Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[Vapor]

"Yeah, is Nico here?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"He is." She opened the door wider and gestured for Arabella to follow. 

[Vapor]

Arabella sprinted into the room, grinning when she saw Nico.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Nico set aside his bowl of soup - his lunch for the day - and grinned right back. "Miss 'bella!"

[Vapor]

"Nico!" She ran towards him and bounced up and down next to his bed.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"'ow ya doin', my li'le miss?"

[Vapor]

"Good! You?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Well... I was stabbed, so.. Abou' as well as one can be after an ordeal loike tha'."

[Vapor]

"Who stabbed you?" Ara asked in a conspiratorial voice.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

“‘Livia. But they put her away; she won’t bother me no more, nor nob’dy else.”

Edited September 22, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[Vapor]

"Good. She deserved it."

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Nico shrugged. “I suppose,” he said with a slight sigh. 

[Vapor]

"What's wrong?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

“Oh? Nuffin’. I’s fine.”

[Vapor]

"Are you sure?"

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Quote

I accidentily posted this on Sanderson memes.... 

On 9/21/2021 at 8:59 PM, Vapor said:

"Are you sure?"

Nico smiled and booped Ara's nose. "Yes'am! Don' 'cha be worryin' 'bout me."

One Week Timeskip

Riva smoothed out her dress and hummed, walking down the hallway. It had been exactly a week since the attempt on her life, but the distance of time hadn't made it seem far away to her dear husband. He had been on edge every time they'd been together since and spent almost all his time interviewing the guard. Fischer stayed with Riva twenty-four-seven, but even he was feeling somewhat down, since Nowak had passed away just a few days ago. Castle Praetorium was a depressing place to be. 
And so, as the Lady of the house, Riva felt it was her duty to cheer things up. Starting with taking her husband's mind off of the coup for a moment. She knocked on his door
"I'm occupied." The general called out without so much as looking up from a paper that was on his desk.
Riva walked in, her heels clicking against the floor. "No, you're not. At least you won't be for much longer. Up off your ass, Praetorium. You've been down in the dumps for too long."
Caden growled. "Can't you see I'm at work, Riva? What have I said about bothering me."
"It's long past lunch time and you haven't eaten a thing. That needs to change. I know you're still upset about what happened, but I want you to take your mind off of things today at least for a little while."
"Riva." He slammed his hands on the table, trying to hide the bios of his men that he had compiled. "How can I take my mind off of things when your literal life is in danger?"
She tsked. "Now, Caden, don't you raise your voice at me. You need a break, stars curse it."
Caden opened his mouth, but closed again before eyeing Riva suspiciously. "You won't blazing leave without me, will you?"
"No, I won't. Now, come. I've prepared a picnic in our room."
"A picnic? In a room?"
"Why not?"
"Aren't they meant to be outside?"
"Well, normally yes, but it's too far too cold out there this time of year."
"Then where the blazes will we be eating?"
"In our room, dear, I already said that. And you can stop swearing at me like that, I'm just trying to be nice."
"You picked a bad time to try that," he grumbled. "Can't this wait?"
"No. Everyone in this house is sad and on edge. I'm sick of that. And I hardly have anything to do besides make potions and talk with Fischer without any patients to work on."
"I can get you patients if I can finish this blazing work."
"Again with the swearing..." Riva pursed her lips. "I really wanted a nice afternoon. You will have time to finish it later, I promise. All I see right now is that you don't want to spend time with your wife."
"I- Of course I do. I just want to know that she's safe."
