Snow White and the Evil Queen

[Ellie Mors]

Iron Citadel, Empress Teta

Twenty years ago to date Silara was an apprentice to the Sith Lord, a former Voice to the Dark Lord of the One Sith, Darth Veles. Years had passed, however, and she was now well into her thirties, reaching five months pregnant, and in a similar position as her former master had been at the point of their meeting - though in terms of career within the One Sith only. While their relationship had been cut short, she had became the apprentice to one Darth Mierin, someone whom she had respected above all other Sith. The woman had taught her more than Veles had in more than a single way, she had taught the younger Silara how to duel properly against an opponent far more skilled and clever than she, and raised her up from the somewhat more gifted acolyte to a knight, and then kept her even still. They had done much together, and the relationship had grown with the training. This all continued until the day that she had learned all she could from her master, the hand of the Dark Lord, and it was that night that the two engaged in a somewhat honorable duel in which Silara struck down the woman with every ounce of effort that was fought back with every ounce of strength that her pureblood master could muster. The apprentice had become the master, only she had never taken her own apprentice.

It wasn't to avoid the fate of her late master, as their relationship had been an oddity and far from the norm of the common-era Sith who now feared their deaths and sought some sort of psuedo-law to protect their own pathetic hides from being killed by their apprentices that felt they had learned all they could. The disproportionate growth among the One Sith was exactly why she had not taken an apprentice of her own, all of them had already been tainted by their disgusting ways of frailty and fear. Benevolence, all of it was rubbish and completely unlike the great Sith Lords she had consulted in meditation - such as the enigmatic Darth Andeddu in his holocron of heresies. The Dark Lord himself had an apprentice attempt the same means to succession as she had, only to be killed by both Silara and Reverance - at the time she was but a knight, and he a Lord who later became a hand. Things stirred, times changed, and now the once small, virulent, and powerful One Sith stretched wide as an empire that grew fat on its own wealth. Few, if any, of the Sith Lords of the current era could hold a candle to Mierin, and yet they stood proud as though they were equal not only in social standing but in knowledge and power as well. It was such a farce to her, one which drove her from her seat as the Dark Lord's voice, drove her to Empress Teta and into the arms of a mere man, a man with no talents or abilities other than his way with words and influence over the corporate realm.

Yet still something was unfulfilled for her. She had not quite given up her title as a Sith Lord - it was impossible in more than just the social sense - but that life now lay behind her. She built ships, ran a planet's government from behind the veil, and still something tugged at her from the inside. Silara knew it to be the force, she often had felt its murmurings in the past prior to the Netherworld happenings, but for the life of her she could not comprehend why. It was similar to how she had discovered she had a sister, very similar to the way she felt during farsight or before a vision granted to her through the force. But neither had happened - she had not glimpsed a possible change in her life, nor had she noticed anything happen near her that would have triggered ripples through the force. And now she sat as undeclared queen, soon to be an empress of an entire people - a planet - and unopposed by any yet to be seen. The very Krath that had re-surged in recent times now bent to her will, their traitorous and corrupt former ruler now dead, and the planet-sponsored corporation of Koros Spaceworks was hers to run as she saw fit. To top it off she was pregnant with twins. What could the galaxy - no, the Force - offer her that would shift these things around? Her children would be more important to her than even her husband the closer they came to childbirth, and he knew it, so there was little to offer her that would sway her from the routine she had set for herself.

Until she set her eyes on her prize.

[member="Têhra"]

 

[Têhra]

The trip to Empress Teta had been woefully uneventful, although such a thing was deemed preferable considering who the inhabitants on board the 'Silver Delight' were. Ambassadors and several high ranking officials from Hapes were tasked by the Royal Queen Mother to begin dealings with several representatives on planets within the Deep Core, the ever looming threat of another invasion or galactic kerfuffle enticing the typically apathetic race to finally relinquish their comforts within the Transitory Mists and seek out alliances with several hand picked systems. Alas, such a journey was not without its disappointments and several summits were left on a sour note, the pride of the Hapans often leading to particularly unfortunate disagreements and confrontations. Little could be said about their habitual xenophobia, its presence often marring most interactions, but their political savvy was enough to warrant some modicum of attention from they visited. They were the voice of the Queen Mother, her royal and somewhat racist vanguard and it was no wonder that Zihanna Syle'a, Baroness of House Syle'a, would be one of the foremost members of such a select group of individuals. Some thought it a political move by the Queen Mother, a way to get the conniving yet equally convincing woman out of her hair and into the great beyond, to serve a purpose other than trying to sabotage her.

