Royaume De L’éthéré

by Alicia C. Deathkiss

Posted to Stories on 2003-01-25 16:12:00


Royaume De L’éthéré
-A. C. Deathkiss

A morbid beauty glows in resonation
Mercurial signs they read, make real our minds
True fascinations
For now we’re rolling, and kinda golden
As time keeps folding, we’re old when
our poor souls depart
Though we
Come down, in real demise
Trek through all of the feelings,
With no tears in eyes
Kept fear veiled so it hides
Life’s never forced or dry
Deadsy- Future Years

Let us pretend love for the day
The life we live eludes to things away
Suppose the youth is so depraved
But now suppose the truth’s beyond the grave
So all and all we laugh the same tears
Of how we met upon the river Thames pier
Two hearts of gold just for the while
Two bards to stroll the endless mile
To tame the world again
Let us keep resisting the end
Defame your world, pretend
Let us keep existing
So look up the night
And follow the sky
As I realize the sign
Where the two points collide
lead me safe towards the light
As the heavens decline
Space fold the time
Now let the planets align
Come dear, it’s safe we’re pass the plane
So now this sort of lifts the chance to change
Remember when we sailed along the Nile?
Back then you turned your head
Gave me that smile
But through the systems flew the trine
And now at last the Nether’s made you mine
Only all because you stayed here
Till Pachysandra thins away
End Summer winds the leaves will change
We’ll grow potatoes, pass the days
And if you feel precocious, lead the way
Seem the same as I begin to sift
sift through the shame
i realize the gift, I feel the rays
As I start to drift, drift away
Only all because you stayed here
When all the notes we passed you saved
though juxtaposed and rearranged
And through the night time I’ll be staying
But now it’s gone forever, turn the page

-Deadsy- Seagulls (The Macroprosopus)


