Bloody Politics

[Requiem of Insanity]

The moon shone brightly in the sky, a few clouds puffed the air like corrupted versions of their daytime brethren, the wind very calm and inviting. Deep inside the darkness of a small torture chamber was two lone bodies, a woman holding a knife cutting into the flesh of the other, a tall muscled man strapped to a table naked looking towards the wall with the only window to see the moon. She sang a very soothing tune as the body with the knife cut into the other, hiding in the shadows as she walked. The tortured victim made no sound, but blood pooled at his feet below him, his spirit already gone. Soft echoing footsteps was the only sound that interrupted her captivating song and she looked up lazily, her face covered with a stare of dis-pleasement that she was being intruded upon.

"You're probably wondering why I came." A bold voice of defiance said in a determined tone as he walked into the doorway. The voice belonged to a very beautiful man holding a long sword in one hand, a mighty ornate tower shield in his other. His armor was a simple leather suit that conformed to his body well, his hair almost shined in the light of the dark dungeon. He kept his gaze looking deep into the hazel eyes of the woman across from him, a small knife in her hand, wearing a dark black dress spattered in blood that dripped from her hands.

"I could say that, yes." She answered back with no fear in her heart as she met his steely gaze with a cold penetrating one of her own. "Do I know you worm?" She asked cocking her head to the side in confusion. After a moment her lips moved again. "Your face..." she muttered distantly.

"This face is the reminder of your sins, Cassandra!" He shouted back to her with dignity. "It was with your knife that I lost my father! I have hunted you down for so long, searching and stalking your bloody wake of destruction! But now you inhuman witch I found you at last! This time you can't run or hide from me!" He took a few steps forward but Cassandra lifted her knife in a threatening manner, laughing as she kept her gaze to him.

"I remember now, yes." She turned her back to him deliberately as she walked away pacing back and forth. "Your father, a nobleman who lived in the empire that bordered Emprea and Carthage. Did many a great thing, but he was rather flat for my tastes in victims." She looked back to him. "But I can see the spite and hate, not at me but in yourself!" She countered to him turning on her heel to face him again. "To track a monster like me, one must first become a monster."

"I am no monster you vile hag!" He said in a low, seething voice of hate. "I did not kill people for the thrill of it, not like you," his eyes narrowed upon her as he lowered his guard so he could point a finger at Cassandra's black heart. "Never like you..." Cassandra let her head fall back as she laughed again, a high pitched laughter full of malice and sweet spite. She gazed at him for a while before she draped herself over her latest victim, a body covered in blood and cuts. She caressed the head lovingly as she spoke, each word a honey suckle of seductive literary device.

"No, never like me. A young man like yourself is oblivious to the dark companion that wades inside me, my friend," She closed her eyes. "My only lover and soul mate. He completes me in ways no mortal can ever do for me," her body shivered as if she felt her companion touch her shoulder, and as his imaginary arms moved down she squirmed in delight. "All he asks for in return is the loving torture of a sacrifice, a body to torture to make him smile for me. He doesn't need anything more from me." The warrior boy shuffled from foot to foot, feeling her chilling aura permeate the room he stood in. But, he took one defiant step closer to her, his sword arm raised.

"This must end, this vicious cycle of hate and loathing," He looked to her with a small look of pity. "I feel terrible when I put a life down, a life that could have lived for many a day past the time I took their life. Each morning I must wake up to the terror of my own sweat and the constant echoes of the dead trailing me, but after I put you down, they will be silent." Cassandra laughed a giggling seductive school girl laugh, even bringing one hand up to her lips for added effect, tasting the blood on her fingers that she dipped into her recent kill.

"Do you not feel pity for me then? For am I not like you, a human being?" She got up and stalked closer to him, each swish of her hip caused the boys heart to beat faster as she was face to face looking up into his cold eyes. "I can see the virtue in your eyes, that noble spirit. Am I so beyond saving?" She barely whispered, just loud enough to hear. Her lip hovered close to his, and her breath made his hair raise on the back of his neck. As their eyes locked the tension was tight enough that the two kissed each other before she broke it off. "Save me, brave warrior..." He looked to her longingly before his stunned look slowly turned into the steely resolve he had before.

"I'm sorry, but I will feel no pity for killing a wild animal, Cassandra." He said full of the righteousness that he had before, taking his longsword sweeping it back and then forward piercing into the flesh of Cassandra, causing her to fall to the ground as he swooped forward to finish the job, ending her life.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The sound of thunder filled the sky as hundreds of people stood up applauding the death of Cassandra, the young warrior boy turning to them and bowing low before he let out a gentle hand to Cassandra, who took it with grace getting up and bowing with him. The wings were flooded with other people as they rushed next to them, taking a moment to bow before getting into the row that was slowly forming in the back of the dungeon. The man tied to the table was easily released and was given some pants to wear as he rushed to the stage, bowing low. Than, turning behind him he motioned for the rest of the ans amble to come closer as they all held hands, raising them triumphantly in the air as one and then bowing low to the audience again, not one moment their clapping letting up. After fifteen minutes of bowing and being praised they all ran off the stage and hugged and shook each others hands on a very successful performance.

Cassandra on the other hand, was sad, but not that the show was over. She was miserable because now the acting had to begin, the real 'show' starting as she pretended to care about the people she spent the last month with. They all said their congratulations, but the young warrior boy who had killed her stood up on a seat causing everyone to be silent. His name was Dent, and Cassandra was pretty sure he had gotten the name for the dent he had in his brain. "Ladies and gentlemen, the only one of us who was able to carry us to the next level," He motioned towards Cassandra, and she tried to pretend to feel embarrassed, but in her heart she knew his words were on the mark true. She was the reason this show was worth anything. "Cassandra Remi!" The room clapped for her as people began to crowd her, and much to her alarm and anger she was placed upon a chair of her own. "Tell us, Ms. Remi. How?" he looked to her with admiration. "How did you play that psychopathic Cassandra Cassanova so well?" She faked a smile as best her emotionless body could, and after a moment she decided that her life 'experience' would let her current acting shine through.

"It's really not to hard," She said modestly, or, at least trying to sound modest. "All you have to do is just remember that as far as the character is concerned, she isn't at all crazy, insane, psychotic, or what have you. To her, she feels just as normal as anyone one of us. So I'm not playing the role of a psychopath," she looked to everyone with cold eyes. "I'm playing the role of a woman who thinks killing is as natural as eating or breathing." The crowd all clapped at the analogy, and why not, it made sense to them all. Acting was all about pretending to be another person, placing yourself in their shoes. She answered a few more questions before she forced her way back to her dressing room, locking the door behind her.

What none of those people would ever realize is that Cassandra Remi was indeed a very good actress. Everyday she was in contact with the general public was a new show for her, but the show was over when she finally was able to enjoy her true persona. Cassandra Remi was a serial killer, a cold blooded murderer who delighted in torturing others, but her tastes over the years led to her tormenting the poor souls of people who were evil and corrupt. People who were murderers or rapists. She deemed these people worthy of her hunts over innocents. There was no honor code or sense of righteousness in this decision. It all came down to the fact that those who had done something in their life that was heinous usually screamed the loudest because they screamed for salvation to uncaring gods. Those screams were like music to her ears, their blood honey to her lips.

