The last days of Astridr's life were among the happiest she'd ever known. A fact she'd remember as the end approached her. The summer died as she bade good bye to her children, bathing each and every one with the solitary warmth of a mother's love, a love that they would never again feel. Once she left this land she knew that better conditions or not her grave would be upon foreign soil, her children would be left motherless as mere babes and would never grow knowing her. Vergil left with a namesake that meant 'flourishing', a silent prayer for him to thrive beyond the poor genetic inheritance her wilted blood would bestow. Her daughters were named Ismene, blessed with beauty and wit and Eldrene with spirit and strength. It was the only gifts she could give bless them with at birth so they'd have these attributes in the years yet to come, years in which she'd be absent and long gone, buried within her cold grave.

Mereit would stay behind; her old nursemaid would now become the same to her children as she had been to Astridr and Ingrid, the only mother they'd likely know. When she'd finished her goodbye to her own flesh and blood she gave the same to Mereit, hugging and kissing the only mother she ever knew. She wondered if her maid knew that this would be the last time they ever saw each other upon Midgard as living beings. Very few were actually making the journey south:

Vytis insisted upon accompanying her despite his uncle's explicit summons to court. She was not the only one getting ready to depart this world for the next, the king was getting weak and sooner or later he'd follow her into the next realm that awaited the dead but he wanted his heir where he belonged, making the alliances that would keep his blood upon the throne and the country intact. She'd tried to talk sense into Vytis but he'd continued plans for their 'retreat for health' in earnest without so much as a backward glance.

Ingrid refused to allow her sister to sojourn forth without company 'suiting' her sister's station. Ingrid had shared Lady Adalind's distaste for choosing to allow Almedha into her company but unlike Vytis mother she'd had weathered both of the company of the 'heretic' and not lost a bit of sleep or worried spiritually for her soul when her spouse chased the priests straight off back to court. Of late her sister had withdrawn ever so slightly; making her wonder if Ingrid was distancing herself as a way of coping with her imminent decline. Astridr felt sorrow coloring as their relationship diminished. What on earth would this do to her? For her sister to lose not only their father but her as well in such a short, short time span?

Almedha was the last person to accompany them; she was a peculiar but welcome companion. Although her foreign upbringing in Flenceburg was very different from their own in Crell Monferaigne she truly loved her great-nephew Vytis and by extension she felt as if Almedha held some of the emotion for herself as his wife. Time had preserved her very well; she appeared youthful beyond her years. Almedha shared very little of herself but Astridr had learned that she had been widowed over twenty years ago and was nearing sixty years of age. She did not grieve the loss of her spouse, it had been a purely political union of convenience, and Almedha cherished her hard won freedom acquired as his wealthy widow. Beyond that she knew little of the secretive widow though she had to have had some background in a healing of some sort since Vytis often consulted her over aspects of her health. The elder woman had become her constant companion and caretaker since the birth of the children.

The weather was too perfect for the timing on their part to be any but deliberate. Almedha seemed to be able to predict the weather at a glance, she called it 'science' which was able to be learned, no doubt it was a heresy but it was fascinating if not useful. Vytis didn't seem to mind using it at any rate. The conditions were a factor because they would be riding in them. Travel by litter and carriage would drag on much too long so they would manage their trek day to day on horseback overland. The summer warmth was comfortable but not overwhelming, the dry season persisting long this year so they didn't make the journey in the wet and cold.

Almedha and Ingrid had mounted their horses, spurring them over while she stood beside Vytis' massive stallion, like a warhorse. She certainly couldn't climb and clamber up it without his aid. She would be riding cradled in his arms but right now she waited in silence as she waited for him to finish giving directions to the steward, the temporary 'lord' while he was absent. Once they were gone she was sure Lady Adalind would return to assume the mantle of responsibility in his absence once she found out where and what Vytis had done.

Finally he came forward holding out his hand for hers, "Ready?"

What could she say? Part of her wished to die peacefully with all the grace accorded to a noblewoman of her lineage. To pass on quiet and alone, so she didn't have to reflect upon all that gained, all that she'd have to leave behind. That same part of her wanted to keep, to hold onto everything she had. She loved him and nothing would change that, she wanted him to be away so that when she passed on he'd be spared pain when it came. Another part of her, the greedy part, wanted him near as she faded away so she could treasure the love she'd wrested from fate's fickle grasp when she'd married Vytis, the man she loved, the one she'd always loved since first sight. He would not leave, he would be there so she'd not be able to spare him pain but she could hold onto him until the end. The only thing that agonized her was how did he truly feel in turn for her?

