[color=silver] [center][h1][color=firebrick]Violet[/color] [color=black]&[/color] [color=lightsteelblue]Cassius[/color][/h1][/center][center][h2][color=firebrick]Part[/color] [color=lightsteelblue]One[/color][/h2][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Y8yGUvD.jpeg[/img][/center][hr] Violet looked to her father, her red eyes meeting his expression. She had seen it many times in herself. [color=firebrick]”I’ll go look for him. You should get mother home safely. Cassius and I shouldn’t be far behind.” [/color] With little else said, Violet stood from her seat after having witnessed everything this evening she was more then ready to leave. As she tucked her chair into the table her eyes glanced back over to Alexander's empty seat. She was more concerned about where Alexander had vanished too, perhaps it was better he hadn’t seen what took place. Her brow furrowed. She didn’t linger much longer before taking her leave towards the hallway. She walked past a few guards finding herself greeted with only closed doors. No sign of Cassius. And no sign of Alexander. She let out a worried breath. Cassius rounded the corner, boots striking loudly against the marble floor. He didn’t look back…not at the hall behind him, not at the ghost of Charlotte’s voice still ringing in his ears. He simply couldn’t… Not without shattering into a million pieces. He kept his head down, jaw tight, steps fast enough to outrun the words he knew he’d regret later if he let himself feel them now. When he looked up, he nearly collided with her… Violet. [color=lightsteelblue] [i]Of course it has to be family.[/i][/color] Lowering his hand from his face, the deep scratches in his flesh made themselves known. Blood still painted his cheek, but he didn’t bother to wipe it. The wound was nothing compared to the scar across his eye, nor could it match the trench on his own sister’s forehead where the axe had met its mark… But this new wound was a symbolic one. It was not the physical injury that hurt the most. Not by a long shot. With the fresh cuts revealed, Cassius stood up straighter and let the emotion fall away from his face as much as he could manage. Looking into the red eyes of Violet before him, he finally greeted her. [color=lightsteelblue]“Sister.”[/color] It came out rougher than he meant, almost bitten off. He forced a smile… A very [i]Cassius smile[/i]... but it wasn’t enough to hide all of his pain. [color=lightsteelblue]“I sure hope I haven’t caught you starving.”[/color] He jested, pointing to the blood on his face. [color=firebrick] “funny” [/color] she said with little emotion, the strong smell of Iron flooding her. Scarlet had done well to keep the bloodlust at bay. It no longer ruled her the way it once had, but pretending it wasn’t still there,lurking just beneath her skin,would’ve been a lie. The scent in the air was sharp, metallic, impossible to ignore. Her eyes dropped to his face, smeared with blood, and her throat tightened with the familiar pull of hunger she wished she’d outgrown. Behind him, movement caught her eye,guests beginning to slip away, murmuring to each other in hushed tones as the atmosphere thinned and the night began to fade. Scarlet’s gaze shifted as her hand clamp down around Cassius’ wrist, her grip tight, almost desperate. Without a word, she dragged him down the hall and out of sight. [color=firebrick] “Father wanted me to find you, some stuff has happened inside the banquette you missed.” [/color] Her hand reached into a pocket that had been sewned into her dress pulling out a white handkerchief with her initials stitched in black and a small embrodered raven. Without much thought she used it to clean the blood off of him, appearing to be unbothered by the sight of it. [color=firebrick] “What happened?” [/color] Cassius allowed her to wipe the cut, letting the sting settle in. He didn’t thank her for it with words, but he did offer a gentle nod to his sister...who he knew had also gone through the ringer that evening. His eyes flicked to hers when she asked what happened. The truth was so simple, yet so goddamn complicated. His lip curled, humorless. [color=lightsteelblue]“A misunderstanding.”[/color] He said without emotion, almost matching her tone. Instead of elaborating further, Cassius simply addressed her other words. [color=lightsteelblue]“Now your turn. You said there was more excitement after I stepped out? Well…what did I miss?”