Oh How The Stars Have Shone (Mari)

[Lucian Adam Renalt]

Lucian walked into the the wide open garden, only few would are tred where Lucian was allowed.His hair flowing free and unkempt,His face as pristine as it had ever been however his eyes were telling the story of a tired man.Lucian spent many nights on watch but this was different type of tiredness, and in times like this only one woman had the ability to soothe and heal his woes. He and Mari had formed such a close bond, after all his wife was the captain of her guard so through there collective professions each knew each others charge as good one knew them selves.


Lucian was wearing a deep brown over shirt and a pair of black tan trousers, a beard adorned his rugged face   and his eyes alive with the ghosts of his bleak past. Taking a seat on one of the beautiful bench's that surrounded the garden he let his thoughts just flow for a few minutes before he reigned them back in, today his thoughts surrounded his brother and horrible circumstance of his death , even to this day Lucian blamed his self his brothers horrible undoing.In reality it was and that was the massive family secret everybody wanted to know, where his crowned prince of a brother dissapperd too and where was his bride. 

Lucian watched the stars as he let the thoughts lock them selves back up in the corners of his fragile mind, this was one of the only he places he felt truly safe. Lucian knew some how somewhere his brother was watching him, he knew he'd never do Alaneo proud but he hoped somewhere in the after life alaneo could find it within him self to forgive his little brother .

By Now he'd of hoped that Mari would know he was here , She was one of the only people besides his wife that utterly and completely understood him. This was her garden and not many people were actually meant to be in here,But it was the most beautiful garden in the kingdom and sometimes just sometimes he would steel him self away from the main court to just glance at all of the pretty colors  that adorned the velvety greens and earth like colors.


He herd very faint footsteps, he shifted his posture and made sure he was in the darkest corner of the garden, just encase it wasent marina.He studied the shape of the body "It's nice to see you dearest friend"He said stepping out from the dark to smile at the person who had entered the garden.

[Mari]

This was both her sanctuary and her prison and she knew it well. Vlad had bespelled the garden to have a glass over structure that prohibited her from leaving but allowed rain to come down to nurture the plants. Every time she thought he had reached the pinnacle of his skill he surpassed his previous benchmark. It was amazing actually and showed great promise for the group as a whole in what they could achieve.

It was still an overblown birdcage for all that. She knew it, she would never insult him by calling him on it but it was there. She was like a caged bird who performed for the masses. You needed a song sung? She did it. you needed arm candy? She dressed the part. The king needs an heir? She provided one of each (Not without some difficulty but still...). For all that Vlad had surpassed himself as their king Mari had behaved as a dutiful bride won on a raid should. She was meek and dutiful and rarely lashed out (nowadays). The ironic thing was that for all of her bouts of temper at being captive and punishing those who deserved it, Vlad had never grown angry with her. He knew just what he had done. He also knew that she needed an outlet and would never harm him. She couldn't bring herself to. Not after all that had happened.

As she peeked out from a corner and observed Lucian she picked up on his sadness. He was holding onto guilt but she was not sure what from. Knowing his duties it could be from anything. Enforcing the kings laws was never an easy thing and it was brutal at times. Still, it seemed as if people felt like this was her audience hall. Ridiculous, she only went to the throne room when needed. Vlad kept tabs on the kingdom and she offered what comfort she could and the rare bit of advice if he asked her for it.

In reality most nobles saw her as nothing better than a very pampered and lucky trophy for their king to flaunt in their face. She saw it from Duke Radcliffe and even Angelique. Now there was Lucian.

He heard her and called to her, "Hello, Captain. What brings you to my garden?" she asked him quietly, her tone meek and not in the least accusatory. Her eyes were downcast and she kept her pace slow as she took a seat on one of the benches. The blood red gown she wore was in perfect counterpoint to her jeweled flame earrings and the tiny tiara she wore when she was not on official business. Enough to denote rank and avoid being treated like the help but nothing for anyone to find threatening.

Her wings, suppressed by magic wanted to manifest so much her face wrinkled in pain briefly and she touched her hand to her forehead as if in thought. Soon she would have to return to her private space, bar the door and stretch them but for now she was content to relax.