"Yes," she quietly murmured as she took his hands, allowing him to lift her up before mounting upon the saddle behind her. As the riding column started with them in the lead she wondered if she'd ever have the peace of knowing what laid in the heart of her own beloved before her time was nigh and her life gone.

Everything had gone so smoothly, too smoothly, which of course meant now something had to go wrong. She wasn't sure if it was on purpose or coincidental that as her power builds upon her sister's departing health that the woman was to be removed from her presence. For hundreds of years she had existed, passing on through myriad hosts from mother to daughters. Some foolishly had resisted her touch, the taint of her presence and they paid the price. Meanwhile others accepted her but never had a host accepted her fully, not since her body had been broken by Odin's battle maiden. They foolishly thought she had been destroyed at the time of her bodily death but she had survived by siphoning on envy and lust enough to live on the hosts whom possessed those strong, volatile emotions. Now she was back, she was Ingrid and Ingrid was Beliza.

They both wished for the destruction of this one named Astridr. They both lusted after the one named Vytis. Astridr's death could deliver both to their outstretched hands. Her rise had to be gradual, she knew that nearby one could feel her if she delved too deeply. It was a balancing act not to rip away the life force all at once. She was hungry after years of denial, hungry for power one could get through life and Ingrid wanted her death badly. She would deliver but not all at once and she couldn't do it when the host was thousands and thousands of miles from her. Once upon a time she could siphon energy from half ways across the world easily but not so newly reborn in this world, not when this Lord Vytis had a powerful 'pet' mage as the female's companion. The balancing act had to continue so she'd quickly made her move to allow her to travel forth with them and finish the job.

Her 'Ingrid' had been so blunt, so forward in her advances and gotten nowhere but she, she was more subtle now. Ingrid would remain lovingly by her sister's side until death parted Astridr from the remnants of her life and none would known until the damage was wrought too deeply to correct. Astridr would not survive the year, after all she lived up to her word with those who made intimate pacts of vengeance with her. Ingrid had promised her everything if she stole everything from Astridr in turn.

A smile curved at her delicate lips as turned her cold thoughts upon Astridr, layering it with feigned warmth.

How could she refuse?

She could feel it but how could she put it to words. It was beyond suspicions because she felt, knew it was happening. How long ago had she given away her freedom to Hel in exchange for knowledge, power, and the like? Now she was using it, using it to help Astridr and seduce Vytis. Hel desired him as if he was a most precious commodity. If Vytis had been a bit more pious, a bit more devoted to his gods than he would have been an Einherjar upon death but Hel was always searching, always grasping for those she could steal away from the Valkyries, from Asgard. So here she was serving the two of them: Lord Vytis and Mistress Hel.

When it had been a whole household her net of suspicion had been wide and unfurled, she had distrusted everyone from the Vytis's mother to the scullion maids. Now it was just the young lord, his beloved, Astridr's sister, and herself. She could eliminate herself and Vytis with ease which meant that the malevolent presence was no other than the sister. It was not easy for her to confront the idea of accusing Lady Ingrid of the black magicks of necromancy. Lady Astridr wouldn't believe it and she had no proof, she could not give Vytis any proof save perhaps to oust herself for what she was….

Even then he might not believe her, even then he might smite her with a quick stroke, and even then he might believe she is truly at fault. Were vampires not the wicked undead, the ones who leeched upon the strength, vitality, and lives of others? Even now she knew of a possible why to save Lady Astridr even if it wasn't plausible, would that even be forgiven? Holding back?

She knew it was no spiritual weakness that doomed the Lady Astridr to death it was the many curses that plague the innocent women. The physical one was the blood disease that consumed her strength; the other that she felt was beneath the surface was something that couldn't be touched or healed, only resisted. Both could be cured if she was turned. Almedha could give her the kiss of the undead leeching away the weakness of her blood and giving her the strength of the undead, she could give her immortality, but only if she could work up the nerve to offer it.

The back of his hand softly brushed her hair exposing the delicate beautiful line of her slack, slumbering face to his appreciative gaze. Most of the journey when he didn't engage her she was asleep as though she was trying to wrest extra strength from her snatches of sleep. He was doing his best, doing everything he could humanly do, and it wasn't enough? The idea agonized him, made him more desperate than he'd ever want to admit. How could he hold her in the cradle of his arms and do anything less than cherish her? He wouldn't lose her without a fight, he couldn't and it was more than the delicate promises he had made, he had a feeling it was the very meaningful one he had made as a youth at their betrothal and renewed at their marriage.