[/color] Violet did as requested and informed him about the events in the banquette, about the queen and the witch hunters. Roman and Mina had never returned to their seats but she held back what was still on her mind; Alexander missing from his seat. As many of the guests continued to shuffle out she led Cassius out into the garden, she knew that many of the guests were likely in a hurry with their carriages that waiting for some of the other families to take their leave first was better. That way Cassius and Violet could likely sneak out unnoticed. She also held the hope that she could possibly catch a glimpse of Alexander allowing some relief to her concern. Cassius stepped beside her as the garden swallowed the noise of the castle behind them. The chill in the air bit at the fresh cuts on his cheek, but it helped keep his mind sharp and anchored him in his skin when everything else still felt like it was drifting away. [color=firebrick] “I believe the goal was for those who felt safe to no longer feel that saftey” [/color] she added as they reached the center of the gardens. As they stopped Violets eyes continued to trail into the distance as if searching for something or someone. He let Violet’s words replay in the quiet between them. The witch hunter with the girl in chains... the spectacle of it all... and then the image of the queen herself being dragged from her own hall like some petty traitor while her son looked on and did nothing to stop it. He breathed out a humorless sound that might have been a laugh if it had any warmth left in it. [color=lightsteelblue]“So that’s the shape of it now, then... blood means nothing if it stands in the way of power. Even to Wulfric.”[/color] He shook his head, lips curling in a way that wasn’t quite a smile. [color=lightsteelblue]“The crown eats its own. Always has.”[/color] He fell quiet for a beat, boots crunching over gravel as they reached the garden’s heart. He let the wind pull at the edges of his coat, the cold biting through the heat still coiled low in his belly. Then his eyes flicked sideways to Violet and the way her gaze kept slipping over his shoulder, then drifting past his other side, scanning the hedges, the paths, the distant shadows where lanterns did not reach. He tilted his head just enough to follow her eyes, the corners of his mouth ticking upward, but there was no humor in it. [color=lightsteelblue]“You are not subtle, sister,”[/color] he murmured, voice softer now but oh so tired still. He let his gaze follow hers once more before it landed back on her face. [color=lightsteelblue]“Who are you hoping to find out here?”[/color] Her crimson eyes drifted toward Cassius, the sharp edges of her expression softening for the briefest flicker of a moment. [color=firebrick]“[i]Roman[/i],”[/color] she murmured, the name barely audible,spoken more out of habit than truth. Even as it left her lips, it felt wrong. A lie dressed in softness. Beneath the surface, her blood stirred, heated with the quiet rage that simmered every time she recalled his performance,his carelessness, the ease with which he embarrassed her. She could still feel the sting on her cheek. [color=firebrick]“He went off with Mina, I guess. They were both gone when I came back to the table.”[/color]She gave a slight shrug, but it lacked conviction. It was more an attempt to brush it off than a genuine dismissal. [color=firebrick]“He could hardly keep his eyes off her at the gallery. I suppose one flame had to die for him to light another.”[/color] Though Roman was never the one she truly searched for in that moment his words still twisted like a cold knife at the base of her spine. The memory of his voice, the look on his face, that look in his eyes, it clung to her. She drew in a breath and straightened her posture, wrapping her arms around herself in a slow, self-soothing motion. It wasn’t for warmth. It was to hold herself together. Cassius watched her carefully...the way her voice dulled it, the shrug that wasn’t really a shrug, the arms wrapping tight around herself. He didn’t buy it, not for a heartbeat. But maybe tonight wasn’t the night to call her on it. He understood well enough what it was to keep certain truths buried down deep where no one else could pry them loose. So, he just nodded and ran with her words, the corners of his mouth lifting in a sly smile. [color=lightsteelblue]“Roman…”[/color] he echoed. [color=lightsteelblue]“Right. Well if I’m being honest…dear sister…I’d suggest that we’ve both seen more than enough of that oversized piece of shit for one night.