Hey guys BAWV here with another one shot for Vlad and Leila! The thought popped into my head while rereading Twice Tempted when Shrapnel mentions his plan to poison her. What would have happened had he done so? Then the way his staff backstabbed her added in the idea of Isa helping him. Anyway, let me know what you think!
Leila paced her room, now on the third floor instead of next to Vlad's, as her emotions rolled dangerously. Today had not been a great day for her emotional well being, what with Vlad telling her she didn't actually love him only a fake image of him and the scorn from people she had once thought of as friends.
It shouldn't hurt as much as it did, Vlad's staff giving her the cold shoulder, but to her surprise she had started to see everyone here as her extended family and the castle had been her home. Now she knew that she had just been deluding herself. These people were Vlad's staff, the reason they had acted friendly was because they would have decorated a pole if they had been anything else.
She had just been too naive to realise it and was hurting now as a result. Once she had broken it off with Vlad, they were free from their obligation to ass kiss with her. Add that to their displeasure with her breaking it off with their boss instead of accepting always being at arms length with him, and you got an extremely cold shoulder.
No matter how much she tried to be angry with them, she couldn't. Hurt was the only thing she felt over the unexpected backstab from almost everyone in the castle. She hadn't thought that they would be ecstatic with her, but she had expected them to not treat her like a disease.
Her stomach rolled painfully, as it had been doing since Isa had refused to let her make her own food in the kitchen and insisted she go back to her room to eat it. Leila had been caught off guard by the coldness and the new rules. Isa had never had a problem with her making her own food before, but after seeing how everyone else reacted to her it didn't surprise her anymore.
Isa and the rest of the staff's hostility had made her nerves stretch to their limit. When Isa had refused to let her make her food, it had sent red flags up in her mind that she had fought past. No matter how angry the staff were with her, they would never tamper with her food. Vlad would be furious. Even as Leila tried to convince herself of that, her rapidly souring stomach and lightheadedness shined doubt through the words.
You only started feeling off after you ate, that insidious little voice chimed in. Biting the inside of her cheek, she yanked her thoughts away from the train of thought. She was working herself up over nothing, she was going to go exercise some and she would feel better. The only reason her stomach was acting up was because she was hurt, her emotions had always affected her health. After her mother's death she had barely kept anything down for weeks.
The walk to the gym, while doing her best to not talk or look at anyone, left her feeling even more alienated than she had on the boat. The staff's hostile whispers that she was meant to hear rang in her mind, twisting the blade in her back. She had been a fool to think anyone on Vlad's payroll had been her friend, she should have known better. Resolving to take her mind off it, Leila began her routine while ignoring the increasing offness she felt.
It was many hours later when Leila's training was interrupted, the sound of footsteps sending dread through her. She had been trying to lose herself in her routines, if she pushed herself hard enough she could just hear her mother's voice cheering her on from her early gymnastic days, and the last thing she wanted to deal with was more coldness. Not to mention she had started feeling even worse since earlier, fanning her paranoia to a painful degree. Now it was taking her considerable effort to not puke up everything she had eaten earlier while the world around her seemed to blur into one giant blob of color.
She vaguely heard a familiar feminine voice, but before she could try to work out what the person was saying the edges of her vision began fading. Her leg lost its grip on the rope as her muscles stopped listening to her, she felt the wind whip through her hair as she fell and the pain of the ground when she slammed into it with bruising force.
Sucking in a deep breath, panic flared when her throat tightened to unbarebale degrees. Hacking coughs wracked her body as she tried to roll over onto her side, only for her muscles to spasm and shake. The feminie voice was closer now, sharp with fear as she tried to talk to her. Cracking an eye open, Leila identified the very blurry outline as Sandra.
Panic from lack of air had her gripping Sandra's arm before she could think of the repercussions, immediately images began flashing before her eyes at a rapid pace. When she was back in her body, still desperately trying to choke in air through her closed off throat, confusion added itself to her panic.
Why was Shrapnel green eyeing Sandra? Before she could ponder it anymore, her lungs gave one final wheeze before everything went black. The last thing she heard was Sandra's voice rising in octaves while shouting for the voivode.
_
Vlad walked briskly down the hall toward the gym, a staff member had been sent to retrieve him but they hadn't known why he was needed. They had simply said that Sandra was asking for him and she seemed distressed. He had a bad feeling since he had left Leila in the lounge, but had brushed it off as his emotions being high. Now he wasn't so sure.
He was only two rooms away when he heard Sandra's voice, sharp with terror, cutting through the walls. "Someone call for the voivode! Leila isn't breathing!" He was already running by the time the words and their meaning penetrated his mind.
Leila wasn't breathing. How had this happened? Had she hemorrhaged again? Her abilities had grown so it was possible that it was due to that, but a nagging doubt remained, telling him that it was something else.
He took in the room as he blurred to Leila and Sandra's side, where she had begun giving CPR to the best of her ability. Firmly moving her to the side, Vlad took over after demanding her to explain what had happened. Leila's lips were turning blue, making a stone drop in his stomach. He kept half his attention on Sandra as he began the compressions and breathing.
"I don't know, I came in to greet her and she was exercising. She didn't look right though, her eyes didn't focus on me, almost as if she was seeing through me. When I tried to talk to her, she slipped off the rope and fell. She had trouble breathing, but I thought it was just having the air knocked out of her from landing on her back. But it didn't go away, it continued until she started clawing at her throat." Her words got fainter and fainter until she too began coughing.
Alarm speared through him, reigniting his earlier instinct that said something was amiss. Ordering a guard to give her blood, he stopped giving CPR long enough to slice his hand and slap it over Leila's mouth. It did nothing, making frustration and dread grow in his chest.
What Sandra had described sounded eerily close to poisoning, but that shouldn't be possible. Only the kitchen staff had access to Leila's food and that was only when she didn't make it herself. When his blood had no effect, Vlad cursed lowly. His previous dread transforming into an icy terror when Leila's heart slowed to a stop to match her breathing.
Barking an order for someone to get a hospital bed ready, he scooped her up and ran toward the medic. He kicked the door open before placing her on the empty bed. Every minute her heart laid silent in her chest sent pinpricks of silver through his own heart. Thinking fast, he powered the defibrillator and began trying to shock her back to life.
