Again, thank you for the reviews.
I meant to place a disclaimer, but I'm pretty sure we're all aware that I don't own any True Blood characters except for the dear OCs (Richard, Crystal, Maria...etc)
And be forewarned, this story is Rated M for reasons that will come in later chapters.
Much of the cultural content is accurate, I know a lot of it because I am Native American myself, but I make sure to ask my elders to be sure I'm as factual as possible when it comes to Crystal's heritage and tradition.
However, I still use creative license to make things work.
We've pretty much gotten past the boring stuff and we're getting into the good parts of the story now, so enjoy :)
Crystal nestled into her bed pillows, trying to force sleep to wash over her but the room was too hot. She never imagined the heat in Dallas could hold a candle to the blazing temperatures of Mexico, but she was sorely mistaken. She sat up and exhaled sharply, peeling pieces of her curly brown hair off of her moist forehead.
Suddenly she felt as though ice cubes were tracing from the nape of her neck down her spine, relieving her of the heat wave that she was caught in the middle of. However, when equally as chilling pale arms wrapped around her body from behind, she realized her relief was him. It was Godric.
He pressed his soft lips against her ear before whispering in a painfully seductive voice, "Do you trust me?"
Crystal closed her eyes and leaned back into his embrace, relishing the coolness of his hands as they ran up the length of her arms to the straps of her camisole, slipping them off of her shoulders.
"I do." She responded in a breathy whisper, her hands gripping the bedspread as she was overcome by want and need with every kiss he placed down the side of her neck. That familiar pop sound resounded by her ear and she wanted nothing more than for him to take her.
"Do it."
"Crystal…" he whispered.
"Do it Godric."
"Crystal…Crystal...Crystal!" His voice became more feminine and shrill with each mention of her name.
She awoke to Maria standing above her, dressed in a floral printed sundress, her hair falling over her shoulders as she endlessly shook her daughter into consciousness. Crystal sat up instantly, looking around the room.
"You stayed out too late last night, its almost evening and I've let you sleep too long. The sun is setting, you need to hurry. Dios mio." Maria sighed impatiently, pulling the comforter off of her daughter before rushing out of the room. "You have five minutes mija, cinco minutos!"
Crystal shoved herself out of bed and shook her head, recalling the dream she was in the midst of only minutes earlier. She was torn by the complexity of it all. A part of her wanted to find out more about these vampires and the world they belonged to, but another part of her knew she was labeled 'dead girl walking' in their world…or maybe 'appetizer', probably both.
"Crystal Coco Ramire Martinez! If you miss the sun's departure, lo juro por Dios-"
"I'm on my way!" She slipped into a pair of flip flops and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, running downstairs. Maria met her at the bottom, taking her wrist and leading her out into the backyard where the Sage faithfully burned, wavering in the air thickly. Maria nodded to her daughter, taking a seat in the grass and pulling a small animal-hide covered drum into her lap, beating it gently and rhythmically.
Crystal closed her eyes and faced the beautiful setting sun, raising her hands into the air and speaking the prayer she had said ever since she was a child, "Praised be my Lord God with all His creatures; and specially our father the sun, who brings us the day.
Praised be my Lord for our mother the moon, and for the stars, which He has set clear and lovely in heaven."
Her mother repeated her words in the ancient Mayan tongue that Crystal didn't understand, and she continued, "Praised be Thy Lord for our brother fire, through whom Thou givest us light in the darkness." She slowly brought her arms back to her sides and the sun was successfully retired for the evening. Maria stopped her drumming and looked at her daughter with great pride.
"Our Ancestors are pleased." She stood up, embracing Crystal.
Eric Northman paced in front of his Maker slowly, deciding whether or not it was a good idea to speak on the matter that currently boggled his mind.
"Is there something you wish to tell me my child?" Godric asked Eric wearily, watching the vampire deep in thought. Though he had thoroughly chastised Eric for attacking Crystal the evening before, he had allowed him the remainder of his temporary stay in Dallas only under heavy supervision.
"I'm trying to make sense of it myself before I can speak of it." Eric replied to his maker, stroking the blond stubble of his chin. He turned to Godric, his brows furrowed in confusion. "I humbly apologize about my actions last night, but what if I told you that this young girl is more than she appears to be?"
Godric placed his elbows on the mahogany desk he was seated behind, leaning forward to better listen. "What do you mean by that?"
"In her blood there was a faint taste of something I had no time to place. From what I can recall, it was not a creature of the forest; it was something a lot more powerful." Eric explained, having a seat in front of the eldest vampire who studied him thoughtfully.
"So you are saying she is supernatural then…am I correct?" Eric nodded in response. Godric considered this aspect. Her energy was for certain more powerful than any human he had ever encountered. "Interesting theory…I will give it thought, thank you."
Crystal toyed with the food on her plate, pushing vegetables around with her fork and watching the designs she could create out of the gravy that trailed behind it.
"I visited the ruins of Palenque one time on an assignment; the construction of it was absolutely breathtaking. Just the fact that such an influential civilization so rich with cultural history is still being kept alive amazes me." Richard illustrated his adventures in freelance journalism and how they related to Maria and Crystal's culture. Crystal wanted to snort aloud; he was definitely good at talking up many things, which was probably why her mother fell for him in the first place.
"It is very difficult keeping up with the rituals, but we always found them an important foundation in our family. For some reason Crystal can't seem to appreciate them like I wish she would." Maria explained woefully.
"Let's not talk about me like I'm not here." She retorted with venom.
"I can't help it mija, your twentieth birthday is coming in only a week and there are many things that you need to be ready for before the ceremony." Maria explained.
"This is not ancient times, it's the new millennium. We don't sacrifice virgins to make the sun come up; I can't even speak the language. Can't I just have a nice dinner for my birthday like every other twenty year old girl in this city?" The entire table grew quiet except for the occasional tapping of metal silverware against a ceramic dish. Richard said nothing, opting to stay out of the frequent family arguments Crystal and Maria got into.
"I'm done." Crystal murmured, standing up and putting her dishes into the sink. She left the kitchen and ambled upstairs to her bedroom, however the door was nearly closed, only slightly left ajar. Pushing the door open, she was met with Godric sitting patiently on the outer sill of her window, his arms crossed.
Crystal fleetly slammed her bedroom door shut, making sure to lock it twice before turning to Godric in bewilderment. "Have you lost your mind? My mother could have come in here! Or Richard!" She whispered.
"Your footsteps are much lighter than that of either of your guardians, and your scent of sandalwood and amber cannot be duplicated. Are you ready to depart?" He asked, leaning forward only a little to observe her living quarters, but not enough to break the golden rule of never entering a human's home without an invite.
"Depart? Where are we going?" She made her way over to him hesitantly.
"To get to know one another I presume, unless you'd like to do something different?" His expression was innocent, but she felt a double meaning behind his statement. She wondered if he knew about the dream she had of him, but just in case vampires could read minds, she erased that thought by repeating the words 'cheese, cheese, cheese' in her brain.
"What have I gotten myself into…" Crystal mumbled, following him out of her window and letting out a small shriek when she felt an abrupt rush of wind around her body and she was halfway down the block and in Godric's strong arms.