Dancing In the Shadows
-Original
RP-
by Shuuki and Pookie
Chapter 3: Another Life
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A pale moon slowly rises into a clear
sky, its soft rays timidly bathing the young couple...
A slim form slips softly from the
large silk bed as to not disturb his peaceful lover...The young man pauses for
a moment, admiring the figure laying before him...A smile touches his face as
he steps outside into the grand gardens below.
The cool night air envelops his
half-dressed body, sending a soft shiver down his back as he approaches the
rose garden.
Chanserv: *opens one eye as his companion exits and
grins to himself*
RB: *admires the wonderful arrangement of roses before
him*
RB: *slowly reaches for a rose but pricks his finger on
a thorn*
RB: *as he pulls back his finger, a single drop of blood
falls on a large white rose below*
A hand reaches from behind RB and
grasps his wrist.
RB: *startled, turns around* Oh!
RB: *smiles as he sees who it is* You scared me...
Chanserv: *lifts RB's finger to his mouth, sucking
gently and closing the wound*
Chanserv: *opens one eye and smiles*
RB: Thank you...*reaches for the man’s face*
RB: *softly deposits a kiss on his lips*
Chanserv: *combs his fingers lightly through RB's
sleep-tousled hair
Chanserv: I was watching you from the balcony.
RB: *smiles* I couldn't help but visit this garden...It
rivals all the ones I have seen in its simple beauty...
Chanserv: *gazes proudly over his blossoms* Simon does a
fine job.
RB: I will have to congratulate him then.
Chanserv: *chuckles* Although I doubt he thinks I
appreciate it, never visiting in the daylight.
RB: It is more beautiful under the moonlight anyway.
Chanserv: *looks back down at RB and touches his face
lightly* You prefer the night?
RB: *turns around looking at the garden, resting
peacefully against Chanserv's chest* It always held some measure of comfort...
Chanserv: *rests his chin atop RB's head* Oh?
RB: It's a long story...*lets the memories wash over
him*
Chanserv: We have all of eternity, my love...
RB: Yes...we do...
RB: *sighs* But how do I start?
Chanserv: By taking a seat. *spins RB with a flourish to
a nearby bench*
Chanserv: *picks a white rose and presents it to RB*
RB: *takes a seat, rolling the rose in his fingers* You
are just like him...always watching over me...
Chanserv: *seats himself and drapes an arm over the back
of the bench*
Chanserv: You speak of your gentleman Andre....
RB: Yes, Andre. Without him, I would not have survived
myself. *a sad look on his face*
Chanserv: *waits patiently for RB to continue*
RB: ... When I was celebrating my 12th summer with my
family, men in what I had thought to be the most beautiful uniforms came to my
house.
RB: They took me away to Versailles, explaining what greatness awaited me. I left smiling while
my mother shed tears. My father looked almost happy to see me go.
RB: Then again, I had never been on good terms with him.
He always had resented me...
RB: But that is another story...
RB: The guards, royal guards I soon learned, brought me
to Versailles, to the King himself. I
was awed by His majestic presence.
RB: He told me in exchange for my services, my family
would be part of the new nobles. Can you imagine what it meant to me? My mother
would be noble! I was so honored...
RB: That is how I became the King's ... uhmm...how can I
put it lightly?
Chanserv: Special companion? *smile quirks at the
corners of his mouth*
RB: That would actually be a positive thing...
Chanserv: The King has unsavory tastes I presume then?
RB: To say the least...
RB: I belonged to Him when He was bored with His wife
and all the other court ladies who threw themselves at His feet.
RB: But I wasn't exactly His private property...His
'elite' also visited me from time to time.
Chanserv: Hmpf. *mutters* Typical nobility.
RB: You cannot imagine what I have had to endure...
RB: …the number of times I tried to end it...but always
an axe loomed over my family's head...so I suffered it...
Chanserv: *watches RB steadily as he speaks, his eyes
never meeting Chanserv's*
RB: One day it became too much for me to bear...and so I
managed to run away.
RB: My little escape was cut short as they found me
trying to save my mother and my sister.
