Wow, Two Updates in as many days! It was a toss-up between doing this, and my English homework. But then I figured I liked YOU guys way more than my English tutor!
Not much to say about this Chapter, apart from I love the ending. This is kinda the first time you're really gonna see Francesca, before now she was being nice!

Chapter Nine: The Burning

For a while we hardly stopped moving. Just minutes after I'd stepped out of that bedroom Victor had announced we had to leave. Cora was unusually distant as she beckoned me to climb on her back, and then we left. The sun was bright as we ran from what I found to be a Motel, so Cora's skin sparkled beneath me as we raced through the woods. It wasn't long before my stomach began to growl and we were forced to stop. I slid from Cora and giggled, rubbing my belly.

"Sorry, half-human, haven't eaten in a while." Victor grinned and nodded understandingly, but Cora looked at me very uneasily. My questioning gaze caught a brief look of disgust pass across her before she wiped it away and curled her lips quickly in a smile.

"I must ask you to call on the vampire side of you nature Nessie. We are far from a source of human food, and it may be easier for you if you adapt to our diet as you are to remain with us." Cora wrapped her arm around me quickly, pulling me towards her and away from Victor who was approaching slowly.

"You know that is not what she is Victor, she was raised differently. She was raised by golden-eyes." Francesca scoffed and sauntered towards us, her arms swinging in a hypnotizing motion as she moved.

"Oh yes Cora, and what a fine job they did of that task, of raising Nessie, bringing her into all of their twisted little messes." Cora's arm wrapped tighter around me, whatever was plaguing her mind, causing her to act so strangely around me today, it clearly didn't affect her will to protect me, even from her own coven.

"Francesca, leave it alone. Nessie will hunt whatever she chooses." Francesca had just bowed an acceptance, a menacing grin plastered across her face before she disappeared into the trees with her mate. Cora released me from her hold quickly and slid to stand further away, not looking into my eyes. Mine were fixed on hers however, and I now noticed that they were the deepest, thirsty black.

"Cora, you should go with them and hunt. I will be fine by myself, I've done this before."

Her face rose slowly and she took a deep breath, biting her lower lips as though looking for the right words to speak.

"Before I met you, before I saw where you came from, I never thought it was possible. I'd heard stories, but I'd never actually seen a golden-eye before." Her eyes darted around briefly before finally meeting mine. "I don't want to take human life anymore Nessie. I can no longer roam this earth remembering the faces of all those I have killed. I feel I now have a choice, and I am choosing to be good, and live my immortality with compassion for humans. That is after all, partly what you are. You are my link to both humans and golden-eyes Ness, will you help me?"

{--}

At first Cora found the taste of the animals we hunted repulsive, but she held fast in her ambition. Victor had shown little interest when she announced her choice and Francesca made it known she thought she was insane, that going against her nature was foolish. As we travelled all the time, Cora got to taste a wider selection and discover what she favoured. Victor had tried once, as Francesca looked on in disgust. His face matched hers however, as he emerged from the just-dead deer after barely taking a bite, vowing never again to try it. As time went on Cora would gleam with excitement as her irises changed from their crimson, to the gold she now rejoiced in. I noticed changes too. I felt stronger, and was now able to run longer. Despite this, I missed food. And the burning that was growing deep in my throat, the burning that yearned for more than the blood of animals, terrified me.

After what could have been just over a month since I left Juneau, and what felt like a million miles of travel, Victor left. His departure set in motion a new system, one which I managed to adapt to quickly. Victor and Francesca would leave for a couple of days. Cora had told me it was to do "mate-ish things" so I had never questioned further, living with a coven of blissfully paired-up vampires my whole life had scarred me enough. Then Francesca would return alone, and we would move on. After spending a few days travelling, the three of us would take up a place to stay. Be it a motel room, a hotel room or a little cottage in the middle of nowhere. After a couple of days, Cora would leave. This part of the cycle was disputed for a while; mostly by Cora, who was reluctant to be away from me. But I had told her that she was more vampire than I, and thus needed to go farther and hunt more. After never more than two days, she would return, and Francesca would leave, to hunt a very different prey. When she returned we would stay together until it came time for them to hunt again, or Victor came back. When he was to return we would always have to call the cell phone Francesca kept stashed down one of her leather boots. I'd always found this to be very un-vampire, but then Cora had pointed out that there was no other way for him to find us, because she kept us invisible. When he rejoined us, he'd stay a few days, and the cycle would begin again.

