Zephrun’s Imperium

"Apologies will get you nowhere with me; I know you don't mean any of what you say." She locked the cell and began making her way up the stairs.

Riva jerked her head towards the exit. "We're done here. Allivia will be starved and whipped. And you... My husband will receive a report on your actions. Come."

Allivia writhed. "Get your hands off of me, you filthy-" "Enough!" Riva yelled. "Fischer, I know Nicolae is of some importance to you, but this is unbecoming. Allivia is my patient."

Allivia curled up into a ball lest she be kicked again, gasping for air. "You only..." She coughed violently. "Only hate me because... I'm right."

Allivia screeched. Her cuffs made her unable to even try fighting back. "I've done some despicable acts, but I hope you never get to sleep at night without thinking about the fact that what you've done is worse. You deserve to be on the Raven's table more than I do. One day, you'll taste the fires of Mal, mark my words. And so will that Stars-cursed boy. Perhaps I was part of the punishment for his sins, ever thought about that, 'ey, Fischer?!"

"Oh, you'll get what's coming to you one day, you rotten heathen," she sneered. "The Stars won't stand for it! You or your boyfriend!" Riva stood. "Fischer. Take her back to her cell. Be rough."

"I would report you to the king," Allivia stayed on the ground. "Go ahead, take me to the torture chamber, Fischer. I'm done fighting. But you're an unholy bastard; I may be going to Mal, but you're coming right with me!"

"Oh, please, you know exactly what I mean." She started cussing him out, straining against Riva's bonds. She realized quickly that fighting was not fruitless; the Raveness was weak, much weaker than Allivia would have thought. She pulled hard, sending Riva to her knees and marching up to Fischer. "Why if I wasn't cuffed right now..."

"I'm right, you know I am!" Allivia said. She glared at Fischer even as Riva cuffed her to take her to the torturing chamber. "I regret everything I did with that filthy boy. You're disgusting, you are." She spat at his feet.

"You and Nico were lovers, not just friends," she hissed. Riva raised an eyebrow. "You know, calling Nicolae Kimby gay after he's slept with several woman doesn't make sense to me. You can stop grasping at straws to try and get out of this."

"I know your secret," she said, flipping him off.

Riva chuckled, stopping at Allivia's cell where her patient sat in the corner. Allivia was glaring at Fischer with a look that said, You put me in here? You'll be in my place next. Riva fiddled with her keys to open the cell.

Riva rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips. "You've got the let the woman think there's a chance we might not be here for her, dear."

Nico held Wendy close as they walked. He was happy not to be in uniform, as his work clothes included a pair of gloves, which would have kept him from feeling Wendy's hand in his own. The two of them walked together down to the marketplace and back to the ice cream shop where, indeed, their affection for each other had first kindled. After ordering a simple chocolate, Nico stepped back to let Wendy go at it.

“Well… we should definitely get different koinds so we can share, yeah?”

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

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.”

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!

"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?"

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."

Yeah, and I should be able to sing a cover of a song

“Oh? Nuffin’. I’s fine.”

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