[/color] His eyes searched hers for a beat longer, then flicked away toward the distant hedges she kept glancing at. [color=lightsteelblue]“But I’m sorry… that things with your behemoth didn’t work out to your heart’s desire…I know you’ve been through hell, Violet, and you didn’t deserve what happened in there. Especially not from someone you thought you could trust.”[/color] He didn’t let the words hang too long, as a more genuine form of his smirk appeared. [color=lightsteelblue]“I could always kill him, if you want.”[/color] His head tilted to the side in jest as he met her gaze once more. [color=lightsteelblue]“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve killed for you, ya know.”[/color] A faint smile tugged at her lips, soft and fleeting, more out of habit than joy. She let out a breath that was almost a laugh. [color=firebrick]“Wouldn’t be the first time I have killed someone either.”[/color] Her hands, once tense at her sides, uncurled slowly, fingers loosening as though finally giving in to the weight of the night. A quiet sigh slipped from her lips, heavy with something unsaid. [color=firebrick]“I’m sorry your evening’s been just as cursed…”[/color] Her eyes flicked to his face, lingering where the blood had been. A shadow of concern passed through her gaze, but she didn’t mention it aloud. Instead, she shifted slightly, her voice dipping lower, quieter, more exposed. [color=firebrick]“If I’m honest…”[/color] she hesitated, eyes fixed on some faraway place only she could see. [color=firebrick]“Roman reminded me of that girl I used to be. The one with too much hope and not nearly enough fear. She had all these dreams she read about in books dreams that felt real, like she could reach out and touch them if she just tried hard enough.He was that too me…to her.”[/color] She paused again, her jaw tightening, voice rougher now as if she was trying to hold something steady that wanted to break. [color=firebrick]“All she used to worry about was who she might marry one day… what her children would look like.”[/color] Her laugh this time was bitter and brittle, swallowed before it could fully form. [color=firebrick]“But now? It feels like everyone I ever trusted has changed. Like they’re showing me sides of themselves I don’t recognize anymore.”[/color] Her gaze dropped to her hands, watching them as if trying to decide who they belonged to. [color=firebrick]“The life I thought I knew… the life I wanted… it’s just gone. It died when I did.”[/color] She took a breath, then another, slower this time, more deliberate. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke again. [color=firebrick]“Or maybe…”[/color] she looked up at last, meeting his eyes, [color=firebrick]“it’s me who’s changed. And I’m only now starting to see it.”[/color] Instead of responding immediately, Cas held her words in reverence for a moment. The breeze blew between them, tousling his hair and causing the flora around them to sway back and forth. As he moved to brush the hair out of his face, he looked deep into his sister’s eyes with intention. He wanted her to know that he [i]sees her[/i]. Both the girl that died and the woman that stands before him now. He would never claim to know her unique brand of pain, but he could look her in the eyes and show her that was more than familiar with his own…and prove to her that not everyone would leave her so easily. [color=lightsteelblue]“My mother used to say that the person we are today always dies to make room for who we’ll become tomorrow.”[/color] His eyes broke away, filled with nostalgia as he remembered the way her voice would sound when she said it. [color=lightsteelblue]“She was a woman forced to reinvent herself in order to survive. More than once, I’d wager.”[/color] Letting a gentle hand rest on Violet’s shoulder, Cassius looked into her eyes again with the same conviction as before. [color=lightsteelblue]“Now it's your turn, I’m afraid. For all the hell it's caused, this new life also gives you the chance to start over. To be who [b]you[/b] really wish to be.”[/color] She looked at Cassius with a surprised expression, she hadn’t expected this. Though, she hadn’t expected anything that happened tonight. He took a deep breath, letting his hand fall into her own, before lifting their conjoined hands up for them both to see. [color=lightsteelblue]“You’re not the only one questioning yourself tonight, I promise. But for now...for just a little while…how about I just be your charming brother, you just be my grumpy sister, and let’s just go get a fucking drink. What do you say?”