Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodstained Noble ❯ Crime 6: Of Murder and Romance ( Chapter 6 )

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Bloodstained Noble

By: Melissa Norvell

Crime 6: Of Murder and Romance

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“No, I'm not,” Rutherford smirked in the darkness as Rosillia struggled violently against her captor's device. Her hands were tied behind her back and in her struggle, her decorative hat plummeted into the darkness below. Her waist was also bound tightly. The pink-haired girl protested against her binding but the end result only got her lifted into the air.

Yaris attempted to get to the maiden, but he was far too late. She had already been jerked from any possible contact he could have had with her before. She could hear her name being shouted as her partner's form shrunk with their distance.

“Let me down! Who are you anyway?” Rosillia asked as she kicked and struggled in mid air.

Below, her captor walked into the light unveiling his form. He was a tall man, but portly in build with a curled mustache and parted, slicked back hair. He looked to be in his mid fifties and had pinned striped, tan slacks and a black formal coat with a red bow tie. Rosillia gasped and Yaris stood there in shocked stupor.

“Baron Rutherford B. Hayes!” Her shocked voice echoed through the darkness.

“So, you were working with Rin Mamoette,” Yaris deduced.

“No, I snuck in here like the both of you did,” the Baron admitted, and that time he actually had told the truth.

“What?” Rosillia had come up with one deduction. `This can't be! He's been…following us?' She had her suspicions before, but never would she have expected this turn of events. The Baron was literally the last person that she had ever suspected to even be involved in what was going on. Then again, from their relationship in the past, it made perfect sense even if she was not willing to admit it.

However, if Rutherford wasn't working with Mamoette, then what did he want? What could he gain from this?

“I see now. You knew all along, didn't you?” The blonde questioned, narrowing his eyes. “You followed me ever since Lady Lafayette's party, haven't you?” There was no doubt in his mind now; the Baron knew his identity as Jack the Ripper. No doubt he wanted his head.

“I knew that you were on to me. You're far too smart not to be.” In reality, it had simply been a huge game of cat and mouse between then, however that game was now at its end. The only thing left was to have the final show down. This was it. There was no way that this Baron would simply stand aside without the head of such a man in his hands.

“You were at all of the events that I attended. At first, I thought that it was a strange coincidence but I learned better than that.” It was more than a strange occurrence, Yaris had been on to him as well, watching him in the crowds as he set the stage in those events and battled his way to the top. There had always been someone after him, and this was no exception to that rule.

“What? You knew he was stalking us? Why wouldn't you tell me?” Rosillia was angry. Honestly, how rude. It was something that she actually needed to know. If had better knowledge of that little factor then she could have saved herself the trouble of being captured by him.

“You want Lady Progmeyer, don't you?” Yaris' inquiry only confused her even more.

`What's going on? Was this a set-up all along? Why do I feel like bait? Maybe I shouldn't have trusted him so easily…I'm stupid.' The girl lowered her head in defeat and her form went limp in its bindings. She felt like a fool, and no one could blame her. Never trust a criminal.

“Oh, I want her but not in a way that you would think,” The Baron smiled and pulled the lever slightly to his left. As he forced the stick down, the ground below Rosillia opened slowly, followed by the mechanized sound of gears grinding and turning below. Pink eyes gazed down through the darkness to see gears of all sizes, looking more like hungry piranhas out for flesh more than metal cogs used to breathe life into machinery.

This was bad.

“What in the world is this?” Her voice was faint as the gears reflected in her round eyes. `He's trying to kill me.'

Yaris glanced over to the grinding mechanisms. His look was slightly quizzical but his emotions were never too pronounced. That man was a master of the perfect poker face. “You wish to throw her into the gears?”

“I've been after her for a while. She thought that she could escape me by running off with a false Jack the Ripper. She should know better than that,” the man sneered. This was the ultimate plan. Now he had both of them in his grip, like two wounded mice in the mighty talons of the hawk. His sinister smile widened.

“Why do you want to kill me? Before I die, you could at least tell me that,” the girl shouted from above. She never did understand that motive, even when they were together. It couldn't have been the money, they were both rich. So…what was it?

“Jack the Ripper killed my great grandmother. I'll avenge her death by sending you into the depths of hell,” Rutherford spat as he lowered the girl down into a crushing fate.

