Waking up in the middle of the night with night terrors wasn't unusual for Emiko. It happened every night, actually. It seems her darkest memories enjoyed revealing themselves at the times Emiko was weakest.
Waking up screaming, with deep cuts up and down her arms was very unusual, and extremely unwelcome. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she sat up in the dark, her eyes unable to see the wound, but able to feel them, and able to feel the blood dripping down her arms. She gasped for air, the pain great, and her shock and confusion high. She stumbled off of the bed, and hurried to the door, flicking the light switch with trembling fingers, coated in sticky red liquid.
Emiko looked down at herself in horror. She was covered in her own blood, all from the deep, painful cuts up her arms. Each cut was only an inch apart from the other, all leading up from the wrist to her elbow. Emiko screamed again, her terror increasing.
Someone barged in through the door, wide-eyed and confused. Their eyes only widened at the sight of her. Luckily, the person who had barged through the door was the vegetarian vampire, and had no interest in her blood. She shook as he approached her, looking her over in shock and fear.
"What did you do?" He asked in disbelief. Emiko sobbed.
"I didn't do this! I-I, I don't know what happened." She cried. She wanted to wipe at her tears, but her hands were coated in blood. She started to walk backwards, away from him and the wall, as if trying to escape the cuts and blood. The man looked between her and the cuts, and then back at her again. He approached her, wanting to inspect the wounds and see if she was okay.
"Stay away!" She yelled in fear. He didn't listen, and approached further, reaching out a hand to place it on her shoulder. The reaction was immediate, a burst of energy racing from her skin to him, and she watched in horror as he turned to ash before her very eyes.
She screamed again. Emiko backed up further, until she hit the back wall. She slid down, clutching at her knees, shaking uncontrollably. She couldn't believe what she had just done. Several faces peaked in the door, looking at her in mixtures between morbid curiosity and confusion. Several people attempted to talk to her, but she could only shake her head and cry. She couldn't believe this was happening. First the cuts and the night terror, and then turning one of the only decent vampires in this place to a pile of ash. She must be going crazy.
"What's going on?" Crowley hurried in through the door, eyes narrowing when he saw the sight Emiko was in. "What happened?" He ordered, voice dark and dangerous. Emiko had never heard him use a tone like that before. She would've been frightened by it, had she not had more on her mind at the moment.
"W-w-we don't know." One of the servants stuttered out fearfully. "We just heard screaming, and she was like this." He answered. Crowley approached Emiko, and she huddled further against the wall, eyes wide with fear. He crouched down in front of her, eyes sweeping over her form. His eyes softened and he reached a hand out to touch her face. She flinched away. He sighed and set his hand down by his side.
"What happened?" He asked softly. Emiko let out a sob and shook her head. He looked back to the staff. "Retrieve Horn and Chess." He ordered. Staff scurried out of the room, hurrying to find the two progenitors. He glared at the rest of the staff. "Get out." Staff scurried out quickly, not wanting to face anymore of Crowley's anger. He looked back at Emiko, face softening once more. He actually looked worried, not that Emiko could tell. She was far too caught up in her fear.
"What's going on?" Horn asked as she and Chess hurried into the room. They studied the room, their faces becoming more and more solemn. "Emiko…" Horn trailed off, kneeling down beside Crowley to get a good look at her.
"She's unresponsive." Crowley informed them, eyes serious. He looked to the two of them. "Fix her." He ordered. Horn glanced at Crowley.
"Leave." Horn responded. Crowley looked at her with narrowed eyes. She sighed. "She's terrified, Lord Crowley. Leave her to us, and we'll do our best." She answered. He didn't respond for a moment, before he nodded and stood, glancing one last time at Emiko before leaving. He closed the door behind him, leaving just the three of them.
"Emi." Chess said quietly. Emiko didn't look up at her. Horn stood.
"I'm going to run a bath." Horn left to run the bath, leaving Emiko with Chess. Chess watched Emiko, trying to find a way to help her. She noticed her labored breathing, her shaking, and the absolutely horrified look in her eye. It was clear she wasn't here with Chess now, but lost in her own terror. Chess reached out to touch her shoulder, but Emiko jerked back, fear alight in her eyes, but she was at least looking at her now.
"Chess!" She gasped, her eyes panicked. She started to shake harder, and she pushed against the wall, trying desperately to get away from her. "Chess, I-he-I turned him to ash! Oh my god, oh my god, Chess, he was trying to help me, I woke up, blood, and shaking, and he touched my shoulder! Oh god, Chess he turned to ash!" Chess could barely understand her through the panic and sobs.
