Til Death Do They Part

[Draegan Lutrov]

Draegan Lutrov had been a little naughty today. Since Kairyx once dated this imbecile named Jarrett Vyhnal, through that man did Draegan find Astoria's brother Antoine Snow and some woman and child that he was about to slaughter. What did Draegan do to them? Well, obviously nothing too bad. He had simply stopped the murder about to happen, and he instead placed the small, dysfunctional family into a house where they would have to get along, or die. Well, it was a threat, but it would not come true at all. He could not end their lives because of Kairyx. So instead he was paying a little visit to the Snow Manor where he would deliver the news to the Head of the Snow Family over what he had done to his favorite little, insane murderer. Once Draegan arrived at the door, he politely knocked on the wood, his weapons upon his fingers scratching it slightly. He moved his hand away and touched his black lips as he had damaged their precious Manor. No worries though, he was not about to back down from this. It was all for his amusement and his amusement only. He smirked even more and he thought over what the Head would say. He had no idea who it was either, so this should be fairly interesting. If one looked at his features carefully, one would see that he looked similar to Hades Styx. That was his nephew after all. Where else did he get the ghostly white skin from? The Zhefarovich family was pale of course, not nearly as pale as he was. Draegan's pale blue eyes looked up when he saw someone answering the door. He greeted in a fairly amusing tone, "Greetings. Where is the Head of the Snow family? I know what happened to his beloved Antoine."

That was more than enough to cause Draegan to be led inside. His eyes swooped over the area as he studied it, before he went to the office. Amazingly, it was larger than his own bedroom which he thought was fairly large. Perhaps they were overcompensating for something. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to find that the Head of the Snow Family was not the menacing man that he was led to believe. Instead it looked like some kid that needed a time out. Draegan felt almost insulted, but perhaps this kid was more of a leader than anything else. Surely he was not even thirty yet, which made him think that he was simply a kid. Draegan gave a bow to him out of respect simply due to the fact that he was leading a pure-blood family while he himself was not. He could tell the boy was Part-Veela. It was something about his appearance that made him believe so. "I assume you have been looking for Antoine's new victim, Astraea Essen. However you won't be finding them. I was hired to place them together. You can say that they won't be parting until death now." For all that the two of them knew, Antoine and Astraea, he could have married them right then and there. He was a priest after all. It would have definitely been interesting to say the least.​

 

[Theodore Snow]

Theodore was in the midst of pretending to look as if he was busy. He had finished just about everything he needed to have done for the day, but if he dared to stop working for five minutes, someone was on his case about working harder. They didn't seem to care at all about Theodore's sanity. "It's because I'm stuck in a house with women. Nothing but a bunch of harpies." Theodore rolled his emerald green eyes as he scribbled something down. He hadn't noticed this until the other day actually, but he began to realize just how outnumbered the men of the family were slowing becoming. Where did all the females suddenly come from? Frankly, Theodore felt like a large number of his aunts and sisters needed to just get married so they would get off of his case for a day or two. Then maybe he could remember what it was like to take a nap without interruptions, or even spend a quiet afternoon to himself without someone nagging in his ear about something. It was just like Hogwarts all over again. Theodore heard some commotion going on in the hallway and lifted his head to stare at the door. As long as it didn't need to involve him, he didn't-well so much for that thought.

A strange man suddenly entered the study, and Theodore paused. Theodore was about to break down and ask who the man who he was, but he seemed keen on saying whatever it was he needed to say first. At the end, Theodore was left speechless. The one thing he needed Antoine to do could no longer be done because of this guy. "Oh my god, who let this guy in here?" Theodore called out into the hallway, hoping this was nothing more than sick joke. But there was no reply. So this guy really has messed up his entire plan to get that woman and kid out of their hair. "Who hired you? Matter of fact, who are you to begin with?" Theodore hissed. So much for a peaceful afternoon. He hating dealing with things like this. Why couldn't people just follow directions and leave him be? Theodore dropped the quill he was holding and crossed his arms, waiting to see what ridiculous answer this man was going to come up with. Whoever hired him was going to get an earful too, that much was for sure in the Snow's mind.​

