Victoria's pulled from her dreams by a gentle hand running over her scalp and blue eyes flicker open with a content hum.
"Your nightmares again?"
Victoria locks eyes with the concerned Queen above and nods weakly, pulling her heavy head from the vanity.
"Perhaps Snow can devise something for them."
"Maybe.." Victoria rubs the back of her aching neck, tired eyes gliding to her roommates and finds them bowing fully to the Queen.
"I think having slaves was a bad idea."
"And why is that?"
"They're scared of me."
"They have been trained to be scared mláďa."
"No its more than that. I told them what I am, an Archdemon, and Amelia freaked out."
The Queen cocks an eyebrow.."Amelia?"
"I named them, thought it was better than calling them slave one and slave two."
"Be careful you do not get too attached like last time Vairocana."
"Why? I thought they're mine now."
"Yes but slaves die every day. Something may happen that is out of your control and you cannot fall into despair as you did with your Michael."
"Well that murdering fuck is gone from my mind and I plan on keeping them safe!"
The Queen sighs, wandering over to the cages.."Emma was curious about your methods."
"I know, the guy thought I was a seer or something."
"What was the purpose of the stones?"
"I wanted to see who was most curious than the rest. She was the first and then he caught me when I slipped, so I guess fate decided for me in the end."
"You slipped?"
Victoria chuckles sheepish.."Yeah, my experiment got me back. I was looking at the whip mark on Ryan's back when I fell forward and he caught me. I would have fallen flat on my face if it wasn't for him."
The Queen stares curiously.."Do not let the council hear your slaves names. A name means something, and giving one to the lowest is a sign of weakness."
Victoria frowns.."Everything is weakness to them! Feelings are weakness, pain is weakness, anger is weakness! Well tough shit! I'm stronger than all of them put together so if they want a demonstration, I'll be happy to oblige!"
"Calm yourself, it is our way to be as such. We would not be here if we didn't suppress our emotions and have strict order and law."
"Yeah sure.." Victoria scoffs, rising from her chair and stretches her stiff muscles.."So I guess your here for training?"
"You guessed correct. We will be using the indoor arena to train as your new demon form is larger than expected for the training chamber."
Blue eyes widen.."You have an indoor arena?"
"Of course, where do you think the blood sport occurs?"
"Blood sport?"
"We will discuss it further some other time. Get dressed into your robe and meet me in the arena immediately." The Queen glides towards the doors.
"What about them? What do I do?"
Brown eyes peer down to the bowing slaves.."They are yours to do with as you please. It is up to you." The Queen primly paces into the hallway and Victoria huffs.
"Thanks for the advice.."
She stares at the two slaves before quickly changing and throwing on her robe.."Come on, I'm going to show you there's nothing to be scared of.." She unlocks the steel doors and ushers them from the cages.."I'll get you some fresh clothes and give you have a bath after training. Then hopefully we can eat."
With encouragement, Victoria paces out of her room with Ryan and Amelia close behind..
After being directed by the guards, Victoria stares in awe at the medieval style arena that's the size of a football pitch. Instead of grass and goal posts, white sand and marble columns help a broad smile grace pink lips. She looks around at the grandstands stationed above a ten foot brick wall encircling the arena. A small private box with royal drapes and five comfy looking chairs makes her chuckle, her mind picturing the movie gladiator at its resemblance.
"Vairocana!"
Blue eyes dart to the placid Queen and a contingent of guards with David at the center of the arena. She glances back at the bowing heads of Amelia and Ryan before briskly heading for the party.
"Your arena's awesome! I'm actually looking forward to training." Victoria chuckles, again her focus gliding around the stone structure.
The Queen smirks, nodding at her guard who pull their weapons and march into a large circle around them.
Victoria frowns at the hostile move.."What's going on?"
"It is simple procedure, until I know for definite you are not a threat in your demon form, precautions must be made. I'm sure you understand."
Blue eyes stare warily at the regal woman but with a huff, Victoria concedes.."Yeah course. So how do you want to do this?"
"I'm sure you wish to remove your slaves from danger first?"
Victoria's focus darts to the unmoving bodies bowing behind her.
"Yeah course um..Hey right, if you two can go stand behind those guards, but listen..it might be a bit scary but I wont eat you I promise.."
David looks on questionably, his gaze flickering from the girl to his intrigued Queen.
"You can go now.."
The two bodies bow deeply and quickly scramble out of the full circle of guards and get to their knees in the sand. Victoria quickly thinks about how messed up her situation is before quickly redirecting her focus and facing the intrigued vampires.
