#nikklaus

Just look at him!

How gorgeous this puppy golden retriever is!

How can someone be so evil to look such a cute puppy like this?

Her anger simmered and brewed as she watched Nikklaus wipe off the whiskey. Her ears flicked back to her head as she caught that wicked grin of his. She backed away a bit, shaking her head before he clarified the question.

“Get the fuck away from me!” Gallaria snarled, the lid she had on her rage threatening to come off. As he grinned, the lid flew off entirely and she pushed him away, falling into a fighting stance should he decide to get near him again.

“Nikklaus,

I’ve entrusted Cerothyn to give you this letter, probably not a good idea on my part since he’s weird about going around anyone he’s related to. He seems to be working on that though, he just wont tell me why he has the problem in the first place. Oh well. I’d have sent it myself but I don’t know how to get in touch with you, but maybe we can change that?

Anyway, my name is Emery. I’m your younger brother, you have a sister too named Katlinne who is my twin. I was hoping to meet you some time since I don’t really know any of my family other than her and Cerothyn, plus an older brother sounds awesome! I’ve met our cousin, Lolette, but she’s just as standoffish as the rest. Though, she’s a little nicer than people Cero has informed me about. He said you, Camsyn, Reli, and her are my best bet for now and to steer clear of the rest. That, Siyris, his other brother might be more accepting and our cousin, Matty, too but he hasn’t talked to them in a long time. Something about being a bastard (man that word is so harsh--- can we just say “estranged kid” or something?) makes his father (ol’ grandpa dick is what I call him) and the rest don’t want anything to do with us. That we’re pretty much already disowned by that crowd even before getting a chance--- which I think is stupid since the family isn’t even nobility to begin with but Cero said they’re worse. Whatever that means, it’s all dumb! I think they should get their head out of their asses, Cero kinda laughed and said we’re all better off without them, all meaning the cool people he said are okay and him. He’s alright too.

There’s already so much family AND drama included that I’m finding myself in, I wasn’t prepared for it.

I’ve included my mailing address at the bottom should you want to write me back. Heard I’m also an uncle, weird how big this family is--- not that it’s a bad thing or anything the more the merrier. Congratulations on your own twins though! If they’re anything like Kat and I when we were young you’re gonna need lots of patience and luck from what I’ve been told!

- Emery.”

The city itself was just as he remembered, he and Kat hadn’t been in Silvermoon in a few years due to sneaking out of the orphanage when they were sixteen and heading straight for Booty Bay. The two have lived in a dingy, small apartment ever since, Kat tried to be optimistic and say it was at least near the water. However, all the ships that came in and out of the harbor, all the yelling and singing, and most importantly the drunks soon took that optimism away.

Songbird’s Lounge was something that was new, it was also the type of place that Emery had never been inside and if Kat were there now she would have had a lot to say about the establishment. The moment those doors opened it was as if he had stepped into an entirely different universe. The smokey atmosphere was similar to the faire, but the half naked women walking around wasn’t. They all seemed to head upstairs where the music was coming from. Emery looked around at the various types of people there and they were all, well, shady and dangerous looking. He lifted a hand and nervously wiggled his fingers at a few with a goofy smirk before he headed towards the bar.

“What can I get you? Wait- Emery? What are you doing here?”

“Oh man! Oliver? How’s it been?” Emery eagerly asked the boy he had known from the orphanage. “I heard you were bar tending, never would have expected in a place like this though.”

“Yeah. It’s different. Still doesn’t explain why you’re here though. Come here for the drinks?” he asked sarcastically.

“I’m looking for uh, oh hello there,” Emery was cut off by a woman walking by and winking at him. “Wait, right. Lolette. Is she here? Does she still work here I mean.”

“Lola owns the place, yeah she’s in the back.”

“Owns the place? Wow,” he said before letting out an impressed whistle.

“Want me to get her?”

“Probably want to take me to her, it’s a bit personal.” Oliver nodded in response and led Emery to the door in the back of the lounge. He knocked a few times and once it was opened a small, short ivory haired girl peered out from behind the black curtains that draped around the door frame. She smiled at Oliver and looked to Emery.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, this is an old friend of mine named Emery, he needs to talk with you privately if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” she said and moved out of the way so he could enter. Oliver offered Emery a small smile before returning back to his post at the bar and Emery walked inside Lola’s office. He stared at her with a small amount of shock from how much they could have passed for siblings. Was this his sister? Cero didn’t want kids though, right? “So, what can I do for you?” she asked as she sat down in her large chair behind her desk. The inside of the office cancelled a lot of sound out from the outside, though when the beat picked up from the upper floor where all the dancers were you could hear the faintest boom of music.

“Uh. Right. Your last name,” he saw the name on a name plate on the desk and laughed a little to himself. “That answers that. Can I ask if you know a man named Cerothyn?”

