Private The Darkest Hour | Adron Malvern

[Saraya Arenais]

T A G | Adron Malvern ​

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Night fit over the patchwork blanket fields of Mnemosyne as easily as a glove fit over a hand. While the lush green planet certainly did seem alive in the day, the night was where it truly shone. The sky above twinkled with a thousand pinpricks of bright white light, doing their best to illuminate the midnight blue backdrop. A full moon cast its eerie glow over flora and fauna alike, rippling across grass and rock, like water trickling from a stream. Silence dominated this realm, joined only by mother nature who fluttered fleetingly between it.​

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The darkest hour of the night was often romanticised. It was made for stolen kisses and barely whispered words. Moonlit walks and dances under the stars. Or at least, up until that fateful night, that was what Saraya had thought.​

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He had opened her eyes, just as he promised he would.​

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The night was no longer meant for romance and fantasy. It was home to darkness. To unspeakable horrors. To chaos unmatched by any other. The darkness was his realm, and though silence dominated that too, it was his to control. Everything was, including her.​

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A cool breeze trickled through an open window, causing the silk curtains to flutter by its command. Once, she had dreaded the idea of sleeping. Of saying goodbye to the curiosities of the day and abandoning herself to darkness, but now? Dreams were the perfect way to chase her heart’s desire. They were a poor imitation of the shadow realm they had danced in, but it was far better than anything her conscious mind could conjure.​

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She welcomed the embrace of her sheets like an old friend. She encouraged the darkness to settle behind her eyes as she lay her head against feather-soft pillows, raven hair splaying wildly. It had been two weeks since the masquerade, and the memory of his face and touch was beginning to falter. Like an old photograph taken out of its frame far too often. Faded. Cracking.​

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Only in the darkest hour, in the darkest of dreams, could she refresh it. ​

 

[Adron Malvern]

Saraya Arenais ​

No sooner than she was asleep, would she awaken.

A hand cam down onto Saraya's shoulder, stirring her from slumber. At least, that was what she would believe. She was still in the realm between conscious and unconscious and in that place the Sith Lord's power over the Dark Side was uncontestable. "Saraya." The voice was low and soothing, a warm melody to pull her from the bed she had fallen into. There he sat, draped in a shroud of shadow and darkness. He looked down to her with the same amethyst eyes that had gazed at her longingly the moment they met.

He pulled his hand from her shoulder and turned to gaze about her room. No, it was not her room. The area they sat in seemed as if it had been physically ripped from the world of Mnemosyne and cast into a the very center of the universe. Stars passed them by and planets grew large and small but in the end only two things mattered. Adron and Saraya. His hand reached out to the woman's cheek and caressed it. For all the dream it had been, she could feel it. More than anything she could feel the connection between them strengthen.

"I promised you I would open your eyes." He said to her before bending down, his hand came around to the back of her neck as it had the night they met and he pressed her brow to his own.

Of course Adron had attempted to keep the woman from his mind, but to no avail. The darkness within her called out to him like a beacon in the night and it was impossible for him to ignore. His hand massaged into her neck as he enjoyed the moment of closeness with the woman before his eyes came open. They were still and cold as they always were, but on Saraya there was something more behind them than disdain. There was intrigue and longing.

"Have you missed me, Princess?" He asked her before taking her hand into his. "Have you accepted the darkness?"

 

[Saraya Arenais]

T A G | Adron Malvern ​

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The sweet embrace of sleep was both frightening and welcoming. The moment just before she slipped into the darkness, Saraya could have sworn she was falling. Down into an everlasting pit of black that went on and on for as long as she had the air to scream. It was exhilarating. Such a brush with death and danger-filled her with adrenaline that somewhat sated her hunger. Though it was a pale imitation of the kind of feeling she chased ever since he left her side.​

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Suddenly, where she had expected to lose herself in the land of dreams, something solid and tangible broke her decent.​

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When she opened her eyes again expecting to find her room, she was met with the emptiness of space. Bleary-eyed, she rose at the behest of the hand, only vaguely aware that her body felt lighter than air. Fingertips caressed her cheek, and she could do nothing but close her eyes at their touch. She did not need them to know who it belonged too. “Adron.” She whispered, her eternally sweet tone echoing in the confines of their corporeal space.​

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Her hands reached out to clutch at his shadowed form, as though she could hardly believe he was truly here. He was here, in a way, but something lacked. Something unseen in the dark that kept them so far apart despite their physical closeness. Saraya breathed a soft sigh. Full of relief, full of elation. “This is a dream.” Her breathless words filled the small space between their lips. The words tumbled sleepily from her throat, despite her desire to keep them locked inside. If this were a dream, saying them felt like the hammer that would shatter the illusion into a thousand pieces.​

