Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Faux ( Chapter 32 )

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Shattered Illusions

Chapter 32: Faux

By: Melissa Norvell

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'Oh my god! He's gorgeous! Tan skin, beautiful, gold eyes, distinguished, mint green hair and that deep, suave, voice. Oh my god! Not to mention he smells nice and his outfit is impeccable. Copernicus knows his stuff!' Millie's mind went on a trip to the moon and back as she snapped out of her daze and finally offered for the knight to come inside.

Horatio walked inside and his eyes shifted to his prince, Yale who stood directly in front of him. His name was uttered in question and the knight walked up to him, going down to one knee with his head pointed down and one hand on the ground and the other draped over his bent knee. "My prince, I am here to serve." He glanced up and took the man's frail hand, kissing it tenderly.

"Horatio, it's been a while," Copernicus' voice brought the knight up. He pivoted around to face the brunette as shock ran across his features.

"C-Copernicus, my-" He tried to speak but was cut off by Yale, reprimanding him.

'Remember, only his name.' It was very important that he not give away his position.

'Yes, sir,' Horatio damned himself for nearly making such a simple mistake. It felt strange only referring to the vampire by his name. It almost felt unnatural and disrespectful. "My friend, I haven't seen you in such a long time. How have you been?"

"I've been as well as I can be in this situation," Copernicus knew the other would understand the meaning behind his words. Things had not been easy, but when he thought about it, he was getting away unscathed for the most part. That was a good thing, at least.

"You look very well. You shine in a special way that I have seen few shine," Horatio had always known that Copernicus carried a certain radiance about him, but this time it seemed to shine more profoundly than before. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but it caused him to stick out among the group of people he was surrounded by.

"Tsubomi, my donor, takes good care of me." That was more than likely why the vampire had been in such great condition. He owed it all to the one who supplied him with such wonderful life sustenance.

"I heard people have a glow when they're in love," Millie pointed a finger into the air matter-of-factly with a smile gracing her face.

"I thought that was being pregnant?" Yale was a little confused and a bead of sweat ran down the back of his head.

"Not that glow!" Millie's form went ridged as she blushed in embarrassment. Her arms went bolt straight to her sides.

Arching a minty eyebrow, Horatio turned to Copernicus in question. "So, you have found another?" Last time he had come into contact with the brunette, his donors were Virgil and Coscatta. Coscatta adored him more than Virgil had, so it was only logical to assume that they two of them had been in love.

"Things didn't work between Coscatta and I," Copernicus tried to be discreet about their underlying problems.

"You killed her." However, Yale wasn't going to let him get away with the vague answer.

He frowned. "Must you always do that?"

"You killed your own donor?" Horatio wondered what on earth would have made him do such a thing. The only reason he could think of that vampires killed their donors were that they didn't care about them or they had wronged them in some way. Copernicus didn't seem like one of those vampires who just ran around killing people, so it was a shock to his system when he found out.

"She tried t kill his other donor and me as well," Tsubomi decided to speak up and inform him of what truly happened. She didn't want his mind to wander any farther than it already had and paint bad images of her master.

"Yes, she has even had a diary that she wrote out her plans in. She had some issues," Millie shuttered even thinking about that horrible book and all of the demented thoughts that it contained. In fact, she hated this subject entirely and she wished that everyone would move on and talk about happier things. The past deserved to stay in the past, buried with the blue-haired girl's body.

"Well, I'll have to look forward to seeing you with this one. He look a bit sickly to be your donor, however," Tsubomi felt the inward strike of Horatio's words. This guy sure picked a horrible time to comment her health.

"He's getting over a spell. He still has some of the poison in his system but he's recovering well," Copernicus covered for her, thankfully. She knew she could depend on him to defend her if need there be.

"What have you done for blood?" Horatio knew that he wouldn't drink poisoned blood. So, what was his alternative method of getting sustenance?

"Coscatta generously provided me with an extra amount of blood before her death." Where she was going, she wasn't going to need it, so he made the best of the situation. After all, it was nice to benefit from something that had belonged to him in the first place. Coscatta would have liked it that way.

"You drained her?"

"Yes, if she's dead, does she need it? Besides, she owed me everything. Both I and the other members of the Wittenburg family have done for her over the years and my ties with the Boucellini have been severed now. At this moment, my ties lay with the Sakurazawa." From the point where Tsubomi had become his donor, he had made this so. Tsubomi was to be his donor, the one that he would grow a tie to and the one that would serve him until her marking hour. That's what it was to become a donor.

