glory // gore

e t e r n i d a d s o l a. sí, that is the k e y w o r d, the most awful word in the s p a n i s h tongue. a s e s i n a t o doesn't hold a candle to it and i n f i e r n o is just a poor synonym. adrienne moralez, 400|27, second in command and general of the Night Court // vampire

[adriennemoralez]

sophiabcaumont‌:

Sophia couldn’t explain the overwhelming sensation of relief that she felt upon seeing Adrienne, but it was warmth unlike anything else that she had experienced so far within the dark and shadowed halls of the vampire court. Her heart leaped hopefully at the mere sound of her voice, and the smile that the elder woman offered her upon stepping into her chambers was more than enough to set Sophia’s mind at rest. She could understand easily, now, just why it was that Adrienne was as favored by her husband as she was; she was strong and intelligent and incredibly empathetic, and the young fae found herself wondering if she was someone that Gabriel allowed himself to open up to. It most certainly wasn’t herself, after all, but she was only his wife, and one that he hadn’t even wanted to begin with. Adrienne was…special. Even Sophia could see that, and she had only known the vampiress for a little longer than a month.

The apples of Sophia’s cheeks flushed a little bit when Adrienne gently admonished her for apologizing yet again; she couldn’t help but feel as if she was taking up far too much of the general’s time, and yet with each instance that she requested her presence, she never once complained or denied her of her request. An unfailing soldier, a servant to the crown, Adrienne always came when called, and it was Sophia’s greatest hope that it wasn’t only due to her unfailing sense of duty. The blonde’s hand was impossibly gentle as she led the other woman inside with a light touch on her wrist, and she used the dainty pad of her thumb to stroke the silky-soft underside of it right before closing the door. Affection, even in small doses, was something that Sophia needed to survive, and considering that she and her husband had yet to so much as kiss, let alone consummate their marriage…she was grateful for any measure of touch that she could find. “Oui, oui, I just - I know that you are very busy. I can’t be the only one calling you from your work at all hours of the day, Mademoiselle Moralez,” she said quietly, with a small, tentative smile, and with her free hand she tucked a stray strand of blonde behind her ear.

Adrienne’s combination of French, Spanish, and English, was nothing short of melodious to Sophia’s delicately-pointed ears, and she felt her glimmering-gold wings titter happily when the elder woman gracefully slid her hand down to wrap it properly around one of her own. She hadn’t been bold enough to thread her slim, dainty fingers through the lengths of Adrienne’s long and fine-boned ones, but now she was able to squeeze them gently in return, and she felt herself relax just a little bit more. Adrienne was a blessing. “There are a few things that I would like to ask for your advice on, if that is alright, and - oui! Yes, the gardens! The flowers are finally starting to bloom; it would be so lovely to check on them as we speak. S’il vous plait, I am so glad that you are enjoying les fleurs. I can only hope that mon roi feels the same way if he ever happens to see them,” she said softly, wistfully, and she squeezed Adrienne’s hand once more before fluttering over to her wardrobe, humming thoughtfully to herself as she reached for a floaty little sundress - something much more appropriate than the barely-there negligee she was currently wearing. Gracefully, she began to undress, and she looked over her shoulder bashfully at Adrienne once more to ask - “Je suis vraiment désolé, would it be too much trouble to ask you for help with the buttons on my dress?”

After years of darkness that had lurked in every possible corner and crevasse of the night court, Sophia brought along a light that was very much needed. For even things that dwelled in the dark needed the slightest amount of light to thrive. While she understood where the other members of the court had stood when it came to their opinions of the young fae, she continuously urged them to try harder to accept her. Sure, she was an outsider and there was no way that they could know her true or full intentions. But there wasn’t a single doubt in Adrienne’s mind that she meant for any harm to the court itself. The queen may have ulterior motives, but there was no way that the fae had been clued in on the political situation of it all. In fact, the more time that Adrienne had spent with Sophia only further proved that she was in the dark about the whole marriage right up to the point until she had introduced to Gabriel as her husband to be. There was no sense in berating the clueless girl for finding herself among creatures of the night for it was not a life she had chose for herself.

“Never busy enough to take a break to enjoy the company of you, Mademoiselle,” she clarified. It was true, Adrienne was so fond of the girl that she would drop everything just for a few moments with her if it meant that she could make her happy. To see rosy cheeks complimenting that small smile was everything that she had needed to know that there was a genuine friendship between the pair of them. Yes, Adrienne had quickly taken a liking toward the young fae and she would be damned if the others didn’t quickly follow suit. She was so young, Adrienne was still a human at her age. To think that she had all of those years to catch up to the vampire, it was senseless to let her live her life in darkness when the only thing she was full of was love and light. Perhaps she appealed to the more innocent side of life and she would do everything in her power to make sure that she maintained that. Not ignorant bliss, but the blonde deserved to have that light remain kindled in her for as long as she was alive— through the end of eternity.

“Advice?” Her features softened before her brows furrowed together. There was an odd sense of pride that overwhelmed the girl when the fae had asked her for it. “I will do my best on advising you in whatever needs you have, mi Majested.” She supposed it made sense considering she was the advisor for Gabriel for quite some time. Being the Second in Command and the General of the Night Court were some of the only things she knew that she could do well. Adrienne only hoped that she could adequately give the answers that the blonde was seeking. “Que son hermosas,” she noted as she spoke to the girl, hoping that she would be able to pick up on the context clues in her voice that the flowers Sophia was growing had been one of the best things to happen to the court in nearly a century. Adrienne let her hand go as she fluttered over to change into a more appropriate outfit, not that she was sure anyone here would care. They had all grown accustomed to the lack of clothing that Mercy had run around the castle with, Sophia would not be so out of place. 

She perked up when Sophia asked her for her help and nodded quickly, gracefully making her way to the fae with fluid movements. She gathered the wispy blonde hair to the side, careful about her cool touch against Sophia’s neck as she moved it out of the way. Nimble fingers buttoned the pieces of fabric together as quickly as she could manage before sprawling her hands across the back of the dress to flatten it to make sure it sat properly. “Je suis envieux of your fashion,” she noted, glancing in the mirror to see how the front of the dress had fallen. How the dress still flowed as it hung against her curves. “I am afraid I am far too old to be caught up on all of the fashion trends that have come forth since I was your age. I would not even know where to begin with the start of a new wardrobe.”