His blood wouldn't work if her body wasn't alive enough to use it. If he could get her heart started he could use an IV with a direct line to give her his blood. The first few shocks did nothing, making his frustration climb to dangerous heights, until he was ready to throw it across the room.
At the end of his rope, he spun to face the controls and hiked the power to levels that would kill most humans before trying again. He felt more than heard her heart start again, sending a short lived relief through him that ended with a choked wheeze. Her heart was started but she still wasn't breathing.
He swung his arm out, sending the now useless, smoking machine in between him and Leila sailing into the opposite wall, as he hastily hooked up an IV. He was careful to put the needle in her arm correctly, before ruthlessly stabbing the other end into his own arm. It didn't matter where the needle was, he would have to will his blood into it no matter its location.
Her heartbeat fluctuated wildly as her body fought against its lack of oxygen. Careful to not dislodge the IV in his arm, Vlad began CPR again. Leila couldn't breath because something had blocked her throat, if his hunch was right then she had been poisoned and her throat had swollen up from that.
At the moment, the reason behind it mattered none, what did matter was that she wasn't getting air and she needed it. Luckily he had an easy way of fixing that. Locking his mouth onto hers, he pushed air into her lungs manually, breathing for her until she could do it herself.
As his lips sealed to her own after another round of compressions, a fervent thought broke through the mind numbing panic. 'This will not be the last time I kiss you.' If he had to, he could still turn her into a ghoul. While he would have preferred turning her into a vampire due to their sire bond allowing her a direct link into his emotions, if he couldn't get her breathing it wouldn't be an option.
With crystal clarity, Vlad knew that he couldn't allow her to die. If her heart stopped again, he would restart it and if that didn't work he would drag her back from the grave. He couldn't let her die. Not now. He cared too much for her.
The thought of her warmth being absent from his life; never getting to hold her close after a round of passionate love making, never seeing her drowsy smile and her odd lopsided grin, sent despair through him.
Realisation dawned on him, making him pause momentarily in breathing for her. He loved her. It was too late to stop it, she had managed to claw her way into the heart he had sworn to close off after love had almost destroyed him the last time he had opened it. She had waltzed past his shields without his noticing, pulled up a spot and rooted herself in stubbornly.
As he continued breathing, his words from their fight came to mind. His claim that she loved a false image of him while still refusing to love her. Determination filled every corner of his being, those would not be the last words he spoke to her and this would not be the last time he kissed her.
Just as he was about to give in and have one of the ghoul members of his line phoned, Leila dragged in a weak breath on her own. Relief slammed into him with the force of a truck as she continued to slowly drag air into her lungs, his blood taking affect and reducing the swelling in her throat enough for her to do so.
Pulling up a chair, Vlad allowed himself to collapse into it while clasping her too cold hand in his much warmer ones. He had never thought her hands were small before, but they felt too fragile now as they laid limp between his fingers. With a start, he realised that he felt no electricity coming from her. It unnerved him, not feeling her familiar energy pulsing against his skin.
He shook off his wariness, instead focusing on her less frantically beating heart and slowly evening out breathing. Her lungs were still too wheezy for his taste, but they sounded like they were steadily improving with the help from his blood.
Now that she was out of immediate danger of dying, his mind moved on to the very real problem of someone poisoning her. The thought alone seemed preposterous, he had never believed any of his people would stoop so low as to attack her while she was under his roof and yet it had happened. If they had struck while he was gone, Leila might very well have not pulled through. His blood had aged five centuries and it had barely saved her in time, the only other vampire in the castle with blood of similar ability was Maximus. Vlad doubted that anyone would have thought to let him help, not until it was too late. The thought sent a chill down his spine, increasing his resolve to find the one responsible.
He didn't need the doctor to find the traces of poison in her blood for him to know, he had tasted it on her lips. The sharp and burning sensation that had immediately spread to his mouth had further proven his suspicion, not to mention Sandra's immediate reaction.
Now he had to find out who would dare try such a thing with him so close and how they had gotten such a potent poison. He could still faintly feel the burning in his mouth, if he were human it would have traveled through his blood stream until it swelled his throat just as it had Leila's.
There were roughly two dozen members of the staff that frequently worked in the kitchens and only half of those were there today. He would need to stop by the surveillance room and go through the video to find who had tampered with Leila's food. However, as he glanced at her slowly climbing health, he couldn't make himself leave her side.
His revelation came back to him in a burst of feeling, he loved her. After five centuries of keeping his vow to never allow love to take ahold of him, he had fallen to it once again. It filled him with dread, the knowledge that now his enemies would all make Leila their prime target. He now had a very big and obvious weakness and his enemies would waste no time in exploiting it.
The doctor walked in, breaking him from his thoughts. She barely glanced at the broken equipment, showing intelligence in not commenting on it. Instead, she began peppering him with questions about Leila's condition. After fifteen minutes and a swab test, the doctor had confirmed what he had already assumed. Leila had been poisoned. After verifying that it was a fast acting poison and therefore administered today, Vlad sent the swab to the lab for testing.
If he knew what type of poison it was then it would give him more information on who was behind this plot. He should be hunting down the person who did this, pulling every member of the staff in starting with the humans and working his way through the vampires, but as he glanced at Leila's face he couldn't find the willpower to let go of her hand. Someone had tried to kill her and had almost succeeded, until she was awake and alert enough to defend herself, she wasn't leaving his sight.
The doctor had told him that she had dropped into a coma, the damage the poison had done to her immune system on top of her lungs had put her body into emergency shut down. Once she woke up, the worst of the danger would be past. If her condition took a turn for the worse again, he would need to be close to turn her.
Focusing on the doctor, he asked "What kind of after effects will this have once she wakes?" The doctor's grimace was not encouraging and neither were her words.
"I won't lie to you, this isn't going to be an easy or a pretty recovery. For the poison to strike so viciously and quickly without leaving an obvious taste for her to find, it has to have been insanely potent. By the time it got around to closing her throat it had devastated her other bodily systems. Your blood can heal most of it but the after effects will still be there until the last traces of the poison are gone. She will probably experience extreme nausea, possibly muscle cramps, and high fevers until the worst of it passes. I don't advise leaving her alone at any time until those symptoms die down. There are too many things that can go wrong during that stage."
