Ang's Dress

The new year began with a bang indeed. Angela was with Nemesis now and they plotted not only to announce their engagement but also they worked on coming out together now that Raeguel knew about him. This was their first formal party together and Celeste had opted to stay at home. She said and Angela quoted ‘I don’t really like people take Angela and be merry.’

Angela’s long red hair was in a nice updo with ringlets hand over her shoulder but not overly so. Her gown was a form-fitting ruby red that’s bodice was see-through except where there were deep lace patterns. The bodice cut deeply to her navel and the straps went over her shoulder and scooped down her back until her hips leaving her back exposed. The skirt of the dress was slit up to her high tight on one shoulder and pooled down to the floor in an elegant fashion. The lace upon closer inspection was made up completely of rubies.

She wore black heels under it which wasn’t so normal for her since she didn’t usually wear shoes at all. Black peonies were in her hair as well. Along her necklace was a string of black pearls and her ears adorned black pearl drop earrings.

It was decided that Nemesis would meet her at the Red Court Manor. So in the meantime, Angela played with Emry who was wildly looking about from her grandmother’s arms. “Hey you,” the goddess spoke gently as a glass rattle with what appeared like the stars appeared in her hand. “Hey,” she gently shook it as the rattle let out the most pleasant ringing sound. Emry’s eyes glued to the rattle and she cooed up at Angela. “I thought you would like that. You are adorable,” the grandmother chuckled a bit and lifted the babe up so she could kiss her forehead. “You are going to steal your grandfather’s adoration even after all this hard work I’ve done on myself.”

Emry just cooed some more as her hands reached up for the red hair. Angela chuckled a bit as she couldn’t reach but the child seemed entertained all the same.

Nemesis couldn't believe he was doing this.

Typically he wasn't much of a social butterfly unless it had to do with business; unfortunately, he was to be wed to one and she was rather excited about the party. And Celeste had been adamant in wanting him to go with her soon to be sister wife as well. He was between in a rock and a hard place and relented. The affair was to occur in Sularia, meaning it was likely time to show the rest of the world that they were together. He had properly prepared for the occasion, having a tailor-made black and golden Versailles coat and dark trousers ready for the bash. His hair, slicked back and neatly combed through and knee-high boots at the ready. His wedding band was still on his finger and there was a small black box that was tucked into his trouser pocket for when he arrived at the house. He could clean up nicely, but he'd prefer not to waste time in social events like these.

Nemesis would stomach it, of course.

He wasn't too familiar with the customs, let alone the area that was Sularia, so he had to give a lot of second looks at the inhabitants, especially some of the women that eyeballed him as if he was the last male in the realm. He had heard some of the tales of about the history of this country but never really paid it any mind until now. The desert air felt extremely foreign to him, especially now that he was alive. The carriage arrived at its destination and his sights turned to her manor for a little bit before he reached the door and knocked. After a few moments, the door opened, yet someone was coming out.

Or rather, she was getting thrown out.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!", Aurora shouted although she looked to be dressed in her best as well. She rose to her feet, looked at Nemesis over and then stormed out, cussing a storm all the way back to her home where she would be sure to relay what she just witnessed to her mother.

Nemesis held a questioning look on his face before Lucian peeked his head out from the corner of the door and saw his father. "She's gone?"

"The foulmouthed one? Yes."

Lucian sighed softly before letting him in. "That was our cousin Aurora. She apparently came to stir up trouble with Aelwen…again. Probably went home and Aunt Toya will knock some sense into her. You'll probably see her later…just be careful of what you say to her. She's already pissed that she has to attend and wear a dress." Speaking of which, his son was also ready for the occasion and would be on his way to pick up his lover too. Nemesis gave a slight nod and Lucian went to the foot of the staircase.

"Mother! Father's here!", he called out for her.

Nemesis' coat

“And don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!” Aelwen yelled as she opened the window. “Ma is here and I ain’t about to destroy the house when she’s here!” The half-elf disappeared back into the house after slamming the window shut.

Angela adjusted her arms with Emry and made her way down so she could see Nemesis. “Hello Darling,” the goddess smiled and closed the gap as she kissed Lucian’s forehead and then Nemesis’s lips. “I have a guest for a bit.” She looked down at Emry who was squealing at Nemesis now. She knew her grandpas and her father especially well.

“Kaiser is going to come to get her soon. He is worried about how cold the area has gotten.” Angela rolled her eyes and chuckled. “It’s not even that cold. Let’s head out shall we?” She took Nemesis’s arm and looked at Lucian. “I do hope you have fun today as well! Your Aunt should be able to keep Aurora in check for a while.”

