sixteen
"hello, old friend"
-

Loki doesn't speak to Lusine for the rest of the night.

When she makes a move to touch his hand, he recoils and moves away from her. As petty as it makes him seem, she'd made him look a fool. There were apologies to be made.

Taking a deep breath and shutting her eyes tightly, she pushes her chair back. Her eyes open and a pleasant expression plasters across her features, gilded in gold. She exchanges a small smile of farewell with Thor before turning and removing herself from the hall.

She doesn't see the use in being in Loki's presence if he's going to ignore her.

Loki notices the small exchange between her and his brother. A scowl forms on his face as he watches her leave, her hips swinging, hair flowing over her shoulders in silky waves of black. Dark enough to rival the ripples of the void itself.

He smooths his thumb along his bottom lip as he wonders whether he should go after her. The idea is tempting, though he's unsure it'll go the way he wants it to go.

He decides against it.

Lusine flashes a flirtatious smile at the guard at the tail-end of the stairway. He nods in response, constrained by his duties, though his eyes do roam carelessly over her body.

She steps up to him and commands, "When my mother passes by tell her this: 'Do not try to hide from the blade'. Do not repeat my message to anyone but her. Repeat it to anyone else and I'll rip the skin from your flesh and give it to my wolves as a blanket."

The guard gulps, the former attraction shattered, and nods his head swiftly. "I will not repeat to anyone but Queen Selene Volkov."

"Good," She says, smiling as she leans forward and presses a kiss to his cheek softly. Beneath her mouth, he trembles. "Do your job and do it well." Stepping away she lets the smile slide from her lips, back to her intimidating stone like expression.  "And, from now, refer to her as Selene Kella. She is no Volkov."

Again, he nods woodenly as if the fear for the woman before him has struck him numb.

She stalks past him and begins the long climb up the stairs, her gown flowing out behind her and weighing her down. Tying her to name and duty.

Her room is near the end of the long, stone corridor lit by flames that flicker as she strides by as if they're leaning away from her and pressing their backs to the wall.

When she swings the door open, she's greeted by the terrorised expression on Cloris' face. Lusine frowns and steps into the room. Her eyes fall on Pelia who holds Cloris' wrist in her firm grip.

"Pelia, what are you doing?" Lusine asks, her fists clenching at her sides. This is not the time for a confrontation. Not when her blood is already far too close to boiling point for comfort. "You're not allowed to be in here."

"I just came by to see dear Cloris here. Isn't that right?" She smiles sweetly at Cloris, dropping her wrist.

Lusine's head tilts to the side almost mechanically as she presses her lips together. Her tongue runs along the inside of her mouth as she holds up her hand. The spear materialises in her hand, conjured by magic beyond the pilot before her.

Her fingers coil around the silver staff of the double ended spear as she looks at Pelia with the mirror image of insanity scarring her face.

"I think you need to leave," She says lowly.

"Truthfully, your brother sent me here to make sure that you were feeling alright. He was worried about you." Pelia's charm is wearing off as Lusine sees right through her, right into her.

She knows a liar when she sees one. First, she lies about her pregnancy to manipulate her brother, and now this? She really must think the lot of them are utterly stupid.

"There's no need to threaten me with that spear of yours." This is where the nerves creep in. Pulling at the door with tooth and claw and sliding through the gap to make their new home. To fester.

"You lie to me. You lie to me every time we have the displeasure of speaking with one another," She takes a step forward as she grits her teeth together.

Lying to someone who's mind was complete chaos was utterly stupid. Lusine knew lies better than most. Her fingers flex, her throat bobs. This can only end one way.

"I know that you're lying to me now. If my brother was worried about my wellbeing, he'd come and see me himself. He wouldn't send someone I despise. Not if he truly cares about you. He knows that when I'm angry I hunt for blood."

The wolf begins her hunt.

Pelia makes a grab for Cloris' arm again.

Her attempt is vicious, but also blunt and mistimed. Lusine is already angry from catching Pelia in her room and now she's attempting to harm her handmaiden.

"You're trying to take Cloris, correct?" Luisne's lips curl into a deadly snarl. "Well you're going to have to kill me first but kill me and then try explaining to my brother why I'm dead. Make your choice wisely, pilot."

"You're not going to kill me, you value Lycus too much to do it." The quiver in her voice betrays her confidence.

"Mistaking me for my merciful brother could just be the cause of your death." Lusine is not afraid to kill the unthreatening woman before her, even if she is her sister-in-law. "In fact, I couldn't be happier to be the one ending your life. You're a waste of space."

Lusine lowers her spear in challenge.

Pelia drops Cloris' arm and pulls a long knife from her belt. She holds it in her worn hand, fingers adjusting around the metal handle.

She would have been threatening to anyone else, but to Lusine, in her growing rage, she is nothing but another body ready for her spear to penetrate. Lusine grins maniacally knowing that there is no way she can lose this battle to the death. She's far better trained with hand to hand combat than Pelia who had only been taught to fly.

Although killing her will mean that she could face her brother hating her for the rest of their living lives, if Lusine were to be injured by Pelia she would face certain shame and dishonour for being taken down by a mere pilot in an unsuccessful attempt to protect her handmaid.

Perhaps just injuring Pelia would be enough to save Cloris.

As Lusine analyses Pelia's jolted movements as she tries to find comfort in holding the knife, she decides that injuring would be enough. But, despite her mercy, Pelia won't go unpunished for what she has attempted to do.

The city will never accept her as their Queen after this. Lycus will be forced to choose between the throne and his wife. Knowing her brother, she knows he will choose his wife and, in a surprisingly fortunate turn of events, will leave the path to the throne wide open for her.

