Protege Moi

[Beatrice Govan]

It would have been easy to say that she would not harm herself again if this were how the rest of her second life was going to be, caught in the embrace of a real father-figure and his empathetic dragon. It was a cocoon of warmth and safety, an impenetrable bubble that the girl was not accustomed to. However, that was not reality. This was a but a moment in time.

“I cannot promise that, uncle,” she replied softly, crestfallen that the only thing that he asked was seemingly beyond her capabilities, “when it comes...” even talking about it was difficult, “...I cannot control it.”

Her fingers still thrummed with heat, a slight swelling coming with the damage across each digit. Her uncle's tender touch gave way to the tiniest pangs of pain. At the very least, the grim adaptation to physical suffering left the woman largely not bothered by the sensation. If anything it was simply the smallest appetizer to her mind's desires.

“But, thank you. I cannot put into words what this means, I've never...”

Her words trailed off once more, but not in a manner that would give way to more insidious natures. It was just so difficult to be in this foreign situation, not that Evelynn was worried that it was possible to get an affectionate family moment wrong, because the moment she broke her own fingers was likely a massive faux pas. It was just, so alien.

“How do you do it? You know what it's like, those feelings, that beast within,” Evelynn asked, hoping that he would have a way, already in her mind the girl imagined his solution was his wife, “How do you bring yourself down after the bloodshed? How do you not succumb?”

-

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

Despite her admission to not being able to uphold that promise, he still felt all was right with the world, if only for a few painfully short moments. His family had been far from perfect. Both mother and father had been overbearing with their expectations of the youngest Zambrano brother. While he was never wanting of praise and opportunities, a genuine smile or even a tender moment with his own creators had been absent his entire life.

The moment he left home was when he vowed to be better than them, if he ever had kids.

"That's okay. You've literally been dead and stuck in the Nether for half of my lifetime." Mordecai rasped, "We'll work through it together, and maybe one day you can promise me that."

Then the question came. Many, many Sith had asked the man how he managed to retain his sanity and the goodness of his own soul all of these years. Despite a love of warfare and sickening sadism, the people he held dear in his life had remained firm and steadfast in the face of his growing darkness. It was a sickness he'd been trying to purge from his soul for nearly thirty years now. The thrum of adrenaline-filled blood, legs pounding as he charged, and a guttural cry erupting from his lips.

Their family had been made and evolved for warfare. It was their nature, his own calling. It had been the only thing he'd ever been good at in life. Mother and father complimented his martial prowess, his studies, and his dedication to physical fitness. As a child and later young man, Mordecai simpered and blushed beneath the adoration and rejuvenated his efforts to be better than his brother in their art. In some ways, he was. Kaine was always the thinker, the one that utilized their gift of the Force the most. The younger Zambrano preferred raw strength, earned through sweat and tears, savoring the chance to get up and personal with foes that rivaled him.

It was the only thing he ever craved and yearned for as much as lazily cuddling with his wife. It made him alive. Whole. Perfect.

"My family. I atone for my sins through them." A sad smile. "Egotistical altruism, I guess. Helping others makes me feel good just as much as the other person, and helps smooth the rigidness of my heart. Although, I fear this attachment I have with it. Not everything lasts forever and I'm afraid it'll shatter into nothingness... and then I'll lose myself.

"That'll be the day I die."

[member="Evelynn"]

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Maybe one day.

It was difficult to think of that day, what would it look like? Too much dire consequence left stains that could never be washed out. That naïve girl and her Kath Hound from all those years before was dead, perhaps mercifully so. She could never be that again, and while it was a thought that filled her heart with sorrow it was ultimately for the best. Sweet creatures like that did not survive long in this galaxy and the idea of such was naught but a postcard traded from war-torn planet to war-torn planet.

That sweet girl didn't have to be lost to the void however. Perhaps even now a small part of her still existed within, Evelynn hadn't thought it possible but perhaps with the right set of circumstance, the right family it was.

“I think,” the young woman began, trying to offer Mordecai a delicate smile, “you have a great many years before you have to worry about that, uncle.”

She could not fully deny his fears for it would have been a lie.

This chance encounter with her uncle had been a jarring experience, this tender compassion so unfamiliar that she was still trying to settle into it. Like jumping into a swimming pool, the cold water shocks at first and then gradually eases away into comfort and bliss. Before you knew it you didn't want to get out of the pool.

