Waltz of the Damned [Braxton & Nadia]

[Braxton Obscura]

She rose from the grave. He rose from the pit. Together, they’ll bring kingdoms to their knees.

The mortal realm was dreary in comparison; it lacked a certain spark and character that Valtheris mastered and in particular his inherited land of The Vulkan Vale. Many of his people questioned why, after so many years, Braxton continued to hold dealings with mortals and venture into the land of the mundane. He was always so blunt, matter of fact, that he had people to torture and kill, and the fact remained - they resided in the mortal realm as basic humans. Out of his men, Riordan was the loudest, perhaps due to their shared interest in drinking the ale pegs dry, in calling out Braxton for not killing his family and their associates already. The answer was clear, he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the lingering aroma of fear when he entered the family estate. Of course, he enjoyed the brutality, the slow, torturous art of killing, but prolonging their death even further gave him a kick.

Enyo, his twin sister, sat before the fireplace with a whiskey in hand; the flames dancing within her eyes. “I still don’t understand how you get to go on these trips, do the hunting and killing all the while I sit around playing princess”

Braxton smirked at the pout forming on her lips. “Because you would kill them too quickly and that is not the justice we deserve.” He raised his brows at his sister as the pout of hers grew. “Besides, don’t you have some poor souls to torment alongside The Painsingers?”

Enyo huffed and nodded. He knew her too well.

“Take care of The Vale for me. I won’t be long.” Braxton approached his sister and kissed her forehead in farewell before summing an infernal fire once he had finished conjuring up the ancient rites. A whirlwind of fire enclosed around Braxton, embracing him in a heated embrace and whilst loving, it was short lived and was quite happy to spit Braxton out again.

The demon Lord was welcomed by drizzle, a damp mist clinging upon him as he stood on the darkened streets. The streetlights blinked, struggling to maintain power; if there were any hunters or humans with a keen eye for the supernatural, those damned flickering lights would notify them of his presence. Braxton inhaled the air and turned on his heels as he walked in the direction of Crowthorne Manor; the residence of his Uncle who had somehow managed to profit from the sacrifice. The feeling of being back here did nothing for him, at first, it was a welcoming relief; time away from the fiery lands of The Vulkan Vale and his newfound responsibilities as High Lord. Equally, however, it was a place of huge importance to him; he had lived and flourished as a mortal, but his family robbed him of a rewarding mortal life. But he supposed, through their sacrificial traditions, they gave him something far greater.

The town hall clock tower chimed, indicating midnight and the start of the next day; but for others of the darker species, it was just the beginning of the night. Braxton walked past many bars, many drunken women attempting to cat call him; he was here for one thing only - the torment of his uncle. To remove himself from the eyes of mortals, he turned down a back alley which would soon enough lead him to the outskirts of town.

His form took up the width of the alleyway, menacing and dominating in one; and if one looked close enough, they would have sworn they saw the shadows of his wings against the brick wall. Braxton was pulled from his hunters thoughts as the sound of sharp, high heeled shoes running on concrete echoed around him. He came to a pause, his eyes narrowing as the sound got louder still, indicating they were heading right towards him.

[Nadia Delphi]

Nadia stepped back and turned on her toes and walked towards the bed. ‘Yes! Devia was quite kind. I only not to make her feel uncomfortable about her job. I did reassure her that I would be out of her hair as soon as I figure this shit out with Declan.’ In reality, Nadia was already quite fond of this place. It was new and had a different atmosphere than the mortal realm. Sure, the mortal realm had the most activity but this place wasn’t that far off. Plus, it was charming in it’s own way and frankly, Nadia liked that very much! So, she don’t know when she’d be leaving. Or if she ever would.

She plopped down on the bed before crossing her leg over the other and leaned back, resting her weight on her hands as she watched him with curious yet, delighted eyes. ‘Huh?’ She said as she looked back over her shoulder at the patio doors that were pulled apart, welcoming in warm night into her sleeping chambers. ‘Oh!’ She smiled before looking back at him, ‘I saw. The view is quite breathtaking. You have a beautiful home, Braxton.’ Boy, it was strange calling him that. After she referred to him and his sister as “The Children”. But even then, his human name fit him. But she respected him, and she would refer to him however he’d like.