"And I have been safe. Thanks to you. You've done a wonderful job and should be very proud of yourself. So please. Give yourself a rest."
"But . . ."
"'But' nothing. Let us eat. I miss being with my beloved."
"Riva . . ."
She raised an eyebrow at him that dared him to speak against her.
"I can't just walk away from it!"
"You'll come back. I'm just asking for a half an hour. That's it." 
"No more than a half hour."
She smirked. "Unless you beg for more."
Caden rolled his eyes. "Let's get to it, then."
Riva kissed him on the cheek and took his arm, pulling him along with her. It felt good to be with him; this never-ending week had been draining, but against his warmth, she could feel recharged.
Caden felt the need to smile at the kiss, but held it back. He allowed himself to be pulled by his wife to wherever she was leading them
"Oh, cheer up, love." Riva brushed his hair with her fingers.
"I will try."
"Good. Thank you." Riva walked with him to their room where she'd drawn the canopy of their bed closed. Inside, Caden would find plentiful plush pillows and two trays of food she'd had Fischer bring up from the kitchens. She'd ordered the chef to make Acalia's meat pie recipe, Caden's favorite that he'd tried to make for her a few weeks back.
"Riva . . ." Caden looked over everything, at a loss for words.
"I'm amazing?" Riva sat down primly so as not to sink into the soft bed, serving Caden first.
Caden only nodded, taking his serving as he sat down with little regard for decency.
"You're too hard on yourself, my darling." Riva served herself. "I'm proud of the work you've done."
"It's not finished . . ."
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't be proud." Riva's mood soured a bit. "I do feel bad. The guards... had a point in thinking it was impossible for anyone to fall in love with me."
"I disagree, as it happened. Since it happened, it's obviously not impossible."
"I just... can't help but feel... unequal. To the worth you assign me."
"I'm afraid that I don't understand where you're coming from."
"Well..." Only one other person has ever loved me, and he... "I suppose it doesn't matter."
"It does to you, so it does to me."
She shook her head. "It's fine." You should tell him about Karreck. "You're... not the first person to fall in love with me."
"You have lived a long life." Caden nodded. "I suppose that would make sense, then."
"Well... This one... Let's just say, I'm impressed; your bed is even nicer than the king's."
"Th- Wait." Caden put down his serving. "The king?"
Riva nodded solemnly, disturbed by the memory. 
"Wh- How?"
"He... he had some fetish for thin women. Thought I was the most dazzling girl he'd ever met. I was quite young at the time. Not yet twenty."
"You . . . Didn't? So he stopped pursuing you?"
"No. If anything, he became more insistent. I was terrified of the man. He kept inviting me to bed and one night, he didn't just invite me, he forced me."
"That's rape," Caden noted.
"Yes it is. And what I did was murder."
"Murder?"
"Yes." Riva cut her pie and took a bite, as though she hadn't just confessed to assassinating a king.
"You- killed the king, then."
"I did. Poisoned him. Let him die slowly. And then I slept beside his corpse. In the morning, I woke up and pretended to be alarmed to find him having passed away in his sleep."
"That sounds . . ." Caden involuntary shuddered. "You slept with his corpse?"
"It seemed a fitting final insult. It was what he always wanted anyway; me beside him in bed."
"I suppose that's poetic . . ."
She smirked. "What was really poetic? He called me his belladonna. Guess how I killed him."
"What's a belladonna?"
Riva chuckled. "it's a very powerful poison, my love."
"Ah." He blushed, realizing he could have guessed as much. He cleared his throat. "Go on, then."
"Well, that was the end of it. I just... he loved me then because I was young and thin as a twig. Now I'm old and... a murderer." 
He raised an eyebrow. "You do realize who you're sharing a bed with now, correct?"
Riva leaned over to kiss him full on the mouth. "Yes."

Edited September 26, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[The Ward's Guard]

