#laddlua

Gore/Inktober—Teeth

I’m picking at this year’s gore/inktober. Recently I had to read Poe’s “Berenice” for one of my classes, and seeing the teeth prompt inspired me to draw something based on that. I’d love to see "Berenice” rewritten for laddlua. 

It was late, the job was done, and Ladd was home. His hands were still jittery and his blood still coursed hot through his veins. He opened the door forcefully, with a bright smile plastered to his face. He could faintly hear a sweet, sad Chopin melody coming from the parlor. He took off the heavy duster that hid the blood stains on his suit and hung it up nicely, but didn’t bother with the holsters attached to him just yet.

“Lua~” he called out in a sing-song voice to his lover.

There came no reply- either that or he just couldn’t hear her whispery voice. He crossed the hall into the parlor to find Lua sitting alone at a brightly lit desk in deep concentration, painting.

“You’re awfully busy at this hour,” he observed aloud  as he tilted his head at the oddly charming scene. She looked up from her work with a ghost of a smile. “Hello, Ladd,” she greeted softly. 

“Can’t sleep?”

She shook her head as she went back to her focused, delicate brush strokes. Though her eyes appeared dull and lifeless, she showed no signs of exhaustion. Ladd sauntered around the desk and placed a hand between her shoulders as he peered at her canvas. It was a blank jigsaw puzzle that she had pieced and glued together. On it she was painting a bouquet of white anemones against a starry night sky.

“You’re done with that already?! I just got you that blank puzzle this morning!!” He marveled. He noticed that she was fond of putting puzzles together in her spare time, but nothing seemed to be challenging enough for her. So he presented this gift to her earlier that day, and she gratefully accepted and said she’d paint something on it when she was done. She moved her hand to observe her work for a few moments and then set the brush down in a cup of water, deciding that it was done. 

“That’s really nice Lua,” he complimented proudly. “We should hang it up in here. I can get a frame for it.” She looked up at him silently, her eerily serene eyes hinting at a smile. She stood up and crossed the parlor with the portrait in hand. The nocturne was building up to a crescendo.

He couldn’t tell exactly what happened since her back was to him, but he saw the portrait fall to the floor and the puzzle pieces scatter everywhere. He audibly gasped. Presumable hours of work were ruined in just seconds. 

“Oh, honey...” he dashed over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. She placed a hand over her mouth and her body was shaking. Ladd thought for a moment with a furrowed brow, and then grasped at reassuring words. 

“I’m sure it’ll be easy for you to put it back toge-” he stopped mid-sentence when her hushed breathing became louder. She was laughing. Her body was shaking with laughter. For a few moments, he just watched her. She never laughed very often, especially not so freely. An onlooker might have thought she was laughing out of pure aggravation from the situation. But Lua never got aggravated. She was sincerely enjoying the moment.

There she was, all dressed in White…

  She'd waited for this moment though so many years. She did some serious string pulling to get this point. Even though her Ladd was in prison…

Well, no, I suppose she wasn't supposed to call him 'her Ladd.' If anything, she belonged to him, and he to himself as well.

She walked up in her prettiest dress. She spent all of her money on it. Every inch was a spotless white. (Ladd had demanded everyone be in white, and even the hall they were married in be white as well.) The fabric started at chest level, showing the top curves of her bosom. (Ladd had wanted it that way.) It curved her body until the fabric hit her waist, where it sort of poofed out to the floor, followed by a train. Her blond hair spilled out, both over her shoulders and down the back of her dress. A light blush accompanied her make up (not too much, Ladd liked her natural beauty.)

In her hand she held white roses. The thorns had been cut off and made into a necklace and earrings. There would be no way Ladd would let some harmless flowers be of harm to his soon-to-be-wife. She had to be careful though. If she carelessly reached for her neck, she would be scratched, and spilling her own blood was no way to go about this wedding. Music reached her ears and she made a small sound of anxiousness and placed the veil over her face.

Walking by herself, she walked past the row of cops that filled the back row. All of them had been bribed to let such a wedding happen. They were all crooked cops.

