_Chapter 10_
_Family portrait_
Melite awoke to unending comfort. She wouldn't admit it out loud but she did love Eric's bed. It was unbelievable; comfortingly warm and deliciously cool. She inhaled deeply. Due to frequent use the bed had begun to smell of her, her fragrance of honey and wildflowers blending seamlessly with Eric's masculine, earthy scent. She rolled over, smiling in pure ecstasy of the crisp sheets, and straight into a brickwall like chest. Arms wrapped quickly around her as her eyes shot open
"The sweet, supple body of a woman in my waking arms. Now that's a good start to the morning." she saw Eric mumble, looking down at her
"It's not morning it's the middle of the night. And lemme go." she protested, pushing uselessly against Eric's chest
"Make me." he grinned playfully at her childish scowl
"Let me go." she ordered him, the words worked flawlessly but Melite felt them waver slightly "Y'know, you are such a pervert." she muttered, scooting out of his grasp
"And you are such a prude." he muttered, rolling onto his back.
"I'm not a prude. I have class. Something a barbarian like you wouldn't understand." she sneered, throwing a pillow at him which he caught with ease.
"If I wouldn't understand it, why do you keep trying to impose it on me?"
"You don't understand how the T.V. works, but you still use that."
Eric opened his mouth to retort when he was interrupted by Melite's phone and it's new ring tone
~Where does your garden grow?
Tell me the secrets that you know
Another time, another place~
Melite snatched up her phone and with her glare directed at Eric, she exited the room, shuffling slowly down the hallway
"Hello?"
"Melite, it's Teles." the voice greeted perkily, obviously they had not just woken up.
"Teles?" she asked in confusion. The voice replied to her indignantly, as though offended
"Yes, your sister."
"I know who you are, I'm wondering why you're calling me." Melite had not consorted with her blood sisters for some time and Teles' sudden contact came as a shock.
"Because... I have good news." It must be good news for her to call. Melite hadn't known that her sister's even had her number, the last time they even spoke was before cars were invented.
"Do tell."
"Okay, go to the front door." the voice instructed cheerily as Melite froze in her steps halfway down the stairs
"Don't tell me..." she vaulted over the bannister, landing gently on the lower floor before bolting to the door and swinging it open
"Surprise!" the woman on the other end of the phone greeted her stunned sister. The woman, Teles, was slightly taller than Melite. Her hair, which was pulled into an elegant plait, was much the same colour, as was her skin, however her eyes were not the same misty grey but rather an enchanting green. She was dressed in a smart pencil skirt and elegant sweater and was silently judging her sister who wore only a large Fangtasia t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts. All Melite could do was stare incredulously at her sister and snap her phone closed
"Oh, you're here." she said with a voice lacking all the enthusiasm that the words might have initially meant to present
"Yes! And it gets better! I'm getting married!"
"That's wonderful, Teles." she smiled politely, still wondering why her sister would have approached her
"He's here now!"
"Oh Gods." she rolled her eyes
Teles glared at her audacious sibling
"I said... 'oh good'."
"I'm sure." she replied with narrow eyes before swiftly changing her tune and called out sweetly to her lover "Pierre, venir ici! (Pierre, come here!)"
"Oui, mon petite chou? (Yes, my little cabbage?)" he smiled. His hair was a cropped auburn, his eyes a warm brown and wore a dark green shirt and dark jeans. The air around him seemed to shimmer with radiant light and his pointed ears stood out elegantly. There was no mistaking him, he was an elf.
"Ceci est mon Mélite sœur, elle est la plus jeune. (This is my sister Melite, she's the youngest.)"
"Et comment les jeunes est jeune? (And how young is young?)" he joked. Melite eyed him with annoyance as she spoke
"Assez jeune. (Young enough)"
"Vous parlez français? (You speak French?)" his voice and eyes were filled with surprise
"Oui, toute ma famille d'exceller dans les langues. (Yes, my entire family excel at languages)" she spoke indignantly. Ofcourse she spoke French. What kind of idiot did he take her for?
