Private Of Cabbages and Kings

[Kerstan Blackmoore]

Location: Blackmoore Estate -- Ec Pand
Wearing: xxx
Tag: Áine

There were few places Kerstan could bring himself to call home, and fewer still which meant as much to him as the laboratory which he had built for himself on Yavin VIII. Ec Pand was one of those places. The Blackmoore Estate stood proud, seen to be a relic of an age which had long passed, protected by the historical society of the second world belonging to the Induparan Monarchy. Little would they have expected Xander Blackmoore still lived, and that his son would one day claim the home as his residence within the Souther Systems. While most of his days were spent on the moon, Kerstan often found an excuse to visit his family home. For some time the place had been kept a secret to his creation and lover, a place where he could watch her progress among the Confederacy without being seen.​

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Today the secret would be lifted.​

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A set of coordinates were all the red haired experiment had been given along with a short missive instructing her to meet the man responsible for her life there. She would come. The woman no longer denied his requests for an audience, nor would her curiosity be satisfied until she did make the trip. Kerstan was playing at one of the traits he had instilled in her, a game he ultimately knew how to win. He did not exploit his advantage often as the woman had grown independent. The time they had spent away from each other had forced the fiery vixen to develop something which he did not create within her nature. It seemed even a man made thing could evolve and become something more.​

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Walking among the lush green gardens of his childhood home made Kerstan miss the beauty Ec Pand could offer. He could never stay long, however, as his work on Yavin always pulled him away. Every time he had thought about relocating the memories of his early years with Aine would always keep him. She would return as well for the same reasons, the same memories. Fate kept them from wandering away from each other, even if it had taken 500 years to bring them close once more.​

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His eyes looked up as the sound of a ship nearing the home drew him out of the thoughts which clouded his mind. Kerstan was always thinking, always in his head. It was never quiet or peaceful these days, save for the moments he was with Aine. Even then the relief was brief. Kerstan often wondered if she knew, but it mattered little. It was simply the truth he had long accepted. The Sith, cold an unfeeling, had made one mistake in life, and it was also his greatest accomplishment, perfection in human form.​

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< "Come and find me if you can," > Kerstan said as he muted his force signature. There were other ways for his assassin to locate him if she wanted to win the game they had not played since her days as his pupil.​

 

[Áine]

P L A Y​

Tag: Kerstan Blackmoore

A soft aruze fire illuminated the experiment’s porcelain skin. Aine shifted lazily in her seat, stretching the ache of space travel from her muscles as she lent forward. The coordinates were by the by, her ship had already begun to turn in the right direction. That alone was enough to tell Aine who had sent the message, but she glanced it over quickly just to be sure.​

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Kerstan.​

By the time she had risen and moved to change into something more suitable for the surprise meeting, the ship had already entered the atmosphere. His muted signature did not surprise her. In fact, it put a rather sly smile on her face. Challenge accepted. Her eager melodic tones flowed through his mind. ​

It had been an age since they’d played this game. First on the barren moon they called home, then when Aine had grown more confident, lavish parties where the palaces stretched for miles. Where the terrain had been unknown and the challenge far greater. This appeared much the same. Aine had never before stepped foot upon Ec Pand. There was only one difference between then and now. Aine was much stronger now, and Kerstan doubly so. Before it had been a master, carefully training and coaxing his fresh and supple minded student to one day achieve the goals he set before her. ​

Now? ​

He had taught her well. She knew how to play this game. She favoured it. The intangible dance of the hunter and the hunted.​

Aine stepped out into the dwindling morning light, immediately greeted by a young male with an over exaggerated smile. It quickly fell as his eyes trailed over the experiment. “H-... Greetings, Miss. You’re expected.” A faint hint of an amused expression crossed over her face as she crossed the threshold toward the door, which was quickly opened by his fumbling hands. “I suspected as much.” She spoke softly, finally turning her attention on him fully. “By Lord Blackmoore?” He nodded quickly, slipping his hands behind his back to pronounce his nervous demeanor, but Aine didn’t need such a tell. She could smell it on him, like cheap cologne.​

