Mias and ElleCh18: Together again.

With a sigh Elias stood from the bed and went to wash. When he returned he dressed in a suit of dark cloth and stared at himself in the mirror. As always the scars were right there, staring back at him, mocking him. Azreal had said that she could take them away for a time but he had changed his mind at the last moment. Perhaps he could live with his scars if his brother did not.

He turned away from the mirror and left the room. Walking deliberately slow to mentally prepare himself for what it would be like to see his father again. He took slow, even breaths and tried to calm his mind as thoughts raced through it. He wandered down the hallway only looking up when he noticed where he was. Elias could recognize the door he stood by as if it were his own shadow. He reached out slowly and tried the knob.
It was locked and Elias realized his fingers were shaking as he turned the knob all the way until it clicked open. The room was dark. It smelled old, but other than that it was untouched. Years had gone by and no one had bothered to empty the bedroom he and his brother had shared?

Elias shook his head in disbelief as he entered cautiously. He walked to the bed on his right, the bed that had been his as a child and throughout is younger years. He sat and a layer of dust fell from the bed though Elias did not care. His head turned as if by force, to see if it was really still there. And it was; a small black paw peaked out from under the dirty old pillow. He pulled it out from under the pillow and clutched the little brown fox toy he had carried everywhere as a boy. "It's certainly been a while, Bandit." Elias whispered as tears pooled in his eyes.

Had he been anywhere but here and not alone Elias would not have dared to even touch the stuffed animal let alone hold it and cry. But he wasn't anywhere else, he was here and here was his old bedroom that brought back so many memories. So many happy memories he'd had before all of that had happened. Before he'd become a monster.

His mine flashed back to every face of every person he'd slaughtered, every home he'd destroyed, every town he'd pillaged, and every wrong thing he'd ever done. It wasn't easy for him to push away all the memories but he managed to, somehow. Perhaps it was Bandit who gave him the extra strength he needed as Elias clutched the doll in between his fingers. His eyes landed on a picture frame that sat on the dresser in the corner.
It was of Himself and Mias as young boys, smiling proudly as they each held up a deer they had successfully killed while on the a hunt with their father standing in the back ground, a grin on his face as he watched his sons with pride. Elias's eyes bore into the picture as he stood. "This is your fault." He yelled at the picture, his words directed at Mias.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" he roared then threw the little fox at the picture frame.

They both hit the wall, the frame shattering and the fox slumping to the floor. Elias choked back a sob and hurried out the door, regaining his composure just in time to enter the dining room and take a seat at the left of the long, cloth covered table filled with food and wine. Though Elias was nowhere near hungry.
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Azreal looked at herself in the mirror. Her long hair set in an elegant hair style while she wore a long flowing dress the color of earth. She stared at her tattoos with an intensity that made her feel as though they would somehow jump off her skin and free her. But sadly they did not and she was startled slightly when Mias came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, holding her close. "Easy now." He said softly, as if calming a spooked mare. "It's just me."

She sighed and turned in his arms. "Sorry. I didn't see you coming."

He shook his head and smiled down at her, an expression she had to force her face to mimic. "You seem to have a lot on your mind, care to share?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Like I said before, I'm just nervous. And I think it's about time for dinner, is it not?"

He looked at the clock on the wall before stepping back and holding his arm out for her. "I believe so." She took it and they exited the room.
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With Azreal on his arm he was calmed, though not completely. His mind kept forcing him to think about what his reaction to seeing his father would be. He could not let anger or fear get the better of him, which was something he could not afford to happen. If this was truly just a banquet in honor of his father's re-crowning then so be it if he had become a changed man. But if he had not changed, if he was still as mad and calculating as ever then Mias silently promised himself that he would NOT leave Sarian without the crown on his head and Milo's blood on his hands.

At one point in his life Mias had fought with himself about how he felt about killing his own father, and at one point he had felt unbearably guilty for even thinking of doing such a thing . . .Times had changed things, lines had been crossed, Milos had allowed that peasant Duncan to mar his and Elias's face. That meant there was no going back, no repairing their Father-Son bond. You mess with the bull, you get the horns.
They stepped off the spiral staircase and followed the short path to a pair of doors almost as big as the ones at the entrance to the castle. Mias pushed them open and was met with a sight that made him want to explode in anger. "Elias." He growled, pushing Azreal behind him.

His brother stood from his chair with a smile as if they were having a simple conversation about the weather. "Hello, Mias."

His eyes darted to Azreal and something seemed to pass between the two. "What a lovely guest you have." Elias commented, walking towards them.

