[color=lightgray][center][h1][color=red]FLASHBACK[/color][/h1] [h2][color=#D0B4EC]Charlotte[/color] & [color=RosyBrown]Kilian[/color][/h2] [img]https://i.ibb.co/5h5HX8JH/h1-color-lightgray-center-h1-color-red-FLASHBACK-color-h1-h2-color-D0-B4-EC-Charlotte-color.png[/img] [hr] [h3][color=#D0B4EC]P[/color][color=#BCA7D7]a[/color][color=#A99AC3]r[/color][color=#968DAE]t[/color] [color=#707386]2[/color][/h3][/center] [color=RosyBrown]Time:[/color] Early Afternoon of Ignis 3 [color=#D0B4EC]Location:[/color] The Vikena Estate [hr] [indent][indent] Lottie was grateful Delilah had gone to purchase groceries with Nathaniel. It was a selfish sort of relief, but it was real. If Delilah had been here, she would have thrown herself between them without hesitation, and Charlotte could not bear the idea of her getting hurt. Worse still was the thought of Gilbert or Lorenzo coming downstairs at the wrong moment and suffering Kilian’s wrath. The idea made Charlotte’s stomach twist hard enough that she felt sick. She stepped backward, only a little, because she didn’t want to make it obvious. Her hands were already shaking. She could feel it in her wrists, in her fingers, in the way her breath kept catching like she couldn’t quite get oxygen down her throat into her lungs. [i]She was scared.[/i] Terrified, even. There was no point lying to herself about that. But even in the middle of it, she knew with bleak certainty: this wasn’t random. This wasn’t the shock her body made it seem. When she had put that necklace around Olivia’s throat at the banquet, she had understood what she was doing. She had known she was putting a target on herself and she had still done it anyway. And she didn’t regret it. Not for a second. If this was the consequence, then she would take it. She tried to tell herself that she could accept it because there was no other choice. Even as the door closed behind Kilian and her home suddenly felt too small, even as she stood there and looked at the man who could decide whether she lived and breathed another day, she tried to hold onto a thin thread of resolve. But then her mind betrayed her with everything she still wanted. She wanted to live long enough to make sure Lorenzo would be alright. She wanted to keep Olivia and Kazumin safe, because she had promised herself she would. And it wasn’t only them. Roman. Stratya. Sjan-dehk. Drake. Violet… All of them. She wanted to be there for them, even if all she could offer was her presence. Oh—and Nolan. How she wanted to see Nolan again. Even if it was only once. Even if she never found the words. Even if she didn’t get to explain anything at all. Just to look at him and know he was still there. And she perhaps stupidly wanted to see Cassius again too, despite the fact she wasn’t [i]supposed[/i] to want to, even if wanting him at all felt like another mistake she didn’t have the right to make. Her vision blurred as she tried to stand very still, but failed as her trembling worsened. Kilian took in the sights of the Vikena foyer with delight, a grin of satisfaction curling across his face. [color=RosyBrown]“Such a beautiful home.”[/color] The compliment came out genuine, yet his words carried severity all the same. He was a tall man, bolstered by a competent and violent presence. Something about a man like him, standing in home like this… Felt wrong. [color=RosyBrown]“A beautiful home for a beautiful girl…”[/color] His narrowed eyes shifted back to Charlotte as he looked her up and down once more, watching as her gaze remained rooted to the floor. [color=RosyBrown]“Such a shame that I can’t say the same for your bloodline. Sadly, it’s often the prettiest things that come from the darkest of places.”[/color] There was enough of a pause to feel uncomfortable, but not one long enough to allow a response. [color=RosyBrown]“Your family, as prestigious as you are, comes from darkness, Lady Vikena. Did you know that?”[/color] Charlotte’s lashes fluttered once as if she were thinking, but she never raised her gaze. [color=#D0B4EC] “I—No, I did not.”[/color] She managed quietly. Kilian laughed as he moved forward, closing the distance between them and lifting Charlotte’s gaze to meet his eyes with a barely gentle touch. [color=RosyBrown]“Forgive me for not believing you, my lady, but I find it [i]very[/i] hard to believe that you simply know nothing of what you are.”[/color] His eyes scanned her face as his grasp remained against her jaw. [color=RosyBrown]“Which makes your attendance at last night’s little incident all the more curious to me.”[/color] Charlotte chewed the inside of her cheek very briefly then held his gaze as she confirmed, [color=#D0B4EC] “I know nothing, sir.”[/color] The discomfort was ever evident in her expression, yet she was holding herself together as much as one could in her position. [color=#D0B4EC] “I was simply meeting with friends and became a victim of a hostage situation… “[/color] The word [i]victim[/i] tasted wrong the moment it left her mouth. She swallowed then forced the rest out in a steady voice, [color=#D0B4EC] “I never cast any magic nor do I know how to.”[/color] [color=RosyBrown]“Ah, so you’re just a victim, then?”[/color] Kilian responded wryly. [color=RosyBrown]“Well…Lady Vikena, if you did not indulge in the heresy, who did?”