Sitting Duck [Mireille]

[misha arden nichols]

“

Death had given His orders, and by the end of the night, the world would be theirs again. The Order of the Phoenix and Children of the Moon were soon to be finished, and Death and his children would take their rightful places on top of the world. 

Misha wasn't so sure it would all be that easy, but he was more than willing to add their own collection of felled enemies to the list of casualties of their cause. 

They had already taken out two people, and a third was surely on her way to joining her fallen comrades. Misha had left her bleeding on the ground, sure to perish in minutes, but he had moved on. 

Chaos seeped out of every inch of the once-grand ballroom, the floors slick with blood and the fires that still burned at each exit adding to the ambience. The Kindred with their stupid masks and the Followers, uncaring who knew their identities, tore through the crowd of helpless, drugged enemies like it was nothing. Misha spat out a mouthful of the acrid blood of the werewolf he'd so recently dispatched, a bloody smile stretching across their lips. This was what they had been made for.

The Order and Children, or what was left of them, were still fighting valiantly to survive and escape. Misha had to give them credit for that. It wouldn't get them anywhere but a painful death, but he supposed they deserved some credit for trying to prolong the inevitable. 

Speaking of... Misha caught sight of Mireille out of the corner of his eye, their attention drawn to the heavily pregnant woman. How she hadn't been one of the first taken out, he wasn't sure. She was slow, big, and probably relatively defenseless.

No matter. Misha would see to it that she joined the bodies of her fallen comrades soon enough. 

Misha had yet to use his wand that evening, but they produced it from the inner pocket of their now blood-stained suit jacket at last. They flicked it at Mireille, a quick binding curse uttered from his lips. Thick cords wrapped themselves around her ankles and sent her toppling to the ground. Misha took his time in crossing the space between them, twirling his wand in hand lazily. They almost dared Mireille to fight back. It was getting boring, killing mutts who couldn't fight back. 

"What seems to be the problem? Having a little trouble walking?" Misha asked innocently, as though his place in this massacre wasn't brutally obvious, from the blood covering him to the glint of firelight off his fangs. 

mireille angelique kensley ● december 24, 2022 ● 434  words ● n/a

MISHA ARDEN
Nichols★

dandy ♫

[mireille angelique kensley]

i'll be drinking your starlight until the end of my life

❝

At eight months pregnant, Mireille had gone well past the “cute” phase of pregnancy and was elbow-deep in the “get this thing out of me as soon as possible” phase. She felt guilty for it, because she was truly excited to meet her baby girl. In fact, she was counting down the weeks. Three, by now. Just three weeks until she’d get to say hello to her baby girl.

She and Sionis had picked a name, but as they smiled and thanked all the friends who stopped by, saying she looked radiant and “glowing” (which Mireille highly doubted), they kept the moniker of their sweet girl a secret. Someone had brought her a glass of punch shortly before Ivan arrived, but the baby didn’t like the smell of it, so she handed it off to Sionis who had set it down somewhere.

“The sooner we can leave, the better,” she murmured to Si before Ivan swept into the room. “I feel like a circus animal, with everyone trying to feel la belle try to kick. Or telling me how lovely I look for being so far along. I just want to go home, lay down, and have you feed me grapes like the fat elephant I am,” she whined. It was in good nature, but she was far more uncomfortable in public nowadays than she had ever been before. The appearance wasn’t to blame, but rather the entire pregnancy had been a bit of a nightmare.

And, as Ivan’s declaration set chaos loose, the nightmare continued.

Mireille, alarmed, clutched a hand around her swollen abdomen, looking at Sionis in alarm. She clutched him, desperate to find a way out as the carnage started. She tried not to look, knowing it would upset her already volatile stomach. Somewhere, in the thick of it, Sionis was pulled from her. She screamed for him, trying to push through the crowd, but it was no use. They were far stronger than she was, and in her condition, there was no hope.

What seems to be the problem? Having a little trouble walking?

Mire whirled, wrapping her arms protectively around the protruding bump.

“Please,” she begged in a whisper, so terrified she could try at the sight of the vampire in front of her. “Please, my baby. Don’t hurt my baby.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. “I will owe you everything, just please don’t harm her.”

misha arden nichols ● almost time for maelle ● 401

MADE BY MIZO

[misha arden nichols]

“

"Please, please, my baby. Don’t hurt my baby. I will owe you everything, just please don’t harm her."

Ooh, begging. Now that was a nice touch, Misha thought. Much better than the pitiful excuse for a fight others of the Order and Children tried to put up. It would be so much more delicious to hear this cretin beg for her life before he took it anyway. He caught her scent on the air. Human, tinged with the scent of one of his own. The child she was carrying was half-vampire, then. Interesting, to say the least—few women were able to carry a half-vampire child at all, let alone as far along as Mireille had.