Her current sense of urges to kill were acting up again and being in Lavinya she knew it wouldn't take to long. The dump of a place was full of scum bags and thugs who could easily meet her criteria. However choosing the right target for her and her dark companion, the guiding source of dark light in her life, was not an easy task. She wanted people who had the ability to regret, to feel the emotions of terror and remorse. Mindless killers meant nothing to her, for they had nothing to offer her. They felt it was the cruel knife of irony that came to claim them, and besides a few yelps of pain, they were worthless duds to her. No, the process was a strict screening to play the game with Cassandra, and her current playmate was discovered about a month ago, and all the work into making sure he was the best candidate was passed with flying colors.

While working for the play company she learned the producer was a mighty orator that managed to convince the general poor public people to rally behind him for change against the Lavinyan guilds. This is no easy feat for Lavinyan people are stubbornly prideful. He produced plays as a way to fund his on going silent war, also asking for donations from those that followed him. The results were always disastrous. Anybody charismatic enough to rise in the eyes of the public admiration to be an equal to this political god suddenly gets violently attacked by the guilds, yet he seems to mysteriously always survive, establishing him as great and powerful. The man to bring the change Lavinya was in need of. And in Cassandra's eyes she saw only one thing. A dark, bloody monster of his own, but to high and mighty to bloody his own hands.

Within the month she already was able to gather the information she needed to know this man was the target. He spent the money given to him by the people frivolously in the best of places. Whenever one of those charismatic people would rise, he would pay the guilds to get rid of him. This man never had any intentions of helping the poor, but he didn't mind helping the guilds root out those that would annoy them. He was the perfect slime ball who would cry out for salvation, begging and screaming. The entire brain thought overwhelmed Cassandra and she fell into her seat with a wild smile on her face.

She licked her lips seductively as she thought of the many ways this man would cry out, and she started to hum a tune to herself as she began to undress.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Traditionally after any play or concert was the ritual cast party that would go well into the night as all the members of the cast ate and drank their way around the social circles. No matter how careful one was, most found themselves waking up next to people in the morning with an utter look of confusion, or some just wondering why they were located so prominently close to the restroom. Cassandra normally shunned the merest notion of going to such an event, but tonight she decided to let her hair down and join in the fun. Not because she wanted to mingle with the people she spent a month with, that was as far from the truth as the earth was to the sky. No, tonight was all about working on the hunt. Her target was the man hosting the party, and this was a good time to look around the house while everyone's drunk and acting like lunatics.

Making sure she mingled with the correct groups of people she was able to avoid any serious drinking, and while her brain felt the distinct fuzz on her brain from the buzz she didn't doubt she had, she was confident she was still able to perform her job. Besides, her dark harbinger was with her, and when the time was right a gentle brush from his hand on her shoulder would sober her up, and she would lovingly obey. It was the least she could do for the one who understood her and loved her for who she was. Ever since she was but a young girl he was there, helping her down her path to destiny, never forcing Cassandra to make the rush into the choice. This was her dark companion, her ambitions made manifest when her urges began to cry for action.

As she moved and weaved her little web around the home of Alaster Caine, her current playmate and target of the hunt, she made mental notes of his doors and windows, what rooms led to where, and also how many security implements he seemed to have. His house was very big for a man who supported the poor, and as far as she could tell he also had a few security devices that are much to expensive for this style of living. All things very curious, but still nothing concrete yet. In order for her to kill this man and not have the retribution of the entire Lavinya Guild's committee she had to be thorough in making sure that the public and the guilds knew he was a bloody monster who deserved death. Within the giant scheme of the game, he was the king of the people, and the pawn of the guilds. Killing the pawn may be small compared to the guilds, but to kill the king means the end of the game for Cassandra, because the people will rally to find her and kill her. She sighed as she realized both sides were going to kill her if she wasn't smart. But Cassandra allowed herself a small smile for she had one thing going for her. She was, in fact, very smart.

Alaster moved to a group of woman, his mind a fog of drunken feelings as he slurred his words to them. Whatever charm he may have was a mystery to Cassandra, but the woman all giggled as he spoke in his broken hiccup accent. As she was thinking of how the man was a complete moron she felt something very calmly brush her shoulders. The touch was cold, but so inviting, and she nearly fell to the ground in ecstasy at her companions touch. Her mind immediately began to shake of her buzz as she moved towards Alaster's room. She figured she had about five minutes before he needed to use it, give or take a couple minutes for human nature.

Her mind was slowly refocusing on her goal as she walked away from the party discreetly, making sure to avoid any of the statues or windows. She was positive she saw four members of the guild of thieves watching the party from another building. This could potentially become a problem, because if she noticed them than chances were they noticed her. A risk she calculated quickly but decided to take. All for her darker inhibitions.

The lock on his door was rather easy to pick, but to do it in broad sight of the party was the trick. She looked around and saw no threatening looks towards her and she pretended to stumble drunkenly towards the door, hoping nobody noticed her grabbing a small lock pick she borrowed from a street urchin who tried to steal her back pack a week earlier. With great victory, Cassandra opened the door, pretending to stumble in. She closed the door behind her and immediately stood up and got to work looking for Alaster's desk. She felt around the room, trying to adjust to the dark, and after a moment she could feel her Dark companion softly cover her eyes, and then when he removed his cover, she could see much clearer. The buzz wasn't gone however, and the room was very fuzzy as far as she knew.

She found the desk in the far left corner of the room and she noticed a file on top in plain sight. So careless. She thought whimsically. She fingered it open with her pinky and read the sheet of paper holding it up to the light source from the window. She noticed that is a letter to the Trade Guild, and it seemed Dent was becoming a threat, for it was an offer of money in exchange for an exterminator. Beneath that sheet was the amount of money the play made for Alaster, and the sum was quite a pretty chunk of change. The entire play was explained to be a benefit show, no money for the actors. Yet the revenue was enough to pay for Dent's execution it seemed. How sweet, She thought happily. In some small way I helped make all this possible. she already was thinking of how Dent was going to die, and perhaps she dwelt to long because the laughter of three woman and Alaster was becoming louder and louder. She looked through the file and found another copy of the execution orders and she stuffed it down her blouse before she jumped into the bed pretending to be passed out. The door swung open and Alaster was roaring at this point. He looked to his bed and smiled as he walked over patting Cassandra on the back.

"Hmm...Wha?" Cassandra yawned for effect. "Where am I?" Alaster just laughed as he helped her up to her feet.

"Ms. Remi, you must have passed out in here...could have sworn I locked my door, but ah well. Here, let me get you out of here." Cassandra nodded woozily, grateful the buzz didn't completely fade away. Without it her act would have failed. Alaster gently placed an arm under her shoulder and lifted her to lean on his. Always the gentleman he was making sure not to cop a feel on her. With gentle, but quick motions he led her to his front door and sat her on a bench patting her again on the back as he quickly made his way back to his room, laughing as he slammed the door shut. With him out of the picture Cassandra stood up quickly and turned on her heel walking out of the estate.

One fact for the people, now to gather something for the Guilds. She thought devilishly.

[Requiem of Insanity]

She had decided that after a successful run into the lair of the beast and back deserved two things. Food and rest. She had changed her hostel she was staying at just in case she had been careless in obtaining her information, and her new Hostel had a restaurant open all night long. She sat at the table, smiling to herself as the waiter brought her a big piece of steak. Delicately she picked up her knife and she picked at it, cutting into the meat from the sides, making shallow pits on the top as she gently shaved areas of the sixteen-ouncer. She downed her water like a thirsty beast after battling for hours, and she felt her stomach size grow comfortably as she made sure she chewed her food completely. The blood juices of the meat lined the outside of her plate, and she dipped her bread into it before she took a small nibble, sucking on the moist loaf before swallowing.

