"I don't want to kill anyone," Guinevere says. They are in Arthur's car, driving to the club. The club is called Pulse, a little inside joke Gwen never got until tonight.
"We generally don't kill people," Merlin says. "If we do, it's someone who deserves it."
"Like a murderer or a rapist. That sort," Arthur adds.
"So how do you eat? Or do you prefer the term 'feed'?" she asks. "Perhaps not," she adds, seeing Arthur's eyes rolling in the rear view mirror.
"Remember when I said I wanted to snack on you?" Arthur asks.
"Yes."
"If we take human blood, that's what we do," he explains. "A pint here, a pint there, not enough to cause any noticeable issues."
"In most cases," Merlin adds. "Occasionally someone will feel like having a bit of a lie-down after—"
"Especially if they're pissed," Arthur interjects.
"Yes, but we do try not to drink from people who are too drunk," Merlin clarifies. "It somehow seems unfair."
"Doesn't it leave a mark?" Gwen asks.
"No. Do you remember how it felt when we bit you?" Arthur asks.
"Yes. I'll never forget that for as long as I live… er, exist," she answers.
"Our saliva has sort of a… magical effect on the living," Merlin says. "Apart from causing a feeling of…"
"Ecstasy," Guinevere supplies.
"Yes. It also prevents the victim from feeling the sting of the bite and heals the wound almost immediately."
"Convenient," she responds. "You said 'if we take human blood' though. You drink other blood as well?"
"We have some discreet arrangements with a few local establishments," Merlin says. "Butcher, abattoir, even a farm or two."
"Blood bank?" she asks, frowning.
"Goodness, no," Arthur answers. "That blood is for the ill and injured. We're not monsters, Love," he adds, winking at her before turning into his private parking space at the club.
"Oh, thank God," she sighs. "I don't think I would have been comfortable with that."
"We do try not to hurt mortals," Merlin says. "Not permanently, I mean."
"In fact, we make several large, anonymous donations to several hospitals and charities every year," Arthur adds.
"That's very good of you," Guinevere replies, taking Arthur's hand as she exits the car. As they walk in the back door, she asks, "So if you have all these resources, why have you taken me here?"
"Because you need to learn," Merlin answers. "How to pick a person and how to drink from them without killing them."
"I already said I don't want—"
"It's not about what you want, Love," Arthur explains. They are in the private back room, where it is quiet. "Do you remember drinking from Merlin and me?"
"Yes," she says, biting her lower lip at the memory.
"Did you want to stop?"
"Oh."
"Right. We had to make you stop. You will have to learn how to make yourself stop, because you won't want to, despite your understandable moral obligations to murder," Arthur says. "It's an instinct. You will have to learn to control it."
"So… I'll watch you two?" she asks.
"You'll watch Merlin," Arthur says. "And then try with me by your side."
"You'll listen to Arthur better," Merlin says with no trace of bitterness or jealousy. "And he'll help you find someone, though I don't think you'll need any help attracting a willing participant."
"Why?"
"Guinevere, have you seen yourself? You are breathtaking," Arthur says. "Another nice side effect of whatever this thing is."
"Oh, so you lot were trolls before?" she teases, smiling.
"He was," Merlin quickly retorts, then ducks Arthur's playful smack. "Actually, part of the reason I couldn't resist him was because of how gorgeous he is," he admits.
"And I thought Merlin was some sort of Faerie prince he was so beautiful," Arthur admits. "Unfortunately, no one knows what he looked like before except him, and he's not a trustworthy source," he adds with a chuckle. "Guinevere," he says in that low, sexy tone as he walks towards her, "you have always been beautiful." He cups her face in his hands. "As soon as I – we; both of us – saw you, we were entranced." He kisses her. "But now, now that you're one of us?" All he can do is stare at her and slowly shake his head.
"Since you brought up Faeries, it is sometimes referred to as glamour in their lore. Like a supernatural… pheromone, if you will. People will be drawn to you without knowing why. Like charisma, but stronger. Baser," Merlin explains. "You'll see once we go into the club."
"Are you ready?" Arthur asks, sliding his hands down her arms.
"Yes," Gwen answers.
"Come with me," he takes her hand and leads her to the elevator.
xXx
Merlin moves like a swan, beautiful and graceful, circulating through the club with practiced ease. Gwen watches as the patrons notice him. Both men and women stop and openly stare, and she can see the want on their faces. She also scans the crowd, wondering who her first meal will be.
"Is my eyesight better?" she asks Arthur, surprised at how she doesn't have to shout over the music either.
"Yes," he answers. He stares at her a moment. "Nothing?"
"Hmm?"
"Merlin and I can read each other's thoughts sometimes. We have to concentrate to do it though. Might just be us, or maybe it will come to you later," he explains with a shrug. "Watch." He turns and stares hard down at Merlin.
A few seconds later, Merlin looks sharply up and makes a rude hand gesture to the hidden balcony where Arthur and Gwen are located.
"What did you tell him?" Guinevere asks, laughing.
"I told him to hurry his arse up because you're hungry," Arthur says.
She smiles and looks at him. "Try again. Tell me a word at random and I'll try to guess it," she says.
He looks at her, really staring deep into her eyes.
Her lips part as she lightly gasps. "Crumpets?" she guesses.
He grins, then kisses her. "Very good, Love," he praises her. "Oh. Merlin's found someone."
