Llyr's Court

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha took a moment before following her host to reach out and clasp her brother's hand. By nature, Antha held barriers around her mind to protect it from others. Even should she try, it was rare for her to be able to take them all down, to give any person that great a view into her mind. Yet somehow, when she and Nicolae made any form of contact, the barriers fell away naturally for him, linking them in such a way that it became hard to distinguish which thoughts and memories was hers and which were his.
"Je n'aime pas le sentir de cet endroit," she murmured to her brother as they passed through the halls, her eyes following the movement of the drifting spirits warily. It was how most people must feel in Mayfair Manor, she mused, with the near miasma of magic and old family secrets lingering in the air, infused in the very boards of the house. No one was comfortable in Mayfair Manor but Mayfairs. And yet she was not uncomfortable, as most might be. Antha didn't fear magic---it was the one thing that she knew better than any other, and the talent in which she was most proficient. So she followed Rynn and his sister without hesitation, only caution, dragging Nicolae along beside her and hoping that Vikteren was not far off.

 

[.David Talbot.]

Nicolae didn't mind that he was in trouble. Antha's attention was his spotlight again and he basked in it. "Me neither," he said. His fingers tightened around her hand and until she pulled away the world revolved around that little piece of them. He could feel her heartbeat.
He didn't have to tell her how he felt. She knew. They were as close as any two beings could come to being one because they were in each other's minds and she knew what he was thinking. She probably knew that he was angry because he didn't trust the people in thsi house and that gave him soemthing in common with Vikteren. She could probably tell from something screaming through his body that he hadn't fed.
Are you sure we can trust them? He didn't try to send her the thought. He just thought it and there it was. Crystal clear as her own thoughts. They have dark secrets like our family and when our family lures someone else in they kill them.

 

[Rynn Calais]

The air, in the cool spring night, was thick and strange with the scent of the gardens; somehow fey, as though truly this was no place belonging to Osiris City. As though within the tangle of gardens, they had somehow made the transition from the waking world to a wonderland--albeit a markedly more feral one than anything Lewis Carroll might've dreamed of.

As they approached the maze, Liesse suddenly broke from her brother, as the clouds parted and the moon appeared. She looked--unsettled. As though a conversation between her and her siblings had suddenly gone unexpectedly sour.
Rynn, as usual, was calm, his countenance as placid as a lake. As though to reassure her, he held out his hand and said, "It's alright, sister. I won't let her have you again."
For a moment, Liesse looked uncertainly at his outstretched palm. Slowly, she took it. All this was done quietly enough, so as not to disturb the Mayfairs--it only warranted note between those who partook in it.

They came to the gate of the maze. Stretched between two high hedges of ivy, the wrought-iron latticework extended in a arcing door, leaves tangled among the more intricate workings, across the opening in the hedge-wall. The thing seemed nearly sentient; there was something of a primordial intelligence to the rusted, indecipherable forms that the ivy shrouded.
There was no keyhole, no padlock or chain. Instead, a flat block of iron wedded the two halves of the gate. Rynn went to this, and put his hand against it. It was warm to the touch.
With a slow shriek of its hinges, the gate swung open.
Rynn turned over his shoulder to Antha, and Nicolae. "The labyrinth is quite...old, and the notes of the ancestor who constructed it were lost when our library was consumed in the fire. As his descendants, we are imbued with a certain knowledge of its navigation, but you are not--"
As he spoke, his witchlight broke apart, and reformed into two smaller chrysanthemums. One affixed itself amongst Antha's curls, like a jewel of light, while the other remained in the air, illuminating the group. "--and the maze may react differently to your presence. I do not know. Certainly Mary always had...difficulty. Should we be separated, you may doubtless trace my sister and I through that witchlight."  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha watched their small exchange for only a short moment before she looked away, feeling too much like an intruder. But it made her tighten her hand around Nicolae's, glad again to have him beside her now that her anger towards him had subsided. She never did have the power to stay mad at him for any extended amount of time. "Je t'aime," she murmured softly, not bothering to direct her gaze to him, just staring at the ground on her other side. It was her form of apologizing to him when he had angered her---always had been---because it felt to her like a crime to be angry with her brother. Or perhaps it was being around Rynn and Liesse, the way it reminded her of the days before Nicolae had been a vampire, when they had always been together, when it had been unpardonable not to always touch in some small way.
Her gaze lifted when the light broke, following the one that came to her, and then settled again on Rynn. "If we lose you," she said very simply, a wry grin touching her lips, "I have my ways of finding you again, mon ami."

