It had been some time since they had hid out in the wondrous city since the portal had dropped them into unfamiliar territory. She and the Lord had schemed to take what he was his, and the timing of this couldn't have come at a worse time. It was a pity, even more so since he wouldn't stop complaining about it ever since. She swore that she would keep him safe as it was her duty by the late Black Queen to protect her child, but sometimes it took all of her strength not to silt his throat and leave. As they became more aware of this new realm, they would learn that they weren't the only ones that would be brought to Revaliir. No, there were plenty of familiar faces that were claimed to be here and ever since they had kept themselves in a land where the gods weren't as powerful, sweet irony as Abed had been such a place with that very promise.

The afternoon came slowly as she returned to the now relieved household in the poorer district, food in hand as she checked around before entering. Inside, her Lord sat there with a bored gaze as he twirled a knife on the tabletop. She came over and placed the food onto the table and took the knife from him. "I'm certain that none of your blood resides here. Our kind are said to be overseas and so far the man's words were proven true", she spoke as her mind thought back to the shallow graves merely yards away from the house. Those that belonged to the previous owners and she allowed it to return to the recesses of her mind and took hold of one of the apples. "We are safe here until you think up a plan, my lord. I hardly see it fit that we across the ocean and invade with just the two of us. Your mother wouldn't allow for that, not without an army to accompany us." But even then, she wasn't convinced that they would be successful since their opposition was strong. There were more of them, more accomplished leaders and not to mention a deity on their side. She knew the man to be stubborn, but there was a fine line between that and being stupid. Regardless, she had to remain by his side, as she was made to serve him before she was born. Besides, if they had any sort of advantage at all, it was that their presence wasn't known yet. It had helped that he was akin to a passing thought since he wasn't qualified to be heir due to his illegitimacy.

Taking a quick bite of the fruit, she sat at the edge of the table and tilted her head. "Have you thought of something in the last few days? Or are you satisfied with our current surroundings?", she teased, taking another bite. She'd imagine that it would not be the case; Colden was too fickle and vain to want to live in poverty and crawling about like a rat while the rest of his kin enjoyed the life of luxury and freedom.

Time. Time was all he had. Day in and day out, all he could do was think how it could have all been his. The throne, the crown, the power, all of it should have been his. Despite him being a bastard, Colden knew in his dark heart that he was the rightful heir, no one else deserved it. He knew it, and Rayne knew it as well. She was a loyal follower of his, the only one that remained by his side since the traitorous cowards went with the rest of his kinfolk. It did not please him to be in this realm, not when they were so close to getting back his right to be king. It infuriated him greatly to have his beautiful plans ruined right before his eyes. They were stuck here and he took out his frustration by violently overtaking this dump and slaughtering everyone in it without care. They simply reminded him of his family and of his failures, which fueled his need to incinerate them all. With Rayne taking care of the rodents, he plotted for the longest time as to what to do next. Before he had killed the man of the household, he claimed that Rosenites existed far from here- that they had a glorious city which angered him even more. Even in these lands, they continued to taunt him so. And ever since, he schemed and plotted out his revenge.

Time was something he could afford to lose sense of, and that he had- he lost track of it for days, his mind completely focused on obtaining his throne and punishing all parties involved with killing his mother and stripping him of everything. Rayne came back with food, but he ignored it with eyes that seemed to look through everything. His temper, ever explosive at the drop of a coin, shot up within him as she teased him. "I don't care what the bastard says now. He's DEAD! They will all be dead soon!, he exclaimed, his hands tightening into balls of fists. His jaw clenched and he was about to slam his fists repeatedly against the table surface, but somehow found the strength to restrain himself, at least for the time being.

"No, I do not have a plan. The last one was perfect, but then the fates cursed us at the wrong moment!", he yelled, not caring if he attracted attention from the neighbors. Colden had not been known for his patience, nor for his rationality. "Mother said that the strong will thrive and the weak will perish. I am not weak." He would repeat the last four words several times to himself before finally looking to Rayne. "They stole, like thieves in the night, they stole my right. They stole my birthright and gave it to someone that they could manipulate. Those thieving wrenches, they all will pay!" He seethed with rage as his mind dreamed up the lovely ways he would make them pay. They would wish that they never messed with the Black Court, he swore it mentally to himself as he took back the knife that was taken and without hesitation, drove its blade into the flesh of another apple. "Mother isn't in charge anymore. I am. Do not forget that.", he spoke, his tone much more softer but just as dangerous. With that he took the knife by the handle, which still had the apple in it and bite into it. "We have nothing to help us with getting an army. We have no coin and my title means little to nothing here. Unless you are think of something, I'd rather take one by force if need be." 

