“Ma'dam Mirkstone?”
Lifeless eyes watched the opposing wall of the office, inspecting closely the large painting taking up the entire portion that was not hollowed out to create the staggering grandeur hearth. It was a painting detailing the portraits of the Mirkstone-Cauldella family, both Ana-Juli and Rossko paired with a baby which took after their own skin color.
Rossko was a handsome man, it was beyond doubt. Tall and toned with thick, meaty muscles which paired handsomely with the thin clothed rustic button down. The shirt easily tailored to every curve of his arms and torso, it truly was a sight to beheld- oh, but his features were another thing. A defined jaw, cocky grin to stretch his lips thin. A sharp nose which, upon inspection, looked almost crooked, resulted after a broken nose not healing properly. His skin was dark, nearly as dark as the baby coddled and curled up in a pink blanket within his arms, both child and father sprouted wild, thick black hair.
… Truly handsome…
“Ana-Juli?”
Green-blue eyes flicker towards the concerned, pitying eyes of her inferior. “What is it, Mikal?” The exhaustion to be detected in her voice was as heavy as the black bruises beneath her eyes. She looked absolutely miserable, a husk of the woman she once was, as though her sanity was far more fragile than ever before- and trully… That may just be the case..
“We have been, thus far, unable to locate the Sir of the House. His studies, we discovered, have been cleaned of his journals and tomes- All that was left behind was this-.”
Her eyes would fall unto the familiar reading material, clad in a frame of black leathers. The center of the large book contained a single indention, the shape of the familiar chaos star. The curves and sharpened points of the four main arrows are outlined in, what is presumed to be, white paint for a placed-light effect.
His book of Shadows…
A hand would extend towards the servant, jeweled fingers bending in a beckoning motion for the book. In answer to these gestures would the man hastily transfer the tome to the top of the woman’s desk, exiting the room thus after with a dismissive gesture.
Silence would befall the room. Not even the sounds of her heavy breaths dared to disturb her serenity, fingers carefully caressing the leather spine with gentle pats. Dragging her fingertips across the front cover of the tome, and soon would she slip the material into her arms.
Gone, he was gone now. Perhaps indefinitely… And all she had to remember him by were memories of the better days of the relationship, and the daughters he effectively made bastards out of…
Propping the book atop her left forearm would Ana manage to flip through and read the books contents without craning her neck. Painted lips would curve into a frown, navigating the book’s insides as though it were effortless on her part.
The dedication of the book written at the front of the book, written in the familiar hand of her beloved betrothed:
“Soon, this book shall be bestowed upon my daughters. May Esmerellda and Alannah learn our ways, and lead the Ordo Tenebrae to a new, prosperous future.”
With quick flips and after a handful of pages would she at last settle upon a specific chapter, mouthing it’s title with a sudden look of distress.
“The Second Precept,” she murmurs out loud, a long black ‘claw’ used to follow the sentence as she continues, “… Do not love anything so much you cannot see it die…”
Soon the book is snapped closed and cradled against her bosom. The words weigh heavy on her mind, replacing her misery and thoughts of a broken heart with dissecting the teaching.
Silent tears fell from her eyes and down the curves of her cheeks.
She would survive. She did before Rossko, there is nothing but fear and doubt preventing her from her future. Nor shall it hinder the future’s of her daughters.
Ana-Juli would make sure of that.
~
“
I am a woman.
A canvas,
Tainted by the passionate colors of love.
I am carved from pearls and beautiful things,
A jewel unmatched in quality.
I am weathered by the past,
But never afraid of the future.
”