Trouble follows you like crows [OPEN]

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

The skies over the burial ground were dark this evening with the threat of an incoming thunderstorm, and the birds were quiet as they prepared for the inevitable onslaught of rain.

Arthur Pendragon wandered silently amongst the small wooden posts and wizened trees, that served as markers for the dead, his mood as black as the sky above.
He shook his head at the cross which sat by Dante Grixis' grave. It seemed such a crude way of denoting his final resting place, small and insignificant, but he knew that one day- like the older graves- a mighty sycamore would stand here, showing everyone that he had mattered.

Arthur turned away quickly, finding himself face to face with the grave of his own mother. The tree here was almost as tall as it would ever be, although Arthur knew that it would still continue to branch out and grow. Igraine had died giving birth to Arthur, something which Uther had always blamed himself for, and it had been the main reason for his war against magic over the past years. That meant this tree was 21 years old.

It was strange to think that he had been coming here over the past two decades, to visit the grave of a women he had never met, and whom had never met him. He wondered if she knew that he visited, or how much he wished she had not died during his birth.

"Great." Arthur muttered quietly to himself, hearing the first few drops of rain spatter the broad leaves of his mothers tree, "This is just what i needed!"
Rather cleverly, Arthur had not thought his trip through very well and was dressed only in his shirt. It had been warm and sunny when he began the long walk here, and oh how he wished he had thought to ride!

The rain did well to wash away any lingering misery though, and he even managed to laugh at himself as he slipped about in themuddy puddles that were forming on the (until now) dehydrated earth.
Getting back to Camelot quickly, meant that Arthur was travelling through wooded areas mostly, not as large as the Forest of Balor, but dense all the same.

Something about the weather and the darkness in the woods unsettled him, and he had the strangest feeling he was being followed...

[Dante Grixis]

Dante's spirit walked through the empty graveyard. He was lonely, confined to only a few hours on Earth a day, and he spent most of it lingering around his entombed body. He watched at a distance with a large amount of surprise as the Prince stopped at his headstone. A fire burned in Dante, he wasn't sure if it was anger or something else. He was ready to approach him when he saw the Prince mourning his mother. He couldn't interrupt that, even though Arthur had killed him, every man had the right to greave in peace. He watched as the rain started to fall. It did not hit him, but fell through his etherial blue tinted figure and began to form a puddle beneath him.

As Arthur walked away he began to follow. He did not walk, but glided on the ground as if on ice. The Prince entered the woods, and for a moment Dante wondered if he could follow. Apparently he could as he walked down the path just behind the Prince.

The Pendragon felt his presence and that was when Dante realized that he didn't know what to say to the Prince. He opened his mouth and said simply, "Good day Prince." His voice was distant and distorted as if speaking under water, but it was still distinctly Dante's.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur's journey was winding him deeper into the murky woods, twisting and turning constantly. It felt like he was walking the path of a horror story, and someone or something was going to get him any moment.

When he finally heard the distorted voice behind him, it was of little surprise. He had known somehow that there was someone here, although he had fervantly tried to ignore it. He could never have explained how he knew, but what he wasn't prepared for, was turning to face Dante Grixis.

At first Arthur simply froze. Glued to the spot, rain washing down his paled face and dripping onto the ground where it pooled before soaking away.
Then he shook his head, convinced that this was some sort of halluciantion caused by the stress of recent events, or even just tiredness. Still the creature remained, vacant eyes fixed ont he prince who stood shaking slightly.
Finally, accepting that this apparition was not going to disappear anytime soon, Arthur began to back away, scared and for once, not afraid to show it.

"Leave demon!" He said sternly, a worried expression on his face. He had seen magical creatures before, griffons and even minotaurs, but seeing a person back from the dead? That was just ridiculous. The murder had obviously affected him even further than he had dared imagine, and the first thing he was going to do when he got back to the castle- was visit Gaius.

