Private Eye Of The Beholder

[Domino Dubose]

Naboo ~ Several days following the events on Kriselist ~ Acantha Malvern
​

Suffering a wound like the one that Domino had been afflicted with was not something the body took well. It often took weeks, sometimes months to fully recover even with the more upper-scale Bacta treatments that are available in the Capital. Domino had fully healed within four days. Every sign of his wound had disappeared and even his internal pains had drifted away. The only reason that the man remained unconscious was because the Sith Lord, Adron Malvern had seen fit to induce a temporary coma. Not to aid his sleeping, but so time could be taken to consider the next step in Domino's path. Although Domino had been barely conscious when Acantha revealed her form, he was knowledgeable of it, which meant he was privy to information only the Illyrian Royal Family had knowledge of. For this the King had intended to kill the man. However, he finally found a better use for him, one that would allow him to empower Acantha while also keeping her grounded.

In the medical wing of the hospital that the Exarch had procured, Domino lied asleep in his bed.

Adron looked to the sleeping man for a spare moment before his eyes turned to Acantha. "He is to be your Watcher. He will help you travel and teach you about the galaxy when I am not around. He is loyal to the crown, his lineage is honorable, and I sense no treachery within him. I want you to keep him close to you. He will serve as your pilot and in a public setting, your bodyguard. What he knows of you, he does not understand. Use this to control him, keeping him under your claws." The Sith Lord turned back to the pilot, waving his hand over the man's head without a second thought. With a start, Domino shot out of the bed, only to find a hand placed upon his chest. "Easy." Adron's voice was more command then caution as he rested the man back against the bed. "Easy." He repeated. "You are fortunate to be alive. Had we not arrived when we did, you likely would have perished on that rock."

Domino awakened with no understanding of where he was and only little understanding of who he was. When his eyes came open they immediately met the harsh, powerful amethyst eyes of the King. He breathed, feeling as if it had been the first time his body has felt a good dose of oxygen in some time. "Y-your majesty?" He coughed. "Where-?" He started, but the King raided a hand to signify the silence he demanded.

"We are on Naboo. The crash must have been terrible, only you and my daughter survived. The others were killed." Domino breathed, understanding the words, yet still finding the situation hard to adjust to. His head began to ache as he pressed his hand to his head. "I remember-" His mind flashed of a beast with talons and black feathers. However almost instantly his mind was redirected through some unseen force, causing him to remembered the horned monstrosity that had impaled him. The King's hand waved over his brow as he spoke. "You remember the crash and the beast that harmed you, but all else is a haze...correct?" Domino breathed, before repeating the words, as if reminding himself more than informing them. "I remember the crash and the beast that harmed me, but all else is a haze...that's right." He said, bringing a hand up to his head in a moment of confusion. His eyes turned to Acantha. She was as she had been the moment he saw her, beautiful. Beautiful and safe. "Princess." He bowed his head to her in greeting.

"You saved my daughter." The King walked over to Acantha, wrapping a single arm around her. "And for your efforts, much reward, I assure you."

"I have seen to it that you will be reassigned. The Confederacy has need of your talents, I cannot ignore this. For your service and valor I am awarding you a promotion to the rank of Commander. You will report to Fleet Marshal Kiff Brayde before the end of the month. I am sure he will find a good use for your new command. Also for the defense of my daughter, something more personal is deserved. A Knighthood, I think, would be proper."

"Yes, we will arrange for a ceremony within the next few months." He said.

The man looked down to his daughter, before waving a hand towards her. "There is more to your new position...that we will discuss later. However, until you report to Bassadro Sector, you will take on the assignment of being escort to my daughter. Guard her, protect her, and see to it she remains out of harm as you have well done already. Now then, I am due for a meeting in the Royal Palace. I take my leave. Domino report to my office tomorrow morning, for now Acantha shall remain in your company." The King offered the girl a knowing gaze before making his way out of the room.

When the King left, Domino held a slightly dumbfounded expression before turning to Acantha and muttering softly. "What just happened?" He had still been out of it and everything that just occurred moved too fast for him to make sense of it.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

N A B O O
Domino Dubose ​

The conversation that had followed from her dealings with Domino and the beast had been a tough one for Acantha to follow. The concept of mercy, of kindness, and empathy were lost on her completely. Even when Father had laid it out in no uncertain terms. What she had shown was mercy, and what she felt for Domino was empathy, but the words did not quite match the feelings yet. In fact, after having spent four days away from Domino, Acantha could barely remember what they felt like at all. At least up until she walked into the hospital room and set her sea blue gaze on his unconscious form.​

​

Suddenly, they all came rushing back.​

​

He had been kind to her, in a way that most people often were not. Despite his actions being beyond stupid, he had risked his life to save her. Not to mention the fact that, save for her Father, Domino was the only human alive that she did not want to devour. Even the shadow, who had not four days ago desired to see him dead, was complacent to him now. The monster, the darkness and the human finally agreed. They were all pleased that Domino had lived.​

​

Her Father spoke, and Acantha nodded in response.​

​

She could not help but feel slightly elated at the prospect of spending more time him. Keeping him under control was the shadow’s work, and it was not concerned by it. Easy. The shadow thought. Easy peasy. Acantha repeated. “Easy.” Said their Father. She snapped her head in his direction. Could he read her mind? When he repeated the word, she was relieved to find that he was speaking them to a slowly rousing Domino. It was the commanding, comforting type of easy. Not the kind that Acantha was thinking of. She breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief as Adron began to speak.​