Vlad nodded, he hadn't planned on leaving her alone, not until he had the person who had almost successfully killed her in his dungeon. Once she woke up, he would bring her to his room. He could have the security feed for the kitchen sent to his tablet and care for Leila as he combed through it.
For now he would have to order no one to leave until he had the chance to pinpoint who it was. No reason to neglect due diligence and give them a chance to slip into the background. After sending out the order for no one to leave until he had resolved this, he settled next to Leila's bedside before retaking her hand. He still couldn't feel her electricity, but he was sure once she was conscious it would come back. Until then, he would stand guard himself. He refused to underestimate the person who tried to kill her, it had almost cost him too much already.
Settling back into the uncomfortable chair, Vlad sighed. What a mess.
Vlad hadn't expected Leila's coma to last more than a few hours, what with his blood being fed to her steadily through the IV. After the first day passed, his wariness had increased. The doctor reassured him that it was normal for her body to take longer to heal, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
His hands still rested in hers two days later, when her eyes fluttered open. The wariness he had felt building since he had heard her heart stop abated, sending relief through his veins. That relief was tempered with remorse when Leila immediately hissed in pain after trying to shift.
Gripping her hand tighter, he gently pressed her back into the bed. "Don't try to get up, you have only just woken from a coma and your body needs rest."
Icy blue eyes stared at him in shock, the disbelief coating her scent further showcasing her surprise. When she spoke, her voice was whispy and had an undertone of exhaustion. "What happened? I remember being in the gym…"
She didn't try to tug her hand away from his, either not noticing or not minding its position. Her eyes fixed on him even as they drooped from exhaustion. "Yes, you were mid routine when Sandra came upon you. You fainted and fell from the rope." He debated over telling her the rest, he didn't want to overwhelm her with the knowledge of her poisoning by someone in the castle, but he knew she would want to know. Making his decision, he continued. "Your throat closed until you were unable to breath, I barely managed to pull you back from the grave in time. Someone slipped poison into your food or drink at some point today. Do you remember anyone acting oddly?"
Leila's face immediately shifted into a mask of realisation, before she blurted. "So she did try to poison me, I thought I was just being paranoid…"
Vlad's eyes narrowed, not liking any part of that sentence. His voice was lethally pleasant when he spoke. "What are you talking about?" Leila shot him a wary look at his tone, before continuing hesitantly.
"I went to the kitchen an hour before I decided to exercise, but when I went to make my own food Isa refused to let me. I felt like something was off, but I assumed it was just everyone acting coldly to me and brushed it off. Wish I hadn't now…" Her last sentence was murmured under her breath, but he caught it.
His mouth twisted into a grimace, Isa had been under his line of decades. After he had saved her as a child, she had sworn loyalty to him and later was turned by him. Why would she have reason to poison Leila? Was it possible it had been someone else in the kitchen and she was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time?
Pushing his thoughts away, he focused on Leila. He could be sure later, after he found some time to look through the surveillance. For now he needed to focus on Leila's recovery. The assassin had been bold enough to strike under his roof, which meant whoever they are they are confident he wouldn't suspect them. Rage flared in his chest, Leila had brushed her worries to the side because she trusted that no one in his home would harm her. Now she didn't have that assurance anymore.
He had promised her when their relationship began that she was safe in his home, that nothing would harm her here. Someone had made him break that promise to his lover, and he would find them and make them pay for it.
Leila grimaced, trying to move again only to be met with the same pain in her muscles and a slowly building nausea in her stomach. "Must have been one heck of a poison, because I feel like shit and that's with your blood on tap."
Her attempt at humor did nothing to lighten the situation, instead it fouled his mood further. "Yes, it is potent. Potent enough that Sandra started to cough from merely having contact with you after giving you CPR. Once the lab finds out what it is, we will be one step closer to finding who all was behind this."
When she looked like she was going to speak, despite her obvious exhaustion and pain, Vlad brushed his mouth over her forehead. "Leave this topic for when you are well, you need to rest now. I will be bringing you to my room momentarily for you to recover. It should only take a day or two for the worst of the effects to settle, but I will be keeping a close eye on you until you are better again."
Confusion immediately painted itself across her face, "Why your room?" The last time they had talked, it had sounded like she wouldn't be going back there anytime soon.
Catching her thoughts, he grimaced. He wasn't about to tell her of his newly unburied feelings while she was bed ridden from poison. No, better to nurse her back to health and then tell her. He could tell her some of the truth until then though, no need for her to worry needlessly over where she stood with him.
His hands cupped her face, he pretended not to notice how she had to fight her habit of leaning into his touch, before he spoke. "Someone in my home has tried to kill you and if I hadn't been nearby they may have succeeded. No matter how we may fight, I would never allow such a thing to happen to you while you are in a relationship with me. You will stay with me, in my room, until you are able to defend yourself or I have caught the person behind the plot. Whichever happens first."
His words relaxed her, especially his use of current tense when discussing their relationship. Usually the thought of having someone take care of her was abhorrent, but if it was Vlad she didn't mind, to her surprise.
After her nod of understanding, Vlad stood before addressing the doctor. After some last minute examinations, he lifted her into his arms before turning toward the door. As he began walking to his room, Leila sank into the familiar warmth. There was no guarantee that after she was recovered she would get to feel it again, so may as well enjoy it while it lasts.
Pulling the blankets back, Vlad slid Leila underneath the comforter. In the few minutes it had taken him to walk to the fourth floor, she had dozed back into a peaceful sleep. His body heat had been a natural relaxant for her since their relationship had begun, so it didn't surprise him when she wasn't awake for long while cradled in his arms.
Once she was comfortably tucked in, the comforter looking ridiculously big with how she had it pulled up to her chin, he settled himself next to her with his tablet. His fingers hovered over the screen as another thought came to him. Standing again, he left only to return with a garbage can, placing it next to the bed.
With that done, he resettled over the covers and began to watch the footage from the morning to the afternoon. There were many hours of footage to sift through and he refused to rush on the chance he missed an important detail.
His concentration was broken an hour later when Leila jerked upright only to hiss before falling back down. He heard the tell tale sounds of nausea turning her stomach and reached for the can, placing it in her lap just in time.
Gathering her hair into his hand, while ignoring the unpleasant smells and sounds, he dutifully rubbed her back until she was finished. Shakily placing the can on the floor, she winced as she settled back against his side. "If you want to bail, I won't hold it against you. This smells bad to me, so it must be even worse for you." Her thoughts added on, And I really don't want you to see me like this, I already have enough reasons to be self conscious around you.