“Why are you blaming me for something one of my relatives did? It doesn't make sense to punish me for their mistakes,” she began to struggle again. Rosillia's heart beat escalated and her eyes widened as she got closer to the gears. Glancing over to her partner, she silently questioned his motives. `Why? Why aren't you helping me?'

Yaris frowned, watching as the girl got closer and closer to a gory fate. “That's unfortunate, to wish to kill such a pretty girl,” he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a white rose, whose petals were crisp against the chill air. “White is such a pristine color, free of being tainted by any substance,” the blonde then held it up to his pink-haired comrade. “I'd hate to taint it with such a lovely maiden's blood.”

“Then stop being dramatic and help me,” she dead panned. This was no time for his theatrical rouse. She was in serious danger. He could preach about the color white and other such nonsensical crap later.

“He'll have to get through me first. I will not be stopped by Jack the Ripper again, let alone by a cheap imitation of the real thing,” the elder man continued to mock him. It was actually irritating Yaris to be labeled as fake over and over again.

Even if he was fake, he was far from cheap.

“Cheap? I may consider myself an imitation of sorts but I am in no way cheap. You see, my good man, I consider myself a modern day Jack the Ripper, seeing as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” the young man's voice held a twinge of arrogance to it. Yaris was outraged, but managed to keep his composure about the issue.

Rutherford pulled out his sword and lunged forward, thrusting the tip of the blade towards the noble's chest cavity. “Die!” His anger-filled voice sounded through the open air as his sword clashed with Yaris' steel claws. He attempted to cut off the blonde's head but he jumped back. “I'll kill you and avenge her!” Rutherford declared as he lunged forward again, attempting to stab his opposition, but Yaris was quick to react. The nimble man jumped up and onto the baron's head, using it as leverage to propel himself onto the hanging girl's form. His boots dug into her small back as he held the chain she was suspended by, using her as a human platform.

“Ouch…” The girl flinched as heels dug into her backside. “Do you mind?”

“If he jumped over here, he'll be impaled on his own gears. This is the only spot that he can't touch me,” Yaris deduced. It may have been painful but it was a smart plan by his means.

“I feel like I'm being cut in half,” she said in disgruntlement. Between the chains and his weight on her, this felt like torture.

Suddenly, both of them dropped. In a sad way, Rosillia's body thanked her for the fact that the noble was knocked off of his feet as he clung to the chain for dear life. She let out a scream as Rutherford shoved down the handle as far as possible.

“I might not be able to reach you, but that doesn't mean that I can't still kill you.” It was a stupid move on his behalf. Honestly, he was just putting them in the same place to be crushed by the turning cogs below.

As the plummeted downward, Yaris scaled his way down the chain, hand over hand until he was close to the maiden. Using his claws, he cut the rope that she had been bound by and grabbed her form. She used his hand to swing away from the gears and landed on one knee.

Yaris landed shortly after, sighing to himself as he wiped his bangs from his forehead, “that was close.”

“You mean you aren't going to let me die?” She blinked; a shocked expression riddled her features. Rosillia had thought that it was the end of her as she knew it. After all, between Jack the Ripper and the man who wanted her dead, she had no choice but to feel intimidated, especially when their questionable dialogue came into play.

Yaris smiled warmly at her, “I'm quite fond of you, my dear. I wouldn't just let you die, especially in such an undignified manner.” Death by being crushed to death was far from his forte, and he did not long to bathe his rose in the shades of her blood and ichor as it dripped from vicious, unforgiving steel.

“Thank you…” She uttered softly.

“You really believe you were meant to die, don't you?” Yaris questioned as he looked at her expression, eyes shaded by tufts of cotton-candy bangs.

“You have no idea what kind of guilt lies on my shoulders,” Rosillia spoke, for the first time her tone was truly sorrowful and her pink lips were upturned in a frown. “There's a reason why I joined you that goes far beyond wanting to see this man dead.”

“What is that reason?” He questioned as he removed any spare ropes that plagued her form.

She turned to gaze at him, staring him straight in the eyes, “I get such horrible prejudice, being related to that man. Not only that, but I know how you must feel. You bear all of that weight- sorrow, guilt, fear…and you know that you will continue to stain yourself, so redemption is out of the picture. I feel as though I bear the weight of those who were killed by Jack the Ripper.

Bearing the blood of a killer is not an easy task. Besides, I feel that you are horribly misunderstood. Even if you can't get them back, you can prevent it from happening to someone else.”