Emry was busy trying to shove her fingers into her mouth now as she looked around. “Emmy that’s nasty,” Angela chuckled a bit as she looked up at Nemesis. “Celeste didn’t change her mind? She isn’t very social unless it interests her though… I am happy you came out for me today, really. It would have been lonely without you.”

The war between the two cousins was really getting on the nerves of the young king, but fortunately, it seemed to die down tonight as quickly as it started. He wasn't sure who it was to blame this time, but he was fairly certain that it had been Aurora that egged on Aelwen. Gods helped them if they were forced to get along, even for one night. 

Nemesis watched on as Angela descended with Emry in hand. The girl was getting bigger with each new day, and starting to become aware of her surroundings and the crazy people that were a constant in her life. Lucian took the kiss in stride and Nemesis returned that of his own to her. "I see. A beauty she is too." He kissed at the babe's cheek once she got his attention with her squeals. "Doesn't surprise me. He's a new father, so he's going to be overprotective." Kaiser was an honest man and a blind man could see how much he loved his baby daughter. He was surprised that he didn't have her in toll at the moment; the vaewolf assumed that he was somewhere handling business or something important. "How's Nerezza?"

"She's getting better, but still needs some rest. Mother didn't want her to have to worry about Emry on top of getting well", Lucian spoke before they were ready to take leave for the party. "I will. I have to go pick up Episcia in a little bit." It seemed as though he was kind of rushing them off for some reason, not that Nemesis read too much into it as he escorted the pair of ladies out. 

He looked down at Ermy and then at Angela, "You'd think you would be used to seeing things like that by now" He chuckled a bit before regaining his composure. "No, she hadn't or at the very least, she's not planning to come just yet. If she gets bored enough, she will. She's less into social gatherings than I am." Though he was amused at the thought if she had come along with them. He opened up the carriage door and helped her inside before getting in himself and they rode off for the castle. The trip wouldn't likely take long and there was something he had to do prior. 

"I'm only doing this for you. You both are good at convincing me to go along with your schemes at times." Nemesis was across from her when he dug into his pocket and pulled out that little black box from earlier, opened it up and presented it to her. It was a white golden ring with an aquamarine stone in the center and complemented with four smaller emeralds. "Took a while, but if we are to announce the engagement, there should be a ring present as well…", he smiled with his fangs briefly showing as he slipped the ring from the box and onto her finger. 

The ring

Angela was glad that Lucian was actually handling Aurora and Aelwen decently this time especially since his father was here to watch him. There was a tiny sigh of relief that nothing had been destroyed and that they could make a good first impression, or rather keep what was left of it, to Nemesis.

Emry cooed more towards his kiss and genuinely enjoyed the warmth. “Aye, that she is… and I think she knows it.” Angela chuckled a bit as the discussion went towards Kaiser. “I’m honestly surprised he even lets Emry out of his sight.” The goddess nodded along as Lucian answered about his twin. “Aye, the faster she gets on her feet the faster Lucian won’t be as lonely anymore.” She jested her king son and knew that he was probably enjoying that bit of peace and quiet.

Angela was suspicious of her son as she squinted her eyes at him and studied his features. When she couldn’t figure it out she gave up and went along willingly with her husband to be. “Oh, I am but I am an equal opportunity giver. I’m always going to tell them it’s nasty.” She chuckled a bit as she adjusted Emry in her arms. “I figured as much. Celeste and I are the same and yet very different. She prefers to stay by herself for the most part.”

Grateful for the help Angela found herself relaxed as she sat in the carriage. “Do you hear the ponies, Emmy?” Emmy’s ears had perked up at the noises the horses were making and Angela chuckled. It was wonderful watching her experience things for the first time. “Oh I know you are doing it for me and I am grateful for that. It would be lonely without you.” Her green eyes peeked up from Emmy as she heard him rustling around in his pocket.

For a moment she was stunned which was a rare occasion. “I suppose we are doing this formally.” She hadn’t expected him to get her a ring at all and that showed on her face. It wasn’t his character but rather what she was used to, after all, he was already married once. She didn’t think he would go out of his way for another ring, not that she thought it would have been hard for him at all… but the more she looked at it the more she could see the thought put into it. She smiled at him and chuckled as the ring fit snug onto her finger.

