Eternally Damned [Stick]x[Elle]

[Elle]

Tawen was a beautiful country, with fascinating culture and lovely architecture. The food was an art and just as delicious while tradition was heavily cherished in the kingdom. It was ruled by an immortal, something that had been the case for many generations. Many different people lived in Tawen, living peacefully under the reign of the late king and queen. However, now it was ruled by their only son, Rokoyi Kang-ka. His age was uncertain, as was a lot of information about the handsome king. He was swaddled in mysteries, from head to toe and never keen on sharing his secrets. His father had been slain in a terrible war and out of grief, his mother had killed herself. Being the only child and old enough to rule, even though he was young, he became king. He had no interest in the affairs of love and even though his people wished to see him happy with a woman at his side, he had no common interest.

If there was one thing that the vampire king detested, it would probably have to be meetings. Whether it be with his advisers or people from other countries, it was all hated just the same. He found it tedious and taxing, not to mention very uninteresting. However, he dealt with as it was one of many duties as king that he was forced to attend to.

This particular meeting had put him in a foul mood, though not many could tell. He was a master at hiding his emotions, but there were a few who could pick up on things about such as through his body language or the way he held himself. He seemed calm and peaceful, albeit bored as he listened to one of his advisers drone on and on about a meeting that was to happen today. A princess would be arriving, if she hadn't already, to meet with him. He knew exactly why she was coming and he was in no mood to deal with it, but he was not keen on angering the angels when their relationship was already tense. As king, it was in his best interest to look out for his people, even if he didn't like something.

Despite the peacefulness of the country, they were actually at war with the angels. So further angering them when they were trying to come to a peaceful understanding would be disastrous for his people. Many did not even know they were at war, while some knew all about it if only because of the long old tension between the two races.

 

[Stick]

Rowana probably would have thought more highly of the beautiful country's architecture and food if she wasn't so preoccupied with it being her new prison.

Your time in Tawen will pass by in the blink of an eye. Nothing is permanent.

She remembered those words as she stepped gracefully into the main hall of the vampire lord's magnificent castle. She was surrounded by her handmaiden, two servants ready to go fetch her possessions from the carriage, a couple of diplomatic representatives from the Realm Above, and several guards dressed in imposing, shining armor and holding equally threatening spears. Rowana herself looked under-dressed and unimposing next to them, even though she still carried her sword at her hip. Her dress was simple, white, draping down to her bare ankles. She'd worn golden jewelry, drops and strands hanging around her neck and wrists, but those were just a polite formality. She was not trying to impress anyone. She was just trying to get this over with as painlessly as possible.

Rowana watched a servant speak with her representative, watched him nod nervously and glance in her direction. She did not smile at him.

And then the servant was gone, run off to inform his superiors of their arrival, just in case the heralds didn't get the job done.

Her handmaiden made some optimistic comment about the decor, and Rowana sighed. She was in a terrible mood. She was honored to have this assignment, honestly. She was very lucky to have been given the opportunity to make such a lasting impact on the world. She was doing something very important. No matter how many times she repeated these things in her mind, though, she still had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach, like she'd swallowed a stone. She was being married off to a vampire, and just the thought of being in the same room as him detested her. She fidgeted with her fingers, trying not to look too obviously unhappy. She had control over the situation, right now, and she needed to keep it that way.

Placed in this castle with him for a short eternity... Truly, it would be her most challenging test of character yet.

 

[Elle]

The vampire king, although waiting for his company to arrive, was currently standing within the inside gardens. Due to the sunlight being an irritation to his kind, it was better to have an inside garden that could still flourish with false sunlight that would not irritate him. He had all kinds of flowers and he was looking over them with his hands crossed behind his back when a servant came scurrying his way. Annoyance flickered within him, but he didn't let it show as he calmly turned to look at the nervous male. "The princess has arrived, sire. She's in the---" "Yes, I can imagine where she is. You're dismissed." He uncrossed his arms and waved a hand dismissively before turning to walk past the other male.

He exited the gardens and entered the halls of the castle, wasting no time in making his way to where he knew the princess and her party would be waiting for him. When he arrived, the doors were opened for him and he strolled in with the grace and poise of a well respected king.

"Welcome to Tawen, princess. It is a pleasure to see that you have arrived safely. I trust the journey was not too troublesome?" It was formalities, honestly. He didn't want her here and he was pretty sure that she didn't even want to be here. Which meant they were on the same page, but knew they had to play nice.

 

[Stick]

She looked up when the doors were opened, picking out the king in an instant. Were it not for the well-prepared control she was keeping at the front of her every thought, she would have done a hilarious double-take. He looked almost convincingly human, upon first sight. He seemed so composed and regal, in a whole other element than the kind of thing she usually sought to destroy. It wasn't until he was facing her and speaking that she could clearly pick out the underlying details. Too pale, held up by some kind of unholy magic. It made her skin crawl.

She smiled through it, though, and curtsied. No one could say she wasn't tough.

"Not at all," answered politely, "We had no trouble. Tawen is a beautiful country; I look forward to calling it my home."

Lies, of course. She thought she could see the same sort of disgust in the eyes of her husband-to-be, at the corners of his gaze. They really were on the same page. At least he wasn't reveling in it, she thought. That would be the only thing that could have made this situation worse.

"It has been... a long journey, however, so if your majesty permits it, I would very much like to be seen to my room."

The dignitaries on her side looked a little startled by her immediate request. They'd only just met, and she was already asking to be separated? This wasn't the kind of thing that kept contracts and built relationships. Still, they were obviously more scared of her than they were of their precious arrangement; they likely wouldn't talk about her until her back was turned.