"You should feel special, having a man of such importance pledge his loyalty to you." Yale smiled serenely at the human girl. When she finally found out who exactly Copernicus was, she was in for a surprise.

"I'm honored that he chose me to act as his donor," Tsubomi couldn't lie, from the moment they had made their pact she felt as if they were meant to be.

"Well, we should get to that party, huh?" Millie was excited about attending a true, royal party. They could talk all they wanted to when they got there, and in her opinion all of this small talk was just wasting time.

"Quite," Horatio agreed with her.

"There is something I wish to speak of at the party so I want you all to stay by my side," Yale instructed as everyone agreed in unison. Each one was intrigued by what Yale could possibly want to tell everyone at the party. Whatever it was, it had to be of a great importance, since Yale wasn't known to do things like this on normal occasions.

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Earl Prizemarter's mansion was spacious inside. The room where the party was being held was a massive ball room that took up the entire lower level of the mansion. There were high ceilings, adorned with chandeliers, and decorative, silken streamers of off white and black. The marble floor was shined to perfection and the guests' images were reflected on the surface. All around, the room there was beautiful paintings, intricate chandeliers, crystal punch bowls and glasses and lavish decor of all types. The group stood together beside one of the punch tables; they each sipped on the rich fluids and discussed small matters. Tsubomi picked up her wine glass and glanced to Copernicus and Horatio, while Yale and Millie held a separate conversation.

"Millie, would you care to dance?" Yale held out his hand and smiled at the girl.

"Not at all, especially with a prince so dashing and regal," the girl slipped her gloved hand into his and the two of them made their way out onto the dance floor.

Dark blue eyes scanned over the couple, who began to twirl around on the ball room floor, lost in a sea of vampires in elaborate clothing.

"It's nice to see Prince Yale smiling," Copernicus' voice snapped the girl into reality for a moment.

"Huh?" Tsubomi blinked and turned to her master.

"He's usually so serious. I barely see the happy side of him. I can tell that he really feels something for her. She makes him happy." More than anything else the girl managed to bring out the one thing that Yale had locked away for so long- his happiness. There, on that reflective dance floor the two were lost in their own fantasy, basking in each other's bliss. It was a sight that made Copernicus smile a little himself.

"It's nice to see you smiling," Millie smiled herself, seeing the blonde before her in such a state, she couldn't help but find it contagious to feel the way she did.

"I'm in the mood for fun. I feel festive today," Yale commented as they turned once more.

On the sidelines, Tsubomi and her master got back into their normal frame of conversation. They were so enveloped into their current topic that they didn't hear the distinct clack of shoes that headed their way. Slowly a figure walked up to them with bright red hair, wearing that familiar, long scarf and donned in a Chinese-inspired shirt with a red sash, spandex shorts and brown boots the familiar male was nearly right up on the two when Copernicus turned around. His face morphed into a warm expression.

The red-head stood there before him, grinning mischievously. He was accompanied by a woman with mocha-colored skin, wearing an elegant evening gown that framed her bust, cling tightly to her body and had a long slit up the side, all the way to her hip. It shimmered in the sunlight and was of the same lavender color of her hair, which was pulled up into a high ponytail and cascaded down her back, nearly onto the floor. She also had eyes of the same color and wore light purple lipstick.

"Copernicus! It's fantastic, fantastic, fantastic to see you!" The red-head sing-songed.

"Teru..." The vampire always knew his friend had an eccentric personality.

"Greetings, Copernicus," the dark-skinned vampire bowed politely. Her rich, mature voice poured from her lips like silk.

"Good to see you, Prince Teru and Princess Shiva," the vampire bowed respectfully in return.

"You know them?" Tsubomi cast a questioning glance to her master. How did she know two odd people like them? They were very mismatched, in both looks and attitudes.

"They are royalty as well. Prince Teru Sokatsu and Princess Shiva Sokatsu. They are rulers from my ally country of Bakasha," Copernicus thought that it probably deserved an explanation at the very least. There would be many people that that he met that she would have no knowledge of. The party would be a lesson in vampire culture for his donor and a chance to be able to meet many different types of vampire that she more than likely hadn't come into contact with.

Tsubomi gave a cut bow and introduced herself, "I am Tsubomi Sakurazawa, pleased to meet you."