​

The dark side of the force flooded the room as Adron worked to subdue Domino’s memory. It was rather sweet to watch Domino bend so easily to her Father’s will. She felt a sudden rush of what could be described as pity. Though she was more than aware that it did not hurt him, she was a little irked at the idea of the force being used against him.​

​

Domino, finally, turned his eyes to her. A flush of unwanted colour invaded her cheeks when he spoke. “It’s good to see you awake.” She replied, attempting to cover her face with the flat of her palms. Luckily, her Father directed his attention away with thanks, and well deserved rewards.​

​

When Adron made his leave, Acantha decided to make herself comfortable. She slipped herself onto the edge of the bed, one leg after the other. When she was settled, barely taking up a third of the bed, she tucked her knees neatly under her chin and set her gaze on Domino. As close to him as she had gotten in four days, Acantha was extremely aware of the fact that she no longer saw him as a meal. Since her birth, much of her time had been spent supressing the shadow and the body’s ravenous instinctual hunger. It was nice not to have to control it or to constantly think about it. It was almost relaxing.​

​

Acantha shot him a confused expression and tilted her head to the side slightly. “Can you not remember? That’s strange. The Doctor told me your head was fine.” Whether or not it was a case of short term amnesia, Acantha decided to remind him just in case. “Well..” She began. “First you woke up. Then my Father told you we are on Naboo, and that we are the only ones who survived the crash. Then he thanked you for saving me, then promoted you to Commander and gave you a Knighthood.” Acantha gave him a little clap of celebration, coupled with a grin that illuminated her soft features. “Yay! Congratulations!” The clap died off slowly, and she continued. “Then he said some nonsense about someone named Kiff, and then he made you my personal guard.”​

​

Letting out a deep sigh as her voice finally came to an end. Hopefully, now, things would make a little more sense for him. If they did not, she was sure he would ask questions, but for now, she could move on to what she really wanted to say. “You almost died. That was a silly thing to do.” There was a sternness to her tone, as though she were upset with him for very nearly leaving her, but the façade soon fell. A sweet and tender smile curled the corners of her lips up gently.​

​

“But I’m extremely glad you survived.” Her honey-suckle tone lilted on as she leant forward, crawling up the bed just enough to place a kiss upon his cheek. When she pulled back, she remained close enough to pick out the flecks of colour in his iris. Her voice had dropped to an entrancing whisper. “Thank you for saving me, mon héros.”​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

When Acantha began to recount what just happened, the man in the bed couldn't help but chuckle a bit. It was the kind of moment where all you could do was laugh. Acantha pointed out that Domino had almost died and the man could only chuckle nervously. "Hey, about that-" He was about to defend himself when the Princess' tone changed, showing she was happier with him being alive than she was mad at what he'd done. She crawled up the bed and placed a kiss on his cheek. Immediately his face was contorted with a mixture of shock and confusion. Domino was the eldest child of a small, unknown noble family in the far reaches of Illyria. In the mountainous lands he's from, there were often stories of saving Princesses and gaining Knighthoods and riches...but this was merely something he thought were stories for the commoners.

The Pilot settled back into his bed with a sigh of relief and disbelief. He chuckled once more before glancing down to the bandages on his abdomen. His hand fell to them and pushed down. It was strange, he didn't feel any kind of wound there. He'd been out a few days. He reasoned the King must have had access to prime bacta that allowed such rapid healing. Still, the bandages must have been heavily padded with how fluffy they felt underneath. He shrugged the thought away before turning his eyes back to Acantha. "I'm just glad you're safe, Princess." His head began to hurt as he thought of that night, so to alleviate it he simply stopped thinking of the matter and turned his thoughts elsewhere.

Domino felt just fine. So much so that he pushed the covers off of him and stood up. The medical gown he wore was entirely too revealing. It barely passed his knees and left a very cool draft in the back.

Now he remembered why he hated hospitals. "Oh man, where is my-" In the corner of the room, a new uniform had been freshly prepared for the man, with his new ranking insignia displayed over the shoulder boards. Domino wasted no time untying the straps on one of his shoulders before flushing bright red, snatching the gown as it nearly fell down his shoulder. He cleared his throat before turning to the Princess. "Excuse me." He chuckled, before moving behind the curtain in the corner of the room. Behind the curtain Domino pulled on his uniform, feeling almost happy with the familiarity of it. He stepped from behind the curtain, pulling the comm link into his ear before looking to Acantha. "Well, Princess. Would you like to leave?" He held a hand out to the woman. "If we're on Naboo we may as well enjoy it, right?" He said with a smile. "It would be my honor to escort you around."

