disclaimer : I own nothing.
foreword : My MarlowxIris epic. Hope you like it. Also, I know that the saying 'oceans of time' came originally from the '92 Dracula, but it seems to fit most vampire stories, and especially 30 days of night.
Oceans of Time
Chapter 1 : The Shores of Anatolia
It had been years since she'd been home.
How many, she wasn't quite sure, they all blended into one another as time went by. Decades? Centuries? No, she wasn't quite sure.
The Mediterranean looked beautiful from where she stood, a deep blue at night, the sound of waves crashing in the distance.
It had been so long since she had stood on banks like these and gazed out onto the sea, her mind seeming to leave her body as she drifted.
A howl came from behind her, her comrades feasting at a nearby village. She had joined in for a while, but sated for now, she had gone to be alone.
As time was merely a blur to her, so was her mortal life. It seemed like eons ago, but she could recall small things about it.
Her father was a Greek from the land of Thessaly who came to Constantinople with a merchant vessel. Her mother, a wealthy Turkish widow living with her husband's family, had fallen in love with the man. That's how Iris was conceived. Her father left to go back home, to his family there, leaving his infant daughter behind.
When the Sultan's messenger came to ask for Iris to marry him, the woman happily obliged, and sent her fourteen year old daughter off.
For twelve years she served in the harem, and while she made friends with her co-wives and respected her husband, she was often unhappy for reasons she could not explain.
Her harem had been ransacked, and many were dead, but somehow she lived. Her neck hurt and there was blood all over her pristine white dress, but she was alive and the women around her were dead.
She had no choice but to go with the vampires who had turned her into one of them.
Other than the basic facts, all she remembered was the sea, and how Constantinople thrived on it. She loved the sea, and even though she had been turned, they spent much time aboard boats that she was still a part of her sea.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling nearby.
From the corner of her eye she spotted Zuriel, his hair messy and face bloodied.
"The land here is plentiful." he said, coming to stand next to her.
"I know." she said, "I came from this land."
He nodded, "You were changed here?"
"Yes."
Zuriel nodded again. He was one of few she was actually cordial with in the group - Slightly younger than she, he looked up to her, and when times called for it would hunt with her and share his winnings.
"All is well?" a voice growled from near them. Marlow stepped out of shadows into the moonlight.
"Yes, sir." Zuriel said, backing away, his head down.
"Good. Go eat, you'll need it."
Zuriel slinked away from the dominant male and back off onto the trail to the small town.
"And you, have you ate?"
"Yes."
"You should eat more before sun rises. We'll be sailing to Cyprus come tomorrow."
"I see. I will, in a little while."
"Is something wrong?" he asked, moving into the same spot Zuriel had stood in moments before.
"No, sir, nothing."
There was a moment of silence before he spoke, "We don't have time to be homesick, Iris, we have four hours until sun rise."
"Oh." was all she replied, turning away from the sea.
"Hunt with me, if it pleases you."
She looked up at him and into his eyes, which were hardly visible in the dark of the night. Marlow had taken on the role of ruling their group, and apart from giving orders or picking new hunting grounds, he did not speak or interact much with the members of the group.
"Yes, I would hunt with you." she said, somewhat confused, but happy for the offer.
"Come then." he said, walking back towards the town, with her trailing behind him.
"I can smell them in that house right there -" he said, pointing to a tiny thatched shack, "One is wounded, he's turning. I can smell his blood from outside. I say we try it."
The two walked into the house, trying to be quiet. Iris could hear speech faintly in the distance. It was Turkish, and though she hadn't spoke the language in ages, she could make out that they were planning an escape into the hills. It sounded like three adults, and she could indeed smell the wounded man's blood.
They came to the door of the room the people were hiding in, and stood quietly outside. Suddenly, with the force of an animal, Marlow slammed his body against the wooden door, smashing through it.
The only woman screamed and Iris went to silence her, her fangs clamping down over the woman's neck. Her screams were muffled as her life was drained from her, her blood leached.
When Iris arose she looked over to see one of the men, the old man who had not been wounded, was still alive. Marlow had kept him alive and he had just witnessed the death of the woman. His eyes were wide in shock, his mouth open but no scream could come.
Iris stared at him, a poor broken old man. "Are you going to get rid of him?" she asked Marlow.
Marlow didn't answer, but instead his hand grabbed the man by his chin and yanked his head upwards, snapping the neck.
"Old ones are not good. They do not taste good and their blood doesn't carry as much as younger blood. But I save it for the voyages, if I get hungry." his nail came to slice the man's neck open, and out of his pocket he pulled what looked like a leather flask and filled it up. "It's good advice," he said to her, "should you ever be in a situation like this again."
Iris nodded and when he finished they continued on their way, killing three more mortals before the time to leave had come. It was one hour until sun rise.
Marlow screeched and called all the group back on board their ship, and just before the sun's rays illuminated the sky, the anchors were pulled and the ship was off, all the vampires safe below deck in darkness.
She found herself in Marlow's quarters, he had invited her with him, and now they sat, thinking. Iris felt quite tired and was ready to fall into a sleep at this point. Marlow had a bowl of water and a rag, trying to clean the dry blood off of himself.
"I still remember when you came to join us." he said, scrubbing his hands, "You were so scared." he laughed.
"I know. I remember myself." she said, recalling how she had followed them, terrified, onto the boat. They did not stop her, but they paid no attention to her either. She had to gain all the trust and power she had.
"You have become one of this group's greatest assets since then." he said, dipping his talons into the bowl.
"Thank you." she said softly, barely audible.
Marlow was wiping off his chin and neck, but Iris surprised herself when she stood up to help him. "Here, you missed a spot," she said, taking the rag and cleaning his cheek.
He stared at her as she did, but it wasn't a disapproving look, just an interested one.
"I must get to my quarters," she said quickly, "I'm quite tired."
"You can sleep here. I have things to attend to for now. I don't mind."
"But it's -"
"It's fine." he said, pointing to the bed, "Sleep."
Iris didn't dare disobey him. She laid on top of the covers and pillows, sleep taking her quickly.
Though she didn't know it, Marlow watched her sleep for a while, eyeing her as she dreamt.
Yes, he was quite glad she had joined them.