Zephrun’s Imperium

"Oh, forgot those stupid ideals of manhood your father put through your thick skull, for one second." She kissed his face all over. "I was stupid to hate you, I... I'm just... I just lost my job. I'm distraught."

Riva tossed aside the syringe and hugged him back, desperately. "You mean that?"

"Okay..." He nodded. She raised her syringe to stab him, arm trembling. "Caden Praetorium, you swore an oath." Tears streamed down her face. her heart couldn't take much more. "You said you'd be true to me. But you... you..." With a shake of her head, she fell to her knees beside him. "I was starting to fall for you... You made my life worth living."

"Awww, you love me?" Riva strode forward. Her face was bruised, her makeup was a mess, her hair was tangled and wet, and her clothing barely covered her bony, wrinkled body. "THEN WHY DID YOU HURT ME!!" She took his face in her hands and slapped him. "Damn you! Damn you to Mal! You don't love me." Riva's body shook with sobs. "You don't, you never did."

"And you wouldn't happen to want this sword for yourself, right? 'Cause I'll be honest, I think you want it more than I do." "Love who, you jerk?" Riva loaded a syringe.

"Oh yeah? Is that why you killed her? Why you were going to kill me, too?" She ran her hands over labels, finally finding one of her favorite potions in her arsenal. It was in a large vial, since she used it so often and labeled, "Mamma's Recipe." Riva wondered briefly why she hadn't chosen a new name. Night Brew maybe? "Night" for "Nyx." Bah, it didn't matter. She poured some into a cup, looking for some paralyzing agents to add to it.

Riva gave a sneering smile. "You don't deserve forgiveness," she hissed. Satisfied with his pitiful response, she walked to her work station, looking about for the right potion.

"BOO!" said Nico. He popped out from behind a table.

"Yes, that much I figured. I meant more in the vicinity of now."

Riva could not sleep. She laid awake in a bed that was too small for her, sweating, tossing and turning. Most nights were like this. In the summer, it got so hot and humid that the floors became slippery. But this time, it wasn’t the heat that kept her awake. Thoughts had begun circling in her head recently. And tonight, they had come to such a high point that they could no longer be ignored. She had a choice to make, a choice that would forever change her life. Riva stared at the ceiling. Would she kill her mother tonight? In the drawer by her bed - just a foot away - was a dagger she’d stolen from the kitchen. She could easily slip into her mother’s room, slit her throat, and be free of that woman. She’d planned it all out in the weeks that this fever-dream idea had plagued her. It was so tempting; for the last eleven years, Riva had suffered abuse day after day. Revenge would be sweet. But if she went through with it, what would happen to her after? Could she really live on her own? She scoffed. There was a better question she should be asking: Could she really go on living here, where she was powerless? She leaned her head back, closing her eyes. If she didn’t do it tonight, these same thoughts would stir tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that. She would inevitably convince herself to do it eventually. Until then, the indecision would only cause herself more misery. She narrowed her eyes. She would do it, dammit. And she would do it tonight. She stood up off the bed and quietly opened the drawer, removing her dagger. It was a beautiful weapon. And Riva was certain it would look more beautiful when stained with blood. The young girl crept out of her room and into the cramped hallway. She didn’t weigh enough to make the floor creak, thankfully. If Mother woke… Well, who knew what would happen? She certainly had no intention of finding out… Dark, long shadows hung on the walls, making the long-familiar corridor seem foreign. It scared her more than she cared to admit; bravery was all she had. Riva stopped at her mother’s door and stared at the dagger in her hand. She could still turn back. If she stepped through that door, she was committing. All or nothing. For as big a choice as it was, however, Riva didn’t take long to make it. If she was being honest with herself, the decision had already been made years and years ago. Silver moonlight streamed through the curtains, illuminating the woman who’d made Riva’s life a living Mal since the day she was born. Mother. Such a title wasn’t meant to evoke feelings of hatred or the potent fear ever-present in Riva’s life. But it did anyway. “I hate you…” Riva whispered. Three simple, but powerful words. She’d never said them aloud before. In her mouth they tasted.. Invigorating. Freeing. Riva eyed her mother’s vulnerable neck, poison in her eyes. A small part of her begged her not to do it, but its cries were too quiet and insignificant to be heard now. Sparing Mother’s life would be weakness and Riva was not weak. “And I will never be,” she whispered. With that, every muscle in her body tensing, Riva stabbed her dagger into her mother’s throat. ------- When the king’s guards arrived at the Thadel household the next morning - intent on collecting a new batch of potions from the Raveness - they found a bloodsoaked little girl and a mutilated body. Though the bony, pale young girl was much smaller than any of the kingsmen, they looked at her in fear and the little one reveled in it. “You want potions?” the child rasped. She hopped off the bloodstained bed, walking nonchalantly over the corpse of the woman she’d murdered. There was no response but nervous shuffling and frightened gulps. “Well?” She folded her arms distastefully, looking the kingsmen over with a death glare. “Answer me, cowards” she hissed. One guard shoved another guard forward and the one that had been shoved spoke. “Yes, we want potions. But… what happened to the Raveness?” “My mother is dead,” said the girl flatly. “I killed her, even you dimwits can see that plain enough. But I can make potions just like she can. She taught me quite well.” “The Raveness had a child?” one of the guards muttered. “She did. Speak up when you address me. You answered to my mother Nyx, correct?” The guards looked at each other warily, confused at what to do. “...yes,” one of them replied. “Well. You answer to me now. And you can start by calling me ma'am, miss, or Lady Raven, thank you very much. I will be replacing the old potions master. I suggest you take me to the king to inform him of the change in management. I think he’ll be… quite intrigued.” An evil-looking grin spread across her face ------ King Thall was pathetic. When I walked in, he was afraid of me and thought I was an evil spirit; he refused me nothing for fear I would curse him. Are people in the real world really so spineless? On my way to the castle, I had been preparing to be met with utter disdain, fully expecting to have to assert myself and prove that I belong here. I am, after all, a child. But no. The king was perhaps even more scared of me than the trio of guards that first stumbled upon me. How does a person like that become the leader of a nation? I suppose it doesn’t matter, however. He had my mother and now he has me. They will soon learn to fear me just as much as - more than, even - Nyx Thadel. I am the dark. I am terror. I am death itself. I am the Raveness. At the very least, she had been. Everything was gone now.