“Perhaps when it comes I will be able to lend you my support,” the woman hoped, giving him the most reassuring nod that she was capable of, “however, I am afraid I will need a stepping stool to give you a cuddle and a peck upon the brow.”

A small sniff and a titter. Did Evelynn just crack a joke? Now that was truly unheard of.

Up within the Emperor's box appeared a figure, dressed in similar modest Sith robes as Evelynn. A woman. It displayed no threat, no, it barely had a presence to it at all. Human-shaped but not quite human enough. Once it clasped eyes of similar green upon the scene it stopped and just watched, smiling ever placidly.

-

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

It was strange how the atmosphere had shifted so quickly. While not nearly as manic as his niece had been, Mordecai had already felt himself growing more and more somber as their conversation went on. Surprisingly enough, little Evelynn was the first one to offer sympathetic compassion this time. Even smiling. Even joking and giggling. What a peculiar creature, he thought. Humans were so fickle.

Before he could open his mouth to respond, a vicious rumbling tore his eyes away from his niece. Rhaegos had already removed himself from their tangle of cuddles, fuzzy feelings, and paternal smooching. Rather, he was poised and ready to tear something limb from limb before devouring their dismembered corpse. Hot saliva oozed from the crevices between his fangs as gleaming eyes locked onto something behind them. Mordecai frowned deeply, slowly releasing the warm embrace to face the interloper.

A humanoid figure lingered near the rear of the viewing box, partially obscured by the evening shadows. The smile was unmistakable, nor was the feeling of something not so human. The Sith Lord turned fully to meet it, blocking his niece completely from view as he did so.

"Is there something I can do you for?" The edge in his voice apparent.

[member="Evelynn"]

 

[Beatrice Govan]

When the dragon shifted so did the scene. The tenderness of the moment she had with her uncle fast draining away and instead being washed over by a different current.

Evelynn did not attempt to steal a glance at the presumed intruder currently being confronted by the two, instead she once more approached the railing, her eyes travelling back into the pit very passively.

She was suddenly reminded that in truth she was no safer than before. If anything she were more vulnerable. A joke, a giggle. They were peeling back layers upon layers of broken depravity and exposing what might have been worthwhile within. Right on her father's doorstep. It was both foolish and dangerous. While the Emperor might not have had use for a deranged self-harming lunatic of a daughter, he would have even less purpose for one finding her compassion again.

The figure in her father's box did not respond, did not even move, and despite not even looking Evelynn knew what would be standing there. After all, it was only a matter of time before it had caught up with her.

“It won't respond,” she replied still staring out into the pit, her mouth now formed into a grim line as she contemplated consequence, “It doesn't speak. It just smiles like that.”

Even without vision Evelynn could picture the thing's face perfectly within her mind, that same fixed placid expression that never seemed to shift no matter what. It made the girl feel sick.

“That is my minder, uncle,” she stated with an edge of bitterness in her voice, jaw clenching at the very thought of it all, “it watches over me, prevents me from doing anything...silly,” her emerald gaze shifted from the pit to her broken fingers, indeed, any attempts on her own behalf to indulge in her urges had been met by swift reaction to pacify her, "and it no doubt reports back to him."

There was a kindness in the inherent cruelty, really. Preventing her eventual destruction, by her own hand at least.

“Father had it designed to look like my mother.”

-

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

"Hmmm." His face grew into a deep frown. "I wish to kill it."

The thought crossed through his mind like a bullet. So many options, so many ways to tear this monstrosity limb from limb. Or he could let Rhaegos have it and melt it into literal nothingness. The Arkanian dragon still had its gaze locked on the abomination as it stood motionless, ever smiling from the rear of the viewing box. His voice broke the stillness of the moment.

"Alas, I'd rather not displease my brother. You have a new caretaker now though," the Sith Lord remarked loudly. "You must know who I am, correct?"

The thing appeared to have heard and understood him at least.

"I can assure you that she will be punished excruciatingly if she doesn't mind herself. I'll see to it personally. If Lord Zambrano isn't satisfied with my performance, then he and I can have a little talk about this, then."

Rhaegos growled, a low and vicious snarl escaping his scarred lips. Hopefully words were enough to sate this creature and send it away from Evelynn's temporary place of refuge. Force knows Carly wouldn't let something like that in her home.

[member="Evelynn"]

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Her uncle's sentiments echoed her own when she first encountered that thing, she could have laughed were it all not so grim. The woman was at least pacified by the promise that one day she would be permitted to destroy it. That would be a wonderful day.