Yaris softened and his body relaxed upon hearing her words. “No one should suffer the things that I have. This is an organization. If they go unstopped, it will happen to someone else,” his eyes narrowed, quickly shoving her away as a sword flew at him. It graved his arm, barely missing his flesh as it sliced through the fabric of his coat.

Thinking quickly, Yaris slashed him across the face with his claw, causing the man to stumble back, nearly falling into his own gears. Yaris was on top of him as he attempted to strike him once more. The baron evaded his blow by moving to the side and grabbed his wrist so that the claws could not touch him. The two struggled as they rolled around dangerously close to the edge of the small platform as Rosillia watched in horror.

`If I shove Rutherford, then Yaris will fall as well.' Her mind began to become more focused on how to help her comrade in this situation. Pink eyes darted around as she spied her decorative umbrella. She grabbed it and charged at both of them. Rutherford grabbed it with his free hand and the girl gasped. He kicked her away by putting his foot on her stomach. `Fatal mistake. Now I'll die here and by his hand.' Her thoughts were fleeting as she sailed over him and headed for a crushing fate below.

Then, her wrist was caught by Yaris, “Prince Yaris…”

“I won't let you die. Not after you saved my life, my dear,” Yaris' words were full of promise, and something else.

She flushed slightly. “Thank you.”

Without a reply he took his arm and threw her back onto the ground behind them. With his free hand, Yaris plunged his claws deep into the man's stomach. Rutherford's face registered the pain as the long, steel pieces of metal protruded from his back. Yaris attempted to spin kick him, but the baron ducked and backed up, preventing the claws from doing any more damage as he backed away. The smaller man switched legs and attempted the same move, striking him in the face as he tumbled back over the platform.

“No! Don't let me fall in there! I beg of you!” Rutherford's face lit up in fear as he grabbed those claws, suspended in mid air he struggled to keep a hold of the slippery blades as they continued to cut into his skin.

Yaris smirked and tilted them downward. “I want to see the walls painted red with blood. The blood of evil which taints the purest of colors.” He took out his rose, running it along his bloodied blades. The petals soaked in the rich color as his hands slip off. He could hear the sounds of guttural screams as the gears smashed his body below.

His sight was transfixed on the gruesome horror show below. Rosillia winced and turned away, covering her eyes.

“Watch it.”

“Huh?” She took her hands from her eyes.

“This is your revenge in all of its brutal glory. This is the cost of your freedom and the price of living.” His voice was mechanical in tone, although it still managed to somehow be morbidly poetic.

“Yes, I'm aware of that. It's just painful to watch. To succumb to such a death seems agonizing. How long as he been following us?” She had a feeling that he knew, and the girl wanted to distract him from making her watch what was happening below.

However, his eyes lay transfixed on the scene. “Since the ball at Lady Lafayette's.”

“Why didn't you tell me that he had been following us?”

“I couldn't make it obvious or it would have given everything away. In the game of murder, you must be one step ahead of your target at all times. To let any minor infraction out would surely result in death or failure.” The killer stated. He had a plan, even if she wasn't aware of it, but things were better when she was oblivious at least in this situation.

It really was for her best interest that she did not know.

He was doing this for her, after all.

“You didn't want me to react on it, so you let me believe that everything was normal?”

“I kept an eye on him, don't worry,” he tried to chide her, but she shot back.

“That's not the point.”

“I know, I know,” he dismissed. “The point is that I should have told you, but I didn't. There's no sense in being upset now. Anger only mars your beautiful face.”

Rosillia flushed again, embarrassed and flattered at the remark. “You can stop with the embarrassing comments now.”

Yaris shot her a sincere expression. “You are beautiful. If Baron Rutherford wasn't such a psycho, I'd say he was pretty lucky just to have you.”

“Hypocrite,” she blushed even more.

“I know. This place is interesting.”

Snapping out of her flush, she glanced to him in question. “How so?”

“I've done quite a bit of research on the Mamoette Estate. It used to be an old psych ward but it was deemed too cruel to the patients, so it was shut down due to its shady practices. They say several people have died from their shock therapy sessions,” Yaris educated her as they walked off of the platform and into the darkness together.

A grave expression crossed her face. “So, they executed them?”

“In a matter of speaking. After that, it was an execution chamber. Then the Lodocrise family took it over. They are the last known family to have been here.”

“So, do you think Rin Mamoette is related to the Lodocrise family?” Rosillia pondered out loud.

