KING OF BONES

son of a dead man. crown of ashes. king of bones

[camryker]

vera had spent enough time around high society, and their parties, to know better than to now spend her time around high society, especially at their parties . naturally she gravitated towards those whose faces she recognised and those whose air did not reek of ostentation— of old money and those who had it . were it not for the invitation to sing at the party, she wagered that she would not be here at all but rather at the place where she spent most of her nights: behind the bar of a cosy pub .

at this point in time vera had- had enough to drink to temporarily forget the society she had spent so long trying to avoid and mingled instead with those who stood to tolerate her presence. for a moment she found that she was almost enjoying herself . “ oh damnit ! ” but like all good things, it seldom lasted long . in the case of vera, her interruption came in the form of a solid back colliding with her shoulder . she distinctly heard the swishing of liquid over glass though she has yet to gather enough sense to realise whether it had spilled on them or on her . “ i am so sorry, i think the champagne is starting to get to me a little . ”

[cammy-chandler]

         Cammy felt the wet slap of liquid seeping through his vest and onto his shirt front. Thankfully the stain of champagne was more wearable than that of red wine. He bit whatever sharp retort rose to his lips when his eyes fell on the girl responsible, knowing too well her value to the organisation than to dismiss her so callously. He relieved her of the glass, now emptied, and placed it on the nearest surface he could find-- far away from her reach. 

“I’m surprised to see you here Vera.” He said, with relative patience for someone who had just recently had his shirt front drowned in champagne. “I thought you would have preferred the pub to somewhere so…ostentatious.”

[latentpatterns]

Gracefully, Minerva swung her heeled feet out of her black cabrio.  Silvery embellishments on her crimson red evening gown reflecting in the dim light that casted down from the windows of the estate. Ever since being divorced, she had bought a car for herself and insisted on personally driving it where ever she went. To hell with the stigma’s of women being awful drivers and in need of chaperones. Well, not entirely to hell with the latter as tonight she had made a rare acception. Even rules set for herself were meant to be broken, and what better reason than a fine-looking businessdeal. Waiting for her as agreed, not to far from the front entrance.

“Ready, mister Chandler? I can’t have you falling behind on our first grand appearance together.” she spoke jokingly, before hooking her hand around his arm. Clearly, he had made an effort in dressing up nicely for the event, which was much appreciated. As her style was often considered quite extravagant she couldn’t have a bland mouse in an old suit take his place beside her. “I have no doubt my dear Henrietta will be delighted to see us.”

@cammy-chandler

[cammy-chandler]

          “You look lovely,” he said. And she did. Though Cammy was usually too preoccupied with more pressing thoughts than to be so enamoured by something as shallow as a piece of clothing. To the lady’s credit, if her intention was to turn heads then she had achieved that in spectacular fashion. “You will certainly make for something to talk about in tomorrow’s gossip column.” Both for her fashion and her choice of company. Surely her name and his reputation made for juicy meat for the gossiping beasts to sink their teeth into come time the night’s affairs made it to print.

“I hope so. I’m afraid my own invitation got lost in the post.” Which was just a polite way of saying that he never received such invitation. This did not surprise him, but nor did it stop him from seizing whatever prize awaited him within the Allerton estate. Inside his eyes caught the face of a Skeleton Boy dressed in the uniform of a hall boy balancing a silver platter of champagne glasses. He did not look much like the rest of the staff, but perhaps that was just familiarity at work. “Can I help you to a drink?”

[cammy-chandler]

[drgeorgettemulloy-deactivated20]

“Welcome, welcome, welcome to our h u m b l e abode, my dear.”  Henrietta chirps with a flourish, allowing them entry into the grand foyer of the Allerton Estate.  “On behalf of my family, and the Tarot Card Killers unfortunate victims–with whom I am in near constant communication with–thank you profusely for your donation.  Won’t you go join the other guests in the parlor?”

[cammy-chandler]

          Standing amidst the sea of men in expensive suits and women who wore their wealth in a spectacle of diamonds and pearls, it was a bold statement to declare that Cammy easily blended in with the best of them-- and yet he did. He was not an unhandsome man, and he was well within his means of affording a well tailored suit. Needless to say, the police hardly presented much of a challenge in their efforts of keeping anyone out, let alone the Skeletons.

“My Lady Allerton,” he smiled, and it dripped with a charm that rivalled those of London’s most talented politicians. “I sincerely hope my lake of invitation was due to it being lost in the post and not due to your own oversight. Here I thought our friendship was looking so well.” 