As she was nearly finished she noticed the waiter was walking towards the front reception area, and this bothered her for some reason. Closing her eyes she listened deeply for any wisdom her darker self may have. And like a god answering the prayers of the faithful, the reassuring touch on her arm let her know something wasn't right. She slowly opened her eyes, picking up her spoon and looking through the reflection on it. While the world was distorted, she could still see one man, dressed in heavy burlap sitting at a table directly behind hers in the corner. His eyes never seemed to leave the back of her head, and she smiled. Carelessness. she said to herself. Father told me never to be careless and I was. Now I am being tailed. She carelessly picked up a bread roll and dropped it to the floor. She leaned downwards to pick it up and she stole a glance towards her new friend. He was still obviously looking at her.

A rookie. I can smell the green on him. Good. His death won't bring retribution swiftly. I can still take control. He just has to die quickly. She watched the waiter come by her and pull out a note pad. She perked one ear towards her target.

"Our special is the Spiced Salmon, made with our special peppers, and covered in a sweet glaze." he said mundanely. The man spoke back, a firm tone as he said.

"No thank you, I am allergic to fish." the sound of paper folding filled her ears. "Just the spaghetti please." The waiter scribbled it down and began to walk back by Cassandra, but she quickly grabbed the waiters arm.

"I'm sorry, but can you order me the spicy lobster dumplings and bring it to that man's table." The waiter looked to her and than the man in the corner before he nodded smiling. She thanked him and grabbed her plate walking over to the corner. Her hunter didn't flinch as she walked over, but the look in his eyes told the story of the uncomfortable feeling he was getting. She sat and gave her best smile as she looked at him. "I couldn't help but notice you were watching me, and I must admit I am very flattered to be the object of affection from a man of your character. Just by your tone I could tell how big and strong you were, and to pass up the opportunity to talk seemed very foolish to me. I'm Cassandra, and your name?" She reached out her hand, and the man took it smiling as best as he could.

"Paul," he released his hand as he watched the waiter return with the dumplings. He dropped them off in front of Cassandra and walked away. Good little service boy, your tip will be a very large one. She smiled as she began to eat the dumpling and made a face of complete satisfaction, even going so far as to flutter her eyes. "I take it that's very good?"

"Paul, it's chicken, I just love chicken dumplings. They are so juicy and they put this nice little spicy mix to give it a nice refreshing kick." Paul looked at the dumpling, and the faintest sign of drooling occurred before he closed his mouth smiling.

"I love spicy food." Paul said quietly. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach... She mused, smiling before her eyes grew wide.

"You have GOT to try one, Paul!" She handed the plate over. "Please, they are so tasty!" Paul looked at the dumplings and then shrugged. He picked up the dumpling and took it all in one bite. He ate it quickly and smiled nodding in agreement. "I'm impressed, one bite?" Paul nodded with red flushing his cheeks.

"I come from a large family, youngest of five. You learn to either fight for your food or eat quickly if you want to keep it. I choose the latter most of the time." He gave her a wide smile and took a drink of his water before he began to clear his throat. When that wasn't working he tried again. Soon he started hitting himself in the chest before gasping for air. Cassandra smiled an innocent smile, looking as his eyes glared into hers. "Yugh, beesch!" Was the only garbled words he could muster. His tongue had swelled exponentially and she could tell his lymph nodes were swelling like balloons. He reached for something in his pocket but Cassandra just lifted her steak knife pointing it at Paul's chest with a loving look of malice.

"Please, try me. I need to practice." She begged in a whisper. Paul just kept his glare cold as his eyes began to flutter, before panic set in he started to perform the Heimlich maneuver on himself. Cassandra quickly got up and ran over to his body, wrapping her arms around his neck in the sleeper hold, kissing Paul's neck and cheek. The waiter was about to come, but with Cassandra practically getting ready to take her clothes off he just left the room with a smile on his face. "I can't have you live, Paul. You know that. But I will tell you what. I won't play my games with you. You seem like a really sweet guy."

Paul squirmed worse than ever, and his hands tried to release her strangle hold on him, but soon his eyes were beginning to glaze over. She just kept kissing Paul on the cheek and the neck as she pulled tighter. "I'll knock you out, and you'll die in your sleep. That's the most generosity I have ever shown." She smiled kissing him again on the cheek as the waiter was about to bring the spaghetti. "No need waiter, just charge my room!" She lifted Paul up by the neck and he woozily had no choice to obey. Before long he was nothing more than dead weight in her arms. The waiter was undoubtedly oblivious as he smiled going back to the kitchen.

Cassandra lifted Paul all the way to her room before she dumped him on the bed. She checked his pulse and found that Paul was quite dead. The loss of oxygen was no doubt already eating his brain away, and what little sense he had was definitely gone. She smiled to Paul, stroking his hair a little before she leaned down and kissed his lips just once. Nothing passionate, a quick peck for him being such a good sport. Than with a dirty thought she laughed to herself as she got ready to shower before bed.

Didn't your mother tell you to avoid girls like me?

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra never dreamed as far as she was concerned. Not once should she recollect a day that she had had a dream or a nightmare, or even a phase of unexplained pictures in her sleep. So for her to ever wake up in the middle of the night was usually because her Darker ambitions were alerting her of something going on. Without that, she was out like a light until the new day came. Only twice had her dark companion awoken her, and twice it was so she could escape a marauding horde of people trying to come and kill her.

So to say that she awoke with a startle wasn't a bothersome to her, already prepared to get up and leave, but instead of feeling that reassuring brush against her shoulder, she felt the cold void of the room before her. She let her mind wander for a moment before she felt outwards for her Dark Harbinger to do something, but instead he remained silent. That was very unlike her dark companion, and she looked to see the dead body of Paul next to her. With a gruff of anger she pushed the corpse off the bed and onto the ground. Getting out of the bed she walked towards the window and gently brushed the curtains away. She looked over the promenade and found nothing to be out of the ordinary as far as she could tell, in fact, the morning sun was just beginning to rise out on the horizon. If anything could be possibly more normal she may have killed herself in boredom. Which led her to wonder why she was startled awake and left alone with no reason to be bothered from her slumber. It wasn't like her dark companion to act this way and she felt concern.

She moved over to the body of the dead guild member Paul and kicked it under the bed, lighting incense candles to start to mask the inevitable smell Paul would no doubt exude from his dead body. With that small task complete she went into the bathroom and prepared herself for the day as she got herself dressed in the Lavninian commoner's robes, ready to do some much needed work. She took one last look into the mirror, looking deep into her eyes as she focused purely on looking into her own soul. After a minute or two she felt her dark ambitions brush the back of her mind in a very caring, loving way. She sighed in relief as she smiled grabbing her brush and stroking her hair. You scared me, you know? She felt the presence on her shoulder and nodded in understanding. Better to be safe than sorry. Just a minor misunderstanding or a hiccup in the system. Everything would be fine. She dropped the brush in irritation.