Caden grinned, despite the early gloom that hovered above him. "You find it attractive?"
"I really, really do."
He tapped his finger on the plate he had been given. "I simply don't understand why."
"And I don't understand why you love me. So we're even."
"I suppose so."
Riva beamed. "I do feel I've cheated you a little; last time we had pie, you made it for me. I got the chef to do it."
"Pie is pie." Caden argued back.
She shrugged. "I suppose."
"You disagree?"
"No." She chuckled. "Although it's your turn to do something for me after this."
"Cleaning out the guard of the traitorous scum isn't enough?" He spat the word traitor as if he couldn't bear the thought of it being on his tongue longer than necessary.
"Oh! No, of course not, that's not what I meant, love. I appreciate that, I do. I just meant planning a date or something."
"Ah, a date . . ." He cleared his throat. "I can't exactly plan one of those."
"When you made the pie! That was a date!"
"That was?"
"Of course!"
"Was it . . . a good one?"
"No, it could have been better," she deadpanned.
Caden winced, feeling a pang of guilt. "Then I'll have to do better."
Riva laughed uproariously. "No! No, I'm kidding."
"You . . . are?"
"Yes, darling." She rubbed his shoulder, then started. "Oh! I haven't given you a back rub in ages."
"Think nothing of it," Caden tried. "I haven't had the time."
"We have time right now. I'm done eating anyway. " She sat behind him and placed her hands on his meaty shoulders.
Caden resisted at first trying to hold her back before leaning forward onto the bed, letting his wife at his back as he groaned for a single second.
"You may sit up and keep eating if you wish."
"No."
"Oh, so you like the backrubs then?" Riva smirked, digging her elbow into his tight muscles; her thin fingers alone didn't carry enough weight. "When you first had one, you protested quite a bit."
"I was a fool."

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

"Yes, yes you were. For a lot of reasons." She continued working his stiff muscles. "But you came around. I did like touching you, even then."
"Mmmmm." He nodded, shifting to make it easier for his wife. "Would it be easier if my shirt were off?"
"Mmm, yes, that would help. And I would just enjoy that on its own..."
He sat up, carefully undoing his uniform to reveal his well built chest. The stoic general found himself blushing despite the fact that she had already seen him shirtless. "I know you would."
"See, what did I tell you?" Riva said, grinning. "You've had nice food, you're getting a good back rub. This break is worth it."
"I . . . suppose." He got down back onto the bed in position to let Riva at his back.
"Your poor back, Caden.... I would think a general would have better posture."
"Haven't needed it."
"No, but it hurts your poor spine."
"And that's . . . bad . . ."
"Yes! You'll get long-term health defects. I'm sure you're already beginning to feel those now in your old age."
"It's just pain," he tried. "Nothing unfamiliar to me."
There was a loud crack as something in Caden's back popped. "You shouldn't have to feel any extra pain, my dear."
Caden jumped slightly at the sensation before settling back down. He cleared his throat. "I'll be fine."
"What about taking some pain medications?" she suggested.
"No. No medication."
"Why not?"
"I don't do medication."
"Why not, dearest?"
"I can handle whatever's messing with me on my own. I don't need some blazing plant's help."
Riva shook her head, continuing to massage Caden's back with her wrinkled fingers. "You swear too much..." 
Caden cleared his throat, blushing into the blankets. "I apologize, dear. I'm around soldiers all day."
"That's fair..." Riva sighed. "It's almost been a half an hour, my love."
"It . . . has? You're just going to let me leave?"
"Yes, if you want to. Do you want to go back to work? Or do you want to stay with the love of your life?"
"Will you fight to keep me here?"
Riva shrugged. "Do you want me to? We could definitely fight in bed if you wanted."
"Oh, that wouldn't be fair." He smiled, sitting up to face his wife. "You know how dedicated I am to not harming you."
Riva kissed him, the hairs of his beard tickling her pale face.
Caden smiled, kissing her back. He raised his arms around her slight waist, managing to reach all the way around her as he gently held her close.
"You'll stay?" Riva asked between kisses.
"With a wife who gives loves like you do?" Caden kissed her back just as often as she kissed him. "How could I not?"

[The Ward's Guard]

