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Silence had become welcome in the Awoken Queen’s Court. Silence save for the once-Prince’s heartbeat.
As it were that night, Mara Sov found herself waiting in said court. Reconciliation eluded her as she replayed the events over and over within her mind. The Exorcism. She gambled in Savathun’s game, and lost. Her research scattered as she threw her hands on the table before her. Frustration tightened her grip. Exhaustion left her lips in a sigh.
Glancing up as a shimmering sound broke her focus, her expression morphed from weariness to concern. A familiar face came stumbling in from the Vanguard’s Portal into the chamber, and collapsed to his knees before her. A Hunter in tattered armor she’d gifted him. Eyes red and lumbered down with bags.
“Kayden Black? What is the meaning of-“
“Keep your mouth shut. I’ve got this.” A sharp voice Mara didn’t recognize took the Queen aback.
“I beg your-“
“I SAID QUIET!” The voice interrupted the Queen once again. Concern shifted to annoyed confusion as Mara looked about before her gaze fell again upon Kayden. It was then she beheld a curious sight.
A ghost unfolded from transmat space before the Hunter. Mara scoffed as her mind worked it out. This drone had the nerve to raise its voice to her. But more to the point, what else exactly did it have? The Queen folded her arms as she narrowed her gaze.
“Why won’t you talk to me dammit!?” The ghost cried.
“Leave me alone.” Kayden mumbled.
“I could have left you dead. I chose not too. I came to rescue you or do you not remember that!? And sure, I’m not this Ocula you remember…but I’ve..I’ve always been by your side! Never Us! Remember!?”
“Scylla…please…” Kayden replied.
While the two continued, Mara observed. This body language. Even for Kayden, this was a drastic shift. And that name? Who was Scylla? This ghost?
“My Queen, our scans show you had a visi….”Petra rushed, her Vestian Dynasty cocked at the ready. but halted as the Queen raised her hand. “Is that…is that Kayden?”
“Bring water and some bandages to my chamber, please. I’ll meet you there. Tell no one.” Mara replied, her eyes meeting her Wrath’s. Petra hazarded a glance beyond her Queen but then felt the sharp correction in her mind. Finding Mara’s eyes again as she grasped at the side of her head, The Queen’s Wrath nodded.
“At once, your majesty.” Petra’s words fell light on Mara’s ears as she left. Taking a deep breath, and a large swallow of her pride, she turned to the distressed guardian and knelt down to him, cupping his face in her palms, forcing him to look upon her. Her eyes widened as she beheld him, in all that he was. Broken in such entirety, she could barely imagine what horror wrought this havoc upon him. Studying him carefully, she gently lifted his left arm and draped it about her shoulder and rose with a grunt.
“Don’t touch-“
“D’you want my help or not, Little Light!?” Mara practically snarled at the foreign ghost. She noted it’s obsidian, jagged shape as it quieted and folded back into space. More silence fell, save for a scream within ghost space. Scylla would make her frustrations and her voice heard. Sulking and guilt be damned. She would be seen.
Slowly, Mara moved with Kayden down the halls towards her Bedchamber. With an arm wrapped around Kayden’s waist, curious fingers inspected for any concealed wounds. Though once she had thought she’d known better, guardians of late had proved so different amongst one another in their pairings with ghosts. But this Hunter. He was hers. Even if only in ways whispered in rumor and secret. Simmering rage lay beneath the visage she presented as they made way into her chambers. Petra had come and gone. The water and bandages were left neat on a table near her bed. Weary of the silence, her lips began to part.
“I could make you speak…Compel you to spill what secret you dare hide from me…” Her tone was laced with disappointment. Frustration desperate in the way it masked her truth.
Kayden only avoided her gaze as she let him sit on her bed. Mara huffed, folding her arms as she watched every move he made. Each motion, an affront to what they had shared in the briefest of spaces that time only ever allowed them a handful of times.
“Are you so weak now? Can you not even bare to look upon me? Creature…” Another lash whipped from her tongue. As it struck, there was a sharp Soulfire and Stasis glare. Defiant. Grieving. Mara felt herself waver. This was different. He was different. Barely an echo.
Standing, Kayden’s gaze grew fierce. In kind, so did Mara’s anger.
“SPE-“
Her next cry was muffled as she felt herself pulled up into his arms. His lips closed against hers, interrupting her onslaught. Her breath caught as her hands came up and gripped his face. A sigh escaped against his needy panting as their lips parted for but a moment.
“Why won’t you tell me what ails you…Kayden?” Mara’s tone shifted as she closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his as he held onto her tight, lightly sobbing.
“I’m…I’m so broken…” Kayden finally admitted, peering into her amethyst gaze.
“Shh..” Mara replied softly, pressing her lips against his this time. She moved her body against him, easing him back towards her bed.
“I want to forget…” Kayden broke their kiss, and averted his eyes. Mara gripped at his tattered vest, her eyes reading his shame like an open book.
“Drone…Remove all of this…” Mara’s eyes curiously glanced about.