This wasn't normal for her, and she knew what being different was considering she had to act different everyday. There was a reason she was startled awake, and her dark companion wasn't saying anything for a reason and this began to upset her. All the secrecy and the hushed words, the quiet feeling and the void from the air she felt when he didn't respond. What is it? But her dark companion once again placed a firm hand on her shoulder, and she tilted into it, nodding her head. If you insist. She picked up the brush.

Today was going to be busy, and she was grateful at least she was up early enough to get started. To convince the guilds that Alaster was a douche bag and not worth retaliating against her she needed to find some hard proof that she was in fact doing them a favor by disposing him. Of course, Alaster was a careful man and the likelihood of him stepping one toe out of line seemed improbable at surface level. A happy mutt who dared not disobey the hand that feeds. Yet it was her professional observation that those who wanted power always wanted more. And Alaster was far from being top dog. He would want to rise in the ranks, gain a stronger position than that of the town snitch. That determination would easily be his undoing.

She picked up her back pack and belongings, looking once at the room for anything she may have missed, but found nothing to her satisfaction. With one last cheerful thought she bid farewell to the dead body under the bed and hoped the inscents wouldn't get over powered by the odor of death too quickly. She stepped out into the hall and closed the door. Closing her eyes she leaned her head against the door. Are you sure you don't want to tell me? A brief touch on the back of her mind was all she needed to drop the subject and move to the town square.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The advantage of the new day helped Cassandra move with relatively few eyes looking at her. That was a big perk for her because she wanted to remain completely hidden to eyes of Alaster's guardians. The town itself wasn't as much a dump as she figured it would be. The buildings were all very aged and rusted from the salty air of the port not two miles down the road, but overall it only enhanced the look of the Lavinya. She had heard many rumors of the monsters that left this place, something about Hex Mages or what not. But she paid that no mind for now. If she happened to find herself crossing paths with one of those monsters, than all the better. Yet for now she would settle for a minor league superstar.

The bank was an amazingly large marble building, and it already was littered full of merchants and other people going into and out of the vault for their money. Secured by the biggest and the most likely the single-minded greatest killers in the known area, it seemed like a hassle to try and break into the records room. This would require tact and possibly a few tricks to get into the records room. As she waited in line she had found herself moving towards what appeared to be no less than the worst person she could be paired with.

A very elderly woman bellowed the word 'NEXT' at an ear piercing pitch and Cassandra sighed walking forwards. So much for my flashy smile. When she sat at the chair across from the teller, she was already figuring just how badly she was going to need to act more than seduce. "What do you want?" She said in a very crotchety manner. Cassandra smiled as she pulled out her bag and began to shuffle around inside it for something.

"I'm here to review the financial papers on Alaster Caine. I have some papers I need to add to it and double check to see if the funds are going to appropriate channels." She smiled again finding the paper on the execution of Dent.

"What are you, dumb?" She bellowed. "I don't give two rats asses about some stupid records you dumb bimbo. Those files are private to guild affiliates only and if you honestly think your bimbo smile is going to work than you got another thing coming." Cassandra smiled despite the insults and kept her cool.

"Do you know that I have a document right here that proves my worth. Let me in you old hag and maybe you'll live to see another day." Cassandra said in a low intimidating tone. The older lady laughed at her, a deep guttural laugh of primal amusement.

"What are you, Dumb?" She asked again, thinking Cassandra didn't hear her the first time. "I'm not scared of a bimbo who thinks she has the prettiest legs and the credentials to scare me." She looked towards a guard and motioned for him to come over. Cassandra was now starting to panic. This woman was beyond reason and she knew already that this was going to be futile unless she could think of something. The Neanderthal like guard walked into the tiny area and looked at Cassandra.

"Problem?" He said in a deep ape like tone. Cassandra shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Problem?" He said again. Cassandra tried and failed to flash a smile, and the crotchety woman laughed at her with wild amusement.

"Get out of here you dumb bimbo!" She taunted and Cassandra did her best to contain her rising rage and embarrassment. Without much thought she realized she had made a very stupid mistake. She honestly was ignorant of the fact that she had no air of authority to her, and words were not enough to people who have seen it all. No, Lavininan people were to stubborn to blink and intimidation had to be from a beast much bigger than one man.

A soft brush on her shoulder squared her up again as she turned to the old lady and she spoke with dignity in her tone. "I'll be back, with my credentials, and you will learn you made a grave mistake." And she turned back to the exit walking out with pride. As she left the building she turned to walk back to the hostel she stayed at during the night.

"Found a use for you after all." She muttered loudly, causing only a few glances of concern.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra figured there was only way to get into the financial records of Alaster Caine, and that was to a member of the Lavinian Guilds. Considering her current status of not being such a member she had two options. One was join the ranks of the guilds, picking one that suited her. Considering their wasn't a serial killer's anonymous guild it was looking very bleak for her. Her second option was to simply take some off another Guild member.

This would also prove to be a task that was not normally easily to accomplish, but she was smart and resourceful. She had one connection that wouldn't bother to put up a fight. He was conveniently dead in the hostel she had stayed at underneath a bed. Paul's connections should be more than enough to get her into the records and learn the juicy information she was quivering to devour. She smiled as she wondered again how Alaster would scream in such bliss for her to stop. He would offer her anything, power, money, fame even. The trade off was not to kill him and to stop the torturing. That was just not a proper negotiating tool for her. All those worldly ideals meant little to her, and she frowned upon the corruption each brought to a human soul. She'd rather leave those temptations to a real human being.

Without realization she felt a cold hand grasp the back of her mind like a person pulling her hair, and she stopped cold in her tracks just before the corner of her hostel. The familiarity of her Dark Companion breezed near her like a soft gentle wind, and she waited. With a light pat on her back she peeked around the corner and swore to herself very loudly. In front of the hostel was four armed city guards, and on a gurney being carried by two more was a body. She had no delusions that this body was anybody BUT Paul the failing stalker. She could feel the gears in her head take a hammer blow and the entire machinery of her mind shut down.

I needed you! She thought angrily. And that was the best she could do. It wasn't like she could walk up to the guards, ask to see the body, take his credentials, and leave without one of them asking a question. She felt her rage grow higher until the calming hand of her darker ambitions rested for a moment. She took deep breaths, and it waited patiently before she was ready to go again, and the hand vanished.

"To the morgue. I'll inform the guild master of what is going on." There it was. Like a light in a dark tunnel. The body was going to the morgue, and she had a perfectly good chance to go there and make it all happen. She just would need to get to the body. Two guards hurled Paul's body onto the cart, and one mounted on top of it, whipping the horse to move forward in a low, dull march. Cassandra peared both ways before crossing the street, and confident she served her father proud she began to slowly tail the cart, walking behind as many groups of people as she could.

The early morning [early for those who began to wake up to breakfast, and not dark ambitions at dawn.] filled the air with that crisp autumn smell, the sea salt smell mingling to create a perfect armoma of scents. Each person danced near her in vivid patterns, moving away from her and cursing her name. The urchins of the streets were up and once again picking the pockets of those who were not watching. She had to fend two off who tried a two pronged attack before she kicked one in the shin, muttering childish things like, 'that's what you get,' and 'Shoulda listen!' The small altercation almost made her lose the tail of the cart, but she was thankful for some strange reason to find a pile of fresh manure that trailed around a corner. Not exactly the clue she would have liked to use, but she figured she couldn't be too picky.

