Chapter 21 up, already working on 22, or getting ideas for it. I don't know how well I've been delving into the Carina/Rosalie romance, so if you guys can give me some feedback on if you like or love them, etc, so far, please tell me!
It's not exactly love at first
sight. It is more like soul
recognition.
–Lynette Simeone
Carina half wished she could get some firewhisky, go out with Leah (who she had developed some strange sort of bond with over time), and get completely plastered. It had only been a week since she returned to her home with Luna, and she was already tired of everything.
She had begun having tremors again, flashbacks, even, so much so that she would occasionally pause what she was doing and simply stare off into space. While nightmares had not been frequent before, or, not as much so, they seemed to happen a lot more now. She had needed to take care of Luna for awhile now, and after finding out what Bellatrix and Grant had done to her, she was not sure if she should be relieved or furious. While they had not mutilated her like the bodies in the dungeon, or whipped her like Grant had probably wanted, she had been subjected to the cruciatus many times.
Luna had nightmares, too, now. Sometimes, she even mumbled nonsense to herself, and it made Carina nervous when she did. It were as though she just lapsed.
Madam Pomfrey had assured her that time would make things easier for the both of them, but Carina knew she herself would be having problems for awhile (not to mention her back still ached). She could only hope that time was kinder to Luna, who did not deserve for this to have happened.
The raven haired girl also knew that it was her fault. Perhaps indirectly, for she certainly had not been the one to do this to her friend, but it was. If she had been stronger, more able, then Bellatrix would have been killed sooner, and this never would have happened.
Perhaps if, when she were young, if she had not been so afraid and run, she could have finished Grant off before he got involved, too. If Carina had not decided to move to this town, to run away from her problems to America, she would not have been involved in this Victoria mess.
Rosalie and Emmett had been helpful with everything, helping the two witches when things got just a bit too hard, but it was still difficult for Carina to allow someone so close, despite what she had said in the hospital wing.
But, she was trying. When she admitted to caring for Rosalie, more than she would like to admit, it had been the truth; the kiss after had even been very nice, though they had not done so again yet.
Carina sighed as she made her way downstairs and to the living room, where Luna was laid back on the couch, absently watching some sort of show on the television.
"Alright," she told the blonde, though not unkindly. "Budge up."
Luna sat up, and Carina fell back into the couch with a grunt; the younger witch leaned back down again, her head in Carina's lap.
The raven haired girl directed her attention to the show that was on, and for a few minutes, there was silence. However, she could feel that silver eyes had been trained upon her for awhile now, and she glanced down.
"I thought, briefly, that you were never coming for me," Luna remarked quietly, brows furrowing. "Bellatrix had at first been so sure, but as the days ran on, she began to grow doubtful. The punishments came often. It's a wonder my mind hadn't snapped...but I doubted. It was the first time I'd ever doubted anything involving you...I'm sorry for that."
The thought of Luna, trapped in a cage and screaming under her voice worked no longer, made Carina sick. It was only made worse when she learned of this knowledge.
"I'll always be there for you," Carina said fervently. "Always. I would never have left you there with her. Andromeda insisted I get better before leaving, but every second I worried about you, Luna. I tried to get away so many times…"
"You would have been killed," the blonde shook her head, but her eyes shone. "You nearly were, with Grant...if Rosalie hadn't been there…"
"But I'm here," the raven haired girl quickly pulled Luna up by the shoulders, the other witch scooting closer so that her head could be moved to rest on Carina's shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, alright? You aren't alone."
"I know," there was a soft exhale as Luna snuggled closer, and when something wet hit Carina's neck, she did not comment, merely dropped a kiss to the blonde's temple.
After all, she could feel a wetness in her own eyes as of now, so she had no room to talk.
~~~xxx~~~
Rosalie watched as Carina tiredly plopped herself down at the kitchen table, wincing as the movement made her back ache. The blonde hated that she had not been able to stop the whipping from happening, but she had been more than happy to rid Carina of one of her childhood tormentors.
The raven haired girl lifted her head from the table when Rosalie plonked a mug of coffee on the table in front of her, and the blonde paused, noticing that there was a faint shimmer of...something...around her eyes.
