Topic: Shattered

Mara Mallory

Date: 2013-05-17 06:42 EST
Dreven City: Late Autumn 1259

Half a cycle had passed. Caught between love and hate, fear and joy, hope and despair, Mara had seen no other way out. Every time she considered confessing to Duncan, every time she showed Stefan even the slightest defiance, something happened. Duncan hadn't been hurt again, but his stallion had been stolen and run hard, returned to the stables in a lather; Beryl had been caught up in an incident in the streets; Elise had had her arm cut open by a thug with a familiar face. Mara didn't see any choice. And four days before Duncan's seventeenth birthday - four days before they would have been free together - an announcement rang through the streets of Dreven City. Stefan Del Sol was to marry Mara Devine before Yearpass.

A day later, the ties were cut entirely. The apartments Eric Mallory had provided for his son's mistress were closed up, vacated entirely; the contract bond was sent back to Mallory Manor, its contents spattered with what could have been raindrops or tears, crossed through in recognition of her violation of the contract itself. Stefan paraded his betrothed about the town, and to those who paid attention to them, it seemed that she was in love with him. Oh, yes, Mara played her part well; she had to. Duncan's life was in her hands. Only Elise knew the terrible price of that performance, and the single thing the golden-haired girl had kept from her happiest times - a ring, gifted to her in love, hanging from a gold chain, hidden between her breasts.

The first time Duncan had noticed something was wrong was the day he'd been ambushed and assaulted on his way to Mara's apartments. It wasn't the attack he'd found so strange, as it was her attitude toward him since then. Though she'd told him she loved him, it seemed she was purposely avoiding him, and he wasn't sure why. At first, he'd thought it was merely to keep up appearances. He knew they both had to maintain the ruse for a few more weeks, at least until he turned seventeen. They were so close, he could almost taste freedom. Freedom from his father, freedom from the Triad, freedom from Stefan and Leandra. Freedom to live their lives together the way they wanted to live them. Why she'd been avoiding him was puzzling at best, but he'd given her the benefit of the doubt. He knew in his heart that she loved him. She had promised they'd be together, and he believed her.

And then, there had been the rumors of an impending wedding to Stefan Del Sol, of all people. Duncan had tried to see her, to find out what was going on, but Elise wouldn't budge. She refused to let him see Mara, making excuses for her mistress, until Duncan had finally given up, utterly confused and worried sick. One day later, and everything came crashing down. It had been Eric Mallory - Duncan's father - who'd given the boy the bad news. He should thank his lucky stars, the man told him, that he wouldn't have to worry about supporting both a mistress and a wife.

Stefan could have her and good riddance to her, the elder Mallory told his young son. Stefan would marry a whore, and Duncan would have a proper wife. Duncan's marriage was the one that had been sanctioned by the Triad. Stefan was a fool for marrying someone so far beneath his station. Nothing good would come of it. Duncan had said nothing to his father. He would say nothing to him until he spoke with Mara, but he had no intention of marrying Leandra, no matter what the Triad or his father wanted.

And so, Duncan had left Mallory Manor with the intention of tracking Mara down and finding out once and for all what was going on. As it happened, it was Leandra who let the cat out of the bag. The girl seemed to enjoy giving Duncan the news that Mara had moved into a house provided by the Del Sol family, and that at this very moment, Mara was entertaining - a word she used loosely - her elder brother at that very place. Whatever it was she had hoped for by telling Duncan this bit of news, the reaction she received was unexpected, to say the least. Angry and hurt beyond reason, Duncan had shaken the girl until she had tearfully given up her brother's location, begging Duncan not to go there, not to make Stefan angry, for her sake and his own, but he hadn't listened. He had left Leandra behind, tearful and shaken, and gone straightaway to find Mara and demand an explanation.

If he had hoped to speak with Mara alone, his hopes were sadly misplaced. Stefan had been constantly with her since she had left the Mallorys' protection, crowing over his victory. Yet he had conceded to her one condition - that he could not have her until his wedding night. He'd agreed with surprising leniency, granting her these last weeks to steel herself for that inevitable night. But he was always there, watching her, showing her off, making sure that the noble and elite houses knew that he had a bride who loved him. She had hoped that Duncan would simply leave the city; she should have known better.

When Duncan arrived at the house, he was shown into an opulent parlor, and brought face to face with his bitterest enemy. Stefan stood by the window, illuminated in contrast by the autumn sunlight, one hand resting with gentle possession on Mara's neck as she sat in the same shaft of sunlight. The older boy smirked at Duncan. "What an unexpected intrusion," he remarked mildly. "The Mallorys are lacking in manners these days, it seems. Come to offer your felicitations upon our betrothal, Mallory?"

