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..."

"Lucian..." Faline wasn't sure what to say next. She felt as she had when her father had ordered her given to the king of the north. Her entire world had just been shattered. Everything that she thought she knew was not true at all. "What...happens now?" 

"Kitten..." Braun turned her around in his arms and held her tightly, not sure what else to say. He want to say he was sorry but he didn't think it was enough. Instead he just held her against him.

"That, is up to you." Lucian breathed, daring to reach our and stroke Faline's cheek lightly. "I won't keep you here against your will... No matter what the stories say about me."

Cessily's hands were trapped between them her slender fingers curling into Braun's shirt as she buried her face against his chest. Being strong was something she had always done, because her best friend had been right there with her, no matter that he had been an animal. The youngest of the three sisters had fallen apart. She no longer even knew which was was up, as her whole world no longer made sense.

Faline laughed softly, leaning into his touch. "Not even the one where you kept sweet Persephone and made her your wife? I always liked that story. I suppose this is where I find out it wasn't true?" She asked, closing her eyes as his cool fingers moved to the angry bump on the edge of her forehead. 

Braun buried his face in Cessily's hair, not sure what else to do. He wasn't sure he'd ever had to comfort anyone. He certainly didn't remember it. "I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I will you get you a horse, my love. I will get you a thousand. Just please...do not cry..." He begged her, still holding her tight against him. 
For once in her life Serah felt bad for the things that she'd done. It wasn't like her to feel anything at all. Silently she returned to her place at the foot of the oak tree. She pulled her knees to her chest and stared over them at her sister and the brute she seemed to love so dearly.

Lucian pulled his fingers away to kiss the bump gently. "You always did love pomegranates... Little one." He breathed as he finally pulled Faline into his lap.

"Jet can't be replaced!" Cessily sobbed, her fingers sliding beneath Braun's shirt now, needing to feel the warmth of his skin as the ice threatened to freeze everything that made her feel. "He deserved better, it's all my fault! I should never have brought him to this place!"

"I did?" Faline once again found herself confused. As far as she knew she'd never eaten a pomegranate. She'd often dreamed of them but her father had refused, taking them away when them chimney sweep had given them to her. 
Lucian was saved from having to answer however because someone was shouting his name. His real one. There were only two others that knew it and both of them were  his younger brothers.

"You couldn't have known." Braun whispered, stroking her hair. He remained absolutely still as she touched him, refusing to tell her that her touch felt like liquid fire. "You were trying to help your sister."
"Again, not your sister. The whore of Lord death. Nothing more." Serah snapped, her mood of sorrow over. She was alone. No one would ever love her and it was all her sister's fault.

Lucian's arms tightened around Faline, well aware of now many people knew that name. "Faline, I need you to stay here. I know you never listen to me, but for once... Please?"

Cessily's own sorrow quickly melted into white hot rage and she pulled herself from Braun's powerful arms, taking the dagger from his belt as she swiftly turned to face Serah again.

"I shall do my best." Faline said, trying to remember a time when she didn't obey. Her father had taught her well. She wondered if he was referring to women he'd once known. She sat silently on the bed, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes growing rather heavy. 

"Cessily, don't..." Braun made a grab for her but came up seriously short. "This is only fueling whatever cruel magick is happening here. Don't let it get to you. The both of you have lost your minds, damn it!"

Lucian wasn't exactly filled with confidence. Something always happened. Something would tempt Faline, or lure her away, anything to get her to do the exact opposite of what he had asked. He always blamed his brother, even if he was nowhere to be seen.

Cessily had stopped with the sharp edge of the dagger pressed to Serah's slender throat hard enough that blood was dripping free. "She deserves worse than this!" She shouted.

Faline was suddenly so sleepy she couldn't keep her eyes open. She was trying. She was fighting as hard as she could to hear whomever it was that was calling Lucian's name. But something was drawing her into the darkness. She barely had time to lay herself down before she was lost to a deep slumber. 

"And you think you do not?!" Serah shouted. Cessily would find claws digging at her flat stomach. The nymph was showing wolf like fangs as she growled at her sister. "Go ahead. Kill me. He'll just bring me back. He's done it before. We are puppets to him. Toys. We cannot die. He won't let us. And it's all your fault!"