Mias drew his sword and pointed it at his brother. "Come no closer, Elias." He snarled. "If you know what's good for you"

Elias smirked, holding his hands up as he came to a halt. "I was simply going to shake your hand. But if you assume I would take her from you then I may just have to try my hand in doing so."

Mias was in no mood for his brother's games. "What are you doing here, Elias?" He asked bitterly.

Elias laughed. "Surely you do not assume that you were the only one to receive an invitation."

Actually, Mias had suspected Elias would be here but what he had not expected was the way his brother was so at ease, like he felt he belonged here when he did not. Mias was about to tell his brother so but a someone answered before he could.

"He was not the only one." The three turned to see Arian standing in the door way.
His eyes fell on Elias. "Hello, Eli."

Elias seemed to flinch before speaking in an almost friendly tone. "Arian. How wonderful it is to see my favorite sell-out after all this time."

Arian scoffed. "I did no such thing Elias, I chose to try and do what I thought was right. While you chose your fear and selfishness."

Elias snarled. "You are saying I was selfish because I chose not to kill my own father?"

Arian stared him down with a cold glare. "You were selfish because you knew what Milos was like and what he was doing. You knew what he had become and even despite your knowledge of him killing Eris, you still wanted to stand aside and do nothing just to stay out of his way and secure your damned place on the throne!"

Elias's face was stone cold. "I want to never again hear my mother's name pass your lips or it will be the end of you."

"Elias?" A soft voice spoke up;

A sharp bout of pain hit him then disappeared just as quickly as Mias watched her enter the room. Golden wheat colored hair and thorn colored eyes, a dress of emerald accentuated her body's every curve.  For some odd reason he wanted to reach out and hold her. Her beauty challenging only Azreal's. But at the very thought of Azreal, who stood silently at his side, all thoughts of this woman fell away and he was washed in a haze of love for his darling Azreal beside him.

His fingers brushed their way down her arm to take her hand and she returned his hold, but only just barely. He watched as Elias turned to smile at her. "Hello, Elle."

She smiled shyly and took a step forward as if to walk over to hug him. Arian grabbed her arm and held her back. "What did I tell you Elle? Never speak to that man."
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Elle was confused as she looked up at Arian in surprise, who held her by the arm closely to him. "But he has done nothing wrong." She said almost as much to herself as to him.

Her eyes fell on Elias as he watched them with a smile. "Yes Elle, tell him. I have done nothing wrong." The necklace between her breasts heated and she had the sudden urge to back away from Arian.

"Let me go." She demanded.

Arian looked down at her bewilderedly. "Elle, he's a bad, twisted man. Surely you cannot believe him. Can you not feel the evil that radiates from him? It's almost as if he doesn't have a soul!"

Elle felt Arian still as Elias threw his head back and laughed a low seductive sound that compelled her towards him as her pendant heated once again. But Arian would not let her go and she could feel a bruise beginning to form.

It was only when she saw someone look away out of the corner of her eye that she realized there were two other people in the room. She looked to see a shockingly beautiful and tattooed woman standing next to a man who looked just . . . like Elias. "That's the other boy from my vision." She whispered, absolutely positive that it was him. but another feeling surfaced. A feeling of longing that had her wanting to throw her arms around him. She shook her head as the amulet heated to an uncomfortable temperature, making her forget about her previous thoughts.

Arian looked at her with eyes that seemed to plead with her. "Please Elle, do not listen to him. I beg you. He's nothing more than a coward and a traitor."

She watched as Elias's face transformed into a mask of anger. He drew two long hand swords. "How dare you, you commoner scum!"

Arian pushed Elle behind him as he drew a long blade from his belt. "You are the only scum here!"

Elias started towards him when a booming voice rang out, echoing throughout the room. "Be still my guests. This is time to feast, not fight." Elle herself flinched at the loud, evident command and authority in this man's voice.

But was nothing compared to the three men in the room's reaction. She saw Arian flinch then tremble in fear as the man who looked like Elias grabbed the tattooed woman's hand as his face took on a look of emotionless stone. While Elias's face paled and he clenched his fists around his blades until his knuckles turned white, looking like he was trying hard not to run.

Elle turned her head to look at the man who had entered from a door on the other side of the room. His very frame looked built for war. He was tall and muscled; scars ran up his arms and disappeared into his sleeves. He had black hair that hung below his shoulder blades. His eyes were dark and piercing. He filled the room with such power and bad energy that Elle's spine crawled. She inched away from him even though he was across the room. This was The Fallen King Milos. This was the face that had slaughtered thousands in cold blood. THIS was the face whose eyes harbored insanity.