Chapter 25- It's Complicated

Several moments later:

Jez lurched out of the hypnotic melody of Morgead's thoughts as the sound of a body hitting the ground broke through the silver chord.

Jez jerked away from Morgead and rushed over to where her cousin lay unconscious.

She was still breathing, thank goodness, but her pulse was weak. "I don't want her to remember." Jez said and turned around to face the man who'd caused this predicament.

Morgead was looking off into the distance.

"Morgead," She barked. "Listen."

"There's someone coming. A carriage." Morgead looked at Jez and frowned. "Can't you hear it?"

Jez cocked her ears and strained but she couldn't hear what Morgead was talking about. "Of course I can, but if you hadn't noticed, we have a bigger problem."

Morgead narrowed his eyes and sighed. "Even after everything that just happened, you insist on lying to me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jez demanded, repressing the tiny spark of panic that had sprung.

"It means," Morgead said, "if you could actually hear it you would realize there are several carriages. You would also realize they aren't on this road- they aren't even on a course to Hawthorne."

"Well," Jez forced a stiff smile. He must have seen something when they'd been connected. "Excuse me if I'm a bit distracted by the dying maid at our feet."

Morgead sighed. "We'll talk about this later, for now let's get the maid to a healer or something."

"No," Jez shook her head. "If we take her to a healer she'll be even further in contact with the night world. I don't want her getting killed for it." Jez took a deep breath and turned her back on Morgead- which probably wasn't the best idea considering it was Morgead. "We can heal her ourselves."

Morgead snorted. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Jez bit her lip. "We erase her memory and… let her rest, I guess. We could monitor her pulse and heart rate as well, just to make sure her health isn't going down hill."

Morgead sighed. "I'm still hungry."

"Then deal with it." Jez snapped at him, knowing she was being particularly cruel. She knew what hunger pains were like.

Morgead glared at her but said nothing. Stepping forward, he examined Claire. Then he nodded and slumped down on the side of the road.

Jez moved to sit next to him. "I guess we just have to wait until she wakes up."

They didn't talk much, about Claire or what had just happened or anything else. It was twilight before Claire finally woke. Quickly and quietly Morgead made his way into Claire's mind and tucked the memory of today into the deep pockets of oblivion.

They watched as Claire gathered her wits and walked away, not noticing them. Then- they parted without a good- bye.

Needless to say, Jez's afternoon was very awkward. She thought she almost would have preferred classes over the uncomfortable atmosphere that had surrounded Morgead and her. Just almost.

That night:

Claire shuffled to her room. Arranging and rearranging her hair in an attempt to cover the teeth marks. It was all in vain, though, as every time she brushed a strand forward in an effort to better veil her injury; three more fell out of place.

Finally, she just gave up and sighed. She didn't even know where she got it, which was mainly why she was trying to hide it. She had just woken up on the side of one of the school's many paths with a half- healed gash on her neck. She didn't want to be interrogated by her roommates over something she didn't remember. She just wanted to fall asleep.

And the fact of the matter was: Claire had a sneaking suspicion she didn't want to remember.

She took a deep breath as she reached her door and steeled herself for the coming questioning. Claire could guess how this would play out. Maggie and Mare would bombard her with questions, Hannah would sit nearby and gaze at her thoughtfully, and Rashel would just glare like she always did when something out of the ordinary happened.

Claire didn't know how far off she was.

As it turns out, Rashel was the first to notice her wound. Rashel's eyes narrowed and she looked up at Claire without her usual menace. "What happened?" She demanded.

"Oh!" Hannah exclaimed and jumped up. "Are you alright? Do you need some healing salve? A glass of water?"

"I'm fine," Claire answered and gave her an empty smile.

"What happened?" Rashel repeated, more forcefully.

Claire bit her lip. "It's okay," Maggie said quietly, "You can tell us."

"Yeah," Mare agreed. "We'll believe you. No matter how crazy it sounds." Rashel shot a look at Mare as she said this, but didn't comment.

Claire sighed. "Honestly, I don't remember."

"You don't…" Maggie frowned. "How can you not remember?"

"I just- I don't." Claire took a deep breath. "I woke up on one of the side paths, you know, the one that leads to the chicken shed? My basket of eggs was off to the side, completely ruined, and there was all this blood…" Claire trailed off.

