Foul Play

Life, Trauma/ Loss

Nikolai dies and Evelyn suspects foul play from her mother. Mephistopheles visits Evelyn for the first time and she spends the night with Dmitri to hide from the devil.

Evelyn was sitting at the dining table with Dmitri, Ivan and Jasna as a piercing scream rang out through the halls of the palace. They all jumped up and ran out into the hall in fear to see the door to Nikolai's room open and the sound of his mother crying out inside. Evelyn saw her father walk out of his room in annoyance and meet them at the door. Inside, Milena was sobbing over Nikolai's covered body in his bed. "No!" she sobbed. "My son!" She was distraught and Evelyn slowly felt the realization set in that her brother was dead. Evelyn heard Jasna gasp and she felt Dmitri lay a comforting hand on her back. Georgi ran into the room. "What's going on?!" he asked his wife. "He's dead," she sobbed in horror. "He... it must have been the flu," she said. "He died while he was resting," she told her husband, still shielding her son's body with blankets. "The flu?" Georgi asked in confusion. "He's been sick?" "Oh like you would even notice!" Milena lashed out at him, tears streaming down her face. There was a crowd of servants and other palace members forming outside of Nikolai's room at this point. Evelyn noticed Ivan was looking at Milena suspiciously. Georgi walked over to his son's face and gently caressed his dark brown hair before taking a deep breath. Milena collected herself and turned to the crowd. "Leave us!" she told the servants. "Dmitri and Ivan, why don't you escort the girls back to their rooms? We need to work with the cleric to prepare his body for burial. We'll have a service in a couple days," she told them. Evelyn felt Dmitri start to pull her away and she went with him, casting a final worried look at Nikolai's body. Ivan led Jasna to her room and Dmitri led Evelyn to hers. "Are you okay?" he asked her with a worried look on his face. She shook her head. "I want to go smoke," she told him. He nodded and led her up to the balcony in silence. When they were finally alone Dmitri pulled his pipe out and lit it for her. She took a couple long drags on it before taking a deep breath. Dmitri was looking at her cautiously, clearly expecting her to break down at any moment. "Something's not right," she said quietly as she looked out over the quiet, snow-covered city that seemed to glow in the moonlight. "He wasn't sick," she told Dmitri. He nodded thoughtfully, following her gaze over Flottenheim. "No, he wasn't," he agreed. She took another puff on the pipe. "She asked me about him. She said she suspected him of something... you don't think she'd kill her own son, do you?" she asked Dmitri in horror as the prospect occurred to her. Dmitri wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her against him. "I don't think you want to hear my honest answer," he told her, his voice quivering a bit in fear. Evelyn nuzzled into Dmitri's chest as she started crying and he held her close. "I'm so sorry, Ev," he told her sweetly. "I'm so sorry." "I don't want to be scared of my own family," she said in a hushed whisper. He nodded and caressed her hair. "I know," he said. "But look, you aren't doing anything wrong. If what you said is true, and he was really planning a coup against her, then... maybe it makes sense. You aren't doing that, Ev. You'll be fine," he said, caressing her hair from her tear-stained face. She nodded thoughtfully. "You really think she did it?" she asked him. She saw fear in Dmitri's bright blue eyes and knew he did. "She's a powerful... angry woman," he said nervously. Evelyn nodded in understanding and took another long drag on the pipe, trying to calm herself. "I feel so... wrong right now," she admitted. "I feel like I should be more upset than I am about Nikolai dying." He nodded. "Yeah... I agree. It doesn't help that your mother was clearly lying to you about it, either," he told her. "You're scared and worried she murdered him. Kinda makes grief hard. Not to mention the fact that he's treated you so poorly lately." She nodded as she turned back to the city. "I did love him," she told him. "When I was little he used to play pretend with me all the time and we had fun together. All three of us. A few years ago though... he just... changed. Then we all started hating each other," she said in annoyance. Dmitri nodded and rubbed her back affectionately. "I think somewhere in him he had good intentions," he said. "He wanted to protect you. He wanted to do more for the country than what he felt your uncle was doing." Evelyn nodded. "Yeah... I guess so," she agreed. Dmitri wrapped an arm around her and they smoked for a while together in silence, processing everything that had happened in the cold wind and snow. After an hour or so they went back inside and passed Nikolai's door where they heard Milena's voice giving out instructions to the clerics. They continued quickly and Dmitri took Evelyn to her door. "You gonna be okay?" he asked her. She nodded. "I'll be fine," she assured him. He gave her a comforting smile before gently kissing her forehead. "Goodnight, Evelyn," he told her. "Goodnight, Dmitri," she said as she went into her room and closed the door. She took a deep breath and removed her gown and slipped into bed in her shift. She laid in bed, looking up at the ceiling as she thought about everything that had happened. She started to become distrustful of her family. Of the secrets swirling around in her mind. Of the fear she felt bubbling up inside her.    