“They did have a daughter, but it was rumored that she died from an incurable illness. However, no body or confirmed autopsy ever showed up,” Yaris answered.

“So, do you think she's still alive?”

“I do, and I think that she's also assumed the identity of Rin Mamoette,” to him, it made logical sense. Many people have done similar things in the past. Assuming a different identity meant that someone was running from horrible conditions and perhaps Rin was doing just this. Either that or she was protecting herself from the true horror she faced as the last remaining member of the Lodocrise family.

“What if your theory proves correct?” Rosillia asked.

“Then is answers everything.”

“What do you mean?” She shot him a quizzical look.

“My family has quite the involvement with the Lodocrise family.” So, there was something more to this than met the eye. Rosillia arched an eyebrow. It seemed there was something much deeper to this than he led on at first, and at this moment in time nothing shocked her. They both had their secrets, and now the laundry was coming out to dry.

“So, is this some kind of past incident?” It was her best guest anyway.

“Yes, it involves my father.”

“Your father?” Not what she was expecting.

“Before he met my mother, he was supposed to wed Lucille Lodocrise. They were childhood friends. The Lodocrise family set them up to be wed when they were little but Lucille fell ill and was presumed dead. After that, my father met my mother, a beautiful consort, and they fell in love,” Yaris explained.

“If she didn't die from an illness, then what happened to her?” Or how did he even find out that she was alive for that matter?

“I don't know but I intend to find out. I want to know what all of this is about. I want answers to everything that's been happening, and I want to know why my family was conspired against and why she formed the group of seven,” Yaris had something to prove, some riddles were left unsolved for years and now it was time to bury the hatchet even if it was to be buried in someone's body.

“Did your father do anything to Lucille to hurt her or make it seem like he was abusive? A woman's scorn is a horrible thing. “Spoken like a true woman, and more than anyone Rosillia had her reasons.

“No, he was very kind. He had a lot of adoring fans. He was highly loved by everyone in this country, which is precisely why I don't understand this.” It was very odd indeed.

“There's something that you're missing then.” There had to be. If it wasn't the money, the fame, the royal bloodline or because she had a vendetta against him for abuse then what could it be? She was running low on theories to purpose.

“Yes, even with my countless research, I haven't been able to figure out what it is,” Yaris was contemplative on the subject. “There is something about Rin Mamoette that baffles me.”

High above, standing at the railing of a high story was a woman with long, white hair and bright blue eyes. Adorned in a long, black Victorian coat with wizard sleeves and a high collar, she placed her hands on the railing. They had mostly been consumed in masses of ruffles. Her black, spike heeled boots made the slightest of clacks. `So…you're interested in me are you? You'll soon know enough, Prince Yaris Adair Staffordshire III. I'll be waiting to kill you. I want to finish what I have started many years ago. It seems that you've grown into a beautiful, young man since I last saw you. Time has jaded you and your soul has succumbed to adjusting to the environment of a killer. It's too bad, really. Your life will be cut short, and you'll die at the tragic age of twenty-two.'

As her thoughts ended, she turned and walked towards the two, her hoop skirt flowed with her movement and the many layers of ruffles that outlined the two petal-like shapes on top as well as the bottom flowed with her movement. A single bow to the right on the bottom, as white as the skirt bobbed with anticipation.

“What's that?” Rosillia stopped dead in her tracked upon hearing the sound of her heels clacking on the hard floor.

“It sounds like footsteps,” Yaris pointed out the obvious as they peered ahead to see the stoic woman's form clear into view.

“Who are you?” The pink-haired maiden asked defensively.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the white-haired woman placed a hand over her breast. “I am Rin Mamoette. It's a dark pleasure to meet two people as infamous as the two of you. Welcome to my mansion. I'm sure that we'll have the most interesting time together.” Her voice was proper and mature in tone.

“Cut out the act. I think you know what we want,” Rosillia shot.

“I do, but I long for things as well,” Rin replied simply, holding her arms out before her. “This will be our battlefield, and the place where someone's dreams will die.”

“This is a torture chamber, a place where many dreams have died. A sanctuary of broken dreams, how befitting that we both came here.” Yaris took a few steps towards her.

“Are you ready?” Rin asked.

“I've been prepared for this moment since I have been fifteen,” Yaris replied. This was the moment of judgment.

Ruby lips smiled as she adjusted her two tier cravat. “Then allow me to send you to hell, first class.”

…To Be Continued