Outfit: Outfit
Words: 520

[Lucian Adam Renalt]

Lucian smiled as he came out of the darkness to face mari,  holding his hands up "Just here for a chat my queen"he said as he walked over to wrapped  her in a light hug "How goes things as of late my queen?" he asked as he took a seat next to her. He basked in the chill of the night, for some one thousand years he hadent really felt the chill of the wind, it dident bite at him like it used to.It had been a while since he had seen marina properly and when he wasent in his Armour and when he wasent under the control of her husband vlad. 


Glancing around the garden he noticed what his queen was wearing "As always my queen your wardrobe is as divine as its owner"he said smiling as he scooted away a little "I thought it would be nice to have  chat with you when i wasent on duty and being forced to do your husbands bidding "he said slightly laughing even though he hated his duties sometimes, especially when he had to enforce the laws of the land, but otherwise his duties dident bother him really. But he needed to to just talk to somone who knew him on a level that he dident have to worry about them misunderstanding what he was saying.


He turned to her "The reason im here, as i need to just to get some things off chest"he knew marina wouldent mind this, they had, had conversations like this before and nothing ever came of it because he trusted her enough so that he dident have to tip toe around her "Im having one of those nights where my brother seems to plague my sleeping hours"he said bowing his head Alaneo was still very much apart of his life, even though he was dead lucian held onto him for dear life because he couldent face a day without his memory.   

[Mari]

She didn't know if she would ever get used to vampires shadow jumping. That had been how Vlad had rescued her (and spirited her away). They could come from anywhere. It was an assassin's favorite tool and one that she herself feared because it reminded her how fragile her hold here was. She blinked and shook herself free of her wool gathering. "Things are as well as may be expected." she said simply as she looked up at him. She accepted the hug and made certain that no one watching could see it as anything romantic.

"You know how Court is. Intrigues every day and backstabbing happening all the time. I'm just glad to not catch the notice of anyone formidable. I know there are men and women who would love to take my place." She sighed softly and looked at him from under her dark lashes. "Free time? You mean you don't work 24/7?" she teased as she looked at him. His compliments on her wardrobe got a shrug, "Thank you. I just wear what is expected." It felt odd to wear such bright colors at times but if she was going to be the bird in a cage she might as well have bright wings.

"Tell me about it." she said as she listened to him speak about his brother. She had missed her angel family but no one here knew of such things. "Could your dreams be your brother trying to contact you?" she asked quietly as she looked at him. There were many reasons one might dream of a dead sibling, guilt, unresolved issues or sometimes as a way to remember you were part of something bigger than yourself. These were the things that Mari healed amidst the vampires. She was a therapist in a way they never realized. She was the ultimate confessor even if they didn't realize it.

Slowly she looked over at him and just let him tell her what he needed to, she only asked questions on an as needed basis and let him control the nature of how much he told her. As he spoke she fingered a red rose nearby. Its petals were soft and delicate and the scent teased her senses.

Words : 374

[Lucian Adam Renalt]

Lucian listened to marina speak "And if anyone dared to hurt you in that court room, you for one know that before the persons sword fell, they would be dead by mine or my guard's hands"he said reassuring her lightly, as the captain of the kings guard it offered him alot of hands at his disposal, Vald and Marina were always protected weather it be by the queens guard or the kings the two units were never far from there protection detail.


This was always the job he was destined to do, his father had once stood where he was and now Lucian was fulfilling his fathers wishes of continuing the line of Renault's who had protected the vampire monarchy for centuries .It never scared him his job, the only thing he was scared of was loosing his life before he could train his daughter to take his role when he eventually stepped down, and that was not on the cards for a long while.


Lucian found a flower next to him and his fingers laced into its petals, feeling the soft touch of the blue flower on his cold skin he looked up and at marina "I wouldent surpise me if alaneo is trying to contact me from the afterlife, we have so much unresolved between us that it would be stupid to not think that"he said pondering  as he looked up into the starry sky "Couple that with my over riding pain filled guilt over his death he always has a way of getting into my through that its a door that has never shut so to speak"he said as he tried ti steady him self, he knew that eventually he would need to tell marina exactly what happened, but that would a convosation for another time.


Lucian returned to listening as marina spoke again "That is always something i forget that really in the grand sceam of things i am just a drop in the ocean, i can make ripples or i can still the waters  and as of late my lady i haven't done much in the way of elevating the ripples being made"he said trying to figure out where his brain was taking him, as he continued to play with flowers petals.