Rosalie grabbed Carina by the chin and angled the girl's face toward her, studying for a moment, before her sharp, enhanced eyesight was able to make out that the shimmer was from some sort of glamor magic.
"I thought we agreed not to hide things?" Rosalie said softly, and Carina's eyes dropped.
"I didn't want to look like a complete wreck," she muttered.
The vampire leaned down and brushed her thumb over Carina's jaw, feeling a thrill run through her when the girl did not pull away like she would have a week ago. "I understand. But, I know you haven't been sleeping well—would you mind if I came over tonight?"
The raven haired girl seemed to war with herself for a brief moment, and Rosalie knew it was a bit difficult for her to adjust to this sort of thing, but the fact that she tried was fine with her. "Okay."
"Emmett might be over later, as well," Rosalie paused. "He's been worried for Luna. If I'm spending the night with you…"
"It's fine."
"Good," the blonde nodded, before carefully retracting her hand as Carina took a long gulp of her coffee. "Is Teddy still sleeping?"
"Yeah...yeah," Carina nodded absently as she took another drink, closing her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them, she seemed a bit more alert. "Have you heard from any of the others?"
"No." Rosalie had not even tried to contact them, to be honest; well, besides Esme, who was so worried that she was sure the woman would be paying a visit soon. "I don't think they're coming back again. Not for a long while."
"Bella has lost it," Carina sighed, sitting her mug down. "Jacob told me she's been acting off lately, that the other day she went off with Jessica when her father threatened to send her away. She was easy enough to get the information out of—Bella hopped on a bike with a man neither of them knew. I remembered her being catatonic, not...this."
"Idiot," Rosalie could not help but mumble, though the witch in front of her heard and quirked a brow. "I've never particularly liked her, and this doesn't help."
"I tried to check in on her before...I guess being gone for a week didn't do her any good. I can't help but agree that it's rather pathetic, turning into a vegetable and then some adrenaline junkie after the supposed love of her life left her. I mean, I functioned just fine after you left."
The vampire raised a brow. "I'm the love of your life?"
"Shut up."
Rosalie chuckled, and Carina stood, maneuvering her way over to the sink. The blonde was rewarded with a shock of déjà vu as the raven haired girl turned and leaned against the counter, bracing herself with her hands so her back was only pressed there lightly.
Rosalie moved to stand in front of her, hands on either side of the counter, and the small smirk she was rewarded with made her lean down.
"Make me."
Carina's brows raised, but she pushed herself forward and straight into Rosalie, connecting their lips. Sadly, it was nothing more than a mere brush before a cry from upstairs had the raven haired girl ducking underneath Rosalie's arm, rushing up the stairs.
Rosalie sighed and turned to face the girl when she made her way back down, a small, fond smile on her lips as Teddy smiled at her as he was placed in his highchair.
Carina grunted as she leaned over to get a can of some sort of vegetables, before plonking it down on the table and reaching around Rosalie to get a spoon. She looked far too worn out to be doing it, but she nevertheless sat down, opened the can, and tried to feed Teddy.
He shook his head, mouth remaining stubbornly closed, and when she finally tricked him into eating some, he clamped down on the spoon and would not release it no matter how much she tugged.
Carina sighed and dropped her forehead to the table, supplying to Rosalie, "He does this a lot. He thinks it's funny, and since I don't want to hurt him, I wait until he lets go."
"How about I feed him?" the blonde offered, wanting nothing more than to help take care of the little boy and relieve Carina of her burden. "I wouldn't mind. Perhaps he would eat more if I tried."
The raven haired girl did not speak, only lifted a hand and waved it in answer.
Rosalie perched herself on the edge of the table and gently took the spoon from Teddy's mouth; he watched her with amber eyes.
"Come on," she said kindly, scooping some of the rather disgusting (to her) smelling food onto the spoon and holding it out. He turned his head. She lowered her voice, "Come on, Teddy, open up."
The baby stared at her, blond hair falling into his eyes, which had shifted to Carina's gray. Even his features had morphed...it actually made Rosalie's heart ache, seeing him look like such a cross between them both. She wished, genuinely, that they could someday have…
No. It wouldn't do to think of that.
Teddy opened his mouth the first time, accepting the food, and each time after that easily. Occasionally he would try to keep the spoon lodged in his mouth, but Rosalie managed to wiggle it out each time without harming him.
