Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Illusions ❯ Time To Shine, Estella Nu! ( Chapter 29 )

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Shattered Illusions

Chapter 29: Time To Shine, Estella Nu!

By: Melissa Norvell

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Copernicus slowly stirred awake and glanced down to see Tsubomi, who was nestled below him, drifted off into a land of slumber. The vampire uttered her name and cuddled her close, telling her that he was glad that she was there. The movement caused the girl to slowly stir awake. Cracking her blue eyes open, her vision came into focus on the sight of the beautiful brunette before her.

“Copernicus…” she said in a groggy tone as she fought off sleep. “I'm sorry about Coscatta. If I hadn't have been here-“

She was cut off. “Then I would have never learned the truth. I would have never known that Virgil had died by her hands, and I'd still be living in the delusion that the real suspect had never been found and Coscatta was innocent.” No matter how much the girl wanted to blame herself, it was far from her fault. If anything, even though it was painful, she made her master realize a lot of things that helped him in the long run. That was nothing to apologize for.

“She really did love you…In a sick, demented way,” Tsubomi replied, emphasizing the last part of her statement. Coscatta really did have a…special way of loving someone. While her loss was tragic, Tsubomi was sort of happy that she was gone.

“Thank you for showing me the truth. I regret punishing you now.” If he hadn't had, she would have been able to fight Coscatta off easier. He almost lost her in the same way that he lost Virgil, and he wasn't sure that he could live it down if he had.

“It's fine. Don't worry about it. You were doing what you thought was right. There's no harm in that,” Tsubomi forgave him. Even if she thought it was wrong that he did, Copernicus had been through enough emotional stress that she didn't feel like carrying on over it. What was done was done. All they had to do was deal with the aftermath.

“Virgil…” the vampire trailed, voice filled with sorrow as he closed his eyes. “He-“ Copernicus was cut off by the light touch of a hand on his cheek. Opening his eyes, he stared into the blue pools of his lover's sights. Her comforting gaze put his heart at ease. Just knowing that she was at his side made him feel better, to know that he wasn't going through it alone made all of the difference in the world.

Right now, she was his rock.

“It's okay,” she chided his emotions, “I've never seen you cry before and I don't want to see it again.”

“Because I'm so proper?” She was right; he had never shown his emotions to her in such a way before. Tsubomi more than likely had a preconceived idea of what he was. In a way, this made the situation worse. He had shown weakness, and for that he damned himself.

“No, because I don't want to see you hurt like this anymore. You've been suffering enough.” Ever since she had met him, all he had done was hurt over something. Copernicus couldn't tell her about the painful secrets in his life regarding Hide and the vampires, regarding the royalty and his relationship with Prince Yale. That must have been a lot to hold in, as well as his situation with Virgil and Coscatta. Copernicus was more of a broken being than she had first imagined him to be.

There was one question that Copernicus was curious about, however. “Why did the doctor call you a girl?” Doctor's usually knew one's true gender. It was an undisputed fact that they couldn't deny, and to have such a professional mistake her gender was a little out of place.

Tsubomi paused for a moment, quickly trying to gather any excuse that she could in order to make things make some sense. “He must have been a little crooked. Maybe it was a spelling mistake. I mean, everyone makes mistakes. I am a boy. You should know this, master.” Putting on a confident smirk, she made sure to mask her screw up with a façade of confidence. `I'm such an asshole…I'm so sorry…'

Copernicus smiled a little. It was silly to take something so seriously. Why would Tsubomi lie to him? “You're right, it's minor. Perhaps it was an error on his part. Forgive me for doubting you. I should learn to listen to you, my love.”

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Estella rolled across the ground with blood spilling across the ground in a steady trail before she came to a stop and laid there in pain. Curled up on the ground, her purple eyes were wide with shock and anguish. `What do I do? It's impossible to defeat him from this point…Maybe I can't win. What gives? Is this his true power? He was always worried and nervous about everything when I first met him. How? How can this be that same man?”