"Was it your blood, or someone else's?" Hannah asked gently. "Do you remember that?"

Claire shrugged. "No. I'm guessing it was mine, but it was fresh. My wound looks half healed. I don't understand." The tiny maid sighed. "I just want to go to sleep."

"You should change out of those clothes first." Mare said and stood. "Do you need any-"

"I'm fine." Claire yawned. "I just want to go to sleep." She repeated.

Mare looked at Claire for a moment longer, as if debating whether to assist her despite her saying no. She then nodded slowly. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Maggie asked as she climbed under the blankets on her bed. "It's nearly curfew."

Mare smiled, though Claire could tell it was forced. "I know she said she didn't need a glass of water-"

"And I don't." Claire put in as she crouched behind her bed and began to strip off her blood soaked uniform.

"- but just in case…" Mare trailed off as she slipped out of the dorm.

-8-

Mare stood in front of the room patiently waiting for the occupant to answer. She was about to knock again when the door swung open.

A slightly startled looking Ash stared down at her, or more likely, at her night attire. He was no doubt wondering what she was doing at his door so late. After the little 'incident' they had made a point to stay away from each other as much as possible. His eyes traveled warily to look into hers and he slumped against the door frame. A sigh escaping his mouth, he shut his eyes for a moment. "What?" he asked.

"Well…" Mare looked down at her feet. She knew what she wanted to ask- just not how to ask it. "Um… my friend, Claire- you remember her?- she… well…" Mare bit her lip and began to fidget. "She had this… run in, I guess you could call it, and-"

"We don't have all night, Mary- Lynnette." Ash snapped and when she looked up at him, she found his eyes were wide open.

"Your eyes change colors?" Mare asked, a bit shocked by the churning, stormy grey they were, whereas before they had been purple- no, blue- no… had they always changed colors? Yes, they had. How had she not noticed? Then she shook her head. "Never mind, what I wanted to say was… ummm… I think she was bitten, but she doesn't remember anything… and, well…"

Ash nodded. "Vampires can do that to their victims; erase their memory, that is." Ash stood up straighter and looked very much like he wanted the conversation to end. "Will that be all?"

"No, actually," Mare said and he halted in his tracks. "Do vampire bites heal super fast?"

Ash sighed and looked up and down the hallway. "Please, Mare, be more discrete. You wouldn't believe how good vampire hearing can be." Mary- Lynnette could barely make out what he was saying. It was almost as if he were breathing out the words, not actually saying them. "And yes, vampire saliva has certain healing properties, which I won't go into because you really shouldn't know the first thing about vampires."

Ash was making it plain as day that he didn't want to be talking, but Mare was having none of it. "Just one more thing." She promised. "Can you tell what vampire bit someone just by looking at the bite?"

Ash stared at her a moment then sighed for what seemed like the tenth time since he'd opened the door. "If you're thinking about revenge- forget it. You would loose that fight in a heartbeat." Then, seeing her look of stubborn determination that told him she wasn't leaving until she was fully satisfied he said, "But, to answer your question, no. You can't."

Mare frowned and as Ash was preparing to shut the door, she stopped him. "You keep saying vampire senses are so much better than that of a human, so, couldn't you smell whoever bit her then track him, or something?"

"Technically, yes, I could do that." Ash said, then shook his head. "But I won't."

Mare steeled her gaze and placed her hands on her hips. Speaking a bit louder, she declared, "An evil creature of the night just fed off my friend and you expect me to just let it go?"

Ash hissed, "Mare, be quiet!"

"No," Mary- Lynnette glared. "With luck, maybe the vampire who bit Claire will hear me and-"

Ash reached out and slapped a hand over Mare's mouth. "'With luck'?" She began to struggle and he pinned her arms to her side. "Are you crazy? Were you not listening when I told you this is a fight you just can't win?"

She tried to answer, but her words were muffled and unintelligible due to the hand over her mouth. She squirmed a bit more, but Ash just kept shifting to restrain her movement in the best possible way.

"Please, Mary- Lynnette," he begged. "Just listen to me! We are stronger, faster, and have far better senses- you don't stand a chance."

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mare tried to say but once again her words were hampered by his hand. In a moment of pure impulse, Mare swung her leg back with such force that Ash grunted and staggered back into his room.