RB: I later learned my father had told them where we
were hiding. *bitter laugh*
RB: Needless to say, the King was furious. That day, I
was tied down in my bedroom...I was forced to watch my mother suffer at their
hands.
RB: All the time she was looking at me...begging me to
save her...and I was just there...helpless...*tears forming in his eyes*
RB: Later that night, I think while they were all at
some ball or some such thing, my mother used the knife left on the table by her
side. She never once looked at me...
Chanserv: *brings his extended arm down over RB's
shoulders*
RB: *tears run down his cheeks as he remembers that
night*
Chanserv: *draws RB close to him*
RB: *wipes away the tears* When the King returned, He
told me never to try that again. He told me He was keeping my sister in the
Castle.
RB: He promised He would never touch her, if only I behaved.
RB: My sister had been barely two when I was taken. I
couldn't bear to imagine what would happen to her. She was still so young and
innocent.
RB: That night I also met Andre. He had just been
assigned to my protection.
RB: He had a certain look to him: full of confidence. I
almost believed him when he told me everything would be all right.
RB: After that night, I locked myself in the room and
didn't let anyone come for a week. I could actually do that since the King was
away.
RB: Normally, the King would have used the secret panel
by the bed. The panel led to two rooms, one for the King's private use, and
another one used by His 'elite' and the personal guard.
RB: Andre never used that passageway. Not once.
RB: When I finally decided to leave my room, the first
place I went was the gardens. *smiles*
RB: They had a wonderful garden....but it was always
distant and cold...not like this one. *looks around*
Chanserv: French gardens are often that way. I prefer
the British style.
RB: I’ve never seen a British garden.
Chanserv: Or perhaps it was the state of your heart at
the time...
Chanserv: *tilts RB's chin up*
RB: *avoids his eyes* Maybe...
Chanserv: You know, you do not have to continue your
story if you do not wish to. The past matters little to me.
RB: *smiles and nods gratefully* Aren't you curious
about him though?
Chanserv: Monsieur Andre? *smiles mischievously* Perhaps
a bit.
RB: You know, even after the King returned, I always got
a chance to visit the gardens. That, or the gardens visited me.
RB: One day Andre came to me bent and injured. I quickly
learned it was because he had stood up to His Majesty on my behalf. He had
begged for me to be able to have access to the inner gardens. The King had him
whipped.
RB: I asked him why he would do such a foolish
thing...Do you know what he told me?
Chanserv: What?
RB: "I wanted you to see that beauty still exists
in this world. True beauty..."
RB: He was smiling...his back was a bloody mess and he
could barely stand. But he was smiling, thinking of my happiness.
Chanserv: Your M. Andre was a romantic...
RB: *nods* Indeed he was... *smiles*
Chanserv: …and a true nobleman. Not many are left in
this country's elite.
RB: While the King taught me to please others the hard
way, he taught me how to find small joys for myself. He quickly became a close
friend and my confidant.
RB: I guess he had a good influence on me. The King
quickly noticed I was more docile and one day decided to release my sister.
*giggles* I hear the maids where glad to have her leave. She was a little
devil.
RB: That was also when, free of all obligations, I did
the first thing truly for myself.
RB: That night, I blocked the passageway. I spent an
hour moving the heavy bed, splintered my fingers, and hurt my back. But the bed
was now blocking the path.
RB: The King pounded at the blocked door, demanding
entrance. *smirks* But I guess He assumed I was with someone else, who did not
want to share. Furious at being defied He finally walked away.
RB: That night I laughed myself to sleep. I did not
care; I was free for one night - no one to interrupt me, no one to hurt me.
Just me. Alone. I cared nothing for what would happen the next morning. It was
my night.
RB: At the end of that wonderful night, I woke up to a
heavy pounding on the door and a familiar voice: Andre. I let him in and
together we replaced the bed. Not long after I was ready to go to the garden as
usual, the King returned.
RB: He was livid! Somebody had used me without His
consent. He hadn't found the culprit, but He never once assumed I was acting on
my own. Luckily Andre had been ordered away that night and was not too severely
punished.
RB: I on the other hand spent a week in bed, unable to
move a muscle.
RB: Andre nursed me back to health...He never once
complained about my actions. I know he must have been punished too... but I had
the impression he was proud of me...Can you imagine?