Horatio followed suit, "I am Sir Horatio Pendragon Greenchapel, knight to his majesty."

Just as he had finished his introduction, Millie and Yale arrived to the scene. They had just finished dancing to a classical tune on the dance floor and felt a little tired so they had decided to fetch drinks from the punch table.

Millie's face lit up as she realized who exactly she had seen. It was that guy. The very one who had given her the invitation to this very ball. Millie had a feeling he'd be there, but she had no idea she would have run into him again. She pointed in frustration. "Oh my god! You're that weird guy!"

Teru pointed back, mocking her shocked tone. "Oh my god! You're that girl I greeted at the door! This is so absolutely wonderful! I had no idea you were Prince Yale's girl."

Shiva bowed the two. "It's good to see you again, your majesty."

Yale bowed in return. "Thank you, Princess Shiva."

Shiva cocked her head with a quizzical look. She didn't expect him to use such a form of communication like that. "Why are you talking to me telepathically?"

"You're not going to talk?" Teru arched an eyebrow. Well, that was pretty rude. He thought Yale was better than that.

The prince's gaze was crestfallen as his head pointed down. "I can't."

This only confused Teru even more. "You can't? Sure you can just use your mouth like you always did." It wasn't that hard. What was up with this guy?

Yale stuck a finger in his cravat, pulling it down to reveal a scar that marred his throat. He turned his head away painfully, remembering the day that he had been silenced forever. Painful memories seeped through his thoughts, invading the once happy atmosphere that the party had.

"They cut your vocal chords?" Teru was shocked that someone would commit such a horrible crime. To silence someone as noble and wonderful as Yale was truly a sick individual. He hoped that they would have a special place in hell.

"Who would do such a thing?" Shiva asked with a visage of worry. It was heartbreaking to know that the only form of communication he would have would only exist in the confines of their minds.

"Estella Nu," Yale's frown was cut deeper into his face.

Shiva looked to Copernicus. "Your Black Knights?" What was going on here?

"They all went AWOL. Anything affiliated with what my royal court used to be is gone now. The only thing we can rely on is ourselves at this point. I'm sure you've all been alerted as to what has been going on in Ramada." It shouldn't have been a secret at this point; however, Copernicus wanted to let them know if the information hadn't reached them yet. He didn't want his allies to think that something was up and the royal houses had been divided. That alone was problematic.

"We're certainly glad that Prince Yale is alive. This is marvelous, glorious, splendid news!" In reality, all that mattered was that the royal was not dead. Teru couldn't help but feel bad for him, though. All of the horror Yale must have endured during that time must have been truly saddening.

"We should be on the alert, however. In order to bring Hide down, we'll have to put our minds together," Shiva knew that it was going to take more than the few of them to make any kind of headway against Hide. They needed to be a united nation, standing against Hide's tyrannical threats.

"You know about Hide, too? Oh, and I'm Millie Ashford, by the way," the girl placed a hand to her bosom. She hated to just butt into the conversation without anyone knowing who she was or what her relevance to the topic.

"Nice to meet you, Millie. Any friend of his majesty is a good friend of mine," the dark-skinned vampire smiled sweetly at her. Anyone who Yale thought so well of must have been a wonderful woman.

"So...How far have you and the prince gone?" Teru cast a mischievous and perverse stare towards the girl. His eye brows shifted deviously as he leaned in, yearning to hear the latest gossip.

"Teru! How rude!" Shiva scolded him with a disapproving stare.

"That would be my business after all, we came to discuss public matters and corrupt politics, not personal desires.' It was a nice attempt, but Teru wasn't going to get anywhere with that answer. Yale had no intention of giving him anything of the sort.

"He totally banged her!" Teru could hardly contain himself. He squirmed around with delight as Yale drug a hand down his face and sighed in exasperation. Millie feigned a broken up laugh as sweat ran down her forehead. "Go Prince Yale!"

Horatio loudly cleared his throat, attempting to diffuse the awkward situation. "Let us get back on the true objective, people."

"Yes, for all of the remaining sanity in me," Yale agreed. The faster they got away from his personal life with the girl, the better he would feel.

"Oh-kay..." Teru sighed dramatically, slumping down with a dejected expression. "So, does anyone know who is in Hide's forces or why?"

"Whoever they are, they are all vampires," Tsubomi could at least draw that conclusion. She had never seen anyone who was on Hide's side who was a human. In fact, if the vampires had donors, she didn't know where they would be or who they would be.