Rayne wasn’t taken back in the least once Colden kindly informed her that there was no plan. In fact, she assumed it to be the case; he had his mother’s looks, but sadly none of her brains. Taking another bite, she swung her legs back and forth and watched his temper tatum unfold. There was no point in trying to calm the Lord down, he wouldn’t have listened to reason. Whenever he got like this, it was best to simply ride out the storm and wait for him to tire out of it. “Of course, of course. They will pay dearly for robbing you, we both know it.” They would extract their vengeance;  the questions were when, where, why and how?  One of them had to figure all of this out, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to Colden to be that person. The first thing they would have to do was to reach the mainland and from there, gather enough forces to join them.

“Once we are off this rock, then we can figure out how to get such an army. True, that we are without wealth or power by our side, but that hadn’t stopped your mother, no?” Her eyes narrowed darkly as she took a big bite out of the apple. “She was able to get enough forces to be more than a hindrance towards your aunts. True, the luzil proved to not be as effective as she had hoped, but perhaps we should be remind ourself of her folly and learn from it.” It was a shame, the idea of mindless, fiendish soldiers at the Black Rose Queen’s control was something of a great feat, but the end result was simply a mess that she simply went along with. Was it possible for them to perfect the method where she went wrong? Quite a thought entertained her enough with glee.

“Of course you are, my Lord. I wouldn’t dare forget it.” Not if she wanted to keep her head attached to her neck, that was. Rayne wouldn’t wish to be dealt death by his hands; Colden had a knack for making deaths more torturous than she’d like. “Be calm, Lord Colden. Force will do us no good here. All that it will accomplish is our dead bodies slumped on the ground.”

He attempted to calm down, and did a poor job of it as the conversation continued on. All he could think about how everything had gone wrong. His mother wasn’t suppose to have perished in that battle with her sisters, he wasn’t suppose to be discarded like a used rag, and certainly he wasn’t meant to be overlook when it came time for the new heir to rise. His grip on the knife’s hilt grew tighter the more he thought about it. Why had fate been so cruel to him? He was the chosen one, the only one fit to lead the court in the wilderness to salvation. But no, it had to be passed down to one of his siblings, though he didn’t know which one could have been deemed good enough for those harpies to try and manipulate. It made more sense to him now that he wasn’t used because he had a backbone and couldn’t be swayed by their deceitful voices.

“Rayne, you told me before but are you certain that you do not recall just who claimed my birthright?” It had crossed his mind once or two, but he hadn’t cared up until now since he wanted to kill them regardless. But now his interest was stroked a bit about that bit of information, not that it would changes things as far as what he would do, but he would at least want to know to further hurry his plans. His hand released the knife and the apple, letting them both fall onto the table as he sat with a pouty look across his face. “What do you mean by that? The luzil were mindless tools made by my mother. They couldn’t be perfected if she had tried with all her might. They were useless back then and are so now.” His pathetic cousin had began such a monstrosity and even with that he couldn't defeat his younger sister.

“I don’t need to learn from it. I am above all that. If I wanted an army of the dead, then I would at the very least make sure they have the common sense ants have. Something clicked in his head after saying that, something that put him into a state of silence as he pondered, a most rare sight to behold. It wasn’t long before a crafty, sinister smile formed across his face.

“Perhaps there is a way. Do you recall where in this bloody world there is a place where all those nose burying in book wizards go to?”

"Colden… Colden… what did you do to me," a whisper slithered through the halls, and straight to the young Prince's ears.  The woman beside him would hear it too, though it wouldn't mean as much to her.  While Lilith had her instructions, her master had also told her to have a bit of… fun with her time here.  Not to mention the information would cement in the Prince's mind just who she was working for.  "You left me there… in the water… All I did was laugh," she whispered.  Her master had granted her a vision of the dead girl, and it was that form she wore walking into Colden's presence.

All she did was stare out of dead looking eyes for a few long moments, savoring the taste of his shock.  Then Lilith couldn't help it.  She started laughing herself.  Her form melted and shifted, reforming into a taller, older woman.  Black hair danced around as she shook her head, and blood red eyes had a large measure of amusement in them.  Her clothes were meant to blend in wherever she walked, and Lilith wore an easy smile on her lips.  She pointed at the woman first, and said "Oh don't worry.  I'm not here to hurt him.  I'm here to help, actually," she said with a chuckle. 