Short time skip because Steamy Rivaden

Riva curled up next to Caden, panting slightly from exhaustion
Caden hummed softly and deeply in his chest. "I love you." He whispered to his wife.
Riva smiled, eyes closed. It was afternoon, but she could have fallen asleep now; she was getting old. Very old. "I love you, too. Stars, how I wish I'd met you earlier."
"If only we had met each other then. Although I can't say for sure if we would have fallen for one another."
"That's fair."
"But I would have rather that has happened, yes."
Riva nuzzled him with her head. Her long black hair was loose on the pillow beside her
Caden kept his arm firmly around her, unable to stop smiling. "Oh Stars!" He called out in shock.
"What? What's happened?"
He tried to sit up, nearly forgetting about not disturbing his wife. "How could I have forgotten?"
Riva sat up as well. "Dear, what did you forget?"
Caden stepped out of bed, despite his state of undress. "I took a moment to walk about the marketplace to clear my mind before you retrieved me, and I had an idea."
"I can't always be with you, and neither can Fischer." He knocked on the door, then opened it to see Fischer. The young man who had been standing guard turned to look at his commanding officer, only to have his face break out in the strongest blush at the sight of the well chiseled general. He tried to clear his throat and keep his eyes on Caden's, and saluted. The general briefly returned that salute. "Run off to the room just right of my office, then bring back what's waiting in it." Fischer nodded, eager to turn away from the general, lest he blush so hard even his hair turned red. "Yes sir. Right away sir."
"Ah, Fischer's a good boy," said Riva.
"He is." Caden closed the door and returned to where his wife laid in bed. "And he's young for one of my guard."
"So he's said. He talks about Nicolae, the castle boy, quite a bit."
"Who?"
"Nicolae Kimby. C'mon, everyone knows him."
"I've never heard of him, so not everyone."
"Oh, come now, you must have!" She prepared her best Nicolae impression. "Ah, have a zu-bop of a day now, love!"
Caden snapped up. "There it is again! What the bla-" He stopped himself, looking ashamed for a moment. "I mean, what does that mean?"
"No one knows."
He furrowed his brow. "Then why do people say it?"
"It's just Nicolae that does. He's the king's flirty attendant."
"I've heard that saying, while never meeting this flirty attendant."
"I guarentee you've seen him! He's with Ivian!"
"Yes. He's very tall, taller than you."
"I would remember that if I met him."
"Oh, come now, you've got to have seen him!"
Caden folded his arms. "You're being ridiculous. I've never seen or met any man by that description in my life." Just as Caden finished the description, a knock resonated from their bedroom door. The general stood up, grateful for the distraction. Upon opening the door, he found Fischer who was breathing heavily with a squirming dog in his arms that was almost larger than his chest. Although admittedly it appeared to be more floofy fur than dog. Caden nodded. "You may put her down, Fischer."
Riva's eyes widened. "A dog?" She'd never seen one up close.
The dog rushed to Caden's feet the moment her feet touched the ground, causing the general to bend over to secure a hold on her so she wouldn't flee into the hallway. "That will be all, Fischer."
The soldier saluted, then turned away from the general too quickly with a sigh of relief the moment the door closed.
Caden shook his head, not knowing what had gotten into the boy. "More accurately," he started telling his wife, "she's a pup."
“A present?” Riva asked
"Of a sort. She's meant to be trained as a guard dog." He guided the pup towards the bed so that Riva could have a closer look. "I saw one of her breed fully grown, and it was a terrifyingly large creature. I'm sure she'll be able to take down a grown man for you in no time at all."
Riva smiled, reaching down to pet the thing. “She could take me down now,” she said with a chuckle. “What’s her name?”
The pup leaped up and tried to lick Riva's face in a sudden motion, but Caden quickly grabbed her to hold her back.
Riva jumped. “Ah. Eager little thing.”
"Yes," Caden agreed. "I was told that was a dog's method of kissing, therefore sho-" The pup interrupted Caden by leaping at his own face to shower it with her form of kisses. The general leaned back at the motion, trying to hold the dog down. "Very eager to kiss us."
 

 

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Quote

We interrupt this regularly scheduled Rivaden program to show a picture of their new dog and give an update on the true witch of the story; Alliva Nordy. 

First, Kisses Praetorium.