The morgue was just a small cremation station building, located a few yards away from the central city. Usually these places were kept farther away from the city, but then again urchins did just try to steal from her, so that should have spoke for itself. The guard hauled the body into the building, and after a short moment the man walked out, stretched to the sky, and got back on the cart whipping the horse back into the dead beat march towards the city. Cassandra darted behind a bush, and didn't move until she couldn't hear the shuffling clip-clop sound anymore. After that she changed her clothes, putting on a tiny skirt and dumping the robes into her back pack. The skirt was ripped after being shoved into a bag with food and her tools of the dark trade, and she realized she would soon need to go to a bazaar and purchase something of more suitable taste.

Shaking the thought to the back of her mind she walked towards the morgue with grim determination.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The morgue was a very warm place, the stones all eating away at it, but the furnace was sweltering hot and loud as well. The rotten smell of decaying bodies and garbage all bothered her senses, but she just kept her hand to her mouth pretending that would do any bit of good. To her luck, a scrawny man with a hunched neck turned to her with a look of confusion, and she smiled to him, lowering her hand from her mouth.

"Hello," She said cheerfully. "How are we doing today?" Not like I care. The guy shrugged and walked over to her removing his gloves. His hands were hideously scarred and torn up by the constant exposure to the heat, and his dry lips parted and the tiniest pool of blood formed in the spot.

"Is there something you need?" He said cutting right to the point, and Cassandra felt elated he made such a simple gesture of rudeness. I may have just fallen in love with someone. She felt her darker half grope her mind and she regained her focus. Flashing her smile, but putting a bit of stress into it she nodded pointing to Paul's body. He turned to the body and back to her, his eyes uncaring as they looked into hers.

"I, I just want a moment alone with him, if you don't mind to much?" She said softly. The gravedigger shrugged as he muttered about time on his hands, and she just lowered her head shuffling to the side allowing him by as he walked towards the door leaving the room. She moved gently over to the body, looking down at Paul and resting her left hand on his chest. "Fire is not really a bad way to go, you don't have to worry bugs or animals eating you in the dirt. Though your ashes will kinda be mixed in with piss and shit, so that's not really comforting either, now is it?" The body remained cold, unresponsive, and still quite dead.

"Well, anyway." She sighed as she moved her hand from his chest and she reached down into his pant pockets getting down to business for the reason she came. Sure enough she found a copper coin with three triangles upon it, the second symbol of membership into the Guild of Theives. Digging a bit deeper she found a few other gold coins, but she left that with the body not having any need for it. She went to the other pocket and found a letter from a woman, Renee was her name, and she wrote that she was leaving Paul, because she was a lesbian and had cheated on him during their time together. She also wrote on to explain she loved him, but didn't love him, but if he wanted to get married to her than she would say yes, but only if she could sleep with others on the side. "My gods, what a whore!"

Cassandra looked back to Paul, and she swore she could see the flicker of a sigh in his eyes. She sighed for him, and leaned over to once again give him a quick peck on his lips. "You were a very gentle soul. Sorry life sucked for you." She looked deep into his eyes, and something in the back of her head startled up, and she smiled. She swore she could hear some voice saying the word, "Meh." and that was all. She took the letter and tossed it into the fire and then left Paul to his own burning doom, figuring somehow, someway this was what he wanted. But whatever, Paul had served her well, just like Veronica had in Corone, and undoubtedly like any others in the future. They were all tools to her and to get teary eyed or emotional for their passing was unreasonable.

Stepping outside again she looked to the man, and nodded to him, pretending to sniffle. The man walked by her, placed a gentle hand on her ass, said something about if she needed anything, and then walked in. The entire experience was baffling, provocative, and very rude all at once. But no matter. She had found the credentials she needed to get that old hag of a woman to let her see Alaster's files, and soon she would satisfy her ever growing urges.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra was very satisfied with her days worth of work, and the best part was she wasn't even close to Dinner. If all went well she could get a nice meal, get into her hunting outfit, and kill this guy before dawn. She was practically floating on good will and cheery thoughts, however far from the normal term for cheery may dictate though. Her dark companion remained near her, laughing with her and holding her close as the two walked down the street towards the bank. It didn't even bother her that the line was exceptionally long.

Inside the line she figured what she would need to do next, the final stage of the performance where the deed would be done. The hostel she had stayed at seemed like a good idea, considering most of the patrons most likely just left. But the room was cramped and the walls weren't very solid. She pondered taking her index finger and tapping it lightly on her chin. Her dark ambitions murmured in a tone only she could here, and her lips parted in a wide flashy smile, the location now figured out. It would be a grand stage for their dance to end

"NEXT!" came the crotchety bellow of the old hag. Cassandra was happy to be able to deal with her again, and as she sat across from the elderly woman, the guttural hyena like laugh exuded from her deeper pits, and Cassandra just let her have her fun. "What do you want you stupid bimbo?" Cassandra just smiled, leaning in only slightly.

"You already know you poor excuse for a wet sack of shit called life." The woman chuckled as her gaze never faltered from Cassandra's hazel eyes, but since Cassandra had no reason to fear her, the tension began to turn in favor of her, and the older woman began to feel slight unease. She scooted her chair back, only for a fraction of an inch, and motioned for the guard to come over. Oh look, my other friends are coming! she mused. The tall ape-like guard came over, preparing to say his one word of the day, and when he arrived he cleared his throat to herald the occasion.

"Credentills." Cassandra looked at the guard in a funny way, and realized the poor fool was rather slower than she anticipated. The older woman sensed what Cassandra was thinking, and barked out at her in a rather intimidating tone.

"CREDENTIALS," her hand broke the quill she was using. "You stupid bimbo!" she let her chuckle calm her down. Cassandra just looked over to the guard, smiling her flashy smile, and flicked the coin up to him off her clenched fist, using the thumb to launch the copper in the air. The guard fumbled with his weapons and nearly fell downwards breaking the entire table the two woman sat at. He looked at the coin, and he even bit into it. Satisfied he handed the coin back and looked to the grumpy old lady.

"Sorry, mama. She's true." Both woman's eyes exploded wide, Cassandra in admiration he put a string of words together and the older woman's eyes filled with hate as if she had the power she would have melted Cassandra with that glare. The guard cleared his throat again and spoke, "Business?" Cassandra reached into her back pack and pulled out the paper on Dent's execution. The guard looked to the paper, and then back to his mother. He handed the paper over and the elderly woman's gaze dropped from hatred to fear. With a deep intake of breath she handed the paper back. She now, as far as she knew, had knowledge that Cassandra was a member of the Lavinian guilds, and her death was at Cassandra's finger tips.

"I take it everything's in order?" Cassandra said sweetly, letting the stench of her fear linger inwards. The old woman nodded getting up, motioning for Cassandra to join her. With a quick flashy smile to the guard, Cassandra got up and went over to the filing room, muttered for Cassandra to wait at a small table, and she disappeared down a row of dockets and papers. Cassandra shifted her back pack around and when the file came to her, she thanked the woman in a rude manner, and told her to leave her alone. The elder woman didn't need to hear that twice, and left the room in a huff of anger, but the lingering emotion of fear still there.