 

[Draegan Lutrov]

As soon as the Head reacted to Draegan's appearance, it almost sounded he was a chick with the first saying. The 'oh my god', which made him think, 'Not quite.' Draegan had some twisted humor, but that was just child's play. Draegan shrugged his shoulders and he stated, "I simply knocked and I was led in here. Either way I could have penetrated the manor, but one has to know who is in charge. Quite surprised I got a young man, part-veela to boot. It doesn't take much to surprise me but that surely does." Draegan was most certainly honest with the boy, and wondered if he would be a formidable opponent if he were to attempt to challenge him to a duel. Draegan had some creative ways to make someone thrive in pain, but he didn't want to do that now unless he was driven toward it. It was still an interesting thought, no doubt. Still, it would have been something to do than to be here on the request of Kairyx, from the request of Jarrett who heard it from Astoria. It was a huge domino effect, and Draegan was the one with the skills. He could have done anything to them, but instead they were caught in a game of his.

The fact that the boy was expecting an answer to the hiring thing, and then asked who he was. A cold smirk crossed those black lips, and he held up his hands as he spoke, "Well, I misspoke. It was not a hiring per say because I'm not being paid, in money. It was just a favor. Who asked for it, well, it was someone to asked someone who asked someone... Regardless, I'm not about to compromise their confidentiality." Draegan was not going to spill his guts telling who sent him. It was not a matter who sent who, but who did what, and in this case, it would be all Draegan. Oh yes, he would still have to answer who he was. Draegan folded his arms across his chest and he finished off Theodore's question, "Draegan Lutrov, a dark priest. My skills far exceed priesthood however." Draegan would not dare release any information, but he was tempted to leave now, leaving the boy to steam privately. Oh this was just too sweet in his own opinion. Everything here could not be more amusing to the dark man.​

 

[Antoine Snow]

Two weeks later...

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Antoine Snow was getting used to the idea of not having to kill Astraea. Their own son that he was sent and ordered to kill was now eight years old, and it was something that Antoine could no longer do now that he had spent some actual time with him. Although being stuck in a house with a looming threat over someone that had more authority than he had ever met would definitely do it. Antoine opened his eyes, and immediately was greeted by the sun's rays shining through the window. The ring on his finger that matched Astraea's made him wonder what in the world did the dark priest do to them. However what amazed him more was that this did not feel like the couch beneath his skin. He looked over to the side and noticed that he was in the bedroom. Things like this happened often since he was really bad about sleep walking. He had not gotten that straightened out completely, and he had been off of his potion for ages. Groaning, he sat up and he glanced down at his wrinkled, black shirt. His rather skinny hand went up to rub the sleep from his eyes and he looked down at the area where he felt some pressure. It was Astraea, and she was sound asleep. Even now, he found it hard to communicate with her. Some things were better off alone. At first, Antoine had ignored her presence, but after several days of putting up with someone, he discovered that she shouldn't die. Not just because Theodore wanted her to.

This was as close to settling down as he could get. As far as the authorities were concerned, Antoine had vanished. He had not shown his face in public for years, and he was currently living in a country that he had not killed in. Greece wasn't it? He wasn't sure. It was somewhere in Europe. He pushed the thoughts from his head, and he nudged Astraea, "Hey, wake up. When did I come in here?" He wondered that, and then heard some movement in the other bedroom. The house itself only had two bedrooms, so the only other person that was stirring would be Orion. Orion Essen, the son that he had believed was not his, but now he had no doubt. He still felt weird when Orion referred to him as dad. Even if Antoine was just getting used to this 'family' thing, he would admit that he would appreciate it if Orion had his own last name opposed to Astraea's. He slowly got up from the bed and he stretched, popping various joints in the meantime. He fidgeted with the ring on his skinny finger, before casting a look down upon Astraea. Even now, things were entirely awkward. At least he had not threatened her life in a week.