Putting his tablet to the side, Vlad slid down until he laid parallel with her body. His hand gripped hers, before he spoke. "I won't be leaving you to fight through this alone. You have nothing to be self conscious about, you are human and these are natural parts of you. I knew that when I decided to date you and I haven't miraculously changed my mind since then. I can't offer much aid in this situation, but I can offer comfort."
So saying, he stroked his thumb against her hand. The touch offering more comfort than she had expected from such a small gesture. His other hand brought a thermometer to her mouth, which she obediently opened for.
Having someone to take care of her was a foreign feeling, especially during times when she was sick. It had always been her mother who had helped her, what with her father being cold and her sister being more likely to make it worse. It was...nice to have someone care for her again. Warmth that didn't originate from his body heat spread through her chest as he pulled the blanket tighter around her. Yes, it was very nice…
Hearing her thoughts made irritation flare in Vlad, he knew that Leila hadn't had much support from Hugh growing up, but surely he had helped her during these times? The question plagued him until he finally decided to voice it. "Where was your father during these times in your youth? You were too young to do such things as use the stove when your mother first passed, he must have left you with someone?" While the sentence was made as a question, underneath it was a steely anger. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this conversation.
He was right. Leila looked at him incredulously, her tone speaking her thoughts on the matter better than her words did. "For the most part, I was the one watching over Gretchen and we didn't need a sitter. Our Aunt came occasionally, but she had her own life. When Dad was home and I was sick, I was still expected to handle it on my own. It wasn't like he could touch me, even if he hadn't blamed me for Mom's death. The only other person who was home was Gretchen, who was more likely to slip something into my food because she thought my reaction was funny than to actually help."
Clenching his unoccupied hand underneath the sheets, Vlad had to bite back the urge to tell her exactly what he thought of her father's neglect and her sister's spite. To leave a sick child alone, while expecting them to not only take care of themselves but also a younger sibling, was beyond neglect. Everytime he heard more about her past, after her mother's death, he only became more enraged. He wasn't surprised in the slightest to hear Leila's estimation of Gretchen. Displeased, yes, but not surprised.
Forcing his anger back to be dealt with at a more appropriate time, he refocused on Leila while gripping her hand. "He should have stayed by your side, regardless. Even if he couldn't touch you, he could have made you food or taken care of your sister. There is nothing to excuse his actions in leaving a sick child in charge of another child." His tone was set in determination, instead of denying his words or trying to defend her father, Leila surprised him.
"Oh, you're completely right. I couldn't tell you how many times I raged at him mentally for leaving me with Gretchen during those times, but speaking up would have only made it worse." After shaking off his surprise, Vlad wrapped his arms around Leila, offering her what comfort he could.
"Good, I'm glad you place the blame on its rightful owner. Now, you need to rest. The doctor said you have a high chance of fever, as well as muscle cramps. When you wake next, if you feel up to it, I will call for food. You can't neglect yourself, especially not while you're recovering."
When she opened her mouth to object, he dragged his hand through her hair. The pressure on her scalp immediately making her eyes droop with exhaustion. She was asleep in minutes, to Vlad's amusement. That trick always worked and he could only hope it continued to do so in the future when she turned into a vampire.
He readjusted himself back to a sitting position, while never breaking his rhythmic stroking. If Leila did acquire a fever then sleep would be difficult or uneasy, better for her to get as much as possible now while she was able to. He propped the tablet on his leg, careful not to disturb Leila's head as she unconsciously shuffled into his lap, before resuming his careful examination.
The next time Leila woke, it was all she could do not to cry. Her muscles felt like they were shredding, she felt freezing cold, and her stomach felt like it was trying to finish the job the poison failed at. Gripping the garbage can next to the bed, Leila barely shifted over it in time to empty her stomach.
When the heaves finally stopped, she pushed herself back onto the bed with the rest of her willpower before flopping bonelessly onto the sheets. Her muscles tensed and released in quick succession, sending sharp bursts of pain through them while she shivered from the cold.
Through the fog her mind seemed to be drowned in, she noticed three things. One, the comforter had been replaced by a thin sheet and she dearly missed the warmer blanket. Two, her body felt like every cell was ripping itself apart. And three, Vlad wasn't in the room with her. After his impassioned speech, she figured she wouldn't be without him anytime soon. To her surprise, she felt a flash of genuine hurt, before she quickly stomped it down with practiced ease.
Vlad was a master of a very old and powerful line, he didn't have time to play nurse for her while she recovered. Especially given that he had to track down whoever did this to her. Trying to move her limbs only resulted in pain and another round of nausea, to her frustration. How was she supposed to take care of herself if she couldn't even lift her torso?
"That would be what I am here for." Vlad had chosen that moment to reenter the room, responding to her frustrated thought. He glanced at her pathetic attempts to move with a raised eye brow. "I believe I told you to not move until you've recovered more. I was merely ordering some soup from the kitchen, I hadn't wanted to risk waking you by talking with the staff in here."
So saying, he gently pressed her back down. His fingers stroking her shoulder before migrating to run through her hair. Leila felt a flash of unease at the thought of eating anything made out of the kitchen's without being able to see it made. Before she could mask her new fear or her thoughts, Vlad scowled.
When she went to apologize, he cut her off firmly. "There is no need for apologies, you were only just poisoned by someone in that very kitchen. It is entirely logical that you aren't comfortable with the idea of eating anything made from the same kitchen. I could oversee it, but that requires leaving you alone while I do so. I don't relish the thought of you being defenseless without me near."
Leila would never admit it out loud, but she appreciated his refusal to leave her side. With her inability to even lift her arm, the idea of her attacker coming to finish her off was all too frightening. It was also nice how serious he was taking her fear, despite her knowing the likelihood of the person trying the same method twice was minimal. Instead of brushing it to the side or disregarding it, he was working with her to find a solution.
Even through her cotton stuffed head and woozy feelings, she felt her love for him flare. The feeling bringing equal parts pain and comfort. He was being nice, but she couldn't let her emotions get any further entangled with his. It would only lead to pain.
Vlad listened quietly to her thoughts, but didn't comment. Her fever had skyrocketed to the point she had forgotten he could hear her thoughts and he wasn't about to profess his love until she was mentally able to respond.