Acantha Malvern

 

[Acantha Malvern]

Domino Dubose ​

Acantha watched his face contort with some amusement. In that instant, she wished more than she ever had than she understood the nuances of human emotion. Figuring out the expressions on Domino’s face was like attempting to read a book written in another language. Almost impossible and incredibly frustrating, but, deeply intriguing. So much so that she could hardly tear herself away.​

​

It was only when Domino moved that Acantha’s trance was broken. The shadow and the body both almost charged to stop him from touching the bandage, but Acantha knew how that would look. Instead of her hand shooting forward as the body wanted, it moved with controlled grace. Her fingers rested lightly on the underside of his wrist, enough for her to feel his pulse beating through the skin. “The Doctors said you shouldn’t mess.” Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “Acantha.” She corrected, as politely as she could manage.​

​

Fortunately, Domino’s mind drifted to other things rather quickly. Acantha moved out of the way to allow him to stand, but her steel-blue gaze never left his form.​

​

She watched as he scanned the room wildly for something, but Acantha only knew what it was when he began to cross the room. All she saw was a flash of pink flesh before the body forced the hands to cover her eyes. She had the decency to allow a blush to spread over her pale cheeks. “I didn’t see anything!” She told the now black space before her. “I promise!” She waited until she had heard the tell-tale sounds of the curtain rings before she let her hands fall. A minute or two ticked by where the room was dominated by nothing but the sound of cotton shifting against skin. Then Domino stepped out from behind the curtain.​

​

Acantha could not help but beam. She had not particularly noticed his uniform back on the ship, but now? In proper light, without a layer of dust and blood, he cut quite the figure in it. “That suits you very well. Purple is a good colour on you.”​

​

Her face fell somewhat when he asked if she would like to leave. Being out in public was not something she did very often, if at all. She was hardly allowed in the same room alone with her younger brother yet, never mind masses upon masses of strangers. Pressing her lips together, she projected her indecisiveness in the form of a soft hum. It was harder to control her hunger in public, with so many bodies all pressed together in one place. In truth, it was her idea of an all you can eat buffet. So, walking around in public was like paying for a ticket and not being allowed to touch the food.​

​

Domino’s hand hovered in the air just inches in front of her. She felt sad looking at it. It looked so alone. In the end, that was what made the decision for her. The body slipped her hand into his and tangled their fingers together. “Acantha.” She stressed again as she slid off from the bed and to tug him gently toward the door. “I’ve never been to Naboo before! Where too first?”​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

WATERS

Acantha Malvern ​

If you'd have told Domino one week ago that he'd gain a knighthood and get to escort a beautiful Princess around the Confederacy's capital then he'd have told you that you were crazy. In the end, he'd have been wrong. The hospital was actually a relatively small one for a city as large as Theed. Although that seemed strange, Domino ventured out to guess that the Exarch wanted as much privacy as they could manage. Which made sense given both the fact that his King was a state leader and a planetary leader, however unbeknownst to Domino there was an entire list of alternative reasons.

When they stepped onto the streets of Theed, Domino looked to Acantha and chuckled softly. He could see she was excited for a day on the city, so he thought they should at least see what there was to experience. "One of my deck hands was stationed here for a few months before getting sent deeper into the Rim. He told me you have to get out on the lakes and see the city from out on the waters. Why won't we start with that?" He suggested. So he led Acantha down the main street towards the largest, most open body of water that he could find. They had a good walk ahead of them and Domino thought he may as well fill the gap with some conversation.

"So what do you think?" He asked, gesturing to the buildings around them. Some parts of Illyria and especially Azurine city had many interior similarities with Theed, however things were far less round than the Naboo preferred. "I've never really seen this much water." He said, gesturing to the large rivers that flowed around Theed effortlessly. "In the mountains at most you can find a little stream or something and my family's province was hundreds of miles from the coast." He said. This caused the man to chuckle a bit as they continued towards their destination. "We used to love to play in the streams in the summer though. My brothers and I would spend almost all day messing around in the creeks with some of the kids from the nearby villages. My father would be pissed too. He always wanted our heads in the books, not the water." He smiled, looking to the woman with an amused look. "I bet you can relate, being a princess and all you must have had to study a lot as a kid."

Domino finally led them to the side of the river, where a number of boats were docked on the bank. A nearby sign indicated that people could borrow the boats at their leisure, so long as they were returned by the end of the day. Domino smiled before turning back to Acantha and pointing a thumb at the floating boat behind him. "Wanna have some fun?" He asked her before helping the woman into the boat. There was a small console on the back of the boat which Domino tapped to cause the boat slowly pull off from the bank before automatically guiding down the river path.

Once they were on the waters and moving around Theed slowly, heading to open waters, Domino looked to Acantha and smiled warmly at the woman. He couldn't help but notice just how beautiful Acantha was. It caused his gaze to become something more for a single moment before he cleared his throat. "So uhm...what do you like to do? You know, other than be a beautiful Princess?" He smiled.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

Domino Dubose ​

Her trepidation about their trip into Theed had been dominating before they left the hospital room, but the moment they were free of the dingey and rather smelly corridors, Acantha could feel her excitement taking over.​

​

It was as though everything was new to her. Every little sight, smell and sound seemed to draw her immediate attention. The shadow and the body were forced to remind her what she was meant to be. A princess with more than eighteen years of life to her name. Not a monster with less than one. She was supposed to know what grand cities looked like. What marketplaces sold. What smells you might find wandering down the street. At their behest, she reigned it in somewhat, but neither she nor they could control the smile on her face.​

​

Domino picked an activity for them and Acantha was eager to agree. As she had said before her knowledge of Naboo did not stretch beyond the brief overview her Father had given her. It was the capital of the Confederacy, and he had important work there. She did wonder why Father had neglected to tell her about the rest of it, but the shadow was sharp to remind her. This is not relevant, and it is a waste of our time. Acantha hushed the shadow silently. To distract herself, she slid her arm into Dominos, clinging to him as they walked down the street together.​

