Destinies: Bare Feet (Razielle and open)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The flagstones were cold against her feet as the woman ran through the palace courtyards. She reached the gardens and vaulted over the wall, her bare feet sinking into the dewy grass as she landed.

There was a hedge maze here, something of a curiousity, and far too simple to solve. It was kept up well by the gardeners, and Lilaena had wondered how people would react if she planted one of the flesh eating plants of the wilds in a dead end. She'd decided against it, but now...now she wished that she could get lost. Time had flown by, and now her son was five years old...and she hadn't seen him since he was nearly two.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. De'Ville was too proud to cry, even here in the solitude of the midnight garden. She pulled her thin robe around her, and sat heavily in the middle of the maze. The robe soaked in the dew, and the cold seeped into her bones, but it was nothing compared to the cold that was already there. She was thinner now than she'd been before she'd had Jax, yet just as muscular.

De'Ville ran a hand over her thighs towards her knees, over the place where the latest bruise had shown up. For the last few years she'd been getting large purplish bruises on her body, thankfully all in places that were covered by her clothing. They each lasted a few weeks, and then faded away. It was disconcerting, but she wrote it off to her excessive training schedule and accidental hits.

Finally a stubborn tear trickled down her face, and she bent over her knees, hiding her tears even though she was all alone.

[Razielle Shadana]

Having already arisen and been about her nightly routine of feeding, the Vampyre wandered around Iziz. Razielle was pleased with the remodeling of the prison building into a home, but she hadn't bothered with the outside grounds yet. The kind of stroll she was out for would not be appeased by walking circles around a dreary building. She found her way, after a fashion, to the palace gardens. They were so familiar to her, having grown up in similar comforts. Pulling a blossom from a tree branch, she plucked the red petals one by one letting them fall under her booted feet.

Razielle's mind wandered. She was oddly happy here. She had felt privileged to be a part of the Circle at all, but now Salem was here. His presence was like a balm to her soul, as much as it was an irritant to everyone else's.

The night was cool and scented, the kind of night that anyone would want to seek the solace of a fragrant garden. It was then she realized she was not alone. The inertia of a mortal heart, along with the salty scent of tears stole to her. It was De'Ville. Razielle had no desire to stumble upon the Dark Jedi in a state of emotional strain, but it would be unavoidable given that she probably had already sensed her as well.

Doing the only thing she could, Razielle continued forward into the lush green maze. She made no attempt to soften her footsteps, better to announce her presence openly and let De'Ville compose herself. Turning the corner, the Vampyre cleared her throat discreetly.. "De'Ville...?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Uncharacteristically startled, De'Ville jerked up into a sitting position, and glared at the intruder without attempting to hide her tears. Seeing it was Shadana caused her to soften her glare...a little. "Do you make a habit of sneaking around at night?"

She realized how absurd her question was, and shook her head, "Never mind, don't answer that." Lilaena wiped at her wet face, the reflected sunlight from the Demon moon shimmering off her tears.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus looked on silently. This hadn't been the first night Lilaena had slipped out in the night, though it had been the first time Silus had decided to follow her. He wasnt suspicious, mainly just curious, especially after watching her slowly roll out of the bed in all effort not to rouse him.

Trailing her hadnt been an easy task, but Silus worked it to his advantage, as he needed to stay a fair bit behind to keep from alerting her razor sharp senses. Finally, she came to a stop, and Silus had slowed his pursuit to a slow walk, giving himself time to ready an illusion.

So now he stood, watching Lilaena and Razielle in front of him, as he blended into the backdrop of hedges.

[Razielle Shadana]

Instinct told her that this Circle, whatever it was, was to be a new family of sorts. That was how Razielle functioned. She didn't really give a damn about you, unless you were a part of her immediate life. De'Ville was. Not only was she also a member of the Circle, but it was she who had brought Razielle to Onderon in the first place. So Razielle couldn't refrain from wanting to assist Miss De'Ville in whatever cause had her so- uncharacteristically out of sorts.

The Vampyre grinned openly at the reference to her sneaking around at night. Razielle spread her arms wide, a gesture saying 'Well look what I am..?' but she didn't speak it aloud. Tossing away the stem of the flower she had shredded, Razielle plopped down next to De'Ville. Not so close as to be obtrusive, but close enough to imply she was here to listen and if she could to help.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Angrily she wiped her face with the sleeve of her robe, and sat in silence for a few moments. Razielle sat next to her, at a safe distance. "I do not owe you an explaination, but I'm going to give you one." De'Ville looked over at the pale woman in the moonlight, and Razielle could see the anger in her eyes.

