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Here's ch21 things have been at a stand still but the show must go on.

((((((((WARNING: mentions of torture/ darker themes/ slight PTSD just be warned ok?)))))))))

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Evelyn sat in her room curled up in a ball with the blanket over her head, she couldn't look at her wall of faces they would all be looking at her with pity or anger even if they weren't real she could feel their judgment . It was horrible, terrible, no disastrous that one of the best days of her second life had been ruined by no one but herself. She had done the unspeakable. She had killed, which had always been incredibly hard for her, but not only had she killed someone, she had killed her own half-brother.

William had become her brother the moment she accepted Mother's offer to join her family and in doing so she had gotten just that a family or at least a Mother and a sister. Carmilla was the only sibling she had truly connected with and as her family slowly, sometimes rapidly dwindled in numbers she became dependent on her older sister more and more but one thing was always constant aside from Mother snapping orders and Carmilla holding her as she tried to keep what little part of herself she had left and that constant was Will.

Yes her brother had been a deviant, a tormentor on multiple occasions, and a complete ass but he was still her brother and in the beginning he had been far less hostile. In the beginning Will had been cold and distant falling back on his background as a solider, a high ranking Captain soon to be promoted had he not died, it was the only life he knew. But as time went on he started giving in to his blood lust more and more till Carmilla's imprisonment then Mother came down on all of them, hard.

The loss of control over Carmilla made Mother's paranoia grow and she didn't want there to be any possibility of an uprising so she had all her children come back home for a little "reeducation". The definition of reeducation differed vastly from what Mother had planned for them because she didn't really teach them anything or reform them. All she did was lock them all inside one of her vaults, chain them to the walls, starve them, and demanding their submission. It was a lengthy process because most of them, like any sane person, didn't want to be held captive, they saw no real reason for it but Mother's crazed mind found it to be the only way to keep them in line.

It was torture in every way.

She kept them locked down there for weeks before bringing a bucket of blood and seeing who was "obedient" and who was a problem. It conditioned them in such a way Pavlov would have been proud because there is nothing more obedient and weak than a half starved vampire but the conditioning had its faults as well. A starving vampire could be dangerous and if pushed too far it will give up any form of intelligence and fall back on the beast leaving no traces of their former self. This was how many of her siblings died and she had to stand by and watch along with Will.

Will had seen war, he had killed people as a solider at the age of sixteen but this, this was something else and she had watched his PTSD slowly drive him insane while she clung to her own sanity by the barest of threads. The more crazed her siblings became the more vicious he became because when pushed past their breaking point they would break free of their bonds and go for the nearest blood source which was their siblings. A vampires body was like a chilled blood bag, the blood in their bodies would sit there till their body slowly digested it this is why they didn't need to feed every day but some got addicted to the feeling of draining their victims and couldn't stop.

Now that she thought about it there was probably a reason Mother had her chained up next to Will. Her brother had been older than most of them and still gave off a domineering presence because of his rank in the military as well as just his beasts strength. When the others broke free they would go for the weaker ones and his roars kept them away from her till Mother came down and killed whoever escaped. Maybe it was her imagination but maybe Mother had wanted her to live long enough to see the end of their hell she didn't know but either way she had somehow made it out.

Evelyn had spent most of her "reeducation" with her eyes closed trying to forget that she was trapped with her blood thirsty siblings and cried silently for how long she didn't know but it felt like eternity. After she lost track of time she slowly started to lose herself, flinching at every hiss, roar, and crazed scream trembling in fear, waiting for the day that Will couldn't protect her. At some point she couldn't remember the exact day, most of them ran together but Mother took pity on her progeny and finally decided that she would let her "good children" out.

Upon her release Mother carried each of her "good children" upstairs and put them to bed as a Mother would and the others…Evelyn really didn't want to think about them. It was only after a week of sleeping and waking up screaming as every nightmare tore through her that she realized she wasn't in the dungeons anymore. Mother took special care of the children she had chosen to keep, making sure they were well fed and had the best clothes though Evelyn didn't really see what good that would do they were all too broken to be of use and Mother didn't have time for uselessness. This was again part of her plan and it worked because they had all grown so dependent on her that she didn't mind giving them a little more freedom as the months dragged on till she started giving them jobs again and sending them out into the world.

Those three years were the worst years of her life, yes years. It took some time but she figured out just how long Mother had kept them down there and it made her just as obedient as the others. Mother ruled through fear and the dependence she had created in their minds and no one dared go against her they were too terrified to do anything they didn't want to be put back in the dungeons. Mother was quiet proud of herself with her children obedient and once again looking to her for guidance she seemed calmer and didn't snap as much now that her dominance had been reasserted. The "reeducation" stuck for a long time and it was what changed Evelyn so much, they had all changed really becoming more defiant, obedient, or vicious but all of them answered to Mother no matter what.

So here she was hiding under her blanket like a child, wallowing in guilt and grief. It wasn't something she did because death wasn't a common occurrence for vampires only in their prey but still she wished it would just end. Burying her face n her pillow she ignored the fact that it was soaked from her never ending tears it was only right that she should be hallow and uncaring after what she had done. She shouldn't be thinking like this not with the possibility of Danny coming to see her.