I
Voitikhov and Haelyn



She was sitting in a high-backed red velvet wing chair. Her feet planted firmly on the floor, each arm resting on its appropriate rest. She slouched there in that place, glaring into the fire; seemingly oblivious to him. She knew he was preparing to speak, and only looked further into the ever lower glowing fire.
“Faer, I know what you mean to do. Your aim through this endeavor is true… yet i urge you to understand that what you intend to do is… ”
He paused a moment, and sighed, leaning upon the mantle; placing his left elbow upon it, and his left hand upon his chin. He rested his right hand gently upon his right side, and leaned into the piece, furrowing his brow, staring into the emptiness before him. He then turned his gaze to her, and she knew. Still, she stared in silence… further into the wavering flames before her.
“Faer…”
She looked at him now, and the fire livened itself to a fury, if only for a moment.
“Dont, Haelyn. You speak in vain, for she lives not here anymore. There is no longer time to run. I want my soul back… I miss having the ability to see through things the way i used to. I used to have such astronomical second sight, and god was i ever fearless. “Faer” faded out with the beliefs i had, when i lost that part of myself…”
He was silent…
“What bothers you about my wanting to be what I feel is whole again?”
“You are dangerous that way… I know you are. I will be hurt, and so will you. You are too powerful for your own strength when you feel that way.”
“I would never hurt you. Ever. “
“Still, it frightens me…”
“We all have dark sides, my Love. You already know mine, just in its wind scattered form. You have no reason to fear me, Love, for i would only be organizing that which i have always had, but not put together.”
“Indeed.”
She looked at him, her eyes still as decided. She would not change her mind. She knew he had known this before he even began, but she finalized it here. She had made her decision.
He gazed back at her through the dim light of the room, the fire before her dancing gently on her facial features… She was so beautiful this way, in spite of the pain he knew she was harboring. Dressed in black pants that hugged her just gently, a button down shirt of satin, and a black blazer. Her long dark hair falling just beyond her shoulders, the light of the fire giving it maniacal highlights. Her deep brown eyes, staring so intently, and her strong features having their shadows manipulated into queer forms about her face. So innocent she looked, yet hardened. Strong, yet gentle, and always with an air of skepticism that said she had seen much to make her fear.
He always knew. To look into her deep brown eyes was to see everything inside her; was for her to scream to him of the horrors within her.
Only he was ever able to see these things, because he was the only one she would let into her that way. She wanted him to know of what she felt; but that was all. She wanted nothing more than for him to know. He looked at her long, even though he had understood, long ago. He looked at her still now, because he knew that she would let him. She had a certain softness there in her brown eyes, an innocence, that he only saw when another piece of it was being held at the knifepoint that was her suffering. When she was about to martyr one of the few remaining untainted pieces of herself. The softness in her eyes returned; it her knowing that she was soon to feel it die.
She sensed that he was becoming angered slightly, knowing what she was feeling, and being able to do nothing. She took her gaze from him, and stared further into the fire.
“Haelyn, this has gone beyond the insolence of mortals, and their foolish games. You know it to be true. We are in danger.”
He looked at her, not wanting to admit her blades edge accuracy. They were in danger. He moved away from the mantle, and stood with his arms crossed against him, near the window, looking out over the torchlamps of the city, tranced.
“Indeed, my love. I do know it to be true. And i would rather die than watch you suffer this any longer, but we are no match for these things. They have transcended into something more than their human exteriors… they have become something more, something new.”
“Mean you to say we are less than them That we should fear these mere juveniles, these newcomers to our realm? We are pure, Haelyn. We have the things that they lack, the things that they could not manipulate the Gods into giving them. We are pure and untainted carriers of the dark gift, descended from the essence of Morpheus himself. Where come you from to say that we are to fear these arrogant genetic waifs?”
“I come, from the same place you did. I come, from the dark street in Paris, six centuries ago.”
Indeed he had, for even now it haunted her. She looked at him, pausing for a moment.
“Forget ye not that sir, for when you do, you lose yourself.”
“Indeed, M’lady… I have forgotten not. I fear for you now, and such has brought me to speak. I have lasted six hundred years, through fire, ice and countless mortals. I, have survived all of this. All of it, with you, and through it all, i knew none of it would ever bring my demise. Yet, to think of what it would be to lose you, brings me to tremble. i have seen you in this state that you wish to return to. My concern lies not in myself, M’lady, but for you alone. I want not to fear you yourself.”
She rose, and slowly crossed the room, to the bar. She looked at nothing in her path but the Tenqueray on top of it. Taking two glasses, she poured he and herself a drink. She knew he would not refuse. She walked to him, and handed it to him gently. Then turning away, took his vacated place near the mantle. The fire burned on, still the only light about them. She watched as he gazed out the window into the night, the shadows dance upon his back. They seemed to play like children among the blonde mane cascading between his shoulder blades. She pictured his crystal blue eyes, holding the reflections of hundreds of little lights, out there, burning for a sleeping city She looked away, as to prevent her mind from drifting. Her drink needed ice. She left it alone, and stared into the glow of the fire.
“We knew this to come one day, did we not?”
“Indeed, love. We did.”
“Did we not make a pact to fight it together, whence it came?”
“Aye.”
“Will you not stand by my side this night, and all to follow?”
He was silent.
She said nothing, but she knew he felt the rage in her eyes. She looked through his back, and into his soul, knowing that she must remain composed. She knew he was acting on his fear now, for he was afraid.
She calmed herself.
“Darling, do not fear. Not for I, nor for you. We have faced far worse.”
Still, he said nothing, and she paid no mind. He was weary, and afraid. He could not reason now.
“Sleep, My Lord. You are weary. We will finish this another time.”
“And if they come tonight? Then we die.”
“They will not come tonight.”
He trusted her, but still wanted not to leave her to her own devices. She would drive herself to madness by morning.
“My love, sleep leaves me behind. I am tired, but i will not sleep. I want-”
“I will follow anon, my love. On my honor.”
He stood in soft silence.
“Aye My Love. Anon then.”
They looked at one another briefly, and he turned to find their chamber.
“Faer…”
She felt him standing behind her, but turned not around to look to him. She looked down and to her right, in the general direction she knew he was standing, behind her, pausing briefly.
“…yes?”
“I love you dearly… Forget ye not that my Lady, for when you do, you lose yourself.” Pausing briefly, as if to speak again; she waited. He dropped his eyes from her back, and furrowed his vrow, loosely, wondering if what he ad just said was right. Then continuing on his way.
She looked the way she had been for a moment longer, until she knew he had gone. She took the rest of her drink, and continued to look to the fire for a moment more, before replacing her glass and setting off to her chamber to lay Haelyn down to rest.
When she got to their room, he was already asleep. She stood before him, as he slept, just watching. The dim light of the candles gave him a soft, peaceful glow. He looked so innocent, lying there so exhausted. Whatever need to be done, he needed more to sleep at least the night. He had been in such pain the past few nights, she knew. He had woken her several times with his moaning in his sleep. Something was hurting him while he slept, that was to his knowledge, a mere toothache.
Toothache indeed…
She knew what it was, and tonight she had made sure he would sleep painlessly. She undressed herself, and lay down beside him gently as he slept, so not to wake him. Slowly, she moved closer, until she lay close enough that their bodies touched, ever so lightly. Still, he stirred not. She just lay there a moment, feeling what she could coming off of him. He looked so peaceful… but she knew he was uneasy in his rest.