Duncan's face was flushed with anger, one hand resting on the sword at his hip - a sword that now never left his side. Even when he was sleeping, it was always nearby, always close at hand. He would never make the mistake again of leaving himself unarmed or undefended. His jaw tightened, muscles clenching in anger. He'd like nothing more than for Stefan to make one wrong move, so he could kill him where he stood. "I didn't come here to see you." Duncan's gaze flickered briefly to Mara, blue eyes blazing with anger and a deeper layer of hurt. "I came to talk to Mara. Alone."

"Did you now?" Stefan's smirk intensified. He knew he had the upper hand; he held all the cards. The Queen of the pack was right there, tense under his hand, and oh, how he'd been looking forward to this moment. It was show time. "Well, my love?" he asked the girl sat beside him. "It is your decision, of course."

Mara looked up into his dark eyes, and felt a wave of nausea ripple through her belly. He was already enjoying this, relishing the sight of Duncan beaten without knowing it, savoring the knowledge that she was his ace. It took all her strength, but the face she turned to Duncan was as cool and unconcerned as she could be. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Stefan, Master Mallory."

The term of endearment only fueled Duncan's rage further, his face flushing deeply, teeth clenched tightly together, but it was the reaction from Mara that threw him. How could her feelings for him have changed so completely and so quickly' Something wasn't making sense. "What's he holding over you, Mara" What's he said to make you betray me?"

Only Stefan's hand caressing the line of her neck kept her from rising to her feet, from moving to embrace Duncan. I love you, only you. Please don't make me do this. The ache of her heart grew worse as she looked into Duncan's eyes, hating the smug triumph that radiated from Stefan, feeling her skin crawl where he touched her. "I'm not betraying anyone," she forced herself to say, deliberately calm, as cold and unfeeling as she could be. There was only one thing she could think of to tell him, one thing he might believe, though it would tear him apart. And it was no lie; just not enough detail.

"You and my betrothed have been bitter enemies for years, Master Mallory, long before you ever met me. The bad blood between you runs deep. Stefan has been planning this for a very long time." She felt herself begin to shudder with revulsion under Stefan's hand, covering the reaction with a smile to the Del Sol man as her hand rose to link her fingers with his. Stefan's smile deepened, visibly pleased with the cruelty she handed out to the only person who loved her better than life.

Mara Mallory

Date: 2013-05-17 06:43 EST
Duncan heard her words, but took them to mean something different. Yes, he and Stefan were bitter enemies, through no fault of his own. As far as he knew, he'd done nothing to earn Stefan's hatred, other than having been born a Mallory. He did not really understand the enmity between the two families, the hatred that had been sown generations ago. He only knew that Stefan hated him, resented him, wanted what was his. Of course, Stefan had been planning this. That was the only thing that made sense. Stefan had been planning this all along, but what was it he was holding over Mara to make her so compliant' She couldn't possibly love him. It was simply unthinkable. He noticed how Stefan touched her, as though she belonged to him, and a jealous rage filled his heart. "Take your hand off her," Duncan warned, through clenched teeth, ignoring Mara's attempt at an explanation. His fingers twitched anxiously against the sword at his hip.

Stefan laughed in his face. "Take my hand off my own fiancee, Mallory?" he goaded the younger boy cruelly. "By all means." His hand released Mara's, but only for a moment. With a swift bend of his body, he wrapped his arm about her slender waist, drawing her up onto her feet, and kissed her, his eyes on Duncan all the while. And Mara, despite the heartache, despite her revulsion ....she played along, disgusted with herself even as she opened her mouth to her despised betrothed, smoothing her arms up about his neck, closing her eyes, offering up every appearance that she wanted his touch, longed for his kiss. Elise's lessons had been well learned. Duncan, forgive me.

If she wanted to hurt him, she had succeeded. He expected no less from Stefan, but Mara....He knew how she felt about Stefan, how he revolted her, and yet, here she was kissing him, as though he was the only man she'd ever loved, as though Duncan meant nothing to her, and all the rage in his heart evaporated in an instant. He stepped forward, ready to defend her honor, to force Stefan away from her, but seeing the way she melted against him, he hesitated. He watched in horror as the girl he loved - the girl who'd held his heart since they'd first met - flourished her affections upon Duncan's worst enemy. She might as well have shoved a dagger in his heart and killed him herself. His eyes filled with tears as he watched, his heart feeling as though it was breaking, sickened by her betrayal, by the realization that she'd been using him all along. How can you kiss him when you love me"

He couldn't hate her more than she hated herself in that moment. Her eyes met his as she drew away from Stefan, held within the hateful circle of his arms, forced to hide away her disgust, her pain. Forced to watch as she broke her beloved Duncan's heart. I love you. I will always love you. But you have to go. Now. Don't make me say it.