And what Kisses will grow into 

And now for some Rivaden before Allivia 

Riva laughed. “Aww. A girl could get jealous of that."
He chuckled, trying to hold the pup that was zealously dedicated to kissing his face. "And no, I have not picked a name."
Riva chuckled. “You may as well name her Kisses for how she’s carrying on.”
"Kisses?" He nodded. "That sounds like a dog name." With that, he took hold of the pup's head and looked her in the eyes. "You are named Kisses, now."
Riva winced. “That… that was a joke, dear. Kisses… that’s not a proper name!”
"It's . . . not?"
“No!” She paused. “Although… I suppose I’ve never met a dog before.”
"I've never had a dog, but I think 'Kisses' has made an impression on her."
“Kisses it is then.”
"You're sure? She's your dog."
“Yes, I’m sure. It’s a pleasant name. May…. May I hold her?”
"She's rather large . . ."
"Indeed." Riva looked a little wary about letting the dog climb up on her. Still, she said, “yes, yes, I can see that.” 
Caden nodded, lifting Kisses as he stood up to sit on the bed next to Riva. The pup shifted in his arms to move towards Riva's lap, sniffing the older woman.
Riva smiled, petting the dog’s soft head. “Hello there.”
Kisses lifted her head to sniff Riva's nose before offering a tentative kiss.
Riva allowed kisses to live up to her name “You picked a good, loving dog, Caden.”
Caden scratched the pup's back, causing her to shift around happily, moving between the married couple, unable to choose between the two before trying to lay down on both of their laps, displaying her belly to the both of them 
Riva happily obliged the dog’s desire for belly rubs. “What a sweetheart.”
Caden helped his wife right before leaning over to kiss her cheek. "I'm glad I picked out a good one, as I had no idea what I was doing while I was doing so."
“She does… leave hair on the bed though…” Riva said with disgust
"Well, she has so much of it. Nearly as much as you do."
Riva tossed her hair, exposing her chest. “I don’t know about that. She probably has more.”
Caden smirked, placing a hand around her shoulders to pull her closer. "Perhaps, but you certainly wear your hair better."
-----------------
Allivia was not in pain. She held to these moments throughout the week; despite the fact that the Raveness only spent a small fraction of the day working on her, those times felt far longer than they actually were. Pain had become her entire world and the dread-filled time in between their encounters was never long enough. Perhaps the worst part was that she could never guess when her captor would announce herself with the sound of her heels. And, if she did, was she really here to torture her, or someone else? Or was she just here for a good scare? Stars, how Allivia hated this place. For a time, she had taken to trying to starve herself, but when the Raven had seen her uneaten plates, she'd forced some nasty substance down her throat to sustain her. She'd ultimately decided that the food she was given was better than going through that horrible taste again. Asking when or if she was to be executed got her nowhere; apparently the Raven didn't even know whether or not she was scheduled for execution. Allivia had even tried begging the guards to kill her, but none of them took pity on her. One Praetorium man - the one that accompanied the Raveness wherever she went - had even stayed behind to chew her out for abusing his friend. 

"If I'd known Nicolae had been worth all this trouble," she mumbled, recalling the memory, "I'd never have screwed the kid over all those years ago..." 

But of course, the consequence happened after the action. How was she to have known that Nicolae had a friend in the Praetorium guards? Mal, how would she have known that the Praetorium guard would have come to replace the gullible castle staff in the first place? She hissed at the unfairness of it all. And yet... She knew what she had done was wrong. She'd always known. Yet, she'd done it anyway because she'd felt invincible. Now that she wasn't, now that she was resigned to feeling the pain of the Raveness's potions... She cursed her past self. You should have known it would come to this. Of course Nicolae would tell on you. Of course he'd fall in love with someone, the little fool. She was just amazed anyone could have fallen in love with Nico in return. There was something off about the boy, she just couldn't put her finger on it. "have a zu-bop of a day," what did that even mean? He was too cheerful to be a castle worker, too infatuated with the king, and too... too... 

Infatuated. 

Suddenly everything fell into place. 

Nico wasn't in love with Wendy. He was in love with Fischer!

Edited September 26, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[Channelknight Fadran]

Showing up at Nicolae's room, Wendy made sure to smooth her hair back a little more and make her grin look a little less childish. Once she was sure she looked presentable, she knocked.

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Nico answered the door. His hair was back in a pony tail and he wore the same outfit that he’d worn on his last date with Fischer. “Hiya, Wendy.”

Edited September 26, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[Channelknight Fadran]

She hugged him. "Hey!"

[Zephrun’s Imperium]

Nico smiled. “Any oidea what ice cream we should get?”

Edited September 26, 2021 by Zephrun's Imperium

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Nope."