Long lost hopes of love (Loraine)

[Valirion Thorn]

:: I sat in a high class resteraunt floating in the orange skies of Bespin. I had gotten a message that someone had been asking of Val Rose. That was the name that... It had been so long, I had been shocked... Only one person called me by that name... but I... my endless dreams as I rested on Roon. That was the only thing... the only thing that had held me back before accepting the threshold of darkness... the pain... DAMN!
My armor shuddered underneath my skin and my sword squirmed along my spine... they were symbiotic weapons that developed their own emotions by mimicking my own and throughout the time, my affection had disturbed them also and the memories of it all... She was the only thing that had held all three of us back... but we had assumed her gone... that the death of my noble household would've estranged me from her forever... but... I couldn't let this affect me...
Anyways, this person had been looking for a name long dead... but that was the question, I had requested that the searcher find me here. They would appear at any time now. My blood red silk garments slowly shifted as I looked around, my violet eyes abosrbing the life about me, the life that existed outside of my own.::

[Loraine Blessing]

A very pretty woman about the age of twenty-four entered the high class restaurant. Somehow, she had saved enough money for a decent dress of white flowing material. It clung to her thin body and flowed about her gracefully as she was taken by the hand toward the table she sought. I wonder if he'll recognize me... she thought to herself as nervously her green eyes searched the surrounding tables. She gently pushed her ash blonde hair out of the way as it daintily hung around her shoulders, touching her skin like a gentle kiss. Suddenly they stopped and her heart did as well as her eyes came to rest upon a face she had not seen in so long....a face that was worn and twisted from the darkness that consumed his soul, yet youthful and....white, like the rest of his skin. Still, he was the same person she had loved so long ago. Nodding absentmindedly to the doorman, she took her hand back and he pulled out her seat. Sitting down, the man parted and all she could do was stare at Valirion. Taking a deep breath, her pink lips parted as she attempted to speak.

"...Is.....is it really you, Val?"

She spoke so softly that the words were nearly a whisper as they left her mouth. Loraine shook her head ever so slightly and kept her green eyes locked with his. It was a moment she was having a hard time believing as she sat before her long lost love, or the one who was pretending to be.

[Valirion Thorn]

:: I had stood as the lady before me had taken her seat. My black hair barely moving as my eyes shifted to the white figure before me. I had no reason to breathe but if I could I would've held it. I sat back down as she took a seat. I slowly viewed her... but my view was not the same as it had been the last time we met. I could see her face but I could see past that.
Before I hadn't even known what sith powers were and my vision had never been so acute. I could see the major veins and arteries pumping blood through her soft neck and I could see her emotions like they were an open book.
But I was Rose, not Thorn, the night was young and I was eternal. I could be Rose if I wanted couldn't I? Couldn't I?! My armor sent a silent sharp stab to my mind to pay attention and not to fret over other things... ::

Yes... Loraine, its good to see you again.

:: Not even Heaven could show me the glory of the memories when I still breathed and bled my own blood, not others. Just when I had taken care of her, giving her everything she wanted when she wanted. Everything but the pleasures of the flesh, I would not have touched her, in fear that somehow my secret might've escaped. But did that matter? I had loved her, do I still love her now? My armor pleaded to me and my sword whimpered from within its sheath. But they hadn't changed like I had. They hadn't been given the dark gift and had to face the darkness with no turning back.
But I had no regrets, the pain, my mistress, the power and divinity... My transcendence, the fight with Malice, the exposure of the darkness to Sol Invictus. None of that was a regret. But leaving her... that was my only regret. But she had returned to me... I reached within my jacket and retrieved a rose that had been dried out during bloom, so that it was perpetually beautiful. It smelled of the old town air in Talon... where we had first met. I had hoped that Loraine had been the one looking for me so I had planned ahead.::

Here, a rose from the Rose.

[Loraine Blessing]

Her heart skipped a beat as he confirmed to her that it was truly he, the one she had loved....but did she still? Her eyes searched his for a moment and then watched his hand slip into his jacket and pull out something so beautiful, she felt a few tears rise to the surface of her eyes. She reached across the table and gently took the dried rose inbetween her first finger and thumb. A smile crossed her lips as an old smell filled her nostrils and returned to her mind, sweet memories of when they had first met.

"Oh, Val......it's lovely."

She said softly, canting her head to the right as she eyed the beautiful flower captured in time. Her eyes slowly snaked from its petals to his face once again. So many questions circled her mind as she stared deeply into his eyes.

"....Why did you leave me so quickly as you did? Why didn't you tell me where you were going? So long have I searched for you, thinking terrible things had come to your soul. Why, Val?"

They just poured out of her mind and unto her lips without a second thought, just like the old days when they were together. Her eyes showed a sadness behind them that had been absent so long ago as she stared upon his face.