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[Astraea Snow]

Astraea was the type of person who really enjoyed her sleep, waking her up before she was ready to be woken up was never an easy task to wake her up. An abrupt nudge to her side, pulled Astraea from her deep slumber, and the brunette instantly groaned. The cold voice of Antoine was the first sound to reach her ears, and instantly she wanted to roll over and smack him for waking her up. "Noooooo. Just let me sleep." Just because he had sleeping problems, didn't mean that Astraea wanted to suffer with one too. Living with another person was a lot harder than she ever would have imagined, especially considering the fact that Astraea was also very aware that he had every intention of killing her and Orion at one point. Whether he still wanted to or not, was something Astraea had yet to figure out. But she was keeping a careful watch on his behavior. When he questioned Astraea when he wound up in her room she shot up and turned her body so that it was facing the other side of her be. Sure enough he appeared to have wandered into her bed sometime last night. Although there were only two bedrooms, usually the two of them found separate places to sleep. Mostly because Astraea didn't trust Antoine.

"You must have sleep walked." Astraea explained. He was good at doing that, and he did it pretty often. He pretty much had a separate life and mind when he was asleep, which made him even that much more frightening for Astraea to deal with. Even when he was asleep he was a threat to others. "I need to start putting a bell on you or something. Then I could maybe hear you coming next time you get up in the middle of the night. Or tie you to the bed." Astraea didn't mean the second one in a kinky manner either. She seriously considered having him bound so he couldn't get up and could actually sleep through the night every once and awhile. The brunette pushed the covers off of her body and promptly got out of bed. As quickly as she could she went for a sweater to cover up the fact that she was only dressed in a tank top and pajama shorts. That man who stuck her and Antoine in here must have been insane to think that forcing two people to live together was going to make them closer. ​

 

[Antoine Snow]

The groan from Astraea did not mean much to Antoine. She just did not want to wake up, and by now he was getting used to her behaviors. Some of them was amusing for the unfeeling man, at least, supposed to be unfeeling. He started to feel emotions and it bothered him immensely. Astraea fought the act of waking up with saying to let her sleep. He could not just do that. He needed to know how he got in there. It bothered him to know that he slept in here and he needed to know if there were any actions done while he was asleep, again. "No, you need to wake up. This is important." Antoine still wondered what happened. He had his shirt off when he woke up, so he had to be sure that he did not do anything that he would later regret. He looked down at his clothing and knew that he needed a shower this morning once he woke up. Antoine did not want to have to have another kid without getting to know the son that he does have now. Orion seemed to be the perfect blend of Antoine and Astraea. Both serious parents made a serious child. At least the boy was smart. Antoine had some pride in him, which made him also weary of him.

"Not again. We did not... You know, again, right?" Antoine could not even say the word since it felt like sandpaper rolling across his tongue. Trying to neaten his hair some more, he made sure to look away once she got out of the bed after saying that he needed to have a bell on him, or tying him up to the bed. The latter might have meant something different, but Antoine did not catch that because his mind did not think that way. Antoine grew up proper and secluded himself inside of his mind. Truth be told, he never had any sort of intimate encounters until he met Astraea, and he could not remember them. It seemed like his mind locked them up in a little bubble, away from his conscious mind. "Um, this is awkward. I am going to go into the kitchen and try to make breakfast or something." Antoine was not the best cook, but he lived alone and in solitude for years. He had to learn to feed himself. Fixing breakfast for more than one person proved to be a hassle. Once he arrived to the kitchen, he started to get out the items needed for breakfast, but failed to think of what the family should have.​

 

[Astraea Snow]

Antoine didn't even need to say the word before Astraea held up a hand to stop him. Luckily it would appear as if he didn't intend on saying it in the first place. "No we definitely didn't. After the way you sort of tried to beat me up last time, that's the last thing I figure we'd be doing." The brunette had to fight back the urge throw in that it wouldn't matter if they had or not because it was likely that he wouldn't remember it anyways. The only time Antoine ever appeared to be intimate, sweet, or even caring was when he was asleep or tired. He was a completely different person when he was in that state of mind. "Sometimes I have to wonder if you appear like this in my bed and don't even realize it, who else could you have possibly done this to." Astraea followed Antoine into the kitchen before she peered into Orion's room to check up on him. Her son waved briefly before he went back to playing with his toys. Astraea vaguely wondered if Orion even realized who Antoine was. He was a smart kid so it wasn't there was zero chance that he could figure it out, but at the same time Antoine had been gone most of Orion's life.