After a few moments she suddenly saw the room around her start to swirl in a dark red smoke and a large figure appeared before her bed, sending a cold shiver down her spine. Towering in front of her was a large devil with blood-red skin, giant black wings and horns. He was wearing black robes and his eyes were silver and cold and seemed to stare straight into her soul. He held a large black and red staff and Evelyn felt the room grow icy as he smiled deviously at her. "Hello, your highness," he said coolly. "I don't believe we've met." Evelyn felt frozen in fear as he approached her bed. "My name is Mephistopheles," he told her. "I know you're probably upset about everything that's happened tonight," he told her with a pitying frown. "Needless to say, things have gotten out of hand. Your family is at each other's throats. You really think these imbeciles should be leading your people?" he asked her. She glared at him distrustfully. "I... I want you to leave," she told him fearfully. He squinted at her. "You don't even want to hear what I have to offer you?" he asked in disappointment. She shivered in fear. "I..." she stuttered in fear. He gave her a pitying look. "I know you're nervous, dear," he assured her. "It's only natural. However, I do think that you want to hear what I have to offer you. You're quite skilled with magic, Evelyn. I can use a powerful wizard like you. I can give you the things you desire," he told her. "Your freedom. Your country. Your lover, what's his name? Oh yes, Fenneck. Such a lovely boy, hm?" he asked as he circled her. "It's such a shame that your mother won't allow you to marry a good, kind, gentle boy like him, isn't it? He loves you so dearly... You deserve that kind of love, Evelyn. You deserve to take control of your life." He ceased his slow pacing and took a step toward her, staring into her eyes and reaching his hand to her. "I can give you the power and means to do just that," he told her finally. Evelyn's heart was pounding in fear. "I've read about you," she told him. "I know what you do. I know what you want from me and I'm not interested." He seemed surprised by this. "Oh really?" he asked her, a sly smile crossing his lips. "And what is that, you think?" She swallowed nervously. "You want my soul, right? You're a devil. You just want me to serve you, you don't care about my happiness. You're just as selfish as the rest of my family," she accused him. He stuck his nose up at her in frustration. "Fine," he said. "I'll leave for now, but you'll come around eventually," he told her. "You have to. You already belong to me," he said mysteriously before disappearing in a puff of smoke.      Evelyn drew a deep breath when she was sure he was gone. Her room was cold and she waved a hand, lighting the fireplace that had blown out with his presence. She stood up and felt the shadows in her room start to creep in around her. Her brain was swarming with fear and confusion and she needed out of there. She turned herself into a cloud of gas and snuck through the halls of the palace. She floated into the north tower and into Dmitri's room. He was lying in bed, shirtless and looking morbid. Evelyn appeared in front of him and he jumped in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?!" he exclaimed. She ran to him and burst into tears as she fell into his bed. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "Evelyn, you can't be here," he told her harshly. "I don't care!" she exclaimed in fear. "Something happened, Dmitri!" she told him fearfully. He looked at her in concern. "Evelyn... you can't be in bed with me," he said again. She shook her head at him. "Shut up about that okay!" she told him harshly. "There... there was a devil," she whispered. "He came to my room and... and..." Dmitri's face grew dark with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked her, taking her head in his hands and studying her for any sign of an attack. She nodded as tears streamed down her face. "He... he tried to convince me to... join him," she said through her tears. "To... serve him, I think. I'm scared, Dmitri," she said fearfully. He nodded and grabbed a handkerchief from his nightstand and started wiping her face off. "I told him to go away but he said he'll be back. That I 'belong to him' or something," she told him. He considered this as he wiped her face. "Are you sure it was actually a devil and not some... trick?" he asked her. She nodded, remembering the evil presence of the creature. "I'm scared," she said again. He pulled her into his arms and she got under the covers with him. "You can stay here for the night," he conceded. "Just be ready to vanish if you need to," he told her. She nodded and curled against his chest. "Why didn't you go tell your lover boy?" he asked her. She shook her head. "I... I don't want him to know," she decided. "The devil knew about him. He said I could be with him if I joined him. I don't want him to get hurt," she said nervously. Dmitri nodded and kissed her head. "We're just friends, Ev," he established. "I can't risk this blowing up into some affair, okay?" he told her. "I know!" she assured him. "I just... I didn't know who else to go to," she told him as she got comfortable in his arms. He nodded understandingly. "You're safe now," he assured her as he felt her shivering. "He's gone, Evelyn. It's gonna be okay," he told her, unable to hide the fear and doubt in his voice as he clutched her close. "It's gonna be okay."