"I have a son, and I have not seen him in four years. His father took him away when we broke it off, and I have not been able to see my own son since that time. If my heart could be broken more than it already has been, it would be again because of this." She took in a deep, shuddering breath, and exhaled sharply. "His father... he was an Imperial when I met him, but after the child was concieved he changed on me. He left the Empire and became a part of the New Republic Intelligence, and also joined the Jedi Order. We tried for a while to still make a go of it, because of Jax, our son, but it wasn't worth it. I could never come to Coruscant to visit, and then it turned out that Pierce was using me to get at the Black... at the group I was in previously."

Her eyes flashed with fury at the thought of it again. "I sent him away, and the only time I've seen him since then he tried to arrest me. Probably he would give a righteous reason, but he has always been too goody-two-shoes for his own good." De'Ville sighed, and added, "And of course, I have not seen Jax since Chandrila...since he was a baby."

She gestured around her, "I usually keep better control over myself, but when I cannot hold it in I come here, to be alone." De'Ville tossed her hair out of her eyes defiantly, as if daring Razielle to say anything demeaning about it. She'd left herself open to be exploited, but if the Vampiress tried anything she'd soon learn the true meaning of death.

[Razielle Shadana]

No, she did not owe any explanation, but neither had Razielle asked for one. She merely sat and let the Dark Jedi put into words her pain. Razielle leaned back and listened to De'Ville recount the sorrow and anguish of the last four years. To have a son, and to have him taken from you. Taken by the one person who should know that De'Ville would love her own child, his Father. Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she pondered what she would do to the person who would dare such a thing against her.

There was nothing that Razielle could say or do to erase the past. There was nothing she could do to make De'Ville feel any less torn over the loss of her son. She could never regain the last four years, but she could have the future. It would not be an easy undertaking, but they were not powerless. "You have many who would stand with you, De'Ville. Myself included. Take him..."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She nodded, firming up her decision. "I have been thinking about that for the last two years. But taking this planet...this group...has taken much of my time. Now, however, I can get away from these responsibilities and I can take him back." De'Ville smiled, and nodded again.

"The Temple is where he is kept - " She stopped, sniffing the air. "Do you smell cheap cologne?" Silus? Lilaena could not sense him or see him, but there was the faint odor of him in the air.

[Silus Xilarian]

"You forgot your shoes."

He said as he dropped his cover, and slowly started toward the two.

"If you want them, I'll go get them."

[Razielle Shadana]

Razielle did in fact smell colonge, she also could hear his approach quite accutely. It was all very sweet, Silus caring enough about De'Ville to track her to the maze and then offer to run back after her shoes. The Dark Jedi did not seem to be suffering from her barefoot state though.. Razielle was sure there was other factors involved that she was missing, but she wasn't sure she felt like putting forth the effort involved to reveal them. Time had a way of explaining things and all a Vampyre had was time.

De'Ville had said 'The Temple is where he is kept' , Razielle supposed she refered to the Jedi Temple. That would make things a tad more tricky, indeed. It would serve to alleiviate her boredum though, plotting the removal of a child from such conditions would take up the better part of her nights.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile (that was more a smirk) of greeting to Silus. She didn't speal to him though, figuring he had his reasons for for being present that did not involve her.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"No, no I do not need them." Lilaena finally caught sight of Silus, and smiled in greeting. "I...I was ... missing Jax again." Her smile quivered with a mix of sadness and anger.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus nodded at the explanation. Simple understanding was the best he had to offer at this point, as Lilaena already knew where he stood on the matter. As he closed the distance between them a little more, he took off his coat and laid it over her shoulders.

"Tommorrow will be busy, I should be heading back to the palace."

In all actuality, he would be wide awake, waiting for her to return. Obviously, she'd left to be alone, or at least away from him, while she collected her thoughts, and he didn't plan to intrude on that any further.

[Razielle Shadana]

She waited until Silus was headed off before stating the obvious. "Clearly he cares for you and knows about your son. Jax was it? My knowledge of the Jedi Temple isn't much sadly, but I still think with proper planning we can accomplish absconding the boy."

Razielle grinned at Lilaena, her fangs lit by the night. "I can always divert their attention. Its not like they can do me any lasting damage, as such I would make a splendid decoy."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Silus was sweet, in his own way. Lilaena rarely compared him to Pierce, preferring to try to forget entirely about her ex-husband, but he had the same way of silently standing by her. Of course, Pierce had just been using her, and Silus probably was also, but at least Silus and she were using each other for the same reasons.

Xilarian wasn't gone yet, and Razielle's words made her call him back. Turning her head back to the Vampyre, she said, "His fifth birthday is coming soon. In about a month, Coruscanti time." Silus returned to the center of the maze, lounging by the hedge as she talked. "If you are both willing..." A plan, sitting dormant and half-formed after a year of longing, began to evolve fully in her mind. "Perhaps we can work together to strike a blow to the Jedi morale and retrieve my son at the same time."

Her eyes, wet with tears minutes earlier, now shone with excitement.