"Right, what's next?"
"I think its time you become your demon."
"Right yeah, give me a sec."
Victoria quickly steps back and slides her eyes shut. She searches her mind, the angry screeching no longer confusing her search and she quickly finds the bright white ball in her thoughts. She carefully grabs ahold of it, feeling her body shift and crunch under pressure. Before long, she dives deeper, pulling what she learnt from her battle with the Archdemon and expelling the primal sensations. Her hold on the light slips momentarily and she hears guns cocking around her.
"Focus Vairocana."
Victoria feels herself growling, her eyes sealed shut as she tries again. With a harsh and determined tug on the shimmering ball, she feels her body shift again, pain trying to pull at her focus but she pushes it back, and with one final crack into place, blood red eyes dart open and she roars into the metal rafters above.
Victoria raises a giant claw, a mixture of white and black scales making her frown.."Do I look the same as before?"
"You mimic that of your true appearance with the exception of your color."
Victoria hums, studying her strong frame and elegant tail.."I got to keep my tail."
"Yes, so we will take steps to ensure you understand every part of your new form and how to wield it in battle."
Red eyes glide to the kneeling slaves and pick out Amelia's undeniable trembling. Victoria's heart clenches, and ignoring the Queens perplexed look, she slowly lumbers over to the two timid slaves.
"Vairocana?"
"Just give me a second." She hears a frustrated growl and turns to the Queens displeased frown.."Please your majesty."
Brown eyes soften and the Queen releases a drawn out sigh.."Be Quick."
With a small bow of her lumbering skull, Victoria slides towards the cowering slaves and softly pushes one of the guards from her path. Her vicious looking snout slowly pushes forward and hovers in front of the pair.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
A strong white tail gently curls around the couple and very carefully pushes their heads up to meet her eye. Amelia's breathing picks up and Victoria opts for plan B.
"Touch my nose."
There's a pause before Ryan's strong hand lands on her scales. However it takes longer for the girls trembling limb to finally ghost over her nose. Victoria pushes forward a little, allowing them a more physical connection and smiles when Amelia's trembling slowly alleviates and a timid hand flexes on her rough skin.
"Good, now touch my teeth."
Victoria parts her powerful jaws slightly and leans serrated teeth towards the fearful pair. If they can literally put their hand in a dragons mouth and not be bitten, then she thinks she can call it a win for today.
The Queen watches fascinated and confused, David mimicking her expression as the slaves very slowly touch serrated teeth with the tips of their fingers.
Red eyes inspect the pair intently, the way Ryan grows more confident and glances up to razor teeth, the way Amelia's shaking recedes and she too glances up and delicately wraps a hand around an eight inch canine. Slowly Victoria retracts from their touch and their focus is redirected back to the sand between their knees.
"Well done, I'm proud of you." Victoria smiles, carefully twisting her large mass to rumble back over to the Queen and David.."Thanks, I'm ready to begin when you are."
After a pause, the Queen clears her throat, snapping from her thoughts and waves a hand at David. The man bows, scurrying to the edges of the circle and draws his gun.
"To begin, we will ascertain your abilities to control flight."
"My wings?"
"Yes, show me what you already know and we will work from there."
"Okay."
Uneasy, Victoria takes several steps away from the Queen and stretches her heavy wings. She flaps them hesitantly, then flaps them again and again before jumping into the air. Shes carried ten foot off the floor before several tons of dragon comes crashing back to the sand. She huffs, the displeased look on the Queens features aggravating her before an idea springs to mind. Quickly she bounds passed the circle of guards and climbs up one of the towering columns. Her claws cling to stone, feet slipping as she tries to get her balance.
"Vairocana, what are you doing?!"
"Getting more height!"
With determination, Victoria spreads her wings and prepares herself. With a great push, she springs from the top of the column and flaps frantically. She smiles as her wings take her higher and higher but soon her lumbering body falls with a screech. The mass of dragon plummets to the ground with a loud tremble and Victoria groans, stumbling to her feet.
"God damn it!"
"Enough! Come here!"
With a frustrated huff, Victoria plods over to the steely Queen.
"Height doesn't matter if you don't know how to use your wings. The knowledge is in your mind but it will also come to you through instinct. Show me."
Victoria slides a white and black wing towards the woman and relishes in the touch as soft palms slide up and down the intricate patterns and grooves within the membrane.
"You must feel every groove, every fiber, every pocket that helps you harness the air around you and use it to control your movements. Move it gently.."
