Private Shadows Past | Deyanira

[Ulysses Renoux]

H O U S E • R E N O U X​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Deyanira Draco

The peace talks had finished for now. Agreements had been reached, but everything was fragile. It was clear the nobility still did not trust each other, and with good reason. One thousand years of war and conflict would not erase itself overnight, nor would the lingering issues of the current past which were held among the nobility. The most glaring of these issues to Duke Renoux was the failed engagement between him and Lady Draco. Whether House Amnen was aware of it or not, it made no difference. They would not be able to arbitrate between them. It was not a political issue they faced, but rather it was more akin to a lover’s quarrel.

Upon his exit, and final remarks to Lady Draco, Ulysses slipped a piece of parchment into her hand. It was crude technology, but in an advanced society it was untraceable to him, and it could be burned after reading. The note was simple. It contained a location and a time.

Bahia roja. Dusk.

He would arrive early as was his nature. Unlike his son, the Duke valued being prompt. Perhaps he should not fault Romin for wanting to explore the Red Keep and forge his own relationships, but duty demanded he attend. Ulysses would only be one to speak of duty, and were the truth ever to become public, his credibility on that word would be gone.

He looked out across the water. The rolling waves were calm and familiar. It had been some time since he set foot in the cave on the bay, but he knew it was the only discreet place that Deyanira would meet him alone. She would not dare bring anyone to the cave if she chose to come. After all, Ulysses was the only person other than her who knew of its location.

It was a sordid past, but one Ulysses did not regret. She had pushed him to become the man he was now, and had it not been for her rejection perhaps he would be the ruler his father thought he would be. How his last words haunted Ulysses to this day.

Unacceptable.

He could not shake them, nor would his father ever see how wrong he had been. Deyanira could though, and perhaps that was why she loathed him so. He knew she hated him, despised him greatly even. It was that very thing they would have to overcome for their Covenant to hold, and it was that which the Duke wished to resolve. Whatever agreements had to be made between them in the cover of night had to be made before he left Entralla.

They had tonight.

It was all they had.

 

[Deyanira Draco]

H O U S E • D R A C O​

Outfit: XXX
Tag: Ulysses Renoux

Bahia roja. Dusk.

Deyanira could feel the small piece of parchment crumpled in her palm, where it had been since she had bid Duke Renoux farewell. She'd thought to toss it in the trash, but her hand had kept a tight hold. The widow herself was unable to acknowledge her own refusal to let go. So, why was she here now?

This question she pondered as the incoming tide inched ever closer.

Later, the cave would be inaccessible -- without going for a swim, that is. But unlike the days of their youth, their time was limited. As Deyanira thought of the summer she'd spent engaged to Ulysses, she remembered the warmth of the sun. That warmth had faded long ago. It had left her hollow, but over time, that empty space was filled with bitterness and spite. Not to say she had regrets; she didn't. Given the same choice, she'd choose Elend Draco again.

She knew he'd be waiting, just like he always did.

Long strides brought her along the beach, where she found the rock formations were familiar. As she came to the mouth of the cave, she felt strange. This place seemed unchanged by time. The two of them, however, had not been so fortunate. Though, she was youthful-looking for her age, she wasn't quite the same young woman he'd known back then. He was different, too. The Duke's dark silhouette was taller, broader. Somehow, he'd accomplished the things she'd never thought him capable of.

"You wanted to see me," the widow said as she came up to Ulysses. No smiles, no polite greetings this time. "Have you been waiting long?"

He must have had a reason to see her, especially this way. And, perhaps she did, too. Deyanira wondered: did she still hold him in her sway?

​

 

[Ulysses Renoux]

H O U S E • R E N O U X​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Deyanira Draco

She knew the answer to the question she had asked, because she knew the sort of man that he was. Ulysses was certain there was no one who knew him better than she did, save his consort. Deyanira stood with a cold and emotionless posture. There was nothing in her eyes which would have suggested the place they both stood held memories for them both. It would have been a weakness to do so, and she hated appearing weak more than she hated Ulysses.

It had been the reason she had ended their engagement.

“Not any longer than usual,” he answered.

He canted his head as the noble took three steps toward her. Normally Ulysses would simply be the sort of man to take what he wanted. His lust for power and territory saw him do the unthinkable at times to secure what the Duke deemed to belong to him.

Did he see Deyanira as something that belonged to him?

Perhaps he did in a sense.

“It seems we are going to have to learn how to tolerate being in the same room without our secrets becoming public.”