Stefan's laughter burned in her ears, and she felt another wave of nausea wash over her, wishing hopelessly for some reprieve, some way to make it all right again. "You see, Mallory?" Stefan gloated over his enemy, reveling in his vicious victory. "She's mine. She always has been. Oh, and that reminds me ....will you be coming to the wedding?"

It wasn't Stefan he was looking at or even listening to - it was Mara. Duncan's blue eyes swam with tears as they found hers, searching hers, looking for any hint that she still cared for him even a little. How had things gone so wrong" She had loved him. He knew she had. It couldn't have all been lies, could it' "How could you?" he asked her quietly, tearfully, unable to hide his anguish, even from Stefan. "Tell him, Mara. Tell him it's me you love. Not him." Please, his eyes pleaded. Please, don't do this to me, to us. I know you love me. Why are you doing this"

I can't tell him that. "How can I ally myself with a man who has loved me since I was a child?" she heard herself ask, a stranger to her own ears. She never thought she would ever hear herself speak so coldly to her Duncan. Please, my dearest love. Remember that I love you, when the pain fades away. "I don't want anything you offer, Duncan Mallory." I don't want you dead, Duncan. "You offered me nothing but poverty." Nothing but love. "Stefan offers me something far more valuable." Your life. She held his gaze, impassive, bland, abhorred by her own ability to live the lie. And yet she had not lied to him, not once, praying that, against all the odds, she would not have to.

"Poverty?" Duncan echoed, latching onto that one word, seeing that it wasn't so much that she didn't love him as it was that she wanted the comfortable life Stefan could give her, as opposed to the more meager living she would have if she married Duncan, at least for a time. "Is that what this is all about then?" he asked, the heartache forgotten for a moment as he tried to grasp her meaning. "Money' You choose money over love?"

Stefan's eyes narrowed as he looked between them, sensing the will of his little bride wavering as the lovers gazed at one another. Very subtly, his arm tightened about Mara's waist, and her doubts fled. She knew he would not hesitate to have Duncan killed, or worse, if she failed now. "I was trained to sell myself to many men for wealth and favor," she reminded Duncan, screaming in her bleeding depths of her heart for him to understand that he had to leave. He had to get away, to be safe, to live. She didn't matter anymore. "One man with both, and more, is going to marry me. A wise whore takes the best that is offered to her."

Stefan seemed to relax a little, chuckling as he tsked down at her, enjoying playing the doting fiance. "Not that word, my love," he chastised her gently, feigning his warmth purely to twist the knife in Duncan's heart. "You are no whore."

"No," Mara forced herself to agree, forced affectionate warmth into her own voice as she replied to Stefan's playful scolding, taking her eyes from Duncan to gaze up at her betrothed. I'd kill you with my bare hands here and now, if I could. "I will be your wife."

Duncan watched them again, studying them, searching for any sign that Mara was not telling the truth. He once again ignored Stefan, who he knew was untrustworthy. He didn't believe a word that came from his mouth, but Mara....She wouldn't lie to him, couldn't lie to him. They had known each other too long and too well. She had not yet told him that she loved Stefan or that she didn't love Duncan. She had only said that she was choosing Stefan over Duncan because of money, but if that was the case, perhaps he could buy her love. "A wife in name alone. She does not love you, Stefan. She loves me. She always has. She always will."

Yes, I always will. Even when you hate me for what I have to do now. Because Mara knew in that moment that she would have to lie. She could not escape this ordeal by fire without doing the one thing she had tried to tell herself she could avoid. She felt Stefan's eyes on her as she stared into Duncan's face, in that moment almost hating both of them for the position their enmity had forced her into. But she couldn't hate Duncan. She swallowed, turning away from Stefan, taking a step toward Duncan. Forgive me. "I do not love you, Duncan Mallory. I never have." Forget me, my dearest heart; I was not worthy of your love. The ring he had given her burned at her breast, hidden beneath layers of silk and brocade. She should offer it back to him, she knew, but she wouldn't. She needed to keep it, to hold onto that reminder that once she had been loved.

Stefan laughed his dark laugh once again, moving to stand at her back, curling his arm about her waist, drawing her into his chest. "I think that's enough," he drawled, not bothering to hide his deep amusement at the blunt cruelty meted out to his bitter rival. "You're not welcome here, Mallory. Get off my land before I have you removed."

