Let's get a bottle and drink alone tonight. (Sky)

[Avicus DuSang]

Avicus was no stranger to others having profound impact in a person's life. If his ex-wife hadn't found him so long ago, he'd probably be dead due to spice overdose. Subsequentially, had she not labeled him a traitor, he wouldn't have left the Empire.

He might still be on the throne.

But, the impact of others only caused a person to react. Their choices were still their own to make. He got clean because he wanted to be a good husband and a good father to Merovign and his adopted daughter Ophelia. He left the Empire because it was too painful to stay.

The fates certainly loved to play games. As she took his hand and stood, she gripped him in a grateful hug. He breathed in her scent. The scent of a woman who he could never have. The love she held for him wasn't the same love he held for her.

Nor, it seemed, would it ever be so.

"You're welcome." he whispered. His arms held her tightly before he slowly let her go. Olive fingers brushed her cheek softly. "Your bath is ready. Dinner should be prepared by the time you're done relaxing." As she departed the study, he flopped down on the couch, lighting a cigarette.

 

[Sky Kerberos]

She left him, though without having him near she began to feel the chasm of her emptiness. Her loneliness amplified as her mind was free to wander.

What she had been: powerful. With influence. Laws had no control over her, no one had control. She had been truly free. Now though? She was met with mistrust by the Jedi, being lied to and controlled. Laws restricted her at every move, every step, every thought. Why would she stay in such an order, why live in the light when it could only blind her.

She knew the answer...she would lose Ben. She hated that he crippled her, but knew that was not fully the case. She hated that she loved him, for in her blood mistrust and darkness laid. Her anger laid not towards Ben, for he was the only good in her life, but rather towards herself.

And Avicus. The bonds they had, that he had showed her. She was loyal beyond belief...it was a strange feeling though. To think only hours before she looked upon him as a stranger yet now was willing to lay her life on the line for him. But he was a Sith...would protecting him cause damnation for herself? She did not care, for she would not betray anyone again. She could not, for her soul would die itself in her treachery.

Finishing her bath, she wrapped the towel around her form, wishing that her life and her soul would no longer be at odds with each other.

 

[Avicus DuSang]

While bathing, the servants took the liberty of washing her clothes. Matching her size with various dresses, they were all laid out for Sky to choose when she was done bathing. Of course, the question would arise as to why the Sith Lord had so many articles of women's clothing. The answer was twofold.

He entertained a lot of female company, and as a noble, he had to be prepared for practically anything.

Meanwhile, Avicus stood alone on the balcony outside of his study. The air was ripe with sweat and vice. It was the reason he so frequently came here. To get away from it all. It was easy to lose yourself in Zeltros.

But, when the morning came, and the hangover kicked you in the head. When you roll over and realize the woman you brought home crept out while you were asleep. That was when you were back to still being yourself. Wrestling the same demons you put aside the night prior.

Sobriety, however, was never Avicus' cup of tea. A glass of alcohol always in hand, he lived life in a constant state of being under the influence. Somewhere in the lucid flux between reality and dreams.