As with most of her ventures, Zihanna dragged along her bastard niece, Têhra, the notion of leaving the girl back on Hapes to dance and tend to her flowers not even passing the woman's mind. She needed someone to clean and tend to whatever mundane task was in need of attention and there was no one better suited than Zihanna's favourite plaything. Having little choice in the matter and naturally finding herself stuffed in one of the more modest bunkers, the porcelain skinned teenager was left in her quiet isolation, the constant hum of the cruiser and the muffled chatter of the men and women passing her door becoming a familiar soundtrack during the trip across the galaxy. It should have been something to remember, the sights that passed the tinted window panes of her room like nothing the bastard had ever witnessed before. Shimmering nebulae, gargantuan gas giants, neglected ruins from age old space battles and a whole manner of colourful planets came and went, any promise of enlightenment at seeing such sights falling painfully short of what Têhra planned.

There was nobody to share in her wonderment and awe, not even Ali Hadrix, a woman the girl had come to love, was present to enjoy the ride around the galaxy and that alone was enough to summon a silent and sulky mood throughout most of the trip. It was just her and her thoughts, the fragmented dreams of her life back on Hapes coming and going with every passing day.

Several hours had already passed before the 'Silver Delight' finally docked on Empress Teta, two representative accompanied by a Holo of a well dressed minister greeting the party of Hapans before escorting them through the expansive city and into the famed Iron Citadel. It was a sight to behold, the design alone striking a certain uneasiness within Têhra and thinly veiled disgust from her aunt, the aesthetic tastes of their homeland looking like an image of paradise in comparison. However, unlike Zihanna, who strode forward with confident steps and head stubbornly held high against the assault to her personal tastes Têhra felt the gnawing pit in her stomach grow with every step she took inside the grand citadel. The soft pitter-patter of her dainty feet echoed into the obsidian halls, bouncing along the imposing interior before joining the murmuring cacophony of noise that pervaded the ginormous building. It was a disconcerting experience, so much so that her pace would have all but stopped if it weren't for the woman who'd shamelessly brought her along.

"Têhra, keep up. I will not have you embarrassing me." Her aunt snarled, shooting daggers in the direction of her diminutive niece before striding through several archways and into a grand oval shaped room. The bastard could do little to ignore the order and swiftly tip toed after the woman, sapphire eyes flickering about her as if one of the guards was going to pluck her and steal her away for the night. The gleaming silver cuffs adorning her wrists and ankles were enough to grant any onlooker some idea of her rank, or lack thereof, and the fact that she was wandering the halls on a planet with people she knew little of only made the girl feel all the more self conscious and wary.

Turning the corner, in the hopes of catching up to the herd of immaculately dressed Hapans, Têhra was instead faced with the imposing silhouette of a masked guard. A stifled gasp escaped the girl's lips at the sight of the man shaped obstacle, the sight of her aunt growing smaller and smaller as she advanced further into the citadel.

"You will have to wait here. Anyone not registered for the summit are not allowed to come any further. You can wait with the other maidservants and guards in the southern lobby." The man uttered stoically, as if he'd rehearsed the line a dozen times over.

"...But -"

"Security protocol. They will be finished in a few hours, you can join them later." The man interjected, raising a hand to her face before gesturing down another gaping hallway in the direction that only she could assume would be where the other, much lesser important, individuals were sent. Scrunching her brow and gnawing on her lower lip, the girl granted the man a wary glance before tentatively heading off into the direction of what she hoped to be southern lobby, her dainty footsteps softly echoing into the gaping citadel around her...

