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𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑻𝒀 𝑺𝑰𝑿
❝ 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 ❞
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VERA DIDN'T MEAN FOR THINGS TO end this way.
Everything had happened so fast. She couldn't think clearly, she couldn't see, she couldn't hear. All she felt was pure, hot, fury devouring her very being, dominating every inch and every particle in her body like an inferno from hell; red, blinding, consuming wrath. It consumed Vera entirely, and for a short while, she didn't care...but that feeling diminished all too quickly and she was soon engulfed with shock. Vera didn't understand how such rage could blind her from doing the sensible thing. Vera didn't understand how everything could go so wrong...how she could ignore every bit of her innocent feä screaming at her to stop. But that innocence was long gone.
Vera still couldn't hear anything as she closed her chamber doors behind her and locked it. She couldn't feel, she couldn't think, she couldn't see. Rapid tears of waterfalls pour from her eyes uncontrollably, leaving her blind and unaware of where she is going or what is happening around her. Her eardrums beat roaringly with the blood rushing through her system as her heart beats faster than she ever thought possible. She was shaking, she could tell, and on the brink of collapsing on her very spot but her determination to remove any hint of her crime on her. She needed to gather herself together, to get her head back in the real world...but the disbelief and horror of what she had committed leaves her vulnerable.
What has she done? How could she have done this?
Sobs racked her body, which she attempts to muffle out with her hands, but slowly retracts it as her eyes focus on the substance staining her hands. Blood; red and thick and traumatizing. It covers her hands, completely hiding her ordinary skin color behind the dense fluid, and camouflages itself on the blackness of her gown. Yet Vera can clearly see the redness contrasting against the darkness of her dress, giving away Vera's guilt in the crime committed minutes ago. She needed to burn it, she needed to leave, she needed it all to stop.
What happened that night would change Vera forever. And it all started with her mother.
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"What did you do?!"
That statement was the first thing Vera said after bursting through the hinged doors of the wooden shack by the borders of Edoras, secluded and away from curious eyes. The location was rather perfect for the actions that would occur from Vera's anger and slightly dangerous as it plants itself farther away from the walls of Edoras and the people living in it. No one would be able to hear them, no one would be able to see them, and no one would be able to witness the upcoming events. In fact, Vera had previously faced difficulties in locating the shack for the darkened shadow and the cover of the forest trees was enough to hide it from plain sight.
Vera was angry. No, she wasn't just angry, she was utterly and downright furious. Nothing could describe the all-consuming hellfire of rage that devoured every inch of Vera's soul and heart. Her entire body — her feä, her mind, her heart — felt like it was inflamed with the roaring fires of hell as the fury engulfed her entirely and mercilessly. It was raw and burning and pure as it spread over her unified physique but Vera found herself accepting the anger and letting it befall on her irate spirit and her strong heart. Her normally bright feä would've desperately fought against the predatory flare of such hatred towards one human being but was openly welcoming the heated enmity. And somehow, Vera was completely at peace with the fact despite the panic that should follow with the goodness of her spirit accepting the rage.
With the acrimony came the displeasure of having her senses compromised. As Marella explained the details of her past and her reasons behind wanting Vera to stay away from said prisoner without even knowing which prisoner they were talking about, Vera could feel her temper rising higher and higher with each word escaping Marella's mouth. Her body was the first to be overridden as it abruptly moved in the opposite direction of her current location with only one place in mind: the Prisoner's shack. Her feet worked at a fast pace as it rapidly brushed against the dirt and sped past the numerous citizens of Rohan, Edoras. Next, her vision was compromised. Red, blinding fury clouded her eyes from any sensible thoughts, only following her instincts in doing whatever she needed to quench her anger. The thought was slightly terrifying but her mind only let her see certain things and her body only let her follow convincing actions.
Her ears were suddenly filled with the drumming of her heart beating faster than it ever has; even the incomparable speed of her heart ramming during a battle could not correlate to her roaring heart at that moment. It was like repetitive, thrumming drums that never seemed to stop in its task of taunting Vera's ears and rendering her deaf to anyone else's words. Neptune had quickly followed her after ensuring that Neptune remained with Marella and attempted to stop her from doing something she regretted. Honestly, Vera had forgotten what she replied with, or that she had even responded in the first place but her mouth seemed to have sprouted words without her permission. Thankfully, it was enough for Corin to back off after she ended the discussion with the 'he killed my Dad' card. So, with her consuming rage and rising temper, Vera continued towards the shack by the forest.