At last alone she closed her eyes spreading the papers out on the table, and when she opened them she began to scan them quickly with her eyes. Show me what you do. Open up to me Alaster Caine... But as she scanned each sheet she began to get annoyed. It was unheard of, and unexplainable to Cassandra. She was never wrong about a hunch like this, and she was very annoyed nothing spoke out clearly of his treachery. HELP ME! she barked to her darker ambitions, but instead of seeing another body start to help her, she felt the cold grip of his hand softly rub her shoulders.

She gazed at each paper, looking closer. Of course she was foolish to think that Alaster would do it in the open, he had to make it small time, little pieces here and there. She found a lead, followed the trail on the papers and learned a few things. She smiled to herself as she read each fact and detail, seeing some familiar papers she found in Alaster's file at his house, and she fought with herself to see what she wasn't clearly seeing. At last something came up, and she followed the trail all the way to the last few papers and she shot straight up out of her chair in a flurry. She scooped up the papers quickly, and she felt the hand of her darker half touching her shoulder gently, which caused her to smile.

To her annoyance however, Alaster Caine had done no wrong.

[Requiem of Insanity]

To say she was miffed wasn't exactly the correct word for the fuming steam erupting from her ears. She was angry and upset that Alaster was damn good at hiding his trail, and despite all her cunning and reading people, she found no wrong. Alaster Caine could die. He could die by her hands whenever she wanted. But if she wanted to live to see another person tremble to her delicate touch, she wouldn't dare think of harming a pretty little hair on his body. The guilds protect their investments, and so far Alaster was a very useful tool, no matter how low on the rung he was. She already was living on borrowed time, because she killed Paul, and soon they would come after her for that murder as well. Her mind felt like the world was closing in on her, and she had trouble breathing for a moment.

With a calming hand on her shoulder though, she found the strength to breath. She would not let this effect her hunt. Alaster was good, but not good enough that he would get by her. Her urges wanted his blood now, and to call off the hunt would be pointless. She just needed to focus again, that was all. She looked around the area for something to think on, and she smiled as she found a small little girl. She walked over to her, picked up a ball that got away from the little one, and bent down to her handing the ball over.

"What's your name?" Cassandra said politely. The little girl looked to her holding the ball tightly, and she backed off two steps before she replied in a quiet tone.

"Your shadow is bigger than mine." She looked at Cassandra in a funny way, and she started to back up again.

"That's just because I'm bigger than you. Your shadow can grow too! You just need to grow up big and strong." The little girl pondered this, looking down to her own shadow, shrugging and then turning back to her.

"Teysa is my name." she said with a little less fear this time. Cassandra felt her Dark companion touch her shoulder, a firm grip that held her at bay, and then suddenly he was gone. Looking around in a quick panic she thought out to him. Where did you go? She longed for him now. "He went away. Ran away from the shadows. Mine did too." Cassandra looked to her with sudden fear seeing the girl just act normally like this happens all the time.

"What do you mean ran away?" The idea of her companion leaving her was unthinkable and she cried out for him.

"They won't listen. I cried for three days before he came back. But they will, eventually. So why did you want to know my name?" Cassandra felt uneasy about all of this suddenly happening, and she quickly remembered what happened in the morning. He had woken her up, and then suddenly he vanished for a moment. But could that really be happening? Could her darker ambitions really just up and leave? Before she could think any further she felt the calm brush of her darker companion on the back of her mid, and she turned into him, despite how awkward it may have seemed to do so in public. The little girl just knelt down, and whispered loudly about her shadow running away.

"Wait," She suddenly realized that her new tiny friend had a dark companion of her own, and though she couldn't see it she felt a sudden connection to the little one. "Teysa, do you...hurt things?" Teysa nodded and pointed to her with cold accusation.

"Isn't that how you grow stronger? So I can have a shadow as big as yours?" Cassandra pondered that for a moment and smiled back to her with a fresh smile on her face.

"Yes, I guess so. But I'd stick to small helpless animals for a while. Don't go after grown ups or other kids until you are fourteen." Teysa frowned a little but nodded all the same. The urge to want to scoop Teysa up overwhelmed her. A motherly instinct to keep this one for her own, train her to be like her own. But she didn't want excess baggage either, and decided to get back to the point. "Now, a question for you." The girl stood ready to answer her. "Where do you hide your secrets? Say you had a bunch of stolen money. Would you hide it at the bank?" She shook her head.

"No silly. I'd just keep it at home." And the second the words were spoken clarity and calm came into her mind. The file she found Dent's execution inside. It was the file that had the papers of the money he used to steal from the guilds. Of course he wouldn't leave it in the banks. Any guild member could just walk in and learn he was a treacherous bastard. Her enthusiasm for the hunt came flying back into her, and her urges suppressed for a moment, the taste of Alaster's blood firmly on her lips now.

"Thank you very much Teysa, stay out of trouble, and don't stalk people with shadows." she turned to walk away and Teysa just bounced her ball walking in the opposite direction. She looked back at Teysa for a moment. Her brain flashed with images of her teaching how to properly stalk a prey. How to hold the knife just right to cut off a layer of skin. How to prevent the potato cutter from getting caught in the skin. A mother-daughter team of serial killers. The idea of keeping her intrigued her very much, but her Darker half just placed a firm hand on her shoulder, keeping her from moving closer, but not dragging her away. She waited until the little girl turned the corner, and then let her completely escape her mind to be forgotten forever. She turned back to Alaster's home with new determination.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The moon hung low in the evening, stars shining bright as Cassandra let the cool gentle breeze wash over her. She had waited for this opportunity. The hunt was coming close to the end, and it was these final moments that gave her the most thrill of the chase. Soon, so soon her knives would dip deep into the life of Alaster Caine, and Cassandra wouldn't need to worry about those growing urges. She had already spent the last two hours in preparation for the entertainment tonight getting her torture chamber ready. Now all she needed was her lead actor to play the part of the victim.

She had stalked the house of Alaster, already aware of when he would routinely begin to sleep. Routines were an amazing thing for Cassandra and she noticed the higher ones power was the more accustomed to a schedule they were. Yet routines were the best way for Cassandra to end her hunt. It goes to show just how much a person was enthralled with themselves, flossing at sundown, showering at the twenty second hour of the day, and bed a half hour later. Each motion they made could be done while Cassandra kept herself blindfolded, and she could recite exactly what her prey was doing at what time. And at a quarter to midnight was Alaster's routine to get to sleep, and sure enough his light lamps all burned out in a puff of smoke.

Showtime! With little movements Cassandra maneuvered in the shadows, being very discreet with her cat like movements. She pulled the burlap cloth over her nose like a mask, and tied her hair back in a ponytail before she moved to a side entrance. Midnight had come, and the town bell alerted everyone the passing into a new day. Sure enough, like the gears of the clock turning, the service door opened, the maids and servants all leaving as one. She hid behind a garbage can in the darkness, smiling behind her burlap mask. She felt elation as the last one left, making sure the door was locked from the inside, and she hovered gently for a moment before springing to the door, sticking her hand out so it wouldn't shut. She looked at the servants, and nobody noticed the door creaked open. As they all moved as one towards the bars Cassandra slipped into the house and smiled.

Her first action was to secure the area, making sure nobody was around, and once comfortable she turned and unlocked the door. With her escape route easily accesible she closed her eyes remembering the floor plan of the building from the party, and satisfied she walked quietly on tip toes as she moved closer to her target. To her luck, the room Alaster sleapt in was located not more than fifteen steps from the kitchen, and she slipped easily in the shadows doing her best to remain unseen in case any guild members were watching their prize possession. She was at the door and she bent over looking at the lock and testing the door to see if her luck continued.

