Till Death Do Us Part

A/N: Well, I finally got this chapter up, and I must say that I am quite pleased with it. Maybe I shouldn't have gone so quickly at the end (you'll see), but I'm fine with it for now. I am no professional writer, so I have a long way to go before I get really good at this! I hope you guys like this chapter!

P.S: I'll go back and fix any typos in my chapters later! I at least hope they are understandable right now!

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~Chapter III: Revelations~

What had at first started out as a simple date was turning into a relationship. Caecelija found herself becoming more besotted with Luther each day and she wondered whether he felt the same. She had begun penning all these thoughts into her diary---her little cache of adolescent thoughts.

Thursday, December 25, 2516
It’s weird, but I’m liking this guy, Luther, more and more everyday. He makes me feel like I’m special, but not in a bad way like at school, more like someone who should be praised and loved. I’ve never had anyone love me before, but I wonder if he really does like me? Sometimes I think that Luther only likes me because I’m really smart. Would he like me the same if I were on the same intellectual level as normal thirteen-year-olds? Probably not. I don’t think Luther could’ve been interested in a little kid with kid-like brains. I guess that makes sense. I’m glad that I’m like this, now, this way he’ll continue to like and make me feel like I’m special.
I wonder if it can stay like this forever. I wonder if Luther can just take me away from this orphanage and let me live with him? Can he legally do that? The matron doesn’t seem to mind that he always takes me out. A lot of people in the city seem to know him, and I think it’s just because he’s a very well-known merchant. He gets all the best stuff, so he must be really popular around here! They just don’t like the idea of him dating a girl he’s almost 20 years older than! But I don’t care; I feel safe and loved when I’m with him. I just hope he feels happy when he’s with me too.
~Caecelija Vance, Age 13~

She closed her diary that she had received from the Toy Drive for Orphaned Children earlier that day and hugged it close to her heart. Caecelija had never felt so emotional before, and it had nothing to do with sadness. She was genuinely happy. Luther had sent her a letter the other day (delivered by an angry matron) that said he had a big Christmas surprise for her and to meet him on Svalbard Avenue---in front of the café they both visited frequently together---at eight o’clock. She was very excited. This had to be more than just the normal dinner, movie, or walk in the park. He’d said it was something very special and she couldn’t wait to find out! She had spent the entire day pacing the room while re-reading his letter over and over.

Caecelija was the only person occupying the room she shared with five other children in the orphanage---there were two other rooms: one where a total of six other kids slept and the other was where the matron stayed. Nobody at the orphanage was under the age of twelve for some reason. Perhaps because all the other homeless kids lived in the better orphanage uptown while the few here were just unlucky. It was a rather small and decrepit building. It was far outdated, being constructed sometime during the 21st century. The young girl had wondered why this building as with the rest of this scraggly part of town hadn’t been demolished yet.

Caecelija laid her diary on the rotting desk and dropped her body on the iron-bedstead, furnished with nothing but ugly, gray blankets. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed to sleep in, but she was luckier than a lot of other people in the world who didn’t have a bed. She reached over to the side and grabbed one her complex books Luther had gotten her from the book store last week and started to read.

“Caecelija!” a voice yelled half-way into her reading. It was the matron probably calling her down for Christmas brunch.

She scurried down the squeaky staircase and lightly jumped to the first landing. “I’m here Matron Agnes!”

The stern-looking woman had on an ugly purple gown and had her graying hair tied in a rigid knot. She was waving a wooden spoon threateningly at Caecelija. “Hurry and get in that dining room or you’ll get nothing, you ungrateful girl!” she yelled.

The old grandfather clock struck seven and all of the children sat in the dinning room with their dinner: a meal consisting of atrocious-looking soup, a helping of ham and turkey that looked like someone had mauled it, and a thick bread roll.

It was better than nothing.

“So, you’re going out to meet that man again tonight, huh, Caecelija?” Pennelo, the matron’s new and only helper, inquired. This was one person Caecelija actually liked. She was nineteen with short strawberry-blonde hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and a sweet demeanor, but she was also a little ditzy. She loved everything about Caecelija, but Pennelo treated her like a helpless infant. That was okay, though. At least she wasn’t jealous that the young girl was twice as smart as her; actually, quite recently Pennelo had been asking the little girl for help with her college calculus homework!

