Author's Note: I decided to upload the second chapter so soon after the first, so that you, the reader, can get a better feel for the story. Like the first chapter, it leaves off on a slight cliff hanger. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Again, I do not own anything except my character, Valeska Latimer.
Warning: This chapter is rated T for coarse language, violence, and because LaCroix is a jerk. :P
Chapter 2 Desperate Deals
Despite her terror and confused state, there was no way Valeska could resist taking in the beauty of what lay before them. Apparently they were in a large office that was beautifully decorated to resemble an older time period. The floors were of a lightly colored wood with intricate designs, and a long red and gold rug lay in the middle of the room. The lower parts of the walls were a cream color with gorgeous gold inlays and tall pillars, while the upper half was a pale blue in color that rose up into the high vaulted white and gold ceiling. Classic pieces of artwork decorated the walls adding to the beauty and all around there were tall chestnut colored cabinets that were empty. On one side of the large room, a cozy fireplace was ablaze in front of bright red sofas. On the other side of the room were the same colored armchairs sitting next to a table with candle sticks alight. Everything seemed to complement itself perfectly, and drew attention to the main piece of the room: a large mahogany desk with a black leather chair turned toward the back of the room which had several large windows.
Slowly the chair turned around to reveal a very pale man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He was dressed in a fine dark suit, had light blonde hair, and fair facial features. His expression was serious, and he had an air of confidence and intelligence about him. This must have been the Prince her attacker had been talking about. Was he royalty then? He kind of looked like a Prince she supposed. On any normal occasion Valeska knew she would have found herself quite attracted to him on first glance. Seeing as how she knew that she could be dead at any point within the next few minutes though, this thought didn't really cross her mind.
"Ahh, an associate of the Sabbat," the pale man sighed, his tilted head in his hand. His eloquent voice had an accent to it, but she couldn't quite place it. British perhaps? "It would figure it would be your sect launching this attack. So what is it you want do I dare ask?" Valeska felt the claws around her neck tighten painfully as they cut into her flesh. Warm blood slowly started oozing from her neck. She winced and looked at the man in the chair with pleading eyes, but he barely seemed to neither notice nor care that she was there.
"Your life Prince! This city belongs to those who actually embrace the power of Caine, not the frail puppets of the Camarilla!" the Sabbat snarled furiously. She noticed as her attacker's breathing got heavier and heavier. He began to sniff her which frightened her further. She got the feeling she was being seen more as a piece of meat more than anything. Slowly the Sabbat member inched his way closer toward the Prince, who did not make any attempt to arm himself or flee.
"And so you assembled a handful of your people and hoped that by using hostages you might succeed? Pathetic and somewhat offensive you would consider it so easy to eliminate me. I find it astonishing your kind continues to exist when it is clear you are nothing more than an infuriating pest that refuses to perish, much like a cockroach I expect," the Prince replied irritably as if this were a minor nuisance and not something to be worried about.
"You're wrong! The Sabbat is more powerful than ever and each day we grow stronger with more who flock to our glorious cause. Soon the streets will over flow with the blood of the kine and kindred alike!" the Sabbat shouted with glee as if he could see this nightmare happening before his eyes.
The two argued for a few more brief moments with things Valeska could only guess at their meaning. The only thing she could tell for sure was that the pale Prince was stalling for time and that the Sabbat guy was eating right into his hand. However this did little to comfort her. She was still terrified, confused, and constantly growing more anxious by the second as her assailant seemed less concerned with killing the blonde Prince and more with her scent that he was outright inhaling now. The man in the chair noticed this as well, and smirked as though he had won a prize.
"It would appear you have denied yourself blood for quite some time. How very rare in a culture such as yours. Go ahead and quench your thirst. I fail to see any sway she might hold over this discussion anyhow," the Prince said while waving his hand as if she were nothing. Her heart skipped a beat. He was joking right? Prince or not, this guy was an ass if he was going to just sit there and do nothing to help her. She felt her oxygen steadily being cut off as her attacker's grip tightened even further, making her panic.
"First the bastard, then the bitch," the Sabbat growled lowly.
"You - will - kill the human NOW!" the Prince commanded. Valeska felt something change in the air, like a wave of energy had passed through her to the Sabbat. Without warning she felt herself slammed against the closest wall as her attacker moved to bite her neck. Too terrified to move and unable to scream, all she could do was whimper and wait for the inescapable. She barely noticed behind her however, that the Prince had moved quickly behind the Sabbat member. He was holding what appeared to be some kind of fancy ankh knife, but that was all she saw as an intense pain erupted from her neck.
What happened next she couldn't quite describe. It was clear he was drinking her blood, but the rate at which he was doing so and the pressure of his hand on her neck increased her disoriented state. Her head felt light as a feather, but her body felt heavier than she could ever recall. No sort of rational thought was able to cross her mind, just blurred images and ramblings.