Yale walked slowly towards her; the look on his face was strong and confident. He wasn't going to hide anymore; he was going to face her so that she never tortured anyone again. All of the pain that he had been through, the entrapment and savage cruelty had mounted on him. “It ends today.” The vampire's voice took on an edge to it. “Estella Nu, today you die!”

As he shouted, he thrust his arm forward and spikes emerged from the ground at light speed, threatening to skewer her. Quickly, Estella Nu rolled out of the way, barely avoiding them as they scraped against her flesh, tearing her uniform. It had taken a large amount of strength just to push herself out of harm's way and now the girl was tired once again.

“Damn it…” She huffed in between breaths. “I can't get away. I can't even move. I don't understand this.”

“Prince Yale…” Millie's voice trailed off as she watched the events transpire before her. Her eyes watched in awe as the two vampires duked it out in front of her. `I've never seen him this cold before. What Copernicus said holds truth. There's a side to Prince Yale that no one has seen…a side that sets him apart from other people. At times like this, there's no doubt that he exists in a world entirely different than my own.'

Estella shouted as her body was violently propelled into a tree. Her back slammed against the rough bark and she fell into the dense foliage below, rustling it as her body was pounded with leaves and branches.

Yale looked at her with cold eyes. “This…This is what it feels like.”

Estella laid on her back, surrounded by leaves and broken branches as she struggled to breathe. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and the side of her head as it streamed down the right side of her forehead. Her vision blurred as she struggled to keep her focus. `I've…I've got to get out of here…I can't walk and I can barely see. I'm finished.'

Just then she felt a hand around her ankle as she was lifted into the air. Yale used his upper body strength to spin around and fling the vampire through the air. She smacked into a rock, the impact beating more blood out of her mouth. The air was forced from her body as she hit the ground.

“P-Please…” Estella squeaked out barely above a whisper.

“No matter how I begged…No matter what I said. No matter the condition, you were relentless. Why should I show you pathos now?” There was no way that he was going to even think about giving her any advantage. Yale was going to show his adversary the new meaning of what it was to be cold.

“Please…” She whispered once more as memories of long ago flooded her mind.

Yale sat in the dimly lit dungeon room, his clothes were bloody and shredded. Blood was splattered everywhere, along the walls and floor. Weakly, his hand grabbed the woman's slim ankle and turned to him with disgust.

“What do you want, you worthless prince?” Estella scowled at the lowlife at her feet.

“I'll die if you continue this. Please…Please stop…I've suffered enough for today, and I've told you everything I know,” Yale begged her with the last bit of remaining strength that he had. Sorrowful eyes glanced up at the cruel woman as she struck him again with her whip.

“You're still alive and you've been tortured more than this. You even managed to live through the most unimaginable things. Don't complain. This is light punishment compared to everything else.” Who was he kidding? She knew that Yale could take a lot more than this, so she would not stop until she felt he had enough.

“I am never a prince so fair,” Yale stopped in front of her and grabbed her by the collar and lifted the battered vampire to his face, leveling their faces. “You are a disgrace to the crown, and the Black Knights.” With a choke hold, he slammed her into a nearby tree again by the neck.

She coughed up blood on impact.

Millie glanced away. That was brutal. “I've never witnessed a torture before,” she could feel the rising bile as her stomach churned with disgust. “I feel sick.”

A blade tore into the vampire's chest as her scream shot through the air.

Yale's eyes narrowed. “Suffer…”

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Holding the diary in her hands, Tsubomi gazed at the blazing flames that danced in the fireplace. After looking at the object with a perplexed expression, she tossed the book into the fire pit, watching as the flames ate away the remaining text of Coscatta's life. `This is for the best.'

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“Do you think that she'll succeed in defeating those donors? Honestly, if she can't beat them, then she needs to die,” Hizaki sighed as he glanced to Hide with an unamused expression. In the back of his mind, he really wanted Estella to meet her end. Killing her himself was out of the question, so all he could do from this point was wish for her failure.

The blonde rested his head on one hand as his eyes lazily reverted to his partner in crime. “Yes, elimination of the weak is more than efficient to take care of the problem. I do have a feeling, however, that it will end up being the two of us.”