Chanserv: *pets RB's head but does not answer*
RB: That was when I realized just how much he meant to
me...
RB: *slowly looks up at Chanserv*
Chanserv: *heart thumps unexpectedly as RB's gaze meets
his own*
RB: *tries to voice his words but cannot *
RB: I...I will never be able to love you like I loved
him...
RB: You are both too different for that.
RB: *slowly caresses his cheek* For you...I cannot explain...
Chanserv: *smirks* But you are in love with me
aren't you? You cannot help it anymore than I can help desiring you.
RB: *smiles back and nods*
Chanserv: *laces his fingers with RB's*
Chanserv: I've waited a long time for you...
RB: ...Why me?
Chanserv: Why not? Why are roses red? Why anything?
RB: *rises and walks to the roses*
RB: *picks a rose and hands it to Chanserv*
RB: This rose is red because of my blood...
Chanserv: *inhales deeply without taking his eyes from
his lover*
RB: What do you think of it?
Chanserv: It smells like you.
Chanserv: You give it meaning.
Chanserv: You enhance its beauty tenfold.
Chanserv: And you've ended its life by picking it.
RB: *smiles sadly* Beauty is not meant to last...
RB: *spreads out his arms as though they were wings* All
beauty has to disappear eventually...
Chanserv: *grasps RB by the waist and pulls him to his
lap
Chanserv: Is that so? Tell me, will our beauty fade too,
my wise fledgling?
RB: *looks deep into his eyes*
RB: Yes...one day...
Chanserv: *suppresses a laugh* Well until then…
*captures RB's mouth before he can protest*
RB: *embraces Chanserv warmly*
Chanserv: *runs the head of the rose down RB's bare
chest, its night-cool petals brushing delicately across his skin*
RB: *closes his eyes under the soft caress and smiles*
Chanserv: You run hot and cold my little lover. Each
look you cast me, each sentence you utter is a surprise and a wonder.
Chanserv: *pulls the white petals down RB's flushed
cheek and over his lips*
Chanserv: Every moment before your arrival pales in
comparison…as I knew it would.
RB: You can't mean that...You've lived how long?
Surely...
Chanserv: *offhandedly* Four centuries.
RB: *takes in the number slowly* I can't be the best thing
that has happened to you in that time...
Chanserv: Four centuries with the globe as my garden...
Chanserv: Taking in the scents of a thousand lifetimes
and as many humans...
Chanserv: But I did not catch yours until two nights
past.
RB: *looks sadly at his lover*
RB: All that time, for a single flower? How can one
survive such loneliness?
Chanserv: *laughs at RB's expression* And there you run
hot again… I'm in no need of sympathy, surely.
Chanserv: Though I appreciate your gesture.
RB: I once thought that way too remember? *cuddles in
his lovers arm*
Chanserv: I have been surrounded by beauty you have yet
to witness, and more lovers than I can count.
RB: I too want to see all that beauty...
Chanserv: And you will, *teases* though I can't have you
taking any lovers now that I have you.
RB: *smirks mischievously* Awww...What a pity...
Chanserv: I'd have to crush them, as I did all those
flowers before you.
RB: *sheepish smile* Poor flowers...
RB: I wouldn't want you to go through all that trouble
anyway.
Chanserv: *grins up at the moon* Would you care to crush
a few blossoms with me tonight, my dear? My ‘wine’ cabinet is empty again…
RB: *follows his gaze* I guess we did finish it last
night...
Chanserv: *pushes RB roughly to his back against the
seat of the bench*
*looks intently into his eyes*
Chanserv: You amaze me little fledgling.
RB: Isn't that a good thing?
Chanserv: *delighted smile* We are going to have such
fun.
Chanserv: *mashes his lips against RB's in a bruising
kiss*
RB: *kisses back just as passionately*
Chanserv: *a heady bloodlust surfaces in his eyes*
*lifts RB without breaking the kiss and steps lightly
onto the top of the bench*
RB: *becomes slightly confused by Chanserv's actions*
Chanserv: I know just the place. Come, one must dress well
for a visit to His Majesty's court...
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Fin?...