Fantasy i am the villain

[Nano]

Alder Llewyn

the advisor

Each step through the palace’s opulent halls fell with an uncomfortable weight, made heavier still with the hollow echo of the advisor’s footfalls through the empty corridor. The only accompaniment to the click of stiff boots was the distant chatter of songbirds providing far too quiet of a mumble to distract the blonde from his thoughts. Demons. The Woodcrests. War. It was always one thing after another with Parlton. This time, however, the perpetual motion of the events unfolding within the nation contributed only to the negatives. The more Alder ruminated over everything on his plate, the more he felt the consequences of his recent actions dawn on him. He’d always steeled himself to push onward, regardless of who his desired outcome required him to use as a stepping stone, yet when the nation balanced haphazardly upon the cusp of war, he found himself wavering. Before he knew it, an exception to his rule had entered his vision.

“Lady Vilina. A word, if I may,”

Alder spoke, intercepting the noblewoman before she could enter the meeting room. The enigma who’d stepped into his life for the first time scarcely a week ago was a cautious woman who kept a strict distance, effectively the perfect fiancée in their sham of an engagement. In any other circumstance, the blonde knew he would’ve been capable of tamping down the guilt of knowing she’d only caught the king’s eye and become involved in this war due to her relation to the crown prince’s advisor. However, the traces of nostalgia that brushed past his mind each time she drew near haunted him like a specter he recoiled from yet simultaneously couldn’t keep off his mind. Vilina Tremayne’s powers were a great potential boon to the nation, but Alder feared the regrets that would pile up the more bloodshed and strife she experienced would crack the vessel that had staunchly held his guilt in check for so many years.

“Though it is nigh impossible to change His Majesty’s mind once it has been made, I plan to petition His Majesty to sever your direct involvement in the upcoming war should that be what you desire,”

Alder spoke with an even cadence, taking on a tone that sounded kind yet didn’t reveal the depth of the concern plaguing his mind.

“Should certain…unfortunate events occur in the near future, it wouldn’t bode well on the images of either of our houses. Naturally, if you possess the confidence to contribute to the war, then we can forget this conversation ever happened.”

Dicentra

Code by Nano

 

[Dicentra]

Vilina Tremayne

The Animal Whisperer

The Palace Entrance

What makes the difference between coincidence and destiny? Vilina might have called it a coincidence if it happened once. Maybe twice. But three times? Three times was a pattern. And what was it exactly that bothered her most?

The curse of five letter names. It was ridiculous, petty even, to fixate on something so trivial, but how could she not when every misfortune in her life seemed to be tied to a name of exactly five letters?

Maria. Hearing it now sent a chill dripping down her spine. She wasn’t supposed to be here - not like this. Her role in the story had changed, diverged from what Vilina remembered. And if Maria’s path had shifted, then what else had? What crucial moments had been rewritten in ways she couldn’t predict? She hated the unknown.

And then there was Alder. Another five letter name. Another unknown. His proposal. The very thing that could seal or save her fate - it dangled above her like a hanging blade. Coincidence? No, Vilina didn’t believe in that anymore. Not when fate seemed to be spelling out her doom, letter by letter.

And then there was the final name. Greta. Vilina let out a slow, dense sigh. If not for her mother, perhaps she would have run. Perhaps she would have fled from the palace summons, disappeared into the wilderness, let the kingdom fade behind her like a half forgotten dream. But duty clung to her like a veil, stitched in by hands that had never truly held her.

What would happen if she abandoned it? She didn’t know. And it was that very unknown that bound her here, a tether far stronger than any attachment she held for the woman who had "raised her". If she knew for certain that the story would simply erase her existence, let her vanish without consequence - she might have risked it. She might have lived as her animals lived. Wild. Free. Unburdened by the weight of names that haunted her.

Maria. A threat. A divergence from the script she knew.
Alder. A potential saver. A prospective demise.
Greta. A chain. A mother. A duty she never asked for.

