They were all just starting to get back to talking when it happened. Kate was complaining about the crappy champagne she hadn't had enough of to justify the fancy knickers she had to wear. John was still sulking in the corner like the villain Rose had always known him to be. Hell, he even smiled like a damn villain. Were people ever really surprised when he turned out to be the baddie?
Will was being all silent and moody again too, his face creased with what Rose suspected was meant to be an interpretation of constipated or uncertain. It was a close call between the two. Henry was by his side, almost green as he rocked back and forth ever so slightly. His face was the absolute picture of confusion, something Rose couldn't blame him for. In fact, all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and hold him close. He was too sweet to have to be in a situation like this, too young, too... too precious in so many ways. He was gifted beyond measure, his mind more complex yet more simple than anything Rose had ever come across. She envied him that in some ways.
Declan was pacing slightly behind them, his mind racing through a thousand different battles and confrontations as if it could prepare him for what was ahead. He was the best at hiding his discomfort with the situation but inside he was falling apart. Taking a deep breath, Rose reached out to him and tried her very best to ease his frustrations. It worked to an extent and he stilled, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. His eyes flicked over to hers and he smiled in silent thanks, more than a little familiar with her abilities.
And then there was Nikola. He stood by one large bay window, all tortured and beautiful. So much so that it made Rose's heart hurt. He didn't deserve this, after everything he'd been through, he didn't deserve this. In some ways, he was even simpler than Henry. He'd been through enough to cloud his thought process, to mask whatever tenderness he still had left but there was something so fragile about Nikola Tesla; the indestructible vampire. In all honesty, it was why Rose had been so attracted to him from the beginning. He was like this tiny snowflake; delicate, unique and utterly precious to her.
Even at the height of his ego, Nikola still had this soft streak that could be more tender and more caring than anything she had ever known. More than once, his actions had almost brought her to tears. And there was something about the way he censored himself, even in thought. Only in his mind could he truly express his feelings and yet he didn't. Nikola was always holding himself back, always trying to hide how he truly felt. It made the moments when he was truly honest and open all that more special.
What Rose could never understand was that no one else could see the truth of Nikola. Of course, on the surface he was an egotistical, slightly unstable idiot but it took no more than a little common sense to see past that. Even Helen, who had known him longer than anyone couldn't see it and it frustrated Rose beyond belief. How the hell was Helen supposed to fall in love with him if she didn't use her eyes properly?
Of course, things had slowly, slowly been changing over the last few years. Helen saw more and discounted less but it wasn't enough. Logically, Rose knew that both of them were too damaged to let themselves actually believe what they only occasionally suspected was true but she wanted them to. So much. Watching them skirt around one another was hard, harder than giving up Helen, harder still than giving up Nikola. And it made her want to be selfish, to take Nikola back and never let him go. He wouldn't leave her, not if she could make a promise to him to be there. It was cheating in a way but Rose knew exactly what he wanted most and she was more than willing to give it to him. He would never love her the way he loved Helen, or would one day love Helen when he actually let himself trust that she could love him in return, but Rose could take second place.
She was more than happy to.
Hell, what had she been doing for the past 130-odd years if it wasn't playing second fiddle to his one true love? She was almost like a placeholder; an unflattering comparison but one she was willing to own.
He was wrapped up in his own thoughts of the moon and the stars and whether the clearing clouds meant that tomorrow they'd finally get a break from all this rain but there was a certain tension to it that Rose knew well. Closing her eyes she carefully let her mind reach out to him as subtly as she could, in an attempt to get him to breathe a little more easily.
That's when the voices started.
Normally she could tune out most everyone and let it all fade away. Even those she was with could go relatively unheard in her mind so long as she kept at it. Sometimes she'd get a few glimpses at strangers on the street but not often.
This was different though. These were distinct, alien voices that she'd never heard before in her life. They weren't the terrified woman from the facility they'd kept Helen in. They weren't any of the creepers who'd been eying her up in the ballroom either. They were something completely new and very unique.
And they were calling her.
Calling to her.
No one could do that, not even Helen.
No one could get into her head and call to her. Someone could maybe call for her but this was different. The voices were strong and clear and rang out above the inner voices of those in the same room as her.
These voices were dangerous. She knew that on instinct.
But she couldn't resist them, they were too much of a puzzle to let them slide.
Her bare feet were moving across the plush carpet before she could blink, her body thrumming and pulsing as she followed the call.
They weren't speaking words, nor calling her name per se. It was more of a beat that caught her and refused to let go. It filled her ears, her heart, her mind, drowning out everything else. She couldn't even hear the faint whiff of Helen she'd been fixating on. Nothing could get past these voices and, honestly, she wouldn't let anything get passed them.
Rose could hear the voices of Helen's team both mentally and verbally trying to get her attention but she paid them no mind, moving towards the back of the room in something of a daze. With each step she took her sense of dread increased but she could no more stop than she could stop breathing.
It was only when a cold set of hands wrapped around her upper arms that she stopped, snarling despite the bloody vision that infiltrated her sight. That was the problem with having John around (aside from the obvious issues), just a single touch and all she could see was his cruel, smirking face as he held that blood soaked knife. It was too nondescript to really have any punch most days but it was like a nasty little reminder than she could never, ever let down her guard.
Rose turned and snarled at him, shaking off his hands before continuing towards the glass doors that opened out onto the gardens. The cool air was almost refreshing on her skin as she threw open the doors and stepped out onto the sandstone steps. Light from the room flooded out, lighting her way until the grass began and was swallowed up in darkness.
The others were following her, only Nikola's gruff comment that they all needed to shut the hell up stopping them from trying to pull Rose back into the safety of their little room.
Beneath her feet the grass was damp with the last of the rain, a few stray drops landing on her bare arms and back, probably even ruining her silk dress but Rose could barely comprehend what the rain was, let alone what it would do to the fine fabric.
The voices got stronger as she went, the lure powerful enough that her breath caught in her throat. She led their mismatched little group through the winding gardens, getting further and further away from the cheerfully lit up building that housed the roaring party and benefit.
Only when they came to a softly burbling water fountain did Rose stop for a long moment, breathing in deeply the scent of the garden around them.
She could hear Will and Henry exchange snide comments behind her, Declan shushing them with some kind of logical argument in Rose's favour but it barely registered. Nikola was calling out for her with his mind while John was thinking the most vitriolic and violent thoughts at her but it was only Kate Rose felt any real affection for at the stage. She was still grumbling about her clothes, most specifically her shoes.
After a moment, the voices grew even stronger, calling her deeper into the garden and she started moving once more, half floating across the ground. There was a lush walkway, covered with tiny white flowers and, as Rose walked down it, the gravel pricked at her feet. The blossoms left a cloying scent in the air as the small group passed beneath them.
With each step, the voices grew more frantic and more menacing and Rose picked up the pace, half running by the time she reached the end of the walkway. A few startled cries followed her but as Rose swung herself around the tall hedges of the gardens, the others fell further and further behind.
Her heart was pounding frantically as she rounded the final corner, coming to a stop as the breath rushed from her lungs.
"You bastard."
Yay! I have internet! Which means I can do my assessment :( Poo. Anyway, update! Which is yay!
Sorry about the internal-heavy chapter, it'll heat up in the next chapters! We're so close to the end...