Glancing to the young man with blood red eyes, she nodded.  "My name is Lilith, Black Rose Prince.  Your father sent me, to help you in your little quest.  And he granted me that memory of yours as a proof of who I am.  Need I say anything else?" Lilith asked, a smug grin on her lips.  Her hands rested on her hips, waiting for the pair to move out of their paralysis.  She had waited until they were deep in their conversation, then just strolled in casually like she belonged there.  Which she did.  The pure shock value was something that she fed off, though there were times that it was just for fun.

She ceased eating her own apple and sighed. They had been over this time and time again; it hadn’t been the first time Colden had asked her if the identity of the new titleholder was known or not. As far as she knew, it could have been any of his siblings. Cyprus hadn’t confided in her of the heir at all and it seemed until they found out, the old queen had taken it with her to the grave. Rayne couldn’t help but to ponder if even she had known who her sisters had wanted to take her throne. “No, Colden. I did not known then and I still do not know now.” She could see the spark in his eye and shrugged. Once something caught his fancy, it was very difficult to shake him out of it. “It doesn’t matter, we will simply get rid of any of them that stands against us. You may have a lot of siblings, but they are not infinite, I assure you.”

The boy was being a terror again and it made her hop of the table and move across the room as to avoid the temptation of slapping him. Listening had always been a problem of his when it didn’t come off of his own mouth. “You misunderstand me. I meant that we should learn from her mistakes. We can’t go in with an army that must be controlled at all times like puppets. It took its toll on her and left her vulnerable. And that’s why you are motherless now.” It was harsh but it was quite true that the Queen had lost herself in madness and had ruffled far too many feathers than she should have. Angela’s and Lily’s were just fine until the former had been bestowed divinity and things only worsen when she had challenged that of the Draconis and Shiran clans. She drew far too many enemies than even she could handle and it ended tragically. The same could not be the case for Colden, she wouldn’t allow for it to happen to her Lord. But that stubborn fool seemed to mirror his mother’s attitude and she was about to argue against it when he stopped.

Her eyebrow rose when he asked for the location of what she assumed to be a library for wizards and mages. “Wyllmochvar, my lord?” Why did he wish to venture onto there, unless he was using his brain for once.

Her thoughts suddened were on hold as the soft sounds of a woman’s voice rang out to them, one that spoke of Colden. “What the…” Rayne quickly moved over to where her spear rested and rose it in an attacking stance. Just who in this realm knew not only his name, but also his location? Had she been spied on? No, it couldn’t have been, she had been very careful to make sure she wasn’t followed. She looked onto him and could tell that he wasn’t pleased with her. The woman eventually came out of hiding and she stood in front of him to defend, but it seemed unnecessary after a while once she had dropped her ruse. The spear lowered slightly as she tried to piece together what was happening here as the true face of their tormentor was revealed. “Help? How so, and how did you know that we were here?”, she spoke, never dropping her guard, even if she wanted to. She was weary of this Lilith, but she seemed to know much about him and when the subject of his father came up, she looked onto him for confirmation. He said nothing but glared. A moment later, she lowered her weapon completely and shook her head. “Father? I was unaware that he was still keeping tabs on him. No one had hear a thing about that demon for ages. And now he wishes to help?” A slight laughter left her barely parted lips; for what purpose had Xunatar had in wanting to help his son? After what he had pulled over Cyprus, how could they trust him and his word. And how could they trust Lilith if they were to go on his wishes?

His mood turned sour once more as Rayne told him that she didn't know who it was. It was agonizing for him to deal with this situation and he contemplated on how to deal with all this. He didn't care if he had to chop down the whole family tree in order to snuff out the false heir at this point, but his companion would likely try to get him to see "reason" or whatever nonsense spewed from her mouth. Why did his mother have to have so many of the little urchins. Why hadn't he been enough for her? Why did he have to cursed with having blood ties with those fools? The sour taste in his mouth grew as he chewed on his tongue, attempting badly to control himself. Fortunately Rayne had corrected herself and he better understood her point of view, though he couldn’t help but have the pleased and smug look across his face. It lasted for only a little bit before it vanished as a voice called out for him.

