Beta'd By: My dear friend and Bobbette, Erin *holds tightly*
Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own anything. Not even my sanity. Well, maybe Sabine, but that's not much, considering.
Note: Inspired by the prompt (given through an LJ community): "Don't touch me."
Note 2: It's meant to be read as a one-shot so, even if it feels like there's more to it, there will be no fanfic-continuation (I hope), so don't ask for it, please?
-|- ... -|-
Krista's face is throbbing from all the punches she has taken, her wrists and legs are definitely suffering from rope burn, and she is thirsty, so very thirsty, but unwilling to accept any blood they offer her. The scent of her own blood makes her dizzy sometimes, most of it covering her white buttoned blouse which was last unbuttoned as they toyed with her, her black bra visible now, and even her blue jeans have been sprayed with blood.
They're torturing her for answers, and she's giving them nothing in return.
She welcomes death.
At this point, it's the only way she'll find peace.
The door in front of her solitary gray room opens, along with a burst of light, before the light bulb above her brightens the room she's in.
She recognizes the woman before her with an extreme distaste, and she lifts her chin forward, ready for whatever attack the blonde might try to throw her way this time.
"Hello, Krista." Chase speaks almost adoringly, but Krista knows it's the torture she adores.
The door closes behind her and Krista sees the necklace around Chase's neck glitter. The one Marcus had given Krista, the one that had belonged to Isabel.
"You know, you could still get out of this. It's not like you owe Marcus any loyalty," Chase walks around Krista like a feline with both grace and danger seeping from her pores.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Krista lies. She knows the walls have ears, and she's been smart enough not to say anything that will betray that.
Chase stands behind her now, pressing a finger over Krista's jaw line.
"Don't touch me," Krista growls.
"Or you'll what?"
Krista smiles at that. In her mind, she's killing Chase very slowly. She had to admit, these past few days, her imagination has been her dearest friend.
"Oh Krista," Chase coos mockingly, walking over to stand in front of Krista. She leans forward, her face closer that Krista would like, "I understand how serving Marcus one last time may seem like the noble thing to do, but surely, you must realize by now that the point is moot. You betrayed him, and for some sentimental reason, he was foolish enough to keep you around, but you and I both know he never trusted you, did he? So why waste his precious time trying to save what was never his to begin with?
"If you don't tell us what we want to know, we'll just find some other way to destroy him, and get Aurora for ourselves. The purebloods will see what I've done for their precious houses, and then it'll be my turn to see Marcus run."
Krista shakes her head, smiling all the while.
"What's so amusing?" Chase's face is still calm, and patient.
Krista quirks an eyebrow, "One thing is being delusional, Chase, but it's quite another thing to make things up just because Marcus dumped you."
That earns her a slap hard across the face.
Krista receives it with very little emotion, not even a wince, though it hurts like hell. She licks her lips in response, "Hmm, must've hit a nerve."
Before Chase can retaliate further, the door opens behind her. She turns, shocked, as she sees a cool and collected Marcus standing under the doorway, fixing the cuffs in his suit before setting his eyes on Chase.
-|- ... -|-
Chase had been operating under orders from the House of Erebus who had decided to give her the benefit of the doubt concerning the news of Marcus' betrayal to the purebloods, but without evidence, they wouldn't do anything.
They weren't going to take Chase's word for it. Rumor had already spread that Chase was quite jealous of Marcus' new pet.
Marcus had done good work for the house of Chthon, his only fault being his encounters with the daywalker, but once another house fell victim to Blade's annoying meddling, they couldn't blame him for the same thing everyone else was suffering.
Marcus had been smart enough to shed light on the situation and lead the purebloods to believe that Blade had been the one to kill the purebloods during the conclave. He also went so far as to saying the doctor working on Aurora had sabotaged it, having been working for Blade so that the vampires would believe it worked and Blade could kill a few purebloods.
As annoying as Blade was, his presence had its advantages.