[member="Silara Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

There was often a notion held by those who were either unfamiliar with the force or unable to control it that in order to be aware of another, through the force, they must be acting against or on them. To most, both sensitive and not, simply being nearby another practitioner of the force is not cause for alarm, and most force sensitives make the false assumption that in being unable to feel the presence of another that they, too, cannot be discovered by them. But there are many things regarding the sensory capabilities of the masters of the force that have spent much of their time on simply that. A Sith assassin must learn to minimize their presence in the force while keeping careful eye on their target, whether physically or through the force, and it is at that basic level that one would learn many ways to either trick a pursuer or to detect those beyond their possible line of sight. There have been cases of masters in the force noticing the potentials of those unaware even of their own abilities from behind closed walls and locked gates, of those who dwell in meditation during their hours of relaxation to converse with the force or to tempt it to do their will. Such was how the Sith Sorceress, Darth Vitium - known almost entirely to all now as simply Silara Kuhn, wife to the infamous titan of the corporate world - discovered a small, but potentially massive, ripple in the force.

Though the Iron Citadel was large, and its defenses all but impregnable with mounted turrets and guardsmen constantly keeping watchful eye, it was the very woman that sat in the deepest, darkest, recesses of its halls that was its greatest defense. Within the One Sith it was common knowledge that one darth, Darth Isolda, was the Eye of the Dark Lord, seeing far and wide as both an oracle and a master of the farsight. While the Sith Lady that now called Empress Teta her home had no such talent with the visions of the force, it was her mastery of telepathy that gave her almost intimate knowledge of what occurred within the streets of her planet. It was the primary reason she was capable of seizing control over it with such little resistance - absolutely none in public, the shred of dissent merely a criminal group known as the Krath that was well under her control now. Telepathy was though to be simply a communication of minds, either by reading thoughts or sending them like unspoken words. Yet it was so much more than that. With a little effort and quite a few decades of training and practice, one could peer not only into memories in the past, but also share their senses - see what they see, hear as they do, and in some cases go even further than that - and it was in this that she peered through the eyes of her own security detail that had been kept at the front door step.

She had not been watching long, it was not as though she had expected such a chance opportunity to present itself - especially not in such a manner as literally walking up to her doorstep - but it was the very same subtle ripple that had caught her attention, almost as though she was resting submerged in a lake of fluidity, and each ripple were a vibration to gently nudge against her, some greater than the rest. It was the manner in which she felt the presence of the young girl that attracted her attention, and it was the size of it that brought her eyes upon her. "Leena." Came her voice, a soft rasp from her lips. "Yes, Miss Kuhn?" Replied the younger red-head that stood not far from her desk, an assistant making notes on the datapad that rested against her spare arm as she wrote. "The meeting that was scheduled in ten, please take it for me - it's a relatively simple one, there is something I need to see to." Silara answered, pushing her chair back to stand. "Ma'am if there is an intruder we can have the Sons take care of it for you, Mister Kuhn left his elite here for more than just ogling." Leena said with a sigh, quite aware of how her employer liked to take matters into her own hands. "It isn't that, there is someone who has been pulled along by the force to me, and while I have yet to have taken an apprentice of my own it is clear to me that her potential as one is quite possibly unmatched." She countered, although she was quite aware that the nineteen year-old was certainly not familiar with the force. The assistant shrugged, not interested in arguing with someone who could arguably face the majority of her own security detail and come out on top with little, if any, trouble at all. While Leena Haven left to attend to the meeting that she would be taking her superior's place in, Silara slipped out to find the young lady that had garnered her interest.

[member="Têhra"]

 

[Têhra]

For all the grandeur that the great citadel offered the young bastard could not summon the same awe she felt when met with the equally magnificent sights located on the other planets the envoy visited. The nauseating weight she felt tug at her innards was unlike anything Têhra felt before. Rationalizing the sensation wasn't particularly hard, her mind rummaging through the past day in the hopes of coming to some feeble conclusion. The girl knew she had not eaten anything questionable, or anything at all for that matter, such a small diet was enough to keep anything too exotic out of her system. Perhaps it was simply acclimatizing to the weather, everything on Empress Teta did feel a lot more cold and uninviting and the transition from a snug little air conditioned room into the shadowy chill of the planet seemed like a reasonable explanation.