[/color] [color=firebrick]“My kind of drink? Or…”[/color] Her expression was unreadable for a moment, eyes locked on his like she was weighing something behind them. Then, the edge cracked, and she let out a soft, breathy laugh. [color=firebrick]“Yeah. Let’s grab a whiskey.”[/color] She stepped forward, falling into stride beside him. She took one more not so subtle look over her shoulder. Still, no Alexander. [color=firebrick]“How do you know who you wish to be?”[/color] The question came out suddenly as she turned her head back. Her tone was casual, but there was something heavy buried beneath it. Something unsettled. She didn’t look at him right away. Just kept walking, eyes ahead. [color=firebrick]“All I know is… I don’t ever want to be humiliated like that again.”[/color] Her voice tightened, but she pushed forward. [color=firebrick]“It’s been eating at me. The way I chased after him,like some stupid little girl holding onto a fairy tale. If Alexander hadn’t said something…”[/color] She trailed off for a beat, jaw flexing before she finished the thought. [color=firebrick]“Would I still be running after him? Just clinging to what could’ve been instead of seeing what’s been right in front of me this whole time?”[/color] Finally, she glanced sideways at Cassius not searching for answers, just needing to say it out loud. [color=firebrick]“Sorry, It’s been a long night. My mind has been racing all evening.”[/color] Cassius chuckled, just once, at her little jab, but let her have her time to speak. He listened with respect, and when he finally spoke again, his tone was softer but honest. [color=lightsteelblue]“I’m not even going to pretend I’ve got the answers tonight. I used to think I knew who I was… what I wanted. But when I left everything behind and sauntered off here to Sorian... gods, some days I don’t even know why I’m here.”[/color] He gave a rough laugh under his breath, more exhale than sound as he shook his head. [color=lightsteelblue]“Truth is, I don’t think we ever get to know who we want to be forever. We just figure out who we want to be today…and tomorrow, we do it all over again.”[/color] Cassius looked over at her, that sly grin back for just a flicker. He could feel the slightest hint of the sting from the scratch marks on his face as the smile formed. Violet nodded in understanding as she returned his smile glancing once more at the scratch marks clearly made by a human by the way they were formed. [color=lightsteelblue]“Take tonight for example…I want to be the version of me who’s so drunk that the only thought my mind could possible conjure is…[i]more whiskey, please[/i].”[/color] A soft chuckled escaped her lips as Violet nodded in agreeance [color=firebrick]“Make it a double”[/color] she added with a smile. And with that, they were off… Cassius kept his shoulder near hers as they crossed the courtyard lamps, the hush of wind pulling at their clothes as they moved down Edin Ave. The castle walls loomed behind them now, their stones heavy with secrets best left there for the night. They passed beneath the lanterns that lined Flora Road, their glow painting fleeting gold across their faces as they hooked around the back side of the massive Sorian Library…then slipped past the bend that curved them toward the deeper hum of the streets, lined with shuttered brothels and half-lit doorways, the hush of muffled laughter trailing out into the night. Cassius only rolled his shoulders back, keeping his sister close as they crossed the mouth of that crooked alley and carried on toward the promise of rough timber walls and whiskey on tap. Before they could even come within view of their destination, however, something deep in Cas’s gut caused him to slow his stride. He let his eyes scan the shadows spilling out from the alleys behind the library’s high wall, the soft rustle of something that wasn’t the wind pricking at the edge of his hearing. The area ahead looked much the same…lamps flickering, a stray drunk laughing to himself, but underneath it all, the air had gone tight, as if the night itself was holding its breath. The silence continued to creep between them, Violets mind plagued still with her thoughts. [color=lightsteelblue]“Violet...”[/color] His voice came out sudden and deathly serious as crimson eyes looked up at him. [color=lightsteelblue]“Something’s wrong.”[/color] [/color]