Freed from his grasp, Mare tossed her head back and glared. "Who says I don't stand a chance?"

Suddenly, her back was pressed up against a cold pane of glass at the opposite end of the hallway. Ash's face was a mere inch from hers, his eyes were roiling thunderclouds, furious and irritated and so many other things all at the same time. Without saying a word, he reached behind her and flicked the latch.

The window swung open and Mare caught hold of the window sill to keep from falling. She could feel the wind pulling at her, and knew that if it got a hold of her she would plummet three stories to the ground.

She could almost picture it- too well, in fact. She'd already witnessed two bodies being found, so she could accurately imagine what it would be like when they found her's; presuming they did find it. Ash could hide it, too keep anyone from finding out he just let her fall. But, no. She didn't think he would do that.

And she was right.

She was roughly yanked away from the window and turned, wide eyed, to face Ash. "What was that for?" She demanded.

"If I were anyone else, I would have let you fall out." He said. "A conscience is something nearly none of my kind is acquainted with. Trust me when I say it's best to just leave it be. Be thankful your friend isn't dead."

With that, he wheeled and stalked back into his room, slamming the door behind him.

-8-

Ash knew he'd acted a bit- what was the word?... psycho?- but he had to get the point across.

He couldn't stand it if Mare went after the vampire that had bitten Claire not knowing the full extent of its abilities. He couldn't stand it if he found her dead in the morning, knowing he could have better informed her of her enemy's capabilities.

But that side of him warred with another part- a part that wanted her out of his life. All she'd brought were complications. Complications and pain. He felt as if he was going crazy, being apart from her.

It was that stupid soul mate principle again. It was making him irrational and angry and… and scared.

He was scared of what would happen to Mare if anyone ever found out.

He had to make sure she knew that the night world was nothing she could dabble in. She could not explore it and try and learn as she did with all of her other interests. She could not research it as she did astronomy, she could not practice it, she could not even let anyone suspect she knew of it.

This, inevitably, brought on the urge to erase her memory. He'd make her think Jeremy was a just a lunatic, not a shape- shifting lunatic. He would make her think… he didn't know what he would make her think. Anything but the truth.

Then Ash shook his head. She would hate him forever if he did that… but would it be worth it?

He decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning.

Very early the next morning:

Maggie waited in the small patch of flowers for Morgead. Dawn still had not come, so it was dark, but if Maggie was right- Morgead would be able to sense her without the assistance of light.

Maggie sighed. When had things become so complicated?

The crunching of leaves alerted her to a presence on the far reaches of the flower patch.

"Maggie," Morgead's voice reached her ears. It was hard and unemotional- as it had been the day before.

"Morgead," She turned in the direction she thought he was standing, but the only thing she could see was the glinting of his cat- green eyes. "Please tell me it isn't true." She blurted.

"That what isn't true?" Morgead asked, stepping closer.

Then, breaking her promise to Ash she blurted, "That you aren't a vampire. That you didn't bite Claire. Please tell me it isn't true."

Morgead froze. "And, why would you figure that?"

"Well," Maggie started, her hands clammy. She was trusting her instincts, and right now her instincts said that Morgead wouldn't hurt her if she told him, at least, not that bad. "You always seem to just appear, for one. Even when I'm on the third floor and there is no possible way to climb that high, at least not when it comes to Hawthorne. And the Redferns are vampires, Jez is a Redfern, it just makes sense that you- being her friend- are a vampire too."

"Maggie," Morgead said slowly, "How did you know that all Redferns are vampires?" Good, he was skipping past the Ha, you're so silly, Maggie. Vampires? Really? stage of the conversation she'd been expecting.

"Well, I just…" Maggie bit her lip. There was no way she could explain this without bringing up her conversation with Ash. Then, in what she viewed as a clever move, she said. "I was in the stable, and Jeremy was there too. And he just sort of… morphed. You know? Well, he explained everything. I think he wanted me to be extremely scared before he… ate me."

"Then how are you still here." Morgead asked. "If he wanted to eat you, you would be eaten by now."

"There was this blue flash- sort of like fire, I guess." Maggie said truthfully. This part was true. "Jeremy just collapsed, and then I ran."

-8-

Morgead wanted to laugh, to accuse her of lying like he knew she was. But something confused him. He had the feeling she was lying more about what Jeremy had told her than this blue fire.