The room grew quiet for a couple of moments. Nadia had plenty of questions to ask but didn’t know how to ask. And he appeared like he wanted to say more. She watched him sit down and get comfortable on the couch. His arm draped over the back of it and his legs spread. He now took up so much space on that sofa whereas when he was just a teenage boy, he probably would’ve taken up a small space. She then took note of his strong shoulders, his bulging arms, his veiny hands, how his dark shirt brought out the emerald in his eyes. The poor woman didn’t even realize she was staring! Her full lips slightly parted in disbelief… or was it awe? I mean, she’d be fucking lying if she said this boy, man, wasn’t fine as hell! Powerful and all. He’d accomplished so much in the last 20 years. It was impressive and deeply attractive.

i suppose, you in particular have many questions to ask me about this has come to be.

’I do.’ She agreed as she finally blinked those beady eyes away. ‘Only if you’re willing to tell me of course. I won’t pry.’ She raised her hands in objection to reassure him that she wouldn’t overstep if he wouldn’t allow it.

But firstly, don’t take much mind from Enyo.

She knew that he wouldn’t overstep stick up for his sister, and with reason. It wasn’t like Nadine disliked Enyo. And she also did understand that the twins have been through a lot. Their lives were ripped away from them like some kind of animals and now they live out the rest of their days as demons. Nadia was taken aback when Enyo lumped her in with the rest of those dreadful vampires who were just as bad as their parents were. ‘I understand. I don’t blame her for not trusting me. If my family murdered me, I’d think that everyone who they were acquainted with had something to do with it too. I don’t blame her for being cautious.’ A small smile curled up on her features as he assured her that his sister would come around eventually. ‘I only hope to gain her approval. I hate for there to be any kind of tension as for I’m only the guest.’

it grew quiet again. Until she had the gall to ask about his unfortunate demise.

’What happened, Braxton? I mean… I know it’s straightforward and maybe you don’t have to relive your trauma. I just— I guess you were the last person I was expecting to see tonight… when I found out about your deaths… it was through Declan… even he felt remorseful. I tried to contact The Drakes. Send them my condolences and gifts to help ease their pain… they sent all the gifts back. I thought it was odd… I thought that maybe they wanted to heal alone… but Declan had come from a gathering that they had… only to tell me that they were the ones who killed the both of you. I thought he had something to do with it at first but he wasn’t there. And he had no idea… we both had no idea what those people were doing. I promise Braxton, if I had such as suspected something like that, you and Enyo wouldn’t have suffered like that.’ Nadia sighed, ‘10 years after your deaths, your parents invited us back to the Estate. Said that they were going to be celebrating your life and rebirth… Declan and I didn’t show. I knew that if I did go, more blood would’ve been on my hands that night… so, we didn’t go… I never spoke to them again after that last letter they sent.’

[Braxton Obscura]

His presence, let alone physical stature took up the whole room and easily swallowed up the sofa as he draped an arm along the back of his and crossed one ankle over his knee. Braxton watched Nadia with a curious gaze, and how she had already seemed to find herself at home within the guest chambers of The Vale. The very corners of his lips twitched slightly as he fell under her curious gaze as she took his appearance in; he supposed it was shocking to her, when in reality, she hadn’t aged whatsoever since the last time he saw her. Perhaps her style had changed, but that was ever so slightly - otherwise, she looked exactly the same as she did twenty years ago; albeit, her personality had become slightly different. Braxton supposed living, and loving a man like Declan would do that to you. He waited silently, allowing her to come to terms of their reality - The Drake Twins had survived, and now flourished in hell. His inner dragon grumbled in approval of the life he now lived. 

“Ask away my dear. If I don’t want to answer, I won’t.” His broad shoulders gave a shrug of nonchalant as he reached over to the side table which held a canter of whisky and poured himself a glass. Not one room within his household went alcohol free - that was Enyo’s doing, and in another life he might have found that problematic; but not in this one. Braxton took a sip and exhaled as the spicy liquid ran down the back of his throat before bringing his attention back to the vampiric woman across from him. “I don’t believe she is cautious, she is one to run head first into trouble and damn the consequences.” Much to his dismay. It was clear that Braxton held Enyo dear, and loved her very much - in fact, Enyo was his only weakness and any one who questioned his rule, his legitimacy simply had to target her and he would tear the world apart and would happily die doing it to ensure his sister's safety. “Yet, our deaths and the consequences of that, many many years before our life now have taken its toll on both of us. Deep down she knows you played no part in my family’s practice, but you also know her human name. No one else does, besides our family yet fear does a miraculous thing and stops them from uttering two words. You may not have been a threat back then, but you certainly are now.”

