LIGURIA DISTRICT,CLARE IN IRELAND. HATHAWAY PRODUCTION SET...3 PM.
The marble floor shimmered, slick with moisture, reflecting the fractured beams of moonlight that slipped through ancient cracks in the ceiling. Shadows twisted on the stone, moving like ghosts.
Danna;Tyra;stood barefoot in the center of the room, her breath fogging in the cold air. Her gown hung around her like a whisper of silk, the hem tattered, soaked, and clinging to her legs. Her chest rose and fell in silence, eyes locked on a corner thick with darkness.
From it, Kill;Ryan;emerged.
Blood clung to his hands, staining the cuffs of his coat, which hung open like the wings of a demon at rest. His eyes were lit with something unreadable...part rage, part wonder.
"You came here..." he said, voice like smoke curling through steel, "...without being summoned."
"I wasn't going to wait any longer," Danna replied, her voice soft, sure. Her eyes lowered briefly, then lifted with fire. "You bleed, Kill...even monsters bleed."
A slow smile curved his lips. He stepped forward, unhurried.
"...and even angels fall."
He circled her, eyes burning as if drinking her in...like he wasn't sure whether to worship her or devour her. There was a hum in the air now, like the walls themselves were listening.
Danna shifted back slightly but stood her ground. Her voice didn't waver.
"You think you scare me?" she scoffed. "...but I see it now. I'm the only one who gets to see it."
"See what, little fairy?" His tone was amused, almost tender.
"The fear in you." she breathed.
He froze.
For just a heartbeat, everything stopped.
"Fear…" He chuckled darkly. "...Of you?"
"No." She exhaled. "Fear of what I make you feel."
In one fluid motion, he stepped forward and gripped her face.. firm, not cruel. His touch shook, not with fury, but with something closer to surrender.
"Then say it again." he growled. "Look at me and say it."
"I see paradise," she whispered, eyes locked with his. "And I know it's mine."
He stared at her, as if something inside him was breaking open. His grip softened, then fell away completely. His breath trembled in his chest.
And then...a new shadow moved.
A slow, steady figure emerged from the opposite corner of the room...leather...silver...scars.
Malek;Iren.
He moved like a ghost in armor, eyes cold, presence colder.
"And yet," Malek said, voice like cut glass, "paradise always comes at a price."
Kill didn't turn to look, but his entire frame stiffened.
"I told you never to follow me again." he said, low and dangerous.
Malek chuckled.
"And yet, here I am," he murmured, voice shifting...icy now. "...and she is the reason."
Kill's hands curled into fists. His jaw clenched. And something else flickered across his face...fear...real fear.
Danna instinctively stepped back, suddenly aware that danger didn't come in one shape tonight. It wore two.
"Who…" she whispered. "who are you?"
Malek tilted his head, a smile tugging at his lips...sweet at first, then turning dark.
"I'm the one who knew him before he wore a human face."
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, MALEK!" Kill roared, his voice cracking through the air like a whip.
"Or what?" Malek stepped forward. "You'll show her what you really are? Or worse... what you feel?"
He approached Danna slowly, like he was walking toward something sacred. His expression softened as he gazed into her eyes.
"He's not the only one with something buried inside," he said gently. "You see paradise in him. But tell me, Danna.what do you see in me?"
Danna faltered. Her eyes darted between them. Her breath hitched.
There was a pull now,between Kill and Malek,between her and them both. A quiet, painful tension she didn't know how to name. It burned under her skin...confused her..electrified her.
Before she could speak, a gust of wind sliced into the room.
A figure burst in, black wings catching the moonlight...once white...now corrupted.
Azaelle; Rebekah.
She strode in with a cruel grace, her eyes like daggers, her voice dipped in venom.
"Oh, this is sweet," she drawled, amused. "All of you, playing house in a graveyard."
She stalked toward Danna like a queen nearing her prey.
"You think either of them care for you?" Azaelle sneered. "You're just a mirror for their pain."
Kill's eyes blazed. His entire body went rigid with fury.
"Stay out of this, Azaelle."
She smiled with all the softness of a razor.
"C'mon… afraid I'll tell her the truth?"
She raised her hand...the air pulsed, crackled...power crackled at her fingertips.
"Stop!" Danna screamed.
The command wasn't loud, but it split the air like thunder.
A shockwave burst from the stone beneath her, glowing bright beneath her feet. Her eyes flashed...pure light...not gold...something more.
Everyone froze.
Azaelle.
Malek.
Kill.
They all froze.
Silence crushed the space like gravity. The kind of silence that comes before empires fall.
Danna trembled slightly, but not from fear. She raised her chin and looked at all of them...every pair of eyes trained on her.
"I'm not a prize." she said, voice steady. "I'm not a puppet. And if any of you want me..."
She paused,let out a loud breath.
"You'll have to earn me."
Then she turned.
And walked away.
Leaving Kill, Malek, and Azaelle standing in stunned, charged silence.
---
"OH. MY. DAYSSSSSSSSS!"
Director Gary burst out dramatically from behind the monitor, throwing his hands in the air like he'd just watched God descend.
"This is fire...pure fire! No corrections! You gave me chills. You gave me goosebumps. You gave me...what's that thing again...emotional epilepsy!"
He jumped up and down like a child on a sugar rush.
Tyra blinked.
She stared into space, still barely breathing. She had pulled that scene out of nowhere...without even disassociating mid-line. A miracle.
She made a mental note to share the testimony in church on Sunday.
"You were great." came a voice behind her.
A voice that made her shoulders lock,it sent cold spines to her shoulders.
She turned.
Iren Jeshen,smug grin,perfectly annoying posture. That deadly charm she wanted to punt across the room.
"And that's still a miracle." she muttered, heading toward her suite to remove the cursed makeup.
"How's it a miracle?" Iren called after her. "You're a natural,you don't mess up,you own every damn scene."
She glanced back with a stiff smile.
"And since when did Iren Jeshen say more than five words in one breath?"
He chuckled...deep and low. That infuriating chuckle that made the set lights feel warmer than they should.
"Since I realized I've seen the woman I could settle down with."
Tyra froze. Slightly.
She turned her head slowly, blinked once.
What did he just say?
Was he talking about her?
She narrowed her eyes slightly, her chin lifting.
It better not be me.
"Goodbye, Iren." she said sweetly, and disappeared into her suite.
The door shut behind her.
Iren stood still, smiling softly.
And then...he let out a low, quiet laugh.
Something about it was... off.
Creepy.
---
P.S.
Seriously, I wouldn't have written this but I got a request that I should please write another scene from the scripted drama they are doing.
So here it is...
I hope this little scene wasn't boring for you guys...because writing it almost snatched my soul.
And I really, really hope you're enjoying this series. If I get good feedback on this one... maybe, just maybe, I'll agree to another request that has to do with this play but it's maybe...no promises.
And I love y'all. Always.
Fortune!