Cops that thought they were invincible.

She walked down the aisle. It was a small hall, a small wedding. White carpet and cushioned chairs lined the room in about 4 rows. The cops stood in the last row and by the door, dressed in their black and blue uniforms. There were 2 rows of space, then the front row held other inmates, the rest of Ladd's followers. Ladd himself stood at the altar with another cop that doubled as the priest.

Ah, Ladd. His smile hadn't changed. His hair was a bit longer from his incarceration time, and his arm was still gone, of course, but his eyes and manic grin never changed. And that grin was just for her. She walked forward, trying not to break into a run. It had been such a long time since she'd seen the love of her life. "L-Ladd…" She cried out softly.

"Hey dollface." He reached up, his hand cuffed to the priest/officer's , but still managing to grab her chin forcefully. "You're so beautiful."

She looked up at him, her heart blossoming in joy. "Ladd…" She said, looking at his handcuffs.

"Don't worry. The nice warden loosened them while we were waiting for ya. And where would we be without the nice money hungry warden to put this together? Thank the man, dollface."

"Thank you…" She said softly.

"Whatever, let's do this, okay?" The warden said with his eyes rolling. "After this I don't wanna see your mug again, 'dollface' " He looked around. "I don't have the damn book."

"Just skip to the end then." "Eh?" The warden asked. "Do you, Ladd Russo, take Lua-" Ladd cut himself off with a laugh. "Actually just skip to the kiss, I can hardly wait."

The warden couldn't help but laugh. "Trying to have a lucky night, are ya you one armed-bastard?"

"Yea, something like that." Ladd grinned.

"Alright, Bastard Russo, you may kiss the broad."

What happened next was nothing short of magical. Ladd dipped Lua low to kiss her, and reached into her bouquet of roses to reviel a pocket knife. He flipped it oven, and plunged it deep. Deep into his wife's stomach. She gasped slightly, but kept on in the kiss, as did he. The fabric split, as did her flesh.  He dragged the knife down, and she clutched at his beautiful white suit. A fan of red began to color her dress. She gasped in pain as Ladd reached inside her wound, and pulled out at least a few pocket knives she'd swallowed the night before. He tossed them to his unhand-cuffed followers as well as a knife that was hidden in her hair piece, and another between her bosoms.

"Hey, what the-" The warden was cut short as the blade ran its course across his neck. By time the officers in the back had realized what happened, Ladd's followers were on them, ending their lives recklessly. Ladd, Lua, and the Warden all dropped to the floor, Ladd's arm around his wife firmly as she reached around the corpse, looking for the key.

"I got it." Ladd spoke uncharacteristically soft. "Here, cut off his hand and move back." He had handed Lua the bouquet knife, and she, her vision getting fuzzy around the edges. With the warden's hand free from the rest of his body, Ladd was free to look for the handcuff key, which he found merely seconds later. Lua freed his good hand, and he kissed her again as she began to tremble from shock.

"You did so good." Ladd cooed to her, kicking the corpse away. There was chaos in the background, but nothing else mattered. Ladd pulled the necklace against her neck, creating a bleeding pattern across her neck. She choked and shook, but smiled, thankful. "I'm so proud of you, doll face! If I could kill you again and again and again I would!" He grinned, kissing her once more. "Each murder would be better than the last. But I'll kill in your name. It'll be an honor to the dead bastards."

"I l-love you…" Lua said softly.

"Ey Ladd, let's get out of here!" One of his followers said, his white suit covered in blood. Each one of the officers had been disposed off, some of the followers dying in the process, but all was well, they were free.

"Im commin, Im commin!" Ladd stood, placing his wife at the altar steps. She held her bouquet to her chest, her breathing slow. Blood decorated her dress and neck, and she became deathly pale. "Ya never look more beautiful." Ladd grinned at her once more before disappearing out the door.

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Lua woke with a start, gasping deeply. She looked over at her clock that read 7 am. She woke up, a warm and comforting feeling spreading along her body. She absolutely had to get ready.