Yale nodded, "Yes, and they are all possessed."

"They were the royal guard, the knights, earls and the Black Knight Ops," Copernicus listed all of who he believed to be involved. To his best knowledge, members of the royal court were those who had been influenced or taken over by Hide's forces.

"How are they being controlled? I thought that I was the only vampire who could even use mass hypnosis and even then, I have to use a device to amplify my powers. Surely one vampire on his own without means of a device can be capable of such a thing," Shiva had never known of another anomaly such as herself. It was unheard of for there to be another vampire with powers as strong as hers in existence. It had to be aided by an amplification device of some sort.

"Even so, we cannot risk being possessed ourselves," Horatio could only imagine what would happen if one of them were to fall into the wrong hands.

"I know the feeling," Tsubomi agreed, "but those Black Knights seemed just out of it. It was like a minor possession from the way I've been explained."

"Even so, that many vampires is a threat. We are the greatest of minds when it comes to thinking up plans but we don't have any military methods of force in order to execute our plans. All we have are ourselves and that is what makes it so difficult," Copernicus knew without the aid of an army, their plans were limited.

"Yes, sitting on a throne, watching over the world does make us seem like privileged parasites," the more he thought about it, the more Yale knew this to be true when it came to Hide. He was certain that this was the type of mindset the vampire had.

"As a knight I have training, but one man can't do it alone," Horatio knew he was beaten by those means.

"I do have some training," being a man of execution and dabbling in many of the positions of the royal court, Copernicus could lay claim to that, at least.

"We all have, to protect ourselves but will we really know enough to survive?" That was the true question that repeated itself within the confines of Yale's mind. He had lived this far, but how much longer could he keep going? Would he survive to see this through or would he simply get lost in the sands of time?

"You've seen it all. You've been tortured for years-" Teru started but he was interrupted by his lady friend.

"What you must have seen..." Shiva trailed off, her visage took on a sorrowful edge and she frowned, averting her eyes.

"So, can't you tell us how they are?" If Yale was in their clutches for that long, then surely he knew something. Teru would have liked to have thought so, anyway.

"No, I'm cursed and I cannot tell you in any way. I'm practically disabled from it." Any time he attempted to speak of it, the spell wouldn't let his thoughts get through. He was doomed to die with the secrets he knew.

"Let him be. We can approach the situation without knowing any inside information," Copernicus was sure that they would all figure it out somehow.

"Well, we do know a little. Some are more frightening than others, I'm afraid," Tsubomi replied.

"Afraid? I don't like that word," Teru frowned. That phrase held every bad connotation to it when it was used like that.

"What do you mean, and how do you know this information?" Shiva wanted to be caught up on what they all knew. She felt as if she was cast out of the loop, and much of this information was something she was hearing for the first time.

"I've been doing a little detective work, and I've learned a few things from everyone along the way. I've also been held captive there, just like Prince Yale." If it was of any use, Tsubomi at least could tell them a few things that Yale could not.

"Then speak up, boy," Horatio wanted to know just what Tsubomi had learned.

"Hide has been conducting robotic experiments." That was the first and most recent piece of information that she wanted to throw out there. It was a very important piece of information, especially since the Estella Nu incident.

"Yes, I too, have heard about this. It happened recently with Estella Nu but Prince Yale would know more about that than I would." While he knew that the prince more than likely wouldn't comment on it, he wanted it to be known.

"From what I know, Hide has perfected the invention that can replace missing bones and expanded on it in such a way that it could turn any man into a living weapon." That's what he had witnessed, at least.

"Of course, this would be at the expense of their lives. We have been secretly testing this as a weapon of execution and war but the events of Prince Yale's death forced us to give up on the project. However, I believe that Hide has no doubt altered it from its original version, so we would not have any means of figuring out its mechanics," Copernicus knew that Hide wasn't stupid by any means. That vampire was a scientific genius, and the fact that he could make something like that actually work in such a way only proven him right. Even if they wished to replicate it, there was no way that they could now. In the wrong hands, it was a horror spectacle and method of breeding killers and even torture.

"He did that because you were involved in the project, didn't he?" Millie glanced to Copernicus. He had noted that he was involved in projects with Hide beforehand. This must have been something they were working on.