 

[.David Talbot.]

"Je t'aime aussi," he replied. He gripped her hand as hard as he could without hurting her. "Je t'aime tellement." In her head he added, No one could ever love you as much as me. He was sure an image of Vikteren was floating around in his head. But he didn't care.
He turned to Rynn. "If you get us lost I'm getting the hell out of here." He glanced aroudn them. "All of my self-preservation instincts are already screaming 'run dumbass run'."

 

[Rynn Calais]

.David Talbot.

"Je t'aime aussi," he replied. He gripped her hand as hard as he could without hurting her. "Je t'aime tellement." In her head he added, No one could ever love you as much as me. He was sure an image of Vikteren was floating around in his head. But he didn't care.
He turned to Rynn. "If you get us lost I'm getting the hell out of here." He glanced aroudn them. "All of my self-preservation instincts are already screaming 'run dumbass run'."

"I'm not getting you lost," he said, calmly. "But you might get yourselves lost, if you don't follow closely. These grounds are..." he hesitated, looking for an appropriately neutral word. "...unfriendly to outsiders. Our family was ever drawn to solitude; interruptions from the outside world were--discouraged." They'd lost several servants that way, when Rynn was younger and Cian was prone to luring the young and pretty ones into the labyrinth. Playful afternoons of hide and seek--among other games--cost them more maids than the fire had. "No doubt you can hold your own, but I felt it to be my duty to warn you."
He turned back, and took Liesse's hand.
"Come on, then."
It could have been the sickly green cast of Rynn's witchlights, but Liesse seemed to pale as she followed him, with a single beckoning gesture for Nicolae and Antha.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha did not argue with Nicolae. Perhaps it was true, and no other could ever love her as greatly as Nicolae did. It wasn't a ridiculous concept, really. Perhaps such was true of Vikteren---there came that momentary flutter of panic, that it was all a lie, a trick, before those doubts calmed back into mere curiosity---and she should have listened to her brother all along. But she didn't know that for certain, and so she kept quiet.
Meanwhile, as she let these thoughts play in the back of her mind, her gaze had found Liesse. She remembered---quite vividly---why Rynn had come to the Talamasca in the first place, and the steps they had taken to keep this girl from true harm. For that reason, Antha was worried about her. Watch her, she bothered to whisper in Nicolae's mind, directing his attention to the girl, I do not really believe any harm shall come to her while she is with Rynn, but for my peace of mind, watch her.
When that was taken care of, she turned her attention again to Rynn. "And where exactly are you leading us that requires such an unfriendly path?"

 

[Rynn Calais]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha did not argue with Nicolae. Perhaps it was true, and no other could ever love her as greatly as Nicolae did. It wasn't a ridiculous concept, really. Perhaps such was true of Vikteren---there came that momentary flutter of panic, that it was all a lie, a trick, before those doubts calmed back into mere curiosity---and she should have listened to her brother all along. But she didn't know that for certain, and so she kept quiet.
Meanwhile, as she let these thoughts play in the back of her mind, her gaze had found Liesse. She remembered---quite vividly---why Rynn had come to the Talamasca in the first place, and the steps they had taken to keep this girl from true harm. For that reason, Antha was worried about her. Watch her, she bothered to whisper in Nicolae's mind, directing his attention to the girl, I do not really believe any harm shall come to her while she is with Rynn, but for my peace of mind, watch her.
When that was taken care of, she turned her attention again to Rynn. "And where exactly are you leading us that requires such an unfriendly path?"

"The heart of the maze."
The answer was so soft that it might have been a mere trick of the ear; but Rynn turned back, and clarified before she could think on the matter any further.
"Where she died." he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It will explain things--far better than I ever could, I think."