“Who’s there?”, he said, almost screaming as he felt as though one of his bratty siblings must have found out about his hideout. Rayne herself had been surprised but her resolve won out and she was at his defense. Meanwhile the young man didn’t do anything but flinch in his seat as he continued to listen. The voice seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t lay a finger on the time or place from whence it came from. When she spoke of water and laughter, his body went numb and limp. Wide eyes grew in terror as he started to fit the voice with the person he knew from long ago. The two hadn’t been courting for long, having did so behind his mother’s back. They had been beside a lake where their passion intensified or so he had thought. He was left in an awkward state and the girl…she laughed at him. She find humor in his predicament and so without a second thought, he forced her head beneath the water, drowned her and left her body in the water while his damned father had watched from the shadows and told him to go home while he handled the body. It was one of the few times over the course of his life that he could recall him actually showing up and also an even rarer time that he assisted him in something. His face went pale as he looked to the dead girl, and his bottom lip quivered in fear before she…laughed again. But this time, it felt different and wrong and his fear almost made him fall out of his chair. As her appearance morphed and turned into another woman, one that he hadn’t seen before, he cowered behind Rayne before anger took hold of him.

That devil sent her. That devil of a father of his sent this woman to taunt and make him into a joke. His jaw clenched tightly as he rose up to his feet and moved in front of his protect and bore into her with seething eyes. “No! I don’t need to hear anymore!” Each word left his mouth with a soft tone of rage. He couldn’t challenge her at all, not if she was sent on his behalf. He must have fancied her since he had given information that was merely between the two of them. “Father was never one to be trusted”, he spoke softly to Rayne, “At least not completely.” He then turned his attention to Lilith, taking several deep breaths to collect himself. “What can you or him offer in assistance, Lilith?” Taking a sit back down, he wasn’t sure if even she could be trusted since she was in cahoots with the man whose seed he came from. But there was little choice in the matter as far as he was concerned. He would make a deal with the devil if it meant getting back what was his.

He had a bodyguard, that was smart of him at least.  And from the way she spoke, she knew of her master.  But Lilith had to stifle her laughter before she could even talk.  The look on Colden's face was absolutely priceless.  And it was very clear that he was left in np doubt what so ever of who she had been sent by.  Lilith addressed the woman first.  "Do you really think he wouldn't be keeping tabs on his darling boy?  Colden here still has a chance of making his father proud, and a good one at that, especially with me around to help," she said, red eyes full of amusement.  Hopefully that would be all the explanation that Rayne needed.  If it wasn't, that was too bad.

Then she turned her attention to the boy.  He certainly looked enough like his father that it would be a useful thing for the boy.  She just had to make sure that he was ready to use that power.  "You're quite right, boy.  You are demon-spawn on one hand, so you know there is always something in it for us if you accept our help.  But you want something, and your father and I will help you get it.  My offer of help is two-fold.  You saw my talent for changing my face.  I can be quite an effective spy for you.  I can slip into places, and eliminate obstacles.  Or simply just watch and learn.  Surely you see the value of that," she said.  It was such a simple thing she was very capable of doing, and Lilith took great pride in her work.  Sometimes, information was more useful than blood and death, so Lilith had learned the best means of doing both.

But there was something else that she had been tasked with doing, and Lilith had every intention of enjoying herself to the fullest for this part of the job.  Pushing past Rayne, she seated herself on Colden's lap with her thighs on either side of his hips.  "And this is the other part of the reason why your father sent me to you," she said with a smug smile.  Clenching her thighs so she was certain he wouldn't go anywhere, the hellcat pulled him close in a very intimate embrace, and went to work with her mouth on his.  She felt the boy twitch under her body, but she was in complete control.  Lilith had been tasked with ensuring the boy knew how to use every weapon in his arsenal, and it was here she was an expert teacher. 

It didn't take long for him to stiffen under her expert attention, and Lilith quickly withdrew, smug smile still on her lips.  "Good, I am glad to see you won't have that same issue again.  That would make this quite a bit more difficult.  You need to learn to use that tool between your legs, along with your hands, your mouth and your charm.  In a court of women, it can be quite a powerful thing.  It might be your best bet in some cases.  And I'm going to make sure that you know how to use it properly," she said.  Glancing again to Rayne, she did have a question for the woman.  "You two are quite safe here, correct?  I've seen no presence of his family about, besides yourself.  And his safety comes first," Lilith said, turning serious in a moment.  She was also to serve as a secondary bodyguard, and there were more than a few tools at her disposal for doing that as well.