"How long do you think that Priest will keep us locked in here? He can't keep us in here forever can he?" There was no way they could keep the two of them in here forever could he? Astraea wasn't quite sure what the man intended to accomplish by keeping all three of them in here? Did he expect them to be a family? Or did he not realize that Antoine was assigned to kill both Astraea and Orion. Was he just trying to increase their chances of being killed? "He didn't really elaborate as to why he put the three of us in here?" Or maybe he did and Astraea was just too scared to really listen to what he had to say. Walking over the fridge, Astraea pulled out a carton of orange juice and poured herself a glass. After her glass was full, she set it on the table for Antoine and Orion. If Antoine was really going to make some breakfast, Astraea would have to be sure that it wasn't poisoned before she ate any of it. This could just be a ploy to kill her. ​

 

[Antoine Snow]

Antoine let out a sigh of relief when she informed him that they did not do that. It was too awkward to think about. He did not want to end up to be a father again. It was weird enough to have Orion who was gaining some ears. He did not seem remarkably fazed when she mentioned that he almost tried to beat her up last time, that would have been the last thing that they would be doing. Well, that was fine by him. He did not feel much, and then what she said next really made him think. Well, according to the family tree, there were no other children by him formed, so it was not very possible that he had any other kids lurking about. "I don't think that I have any other kids out there, but I don't want to remember any sort of relations with a woman or man like that." Antoine wondered if he had, and that made him really uncomfortable. He did not want anything like that to ever happen to him again, if he could not remember it. What was the point? Antoine let out a sigh as he shoved those thoughts out if his mind, and looked into his son's room for a brief moment.

"I don't know. Considering we have to go out to get food at some point, not forever. This is the closest thing to a home I ever had so I am just living one day at a time." Antoine shrugged his shoulders once more before he went through the kitchen, trying to find the cast iron pots that he could use to make something for the three of them. When she asked if Draegan elaborated over why he placed them here, Antoine continued to look as he replied, "Not really. Just that missing areas needed to be filled, whatever that meant." Antoine had no idea what that meant, but he looked over to the table to see that Astrawa had poured herself some orange juice. He was not a fan of that, since he preferred apple over orange. Reaching over to the fridge while trying to reach for the skillet, Antoine opened the fridge to see if he had any apple juice. Shaking his head, he shut it, and then his hand slipped down. The skillet fell from the top of the cabinet and landed on top of Antoine's head. It was heavy enough to hit him so hard, he fell to the floor with a loud thud.​

 

[Astraea Snow]

Astraea doubted that she had been the only one he had interacted with while he was in that state, surely there had been others out there that had come across him while he sleepwalked. It made Astraea think about Antoine's sister. The one that had come looking for him, she mentioned that Antoine had been like this most of his life and to her it was normal for him to wander around half asleep. Astraea had no idea how someone could put up with years of this sort of thing since it drove her absolutely nuts. The brunette took a long gulp of her orange juice as she watched Antoine carefully. He seemed unhappy about the thought of being around others while he was like this. Not that Astraea blamed him. She wouldn't want to be around others while she couldn't control herself either. Astraea turned around for barely just a second to check on Orion, and then a loud clang, followed by a thud greeted her ears. Astraea whipped around quickly and saw Antoine lying on the ground right in front of the refrigerator. Quietly cursing under her breath, Astraea set her cup of orange juice down and went to check on him, even if she was somewhat frightened to.