"Emiko." Chess said seriously. "Emiko, breathe." She ordered. "Breathe. I can't help you if you don't calm down." She said softly. Slowly, Emiko was trying to breathe normally again, slowly starting to calm down. Her shaking was calming, ever so slowly, and she looked at Chess for further help. "Keep breathing." Chess encouraged. "You're alright. We're going to get you cleaned up, and then we're going to figure this out. For now, keep breathing." The tremors finally stopped with Chess' help, and her breathing calmed, though she still gasped every so often. Tears leaked down her cheeks, but she was no longer sobbing. Chess reached a hand out to Emiko, offering it to her calmly.
Emiko watched the hand with apprehension and fear. She didn't want to hurt Chess, but she was much calmer now, and she needed her help. Slowly, carefully, Emiko placed her hand in Chess' and allowed the short vampire to help her stand up. Emiko was huddled into herself, but Chess put her arm around her shoulder and helped her walk to the bathroom. Horn walked out then, also helping Emiko into the bathroom.
They helped her undress and get into the bath. Emiko's arms stung as the warm water touched the cuts. Horn grabbed a washcloth, warmed it under the sink water, and took Emiko's arms, slowly and carefully cleaning the cuts. They were already healing, but they doubted the mental wounds would heal quite so quick. They changed the water after cleaning the blood off of her skin, and Emiko laid back into the warm water, trying to remain calm. Chess washed her hair, getting all of the dry blood out. Horn worked on the cuts. They would need further attention from a doctor, but for now she bandaged them to stop any further bleeding.
Once all of the blood was gone and her skin was clean, she climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel. Horn left to gather clothes, and Chess continued to work on her hair, now brushing it softly. She murmured soft words to Emiko, trying to keep her from panicking again. Though the two vampire women wouldn't admit it, they were worried as well. So much was unexplained about the entire situation. What further worried them was Emiko's state. They'd seen her shut down, pout, and avoid them, but they'd never seen this. They'd never seen her break before.
At one point, neither Horn or Chess would've cared beyond morbid curiosity. However, Emiko had grown on the both of them. At first, she was funny, amusing, and good entertainment, though a bit loud and annoying at times. They both wondered at what point they'd started to look out for the human girl. They both even briefly wondered at some point if they cared about her. It shocked them. Vampires caring about a human? They were their food, not anything more.
But while they'd always told themselves this, it wasn't completely true, no matter how much they may have believed it. At one point, each of them had been human; fragile, vulnerable, and mortal. It had been a long time since, and many of their mortal memories had faded, but it didn't change that they had been mortal once. Emiko reminded them of that. Reminded them, as much as they didn't want to be, that they weren't so different. It made viewing her as livestock harder and harder. Now, neither of them saw her as food. Neither of them saw livestock when they looked at her. They saw...a friend? Perhaps. Something of the sort, but perhaps not quite there.
Afterall, for centuries they'd believe that humans were nothing. One mortal girl couldn't change that in just a few months, but it didn't change the fact that they were changing. Maybe not for all humans, but at least for Emiko. Their viewpoints had changed. And seeing Emiko in such a state had made them realize that.
Horn returned with clothes. Emiko took them, and quickly changed. Horn had grabbed the softest, most comfortable pair of clothing she had; a pair of light gray sweatpants and an oversized blue sweater. It was comfy, and made Emiko feel a bit more comfortable. When she walked out of the room, she found that everything had miraculously be cleaned. The sheets, pillows, comforter, floors, the ashes. Not a speck still littered the room, and for that, Emiko was grateful. It was almost as if it hadn't happened. Almost.
"Where's Crowley?" Emiko asked suddenly. She had remembered him being here earlier, but she didn't remember when he had left. Chess and Horn shared a look.
"You weren't responsive, so he had us clean you up and get settled." Horn answered softly. It was almost as if she were afraid that if she spoke any louder, Emiko would break. Emiko nodded absent-mindedly, and wrapped her arms around herself. She stared about the room with a blank expression.
"Would you like me to go get him?" Chess asked uncertainly. Emiko shook her head.
"No." She answered quietly. "Can I stay in a guest room?" She asked lowly. Even if the room had been cleaned, she could still see the areas where the blood had been, where his ashes had laid.
