[Color=silver]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oPM8J9M.png[/img]
[Color=gold][sub][u][url=https://youtu.be/QVuutOx-LPk?si=C7-w-RNXYNA4YtCX]Mr. Deacon[/url][/u][/sub][/color] [/center]
[Color=gold][b]Time:[/b][/color] [color=red][b] Afternoon [/b][/color]
[Color=gold][b]Location:[/b][/color] Deacon Residence 
[Color=gold][b]Attire:[/b][/color] Classic Black Tux
[Color=gold][b]Interaction:[/b][/color] Charlotte
[Color=gold][b]Mention:[/b][/color][hr] Charlotte, Eri, Violet, Mina, Marek, Calbert

When one left their carriage and was set upon their home, what did they feel? Doubt? Uncertainty? Guilt? Fear?

The relationship between Alexander and Lianna had experienced some tension, but not quite like this. The meeting with Violet, as private as it may have seemed, had been observed by the ever-watchful wife of Alexander Deacon. And despite their blood bond’s ability to discern her emotions, Alexander only felt absence, even now. Hatred. Contempt. Jealousy. Envy. Anguish. Heartbreak. Any of those feelings would have been easier than this.

The croaking of a raven announced his arrival, and the slight sting of the sunlight offered more comfort than what he predicted awaited him inside. Eri didn’t need to any words, as she was sure Lianna would have plenty to say. She could potentially lick the man’s wounded ego for her own advantage. 

Upon entering, Alexander removed and hung up his tuxedo jacket, his expression muted as he was unsure of what to expect as he left the foyer. 

[color=teal]“Mr. Deacon. Welcome home.”[/color] A man stood firmly beside Lianna, who was comfortably seated by the fireplace with a braille book in her lap. The fireplace matched the ambience, absent of any fire or warmth. 

[color=gold]“You may take your leave, but return before dusk. I will be leaving by then.”[/color] Alexander still had dinner to attend with Count Damien, and likely the rest of his family. 

[color=palevioletred]“Of course, because I will be going to that wretched estate.”[/color] Lianna added coldly. [color=palevioletred]“Thank you for your assistance. You were quite respectful for a pawn.”[/color] The man shared a look with Alexander, to silently inform him to prepare himself, but Alexander simply waved him away and shook his head. 

[color=gold]“Until dusk.”[/color]

[color=teal]“Until dusk.”[/color] He nodded to the couple before taking his leave, with his shutting of the door signifying the start of their difficult conversation. Alexander took a step forward, but-

[color=palevioletred]“No.’[/color] He stopped in his tracks. [color=palevioletred]“Just… stay right there for now.”[/color] Lianna took a breath, and silence took over the room.

[color=gold]“My love, this is-”[/color] Lianna cut him off as she smacked an open page of the book, letting free what she had held in for much too long.

[color=palevioletred]“This is what?! Unnecessary?! Pointless?! Silly?”[/color] Her voice died down a few octaves. [color=palevioletred]“Alexander. [i]My love[/i]… hear me, and hear me well. I have given all I could… All I could, for you, and would have given more if that was required of me.”[/color]

[color=gold]“I know.”[/color] 

[color=palevioletred]“You don’t! You think you do, and perhaps you wish to believe it true, but you don’t know, Alexander!”[/color] Her brow furrowed as she tried to keep herself together. [color=palevioletred]“And I don’t-”[/color] Despite how she may have felt, she wanted to watch her words. [color=palevioletred]“It’s not your fault for not understanding, but it’s as if you don’t care about [i]us[/i] anymore. About [i]my[/i] sacrifice.”[/color] 

[color=gold]“Which we both suffer for, Lianna, together. Every day! Do you think I enjoy this? Being this way? With a fucking ring as the only thing keeping me from being some kind of monster?”[/color] Alexander’s words did not appear to hit her as hard as he thought they might. There was a brief quiet, but Lianna nearly scoffed at what he said. 