Alas, no matter how hard the girl tried to reason with her own paranoia she still felt uneasy. Regardless of whether it was the climate, her diet or the lack of any friend accompanying her the young bastard could not shake the prickly sensation from beneath her skin.

Having heeded the guards order and stepping through the throat of the citadel, Têhra found herself lightly wading past shadowy doors, great monoliths and faceless guards. It was like she'd entered a crypt. Shaking her head, the girl sucked in a shallow breath before quickening her pace and avoiding any eye contact from whatever mysterious individual lurked around the next pillar. Part of the bastard knew she posed no threat to the aforementioned individuals, she was just a dainty little thing, unarmed and more likely to jump at her shadow than into a brawl. For all she knew they probably ignored her, which was for the best. The bastard enjoyed the anonymity.

Turning a corner, the girl was met with the distant silhouettes of the other relegated Hapans, the little moving splotches of their figures dancing in her peripherals as she briskly moved forward. Perhaps they were also feeling odd being here, something the girl hoped to find out as soon as she got there.

However, a static pull halted her movements and left her frozen in place, the unfamiliar tension that itched beneath her skin growing all the more unbearable as her sapphire gaze darted across the grand hallway. She was alone, but she knew she wasn't. Têhra could feel it in her gut, like some passive doe would when hiding from a predator. Gnawing on her lower lip the girl's limbs stiffened up, the porcelain skin flourishing with goosebumps as she slowly turned on the balls of her feet.

"Hello?" she whispered timidly, feathery voice melting into the cold interior.

Someone was there. Someone was watching.

[member="Silara Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

They say where there is light there must be a shadow.

But without light...

There is only darkness, a void that is as cold as it is empty. Unforgiving. Hating.

Evil.



A thousand lies form the threads that are sewn into the form of one Silara Kuhn, an Empress not simply by name. An entire planet kneels to one who dropped the title of voice to pursue her own goals, whether they be neutral of the galactic conflict or shrouded in deceit. Two children she bears, twins. There are records of her first meetings with others years ago, decades since passed, all of which were inconsistent. A man that claimed she was devout, loyal, and yet calm. A woman that feared for her life as a raving lunatic tore apart the very city to reach her prey. A child that witnessed the calculating control of a Sith Lord as she annihilated enemies to the state. All of them share a single thread, the thread that holds the mask in place. A liar, she is, and a cruel one at that. A family grows from a rotten tree, one that bears fruit as vines curl over its damp bark and strip it of the light that once fed it to sap from it the strength to live. There are things in this galaxy that are not meant to be discovered by the minds of mortals, by those who walk the land and breathe the air. Things that would corrupt the mind, the soul, and rend their sanity from beneath them. And then there are the few, the rare. Aware of the faults of those around them, analytic, and plotting always. They cannot be considered sane as sanity is simply a fallacy to their ultra-awareness, conscious not only of their own thoughts but also of those around them. They do not know what is to happen - something that cannot exist until it has come to pass - but they know what is and has been, not by subjectivity, not by objectivity, but for what it is, what it was, and what it always will be.

They lurk in the dark, in broad daylight, as the very darkness that creeps beneath the skin, or the shadow that follows behind like a mocking jester in the evening sun. Vile creatures they are, though often reclusive and considerably sheltered from the outside. So adaptive, and yet so fragile. Demons of the deep, cruel creatures that always seem to lurk just out of sight. A feeling of nausea ever-present, caution and fear growing by simply drawing near when they see fit. But even these harpies have limits, and so they procreate in hope that their descendants may be as dark as they, and all the more powerful. While they live, when they cannot have this fulfillment, they take others to spread an inkling of this animosity - like a hand on a string. Sith Lords they call them, the real ones anyway. So many parade about as them, wishing to 'reform' the rest to that of an idealistic group of less-than-evil they believe is 'right'. These pretenders are always easily compared to the original, like foil to silver. And yet the darkness that lurked beneath the city walls of Cinnegar, on the streets of Empress Teta, was no mere shade, not premonition of dismay as well. When the questioning word left that pretty girl's lips, a cackle was returned. A shrewd one, yet distinctly feminine - and cold.

