much as the blur of the sedative inflicted. Such knowledge heralded the sonorous pounding in her chest. Questions bourgeoned forth like mirages in a wasteland, alarmed and perplexed, yet none were verbalized when she discerned a presence before her. What she perceived once clarity was perceptible besieged her with cold, paralyzing dread.

It was him.

A fleeting dance was all it took for him to have Ophelia fall head over heels with his charisma at the masquerade from what Juliet gathered. While Juliet indulged in ladyfingers during the revelry, Ophelia indulged in men. "Julie, he's absolutely dashing. You must have seen how he danced with me, haven't you? I quite fancy him… oh! Here he comes! Smile, doll. Smile!" The glamour of the event settled, and he approached, masked with intrigue and thrill. With grace like a panther and charm like a politico, Ophelia was ensnared in his web. Though Juliet had been warier than her friend, it wasn't long before she too was windswept into Virgil Dunstance's enchantments. A prime quintessence of affluence and aristocracy. Splendors Juliet would never have the privilege of experiencing if it wasn't for Ophelia's proclivity in bringing her bourgeois companion wherever she went. Ophelia was Juliet's invitation whether the latter liked it or not. Deeper and deeper the pair delved into his spell that conversation with him resembled one with childhood friends rather than acquainted strangers. Thus why the invitation to his home was not refuted immediately by Ophelia. However, her acceptance alarmed Juliet to a point that, upon awaiting for the carriage that would whisk them away from the gathering, a squabble nearly erupted between the friends. Accompanying Ophelia to picnics and parties was one thing; heading to a stranger's manse without any escort was another, especially when women's cadavers ran rampant among these times. "Juliet, quit whinnying. Mustn't let them think we British ladies are so petty as to indulge in arguments on the streets. We only discuss the weather, and when the weather is bad, we pretend not to notice." Any attempt to persuade Ophelia from reconsidering was promptly dismissed much like a bothersome guttersnipe. Resigned, all seemed to be forgotten when dialogue between the trio began once more…

…until unconsciousness befell them.

When she came to, Juliet could not pretend not to notice now. Not the smooth, deep baritone that greeted her, not the awareness that Ophelia was nowhere to be found, and certainly not the restraints that rendered her upper extremities incapacitated. Fortunately, her modesty was retained with her apparel and her identity was concealed with her mask still. The façade Ophelia had woven unto Juliet for the promenade melted away with how she appeared at present before him. A vulnerable vision on his floor. How long this would be maintained she did not know. And it was that daunting verity that diffused fear to promulgate in her anatomy.

The effort she exerted to raise herself into an orthostatic stance was nigh debilitating, for her body resembled lead and her mind squashed with cotton whilst a weakening vertigo crashed over her. Aftereffects of the sedatives no doubt, eliciting distressed groans to vacate her throat. What Juliet missed in the moment where she gathered her composure was the queer impression weighing down her neck. These were items used on pets, on animals, not humans. To have it affixed on her seared not only debasement, but also trepidation, for no matter how much she tugged on the damnable chain, it still leashed her to the bedpost with nowhere to escape. Nowhere to hide from the dark gaze that watched her.

Rumors of a killer who prowled on females roamed the streets of the city, leaving the deceased on the streets after a libertine tryst. Some claimed it was separate incidents with no concordance to one another, yet some mused all were the work of one man alone. Nevertheless, the accusations resulted to one outcome: death. He was still on the loose though, and to think that Juliet might be with him right now drained the color off her complexion and exacerbated her already frantic heart apace. They would be the same with the other women who had been slain, splattered on the cover of the newspaper she read a fortnight past:


        • Woman found dead in Kensington Gardens
          A woman was found dead by a passerby near Batty's Hippodrome on Saturday, September 12. "She looked to be sleeping on the grass, aye," said the witness, Michael Tunsel, 39, who was out for a morning jog upon Fairchild's discovery, "all pretty and peaceful in her green cloak. But t'was a cold morning to be napping outside unless you want to get a nasty cold. Typical English weather with them dark clouds overhead. So I called out to her, I did. Said, "Oi, miss! Sleep's better in a warm bed!" No response. I figured the lass was plastered. T'was a Saturday morn after all. Must have been a jolly good Friday night for her. I went up to her, crouched and tried to shake her awake. That's when I realized something ain't right. Lass was pale and not breathing, naked underneath the cloak too." Tunsel reported the incident immediately. The victim was identified as Eloise Fairchild, 24, only daughter of Harold Fairchild, a wealthy socialite and member of the Bastian Brotherhood. Fairchild returned to the city after a weeklong vacation in Brighton to attend a gathering of her father's fraternity. Fairchild did not go home the night of the party and was found in the meadow near Batty's Hippodrome where her body was abandoned. Authorities confirmed a consensual sexual intercourse occurred prior to her death […]




"Where is Ophelia?" were her first words against her captor with what she hoped to be a severe inflection, though even to her ears the tremulous pitch could not be disregarded. To have Ophelia and her name in the headlines of the paper and the obituary was an outcome Juliet sought to avoid at all costs. Disheveled tresses framed her face, emphasizing sapphirine irises fraught with fright and betrayal. "Let – let us go. Please. Where is she? What have you done to her? We didn't come here for this. Ophelia… she just... Please let us go. We won't tell any – anyone of this if you release us right now. No one needn't know." Her struggles escalated like a thrashing child. Desperation ruled her cognizance and turned her feral, manipulating her to move even though the collar cinched about her neck prohibited her from advancing. It resulted to her collapse time and time again, damaging the damascene cobalt dress that garbed her sveltely form. "Ophelia!" Juliet shrieked, chest heaving and breath laborious. The tears crystallized her eyes and spilt, staining her flushed cheeks. "Ophelia! Where are you?! Anyone! Help! Please help! Ophelia!"