Lola’s brows lofted and she nodded. “He’s my uncle, is he okay?” there was a hint of worry to her voice, suggesting to Emery that he was in her life. Which was good, maybe. She wasn’t his sister though, which meant this woman was his cousin. Maybe the blonde hair was a strong trait? Little did he know it wasn’t. A majority of all Zeddicus’ had black hair and those who didn’t were usually picked on or ostracized.

“Oh he’s fine- well actually I don’t know. I don’t know him? He’s- oh god please put the knife down! I’m his son!” Emery yelled out which caused Lola to pause in her actions. She had been so scared that this might have been one of the men who had kidnapped Cero sometime last year, and where she usually would have played it cool since she trusted herself with her shadow magic, Lola still hadn’t gained her abilities back thanks to Aiden.

“What?” Lola asked in disbelief.

“I’m his son! You know he and my mom had se-”

“-I know how sex works.” She looked Emery over and suddenly laughed, it wasn’t evil or anything like that, no she was laughing at something very unknown to him. “Sorry. I just thought- sorry to scare you. I’ve had a lot happen recently and Cero gains a lot of enemies.” She leaned back and her expression softened, mostly from pity for the boy. “I’m going to be honest with you right now, Cerothyn doesn’t like kids, but he’s been a lot easier to deal with ever since he was kidnapped a year ago and nearly killed. Maybe you’ll have better luck telling him who you are than Nikklaus did. They started to eventually get along, at least.” She shrugged.

“Nikklaus?”

“He’s your older brother. Well, half brother if you want to get technical. The first illegitimate child of his that showed up. Let’s just hope there isn’t anymore,” she teased.

“Well, actually- I have a twin sister.”

My head is in turmoil when my heart is in control, these depleted veins are inconsolable. 

There are two types of people, the savages that create the problem and those that benefit from fixing the problem. Nikklaus fell somewhere in the middle, a Parasite is nothing without its host, after all. 

But what happens when there’s more than one host, a plethora of options, some more detrimental than others? It no longer becomes a game for their heart, but for his own. 

Being labeled as The Parasite does little to ease a guilty conscience, personal growth becomes nearly impossible under the weight of a title akin to a blood-sucking leech. A man that can drain the life from even the brightest of souls, a curse no one seems to pay any mind to until they suddenly find themselves trapped in an endless roundabout of tricks and faux sincerity. 

Until the same tricks, the same methods were used against him; she put a new meaning to “Puppeteer”. The medicine was bitter, if he ever had any doubt of the damage he’s capable of causing, it was gone the moment he found himself stuck in Celestine’s shadow. The General went by many titles, women and men alike adored her and loathed her in the same breath. Many for the same reasons, but Nikklaus’ disdain came from a very different root. 

She played a dirtier game than he did. 

It was a realization that led the Rogue to drug himself until he blacked out, an endless void of surreal highs and lows leading him into a blank abyss, where his brain couldn’t quite catch up with his actions. 

When the chemicals dispersed and he became self-aware once more, he was stumbling in the middle of nowhere in ripped, bloodied leathers. A cigarette dangled from his lips and something in his hand was wet, an unmistakable scent of copper flooding his senses. A heart, still leaking blood resided in his right hand-- it was clear he didn’t take any proper measures to preserve it, although it was no doubt freshly ripped from some poor sod’s body. If such an item wasn’t enough to remind him of his intentions, the pouring rain alerted him just where he was. 

The urge to turn heel and run back to the dock was strong, but another glance to the trinkets in hand reminded him that he already put too much effort into his gift, it’d be a shame if he didn’t at least deliver it. That was the justification behind his random visit upon Celestine’s doorstep at three in the morning. He came bearing gifts. 

It was enough to ease skeptic minds, although Nikklaus’ appearance did little to convince the guards that he had no ill intention. Blood stained leathers are apparently frowned upon, he learned. It didn’t take him too long to find the General’s chambers and he was hardly polite when he opened the doors and announced his presence. 

Despite whatever state he’d find Celestine in, the moment he spotted her, his feet betrayed his head by carrying him over to close the distance between them. Without a word, his right hand yanked the stolen heart from his satchel and reached to grab both of her hands before dropping the organ into her grasp. 

“I’m not wasteful with the lives that I take, refusing this is not an option.” Without awaiting a response, he’d reach out to grab hold of her hair with his left hand while his right raised to smear the remnants of blood from his palm onto her visage; his touch hasty. “Fuck you.” With a grunt of disdain, he shoved the redhead from him roughly and turned to exit her chambers, the cigarette that was between his lips was thrown out onto Celestine’s floors. 

There was disgust in his every action towards the General, he could almost feel the thread she pierced his skin with. In the darkest of highs, he found himself crawling back to a Queen that was capable of crippling him entirely, his head was not his home, but her shadows were. The shadows belonged to the woman who was quickly becoming the face of his nightmares. He had fumbled with his control and now it was in her hands, a mistake he couldn’t afford to make. 

There was nothing worse than feeding the Wolf Queen more power, yet he did it anyways, time and time again. It wasn’t her he couldn’t defy. 

It was himself.