[adriennemoralez]

mercyvelazquez‌:

Mercy wasn’t sure if she was truly hallucinating. After living in the darkness for so long, it was possible being exposed to so much sunlight so willingly was overwhelming her, but Mercy would never mistake Adrienne. There was no mistaking that it was her now and forever out there in the water, even if Mercy was squinting, trying to block the sun’s rays from blinding her view. Adrienne was one of a kind, the presence, the aura, everything about the woman was special and Mercy would be a fool to go on without realizing so. But there was something very different as the distance between them got smaller. The girl was not rising out of the tide and the water was definitely not parting like it was creating a path straight to each other, but Adrienne was still low amongst the water. Laying there as if the sea was holding her captive only for Mercy to come and ask for her release. She moved, giving up the dry sand for the wet as she left a trail of deep prints in her wake, not wanting to allow the sea to drag the girl away from her. Mercy only made it with a few seconds left to see the last of the scales wash away, only horrified because she could not see this new mermaid Adrienne in her full glory.

Before Mercy could even get a word in, she was pulled down. The water rushed around them, gently breaking against Adrienne’s back. Her knees sunk into the sand and the salt water soaked into the fabric of her dress as quickly as Mercy sunk into Adrienne’s kiss, crashing into each other like a wave breaking. Their lips moved like the swashes, easily rushing like the upwash but tenderly enjoying the backwash. It wasn’t until Mercy’s lungs begged for air and her knees were sinking into the sand–the ocean rejecting her and the land not wanting to give her up, that Mercy broke away. Her fingers now covered in the mist of the sea detangled themselves from Adrienne’s hair and traced her cheekbone. She was happy, they were happy.

“Mi dulce miel, you have nothing to apologize for. I should be the one apologizing to you. I caused you so much pain because you took pity on me. To help me. Are you sure that I was not the one that was blind? Or just a lovesick fool had given her heart too foolheartedly to the wrong person and let it consume and fester?”

The sand was giving away, forcing Mercy to stand up. She helped her love to her feet, unashamedly taking the time to take in the other girl’s body. Even after centuries living in the shadows, Adrienne’s skin had always maintained a sun-kissed love, but now she was glowing and glistening under its light. This was the body that was hidden away, only hinted at by the tight bindings of a corset, but Mercy would give anything and everything if it meant that Adrienne would never be bound by one of those monstrosities ever again. There was no need for it, no need for any clothing really but that was far further than any of the other girl’s sensibilities. Although it seemed as if Adrienne was paying no mind to how wonderfully bare and natural she was at the moment.

“As far as apologies go, mi amor, I hope they are always like this. From now and forever more, there is nothing you can do that I will not forgive when you are looking like what Apollo wishes he could be.”

Had she always been depriving herself of the frivolous notions of the sea. Something that had always been a constant, yet changing with each new tide that billowed onto shore. How could Adrienne have never realized that this entity had been there all along, whispering her name in the breezes that had barely kissed the sea. There was something she was grateful for that becoming a mermaid made her realize that the ocean had been nothing to fear. The fear of consumption had always lingered in her mind, but as she immersed herself fully into the water how easily all of her woes washed away. Here she could be whatever she wanted to be and while she truly loved her life as a vampire and had been one for so long she couldn’t imagine how her life would have been otherwise if she had never been one, there was the smallest part of her that didn’t want to go back to being one. Not after she had gotten a taste of the salty water and how revitalizing it was to feel it against her skin. If it were up to her, she would swim away from everything and bring Gabriel with her. If only he had felt the same way she had about the whole thing.

The feelings had stirred within her now, swirling like a hurricane far out in the ocean. Mercy had been the eye of the storm, the very thing that caused everything that Adrienne had ever known be so easily consumed by her. Love was never out of character for Adrienne for she had shown it to each member of the court, she had given it to Gabriel hundreds of years ago. The only difference between them and Mercy was that Adrienne had given herself as much as the girl had. She had been tending to her for so long that the lines that separated them as beings blurred and no longer made any sense where she ended and the blonde begun. Their lips pressed together proved that it was something that Adrienne had no need to worry about. It hadn’t mattered if the lines were blurred, the creation of two parts becoming whole was far better than living their lives as halves of their full potential. It wasn’t even that they had completed one another, Adrienne had long ago established exactly who she was, when someone was given hundreds of years it was easy to fall into who you were. It was just that Mercy had been that spark of color in Adrienne’s life that she had been deprived of for so long. Now that she was no longer seeing life in black and white and various shades of grey, there was no way that she would easily give up Mercy and all of the color that she brought with her.

A soft whimper pressed against her lips when Mercy pulled away, but a smile soon graced her face as she brought her hand tracing fingers along her soft features. “No pain, no pity,” she corrected her with a shake of her head. “I had not been expecting anything in return when I found you shattered on the floor. I knew you were in pain. There was nothing I wanted more was to bring you back to who you were before love destroyed you. It was not out of pity, it was out of love. Even if I hadn’t known it then, I’m sure that’s what it must have been,” nodding her head in assurance. “Mi manzanita, lo eres todo. Quiero que estés completo.” Now she brought her own hand up to the apples of her rosy cheeks mirroring her actions to show her that she had truly meant what she said. The former vampire allowed herself to be helped out of the sand, though a part of her still yearned for the sea, even if the very thing she loved the most was standing before her now. The temptation to swim out into the ocean leaving her lover on the shore was hidden in the froth that festered on the shore. “How are you fairing as a mortal, amada? Do not tell me that anyone has dared to lay a finger on you.”

[adriennemoralez]

gabrielvbeaumont‌:

Gabriel felt…odd. He couldn’t explain the feeling, only that a dead weight had settled in his chest. Perhaps it was the weight of dealing with the aftermath of the wedding, which was still fizzling down, that was weighing on his chest; perhaps it was the night terrors, which Gabriel found–curiously enough–he was experiencing more and more frequently as of late. He felt exhausted as he gazed at himself in the vanity, running a hand through his dark, thick hair and examining the lines of his face. Immortality had smoothed his skin, but even for a vampire, Gabriel felt fatigued; horribly pale and just a tad too off for his own good. Perhaps a day of rest would do him good, or an extra trip to the kitchens for blood nourishment.

So wrapped up in examining himself for any signs of flaw or error, Gabriel was startled by the sound of his bedroom door clanging open. Irritation reflexively flared inside of him as he straightened, turning to glare daggers at whoever had disrupted his privacy with such baldness. Gabriel opened his mouth, ready to cut down which subordinate had disturbed his peace, when Adrienne came fluttering into the room, noticeably disheveled. Gabriel paused, still standing by his vanity, his eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to assess the situation for himself. It wasn’t like Adrienne to invade his privacy with little warning; she respected his space. She was likely one of the only ones who truly did.

“Adrienne,” he said, his shackles immediately raised by the frantic, desperate pleas that fell from her lips. It was unlike Adrienne to behave this way; she was normally so calm and composed that seeing her with tears staining her face and genuine terror spiking her voice sent a shot of pure fear straight through Gabriel’s heart. He came towards her, as if on instinct, as she fell to the ground, bending down to catch Adrienne and support her. He held her in his embrace, mostly to support Adrienne from falling again, as he led her to his chair over in the corner. “Mon très cher ami, what is it? Who’s come for you? Where is the danger?”