Just as she thought she couldn't remain awake a second longer her attacker stopped dead in his tracks. Her eyes which were closed from the pain she opened slowly to see that the Prince had stabbed the Sabbat member directly in the heart through his back. Her body slumped to the floor out of exhaustion though feeling her oxygen returning helped to clear her head slightly. She could still feel the blood leaking from her neck, but it was not too much. Had she been lucky enough that he hadn't ripped her artery open, or had he instead drunk too much of her blood that little remained? His maw surely would have done quite a bit of damage. She opened her mouth to thank her savior or at least ask him to call for medical assistance, but in place of words only blood trickled down. She started to have a coughing fit as specks of blood flew out.
She turned her attention to her attacker, hoping that he was dead, but instead seeing his eyes darting back and forth like mad. He was still alive no doubt, but it would appear he was paralyzed. The elevator doors dinged and in came the gigantic ashen skinned person she saw earlier downstairs. His sword and most of his body were covered in a crimson liquid.
"L-look out!" Valeska managed to shout toward the Prince whose attention was on the paralyzed monster. He turned lazily toward the massive creature and smiled slightly.
"Are they all taken care of?" the Prince asked, his hands clasped behind his back. The hulk of a being simply nodded and looked down at the man on the floor. "You know what to do then." Another nod and the giant easily raised his sword, which was more like a colossal slab of metal, over his head. In one fell swoop he sent his weapon crashing down over the helpless monster on the floor, decapitating him instantly. To her surprise, instead of a bloody mess, the monster's body burst into some kind of fire and finally into grey ash.
By now with everything that happened, Valeska's eyes were as big as saucer plates. Here she was, probably about to die depending on how much blood she had lost, and she was slowly starting to piece everything together.
"Holy shit…you guys ARE vampires!" she exclaimed. It all made sense now. The claws, the red eyes, the pale skin, the constant speak of draining her, the vicious slaughter of the others, and the mention of Caine which who was the father of vampires in mythology. With all this evidence staring her down she had no choice but to except the fact that the famed creatures of the night, were real.
"Look at me," the Prince commanded.
Slowly she brought herself to look into her rescuer's eyes which were greyish light blue in color. In his eyes she saw so much in such a small moment: pain, anger, ambition, frustration, but above all else, a cold indifference toward her. If it was one thing she prided herself in, it was her ability to read a person just by looking into their eyes which she often called the windows to the soul. However, this man, if he even was a man, seemed almost to be lacking in that.
"What is your name?" he asked in a gentle tone that surprised her.
"V-Valeska," she stuttered. His eyes were still cold, but his tone was warm. She knew this ploy as she used it all the time. He was trying to lure her into a sense of comfort, but why?
"An ambulance will be here shortly. For now you shall be escorted downstairs," he informed her softly, "About what you saw tonight, you -will- forget it." Once again the same wave of energy came at her, but this time it entered her own head. She felt her consciousness being placed in a relaxed state of mind, but at the same time she could still feel an intruder. It was like a worm crawling in her mind searching for something, but it only lasted a moment.
"And how do you suggest I go about doing that?" Valeska asked him with more attitude than she intended. The Prince's eyes widened slightly with surprise, but in a moment his emotionless expression returned. Somehow he suddenly seemed more appealing, like there was a comforting aura about him.
"You -WILL- forget everything you saw tonight," he repeated. There was more crawling around in her brain, and a commanding whisper sounded itself over and over again. She felt light headed, but as suddenly as it had appeared, the feeling vanished.
"No I won't!" Valeska shouted aggressively, "I just saw innocent people slaughtered, their necks torn open and fed upon by monsters I didn't even know existed until tonight! One doesn't just forget that kind of thing and your stupid attempt at a Jedi mind trick isn't going to change that!"
The Prince frowned and began to look slightly irritated. His giant assistant/bodyguard as she assumed he was, looked slightly surprised too, but it was hard to tell through his grumpy indifferent expression. Silence fell upon the room as the Prince looked deep in thought.
"Look I appreciate you saving my life," Valeska began politely as she slowly attempted to stand up, "And I'm going to assume you egged that guy on to kill me in order to get the jump on him. However I have an important test tomorrow in my calculus class, so I'm just going to go downstairs." She shocked even herself with how she spoke, and even more so that she was still concerned with her college credits. Maybe it was denial with what just happened. It would be so easy to pretend that vampires weren't real, and what she saw was just a nightmare. In a moment she might wake up in front of the TV, realize she ate too much junk food before bed, and the sugar is what made her have such vivid dreams. Unfortunately for her though, this was not to be.
"No, I am afraid I cannot simply allow you to go free," the Prince said sternly.
"Then what are you going to do with me..?" Valeska asked, fear rising within her again.
"Kill you," he replied with a bored expression, "You know too much to allow you to live and I find myself unable to erase your memory." His tone was as cold as his eyes now.