"I know you only call to me when you want something, little brother." As Lucian stepped out of the cabin, the landscape was not that of the lush mountain side where he had brought Faline. Everything was dark and filled with eerie looking shadows.

"You place much blame on someone who has no memory of you!" Cessily hissed, the dagger suddenly jabbing point fist into Serah's throat so hard it pierced through the other side and stick in he he bark of the tree. Cessily would never have done, had Serah not claimed Sandman would revive her anyway.

"Where is the dragon egg, brother?" A younger man swung upside down from the tree just in front of Lucian, his long blonde hair swaying with his movements. "I thought you said you were going to have one for me this time. You never keep your word." Deep crimson eyes followed the elder man's movements, not missing a single step. "Where is the girl? What does she look like this time? Can I borrow her?" 

"Cessily...." Braun was once again too late to stop her. He watched the wood nymph's body go limp but only after she'd dug a sizable hole into the younger woman's stomach. Then she simply hung there like a lifeless doll. "What in the gods' name did you do that for?" He asked, though his tone was gentle as he pulled her away from the body and began to inspect the wound.

"You should know the answer to that question by now." Lucian replied wearily. "I said you could have the dragon egg, I did not specify when. I have sent someone to get one for you anyway."

Cessily was shaking, her large green eyes seeming wide and childlike in that moment. She barely seemed to notice that the once beautiful and ornate dress she had been forced to wear was now stained with her own blood, as well as torn and shredded around her abdomen.

"Oh yes. I saw her." Blonde hair continued to sway as the young man kept swinging upside down. "She has a hard time holding her temper. Even without my help. Oddly enough her brute broke my spell. You missed all the fun. Why are you always so serious, brother?"

"It's all right, my love." Braun whispered to her, his large fingers wiping at the blood. "Everything will be fine. Come with me. I'll get this cleaned up and you can rest. It will be all right."

"Because I am always fixing the mess you make in your boredom!" Lucian snapped. "What did you do to her anyway? Hindering her will only slow down your appropriation of the dragon egg."

Cessily was still shaking as she allowed Braun to simply pull her along. She was paler than usual, though that was down to her own blood loss more than anything.

"I just dabbled. They were too quiet. They had stopped fighting." Chaos jumped down, landing gracefully in front of his brother. "Sandman gets all the fun. He needed to work a little. So I made one puppet kill another. I haven't seen what became of that yet. Surely he won't be too mad for losing an ice nymph."

By the time the sun had risen, Braun was exhausted. He'd spent the night tending to Cessily's wounds. He'd carefully stitched each one and cleaned it. He tore his own clothes to dress the wounds, offering her his bear skin cloak to keep her warm through the night. By morning his lips were blue and he could barely hold his eyes open.

Lucian rubbed at his forehead, knowing Dandman wouldn't simply sit back and let this happen. "Chaos... Do you really want to piss him off when the very creature he desires most is dangled right within his grasp?"

Cessily slept right the way through until morning. The warmth, and the smell of Braun that clung to his cloak, made her think he was sleeping close beside her. It was as the sun rose and roused her from her fatigued slumber that she saw Braun shivering by the dying fire. Without a word the slender woman moved closer to hims nd deposited herself in his lap, covering them both with the heavy bearskin.

Chaos spluttered a moment or two and shook his head. "I did nothing to the one he wanted. If nothing else I made her look better!" He protested. "I amped her magick and had her kill a nymph. He is more likely to be proud of me then anything else!" 

"Kitten." Braun's voice was barely audible though it was more because he was trying to keep it from shaking. "How are you? I was....worried about you last night..."

"And what if the nymph killed her first?" Lucian retorted. "No, I guess you didn't think about that, you never do! You think everyone is here simply for your amusement, you pathetic child!"

Cessily didn't say anything at first, though her skin seemed much warmer than usual where it touched against Braun's. "I don't know who I am..." She whispered finally.

Chaos winced. "It worked out. Everyone was happy. Who knows. Even brother could have gotten off on it." He muttered. "For a few hours she was a goddess and everyone else was weak and stupid, like he thinks they are. It worked, Hades. Don't be such a stick in the mud." 

"What do you mean?" Braun asked, pushing a wild strand of hair out of her eyes. "You still look like plain old kitten to me. Do you feel different?"