[Mari]

Smiling weakly, Mari nodded to the elder vampire, her curls bouncing slightly as she did so. It frustrated her that she couldn't tell him the real reason for all the secrecy. It just wouldn't do. "Indeed. I have every confidence in you, Captain Renalt." she said as she looked over at him.

"It would make sense that your brother is trying to contact you. He probably has a lot to say to you. I doubt that whatever happened he blames you for. You don't strike me as the sort that would deliberately harm family." she said gently as she glanced about the garden. "Come, walk with me. I want to collect some flowers for the royal apartments." she said as she moved over to a basket and then placed the gloves on her hands that were near it. Night blooming flowers were a specialty in Sylthanus. They absorbed energy during the day and then opened at night when temperatures cooled. Moving over to a rose bush she carefully trimmed a few specimens and then moved on to others that would make the bouquet look stunning.

Flower arraigning, thousands of years old and she was putting plants in vases. The irony was not lost on her as she picked what she wanted and collected it. "Sometimes we have to step back and figure out how we fit into things in the grand scheme of things. After all. I'm not a vampire and yet...here I am." That thought was depressing to say the least. She missed flying and feeling the wind in her hair. The love that she felt from being with her siblings and knowing that she was loved unconditionally for herself without having intrigues and power plays threatening her existence.

She paused as a bat fluttered by. There was a flicker of light as it passed through the magical barrier and Mari took her gloves off tired suddenly. She set the basket down and a look of sadness crossed her face as she stood there for but an instant before it was gone as if it had never been.

[Lucian Adam Renalt]

Lucian stood with his arm out for marina to take as  he walked "So much i never got to say to him, before his time on this fragile rock was taken swiftly"he said as he looked around at all of the beautiful flowers that had been arranged in the garden, Lucian would often spend hours at at time just walking around this garden after finishing at his post, somthing about this place just stilled him in ways he couldn't even fathom.The days of old when he was young, when he turned his first love they were the worst of his existance, he was shunned from his family he was the black sheep and not just for the embarrassment from the fact that the golden boy had died, and it was all of his fault he caused marcy to fall down the stairs and above all he was the end of his brothers son or daughter.


A sadness filled him as he walked with marina "Take my arm and i'll guide you my lady"He said as he herd the her voice but just barely "It sounds like flower arranging and the decoration is something you are fond of my lady"he said in a low voice as he looked around the large expansive garden "Dont you often feel like a bird in gilded cage in, this beautiful garden?"he asked quizzically, it was a beautiful garden but sometimes Lucian felt like it was prison, designed to keep people in and only to allow certain things in at any given time.


The vampire bat fluttered past Lucian's head, he dident even react when flew over them, he was a vampire after all and such things would not scare him, when he felt marina's weight shift he motioned to grab her, to steady the queen least she fall "is everything ok my queen?"He said in hurried and worry ridden voice as clung on to her for her safety. 

[Mari]

"The past cannot be changed. All we can do is try to learn from it and not make the same mistake, Lucian. You have done many good things since then." Her face showed her concern for him. Grief was understandable and should not be rushed but to dwell on a moment in time that you could not change was suffering needlessly, "It's natural to have survivor's guilt but its not the sum total of all your actions ever. Don't let one moment define your life."

His question made her laugh bitterly, "More than you know. As if I would leave this place." she said with a weak shrug of her shoulders. She kept walking. Not really seeing the path and lost in thought. This place was supposed to be about tranquility but it seemed to be the place where everyone wanted to speak to her. "Some people have Grand halls to listen to grievances. I have a garden." she made a sweep of her hand and grimaced slightly. "For someone that isn't even a vampire my opinion seems to be one that people seek out." She sighed and shrugged. "As for flower arranging...well lets just say I've had experience with growing things for a long time." She had seen this planet adapt and before that Earth. There were times when she felt she could meditate for years on all that she experienced but she suspected it would freak people out.

She caught herself and got her footing under her, "I'm fine, Lucian. I'm just tired." She said softly as she steadied herself and went to sit down. She grew silent as she sat there, deep in her own thoughts for a bit as she tried to take stock of herself. She needed fresh air and sunlight. It would mean going out when everyone was asleep but she could do it. She just had to wait a bit.[/div]

[Lucian Adam Renalt]

Lucian Relaxed a little bit as Marina steadied her self "Please be carefull my queen"he said as he looked around the garden, it was definitely one of the most beautiful gardens in all of the land.  It had taken lucian a long time to trust those around him, but with marina it was as easy as breathing  "How have things been since what happend to  vlad?"he asked sympathetically. As he continued to walk "How are things in the court?" He asked as he hadent really been anywhere near there since vlads apparent death.


