Merry Meet! Welcome to my newest chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A friendly word of warning to those of you who've made it this far: this is not your traditional story and, much like the original, there will be sorrow, people will die(though maybe not who you think) and we'll spend the length of this looking for the warm light we hope lies at the beginning of a happy ending. Weather that ending will be happy or not, is entirely dependent on the characters and what direction they choose to drag me in. There, now that that's out of the way, Allez, viens!
FYI: If I owned Cirque Du Freak, this fanfiction would not be necessary. But I don't. So it is. On we go.
_movealongnothingtoseehere_
"I'll admit, it's kind of an exciting idea. I'm sort of grateful you didn't ask for something worse," I started, verbalizing my previous thoughts. "Still I'd like to know a bit more before we do anything."
smiled. "You will be my traveling companion," he explained. "You will travel with me across the world. You will be my eyes and hands during the day. You will guard me while I sleep. You will find food for me if it is scarce. You will take my clothes to the laundry. You will polish my shoes. You will look after Madam Octa. In short you will see to my every need. In return I will teach you the ways of the vampires."
"So I take it becoming a vampire isn't optional? Cause that's a lot of trust to have for someone that isn't tied to you," I observed.
"Eventually you will become a full vampire," he said. "At first you will only have some vampire powers. I will make you a half-vampire. That means you will be able to move about during the day. You will not need much blood to keep you satisfied. You will have certain powers but not all. And you will only age at a fifth of the regular rate, instead of the full vampire's tenth."
"Dang and here I was hoping to look this fabulous forever," I joked.
"Vampires do not live forever," he explained, "but we do live far longer than humans. We age at about one-tenth the regular rate. Which means, for every ten years that pass, we age one. As a half-vampire, you will age one year for every five.
"Well that's not bad. Truth be told, I'm not in any hurry to grow up anytime soon," I confessed. "Blood drinking wasn't exactly on my list of top ten things to do but I'll admit that traveling might be worth it."
"It is your choice," he said. "I cannot force you to become my assistant. If you decide it is not to your liking, you are free to leave."
"And then Steve dies," I commented.
"Yes," he agreed. "It's your assistance or his life."
"That's not much of a choice," I grumbled.
"No," he admitted, "it's not. But it is the only one I offer. Do you accept?"
I thought it over. On the one hand, I'd be perfectly content letting Steve die. I know it makes me sound me like a cold hearted bitch but the boy just rubs me the wrong way. Even the vampire said he evil! But then I'd have to deal with Darren and as much as I hate Steve, I love my brother more. I promised him everything would be ok and by god I was going to deliver. On a more selfish note, the opportunity to travel and get the seven hells out of this town was too good of a chance to pass up. Did I really want to spend an unknown amount of time taking care of a vampire? Not really. I'm not exactly the most organized person in the world but I can if I have to. Would I do it, both for my brother and for myself? The answer was: Yes.
"Okay," I sighed. "I don't exactly like it but my hands are tied. I just want you to know this: you will never get rid of me. If I'm supposed to take care of you, I will follow you to the ends of the earth and take care of you whether you like it or not…. And we're taking my sword," I declared with narrowed eyes.
"Fair enough," he said.
"I mean it," I warned him. "You may take me from my school, my friends, and my family but you will not take me from my sword."
"I know you do," he said. "That is why I wanted your brother and, in turn, why I want you. A vampire's assistant must have spirit. That fighting quality seems to run in your family, and is exactly what drew me to you. You will be a dangerous lass to have around with that sword of yours, I am sure, but in a fight, when the chips are down, I am just as sure you will be a worthy ally."
I took a deep breath. "How do we do this?" I asked.
He stood and pushed the table aside and stepped forward until he was about a foot away. He seemed so much taller up close. There was a metallic smell to him, like the smell of my hands after I'd been rolling change. It was the smell of blood.