She returns her attention to the club below, and sees Merlin sliding into a corner booth with a young woman. She is beautiful and seems to be giggling a lot.
"Ah, he's being funny tonight, I see," Arthur assesses.
"Does it make you jealous?" Gwen asks. "Will it make you jealous when I…?"
He shakes his head. "No. It would be like… being jealous of a hamburger. I know he loves me – us – and what he's doing down there is just an act. We're hunters, Guinevere. Those people are nothing more than prey. You though? You were different."
"I figured that," she says, her eyes still on Merlin.
"Do you feel jealous watching him?" Arthur cautiously asks, pulling her closer beside him, his arm around her shoulders.
She takes a couple seconds before answering. Merlin leans in and kisses his prey, his large hand caressing the woman's face briefly before he moves his lips to trail kisses down her chin, heading for her neck. "No. It doesn't," she says. Merlin bites the woman's neck and when she gasps, so does Gwen. "It kind of… excites me," she whispers.
"Ohh, you like to watch, hey?" Arthur assesses, his hand moving down her back to come to rest over her rear.
"I wouldn't have thought so, but… yes," she answers. She turns towards Arthur. "I want to try."
Arthur groans and kisses her like he has no choice. "Unh, you are irresistible," he says. "All right. Let's go."
xXx
"Do you see how everyone is looking at you?" Arthur quietly asks.
"I see how everyone is looking at you," Guinevere counters.
"Look again," he presses. They move past a table full of what appears to be members of a university rugby team. They all openly stare. One pours his drink on himself. Another tries to set his glass down and misses the table. A third actually moves away from the table to keep watching her as she passes.
She looks back over her shoulder at him, then slowly turns her face forward again.
"Niiiice," Arthur comments. "I didn't know you could be such a flirt."
"Me either," she laughs. "Do you think… one of them?"
"Definite possibility," he answers. They stop walking near the bar.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
Arthur's eyebrow rises as Gwen turns to face the source of the voice.
"Oh, sorry, are you with him?" he asks, appreciatively looking Arthur up and down. "If so, I'll buy him one, too; he's fit and I'm into everything."
Arthur laughs, and the music changes to something slow.
"Why don't we dance instead?" Guinevere suggests, trailing a single finger down the man's arm until she catches his hand. She sees Arthur's very slight nod of approval just as Merlin wanders up and joins them.
"We need to order more vodka," Merlin says. "Aw, look at her… her first kill," he says once Gwen and her suitor are out of earshot.
Or so he thought. She turns her head back and sticks her tongue out at him.
"Ears like a bat, that one," Arthur comments.
"Could you do the Thing with her?" Merlin asks.
"With a lot of concentration on both our parts," Arthur answers. "I think it'll just take some practice is all."
"She's doing well," Merlin assesses. "Very well."
Guinevere has her arms looped around the man's neck. He's very handsome, with brown hair reaching down to his chin.
"What's your name?" she asks, lifting up on tiptoe to speak in his ear, deliberately hovering closer than necessary. He smells yummy.
"Gwaine," he answers. "And you are… wait. Let me guess. Something exotic and beautiful. A name fit for a princess… like Sophia, or Esmeralda. Yes. Princess Esmeralda."
"It's Gwen," she says, chuckling at him. She moves her fingers into his hair and he makes a low groaning noise.
"You are…" his words trail off as he stares down at her, his brown eyes getting lost in hers. He reaches up and strokes her cheek. "Beautiful. Simply beautiful."
She goes onto her toes again and says, "So are you." Then she sucks his earlobe into her mouth.
"Gwen," he gasps, his fingers digging into her hips. "Holy balls…"
She sinks her teeth into his neck, just below his ear. His blood is hot and delicious. Not the divine nectar she drank from Arthur and Merlin, but amazing nevertheless. She feels his hardness growing against her stomach and it gives her a certain sense of pride.
STOP!
The word roars into her head, from both Arthur and Merlin at once, and she somehow finds the will to pull away, first licking the puncture wounds closed.
"Bloody hell, woman," Gwaine says. "Do you feel what you do to me, just from dancing with me?"
"I do," she answers just as the music changes. "Maybe next time though, Pet," she says. She pats his cheek, then leaves him standing and gaping in the middle of the dance floor.
"Guinevere that was amazing," Arthur praises, kissing her cheek.
"Well done, Darling," Merlin agrees, kissing the other. "Arthur, do you need a snack?"
"It depends," Arthur says. "What are we doing when we get home?"
Merlin looks him up and down. "Better go have a nibble."
Guinevere looks at her two men, a little confused. "What?"
"We'll explain when we get home. Watch Arthur. He's a master at this. Better at it than me in a lot of ways," Merlin says. "He's just so bloody handsome no one can resist him."
"He really is, isn't he?" Guinevere says, sighing like a stupid lovesick schoolgirl. "But don't sell yourself short, Love," she says, smiling up at Merlin.
"I'm not," he chuckles. "I am well aware I have somewhat of a niche appeal. Arthur, however… well, he's almost everybody's type."
"So I see," Guinevere says with a chuckle, watching as Arthur begins charming the table of rugby players.
Merlin sighs. "He also likes a challenge." When one of the athletes agrees to go off wherever Arthur plans on taking him, Merlin rolls his eyes. "And now he's just showing off."
Arthur must have heard that last part, either with his ears or his mind, because he turns and winks at Merlin.