[/color] Charlotte’s stomach turned, but she did not look away. [color=#D0B4EC]“There were two mages affiliated with the offenders,”[/color] she answered, carefully. [color=#D0B4EC]“I presume their bodies were left at the tavern.”[/color] She hesitated, the horror flashing vividly before her eyes before she managed, [color=#D0B4EC]“... One of them… was beheaded.”[/color] His grip on her face tightened ever so slightly. [color=RosyBrown]“There were two abominations with the thugs, that much is true. But those were not the only witches. The residual aura of magicae made that [i]very[/i] obvious. So, I will ask you again, Charlotte. Who was it?”[/color] Charlotte’s pulse thudded in her throat. [color=#D0B4EC]“I didn’t see, sir.”[/color] She told him softly. [color=#D0B4EC]“I was held down with a dagger at my neck.”[/color] She lifted her chin, letting him see the proof of the slice in her throat. A soft scoff of a laugh escaped him as he let his grip soften and slide down from Charlotte’s jaw to her throat. He let a gloved thumb brush over the wound as he inspected it. Charlotte clenched her fingers beneath her shawl until her nails dug into her palms; it took everything inside of her not to flinch. [color=RosyBrown]“I imagine you were quite terrified in that moment.”[/color] He said, voice lowering to an almost intimate whisper as his hand remained carefully wrapped around her throat. The movement made her eyes immediately widen, and she could scarcely keep herself from trembling. [color=RosyBrown]“There, in that tavern, your life at the mercy of another… Powerless to do anything but pray to the gods and hope for rescue.”[/color] His grip tightened just enough to get his next point across and a cry escaped her lips. [color=RosyBrown]“Remember that fear. For there are members of your circle that meddle in the arcane. If you are among them, you will pay the price. If you lie for them, you will pay the price.”[/color] Kilian leaned in closer, the warmth of his breath touching her ear before his words did. [color=RosyBrown]“Remain the victim that you are. It is a part that you already play oh so well… Do not also become a fool.”[/color] Kilian released her throat and straightened, letting the full height of his frame tower over her. The harshness of his previous expression shifted into a more pleasant façade. Her eyes sharpened on him before she could stop them, her glare rising up on instinct. She wanted to tell him he was wrong. She wanted to demand he free that woman from her chains. She wanted to tell him to [i]get out of her home.[/i] [color=#D0B4EC][i]I am no victim.[/i][/color] The words filled her mind but nothing at all left her lips. [color=RosyBrown]“You have been such a hospitable host, Lady Vikena. Perhaps we will visit again soon.”[/color] The man turned to the chained woman he had brought with him. She was still standing there next to the door, present through it all. A single tear stained her cheek below the blindfold she wore, though her expression was completely empty. [color=RosyBrown]“Be polite, Agony. Bow to our host so she knows just how much you enjoyed our little visit.”[/color] The woman complied, though there was an obvious trembling in her hands as she met the command. Her gaze softened as it fell on Agony, and her heart began to race all over again at the very sight of her. Charlotte couldn’t stop looking at the shaking in the woman’s fingers, at the single tear she hadn’t wiped away, at the way she obeyed so quickly it seemed automatic. The more she looked at her, the more Charlotte felt sudden anger. And if the sound of footsteps against wood hadn’t suddenly cut through the air, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to stop herself from stepping toward the woman. From reaching out and wiping that tear away, even if it earned her another warning, or [i]worse[/i] She turned quickly, breath catching, and saw Gilbert finally enter the foyer from the living room, a dish towel still in his hand, his hair a bit messy as if he’d been dragged out of whatever he’d been doing the moment he heard raised voices. It was unclear how much he had seen, but she could tell by the way his jaw had set he had seen enough. Without uttering a word, Gilbert simply crossed the space and slipped an arm around Charlotte’s shoulders and drew her close, placing himself beside her as if that had always been where he belonged. His gaze stayed fixed on Kilian, his expression unwelcoming to say the least, and he held Charlotte there as he waited expectantly for the man to finally leave her home. Kilian simply smiled at Gilbert with a cocky grin. [color=RosyBrown]“Good, good…I’m glad Lady Vikena has people looking out for her.”[/color] He said, words carrying truth even behind their darkness. [color=RosyBrown]“If she continues with the company she’s been keeping… I fear she is going to need all of the help she can get.”[/color] At the end of his words, he offered Gilbert a dangerous little wink, and turned his gaze to look Charlotte up and down one final time before turning and making his way out the door… Agony trailing behind him no different than an obedient dog on a leash. From just outside the door, Kilian made one final remark. [color=RosyBrown]“See you soon, Charlotte.”[/color] [/indent][/indent][/color]