"Antoine?" She nudged him his shoulder. From what she could gather, he had been going for something in the fridge and the skillet had fallen on his head. It was one of those large cast-iron skillets too, so Astraea knew that it was heavy. Having this fall over your head would hurt like a b*tch, and that easily explained why Antoine was lying on the ground like she was. Astraea felt around Antoine's head to see if she felt any bumps, and sure enough there was a large one forming right on the top of his head. Frowning, Astraea got up and went into the freezer to grab something cold that she could put on the forming bump. A bag of frozen peas wasn't ideal, but it would help. "Hey if you're alive you better let me know now." Astraea nudged him again, only this time it was on his side. Gently she pressed the bag of frozen peas to his head, and held it there tightly. Hopefully no one intended to come over today, but if they walked in on this, they would probably think that Astraea had beaten him up. ​

 

[Antoine Snow]

That hard hit to the head brought back what felt like a flood of memories. Antoine remembered the talks he had with Astraea, looking at her, and quite possibly feeling something for her that he couldn't really label. He remembered Orion, Orion's birth, everything he did as he was sleepwalking, or whatever he was doing. It was almost like a different person was going through these events. He heard his name, and it seemed like an echo, of how many times Astraea said his name, before he heard it in reality. He felt a cold compress on the back of his head, and didn't really feel the pokes to his side so much. His intense blue eyes opened slightly, before a groan escaped his lips. He glanced up at Astraea and had to keep from not passing out. He muttered, "I'm alive, I believe." He felt like someone just dropped a huge bomb on him, from his head to finally filling in the blank spaces, and somehow, he never slept with any other girl besides Astraea. Something just attracted him to her, and vice versa. After he pursued her to kill her and their son for months, he doubted that she would want to have anything else to do with him. And he would not blame her. "I apparently didn't have any relations with anyone else, except you. I'm kind of...remembering you and him." Antoine gestured with his hand toward the bedroom where Orion was at.

Antoine sat up and clinched his head, trying to figure out the nonsense that was coming back to him. It seemed like everything he worked so hard to bottle up came out through his sleep. Now, he didn't know what to do with the information, or how to even handle the emotions. Orion eventually came into the kitchen, wondering what was going on. Antoine looked over at Astraea so that she could explain to the son what happened, and how he took a cast iron skillet to the head while trying to make something for them. He held the cold compress to his head, which was a bag of frozen peas. As long as it was taking the pain down, it would be fine. He remembered what potion he would have to take to prevent from sleepwalking, well, brewing it anyway. The ingredients wouldn't be too hard to come by though. He wait until Orion wondered into the living room until he looked at Astraea and murmured, "You told me a lot about you, even your middle name; Faith. Nothing about you is a threat to Theodore, so I don't see why you or Orion deserve death. You two are safe." Antoine slowly got up, and walked into the living room, while holding that bag still, and sat down on the couch next to his son, who curled up next to him. Antoine tensed up for a moment, before he figured, he used to do this a lot, it was the least he could do for now.​

 

[Astraea Snow]

Astraea breathed a sigh of relief when Antoine revealed to her that he was alive. Despite all the trouble he had caused in her life, there was a large amount of distress hanging over Astraea's head at the thought of him dying on her. "Am I starting to actually care for him or something?" Or was she simply remembering the way he behaved before she met the him when he wasn't under the influence of his sleepwalking. Or perhaps she didn't want her son to grow up in life without the influence of a father. Whatever the reason for her feelings was, Astraea was happy that Antoine seemed to be okay. Or so she thought. Suddenly he claimed that he had no relations besides her that he knew of, and that he was sort of remembering Astraea and Orion. A look of confusion burrowed it's way onto the brunette's face as she tried to understand what he meant. Did he mean that the hit on his head brought back older memories, or was he just trying to prove that he was okay by explaining that he still knew who the two of them were. As much as she wished it was going to be the first, she wasn't expecting much.