[cammy-chandler]

zoechandler‌:

         The sudden eruption of noise that rose from downstairs immediately sent Zoë bolt upright in her usual seat beside Rosie’s bed. Her attention fine tuning to the voice that filled the room below, and even though it was far from settling—cameron’s voice following the abrupt commotion meant at least it wasn’t an outside threat for anyone in the house. Or at least, not a threat to Rosie. Zoë on the other hand, she doubted she was anything but safe. She could imagine the look upon her brother’s face from upstairs and the thought of facing him made her want to sink back in her chair and let him find her up here with Rosie. At least then it might safe her from his full rage. But using Rosie as a buffer was hardly something Zoë could swallow, she’d gone through enough and Zoë had been waiting for Cameron to find out about her little night out because she doubted it was anything to do with the day at the club. Though she wouldn’t put it past him to bring that up as well.

Slowly, Zoë rose from her chair and took one more glance at Rosie before she moved out of the room quietly. Just get it over with. Taking a deep breath, Zoë rounded the top of the stairs, “She’s here.” Though the words were clear, she had to work harder to keep her voice even as her fingers grasping the staircase railing as she took the steps hesitantly. Though she stopped about halfway down as her eyes finally focused upon her brother. It was worse than she could have ever imagined. The nerves that rose in her choked her words to the point she had to clear her throat before speaking, “Rosie’s asleep—” It was a small, weak attempt at trying to curb his anger at least slightly. “How can I be of help?” Stupid choice of words but she doubted it would really matter at this point.

          When at first there was no response, the glimpse of a storm that brewed behind blue eyes morphed into a giant inferno. The tea-drinking Skeleton Boy knew well to keep his distance lest he should risk that blunt of Cammy’s fury. Or perhaps it was fear? For Cameron Chandler’s anger was famously known for its coldness. A quiet, deadly glacial that pierced you from the inside out. This was a hellfire that burned from blood to skin and scorched any and all things that came too near. 

She’s here. Said a voice, and it took Cameron a moment to recognise it as his sister’s. “Come here.” He said, and it sounded less like a command and more of a plea. His hand seized her bringing her to his level. “Are you alright? Did he touch you?” He began and found the his voice did not sound the same.  It was hoarse and harsh. Cammy knew anger, he knew vengeance, and violence. Comfort and the softer qualities of a person were the sole possession of his sisters. His eyes first went to her face, and then her arm, her torso, her leg, searching for any proof of harm at the hand of he that threatened it, even if that was a piece of hair sitting at odds with the rest of her head. 

[cammy-chandler]

kingnovck‌:

the corners of milo’s lips turn up in a smirk. he can tell he hit a nerve, just from the blank nonchalance.anyone who kept their tone so emotionless was fighting to hide it. milo’s dark eyes watched cammy as he took a sip of the alcohol, shrugging, “can she, though? i mean, obviously rosie wasn’t too good at that.” not it’s obvious his intention is to rile up the other, get him angry, get him reacting. peace, tense and tentative or otherwise, bored him. 

           “Rosie is still alive isn’t she?” Which was more than what could be said of the Killer’s other victims. Cameron is still, perhaps stiller than he’s ever been. He looks pointedly at the man’s grin and conjures one of his own. 

“I know what you’re trying to do Novak,” Cameron said, leaning closer to the man as if to share a very private secret. He’s smiling still, and he supposed he looks perfectly amiable to onlookers. But this is the calm before the storm, the warrior waiting inside of the wooden horse, and the mirth with which he presents himself is just as lethal as a loaded pistol with its trigger poised. “You think you’re a big man, so you talk a big game and that’s fine. I also know that you’re not going to touch Zoë or any of my family, the same way I’m not going to pull out my gun and put a lead hole into your forehead in front of the entire fucking club. But let me make one thing perfectly clear.” There was a pause, and he turned his smile to a waiter as they walk past. “If you lay a hand on my family, I will make the reports in the papers look like a fucking tea party.”  The words sprung from his tongue quietly, evenly; it’s the kind of threat you don’t forget—the kind of threat that’s eerie in its simplicity, a sincere oath of hellbent destruction. A flash of a smile that’s all teeth, before he turned back to the returning waiter and held up his forefinger and his middle finger. “Another round,” he implored with casual indifference. Just like that, he flipped, the growl of a killer giving way to the jubilant, lighthearted hum of an acquaintance discussing the weather.