Their idle conversation was interupted by Eric, appearing instantly by Melite's side at the door. Teles and Pierre stepped backwards, alarmed by his sudden presence.
"Who are these people and what are they doing in my house?" he asked in an obstinate manner
"Il s'agit d'Eric. C'est sa maison. (This is Eric. It's is house.)" she gestured towards the bare-chested Viking before switching to her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law "These are my elder sister Teles, and her fiancé... Pierre was it?"
"Oui, son nom est Pierre Adnot. (Yes, his name is Pierre Adnot.)" Teles replied, breaking her gaze from Eric. Melite crossed her arms, thinking over this information
"Αχ, της οικογένειας Adnot? Αυτή είναι μια παλιά και πλούσια γραμμή. (Ah, of the Adnot family? That's an old and wealthy line.)" she spoke only to her sister, in their native tongue.
"Τί υπονοείτε; Ότι είμαι κάποιο είδος gold-digger; (What are you implying? That I'm some kind of gold-digger?)" the anger was edging it's way through Teles' lustrous voice
"Δεν είπα τίποτα του είδους, είπατε ότι, δεν είμαι εγώ. (I said nothing of the kind, you said that, not me.)" Melite attested with clear conscience "Φυσικά είστε ο μεγαλύτερος άσωτος του πλούτου στην οικογένειά μας. (Of course you are the biggest squanderer of wealth out of all our sisters.)" disdain was corrupting Melite's gentle voice. Herself and her sisters were not exactly on good terms. The two edged closer towards one another, squaring their shoulders as the air around them grew thick.
Eric reached out and pulled Melite back from the oncoming fight she would most likely lose, after all her sister had 4 inches and about 10 pounds on her aswell as a heavy diamond ring on one hand.
"If you are to converse in my house, at least do me the honour of speaking in a language I understand." he requested as more of a demand
"Oh yes, Swedish, English and Norse, lots of choice there." she scoffed and Eric let go of her, stepping several strides away from her
"Ce qui est avec lui? (What's with him?)" asked the Elf
"Stake son cul. (Stake up his arse.)" she muttered "Vous ne voulez pas entrer? (Won't you come in?)" the younger Siren asked, stepping aside. The elder siren obliged, her male counterpart following suit
"Très bien, mais je crains que nous ne pouvons pas rester longtemps. (Alright, but I'm afraid we can't stay for long.)"
"The news gets better." Melite whispered to herself, closing the door. She showed the two to the living room where Eric was already waiting. Teles and Pierre sat on the seats furthest from him, wary of the forboding Viking. Teles turned to her sister and conversed in their native tongue
"Δεν μπορώ να πιστέψω είστε shacking με ένα βαμπίρ, Μέλι. (I can't believe you are shacking up with a vampire, Meli.)" she exclaimed, keeping her voice to a whispered shout. Melite sighed
"Δεν είμαι shacking μαζί του. Είμαι απλώς την αποπληρωμή χρέους ... και κάποια άλλα πράγματα. (I'm not 'shacking up' with him. I'm just repaying a debt... and some other stuff.)"
"Όμως, ένα βαμπίρ; Ξέρεις τι έκαναν για εμάς. (But a Vampire? You know what they did to us!)" her voice was becoming more tense and harsh
"Ναι, είμαι γνωρίζει αυτό. (Yes, I'm aware of that.)"
"Είναι αρκετά κακό που έκανε παρέα με το άλλο. Godric. (It's bad enough you befriended that other one. Godric.)" she sneered, speaking his name as though it were filth in her mouth.
"Σας είπα και εγώ είπα οι άλλοι, δεν μιλούν γι 'αυτόν έτσι! (I told you and I told the others, do not speak of Godric like that.)" Melite couldn't believe that her sister was repeating this old topic
"Λοιπόν, τι γίνεται με αυτό? Δεν πρόκειται να μας αποκηρύξει για αυτόν επίσης είσαι? (Well, what about this one? You're not going to disown us for him too are you?)"