The wing gently sways back and forward, a small breeze blowing through the sand at their feet.
"Feel its movement, the way it reacts to your command. It's a part of you, an extension of your body."
Victoria can feel an updraft, the thin lines of air snaking around the membrane and escaping over sharpened bone. A smile tugs at serrated jaws, the feeling and knowledge slowly becoming familiar in her minds eye. She raises her other wing and does the same, the sensations and slight movement of the extended limbs registering.
"I want to try again."
"Then try."
Victoria smirks at the grinning Queen before putting some distance between the two and preparing herself. Slowly she brings the limbs into the air and gently waves them around her body and back into the air repeatedly. When she thinks the breeze is on her side, she squats to the floor and launches from the sand. Her wings flap briskly, pulling the air under her to take her higher and higher. Her legs and arms run like a dog in some futile attempt to help in some way, but she roars triumphant when she rapidly approaches the steel roof and circles the arena.
The Queen smiles toothily, watching the demon soar around the arena and she chuckles. David glances at his happy Queen and smiles genuinely, the bellow of the Archdemon making the royal more pleased by the second.
Victoria gets used to the sensation, imprinting it at the forefront of her mind and notes every sensation and body movement shes making. Shes never felt more alive than she does in this moment, sure shes a dragon flying around a vampire Queens coliseum, but just being in the air, and the primal feelings stirring in her blood makes her happy and content.
"Vairocana! It is time to move on!"
With a reluctant huff, Victoria zeros in on her landing spot and coasts towards it. She reckons its like landing an airplane but she keeps a wary eye on the apprehensive guard shuffling towards the walls and out of her way. Her back straightens, body pulling itself upright and wings flapping as her body rapidly descends. She panics a little, her body tumbling at the speed and she cant help the force tripping her onto her face and sliding her across the sand. Her groaning snout stops a few feet in front of the amused Queen as wings collapse to the resting sands.
"I didn't stick my landing."
The Queen chuckles weakly.."No, but that is something we can work on another time. You have done well and now we will move on.."
With a gruff, Victoria pulls her bulky body up, shaking her limbs loose of sand and towers over the Queen.
"Next we will amplify your tail movements seen as you never had the limb before. You also seem infatuated with it so I assume you will get the exercise relatively quickly."
Brown eyes look pointedly at David and he bows, running over to the arena doors. Curious red eyes watch as many large barrels are pulled into the room by slaves and positioned around the arena.
"Barrels?"
"Use your tail and your tail only to destroy the obstacles. You have an allotted time of one minute to destroy them all.."
Panicked red eyes glance around at the twenty barrels scattered amongst the sand.."There's no way I can.."
"Begin!"
Victoria startles and quickly rushes towards the first barrel. The mighty limb shatters the wood and scatters a bulk of black sand across the arena floor. Thirty seconds later and shes gotten faster, predicting where the barrels are before she even looks up. With fifteen seconds left she notes the remaining six targets and roars, rushing at a column and spring boarding off to swipe at three barrels in succession. The Queen counts down from ten and her heart races, she smashes another target, bounding towards the second last.
"Six! Five! Four!.."
The barrel explodes and Victoria shrieks at the final one twenty feet from her. She quickly spins, wrapping the wood between her tail and launches it into the air with brute force.
"Two! One!"
All eyes watch as the barrel soars into the rafters but everyone startles when the object smashes into the metal plating of the roof and shards of metal, wood and sand rain down. But that's not what throws Victoria into action, a beam of sunlight penetrates the black metal and sets a guard alight. The man screams as his body burns to ashes in mere seconds.
"GUARD TO THE WALLS!"
The elite quickly scramble against the wall with Victoria's slaves dragged behind as David rushes over to his Queen. However brown eyes are transfixed on the shadow above and he looks up bewildered at the Archdemon clinging to the roof.
Victoria holds on fiercely, her razor claws easily sliced into metal and she cant help sticking her head out into the light. Her senses explode, the fresh morning air, tweeting of birds and buzzing of bees makes her heart ache. She misses being in the sun, being at the beach, being anywhere but here and she sticks her elongated neck fully into the sunlight.
"VAIROCANA!"