The ring was forgotten at that moment, unimportant. He'd think on it later, regretted giving it to her, but it no longer mattered. He didn't want it back - it only held bad memories now, of a mother who died, of unfulfilled promises and broken dreams. It was just a reminder of all that he'd lost, nothing more. "No," Duncan said, not wanting to believe it, even though he'd heard it with his own ears. "Lies," he said, his voice thick with tears. "You love me. I know you love me, just as I love you." He widened his gaze, seeing them together, the way Stefan wound his arm around Mara's waist, possessively, familiarly, and Duncan wondered if she'd already been his. All the anger went out of him, all of the fight as he realized she seemed to have chosen. Stefan had won, and he had lost.

Mara Mallory

Date: 2013-05-17 06:48 EST
There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do to stop his world crumbling down around him. All his life, he had been given promises that were broken, love that meant nothing. And he must never know that her promise was still true, that her love would never fade. Mara wanted to reach out to him, to hold him close and swear that it was all a lie, that she would never hurt him like this ....but she couldn't. All she could do now was send him away. Her own small revenge on Stefan; to take his defeated enemy out of his reach and away from that taunting, haunting smirk. "You should go, Master Mallory. There is nothing for you here."

He turned his gaze to Mara once again, nothing hidden from that gaze, all the pain and heartbreak he was feeling plain to see on his face, in his eyes, in the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. Love had no pride in that moment. He didn't care if Stefan saw his tears; those tears were for Mara and Mara alone. He would not make this easy for her, no easier than it was for him. He would not wish them well, and as hurt as he was, he could not bring himself to hate her. Even with a heart that was bleeding, with his world crumbling around him, he couldn't help but love her still, but this was the last they'd ever see of him. This would be a final parting. After a moment, he wiped a hand across his face and lifted his chin in defiance, not wanting Stefan to see how broken he truly was. "If that is what you truly want, then I will go." The words were for Mara, not for Stefan.

For just a moment, the coolness of her gaze flickered, unseen by the betrothed who held her close. Stefan's eyes were leveled upon Duncan, savoring each moment of the boy's heartbreak and humiliation. He didn't see the sudden sheen of tears in Mara's green eyes, or the broken vulnerability that shone for the merest sliver of a moment. No, that moment shouted into the silence. No, I don't want you to go. I love you! But the weight of Stefan's arm about her was enough to keep her coldly aware that she could not say it, she could not let Duncan believe that she had anything but ice in her heart. Her eyes hardened, hiding away the broken girl she was inside. "Go, Mal," she said softly, almost gentle in that last, final blow. "I want you gone." I want you far away, where Stefan can't hurt you ever again.

For just a brief flicker of a moment, he thought he saw the Mara he knew and loved, so briefly there and gone again, hidden away behind eyes that showed him no love or affection, only cold-hearted betrayal. The gentleness of her final request, even the familiarity of his name, seemed a mockery of his feelings for her, the depth of his love. She'd played him for a fool, it seemed, and he could not bear to look at her anymore - at them, reveling in his shame and his humiliation. There was nothing more to say. He would not give them the pleasure of seeing any more of his heartache.

The tears he'd shed would be shed in private, alone where no one would see or know the pain that she had caused him. His heart was shattered, broken into a million pieces, and he knew that he'd never be the same again. He offered a curt nod of farewell and turned to go, turning his back on the one person he had loved more than any other, the one person who had wounded him to the core of his being. He turned and left without another word, and it would be years before either of them ever saw him again.

He never saw the tears he left behind him, the shattered heart that hated itself for the pain she had given him in those moments. He saw none of the bitter regret in the weeks that followed, none of the despair in the years to come. He never saw the wedding, that final nail in the coffin she had been forced to create. And he never saw her grow heavy with his son, nor the fierce protection she gave to that one link she retained. In the years that separated them, Mara never forgot him, and never forgave herself, but she clung to one impossible hope.

That, someday, Duncan Mallory would return and bleed the life from Stefan Del Sol. Even if he never spoke to her again, never knew or acknowledged his son, her Robert ....that would be enough. Until then, she would suffer in silence, filled with bitter memories each time she looked upon her beloved son and saw in his eyes the love she had cast aside. Perhaps she would never have the freedom she longed for. But Duncan lived, and that, truly, was all she ever wanted. The hand had been played out, and the devil Del Sol, with his cruel smirk and cold eyes, held all the cards. Only time would reveal if the stakes had all been revealed.

((Playing this made me weepy, editing it made me weepy, and I know what?s going to happen next! Happy sniffley thanks to Duncan's player!