Her brows narrowed together as she looked at Lilith. Those that knew of Colden’s birth and of his father knew that the hellspawn never did anything for free, including watching over his son. He wanted something, she could feel it in her bones but as to what he was after, she couldn’t say. Who knew how long he had been spying on her lord for, but one thing was for sure, it must have been an important reason for it. Rayne placed the spear back onto the table for now and folded her arms together. “I suppose that is fair enough. No one would have known, not even Cyprus herself if he had chosen to stalk him.”

Her suspicions were confirmed sooner after that and she had to bite her tongue as the other woman proposed offering herself as a spy. While she didn’t completely trust her, she knew that having another ally would be handy, especially with her talents. Taking back her apple, Rayne bite into again but nearly choked once she saw what else the demoness was seeking to prove to Colden. Confused dimmed on her face looking onto the ploy that he was ensnared in, yet she did nothing to stop it. It didn’t last too long before she explained herself and it took a moment until she was able to logically think about this.

He was a demon and going against a court dominated by women, so it would only be natural for him to use everything given to him by both his parent to use against them. It had never crossed her mind before to use the natural tools he had; his father was rumored to be exceptionally handsome and though she was deemed mad, Cyprus was as beautiful as her sisters, even surpassing the normal standards of beauty that their kind was renowned for. Rayne mentally came back into the room when she was questioned. “Yes, until now no one had known that we had taken residence. I am fairly certain that none of them are with distance. From what I’ve gathered, most if not all of them reside in the city of Arri, far across the sea.” Taking another bite, she shifted around to look at Colden and shook her head. He didn’t seem to know what to make of any of this; he hadn’t been the brightest but she couldn’t help but to understand his bewildered state this time.  “I know that, and as his appointed guard, I must make sure that he survives at any cost and regain what was rightfully his.”

“Proud?”, Colden found himself muttering that exact word Lilith so easily threw at him. His father and the word “proud” didn’t normally on the same sentence when it came down to his son. After merely showing up in his life for a few sparse moments, his father now wanted him to make him proud? If that was the case, then his reaction to Lilith’s cruel trick would had likely made him think twice about that. But he suppose that it made sense that he would be watching him from afar, likely to see of what use he could possibly be.

He bit his tongue as she confirmed that his father and her were helping him get his throne back, though he was unsure as to why they were doing so. Perhaps they wanted some trophies to bring back home and his former family would serve that purpose greatly. He probably would oblige to such a whim after he got the pleasure of hanging and burning them; but for the most part, he expected that the price would be much more higher than that. His father was a strange demon, but one that was sickening brilliant. “Would you be so kind as to tell me what it is you two are after?”, he asked in a dark tone. Was the prince expecting a true answer, more than likely no. But it was tempting to have such an ally like herself on his side, and with little options left, he needed as much manpower as possible. If there was anything about him that was akin to his father, it was two things; he had some of his looks and he didn’t like to be crossed either.

Colden was about ready to stand back up when Lilith descended onto and sat on his lap. His reaction was to force her off of him, but soon she had him trapped so close to her. His mind went to work on what she was talking about as far as another reason she was here but soon his thoughts went elsewhere as she pulled him into a series of kisses. Colden wanted to refuse her  advances but was physically unable to and looked to Rayne before he could feel himself becoming lost into the embrace as his hand fell onto either side of her waist tightly.  He could feel lust stirring into him, and before he knew it, it manifested physically and she ceased, apparently getting the reaction she wanted. He hadn’t wished for her to stop, and the glare he gave her as she broke away spoke high volumes of his dissatisfaction. Perhaps he was more of his father than he had realized. “What do you mean?”, he said, questioning her logic of using himself as a tool against his opposition. “Do you suggest that I seduce my way into the courts?” He had long forgotten that merely moments ago he hadn’t wanted the woman on his lap or that Rayne had been there watching all this time.

“Fine, I don’t care how I have to play this game, but I want to win.” His eyes flung over to the Rosenite, hearing the name of the city brought back memories in his head of what his mother told him about Arri. How was it here in this realm if it existed elsewhere? This whole portal thing had conflicted what he knew and what was actually true even more. Colden threw his head up and sighed, “I care not what we do first, but I want a new place. Something more fitting for our base of operations.” He was done hiding in the shadows and now that they had nothing to fear here, a change in scenery seemed like a good idea, especially with Lilith with them. Speaking of which, he looked to the demoness and started to drum his fingers against her, “So you are to be my spy and teacher? I’ll admit that you are the best thing that he had ever gifted me.” Though in the back of his mind, there must have been a cost in giving her to him as well.