WOW! Thanks for the feedback, Everybody! I'm glad you like to read this
as much as I love to write it. I'm hoping to get chapter four up before
the end of next week. Enjoy, Peachy 3
Chapter Three
Thierry stared at this poor girl who had faced a fate similar to his own – unwilling conversion. Piper had yet to look him in the eyes while speaking, but Thierry could understand her hesitation. It must have been difficult to relive such a painful experience, but he had no idea of what was to come.
"What happened when you woke up?" He inquired softly.
She took in a deep breath and stayed fixated on her hands. She had folded them in her lap when the recollection had begun, and now they were fidgeting nervously.
"I woke up naked and alone in between the sheets of a bed I'd never seen or smelled before in my life. How I knew I'd never smelled it before scared me out of my wits. I looked around for some clothes and found a bathrobe lying on a table nearby. I climbed out of the giant bed and wrapped it around myself. Then I went into the adjoining bathroom. What I saw in the mirror fascinated me. My eyes were…different. My hair had become shinier as well. I looked like a model -- like the people at the Black Iris. My throat was becoming more and more constricted by the minute. I tried to cup my hands under the sink for a drink of water, but that did nothing to satiate the burning need that had grown inside of me. I couldn't see or think about anything but the hunger. It had taken me over, and by the time I heard Adrian approaching I was writhing on the floor in pain.
He came into the room with a small boy next to him, perhaps nine or ten, and held the child by his shoulders. I could tell the boy had been sedated somehow by the vapid look in his eyes. I didn't care at that point, however. I lunged for the breathing body and fed. I was uncontrollable. It felt so good to have what I'd been dying without just moments before. When I pulled back the life in the boys eyes had gone out. He was dead." Piper's face twisted into a grimace, but she refused to let herself cry.
"Adrian called some men to dispose of 'it'. They came and dragged the body away. He didn't care that it was just a little boy. He told me then what I had become-- a creature of the night, the most powerful being on earth. I refused to accept anything he was saying and ran to the bathroom. I wanted to throw-up, but I couldn't because my body needed the blood too much right after the change. I threw myself down on the bed and cried. Adrian sat next to me and stroked my hair. He just kept repeating over and over how it's always a shock at first but soon I'd embrace it. Then I would thank him and be the perfect companion. I was a captive." Piper's voice had taken on a dead resonance, a cold that chilled Thierry down to his undead heart.
"Did Adrian tell you why he changed you? It sounds to me like you're an illegal vampire." Thierry tried to make his voice as gentle as possible, but Piper ignored his consideration.
"Oh Adrian had his reasons. He always had reasons." Piper finally raised her gaze to look Thierry dead in the eye. "He got permission from Hunter."
"Hunter?! Hunter Redfern gave his grand nephew Adrian the right to break Night World law?" Thierry leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyebrows.
"After Quinn betrayed him, Hunter needed a new successor. Delos turned out a mistake as well. He felt that he needed someone of his own blood, no matter how diluted, who had a thirst for power to match his own. His search led him to Adrian's front step. Of course Adrian accepted the position as Hunter's second-in-command, but he had a few demands of his own to make. Now that Adrian was a full fledged elder who practically had a seat on the council, he'd need an ornament. Someone to take with him to all of the Night World functions and Council get-togethers. Hunter agreed that a woman to keep Adrian busy sounded like a good idea. Whatever would make Adrian happy would make Hunter happy as well. So he suggested a few names to Adrian, but all of them were rejected in one way or another. So Hunter asked him who he did want, and Adrian said there was a girl he'd seen at some of his clubs that had caught his eye. So Hunter gave him the go ahead to check it out. The ironic part is that Adrian meant Charity. He'd been watching Charity, but when I came with her that Saturday night he decided I was better merchandise." Piper's eyes had become fuzzy with tears and what-ifs.
"I can't believe that Hunter would work behind The Council's back like that. I had wondered why the last New York City elder had been so quickly replaced with such a young and inexperienced vampire. Perhaps young and impressionable would be a more accurate description." Thierry shook his head slightly in thought.