He was done with the food rather quickly, and when Rosalie turned to Carina to inform her, the witch did not move. Her breathing was even, heartbeat strong and steady, and her eyes were closed, cheek pressed into the table, raven hair falling into her eyes.
Gingerly, Rosalie brushed it aside. She did not think leaving Carina to sleep at the table was a good idea, so she rushed Teddy to his playpen in the living room where Luna sat, greeting the girl briefly (she did not quite know what to say just yet), before heading straight for the kitchen again.
The vampire pulled Carina out of her chair and into her arms, and the movement made the witch stir, eyes snapping open, and she squirmed in Rosalie's hold as they went up the stairs.
Carina realized quickly enough who was holding her, and for a moment, she paused; however, she was back at it again just as quickly.
"I have to get back to Luna," she protested. "She-she needs me. I need to be in there with her—"
Rosalie tossed her onto the bed. "What you need is rest. And some of that salve put on your back again."
"That doesn't matter!" the gray eyes of her mate bore into her furiously. "She's going through a hard time right now...she needs me now more than ever!"
The vampire heard the front door open and Emmett call out a greeting; Carina did as well, judging by the sudden, endearing way she cocked her head to the side.
"See?" Rosalie quirked a brow. "She has company. Right now, you need to get some sleep. If you can't take care of yourself first, you'll never be able to take care of anyone else."
The raven haired girl's face contorted. "But…"
"She has Emmett, Carina. He's been worried sick about her, too. Let him care for her for the time being—right now, you need to get the medicine on your back."
Carina frowned, growling to herself, before pulling her shirt off and turning around; the sight of the lash marks imbedded into her skin made Rosalie, too, growl.
They weren't just little marks—no, these were just like the others, crisscrossing from her shoulders to her hips, each a dark red, showing how the whip had cut into her skin.
The blonde shook her head and grabbed the tub of cream the healer had given Carina, before scooping out a generous amount and starting to apply it to the witch's back.
Carina winced and let a hiss escape from between clenched teeth. Rosalie tried to make her ministrations more gentle, but that was not really possible because she was doing it as lightly as she could.
"It's fine," Carina told her, any and all traces of discomfort disappearing completely from her tone. The only thing that gave her away were the muscles twitching in her back, which was tense. "I've dealt with worse."
Rosalie finished applying the salve, and when Carina turned to face her, took a moment to admire the girl, with her striking, aristocratic features. The blonde wagered that if she were human, Carina would definitely give her a run for her money.
"You shouldn't have had to."
The witch only shrugged, but stared rather blankly at her hands, which had begun to tremble. Rosalie took both in her own, and Carina seemed to snap out of her daze and glanced up (it was then the vampire took better note of the bruise around her neck me inwardly flinched, before feeling an innate satisfaction at ridding the world of Grant Lively).
"Perhaps you should get a shirt on," Rosalie suggested, reaching over to pass the material to the other girl.
Carina slid it over her head. "Don't think I never notice you staring."
"It's not my fault you're attractive," the blonde replied calmly, not rising to the bait of the teasing, despite the fact that the corner of her lip twitched up into a smirk.
"I am, aren't I?" the raven haired girl yawned and stretched back on the bed. Without preamble, she held open her arms, gazing at Rosalie through half-lidded eyes. "You said I have to rest. We'll see how well it goes with you here, yeah?"
The vampire raised her brows, but nevertheless leaned down and allowed herself to be wrapped up in her mate's arms, head on Carina's chest. The feeling of sheer contentment was instantaneous, and warmth spread throughout Rosalie's entire body at the close contact as she listened to the still strong, steady beat of Carina's heart. It was soothing.
This seemed to be something that happened a lot lately. One would think that with Carina would want to be the one held given what happened to her, but instead, recently, she had stubbornly kept Rosalie firmly locked in her arms.
Perhaps she knew how much Rosalie enjoyed the feeling and was indulging her, or she wanted to be sure the vampire could not leave her again, or even maybe a bit of both. She knew Carina had done a great deal of comforting in her life, holding Luna like this, and perhaps she was still adjusting to being taken care of like that.
Still, whatever the reason, laying here as her mate absently stroked her hair, Rosalie could admit she had never felt more secure.