Adrienne wanted nothing more than to embrace his arms around her, let them engulf her and all of her worries. But her mind told her otherwise, convinced her that those arms would be nothing but suffocating. She felt her whole body tense as she felt the ripple of his touch travel from her arms down her spine and into her legs. It had caused her to shake even more from all of the tension surrounding her. She even winced from his touch. The only man she had ever trusted could never hurt her, but her demons were haunting her. They were in control of her emotions and reactions. This man in front of her could never hurt a fly, would never strike a hand or grip too tight. She knew this, in the depths of her soul she knew this. But her mind was a fickle thing, and it was screaming out to her that it was all wrong. That everything she had believed was wrong.

She could hear the voices, the ones in her head telling her to turn back. That he was never on her side like she had believed. They were convincing her that their hundreds of years they spent together was some sort of lie or scheme to bend her to his will. That he was no different than any of the men before him. All of their harsh words digging deeper into the skin they had already been clawing at. There was an unrest in the girl, causing her to shake and to sweat— causing her to believe that she couldn’t believe anything or anyone in her life that was trying to keep her away from keeping her mind at ease. The drug was the only thing that could keep her mind at ease. And it had many faces telling her she wasn’t strong enough to get through this on her own. But she inherently trusted him and that outweighed all of the tumult going on in her mind. Her instincts told her that he was okay, that he would only mean for good fortune for her. So even though she was tense in his arms, she allowed him to move her over to a chair and let him speak to her.

Her face was still buried in her own hands as he spoke, feeling her nails dig into her brow to try to wake herself up from this nightmare she had stumbled upon. But the nightmare didn’t end, the voices only grew louder in her head to the point where all she wanted to do was scream. “They are here now,” she admitted in a grumbled voice, shaking her head trying to deny what was happening to her. In a fit of sobs, she curled into the chair still quivering, pulling away from his grip violently so she could hold onto herself. “They have always been here… Lurking in my mind… And now they are manifested into beings… They are here to take me away for everything I have done to them…” her voice thick with her Spanish accent as she spoke almost nonsense to him.

[lucifergifs]

[adriennemoralez]

@gabrielvbeaumont

[adriennemoralez]

xcolettedelafontaine‌:

“I would never grimace,” Colette replied smoothly, tucking the brightly colored peony back into the vase. Grimace? It made it seem like Colette was some sort of animal. She supposed she had been – years ago, when importantly was oh so new and dangerous – but now she could hardly be related to such a thing. She was grave and poise – champagne smiles, not grimaces. 

“You miss understand,” Her gaze flickered back to the general. “Or, do I miss understand you, ma sœur? I did not think you were a fan of anything other than war, General.” She teased playfully, before her normal cool self swept over her expression once more, eyes back to the elaborate display of flowers. Perhaps her weariness was simply because Colette enjoyed the life they had here. Sophia was something she didn’t quite understand. “I only mean… will she make him happy? It is not our place to question him, but she is… young. Naive. A fae among vampires. I find it odd, even if such an alliance is a grand idea, and a needed attachment. The High Queen seemed rather eager to be rid of her.”

“Cierto, you are far too beautiful to grimace,” she agreed with a small sigh. Colette was right, there was no way grimace could have been the right way to describe her. But there was the slightest part of her that Adrienne had picked up on that felt as if she would sneer at the young fae given the chance. “No entiendo?” Her brows raising at the odd insinuation. There was not much that could stump Adrienne, she had been alive long enough to be able to pick these sorts of things out from almost nothing.

The ghost of a smile played across the features of the older vampire as she carefully fingered the petals. “War and beauty coincide far more often than you might know, mon chère.” She drew her hand back to herself before looking back to Colette. “Our King does not need anyone to make him happy. While I wish all of the happiness for him, we should be more concerned if he will make her happy, no?” Adrienne paused for a moment, allowing her slinky arms to fold over each other. “Not that I think he is not deserving of a love that is true, but the last thing we need as a court is to exclude the Queen,” she pointed out to the spymaster. “No matter Giselle’s reasonings for sending the young fae here, we should be focused on making her feel welcome. I have no ill feelings toward the petite blonde. Nor should she have any more reasons to think of us as monsters.”

[adriennemoralez]

ofdevereauxs‌:

His position in the vampire court was something he actually took seriously. It was time for vampires to stop being oppressed, by any means that the court deemed necessary. He wasn’t there to question anything, not that he would when he believed the fate of vampires would grow stronger, better with the current king. Baz enjoyed getting to partake through the opportunity given to him. Gabriel would lead them in the right direction and others, like Adrienne, never failed to do the same. His nose briefly wrinkled, scrunching up when she pinched his cheek, though the corners of his lips began to tug upwards. Balthazar had the smile of an angel that hid his wickedness, fooling those who didn’t know him.

“Lately it’s much of the same. Business, whispers, people who stray further than they should.” He liked to keep a watchful eye and had his sources of information, in between stirring up some of his own trouble. “I’ll admit, nothing too interesting.” Balthazar was rather bored and knew he would have to do something about that himself in order to change it. “Have you been well?” Though Baz asked, he didn’t doubt it. Adrienne had an admirable way of carrying herself. While he didn’t like admitting he was lacking in anything, there was much he had picked up from her over the years and things he could still learn.

Anyone outside of the court knew Adrienne Moralez as a cold and calculating killer. She was the General and the second in command. And while that reputation rang true, the individuals who had the pleasure of actually knowing the vampire knew the truth of the matter was that she was very kind hearted and loving toward her kind. There were simply injustices in the world that had to be brought to light. She vowed long ago her immortal life would be dedicated to making all of those wrongs right. Even after all of those years, her morals never strayed— this was her truth, her purpose, the only reason she was still alive. In order to accomplish these things, she knew she had to be surrounded by individuals who only wanted the same treatment as everyone else.

 Luckily for her, she and Gabriel established long ago what kind of kingdom they would be running. Painted as scary villains with sharp teeth, they took it in their stride. Though they knew that their want to be free of oppression wasn’t monstrous, it was not below them to fulfill that prophecy that had been bestowed upon them. If they wanted monsters, then so be it. For that reason, it was good to have people like Baz on their side. Ruthless in his own right with an unwavering loyalty, it made him absolutely perfect for the role he had been given. And it was only right that Adrienne took him under her care so she could make sure that loyalty never faltered. Her lips pursed for a moment in thought, “business?” She asked, ticking her brow up. “What sorts of business goes on in the Wood?” The only reason it has piqued her interest was because she had secrets of her own, whispers from the Wood that echoed in her mind. If she knew them, she wondered if anyone else in the court had been blackmailed as well. 