…as long as our love shall last

Was he in love? How could one really tell? He wasn't sure but he knew he couldn't just let her go, let her die not when he wanted to keep her whole and healthy, happily within his arms, beside him upon the throne he'd inherit, beside him as they lived their lives, beside him as they grew old. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had many dreams for the future and all of them included Astridr. Vytis knew he had been enamored of her beauty, gentility, and grace from the moment he'd seen her at age nine but when had it surpassed that fragile admiration of beauty for more than that?

It would be difficult to tell her any of this without sounding like a fool. Marriages amongst the nobility were alliances, friendships at best and love was regarded as a, a fairytale. He was sure she'd not laugh at him but how to stay something so unbelievable and make it believable though he wasn't sure if he was still trying to convince her or himself.

Between concerns for Astridr's health and his own interpersonal conflicts the days melted away into weeks and soon they were nearly there, approaching the shore line where they'd take a ship to approach the Yamato continent. It appeared as if Almedha's advice wasn't amiss. The warmer climate and fresh air did much to improve her visibly. She was more often awake, enjoying the fairer aspects of the calm, soothing weather.

Astridr stripped her shoes and stockings off, enjoying the feel of the sand and water beneath her bare feet. Her love of the wilderness and the natural world was still there in their world at home she never would have been able to enjoy going barefooted. From where she sat on her horse Ingrid looked scandalized and Almedha, impassively nonjudgmental. He thought about approaching her, to speak about what was on his mind, he opened his mouth…

"My lord?"

He closed it before glancing in the direction of the interruption, "Yes?"

"We are ready for you and the Lady Astridr," the man spoke in a heavy oriental accent dripping with sincere servility. Astridr gave him a warm smile and he forced himself to do the same though he was cursing the lack of nerve that made him delay speaking to Astridr so plainly and the man's untimely interruption. Once they were upon the boat he kept silent for a different reason, so she could see the investment he had conducted in building a private retreat down here, a home away from home especially for her use.

It didn't differ in design; it was just as oriental as the rest of the settlements upon the isle. The difference was in the rich grandeur of the building, the grounds, and the location. The estate, she had no other word for it, spanned high upon an outcropping looking over the sea. It was like and yet nothing like the dwellings of the common people in the town. The people built their dwellings out of practical necessity, the building she saw was that and more, it was truly a place of beauty. Tears of mirth came to her eyes as she realized that it had been built not merely for her needs but FOR her. Astridr had to blink to banish the delicate drops that had been gathering, her soft blue eyes suffusing her spouse in grateful regard, gathering her voice enough to bring out two words strung together, "It's beautiful…"

Vytis looked relieved, as if her reaction set him free of some inner turmoil, as if her reaction mattered to him above all else. She doubted that but she knew from his reaction that it did matter to him at least a little. They reached a mooring dock; the man tied his boat down as Vytis reached out to help her down. The oriental man quickly finished his task and reached to help down Almedha and Ingrid. Vytis did not wait for them though, already guiding her up the graceful arch of a slope. The outcropping was high but she noticed that the path was not steep. It was easy to follow him without losing her breath. The journey had been easier upon her than she'd thought it would be aside from momentarily short attacks that were few and far between she'd felt strong, energized almost. She had also neglected Almedha and Ingrid since Vytis had demanded all of her time. It was a matter she'd have to rectify at a later date.

She stepped over the threshold, it lacked the 'lived-in' feel of every other property she had ever left on but she knew that it would change from this moment forward. They took a traditional supper alone together and afterwards Vytis checked on how her companions were settling in to put her at ease. He had insisted that the journey tired her, she should rest. A few of the servants had accompanied them on the journey down, traveling ahead so they'd be ready to attend them when the lord and lady arrived but currently none were present leaving none to attend her. Soon Vytis returned in silence, "They are settled but you are not, is it not to your liking?"

"It's not that…," she felt obligated to say something but truthfully how could she tell him all this effort on his part would be wasted when coming down here was supposed to do good for her condition, "I am tired but I waited for you," it wasn't a lie, she was so used to him sleeping with her that she found she had trouble settling down when he was merely absent, "I don't suppose you want…," she flushed realizing it had been a long time since they'd last done more than slept together. He had to have a will of steel and iron because he was ever-patient with her even if his patience never extended into any of his other dealings.

"No…I am alright. The journey has been long, forced, and no doubt tiring. I just wish for you to rest, rest and get strong," he drew her into his arms neither bothering to undress, "I want to keep you with me, to keep you close…" he whispered on the wind. Astridr wasn't sure if she was meant to hear the words, she was sure he had said them long after he felt her body fall lax in his arms. Right now she would have done anything, within reason or not, to grant him this wish, this want if she could.