“Yeah,” Caecelija said between bites of ham, “I’m going to meet him in an hour.”

“I don’t think you should be seeing him!” Pennelo said concerned. “He’s too old for you! What would an older man want with a little girl? There are some bad people in this word, Caecelija!” She looked over at Matron Agnes. “How can you let her just go like that? Don’t you have any concern?” Poor Pennelo had no idea with whom Caecelija was so friendly. She only knew that he was an older man!

Matron Agnes shifted uncomfortably at the mentioning of Luther. “I have my reasons, Pennelo. I don’t want to discuss this any further.”

“But---“

“Enough!” she yelled, and Pennelo shut up. Caecelija just stared at her soup---soup that looked like someone had vomited in it. Why did Matron Agnes have to make dinner, anyway? Pennelo’s cooking, on the other hand, was superior.

“You’re just a freak, Caecelija!” a fifteen-year-old girl whom Caecelija shared rooms with spat. “I don’t know how anyone can be interested in you!” They both glared daggers at each other. “You think you’re so much better than us ‘cause you’re smart! And now this guy’s giving you all these fancy presents! You haven’t even figured out that he’s…” But she trailed off; she was forbidden by the matron to let the younger girl know whom Caecelija was dating. If Caecelija found out before Luther told her himself…well…everyone would be in trouble.

“He’s just using you…” She finished.

Just then the robotic vacuum that Caecelija had constructed from a broken toaster a year ago appeared and began sucking up the bits of food that had fallen on the floor. Pennelo had commented that Caecelija was quite the little inventor who knew how to use what limited resources she had. Well, Caecelija just hated sweeping with the broom, so here was the next best thing.

“That thing is so stupid,” an older boy remarked, looking at the vacuum.

“You’re stupid,” Caecelija replied, picking at her roll.

“You think you’re smarter than me?” he demanded. “You’re just a freak like Emma said! No normal person is born the way you are! Not even the Ariadnians!”

“Leave her alone, you guys!” Pennelo cut in. “She’s been born with an amazing gift, and I don’t know why you can’t respect that! Caecelija’s going to become someone very special! I can just feel it!”

Caecelija finished the last bit of her roll and stood up from the table. “I’m leaving,” she said simply. “I’ll be back whenever.”

“Are you sure Caecelija?” Pennelo asked like a worried mother. “It’s Christmas, Caecelija. I don’t want to think anything bad is going to happen. I’m getting this horrible feeling for some reason!” Pennelo clapped her hands together, jumping up and down like a school-girl. “Why don’t you stay? You can help me with my term paper!”

“No,” Caecelija said. “I want to see him, Pennelo. You wouldn’t understand.”

The older girl’s face dropped. “Okay,” she said, “but be careful.”

“I will.”

Caecelija ran upstairs to grab a jacket from her busted wardrobe then ran back downstairs and out the door without so much as a goodbye. It was pitch-black in the Christmas night and the beginnings of snow could be seen. Caecelija looked as her watch: seven-fifty-eight. She quickened her pace. She wanted to see Luther very badly and she didn’t want to be late!

The town was a fairly small rendition of colonial America, void of most modern technology. It was one of the reasons why Caecelija hated living here. Everyone was poor or on the verge of being poor, and for this they had to suffer by being forced to live hundreds of years behind everyone else.

In her reverie she almost walked past the golden-haired man who was waiting for her at the expected place. He was wearing a black leather coat and the snowflakes that were clinging to his locks made him look more like an angel from Heaven.

“Sorry,” Caecelija mumbled, she could see her breath now.

“Don’t be,” Luther smiled. “You were thinking again. “You tend to do that a lot, sweetling.” He held out his hand. “Shall we?”

The little girl smiled and grasped his larger hand with her smaller one and they walked to his car.

“Where are we going?” she questioned as they took off at seventy miles an hour.

