Devil's Parlay (Chelle)

Lucius stopped, laughing at what was essentially a semi-insult. It was no secret Lucius was a bit of an ass, even when he was being formal. But to have it put so lightly, into one single word, it brought a smile to his face. If only all the evil in the world could be summed up like all his just was. An interesting thing to say to someone you had just drank the blood of, which was also poisoned.

Chelle then went on to say he couldn't just leave her. Well, he actually could, but he hadn't been so certain on it in the first place. He turned, arms held out from his sides, a gesture that indicated a sort of 'here i am, then' expression.

"You don't really know someone until you've seen both their fake and real sides, but we seem to be traveling from the opposite direction....." Lucius said, lowing his arms before leaning slightly on his book case covered wall. He then moved his attention to answering the female's question on Tyuki.

"But yes, she was. It took a few stories and metaphors for her to stop trying to kill me, but we got past that." Lucius said. He wasn't going into great detail about the meeting, because it honestly concerned matters that were quite the fiery topic at the moment and were very important to Rise. He was keeping to the fact he wasn't going to give Chelle anything of much substance on that subject beyond that Tyuki was indeed alive.

"But if I am indeed what you call me, why would you even want my company?" Lucius said. It was a question he pretty much knew the answer to, but they were humoring each other, right?

The coughing and obvious pain Chelle was in didn't really bother Lucius. She was a tough girl, she could take it..... Well, at least for awhile.......

A smile played on his face as she asked him 'what drives him', as if that were such a simple thing to answer. He could go on a rant, but wasn't it more elegant to just say something simple? He didn't know why he was even bothering with this woman, but none the less he gave it a little thought before speaking, turning his back to the woman to lean forward on his desk, staring into space.

"Passion, innovation, ideals..... The same as anyone i suppose. I've been on both sides of the fence, good or evil, successful or ready to end it all. None of it stays constant, only my desire to perfect our society." Lucius said. He could have gotten much further into it, but he wasn't about to explain his life story to a stranger. She was smart enough to figure out what he stood for with his own word combined with that of others.

Then, Peacekeepers strolled in to Lucius' office, holding in custody who he assumed was the driver to the vehicle that had brought Rochelle here. Red put his hand up, signalling to the Keepers that she was to be let go. They complied, stepping back a few feet and folding their arms in front of themselves.

"Yes....... Our security isn't really able to be avoided..... Once you're in the country, we know where you are, and we can find you, bottom line................. But no matter." Lucius said, unlocking his bookcase armory once again. He started pulling off pieces of armor, placing them in their correct spots on the wall.

"You're both free to leave with no hard feelings, on my side anyway. But next time Rochelle, do be a bit more formal. I get in a bad mood when people just show up uninvited." Lucius said, still taking off parts of his gear. You could see he still had his former outfit underneath.

"Feel free to use the teleportation pads downstairs, or take advantage of an escort to your plane. And yes, i know you took a plane......." Lucius said offhandedly. At this point people were getting back to their business, but security was swarming, waiting for these guests to leave. Red himself was wanting the same, to be honest. He hadn't planed this visit, and even though he was on his home field he felt uncomfortable with such a surprise.

Lucius was pretty sure he hated vampires now. Sure he had always been curious about their type, but the drawbacks, they were simply far too disgusting and far too severe for him to put any stock into the race. Blood sucking just seemed both gross and unpleasantly addictive, not worth the apparent benefits.

But as he watched the display, the subtle hints, the slip of words, he realized he may not be dealing with a vampire. Pieces started to form into a bigger picture in his mind. Bliss, the connections her and Rochelle had, the coup, the demonic nature. But the final kicker was that voice, it was all too familiar. There was no doubt in his mind after hearing it that this woman and the one in the portal that day were one in the same. He was a little shocked, of course, but his attitude only seemed to show annoyance and arrogance.

"Rochelle, dear, you need not apologize. I never said you couldn't go back to hell." Lucius said, quite amused he hadn't figured it out earlier. But then again, maybe it was because he truly found Chelle's boldness adorable. Demons were peanuts compared to what he had stared down.

So he sat, unflinching as he locked eyes with the Queen. His head was turned to the side slightly, his lips seemingly in a permanent cocky smirk. He was completely still as the woman spoke, unmoved by any of it.

"Yes, you would." Lucius said simply in response to Chelle's enemy comment, right before she stepped through her little portal and left.

Everyone seemed to stand still for awhile once she did, completely silent. Perhaps they were all waiting for word from Lucius, but he seemed to continue his gaze on the area Chelle had just been in for a good ten seconds, maybe processing it all before he made another move.

"I need a coffee, a dozen medics, a new bottle of bourbon, and the secure line...... And some hand sanitizer." Lucius finally said, seemingly getting the entire palace back to work with a couple sentences.

END