As she blew into the cottage and nearly broke the door in the process, her words came out in a rushed, infuriated, and dark voice. The man, who had been enjoying the new tray of food he was allowed as a reward for answering her questions and basking in the glorious fire of the wooden room, had toppled off his chair in surprise at her unexpected entry — if he could call it that — and landed on his face before pushing himself off the ground hastily and stared at her in disbelief and shock. He could barely formulate coherent words from the never-ending river of enraged words pouring endlessly from Vera's mouth in her blinding impatience towards the confused man.
"How could you?!" Vera exclaimed, her tears pouring down her cheeks like a waterfall that never wanted to end. Her voice was raw with open emotion, a clear instability of what she had recently gone through; from placid anger to a serene state, and finally to a burning rage mixed with the hurt sensations stemming from her confused heart and her sadness at what her mother had gone through, and what this man did to cause her so much trouble and therefore causing Vera sorrow and grief. Her tone is demanding and consumed with the fury, despite the tears pouring down her cheeks, as she loudly burst her heart out as much as she wanted with the reassurance that no one from Edoras could hear her and she was alone. However, as much as that was reassurance, it was a rather life-threatening factor; this man was dangerous in every way possible and as Vera was rendered defenseless after leaving her weapons behind, she was completely vulnerable. The only weapon sighted in the room was a dagger for cutting cheese, which could be a danger to some of the occupants.
The man was confused for a moment. He wasn't at all pleased with the interruption of his delicious meal — or as delicious as prisoner food could be and considering his lack of food for centuries now, he was rather joyous towards the new food — and could barely articulate a question through Vera's rampaging questions and musings, where she spoke breathlessly, which only pressed his infuriation further and riled his temper more. It seemed that the victim of Vera's anger also held a notorious temper that could rival even Vera's but her own rage clearly remained incomparable at that moment. Still, two raging persons in one, small shack, who are both capable of doing anything and are notorious for being dangerous in their own ways, with only one, tiny knife as a weapon in between them, was a rather lethal situation and could result in a horrid murder, unintentional or not. Vera didn't want to see what would happen but in her state of mind, the most unpredictable outcome could happen.
"What are you talking about?" the man responded with a question, his tone rather lowered and angered compared to that of an innocent man. Once he finally managed to enter a response in between Vera's huffs and puffs, as he liked to call it, he had ended up with the conclusion that she knew what he did that fateful night. His own fury started to rise within his spirit and his malicious heart as he carefully eyed Vera's angered state and started to formulate a plan in his mind to escape. His survival instincts peeked from his hidden façade as he starts to calculate an escape plan, uncaring if the Queen remained alive or not. It was either his life or hers, and he would much rather have himself survive than be killed in the hands of the same woman he passionately hated his entire life; his Queen. Choosing to disguise his clear anger as much as he could to ensure the success of his plot, the man stalled.
Vera's eyes snapped to glare at him so hard that he was rather fearful of what was to come. The undoubtful temper in her glaring, hazel orbs were enough to halt the man's plans as he staggered back before she could rage onto him physically. Judging from her visible, infuriated, burning hatred towards him that stemmed from her anger, he had a little time before she blatantly did something she would soon regret. Meanwhile, Vera was using her own mind to form her own plan where this man would not be able to get away from her anger. Though some part of her was more consumed and distracted by her blinding fury, her mind was more sharp and clear than it previously was; she could see clearer, hear deeper, and think sharper. "Oh, don't you dare act coy with me! Not this night, not this moment, for I promise you that your survival is not guaranteed, not after what you did! You vile, atrocious murderer!" Vera seethed, her voice practically burning in her rage.
The man cautiously took a step forward, a dark expression on his face as he looked up at her through lidded eyes. A shadow overcame his bruised eyes and caused a darker view on his already obscure facade. Carefully, he chose his next words with a dangerously low tone as he inspected the pacing woman in front of him whilst shifting his gaze to the knife on the table. "Vera, I am asking you once more...what are you talking about?" he asks slowly but his voice is lethally calm, almost as if he were a bomb that is waiting to blow open at any moment. While he appeared collected and in peace, there was an underlying tone of a flaring temper hidden beneath the niceties of his set-up voice. Vera was quick to notice this and flared her eyes further, along with the dull question coming from his stupid mouth.