Instead, he redirected her attention. "Well that only leaves one other option." Before she could open her mouth, he scooped her up under her knees and lifted her into his arms. Her face, which had been flushed from fever before, was now even redder from embarrassment.
"What are you doing?" Her voice had a slight slur, which combined with her red cheeks, made her the poster child of sickness. The sight twisted something in his chest before he focused on her again.
"I am bringing you with me to the kitchens. I won't leave you here, but you don't feel safe eating food made out of your sight, understandably so. However, you need food to replenish the mass amounts of energy you expended fighting off the poison. You are in no shape to be cooking, which means the only candidate left who can make it is me, therefore I will."
Leila stared up at him in shock as he breezed through the hallways to the kitchen. She hadn't known he knew how to make human food. And she had never expected him to make her anything even if he had known how to make it.
Vlad's voice broke her from her thoughts, "I know how to make a few dishes, but as you can guess I haven't needed the knowledge in quite some time. A simple soup shouldn't be beyond my ability though."
Dropping the subject, she cuddled closer into his shoulder, his natural body heat chasing away some of the fever chills. She let out a quiet noise of protest when he tugged her back from his neck. "You have a fever that is still climbing, stop trying to sap warmth from me. If it doesn't break soon I'll be giving you a lukewarm bath and more medicine."
The thought of him bathing her made unease sit in her chest, no matter what he said about her not needing to be self conscious, it was weird to think of him washing her when she couldn't do it herself.
Vlad snorted at her thoughts, "If the idea is so abhorrent to you then do your best to not raise your temperature." He cleared the kitchen doorway just as he finished his sentence, the staff all freezing at the sight of him carrying Leila.
After a growled order to vacate the kitchen, which they quickly did, he placed Leila on top of the counter and leaned her back against the cupboards. Once he was sure she wouldn't fall off, he gathered the ingredients he still remembered to this day.
Sensing Leila's curiosity, he answered her question before she could voice it. "While I don't know many recipes, this was the one my mother used to have made for me when I was sick. It should work fine for you."
The knowledge that he was making her something his mother had used to make for him warmed Leila throughout, in a completely different way than her currently high temperature. It was always fascinating to hear more about his life before his capture. The thought of him being anything other than the terrifying and lethal man she loved was hard to imagine, but she knew that at one point he had been a child like any other. Although his innocence hadn't lasted nearly as long as it should have.
Vlad glanced at her in confusion, he had told her before that if she ever had questions about him she could ask. If she had wondered about his life pre-capture why hadn't she brought it up? The answer came immediately, she would never ask on the off chance it was a sensitive topic. He made a mental note to bring this back up when she was in her right mind. It wasn't painful to remember his life before his imprisonment and rape anymore, any questions she asked he would answer.
When he finishes the soup, he puts it in her arms with a warning to keep it steady as he picks her up once more. He speaks lowly enough for only her to hear when she goes to question his actions. "You can't lift your limbs right now, I didn't think you would appreciate having the staff see you being spoon fed."
Shame crawled up her spine in the next instant, sending more blood to her face as she agrees quietly. Vlad cuts off her self reprimanding thoughts over her own helplessness. "You barely survived a poisoning attempt and your body is still fighting off the after affects. Don't try to push yourself too far too fast. I am here to help with these things, relax and let me."
Letting the thoughts go for the moment, Leila nods against his chest. Eyes drooping as the fuzzy feeling in her head increased. Vlad nudged her awake, "While you do need sleep, you shouldn't doze off while holding the soup. You may burn yourself on accident." Humming in agreement, she forced herself to focus.
By the time he crossed the doorway to his room, Leila was as alert as she would get. Placing her on the bed, he slid behind her to prop her up straight. One of his arms stayed wrapped around her chest, to keep her upright, while the other situated the bowl and spoon in her lap.
The task of feeding her wasn't difficult, although he had to nudge her awake every now and then. Her embarrassment had faded after the first few spoonfuls, her hunger taking over it. Once finished, she slumped back against his chest and sighed happily.
Placing the empty bowl to the side, Vlad turned her around before pulling her against his chest. He hadn't expected her to eat all of the soup, what with her stomach acting up. While he was glad she had, with her needing to build her strength, it confused him.
Leila glanced up at him, catching his eyes and seeing his curiosity. She nudged his side, the limit of how far she could reach, before urging him to speak up. "What are you thinking about?"
He shifted his arm underneath her head as a makeshift pillow before responding. "What with your stomach being in its current state I didn't expect you to devour the soup as you did. It is good that you ate, I was merely curious where your hunger came from."
Leila flushed, turning the light pink fever cheeks to a burning hot red before replying. "It's been forever since someone made me soup when I was sick, although this is an extreme situation. The fact that it's you that did it makes it even better."
Her gratitude, while appreciated, aggravated him. She shouldn't need to take care of herself in this type of situation when she had people around her who were capable of helping. He grit his teeth and added another thing to his ever growing list of reasons he detested Hugh Dalton.
Choosing to run his fingers through her hair instead of commenting, he watched as Leila fought against sleep valiantly. Her words making a smile tug on his lips, "You know, for someone who doesn't have to eat, you are a good cook. Thank you for the soup, it was great."
He was glad it had come out well, it had been centuries since he had last used that recipe. It would have been bad if he had forgotten something and inadvertently made her condition worse.
"You are welcome, although I regret the circumstances of the situation, I didn't mind making you it. If you have continued problems with eating food from the kitchen, maybe I will decide to make you more." He had been surprised when he had actually enjoyed making her food, instead of it just being something he had to do. While he couldn't cook for her often, the rumors would spread like wildfire if he did, he could possibly do so on special occasions.
He was broken out of his thoughts by a slight snore, Leila's eyes were shut while her fingers were intertwined with his. He was surprised she had stayed awake as long as she had. With any luck she would stay asleep for at least a few more hours, but with her building fever he wouldn't hold out hope. Shifting to sit against the headboard, he reached for the tablet again. He still had an assassin to catch, after all.
_
Vlad kept still as rage and disbelief roared through him, not wanting to wake Leila who had once again migrated to his lap in her sleep. He had replayed the video multiple times, but it only cemented the truth in his mind. It had been Isa who had poisoned Leila, the clear picture of her mixing the bottle into Leila's food was undeniable.