Maverick shivered, (Forge only continued to purr) his breath pulsing in his ears. If he could really bring back his brother... Hurt Ivian... "What must I do?"

Riva could hardly believe her eyes. Caden. Sobbing. She strode carefully - quietly - into the room, placing a hand on his shoulder to test his reaction. “Caden?” she whispered, mostly making sure he didn't snap up and kill her. The great boulder of a man shook beneath her wet fingers and Riva could only wonder at the oddness of a mountain-like man appearing so weak before her. Her luck couldn't have been better. Would killing him really be so easy?

Riva was going to kill that great oaf she was married to, oh yes indeed. She’d made up her mind; she’d poison the beast so he was powerless and then she’d kill him all up close and personal with a dagger after properly gloating. The fearsome general would know very well that his conqueror was a little old woman and the pain her potion would cause him would be a hundredfold worse than the torments he’d be facing in Mal. She must have tortured thousands of individuals over her illustrious career, but this time was different. It was personal, stars curse it. That bastard had had the nerve to make her think she loved him and then… Bah, what did it matter? You wanted him to kill me, didn’t you, Ivian? Riva thought to herself as she mounted a horse. Rain thundered outside the stable, but the torturess had little more than her cloak to keep her dry. She couldn’t bring herself to care. Well, I’m killing him! Your general will be dead in the morning, see how you like it then! No one defies the Raven and gets away with it. You’re fools! All of you! Her steed was mildly frightened of the rain and lightning, but Riva kicked it on anyway, her cape whipping behind her in the wicked windy rain. All told, the journey only took at most an hour - riding a galloping horse was significantly faster than going by carriage - but the hour was late when she arrived, even for the Raveness. She didn’t care; her anger could have kept her up all night. She stormed into the keep, growling at the guards who were startled by her entry, and walked, soping with rainwater, all the way to her new office where she could make her deadly potion. What she found there was enough to make her jump.

"No. No!! No, please, no!" She struggled and one of the guards elbowed her in the stomach, silencing the woman's screeching to moans and sobs. "Heh," the guard mumbled. "I've always wanted to do that." "Please," Riva wept. her mascara ran. "Please, you wouldn't do this to a poor old woman." "A poor old woman?!" The second guard shoved Riva against the wall. "What in the world makes you think you're poor? You're cruel, you're evil, you're demonic and I'm begging for you to give me a reason to send you to Mal where you belong. Stars, you're an ugly thing. Isn't she ugly without her mask, Tareen?" "Ugly as Mal." Tareen spat upon her face. The two guards dragged her by her arms through the hallway. As they did so, guards asked. "Is that really the Raveness?" "Yessir, the king's relieved her of duty." "Bet the witch'll be headless within the week." "Good riddance." "Praise the Stars above." She was spat, kicked, swore at, scratched, jostled. Her tears stopped after a while. She just wanted to die. A bruise from being slapped earlier had begun to form and her body ached from being dragged on the floor. It ached from being thrown, it ached from being old. Her soul ached. A few hours ago, had things gone differently, she could very well have been in bed with Caden, cuddled up all warm and- Bah, she didn't want to touch that son of a bench. Not anymore. Fury boiled within her as they slammed the door to her cell shut with a laugh and a clang. After the crowd dispursed, Riva Praetorium crawled to the corner of the cell and trembled with cold. She must have dozed off, for when Daku came for her, her mind was cloudy with sleep. "My lady!" the dungeon master cried, kneeling down in front of the cell. The keys jangled at his side. Riva looked up, her makeup smeared all over her snotty face. "Daku...?" She sniffed. "Daku, you have to get me out of he-" "Shh. I have a horse waiting for you. No mistress of mine deserves to spend the night down here." "A hors-" "Shhhh." Daku undid the lock. "Can you walk or do I need to carry you? I can get you to your secret exit in the tunnels." Riva put out her arms to be held and Daku obeyed. Any other time, she would have been disturbed at how eager he seemed to touch her, but now she couldn't have cared less. She knew exactly where she'd take that horse tonight. She had a husband to kill.

"What? No. I..." At that moment, Riva finally accepted that her world was crumbling. She fell to her knees. "Ivian... Please."

Riva hissed, but raised her hands. "I will yield if your guards promise not to touch me."

"This isn't funny, Ivian! Someone must die and if you're not careful it will be you. I'll get my sacrifices if I have to go into the villages myself!"

"No!" She stamped her foot. "I've grown restless all holed up in that brutes castle and I need to kill something! I. Need. Blood." She strode forward, an absolutely manic look on her face.

She smiled at him. "Yes."

"I just told you, fool. I want the common people. From the villages, from the kingdom. Let them fear me."

She smirked, walking up to his seductively. "Ivian, Ivian... We've had a good relationship thus far. I don't want to have to ruin it now."

"I. Want. Bodies. Live please. From the kingdom. I need something to experiment on. And the kingdom needs to know they have a trustworthy Raveness."

She stood up, regarding him flatly. "He slapped me and threw me in the mud. In front of the court. My reputation is in danger and as such, I have a request."

She chuckled from her corner. "Anxious, no. Pissed off, yes. I've had a bad day."