 

[Elle]

He was a little surprised by her behavior, but he showed no sign of it as he regarded her with his purple eyes. He tilted his head to the side just slightly, a perfectly sculptured brow raising slightly as he regarded her. He had to give it to her, she had spunk even though she was nothing but polite. But he could tell that she did not fear him and felt the same as he did towards her. He was a bit impressed, though he would not admit it, not even to himself.

"Of course, princess. Ah, but where are my manners? I am Rokoyi Kang-ka, king of Tawen. I will personally show you to your rooms if you would be so kind as to follow me." He didn't offer her an arm to guide her nor did he bow, instead he turned quickly and set off. He expected her to follow after him, his hair flowing like silk behind him as he moved.

 

[Stick]

"Of course."

She turned to give a quick order to her handmaiden and her servants, telling them to go get her things and bring them here, for the king's servants to deal with. After that, she followed quickly. As much as she already loathed the idea of spending any amount of time with him alone, it was better than having to keep up formalities in front of a group of people. She was angry. She wanted to stop smiling.

She was walking at his side, a polite distance away, by the time the doors closed behind them. It didn't take long for her image to slip a little; she wasn't as good at maintaining a facade as he was. Her bare feet made no sound as she padded down the hallway. She pushed her golden hair away from her face.

"I..." Lord in Heaven, how should she even start? She was trying not to look at him. "This is a foolish arrangement."

 

[Elle]

"Angel, do not think I care for your presence. You are just as much of annoyance to me as I am to you. This is indeed a foolish arrangement, but a king must make sacrifices for the good of his people. I may not like you, but you will be treated well so long as you treat me with respect and an open mind. I am not expecting you to grow to like me or I to you, but let's just try to keep this pleasant." He glanced away from her as he continued to walk, falling silent as he waited for her response. It wasn't long until they came in front of a pair of sliding doors. He came to a halt before them, a servant scurrying towards the door to slide it open as he bowed in respect to his king.

The vampire stepped into the room, which turned out to a be a sitting room. There were three doors. One led to a balcony, one led the bathroom, and the other led to the bedroom. He turned to face her, boredom evident on his features. "This will be your temporary quarters until I have the room beside mine cleaned out and prepared."

 

[Stick]

Oh, good. He definitely hated her. The feeling was undeniably mutual.

She crossed her arms, already starting to act less like the gracious princess her title suggested and more like the stubborn guardsman she was raised to be. Neither of them looked at the other, like petty children pretending to ignore each other. There was a long moment of silence where she debated whether or not she should even dignify his loaded statements with a response. 'Sacrifice for the good of his people'... Ha, she'd believe it when she saw it.

"I will treat you with as much respect as I see you deserve," she responded. It was a very angelic thing to say. They were big on judgement, and all that. "But I can do 'pleasant' well enough."

She was a little surprised to get to the sitting room. It was bigger than she had imagined. And this wasn't even supposed to be her room? How--wait a moment.

"You haven't even cleaned out my room for me?" She turned to him, in turn, voice dripping with sarcasm, "What a kind welcome you've prepared, I'm honored."

 

[Elle]

"No, I did not see a reason to do so. I was hoping you would not show and other plans would be arranged." Perhaps this was the truth and perhaps not, but his expression and tone gave nothing away as he stared at her with a bored, half lidded stare. He then moved from her, pausing to look out the window as he fell silent for a good while. "I will have your room ready by tomorrow, unless you find this one satisfactory. It matters not to me."

Ro then moved from the window, turning around to pin her with a half lidded stare once more. "I shall take my leave of you and if you need anything, ask a servant. If you must, send for me and I'll come when I can. Good night, princess." He then wasted no time in exiting the room, the servants scurrying to close the door behind him as he walked off without waiting for a response.

He definitely did not like her and he was already feeling drained from the encounter. Perhaps a drink would do him some good. Yes, that might make things a smidge better. He sent word to a servant with his wish before continuing his way to his own chambers.

 

[Stick]

He had expected him to be a lot of things, but bluntly rude was not one of them. He was welcome to the satisfaction of seeing her look surprised and vaguely offended the more he continued to speak. He wasn't even bothering with the kind of games her usual dignitaries would play, and she wasn't... really sure... how to take it.

And then he was on his way out. Strike one for the angel, who only just had the togetherness to call out a very bitter, "Goodnight, your highness," to him as he left the room. It wasn't until the door closed behind him and she was left all alone that the full of it sank in. She was going to be imprisoned in this castle for a very, very long time, and her captor hated her.

She was mad. All she could find to do was slam the door on her way into her temporary room, shutting herself up for a very long, restless night of quietly hating everything. She couldn't even put her things away, because this wasn't going to be her room. It was just temporary. Like them pretending that they even remotely liked each other.

 

[Elle]

The vampire king returned to his quarters, feeling drained from his interaction with the angel princess. He didn't have a set sleeping schedule nor did the day bother him, but to pass the night he buried himself in his books and research. He wasn't looking into anything important, but he had decided to read up a little on what his library had about the angelic kind. Which, sadly, wasn't much. However, it did its duty of passing the time and before he knew it, he was being bothered by the staff asking if they should prepare a breakfast for the princess. He didn't eat much, since all he needed was blood for the most part but he still did have cooks. Nodding absently to them, he locked himself into the study until it was time to go and get the princess.

At first he was going to go himself, but instead decided to send a servant to fetch her as he made his way to the dining hall. She would probably interact better with someone of the same gender and of lower status. If not, he didn't care. He entered the dining hall and sat himself at the head of the table, ignoring the curious looks of some of his servants. It was very rare to see the king here.