​

Listening to him talk about his life before was something Acantha had not expected. She turned her head up to listen to him with big, round blue eyes sparkling with fascination. “That sounds incredible. I wish I had a stream to play in.” She had pools and ponds and fountains aplenty in the palace, but none of them were anything like Domino described. “I do know what you mean about studying.” She nodded her head quickly. It was not in the same way Domino was talking about. Books were for her little brother and the other apprentices. She was born and bred to be a killer.​

​

Her studying was the field of battle, the silent kill, the moonlight massacres. Acantha had never once picked up a book.​

​

“Father is quite serious about our studies…” It was not necessarily a lie. She did not like the idea of lying to Domino, but it was far enough away from the truth to raise suspicion. “Sometimes I don’t see the sunlight for days on end.” She quipped, followed by a laugh that clearly meant she thought of it as a joke.​

​

When they approached the river, if it were at all possible, Acantha’s eyes grew wider. In truth, she had never seen such a large body of water either. If it were not directly in front of her gaze, Acantha would have laughed at the idea of it. A giant snake of water cutting directly through the city, carving itself deeper and deeper into the earth with each moment that passed. Mother nature was truly awe-inspiring. Domino spoke again, and Acantha followed his thumb to the boat bobbing in the clear blue waters.​

​

Acantha nodded eagerly and followed, accepting his help to clamber onto the rocky deck. At the harsh beep of the console, signalling the beginning of their journey, Acantha was practically bouncing on her feet. She rushed from one side to the other, watching the sprays of water lash out at the sides of the boat as it sped across the surface. Unable to resist temptation, she leant over the edge and stuck her hand into the water. The speed of the boat forced her hand backwards slightly, but the droplets of water that splashed up were entrancing.​

​

Thousands of tiny specks caught the rays of sunshine and sparkled in a thousand different colours, disappearing entirely as they joined the chaos of waves left in the boat’s wake. “Wow…” Acantha mumbled, forgetting the fact that she was supposed to know what this felt like.​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

T H E E D
Acantha Malvern ​

Where Domino grew up times had been hard for far longer than they had been good. Although his family were technically of the nobility, their lands had fallen into such a sorry state that they were little less than commonfolk at this point. Were it not for the edicts of the King that brought credits and infrastructure to the more rural provinces, the young Commander would likely still be toiling away with menial tasks. Instead, he had been lucky enough to find a new trade and profession under the new regime. Illyria had precious few skilled pilots and he was lucky enough to be named among them.

With these luxuries, however, he did not forget the joy of the simple pleasures. His mind drifted back to the clear river waters that flowed around their settlement, providing all with fresh water to use for drinking, bathing, and quite often playing for the younger children of the province. He looked to Acantha's gaze into the waters and it reminded him of how he must have looked to the similar waters as a young child. He couldn't imagine how cooped up a life, he assumed was in the palace, had been.

"You know...If you ever want to see more stuff like this I can take you." He said to her with a warm smile. "Back home there are so many mountains you can hike in. Trees, hills, and all kinds of rivers and streams. I think you'd like them." He said as the boat came to a slow drift in the center of the lake waters. From where they sat, they could see Theed for what it was, a beautiful city surrounded by the clearest waters on this side of the galaxy. It was truly a gem in the Outer Rim and even Domino smiled at the sight. He pressed his hand to his chest pocket and was relieved to feel the metallic case he kept his sketching tools in.

He pulled out the case and immediately flipped through the pages to a blank one. He looked to the city of Theed and pressed his pencil to paper, but just before he began to sketch his eyes caught Acantha gazing down at the waters. He didn't realize what he was doing, but steadily his pencil began to scratch over the sheets of paper as he started to sketch Acantha gazing out over the waters. He was quiet and kept his eyes on the paper, looking up only every few moments to refocus the image he'd been sketching.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

Domino Dubose ​

Though she had technically been alive for no more than a few months, her life was already a stark contrast to Domino’s. Where he had been surrounded by wood and thatch, she was dominated by marble and stone. Where he had donned tunics of cotton and wool, Acantha had been garbed in silk and lace. Where she had been bound and caged, Domino had been allowed to roam freely at will.​

​

Their lives were not without their hardships, but this was all too new a concept for Acantha to grasp.​

​

“More stuff like this would be the best thing ever!” She exclaimed as she pulled herself back from the side of the boat, turning to gaze at Domino. Her face seemed to be glowing. It was unclear if that was due to the steadily rising sun across the clear blue sky, or the fact that she had never been able to hide her excitement. Regardless, it gave her soft features an extremely human-like quality. Even the shadow seemed to be surprised that her face could move like that.​

​

Acantha moved to join Domino on his side of the boat, settling into the strangely comfortable bench beside him. “The only mountains I’ve ever seen are the ones near the Silma temple. They weren’t half as nice as yours sound.” She commented as she finally turned her sea glass gaze on the view of the city.​

​

It was a marvel to behold. Tall, proud buildings with green coloured roofs that seemed to soak up every ray of the midday sun. A perfect reflection of it rippled gently on the surface of the crystal clear lake. The breeze brought with it the smell of sweet pastries, fresh bread and burning wood. The sound of rustling leaves and trickling water, laughter, and conversation. Acantha soaked it all up with doe-eyed wonder. She hardly noticed Domino concentrating on his own task beside her.​