Danny, her kind, loving, and courageous Huntress.

Evelyn hadn't known many fairy tales growing up in during the time she had usually meant witches were burned for such stories or people didn't have the imagination for such things. Her human sisters were illiterate like her and although kind they didn't really have an idea of how to start such childish things when they lived hard lives. Mother detested fairytales and would sooner rip out your tongue for asking about them then tell you one. No her only source of Fairy tales came from Carmilla and the stories she told were always so vivid and colorful she would go to sleep dreaming about her own princess or brave Lady Knight. Those stories gave her a lot of things creativity, love, and most of all they gave her hope.

After living through hell she had finally found something to look forward to and now after nearly three hundred years she had it. Evelyn Bochard had found her own princess charming.

Closing her eyes she wiped away her tears.

Oh her brave huntress, Danny was doing everything she could to make sure everyone was safe and protected because Will "might" come to taunt them but he never would, never again. A low whine escaped her throat and she bit her lip trying to keep anymore from coming out. She hadn't told them, she couldn't get her mouth to form the words no matter how hard she tried so she threw up her walls and hid away in her solitude and grief. Danny was there when she woke up most nights, her warm arms wrapped protectively around her with her chin resting on her shoulder occasionally placing a kiss on her icy flesh. Danny was so patient with her, she wanted to make it up to her once this was over but with the way things were going it would be a while and they were running out of time.

Danny, she wanted her huntress here with her but she needed to move, to act, help, there were so many things they needed to do and they wouldn't be able to do them all. Sniffling she forced herself to sit up trying to ignore the flash of pain in her chest only to gasp as her arms burned. The wounds from her fight with Will hadn't healed as much as she'd hoped and she did her best to hide them from her sister with long sleeved shirts and blankets but she knew something was up, Big sisters always knew.

Taking a deep breath she tried to get around the fear of what lay outside that door and swung her legs over stopping when she saw something on the desk. It was a green hoodie she knew it was Danny's because it had the Summer Society logo on the breast in gold. She didn't realize it had been left, the whole room smelled like Danny so it wasn't hard. Stuffing her feet into her shoes she grabbed the hoodie and shrugged it on marveling at how big it was on her. She knew she was small but this was ridiculous. The size difference aside Evelyn didn't really mind because it was like being hugged by Danny, it was big, soft, wrapping her in a protective embrace and flooded her senses with Danny's calming scent.

They hadn't talked about it, the change, they hadn't had time too and Evelyn didn't want to bring it up just yet because she was still coming to terms with it. The kind of change that had occurred was strange and so instinctual her human side didn't know how to handle it while her instinctual side scoffed at her doubt and lack of comprehension. The change was a deep rooted thing that from this day forward would connect them no matter what and it terrified her in such a way, she felt its strength at the very core of her being.

Taking a deep calming breath she forced herself to relax because having a panic attack wouldn't do her any good she needed to move forward for Danny, for Carmilla, for the others. Forcing herself to take deep breaths of Danny's scent she grabbed her phone and pulled up her hood and left the safety of her sanctum.

It was almost nine but she needed to check something before she went to see the others and put their minds at ease or try to anyway.

Making her way down stairs she pondered her new mission because in a way it was a mission. When she had rescued Lafontaine she remembered Will having a conversation with Mother and something he'd said along with the fact that his scent was in the vault made her realize he had taken something. She needed to know what it was before something happened because after everything she would do what it took to prevent as many disasters as possible.

Flitting across campus to the registration building knowing they would be closed by now and no humans would be around made her mission a little easier.

Flitting up to the front doors she gave a light tug to the handles feeling them click as the lock engaged. Backing up she looked at the windows they were all sliding windows so they would be easy to open. Looking around seeing as the registration building was near the back of the campus she knew there was little chance of anyone seeing her. Tugging on her hood she jumped a good ten feet in the air to the closest window and grabbed the edge planting her feet on the wall below it to see which way it slid before opening it.

Slipping inside she checked the floor she was on relieved to see when was right in her assumption that it would be empty. Flitting down stairs she went through the basement and flipped the switch impatiently waiting for the wall to rearrange itself and open for her. Punching in the security code she waited for the clicking before throwing open the door and snatched the clip board and took a deep breath. It had been a few days since she had been there but the place was rarely disturbed so Will's scent should still be there.

Catching the disgusting Blood and Axe scent she opened her eyes and followed it. The shelves of the vault almost became a maze as she flitted through it following the scent to the back of the vault. She knew the vault better than anyone and this was where some of the more wearable artifacts and relics went.

Stopping at the first shelf she checked the number on the side with the list of relics on the clipboard. If she was at row 622 then this was very bad. Going down the list as she walked down the aisle still following Will's scent. She frowned when she came to a stop unable to find it again. Looking up she realized she was near the end of the shelf but that there was also an empty pedestal. All the items were on pedestals that were enchanted with strange magic to not only contain them but keep them in pristine condition.