The beating of Carina's heart was louder than ever, almost all the blonde could hear at the moment from being so close, and it was actually lulling her into a sort of trance as the raven haired girl drifted off.
The vampire didn't bother protesting when the girl unconsciously tugged Rosalie on top of her.
~~~xxx~~~
Carina awoke in the evening to a weight on her chest, and when she opened her eyes, she was greeted with blonde hair tickling her nose. For a brief moment, she almost thought it was Luna, until her eyes travelled further to the body on top of her and realized it most certainly was not.
Luna Lovegood was not built like that.
But, Rosalie Hale was.
"Bloody hell," the raven haired girl groaned. "Did I do this to you? Why didn't you move?"
Rosalie slowly lifted her head and propped herself up on her hands, hovering over Carina so that she could see her properly.
"I was...quite comfortable," she informed the girl, and Carina tilted her head and noticed that the vampire actually seemed a bit bleary, which was strange, considering vampires couldn't sleep. "You slept well."
"I know," Carina ran a hand through her hair. "Better than I have the past few nights."
That was true. She had never been so well rested as when Rosalie was with her, and she supposed it should frighten her a bit; maybe it did. However, she could not bring herself to regret it since she felt so refreshed right now.
The cold body leaning over her own certainly helped.
"Good," Rosalie's hair brushed over Carina's face, and the witch scrunched her nose for a moment, before the smell of lavender hit her nostrils, and she relaxed back into the pillows without even meaning to. The blonde's brows furrowed for a moment, as though she were unsure. "Would you like me to stay over more often, to help with things? If it helps you get your rest…"
"I wouldn't mind," the words were out of her mouth before her mind could even process them.
"Really?"
"Yes," Carina let out a breath, for there was no backing out now. Her stomach actually fluttered at the thought. "Stay."
Rosalie smiled, and it certainly did funny things to Carina's insides when she saw it.
The vampire leaned forward to brush their lips, if only slightly, and the raven haired girl closed her eyes, scowling when the contact was lost quickly. It was something she was enjoying quite a bit now, she would admit as much; it was strange how addictive it seemed. She had never thought she'd be in this position, but here she was.
And she liked it.
"Consider it payback for earlier," Rosalie then smirked, and Carina huffed and shoved her shoulders, though it did nothing to budge her.
The raven haired witch clenched her jaw and surged magic through her; Rosalie found herself being flipped over, and the vampire's expression of shock had her laughing.
The blonde raised her brows and made to move, but when she found that she couldn't, huffed and curled her lip in a small snarl.
That actually had Carina feeling a thrill, for she knew vampires tended to be dominant creatures, and she placed her hands on either side of Rosalie's head. She was not exactly the submissive type, either.
She leaned forward, murmuring, "It won't work. You forget just how powerful I am."
Darkened gold eyes roved over her face, and the look Rosalie gave her was a challenging one.
Carina didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she rolled away and left the vampire lying there, flustered and wondering exactly what had happened.
~~~xxx~~~
Carina sprawled herself out on her stomach beside Leah, who lay on her back in the grass beside her. She had come to La Push to see her friend, who had immediately bombarded her with questions about Luna, how things went, and if she were okay (which, no, neither of them were).
She had even gotten a near bone-crushing hug, which was how the story of the lashes had been told.
"So, Wicked," Leah glanced over at her. "Are you going to keep training with your cousins? Seems like you'd need all you can get in case another situation springs up, yeah?"
"I don't know," the other girl shook her head. "Andromeda thinks it's a good idea, and Narcissa is open to it, but...well, I'd rather not leave here again anytime soon."
Draco and Carina living together had certainly helped them in ways they would never properly understand, but it wasn't something she fancied doing again.
Leah put her arms behind her head, squinting as she surveyed the trees above. "I hear you. Then again, leaving would be a blessing for me. I didn't want to be stuck on this shitty reservation my whole life."
"I hear you," Carina echoed her, sighing as she rolled over and sat up.
"So," Leah gave her a sideways glance, obviously intent on changing the subject. "How are you and blondie?"
"Luna?"
"The leech."
"Oh." the raven haired girl tilted her head, frowning. "Alright. She's been great about helping with everything so far...if I could make it up to her, I would."
"Then take her on a date or something," the shifter rolled her eyes. "Isn't that what normal people do?"