“I don’t suppose you could tell me where he is?” Her sweet tone lilted in all the right places, just enough to make him blush. “I-.. I’m afraid Lord Blackmoore asked me not to reveal his whereabouts. To you. Specifically.” Aine’s face fell immediately, into a soft pout that pushed the bottom of her painted lips out. Just a little. “That’s a shame.” She spoke in tandem with the sound of her heels clicking lightly against polished marble. The closer she crept to the servant, the harder his heart seemed to thud in her ears. “I would have been…” It was practically humming by the time she reached up to correct some invisible fault in the way his collar sat. “So grateful for your assistance.”​

He gulped. She watched his throat dip softly as he swallowed. Turning her sparkling emerald gaze up to meet his was all it took. “I think I saw him in the gardens last.” His voice was barely a whisper, but Aine heard it all the same. A beaming grin illuminated her face as she slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze to break the spell. The servant shook his head, blinking heavily as he turned on his heel to guide Aine through the maze of corridors. When they reached the edge of the garden, where the sun played off thick columns of marble, Aine pulled her hand free of his grasp. ​

She set off, without even turning to take a second glance at him. It wasn’t needed. The moment she disappeared behind the thicket of trees, her magic would fall. True, he would feel used, but he had already faded from her mind. What her focus was on was all together more important, and far more exciting than a sweating, trembling young boy. Far too easy. Her voice trilled in Kerstan’s mind. ​

She still had to traverse the gardens to actually find him, but she was already close. I can’t tell whether you put that boy there on purpose or whether you’re slipping…​

 

[Kerstan Blackmoore]

Location: Blackmoore Estate -- Ec Pand
Wearing: xxx
Tag: Áine

The game was simply that, a game. It had been one he had always been exceptionally good at, and Kerstan was genuinely curious to know how far the redhead had progressed. They had too many years between them, and yet the time felt like nothing at all. His face would never betray the 500 years they had been apart though the lines in his forehead were beginning to show he was not the twenty something he could have boasted a couple of centuries ago. Aine had been made different. She would never age in appearance. The woman looked the same as she did the day she drew her first breath. She was perfection.​

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A grin pulled at his lips. Kerstan could hear the words she spoke to his mind, and they were playful. So she had found the boy, pity his location had been given up so quickly. The gardens were vast, but the Sith was walking among them nonetheless. One thing Aine would not expect were the secrets the garden kept. As with anything surrounding the Blackmoore family, even the estate was a mystery. The stone center of a necklace which rest on the neck of a carved statue would open a passage which would lead to places within the palace no Blackmoore had walked in a long time.​

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He wanted Aine to see something.​

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Kerstan wanted her to find him.​

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While his aura remained silent, clues were left for her to follow. A stone staircase descended below the sculpture gardens in the center of the yard. The hallway itself was damp and musty, certainly not the place someone dressed for a secret rendezvous might find appealing. Kerstan could hear his feet echo as with a wave of his hand the cobwebs began to disappear and the torches which acted as sconces lit up the dark walkway.​

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The path ended at a vault, one which Kerstan allowed to remain open.​

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This was where it had all began. Breathing in the air, Kerstan recounted the story in his mind as he could feel Aine coming closer. His mind pressed into hers, images of where he was would betray him. Words followed the thoughts as the man yearned for the woman to find him. Clearly she had found the boy easy pray, but she seemed to find his signature more readily than before. Aine was certainly stronger.​

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< "When have you ever known me to do anything other than what I intend," > his words toyed in her mind. < "You will find me soon enough, but please, do so quickly. There is something I wish to show, and it has been far too long since I have felt the warmth of embrace."​

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She was the only one who had ever seen this side of him, and the only one who ever would.​

 

[Áine]

P L A Y​

Tag: Kerstan Blackmoore

Aine did not need the force to know where Kerstan was. The experiment had been blessed with many great things. Her ability to master the dark side of the force was the pinnacle of her power, but as a hunter she also had access to many more useful traits. She could smell him. The mysterious powers and various ingredients that littered his lab. The rust and dirt under his nails from tinkering with his machines. The damp smell of the blistering winter that plagued Yavin, still clinging to his clothes.