He was losing his mind.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante could hear the fear in the Prince's voice. The boy was quite scared. Dante laughed and began to glide towards Arthur. "You doubt your own senses?" He said more than asked. "You shouldn't. It is me, Dante Grixis. Or what you left of me."

The rain began to pour harder and the sky turned a sinister black as lightning streaked across the sky. He still wasn't sure what his intention with the Prince was. Would he try to reconcile with him, or would he torture him with his presence. He continued to approach Arthur, the rain phasing through him, and he turned his head sideways as he looked at him.

"Why are you so frightened, you've killed me once already."

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur continue to back away, eyes wide in horror as the apparition began to speak. What magic was this?
He glanced around, trying to spot the dark mage who might be conjuring it but alas, there was no one else. Just Arthur, Dante and a whole lot of rain.

His back met the bark of a tree, and he quickly realised he was trapped. The demons words were true enough, he had killed him already, but that didn't make seeing him here any easier. He tried to see any mark on Dante's body, to see if there was any sign of the injuries Arthur had caused with that cursed blade, but none were visible.

"You have come to seek revenge?" Arthur asked, in a voice that was barely audible over the constant thrashing of rain.

[Dante Grixis]

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the area for a split second before returning it to darkness. Then thunder roared, shaking the ground. Dante had an evil thought. Ghosts could not kill the living, nor cause permanent damage. But if they attacked a human the pain they inflicted would be very real. Much like in a dream, inside the dream things hurt, but once awake, the pain was gone. He couldn't enact any revenge on Arthur, but he could scare the hell out of him.

"Yes." He said simply, his voice, though quiet, echoing through the forest as his face formed a twisted grin. He held his hands up, and his blades appeared in them. They glowed with the same soft blue light that the rest of his form did. Without warning he ran towards Arthur and swung both down towards his shoulders.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

The blades felt cold as the "metal", or whatever it was that the weapons were made of, sliced into his shoulders, causing him pain as real as that which Dante must have felt.
I deserve this Arthur thought as he let out an audible gasp and sunk down onto his knees in the mud.

The rain was still coming down thick and fast and Arthur was glad. It hid the tears, that were caused by the emotional, and the physical pain he felt. Bu then the blades left his shin, and the warmth came back. He felt alive again, but he could not forget the death he had felt in those blows.

"I guess I deserved that.." He almost wept.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante sheathed his spectral blades and looked down at the Prince. "Yes. Yes you did, but not for me." Dante accepted his death. It was inevitable considering his profession, he was ashamed to have been bested by the Prince for sure, but death was something he had always expected. He looked to the sky that was pouring rain for a moment before looking back at Arthur and dragging him to his feet.

He looked him in the eyes. "It was for Evie. Believe it or not, my death destroyed her."

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was shocked as Dante, or what was left of Dante, pulled him to his feet. His face was inches away from the strange almost-human one that stared into his eyes, it was like he could see right down into his heart and soul and it made Arthur shiver.

"I know." Arthur replied matter of factly. "I did not mean...I couldn't..."
He paused, what could he say? He had not even known that Evie and Dante were lovers, he hadnt even known she was part of the brotherhood! But excused were of little importance now, when all that was left was a broken prince and an even more broken girl.

"I will do anything I can to help her. But i fear she does not want my help after what i did... what I have done." He had gathered himself now, and the tears had stopped. He was also more accepting of the spectre that stood before him, now all he saw was a man. A man who shoudld have been alive.

"Tell me what to do Dante Grixis."

[Dante Grixis]

Dante shook his head. "It's not my decision to make what you do about it." He said. He knew that Arthur felt guilty as hell for what he did and he hoped that he would do something to help Evie. Anything.

Lightning crashed not too far from where they were standing. The rain continued to pour to Earth, and Earth that Dante was only half in.

