The Kindgom of Heaven and Hell

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Faline all but cowered at the back of the great hall. She hated meetings. They were often times full of loud angry men who had a tendency to throw things. This night was no different. The entire village had shown up, despite the raging storm outside. Every man from every family was there, shouting to be heard over the next.
Her father, the Jarl, was seated at the head of it all, one long leg draped over his ornate throne. For a while he remained silent, his eyes not one the villagers, but going from the young woman hiding under one of the tables near the door to her sister who sat on top of it, holding onto a rather heavy broad sword. He shook his head at both of them. 
Oalf sighed heavily and held up a hand to silence the crowd. "I am fully aware of the danger we now face from the outlanders. And I am aware that those who cross our borders are far from human. However, I am not sure if we warrant help from out bordering villages. If we decide to seek help, we will need to go to the king. But...he is a bartering man. I am not sure we have anything he will find worthy enough..."

"Come on, Lucian. Let's stop talking." Faline breathed. She tried to pull him along with her but found that he wasn't going anywhere. Instead of leading him she found herself against his chest. "I'd rather...not have to...prove myself to you..." She whispered.

"I can't imagine that." Braun breathed, a moan escaping him when he discovered that she was naked beneath the blankets. "You are perfect for me, kitten." He whispered, tossing his own shirt to the floor.

"You should never gave to prove yourself to anyone, other than yourself." Lucian breathed as he again touched Faline's silken curls. "It hurts me to think that someone has made you feel so badly about yourself."

Cessily's heart fluttered as it did each time Braun had called her kitten, right from the first moment they met in that dank dungeon. The blankets had slipped away to reveal all of Cessily's bare form to her companion, and the young woman blushed deeply when she realised this.

"I don't feel badly about myself, sire. I just don't think I am worthy of a king. Haven't we had this discussion before?" Faline asked him. She finally managed to regain her smile. "Come on. We have roses to see. I want to see the black ones cook told me about."

"Tell me to stop." Braun all but pleaded with her as he placed himself between her legs and brought her knees up to his hips. He could barely stop his kisses, as he moved. He was o. Fire for Cessily. He had been since their very first kiss.

Lucian allowed Faline to pull him a long this time. He wished he had just had her sister be headed and had done with it. He wanted to tell Faline that he had heard everything her sister had said to her. Instead he kept his silence, hoping that Faline would tell him everything in her own time.

Cessily's moss coloured eyes seemed so wide and innocent in that moment as they peered up at Braun. She was still so scared, but in the same breath she was fearful that telling him no would give him cause to distance himself from her. "Then tell me you won't leave when you take what you want." She breathed.

Faline wasn't sure how to feel about the black roses. The further they got into the garden the more she began to feel as if things were enchanted. This was not the way a garden was supposed to look. Here the birds were no longer singing and it seemed almost like evening were setting even though she knew full well it was only lunch time. "Lucian?" She asked, turning back to the king. "What is this?" 

"You're right..." Braun groaned as he pulled himself away from Cessily. She wasn't ready for him. He didn't have to be a genius to figure that part out. "By the gods...why the hell do you have to be so beautiful?" He demanded, shoving off the bed and pacing the room. "Do you have any idea how hard I'm trying to control myself. Do you know how much I want you?"

"Solitude." Lucian replied gently, reaching out to touch one of the black roses. "No one can come here unless I allow it, complete peace." He added, not seek it in the disturbing way Faline obviously did.

Cessily gathered to blankets back up and pulled them around herself as Braun seemed to erupt. The dark haired woman simply couldn't allow herself to believe that Braun was telling the truth, that he did think her beautiful and did want no one but her. "You want what is convenient!" She snapped, sliding from the bed with the blankets to gather up her clothing.

"I don't understand..." This kind of solitude scared Faline more than she wanted to admit. It was overwhelming and a bit like being angry. It wasn't a feeling she was very familiar with. "Look at those thorns." She breathed, reaching out to touch a massive one that had seemed to grow out of nowhere. 

"Hardly." Braun muttered, shaking his head. "If that were true, I'd be downstairs right now rutting away with the innkeepers wife. The gods know she offered herself to me. Or perhaps I would have stayed behind with those two buxom women at the last tavern we were in. Convenient would be so much easier, kitten. Trust me when I say that."

Lucian reached out too, touching the thorn almost reverently. "They are a wonder, aren't they?" He breathed. "Ready to protect the beauty of their blooms."

Cessily was clutching the blankets around her tightly as she stared at the clothing she held in her other hand. "I don't know what you want me to say." She whispered. "I may never be ready for what you want from me..."