Lady Draco would know what he meant, and the lengths she had gone to in order to suppress her true feelings for the man. The comment may have been for himself as well. His gaze earlier had lingered longer than it should have. He knew it. Deyanira knew it. If there was ever a question of what Ulysses wanted, it was answered in that one action. She had been the one thing he had failed to possess, and a part of him would never feel satisfied until he did.

He continued to close the distance between them, until she told him to stop or there was none remaining. His eyes held hers steady. Could she really keep them distant and cold knowing what they had shared? Her question was whether she still held sway over him. His was whether she would finally break.

He had chosen the cave for a reason.

 

[Deyanira Draco]

H O U S E • D R A C O​

Tag: Ulysses Renoux

She’d been well aware of his lingering gaze at the peace talks.

“I did not do anything to put our past at risk.” Deyanira, too, canted her head as he stepped toward her. As far as she was concerned, she’d demonstrated her ability to be in the same room as members of House Amnen and Renoux.

The widow let the duke close the distance.

He had an imposing form and reputation to match. Taller and broader than Elend, it was no mystery why she’d found him attractive then — and now. Where others may have been intimidated by the Duke, she stood firm. This close, he would likely catch the faint scent of roses that Deyanira always seemed to carry with her.

“They think I hate you,” she said, smiling for the first time. Deyanira lingered close to him, allowing him to feel her presence. “They know it to be true…” Her lips were next to his ear now. “Because it is true.” How she hoped her words drew blood.

It was, perhaps, the first time she had ever said it out loud.

Of course, the meaning of this place had not escaped her. The two of them had shared some very passionate and intimate moments here in the past. Drawing back ever slightly, her dark eyes locked with his again.

“Were you feeling nostalgic? To come back to this place...”

Did he want her facade to crack and fall at his feet? For the vulnerable widow to collapse into his arms? If he wanted her to break, then he’d have to throw her onto the rocks himself.

​

 

[Ulysses Renoux]

H O U S E • R E N O U X​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Deyanira Draco

"Nor did I," his quick tongue responded. "It is natural for a man to think a woman such as yourself is beautiful. I am already a suspect in your husband's death to anyone who knows of our past. My action was as calculated as yours."

Whether she would believe that or simply think it was an excuse to hide the truth from her, would be Deyanira's decision. Just as it was her decision to allow him to move closer. She canted her head in the same manner he had, and Ulysses was more than certain she was playing at some sort of game between them. It was rare she was direct with him, unless there was something she wanted. This meeting had been his idea, so the fact she had been so bold as to put her true feelings to words came as a small surprise.

He lifted his hand and guided her jaw with the back of his fingers until their eyes were locked.

"They are not the only ones who know that to be true."

If Deyanira somehow that she could phase him with that information, she was wrong. Whatever the two of them had shared did not distract him from the truth. She hated him now, and if they were honest she had hated him then. There's was never a never a relationship of love, but rather passion and lust. Her lust for power is the only reason she had turned her back on Ulysses, and his success made her hate him more.

His spies were very good, and he knew what she would not say directly to his face.

He could smell her perfume, feel the warmth of her body as it was close to his. The breath of her whisper had tickled his ear. Everything about her was as intoxicating as the day they had met. Was it nostalgia, lust?

"Maybe, but I also knew this was the only place you would come alone. Your ego would never let anyone discover it, and your position as lady would be threatened if anyone knew. There are further things to be discussed between us that the young Lord Amnen does not need to be concerned with."

Ulysses let her go.

"And you need to know it from me, I did not arrange your husband's death."

 

[Deyanira Draco]

H O U S E • D R A C O​

Tag: Ulysses Renoux​

Deyanira did hate him, passionately.

But she also loved him.

However, hate was easier to harness and hide behind. And honestly, it's what kept her warm at night. This would keep him – and anyone else, especially herself – from knowing deeply guarded truth. Ulysses could never know the space he occupied in her heart. Love was admitting weakness.

It was defeat.

Deyanira's smile remained for a moment as he mentioned her ego. Quite right, he understood her better than most. The widow arched a brow, what more could they possibly have to discuss? Then, Ulysses' hand slipped away, leaving her with chills. Then, he dared to mention her husband.

"Is that so?" she asked, her eyes distant again, gazing over the duke's shoulder. From now on, would Elend haunt her steps? There was a small pin-prick of guilt as she stood there in the cave with a former lover, on this, the day of her husband's funeral.

Deyanira took a step back. She could feel the cold misty air against the back of her neck, but she embraced it. What did it matter if Ulysses hadn't killed Elend? He was still dead.

"Even if you didn't... You wanted to, did you not?" Deyanira could only deflect his honesty, twist it into something she could use to fuel her anger. "So, what stopped you from destroying him – and his house?"