"You know, perhaps in some other life we were, or will be allies. You and I are not so different." He said with a slight grin. He thought that the Prince would hate being compared to him but it was hard to deny. They were both fighters of almost legendary status, they both lost their mother, they both were unsure of their place in the world, just to name a few.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur remained silent, listening to his once sworn enemy speak the truth. Deep down, Arthur had known that Dante would not simply tell him what he needed to do to help the poor girl who had lost so much so quickly. Just like in all the great tales he had been told as a boy, the hero must walk his path alone, discovering for himself what was right and just. But Arthur knew that in this story, he was no hero.

The silence continued between the two men, rain crashing in torrents around them, thunder rolling around the woods they were in as though it were some sort of protection from the outside world. Arthur felt as though he were in an alternate universe- trapped between the trees and talking to a ghost.

"You and I are not so different."

Arthur almost began to protest when Dante spoke this truth, but he bit his tongue and for once actually heard what the man was saying. It was true that the pair had physical attributes that were very similar- their lack of a mother and their extremely renowned fighting skills- but there were other things that Arthur could feel somehow. Things that might not be able to be put into words, like the way that really the pair both felt like they were alone. Especially now.

Arthur still remained quiet, absorbing the conversation and listening to the rain. Lighting lit up the trees, and the prince was reminded just how strange Dante looked in his almost transparent state.

"Are you bound to the earth forever?" He asked, not making eye contact.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante shook his head. "No. At some point during this meeting I'm going to vanish. Then at some point I'll reappear near my grave again. I have no control over it either." He said. He believed this was the first time that he and Arthur had been within six feet of each other and not had a sword to each other's throat. It was strange, it was different.

"So what will you do now, with you enemy out of the way?" He asked. He had wondered this since the battle, a now seemed as good a time as any to ask.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

"A future king will always have many enemies." Arthur sighed, leaning back onto the tree that he had previously been cowering against. Although still a little uneasy, he felt more relaxed now that he knew Dante wasn't going to kill him. He could still hurt him of course, but he thought that they were long past that point now.

"No matter what i do in life, my destiny is to become king, and there will always be those that oppose my beliefs and the way I rule." He smiled a half smile, "I doubt any of those will match you though."
It was odd to be talking so deeply with someone that Arthur couldn't remember sharing more than a few words with before. How strange that it had taken death and a murder to get them here. Perhaps in another life they wouldhave been friends but he guessed they would never know.

It puzzled Arthur to think that Dante had no control over his comings and goings to this world, for if it was not his choice- whose was it? Arthur had never been sure of what he believed when it came to God, but this threw everything he knew out of perspective.
With a shiver he put all thoughts of that out of his mind, and wondered when Dante might disappear this time- realising that he didnt want him to go.

If he goes then I will be alone once more.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante laughed. "I would hope not. The next one like me would put you in my situation." He added with a wry smile.

Dante was surprised that he did not feel any real animosity towards the Prince. He should, but he didn't. Perhaps this was his wake up call. Granted he was dead so there was nothing to do to change his ways.

"If and when you do rule this Kingdom, I'm sure you'll make a better King than your father. Perhaps you will actually help the lows, and eliminate the need for people like me." He said with a sigh. It was a cruel world they lived in that an assassin was an important part of society. "If nothing else in your reign, you must do that." He added. He had come to the realization that perhaps it was a good thing that Arthur had killed him, now he could no longer cause harm to others.

[Prince Arthur Pendragon]

"The next one like me would put you in my situation." Dante said with a smile, and Arthur wanted to point out which one of them was dead here. But he decided that was a little tactless and instead just smiled.

Dante's next words struck a chord in Arthur's heart. He had always known his fathers rule was not always fair to those in the slums, but to hear it spoken by someone who had lived and experienced the truth...Well that was something else.
He could see now that Dante had been forced into what he did. An assassins life was no more satisfying for the assassin than it was for his victims or the famlies of his vicitims. And Dante was right- Arthur had to change the way it worked.

"I promise you, if i can do nothing else during my time as king, i will change the way the system works." He held out his hand, wondering if Dantes own would pass right through his palm or if the would connect like a normal shake.