​

“Why are the houses here round, and the ones on Illyria are pointy?” She asked with a child-like lilt to her tone. It was not a question really, just amusing that happened to slip from her tongue. “And they’re yellow…” She followed up with. It was difficult to tell if they painted them that shade or if it was the natural hue of the rock itself, but most of the buildings back home were not quite so rustic. Illyria was refined and grandiose. “How many cities have you seen?” His travels through space must have seen him shore at many a strange dock. Acantha was curious to know about them all.​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

Acantha Malvern ​

When Acantha spoke of doing more things like this Domino could only smile and offer her a soft nod. There was something in his eyes and the expression on his face that almost said "of course" to her wide expectant eyes. He wondered if there was a single thing the Princess could ask that he would not do. Was that what it meant to be a Knight? He wondered. Still, it did not sound good because of a title or even for honor, it sounded good because it meant he'd get to spend more time with the woman before him. It was only a moment later when Acantha came to sit beside Domino.

When Acantha mentioned the order of the Silma, Domino's eyes perked for a moment. The Silma were known for their strange ways on most of Illyria, even in the small mountains that Domino inhabited. He decided against asking anything about the Silma, since they were so far from his mind's comprehension.

Instead he turned back to the sketch he was working on. His pencil scratched against the paper, every so often his eyes drifting to the woman behind him. When she did ask her question, he tucked a finger against the page before closing the sketch book so he could concentrate. "Well all sorts of different worlds have different ways of making their buildings." He said with a bit of a chuckle. His hand came over the round tops of the Naboo buildings as he guided her sight. "See? The Naboo like round, cylindrical buildings. Illyrians like sharp points and clean edges. When you look at the people, makes sense." He said with a smile before opening the book once again, his hand dusting off a few shavings of lead that had drifted onto the paper.

As Domino drew, his mind flashed causing him to wince. A sharp pain flowed through his mind, like a hard migraine taking hold of him. He shifted uncomfortably but continued to draw Acantha, yet the drawing slowly took a different turn, with black feathers flowing from her body and wisps of blood-like liquid falling all around her.

Domino could not stop. Every time he looked at the picture it made his head hurt more and more before he finally had gone from paced drawing to a frantic scribble.

In a burst Domino threw the book at the other end of the boat, breathing heavily in surprise. "W-what...what's wrong with me?" He breathed out, unwittingly having drawn Acantha's more demonic form and not realizing it for what it was.

Although Domino had heard Acantha's question, it lingered in the air as he stared at the book on the other side of the boat, thinking the same words he had just spoken.

What is wrong with me?

 

[Acantha Malvern]

Domino Dubose ​

There was something so inexplicably peaceful about being out on the lake, staring up at the city. Peace was not an emotion Acantha was familiar with at all. She knew it in the context of the sith code, but that said peace was a lie. Yet, what other words could be used to describe it?​

​

A soft scratching sound caught her attention. Pencil on paper, but Acantha was more interested in what Domino was saying. “So, like people?” She quizzed curiously. That was a good way for her to think about it. Father liked fine suits sewn in purple silk. She liked black dresses and sharp heeled shoes. Domino liked his uniform. It was strange to think of cities having personalities of some kind, but it did make sense. They were all a culmination of the people who had raised them up from nought but rock and dust. Why shouldn’t they have reflected their style?​

​

Acantha turned to ask another question of Domino, but something stopped in her tracks. First a wince, almost imperceptible. Then an uncomfortable shifting. As though something had dived into his skin and was controlling him from the inside out. Acantha flicked her gaze from his face down to his notebook. The sharp flurry of sharp black lines decorating the page were nothing more than a blur at first. It was only when she noticed the feathers that Acantha realised what it was. A deep, heavy sigh escaped her lips. ​

​

Just how long could she keep lying to him like this?​

​

The battle in Acantha’s mind was a great one. One half of her was crushed at the sight of Domino struggling with memories he knew to be true but could not accept. The other half was determined to follow her Father’s wishes. To keep him in the dark so that control would come easier.​

​

What would he think if he realised what his mind begged was the truth was in fact exactly that? Acantha was not the beautiful, naïve princess he had stumbled across in the ruins of a shipwreck. She was a monster. With talons, and teeth, and insatiable hunger that could not be quenched with even the greatest of souls. Would he still like her, the way he did now? Would he look at her the same way? Would he call her princess and smile the smile that lit up his eyes?​

​

Acantha doubted it. As did the shadow and the beast.​

​

Domino spoke, finally, but the words cut Acantha almost as deeply as his expression did. Without saying anything herself, she shuffled up along the bench until her body pressed against his. She pressed one of her fingers against the middle of his forehead, just hard enough to tip his gaze up to look at her. “Nothing is wrong with you.” She said, her tone suddenly lacking the sweet lilt it often possessed. “What do you see?” She knew what he saw, without even having to ask. Without looking into his eyes and seeing the distress behind them.​

​

All she needed was for him to admit it. If it came from him and Acantha simply confirmed it, she could work around her father’s wishes. Acantha locked her sea glass gaze onto Domino’s but said nothing further. She merely allowed the intense silence to build up between them as she waited for his response.​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

Acantha Malvern [/CENTER]

When Acantha's voice shattered through Domino's confusion he turned towards her with the guide of her finger. He exhaled, uncertain of what to say, uncertain of what he'd saw. His heart was beating in his chest and he felt...fear? He could not even hope to explain it as he looked to Acantha, trying to calm himself down. "I...I see..." As his eyes raised to meet hers, a flash went through his mind and he saw Acantha as he had that night. Almost immediately his eyes shot to the book on the edge of the boat and he breathed out. "You...it was...it was you." He turned back to her with a confused expression.