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Yet, when she lifted her gaze to see him, his form remained as real as the grasp he had placed on her neck. The same one that now sent shivers of electricity down her spine. “I have missed you.” She sighed out, words shuddering with each finger that pressed into her spine. The spoke of everything she had longed for in their time apart. Every missed touch, lost kiss, and unsated desire.​

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At his second question, her eyes flicked open fully. Finally awake, finally seeing.​

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“Yes.” She said, almost immediately. It was practised and confident. “If accepting darkness is what it takes to be with you then I surrender myself to it willingly.” She reached one of her hands up to place it on his cheek and drew herself as close as she dared to be. There was barely an inch between their lips when she spoke again. “If darkness is what it takes... I hope I never see the light again.” ​

 

[Adron Malvern]

Saraya Arenais ​

Hearing his name on Saraya's lips brought a cool smile to the man's expression. He loved to hear the way she spoke the word, as if his name was the only in the galaxy. When she stated that the realm they were in was a dream the King nodded slowly in response to her words. "Our dream." He corrected her, bringing his hand along to her cheek to feel the same soft, warm skin he had missed in the recent weeks. His amethyst eyes met hers and he was reminded of what laid behind those eyes. Darkness. In its pure form Saraya had accepted the Dark Side of the Force and now fed from it like a kath hound fed from prey. It was beautiful, seeing the display through the façade that was her corporal form. In the nether of the Force Saraya's form was that of a demon clothed in darkness, her power was growing even though she may not have understood it.

He felt her soft hands on his skin and it sent a genuine chill down his spine. That was a new feeling. His eyes turned to the hand as he brought his own to enclose around it. His own eyes closed for a fraction of a second as if to soak in the feeling of having the woman so close to him. When his eyes opened and he heard the words spoken by the woman, he closed the final distance between them.

As his lips met hers there was a moment of serenity surrounding them. His hand fell to her back, urging her closer to him as his arm wrapped around her. The kiss was passionate and held every bit of the emotion that the last two weeks had built up, but even more than that it deepened the connection between them once again. As the Force continued to weave their existences together, the Dark Lord could only hold the woman close and embrace the union.

When finally their lips did part, it was with a soft exhale and no small amount of hesitation on Adron's part. However those amethyst eyes were leveled against Saraya carefully. "Your mother came to my courts." He said, his hand rising to flow through the locks of her hair. "Offering me your hand." His hand came flat against her cheek, holding her gaze to his. "Is that what you want?" He asked her.

"Do you wish to be my Queen?" He questioned her.

 

[Saraya Arenais]

T A G | Adron Malvern ​

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His smile was everything. The be-all and end-all of life itself. Saraya had almost forgotten the power it could hold over her, but the minute his lips began to creep up, she was reminded. She was his.​

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Our dream.​

The words made her heart skip a beat. Our dream. Did he dream of her too? It hardly seemed real, but Saraya knew him better than that. His power stretched beyond comprehension. Beyond everything, she had ever thought defined reality. He was master of whatever universe he stood in. Anything he said was so, anything he commanded was obeyed, and now he was master over Saraya too. Whatever reality he deemed to be true, she believed in with every fibre of her being.​

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With her fingers subconsciously drawing him closer with light scratches across his jawline, he finally closed the distance between them. When their lips met Saraya melted completely into his embrace. It was everything she had ever had the imagination to summon. Darkness was truly a wonder to behold in him. She could sit for hours to watch the shadow swirling around his form, to watch the evil manifest and spill from his soul. Yes, Saraya could bask in it to her heart's content… but it tasted so much better.​

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As the force knitted their very being together, the soft golden glow that had encircled Saraya began to die out. Swallowed whole by the black tendrils that lashed freely from Adron. Though she was unaware of it, she welcomed them. Begged them, even, to drown out the light. To dominate her entire being in shadow, just as he was. ​

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She was loathed to release him, but she could no more control him than she could control the pounding of her heart. Swallowing her disappointment, Saraya finally opened her eyes to gaze up at him once more. A breathless sigh of excitement left her lips at his words. “I know…” She replied, almost sheepishly. It wasn’t necessarily a plot, but she and her mother had discussed him at length. When his hand came to rest on her cheek, she rose one of hers to place on top of it. The skin beneath was soft and supple, and his touch was nothing but tender.​