There was a brief fear that Mordecai would take that notion into his own hands. The word repercussion floated around her mind for a few elongated seconds. With her back still turned upon the scene Evelynn could only imagine the dragon obliterating it with a feral fury. Who would get the blame for that one? Her? Him? Both in equal measure? The only thing that she was sure of was that it would not have been worth the trouble.

The conclusion the man reached was of the non-destructive vein, thankfully.

She remained tragically impassive, eyes still boring into the centre of the fighting pit. Well, that was until the words 'she will be punished excruciatingly' passed through her ears and lodged themselves firmly into her mind, accompanying flashes of images suddenly bursting alongside in what was a twisted fantasy.

How would he do it? Bare hands? The old-fashioned way, not without its merits as it was the most personal form of harm. A broken, bloodied nose. Deep purple bruises upon ashen flesh. Cracked ribs, hard to breathe. Immense hand around a slender neck, choking the very life out of her.

Evelynn's chest once more began to rise and fall with increasing tempo, a spark of wicked excitement gleaming within her emerald eyes.

What about blades? A more common method with so many varying results. A thousand tiny cuts or vast violent gashes. Pry off her fingernails, one-by-bloodied-one. Most brutal of all, dismemberment. Fingers. Toes. Ears. Nose. Arms. Legs. More. More. More! Oh, these were the choices of crimson! It would pool at her feet, and it would f e e l so...

“No!” The girl suddenly gasped, catching herself sinking once more into the depths of her desires. It felt like she was bucking against every single instinct within her body, resisting against what seemed perfectly natural.

The thing had sadly refused to move, the only command mattering seeming to be the one of the Emperor, because why would they be able to resolve things so easily?

In her flustered moment Evelynn finally turned to look at it, channelling her mania into her hatred for that abomination. The small waif of a woman stormed towards a loose chunk of stone created by Rhaegos' mild carnage and without hesitation picked it up and threw it at the synthetic creature with all her might.

It missed, by quite some margin but only proved to fuel her very sudden outrage.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

-

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

It hadn't even crossed his mind. Mentioning self-harm around a vulnerable young girl that was a slave to her own masochistic desires. Definitely didn't, not even once, at least not right this moment. Mordecai's gaze was still firmly locked on the mechanical abomination that lurked in the shadows of the viewing box. Rhaegos hated it too, smokey wisps curling out of his nostrils. Having been friends with the creature for nearly two decades, that was surely the sign of a breath of fire soon to come.

Please don't. He silently prayed. While the thing pissed him off to no end, it was unwise to go around breaking his brother's stuff. Especially when it was important with one of his "playthings."

A gasp from behind tore him from the abomination. The Sith Lord turned quickly to find his niece, wide-eyed and trembling with... anxiety? Pleasure? Whatever it was, it only took a fraction of a second for it to morph into unbridled rage as she let out a savage grunt, sending a hunk of stone towards the thing. Mordecai froze, not even wanting to see it make impact with the thing.

Stone met stone. No metal clang or any sort of outcry marked its death. When he turned, it was still there, smiling.

"Evelynn," Mordecai growled as he slipped to her side, "We are leaving. Now."

He slid an arm about her frame, ensuring that he stirred motion in her. Mordecai clicked his tongue, signalling Rhaegos to lower himself for the pair to embark.

"I'll let you kill this thing later." He lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "Next time, Evelynn. This isn't a good moment. Next time, I promise you."

[member="Evelynn"]

 

[Beatrice Govan]

Her uncle's words were barely registered, blocked out by the heavy thrum of her pulse roaring in her ears. So full of fury that it churned her stomach, made her want to vomit right there and then. It was an amalgamation of all those thoughts and feelings channelled straight into her hatred for that smiling abomination. It was the frustration of her condition, the fear that it wrought within her and the uncertainty of if she could ever lead a human existence all concentrated in one way, in one place.

It wasn't until Mordecai's ushering arm was around her that Evelynn even realised that he had spoke. His promise lingered in her mind as she continued to stare at the identical image of her mother.

It's your fault.

If Karin Dorn had been there for her daughter instead of pursuing the lifestyle of a Sith, if she had told the girl and prepared her then this wouldn't have ever happened. No, it wasn't her mother's fault that her father had committed great atrocities upon her, but the blame lay squarely at the deceased woman's feet that she had been so ill-prepared for it all, paving only the road for the madness that followed her every waking thought. Was it ideal to bring your child up through the path of the Dark Side? Perhaps not, but it was far better than leaving a defenceless lamb to the mercy of wolves.