[downtonhq]

@cammy-chandler

Rosie couldn’t sleep, her bed didn’t hold her form the way it use to and the sounds of the house could no longer lull her to sleep. She couldn’t bring herself to wake up her mother or Zoe, she had already caused so much loss of rest for her entire family that  she as quietly and painlessly as possible,got out of bed to get some water,making her way down the hall. Rosie was near the stairs when she saw light and that Cammy’s door had opened.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you? I didn’t think anyone else was up.” She said,looking through the doorway at her brother.

[cammy-chandler]

          It was a terrible truth that Cammy had not seen his sister as much as he would have liked. Not since her return in any case. Naturally the role of comforter and carer were assigned to his mother and sister, while Cammy’s focus were occupied by papers and reports; any and all accounts that could lead to the capture of his sister’s assailant. His absence a small price to pay in return for his sister’s justice.   

“No, no, it’s alright.” He said. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard her speak. Long enough to startle him when he did hear it. “What’s wrong? Is everything alright?” He was already beginning to rise from his chair. “Where’s mum, or Zoë? Why aren’t they with you?”

[cammy-chandler]

@zoechandler​

          Of all the world’s horrors there were few that were able to move Cameron Chandler into a state of real fear. One that slipped beneath the cracks of his cold steely facade and colour his face a deathly shade. The sound of his little sister’s name on vicious tongue was one of them. London blurred around him, as his focus pinpointed on the Chandler house. The force of his entrance threatened to blow the door off its hinges as he swept inside, his black coat bellowing behind him. There was a Skeleton Boy sitting by the couch nursing a cup of tea. He startled himself to attention at the sight of the Gang’s head.

A small voice greeted him, but Cammy didn’t catch the words. He didn’t care to. Blue eyes scanned the length of the small room and when he saw nothing the fierce edge returned to his voice. “Where the fuck is she?” He said, his voice thundered across the small room. “Where is Zoë?!”

[cammy-chandler]

zoechandler·:

           Even if Zoë knew the reputation her brother had developed over the years, there weren’t many moments where she herself felt intimidated. He was her brother, she knew him—or at least knew who he was before the war. But whenever his words grew quiet Zoë would have preferred for him to allow his emotions to get the better of him. The quietly uttered words that seemed to silence even the loudest of rooms unsettled her and made her shrink back into herself. Her eyes flickered frantically over his features as he moved. Maybe she was acting childish, there may have been other ways to go about it, but was it really childish to want to be able to control her own life? But she didn’t dare utter a single word, and not only because she doubted he’d even listen. 

The threat was one that could be quite laughable had it not come from Cameron’s lips, anyone else she wouldn’t have believed for a second and simply found amusement in, but she wouldn’t bet on the fact he wouldn’t do just as he said. She could test his word but the idea of him physically carrying her home was one that made the option of simply listening to him seem far more likeable. 

“If it was up to you, I doubt you’d even let me speak at all.” She couldn’t help but allow the string of biting words, though they did come out a little half-hearted, to fall from her lips as she stood up a little too abruptly, her fingers tightening around her beaded back as she allowed her eyes to linger a little longer upon him. “But don’t worry, big brother, you’ve done your job. You’ve managed to save me from the dangers of this world for another day. I’ll happily leave if it means I can get away from you.” 

END.

[cammy-chandler]

zoechandler‌:

         “Beneficial for everyone or beneficial for you?” Her jaw tightened, eyes matching his unwavering gaze. Whether or not his intentions behind it had solely been for the benefit of the family were true, Zoë couldn’t quite believe everything that came from his mouth. She knew he was over-protective, especially after he came home from the war, but this was something else. It was one thing to disapprove of her being with Elias but it was another to pull it apart and let her think it was Elias’ sole decision.

“Because I sure as hell didn’t benefit from him leaving the family alone for a while, Cameron.” She paused for a moment as she took in a breath, her eyes filling with disbelief as she scanned his features. “Because you’re right, I was devastated. I thought I’d lost my sister after years of being terrified about losing you. She’s all I had—” Her words came to a complete halt as she pressed her lips together. Now was far from the time to get into everything. She wasn’t one to back away from making a scene but the subject was far from one she wanted out in the open for all to hear. “You needed what you needed, but I needed him. You had no right to make the decision about what was beneficial for me.”