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha watched him for a moment or two, something in her eyes that was thoughtful, calculating. "Is that so?" she asked softly, distracted, "In that case, my apologies, mon ami, for questioning you." She was growing more restless as they ventured deeper into the maze, impatient as she was by nature. It tended to make her less agreeable, and so she hoped they would reach their destination before the aggravation settled in.

 

[Rynn Calais]

Silently, as they move further down the path, the gate shuts itself and locks.

The labyrinth is moonless. At first, traveling through the passages, Rynn's strange green witchlights guiding the way, it seemed hardly threatening.
As they travel deeper, though, the lights dim. Not in the manner of something voluntarily giving up its light, but as though something encroaches upon it, feasting upon its luminance. The dark is parasitical.

And as the light grows fainter, the labyrinth grows wild. The vines tower above until the moon is barely visible through their leaves. The ivy strokes along hair and skin, the soft breeze eliciting sibilant whispers from the gardens. One vine forms thorns, draws blood from Antha's arm in a thin, long scratch. After that, the maze becomes more persistant in its pursuit of Antha and her brother. By the taste of her blood, it knows them to be intruders.

Liesse's hand, the one not tightly clenched in her brother's, passes along the ivy before them, trying to leave calm in her wake. It is useless, she thinks, but it is all she may do. They have a while to go. The maze is huge and sprawling and--heartless, she thinks. Rynn takes them to the centre of the maze, but that is not the same as the heart. The heart of this place has long since been rendered cold and lifeless.

There--ahead, at the crossroads--the witchlights make a reflection in the darkness, like the gleam of an animal's eyes.
Rynn's steps slow. For a moment, as he catches sight of the animal's silhouette, even he is uncertain.
It is the first of a procession. He spreads his arm across the path in a silent call to hold.
Ahead, barely visible, a tide of seething dark is moving through the passageway. It is impossible to tell whether it is a single wyrm-like entity or a gathering of many creatures, moving in silent migration together. Certainly Rynn, if he knows, is not keen to reveal. This family is riddled with secrets.  

[.David Talbot.]

Nicolae glanced at his sister. You need me. Then he left it alone.
He looked at Liesse when Antha mentioned her. "As a protective older brother myself I find that insulting." He took his hand out of hers and slid it around her shoulders. I'm on it. That was always how his life had been since he was 14. Antha wanted something and he made it happen.
The days before that had been dull. He remembered little about them. What he remembered was the first days that she had become part of his life and the months after that. They were just a blur of crawling on his hands and knees begging for her attention.
What he really remembered was this. The bliss of her presence and affection.
"Are we almost there?" He groaned. He pulled Antha tighter against him.

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

As soon as she knew her brother was keeping an eye on Liesse, Antha began paying attention to her surroundings again. She watched the darkness catch, the movement of the solid matter around them, and Liesse's movements that seemed to be doing nothing. Before she even realized it she had brushed her brother's arm away from her, her pace quickening just slightly. Had it been out of fear, she might have kept Nicolae with her, clung to him as if she were still that small, frightened child who needed him---truly needed him, not merely in the way he was so persistent in thinking she did---but it was not fear.
Her uncle Louis had called it 'witch's ardor'. It was something in their blood, in every little cell of their bodies, printed in their very DNA, he said, that gave them the craving to challenge everything around them. As she had gotten older, Antha had been his model subject for his theory, because of all the witches in their family, Antha had a greater drive for power than any of them. If there was something to be challenged, something to prove she could destroy, that was exactly what Antha wanted to do. But experience had taught her caution, to keep the urge to release her power on everything that moved locked up. It was only being caught off guard like this that excited her so that she was straining against herself not to vanish into the darkness and see if she could emerge again intact. "C'est tres frustrant!" she hissed, speaking half to her brother and half to the spirits clinging to her, breathing power like a warning. Or perhaps they were prepared in case she decided any moment that she wished to attack something---anything would do, they reasoned. She couldn't really tell sometimes.
It was when Rynn stopped that the umbra quieted, gathering some of their power back to themselves as Antha stepped closer to Rynn, peering around him into the darkness.

 

[.David Talbot.]