"You killed him! You murdered a man in your own fit of jealously because you wanted something you could never have! Because you are a coward and less than a man than I have ever thought! How could you expect to be a King when you are nothing but a monster who deserved everything that was given to you! You ruined my mother's life, my family's life, my life! Does that mean little to you? You have your own son and yet you chose to rid me of mine in pure jealousy! How could you?! You horrid, son of a bitch. I lost my father because of you!" Vera shouted angrily, her eyes filling with more tears as the image of a man similar to the prisoner, now clear and evident, hovers over a mangled boy, who looked so much like her; full of life, which was slowly draining, and so full of light. "Oh, and you! I trusted you! I loved you! I was led to believe that you were my blood and yet you are nothing but a fucker who deserves to die."
The man abruptly slammed his hands on the nearest wall, his temper finally rising and reaching its limited point as the words continue to pour in his head and haunt him like a ghost, like the devil. He suddenly swivels to glare at Vera as their tempers rile further and level with one another at different rates, bringing a bony finger to point cruelly at Vera with a shaky and infuriating anger. "I deserve nothing but to sit on the throne of Atlantis!" he roars bitterly, thrashing around in his violent fury and turning the chairs and foods. "Your family has so much power! Power that could rival no others on Middle Earth and you choose to waste it on merchant things as trade and alliances! Atlantis was meant to rule over Arda like no other civilization in this era! We are meant to rule! Your family wasted it, especially your Mother, that bitch—"
"Do not speak of my Mother so brashly! Not after what you did to her, what you did to me! She is more than the man you could ever wish to be!" Vera intervenes loudly, pointing her own finger at him and moving two steps forward to measure his intimidating aura, letting her own rage roll off her in waves.
"That...bitch...deserves to rot in her hole!" the man yelled just as angrily as her. "That harlot waster her potential and disappointed her people! She was a disgrace...to love a human man on land and to defy her parents' wishes like a brat! Then, she ended with his offspring! The bastard to the throne and the disgrace of this entire Kingdom! I have done far more for this Kingdom than your stupid kin! I have made alliances that could end worlds and bring us greatness! Do you honestly think that Evian Decourt did this all by himself? That he got the idea out of thin air? No, my cousin has been conspiring with me for centuries before your birth! Our blood was made to rule and we will not be wasted like your fucking family! We may not have power as you Kings but I assure you, Vera, I will destroy you! You and your weak family deserve to rot in hell and be devoured by the deep trenches like a maggot with no purpose!" He slammed his hands on the wooden table as he swiped the contents away, clattering the knife to the floor.
Vera thought that she could not get any angrier than she did before. She had previously thought that her entire fury was consumed and used up to a limited point that could nearly explode her but she was proven wrong as she felt the sudden rage overcome the waning fury from before with a new, raw, pure rage. How dare he speak of her mother? After what he did to her and her entire family? And to speak about her family and the same people who offered him the crown in the first place so horribly made her blood physically boil. She had never felt so much rage in her body, ever. Vera was truly terrified of herself at that moment; in one, dwindling part of her mind where she could see and think sensibly was frightened of what she could do. She had never reached her potential before and she was sure that it would be a long time before she could; she was scared that she would do something she would soon regret.
But, as the roaring fire of her rage overcame that small, pure feeling in the back of her head, Vera could only face the next moments with as much courage as she could for this would change her life forever.
"It will be hard to destroy us both when you are without your head," Vera states, her voice calming ever so slightly as she stared straight ahead of her with an unhindered temper.
The man turned to her, his eyes reaching her point of calm fury — that was more dangerous and deadly than their previous violence — as they both remain unaware of what is to happen. Vera starts to use her magic in gathering the little particles of fluidity from the fallen wine on the ground and begins to push the dagger closer to her feet in an effort of arming herself while remaining inconspicuous. He remained unaware of her actions as his eyes meet hers with brutal pleasure that if Vera were nothing but a mere woman, she would be dropping to her knees. Thankfully, Vera is a stronger and more powerful woman with ancient magic running through her veins. She is a force to be reckoned with — a Queen. Slowly, he draws a breath and leans closer to Vera's straight posture, though it was rather shaky compared to its ordinary state, with new clarity.