           When he spoke, his voice came out quietly— yet all at once seemed to drown out even the band’s song. “’All you had’, eh?” She was young and she was sore. Perhaps she had said more than she meant and it was better to think of her words as simply that: just words, spoken one moment and gone the next. Or at least that was what Cameron would have thought were he too not hurt just the same. Even as she pressed her lips into a thin line (was she holding herself back from saying more or was she simply taking a moment to choose her words?) he braced himself for the onslaught, and in true Chandler passion, she did not disappoint. “Right, if you want to act like a child, I’ll treat you like one.” He said and began to gather his coat, haphazardly throwing a few crumpled notes onto the table as he does.

“I am your older brother. I am the head of this family and I will not have you speak to me that way.” Cameron was born with his father’s likeness, his mother’s golden fairness were inherited by his sister, yet in that moment it was her authority he tried to imitate, for surely it was she whose authority the Chandler children had learned to obey. “I will send a car around and it will take you home. And if you don’t go, so help me I will find you, throw you over my shoulder, and carry you back myself.”

[cammy-chandler]

cxrachandler‌:

i don’t know how to protect you. his words sounded so pained and her heart went out to him. her darling boy, who left to fight one war and came back to join another. she bent down and pressed her lips to his head, as she did when he was younger. “you’re a clever man cammy. you will find a way. you always do.” the words were intended to soothe though the truth was that it was not his job to. but much like the rest of her children, they all thought they knew better. children. “come have tea with me. rest that mind of yours before it kills you.” she said, and the way she reached over to turn off his lamp and pried the pen from his fingers, she was not going to take ‘no’ for an answer.

            Before it kills you. Already he could feel a quick retort rising up to his tongue. What could possibly kill that which is already dead? An old instinct told him that Cora recognised that too, perhaps that was why she opted to relieve him of his pen, why she was well on her way to pulling him out of his chair and drag him down to the kitchen for the tea she was determined to make him drink. In the end, Cammy relented to walking and afterward remained seated in the small kitchen as the house settled into the quiet of the night. Upstairs he could hear the subtle shifts of fabric, the creaking of old springs, as his siblings turned in their beds. He listened some more, as if with enough concentration he’d be able to count each of their breaths. The sound of porcelain cups being laid down on the kitchen table returned him back to the kitchen. The steam rose from the amber water and curled around the cup’s rim; it smelled of bergamot and jasmine. “Thank you.”

[gcldenaurelia]

        audrey fumbled around inside her handbag, letting out a frustrated sigh when she came up empty-handed. she clutched her cigarette holder in her hand before flashing a quick smile at the person closest to her. “any chance of a light?”

[cammy-chandler]

          “You know, they say smoking is bad for you.” Said Cammy, even as he felt the weight of his own cigarette case pressed against the inside of his suit jacket. Even as he reached into his pocket and produced the lighter that never seemed to leave his person. Even as he flipped the lid off and held the flame out to her, smiling as he does.

[julliettewarners]

favorite characters: thomas shelby ♡ They say life is too short to hold grudges I think life is too short to be letting people get away with the same shit.

[cammy-chandler]

kingnovck·:

“nothing worth sharing, i’m afraid.” milo shrugs, leaning back against the seat, studying cameron with a smirk on his lips, dark eyes watching every move like a hawk, “no, i came about your sister actually. zoe,” he leans forward a bit, “ i encountered her last night. you really should keep a better hold on her, i’d hate for something to happen whle she’s out so late.” it’s the thin, razor edge smile. it would be interesting to see his reaction. “she’s rather pretty. even if this killer doesn’t get her, someone else might.”

          Cammy licked his lips and quietly, calmly, deliberately. The slightest pressure on the glass of gin he was nursing in one hand. He mentioned her, by name. That fucking bastard. Anger, inside Cammy, was glacial. Dead cold, and in sharp crystals, and when came the threat--well, perhaps tonight an avalanche would begin. 

“Zoë is young,” he stated blankly, and despite the display of nonchalance, something deep and dark burned within him. “But she is still a Chandler, she can look after herself.” Family is your strength Cammy, he could hear his mother’s voice say, don’t make it a weakness. “In any case the Skeletons are in London now. Wherever she goes, we’re not far behind. Your concern is appreciated.”

[cammy-chandler]

mssminervabw‌:

“Not bad? Are you asking me to settle for the mediocre, Mister Chandler?” Minerva asked him with exaggerated surprise and distaste in her tune, before her features settled into an amused grin. Casually nodding at the awaiting bartender that she would try what had been suggested. “Please do not tell me this is the way you keep yourself busy at night. Hiding behind the funfilled crowd in some dark corner, with a frown upon your face. If the world, or your life, may be ending tonight I’d say you’d feel better if you at least lived that final night to the fullest.” She mused. The embellishment sparked in the dim lighting as the fabric shifted as the lady finally sat down on the chair beside the gang leader. 