[Valirion Thorn]

terrible things had come to your soul

:: I showed no reaction to the statement but inside, the empty place where my soul had been... it was as if a black hole had formed there and started to drain everything out, from the inside out. But her questions... how was I to answer them? Should I use my vampiric charm, would that be justice to what I saw in her? Should I just use the darkside to supply answers with her questions? Would that dirty her soul and filthy my own bloody conscience further? Her questions were contagious it seemed.::

Six years you searched for me? Six years of your life placed ito this entire moment? But you remember the night we last met. The fires at the Thorn household, the murders... you knew the business I dealt in then, the black market and all. The police would surely have come to investigate and I didn't need people asking questions of me. But how was I supposed to know the murderer would've killed the police too. I ran and found myself stranded until I could open a new shop. But I lost track of time... and you. I thought all was lost...

:: All had been lost. I would not have returned, the shrine was the only way I could've gone... Because I had been the murderer that had torched the house and killed the police when they had come for me. I hadn't really run either, I had slowly walked away, licking the blood off my hands and sword as I left the ruins of the once powerful Thorn household.
But would she have understood... the prearranged marriage, the "fiancee" that was supposed to have been arranged to "settle" me down and negotiate my properties away. I would've been slave to the household and noble demeanor. I was slave to no one and the only person I would've sacrificed something for would've been Loraine. Only her!::

If I had known you were searching for me... Six years...

[Loraine Blessing]

Loraine listened intently as he spoke, yet part of her still did not understand. If he had truly loved her, he would have at least let her know somehow that he was still alright. Her green oceanic eyes fell to the tabletop and her hands grasped the rose tenderly, almost as if she was holding his hand.

"But why didn't you even drop by later? Why didn't you send me a letter? The police wouldn't have known! I would have left with you! Val I.....I love you, loved you......and....I wouldn't have objected leaving with you."

Her cheeks flushed as old feelings returned and she tried to push them away but was unable to hide them once again. Her eyes fell to the rose and then slowly were brought up to his face once again.

"You know how I feel, Val......somehow, I know you do...."

[Valirion Thorn]

:: I nodded... I knew, but did she know how I felt? Did I even feel like humans now, no I didn't... But I had lost that feeling even while I was still a human, that night... when my "fiancee" had been massacred and then hung to dry.
I had drank her blood, and it had even been satisfying as a human. And the police, they hadn't been recognizable until they had been tested for all the dried blood and entrails scattered in the street.::

I will explain everything in time. I'm just glad to see you after so long.

:: Time was something I really didn't care about but I knew it still affected her. My eyes seemed to dilate slowly as I watched her, just looking back into her eyes. the eyes that seemed to reflect the oceans of Talon and in her pupils I could see the njights that we had spent alone... just talking, just being there...::

Where are you staying tonight?

[Loraine Blessing]

Loraine smiled to herself and nodded.

"It is good to see you after so long."

She simply stated with a genuine grin upon her face. Still there was something in his eyes that told her that all was not well. It was almost as if a piece of him was missing. She sighed at his question and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't have a place to stay and I was hoping perhaps you could recommend a place...or perhaps I could stay with you?"

It was a question she dreaded asking, but having hardly any money did not help the situation. Nervously, the young woman folded her hands together upon the table to keep them from fidgiting.

[Valirion Thorn]

:: I hadn't seen her for so long but yet I still knew her so well. The way she acted when she knew she needed something but she was too good to say anything. I watched her place her hands on the table and try not to fidget. It was so familiar but the view of her was still not the same. Just looking at her fingers, I could see the minuscule veins... it wasn't the same. I smiled as I closed my eyes and nodded.::

I had planned on going back to my ship tonight but this was a very pleasant surprise. I'll get you a room if you would like or you may stay upon my ship for the evening? the accomadations are a bit drreary but luxurious and comfortable nonetheless.

:: My ship was large, huge thanks to the Shrine, but it was dangerous there. The thoughts of the Shrine carried far and wide and I wouldn't oblige them with my own at the moment. But if she stayed upon my ship... I opened my eyes and awaited her answer. I wanted to just push the choice into her head but something seemed to hold me back...::

[Loraine Blessing]

Loraine smiled and let her eyes search his for a moment before quickly deciding.

"I'd like to stay with you, I know you...I miss you. I would just feel more comfortable, if you don't mind, that is."

She said softly, hoping that he would not mind another passenger abord his ship. Staying in unfamiliar places was bad enough, but when someone familiar was there, Loraine felt more comfortable by the minute.

"If it's a problem I can always stay somewhere else, but I thought it might be nice."

[Valirion Thorn]

:: I sighed softly with a smile. Did she really know me anymore? Was I still even close to the mortal "Val Rose"? We would find out... I drew my hand into my jacket and pulled out a data card and slided it to Loraine across the table.::

Its not a problem at all Loraine. I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing you were elsewhere but with me. Later tonight we can talk of the past and the future. But...
That is the passcard to the hangar. A shuttle awaits inside that will transport you to my ship orbiting above the planet. I'll be there shortly if I'm not there already. I have business to attend to before coming back to the ship but I would think it safer if you just headed straight there.

:: I had to feed so that I looked more "human" tonight and to keep myself from wasting away and getting desperate. One thing I didn't need was to wake up on my ship and her dead next to me, two puncture marks in her neck... I shook my head as I looked out the window.::