Vilina had long stopped believing in coincidence. Maybe it was destiny then, that Alder was the first one she ran into upon her arrival at the palace.

His words dripped with promise, laced with something far too alluring for her own good. More than she would have liked to admit. The idea of battle, of carving out a name for herself beyond her lineage - it had its appeal. Once, she might have thought it enticing, an opportunity to rewrite her place in history. But late reality had grounded her lofty ideas. After enduring the grueling training of General Delmar, that dream had been swiftly and mercilessly thrown out the window. She was not ready for war. Not now. Not realistically. So she stood there, keeping her hands at her sides - poised, collected, a mask of grace over the uncertainty twisting in her gut. She refused to fidget, spurned to let her hands seek each other out, to betray her nerves. Alder’s presence was a dangerous thing.

Her eyes flickered over his, scanning for intent, for anything beneath the polished veneer of his words. Was he worried about her? No, surely not. Alder wasn’t the type. Instead, he spoke of their houses' reputation, of what it meant, of the consequences that followed a name like hers. She bit the inside of her cheek. This was a man who chose his wording carefully. He never offered something without knowing exactly what he stood to gain from it.

Which meant that all she could do was take him at face value. He was offering to speak on her behalf. It wasn’t a guarantee. It wasn’t a promise. But it was something. The idea might not be approved, but an advisor’s voice carried weight. More than hers did, at least. And right now, her best chance at survival was taking every possible advantage - no matter who it came from. And if accepting his offer meant avoiding an early grave, then so be it.

She smiled - the kind that never quite reached her eyes.

"I would appreciate it. I agree, it would be quite the predicament for both houses…" Then, she leaned in. Just a little. Close enough for her words to settle gently. "Considering the engagement was meant to grant us freedom, it would be quite unfortunate if either of us, if not both, lost that opportunity. And if one was lost…" Her lashes fluttered, her lips curling with the faintest trace of amusement.

"Then the engagement would have been for nothing, wouldn't it?" A subtle warning. A careful reminder. Their fates were intertwined, whether he liked it or not. And if she was doomed to fall - well, then he might just fall with her. What a unity, marriage was.
Nano

Code by Serobliss

 

[Atamita]

"Good morning, your majesty," he gives a slight nod towards Virgil, "Lady Woodcrest would join if you would like her to."

His mind calls back to the interaction with Maria as a look of annoyance dons his face. Every question was met with fear, and any pressure would have written Marinus off as a bad guy as much as he wanted to be the good guy in this situation. She doesn't know how she ended up there, she doesn't know what she did the day before, and she doesn't even know how she got her hands on the letter. For Ophelia's sake, what does this girl even know?

He can already hear it in his mind with the Marquis cheering for his resignation if he dared to "misuse" his power and pressure a poor battered girl. A sigh escapes him.

Marinus has given thought that he might have been too terrifying as he easily towered over her but even Kerus' attempts to assuage Maria didn't work. Her answers matched the ones she gave to Marinus. She never slipped on why she was there and how she got her hands on it. Magic? Perhaps Adelaide could answer as his eyes slide over the Goddess for a quick thoughtful moment.

"Though," he cocks his head to the side as his soft gaze is now divided between the two, "it may help to have Lady Adelaide speak to Lady Maria."

A reassuring smile appear on his face as he looks at Adelaide, "I do believe Lady Adelaide has a touch of gentlness that could make any woman speak compared to myself or the absent Demoness-"

A look of slight surprise appear on his face as his ears perk up. His head turns the door where muffled voices reach his ears. His eyes concentrates at the door as his ears search for the voices. He can tell it's voices he's been familiar with for some time now. Alder and Vilina.

"Speaking of which, we have a few guests who are feeling a little too comfortable with being a little too close to the private doors."

He turns towards the two before his voice becomes quieter hush with a slight smile on his face, "Want to find out who's behind those doors?"