"I'm not normal."
Leah shrugged and sat up as well. "True," she picked at the grass beneath them. "I don't know how to help you, then. She seems pretty complicated."
She was. Rosalie Hale was a person Carina found particularly intriguing, and she was sometimes hard to read; it was a challenge, and she liked that.
"I've already taken her flying…" the witch furrowed her brows in thought. She had never particularly been the sweet type, so this sort of thing was new for her. She could remember fragments of what her alternate dimension self had done for alternate Hermione, and it had all been very splendid. Then again, Hermione was human, and Rosalie was not.
"There's not much more you can do to interest someone who's already experienced almost everything," Leah rather roughly clapped her on the back, though she did appear a bit sympathetic.
"I know," Carina groaned. Being nice was proving to be harder than she thought.
Leah finally sighed, deciding to take pity on her friend. "Drinks? I remember you mentioning some of that funny magical alcohol you have where you're from."
Carina was both grateful and frustrated with the distraction, but nevertheless stood, brushing herself off. Leah followed swiftly.
"Yeah, drinks."
~~~xxx~~~
Rosalie stared at Carina, who had appeared in the yard later that night, completely plastered.
The girl was staring at her intently, a bit too much so, and it actually managed to unnerve the blonde, who had never before seen Carina drunk. According to Luna, after she had gotten the witch into the household, Carina could hold her alcohol very, very well, so she had obviously had more than a few drinks while out with Leah.
Rosalie was not sure to be furious with the shifter or not (for from what she had gotten out of Carina, firewhisky could most certainly get a shifter drunk after a couple bottles), quite frankly. Part of her was amused to see Carina like this, the other angry at Leah for being so irresponsible.
"Rose," the raven haired girl sitting on the other end of the couch suddenly smiled. "You're very pretty."
"Thank you," said Rosalie gently, and Carina cocked her head to the side, reminiscent of a cute puppy, a look of befuddlement on her face.
"No, really," the girl insisted. "Veela are s'pposed to be the most beautiful creatures in the whole world, and you're here! You had to've been...had to've been made by Zeus himself or somethin'," she waved her arms. "Crafted by a god."
The blonde recalled something Carina had said to her many nights ago and simply could not stop herself from taking advantage of the situation and asking, "Is that the only reason you like me?"
After all, drunk people tended to be rather honest, not that the witch never was.
"No," Carina shook her head so vigorously that for a moment, Rosalie feared she would give herself permanent brain damage. "No, no, no. I like you 'cause you smell so good, and 'cause you're so nice to me even though you're a bitch to everyone else. And 'cause you make me feel really good, too. I don't feel like a monster. You even try to take care of m-me," the girl stumbled over her words. "and it's kinda strange, but it's a good kinda strange. I like it. I-I like you. You're amazing."
Rosalie warmed at the words, but felt the need to correct Carina on her last statement. "Carina, I'm not…"
The raven haired girl abruptly reached out to run both hands through the vampire's hair, staring at it as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world, and Rosalie was left rather flustered and knew she should remove Carina from her lap before something happened.
"No," Carina swatted Rosalie's hand away when she attempted to push her back, and warm hands came to cup her cheeks. Gray eyes roved over her face, and the witch smiled for the second time that night, wider than the last and enough to make the blonde lose her breath (for though she couldn't breathe, she certainly had a moment where she was completely mesmerized by this creature, her mate). "You're amazing."
"You won't remember any of this in the morning," the vampire shook her head, though fondly.
"I will!" Carina's smile did not disappear, though it did soften. "Partly. Enough. Thank you for staying with me."
Rosalie was very well aware of the small tingles along where Carina's thumbs brushed across her cheeks, and leaned back a bit.
The raven haired girl was obviously having none of that, only tightening her grip a bit, and Rosalie did not have the heart to move away again.
"And thank you," the witch averted her eyes for a moment. "For-for Grant. He...I…"
"I understand."
"Good, good," Carina yawned and moved away, if only enough to curl into Rosalie's side without any hesitation. "'m tired."
"Then sleep," Rosalie chuckled lightly.
The girl in her arms drifted off rather quickly, leaving Rosalie Hale to sit in the darkness, contemplating everything that had happened in her life thus far.