[color=palevioletred]“You can fool those other women, and I may be without sight, but I am not a fool. I see the way you hesitate to put it back on. How you let others remove it from your hand like it means dirt to you. Tell me! How much did those days without it feel? How much did you change without that [i]fucking[/i] ring?”[/color] Alexander was upon her in a matter of two beats, knelt before her. 

[color=gold]“This is no ruse, my love. You know I can’t draw too much attention to it, and sometimes I need to be without it.”[/color] His voice was softer than usual, delicate even. [color=gold]“Those days were hellish for me, but I needed to become closer to Charlotte Vikena.”[/color]

[color=palevioletred]“And you thought seducing her would work?”[/color] She shook her head disaprovingly.

[color=gold]“That is not what that was. Not exactly,”[/color] He admitted, with an averted gaze. [color=gold]“I miscalculated with her. I didn’t read her like I should have. I thought she would be easy.’[/color]

[color=palevioletred]“Like the other two? One for pleasure and one for love.”[/color]

[color=gold]“No. One for pleasure. The other will help me. Help us.”[/color]
 
[color=palevioletred]“Sure. I bet you’re not even looking at me as you say that. I can tell, you know?”[/color] Lianna idly traced her fingers across the bumps on the pages of her book, creating a distraction from lashing out at the excuses that just didn’t seem viable to her in this moment.  [color=palevioletred]“Mina Blackwood… A tryst I’ve allowed. She gives you what I am no longer able to. Blood and sex, and only that. The girl knows her place and doesn’t dare overstep. I… I can, at the very least, respect that… But what does Violet Damien give you?”[/color] The question hung in the air far too long for her liking. [color=palevioletred]“Hm?”[/color]

[color=palevioletred]“You can’t drink her blood, and you haven’t jumped at the opportunity to bed her, so what is it? Tried and true courting?”[/color]

[color=gold]“Empathy, my love. I- We understand each other. To be cursed is-”[/color]

[color=palevioletred]“I am cursed, am I not?!“[/color] She snapped with tears in her eyes. [color=palevioletred]“And even though I will remain this way… [i]this way[/i]... I do what I must to ensure you find some form of relief from your affliction. I do not [i]ever[/i] think of betraying you.”[/color] She felt that she might tear a page away. [color=palevioletred]“Ten years, Alexander. Ten years… We discovered the ring, together… and we will discover the cure, [i]together[/i]... This [i]love[/i]- Apologies. This [i]empathy[/i] you both share is a temporary thing… Don’t!”[/color] Alexander had been ready to respond, but stopped with his mouth slightly agape. 

[color=palevioletred]“You can say you don’t love her... You can say you do… but I know she was not lying when she confessed to you today.”[/color] She shut the book on her lap and handed it to him, who could still barely look her in the face. [color=palevioletred]“You know, I was not surprised to know that your aura was the color it was, but I beg you, my love… [i]I warn you[/i]… Sacrificing me for your ambition will be the worst thing you ever do.”[/color]

[color=gold]“I would never dream of doing such a thing. You just need to trust me.”[/color] He took the book and stood up to place it on the bookshelf. [color=gold]“Violet Damien. Charlotte Vikena. They are both means to my success. Our success. The opportunity to dethrone the [i]King[/i] draws closer, and those two women will play their part.”[/color] He set the book in its place and turned to her. She didn’t say how she felt, as he felt it course through himself. [color=gold]“He trusts me, Lianna. He will become too comfortable for his own good, and when that time comes, I shall fill his chalice with poison and slit his throat with a blade that only I can wield. Every move I make is for us, and my heart belongs to no other but you. Trust me, and there is nothing we won’t be able to accomplish.”[/color]

[color=palevioletred]“I will believe it when I see it.”[/color] Alexander drew close to her once more, taking her hands in his as he knelt.

[color=gold]“With my eyes… you shall, my love.”[/color]  A whispered promise— soft… malleable.



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