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“I do.” Her hand shifted from his to join the other in draping themselves across his shoulders. “More than anything.” She began, leaning her head forward to press a kiss into his cheek. “More than the air I breath.” Her lips trailed from one cheek to the other, barely grazing his lips as they graced the other side with a second kiss. “More than light and life itself.” She breathed out against his skin in soft whispers before indulging in another passionate moment of his lips against hers. Of drinking in his darkness.​

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This time, it was Saraya who broke the embrace first. One of her hands fell from his shoulders and came to rest against his chest. “Do you…” She paused, to nibble her lower lip nervously. “Is this what you want?” An emerald gaze flicked up from his lapel to search for the glimmer of amethyst in his. “To have me as your own?” ​

 

[Adron Malvern]

DARKNESS​

Tags: Saraya Arenais ​

With every word that Saraya spoke, he found the realm around them deepening and enhancing the connection between them. The realm they were in was tied through emotion and the nether of the Force. He could never hope to feel the touch of another, only the woman whom had immediately caught his eyes and dominated every sense he had. As she moved closer to him, every kiss she placed on him was a wave of heat and power that made him smile in a moment of enjoyment. Her kisses were so impossibly soft, how could such a creature be so perfect? He wondered.

Again their lips met and the words of devotion that fell from the woman's mouth were so invigorating to hear that the man practically drank them in. Her hand on his chest she would feel the smooth beating of his heart. His own hand came up to take hers and he leaned down to press his lips to the soft skin running down her wrist. He lifted his eyes to meet hers when she asked her question but he did not respond, instead he continued to grace her arm with tender kisses, trailing from the inside of her wrist up to her shoulder in slow, even presses.

He felt he could keep his lips pressed to her skin until the end of time, but finally he broke away to turn his eyes to the woman before him. "You belong to me now." His hand came to hold her chin, closing the distance to place one more soft, impossibly warm kiss on her waiting lips. When he pulled back his eyes were yet fastened upon her.

"I will give all I am to you Saraya Arenais and you will give all you are to me." He promised her. His hand fell to her neckline, running his finger along it sensually.

"The galaxy is a dangerous place and there is much darkness that must be cast if our power is to be uncontested. I will teach you how to extend your darkness over the galaxy and you will be my Queen." He whispered to her. "Never falter. Never look back. We do what we must."​

 

[Saraya Arenais]

T A G | Adron Malvern ​

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His heartbeat never faltered, not once. It beat it in a slow, powerful rhythm against the flat of her palm in an almost enchanting way. Nothing as simple as the monotonous thud had ever been as mesmerising to her. Almost comparable to a moth, Adron’s heartbeat was Saraya’s light. The chase was constant, and though she could never truly bathe in its glow, she would continue on until it was hers.​

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The silence he allowed to linger after her question was more deafening than anything Saraya had faced in her entire life. Her own heart raced impossibly fast, a thousand and one answers and responses running through her mind. The tender kisses placed upon her arm were somewhat of a distraction, but she could not help but wonder. What if he said no? What if all he wanted was to manipulate her? To use her? To abuse her for his gain and discard the pieces when all was said and done?​

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Would she care? Would she beg for her freedom? Would she turn him away and run? As he approached her shoulder, breathing a warm wave of tantalising breath over her skin, the answer became immediately clear.​

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No.​

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She would not.​

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During a conversation with her mother, Saraya had concluded that she would be and do anything he asked of her in the time it took for him to speak the words. That was as true now as it had been then. Even if she was a stepping stone to greater power, a pawn in a game of chess, an empty vessel to be filled. Saraya would do it all. Gladly. All he needed to do was ask.​

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When he freed himself from her flesh, she waited for his response with bated breath. The seconds that ticked by were the longest she had ever experienced. Yet, she said nothing, captured by the amethyst eyes that held her gaze with an unspoken dominance.​

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Saraya breathed out a shaky sigh of relief. Those words were all she had longed to hear from the moment they had caught each other’s gaze across the ballroom. They were the final key to drowning out the last of her hesitation, to bathing her entirely in the darkness he controlled. Saraya closed her eyes, a beautifully peaceful smile forming on her lips. The thudding of her heart had slowed little, but she could no longer hear the deafening pounding in her ears. All she could hear was his voice echoing the words in her mind. All she could smell was the sweet scent of perfume on his skin. All she could see was him.​

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She caught his second kiss with vigour.​

