100 Mistresses

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by: Ashurato

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- Rei : Absolute Zero -

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For all his feral charm and boundless power, Orlouge was an utter fool. He was a greedy, petulant child in a grown mystic's body who did not know of moderation. What he stole, he kept long after it had finished serving its purpose. Even now, when my existence has been erased in his mirage of complacency, he still searches for the one who got away.

No one speaks of me for I am no longer supposed to exist. How can I, for I am the single stain on his otherwise flawless rule, the one invisible chink in his impenetrable armor.

Perhaps in the beginning, I may have loved his lonely soul. I certainly pitied him. He was a man still untarnished by the nature of mysticism, confused of his identity. He was a man unsure of his place, yet he bore all the powers of blind fascination and darkest dreams within himself.

I was the only child of a family that dedicated themselves to the protection of the spirit that I could not see. I grew weary of the quiet, unchanging world filled with thankless sacrifices, pain, and endless disappointments. Then, I met Orlouge.

I soon found myself charmed by the possibilities that he promised, but even more, I was utterly fascinated by the purity of his solitary livelihood. And so, I abandoned my lonely shrine and followed him to learn.

He remarked that I was courageous.

I said I was a fool.

He mused that I was charming.

I retorted that his long hair made him look like a woman.

He laughed and said he admired the vigor of my youth.

I told him I would die someday.

"But you don't have to…"

His smile withered. I lifted innocent eyes to his glorious face and that was the last image I saw before I died.

It was swift and painless. I did not cry or scream. It was merely something new. Death was no different from life, only colder and less vibrant in color and sensation. I could sense the dullness of feeling as life left my body, bled out from his sharp fangs fastened firmly against my neck. But even through the vicious infanticide, Orlouge's cold tears fell upon my cheek. He had committed his first sin, borne from a desire for my preservation, but it would not be his last.

And we were no longer alone.

For years, we were the only two beings who existed in that rose-entwined paradise of Chateau Aiguille—a king and his eternally young princess. But even the sun had to set when it was time for the moon to rise.

I had not thought that above all, Orlouge was a Mystic Lord—the personification of humanity's greed, lust, and the darkest shadows within their hearts they dare not even voice into words. With the taste of human blood on his lips and the stain of crimson upon his alabaster hands, he was no longer my pure companion.

He was My Lord and Keeper.

And I, a beautiful doll by his side, could only watch his descent with charmed eyes, a loving smile, and a slowly petrifying heart.

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- End: Absolute Zero-

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Author's Notes:

I have not published a word of Saga Frontier fanfiction since 2003 and I find that mildly surprising. The idea for this story has been with me through the years as I have always wanted to give life to the 100 mistresses barely mentioned in passing during Asellus' storyline, but I never thought that my writing was ever strong enough to carry the theme and the different personalities through.

Now, I believe I will be able to.