"Lucian...I don't belong here." Faline said, her fingers inches from the edge of the thorn.it was trying to reach for her even if she didn't realize it. Innocent blood was always the best but innocent virgin blood was even better. "I should go."

"Then you cannot punish me for taking it from someone else." Braun told her gently. "I am a man and I have needs, Cessily. Just as you are a woman and you find that you need things as well...whatever they may be..."

"You know you can't." Lucian breathed. "Think of your village, of what would happen to them when the outlanders attack and there is no one to defend them." It was a cruel thing to do, but he could lose her now.

Cessily felt her insides twist painfully at the ultimatum Braun had just given her; surrender herself to him now, or listen as he takes from another what she is too afraid to give. "Do what you feel you must." She whispered before yanking her pants over her shapely hips and pulling the rest of her clothing on and heading for the door,

His words stung. Faline cringed as if he'd raised a hand to her. "You'll have to excuse me, sire. I need some fresh air." She turned to leave, suddenly feeling as if she were bring choked. The thorns grabbed for her, snagging her dress and holding her fast. 

 Braun lost his temper as Cessily stomped out of the room. The door had barely closed behind her and he was throwing things and shouting words that no respectable sailor should have to hear.

"Faline, we had a deal." Lucian breathed as he stood in front of her. "I am not a bad man, I only ask that you honour you part."

Cessily had her back pressed to the door and her eyes screwed shut as she heard Braun cursing and throwing things. He was right in everything he had said, but it didn't change how scared she was to hand herself over to another. A moment later the dark haired woman was running down the stairs and out to her horse in the stable.

"Lucian...I want out of this garden..." Faline pleaded, trying to keep herself calm as several of the thorns dug into her arms. She could hear the sounds of soft moans though she wasn't sure where they were coming from. 

Braun stomped down the stairs a while later and demanded a bath. He was allowed the woman to offer herself to him. Cessily did not want him. What was the harm in not getting something he needed. He was no nun after all.

Lucian gently began pulling at the thorns as though they were no more than blades of grass, not sharp things with which to trap their prey. "Faline... I want you to stay, I want you to get to know me." The king breathed as he took the young woman's hand and helped her step away from the garden.

Cessily was still out in the stable brushing her horse when hd heard exactly what Braun and the inn keepers wife were up to. She closed her eyes and hugged hers arms round her horses neck, pressing her face into its silken mane. Cessily didn't want to feel this way any more and made a rather rash decision. A few moments later her horse was saddled up and she was riding into the northern wildes alone.

Faline had never been more terrified in her life. The moment she was free of the dark garden she dropped into the cool grass and laid there, taking in several deep breaths. The air was stifling in the inner garden. "I need space. You're scare me, Lucian." She breathed.

Braun knew she'd left him. He'd seen the horse out the window. He let her go. She made it clear she didn't need him.

Those words wounded Lucian more than he had thought they would. "I... Don't meant o give you cause to fear me." He breathed, keeping a distance of a few feet between them now. "It's just... Do you have any idea just how beautiful you are, Faline?"

Cessily was ashamed of the fact tears dripped down her cheeks as she rode. Her cloak was billowing out behind her with these ed her horse was running. It would be well before dawn by the time she reached the border that lead into the frozen land in the North.

Faline didn't feel very beautiful as she pushed her tangled curls out of her face and sat up. Her dress was torn and dirty, her arms and legs were already covered in dried blood. "Lucian...please..." She whispered.

Braun was in a tavern not far away late that afternoon. He was very drunk and all but prepared to fight. He would win, of course, but it would not come without a price. He did not care. He wanted to be hurt. He wanted to feel something that wasn't caused by Cessily.

Lucian felt the rejection in those whispered words and no longer offered his hand out. "I won't keep you against your will... Do as you feel you must." He breathed, blissfully unaware of a similar conversation that had taken place between Faline's sister and her companion.

"Well you're new." The young woman who was serving Braun his drink mused as she set the mug of ale down. She was the usual kind of woman found working in such a place, her dress not laced all the way up to draw attention to her rather large breasts. Though she had long flowing red hair and creamy smooth skin, it wasn't he same kind of beauty that Cessily had about her; this woman knew she was beautiful, and used it to get what she wanted.

Faline jumped to her feet and ran. It didn't matter that she wasn't wearing shoes or that her dress was torn. She fled Lucian and his terrible garden of living thorns. 
"She cannot leave." The darkness of the garden spoke to Lucian. "We must have her blood...her innocence. One taste is not enough..."