"For the next eight months I was kept locked inside of that house. Adrian wanted to keep me there until the world forgot about me, and the missing posters with my face on them went away. I was forced to turn my back on my life. All of my friends, Joyce, Mike, my father—I would never see any of them again. Instead it was a house full of strangers with a dark man as my keeper. The amazing thing is that in the beginning I actually felt some affection towards Adrian. Later, I learned that most made vampires experience a blood-bond with the one who changes them. For those first several months, though, I adored Adrian and respected everything he said and did." Piper shook her head faintly as if in disbelief.
"Piper, did Adrian ever…" Thierry's eyebrows narrowed as he searched for a tactful way to phrase his question. "…hurt you in any way? As in force himself or others on you? Or were you left alone? I guess what I'm saying is, what did he do with you once he had you there?"
"Just what he'd promised Hunter. I went with him to all of the fancy balls and dinners, but I refused to speak with any of the tyrants there. After my first dinner at the elder of Detroit's house, I looked at those men in their suits with their blood martinis and realized that power is like sea water – one sip and you are thirsty for more and more.
"Adrian did buy me countless new outfits to wear to the occasions, however. As I said before, he kept me locked in the house during the day. After about a year with him he let me go out on my own and believe me I didn't hesitate. He gave me money to go shopping or to a play, but I found those things tiring after a while. Instead I found myself rediscovering the city and the people in it, and envying their precious lives. I would go to the park and just sit on an aloof bench and watch the people go by. Sometimes I went to museums and did the same thing. I was so lonely and homesick that it had become a permanent sting inside of me. Certainly I had the latest fashions and trends – courtesy of Adrian's charge cards – but I didn't have anyone to talk to." Piper sighed and folded her arms gently across her chest.
"In answer to the first part of your question: no, in the beginning it wasn't rape. I told you that I had a certain infatuation with Adrian. I went willingly to him when he called. There were times of course when he was demanding, but I always forgave him. I was so naïve." She frowned and looked up at Thierry.
He leaned forward in the desk chair again and folded his hands on the wood surface in front of him. "Piper, you keep saying 'in the beginning' or 'when it started'. Why do you keep using those phrases? Did something happen that changed everything you said, something with Adrian or Hunter?"
Piper's face softened immensely and she slid down in her chair a tiny notch. "No, nothing happened involving them. It was me. Everything became different because of what I did. Nothing was the same when I met Connor." Her voice broke on the name her chin trembled almost imperceptibly. If Thierry hadn't been reading the emotions in her mind, he would have sworn that she was going to cry. Instead, there was a distinct sense of longing and peace in her mind at the thought of this person.
"Piper, who is Connor?" Thierry asked softly.
"Connor was my souldmate."
Chapter Three
Thierry stared at this poor girl who had faced a fate similar to his own – unwilling conversion. Piper had yet to look him in the eyes while speaking, but Thierry could understand her hesitation. It must have been difficult to relive such a painful experience, but he had no idea of what was to come.
"What happened when you woke up?" He inquired softly.
She took in a deep breath and stayed fixated on her hands. She had folded them in her lap when the recollection had begun, and now they were fidgeting nervously.
"I woke up naked and alone in between the sheets of a bed I'd never seen or smelled before in my life. How I knew I'd never smelled it before scared me out of my wits. I looked around for some clothes and found a bathrobe lying on a table nearby. I climbed out of the giant bed and wrapped it around myself. Then I went into the adjoining bathroom. What I saw in the mirror fascinated me. My eyes were…different. My hair had become shinier as well. I looked like a model -- like the people at the Black Iris. My throat was becoming more and more constricted by the minute. I tried to cup my hands under the sink for a drink of water, but that did nothing to satiate the burning need that had grown inside of me. I couldn't see or think about anything but the hunger. It had taken me over, and by the time I heard Adrian approaching I was writhing on the floor in pain.
He came into the room with a small boy next to him, perhaps nine or ten, and held the child by his shoulders. I could tell the boy had been sedated somehow by the vapid look in his eyes. I didn't care at that point, however. I lunged for the breathing body and fed. I was uncontrollable. It felt so good to have what I'd been dying without just moments before. When I pulled back the life in the boys eyes had gone out. He was dead." Piper's face twisted into a grimace, but she refused to let herself cry.