His mind traveled back to the many times he'd seen a blue flicker sneak out from underneath Jez's curtains. He'd played it off as a trick of the light, but…

She seemed uncharacteristically worried about the maid yesterday- what if she was that way with all maids? What if she had formed some sort of maid- rescue operation and was getting soft? Was that what she didn't want him to know? And what was the blue fire? What if she'd found some way to access the witch blood of the Redfern line? What if that was what the blue fire was?

Then he snapped back to the present. He looked at Maggie, trying to decide between calling her out on her twisted beginning or letting her believe she had him fooled.

Morgead decided on the latter and sighed.

"Please don't turn me in," Maggie pleaded. "It's not like I've told anyone."

Just like the day before when he'd thought, What do I owe Jez? What do I owe Maggie? He thought, What do I owe the Night World Council? They never did anything for me. "I won't, but if you get yourself in trouble with one of the other vamps… I'm not stepping in." You have Jez to do that.

Maggie hesitated, and then said, "You never answered my question. Was it you who bit Claire?"

Morgead nodded, "Yes. It was me."

Maggie sighed. "She doesn't remember anything."

"No," Morgead agreed.

"Are you going to elaborate on that?" Maggie asked hopefully.

"The less you know the better." Morgead answered. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you have company." With that, he disappeared into the foliage.

-8-

Maggie stood there, puzzled, then jumped when she realized she really did have company. "Mr. Redfern." She greeted and curtsied, wondering how much he had heard.

Apparently nothing, as he did not immediately accuse her of knowing things forbidden.

As he stepped closer, a lantern in hand, Maggie made out the form of a large bird perched on his shoulder. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "I was not aware students were allowed pets."

"He's not my pet," Delos shrugged. "I'm watching over him for a friend. She lives nearby."

Maggie eyed the bird warily. "He's beautiful." She said.

Delos nodded and gave a small smile. "Would you like to hold him?"

Maggie bit her lip, and then slowly nodded. Why not?

Delos stepped forward and the bird hopped from his arm to Maggie's, as if he knew what was going on. Its claws gripped to her arm, but not in a way that hurt.
The bird's weight evened out and Maggie found she liked having a bird perched on her arm.

Then, she looked into his eyes.

An indescribable feeling washed over Maggie as she looked into the bird's eyes. It was like everything was finally right again, but at the same time it was terribly wrong.

The bird seemed so familiar, yet she'd never seen him before. A wave of nausea swept over Maggie and she shut her eyes.

"Maggie?" She heard, as if from a distance. "Are you alright?"

She looked back at Delos and seemed to snap out of her realm of thought. "Yes, quite, but I should probably get going- breakfast needs baking."

She handed the bird to Delos with a bit of difficulty; the bird seemed not to want to let go. Then she hurried off.

"Wait!" Delos called from behind her. "Why were you out here so early?"

Maggie hesitated, and then lied. "I couldn't sleep."

Delos watched her scurry away.

Did she recognize him? Did she realize that this was as close as she was going to get to her brother for a very long time?

-0-

Jade watched in amusement as Ash pretended he wasn't starring with adoration at Mary- Lynnette. The maid's eyes narrowed, but stayed glued to her book. Once again absorbed in her reading, she didn't notice as Ash's eyes strayed to her.

They had been repeating that pattern for as long as Jade had been watching and it humored her to no end. Of course, it was slightly tragic that they would never pursue their relationship, but when one pushed that fact to the back of her mind, the eternal look- look away game they had going was quite amusing.

That, however, was not the main reason she was watching. What she really wanted was for Ash to look away for good so Jade would have a chance to speak with Mary- Lynnette before the maid's break was over. By the look of things- that wasn't going to happen.

Mary- Lynette, though she did a fairly good job of hiding it, was just as fascinated with Ash as he was with her, though Mare's was more of a scientific fascination. While Ash often looked upon Mare with wonder when he thought no one was looking- Mare's looks were… politely interested. It was clear she was not infatuated with him, but she was still intrigued.

Jade tapped her foot impatiently, suddenly not as amused as she had been with the two's antics. She just wanted to have a conversation with Mary- Lynnette, was that so much to ask? She just wanted her brother to leave so she could have Mary- Lynnette to herself. Was that too much to hope?