“I have been fine,” she responded almost as if she had rehearsed her response. To show weakness was not something Adrienne ever did. If she couldn’t bear her soul to Gabriel, there was no way she could have done it in front of anyone else. “Just incredibly busy, the wedding sent everyone for a loop. The work of the General doesn’t stop, fortunately for me vampires don’t need much sleep,” not that she could have slept even if she wanted to. Worried of the flashes of her past life in her eyes when she stopped for even a moment. “Have you found any traitors recently? Anyone in the court seem like they have been off since the wedding? Like they might betray the King’s trust?”

[adriennemoralez]

mercy // six word story

“The shards of you complete me.”

@mercyvelazquez

[kacie1x1-blog]

send me a ✅ and ill write a six-word story for our muses

[adriennemoralez]

adrienne // cassius // enjolras // oakley // sebastian // taika

[adriennemoralez]

&&.@gabrielvbeaumont

Standing from her bed, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles became white from the pressure, she finally unlocked the door to her chamber. That same pull she felt earlier that day to the shed on the beach dragging her through the castle. Whatever that drug had been, it was stronger than her. And the demons were on the edge of her feet, scraping her heels every time she tried to resist the urge to go straight to it. Any moment of hesitation, every step in the wrong direction she could feel the hands of the dead reaching for her. Pushing and grabbing her if she tried to fight them off. Their grip had always been stronger than her will. She remembered each time she had been held down so vividly. Those bruises were rising to the surface, spreading across her skin like wild fire. Pooling just below the surface of her now unmarked skin. Those scars were gone from the surface, but they were far deeper than she ever admitted to anyone. 

Adrienne started to run. Closing her eyes and trusting her instincts to take her away from them. In a brief moment of clarity, coherent thoughts and actions had taken precedence over her fears and her demons. Breaking free from the shackles that weighed her down for only a moment. But the moment had been long enough for her to find her way to her king’s chambers. There was no time for knocking, there was no time for anything other than barging in. If she had waited another moment she feared her demons would have betrayed her as they always had and they would drag her to the sand until there was only one option left. 

The heavy door slammed against the wall as she made her presence known. Eyes filled with a fear that hadn’t settled in them in centuries, she spotted Gabriel standing by his vanity. In a panic she turned back to the door, slamming it behind her so they could not drag her from his grip. “Gabriel,” she huffed through heavy breaths and tear-stained cheeks, “Han venido por mí. Me van a lastimar.” Words falling out of her mouth in trembles as she collapsed to the ground, collapsing into herself. This was a side she had never showed anyone, to be weak was her biggest fear. To be viewed as someone who was plagued with thoughts she could not quell. Sobbing now on the ground she started to mumble to herself again. “Soy tu cisne de oro. Solo seré visto. Solo seré visto. Seré visto. Cinse de oro.” Words falling from her lips that she could not catch or stop she became nothing but a puddle in front of him. “Por favor. No dejes que me hagan daño. Por favor. No haga.”

[adriennemoralez]

self para // drown.

Trembles ran through her body like the waves crashing onto the shore. Each new swell leading her closer to an edge she was afraid she could never return from. Ripples flowing in the forms of thoughts and shaking hands. The night had been nothing but tossing and turning. Tossing, tossing, tossing. Between the cold sweats and the hot flashes there was no use in getting comfortable. She had barricaded the door, not answering for any servants or people from the court. Adrienne Moralez was not weak, and she refused to let anyone in the court see her that way. To see the general who was so poised and put together beside herself in shambles and ruins. She was far too proud. 

And far too paranoid to trust anyone in the inner circle. If she had been asked to spy on her king, the person she loved the most in the world, what would stop anyone else from spying on her. Colette was the spymaster for the court, but maybe she had been against them the whole time. Mariana was a delegate for the interspecies court, who knew what information she could have been leaking to those in attendance. She even found herself doubting Mercy, the girl was too much of a loose canon and had weaseled in too close to the older vampire for her own comfort. If the offer had tempted even Adrienne, the strongest of them all, then how well would the others stand if they had been slipped the same drug. Would they be able to resist?

The withdrawals alone could have been manageable for the vampire who was four centuries old, but the echos in her head ringing louder and louder of thoughts she wished she could quell. Thoughts that hadn’t been in her mind since she tore them all down. Fears of her past coming back to haunt her. Visions of Madam Amalia standing at the foot of her bed presenting herself as if she stood so much taller than Adrienne. Those same eyes that had burned into her as a child, the ones that had made her feel so small. Gone were any good memories she had, the years of traveling the world with Gabriel, the century of ruling the court at his side, the feelings she had just discovered about Mercy were now all consumed by the shadows that seemed to grow larger and larger as the night carried on. 

She swore she saw silhouettes in the moonlight. Hearing drunken heavy footsteps drag across the floor. She could hear the clink of coins as they fell against the hard floor. All of the parts of her past that she wished she had closed her eyes for were now flashing before her eyes in the chamber she had called her home for so long. The one place in the court where she had felt completely safe now haunted with the ghosts of her past. Each and every face she had sought out to bring to retribution now presented themselves around her room. Adrienne had always known that the world was full of monsters, but these were ones she thought she rid the world of. 

Adrienne closed in on herself, wrapping her arms around her legs as she rocked. She sank her fangs into her lips out of pure fear that they were going to come closer, that they would dare to touch her. Madam Amalia’s words rang out in her head, ‘Tú eres mi cisne de oro. Debes ser visto pero nunca escuchado.’ Echoing, echoing, echoing. Words she had heard for a century, burned into her mind and seared across her skin. Adrienne found herself mumbling the words to herself in her dazed state. “Soy tu cisne de oro. Solo seré visto,” over and over again. The same way she had done when she was just a girl who could only ever do as she was told. Those words she had told herself to convince her that Madam Amalia loved her in some weird twisted way. That she truly cared for the girl and that she was her golden swan. 

Fingernails dug into her skin, a desperate attempt to wake herself up from the nightmare the lack of drugs had created. To show her that she was still alive, that she was in control of at least something. The voices, the noises, the faces all haunted her. Bombarding her with everything they could until it got so loud that the only thing she could do was scream. A scream she feared that could be heard through the entire court. No doubt there would be guard trying to burst down her door in no time. To see what had been wrong. All of the signs, the lack of appetite, the sweats, the paranoia, the hallucinations in two nights without the drug pointed to the only option she could see through. 

Adrienne had to give in. 

To succumb to the Mer Queens orders. To betray her king. It was the only way she didn’t have to live with the demons of her past for a moment longer.

If the visions had lasted for another moment, she feared she might lose herself entirely. But perhaps she already had.