So, not only will Pelia be exiled, Lusine will be Queen of Remulan.

Killing two birds with one stone.

"Try it, pilot," Lusine mocks, jabbing her spear forward toward Pelia's stomach. Pelia swiftly blocks it and Lusine recoils, grinning like she's already won. "Not bad. Not bad for a pilot."

Lusine spins around, smacking the shaft of her spear into Pelia's side. The brute force pushes her, and she stumbles but manages to correct her balance.

Meanwhile, Cloris watches Lusine with wide eyes as the cold woman fights for her. She's never seen such passion in one woman's combat. This is about more than her, she realises, but the outcome will likely be the same.

The way she swings the spear around and brings it down through Pelia's thigh with a crunch makes Cloris feel slightly uneasy.

Lusine yanks the spear from her opponent's leg as she begins to sink further into the darkness, engrossed in the fight and losing herself in the red fog.

She hits Pelia to the side again, batting her as if she's nothing. She lands at Cloris' feet, panting and groaning in pain. Broken bones and beaten flesh will do that to a woman, no matter how tough.

Lusine watches her as she attempts to get to her feet and is surprised when she manages it with an increased amount of effort. Fatigue is beginning to set in.

"You've impressed me. No wonder Lycus loves you." She says, poking her finger on the tip of her blood covered spear as if she's testing for dullness. "I guess it's kind of a shame you're about to die, hm?"

"You're not going to murder me. If you wanted to you would have done it already," She spits out, blood dripping from her mouth, running down her chin.

She looks down at her knife and a small, revenge-filled smile forms on her lips. When she looks up, Lusine sees eyes that reflect her own. Dark, murderous, otherworldly.

"You've gone soft, Lusine Volkov," She says hauntingly, knowing all is lost, and gripping her knife sharply.

Before Lusine can respond to her or even move to stop her, Pelia has brought the knife with immense force right into Cloris' chest.

Cloris looks down at the knife protruding from her chest and then to Lusine who stands with silver brimming in her eyes.

She wasn't good enough to save another life once again.

Cloris' eyes fill with disbelief and pain as she buckles to her knees with a whimper, cheeks already soaking with unstoppable tears.

That combined with the grin on Pelia's face is what triggers the darkness into full motion within Lusine. It wraps around her, enveloping her and embracing her as it promises everything is going to be ok and that all she needs to do is kill.

Kill, kill, kill.

Her rage over comes her as she runs at Pelia, shoving the spear through her and forcing her to the ground. As she stands over Pelia, running her spear through the screaming body of Pelia, she is deaf to Cloris' quiet, choked begging for her to stop.

At the point of most disfiguration of Pelia's corpse, Cloris finally manages to lean toward Lusine, despite the pain, and grab at her ankle. She looks down at Pelia's body once more before letting her spear clatter to the floor beside her. Her arms numb, hands shaking, and her cheeks covered in tears.

She sinks down beside Cloris.

Her hands cup Cloris' own tear covered cheeks, her thumbs running over the soft skin that she wished she had had the pleasure of touching before. She'd taken the poor girl for granted and now the universe is making her pay.

"Cloris, please stay with me. You're going to be ok, we're going to be ok. You're going to live, you're not going to die. You're not going to leave me, please don't leave me now, Cloris." She rambles on and on with her promises as Cloris looks at her in awe with a pained smile on her plump pink lips.

"It's too late for me, Princess," She says, a laugh spilling from between her lips. "I have a dagger through my heart for goodness sake."

"I'm sorry for getting you in such an awful mess, Cloris, but please stay with me," She begs, her rapid breathing disjoins her words, heaves her chest, and burns her lungs with scorching fire.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I had the most wonderful time in Asgard. I got to go to my very first ball with a royal princess and I even fell in love, Lusine, do you know how special that is?" Her words are beginning to slur together as the deliria of pain settles in, already coming to claim her life.

"Love gets people killed," Lusine whispers bitterly.

"No, Love makes people worth dying for," Cloris responds, placing her hands over Lusine's. "I'm willing to die for you, Lusine."

"Cloris, I-"

"Let me have my dying moment, Lusine, now I need you to do something for me," Cloris says, but, before she makes her dying wish, Lusine already knows what she wants.

"I can't do that for you. I can't end another person I love's life." She shakes her head, closing her eyes softly, lashes sticking together with hot tears. "I can't do it again. I can't."

"Pelia was the one who murdered me. I'm as good as dead already, please just give me dignity in death." Cloris drops her hands from Lusine's and moves to grab Lusine's dagger. "Please."

Lusine opens her eyes and takes the dagger from Cloris' cold hand. She knows that, if this was her, she would want this too.

But it doesn't make it any easier. It never will.

"I'm so incredibly sorry, Cloris, but know that you died with honour, grace, and with bravery," She quietly mutters as she leans forward toward Cloris, pressing a kiss against her forehead.

"Thank you," She whispers as she knows that the kiss meant goodbye, she knows her fate is sealed.

Lusine breathes in, bracing herself, and brings the knife across Cloris' neck in one swift and simple movement, not wanting to prolong the death.

As the final breath escapes Cloris, Lusine pulls her body in, holding her tightly for the first time and for the last time.

-

1874 emotional words
Feb 2016

I apologise to anyone who shipped lusine and Cloris, I loved her too she was so sweet and innocent. this chapter showed so many different things: lusine's darkness, lusine's anger, and the extent to which her magic has grown.

love your very emotional author, lau <3

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edited: 23.6.19
new word count: 2264