Hizaki blinked. That was surprising. Did that mean that Hide truly thought of his abilities as that high? “Against Copernicus? I certainly hope that we can win.”

“Are you doubting my plans?” His one, visible red eye glared at the man in drag coldly, with such a steely gaze that he thought it would pierce his heart.

“No, my lord, I simply worry for the future,” Hizaki replied nervously. That was a screw up he was not going to make again. What was he thinking, uttering such negative drivel in Hide's presence? That would never do!

“Tell me, Hizaki, what do you desire after I gain the crown?” It was a simple enough query. Surely Hizaki wasn't doing any of this for free or for the sake of the vampuric race. He knew the drag queen better than that. There was obviously something that he wanted.

Red lips curved slightly in a sweet smile. “My desires aren't important. I serve you my king.” As long as he was at his side, nothing else mattered.

Hide arched an eyebrow. Somehow, that didn't seem plausible to him. To live one's life to serve another wasn't realistic. There had to be something that Hizaki wanted to gain from all this. When he succeeded the crown, the world was his for the taking. “We are both men here; surely you have something that you desire.”

“I only desire to serve you. That is what makes me happy,” Hizaki waved in dismissal. “Besides, telling you my true desires would be nothing but pain on my end.” There were some things that they simply did not discuss, and personal desires were one of them. It was never easy to say that you were in love with another vampire, especially since most of them led solitary lives and preferred it that way. Hizaki knew what his confession would get him and he wasn't ready for rejection.

“You always do things for me. Let me do something for you,” Hide leaned forward and placed a hand on the side of the other vampire's face, trying to chide him of any worry that he may have. He wanted to replay him for his services. He wasn't completely cold-hearted.

“It's alright, really,” Hizaki trailed off as the hand made contact with his skin, causing him to blush. His body locked up, as if the breath had been stolen from him. “Your highness…” he whispered in shock.

“I wish to know what your desires are. Do not hide what you feel from me.” Deeper he gazed into those beautiful eyes. For a while, Hide has suspected something but he was unsure of what. He wanted Hizaki to admit whatever he was caging in to him.

“Being by your side is enough,” Hizaki told him, still refusing to reveal his feelings.

“You're blushing, Hizaki. You seem nervous. Why is that?” Hide prodded at the other man, trying to get him to say something as he slowly closed the space between their faces. His red eye closed as their lips brushed, embracing in a passionate kiss before he pulled away. “Allow me to pay you back through the fulfillment of your desires.”

“My king…” Hizaki's voice raised a pitch in shock and his cheeks lit up with red tint.

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Copernicus walked in to the living room to see Tsubomi standing by the fireplace as she watched the diary burning to a crisp. Curious as to what held her attention so long; he decided to voice his question. “What are you doing?”

“I got rid of all of your pain. I got rid of your past, the guilt and the chains on your heart. If you reread it, then it would just rip open your wounds again,” Tsubomi's voice took on a serious edge as her eyes scanned the flames. They illuminated her dark blue eyes, reflecting in them like glass.

“I want to live in delusion a little longer,” Copernicus replied as he walked over beside her.

Turning to him, Tsubomi gave him a serious expression. “I'll help you feel better. I want you to rise above this. You helped me all of this time.”

Copernicus said nothing; he just gazed at the fire with a sorrowful expression.

The tom boy took his hand and held it tightly. “You know what? Follow me, master.”

“Tsubomi?” Copernicus questioned, but only got a `nope' and a finger to his lips to silence him as the girl led him back to his room and to his bed.

“Shut up and let me comfort you.” If there was anything that she could do for him, then this was it. For once, Tsubomi was going to be forward. For once, she wanted to prove useful to him. For once, she wanted to take care of him, just as he had done her and for once she didn't want to screw this up.

“What?” Copernicus was caught off guard by her claim. It wasn't like Tsubomi to be so forward.

She stepped up to him and he backed up, falling back on the bed as she climbed on top of him seductively and sat on his crotch. Blue eyes stared down at the surprised vampire before her. Tsubomi had to admit that he looked pretty sexy lying below her.

