Chapter 36: Girl Talk
I was sitting in the middle of my bed when SHE walked into my room. Her blind eyes seemed to always find me and she smiled warmly at me as she sat down in a chair nearby. It was two days after the ball and I was taking a little time to paint my nails for amusement. I raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet knowing full well that SHE would talk when she felt like it.
"Mags, I know you too well and I must tell you something that you will find not to your liking," SHE said in a soft voice.
"Pythoness, I have gotten used to you telling me what I need to know," I smiled. "I trust that you will only tell me what I need to know because I need to understand it before it happens."
"You have always been my favorite," she smiled. "Your telepathy and ability to see partially into the future has made you stronger than any other vampire. And you will need your strength for what is to come."
"Pythoness, what are you talking about?"
"A war is going to break out. It will happen after your baby brother is born…"
"Wait, brother? Sookie is going to have a boy?"
"She is. I am charging you with her upmost protection. You will not be allowed in the fight. You must stay with Sookie and have Eric fight in your place."
"Why am I to stay with Sookie," I sighed. I felt like a kid again being told that I couldn't go aViking with the men for it was too dangerous for me. It hurt.
"If you fight, Eric will not be able to save Sookie from what will hunt her," said Pythoness. "Only you can save Sookie. And to do so, Eric must go to war and you must stay with Sookie. You will be her choice to stay with her. You must not be hurt or angry to stay behind."
I nodded and wiped a drop of blood from my face. "I will understand when the time comes for that choice."
"Good. You always understood me well enough that it was the good for all." Pythoness stood up and then crossed the room to me and sat down on the bed. "Now, tell me about Yury. I know he has been a recent admirer to your collection since you have worked for me. I want to hear all about it."
I laughed. "Pythoness, you sound like a school girl wanting to know the latest gossip."
"Well, what do you expect? I am cut off from most of the world. When I hear that one of my favorites is entering a marriage contract I want to know more about it."
"Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know. I met Yury when I came over to meet Sahure in the New World, just before the Louisiana Purchase," I started. "He was King of New York then. When I disembarked from the boat that I was traveling on I was spotted by Godric and he joined me. He had a meeting with the King and took me with him so I could announce that I was in the area. I could tell that Yury was instantly infatuated with me. I looked a mess and felt like crap."
Pythoness laughed. "You always did hate to not look your best. I suppose that night you didn't care since you just arrived."
"As always, you know me well enough. I was not at my best and to find out he was holding full court that night!" I laughed. "You can imagine the looks I got from every other vampire that night that had never seen me fight let alone know who I was. I was covered in dirt and grime. Yury treated me with the up most respect that night. I was an honored guest and he asked for me to return the next night. Godric took me to his house and let me stay with him for a few months. I was invited every night to Yury's home and we became very comfortable friends. When I left New York, Yury begged to have me keep in contact with him while I was on my travels. I would send him a post every few weeks, telling him where I was along with whom and what I was seeing. I would occasionally get a post, if I stayed in a place long enough, from Yury. He always seemed so happy in the letters to me.
"I met up with Sahure about a decade after the Louisiana Purchase. We traveled the West together and I wrote letters and saved them to send when I could. Sahure and I ended up in what is now California. He decided to take it as a kingdom. I stayed a few years there before going back on my own and headed back east.
"On my travels I met a young Mr. Clemens that was very interesting and a charmer. Little did I know then, I would continually run into Mr. Clemens at different intervals of his life and he would introduce me to some very fascinating humans. Which in turn, I introduced to some very important vampires.
"I returned to New York to find it very much changed but ever so fascinating still. I located Yury within a week of being in town. He was going to a show and spotted me across the street of the theater. He had a human date with him that night and he quickly glamoured her into wanting to go home with a headache. He was at my side as soon as he could be and invited me to join him. I was not in proper attire and told him so. Yury wasn't bothered by it and pulled me across the street anyways. We were in his private box and I tried my hardest to keep my mind closed to him but all of his thoughts were directed at me. Most of them were sweet, some raunchy. He kept trying to figure out a way he could keep me in his kingdom longer.
