Alright, I've got the whole thing written but I'm going to take a pause here just to see if anyone is still interested. I realize I'm a bit behind the times and using long gone characters, but they were just too fabulous to let go... Drop me a line!
Nina looked down at her charge and sighed. There was really only two things that she could think to do, and she wasn't about to bring some hapless victim in off the streets for her to feed on. The other option... She wouldn't let herself think about that just yet. Better to see if Mitchell knew anything that they didn't, first.
Nina thought she would at least clean her up a bit before she woke. She padded down the hall to the linen cupboard for some towels and a bucket of hot water from the tap. Pausing at the top of the stairs she called down, "Annie? You around? I could use some help if you are."
Annie popped up beside her wearing a pair of pink gardening gloves and her usual beaming smile.
"Nina! I thought I heard you come back. I was just in the garden, the birds have been at the tomatoes again so I was hanging some pie tins - " She stopped to consider Nina's face and the load that she was carrying. "Alright?"
"Not exactly," said Nina, leading her into Mitchell's room and explaining briefly what had happened. Annie crossed to the side of the bed and looked down at the blood covered woman with pity. Nina set about cleaning the wound and Annie gently wiped off some of the blood and dirt from her face.
"She's beautiful," Annie said sadly.
Nina snorted. "Of course she beautiful, she's a vampire. Did you ever notice they never bother to turn an ugly woman?" Annie gave her a slightly reproachful look.
Nina's brows knit in concentration as she irrigated the wound.
"Annie," she said, "look at this." She slowly pulled out a three inch spike. It was somewhat smooth, hard and rounded at the tip. It was obviously not a werewolf claw or a part of a wooden stake.
"What is it?" Annie asked.
"I... think it's the tip of an antler." Nina regarded the object with some confusion. She laid it down and looked up at the sound of pounding feet coming up the stairs. George burst into the room followed closely by a wary Mitchell.
"Alright, what do we do?" George turned to Mitchell with absolute faith that he could fix this and clear his conscience.
Mitchell sat gingerly down on the edge of the bed and studied the senseless vampire. She was beyond pale and had definitely lost too much blood. Her riot of dark curls were matted down and glistening. Her features were sharp and delicate, but even while relaxed in unconsciousness he thought he could see something wild and feral just under her skin. He was both intrigued and worried.
"She needs to feed, George. It's as simple as that." Mitchell sighed at the look of dismay on his friends face. "She doesn't have enough blood left for her body to heal itself any further. She's lucky it healed enough to stop bleeding at all." She must be very strong, he thought, again with a twinge of worry.
"This is a nightmare. I have to do something for her, this is all my fault!" George moaned and tore at his hair as he paced the room.
Mitchell absently took the injured vampire's cold hand and rubbed it between his own, as though he could stimulate some warmth and blood flow. His arched brows knit together as an idea began to take shape. It wasn't a particularly appealing notion, but it was as close to morally acceptable as he could come up with. He eyed Nina warily across the room, already anticipating the upcoming battle. Then his eyes fell on George and the terrible defeated look that he already wore upon his face. He knew that feeling well enough himself, and made up his mind to do everything he could to erase it from his friend. His plan would end up leaving him deeply indebted to a pair of vampires that he wouldn't ordinarily want to owe so much as a shilling to, but there was nothing else for it.
He gave her hand what he hoped was a reassuring pat and placed it gently back on the coverlet.
"We'll make it right, George, don't worry. I'm going out. Keep her still if she wakes so her chest doesn't reopen. As long as she doesn't loose any more blood she'll keep 'til I get back." George nodded eagerly and Mitchell forced the semblance of an easy smile for him. He avoided Nina and Annie's suspicious looks as he rose and walked to the door.
"Make sure all of you are here when I get back. I won't be able to help you with what comes next," He said, almost as an afterthought as he let himself quietly out the door.