More than that. She could feel him. Over the years she’d come to know him exactly as he had described himself when she first stepped out of his pod. A teacher, father, friend… a god. His very presence seemed to make its mark on the atmosphere, and Aine had become very attuned to it. The way the branches bent as he strode by them, the crushed leaves strewn on the ground where he’d placed his heavy step. Even the heady floral perfumed air in the garden seemed to have shifted around him. She could follow the path he carved with ease, as though the way had been illuminated by a thousand candles.

His words caressed the corners of her mind once more, putting a smile on her face like no other. It was no secret that the softer, more romantic side of Kerstan pleased her greatly. True, many other women had likely felt his embrace, but none in the same way Aine had. None could truly boast they had his heart, his affection. His love.

The images in Kerstan’s mind had finally guided her to where he was. Rounding a corner, the moment her eyes were upon him, Aine broke into a soft run. Not much caring that the tip of her heel disturbed the leaves underfoot, giving her position away. Even the game had been forgotten the moment she picked his form out between the branches. “Kerstan.” Her soft voice cooed as she finally reached him. Aine stood on the tips of her toes, allowing her slender arms wrapped around his neck. There had been no need to wonder if he would catch him. He had always been there to catch her. From the moment she’d stepped out of the pod, until the moment he’d abandoned her on Yavin. A mistake he was still paying the price for, and one Aine had made him promise he would not make again for the rest of their days.

She said no more than his name, choosing instead to press her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Spending time together was becoming a rare occurrence. Perhaps in the beginning Aine would have been grateful for it. When he’d left her, she had grown used to freedom. But now? The more they had to say goodbye the more Aine found herself hating it. No where in the entire Galaxy had felt more like home than Kerstan’s side.

When she had finally had her fill of him, she pulled away, just enough to allow her lips to produce words. “You said you wanted to show me something?”​

 

[Kerstan Blackmoore]

Location: Blackmoore Estate -- Ec Pand
Wearing: xxx
Tag: Áine

She did not wait to embrace him when the red haired creature found the one who made her. Kerstan did not stop her. For so long they had played a game at denying each other what they truly wanted. Yes, Kerstan had his sins to pay for, and Aine would make sure he never forgot how deep his transgressions reached. He had wounded her deeply, as deeply as he loved her. Nothing would keep them apart now, but the temptress would ensure Kerstan felt the guilt with every kiss. She could have killed him the first moment their lips touched, and every moment after, but she had not. Letting him live was her punishment, and Kerstan knew that more than any.​

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He returned the kiss, and held her fast with several of his own. Her question reached his ears when she finally pulled away.​

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Kerstan allowed her, though he loathed it.​

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A smile pulled across his face as he turned with a flourish. One flourishing gesture of his hand drew attention to the vault at which they stood. There was a story, a part of him he had never shared with the woman he had created. The lust demon had never been to Ec Pand, and knew nothing of Kerstan beyond what he allowed. Today was a step into his past, a step into the person he was, his origin.​

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"This was where the Blackmoore's first embraced the dark side," he said in a matter of fact tone. "This was where my father killed my grandfather and chose the Sith over his own."​

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The statement was telling. Kerstan had not been the only one to choose power and desire over family and those he was pledged to. Aine would understand that it was in his nature. Perhaps it was a mistake to show her, but this was a part of him she had ever known, and Kerstan was done hiding from her. The mystery made him a god, and perhaps he would be still to the only one it mattered. Even her god had a beginning, someone had made him.​

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Kerstan motioned to another staircase which led out to another part of the garden. Two statues of stone. A man, one that bore similar features to Kerstan, and a woman, one who held the same intoxicating gaze as the Sith Lord himself.​

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"My parents," Kerstan admitted. "I was told they were happy. Though my father was stolen from us much too soon."​