"Εγώ αποκήρυξε κανείς δεν. Ήταν εσύ που με άφησε. Και εγώ συνηθισμένος πει κάποιος από εσάς και πάλι? Είναι η ζωή μου, δεν μπορείτε να μου πείτε πώς να το ζήσουν. (I disowned no-one. It was you who left me. And I wont tell any of you again; it's my life, you do not tell me how to live it.)"
The two males stared bewildered at the females. Eric had heard clearly, Godric's name and wondered why his name would appear in such a heat conversation. Melite sighed
"How did you even find me?"
"I contacted the Council. I assumed you were still working for them. Some Mer said she heard a rumour you were living at this address."
"I'm gonna kill Mairi." she muttered under her breath "Souhaitez-vous quelque chose à boire? (Would you like something to drink?)"
"Oui, s'il vous plaît. Café au lait et 3 sucres. (Yes, please. Coffee with milk and 3 sugars.)" smiled Pierre.
"Café, noir. (Coffee, black.)" replied Teles, scowling.
Melite got up and as she walked past Eric, who was staring hungrily at the Elf, she stopped and grabbed his arm.
"You're helping." she ordered, prying him away from the company of the sweet smelling Elf and Siren. If she left them alone, they would most likely kill each other. She would never let it happen, but she did enjoy thinking about it.
"Your sister's fiancé is young looking. And his blood is very tempting. Faerie?" he asked as he leant casually on the counter, watching Melite turn on the kettle and place three mugs on the bench
"Elf. And he's not all that young. The last child born of his family was born 1500 years ago. You are the youngest person in this house. You're small fry." she grinned.
"I resent being called small fry." he stepped closer, drawing himself to full height and towering over her. She smiled and stretched up her arm to pat him on the cheek condescendingly
"Come back when you've a few more eternities under your belt."
She turned and spooned coffee granuled into two mugs and placing a tea bag into her own.
"Your sister is suspicious of me." Eric stated plainly
"She has reason to be."
"Oh?" his eyebrow rose in question
"Oh? You mean you've no idea why she would be? Well then, would you like me to list the reasons chronologically or alphabetically?" she asked, turning to him, hand on hip
"I've never met your sister. I couldn't have done a thing wrong to her."
Melite replied as she poured the hot water into the cups
"You're a vampire. That's reason enough for her. And besides, you've done wrong to me. For instance, you sold me once for two horses and a pot." There was no reason that him doing her wrong would affect Teles' opinion of him but Melite couldn't help but try and guilt him. Shame it didn't work.
"It was a good pot." he smiled
"It took me eighteen years to regain my freedom and that's only because my master died." she scowled
"You killed him, didn't you?"
"I may have had a hand in it." she shrugged, stirring in the milk and sugars in Pierre's drink. Eric smirked at her. The man he sold her to had a bad vibe around him. It was mostly why Eric sold Melite to the man.
"You know, I didn't even know that you had sisters."
"There used to be nine of us in the beginning. Only five of us are still living, including me. I don't talk to them much these days." something told Eric that 'these days' was code for 'these last few centuries'.
"Why not?" he inquired further
"Oh, sister things." She wouldn't answer anything more than that on the subject. So Eric changed the topic slightly.
"When your sister looked at me, her eyes were filled with hate."
"Must run in the family." she supposed half-heartedly, stirring honey into her drink of tea
"Why though?"
"Whenever Vampires and my family mix, we always come out the worse for wear. Alright? Now leave it alone." She looked up at him as she picked up the guests drinks and Eric picked up hers, rather than having her struggle with three or come back for it, her eyes begged him to stop before he ventured too far. The story of the Sirens and the Vampires was not something she wished to share just now. She wished it was something she never even had to think about, but because of Vampires, she had suffered greatly, both in the origins and when her sisters damned her for feeling anything but hatred for Godric.