"Do not worry about my actions, or your future, for I assure you that it will be short. Your Kingdom will be in good hands and we will win this war...on the right side. As our final agreement and our farewell, Queen Vera Roman, I will follow my word with a true heart. You asked me a few questions at our first meeting...in truth, I did remain honest and clear with you—" he replied, his voice taunting and strikingly calm as he states his next words.
"—You did not remain truthful towards me, you lying fucker! You discarded the important facts of your murder!" Vera interrupts, though she would soon regret it.
"I told you more than your pathetic mother ever did! Listen, little girl, I told you that I would rip your world apart — I was truthful in that. Yes, I discarded fragments of the truth but I am a survivor! I kill those who guarantee my survival and I murder innocents when it benefits me! Just like your Mother, just like your Grandmother, just like your ancestors! And soon, you will be faced with the daunting task of killing thousands of men, by your hand or by others! You will lead them to their destruction, Vera because you are Queen so don't you dare throw that murderer bullshit in my face when you are anything but innocent! You asked me 'what I would gain from this exchange?' You asked me 'what I would want as an outcome?' Well, this is me... settling the terms! I am the one person who can tear you apart and take your Kingdom like that! And I will gain more than I could ever want; Atlantis' annihilation, starting with the illegitimate Queen of Atlantis!"
Before Vera could even begin to react, the man was lurching towards her with his head first. Before they could react, they are both being thrown across the room and landing on the floor in a fit of grunts and painful groans. Coughing viciously and trying to grab more oxygen in order to breathe properly, Vera moves away from the incoming punch and attempts to wrestle the crazed man straddling her. His hands reach forward tp choke her, cutting her short from her attempts of getting more air to breathe. His eyes are manic and full of insanity, completely crazed as he basks in the malicious joy of killing and murdering the woman who had ruined his entire life; the bastard of Atlantis, the disgrace of the sea. In his mind, what he was doing was right. He took glory and happiness in his hands as he watched the colors on her face start to shift from red to an alarming blue that gave him evidence of her near death.
Meanwhile, the girl coughs and claws on the man's hands desperately, undoubtedly creating scars on his veiny hands. When her attempts are rendered useless, she moves it upwards to claw his eyes out and distract him from his vice grip on her and successfully manages to grapple more breath as he roars in pain. Vera cringes at the blood seeping from his bloody eyes at the cause of her fingernails and doesn't waste the opportunity in kicking him off her. While he was distracted, Vera scrambles away from her previous spot and catches a glimpse of her own blood on the wooden floors after the impact of her head crashing after he attacked her, and makes a grab for the knife. Before her fingers could fully grasp it, however, the attacker suddenly grabs her feet in a desperate attempt of finishing her off before he appeared above her.
The next moments happened so fast; Vera had quickly took hold of the nearest thing by her head to protect herself against the insane man, and nearly wilted in relief when she felt the gold hilt of the dagger in her hands, and brings it near her chest just as the man slammed himself on top of her in his last try of killing her. A gasp escapes both of their lips — Vera's was one of shock and his gasp was one of pain — and their eyes widen simultaneously. They lasted in that position for a second, barely noticing the fire of the candle moving closer to the draped by one corner of the room...that could only cause more of a disaster. Then, the prisoner leaped away from her and rammed his back into the other side of the room, gripping his hands around the dagger digging into his abdomen. Vera scrambles to her feet and moves to the other side, farthest away from him as her tears start to burn in her eyes, watching incredulously as he screams in pain and denial.
His gasps and shouts jolt out of his shaking body. The scene in front of Vera terrified her completely as she stared with blurred vision and tearful eyes; his body shakes with a dozen emotions running through his system endlessly as the pain starts to take form. Rage, shock, denial, pain, and fear runs through his body. He wasn't ready to die, and she wasn't ready to watch him fall to his death by her hand. Just like he had said, only moments before. However, fate was never fair to either of them, and it certainly wasn't going to start at that moment. This was cruel karma; to fall at his own death after killing numerous people for the petty reasons of his youth and to see someone die after the fall into her temptation and rage. They were both being punished and taught a lesson...but only one would be alive to see it through.