The fair weather and climate did much to improve Lady Astridr's physical health but no longer was that the sole monster that hounded at her heels. Almedha could do nothing even as she knew what was occurring. Something evil was at work; she felt the chains as they coiled about. Ingrid took as much time with her sister as she could within reason and Astridr was left worse off for the poisonous contact. In many years Almedha had never been wracked with such indecision as she was now. Should she endanger herself for another? The very idea or impulse was stupid. She could accuse Ingrid but she'd have to reveal the why and how she knew. Vytis could either take it as truth and sever the connection killing his beloved bride or deny the claim and quite possibly attempt to kill her just for what she was. Every day she worried that the magically talented Ingrid might feel her for what she was and blame Astridr's weakness on her appetite.

Whenever Ingrid came to Astridr at daybreak she smiled as if knowing her malevolent magic was doing its job and during daytime Almedha could do nothing to safeguard the innocent woman falling prey to her sibling, a woman who should've shared and reciprocated Astridr's blind love.

Decision came and she prayed it was not too late, she had to find a time to speak with Vytis alone, something that was easier said than done to be sure. He gave daylight hours to Ingrid and spent evening, night, and early morning with Astridr. Almedha could not speak to him during daylight. On the journey down she cursed the fact that daylight restricted her. During the way down she had made up numerous manners to excuse her during the day and made up distance lost between herself and the others at nightfall. Her one chance came only when Vytis instigated the conversation, unfortunately he called her before sundown and she waited an agonizing hour before heeding his call, it left him in a bad mood when she finally got to him. His self proclaimed study was a mess, paper and ink spattered over the walls as if he had overturned his desk, to hell with the consequences.

"Why?" he asked and the tone was riveting, she knew he wasn't asking why she'd delayed answering his summons for an hour, "Why isn't she getting better?"

He was asking in an attempt to search for answers that eluded him, it was now or never. She had to try to tell him the truth and hope he made the best of it.

Almedha inwardly exhaled a breath she'd been holding, allowing her hands to smooth of her dress in a nervous gesture that she normally did not allow herself, before stepping forward, "Do you remember the holy men? The ones you cast out?"

A frown appeared, his brows creased in incredulity, "Surely YOU don't believe such a thing?"

Vytis knew well she didn't believe in the gods, "Of course not," she murmured smoothly.

"Then why mention it?"

"Because I believe were guessing without knowing, and it is closer to the truth then I ever dared to believe," she held up her hand managing to command his outrage to instantaneous silence with a gesture, "not because of Lady Astridr's astonishing measure of faith or morality," she held back a snort of reproof, "you and I know that conjecture for the nonsense it is. I feel something, some curse poised at her feet, an unseen mire she is wading through. Something malevolent is baying for her death, dragging her down and it has nothing to do with her physical health. I advised you to come down here because another winter in the North might kill her because she is ill. Here, the problem is invisible, chronic, nothing she can escape from. She grows weak because she has allowed something very wrong to be near her, to be near her and to hold fast and close to her."

"And you feel this because…?" even he sounded like he was thoroughly tired of her, he had given her more patience than most but he had expected results for having her close at hand and she had not delivered the results he desired.

"Anyone with the right training would be able to feel the toxic presence, it clings to her being. I feel it so intimately not because of my magical affinity, I feel it so clearly because I have an affinity with the dead. I can give you the answers no one else can because I, I am not longer truly alive…"

"You, you are undead?" his voice sounded vague, almost lost, as if he was trying to recover, trying to recover from downright shock. A part of him long ago would have taken a blade and staked her heart with the cold length. Based on Almedha's guarded readiness she didn't think it would be out of turn for that to be a possibility, "How long have you known this?"

The woman, almost a stranger at the moment, paused as if to think on her answer. If she had known all along and never told him Astridr's fate he'd want to kill her, if only for not giving him insight which could save her, "I could not feel it at first, I only felt it with certainty the stronger the being got, I only felt the spell when it gained momentum…I am new, strong but young," she sighed heavily, "fallible. Even with my experience I know no way to save her except…only one and it would be something to be stomached by yourself and her."

"What is it?" Vytis swallowed, he had defied so many rules and restrictions, both holy and noble that he had not hesitated to ask for help from a creature that should have been put down, not if she could help him, help Astridr.

"I could turn her. I can leech the weakness out of her blood, giving her new life through a clean death. I can give her the strength of eternal life, enough strength to cast loose this enchantment that would destroy and leave her for dead in your arms or at your feet."