"I'm not staying." Braun grunted, hating the feeling inside him that screamed that these people should know him. It felt like everyone in the tavern should be bowing to him. He was just about ready to tell them this too.

"It is all you shall have." Lucian replied quietly, though didn't turn his head in the direction of the voice. He also wasn't giving chase to Faline. She had been gone only seconds, and already he felt like all the light had gone from his life.

"Nothing to tempt your fancy, sir?" The giggling barmaid asked fluttering long lashes at Braun.
Cessily had passed through this same spot hours earlier. She had allowed her horse to rest before making the corssing into a land that no one had heard from in many years.

"We will have her light. It has already been decided." The darkness hissed. "Have you not tasted her yourself?" The thorns reached for him. "She has read the books. We can sense it."

"Another round of ale, perhaps." Braun grunted, trying to keep his mind off Cessilyand just how much he already missed her. It was down right depressing. "Make it quick, woman."

"No one but I can read those books, and you know it." Lucian replied, hoping he was a good enough liar. "There are other virgins out there for you to taste."

"I hope you don't desire everything with speed." The woman replied with a sultry purr before going to fetch Braun more ale.

"None of them taste of the sunshine." The darkness snarled, snaking themselves around Lucian's arms and up his chest. "You have tasted it. We will take that from you and keep it for ourselves. It will do for now."

Braun forgot a it the ale almost as soon as he'd ordered if. He got up from the table, staring out at the swirling snow. They were so close to the border. Cessily had crossed here. She had to have. He wondered just how much further she'd gone and how much longer she'd travel before she realized the magician had sent her off simply to die.

Lucian didn't fight the darkness. The linger he allowed it to feast in him, the freer Faline would be. It was a horrifying experience that he didn't wish her to experience.

"A woman came through here this morning." It was an ageing man who spoke to Braun this time as he stood by the window. "I tried to warn her about that place, but she insisted she was going, said something about her death being the only thing she had to give. Poor thing."

Faline was sitting at the dinner table when Lucian arrived much later that evening. She'd cleaned up and piled her curls on top of her head. She smiled at him when he sat down at the head of the table though it was much guarded than it had been before. It didn't take her long to notice the dark tips that had appeared in his normally light hair. "Sire," she said softly, hoping to lighten the dark mood. "My father sent a letter. It arrived this morning. He's coming to visit and thank you for the soldiers in person."

Braun nodded his head, watching the old man's reflection. "She is intent on getting herself killed." He said softly. "I'm going to catch up with her sooner or later. She just can't know about it." He turned from the window, running his hands through his hair. He should have just stayed downstairs that night. Cessily never would have run off if he'd have kept his hands to himself.

Lucian seemed like he was half asleep as he slumped down in his chair, dark circles under his eyes as he lifted his gaze to Faline when she spoke. "I told you you could leave." He told the young beauty across the table from him wearily.

"She's important to you?" The old man asked Braun as he watched him with warm honey coloured eyes. "I tried to warn her about the creature in that place, she just shrugged and said she didn't believe it was anything more than a children's story."

"You misunderstood me before." Faline told him softly. "I wasn't asking to go home. I was asking to leave the garden. I don't see how you can like it so much..."

"She believes she knows everything." Braun muttered, shaking his head. "Telling her anything is liable to get you hit. You're lucky you didn't."

It seemed to take Lucian a few second to comprehend what Faline had said, he was staring at her as though his brain was having difficulty functioning. "It's just a garden." He breathed at last, never wanting her to know the truth.

The old man laughed and scratched his head. "She sure was a lively one!" He agreed. "If you really do mean to go after her, won't you at least rest a while?"

"As you say, sire." Faline said, making it clear she didn't believe a word of it. She poked at the food the cook brought them, not really in the mood to eat anything. She was excited that her father was coming, more than she wanted to admit. So much so in fact that she got up from the table twice and peered out the window at the castle grounds below. 

Braun shook his head. "I've rested enough. I can rest when I am dead, sir." He added, beginning to collect his gear. "It will happen soon enough. The dragon hates men. She'll make a meal of me and I'm sure it will please both woman and beast. Best not to keep them waiting."

"Would you still search for your sister with such eagerness?" Lucian asked when he had been watching Faline for a few moments. "Have you contacted her?" He asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Funny, she said the same thing when I asked her to rest too." The man mused, though he knew it wouldn't change Braun's mind. "It isn't the dragon you should be afraid of." He added, then returned to his own table.