"You can stay in my room." Chess offered. "It will be like a slumber party." She tried to sound cheerful, but it sounded forced. Honestly, Chess just didn't want the girl to be alone. Who knew what she would do once alone. Emiko nodded.
"Okay." She allowed Chess to lead her out of the room. Horn looked around the room and then sighed. She headed for Crowley's office, knowing he wouldn't have gone back to sleep after that. He was indeed in his office, but he looked distracted. He looked up when Horn entered,eyes zeroing in on her almost immediately.
"Well?" He asked, trying to sound indifferent. Horn pretended not to notice.
"We got her cleaned up, and calmed down. She's staying in Chess' room tonight." She answered. Crowley looked relieved, but quickly covered it up.
"Has she told you what happened?" He asked. She shook her head.
"No, and I don't think we should ask just yet. She seems...traumatized." Horn murmured. Crowley nodded. "Will you tell the Queen?" Horn asked. Crowley thought it over, and then nodded.
"Yes. Krul can say whatever she likes, but she adores Emiko, and she won't be happy if she finds out we kept this from her. Send a note to her immediately." Horn nodded and hurried off to do as he asked.
For days, Emiko was cooped up in Chess' room, refusing to leave, even to eat. It got to the point where staff was bringing meals to the room, hoping she would eat. She rarely did. She hardly spoke, and slept all the time. She wouldn't respond when Chess or Horn spoke to her. Even Krul had attempted to speak with her, only to be ignored.
From what Emiko had panickingly told Chess that night, they were able to piece together what happened. Emiko had woken with the cuts it seems. She panicked, screamed, and the vegetarian had heard her. He entered the room to see what had happened. He approached, touched her shoulder, and Emiko's strange powers went on a sort of defensive mode. Turned him to ash the second he touched her. Emiko was horrified by what had happened, and quite simply, had a mental breakdown. Not that anyone blamed her. It was quite a frightening experience they could only assume.
Crowley entered the room. He looked for Emiko, finding her lying on Chess' bed, unmoving. She wasn't asleep-that was clear by the way he eyes peered over at him boredly. She closed her eyes, and curled into herself further. "Get up." He ordered. Emiko ignored him. He sighed in frustration, and moved to the bed, flipping the mattress over. Emiko fell flat on her face, but still, she didn't make a noise. She didn't even look up at him and glare or pout. "You think this is solving anything?" he asked her, a tinge of irritation in his tone. He'd given her time to rest, to get over it. Now, he was angry. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he missed the little spitfire. The pranks, the sass, the backtalk. She made things interesting, and he often looked forward to their arguments. And in his own way, he cared about her.
Emiko peeked up at him, and then looked away.
"Get ready." He told her, walking towards the door. "You've been out of practice too long. If you don't, I'll send Chess to drag you there." He left soon after that, and gave her a total of twenty minutes to show up on her own. When that didn't happen, he sent in Chess. Within ten minutes, she was dragging the petite human girl into the gym. She'd gotten her dressed, in a pair of gray and black yoga pants and a t-shirt. She'd braided her hair, though it was greasy and messy. Emiko stood at the doorway, Chess holding her up. She glared at Crowley, but there was no life too it.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
He threw the bo staff at her, and it hit her in the stomach, falling to the ground. She looked down at it with no expression, and then looked back up at Crowley with no expression. Crowley pinched the bridge of his nose. If he didn't enjoy her too much, he might've killed her for her insolence. He walked towards her, stopping directly in front of her. He crossed his arms and stared at her with narrowed eyes, wondering how he was going to get her to react. It didn't take long to decide.
"Emiko." He said pleasantly. "If you don't pick up the bo staff and get training, I'll have livestock from the city brought in and drain them dry right in front of you." That got a reaction. She Tornado roundhouse kicked him in the chest, and seemingly did so with all her strength, because he actually flew back two feet and hit the ground. He stared up at her, in a mixture of shock and respect. He'd never seen her kick so hard or put that much strength behind anything. He must've really made her mad. She glared at him heatedly, and he felt a rush of excitement in his chest. Finally, she was showing some emotion. She clenched her fists, and merely continued to glare at him, jaw locked and eyes set. He thought perhaps she might attack again, but she merely stood there glaring at him. Then, her glare fell and she sighed.
"Stop, okay?" She said softly. "I don't have the desire to fight. I'm tired." She told him. Crowley cocked his head to the side, watching her.
"You've slept for days." He pointed out, a bit of humor in his voice. Her eyes flashed with annoyance, but it was gone too quick. She crossed her arms.