“I have a fucking name, Mara.” Scylla unfolded in a shimmer, settling in the space between Kayden and the Queen.
“Then speak it, and be known. I do not know you. Your presence here is foreign…yet..”
“Familiar? I keep getting that and I’m frankly out of patience…” Scylla snapped.
“Scylla…” Kayden said as he reached out.
A mechanical sigh left the ghost as she felt her Risen’s pulse against her shell. All the turmoil and grief churning within him. His pain was hers. Shutting her eye for a moment, Scylla let another sigh out as she flitted out of the Hunter’s grasp and began to remove the beat and broken armor.
“Thank you.”
“This isn’t for you.” Scylla replied, her eye focused on Kayden, getting a good look at his body for the first time since he had returned to his human form. She carefully sealed up the physical wounds she had missed in the chaos. Alas, it hurt her more that their very purpose in this place was because she was helpless to correct what they eye couldn’t see. There were deeper scars. Old, and as Deep as the Darkness in all things. “I hate that he needs you to fix what I can’t…”
With those final words, Scylla vanished again in a flourish. Kayden stood there in just his atmospheric pressure gear. His eyes locked to the floor until he felt the Awoken Queen’s gentle push. Then he was falling backwards, just for a moment as he collapsed on the soft sheets. He then felt the pressure of her body, climbing over him and he sighed with a longing he’d never known so intimately.
Mara began by straddling him, keeping him nestled just beneath her. His body was already responding and she bit her lip. The feeling was enough to awaken her own need. She reached down, gripping the end of his top and dragging it up slowly until he was free of it. Leaning in, she placed soft kisses along his neck line, allowing his moans and squirming be her guide. She pinned his arms down, a breath escaping her as she moved her hips ever so roughly against his crotch. A smirk formed on her face as the Hunter groaned and finally looked upon her once more. Releasing his arms, she moved her hands down and they danced about his bare chest, lightly pinning him again while his own moved down her back, tugging at the fabric of her tunic.
Mara’s heraldry became a mess as Kayden hungrily pulled at the pieces. Sitting up, they met each other’s gazes yet again. Mara gave a rough invitation with her hips yet again, grinding against his hardened member. He responded by undoing the belts at her waist and tossing them aside. She grinned and lifted her top, and all that came with it, exposing her bare chest to him. In the low light, her skin nearly shimmered. Wasting no time, Kayden leaned in, taking one of her breasts into his mouth, his tongue teasing her nipple with circular motions. The Queen let out a moan, grinding against him as she buried her hands in the strands of his long hair. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to the moment. Kayden wasn’t alone in the need for a distraction. She let out a gasp as Kayden alternated to the opposite breast, suckling this time as he pulled her close. A grunt left him, and then a moan as Mara kept up the rhythm of her grinding, unable to resist the feeling of his hardness against her.
Letting out a needy growl, Kayden eagerly switched their dynamic. Moving to pin her down, he panted as he stared down into her eyes. His hands moved down to the top of her leggings, and he simply pulled them off. Mara grinned, arching upwards to assist him. Once she was free of clothing, Mara propped herself up, leaning back on her arms. She admired the way the light of her bedchamber glinted off the shard fused to his sternum. As Kayden removed his own pants, the Queen studied him, drinking in every last drop of all that he was. She then rose a brow and moved closer to inspect it. It had changed, gaining a slightly azure hue. It was as if a dying emerald melded into an aged sapphire.
“It’s changed..” She whispered. Before Kayden could look away, she gently took his face in her palm. “Don’t…It’s alright…It’s just here…you’re safe.” Her words were followed by a soft, loving kiss. “Now…do not keep me waiting…High Priest.”
Kayden bit his lip and Mara smirked in kind as their fingers intertwined. Pinning her down, Kayden’s throbbing cock pressed into her eager and warm walls. Starlight cried out his name as he invaded her. Mara wrapped her legs about his waist, while she gripped against his light restraint. She moaned with each motion, moving in tandem with him, matching his pace.
“Kay…Kayden…” Her voice caught in her throat as he went deeper. Her back arched, an invitation received as Kayden quickened. Mara tightened around him as he took all she could offer. He tasted of her lips, interrupting a moan. She nibbled back on him, tugging slightly at his lips. Her breaths came quicker as Kayden moved faster, hitting her harder and deeper.
“Fuck…” Kayden moaned, his grip tightening on her hands. He could feel his body building towards climax. Mara squirmed beneath him, tightening her legs around him. Her muscles squeezed every inch as he went in and out. Finally, in unison they both cried out in pleasure. She drained every last drop he had, their bodies locked together. Panting, Kayden kissed her passionately, low groans escaping little by little as she moved her hips against him.
Laying there together, bodies intertwined. Mara stroked his hair as he rested, while taking in the events that led them here. Looking him over, she pondered what dreadful secret had broken him so. But at least for the moment, they could share this moment, away from their troubles. The Queen closed her eyes and let her exhaustion take her, joining Kayden in sleep.