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Tav woke with a start, eyes snapping open. She was sure something had stirred her - a loud noise, perhaps a shout - but it was lost in the moments between sleep and wakefulness. She yawned and stretched, rolling to her left, feeling for the warmth and bulk of Raphael to cling to. However, her searching hands found only cool silken sheets, void of even a lingering feeling of his infernal warmth.
Raphael had not come to bed yet.
Raphael often worked into the early hours ensconced in his study, quill in one taloned hand, a tumbler of wyvern whiskey in the other, poring over contracts. Or, if he was feeling particularly inspired, penning a line or two of poetry or prose.
However, he always made sure to join his little mouse in bed for a few hours of rest. He didn't need sleep, not in the same way she did, but he took great pleasure sliding in beside her, draping an arm possesively over her slumbering body and pulling her gently towards him. She was a light sleeper and often awoke when the cambion climbed into bed, but soon settled back to sleep, comforted in his warm, powerful embrace.
Tav had never woken this early and the empty bed unsettled her. The House of Hope was silent and still. She rolled back over to her right side and pushed herself up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and into a waiting pair of delicate satin slippers. She felt her way around in the dark, hands clutching at the thick velvet drapes that surrounded the four-poster bed. The highly polished mahogany floor was slightly slippery underfoot, and she feared falling. Carefully, she crept across the room and towards the balcony, squeezing through the thick curtains that separated their bedroom from the crimson wastes of Avernus.
It was still nighttime. The normally red, fiery skies of Avernus were a deep black, scattered with glittering stars. The sky had been a gift - one of Raphael's many gifts, countless boons and indulgences- all lavished upon her. Tokens of love. Of obsession. But this gift, when she first saw it, had elicited such wonder and joy in her that even the generous cambion himself had seemed taken aback. When she agreed to join her Love in the Nine Hells, she feared she would never see the stars again. She had turned her gaze up to his, eyes brimming with tears of joy reflecting the newly minted constellations. He had grinned, delighted with both her reaction and his own genius.
When Raphael had claimed the power of the Crown of Karsus he had swiftly evicted Zariel from her throne as Archdevil of Avernus, and set about creating the order he promised, reshaping the plane as he saw fit. One such change was the night sky. She wondered whether this was an enchantment or whether Raphael had torn the sky from another world, leaving a terrible void in its wake. When she asked him about her gift's origins, the dark chuckle he had given in response made her fear it was the latter.
Such tenderness for her, such ruthlessness for almost everyone else.
Tav walked further out onto the balcony and sank back onto a plush chaise longue, staring up at her beloved sky. She had intended to first check the balcony for Raphael, then, if he was absent, make her way to his study. However, the stars had eased her fraught mind and fatigue was beginning to overwhelm her. She felt her eyelids flutter shut, once, twice...
"Little mouse..."
Her beloved purred niceties into her ear.
"I do relish how much you enjoy my gift, my dear". He kissed her neck slowly, tracing his tongue up towards her ear, and continued in a lower, more dangerous tone. "However, I would rather you slept in our bed. I want to know my prize is safely tucked away, ready to unwrap at my leisure."
Tav rubbed her eyes, dazed, realising that she must have accidentally fallen back asleep. She turned her head towards the sound of his voice, and found Raphael kneeling by the chaise, eyes intently fixed on her and a lascivious grin playing around his lips. He was dressed in his bedtime attire, a black silken robe and matching pyjamas that were often discarded upon entering the bed itself.
"I'm sorry. There was a noise..." Tav was befuddled, still half in the world of slumber. "I woke up and you weren't in bed. I went to check the balcony and must have dozed off."
"A noise?" Raphael raised an eyebrow "Ah. I was engaged in a little unexpected...re-education this evening. Time quite ran away with me. My sincerest apologies for waking you, my dear."
He took both her hands in one and stood up, pulling her with him and into his arms.
"Now, plenty of the night remains. Let me return you to your proper place in our bed. I will join you."
Raphael picked her up effortlessly and she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his shoulder. He strode back into the bedroom.
Tav was comforted, but had a nagging feeling and certain details had been left unsaid. She began thinking about the implication of Raphael's words. " Re-education ". And the noise… was it a shout? Or was it a cry of anguish? It certainly hadn't been Raphael's voice. It hadn't sounded human, or even cambion. She felt a deep sense of dread simply trying to recall its tone and quality.
Raphael laid her on the bed, pulling the sheets around her and taking his place by her side. As if he could detect her thoughts, he began to speak in a low voice.
"Certain Archdevils need the occasional reminder of the new order."
He pulled her towards him, with more force than usual, and gripped her waist possessively.
"The art of true power is knowing when to exercise it."
He grasped her even harder, his claws lightly nipping her skin through her thin nightdress. She gasped.
"These...exercises were not meant for your eyes, or ears for that matter. They will not disturb you again. When I am conducting such business you will remain here, and the bedroom door will be locked and warded with a noise dampening spell."
She was comforted, then slightly perturbed. He wanted to lock her in? She didn’t like the sound of that, and was about to ask him to reconsider when he loosened his grip and rolled her to face him. He cradled her face in his palm and smiled, the points of his fangs glinting.
"I know best, my dear. Remember that. Only the sweetest of dreams for my little mouse."
He kissed her tenderly and pulled her down onto his chest, where she sighed in pleasure. Any frightening thoughts of torture evaporated. She began to drift back to sleep.
She dreamt of a sky full of stars, beyond beautiful and endlessly serene. A cool breeze caressed her bare shoulders.
As she stared into the heavens, she was gripped around her upper arms by two large clawed hands. They felt heavy. Possessive.
She was entirely his, even in her dreams.