It didn't and she figured the door would be locked, but she had an ace up her sleeve. Taking out the lock pick set she stole from the urchin she picked at the lock, jingling it around until she heard the comforting 'click' sound and she tossed the set off to the side. As she opened the door her heart swelled with joy. The undoubted sound of Alaster's snoring filled the room and a quick surveillance of the area alerted her to a knocked down glass of what could only be some form of alcohol. She moved silently with each step, leaving the door creaked open so she could kick it open later, and as she moved swiftly she made a small pit stop at the desk of Alaster Caine, the file still where she left it. Last order of business.

She closed her eyes laying the papers out over the desk just as she did at the bank, and she hovered her left hand over each sheet, not looking. After she was on the sixth sheet of paper the cold firm grip of her dark companion held her arm. She picked up the paper and held it to the moonlight. It was the financial records of one Mr. Caine coming into a very generous amount of money from one Nathaniel Hawthorne, Guild Master of Lavinya. The reason for the expenses was for a play, a very recent play in fact. But the amount was a bit more than one would need for the show in question. As she read further she realized that fourteen techs were hired, but never showed up for payroll. That's fourteen people who didn't get paid, and that money instead of returning to Nathanial was instead placed into the pocket of Alaster. Clever way of taking the funds. Nathanial wouldn't bother to know all the subtle nuances of a stage crew, but to her and her background in theater, seven was all one needed.

With evidence firmly in hand at last she placed it in her belt securely tucked half into her pants, and moved over to Alaster. He looked peaceful, very peaceful. His mouth held open and a tiny pool of drool covered the area of his pillow. With all the care she could muster she found her hands moving towards his neck, getting ready to apply the sleeper hold. Then, with a sudden realization, she instead shifted so he was leaning upon her. She carried his weight and began to drag him, and he startled awake mumbling incoherently. Cassandra stroked his hair lovingly as she whispered in his ear, "Shshh, be silent my prince. I just want a night with you all to myself."

"What are you some broad?" Cassandra pulled her mask low and whispered back in a seductive tone.

"Yes, this is thanks from the Guild of Thieves for alerting us to that idiot Dent." Alaster chuckled in a smug way as he began to walk with her, his tone a little fuzzed as he said,

"Dent was a fool for crossing me. He said he was on to me, but instead he opened his mouth and I was from then on on to him!" He was doing his best to sound smart, but failed miserably. Cassandra only nodded as she pulled him towards the kitchen. As they moved inwards a light suddenly fluttered into life, a candle being lit and a butler standing at the door.

"Can I ask where you are taking my master?" He said in a defensive tone. Before Cassandra could speak Alaster opened his mouth, and he spat as he spoke.

"Jeebus Ken, go play in a fire tonight!" He looked to Cassandra and kissed her cheek in a slobbery tone. "She's a gift from the guilds and I plan on opening her up tonight! So get out of the way." No matter how smooth an idea Cassandra thought of, it would never top that. Ken shrugged, moved to the side, and she led Alaster to her doom. IT was like the Grim Reaper moving aside so Cassandra could bring him his next soul. As they got outside Cassandra led him deeper into the forest. "Uh, where we going?" he said at last.

With lightening reflexes Cassandra's body shifted behind him, and she wrapped one arm around his neck and another around his forehead. Soon the oxygen began to get tight on him as he felt his neck being squashed to a fine paste, his wind passage blocked by her arm. Before he knew it he was out like a light. She dipped down and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him up and starting the process of dragging him around the forest towards her play pen.

"Thanks for making that easy, I had a feeling somebody was still working the night shift. But now I need you to just shut up and go to sleep. Any problems?" She waited a moment, still dragging the body through the woods. As she expected, he didn't answer. "That's what I thought." she said smugly.

[Requiem of Insanity]

"You're probably wondering why you are here?" a gentle voice invaded the darkness, and the sound of walking on wood grew louder.

"What's the meaning of this?" A woozy voice responded. With a loud click the lights turned on, and a broad stage was lit up, a few walls held erect in all but the seating area, the moon shining overhead. On the stage was two people, one a beautiful girl with long black hair, playing with metal instruments on a table off to the side in the shadows. The other was a man, with brown hair at medium length. His green eyes fluttered open slightly as if waking up from a long sleep, and he tried to move until he realized he was chained to a wooden table. He pulled with all his might but the iron shackles wouldn't budge, and as he lowered his head in frustration he realized he was naked. "Show yourself!"

A dark chuckle whispered into his ears sending a cold chill down his spine, as the clicking sight of two long slender legs walked prominently into the seen. He followed them up all the way to her body, and he gasped as he realized who it was. She smiled a very devilish grin, and in her hand was a long dagger, a foot in length. She tapped it in her hand as she walked closer to him before she hovered just before his body, and he shivered again as she licked her lips.

"Wha-Wha-," He couldn't speak clearly as he blinked multiple times, but each time he opened his eyes she was still there, grinning wildly at him. Her hazel eyes never blinked as he tried to regain his composure. "What are you d-d-doing with me, Cassandra?" He spoke in a very timid tone, his eyes shifting for some form of salvation or help. "The show is over, the role of Mrs. Cassanova is over!" Cassandra rolled her eyes as she walked to his right, taking the knife and dragging it delicately across his skin. She whimpered at the touch of the metal against his skin.

"I don't think you realize that this isn't a play production, Mr. Caine. This is in fact, reality." She was behind him now and she leaned into his left ear and spoke with a seductive tone. "But you would know all about how to put up an act. Wouldn't you?" Despite the fact she could smell his fear, he shook his head as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I am a hero of the people. They will not let you get away with this!" He found a spine suddenly, and it made her squeal with delight as she walked hurriedly into the shadows before coming back, swinging her hips with each step as she held a paper in front of her, reading it aloud like an audition for a play part.

"Dear Guild master, I humbly request the execution of one Dent Gregory Blah Blah Blah!" She looked back at him walking closer to his body. He shuddered a moment before he bared his own teeth to her. She stopped, looking at him quizzically.

"Than you know I have an even worse monster on my side! I have the Lavinian guilds!" She looked at him and then laughed in genuine spirit. She walked back into the shadows and spoke loudly to him.

"Do you honestly think the Guilds will care about a pawn like you? No matter what you say or do you're just a convenient tool to be discarded at anytime." He was about ot answer her claims when she walked back with a paper in both hands. "What...What is that?"

"It's just your financial records...I noticed you like to steal Mr. Caine. Do you think the guilds will like that? Do you think they will hunt me down for killing you, or just be grateful I did them a favor?" Whatever hope he may have had, it was gone. HIs face turned pale at the sudden realization she was in now in complete control. No matter how careful he was, he wasn't careful enough.

"I'll pay you quadruple whatever they are!" Cassandra laughed as she walked back into the shadows and returned with the papers in her mouth, and a hammer with two nails in her hands. He squirmed at the thought of what was about to happen, but she just worked with him, despite the struggling. Placing the nail into the paper of Dent's execution and aiming it firmly over his left nipple. She took a bit of time to align it just right and then she slammed the hammer meeting resistance at first, but then the crimson blood poured out as the flesh caved in letting the nail sink deep inside of his chest. "Oh fucking hell!" He shouted to the sky. "Fucking psychotic bitch!" Cassandra just shook her head setting up the paper to the nail, and she aimed it over his right nipple. She struck and again he cried out in pain, causing her to smile as she hammered the nail into his chest.