“It’s beautiful Nemesis… I adore it.” She was truthful about it too. She admired it and chuckled, “Now I have to remind myself to take it off before I dig in the gardens.” She didn’t want it to get gross. “Do you see what Papa got me?” She showed Emry and there was a struggle at first before the baby tried to plop it in her mouth. “Yeah, no. I would prefer my engagement ring baby spit free… Thank you very much.” She kissed Emry’s cheek as the girl fussed at having the ring taken away from her.

“I can hear the band music now… We’re really close to the festival square.” She looked out the carriage window and smiled. “I often get so caught up in work that I forget how beautiful my home is. I can remember Father carrying me on his shoulders during festivals. I was rather tomboyish when I was younger… but it shouldn’t shock anyone. I’ve always been one with the earth or so he would say. Mother would have Cathrine’s hand as they toted us through the crowds. It was before we had any other siblings before we even knew what destiny was.” Her eyes drifted to Nemesis. “The war my father would start to secure power for all five of us. Even though at the time there were only two. My father planned the birth of my three sisters after me. The oracles had given him a prophecy. A court for each daughter, an element for each, and the people would be at peace. Toya apparently was the worst one. She was prophecized to be conceived on the night of the dragon… Which explains a lot about her personality.”

Angela took a deep sigh and laughed. “One chance to get my mother knocked up with one hell of a daughter… but he did it. That comet only comes once every few hundred years. Toya is a good hundred years younger than Lily. Our parents died in a raid not long after Toya was born so she never knew the type of people they were. It’s why she’s such a brat. We did try our best with her but I get the feeling she is often jealous of the time she didn’t get to have with them. Life here is harsh and our laws are harsher. That’s just the way things are in the desert.”

She flashed a smile and chuckled once more. "You wanted to know more about me and there is lots to know."

The longer they became more acquainted with one another, the easier it seemed to pull the wool over her eyes for a change. He didn’t mask his smirk as he watched her seemed speechless for the most part one he gave her that special gift. “I figured that since we had been on the proper road from the beginning, we mustn’t break that streak we have, right?” It took a long time to pick out the perfect ring, one that he felt was worthy of the goddess. It was how he had been done with all his previous wives, but Angela, in particular, was quite the challenge.

“Emry seemed to approve as well”, he replied as he watched her attempt to put it into her mouth, only for it to be out of her reach. He leaned forward and cupped the girl’s face with his hand as gently as possible. “You just remember that when you get one, you are treasured as much as your family loves you.” While he was a monster, Nemesis still carried a heart within him. In fact, compared to his past self, he seemed much more docile.

He leaned back and listened well to her tale; he could recall moments of his own past from time to time. Much of it wasn’t…pleasant by his accordance. “Being a knight was to be my destiny, and had I’d continued on that route, I would have been long since put into the dirt. My own father was from a lesser noble house, arranged to marry my mother from a young age and had me and my two sisters. The man cared little for me other than helping me gain knighthood. Sir Nathaniel Silvercross- a means to secure more power it was. In turn, I became a bit…arrogant. Much to my own good.”

He tilted his head and looked out the window to see the wonderful, bright lights that were a sign that they were getting closer to the bash. And as Angela said, the music only cemented it. “The rest of the tale is rather simple. I became a knight and then not too much longer, I lost it all out of fear. My platoon was attacked and I was given a choice- be turned or die. I didn’t want to die, so I accepted the dark gift. Returning home, I should have known better and when it was clear that my father wouldn’t accept me, I snapped and lit my home on fire. My mother and sisters made it out, but he didn’t.”

He looked towards her without any remorse for the matter other than he had hurt the remainder of his family, but not that bastard. “Did you ever wonder why I go by Nemesis? At the time when I was accepted into the vampire clan that my sire was from, I was to choose a new name to reflect my new life. I had believed that everyone- the other knights, the nobles I served, my own father…they all hated me. So why not become their enemy…their ‘Nemesis’. A cold smile appeared from his face before he softened it a bit. And since then he had been on a rampage that hadn’t exactly ceased even after he had met with Angela. It had though changed a bit since the twins were born. “As much as a monster I can be, I simply can’t outdo my father when it comes to child-rearing. I refuse to.“ He shrugged it off and felt the carriage starting to slow down. “Looks like we are here.”

Once it came to a complete stop, the coachman climbed down and opened the door for them. Helping them out, he received his payment and rode out on his merry way. Nemesis could see the denizens pouring into the castle, garbed in their best wares. Of course, he was sure that none of them could outdo the couple this eve.

He took her hand and led them inside. They did catch quite a few eyes as most would recognize Lady Life, but not her escort. Perhaps those that held direct ties knew, especially among the families. Whispers flowed through the air around them as they made their entrance.