It made no sense though, why would she try to kill Leila? His people had liked her well enough, and while he knew their breakup had caused tensions amongst the staff, he had never expected that to escalate to an assassination attempt.
The reminder of his staff's behavior toward Leila made him grimace. While he had been displeased and irritated with her for ending their relationship, his staff should have never gotten involved. What he and Leila did in their relationship was no one else's concern but theirs. He would have to address that after he dealt with Isa.
Sighing, Vlad spoke lowly into his phone, ordering the guards to bring Isa to the dungeon. Glancing at Leila's heavily flushed face, he added on an order for Shrapnel to come to his room.
It shouldn't take him long to question Isa and find out where she had gotten such a poison from. He could return to Leila's side afterwards, Isa would still be in the dungeon waiting for him to torture her later. He still felt uneasy at the thought of leaving Leila while she was fever stricken, but he needed to be sure Isa's accomplice was apprehended as well. He had already waited too long, he should have done this days ago but he couldn't leave her side then.
He would station Shrapnel outside his bedroom door, question Isa, apprehend the accomplice and then go back to Leila. Her fever only seemed to be rising, if it continued he would have to give her that bath after all. She may not even be conscious for it if her temperature rose any higher.
He was broken out of his thoughts by Shrapnel knocking on the door. Carefully rising as to not wake Leila, using a pillow to substitute his thigh, he moved to address the head of his guards. "I need to have a chat with Isa in the dungeons. You are to stay here and guard the door until I return. No one other than me goes through, if you move from this spot I will personally put you on a pole until next Christmas."
Shrapnel bowed smartly, before straightening and taking his position. Nodding in approval, Vlad returned to Leila. Stroking his hand down her back, he spoke low enough for only her to hear, if she could hear anything through her fever. "I will be in the dungeon for a few moments. If you feel even slightly uneasy or like the poison is coming back link to me immediately." When he went to stand, he was stopped when her hand weakly gripped his jacket sleeve.
Her voice was a whisper to the point he could barely hear it despite their close proximity. "Don't go. I don't want to be alone anymore." Everything hurts and I can't move. If someone attacks I can't save myself right now. Her thoughts were as quiet as her voice, proof of her fever increasing.
Both her plea to not leave her alone and her fear of being harmed sent pain through his heart. For a moment he debated sending Shrapnel down to the dungeon to handle Isa, he was more than capable, after all.
Shaking his head, Vlad forced himself to refuse her despite everything in his being not wanting to leave her side while she was defenseless. Kneeling to be at her level, he stroked her cheek as he soothed her fear. "I will be back soon, I must apprehend the one who poisoned you before they can slip away. Once that is finished, I will be by your side until you are well again. As for your muscle pain, I have Shrapnel stationed outside the room. No one will get to you and when I return I will see if I can't do something about that. The doctor mentioned massaging the muscles may loosen them, we will have to try when I return."
He was careful when he unwound her hand from his coat, before placing it with her other hand on her chest. He brushed a kiss against her head before rising to his full height. He breezed out the door with a nod to Shrapnel, he had a prisoner to get answers from.
Standing in front of Isa's cell, her body impaled by silver spikes and suspended in midair, he felt no pity for her. She didn't try to seem innocent or act as if she knew nothing of why she was here. Her acceptance of the situation further confused him.
"Why did you poison Leila and who is your accomplice? Don't try to convince me you don't have one either, that poison was from an extremely rare frog in the amazon rainforest. You would have needed to leave the castle in the last few weeks to get your hands on that poison and you have been working all of your shifts."
Isa kept her head high even as blood streaked through her silver hair, the crimson seeping into the locks and turning them a filthy faded red. Her mouth set in a determined line, her tone showing no remorse when she answered. "I did it because she had no right to refuse you in such a way. To end your relationship, after you explicitly told her of your refusal to love her, was childish and spoiled. It wasn't only I who was enraged when the news came to us, many of the staff were. That she would dare do such a thing after everything you offered her? I have no remorse for trying to kill her, my only regret was that I didn't succeed."
The words were barely out of her mouth before flames burst to life on her flesh. Her screams rang out a second later as Vlad bit back his rage. His people's loyalty was one of his biggest prides, but he had never expected it to come back to bite him in such a manner. He should have shut his people's disquiet down the first day he had heard the whispers, but he hadn't and now Leila paid his price.
Waving the flames away for a moment, ignoring the new smell of charred flesh, he spoke in his most lethally pleasant tone. "You only answered one of my questions and you know I detest repeating myself."
Her skin was splitting, showing the sensitive red skin underneath before it slowly healed over. Her reply changed his anger to dread. "He knew that you would never expect him and he was right. Tell me sire, who did you leave with her that you believed without a doubt that she would be safe with?"
Suddenly, Leila's warning came back to him. I can't save myself. Had she somehow known that Shrapnel had a hand in her almost death? Or had she simply had a bad feeling and spoke from that?
Vlad's thoughts whirled as he ran with blurring speed toward his bedroom. He barked orders for the guards to follow him, only to almost trip when the familiar voice suddenly broke through his own thoughts. Only one word, but it was heavy with enough fear to send his previous dread into a soul deep terror. His name echoed in his mind, Leila's voice stronger than when he had left her, but bolstered by her fear and pain.
Ignoring the stairs, he hurtled straight up through the two floors still between him and Leila. He couldn't waste a single moment, Shrapnel would know to tear Leila apart so he couldn't revive her as a ghoul. Self reprimandation rang through him as he broke through the final floor, he should never have left her side. His instincts had raged at him and Leila had begged him not to, but he had and now all he could do was pray he wasn't too late in saving her.
The instant his feet touched the floor of his room, his rage sky rocketed to an all consuming level. Shrapnel had Leila pinned to their bed, a knife lodged into her chest and his hand on her neck. Vlad saw as the muscles tensed to tear her head from her body, he lunged forward and ripped Shrapnel off of Leila.
The look of dawning realisation on his face and the dread that overshadowed it would have sent Vlad into a killing frenzy unlike any before, if it weren't for the soft choking sounds coming from the bed.
Growling deeply, he threw Shrapnel to the guards with an order to bring him to the dungeon and restrain him. Turning his attention to Leila, he ripped a fang across his wrist in the same moment as he picked her up to cradle her to his chest.