Apparently not, because at that moment Ash caught Kestrel giving him one of her 'looks'. It was no secret between the sisters that Ash had taken an odd interest in the maid from the very start and Kestrel loved teasing him to no end.

She obviously struck a nerve because he stiffened and then stood. Without one last look at Mare, he gathered his things and left.

What did you say to him? Jade sent Kestrel the thought.

Kestrel smirked and turned the page of her book, as if she were actually reading it. Just chiding him over his unmasked adoration. If another of our kind ever figured it out, both Mare and Ash would be dead. And I kind of like Mare, she's smart unlike most of the pompous- filled heads in this place.

Though Kestrel said it in a light tone, Jade caught the underlying urgency. It was true. If anyone besides his three sisters ever pieced together his little 'crush' both Ash and Mary- Lynnette were dead meat- to be used as ransom or be made an example of- neither would come out unscarred.

-8-

She had mere minutes left before she finally approached Mary- Lynnette.

When Mare spotted her, she sat upright and gave a polite nod of the head. "Miss Redfern." She greeted.

"Call me Jade," Jade corrected and Mare nodded again- obviously uncomfortable with the arrangement.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss Jade?" Mare asked and stood, ready to do Jade's bidding.

"No," Jade motioned toward the window seat. "Sit. I just want to talk."

Mare set her book off to the side and took a seat on the spacious window cushion. "What about?" She wondered aloud.

"Well," Jade blushed slightly. "Mark."

"Mark?" Mary- Lynnette was clearly shocked. "What about him?"

"I kind of, maybe fancy him. Just a bit. I want to know how to tell if he fancies me back." Jade was beet red by then. "Or, perhaps how to get him to fancy me back."

Mare blinked then the beginnings of a frown grew on her face.

"Just if you want to help me out, I only request a bit of advice," Jade quickly added.

"Jade," Mare said slowly. "It's sweet and all, that you like him, but the fact of the matter is you're a Redfern. We Carters are simple farm folk. It would never work out."

"We could make it work out," Jade persisted. "Please, Mary- Lynnette? I really like him."

"He likes you too, Jade. At least from what I can tell. But that's just it. It would be cruel to grow on each other to the point of no return, and then have to break it off because you do not share the same social standing." Mare sighed and placed her hand on Jade's.

"I would give up my title," Jade said quietly, surprising herself and realizing she really meant it. If she fell for a human, she would leave the night world behind, particularly if that human was Mark. "If we really grew to love each other."

Mare smiled. "I'm sure Mark would welcome the friendship of someone as kind and loyal as you." She bit her lip. "But if you truly want my advice on how to win his heart… don't. You cannot force love on someone. They will either love you or they will not. If you go into this planning to make him fall for you, he won't. He's quite adept at choosing the right kind of people to be friends with," besides Jeremy, Jade sensed Mare's dark thought, we were all off on that one, "and if you come off as fake or demanding; if he senses you have ulterior motives…"

"Of course," Jade nodded and beamed. Throwing her arms around Mary- Lynnette she said. "Thank you."

Mare shifted to a more comfortable position and wrapped her arms around the other girl. "You seem like a nice girl, Jade. I'm sure you will have no trouble gaining Mark's friendship."

-8-

Besides the fact that you are a vampire. She added silently.

At first, she was unsure as to whether she should encourage this creature of the night to pursue a romance with her brother, especially since there was a fair chance of him ending up as a meal.

But somewhere along in their conversation, Mare had sensed an honesty about Jade. An innocence that she found hard to distrust.

"But, please, Mare." Jade pulled back. "Don't tell Ash or any of my relatives we had this conversation. Actually, do you think you could refrain from telling anyone?"

If Mare had any doubts about Jade's intentions, they faded in that moment. Mare knew that for a vampire to fall in love with a human meant death to them both- and thanks to her brief inhabitation of Ash's mind she knew just how they would die. If Jade was requesting that she keep silent about this chat of theirs, she was serious about wanting to be part of Mark's life. "Of course I won't." She gave a slight smile.

Jade's eyes sparkled with delight, "Thank you, again. If you ever need anything, just ask."

Mare smiled and nodded, wishing she could ask about a hundred different questions in that moment- but understanding that Jade could not know that Mare knew about the night world.