The man glances up with wide eyes. His face is red with anger. His wound is pouring with blood alarmingly. The fire started by the drapes start to rise and roar brighter to create a shadowed effect of the prisoner. Then, without hesitation, he pulls the dagger up. "You did this to me," he whispered darkly, taking a pained step forward. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" he suddenly rages, shouting at the top of his lungs before running forward to kill her finally.
However, Vera was prepared.
With a slight yelp, Vera maneuvers out of the way and watches as the murderer is brought to his knees by her ancient power, dropping the knife with a loud clatter, and bringing his hands to his neck as an invisible clog arrives in the middle of his throat and cutting his oxygen. Vera watches as the water and the many fluids of his system starts to gather together to consume the vital organs of his body, strangling him and halting his intake of breath. Almost instantaneously, his color starts to fade and grow redder, a scary color that brought Vera fear over her actions...but she couldn't stop. He breathes deeply to grapple more air but it is obvious that he will not make it through the night; his weakened state of being a previous prisoner, his pouring blood wound, his inability to breathe, and the fire raging behind him that will consume the house.
It felt like hours. She watched with time slowly passing around her as the man crumples to a horizontal form as he breathes heavily to gain more air but was truly unable to, leaving him vulnerable and an easy target for the greedy hands of death. A new scent passes through Vera's nose as she smells the burning wood of the home crippling under the burning fire emitting from the candle after their dangerous endeavors. She is suddenly reminded of the burning building around her and starts to shift away from her corner to the entrance of the fiery home but she cannot tear her eyes away from the sight of someone she once trusted a long time ago lying on the floor, in a pool of his own blood, dying. Nearly everything around her is being destroyed but Ver cannot bring herself to leave as an overwhelming bout of emotions suddenly overcomes her system...and the tears start to run faster.
Then — simultaneously — the wooden pillar beside her collapses under the weight and power of the raging fire, her feet start to move towards the entrance in her departure, and the prisoner's light leaves his eyes as death takes another victim once more.
That was the night that Vera took a life.
And that was the night that Kai Prince's life ended, by the hands of his own step-daughter.
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A knock interrupts Vera from her task of removing the bloodstains on her skin. She was so trapped in her thoughts, that Vera realized that someone was calling for her attention from the other side of the door. Sniffling to rid herself of the traitorous tears pouring from her eyes and clearing the redness of her puffy nose, Vera uses her arms to wipe it away, eyeing her appearance in the mirror as she decides on her next movements. Grabbing her silk robe from her bedpost, she covers herself with it to hide the corset underneath, her previous, blood-tainted gown thrown into the fire moments before to conceal her part in a man's murder. With a quick glance to her side, she attempts to form a response to the adamant pursuer on the other side. "I am not feeling well! Please, return tomorrow!" Vera shouts, a plea in her tone.
"Vera?"
Aragorn.
Closing her eyes, she groans quietly and moves the bloodied rags away from the eye's view. Swiftly, she stood up from her crouched position and approached the door. Overturning the locks to unlock the door, Vera cracks the door open slightly to ensure that only she was seen and that nothing else was able to be viewed from the doorway. Hoping that her tears were not noticeable, Vera could only pray to Eru that she was not questioned for the known death of a man. Granted, he was a prisoner to the crown of Atlantis and he was her step-father, but his death occurred on Rohirrim soil. People would definitely be questioning it, especially with so much distrust surrounding Vera already.
"Vera?" Aragorn repeated, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he takes in her suspicious actions and eyes her warily. "Are you alright? I heard what happened with that prisoner— are you okay?" he starts to ask but interrupts himself with another question as he finally noticed her teary eyes. Concerned, he tried to take a hold of her hand but was met with an unforgiving scene. Blood. "Vera...what did you do?"
Roughly, Vera pushed Aragorn inside her room and shut the door behind her, locking it quickly before anyone could question her once more and bring more people into her web of lies and murder. The tears start to spring her eyes once more and they fall freely as her hazel orbs meet Aragorn's confused, and a little judgemental, stare. "A-Aragorn, I need your help. Please, help me," she pleads, her voice wavering with the overwhelming amount of emotion in her system.
"Vera, what did you do?" Aragorn asks again, his voice more demanding than before as he cautiously inspects her bedroom and the trails of blood on the floor.
"I killed him. Aragorn...I killed my father."