[gabrielvbeaumont-deactivated201]

adriennemoralez‌:

Before Adrienne had met Gabriel, she was not sure she would find meaning in her life. Of course, the thing that drove her for hundreds of years was making sure that Madam Hernandez and all of the men who had ever dared touch her or pay for her services be brought to justice. She could feel her drive start to dwindle the closer she got to Alejandro. She had often imagined that after him, it would be the end of the line for her. If there was no one left to pay for her wrongdoing, then she felt as if there was no will to live. She was sure that when her work was done she would have set herself aflame to free herself from the damnation of this life she was forced to suffer since she was a baby.

But life gave her Gabriel, this young boy who had been closed off within himself for his whole lifetime. Never would she have imagined to find a companion like him. Yet she did. And she stood with him looking down at their chessboard of a map of Candoris and all of its pawns in place that would assure them rule over all of the kingdom. Two souls damned for eternity making plans to rule together. Just because Gabriel wore the crown, it would be a mistake assuming he ruled alone. Gabriel had given Adrienne the one thing she never thought possible and that was purpose. She never had to thank him, for she knew that he knew her gratitude for him. They never spoke of their pasts to each other, they just had a mutual understanding that they had both been wronged in their mortal lives so much so that it carried on well through their immortal ones.

She took in his words making mental notes of all of the people in the court. The Spring and Autumn courts would be the easiest to sway she thought. It was a matter about giving the Lords and Ladies exactly what they wanted. She had no doubt in her mind that she would be able to spin words into intricately made webs that would trap their prey if they thought that they could not get away easily. This was what she was good at. The other courts might have proved to be a little more challenging, but she knew that Mariana would be more than willing to help her find all of the information that she needed. As long as she continued to keep an open mind about approaching them and being willing to fulfill their needs. Adrienne had the advantage of being the oldest vampire in the night court. If she could relate to anything with the fae it would have just been simply the age. She lived almost as long as they had and in some cases she had lived longer. Immortality was a strange thing that she would never get used to, but she would be willing to play it in her cards if her hand was forced. “I will confer with Mariana at some point and perhaps visit Lady Derrieux first or Lord de Clare,” she paused thinking about it. “I think I can figure out a way to get both of them to side with us.” She nodded as her eyes thinned in thought.

“Una idea sabia, I do not think I would enjoy being in the same room as her majesty’s whore of a consort anyways,” she stuck her nose up in thought. Adrienne tilted her head in thought for a moment as she looked over at her conflicted king. Her eyes went down to look at his hands, how he was fidgeting with the ring that would be there for the rest of eternity. In all honesty, she had never envisioned a future where Gabriel was married or that she would be. She had always just assumed that the two of them would rule the kingdom together. But they all would make sacrifices for the war, even if that meant having a queen at Gabriel’s side for the sake of an alliance. But she understood where he was coming from because Adrienne had walked with loneliness for far longer than Gabriel had. It was her only companion for the years before she met her king. She knew it better than she probably knew herself at this point. 

“Yo creo que,” she paused pursing her lips in thought for another moment. She thought of Mercy in that brief moment. How even though it took time for Adrienne to think that she cared for the girl in a higher capacity or to think that the girl had possibly cared for her as well. How could someone love her? She was damaged and broken from the moment she was brought into this world. And yet, she was only now starting to open up to the idea that love could be for her. That it did not have to be as selfish as her notion toward the subject was. “It must be,” she finally said after her silence. “L’amour est une chose mystérieuse.”

“Perhaps your queen is disappointed now. She was plucked from her old life and old court and is now queen of another court. But I would not say disappointment is on the front of her mind. I have a strong sensación that loneliness must be a friend of hers as well. As long as we make her feel like she truly belongs here, then disappointment would not come to mind,” she drew in a breath before reaching her hand out to place it on his shoulder. “You cannot be so hard on yourself, mi alma. We are strangers to love, we always have been. But if we close ourselves off to becoming acquainted with it, then we are no better than the monsters who made us this way, no?”

History, books, strategy; those were things that Gabriel Beaumont understood with perfect clarity. And, on some level, he understood the mechanisms of people’s minds; how they operated, what they were willing to fight and pledge and die for. But his own emotions? The vampire king had long since stopped trying to understand the twisted machinations of his own heart and soul; he had been damaged long before immortality, as a young boy whose parents chose apathy over love and nurturing. As a direct result, his confusion and ineptitude to express or properly experience love had followed him all the way to adulthood. It was not that he did not want to feel, but that it was difficult to give himself into the vulnerability of emotions that he did not know how to control. How did people move day-to-day, feeling with so much of their souls that they felt full to bursting?

Standing with Adrienne in his study, with the ominous silence of death and decay that hung around them, permeating the air, Gabriel felt a thread of anger work its way through the core of his heart. For immortal creatures, the thought of death should have been little more than a turn of phrase; a thought as distant and boundless as the ocean. People were casualties of war, but not his people. He remembered a play, favored through many times he’d thumbed through the text in his later mortal years: to die, to sleep – to sleep, perchance to dream. A handful of vampires had been burned at the pyre, but Gabriel had shut their eyes before their eternal rest; before darkness claimed them forevermore. He was often thought of as cruel and apathetic; a tyrant perched atop a throne of bones. He was the villain of this narrative, it was true, but even monsters bleed if you cut them deeply enough. 

“Good,” he said, blinking the haze from his gaze as Adrienne consented to speaking with Mariana. They were a well-oiled machine, his Night Court, and each person contributed their fair share to his reign. It would be inaccurate to state that he was the sole reason he was responsible for his crown, but it helped that he had made himself something akin to a makeshift family out of the other immortals who had sworn themselves to him. “Don’t worry about the queen’s whore; I’ll see to him on my own time. The Prince Consort has sway with the people, but he is not invincible just yet. And Mariana can be more…in tune with the thoughts and feelings of others for these sort of situations. She might have a better grasp on what the different courts would like out of this arrangement. See to it that she’s properly debriefed before you begin your travels, but beyond that, mon ami, you have my blessing.” I trust you, were the words that went unsaid, because Gabriel Beaumont did not voice his trust in others. They either earned it or they did not.

“I am not sure it is real–love, that is,” Gabriel said after a long, pensive silence, in which he mulled Adrienne’s words over carefully. He turned away from the map, rubbing his hand under his chin as he tried to think of a single instance in his life where he had felt a flicker of the emotion that was said to start wars and tear down entire cities. He had felt loneliness and despair; triumph and anger. Rage and envy. But love? It was so unfathomable to the vampire king that he had frequently questioned the authenticity of its existence. He nearly stiffened when Adrienne placed her hand on his shoulder, but forced himself to relax under her touch. He was more wound up than he could say in the aftermath of the tragedy of his own wedding, and as such, more susceptible to slipping back into his knee-jerk, instinctive habits of reacting convulsively to other people. But this was Adrienne; Adrienne, whose heart was broken and fractured in ways that he suspected were similar to his own. “Je suis un monstre, Adrienne, and when the boy king comes with his army of wolves to mount my head on a spike, I will face my destiny head on. If the humans wish to paint me as their monster, then so be it; I became a monster the moment he made me one.” He turned away, nostrils flaring as he bent over the map to make proper markings on the various locations he would be sending Adrienne in the Fae lands.