Pressing his wrist to her mouth, he gently massaged her throat when the muscles spasmed instead of swallowing. Her heart beat erratically, as if trying to force its way out of her chest. Instead of starting to heal, a gurgling noise came from her before his blood was violently coughed back up.
Curses pulled from him as he desperately tried to get his blood to stay in her long enough to take effect. Using his blood stained hand, he cradled her jaw and turned her to face him. "Leila, you need to drink! You've lost too much blood."
Instead of her throat beginning to swallow, her eyes filled with tears that burned like silver through his chest. Her thoughts reached him as her heart jolted to a stop, the words etching into his memory and sending pain careening through his very soul. You were wrong, I do love the real you. I only wish you could have loved me…
Her final thoughts and her previous plea not to leave her alone ripped through his mind. Knowing there was no time to try to restart her heart, his resolve steeled. There was only one course of action for him to take and despite his loathing to turn her without her permission beforehand, there was no other option. She could spend the rest of their lives raging at him, just as long as she lived to do so.
His teeth sank into her throat in the next instant, deep pulls draining her as quickly as possible before jerking back. Ripping the knife out of her chest, he cut a deep line against his throat before placing her mouth directly under the cut. He willed out his blood, filling her mouth and pressing against her throat to make her swallow more.
Minutes passed with no telltale flux in energy, sending a new wave of rage and despair through him. He had wanted to change her so she could feel his emotions through their sire tie, but it looked as if that tie wouldn't be made after all. Lowering her gently to his lap, he reached for his phone to call the nearest ghoul in his line only for her body to suddenly jerk up.
Before his next thought, her mouth was latched onto his throat. The deep sucking pulls of his blood sent relief shooting through his veins. He cradled her closer, encouraging her to take her fill before forcibly yanking her back. Her teeth snapped threateningly at being pulled away from what her instincts demanded her to feed from, but he blocked the sound out as he waited for her to enter the initial phase of turning.
In the next moment she went limp in his arms, he could see from where her mouth laid open as her blunt teeth sharpened to pointed canines. It was done. Equal parts relief and concern flared in him as he scooped her up before walking toward the room designed for newly turned vampires.
It would be disorienting and overwhelming at first, she may even be distraught at being changed without her consent, but he would help her through it. I don't want to be alone anymore. She never had to worry about being alone again, he would be forever more by her side. He had just ensured it.
When she woke he would tell tell her of his love for her, no more waiting. He had waited long enough and she had almost died believing that he cared for her no more than average. She would know her worth to him, just as soon as she woke up and exited the blood craze.
The first thing Leila noticed when she woke up was the firey pain that engulfed her from head to toe, although the worst of it seemed to center in her throat and stomach. A sharp, metallic scent hit her nose and before her next thought she was up and had pounced on something. Dimly, through the pain and fire that seemed to flow through her veins, she realized that she was biting something. Someone, her mind inputted when the object between her teeth fed the burning hunger that was now housed in her stomach.
The thought didn't bother her like she knew that it should. The only thing she could think of was the relief as the pain faded to the back of her mind. Opening her eyes was an ordeal, but she struggled through for her curiosity's sake. The sight that met her had her releasing her death grip on what she could now see was Vlad's arm and bodily throwing herself back.
Vlad's entire front was coated in blood, making him look like a horror movie actor, and the deep gash on his arm that she had previously been attached to was already mostly healed. A sick sense of realization came over her as she took in his appearance and her new demanding hunger. He had changed her.
She could vaguely remember him leaving and Shrapnel entering his room, but after that things got fuzzy. Turning her head to take in the room in a search for a distraction from her thoughts, panic immediately slammed through her everything blurred into one giant blob of color. "Why can't I see!?"
Her voice sounded booming to her own ears, making pain grind against the ear drum as if she had run her finger nails across a chalkboard. Vlad's hands cupped her face, holding it in place when she tried to struggle free from fear.
"There is nothing wrong with your eyes, you are moving too quickly for your sight to take in your surroundings." His voice was low, thankfully not sending pain shooting through her skull like her own voice had. He kept his hold until the colors shifted to shapes and those shapes formed Vlad.
He looked exactly as she remembered and yet completely different at the same time. Now she could see a small scar on his nose, among many other miniscule details she had failed to see before. She took him in as the world around her slowly came into focus.
They were in a blank room that if it weren't for the lack of cells and chains she would confuse with the dungeons. Glancing down, she noted the blank mattress underneath them, the only piece of furniture in the room.
Her mind wandered back to her original train of thought, now that her previous panic over her sight had abated. What had happened that had made changing her necessary? Her lack of a heartbeat cemented the situation in her mind. Closing her eyes against the tears she felt building, she tried to wall off her emotions before they became anymore overwhelming to no success.
She felt the trail the tears left as they slid down her cheeks despite her best efforts. Shame added itself to the melting pot of emotions currently rolling under her skin.
Warm, scarred hands brushed the tears away. Resting on either side of her jaw, they stroked against her cheek and caught the rest of the tears as they fell. Remorse suddenly bloomed in her chest, to her surprise. She didn't have anything to feel regretful of, so why was she feeling…
It clicked, that wasn't her remorse. Vlad had changed her, which meant she now had the tie he shared with any other vampire he had sired. This was his remorse, over changing her? She needed answers.
Starting with the first thing that came to mind, Leila spoke as lowly as she could. "I can feel you…" Vlad's face pulled down into a grimace, before the remorse suddenly disappeared as if it were never there.
"Yes, as you have probably guessed already, I had to change you." The words carried a hard tone, but Leila knew that his anger wasn't at her.
Biting her lip, she pushed on to the next most important question, "What happened? I don't remember anything after you left the room to head to the dungeons."
Vlad's face visibly darkened several shades, if he had been aiming that face at her she would have been terrified. But she knew that he wasn't angry with her so she waited for his reply.
It came not a moment later, "Shrapnel was the one to give Isa the poison she used on you. You linked to me while I was in the dungeon, I had stationed him outside of this room before I left. I barely managed to make it to your side before he separated your head from your shoulder. If I had been seconds later…"
His voice had a dark undercurrent that sent a shiver down her spine. His shields cracked until she felt his remorse from before, and his fear. She hadn't thought he was capable of feeling this kind of fear but now the proof brushed against her conscious as if it were her own.