He raised his right hand and showed me the back of it. His nails weren't especially long but they looked sharp. Slightly confused, I watched as he raised his left hand and pressed the nails of his right hand into the fleshy tips of the fingers on his left hand. Then he used his other hand to mark the fingers of his right hand in the same way, wincing as he did so.
"Lift your hands," he said. Fascinated by the blood dripping from his fingers, I didn't even register my obedience until he grabbed my hand.
He dug his nails into the soft tips of all ten of my fingers at the same time. "Gods all bless! That freakin' hurts!"I said hissing at the pain. I had to resist the urge to yank my hands back.
"Of course it does," he laughed. "It hurt me too. Did you think becoming a vampire was easy? Get used to the pain. Much of it lies ahead."
"Barrel of sunshine over there aren't you," I mutter sarcastically to myself as he put a couple of my fingers in his mouth and sucked some blood out. I watched as he rolled it around in him mouth, testing it. Finally he nodded and swallowed. "It is good blood," he said. "We can proceed."
Yay for that I guess. He pressed his fingers against mine, wound to wound. For a few seconds there was a numb feeling at the end of my arms. Then I felt a gushing sensation and realized my blood was leaving my body through my left hand and his was entering me through my right. It was like some twisted version of a blood donation.
It was a strange, tingly feeling. I could feel his blood travel up my right arm, then down the side of my body and over to my left. When it reached my heart there was a stabbing pain and I sucked in a breath, trying not to collapse. The same thing was happening to and I could see him grinding his teeth and sweating.
The pain lasted until Mr. Crepsley's blood crept down my left arm and started going back to him. We stayed joined for a couple more seconds, until he broke free with a shout. I fell to one knee with one hand in a fist over my heart and the other helping to hold me up. I felt dizzy and sick.
"Give me your fingers," Mr. Crepsley said. I raised my head, tossing my blonde hair out of the way, and saw him licking his. "My spit will heal the wounds. You will lose all your blood and die otherwise."
"Well we can't have that," I laughed, carefully rising to my feet. Stretching my fingers forth I let the vampire put them in his mouth and run his rough tongue over the tips.
When he released them, the flow had stopped. I wiped the leftover blood off on a rag. Poking at the tip of one finger, I noticed ten tiny scars where they had been cut.
"That is how you recognize a vampire," Mr. Crepsley told me. "There are other ways to change a human but the fingers are the simplest and the least painful."
"That was easier than I thought," I said. "So I'm a half-vampire now."
"Yes," he said.
"Aside from being dizzy, I don't think I feel any different. Is that normal?" I asked.
"It will take a few days for the effects to become apparent," he said. "There is always a period of adjustment. The shock would be too great otherwise."
"So how do you become a full vampire?" I asked.
"The same way," he said, "only you stay joined longer, so more of the vampire's blood enters your body."
"So will I be able to do that nifty healing trick of yours or is that particular privilege restricted to those who got the whole shebang?" I asked, half joking.
"No, that is one of many powers beyond your reach at the moment," he said.
"Aww," I pouted. "You ruin all my fun. So what can we do?"
He scratched his chin. "There is too much to explain right now," he said. "We must tend to your brother's friend. If he does not get the antidote before tomorrow morning, the serum will not work. Besides, we have plenty of time to discuss secret powers." He grinned. "You could say we have all the time in the world."
Joy.
Me: You know Des, I was watching a show on ancient discoveries, and they were talking about tortures like the pear of anguish. It was interesting.
Mr. Tiny: Yes, that was one of my better ideas, wasn't it?
Me: O.O You… *noticing readers* Oh you're done! Um… how much of that did you hear? Never mind.
Mr. Crepsley: You are an odd creature.
Me: I'm still not talking to you right now. Why do you think I'm over here discussing TV shows with Desmond?
Mr. Crepsley: Since when do you call him by his first name?
Me: None of your business. Anyway, toss me a review and tell me what you thought. See you next time!