“It is growing late in the day, I fear,” he managed at last, his voice thick with a repressed emotion he had tried to stifle and bury for years. “I would wish for you to head out within the next few days, mon ami; I’ll speak with Mariana for suggestions on how to make amends with Giselle and her little pet consort. And…Sophia. I will speak with her, too.” He rolled the map up, avoiding Adrienne’s gaze as he began to tuck things away into his office. With his back turned to her, he said: “Leave Mercy behind when you leave. I wish to speak with her about her development in the Court. That is all, mon ami, for today I think.”

[adriennemoralez]

&&.@celine-dahl

There was a dull ache that had been slowly saturating her mind for the last couple of days. Spreading the irritation to the edges of her head until she could not withstand the pain any longer. Adrienne pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to soothe it any bit. Often when she had headaches like these, it was because she had simply forgotten to eat. She was usually busy discussing everything about the war with Gabriel and now with making sure Sophia was comfortable her plate was full. Not to mention that any of her free time that used to be just her’s was spent with Mercy now. Not that she was complaining at all, it just meant the simple things like eating and sleeping tended to slip her mind after a full few days. 

She wandered a bit in the Wilde Wood looking for her victim. Someone she could drain quickly and unsuspecting. When Adrienne found them, she drank and drank and drank until she had emptied the blood bag completely. Yet her insatiable craving hadn’t been cured and neither had the headache. If anything, the human just made her feel worse. She felt like she had drank too much, more than she needed too but she still felt oddly empty. Adrienne wandered around bringing her clammy hand to her opposite arm to sooth an itch that had formed. The only thing her meal had brought her was an onslaught of agitation that she was unable to curb her appetite. Adrienne had prided herself on being incredibly wise, she had been alive for so long it would have been a waste if she didn’t use her brain for that reason. However, now she was angry that the simple solution to get rid of the headache didn’t work. 

Small sweat beads accumulated across her forehead as she mindlessly meandered through the wood, as if something was drawing her closer to it. Her fangs deployed on their own when her line of vision met a shack, something that was unusual for a vampire who had learned to control those urges a long time ago. Adrienne couldn’t retract them as she approached the small hut on the edge of the sea, she had this sickening feeling in her gut that the thing she had been craving could be found there. Perhaps B negative just wasn’t doing the trick for her. She peered her head around the corner, eyes scanning the perimeter until they fell on a blonde figure. 

“You.” Eyes thinning for a moment as her body began to tremble. She clenched her fists in an attempt to control the convulsions as best as she could. “Ayudame, por favor.” It felt odd for her to even be asking for help like this, but as the blood had settled into her stomach, she felt so nauseous and dizzy she didn’t know what else to do in this moment. 

[adriennemoralez]

&&.@ofdevereauxs

While things had been mostly quiet after the wedding, they had definitely meant for more time to allow for strategizing for the upcoming war. Adrienne working closely with anyone who had a hand in the fight, ensuring their unwavering loyalty and that they all had been on the same page. While that entailed meeting with people who had stronger holds in the court like Kamau and Kaya, it was still important that the secondary people of the court had a say in what they thought should happen. There was no doubt that Gabriel had been a good king, but Adrienne worked hard day and night to ensure that his name was never tainted or drug through the mud. 

But for others, their loyalty had always been steadfast. It was one of these individuals that she had taken a particular liking to many years ago. He showed a lot of promise, however when he came to the court he lacked one critical thing and that was the grace Adrienne instilled in everything that she did. Without question, she had taken Baz under her wing to guide him to be the king’s perfect executioner. The smallest of smiles crossed her features when she came across him in the courtyard. “Mi diablito,” she greeted him with a slight pinch of his cheek. “Tell me, niño. What sorts of trouble have been brewing in the Wood lately?”

[adriennemoralez]

sophiabcaumont‌:

@adriennemoralez

She couldn’t explain when it had happened, or how, but during the course of her stay at the court of the night, Sophia had found solace and comfort and companionship in the most unlikely of friends in the form of one Adrienne Moralez. It had first started at the wedding, when the elder woman had approached her when Sophia was at her most vulnerable, and then mere days later when the young fae was once again feeling more lost and alone than she could bear. Since then, Sophia found herself seeking out her king’s second-in-command more often than not, even if she was unable to describe her desire to be in her presence. She admired Adrienne, and looked up to her a great deal, and in a sprawling castle where she was an outcast forced into the role of queen consort, she was more grateful than ever to have found someone she could truly trust. 

Now, after Sophia had very tentatively requested Adrienne’s presence in her chambers, she was trying to think of a reasonable excuse to keep her there without making herself seem even more pitifully lonely than she already was. Her gossamer-gold wings fluttered anxiously as she rushed towards the door the moment she heard the tell-tale knock, and she opened it with a relieved, grateful expression on her porcelain-doll face. She felt such peace when Adrienne was around. “Mademoiselle Moralez - s’il vous plait, I am so sorry to call on you so suddenly. I can only hope that you were not too busy,” she said breathlessly, very gently ushering the dark-haired vampiress into her suite with a graceful hand reaching out to clasp around one of Adrienne’s fine-boned wrists. It was a small, hesitant touch - she didn’t want to scare her away, after all. “Are you doing - well? Did I steal you away from something terribly important?”

When Adrienne wasn’t in her chambers with her arms wrapped around Mercy or in Gabriel’s strategizing with him over the war, the general of the night court had found herself in the company of the Queen consort more often than not. She did not know why the other members of the court had not taken a liking to her. She understood their reservations for an outsider, a fae, to be thrust among the inner circle, but months had passed and Sophia posed absolutely no threat. There had been doubts that she had been sent here as a spy for the high court, but the more time Adrienne had spent with her, the more she understood that the young fae was just as surprised by the High Queen’s decision to send her as a gift. They had been under the impression that all parties had been in agreement about the alliance. From the moment she had met her, she felt an overwhelming amount of sympathy for her. She knew what it was like to have her path chosen for her without warning or want. The only thing Adrienne wanted to give the girl was a space that she could learn to call her home. Seeing as the fae didn’t have a choice on the matter on whether or not this was her home, the least she could do was actually feel like it was.