This was going to take some getting used to, while the notion of spending years feeling his emotions and learning everything that made Vlad who he was enticed her. She couldn't shake the pain from the sudden and jarring loss of her humanity.
Besides, their relationship was still in limbo. Vlad had stayed by her side while she recovered and made her soup, but he could have been doing it because it had been his people who had caused her to be in that position.
He had told her multiple times that he would never love her, but if that was the case then why had he changed her? Why had he made it so she would feel his emotions until she died? If their relationship was truly over then this was the cruelest torture he could poosibly do, making her able to feel how little he cared for her.
When she spoke again, her voice was smaller than she had wanted it to come out as. "Why did you bring me back?" She didn't need to say anything else, her eyes dug into his own as her pain seemed to fester in her veins.
His scowl softened and his eyes warmed from their previous darkness. His hands pulled her forward from their position cradling her jaw, his mouth placing the most tender kiss he had given her yet on her lips.
Instead of answering, a new emotion flooded her mind. The intensity of it would have knocked her off her feet if she hadn't been sitting down. It was too all consuming to be called infatuation, but too wild to be what she had always considered love to feel like. His emotions wrapped around her like a shield as what had to have been his love, brushed against her mind from all sides.
Vlad pulled back, curling his emotions back behind their shield wordlessly. "The reason I changed you was because I refuse to relinquish you to the grave without a fight. Over the past few months of our relationship, and the month of our separation, I have tried to distance myself from you. I told myself I couldn't love you and even watched you leave to convince myself that you meant no more to me than my previous lovers."
His hands heated up as his eyes smoldered bright green, "But I was wrong. I was desperate to believe I couldn't love you because the last time I felt love it had almost destroyed me. Nothing else I had ever felt before had come so close to ending me, so I swore to myself to never fall prey to it again. And yet, as I sat at your bedside after your poisoning and again when I couldn't save you in my bedroom, I realized it was too late."
His mouth brushed her own as he breathed the words she had ached to hear since he had proclaimed his refusal to love her at the beginning of their relationship. "I love you, Leila Dalton, and nothing you or I could do will change that."
Tears filled her eyes again, but this time an all encompassing joy was their cause. She had never known happiness could feel like this, every part of her body felt bubbly and warm. Especially where his hands cupped her mouth and his lips brushed her face.
Bringing her own hands up to cover his, she answered through her tight throat. "I love you too, I'm more happy than I know what to do with. I thought that you wouldn't…" She trailed off as relief intertwined with her joy, the thought of living possibly millennia while feeling nothing more than slight affection from him had been terrifying. It was all she could do not to collapse from relief that she wouldn't have to live that life.
Again his mouth twisted harshly, his tone carrying all of his remorse when he spoke. "Yes, so did I. But you proved to be the exception to all of my rules, much to my surprise. Now that I have realized the full extent of my emotions, it only leaves one thing to do."
Leila felt curiosity through her wildly swinging emotions, what could he possibly be talking about? Before she could ask, his next words completely blew her away. "I will marry you, that way no person can tear you from my side."
Blinking, Leila could feel as her brain gave the blue error screen as it tried to take in what he just said. "Won't I be a blood crazed lunatic for the next week? It's not safe for the staff for us to get married right now." Okay that wasn't what she had wanted to say, but it was another good point.
Vlad's smile turned challenging, "I wasn't going to throw you over my shoulder and drag you to the altar right now. I will see you out of your blood craze and help you adjust to your new senses. Then we will be married."
The room felt like it was spinning again as she tried to take everything in. Her next question was the one she had meant to say first, before her original one. "I don't think I agreed to this? You also haven't asked me yet…"
Vlad's smile disappeared immediately. "You're saying no?"
Caught completely off guard, Leila tried to speak only for a jumbled mess to fall out. "Well, no. I don't mean no as in no..."
Her mind whirled as it tried desperately to settle on just one question. Eventually blurting out the first question that came to mind. "Why are you suddenly wanting to marry me? Less than two months ago you were scoffing at the idea as if it were pathetic I even suggested it."
His arms wrapped around her before tightening until their bodies were pressed together. "As I said before, I was still trying to convince myself that you meant nothing to me. What did you expect once you made me realize I loved you? That we would date more? As if I would settle for anything less than making you completely mine in every way possible, for everyone to know."
Through her joy over his words, she continued with her questions. He couldn't be serious about marrying her that soon, right? "Okay, I get that part and I am very glad you think so but there's no way you can get everything ready in a week. I'd want our wedding to be special and we haven't planned anything, you don't have a best man and my father is more likely to stake himself than walk me down the aisle."
The truth of that last statement hurt to say, when she had been a young girl and dreamed of her wedding the only thing that had mattered to her had been the people she loved being there. She had imagined her father walking her down the aisle, her mother crying happy tears while helping her get ready for the big day, and the man who she would spend her life with waiting for her at the altar.
As it stood, the only thing that would be coming true from that pipe dream was Vlad being at the altar.
His mouth pulled down sharply at the mention of her father, pulling her into an embrace wordlessly, knowing how much her father's rejection still stung. Brushing his lips against her head, he spoke. "While I could easily control your father's mind into agreeing, I know that isn't what you want. But he is never going to approve of us. If you are waiting for that for us to marry then it won't happen at all. As for my best man, he can be on his way at a moment's notice and we have the rest of the week of your blood craze to plan it. I have no preferences and am happy to go along with most anything you could think of. The only thing that matters to me is that you are there with me."
Biting the inside of her cheek, Leila turned over his words silently. He was right about her father, she wouldn't refuse Vlad's offer of marriage for approval that was never coming. And they would have the next week to plan, although the thought of putting a wedding together in that time was daunting she knew that he could have it done in the day if he wanted to.
With no other arguments, she looked into his eyes before saying one last, weak rebuttal. "You still haven't asked me…"
His eyes changed from their previous impassioned green, to his usual intense copper before a challenging and inviting gleam appeared in them.
Shock rocked through her when he slowly lowered himself to his knees in front of her. His hands curled around hers and his voice rang with all the emotions she could feel whirling from their bond. "Leila Dalton, my one true love. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
The last of her arguments fell away, she barely managed to answer him before he had her bent backwards in a soul searing kiss. They had plenty of trials ahead, getting married wouldn't suddenly change any of their problems, but it did mean that they were facing them together.