But that was no matter. Whoever had fathered this child had not fallen in line under their Father, and that made Mireille and the child just as treacherous. In any other setting Misha might have had some pity for the woman, perhaps even let her go. But Death had made its orders clear, and Misha was nothing if not a loyal soldier to the cause. He would play his part, carve the world into their vision. That included making sure this human didn't have the chance to loose another traitorous vampire on the world.

"I'm afraid that's not how this is going to work, chortenia," Misha replied at last, in no particular hurry. Sometimes, the build-up was even more satisfying than the kill itself. He drew close to Mireille, kneeling beside her bound form. They pressed the tip of their wand to her throat, then forced her to meet his gaze, pressure under her chin until their eyes met. "I'm assuming you're not so stupid that you didn't hear my Father's words. Join us, or die. You've made your choice."

mireille angelique kensley  ● december 24, 2022 ● 295 words ● n/a

MISHA ARDEN
Nichols★

dandy ♫

[mireille angelique kensley]

i'll be drinking your starlight until the end of my life

❝

She’d come so close to meeting her daughter, to welcoming this baby into the world that it felt like cruelty to have it ripped from her. Mireille cried openly, pleading not for her own life, but for her daughter’s. Sionis, at least, seemed to have gotten away, and she prayed that he was getting help. That he would contact Claire, at least, then come save her. Because she was not going to get out of this without them. And, as she begged, she knew that she was likely not getting out of this at all.

But her daughter…her baby could. She would gladly die if it meant that her daughter would survive. But her child was as of yet unborn, and if she died before giving birth, then the baby was lost, too.

“Please,” she continued fruitlessly, tears openly streaming. “Her father’s a vampire, she’s half-vampire. She’s just a baby, she’s done nothing wrong. Please don’t harm my baby.” Mireille continued to beg, bargaining for her daughter’s life, but this cruel monster had no mercy for her.

I’m afraid that’s not how this is going to work, chortenia.

Heavily sobbing, the tip of his wand in her neck, Mireille couldn’t stop mouthing her pleas. Just the one word, over and over, followed by a whisper of her baby’s name.

“Maëlle,” she murmured, closing her eyes and regretting that she would never cradle the sweet infant.

In response, she felt a sharp pang in her abdomen. They had been occurring on and off the last few days, but this one was far sharper, far more intense, and it made her gasp and cry harder. Sionis could save their daughter, if he and Claire were quick, if this vampire did not get to the baby before they could.

I’m assuming you’re not so stupid that you didn't hear my Father’s words. Join us, or die. You’ve made your choice.

“But she didn’t!” Mire cried, her desperation and the pain in her abdomen forcing the words out of her. “She’s a baby, not even born yet, and you’re taking the choices from her. You could save her, have me in your debt, anything, please, but I’m begging you don’t take her life. She hasn’t even gotten to live it yet.”

She begged and pleaded, knowing her life was forfeit, but hoping that Sionis was able to get Claire, that she was buying them enough time to save Maëlle even if they couldn’t save Mireille.

misha arden nichols ● she just wants to be a mom ● 413

MADE BY MIZO

[misha arden nichols]

“

“Please. Her father’s a vampire, she’s half-vampire. She’s just a baby, she’s done nothing wrong. Please don’t harm my baby.... But she didn’t! She’s a baby, not even born yet, and you’re taking the choices from her. You could save her, have me in your debt, anything, please, but I’m begging you don’t take her life. She hasn’t even gotten to live it yet.”

"Her father," Misha snarled, sick smile flashing his fangs. A child of a vampire was perhaps less deserving to die than any of the mutts and humans attempting to flee the bloodbath, in their mind, but Death had made its orders clear. The child's father was a traitor, one who had chosen death over his own people. Mireille and the child she carried would die here and now, as punishment for the traitor's actions. "Is a traitor to his own kind, as bad as any of the mutts that have already met the fate they deserve. He will come to know the mistake he has made, as you are now. There is no winning here, for you or for him."

Misha relished in the fear that rolled off Mireille in waves for a moment, eyes glinting with what could only be described as exhiliration. Never would they have expected themself to come to enjoy this carnage, but now he lived for it. "As for your child, they do say the sins of the father are visited upon the children."

The tip of his wand butted sharply against Mireille's chin, forcing her head up further before a muttered cruciatus curse made Misha step back. Mireille's death was already sealed, but that didn't mean Misha couldn't have some fun before that time came. For now, they could relish in her screams, letting the spell carry on for ten or fifteen seconds before he lowered their wand. 

mireille angelique kensley  ● december 24, 2022 ● 308 words ● n/a

MISHA ARDEN
Nichols★

dandy ♫