"I was invited to stay at the palace since Godric went to Texas to be a Sheriff. Yury made sure that I had every luxury and even bought me new clothes. It was one night that he was holding court when one of the newer vampires tried to attack him. I heard the vampire's thoughts first and set myself to be in the way when he attacked. The youngin' didn't even know what hit him. I had him on the floor before any of Yury's guards could react. Yury beamed with pride and helped me up. His judgment was fair. With my permission, he stated that all of those who were sentenced to final death would have a chance to live; they would have to fight in the arena for that chance.
"A week later I was in the ring. Yury had made sure that I had what I needed and I enjoyed myself that night, Pythoness. I normally don't enjoy killing but that night, being in front of Yury and showing him what I really could do, it was fun. I laughed and played for an hour just because I could. Not one survived and I didn't feel the sorrow that I used to feel when I fought in the ring. Yury met me after and we destroyed that locker room. It was such a relief to have someone that wanted all of me and not just part of me.
"After that, Yury decided that he wanted me around him as much as possible. He bought me my own place and continued to try to keep me close but not under his thumb. Sahure entered into a contract with Yury to retain my services. Yury gladly paid for my penthouse on the east side of Central Park and keeps it running when I am not there. I do allow him to use it as a safe house when need be.
"When I moved out to California, Yury insisted, once again, to have me keep in touch with him. With every new invention it kept getting easier to keep in touch with him. We still write letters back and forth. Calling each other has become more of the norm for us. Yury would visit California ever so often and I would visit him when I found the time."
"You are so in love with him, Mags," sighed Pythoness. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I have nothing to compare it with. Marrying for love is relatively a new concept. My mother didn't marry for love. It took Eric a good millennium to find love. How do I know that I can stay with Yury for the rest of our undead lives?"
"Look at it this way," reasoned Pythoness, "You have a century to decide whether you two can truly stand being together."
"Very true. And he isn't the type to get jealous or protective of me." I looked into the white eyes and smiled softly. "You've seen something involving Yury and I, haven't you?"
"I have, but I cannot say what I have seen."
"I understand. What can you tell me?"
"That you will be happy. I will not go into further detail."
"You are such a teaser."
"Only because I can be." Pythoness patted my knee and walked out of the room. I fell back on my bed and looked up at my canopy and let out an unnecessary breath.
"She is very cryptic," mused a deep voice from the door leading to my bathroom. I smiled in response and continue to look at my canopy. I could hear the footsteps coming to my bed before I saw Yury's face over me. "Do you think she knew I was in the bathroom?"
"Knowing her, she wanted you to hear everything." I felt the bed sink and Yury leaned across me and set his hand on the other side of my waist.
"Why didn't you tell me how you felt?"
"We are warriors, Yury," I sighed. "We were taught not to show our true feelings, lest it harm those that we truly cared about. Sahure would have been furious if he knew how much I cared for you."
"You are too good for your own good," smiled Yury. "I will wait until you feel ready to be in an eternal marriage with me. I am just happy to bind my kingdom with yours for a century."
I smiled and placed a hand on Yury's arm. "You have always been so kind to me. I do not wish to hurt you in any way."
"Magdalena, I have faith in us. Let us have this century to see if we can stand to be together and we can decide when we feel that we are ready." I nodded and smiled.
A/N:Get ready to skip to the end of the pregnancy. I have some twisted ideas that I need to get out and it all happens in the battle. And let's get the AWWWWE, out of the way for Yury.
Thank you to all who are continuing to read and to those just discovering the story. It is amazing what I can do when I get snowed in my house for the weekend. (I live in the Twin Cities, so I got hit with that HUGE snow storm that dumped 2+ feet on Friday night through Saturday) Be glad you're not here.