"But I have family…and friends! You can't just murder me and get away with it!" Valeska knew that was partially a lie, but she was desperate and trying to buy time until she could think of a way to escape. She could overpower this dainty looking "Prince" if need be, but not his huge friend with the sword. She would have to rely on words to get out of this one.
"Every hostage downstairs has been killed, so it would not be some startling discovery if another body was added to the fray. Judging by the wound you have suffered and the amount of blood you have lost, you won't live much longer without immediate medical attention anyhow," he replied nonchalantly.
"You don't have to kill me, I could be very useful to you if you let me," Valeska said hurriedly. The Prince raised an eyebrow at this. She knew now that her time was even more limited. Not only would she have to change his mind, but she would have to do it quickly.
"I very much so doubt someone like you could be of any benefit to me," he said coolly, "The only reason I would allow you to live is to satisfy my own curiosity with how you were able to resist my attempt to Dominate your mind."
"I'll tell you if you let me live." This was a long shot she knew because she herself had no idea. He had some kind of mind control ability and hell if she knew why it hadn't worked on her.
"Please give me the dignity of not attempting to play me as a fool," the Prince said with a small laugh, "I have been alive for over two hundred years and can see right through this façade. By all means if it pleases you to devote your last moments of life begging, continue. I have the power to save your life if the correct words are applied." With this he turned to sit back down at his desk. He folded his hands on top of one another and watched her with only enough amusement to give her hope that maybe she could find a way out of this mess.
"Please, I may not look like it, but I have a wide range of skills that you can make use of," she said walking closer to his desk trying to ignore the pain emanating from her neck and head.
"Such as?" he asked sounding annoyed.
"I can hack into almost anything and I'm real good with electronics. I'm also quite stealthy and can sneak my way into any building." The last part was a lie. She wasn't that good at being stealthy, otherwise she would have found a way into the Venture Tower with ease rather than staring up at it every other night.
"Then it is a shame the Sabbat failed to launch this attack on the Nosferatu instead of myself. They could make use of someone like you no doubt," he said sarcastically as if she knew all about what he was talking about.
"I can pick locks and steal anything you might want," she said disregarding his statement and pushing onward.
"Why would I need someone to steal something when I possess vast sums of money to attain anything I desire?" he replied with an air of superiority. This guy was seriously ticking her off and by now there wasn't a single thing she liked about. Everything from his superiority complex he obviously suffered from, right down to his annoying accent made her want to break his nose. However she tried to ignore these aspects of him. She could hate his snobbish rich guy attitude when she wasn't at risk of bleeding to death.
"I'm an expert with guns, knives, and hand to hand combat. If you need someone eliminated I can do that no problem," she said placing emphasis on the word expert which was a laugh. Her knowledge on weapons and how to fight was incredible, but actually employing the techniques she had little luck with.
"I have a highly trained army of men employed under me who take care of that," he said quickly countering her offer. Valeska bit her lip, thinking hard on what to offer next, but her mind was running on empty. She considered telling him she was good at information seeking and manipulation, but seeing as how he just said he had mind control and an army she doubted he would be interested. She took a deep breath and said the last thing she could think of.
"I could…uhm…provide you company during the lonely nights. I've been told I'm very good at that," she muttered while averting her eyes. He was physically attractive, but selling her body to this man in return for her life was an idea that made her stomach churn.
"If I ever had the aspiration to take part in such a lowly act I would elect someone of a higher caliber I think," he spat out in disgust that offended Valeska more than she thought it would.
She didn't have that much time to think about it though as she felt her legs give out. Her last plan was to try to make a run toward the elevator, but now even that was impossible. She had run out of ideas and the only thing she could do now was to face the bittersweet ending to her life's performance. Part of her had always wanted to die, mostly out of her depression. Now though, when she was looking death right in the eyes, it was more terrifying than she could ever imagine. Would anyone even miss her? Probably her grandma, but when she moved to LA for a new life she had left everyone else behind.
"Move her, the last thing I need tonight is blood staining my rug," she heard the Prince say to his bodyguard. In a final moment of clarity, it hit her: blood!
"Wait!" she shouted weakly, "My blood, you can have it."
"I only drink blood of the finest quality," the Prince said with the same arrogant tone.
"Please…it's all I have left to offer..." The lights in the room started to get brighter, and her ears were suddenly more sensitive. Was this normal when one was dying? It didn't last long, as her senses one by one started to give out. She heard the Prince say something, but it only came out as a mummer as her hearing slowly died. Her vision got blurry and though she felt mostly numb, she was able to make out her arm being lifted. Then her world went dark, and even the faintest feelings that remained, vanished completely.
Author's Note: My goodness is LaCroix difficult to write for! I hope I captured his personality well enough, and that I'm not making him out to be too much of a prick. Let's all admit though, LaCroix is an ass no matter how you look at it. I've noticed that I have a bad habit of rereading and rewriting entire sections of each chapter over and over until I've no idea if it's good or not. So please, drop me a review and let me know of your thoughts! I'm always eager for improvement.