“Somewhere…” Luther said.

“Is it a surprise?” she giggled.

“It’s a very special surprise.”

Caecelija smiled and rested her head against the seat, soon falling asleep.

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The girl was gone, that was her cue. Futaba appeared from the shadows and walked casually to the broken-down orphanage.

“The future queen of Ariadne lives here?” She said to herself in disgust. “Luther is really doing this child a favor.”

Futaba unsheathed a katana from thin air and proceeded to the front door. She knocked the door.

“Yes?” a sweet voice called. Futaba stared in amazement: it was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Short strawberry-blonde hair, a cheery smile, and not a look of meanness on her face at all. Could this possibly be one of the caretakers that Caecelija hated so much?

Futaba hid the long sword behind her back.

“Are you one of the caretakers?” Futaba asked.

“Why yes I am!” the girl replied happily. “I’m new here. I just started a month ago after the other one quit. My name’s Pennelo.”

“Oh…” Futaba said. She couldn’t stop staring into this young woman’s pretty face. “Do you like the children here?”

Pennelo leaned in close to Futaba and whispered, “Well, to be honest I hate all of the little brats here, including that horrible matron-woman! The only person I like is a little girl named Caecelija! She’s such a little angel! I wish someone would adopt this poor girl, but everyone in this hick-town is such an asshole!”

Futaba thought about her orders. Kill everyone, Luther said. Well, there was no reason for Futaba to kill such a nice and pretty girl who seemed to be friendly with the future queen. She smirked inwardly. She’d been looking for a new playmate, someone for more than just casual sex. This Pennelo girl seemed sweet enough, so why shouldn’t she take her to Ariadne? Everyone wins.

“You do not care for the people here, sweet Pennelo? Then I shall remedy that!” Futaba revealed the long katana from behind her and made her way past the shocked girl.

“What’re you doing?” Pennelo screamed.

“What’s all that noise?” Matron Agnes barked. “DEAR LORD! SOMEBODY HELP!” she screamed looking at Futaba’s sword, but it was too late. In one swipe her head had departed from her shoulders.

The children, who were scattered about the first floor, came running into the hall and screamed at the matron’s headless corpse. Futaba slashed: one child dead, another dead.

As Futaba attempted to kill a third, a flash of silver interrupted her. The sweet girl Pennelo was holding a katana of her own.

“Look what you’ve done!” she growled. “I needed this job and you’ve gone and ruined it!” Her face was no longer sweet and happy, but angry and annoyed.

“Who are you?” Futaba looked incredulously at the woman she thought to be a normal human. The children tried helplessly to reach the front door but where repelled by an unseen barrier.

“I could ask the same of you.” Pennelo replied. “I am a bounty hunter from this planet. I took a break from that job and decided to come to this town to relax a bit and go to school, but you seem to have ruined my current job!”

Futaba smiled and swiped the girl with a hidden dagger in her left hand, but Pennelo gracefully somersaulted backwards. Pennelo dashed at Futaba with her katana and they once again had their swords in a deadlock.

“So you don’t care for these children at all, pretty Pennelo?” Futaba continued.

“Not at all,” the younger woman stated keeping her sword steady against Futaba’s. “The only child I care for is that other little girl, but thankfully she isn’t here right now.”

“Exactly,” Futaba grinned, “for she is with the King of Ariadne.”

“What?” Pennelo looked dumbfounded and Futaba took that moment to catch the girl off guard. She knocked the sword out of Pennelo’s grasp and held her firmly in place under the arms. Futaba was an exceptionally strong woman, being from Ariadne.

“Yes,” she said, “your wonderful, little Caecelija has been frolicking with the King for almost two-and-a-half months now.

“If you people hurt her!” Pennelo yelled, struggling in the woman’s powerful hold.

“Oh worry not, my sweet little human; your Caecelija will be feeling everything but pain.”

“You mean…” Pennelo gasped. “You mean that man she’s been seeing is King Luther? What does he want with her? I thought he was supposed to be in Neo-England about that bitch Princess Adelaide?”

“It seems as though Luther has become besotted with that little girl. He intends to marry her.”