There was a warmth in her heart and a smile on her face when she had gotten word that Sophia had wanted to see her. She was glad that even if it was minimal, there could be things that Sophia was looking forward to. That Adrienne could provide that comfort and company she longed for. She wasted no time going to Sophia’s chambers, after all, a queen should wait on no one. When the blonde fae opened the door, Adrienne offered a sincere smile. It had meant as much for her as it did for Sophia to know that in the chaos of everything, at least they could have each other. “Mi Majested, how many times have I told you never to apologize for calling me here.” Had it been anyone else taking her wrist in their grip, Adrienne would have pulled it away and closed herself off. But the more time she spent with her, the more she understood that the wispy blonde haired girl seemed to need that component of the relationship. The physicality of it all. While Adrienne had lived the majority of life cowering away from the touch of anyone, in the past weeks both Mercy and Sophia had shown her that physical touch could be a genuine way to form a connection with people. And of course, every moment she spent with Sophia had given her more notes that she could take back to Gabriel to try and give him subtle hints on how to make his Queen Consort feel comfortable. And on the flip side of things, she could do everything she could to give those same hints to Sophia in hopes that she could understand her husband better.

“Je ne peux pas me plaindre,” she spoke in her native language to reassure her that she truly had been alright for calling her here. “Was there something pressing you wished to speak with me about that needs privacy?” she started to ask, sliding out of the girl’s grip around her wrist so that she could hold her hand instead. “If no, I would absolutamente amor to go out to the gardens with you,” she squeezed her hand. “The court has been barren for years and it’s... Exaltant to see you bring a life we have never had,” she held herself back before giving her a sheepish smile. “Lo siento, mademoiselle. Pardonne-moi, it is the only thing I have been able to think about since the last time we were there.”

[adriennemoralez]

mercyvelazquez‌:

Restraint. If Mercy even practiced an ounce of restraint, she would not feel the way that she was feeling right now, but that was not possible. Even in her past life, having to hold back was an issue. The girl loved to feel things, to have her heart race with adrenaline as she would touch herself in the halls of the manor after she would see secret moments she was never supposed to, to feel the joy of running through the fields before she had got caught in the whirlwind of luxury. All that amplified when she was turned and it was the intensity of how much her the blood would run slower, but always be charged with something, to feel every slow heartbeat burst with feeling. It was always all or none for Mercy when it came to being a vampire. 

“Quiero Mataro. That man last night. That was not my Feliks.” Everything about Feliks hurt. Thinking about him, talking about him, Mercy just hurt. Even in the arms of her love, Mercy still couldn’t remove the feeling of his touch, because, for a brief moment last night, he was him again. Mercy could mourn him, that was what she needed to do. Mourn the man she once loved as he was dead and gone, replaced with this man that looked just like him, that looked at her like she was a monster that repulsed him. And be mad that she did not put a hand in his chest and rip out his heart like all the others that she once loved but only saw her as a monster after she turned. She had her closure. “Usted tenía razón. Siempre tuviste razón. No lo necesito.” 

“I would say nothing,” she answered, her eyes slowly becoming unclouded as she finally saw the reflection of herself in Adrienne’s. “This is the worse pain. To hurt you while I hurt.” This sadness that had stricken her for the past fifty years was nothing new and that’s what made it all change. Falling to the floor, having Adrienne worry over her, Mercy was done. There was a better person deserving of her love and that person was right in front of her. No more hesitation. The most she’s felt her best was the moment with Adrienne last night and all Mercy wanted was to feel that again, to let that encompass her whole being. She gently raised her hand, her fingers gingerly touching Adrienne’s cheek. Her skin was so soft to the touch and Mercy would slowly trace her fingers over every curve while her eyes would find no imperfections. And in a moment, as impulsive as before, Mercy closed the distance between the two, knowing at this time, there would be nothing to ruin their moment. 

It was an odd sensation. To know Mercy to her very depths and still feel this way about her. Adrienne had closed herself off a long time ago, closed off from love and relationships— the whole bit. She lived her first fifty years out of Madam Amalia’s grasp alone doing her own thing and finding her retribution. She was content that way. Never bringing in anyone else to get close to her or to stop her from her ultimate goal. Then she met Gabriel and while they had started off sharing a mutual endgame, there was something different about him too. The insane over protectiveness she felt for her king the more time they spent together only seemed to grow exponentially to what it was today. As much as Gabriel insisted that he was unlovable or insisted that he could not love someone else, he had done just that with Adrienne. With all of the members of the court. It had taken some time for they to all warm up to each other, but the sort of relationship that they had cultivated was the reason that Adrienne was standing here today. It was only because of Gabriel’s love for Adrienne that she had been able to even start to love another. There was the whole matter of time though, the toughest hurdle to cross of them all.

But Adrienne and Mercy had been given time, time for Adrienne to piece her back together (however tedious it had been). She could feel her heart start to beat in a way that it hadn’t before. She had began to worry for the other vampire, carefully looking out for her in ways that she did not show to the other members of the court. Of course, there was nothing that could break the bond between her and Gabriel and no one could possibly take the place that he had in her heart. But there had always been a corner of her heart that remained vacant, covered in cobwebs and completely sealed off from any person who ever tried to attempt. But the more she tended to Mercy, the more she gave her heart to her. The small shards of Mercy had penetrated into that part of her heart, clearing away the dust as she began to complete Adrienne in a way that she did not think was possible.

There had always been the matter of Feliks though, the reason that Adrienne had sought out Mercy in the first place. Years and years of trying to convince her that it was Feliks that had made the choice to leave her because of his own selfish reasons. To convince her that he left and that he didn’t come close to deserving her love or affection in anyway. That he was a fool for leaving someone like her, to leave her so fragile and… Broken. But she wasn’t broken, she was just lost. Adrienne only ever wanted to bring her back into the light so she wasn’t lost in the darkest parts of her mind. To guide her to live a life of immortality fulfilled instead of so desperately lost. She had begun to think that all of that work and effort that she had put into making Mercy understand that had fallen on deaf ears that whole time.

But now she was there in front of her admitting that Adrienne had been right, that she had always been right about him. And her next words rang through her head, echoing so loudly she swore she must have been hallucinating from it. To hurt you while I hurt. It was not until those very words were spoken that Adrienne realized exactly what she had been fighting for all along. Mercy was the first person in all of her centuries of living that drove her to fight for something for the sole reason of loving them. Not in the way that she fought for Gabriel because of how she loved him. Her love for Mercy was something that she couldn’t even fathom, it was the sort of love she never thought could be brought to fruition for all of eternity. It was true. It was just. By no means had it been easy fighting the slight tug of her heartstrings whenever the other vampire was around. It was not easy to see her so undone when the only thing she wanted for Mercy was for someone deserving of her love to love her and be loved by her. This wasn’t something that happened in an instance between them. It was the product of half a century of growing and understanding one another to the point where things without the other just didn’t seem to make any sense.