"W-what happened?" He shook his head quickly before burying his head in his hands. "You...you changed. You tried to kill me- no, no you saved me but." He felt his head ache and it caused him to place his palms along his temple to calm the banging in his mind. "What happened?" Domino had almost no control over his own brain. It kept giving him vague, uncertain flashes of that night but with every flash came more pain in the sides of his head. He felt as if someone had clammed a hammer into the back of his head.

He lashed out. His arms wrapped around Acantha pulling her into his chest as tears fell down his cheek from the pain. He did not embrace her out of anger or a need to have her close. He embraced her because in this moment he needed to know the woman was real, he had to feel her in his arms. The woman who had been with him the last few hours, not the creature he knew nothing about.

Even as he held her close, his mind flared and he realized the truth behind his words.

"It was you..." He breathed once again, before suddenly letting her go, realizing what he had been doing. He looked to Acantha searchingly before his mouth opened in curiosity. "Acantha...what are you?" He asked her.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

Domino Dubose ​

She watched the struggle on his face with no short amount of internal struggle herself. Without wishing it, or even realising it, Domino had become something Acantha wanted to protect. She was good at protecting him from danger. From things that went bump in the night, or things that were incredibly hungry, but this?​

How could she protect him from his own head?​

Her lower lip stuck out slightly as he stumbled over his words. He could barely look her in the eye as he spoke. For the first time in her life, Acantha could hear her incredibly human heart beating a sickeningly quick rhythm in her ears. It was not the kind she was used to. It was not adrenaline that was doing this, or blood lust, or hunger. What was it that made it feel an inch from bursting? That had formed a lump in her throat no amount of swallowing would rid her of?​

A flash of panic crossed her sea glass eyes as when he accused her of attempting to kill him. “I would nev-…” She spoke too soon, he corrected himself as quickly as the panic had cemented in her stomach.​

She reached out a hand, just an inch, but withdrew it quickly. She wanted to touch him, to make him feel better. That’s what people normally did. Normally the sensation of pain and distress came hand in hand with happiness for Acantha, but neither she, nor the shadow, nor the beast liked this. Not from Domino. It hurt. As much as she imagined what she did to other people hurt.​

Suddenly, Domino lashed out.​

Acantha could do nothing but stone her body as his arms wrapped around her tightly. It was an instinctual reaction. The fingers on her hands tensed hesitantly as the tears began to soak through her hair. It was only at the urging of the body that Acantha encased her arms around him in return. Her fingers clutched at his uniform, as though the act would bring him even closer. “Don’t cry…” She mumbled into his chest, but it was barely audible.​

A gasp of surprise escaped her lips when he released her at arms-length. She felt rather like one of those toys she had seen in the marketplaces. Little round disks that children pulled up and down through the air on strings. The question he asked was an incredibly difficult one to answer, which gave reason to why Acantha let the silence stretch out for a full minute.​

“I…” She began, but how could she describe it? What words could make it real? Hesitantly, she reached up to peel his fingers off her arms and then bent at the waist to sweep the book back up. There was a visible tremor in her fingers as she flicked through the yellowed pages, stopping when the flash of black jagged lines peaked into view. She pressed them apart, so hard the leather around the book groaned with the pressure, and then…​

She slid it toward Domino.​

“This.” The lump in her throat was uncomfortable now. It was almost impossible to breathe. “This is what I am.” Her sharp painted nail tapped at the feathers. The talons. The claws. The teeth. “You think I’m a princess. One who lived in a castle and danced in ballrooms and wore fine clothes. But I’m not.” At this point, she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs. Her ribs felt like they were cracking in two, and this was the only logical way to stop that. She wanted to cry, as Domino had, but the eyes didn’t quite know how.​

“I’m a monster.”​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

T R U T H
Acantha Malvern ​

Nothing made sense. The more Domino thought about it the more he could not understand. That was until Acantha took his book from the other side of the boat and brought it back to him. When she slid it over to him, Domino glanced down at it as if he had never seen it before, running his fingers along the bottom of the page.

This was what Acantha was? Domino took the book into his hands, looking over the picture with such confusion he could barely believe he had drawn the image. Yet suddenly he recalled the beast that had destroyed the creature that attacked him and saved his life. "A monster..." He said, repeating the words before finally raising his eyes to see the woman before him. No, not a monster, not right now, not to Domino. Slowly Domino reached out to place his hand over hers as she hugged her legs into her chest. "Acantha..." He struggled to find any words to explain how he felt or what he wished to convey to her.

"You saved my life." He finally said, clearing his own eyes of the tears that had come from shock and the stress on his mind. As his mind had come to accept what Acantha was and his memory was cleared, he brought another hand up to the woman's cheek. "Monsters don't save lives." He told her, before closing the distance between them and pulling the woman into his arms.