"What do you mean by remembering, Antoine?" Astraea question softly. Hopefully he was coherent enough to be able to understand and answer her, because she was very curious and wanted to know what he meant. Astraea had been hoping that at some point he would remember her the way he did when they first met, since things were so much better between them back then. Orion had wandered into the living room just as Antoine began to speak some more. Quietly, she listened in to see what else he had to say. Hopefully it would be more about the things he remembered! To her amazement, he could recall her last name and that she had told him a lot about her. Now it wasn't a lot, nor was it a big deal, but this was enough to excite Astraea a little bit. So you're saying that you are now recalling things that happened.....during your sleep?" Astraea watched as Orion curled up next to his father. Although he appeared tense about the whole thing, he actually looked like he was making an effort to get to know his son and be a decent father to him. That was just absolutely precious! ​

 

[Antoine Snow]

Antoine relaxed slightly as Orion lingered at his side. The blue eyes matched, which was uncanny, but it meant that they were truly father and son. The son seemed just as awkward as he was. Perhaps a bit less cold. Antoine rested his hand upon his son’s hip and he looked ahead at the mother of his son. Astraea. He was questioned on what he meant by remembering, and he remained silent, the smallest of smirks resting upon the thin lips of his. His features appeared less skeletal as he was no longer as unhealthy. She would ultimately ask the question of what she asked before, to verify that it was what he was remembering. He was starting to remember things from his sleep, and he could not make some of the things, and he did not understand some things about the memories either. He seemed different. Almost like the person he was before he fell down the stairs and started up the mess. No, he did not have a split personality disorder, but he seemed less mean when he was asleep. “Yes, I am remembering some things while I was asleep and not in my bed where I should have been.” Antoine shrugged his shoulders slightly, not to disturb Orion.

Antoine figured that he would ask the question that has him highly confused, “But, you knew me, the whole time. What I did, why I was on the run. Why were you attracted to someone that could kill you within a blink of an eye?” Antoine had some of the memories in a haze, but he did remember some of the things they did, one that lead to the making of Orion. He thought that he was odd without any sort of feelings like that, but when he looked at Astraea, he thought that the feelings remained, the same ones that he felt way back when. It was strange. He did not know how to act to it. He looked down at Orion before he said in a low tone, “Go on to your room for a few moments. I need to speak to your mom alone.” Orion did exactly what was said. He got off from the couch, and he approached Astraea. He looked down into the brunette’s matching brown eyes, and he murmured, “What was it about you that changed me so much? I have to know.” Nothing made sense unless she could tell him why.​

 

[Astraea Snow]

Astraea wasn't sure if she should be worried about Antoine's memories returning or not. If Antoine was happy with the things he remembered then it might be easier for her to figure out what his seeping issue was and how he really felt about her. If not, she may have to go into defense mode in order to protect herself and her son. "Antoine-how much do you remember? All of it or only parts of it?" Could he remember all the way back from the first time they had met? When Antoine was wandering around in the middle of the night and Astraea had checked to make sure he was okay. At the time she had no idea that he had been half-asleep, if she had things might have wound up differently between them. Astraea wasn't sure why she cared so much. After the hell she had been through because of Antoine, she wondered if him remembering her was even worth it. What would even change if he did? Could they ever be a real family? Orion went to his room and Astraea watched as he did ever so carefully. Perhaps she wanted things to work so Orion could grow up with the influence of a father in his life.

The question asked of Astraea made her pause for a brief moment. "I knew you were dangerous from the get-go. Once I knew who you were anyways. The thing was, seeing the way you were when I first met you, I felt like maybe you weren't as bad as the Aurors tried to make you out to be. I've begun to notice that while the criminals are doing bad things, it's not always because they are bad people at heart." Sometimes they had no other choice. Or perhaps they were conditioned to believe that what they were doing was right. Astraea had seen it all as a reporter, and it made her a little bit more sensitive to everyone's situation. Including Antoine's. "I wish I knew what it was about me that changed you. If I knew the answer I'd probably have an easier time getting through to you. You just took to me quickly and that was that." Antoine was an oddball, and his actions were a bit harder to justify. At least to Astraea they were. Half the things he did or said, Astraea had no idea how to explain.
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