Private Tales A Resurrection in Hell

[Roul]

A twinge of disgust flitted across Ravenna as his pool of vitae touched her boots, then she made a pushing motion. Roul flew backward into the only window that wasn't an arrow slit and crashed through, storm glass spilling out. Air rushed around him. His intestines flapped around him as he fell like the strings of some absurd kite. Then he hit the water with a back-breaking splash. Darkness claimed him.

He awoke on the beach and vomited salt water.

Again.

Clothes torn and soaked by the ocean, Roul lay on the wet sand and let the lapping waves roll in. What happened...

Memories came flooding back and he gasped, rolling over onto his back in a panic and feeling at the shredded fabric of his tunic, fingers scrapping to find puncture wounds. But he only found the muscle there whole, faint white scars the only memory of that nightmare. His head thudded into the sand under him and he squinted at the light of the sun.

Alive again.

"Wonderful," he cursed.

Then with a groan, the lycan hauled himself up to his feet, looking around. Just where was he on this island?

Elidraena

 

[Elidraena]

Ravenna's pale silhouette filled the room, tall and sharp, her hair was slicked back and her black garments somehow immaculate despite the blood that had splattered over Elide's room. Her amber eyes swept over the chaos- shattered furniture, ruined tapestries, the blood- before coming to rest on Elide who stared up at her Aunt with little more than hate in her eyes.

"Always so dramatic, little shadow." Ravenna said at last, stepped over the girl on the floor to see where the mutt's body had landed amongst the stony death trap below Elide's tower. She frowned when she couldn't spot him, body seemingly already washed away by the sea. "You collect strays, to antagonize them, and then you pout when someone cleans up your mess."

Elide rose to her feet slowly, chin tilted, though the blood still dripped from where it had splattered in her hair. "He was mine. I was seeing what my dog was capable of. I wanted to know how far I could push him after leaving him in the cells all night."

Ravenna arched a perfect brow, amusement curling at the edge of her painted lips as she circled the room, trailing her fingers along the edge of the blood smeared wall before stopping just short of Elide, so close that she could smell the strange metallic sweetness that always clung to Ravenna. "You are not some idle lady of a pretty court, free to keep pets and play with wolves. You are my brother's debt. A reminder that his seed is as careless as the rest of him. You are here because you are useful Elidraena. And only so long as you remain useful."

Her fingers darted out to catch Elide's chin in a grip that was almost gentle. "Do not squander my patience. Next time, I will not throw the dog. I will throw you." For a long, tense moment, the only sound was the distant wind howling outside the tower. Then Ravenna released her, turning with the grace of a predator who knew she was unchallenged.

"Clean this filth up." She ordered over her shoulder. "And if you must torment something, choose one of the prisoners that won't howl incessantly all night."

Shadows at Elide's feet stirred as if in answer to her aunt as she left, slithering towards the door and slamming it back into place. They darted around the room, breaking furniture and her treasured trinkets in their wake, shoving a bookshelf in front of the broken window instead of repairing it.

 

[Roul]

It wasn't long before they found him again, these pirates. Oh, he fought back as best he could - tooth and claw as it were, but in his state it was a desperate scrap and he hardly remembered the details. He thought he might have killed one.

It didn't matter. Unarmed, healing from a disembowelment and defenestration, he was less than half of the Cortosi knight he'd once been. That seemed so long ago now. Roul's head hung groggily as the pirates on either side of him dragged him by the arms up into the fortress again.

His bleary eyes watered at the sight of the blackened stone. Something about the surface of those ancient, weathered stones scratched and skittered at the worst corners of his mind.

Roul tried to break free again, tugging, but felt his strength utterly feeble, like he was in a waking dream.

"Stop it, you cur," barked one of the pirates. "I've half a mind to just slit your throat and drop you right here."

"Hnh," Roul growled back, baring his teeth. If he had had the strength to transform, he would take them all and leave this place a bloody ruin.

"That's right, you keep your gob shut. The lady Elidraena wants to see you... again." The pirate shuddered, "Sounds like you escaped, boyo. Threw yourself right out the window, eh?"

Roul spat blood and phlegm as they dragged him up a set of stairs.

"Yeah I might too, you know. Through meself out a window. She looks-"

"Gorg," warned his companion, eyes wide, shaking his head. "Don't. They're listening. They're always listening."

"You right. Always gettin' meself in trouble. Don't wanna end up skinned alive and staked on the beach now, eh? But as for you, boyo? Well. Maybe we'll get to throw stuff at you as you turn in a gibbet! How's that now... Ah, here we are..."

Gorg rapped sharply on the door to the tower, which was unfortunately all too familiar.

"Got 'im, ladyship. Rat bastard was drownin' himself on the beach under the tides. Killed poor Bek when we tried to grab him."

Roul closed his eyes and struggled to regain his breath.

Elidraena