"Acantha I don't care what you are. You are my Princess." He told her softly.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

Domino Dubose ​

She could barely bring herself to watch as Domino began to pour over the drawing, but the body forced her to. Almost certain that his confusion would turn to horror and fear any moment, Acantha let out a soft whimper. Like the sound a wounded animal might have made.​

Yet, once again, Acantha found herself taken aback by Domino.​

He reached out, placing a warm hand on top of hers. The action was simple, but it brought with it a dominating wave of something Acantha did not have the words to describe. Was it relief? The lump in her throat did seem slightly less invasive. He had not spoken a word since repeating what she was, but she could see it written on his face. He accepted her.​

She could barely believe it, but when the shadow reminded her that he did not know the full story, the credit dropped. Shuffling uncomfortably against the hard bench, another storm began to brew in her mind. Father wanted her to keep him like this. To use him. But that was not what Acantha wanted. She wanted him to stay despite it. She wanted him to look at her the way he was looking at her right now, knowing all the truth. Every single gristly detail.​

But, how could she?​

Having already shattered the illusion once, Acantha could not find it in herself to do it a second time. However, when Domino wrapped his arms around her again and mumbled sweet words into her hair, Acantha burst into tears. Real tears. The more she thought about it, the quicker they seemed to fall. They fell until her vision was blurred and Domin’s collar was stained a shade darker than it had been originally. She could not bare it. “You-…” She sobbed. “You don’t know. You have no idea.”​

The shadow had an idea. It was the last thing Acantha wanted to do. Words would be difficult enough. But he needs to know. Reasoned the shadow. Everything. The beast agreed. Acantha exhaled a wobbly sigh between sobs and withdrew herself from the hug just enough to free one of her arms.​

The tips of her fingers reached up and pressed against Domino’s temple. It was a far cruder version of projection than her Father had managed, but it would be detailed enough. The vision showed him everything. Her birth, her first kill, her first meal, her first training session, her first war. Everything down to the night they met, on the ship. Every life she stole from the passenger bay, including the little robot that had threatened to reveal her true self. All the pain she relished in, all the chaos she caused, all the hunger she felt. ​

Everything.​

When the vision ended, Acantha’s hand slumped lazily away from Domino’s forehead, and her body made a similar motion. She no longer cared if he wanted to hold her back or not. Her head hit his chest heavily, and the tears continued. Until they stung the corners of her eyes and made her head throb.​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

F E A R
Acantha Malvern
​

Domino could not understand Acantha's words. He didn't want to, quite honestly. In this moment he just wished things could go back to how they had been moments ago, with nothing between them. Yet, now Domino was aware of this creature within his Princess and he was uncertain in how to handle it. When finally Acantha's hands were upon him he was given the revelation of truth. It filled his mind in a flash, closing the gaps that had formed and offering him a clarity that he could not quite understand. His mouth came open when he turned to Acantha with a wary expression.

"It was you..." He muttered, recalling the dead bodies that filled the ship when they first crashed. "They didn't all die in the crash...you, you killed them." He said before feeling his head spin from the revelation. Domino was uncertain about everything that he'd just learned, but one thing was for certain. Acantha had murdered scores of people...she had devoured them using some unholy power and the man could not understand why.

"You wou-" He coughed roughly. "You would have killed me?" He asked, before turning back from her, coughing roughly into a gag before finally emptying the few contents within his stomach. Throwing up over the side of the boat, Domino was unsure of what to feel or think. His head continued to spin and when he tried to stand up, his feet gave way and he slammed into the flat of the boat. He groaned out in pain before turning to Acantha, looking to her warily. "Why did you save me? Why did you kill them?" He had to know.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

L A I D - B A R E
Domino Dubose ​

She watched him open and close his mouth quickly like a fish pulled from the depths of the ocean and left on dry land. It came as no surprise, to either the shadow, the beast, or the human. In layman's terms, Acanatha had just shown Domino a personal horror holofilm centred around him.​

​

When he finally spoke, she nodded her head. “In all fairness…” Her tearful voice responded, thinking what she had to say would help. “…most of them were going to die anyway.” The truth of it was, it wouldn’t have mattered in the slightest if they were on the brink of death or not. Acantha would have killed them anyway. That was what Adron had created her to be, and what she had been proud to be up until Domino looked at her. Exactly like people looked at the beast when it went hunting.​

​

It was difficult to watch the struggle on his face. To watch the princess he saw in her melt away into nothing but evil and darkness. She shuffled uncomfortably on his seat when he asked a question that Acantha had hoped she would not need to answer.​

​

Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head. Just slightly. Not enough to be seen by Domino, which elicited a sharp curse from the shadow within. “Yes.” She spat out suddenly, as though the words had been forced from her throat. “I would have killed you too.” She had never hated the shadow within as much as she hated it right now. They had agreed to be truthful to him, but there was no need to be cruel. Some internal part of her grimaced when he threw up over the edge of the boat, but it was quickly wiped clean by the shock of him standing suddenly. ​

​

Acantha stood up with him, but she was too late to catch him. When he stumbled and slipped to the bottom of the boat, a gasp of genuine concern left her lips. She quickly threw herself down by his side with a panicked expression on her face, ignoring his question for the moment. There was no physical pain emanating from him. No broken bones or bruises or cuts. Acantha breathed a sigh of relief, and then shuffled away from him. She didn’t want to frighten him further, not now. Then, she threw herself into answering him.​