Lucian knew more often than not that things were allright, he just cared alot about the queen she was one of his closest and dearest friends. Lucian had spent years with people but none of them like marina. Even serving as the kings guard sometimes drained him, his him life drained him mainly everything drained him at times, and he just needed out of the crazy .


Hearing Marina's words he relaxed even more "The past is the past, i shouldent dwell on it but i do" he said walking beside her the moon shone on them "Sometimes i wonder if there was ever a time in my life where ive had a person like you that i completely trust with my life"He said smiling at her as he looked around the expansive garden "What is this flower?" He aid looking at  it was black in color but had a violet center piece "Its Beautiful"he said stroking it as if it were a pet.  

[Mari]

“I’ll be fine, Lucian. Don’t worry.” She said as she rallied a bit and stood straighter. She shrugged her shoulders, “Pretty much the same. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.” If she was grieved by her husband’s loss she did not dare show it for fear of being seen as weak. It would be far better for her to show a strong front in case he ever came back. Of course that was assuming her son didn’t rule in his stead. After that, who knew what would happen? Vlad’s spells still held her prisoner so he had to be alive in some sense for that to be the case. Had he been completely obliterated Mari would have been free to do as she wished.

“The Court is too busy trying to decide whom I should marry and at what age my son should take the throne. There are some that think Vlad’s line should be passed by in favor of another. Which is really just polite speak for killing my son and taking his place but…I haven’t been here for over a thousand years not to know that by now.” The truth was that she really disliked how things were happening but so long as they were bickering no one plan was being enacted.

Mari glanced up when Lucian called her his friend, “I thank you for your kindness though I do not know what to do with it. “I think it's a variant of a black Daliah. It's a night blooming variant obviously but there is an area of my garden where the plants bloom in the day. I’m the only one that sees it though.” Idly she wondered what Vlad would think of what had transpired since he was gone. Would he care? Or would he shrug it off as part of his past? There was no way of knowing for sure.

[Lucian Adam Renalt]

Lucian Smiled "Im glad to hear it my queen" he said as he strolled in the garden with her,  the night was getting colder not that Lucian ever felt it these days.  The moon kind of shone at him, he missed being able to see it from his home but right now there was more important things to be worrying about.Vlad was missing and he had to protect the queen, not that he was not unaccustomed to protecting her but these days his job was alot harder than it seemed.

He looked at her "Court has always been one of things i wish was optional for people, because i feel its just one  massive bureaucratic mess, and we all know how much i hate bureaucratic mess"he said slightly smiling.As walked he noticed alot more flowers blooming in the night "Ahh i thought it was a form of nightshade it looked familiar" he said as he stopped for a few seconds to catch his bearings fearing he had got them lost in the massive garden.

He looked around noticing they wernt to far from the castle its self, his nerves eased a little "would you like me to escort you back to the castle my lady?"he asked as he looked up and saw the first portions of sunlight creeping over the clouds.

[Mari]

"Court allows everyone to see the process by which laws are enacted, Lucian. We must always keep it accessible to the people lest they find themselves ill served by us. It is something Vlad believed in and I would not change it just because some of the Council are unpleasant."

In reality there was a part of her that kept hoping that Vlad might return, that whatever had happened to him would be found out and he would take his rightful place as ruler of his people. She was a messenger not a ruler and it did not sit well with her to be the being that controlled the undead. She had long since stopped judging the beings on this world for what they were but it still felt alien to her to dictate to anyone save her children and even then she tried to give them a bit of independence so they could stand on their own.

"Yes. We had best return before the sun makes things unpleasant for you." Mari quite liked the sun and enjoyed the quiet that sunrise brought with it. It was the one time she could rest and not worry that someone was going to attack her. "Tell me something, Lucian. Why do you continue to guard me? You are fully capable of doing any number of things and yet you stay at your post. Why?"

She stood across from him, her dark eyes curious as she made her way back to the castle. The rest of the land would be sleeping soon but she had things she needed to do before she rested and gave herself over to the meditation that she needed to recuperate from being on the planet for so long. The flowers were beginning to close with the coming of daylight and she watched the idly as she waited for Lucian to speak.