"It's not that kind of tired." She mumbled. He crossed his arms, and gave her a long, scrutinizing look. She sighed, realizing she would have to explain. She pointed to her head, and then to her heart. "I guess you would've forgotten, since it has been so long since you've been human. Tired isn't just a physical state. When you've faced difficult hardships, or pain, your head, your heart, they get tired. You get tired of thinking, tired of feeling, tired of trying." She explained honestly. She didn't quite understand why she was explaining this to him, as it was clear he couldn't understand it anyway.
"Humans are strange." He muttered. Emiko scoffed, but it was a tired and resigned sound.
"I'm going back to bed." She murmured, moving towards the door. Crowley moved quickly, blocking the way. She scowled. "Please, let me go back to bed." She said through grit teeth. Crowley motioned towards the bo.
"Pick it up." She glared at him. He grinned. She couldn't hold herself back anymore; she punched him in the face. Like the kick, the force behind it actually shocked Crowley, and his head snapped to the side. He laughed and clutched at his jaw. He had been expecting something of the sort; he just hadn't expected it to actually hurt. She punched him again. And again. She would've continued to punch him if he hadn't grabbed her fist,throwing her across the room. She hit the wall painfully, but it only fueled the rage inside of her.
She shot up from the ground, ignoring the aching in her back as she raced towards him, a shout of anger tearing from her lips. Crowley smirked, and two engaged in a deadly dance. Crowley was mostly on the defensive, holding her off easily, but he was mesmerized by her. Never before had she fought like this; fought with so much aggression and anger and passion. What she was so passionate about, Crowley had no idea, but he found the aggressive look on her face to be charming.
Crowley didn't know what had come over him, but he found himself excited. The look on her face, the sweat on her brow, and the strength she wielded, it all made him want her; and not just her blood, her. He pushed her against the wall, pinning her hands by her head with his. Her chest heaved, breath leaving and entering her lungs quickly. She gave him a questioning look, those blue orbs filling with confusion. He couldn't help himself; he pressed his lips against hers in a fiery kiss, desperate and wanting. He trailed his hands down from her hands to her hips, pulling her closer.
Emiko was confused. She had not been expecting that; in fact, it had been the last thing she was expecting. She had expected him to fight her, beat her up, leave her more angry than when she had first started out. But no; here he was, kissing her, holding her. The way he kissed her, it was almost like he was asking her to kiss him back, begging her too. She had no idea where this was coming from. Crowley never begged, never asked. He told, he ordered, he threatened, he bartered. He had never asked Emiko for anything. Now, she didn't know what to do.
The kiss felt good, she wouldn't pretend it didn't. The way his hands gripped her hips, the way his lips moved against hers, it was all enticing. She had never been kissed like this. Well, she didn't know if she'd ever been kissed at all. She had a feeling if she had ever been kissed like this before, she would remember though. Emiko acted on instinct; she moved her lips against his, just as hungrily as he was. She draped her arms over his shoulders, trailing her fingers across his back. He pressed harder against her, kissed her more fiercely. He acted like a starved man, one who had been depriving himself for far too long.
His lips left hers, trailing a kiss down her chin, her neck, and her collarbone. Emiko breathed heavily, attempting to regain the air she had lost when he had kissed her. She wasn't doing a very good job; the trail of kisses he was making was taking her breath away. She clutched at him, spurning him further. And then, on his way back up her neck, she felt the sting of his fang against her neck.
It woke Emiko up, and she gasped and stumbled, pushing him away with her free hands. His shock allowed her to do so. She watched him closely, as she tried to get a grip on the situation. He was breathing heavily as well; he had been just as affected as she was. Something seemed to wake up in him as well, as his eyes widened and then narrowed as he took in the situation. The two continued to stare at each other, both at a loss for what to say.
Lost and confused, Emiko took off, running out of the gym and away from him.
...
Soooo...that happened. Honestly, the ending was not supposed to end like that at all. In fact, it was supposed to be a while before they kissed. However, as I was writing, they seemed to be making their own decisions, and it just happened. I couldn't stop it, even if I wanted to. :P
I hope you liked this chapter, even if it ended differently than expected, and was very depressing in the beginning. That's not forgotten by the way; more on the trauma Emiko just faced in the next chapter, as well as the confusion of the kiss! It should be a fun, complicated chapter. Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think!
Ps. Thanks for the influx of reviews I got! They made me happy! :D