She closed her eyes, and laid her hands gently upon him, feeling the tension as it flowed though him. It saddened her to know he felt this way.. so uneasy with himself. Furthermore, she knew it was not only with himself, but with her.
She imagined the tension as a thickly translucent yellow color, that covered him, undulating, laced with ribbons of slowly twisting green vapor. Very slowly, she saw the tension creep over her, thinning as it spread.
She laid there that way, gently drawing the soft, thick blanket of anxiety over her, where it belonged; coaxing it gingerly away form him. It was hers, for he had done nothing but exist there beside her, and in so doing became infected with the sickness she bore. This was something she could not accept, for his intentions, his loyalty, his existence in general, was a pure one. For her to know that she was the cause if his infection; the decay of his incredible white limpidness after so long, was something she could not bear. She could not have such blood on her hands. Though he knew that there was always possibility of his being tainted by her and her world, he stayed anyway, and she did her best to keep him free of any dangers, like this.
No matter what ever happened between them, he stayed, and she knew it would always be that way. He would die before he left her side… She understood his reasons for the actions, the words he spoke. He was afraid for her, as well as for himself, but mostly for her. He told her so, but she knew better of him than that. He would tell her little, and know she would understand it all. As the turrets of Atlantis’ palace once stood high, high above the water, so now did he. Yet when he was ill at ease for her, he submerged into self- begotten waters, to conceal it. He would leave but the golden banner of his most grandiose tower above, for her to see, leaving the rest of his kingdom to sleep in the depths of liquid silence. Knowing, his city may be saturated for all eternity, but staying there, to hold his woes from her. To keep her above the waters…
He was right, now. For he had always been by her side, but too, she had never thought to go back to what she was, so long ago. He was certainly justified in his fears, for she was indeed dangerous, when that way. Her dark side was not dark, but depraved on a level of iniquity not known to any Hell-monger, nor the Dark Lord himself. She carried within her power as known to none but one, and that Lord had perished for it, long ago.
She remembered him, so vividly now. Though it pained her, it was soothing to feel the memory, so faded since then. His image, and his feeling came rushing back to her with a vengeance now, because she had stepped outside her self inflicted, lo forced, purity. She let it come to her, for she had longed to see the memories so vivid again, for so long… She was then enveloped by the air he had carried, a memory so grateful to be free, and she so happy to have it, that she let it sweep over her, bedazzling her existence like stars over a night sky. She felt too, with such incredible power, the stunning depth in his eyes, as they had once been. He had such incredible eyes…
She lay there, listening to the sound of the memory, as it drifted dreamily through the soft breeze that caressed her, though all doors and windows were closed. Listened to the softness whispering to her sweetly, his name…
Voitikhov….
She remembered his voice, as she listened, always so hushed and waiting.
Still, she kept her hands on Haelyn, drawing out gently the infection, and closed her eyes, but for only a moment, becasue as soon as she did, she saw Voitikhov more crisply and vividly than she had since he had gone. Something felt very wrong now. She sat bolt upright, and looked at Haelyn, to see if everything was alright, and saw that the energy she had been drawing from him was no longer coming to her, but swirling into a form, in the center of the room. It had no real shape save for being generally oblong, and narrow. She watched in awe, as it swirled and eddied there before her, and soon realized, that it was taking the form of a body.
Haelyn was fast asleep and the thing was silent, so she dared not make a sound. She looked at it now, more distinct, and shaped; shoulders, and outlines of facial features visible. and saw a long slender shape come up from each side, and out into her direction.
It was reaching out to her…
She stayed there in the bed for a moment more, looking curiously, and slightly cautiously at it, watching as the fingers formed. She was incredibly drawn to it, and soon leaned forward slowly, to bring her left foot down off the bed, and onto the floor. It stayed just that way, reaching out to her, and slowly she moved closer to it, stopping before she was in its reach, and standing there before it.
She stared at it there, watching the soft whirls and pools that were forming throughout it, mesmerized. She felt herself being pulled into it, and found that she could not, nor had any desire to, resist. She got closer and closer, until she was merely inches away, so close that she could feel the energy shifting.
As she looked into the thing, trying to discern its features, she realized that her own energies had become visible, and were surrounding her, as Haelyn’s had encircled this thing she could not see.
The two of them stood there, wrapped in shimmering colors, she trying to look into it, and it looking deep into her with ethereal eyes. Her own energy, in swirling wisps of reds and crimsons, circled her, becoming more and more prominent, as she felt more of this thing. She did not know what it was, but she was incredibly drawn to it, and her emotions were a mix of a soul’s burning, sadness, and shimmering reverie. Its thick and vibrant yellow, with its pale and vague green began to creep into her, mingling with her reds, in swirling pools and gentle waves. Her own colors then began to creep into it, until they were surrounded by one cover of colors and emotions. Yellow and red now become firey orange with streaks of both remaining throughout. Blazing, the colors were now… She looked at it longer, and reveled in the mixture surrounding them both. She reached out to touch it, and it took her hand, and pressed it to what would have been the side of its face, cradling its head in her hand.
In an instant, all began to become lighter, turning slowly to a violently pure white. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them she saw Voitikhov, standing before her. Before she could speak, he had faded away. Still she knew it was no imagined thing. She knew it had been him there before her.
When she looked at it again, she was several feel back from where she had been, and the thing was drawing massive amounts of Haelyn’s colors into it, in great, swirling vanes and wisps, until finally it stopped, and the thing just stood there, lingering, still as night..
It stood there a moment longer, and the featureless head, turned to her. She felt it looking into her still, though she could see not its eyes. It then disappeared in a slow fade of white light, remaining fixated on her until it was gone.
She stayed there a moment longer, stunned, feeling the energies they had found drain away. She was cold. She looked out into nothingness, amazed. She was certain that she had just seen Voitikhov, and the feeling that was left behind, that she was experiencing now, only finalized it. She was suddenly overcome by an immernse wave of mournful sadness, that she knew was for his absence. Her eyes teared as she began to cry quietly. Looking back to Haelyn, lying there so peacefully, completely unaware of everything, she cried harder, for her guilt of feeling this way for him, and having never let go of Voitikhov. Why had he come back this night? whay had he taken Haelyn’s unease? It was not right. She had nearly had him in her arms.
She paused a moment, and reminded herself that Voitikhov was dead, and had been for the past six centuries. Haelyn had come on that day, and saved her from herself, for her madness was oversaking her that night. She had watched Voitikhov fight to the death forces which should never have been at all. Even he, the most powerful thing, could not have survived them. Satan himself would have fallen… She had watched him die, in her arms.
Faer brought a trembling hand to her mouth, and closed her eyes, pushing the memory away. She did not want to remember… She went to the bed, and lay down beside Haelyn, gently so as not to disturb him. Lying there, next to him, she felt that al his unease was gone, every last bit of tension, had all but disappeared. At that moment, she recalled Voitikhov pressing her hand to his face, and turned away from Haelyn. She cried, silently, and tried not to think about either of them, This, is what she had feared….