“Do you mind if I strip you?” She asked with a small smile adorning her face.

“What?”

“I want to,” Tsubomi pressed. It was now or never.

Copernicus gave a slight nod as she began to unclothe him. First, she took off his jacket, slowly opening it up the girl kissed down her lover's neck, leaving hot, passionate kisses trailing from below his chin to his collar bone. Her long fingers fumbled with the buttons of his undershirt, unbuttoning it a little clumbsily.

“You're still poisoned,” Copernicus stated. She really was in no condition to be doing anything like this. Could this be why she's so brave? Maybe the poison was doing something to her mind, or making her act in a way that was uncharacteristic for her.

Pulling away from his neck slightly, he could feel her hot breath as she spoke. “I only feel a little woozy. I turned off the I.V. and took it out of my arm. I'm more worried about you.”

“Why do you care about me?”

“Because I love you, dork.” That was obvious. Why should he even have felt the need to ask such an idiotic question?

Tsubomi moved down, training her kisses to the vampire's chest before she looked up at him with a small smile. “I serve you. You're mine. Besides, you've done so much for me,” the girl continued to kiss his skin lightly. Soon, her hair fell around her shoulders, coming free of its bind by the aid of her boyfriend's hand.

“Beautiful…” the vampire complimented her as the tresses of brunette cascaded down, framing her face.

“Oh come on, I look girly,” Tsubomi pouted. It was odd, having her hair down in front of him like this, and it made her nervous. If there was ever a time that she looked girly, it was in that moment. In fact, she probably looked a little too girly.

“It's one of the things I like about you. You can look good as either gender.” She had a certain…quality about her, a ambiguous beauty and at times, even he forgot that she was a boy.

“You and your lolita fetishes,” her eyes narrowed in accusation.

“Can you stay the night?” Copernicus asked.

“Me?” Tsubomi blinked.

“Yes.”

“Hope you don't mind the I.V.” Tsubomi knew that she had to stay on it if she wanted to recover. It was necessary to make her stronger against the vampuric attack. Hopefully, her immune system would be built up well enough by the time Hizaki attacked again.

“I've dealt with it this long,” Copernicus ran his hands through her hair. Closing his eyes, he could feel the girl place kisses down his chest, and eventually down his well-muscled stomach. His hand settled on the back of her head as he could feel his pants coming undone. Laying a hand on his manhood, she heard her lover moan.

“You're turned on,” she noted.

“I'm depressed, not dead.” Why wouldn't he be? She was the one teasing him. For her sake, she had better offer something good for such a show.

“At least you're happy in more than one aspect,” Tsubomi joked, stroking him gently with her finger tips as she felt his hardened member through his boxers.

“You're a tease,” the vampire smirked as she slowed down her pace.

“Am I?” Tsubomi leveled him with a playful smirk.

A blush airbrushed itself on his cheeks as he replied with a `yes.'

“I like that look on your face,” Tsubomi's voice dropped an octave, turning seductive as she continued to work her fingers over him.

“Why?”

“Because it's the real you, not the imaginary one that you pull off,” even she could tell that he was good at faking it. The Copernicus that she saw normally was this cold, militant man who was aloof and stayed away from everyone, not allowing a single person to be close to him. Somehow she was the exception. Somehow, she was able to break his defenses and get to know the him that no one saw, or that they rarely got to experience.

“Huh?” He was caught off guard by that response. It wasn't something that he had thought she'd say to him.

“It must be hard to be nobility,” she took her fingers away from him for a moment and leveled him with a sympathetic look. “You always have to give the people what they want, so you really can't just be yourself. I imagine that you always have to put up an image. You probably can't even scratch your ass in public without being in some kind of tabloids.” While she didn't know everything about a monarchy, the tom boy imagined that Copernicus probably led a life very similarly to someone who was famous. In many ways, Tsubomi would not want to be famous, always under the prying eyes of the public, with her life on display so that every little thing could be judged and picked apart by the public.

That must have been a lot of pressure.