For a brief moment it was as if she were really staring her own mother in the eye.

You let me down.

“You are right, uncle.”


Finally the blonde woman tore her furious gaze away, nodding at her uncle with a clenched jaw that spoke volumes of her own personal hurt. She looked to the dragon that awaited them and then up at the man, her expression furious, pained and mournful all at once. In his eyes she sought safety and a comfort never known.

“I trust you.”

-

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

"Good," he breathed. "We will kill it. I won't let you face it alone, Evelynn."

The quiet reassurance was whispered in her ear as he ushered her towards Rhaegos. The Arkanian dragon was still poised and ready to brawl, his gaze locked firmly on the piece of garbage that continued to grin at them all. Its eyes followed them, body even turning once the pair began to throw their weight onto the flying reptile.

In one sweeping motion, Mordecai had removed his thick, dark cloak and wrapped it around his dear niece. She was far too underdressed to face the frigid winds above, and Carly would never stand to idly watch her husband bring a poor, sick thing into their home. She'd already dote on her enough and risking a cold was another way to ensure his wife was by her side for the next twenty four hours. Twenty four hours that weren't spent with him alone.

He slipped behind Evelynn and reached past her for the reins. They were more for show than anything and it felt comfortable to clutch something, to feel like you're in control.

"Hang on tight, dear niece. We're going home."

[member="Evelynn"]

 

[Beatrice Govan]

There came a silent gratitude from the girl in response to his promise. It was a grim truth that Evelynn as she was would not be capable of killing that thing. The synth may have held the visage of a wise older woman but it was far stronger than it appeared, not an issue for a battle-hardened veteran like Mordecai, but for the blonde woman in all of her inherent frailty, yes.

She couldn't do it alone.

Upon the back of his dragon she found herself startled by the thick cloak suddenly wrapped around her petite frame. It still held the warmth of his back. A kindness. Such an unfamiliar sensation. Had she always been so cold?

Not needing to be told twice, Evelynn gripped his companion's scales to the best of her abilities and braced for flight. She couldn't wait to leave that thing behind, in fact, there were a lot of things she wished could just be discarded right here and forgotten about, left in the pit to be devoured like many bodies before. As if this very moment could be a fresh start, and she would shed the skin of Evelynn and become something else.

That wasn't how it worked, unfortunately.

Instead of taking off into the chilly evening sky with hope, she was left wondering when that thing would turn up at her uncle's doorstep, because it would, wouldn't it? Evelynn already imagined the notion of getting too comfortable with the compassion and warmth of her uncle, his wife and their home only to find herself completely disarmed when the reminder of her past would come knocking once more.

Standing.

Staring.

Smiling.

As the freezing night air whipped around her face, cheeks turning scarlet Evelynn couldn't help but grimace.

-

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

There was very little stopping the abomination from seeking his home out and tormenting the poor girl and her newfound guardians. Very little indeed, save for the fact that it was private property guarded by a literal dragon. Kaine saw it nice enough to let his younger brother do as he saw fit and happened to be on quite amiable terms, so having his little playthings dive into his personal life was definitely a breach of their little agreement. Destruction would ensue and all would be well.

Mordecai was undoubtedly sure that the creature wouldn't follow them, at least for a little while, lest it have a penchant for death and wanton violence.

For now, the trio were safe and sound within their own little world. Evelynn, Rhaegos, and Mordecai. The Sith Lord reached around his niece to grab the reins of the Arkanian dragon, clicking his tongue once before pulling his heels inwards. It was always the same signal, for him to either stop or go without having to raise his voice.

Upon the command, Rhaegos cast on wayward glance towards the abominable creature before he poised himself for takeoff. It was an unceremonious affair of fluttering wings and heaving his gait off of the viewing box. However, with that sort of size and power came a majesty all of its own. Mordecai never got tired of hearing the wind whip past him as they shot up into the clear, cool night sky. It was one of his favorite places in there world.

"Forget that thing for now. I doubt it'll come around to bother us in my own home," he drew his lips closer to Evelynn's ear, "Even my brother's wretched creations have boundaries, you know. You'll be safe and sound with my family for as long as you're with us."

Mordecai pried himself away from the girl, turning his focus inwards as he focused on guiding them home. Rhaegos knew the way, but it was something to distract himself.

[member="Evelynn"]