"This isn't a game, Little brother. Andromeda was never supposed to find her way into a vessel, let alone at the same time Perseus did!" He didn't dare mention that his Persephone had also returned to him. "Take a look at the sky..." Lucian tilted his head back and looked up at the black void where the Andromeda constellation had once been. "This isn't coincidence. War is coming, not that it would bother someone like you."

Cessily felt the tears building up again and she reached up to touch her lips to his own. "It was like I was watching myself through bloodstained eyes." She breathed.

Chaos went quiet this time, his smile lost. "You don't really think War would return as well do you?" He asked softly, remembering just how cruel a goddess the woman was. "And how do you know Perseus is back? I don't sense him anywhere." 

Braun's lips found hers again, their warmth calling him. "I sensed it too. For a moment I didn't feel like I had control of myself. It was a bit scary to be honest but...I sensed you needed me." He told her truthfully. "For whatever reason it was enough to clear my head."

"You should... That's who I sent with the girl on that foolish errand to steal the egg right from under the dragons nose." Lucian snorted.

"You always seem to be rescuing me..." Cessily breathed as she kissed Braun again, her fingers pulling his hair free from its binding.

"How has brother missed it?" Chaos asked, now chewing away on his bottom lip. "He'll rip him to shreds the moment he finds out. We need Perseus if we hope to stand up to either brother or war." Chaos began to pace. "Why didn't you tell me? I may have ruined everything and all over a stupid nymph!"

"Not rescuing, helping you." Braun chuckled, closing his eyes at the feel of her hands in his hair. "You can take care of yourself." He breathed.

"I foolishly gave you too much credit!" Lucian snapped. "I thought maybe once I would not be the only one to see the signs, but no, once again you are just a bobble headed child!"

"I can take of you, too, if you let me..." Cessily breathed as she kissed Braun's temple lightly.

Again chaos winced. He turned to leave, already fading into the trees. "At least I kept them hidden from the dragon. You can thank me for that much. And the nymph. She is not what she seems either. There is a reason brother is keeping her close."

"We should take care of each other. That sounds more fun." Braun purred, his arms sliding around her waist and pulling her tight against him. He kissed her deeply. "You are so warm."

Lucian had no desire to I pent hat can of worms. It was enough that Faline's sister had turned out to be someone rather troublesome. "You would be wise to stay away from them from now on." Lucian warned his younger brother.

"It's usually the other way around." Cessily breathed against Braun's lips, those powerful arms a round her waist all too familiar and inviting.

"War will need him." Faline didn't speak until Chaos had disappeared completely. "If you're right about her rising up, he'll be the first one of your brothers that she comes for. Are you sure you shouldn't keep him close to you?" 

Braun chuckled at this, his fingers sliding underneath her clothing. "It's been a long night, my love. I can't tell you when the last time I was warm was." He purred, kissing her neck.

"I would rather not." Lucian breathed. "How much if that did you actually hear?" He asked uncertainly.

Cessily's head fell back as Braun's lips brushed her throat. Words were becoming difficult to form her lips around the longer he continued to tease her like this. "If you feel you must rest..."

"The window next to the bed was open. I heard quite a bit." Faline admitted, seeing no reason to lie about it. She moved closer to him now that she knew they were alone, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. It was extremely cold and suddenly very dark outside the small cabin. "I stayed put. I promise." 

"You're safe now that it's light." Braun told her, knowing as before she didn't really want him. "If you don't mind, I'll rest here for a bit before we decide whether we're heading to the veil or trying to find that egg." He'd stopped kissing her, his eyes growing heavy. 

Serah was looking around her, knowing that this was the place Lord Death came to get his people. She couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. It was over. She'd beaten the Sandman at last. She was going to the Underworld to be with her family. Suddenly being loved and worshipped didn't matter anymore. She was done and he couldn't hurt her anymore.

"Then you know how dangerous it is to be around me right now." Lucian breathed as he touched Faline's cheek gently. "That being said... I'm too selfish to let you go. Tell me what to do, lovely."

Cessily felt more than a little rejected and nodded her head as she turned her face away and out a few feet of distance between them. "I can hunt while you sleep." She breathed.

"Running away, again?" Sandman breathed against Serah's ear from where his form had appeared like mist behind her.