“Every status symbol has a set stereotype. People like the charismatic prince or the regal king and the strong, silent knights…that kind of thing.” However, Copernicus didn't truly fit that description with his iron-fisted rule. It made him a figure of fear and hatred more than a gentle soul, loved by all.

“So, who is the real Copernicus?” It's a question that had plagued her mind since the day that they had met. A question that she wanted to know the answer to, and hopefully that would all come to pass after this moment. She wanted to see the real him, to live with a man who could be honest with himself, a man who lived free of the chains that bound him.

“The man lying in bed with you,” was the forward answer that slipped between his lips.

Tsubomi smiled, crawling back up on top of him as the two locked lips in another passionate kiss. Their tongues danced, exploring the depths of each other's mouths and the vampire allowed his hands to roam over the girl's body. A pink blush illuminated her cheeks and she became uneasy.

`I want to have sex with you but I can't if I want to keep this secret and it pisses me off. Why am I always unsatisfied? I feel like screaming it all out. Damn it! I hate this!' She had to admit, every time they did something she felt her urges and the longing to be pleased, but she had to hold back and conserve herself so that nothing bad happened on her end. It was one of the many drawbacks to her secret.

She felt his hands run through her hair as her own hands trailed down his stomach, feeling every crease in his muscle play on his chest and stomach. Copernicus' hands ventured lower, resting themselves on her butt and the tom boy blushed once again. `This is bad. Things are touching ad it's too close for my comfort zone.' Tsubomi nearly forgot that she was sitting on his manhood now, and it was hard with pleasure, poking at her, turning her on even more than she was before.

“Your face is so adorable,” Copernicus murmured against her lips, capturing them in another sweet kiss.

She returned the kiss gingerly as his hips rubbed against her, causing her eyes to fly open at the sensation that shot through her. Tsubomi broke the kiss suddenly.

“You are small. I can't even feel you. Maybe you're wearing too many layers,” Copernicus was half joking. He really didn't feel anything and he had thrust himself pretty forcefully into her, enough to leave the girl panting and blushing, glancing down with an emotional expression on her face. He blinked a little, unsure of what was going on in her head. “What's wrong? Are you offended at what I said?” He was going to feel bad if he turned her off at a time like this.

Tears clung to the corner of Tsubomi's eyes. She was so turned on that she couldn't stand herself, and yet she still couldn't do anything. She longed to feel him inside of her, to make love to him and be unrestrained but there was no way that she could as a woman. “Sorry, that was a really big rush. You're…so big…”

“It will be alright. I'll move slower this time.” Well, if that was the only problem, he knew how to remedy that. After all, she was a virgin. He had sort of forgotten about that little detail.

“But-!”

“I won't take off your clothes. We'll just be like this,” he chided her worry. Boy, Tsubomi was unnaturally self-conscious. Maybe, one day he would get him to shed those clothes and then he would completely take him. It was a process but he was willing to work for it. This was just another step closer to the top of the staircase.

Tsubomi was quiet.

“I want to please you. You've been pleasing me all of this time. I feel wrong being the only one who receives. Besides, I want to thank you for all that you've done.” It was only right that they both contributed 50/50 to their relationship. So far, it had just been her giving him blow jobs and her receiving his affections. It saddened him, because there were so many things that he longed to do to her to express his love.

Looking down at his chest, the girl thought for a moment, and then agreed with his terms. “Alright, “she muttered as her thoughts berated her. `If you find out from this…I'm so sorry…' Tsubomi felt arms wrap around her shoulders and pull her on top of him, and as she placed her head over his shoulder a nervous and worried look crossed her face.

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Yale and Millie walked in silence. They had not spoken since the fight with Estella Nu and she couldn't help but worry about his mental state and what she saw. It was as if he was a completely different person. Holding his hand tightly, she cast her apprehensive gaze to his face. `He…tortured her…'

A flashback assaulted her mind of Estella begging him, uttering the word please with blood running from her head and mouth. Then, Yale's emotionless gaze looking down on her as if she was dirt under his shoes, his eyes made her blood run cold. `I've never seen that before,' That rising illness assaulted her and she found herself covering her mouth in order to keep the urge of vomiting down. `I feel so nauseated…like I'm gonna puke. I can't get the images out of my mind. Prince Yale…he smells like blood…'

Yale glanced down to the girl, who held her hand over her mouth. Concern flooded those once void eyes. “Something wrong, Millie?”