{--}

It was day seven of the fourth rotation. Francesca had been with Victor, returned alone, and for three days we had travelled before coming to stop in a cosy, brick cottage which was wrapped in an overgrown mass of woodland. I never asked how the places we stayed in were obtained, I thought it best not to. This was my least favourite part of the cycle; the settling in. There was very little to do. I'd always hunt as we travelled so by the time we arrived at our lodgings my stomach couldn't take anymore. The places we stayed were always furnished but the one now didn't have electricity or even any books, so there was nothing at all to amuse myself with. After Cora would return from her first hunt she would always bring with her what she called "Nessie's human maintenances." This included toiletries, clothes and little sources of entertainment. Without a computer or my mp3 player I'd reverted to a technology unbeknownst to me before now; a personal CD player. When Cora first hunted I'd provided her a long list of my desired listening material, which she had complied with perfectly. Unfortunately, batteries go dead, and I'd worked my way through my entire pack, so now sat in the small living room in silence. Cora and Francesca were seated around me, each of them zooming through books I'd already exhausted.

I was draped across one of the armchairs; its upholstering the same generic, floral design as the love seat Cora was seated in directly opposite me, and the longer couch which Francesca was sat on. I watched them, both sitting magnificently still and upright, only their fingers moved as they each flipped the pages every few seconds. The similarities of the two women ended there. Francesca was petite, her small frame seemed barely able to contain the raging ball of attitude I'd come to know. Cora was taller, probably around 5"9. Her skin, though still pale, had a dark tinge to it that was only accentuated when she stood beside Victor and Francesca, both of whom had skin like milk. Cora was curvier too; her entire body was built strong and beautiful, like the statues of Goddesses seen in Ancient Italian cities. From the very first time I saw her stood beside her companions, it seemed to me she would easily be stronger than tiny Francesca or skinny Victor. Francesca's voice was as icy as every other aspect of her persona, she spoke with a little twang to her words I assumed came from her Oriental routes. Cora's voice was soft and playful, and at times deep and breathy, blending in with her rolling giggle. Cora spoke with a British accent, though I'd never actually asked either of them about how they came to speak as they did.

They were both undeniably beautiful, but so extraordinarily different in the way they presented that beauty. Francesca always wore her jet-black hair pulled back from her face in a high ponytail, whereas Cora let her thick-brunette locks hang freely. Francesca wore black, always. If it was black and tight fitting, she would wear it, only ever making allowances for a little red, or even a tad of grey. Cora was the polar opposite. In the time I had known her I had never seen her in anything but white dresses. She would change often of course, some short, some long, some sleeved, some strappy, but always white. Their footwear did have some similarities however. Boots; never anything else for either of them. Francesca's were always black, leather, high and pointy. Cora's were always round and earthy toned, and she liked to experiment with the length on the leg and the heel. Two days after we left the first motel, Cora had angrily discarded the flats I was wearing into a bush after they began to fall apart. It had been one of the few times I'd seen her and Francesca appear united; as they chastised me for wearing something so pathetic, after all I was a vampire. They'd run into the local town and retuned with a pair of calf length, flat, black, biker boots, which I had fallen in love with and rarely removed. Cora had since presented me with a selection of similar footwear, the last being one she had given me with the message of "Merry Christmas" written on the box. This had shocked me to silence, the mere recognition that so much time had passed meant it took me several minutes to finally open it. The navy suede boots inside were the solitary indication of the holidays, and came second only to the biker boots in my favourite shoes.

"Stop. Staring. At. Me." I giggled from my armchair as Francesca hissed through gritted teeth, not moving her eyes from her book.

"I was just comparing the two of you." Cora scoffed and Francesca just rolled her eyes.

"Well stop, you're getting on my nerves." I giggled again; glad there was finally a glint of entertainment in my otherwise tedious day. I'd been bitten by the boredom bug, and was now going to use Francesca's easily provoked frustration to shake it off.

"Where does Victor go, when he leaves?" Cora's eyes shot up briefly to Francesca, then returned to her book, she wouldn't have thought I noticed, but I did.

"He goes on business."

"What kind of business?" Cora lowered her book slightly and turned her face to me,

"Nessie, don't pester Francesca." Her book shot back upright and she gave me a gentle wink, the wide grin across her face hidden behind her chunky novel. Though the moments of distance, or even aversion Cora unexplainably exhibited towards me still occurred, they were becoming more and more infrequent.