The problem with all this wasn't that it was empty it was that what was once there was a dangerous artifact or relic from Mother's list of deadly collectables. Going down the list she felt that panic starting to come back the list was getting more and more dangerous till they landed on the one for the pedestal before her.

622, pedestal 951, Peitho's essence.

Evelyn could feel her eyes widen she remembered collecting that relic she had been in yet another obscured ruin but it was in Italy. The place was empty and luckily she had plenty of places to hide from the dangerous of the sun. Tracking down Peitho's essence was not an easy feat she had to dig for hours and ward off many travelers and treasure seekers till she found the sacred crypt that held the powerful gems. The trials it took just to get to them through the crypt were trying and deadly even to a vampire but she couldn't fail Mother, she would rather die than face Mother's wrath.

It's funny that Peitho, the goddess of persuasion and seduction would let such powerful things fall into the hands of man. It was rumored that the goddess had grown curious and like the other gods she decided to test man so she took a single drop of her skills in persuasion and seduction as well as her roman counterpart, Suada's, powers of deception and desire, and let it fall into the hands of man but the drops crystalized forming two jewels. Those who possessed that of persuasion were given the ability to persuade anyone they wanted in to doing whatever they wanted while that of deception allowed the wearer to deceive others no matter how clever.

The thing about the necklaces is that when apart they were of course singular in their purpose but together they were over powering and if someone had both necklaces they could not only persuade someone but do something but use the goddess's powers of deception to completely overwhelm their victims because once you came in contact with others that's all they really were they had no way of fighting it.

Flipping through the papers on the clip board she checked the second essence of Peitho hoping and praying it wasn't gone.

1,064, pedestal 2,988, Sauda's essence.

Finding the numbers she flitted down the aisle further into the maze of shelves.

The Vault was deceiving even to the eyes of a vampire because the deeper you went the back wall never seemed to get any closer and the only exit seemed to get farther and farther away. Ignoring her worries she pushed on watching the shelf numbers fly by it was a lot like fast forwarding through a movie you could see what was happening but your eyes couldn't fully track anything but with her heightened senses she could catch most of what was around her. Coming into focus she stopped at row 1,064 and scanned the shelves till another familiar scent made her freeze.

Mother.

Mother had been there, in the vault.

She had been in this aisle that meant she had the other necklace but that wasn't all. Evelyn already knew the other necklace was gone but Mother's scent went deeper into the vault meaning that wasn't the only thing she took.

With trembling hands she forced herself to leave the clipboard on the shelf and take deep forced breaths of Mother's scent. It wasn't a pleasant scent it was the ghastliest smell of copper and dust, it put her on edge and made her beast raise its hackles. It was another after effect from saving Lafontaine from Will, her inner beast and her had settled no longer being thought of as a separate entity that invaded her consciousness but as a part of herself and it made her feel… different. The instincts that were usually so confusing and alien only coming out when she was in extreme danger but now they felt right.

The longer she followed Mother's scent the more she dreaded finding what was at the end. Mother wouldn't have taken just anything, she would have taken something with the intention of using it later on as a wild card if Sister tried anything. The inner workings of their Mother's mind were never easy to decipher they could only make a guess and hope that they had all their bases covered.

The back of the vault was filled with the scent of old paper and dust making it a little challenging to find Mother's scent but after a moment of to clear her senses she caught it again. Following her nose she found herself stopping in the ancient texts section. These were some of the oldest and most dangerous spell books ever written.

"No, no, no!"

Following the trail she stopped in front of the pedestal at the end of the row. The name plate confirmed her fear, Pedistal 40,093,170, δώρα των θεών και τελετουργικά εξουσίας.

Evelyn would have had a heart attack if her heart were still beating.

δώρα των θεών και τελετουργικά εξουσίας, it was Greek, dreaded Greek, but it translated to Gifts of the gods and Rituals of power.

Her Mother wasn't the first to find most of the relics held in the vault others before her had found them and others after her would find them. The things written in that book were from what men had used those relics for whatever purposed they could find and if the two necklaces were used then there was no doubt that Mother had used some kind of ritual in the book to her advantage.

Flitting to the exit she pulled out her phone speed dialing her sister hoping and praying she would pick up.

"Your call has been sent to automated voice mail if you would like to-"

"Come on!" pressing dial again she raced across campus sending her prayers to any deity that would listen, begging for it not to be too late. after dialing six times all she got was voice mail. Stuffing her phone into her pocket she sprinted up the stairs ignoring the possibility of being spotted there were too many things at stake.

Bursting into the room she found Carmilla standing opposite Laura but something was wrong her stance was ridged, almost pained. Turning her gaze to Laura her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the necklace around her neck gem shined in the dim light of the room taunting her.

Laura turned to the blonde smirking in an all too familiar way but it looked so wrong on Laura.

"Hello Evelyn"

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This came out darker than I expected but the moment my fingers touched the keys the story just kind of came out you know? anyway I did a little research on Pethio and what she was a goddess of because the necklace itself from the actual webseries was just some random necklace. I also made up some of the stuff about Pethio because the goddess isn't well recorded in mythology and that sort of gave me free reign over what the necklaces did as well as what Mother did to gain possession of them.

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