​

“I recognised your voice, from when I boarded.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I was worried Father would figure out that I had killed everyone and be mad at me if nobody else survived… so I kept you alive.” Her sea-blue gaze glanced quickly up at him, but what she was about to say next forced her to look down again. She couldn’t bare to see the expression on his face when she continued. “You were just lucky. I would have killed you if you had been unconscious in the cockpit with your co-pilot. If you hadn’t found me first.” A strange blubbering noise left her lips, but she did not stop speaking.​

​

“I don’t know why I saved you. Before I met you, I didn’t know what mercy meant. But you were so kind, and you treated me like a princess. Like I was one of the glasses my Father drinks his wine from. Fragile. Precious. And you didn’t see the monster or the shadow or the evil…” Acantha buried her head into her knees, muffling her words somewhat. “You tried to save me. Nobody has ever tried to save me before.”​

​

 

[Domino Dubose]

P R I N C E S S
Acantha Malvern ​

There was absolutely nothing about this moment that Domino could salvage from a pit of hell. It was...it was more than he'd ever expected from this day. The rushing of memories, the pain in his chest from hearing that Acantha would have killed him? How was he supposed to survive another seconds of this conversation, let alone remain her escort? She wasn't a woman? She was a creature? A murderer. The thought of it all made him feel as if he could throw up again. He didn't.

Instead he turned from her, exhaling and looking out over the crystal waters. Naboo's beautiful city had never looked so dark. Perhaps it was just Domino's mind, but he was fast-becoming unable to cope with the shifting of the boat and the waters they were on.

"You are a Princess." He said. That was all he said, looking over the waters, unable to turn to Acantha. He pinched his eyes closed, two fingers binding the bridge of his nose while he breathed out one final time. "You are a Princess." He repeated, before turning back to Acantha.

That was when he saw her.

There were no shadows. There was no monster. There was a girl, scared of the world around her and uncertain of what to do. Domino licked his lips in hesitation, glancing around before letting out another faint exhale. He looked to Acantha and held out two fingers towards her. "Don't...don't do anything to me." He told her, before taking a breath and moving back to the seat beside her. He said nothing more, instead he slowly edged closer to the woman, his arms wrapping around her so he could embrace her, keeping her close to him.

He let out a sigh of relief. Her skin was warm, her body felt so small and petite. She was not a monster.

She was not a monster. He reminded himself in his mind over and over again until finally...the lie stuck. She could feel that every muscle that had been tense was now slowly relaxing as the warmth of the hug and the closeness of this woman...nothing else mattered. "Can we...can I just hold you like this for a while?" He whispered into her ear, softly. He needed a moment, a long moment where Acantha was nothing but the beautiful Princess he had known. He had rescued her from that ship. She had been defenseless against that beast. This was the truth he'd cling to, no matter how false it was. "My Princess..." He said softly.

 

[Acantha Malvern]

P R O M I S E
Domino Dubose ​

Acantha didn’t want to look up. The silence was crushing enough.

She had borne her soul to Domino, whether he was ready to hear it or not. Now more than ever she wished she could read minds because, in the silence, she was allowed to think. The shadow and the beast wondered loudly if he was even ready. Ordinarily, she would have cursed at them. It was far too late now to question his readiness. That was something they should have done before making her spit it all out. Acantha could still taste the words on her tongue. They were acidic and foul and made her stomach cramp uncomfortably.

A sudden shuffling made her ears prick, and she chanced a look at what had caused it. Domino had turned from her, facing the city instead. Acantha scrunched her nose up as hot tears threatened to spill from her eyes once more. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to see the internal conflict on his face. The world looked different to him now. She had shattered his rose-tinted glasses in one fell swoop, and picking up the shards to rebuild them seemed nigh impossible...

Or so she thought.

There was no hiding the look of confusion that spread across her face when he finally spoke. Her lips opened and closed partially as if she was trying to form words, but none came. What was she going to do? Deny it again? Show him more of what she was capable of? Prove to him that the claim she had to the throne was non-existent? Even Acantha could not have been so cruel. The shadow and the beast agreed. What was the point in crushing the shards into dust?

That was when he looked at her.

It was strange. He did not look at her with fear in his eyes like he had before. Acantha was almost frozen by the intensity of his gaze. At his words, her face fell. “I would never…” She began, but it felt fruitless. She had once already. Domino had heard enough for one day. Explaining to him now that the prospect of harming him in any way was genetically impossible was just another weight he likely couldn’t balance. That would be for another day.

She almost flinched as he came creeping toward her. Though she was far from afraid of him, she was afraid for him. Despite showing him everything, despite revealing the shadow and the beast within, he didn’t seem to understand. Or, it was possible that he didn’t even want too. When his arms came to encase her again, Acantha stayed as still as a statue. He had asked her not to do anything to him, and she intended to take that seriously. “If you want?” She replied in a small voice to his question. As his embrace drew her further in, Acantha couldn’t help but lean into his chest.

They would stay there for as long as he needed. As far as Acantha was concerned, she needed little nourishment and even less sleep. If he wanted to stay here all day and all night, then that was what she would do. “I promise you aren’t in any danger anymore.” She spoke into his uniform. The words seemed hollow, but she said them anyway. They were nothing less than the truth. If nothing else, she hoped he could believe that.