II
Dreams
She saw him there, bloodied by his own essence, choking. grasping her as she held him in her arms. His long blonde hair a mess, and his face smeared with blood. He was scresaming, screaming….
‘Aaaaah! Oh God, (Faer’s other name )’
He began to quiet down, though still bleeding profusely, and she panicked further. She knew it was not because he was not in as much pain, but because he could not feel it, because he was dying. He looked up to her, raiding a trembling and bloody hand up, which she took in her own. She whispered to him, as best she could through her tears…
‘No, Voitikhov, no… dont… dont go… please…’
He looked on, into her eyes, with his own intense green ones, now paled… He closed them for a moment, to swallow, and he felt her squeeze his hand.
‘No, Voitikhov, no, please dont-’
He opened his eyes, and looked at her….
‘Shhhh…. hush, my love. This is the way it must be.’
She looked down at him there, feeling him die.
‘No… no, please, no… fight it… i know you can… please, just fight it.’
‘No, love…. this is my destiny…’
He brought his hand from hers, where she then brought hers to the die of his face, resting it there, to cradle his head… he was so weak. he held her wristm as she did this, closing his eyes, for a moment. He felt her hand tremble against his cheek, as she gasped.
‘Voitikhov… no, please, no…’
‘I mist go, my love… it is how it is to be.’ He knew he indeed could fight it, and survive, but he did not dare to trick fate. This is as it was to be. he knew he was to die…
‘…please… please…’ she said, sobbing over him…
‘… fear not love… we shall meet again… indeed, we shall meet again…’
With that, he closed his eyes, his light grip[ on her wrist falling away, his last breath escaping his lips…
She looked at him… and then screamed…

(to be continued…)


The Literary Kicks message boards were active from 2001 to 2004.