'Do you see what lies beyond the veil?'

A rasp like sandpaper carried the woman's whisper like a waft of smoke to the girl's ears, or rather her mind within. 'Can you it feel, do you know what lies ahead? Will you continue, or will you flee?' The words held no seeming meaning, none that were easily interpreted but could mean a great many things to those who hear it. As it were, darkness crept in from the corners of the walls, from the ceiling, and the floor. The light was sapped away like paper against fire. Ink into water. It would have been so easy to perceive it as a mental assault, and while that would have been frightening the truth was far more disturbing. The darkness that flooded in like the droughts of Chaos was no mere illusion, it was very much real, and extremely visible. True, palpable, waves of darkness eclipsed the light and the fear that would inevitably follow sank in like a thief in the night. From behind, traveling as only one could when aided with the force to move with speed, a woman that was cloaked in the darkness emerged, and the dark storm subsided, as if only to announce her arrival. A tilt of her reddish hair and it was gone, yet the light left with it. Her eyes glowed first red, then blue, and finally purple, as she examined the girl - cybernetic implants quite clearly. "Tell me; what do you see?" She asked, her voice distorted not by tone but by feeling.

[member="Têhra"]

 

[Têhra]

A cackle called from the shadows, cold and chilling was its tone. Draped in menace and malevolence the heavy air that clutched the girl in place only seemed to grow tighter with every passing second. Every cell in her body demanded she flee, demanded she make haste for the safety that her fellow Hapans would surely offer; no doubt they would think her insane but even disbelief was better than possible dismemberment. Alas, the girl’s dainty feet were plastered to the ground, the roots of her trepidation holding her in place and stubbornly keeping her where she stood.

Run

The whispering voice in her mind pleaded, riddling the bastard’s thoughts with every madman and monster that haunted the halls of her nightmares. Why tempt such a thing? The rambling excuses flooded her mind, sweeping away any pretence of calm and control as her eyes flickered through the gaping hallway, feeling the skin on the back of her neck shiver as the other voice scratched its way into her head. It was unlike anything the girl ever thought possible, the biting tone of her unseen adversary setting her mind alight with embers. Clutching her skull, the girl stumbled in place for a moment, eyes clenched shut as she chased after the voice in her brain.

This isn’t real. This couldn’t be real.

”Who are you?” Têhra gasped quietly, gritting her teeth as she felt another heavy tug pulse within her core. If it wasn’t already enough that she was answering the phantom’s riddle the bastard was even mulling over what the cryptic utterances meant. She should have fled at the first hint of danger, scrambled on her hands and knees if it got her out of the isolated hallway. Where were the guards? Surely there would be security droids about? Opening her eyes, the pale skinned bastard hoped to find the gleaming tiled floor that would lead her back to safety but she was met with nothing...nothing but darkness. The last sliver of light that remained slipped into the suffocating void, the weight of the girl's claustrophobia holding her in place as her eyes blindly flickered through the murkiness. It was is if night itself had embraced her, clutching her trembling figure against it's obsidian bosom.

This isn't real!

The threads of Têhra's fear and doubt spun a tapestry of fear that clutched her starveling figure, the endless shadows that awaited her scrambling limbs offering nothing but emptiness. The voice called out once more and the girl flinched, the sound seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"Nothing...I see nothing." The girl whimpered, panicked, tentatively stepping forward as her hands grasped through the darkness. Was this blindness? It was a futile afterthought that only set her heart beating that much faster. Sapphire eyes darted across the endless dark, hoping to catch the tail of whatever light still remained. "There is nothing...I-I can't see," Têhra swallowed, strained breaths leaving her mouth in short, swift bursts, "W-Who are you? I know you're there...I can feel you." The bastard uttered, feathery voice chasing the tone of courage, swiveling on the balls of her feet once more as she felt the magnetic pull in her chest guide her. It was on a whim, a futile bluff, or so she thought, to keep the ghost at bay.

[member="Silara Kuhn"]