Until today, their houses had been at war, after all.

"Because he was everything that you were not?" Deyanira narrowed her eyes at him. Perhaps, after all this time, she was angry that he'd failed to keep her.

​

 

[Ulysses Renoux]

H O U S E • R E N O U X​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Deyanira Draco

Did he want Elend dead? It would be a lie to say otherwise. Would Ulysses give the woman the satisfaction of knowing she was right? It would be a cold day on Mustafar before he would. She knew the truth, and they both knew it. Why did she need him to confirm it?

This time as she stepped away he did not pursue her. Everything they did was a dance, and both were vying for control. Neither of them would allow the other the satisfaction of gaining it, so they would remain in a stalemate. His statement had struck a chord with her, or finally she was allowing herself to feel the weight of her husband’s death. Either way, it was a crack in her armor, perhaps.

“What purpose would it serve me to kill him now? Think Dey. Of anyone you know the sort of man I am because you made him.”

His voice almost raised, not because he was angry, but because he knew Deyanira was smarter than her question made her seem. She was trying to elicit a response from the man, and she had succeeded, slightly. It would be a small victory to her, one Ulysses would allow now that he had no choice. It would serve him later, he would find a way.

“And that is why you hate me so? Because Elend was everything I am not?” This time he would speak a truth she would not want to confirm. “You hate me because I became more than he ever could have been, what you never thought I could be.”

Yes, Ulysses had proven to be the better man. His reach went further. Where Elend built one ship for war, Ulysses built two. His territory yielded more. Had the man wanted to he could have removed House Draco from contention, but that did not serve his purposes. Elend had always held the one thing Ulysses could never possess.

Deyanira.

He turned his back on her as he moved closer to the mouth of the cave. The water was beginning to rise with the tide. When they were younger they would sit and watch the sunset, letting the water trap them in the cave for the night. If neither returned before too long they would be considered missing. Neither could afford a search being initiated. It was a risk asking her to meet alone, but they needed to.

“Your house stands, and you hold it instead of your son.”

He turned to look at her again.

“Why? Was it Elend’s wish, or is he not fit to lead? There will be talk and rumors considering he is of age. There will be pressure that we reach an agreement for him and one of my daughters. I need to know.”

 

[Deyanira Draco]

H O U S E • D R A C O​

Tag: Ulysses Renoux​

She was now responsible for making Ulysses what he was?

A cold smile formed on Deyanira's red lips. The woman had drawn a response from him, a raised voice. He had become more than she would ever give him credit for. But, his own inadequacies and jealousy made the man before her.

Some might have seen as as striving for perfection, trying to best Lord Draco in every sense. She was privy to the truth:

He coveted what was not his.

Deyanira came to stand next to Ulysses, her narrowed eyes focused on the waves growing ever closer. The widow glanced sidelong as Duke Renoux spoke again. And this time, he would feel the burn of her anger. As she turned slightly, Deyanira's hand shot up and slapped Ulysses across the face.

"Spoken like someone that has dealt death, but never suffered the consequences." The widow's voice was full of venom. She was selfish, to be sure, but she understood her place. Once her son became the leader of the house, she would become the Dowager Duchess of House Draco. "How dare you suggest that I am denying my son what is rightfully his. Our house is in mourning – the day Amarantos steps up into his place will be a day of celebration. It was our wish that he wed first."

Elend was barely in the ground, and Deyanira wanted things done to ensure the stability of her house.

"It is my duty to bridge the gap between my husband and son." She paused to take him in. "Who will do that for you? Your consort?" Needless to say, she understood the line of succession for his house... she just wanted to rub it in.

​

 

[Ulysses Renoux]

H O U S E • R E N O U X​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Deyanira Draco

The slap was hard, and made the exact point she intended. Did that mean Ulysses was sorry for the comment, no. Regardless of what she said, the optics were still true. Even if she wanted to wait for her son to wed before taking control of the house, it made him look weak and incompetent. Ulysses simply smirked as he opened his mouth and worked his jaw. Otherwise the man seemed unphased.

“And until this moment your husband had not either. You may find my words harsh or insulting if you wish, but they will be the same as House Amnen. Or do you think that his advisors are whispering nice things about you into young Ty’Darius’ ear?”

He knew the truth, whether she wanted to admit it or not, Deyanira found herself in power, and she was going to be loathe to let it go. It was what she wanted most after all. Her eldest would simply be another victim in a long line of others amassed in her quest for what she desired most. Even if he did marry, Deyanira would not give up the house easily, if she even would.

