(Synn)<br/><br/>Oscar sat at his desk, watching the door long after Azurine left as if he was in a daze. He soon snapped out of it and returned to his writing, all the while thinking to himself.<i>Why would Azurine want Anthony as the Master of Coin now when she was trying so hard to keep him at bay? </i>Her sudden change of heart puzzled him and it also gave him room for concern.<i>Was she placing him in that seat of power just to topple him in front of the entire court? Would she attempt an assassination?</i>As he scribbled across the parchment, he heard a knock at the door. He looked up to see a soft familiar face that seemed to light up the darkest portions of the room.<br/><br/><br/>“My Queen. I was just about to come see you” Oscar stated as he stood up and bowed as she walked in.<br/><br/><br/>“Oh sit down Oscar, this is informal” she chuckled as she made her way to one of the more comfortable chairs in his office and sat down. “How have you been?”<br/><br/><br/>“I am well m ’lady, and yourself?” he asked as he walked over to the far table and poured her a glass of wine out of one of the clay pitchers on the back wall. He walked over and handed it to her.<br/><br/><br/>She took the glass from him and almost blushed at the question, “Everything is going rather well. I think I have taken a liking to Maddox” she grinned.<br/><br/><br/>Oscar clenched his teeth as he did not like the man and perhaps there was a taste of jealousy there since Oscar had a personal interest in the Queen as well that dates back to when they placed Zion to death. In fact, that was his primary motivation for altering all of the Inquisition documents of his confession. Simply, he was in love with the Queen and did not want Zion to have her. “Be careful with that man my Queen” he suggested as he sat back down in his seat.<br/><br/><br/>“Why on earth would I need to be cautioned? What has he done to make you distrust him?” she said as she sipped her wine, puzzled by the sudden concern.<br/><br/><br/>“I don’t trust his witch” he muttered.<br/><br/>“Not trusting Azurine gives you no ground to say such things about Maddox. Maddox has her well under control. Besides, Azurine has given you no reason not to trust her either so I don’t understand where this concern is coming from” she snapped, now irritated with Oscar and fishing for answers.<br/><br/><br/>He noted the change in her tone and decided to drop the issue. He wasn’t getting anywhere and most likely would have to speak with Anthony at a later date. He had already brought his concerns up once. “What do you think about Anthony becoming the Master of Coin?” he asked, changing the subject. “He’s proven valuable in our trade agreements and has already brought wealth to the land” he stated, “Even your witch approves” he finished, one last dig in for good measure.<br/><br/><br/>“Did you invite him to court?” she asked as she took another sip of wine.<br/><br/><br/>“I have sent the invitation to his house yes. Should he accept, we will see him tomorrow morning” he said as he now seemed lost in her glittering eyes. His stare made the Queen feel uncomfortable. She finished her wine and set the glass down on the desk.<br/><br/><br/>“We’ll speak to him then” she said as she rose from her seat and exited the room.<br/><br/><br/>Oscar slammed his fist down on his desk and growled.<i>Damnit </i>he thought as he stared at the open doorway.<br/><br/>---------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>Azurine laid in her bed and stared out of her large window, looking at the birds that flew by. She held onto one of her pillows for comfort. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. As she exhaled, she would send a message to Zion that only he could hear.<i>Your invitation should be waiting for you at your house</i>. And then she broke the link for now. Any longer and Maddox would have picked up on an irregularity. She kept her eyes closed and slowly started to doze off to sleep when she felt a cold icy hand on her thigh, traveling up to her waist. She fluttered her eyes open and there Maddox was, sitting right beside her.<br/><br/><br/>“I’ve always enjoyed how pale you are” he said as he caressed her sides. She had been laying in her bed completely naked.<br/><br/>“Master” she said as she sat up, pulling the pillow across her chest and setting it in between her legs. He gripped onto a handful of her hair and drew her close. So close that their lips could brush one another.<br/><br/><br/>“You lost your battle at the church which should have been easy for you to win!” he snapped, then he tightened his grip, “Then you spend many hours with this Anthony who desires to be Master of Coin and part of the royal court!” he spat, then bit her bottom lip, suckling on the blood that oozed from the cut. “Severed my link and blocked me from any communication!” he growled, “And allowed purity to enter my holy temple which is your body….in which I own!” he snarled. “Did I forget anything girl?!” he barked.<br/><br/><br/>She winced in pain as she wrapped her fingers around his arm “No Master, you have not forgotten anything” she whimpered as she swallowed the lump in her throat.<br/><br/><br/>“I would kill for less than that!” he snapped as his black eyes bore down into her emerald orbs. He held her jaw and squeezed her cheeks against her teeth, causing her mouth to gap open. He pressed his lips to hers, covering her entire mouth and poured such darkness into her soul that she had never felt before. She screamed Anthony’s name within her head before her eyes became pools of black ink and her veins as dark as night. Her body started to quake as he engulfed her with the void.<br/><br/><br/>When he was finished, she would fall back into her bed unconscious. He ran his fingers over her small nude frame before getting up to leave. “See if purity reigns within again” he sneered as he walked out of the room.<br/><br/>--------------------------------------------<br/><br/>Lunelra stood there burrowing her crystal blue eyes into Anthony as she tilted her head to the side. Her arms were folded in front of her chest as her elbows rested on the hilts of short swords. “Did you go soft on me boy?” she snapped with a wicked curl to the ends of her mouth as she shifted her stance to a more direct one. Her right foot slid out slightly in front of her while she positioned her back foot just behind her. She unfolded her arms and wrapped her fingertips around the hilts of both swords. She bowed her head down slightly as she peered up at him.