Victoria can hear the Queens concern and her hearts torn between freedom and her duties. She wonders why she cant have both and then remembers the war that has suddenly stripped her of a normal life. With one last deep breath into the warm air, she pulls her head back into the darkness and rips a steel panel off a well protected part of the roof. Quickly it covers the hole and she bends it into place, only releasing spots of light which escape to the arena below. With a deep sigh, Victoria lets go of the metal, plummeting to the ground and lands on all fours with a rattling tremble. Her wings slot onto her back as red eyes inspect the dead soldier. Then she refocuses on the cautious men and slaves by the wall before her attention glides to David and the Queen. A weak smile pulls at the monarchs lips as David inspects her curiously. She sits back, a wing held over the spots of sunshine and waits for orders.
"That's enough for today. You have showed great promise. David remove the guard and get someone to clean this mess up. I want the roof fixed at nightfall so retrieve Marco."
"Yes my Queen." The man spins, barking orders at his men before they march from the arena single file.
Red eyes glide to her slaves and Victoria huffs, slowly heading over to her discarded robe. With a series of painful cracks and snaps, her naked body finally walks across the sand and shes quick to throw the black silk around her.
"You have done well today, I am very pleased.."
Victoria refrains from facing the Queen and instead ties the silk belt around her waist. The royal frowns, a gentle hand grasping the girls arm and pulling her around.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." A rough hand grasps Victoria's chin and pulls downcast blue eyes to meet frustrated brown.
"You are lying!"
"I don't want to talk about it okay.." Victoria pulls from the Queens touch and heads towards her slaves. Suddenly her arms are grabbed and shes pinned against the concrete wall in a flash. She frowns aggrieved at the angry Queen.
"I will not ask again!"
"Why do I have to tell you everything?!"
"If something affects your emotional state then it becomes my problem!"
"You didn't care about my emotional state before, so why now all of a sudden?!"
"You do not issue the questions here! Now I command you to tell me whats wrong!"
Victoria growls.."I want to leave!"
The Queen pauses, her grip on the girls arms slipping.."Leave?"
"Yes! I'm sick of being confined to this damn castle! I want to feel normal again! I want to go into a town and meet real people, I want to walk along the beach in the sun, talk to someone about sports or the damn weather, something that isn't about Archdemon's or werewolves or orders! I want to feel free!"
"That is your old life.."
"No it isn't! Its human life and you said it yourself, I'm as much human than demon or pure blood. You've wanted me to commit to this, to your ways, well what about mine?"
The Queen stares conflicted.
"Keeping me confined in these walls is messing me up and you know it. I..I want to feel like I'm not just some demon that's meant to fight a war, I want to remember what its like to be Victoria again."
"So what do you suggest?"
"Give me a break, a day off from these walls. Let me spend a day in town."
"Absolutely not!"
"Do you trust me?"
Brown eyes stare intently a moment before drifting to the covered hole in the roof. Victoria watches anxiously, her freedom almost in her grasp as the woman's focus slides back to her.
"..Yes."
"Then give me some space."
The Queen sighs deeply.."This is unwise Vairocana."
"Why?"
"The council will not approve, especially with you leaving the premises during daytime."
"I'll be fine on my own, and I promise not to run or anything."
"You will have one of my human contingents with you so.."
"Ah ah!" The Queens brows shoot into her hairline at the authoritative tone.
"No contingents, just a car to drop me off and pick me up again at ten."
"That is unacceptable."
"Its a curfew, and if I'm late or not there, I'm blatantly aware that you'll find me and beat my ass senseless.." A ghost of a smile tugs at red lips.."Trust me to come back. I'm not going anywhere I promise."
Brown eyes scrutinize Victoria intently.."You have until six.."
"Nine.."
"Seven.."
"Eight.."
"Agreed. A car will drop you off and pick you up at the same designated location. If you are late or decide to break my trust, be aware there is no place in this world I will not find you." Brown eyes shimmer white and Victoria swallows visibly.
"You've made your scary and explicit point extremely clear your majesty."
"Very well then, get dressed, I will have the car ready, you have.." The Queen looks at the giant antique clock on the wall.."Nine hours and thirteen minutes so make the most of it."
A bright smile lights up Victoria's face and she cant help the urge to throw herself at the woman. The Queen startles as shes encompassed in a crushing hug and stares bewildered at dark hair resting on her shoulder.
"Thank you for trusting me.."
A genuine smile rolls onto red lips, slender hands gently returning the foreign exchange as they both stand peacefully for a blissful moment.
Victoria is the first to break the hug and pulls back reluctantly, blue eyes shimmering with happiness.."I'll go get dressed." She chuckles, running over to Amelia and Ryan before quickly rushing out of the arena with the pair closely behind.
The Queen stares after her, slender hands fidgeting and glassy eyes shimmering with emotion...