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“You have owned all I am for far longer than tonight.” She whispered her words with a coy smile on her face. She shuddered at his touch and allowed it to continue for a moment longer before she caught his hand in her grasp. It was far too torturous, and she wanted to pay attention to what he was saying. She was no stranger to the saying of House Malvern. At least, she had not been in recent weeks. Reading them on paper was a stark difference to hearing them aloud. He spoke them with such confidence, with such a dominance, over them that Saraya had no doubts as to their meaning.​

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Taking a deep breath to steady the butterflies in her stomach, Saraya glanced up to catch his gaze. “We do what we must.” She repeated softly. The hand that clutched his slipped into his grasp easily. His was almost twice the size of hers, but the way it encased it so easily made her feel safe. The same way the demon had made her feel safe in the throes of their shadowed dance. Another sigh of relief poured from her lips at the realisation. She would never again be without out it. The beast of her fairy tale.​

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Suddenly, she released her grip on him and slid her arms around his middle, burying her head into his shadowed form. Her fingers clutched at the back of his jacket, pulling him in until she felt the breath leave her lungs. “When will I see you again?” She mumbled softly into his chest.​

 

[Adron Malvern]

Not after long the King began to realize something about the woman he held in her arms. She was like no other in the galaxy. Saraya was as beautiful as the rising sun and brought with her a calm that the man could only describe as serenity. His hand came to intertwine in her hair, playfully sweeping it over her shoulder as she buried herself into his chest. She asked when they would see each other once again and the man could not help but smile at the question that fell from her lips.

When would she see him again?

"Whenever you close your eyes and call on the Darkness within your heart, I will hear you." He promised her, a single finger trailing down her neck with a warm touch.

"Royal weddings are long and complicated processes. I am sure your mother will want her daughter to have the finest union that the stars have ever seen and that is what I wish for my bride to be." He told her warmly. The shadows around the man began to shift and quiver as his voice slipped out of the physical plane and began to echo in the deepest part of Saraya's mind. The man she had hugged into began to drift out of the realm they were in, only his voice remaining behind him.

Remember. I am with you, always.

Saraya Arenais ​

 

[Saraya Arenais]

T A G | Adron Malvern ​

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Saraya sighed, though his warm tone did ease her frustration somewhat. “If it meant being saved from another moment apart, I would marry you under a bridge tomorrow.” She whispered desperately into his slowly fading form.​

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The moment his shadow had slipped back into the darkness would be the moment she would wake from the dream. She could feel her grip slipping, but she clung no less than she had when he had been a solid entity. Holding on was the only thing she could think to do. Before too long, all she had left were thin wisps of smoke curling through her clutched fingers, and the sound of his voice echoing through her mind. A final sigh of despair forced its way out of her lips as the sensation of falling began to take over her body once more.​

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Waking with somewhat of a start, Saraya threw herself upright from the soft silk pillows. Early morning light had begun to creep over Mnemosyne’s sky, dousing it in dark shades of purple descending into pink. Lifting one of her hands, Saraya rubbed the sleep from her eyes wearily. Dreams were often easy to forget. Many details were lost the moment you opened your eyes to come to the realisation that it had not been reality.​

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She could still feel the touch of his fingers upon her neck, the breath against her skin, the scent of his cologne in the back of her throat, the taste of his lips.​

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Tugging at the tight neckline of her bedgown, Saraya slipped from between the sheets and pressed her feet against the cold marble floor. Something hot burned against her chest. When she had first woken, she made the assumption that it was the sheets, but even sitting directly in the line of the breeze that trickled through the window, Saraya could still feel it. A soft, sleepy grumble left her throat as she stood from the bed, heading over to a tall silver mirror that shimmered in the moonlight. It took a moment for her reflection to fade into view properly.​

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Narrowing her eyes, she inched closer, leaning slightly to allow the jewel around her neck to fall forward slightly. As she slipped it further from view with the tip of her fingers, it was warmer than it had any right to be, but it revealed something that made her heart skip a beat. A tiny, teardrop-shaped brand sitting perfectly between her breasts where the amethyst jewel had been sitting. She rose a hand to touch the edges of the mark. The minute her fingers grazed the charred flesh, she withdrew with a sharp gasp of surprise. The pain radiated through every nerve and made the puckered skin ache agonisingly.​

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Remember, I am with you, always.​

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Saraya pressed her lips together. To stop an intense groan of pain and desire tumbling from her lips. The words sounded as real as they had done when he first spoke them. As though his hands were wrapped around her waist, lips pressed against her ear, whispering in sweet, sultry tones. When the beating of her heart had slowed a little, she reached up to touch the brand again.​

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A mark to remember. Though, from this moment forward, Saraya would never forget.​