Pennelo said nothing, and Futaba carefully let her go.

“I have a proposition for you.” Futaba said.

“Go ahead,” Pennelo sighed. The children had taken to fleeing into the bedrooms, by now.

“I’ve been looking for a partner, not just for casual sex. I’m quite lonely and I haven’t found a suitable candidate.”

“And I am?” Pennelo inquired.

Futaba laughed. “Yes you are suitable. I can look and you and tell you are a virtuous soul. When I first looked at you I could not find a hint of deceitfulness in you. You are more than meets the eye, and I like that.”

“What will I gain from this besides your company?”

“I can get you into a much more prestigious school than the ones the Earth has to offer. On Ariadne we can fill your head with more knowledge than you can imagine.”

Pennelo thought it over then nodded. Futaba smiled.

“I glad you see it my way,” she said.

“I’m surprised you knew I was a lesbian.” Pennelo added.

“You have to be an expert about these things if you’re looking for a woman.”

Pennelo scratched her arm. “What now?”

“My orders from the King were to kill everyone here and burn this place to the ground. You can start by going upstairs and getting the future queen’s belongings. I will take care of the rest of the children.”

Pennelo retrieved her sword and the pair made their way up the stairs. Pennelo proceeded to gather all of Caecelija’s belongings into one tiny compression capsule, a storage device capable of fitting a multitude of items into a tiny capsule. In the other, soon screams could be heard as Futaba slaughtered the rest of the orphans. Pennelo pocketed the capsule and exited the room, but not before impaling the girl Emma who was hiding behind the door.

“That’s what you get for calling Caecelija a freak.” she whispered to the corpse.

Futaba and Pennelo made their way out of the devastated building.

“Do you know magic?” Futaba questioned the younger girl in the snowy darkness.

“Yes,” was her answer.

“Then on three? One, two, three!”

The two muttered a single incantation and soon the entire building erupted in a pillar of flames. Pennelo gasped when Futaba grabbed her chin, pulling her into a heated kiss, but soon began kissing her back.

“I think I am going to like you, Pennelo.” Futaba said.

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By the time Caecelija had woken up she was laying in on a large bed in the middle of a large room. When had she gotten out of the car?

“Are you awake, Ceci?” a voice called. It was Luther.

“Y-Yes,” she replied her voice still saturated with sleep. “How did I get here?”

“You fell asleep along the way, sweetling. I carried you up here to the bed. I didn’t want to wake you.”

Luther had appeared from inside a walk-in closet and he was no longer wearing his black lather coat or the normal attire she usually saw him in---attire that made him look like a human. Before her, Luther was dressed in flowing black and white robes that gave him the appearance of a Roman emperor. She’d seen clothes like that before, but where she couldn’t remember. His golden hair was adorned with a golden, ruby-encrusted circlet and he was wearing sleek, black leather boots. Didn't what's his name wear a circlet like that? she thought.

“Luther?” Caecelija asked meekly. She could definitely tell that something wasn’t right, now.

“Yes, Ceci?” Luther replied gently. He was standing in front of a full-body mirror, adjusting the citrine adorned chain that kept the black velvet cape on his shoulders.

“Luther?” she asked again, breathing hard.

“Yes, my sweet Ceci, what is it?” Luther was smirking in the mirror now. She would find out very soon.

“What’re you doing? Why are you dressed like that?”

“I don’t know, sweet Ceci. Why don’t you tell me?”

Caecelija slowly inched away from Luther’s bed. She glanced to her left and saw a newspaper sitting on the nightstand. Luther’s face was on it. He was the cover story. The headline read:

King of Ariadne Plans To Marry!

“No,” she whispered fearfully. “It can’t be true!”

“And why can’t it?” Luther directed his attention to the little girl. “It took little effort to deceive you. You hated my name to the point where you wouldn’t even look at my face every once in a while! The last time you have seen my face was when you were nine, perhaps? You didn’t even remember it! The face of the most powerful man in the universe! I am ashamed, Ceci, but at least it made things easier for me.”