She took her hand down and smiled at him. “Sorry, I feel a little sick.”

“From the fight?”

Millie blinked. Damn it. He noticed. “Huh?

“You can't stand torture, can you?” It wasn't as if he was offended. Most human had not experienced such things. However, Millie did spend time in Estella's cell and was tortured herself. She was definitely an odd one, but perhaps she couldn't get used to it no matter how many times it was seen.

“It's the first time I've ever seen something quite like that.” The whole situation was shocking in general and Yale's complete transformation also uneased her.

“This is what royalty faces. This is what happened to me, on a much larger scale of course. This is divine punishment,” his voice took on a slightly cold edge, but not so much as to sway her from his presence. Yale's visage was laced with a dire expression.

Millie needed to be prepared for what would be on the horizon and the possibility for more torture scenes would be on the rise. If she wanted to keep up with the vampires, then she would have to keep her stomach and emotions in check.

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Estella laid there on the ground. Her blood leaked out into the dirt, clumping it together and the air of the day felt cold against her skin. Purple eyes glanced up as a figure loomed over her. Hizaki's form faded in and so did that look of disapproval he had marred on his face.

She could faintly hear him sigh to himself. “Honestly, why am I the trash man around here?” Estella was hoisted over his shoulder as his form dissolved into sakura petals and he faded from sight.

Estella cracked her eyes open slowly. She was lying on the floor in front of Hide's elaborate throne. Glancing to her left, Hizaki was still looming over her. Looking to her right, Hide also had a disapproving look on his face.

That's right.

She had failed, and Prince Yale got away again.

“Hide…my…lord…” Slowly, she gathered what strength she had to weakly crawl over, dragging herself as pain shot through her body. It felt as if she was being pushed through a meat grinder and the vampire gritted her teeth with every movement she took. “Please…Please he…help me…” Reaching out, she grabbed his ankle.

Hide frowned disapprovingly. “You're a disgrace to the Black Knights.” Not only did Yale tell her that, but now Hide did as well. She knew what was ahead of her now, and in the recesses of her mind Estella knew that she had deserved this.

“It will be my…final mission if I lose…Please…I beg of you…one more chance…I won't…” Estella begged as she went into a coughing fit. “I won't fail this time.”

“Would you be willing to go through an experiment if you thought that you could win?” Hide raised an eyebrow in question. There was something that she would be good for. All he needed was her compliance and his plans could be put into action.

Estella's head snapped up, her eyes glanced to him pleading him, her voice emitting disparity. “Anything! I must beat Copernicus! I will not fail you!”

Hide rose from his throne, giving Hizaki the signal as he pointed towards the doors behind him. “Then prepare to go into surgery. We'll take care of your broken body and you will no longer be the same.” The red-dressed vampire took a drink of blood from his golden gauntlet. `The world is my chess board, and now the pieces will begin to deliver devastation until themselves.'

`An operation? What's Hide thinking? What exactly does he plan on doing to her?' Hizaki took there in disbelief as the guards flooded into the room with a stretcher and began to move the broken vampire onto it, carrying her out of the room and into the operation room down the hall. “An operation, your highness? What kind?”

A smile graced Hide's lips, dark and foreboding. “It will be my greatest invention. You'll see, my dear Hizaki. Things are about to get interesting,” the vampire's voice held an edge to it as he descended the stairs and walked over to the drag queen. “Her body will be reconditioned to stand anything they deliver to her, and if nothing happens and she fails, the consequences will be dire this time around. I do not tolerate failure and if she can't deliver my results, then I have no use for a defective knight. I suggest you watch this next battle, my sweet Hizaki. It would be in your best interest.”

The blonde arched an eyebrow in amusement. “Oh?”

“Someone will definitely die in the very next battle Estella Nu gets into. It will be the final act in her part in the play. Be sure of that.” That was one thing Hide could promise.

…To Be Continued