“Surely you did not invite me here to stare at misbehaving folk together and get drunk in silence. What is the matter?”

          The sound of heels clicking against stone floor, each ringing click was attached with a slew of implications, of unanswered questions and grave uncertainty with; a dangerous power that was often better left unchallenged if one knew what was good for them. He knew who they belonged to immediately. And then she spoke and if it were something he was known to do, he might have smiled. “Luckily for the both of us, I have no intentions of dying tonight.”

At her question Cammy turned his eyes first to the crystal laden ceiling; artificial stars backed by a golden coloured sky. Then the band, cradled by a bright scarlet curtain, hot beams shedding light on their sweat streaked face. Then the people, playing ignorant at the horrors outside, their fears kept at bay by the company of other dancers and a endless supply of alcohol at the curl of their little finger— and as far as he was concerned, the crowd did not lessen from weekday to weekend. A steady stream of haunted Londoners looking for an escape in their own hedonism. “How do you like the place Miss Whigham?”

[cammy-chandler]

zoechandler·:

         A tilt of her head met his all too familiar words, a look of complete innocence covering her features as her brows rose and eyes widened to become more doe-eyed. She hadn’t exactly meant to steer the conversation in this exact direction, and if she was honest she hardly wanted to touch the subject—and not just because she’d hoped to be able to sit on her little discovery for a little while longer, but now was as good as ever. At first her words started light, a forced waver in her voice breaking up her sentence. “It’s funny—how your immediate thought is that I’d choose him and all since well, you know—he left without even a single word to me after rosie was taken. ” 

Her movements where slow as she leant forwards once more and placed her hands back upon the table top. This time allowed her fingertips to tap lightly against the wooden surface. “But then again—I guess all I’d have to do is go to him and tell I was too distraught and still processing my sister’s disappearance to realise how stupid it was to push away the only person that I actually wanted.” Her eyes settled intently on her brother’s as her features dropped and words faded to nothing. “I thought you’d be proud of Elias, maybe even boost him up the ranks,  because he followed your orders like a perfect little skeleton solider—at least he did.”

          “Don’t play dumb with me Zoë, it doesn’t suit you.” The smoke curled with the downward turn of his mouth, and even with her accusations laid against him, he did not shy away from her eyes. He watched as she leaned forward, the running of her fingertips; a bad imitation of an interrogator from one of the pictures she’d seen. He supposed it was only a matter of time for the two— he dared not think the word— persons, to find each other again the same way Rosie was soon returned to her family. He also had a selfish hope that perhaps the separation might last longer, or Zoë would grow out of her romantic daydreams. Evidently not. Her biting words that bordered pettiness seemed proof of this.

“All I said to him was that it was for the benefit of everyone if he was to leave the family alone for a while. It was a family business, mum was devastated-- and so were you if I recall. I needed to concentrate on finding our sister and I needed him to concentrate on running the business. It wasn’t as if I forced him out the door with a gun to his head.” Although at the present moment, he’d be lying if he said the thought did not suddenly lift in appeal.

[cammy-chandler]

kingnovck‌:

a thin, razor edge smile curls milo’s lips, “there’s a lot you don’t know about me, cammy.” the name is spoken with a sort of faux friendliness, as if they were best of friends and not the bitterest of enemies. part of him wants to goad the other into breaking the truce, get under his skin enough to incite him to war once more. but another part wanted to use him. he was a bloodhound after the killer, and he knew they both shared the goal, but likely with very different ideas on what to do with their hands on the man ( or woman, he supposed ) behind the tarot card killer.

         “That’s alright Milo,” his mouth has quickly turned mocking, dripping with condescension, a patronising chastisement which absolutely oozes with quiet disrespect, “I’m a fast learner.” With this, he smoothly pushes the night along, for one littered with bitter jibes and false plays of politeness would produce little reward. They did at least have one goal in common with each other: finding the killer. Yet he had no doubt that whoever authored the adage ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ did not have the likes of Milo Novak, Cameron Chandler and the Tarot Card Killer in mind. “I don’t imagine you came all the way to this table to just drink my gin. So, have you learned anything new? Has that boy said anything to you?”