Nicolae was becoming uneasy. He wanted to hiss as things started getting more violent but bit his tongue. "Why am I not surprised?" he replied. He knew Antha liked an unusual fight.
When Rynn stopped he tensed. "Antha!" he hissed as he grabbed his sister and dragged her back into the safety of hsi arms. "We should leave," he whispered into her hair. "Let them deal with their own problems." He was already planning how he'd kill them all if Antha got hurt because of them.
Atticus meanwhile had stayed behind. He was liking that decision more and more as he watched through Antha's eyes. Courtland had stayed too since Antha was distracted. "The princess will be mad at you for ignoring her orders," the vampire warned the boy.
He shook his head. "Let her. I'm not leaving her here." He 'hmph'ed and looked around the room. "I don't believe for a second that Vikteren did either. It's this place."
Atticus gave a little nod as he searched for Vikteren. He wanted to know if he really had left or not. "I wonder where the rest of their family has disappeared to." He glanced up the stairs.
The boy looked at him. "They're not very good hosts are they?" He grinned. "Except for that they could almost be Mayfairs you know." He stopped.
"Courtland...." The vampire didn't like it when the witch boy made that face. It meant he was up to something. "What are you plotting in that wild imagination of yours?"
"I'm thinking about how to solve Antha's dilemma without putting me at the center of the family." He did love Antha but he didn't want to be consort to the Designee of the Legacy. "If the Calais family would want to make a little alliance that is." He grinned again. "They are witches. It might be perfect to shut Julien the hell up."

 

[Rynn Calais]

After moments that seemed like hours, when it the river of shadows appeared never-ending, it was gone. A sinuous, feline shadow, eyes gleaming, paused to watch the group--there was a suggestion of a lashing tail--and then disappeared after its fellows. The air...untensed, subtly.
Rynn sighed, as though in relief, and allowed his hand to drop. The little group was apparently not enough of a reason to warrant the labyrinth's investigation. For that was part of the labyrinth, those shadows, as much as the ivy and the gate and the high and twisting walls.
"I'll introduce you later," he said, under his breath--clear enough for Antha to hear. Then he laughed--hollowly--and did not offer an explanation.

Liesse's free hand brushed against Antha's, sensing the lust for challenge within her, and seeking to calm it. The force of her magic was, in comparison to Antha's, barely more than the trickle of a dammed-up stream. But it was easy to see how she might have found a way to soothe a spirit even as strange as the maze's. The touch of her mind was balm-like.
But in reaching for Antha, she had released her hand from the maze. And without any warning--without even the rustling of leaves--it made its move.
Not upon Antha--not upon any that their mistress would touch, but upon Nicolae. Briars, long and thorny, where there had been no briars before, lashed out of the lattice of leaves and twined about his wrist, his throat, dug in as though their thorns were claws and the maze was an untamed beast.
It was not precisely a challenge. But there was a feel to it as though this were a test. As though the labyrinth wanted to know whether Antha would help her brother, or whether he would fight his own battles. Whether the twins would allow the Mayfairs the privilege of autonomy, or destroy the obstacles in their way.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha stared at Rynn for another moment or two, the curiosity in her eyes struggling not to vanish as she removed herself again from her brother's arms. "I won't even ask," she murmured, give a vague shake of her head before, with the brush of her hand, her eyes flickered to Liesse, something that could have been---most likely was---a smile touching her lips. And her spirits did calm, if only slightly and if only for a moment or two before she heard the rustling behind her.
She turned in a whirl of cloth and curls, bracing herself so that when she saw Nicolae, saw the greenery winding itself around him, she stood still. It was common law that one did not save those who could so easily save themselves. So she watched, still and silent, her eyes gone dark, gleaming. It was the umbra who were not still, could not simply watch. She did what she could with them, keeping them from rushing the plants, but they refused to be calmed. They hovered just out of reach of him, growing more restless, accumulating steadily more power until the shifting air around her was hot even to the touch. You need only ask, she reminded her brother, an undercurrent of longing beneath her words. The ache to fight had yet to leave her, and if the umbra were any indication of how intense it had become, there was reason to fear.