* red / B L O O D

“  you’re  not  WRONG  but  i  hate  it  and  you  didn’t  need  to  SAY  IT .  ”

(THEY WERE MERELY WORDS) The GHOST did not doubt his POWER as king. Only a FOOL would do such a thing, but she did doubt the CURSE he had told her about. He had come to her and uttered this SECRET to her - she did not LAUGH nor did she MOCK him. She had touched that ARTIFACT more than the others. She has seen the PAST, she has seen the PRESENT and she has seen the FUTURE. She was not one to judge - not anymore. GREECE did indeed hold MONSTERS within them, she had heard TALES of them herself - but now it was time to SEE with her own eyes.

“I have KNOWN you a long time. You are a FRIEND to me and it is for that REASON I am here.”

(THE GHOST WOULD NEED PROVE) She folded her arms over her chest as she looked at the GREAT king before her. Truly he was the GREATEST of them all. A king who held POWER the likes of which they all LUSTED, but it was not that POWER she wanted. To be TOUCHED by the rays of the MOON - that was why she was here. That is why she had come here and not sent him a mere MESSAGE.

“SHOW ME - I WISH for you to show me - NOW.”

not  once ,  when  presented  with  details  of  familial  affliction ,  had  any  other  requested  what  the  ghost  now  did .    but . . . of  course  they  hadn’t .    nobody  else  in  the  entirety  of  greece  was  like  the  ghost .

suggested  meeting  outside  city  walls  was  clearly  well  thought  out  --  pausanias  no  longer  had  the  threat  of  a  secret  exposed  to  sparta  as  excuse  for  hesitance .    still ,  had  aspasia  not  come  with  problem  for  spartan  king  to  SOLVE ,  his  answer  may  have  stayed  the  same  as  before :  NO .

arms  uncrossed ,  shoulders  rolled ,  he  rested  fingertips  upon  door handle .    he  fought  urge  to  throw  door  open ,  sprint  over  threshold  and  into  the  night  beyond ,  pulled  by  instinct  to  the  slaughter .    even  now ,  scent  of  distant  camps  carried  on  the  winds ,  clearly  marking  future  route  through  thick  forest .    run .    no .    run .    no .    R U N !

(C U R S E D) Were such things the truth. Was one with all the power in the greek world truly cursed to be nothing more than a beast when the moon was full and high above? It was a tempting thing to see - truly if what he had told her was true, his tainted cursed blood would be a benefit to her and the cult and not a hindrance. It was a night were the moon was indeed full and the king rested within his chambers - yet there was temptation there to pull him out onto the balcony and see with her own eyes. Was this the chatter of a man touched by madness or was this the truth - was he a cursed monster like he claimed he was. She looked at him with one raised eyebrow, not sure if he was speaking true or not.

“Then answer the needs of the song my king.”

how  easily  she  said  to  give  up  last  shreds  of  humanity  the  king  clung  to  with  fangs  and  claws !    pausanias  shook  head ,  sitting  with  back  to  balcony .    he  knew  it  rude  to  refuse  giving  one’s  attention  when  conversing ,  but  to  risk  the  worst  all  in  the  name  of  politeness ?    insanity .

sage’s  gaze  fell  to  floor .    if  he  pretended  the  moon  did  not  hang  high  above ,  perhaps  he  could  have  a  moment  of  quiet  in  his  own  thoughts .    he  knew  this  hope  was  futile  --  he  had  tried  the  same  nearly  every  night  for  years  --  but  maybe  just  once . . .

“  here ?  ”    he  finally  asked ,  hands  clasping .     though  pausanias  had  not  expected  her  to  know  close  to  what  he  did  about  his  own  condition ,  could  she  not  have  thought  her  encouragement  through ?    “  in  the  middle  of  town ,  in  my  HOME ?  ”   

Deimos groaned, faced pressed into the soft fabrics below them. His stubble caught as he spoke, trying to sink further into the bed in a sign of no- he wasn’t indulging Pausanias this time, he was staying right where he was in his fucked-out state.

                  ❝ Go bug your servants for something to eat, not me. ❞

though  he  opened  his  mouth  to  answer ,  prove  deimos  wrong ,  he  paused .    he  wasn’t  wrong .    always  a  hunger  gnawed  at  him ,  a  voice  he  could  not  silence .    

with  a  huff ,  pausanias  stretched  arms  over  head ,  turning  upon  side  to  face  fellow  spartan  once  satisfied  with  loud  cracks  from  shoulders  and  spine .

“  really ?  ”    he  started ,  brows  arched .    “  after  ALL  i’ve  done  for  YOU  in  the  very  recent  past ?  ”    a  sly  smile ,  eyes  gleaming .    “  you  won’t  help  your  KING ?  ”

“  so  you  have  escaped  athens  and  what  --  wish  to  claim  spartan  refuge ?  ”

(T H E - H U N T) She stood behind him as she removed the pale mask from her face. She wanted to see this with her own eyes. She wanted to witness this as seeing was believing. Everything they had built was now at risk. Everything they had been working towards was now at risk of being undone. Their enemies were out there and they could not send their men in to deal with them - they were meant to act from the darkness and now too much attention has been placed on them. This had to be done and it had to be done quickly and so the task rested in the palms of his hand. He was to do this - come nightfall he would hunt and he would kill for the cult.

“Are you SURE you can do this? You need to KILL them all - NONE can ESCAPE do you understand?”

truthfully ,  he  should  have  known  what  she  would  ask  of  him  once  he  heard  word  of  a  task  saved ,  passed  over  cultists  lower  in  status  than  he .    he  should  have  known ,  but  the  faintest  hint  of  questioning  brought  him  to  the  ghost  --  he  needed  answers  and  she  would  be  the  one  to  give  them .    she  always  was .

though  as  she  spoke ,  a  fire  sparked  in  once  dim  eyes .    aspasia  kept  work  for  specifically  him  and  yet  she  DOUBTED ?    he  had  helped  to  paint  athens  herself  red  and  yet  she  DOUBTED ?    sparta’s  cultist  king  crossed  arms ,  lips  on  the  verge  of  curling  to  snarl .

“  you  underestimate  the  toll  nightfall  will  take  on  them .    they  will  not  survive .  ”  distinct  opposition  to  most  other  decisions  made ,  pausanias  did  not  require  a  fellow  king’s  word  to  secure  his  this  time .    athens  and  her  allies  would  suffer  losses  that  night  --  of  this  he  was  CERTAIN .