Krista had been Marcus' prisoner after he discovered she had been working for Blade, but instead of torturing her or questioning her for information, he simply kept her around under house arrest for quite a while until he let her go. She never thought she'd go back to him, but after seeing that Blade had gone, she had nowhere to turn to.
She knew it had been a possibility he was counting on that, but without the serum, without Blade, without her family... she was lost. Marcus was all she had, and for some reason, she couldn't leave him. Not when he hadn't given her any reason to. But when Chase found her and took her for the purpose of bringing down Marcus, knowing that as Marcus' pet and Blade's ally, her testimony wouldn't be contested, Krista was tempted to betray him, to plunge all of the vampire houses into chaos, but she didn't.
She chose to save Marcus.
-|- ... -|-
And now there he stands, in all his glory.
"Hello Chase," he smiles, his fangs too apparent by now, and before Chase can respond, he retrieves a sword from behind his back—Krista had noticed the strap across his chest, but apparently Chase hadn't—and cuts Chase's head straight off.
"Goodbye Chase," he finishes. He puts the sword back in his sheath, avoiding Krista's eyes all the while.
She doesn't know what to think. She never actually imagined Marcus would save her. Chase had been right about one thing—Marcus never showed an ounce of trust in her again. He never even slept with her, though the last vampire who showed interest in her had been mysteriously ashed the day after. Sometimes she thought he only kept around because of what she knew and how she could compromise him, which in itself was foolish considering that keeping her near wouldn't guarantee him any sort of safety.
He crouches down, "I'm sorry for depriving you of the pleasure, but I didn't desire to waste any more time than necessary."
Krista sees what he picked up when he stands upright, Isabel's necklace.
He walks behind her.
"Aren't we wasting time right now?" Krista twists her wrists, trying to remind him of her bonds and how she desperately wants to see them cut off.
She freezes when she feels the necklace charm falling on her chest, "There's time for this."
After the necklace is on, she feels the rope around her wrists get cut and he walks over to set her legs free as well.
"I didn't think you'd come for me," she answers honestly.
He doesn't look at her, but answers quickly after her, "I didn't think you'd pass at the chance of destroying me."
She stands and rubs her wrists, looking at the camera at the corner of the room. When she turns her head to look at him, he's smiling, "They're not recording. I had a little conversation with the security guard. With the footage they've recorded, we'll be able to doctor a tape that will make it seem as if you killed her. No one will know of my presence here, and it must remain that way."
If he knew about the tapes, then he must've been watching earlier, Krista concludes. She wonders how much he has heard.
"Marcus," she warns, "They'll hunt me down if I go back to you. I didn't drink blood while I was here, I didn't... They know I worked for Blade."
"You told them?"
"No, I didn't tell them anything, but I certainly fit the profile." She corrects.
His smile widens, and she can't help but find it annoying, "It's already settled. You killed Chase and escaped because confined spaces make you... dangerous, and you knew Chase would never allow them to set you free even without any evidence."
"And the blood?" Krista wonders how much he believes he truly has sorted out.
"Easy," he holds up his arm, pulling back his sleeve as far as it can go with a grace belonging only to him, "The only blood you drink is mine."
That makes her swallow, hard. He uses his nail to make a clean cut on his wrist, and for a second, their gaze is locked.
She opens her mouth slightly, reaching out for his arm, and pressing his bleeding wrist on her lips.
His growl is soft, but comforting, and she has never felt so much in so little time.
When he pulls his arms back, it's to kiss her and whisper in her ear, "I'll be seeing you."
To say things went as planned is an understatement. Marcus left first, and then Krista followed, taking her time if she was to pretend to be thirsty from three days of torture, and she'd later lie about feeding on animals as a punishment for being caught and kept away from her 'master'.
Although the insinuation of a bondage-like relationship isn't at all accepted by Krista, it helped cover up a lot of loose ends, so she accepts it.
And now that she is back in the House of Chthon, she can only smile every time her eyes fall on Marcus' on random moments.
Chase had taken her with every intention to destroy Marcus and take Krista away from him completely, and all she truly did instead was unite them, and help Marcus rise even higher.
All thanks to Chase.
FINIS