"So where does he go Franny?" Cora's book drew closer to her face to cover her giggles, and Francesca's rich crimson eyes widened. "Is he ... off sabotaging pitchfork factories for fear the old days are returning? Or is he overseeing the construction of Castle Victor and spreading the word he wants Count added to his name. Or maybe he's really a coffin salesman, or perhaps he enjoys bat-watching? Tell me Franny, am I close?" Cora was coughing to disguise her laughter, and Francesca took a deep breath before sliding her eyes in my direction.

"No, you little half-breed! He's off rescuing another freak whose family mix in with the moon-worshippers and like to go around plotting to kill each other, before changing their minds and pining for the child of their former lover; the afore mentioned freak." Cora's book was across the room, she'd tossed it with quite a force as she jumped to her feet, growling at Francesca; whose volume remained positioned before her face, though her eyes were on me. No pain came, I didn't even expect any. I just threw my head back and laughed a sincere and stomach-clenching laugh. When my head rose back up, a few tears rolling from my eyes in amusement, Cora had straightened from her threatening stance and her growl had subsided. She was now stood with her mouth dropped open, staring at me. She huffed a short, aggressive snarl before leaping from the room, and from the house.

"What's with her?" Francesca's eyes were back to the book, a wide grin on her lips as she responded.

"You disgust her." She said the words almost cheerfully, her grin widening.

"I- I… What?" Her head snapped up, her lips pursed and her stare sincere.

"You disgust her. She finds the way you've moved on so quickly from everything so very wrong. I, on the other hand, think it admirable. Why should you feel anything for those people? But Cora, she perceives what you've achieved as heartless." I swallowed hard as Francesca's glare slid back to her book. Cora was wrong, she just didn't understand. She didn't know that I simply couldn't let myself be that person anymore. "She is a fickle girl however; she'll get over it eventually. She just can't help but hope you are something you're not."

{--}

The burning when I was a child, the burning that fed my hunger for human blood, had for a long time been but a distant memory. Now it was back, and the pain of it was nothing like I remembered. To me, it resembled what it might feel like to swallow hot ash. I yearned for the blood of humans both to put out the burning, and wash over the insufferable thirst caused by the ash's density. I lay in bed that night letting it ravage me. It had been three days since my last hunt, not such a long time, but the burning seemed to prove otherwise. Cora had not returned, and I had sat in silence with Francesca, waiting, until the sky grew dark and my eyelids heavy. Now I waited for sleep, to ease the fire inside me. I tossed and turned, despite me feeling dreary from hardly moving all day; my mind would not slip into slumber.

The bedroom door creaked teasingly as I slowly pulled it open. Francesca had gone, and thanks to Cora's absence, I was able to trace her scent to establish she had recently left the cottage. I ran as fast as possible, praying for exhaustion to come so that I may finally rest. I kept only a short distance from Francesca's scent as I raced through the trees. She was easy to keep track of as she could only use a gift if the person who possesses it is close to her, so hiding herself was never possible unless Cora was around. The cold night air was refreshing on my skin, but it did nothing to budge my warm interior temperature.

It was like a magnet. That's the only way I can describe it. As soon as I caught that scent, I had no choice, no control. My thoughts began to race, and the sensation in my throat erupted in a volcano of fiery desire. I had to follow, my mind was no longer my own and my legs were putty in the hands of their new controller; my frenzy. I could hear my own breath, panting and violent, but all else was silent. Nothing mattered but that scent, that intoxicating aroma.

My feet rolled to a stop as I finally met the source. Francesca stood with her legs positioned over a lifeless male body, but in her arms was a female whose heart was racing. The scent had been the males, but he was gone. I growled uncontrollably and violently at Francesca who had the female's neck firmly in her hands. She had taken my prey; the scent I had followed had disappeared down her greedy throat. She smiled at me wickedly, her eyes menacing as she shook her head and whispered.

"Naughty Nessie, come to taste the forbidden fruit?" The scent was gone and the frenzy receded, but I was almost choking from the dry fire still ripping inside of me.

Francesca's pale fingers lifted in the moonlight, and swooped down, tearing into the female's neck. In the split-second it took for the scent to reach me and my legs to spring me towards the flow of liquid, I could make out a satisfied laugh from Francesca, as she licked the blood from her fingers.

So yeah, how dya like them eggs? I've loved hearing some of you theorise over whether or not Francesca is misunderstood, maybe like Rose, tough on the outside but nice underneath.
Well, what dya think now?
Next Chapter: To Exist is Not Always to Live

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