Caecelija hiccupped and stumbled on the floor. She was scared. Now she knew why everyone gave Luther such knowing looks. How could she have been so stupid? Everyone knew except for her! She was embarrassed.

“Oh, don’t look so glum, sweetling,” Luther smiled. “I don’t think any less of you. Actually, I think very highly of you.”

“What do you want with me?” Caecelija demanded.

“That’s just it, Ceci. I want you.”

Her eyes widened. “What?” she said. “Me? What do you want with me?

She stood up and started towards the door.

“Everyone was right! I should’ve never trusted you! I’m going back to the orphanage!”

“You’re about an hour away from home, Ceci.” Luther stated. “We’re at my private vacation house on this ridiculous planet and even if you did find your way back, the place you call home will have already been burned to the ground.”

“YOU BURNED MY HOME?” the girl screamed in horror. “YOU BASTARD! WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE?”

“Dead…” he said simply.

“How could you? You really are the cruelest man in the universe! They were innocent people!”

“Innocent? You mean those nasty children that gave you hell and the horrible woman that cared nothing for you? Don’t tell me that you’re sad to know of their deaths?”

“What about my friend Pennelo? She was innocent!” Caecelija cried.

“That girl is not dead.” Luther smiled. “Apparently there is more to her than meets the eye, and my good friend of mine seems to have taken a liking to her, so she has just told me.”

Caecelija couldn’t listen to this anymore! This man was the King of Ariadne! She couldn’t stand him or even fathom being with him. She opened the bedroom door, attempting to leave. Luther, on the other hand, wasn’t having that. He slammed the door shut, trapping her between his arms.

“You can’t leave, angel. I have plans for you.”

He took in the beautiful sight that was Caecelija Vance: long, raven hair---hair so long that it reached just past her knees; plush, apricot skin; soft, pink lips; and eyes like he’d never witnessed before: her left eye was a freshly cut emerald while her right eye was a sparkling sapphire. She was like one of those china dolls that his late-mother used to collect when he was a child. Well, now he had a collection of his own and it only required this one doll. Caecelija would be Luther’s only china doll.

“Luther…” Caecelija whimpered under his ministrations; the man had begun tracing his index finger along the edge of her bottom lip.

“Ceci…” Luther replied hazily.

In an instant he lifted the girl off her feet and carried her to the cushiony sofa across the room, laying her upon it as he leaned over her body, attacking her with a shower of heated kisses. His hands roamed, trying to grope every inch of Caecelija’s body through the soft material of the cute sailor’s dress he had gotten for her some time ago.

Caecelija moaned against his touch, but soon pulled away.

“Stop it,” she said.

“What ever is the matter, Ceci?” Luther spoke sarcastically. “I thought you enjoyed being with me!”

“That was before I knew you were----“

“The King?” Luther finished for her. “Does it matter, Ceci? Am I still not the Luther you adored for two months? Am I not the same Luther who adores you?”

“You’ve never touched me like that before,” she mumbled, and it was true: Luther had only ever given Caecelija kisses on her cheek or a soft kiss on her lips. He’d never gone to the level which he was currently heading.

“If we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, there must be some intimacy between us.” Luther smiled at her. He tended to do that a lot.

“Rest of our lives?” Caecelija looked confused. She tended to be confused a lot, too.

Luther walked over to the nightstand and retrieved something from the top drawer. It looked like a small, black box.

“Look, Ceci. I said I had a big surprise for you, did I not?” Luther kneeled on one knee, presenting the box to her.

Caecelija stared at it. No, it couldn’t be what she thought it was!

Luther opened the box, inside was the biggest diamond ring she---and most other people---had ever seen!

“Marry me, Ceci,” he stared into her amazed eyes.

Caecelija looked at the ring, then to Luther, then back at the ring again.

This was too much for her to handle; she fainted on the sofa.

“Merry Christmas, Caecelija,” Luther kissed her on her parted lips, and then, taking off his cape, he covered her body with it.

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A/N: Did you guys like this chapter? Please review and let me know?

Teaser: Next chapter you'll get to meet Lachlan! I'm attempting to make him a very comical and sarcastic character!