The Demise of Lunitari Miette

[starofthewest]

Isabelle stepped off the caravan, the chill night air greeting her and making her senses tingle. She always felt more alive at night. Her ears pricked up as she heard the sounds of sobbing somewhere nearby and she turned, to see a figure sitting at the base of the tree. She approached.

"Are you allright, sweetheart?"

Lunitari Miette looked up at her, her face stained with tears. A pretty woman, but coarse, rough and with scars as testament to the life of violence she led, Luna's obvious sorrow and pain sent a chill down Isabelle's spine, but she dared not hope.

"Shhh....." She sat with her, gently stroking her leg with her hand, murmuring comfortingly to her.

"It's okay darling, everything will be allright. What happened?" Her voice was false concern laced with expectation, a breath withheld as she wondered if she would hear what she had nightly prayed for since returning to Isinhold. Lunitari broke into sobs again as she spoke, completely distraught.

"Zak..." she sobbed, her entire body shuddering as she did so, "I left Zak. It's all my fault." Isabelle had to genuinely fight to supress a wild grin, a scream of elation, victory, a primal urge to gloat in the face of a woman who she believed had taken from her the only person or thing she had ever really loved. She held her silence a moment, trying to still the driving desire in her head.

"Wait, Isabelle... draw it out." The rational voice in her mind dissented. "She's vulnerable... alone... this is your chance to have your revenge."

[starofthewest]

"I... I slept with another man... it's all my fault!" Luna was completely inconsolable, and all the while Belle revelled in the sweet irony of it all. Isabelle held her close as she cried, whispering soothingly in her ear.

"It's allright, sweetheart... shhh... I know exactly how you feel, remember?"

A delicious thought occured to her, a flash of inspiration that set her mind on fire, her thoughts blazing with possibilities as she connected the dots, anticipated the consequences, implications, sketched contingencies. Opportunity had shown its face, and Belle was never one to turn down or abuse opportunity, once offered.

"There's a place I used to go, when I was feeling just as you do now. Come, darling, come with me... it's not far. Shhh..." She took Luna's hand, and led her, numb and oblivious to her danger, towards the cliffs on Isinhold's northwestern side.

[starofthewest]

Isabelle looked out over the water, and Luna stood beside her, following her gaze, tears dripping down her face. Belle spoke, her voice one of seductive sorrow, her every word calculated to compound Luna's feelings of pain, instead of alleviating them. Like an artist with a brush, Isabelle set about her work, painting a scene of pure despair that in the instant of realization, would cause the most acute sense of loss she could conceieve of.

"I used to come here... and look out over the ocean, and imagine I could end it all, with a single step. It sounds strange, but the feeling brought me comfort. Oblivion... so close, within reach. To sleep... and never wake to the nightmare your life's become. No more pain... No more hurt... Never again to cause the people you love to suffer..." Belle moved closer.

"What have I done... to my life?" Lunitari held her face in her hands. Isabelle held out her own, beckoning Luna to come closer.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." Isabelle smiled reassuringly. "Come here sweetheart, stand with me. I know exactly how you're feeling, Luna. My betrayal was a different one... but a betrayal nonetheless."

"How could I do this to him?" Lunitari looked out over the cliff face.

"You can't even remember how things became the way they
are...." her voice flowed silkily, seductively, weaving its way into Luna's thoughts. Luna twisted the ring on her finger as she looked out over the water.

"It was a collision in slow motion, something you could see happening for so long but had no power to stop... not until it was too late." Like some sort of sadistic conductor, Belle had Luna's feelings dancing at her design.

"No, I can't... I just want to hold him." Luna sounded as though she might be sick.

"But now, when he looks at you, you see the terrible truth..." she left the statement hanging, smiling inwardly as she waited for the completely spellbound Luna to say exactly what she wanted her to.

"He doesn't love me." Luna sounded stunned at the realization.

"You've broken his heart..."

"He doesn't love me anymore." The tears flowed again freely, cries like a distraught child, nearly screams of agony. Belle bit her lip and closed her eyes, continuing without stopping.

"And nothing will be the same, ever again. There's nothing you can do, except..." Belle placed one foot over the edge, balancing on her back leg, "the only thing left."

"I should... give it back to him..." Lunitari slipped the ring off her finger, looking at it, reading the engraving over and over again. Belle held out her hand, her palm open.

"Give it to me. I can give it to him for you. Better than reliving the whole thing again... see your betrayal reflected in his eyes..."

Luna nodded. "I don't want that."

Belle crooned, sympathetically. "No, you don't. Give the ring to me, and I can make sure he knows. Who else understands, better than me?"

Luna sobbed, looking at the ground as she held the ring out, and Isabelle took it. "Tell him... tell him I love him... because I do."

"I know, sweetheart. I know." Belle took her into a hug, putting her arms around her waist and holding her tight. Luna sobbed softly on her shoulder, and a look of ecstatic bliss came over Isabelle's face, the climax reached, her symphony of despair at its crescendo. She savored it a moment, before adding the final twist of the knife. She whispered in Lunitari's ear.

"I have waited a long time to do this, Luna..."

Her body tensed suddenly, and she spun, dropped to her knee and let the force of her movement combined with her shift in weight hurl Luna over the edge of the cliff, screaming in sudden realization. Belle closed her eyes and bit her lip once more, the screams filling her mind until they were ended with a sickening thud. She watched as the current slowly pulled Luna's body out into the lake, and stood for a while, basking in the afterglow of her delicious betrayal. Revenge, as they said, was a dish best served cold.

She looked down to the ring on her hand, and placed it on her right ring finger, a look of triumph on her face. Now, to make the situation a little more permanent. She took the ring off her finger and pocketed it, walking back towards town without so much as a backwards glance, whistling merrily to herself, a skip in her step.

[Geo Geek]

Just know, this will affect Heimaey now. XD

[EDM Entori]

//*gawk*..*sniffle*

[DM Grizwald]

//these are the best murders....a true mastermind at work here. LOVED IT!

[mourndarkv]

//*Gabes little black heart cheers!* well done.

//*Tremain.. will wonder forever, what has become of his dear friend*

[Panros]

//I honestly imagined Lunitari driving one of her lovers to enough rage to kill her over a woman seeking vengance. She didn't die a warrior's death so she won't be finding the Halls of Tempus which stinks for someone such as her. Damn. Eh, maybe Bane likes her enough to raise her as his Blackguard servant.

Good writing Star! Hope to still hear from you Lotte!

[Artemisa]

// How deliciously . . .evil.

As always, I love your writing, Star. This sent shivers down my spine.

[ashaffer]

//Wow... I never thought it was possible for me to hate Isabelle more. Kudos to you.

[abby]

Ha.. I shouldnt have read it... but I loved it. Nice work you villian.

[Aodhan the Unusual]

// *giggles*

[quendros]

// excellent! I felt like i was watching it all happen before my eyes!