"You'll find that I am quite sane. As for your offer about payment. Well... Do you have enough pints of blood to give that up? My dark companion only pays in blood, and you are already losing quite a bit." His eyes looked deep into hers and he cried sobbing tears of pain. "Do you honestly think I am a monster? I am only letting the cruel irony of life catch up to you." She walked back into the shadows as he bled from his chest, crying and suffering on the table. He screamed for help, but none would ever come. The theater was quite closed and wouldn't be open for another day or two. She walked over with the knife and began to softly cut into shoulder and collar area, taking off a large chunk of his skin. His screams intensified as she let the blood pool onto her blade, and then she let his tears mix with it. Cassandra tapped her tongue into the blood and her eyes fluttered in amazement at the concoction she had made. She dropped the knife as she moved over back to her table and returned with all sorts of tools for pain, taking up the potato peeler and bringing it close to his eyes.

"Why?" He whimpered. "Why are you doing this?" She pondered it for a moment, and then shrugged.

"I guess it's just politics really." She leaned in closer and pulled on his upper eyelid and shaved the first layer of skin off it. He screamed again as the blood from the wound clouded his eye. "Just bloody politics." She mused starting to sing a song to herself as she continued her work well into the night. Her chorus was accompanied by her playmates screams.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The new dawn was herald by the screams of a woman as she opened the doors to the theater. Upon center stage was a man left upon a table naked, two bloody sheets of paper nailed into his chest with his eyelids missing and the upper half of his lip chopped off. He had deep cuts along his shoulders and his mouth was filled with all the small tips of his fingers and toes, his eyes bloodshot and pooling with the crimson liquid. The guilds sent someone in to investigate after the body was revealed to be Alaster Caine, but soon after a moment they read one of the papers to see that he had stolen from the guilds.

As they collaborated upon this for the action they would take, it was agreed that whoever killed him did them a huge favor in the long wrong. Better to squash a bug than to let grow into a monster. They took the paper and told the general public he was dead. Immediate outrage ensued, and the town was at a full riot before one of the Guild leaders decided to reveal him for who he really was. As the paper attached to the other side of his chest was revealed to be for Dent Gregory. The outrage suddenly turned to feelings of confusion, the god of a man they once flocked to turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Whoever killed him was to lenient with his death as far as they were concerned.

Cassandra didn't at first want to leave Lavinya, but the backlash was much fiercer than she had anticipated. The people were still at odds as to whether they would except her, or kill her. The guilds obviously would kill her given the chance, but any effort on their part to actively find her were not a top priority. This was the best time to leave, unnoticed and undetected. She carried her back pack with pride onto the boat to Radasanth, feeling a certain joy fill her body. Her urges were suppressed and her Dark Companion showered her with praise and sweet nothings brushing up against her in a tender way.

The road to killing Alaster was more troublesome than she had ever anticipated, but she learned a great deal about her patience. Not only that, but her Dark Companion was proud to boot, and that made her simply glow. Alaster was not an easy prey, but as she flipped the copper Thieves Guild coin she smiled, snatching it in the air before she put it in her pocket. Normally she didn't keep trophies of her kills, but this one was special and could very well come in handy in the future.

Her mind wondered out into the void, wondering what this new land would bring for her. She was tired after her long nights session of playing and she felt the call for sleep come to her. Sighing loudly she walked to her room with a smile before she rested her head upon the pillow, content to sleep for the whole journey if need be. She took off her clothes as she dipped into the blankets, smiling the whole while as her Dark Ambitions praised her one last time. She easily fell asleep as his loving hand caressed the back of her mind and fell into the dark abyss with open eyes.



Sleep my darling. You have worked hard on this one. I am very proud of you for keeping focused on the trail of the hunt and it only brings me much joy to see the training hasn't faltered.


Cassandra's body suddenly jolted awake in alarm, her head scanning the room. As she gathered up her blankets in her arms, wrapping it around her body she got up. Her companion was missing again, this time instead of alerting her he just vanished. Her body felt numb as she ran into the restroom and looked deep into the mirror. She clawed at her face as she tried to control her breathing. Where are you? Where did you go?


I'm always watching Cassandra. I will always be here for you.


Cassandra felt the cold grip of her dark companion brush up against her mind, and she nearly fell down in emotional pain. She managed a few tears as she looked into the mirror with her hazel eyes. Stop leaving me, stop running away. I need you! Before her thoughts ran away her darker half just held her, rubbing her mind gently before placing a firm hand on her shoulders. She nodded as she went back to her bed and back to sleep.


Always...

[Raelyse]

Story

Continuity – 5 – It didn’t seem as though this thread was completely out of the realm’s of your character’s path, but I still would have liked a few more details as to how Cassy got into the production. The Dark companion parts were a bit unexplained and would have made a lot more sense with a bit more information fleshing it out for your readers. How she selects her targets should also be given more attention.

Setting – 3 – You didn’t really describe the areas that the story was taking place in particularly well. I had to imagine most of it by myself around the actions which is something that a reader should never have to do.

Pacing – 4 – I feel that you describe unnecessary things too much and things that need description too little. This really hurts the pacing of the story, because the reader spends too much time on parts of the story that aren’t important and too little on what is. Some scenes are dragged out too long as well and you could really do with shortening them while lengthening those that are important to your story. Use your discretion or get someone to read it over for you so you can decide what should and shouldn’t be included. Don’t worry, this skill will come with practice.

Character

Dialogue – 5.5 – The dialogue enriched the interactions between the characters but I didn’t feel as though it really enhanced the story. This was mostly because the talking mostly just repeated what the characters were thinking and didn’t really add anything to the story. Try to be a bit more original with it as well and it will really improve your writing.

Action – 4 – I really didn’t get a good feel for Cassy at all throughout this thread. I know she had a strong sense of justice and that she wasn’t above using her looks to get what she wanted, but you never explained why she does this. Why does she torture instead of going for the quick kill? Why does she want people to suffer? None of this was explained in sufficient detail and as a result, Cassy came off as very shallow.

Persona – 4 – Ditto the above two categories for this one. Cassy didn’t really show her full range of emotions in this thread and I didn’t get to know her very well at all. You didn’t do well in character categories as well because you don’t do anything more than scratch the surface with Cassy and you need to go deeper to really improve here. As a side note, you should give your NPCs more exposure because I didn’t feel anything for them at all since they were just in and out of the story. If you make them more interesting, the reader will get more attached to them and the story will improve.

Writing Style

Technique – 4.5 – Few literary techniques, though I did like how you used the play scene at the beginning and the end. Try to read a few of our more senior writers and try to glean what really gives their writing the flair that makes them so interesting to read.

Mechanics – 4 – There were way more spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes than there should be in your writing. It’s easy to improve here, read over and spell check your stuff before you post it and these errors will be eliminated.

Clarity – 4 – There were a few instances where I had to stop over and read stuff again because the way in which you wrote was a bit confusing. Once again, these are quickly eliminated with read throughs.

Wild Card – 6 – There are signs that you can become a good writer and you can do that by working hard on what I mentioned above. Good luck!

Total Score – 44

RoQ gets 464 EXP and 114 GP!

[Witchblade]

EXP and GP added!