 
In her cries of hysteria, Virgil found himself despondent. There was a pain in him that he had not felt in any of his previous endeavors. A pain he hadn’t felt since that fateful night. Tears welled in his eyes, promptly wiped away by the back of his hand before they could be noticed. He knew what must be done, how events must unfold. Still, the fear in her blue eyes would not make things any easier.

He swung his arm about, digits slipping into his rear pocket to procure the blade. He brandished it before her, his thumb running across to test its edge. He approached her slowly, his free hand rising to cup her chin and raise her gaze to his own. The blade slipped from her sight, descending to the unknown. With a quick flick of his wrist, the bindings that tethered her arms were slit and fell to the floor. His lips curled downward, his eyes wide and drooped.

“Oh, dear, dear Juliet. Fret not, you are in no harm. This was simply a misunderstanding, a cruel ploy, if you will. You had drunk far too much last night, and were forced to rest here for the night. Ophelia had convinced me that this was something you would come to desire, that you had yet to experience an evening of such attractions. Yet with recent events I should very well have thought about the repercussions and refused. And fear not for your companion, she has simply returned home to leave you under my care. I assure you, I had no intention of proceeding without your express permission.”

His thumb would stroke her dampened cheek comfortingly, collecting any tears that slipped past her lashes and whisking them away. With delicate hands, he traced the bands of her mask, gently lifting if from her visage. This was the first he had laid eyes upon her in full lighting without her veil, and she was every bit as beautiful as he had imagined. The epitome of elegance that he had been searching for. She was a mirror image of Genevieve.

“So, what say you? Shall I flag down the nearest deputy? Or have we calmed down enough to discuss the circumstance and let your heart stop racing? For that reason, at least.” At this point, he had risen her to her feet, softly placing her upon the bed and taking a seat adjacent. He had taken her hand in his own, his free hand stroking the supple flesh of her palm and digits.
 
The bruises Juliet obtained in her endeavor to freedom added to the present ache in the dips and rises of her body. Such was the reason as to why she elected the conservation of panic on the floor, ebbing to hoarse cries for help and tremulous pleas for release in lieu of her relentless lashing out. His anguish had gone unnoticed, for the world before her blurred into a distortion of muted colors courtesy of her tears. In the face of the visual anomalies, the glint of the blade in the half-light was nigh perceptible. It did naught to abate her sobbing, worsening it even further.

This was it. Juliet would meet her end in the hands of a man cloaked with affluence and charisma, restrained and collared. How she would be disposed of was an awareness she wouldn't be privileged to know. How the blade he deftly wielded would pierce into her flesh was a thought that sparked nausea in her belly. Darkness was her only escape now, and it was darkness she took sanctuary in with her closed eyes.

However, what she expected didn't arrive.

Her limbs were freed, relinquishing her from numbness and pain. Words... painless, reassuring and apologetic words perforated the fear that hazed her mind. Yet if he sought to reassure her, none inflicted desired effect. None abolished the trepidation that set her heart aflutter. Indeed, this was a cruel ploy, even for Ophelia. Of all of his efforts to placate Juliet, one remark foiled him from his campaign, disillusioning the female completely. Ophelia would never leave me alone. In the hands of a stranger nonetheless.

Still as a statue Juliet was when her tears were daubed and her mask was removed. Vermilion splotched her features, all blood-shot eyes, scarlet-stained cheeks and red-sniffling nose. Sitting on the duvet contiguous to this stranger who called himself Virgil, the tremors that wracked her shoulders didn't wane at all. Stormy blues watched him vigilantly, bewilderment and apprehension present in her gaze, much like how a deer would pause and scrutinize its surroundings for predators. His touch was unwelcome, yet wariness prevented her from batting his hand away so brazenly. The last thing she wished to do in her situation was to offend him. In the guise of drying her cheeks, she employed both hands to stifle her tears.

The interim provided her ample time to compose herself and take note of her surroundings whilst her fingers grazed the collar affixed on her throat. "Remove this. Please." Juliet whispered. "I'm not an animal. What did Ophelia convince you of? That – that collars and restraints are something I would enjoy? That this is in my best interest? Ophelia knows not of what I desire, nor is it in her nature to abandon a friend she takes and returns to her family after her excursions. She wouldn't leave me... it's not... like her..." A sob broke her dialogue, hands flying to cover her quivering lips. "Where is she, Mr. Dunstance? I would like to leave with her."​
 
There had been twenty three girls before Ophelia. Each had their charms, yet none were unique. Not like Genevieve, the first. They each had their graces, their postures, their courtesies. Yet none had Genevieve's spirit. None could mount the world and milk it of all it had. Instead, their world had mounted them, molded them into puppets. Juliet did not have that spirit, either, yet neither had she become society's marionette. She was still unique. Untainted by aristocracy, she was the most innocent of all such women he had known. Yet, if he had gone through with his plans, Juliet would have been the twenty fourth.