She couldn’t help the shaky breath that escaped her lips when Mercy brought her hand to her cheek. That same breath she let out the night before as her fingers had dragged across her back like matches. Why she didn’t realize it until now was something she wished to not think about. It had always been Mercy. It was always only going to be Mercy and those words were the only things that had solidified those thoughts in her head. The ideas she had always flirted with but never did anything about. Adrienne let her eyes flutter shut as Mercy closed the distance between the two of them, still guiding her closer with the hand that had been resting on her chin. She knew the moment their lips would meet that would be it for her. That her fears the night before that stirred when they kissed wouldn’t matter because there was hope in her chest now. Hope that Mercy had always felt the same as Adrienne. They had just been too lost before for them to realize that in the years of trying to find something to make them have a grip on this world, they had found each other. Hope that now they had come into the light, hand in hand, heart to heart. It wasn’t something she had understood until Mercy pressed her lips against hers.

Adrienne moved both of her hands to encompass Mercy’s cheeks as she deepened the kiss. Aside from the night before, she had never wanted to share this part of herself with anyone. But in some weird twist of events, Mercy showed her that she could. That love was possible even for someone who thought they deserved it the least. She felt a rush run through her as she pulled Mercy closer to her, wrapping her arms around the girl’s neck so she couldn’t pull away for air or even for a moment. She always knew she hated Madam Amalia for doing what she had to her, but now she felt grateful. Grateful that even though her mortal life had been chosen for her, that everything she went through and everything she did made her the person that stood before Mercy today. Her path in life had led her to Gabriel, her other half— her soul. It led her to Candoris, the only place she had ever been able to call a home. And it led her straight to Mercy, the only person she had truly been in love with. If it weren’t for her and her maliciousness, Adrienne would not have been able to live her life to her fullest extent. Sure, it had taken four centuries for her to get there, but being in the arms of Mercy, her manzanita, proved that the wait had been worth it. That perhaps an immortal life with her could be fulfilling instead of the hell she had deemed it long ago.

In that moment, she stopped thinking. Thinking of all of the ways that she could possibly mess this up, because there were none that made sense. She let her senses take over, never breaking away from the kiss. She moved gracefully and carefully over the other vampire so that her legs were on either side straddling the girl. She sank further into the kiss, sinking down onto Mercy’s lap as she pressed her body against hers. It had felt so good to be this close with another person. To be in the arms of someone she loved entirely and trusted with her whole being. She tangled her fingers through the girl’s hair, pushing and pulling her in every which way, letting out soft moans against her lips. Adrienne had never wanted anything so badly in her entire life than to give her everything to her. Mercy was hers. And she had given every bit of her heart that she could to the girl before she knew she had.

[queenlagertha]

[mercyvelazquez]

(( ~ @adriennemoralez ~ ))

Something was telling her that she needed to go to the shoreline. Mercy had not made the trip in weeks since she visited The Star Eater–the journey long and tedious and too extremely boring as she would be stuck in her carriage shielding herself from the harsh daylight that would prick at her skin like needles. But today that wasn’t the case as she walked slowly through the streets, witnessing this odd chaos as people around her were in a panic. A fae flew up above, somehow flying upside down and a wolf cut in front of her path. A smile played on her lips, loving every second of it. It may not have been at her doing but to see all these people crying out in pain and in worry made it the best morning that Mercy has had in a while. The world’s natural chaotic state just laid out in front of her for her viewing pleasure.

And there was the fact that Mercy couldn’t help but take advantage of the chaos and break through a shop window, relieving the beautifully displayed bracelet from its boring spot. It was not for her; the bright orange jewel inlaid in its meticulously detailed gold setting would look stunning on the arm of her love. It would stun even as Adrienne would force her claws through some mortal’s chest. Mercy admired it for a moment, careful not to get her own blood on it as she some of the glass cut into her skin, before moving on, holding her little treasure in her hand as she finally reached the sandy shore that overlooked the vast blue.

It was a bright day with not a cloud in sight. Mercy couldn’t remember the last time she got to go out on a day like this. Even when the skin was this clear from above, Mercy could only remember the plumes of smoke that would rise up, up, up into the sky, the fire burning everything in its wake after a torch was thrown from her hand. The sun was as hot as the fires that tickled her skin in her memory, but the reprieve from the heat was just a few feet away, pulling and pushing the shoreline every so often.

Mercy still didn’t know what drew her here, but she had made the journey and there really was nothing like squishing her toes in the sand.

[adriennemoralez]

It didn’t take long at all for Adrienne to find her way back to the sea. There was something so intoxicating about it that it would drive her mad if she chose to deprive herself of the pleasures she had felt. Who knew all that it took was a dip in the ocean to make her feel so light and airy. If she would have know that, she would have found herself on the coast long ago. The old adage of salt healing wounds proved to be true to her. All she needed to do was to submerge herself into the water and let it do its work on her. She only needed that moment to feel something within her click and everything seemed to all make sense. A part of her had even hoped that this would last. If it meant that she was free from the shackles of her eternity of damnation, then she could live the rest of her days carefree and unburdened by the things that plagued her mind for centuries.

The coolness of the water felt invigorating in comparison to how harshly the sun seemed to beat down on the Kingdom today. Adrienne could feel that rush of adrenaline course through her veins as she played in the water. She had no responsibilities here, she could just be a girl whose life wasn’t snatched from her before she could even form thoughts for herself. The life she had so desperately hoped for all of those years ago. The former vampire swam to the shore, finding herself to enjoy the depths of the ocean far better than the coast, but she felt as if there was something waiting for her on land. As she pulled herself up onto the sand, her tail had become nothing but froth and in its place were her two legs.

She watched the froth being dragged back into the sea, as if it were the only bit of magic she couldn’t take with her on land. After she watched the remaining remnants of this new found envy, she noticed a very familiar shadow now cast above her that did not fade from the sands where the ocean flirted with land. Holding up her hand, Adrienne saw her. Mercy. How ravishing she looked in this moments. Sun beating down on the both of the in ways that it couldn’t before. She was so thankful that it hadn’t been her that changed, it had effected everyone that night in the same ways. Even Mercy, whose new mortality suited her oddly enough. Adrienne pulled herself up out of the sand and stood, the only thing now touching her feet were the gentle waves kissing her toes. In a moment where she wasn’t overthinking, she pulled Mercy in close to her, pressing salty lips against hers. They may have changed, but there was a rush that went through Adrienne to remind her that she was no longer a vampire who didn’t feel things. If she had any doubts about Mercy and her feelings, they had washed away as easily as her worries. What was happening between them felt right, and the patter of her heart against her chest gave her more of a thrill than any ocean could.

“Lo siento, mi Manzanita, that it took so long for me to see what had been there in front of me the whole time.”