Ulysses wanted to return the slap with a backhand of his own, but he would not hit a lady, especially her. The woman was cruel in every sense of the word and yet his heart still longed to have her, or perhaps it was his ego. Was it jealousy which had created the monster some perceived him to be, or was it the pain of rejection? In the end, it was the same, and it had produced what it had.

Duke Renoux was not the weak man she had once known.

“If you need to bridge the gap then your husband, tutors, and advisors, failed Amarantos, and those still living should be executed promptly.”

He would likely elicit another slap.

“If I died today, Romin would not need his mother to aid him in such ways. He has no need for a babysitter.”

The conversation was fruitless. Ulysses pinched the bridge of his nose as he stepped away from Deyanira. She knew their past was a dangerous thing to the peace they had established should it become public.

“This is a waste of time I see. It seems the peace we have secured today may not even survive our petty squabbles.”

Ulysses turned back to look at the ever rising tide.

“I was a fool for loving you then, and I am a fool for loving you still.”

 

[Deyanira Draco]

H O U S E • D R A C O​

Tag: Ulysses Renoux​

Deyanira felt the sting in her own palm, her hands still trembling with rage.

"Do not tell me how to run my house," she said, dismissing his comments. Things would be dealt with in a manner they saw fit. She would refuse to see reason when it came to the way her children were raised, especially her eldest. Deyanira was overprotective of him, but for his own good.

She rolled her eyes when he mentioned his own son. Perhaps... he did need a babysitter, given that she'd heard his presence had been requested at the peace talks. And yet, he'd been off with her daughter, Adelina. She had her justicars to thank for that information, delivered swiftly to her during the talks. Being thrust into a position of leadership did not always make a leader.

House Amnen was proof.

As Ulysses turned his gaze to the sea, Deyanira turned her back to him.

But she glanced over her shoulder when he spoke again. After all this time, he still loved her. The rage had dissolved from her eyes, leaving only sadness. For a brief moment, the widow softened. "Uly, you are a fool," Deyanira said, smiling – a hint of her younger self present. "And you will never belong to anyone else, just me."

For today, she would claim victory.

With that, she began to walk out of the cave. The dark waves were already creeping up to the ankles of her tall boots. Deyanira thought to leave, but lingered a moment longer. "Keep your son away from my daughters," she said, knowing he would have received similar reports from his own justicars.

​

 

[Ulysses Renoux]

H O U S E • R E N O U X​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Deyanira Draco

Was he telling her how to run her house, or was he suggesting she was setting it up for failure? There was a lot loaded into what Ulysses had said. More than anything he was speaking what they already knew was true. If Amarantos was fit to lead, he would be leading. Deyanira could say all she wanted to about her beloved son, or whatever excuse as to why she had taken the house. Ulysses did not have to believe them, and he did not.

Her smug remark was too much like her younger years. A younger Ulysses would have been putty in the dark woman’s hands with such a statement. He knew her too well now. She was claiming yet another possession. He shook his head as she began to walk away. Ulysses knew he was a fool in the matter, but admitting it out loud had taken something from the woman.

She no longer had a silent power over him.

His arm reached for hers. This time she would not be allowed to simply walk off. Spinning her to face him, his lips took hers in a fiery kiss.

“My son will do as he pleases, just as I will."

He would kiss her again if she allowed it. If not Ulysses would let her wrestle free of his grip and walk away. Peace agreements would not change the personal discord between the Duke and the Lady. Whatever their faces were in public they would have a shared history and hidden secrets to guard and protect.

 

[Deyanira Draco]

H O U S E • D R A C O​

Tag: Ulysses Renoux​

Deyanira had only taken a couple of careful steps when she felt a strong hand close around her arm. Locked in his embrace, her dark eyes widened for a moment as his lips pressed to hers. Her struggle against him was brief, as she, too, gave in to longing.

Like those dark nights they'd spent here in the cave, she found his strength appealing. Her hands gripped his broad shoulders as she returned the kiss with equal desire. It had been decades since he'd held her like this, his touch was familiar – and yet it was different. When the kiss broke, she stood still in his arms and looked into his eyes.

It was, perhaps, the first time she really saw him as the man he had become.

Deyanira wasted no time thinking about 'what-ifs.' Their chance at a life together had ended long ago, and there was no use in thinking about how their lives would be different now if they had wed. However, she knew for certain that it would not have been a happy ending. Ulysses was a man that she could only love if she could also hate him.

Pulling away, Deyanira slapped him again.

This time, however, there was only just enough sting to keep him at bay. Deyanira fixed him in a sharp gaze as she stood there in the surf, the dark waves at her feet. Without another word, the widow took her leave and silently vowed never to return to this place.

To him.

​