As she peered at him, sobbing and terrified, it was evident that she did not succumb to his ruse. Suspicion crept up her spine as guilt crept along his own. How could he handle this situation? Lie to her again? It would be simple, yet unlikely to be believed. He could tell her that her friend was still upstairs, having locked the pair down here. But that was a fool’s errand.

He reached forward, his fingers tracing the lace of the leash he had fastened about her neck. The material was soft, far less sturdy than conventional. One swift tug and she could easily splay the fabric, which would devastate the man. It was the first thing he had ever purchased for Genevieve, and Juliet was the first person to wear it since. It was then that he knew what he must do.

“You’re correct, you are no animal, and Ophelia did not inform me otherwise. But I’m afraid I can’t remove it, Juliet. You see, you are the first worthy to don that collar, and it wouldn’t do it justice to be removed so hastily.” With a swift tug upon the leash, enough pressure was applied to the female’s throat to cut off airflow. He lifted, pulling her balance from her enough to take a solid hold upon her frame. He enveloped her from behind, pinning her arms to her back and releasing the leash. With lips lingering adjacent to her ear, the truth slipped through.

“I assure you, you do not wish to leave with Ophelia. No, that would be quite unfitting of one of your elegance.” As he spoke, the bindings that had previous been removed were once again secured about her limbs. He maintained his position behind her, however, gently whispering in her ear.

“No, I have something far grander in mind for you than the bay. Yes, that is where dearest Ophelia now lies eternally. Without grace, without beauty, she was slain and disposed of, yet this is not something I wish of you. Your life holds greater purpose.” He would rise from the duvet, presenting himself in front of his prisoner. “You are now mine, and I shall now be yours. It is what Genevieve would have wanted. You shall bear witness to my work, an attentive student. And you shall do my bidding, relieve me when I desire, and obey my every command. This is your new life, my pet, my Juliet. I have no doubt that you will one day come to appreciate and admire all that I do. As a first test, simply nod if you understand.”
 
Her heartbeat was the only sound she could hear, resonating in her ears amid his malicious speech. He spoke and he spoke, yet Juliet hardly comprehended what he imparted. None made sense. The charm this aristocrat possessed now warped into a miasma that frightened her. Her nostrils flared as he reached to touch her, her pulse pulsating rapidly as she refrained from flinching and spewing obscenities at him. Though before her control was severed, the world and her breath was yanked hastily beneath her. By design, she would have scrabbled for air, but that too was duly revoked from her when her limbs had been immobilized on her back once again. Struggle would have been futile, for his presence and weight was oppressive abaft her, curtailing any endeavor to move.

He needn't paralyze her any longer as the sultry breath that heralded portentous confessions fanned over the side of her face. Fear gripped her spine, cold sweat diffusing throughout her form like the river brooks near her home. Ophelia's dead… Ophelia's dead… It chimed in her head akin to the prayers her mother ingrained within her in her younger days, echoing with no saving grace but imminent horror. Tears sprung in her eyes in full force once more, blurring her vision as she sobbed. Ophelia's dead, and now he wishes me to be his… assistant… no, his pet.

The look Juliet sent him as he presented himself was one of disappointment, terror and odium. "You speak of worth like you are worthy to take someone's life, as if you are suitable to take my friend's… a beautiful girl's… life," she spat, a quivering tremor in her speech born from both consternation and revulsion. "You're not God. You're not mine, nor shall I be yours. I haven't the faintest idea of who Genevieve might be, but her desires and mine are not parallel in the slightest. Though if she loathes you like I do at this very moment, then we possess something similar after all. And that is a far more plausible claim than imagining anyone would want to be with a monster out of their own volition."

Though her words were interposed with overwhelming sobs that rendered her dialogue nigh indistinguishable, Juliet fought to be understood. Only then did she resolve herself for her succeeding acts. A wave of courage flooded her as she vehemently yanked herself away from the bedpost, far enough that the leash grew taut and ripped the collar from her neck. Aware that it might harm her airflow, it was a better way to perish than in the hands of this delusional man. Just as she expected, the material dug to her throat, painfully so, yet it gave away and she was freed.

In a whirlwind of adrenaline-induced movements, Juliet hurled herself hard against Virgil to knock him off his feet prior to fleeing from the windowless chamber in the only escape route she could discern. Her restrained limbs proved to be a hindrance in her endeavor, but she clambered atop the stairs in desperate haste. The door atop plummeted her heart in her gut. No, no, no, please. Don't do this to me. Please be open. Please be open. Without paying heed to how it might bruise her body, Juliet threw herself at the solid block of wood once, twice… until she realized that such abuse was unnecessary if she turned and jangled the knob with her bound hands.​
 
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