Teles and Pierre stayed for little under an hour. Conversation was mostly of how Teles and Pierre met, how he proposed, plans for the wedding. Eric and Melite sat very nearly politely throughout it; Eric retreated into his own mind, doing the silent, un-moving vampire thing, and Melite smiled obligingly, nodding and 'awwing' when appropriate, all the time noticing that her sister made no refrence to Melite playing any part of her life and not making any attempt to invite her to the wedding. To the relief of both pairs, Teles brought their visit to an end swiftly.
"Well, we must be off. Things to do, people to see. Still haven't told Raidnes." she announced, standing and walking to the door, not even waiting for her fiance. Melite stopped her sister just as she was stepping out of the door, having to dart after her.
"Um, can I ask you a question before you go?"
Teles sighed in frustration, rolling her eyes
"Shoot."
"Has... has your voice ever..." Teles stared at her sister with an arched eyebrow, making her baby-faced sibling nervous "Um, sort of wavered?"
"Wavered? No. Are you healthy?" Melite shrugged. When were they not? "Maybe it was just your resolve? If you don't really want something your voice can fail you. Not that you would know. You always were hard-headed and demanding."
Melite rolled her eyes and slightly more than gently, pushed her sister out the door
"Take care of yourself, sister." Teles said mostly out of politeness
"You too. And good luck with the wedding." she waved to her elder sister and the Elf. Eric, having brought himself out of his almost coma like state, leant on the doorway next to Melite, watching his 'guests' leave.
"They're going?"
"Yeah." she nodded solemnly. Eric gazed down at her for a few seconds before redirecting his eyes towards the other Siren.
"Good." he muttered. They had changed the mood of the smaller Siren. Before, there was a spark of familiar animosity in her eyes, but now there was a grey like haze which troubled him and made her eyes appear darker and more haunted. "How do you say-" he leant down and whispered in her ear.
She smiled wickedly, standing on her tiptoes she whispered her response to him.
Eric leant half way out the door and called to the departing guests
"It was a pleasure to meet you Teles. Et Pierre, c'est une honte que vous ne pouvais pas rester pour une bouchée. (And Pierre, it's a shame you couldn't stay for a bite.)" he grinned, clearly showing his extended fangs.
The elf's face fell into a look of pure fear, and he quickly bundled himself into the car.
Eric closed the door as the car engine started and once it was closed, Melite erupted into laughter
"You're evil, you know that, right?" she asked between laughs
"Know it, accept it, love it." he grinned contentedly, the spark was back in her eyes.
"Elle est une personne fort pour mettre en place avec tout cela. (She's a strong person to put up with all this.)" Pierre shivered, still reeling from Eric's words.
"Non. (No.)" Teles spoke sharply, more than a little pissed off at her impudent sister and her crude Vampire company.
"Pardon? (Pardon?)"
"Elle n'est pas forte. Elle est le plus faible de nos sœurs. Elle essaie toujours de garder elle-même occupé alors elle a coutume de le temps d'être faible. Elle est toujours courir comme un centaure sans tête. Toujours maternage gens de se sentir comme le plus fort. C'est la façon dont elle s'est impliquée dans ces monstres fous de Dieu. (She's not strong. She's the weakest of our sisters. She always tries to keep herself busy so she wont have time to be weak. She's always running around like a headless centaur. Always mothering people to feel like the strong one. It's how she got involved with those God-damn monsters.)"
Melite's past came for a brief spell. In the next chapter, we deal with the witches again.
Also- This chapter appears to have nothing to do with the plot (it's 50% relevant nd 50% filler lol) but it does waaaay later on~
Also- it would seem that 'shacking up' is english terminology which is yet to be adopted by other languages. But it really did work best with what she was saying so I just kept it lolz.
Also- Me nd me marra translated the French on this one so sorry if there are mistakes. We only studied French at a GCSE level and well... we're both proper muppets lol. btw luv that cabbage is a term of endearment rofl.
Also- Please review!
xx KissMeQuack