I'm Not Your Boy
"Father, I'm home!" Matthias yelled.
Diederich winced automatically. One did not raise one's voice in this house. Matthias' illness was deeply unsettling to Diederich. He'd become little more than a raving lunatic.
"I brought Diederich and Daydelis!"
For several agonizing moments, the house remained silent. Then the door to Corinthiahn's rooms opened, and he stepped out soundlessly. He wore a simple grey and white set of casual robes, and his blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. His pale yellowish eyes fell first on Diederich - they always did - then Matthias.
"What do you think--"
Matthias grinned widely, teeth showing like a jackal, and dumped the ugly bundle on the floor at his feet. It landed with a reverberating thud, painfully loud in the otherwise still house.
"I SAID, I brought you Daydelis!"
Corinthiahn's eyes widened as he stared at the tied up blankets on the floor. "No..." he whispered. "No, no..."
He crossed the parlor and knelt next to the body, hand hovering over it, feeling for any remaining thread between the body and its soul that he could use to return it to life. Corinthiahn was a powerful priest, but thanks to Therese, Diederich was comfortably certain that nothing at all remained.
"Here, Father," Matthias said, his voice and smile dripping poison. He held out a dagger. "Open it."
Diederich was a grown man, a war veteran, a ranked member of the Ebon Blade and probably more powerful than Corinthiahn, but the look Corinthiahn gave Matthias still scared him.
Corinthiahn took the dagger. "If this really is my grandson," he said in a low voice, "I will kill you."
Matthias just smiled.
Corinthiahn cut away the ropes, put down the dagger, and opened the blankets.
"Light Above," he said in a thin, shaking voice. He laid his hands desperately on the boy's chest, but still found nothing. "No... no, you couldn't have," he whispered, trembling, staring at the child. "What have you done? Matthias, Light Above, what have you done?"
"Dead," Matthias said with a laugh. He pointed at Diederich. "Dead." He pointed at the child. "Dead." He then, with a manic gleam in his eye, pointed at Corinthiahn. "Dead. All dead. Your line, your life's work, your legacy, DEAD. Your heir, your heir's heir, DEAD. As dead as Leda, as dead as the family you took from me. Do you hear me, Father? Do you hear me now?"
"I saved your life, Matthias," Corinthiahn snarled, still knelt almost protectively over his grandson's body. "Your wife was killed by Scourge, she was already gone and I had nothing to do with--"
"You didn't even try to save her! You left her to be a distraction while you used me to get your family away!"
"You have no idea what you've done, Matthias," Corinthiahn said, getting to his feet with an awful look in his eyes.
"I know exactly what I've done," Matthias grinned, utterly without fear. "And I love it."
* * *
Have some fitting music:
"Jurassitol," by Filter
((Also, as a sidenote: starting today [saturday the 21st], Diederich is officially OOC. In game, he is now caught up with the fic, and this current storyline should be considered having begun to take place this morning. So if I log into the character, please consider him OOC. Don't worry, he'll be back eventually, I promise!))
Diederich winced automatically. One did not raise one's voice in this house. Matthias' illness was deeply unsettling to Diederich. He'd become little more than a raving lunatic.
"I brought Diederich and Daydelis!"
For several agonizing moments, the house remained silent. Then the door to Corinthiahn's rooms opened, and he stepped out soundlessly. He wore a simple grey and white set of casual robes, and his blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. His pale yellowish eyes fell first on Diederich - they always did - then Matthias.
"What do you think--"
Matthias grinned widely, teeth showing like a jackal, and dumped the ugly bundle on the floor at his feet. It landed with a reverberating thud, painfully loud in the otherwise still house.
"I SAID, I brought you Daydelis!"
Corinthiahn's eyes widened as he stared at the tied up blankets on the floor. "No..." he whispered. "No, no..."
He crossed the parlor and knelt next to the body, hand hovering over it, feeling for any remaining thread between the body and its soul that he could use to return it to life. Corinthiahn was a powerful priest, but thanks to Therese, Diederich was comfortably certain that nothing at all remained.
"Here, Father," Matthias said, his voice and smile dripping poison. He held out a dagger. "Open it."
Diederich was a grown man, a war veteran, a ranked member of the Ebon Blade and probably more powerful than Corinthiahn, but the look Corinthiahn gave Matthias still scared him.
Corinthiahn took the dagger. "If this really is my grandson," he said in a low voice, "I will kill you."
Matthias just smiled.
Corinthiahn cut away the ropes, put down the dagger, and opened the blankets.
"Light Above," he said in a thin, shaking voice. He laid his hands desperately on the boy's chest, but still found nothing. "No... no, you couldn't have," he whispered, trembling, staring at the child. "What have you done? Matthias, Light Above, what have you done?"
"Dead," Matthias said with a laugh. He pointed at Diederich. "Dead." He pointed at the child. "Dead." He then, with a manic gleam in his eye, pointed at Corinthiahn. "Dead. All dead. Your line, your life's work, your legacy, DEAD. Your heir, your heir's heir, DEAD. As dead as Leda, as dead as the family you took from me. Do you hear me, Father? Do you hear me now?"
"I saved your life, Matthias," Corinthiahn snarled, still knelt almost protectively over his grandson's body. "Your wife was killed by Scourge, she was already gone and I had nothing to do with--"
"You didn't even try to save her! You left her to be a distraction while you used me to get your family away!"
"You have no idea what you've done, Matthias," Corinthiahn said, getting to his feet with an awful look in his eyes.
"I know exactly what I've done," Matthias grinned, utterly without fear. "And I love it."
* * *
Have some fitting music:
Click to view"Jurassitol," by Filter
((Also, as a sidenote: starting today [saturday the 21st], Diederich is officially OOC. In game, he is now caught up with the fic, and this current storyline should be considered having begun to take place this morning. So if I log into the character, please consider him OOC. Don't worry, he'll be back eventually, I promise!))