And Braxton knew it too. As leader, as High Lord, he was conflicted about Nadia and what to do with her. The only reason why she was alive and why he showed any warmth to her was simply because of how she was with him when he was mortal and the fondness he had for her as a teenage boy. Yet the demonic side of him, the royal blood which pumped through his veins and his inner dragon roared to kill her, to eliminate the threat to his life - she could quite easily bind him to her, make him do her bidding and there would be nothing he could do about it. Braxton exhaled at the thought and the inner conflict he was experiencing and downed his drink. He knew for certain that his council, his innermost trustworthy colleagues and friends would also tell him to end her life before any further damage could be done - he would need to keep her presence a secret for now until he decides what to do. 

Nadia managed to bring his attention back to her with ease as she spoke about the time after his death and he ensured his expression remained stoic. “It seems you know quite a lot about it already” His words were laced with the dark rumblings of a chuckle as he regarded her, but he shrugged nevertheless. “My family have, I have come to realise, always sacrificed twins to The Abyss. This practice has gone on for many many years, centuries even.” He spoke with disgust. “In hopes that it would bring them back to their heritage, their good fortune and bring back their royal status” His fingers brushed his jawline and stubble. “The Drakes are the descendants of The Drakon founding bloodline.” Braxton paused for an unintentional dramatic effect. “And this time, it worked. The Abyss triggered the bloodline in myself and Enyo, only after we endured centuries of pain; but in the mortal realm, those centuries were probably only 5 years.” 

[Nadia Delphi]

Nadia pulled one knee up as she listened to him talk about his sister. How she was eager to pounce on anything whether if it were to put their lives in danger or not. A gentle smirk curled up on her lips as she remembered when they were mere children, their mother had scolded them for something such as that. But it was Braxton that was getting in trouble and Enyo just happened to catch the stray. She’d really wished that woman could’ve been a better mother to them. Even now, at their big ages and with their immense strength and power, I’m sure they would’ve preferred to not have their lives snatched away in such manner. Pushing her weight up off of the bed, she walked over to the mini bar and helped herself.

’You may not see it as caution but I’ve spent my entire vampire life being cautious to everyone around me.’ Nadia poured the warm drink into the small glass and popped the cork right back into its hole. ‘Your sister may be a fire cracker, diving in to every situation head first but you must give her grace.’ She lifted up her glass and brought it to her lips as she began on her journey back to the bed. Plopping down on it, she let out a gentle sigh and rested her weight back on her right hand.

You may not have been a threat back then, but you certainly are now.

The woman sat there in silence; biting into her bottom lip as the quietness created this thick layer of uncertainty and distrust in the bedroom. Staring at him across the room with her brow raised, a sudden laugh left her lips. It wasn’t that she found anything funny, by the Gods no! It was just that even in her state of survival, Nadine still had better things to do than torment the two twins who she use to see back in the day. Clearing her throat, she shook her head and took a small sip of her drink, ‘I would ask you if you’re serious, Braxton but from the looks of it…’ She reached over and placed her glass on the nightstand. ‘Do you truly believe that I’d want anything from the both of you? To put your lives at risk or whatever the fuck, it is that you both simply think—‘

Slapping her hands on her thighs, she let out a sigh and stood up to her feet. ‘Braxton…’ she walked over to him and bent down in front of him. She stared into his beautiful emerald eyes with her thunderous grays, confident with her next choice of words. She wanted him to truly feel them within him. ‘If I wanted to say your name… I would have… a long time ago. That goes for your sister too.’ There was no intimidation, no malice, no frustration— just pure honesty and softness behind her eyes. ‘You don’t have to believe me and perhaps I shall do more proving so you and your sister won’t tear me limb from limb but,’ Nadia reached down and placed her hand on his stubble, ‘I’ve never wanted this for you. Nor did I want it for Enyo. Why would I risk bringing you both more harm when I already feel like I’ve failed you.’ Thin bloody lines brewed at her eye lids before she turned away and dropped her hand.

‘But if you do plan on killing me because it would simply make you and Enyo feel better… fine.’ Nadia hissed through her teeth.

She retreated by to the nightstand to scoop up her drink and knocked it back as he gave her the history of his family’s curse. It was until he mentioned the name, Drakon. A name that was far more familiar than she could’ve ever imagined. ‘Drakon…’ Nadia slowly placed the glass down and looked back at him. ‘You’re apart of the Drakon Lineage?!’ Never would she have thought she’d hear that name again.