"They key to making a proper military weapon is to keep it's inner workings and engineering from your enemy. Since we both engineered the project in joint, then we both know the technology behind it. If it's anything like Hisaki's umbrella, then the mobility should be the same." That was the thinking behind it, anyway. Copernicus could never to too sure when it came to the mind of that man.

"What the hell are you, anyway? Only someone who worked in robotics would even know this, unless they were involved in intelligence," Tsubomi was still curious as to what exactly Copernicus' position was int he royal court. This man seemed to know everything. He was involved in executions, scientific matters and who knew what else.

"I did mention that I was involved in many projects, didn't I?" Her master's eyes shifted to her.

"Of course," Tsubomi agreed, placing her head down. This mystery was going to be the death of her.

"I think it would be most helpful for us all to join forces. We should act as one unit, and combined we'll have data and force to at least put a dent in our enemy if we must." The more people that they had on their side, the stronger their team would be. Yale thought that this was a perfect way to gather a united force. They had plenty of options to enroll people at this party, and it was better to use that to their advantage.

"Good idea, Prince Yale, and what shall we call our little group?" Copernicus was wondering where he was going with this idea.

Yale cast a confused glance to the brunette. "I surely thought you'd want to name it."

Copernicus closed his eyes and held out a hand, "this idea is yours."

"Then, does this mean that we'll have to stick close by each other. Proximity is everything when it comes to strategy," Horatio wanted to know what his position, and the positions of the others would be in this decisive plan. He could figure out his moves from those statistics.

"Well, we can stay around. We don't have anywhere to be," Teru was interested in whatever the group was going to collaborate. It sounded exciting.

"Yes, father is ruling currently. Besides, if we are to be involved with Ramada, then we should detach ourselves from the few people who are close to us," Shiva knew how these events usually played out, and these moves would be for the best.

"You guys really do live best in solitude," To Millie, it was strange how suddenly they could just cut off their ties like that.

"We must, Millie. We don't want any more innocent people to die. If we continue to pull in people, then we'll be fulfilling the Time of Ending, just as Hide wants." Above all things, they could not enable Hide's plans any more than they had already been aided. Copernicus didn't want to trigger any part of that plan, and to do so would cause a domino effect throughout Ramanda and the other vampuric countries.

"He really wants us to destroy each other, doesn't he?" That in itself worried the school girl.

"As allied countries we highly disapprove of any enslavement of human kind. We wish to live peacefully with the humans," Shiva noted.

"I have news for all of you regarding that subject," Copernicus announced, and everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him.

"What is it, Copernicus?" Horatio felt odd for what he had just uttered. 'Addressing him like that seems so disrespectful.'

"This man beside of me, the one whom I've pledged myself to, is my lover," the brunette laid his hand on Tsubomi's shoulder and a small smile adorned her features.

Shiva, Horatio and Teru looked completely shocked as they all exclaimed 'what' in perfect unison and emotion.

"You...You love a human?" Horatio questioned, still attempting to recover from his spell.

"Yes, we've been courting for a while now."

"So, you've been making your own peace treaties with the humans?" Millie questioned. It wasn't as if she was against it. The fact that the two were an item now made her more than happy considering she had loved the concept of them getting together.

"I suppose I have," Copernicus smiled a little.

"Do you realize what kind of position of power you'll be giving him?" Shiva was a little worried. It wasn't as if humans understood vampires beyond the scope of horror movies, much less got their complex systems of monarchy and politics.

Copernicus nodded, "yes, I am fully aware of that. Don't worry about anything. Tsubomi is more than trustworthy and he loves vampires. He's got an undying devotion and unbending loyalty that would put anyone to shame around here." Through all they had been through, he knew this to be a fact. Whenever other donors would have backed out, this boy had stuck by his side. He had gladly put his life on the line for Copernicus' sake and the sake of his ideals and mission.

"We'll trust him for now. If he can prove himself to us in this formation, then we'll follow your orders, Copernicus," Horatio's face hardened. In truth, he wasn't too sure about any of this, but he was willing to give it a try at the very least.

"I appreciate it, Sir Horatio." There was nothing to worry about, and he would assure them of that.

"Then you are all under my rule now. I will take an active role in this group as leader. Copernicus, you're my confidant and advisor and the rest of you shall be my knights. This hall will be our meeting place and as of today, you will be known simply as The Blue Rose Order." With those words, Yale founded his group on that day. Now, the only thing left to do was plot their offensive. He just hoped that it would be as successful as it was in his head.

...To Be Continued