The visualization was powerful, almost enough to draw him into blind emotion that he hadn't known would spring to life. Vytis knew that he should never ask this of her but he knew he'd not let her die without making the choice, if there was some chance that she'd choose to fall to remain in this lifetime with him then it had to be taken, even though the result could either damned the both of them or destroy him. To accept Almedha's 'kiss', the kiss of an undead, was damnation without question but to lose Astridr without attempting everything, to lose her without a fight to the absolute finish, it would leave him with nothing worth living for.

Astridr shivered, knowing that it wasn't cold that reduce her to trembling but the knowledge that death was going to come on swift wings, soon and she had not prepared him. Footsteps approached the bed and knew just from the weight of the footfalls that it was Vytis. Without any hesistation arms enveloped her, wrapping her in warmth that chased away the cold but not the creeping sensation that was purely the ruin of death, she wished it could chase away her fate. A tear fell down her cheek before her eyes clamped close, shutting down the waterworks before she turned to gaze at Vytis.

His lips were warm, vibrant, and full of life as they pressed against hers, as if he could exhale breathe the vitality of life into her if he held her fast to himself, close enough to himself. She could not allow her tears to yield to her own distress but she couldn't hold them back against his desperation, they broke free railing against the unfairness of fate in striking down the one true lovematch out of hundreds of bitter marital unions and infidelities. Once upon a time they'd both believed their union was a thing, cold and lifeless, but it was living entity that existed between them and it would die only when the grave parted them.

"Astridr?" his voice sounded as though broken, pleading, begging and she knew what he was about to say. When things turned for the worse he had refused to allow her too far away from him, she had heard everything in the quiet of his study, everything between him and Almedha. She knew what it cost him to even ask and it cost her just as heavy a cost to deny him the false hope – the desperate measure offered to them both at the most critical of times.

"Vytis, please, do not ask it of me; please do not let me hear your lips beg for me to be what I cannot, to be what I will not become. Don't turn me into a monster for a blink of eternity. Everything dies, it is the natural way of life, it is what makes us mortal. I do not want it but I'm dying, I know and I've accepted that fact: grudgingly, bitterly, sorrowfully, angrily but I've come to terms and accepted the fact. Loving you has given me the greatest happiness I've ever known in this life but it will never allow me peace as I depart from this life."

"You ask, ask for the impossible," his tone was gravely, he'd never be at peace with her death. Vytis had never said the words but she knew he loved her, loved her so much that he would never be prepared for her death. If she was selfish she might've asked him to leave her, allow her to die alone so that her turmoiled soil could pass on with less difficulty. It would be cruel to pass away in his arms but she knew that if he had choice he'd never leave her willingly.

That last night neither of them slept just sat in silence, both were afraid to say anything that would make the parting more difficult in the end. As hours passed her breathing grew shallow, the time between breaths getting further and further between. She was afraid that the time in which she took her last breath would sneak up upon her, robbing her of her life without her knowledge. She wouldn't allow things to end between her and Vytis, like this upon her deathbed. Her hand reached out and found the smooth expanse of his strong cheek. She wasn't sure how long she cradled it against her hand but finally she pulled on the last reserves of strength to press her lips against his.

The kiss was unbridled, strong and furious in emotion, as if she put all her strenght into this last expression of love. She allowed the emotion to draw upon everything she had, leaving nothing behind in the wake of her last breath, her last moment. Then she surrendered, let go, and was no more…

Holding Astridr in her final moments was like holding water, lovely and etheral but inevitably she slipped through his fingers no matter how tightly he held on. He felt her lips press against his and closed his eyes, just feeling her in those last moments, and long after she grew lax in his arms he cradled the dead weight of her body, his eyes closed all the while. As if he believed that if they stayed closed he could preserve that last sight of her alive and that would make it true. Dreams never stay long enough; they always depart before you want them too. Inevitably he woke up, blind with tears, empty and hollow within, "I love you…," he said too late, "I loved her," he said to the emptiness, looking towards the heavens with the vengeance of one cheated and wronged.

Freya didn't need to breathe and never felt shock normally but she was frozen in entirety, riveted when the man's gaze raked over her. She was being a fool, he couldn't see her, he was gazing to the heavens. The gaze was not a friendly one, it was the glance was of a man who had lost everything and had nothing, nothing save bitterness, resentment, and rage. Normally a mortal did not concern her but this one, this one made her look back a second time. Fate had taken Astridr from him and they, the Gods controlled the three goddesses of mortal destiny. In this case, they'd made a powerful enemy in taking this course of action. This one would be one to watch…

Reciprocated Love…and she had thought this disaster could get no worse…she'd been wrong, VERY wrong.