"Adrian called some men to dispose of 'it'. They came and dragged the body away. He didn't care that it was just a little boy. He told me then what I had become-- a creature of the night, the most powerful being on earth. I refused to accept anything he was saying and ran to the bathroom. I wanted to throw-up, but I couldn't because my body needed the blood too much right after the change. I threw myself down on the bed and cried. Adrian sat next to me and stroked my hair. He just kept repeating over and over how it's always a shock at first but soon I'd embrace it. Then I would thank him and be the perfect companion. I was a captive." Piper's voice had taken on a dead resonance, a cold that chilled Thierry down to his undead heart.
"Did Adrian tell you why he changed you? It sounds to me like you're an illegal vampire." Thierry tried to make his voice as gentle as possible, but Piper ignored his consideration.
"Oh Adrian had his reasons. He always had reasons." Piper finally raised her gaze to look Thierry dead in the eye. "He got permission from Hunter."
"Hunter?! Hunter Redfern gave his grand nephew Adrian the right to break Night World law?" Thierry leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyebrows.
"After Quinn betrayed him, Hunter needed a new successor. Delos turned out a mistake as well. He felt that he needed someone of his own blood, no matter how diluted, who had a thirst for power to match his own. His search led him to Adrian's front step. Of course Adrian accepted the position as Hunter's second-in-command, but he had a few demands of his own to make. Now that Adrian was a full fledged elder who practically had a seat on the council, he'd need an ornament. Someone to take with him to all of the Night World functions and Council get-togethers. Hunter agreed that a woman to keep Adrian busy sounded like a good idea. Whatever would make Adrian happy would make Hunter happy as well. So he suggested a few names to Adrian, but all of them were rejected in one way or another. So Hunter asked him who he did want, and Adrian said there was a girl he'd seen at some of his clubs that had caught his eye. So Hunter gave him the go ahead to check it out. The ironic part is that Adrian meant Charity. He'd been watching Charity, but when I came with her that Saturday night he decided I was better merchandise." Piper's eyes had become fuzzy with tears and what-ifs.
"I can't believe that Hunter would work behind The Council's back like that. I had wondered why the last New York City elder had been so quickly replaced with such a young and inexperienced vampire. Perhaps young and impressionable would be a more accurate description." Thierry shook his head slightly in thought.
"For the next eight months I was kept locked inside of that house. Adrian wanted to keep me there until the world forgot about me, and the missing posters with my face on them went away. I was forced to turn my back on my life. All of my friends, Joyce, Mike, my father—I would never see any of them again. Instead it was a house full of strangers with a dark man as my keeper. The amazing thing is that in the beginning I actually felt some affection towards Adrian. Later, I learned that most made vampires experience a blood-bond with the one who changes them. For those first several months, though, I adored Adrian and respected everything he said and did." Piper shook her head faintly as if in disbelief.
"Piper, did Adrian ever…" Thierry's eyebrows narrowed as he searched for a tactful way to phrase his question. "…hurt you in any way? As in force himself or others on you? Or were you left alone? I guess what I'm saying is, what did he do with you once he had you there?"
"Just what he'd promised Hunter. I went with him to all of the fancy balls and dinners, but I refused to speak with any of the tyrants there. After my first dinner at the elder of Detroit's house, I looked at those men in their suits with their blood martinis and realized that power is like sea water – one sip and you are thirsty for more and more.
"Adrian did buy me countless new outfits to wear to the occasions, however. As I said before, he kept me locked in the house during the day. After about a year with him he let me go out on my own and believe me I didn't hesitate. He gave me money to go shopping or to a play, but I found those things tiring after a while. Instead I found myself rediscovering the city and the people in it, and envying their precious lives. I would go to the park and just sit on an aloof bench and watch the people go by. Sometimes I went to museums and did the same thing. I was so lonely and homesick that it had become a permanent sting inside of me. Certainly I had the latest fashions and trends – courtesy of Adrian's charge cards – but I didn't have anyone to talk to." Piper sighed and folded her arms gently across her chest.
"In answer to the first part of your question: no, in the beginning it wasn't rape. I told you that I had a certain infatuation with Adrian. I went willingly to him when he called. There were times of course when he was demanding, but I always forgave him. I was so naïve." She frowned and looked up at Thierry.
He leaned forward in the desk chair again and folded his hands on the wood surface in front of him. "Piper, you keep saying 'in the beginning' or 'when it started'. Why do you keep using those phrases? Did something happen that changed everything you said, something with Adrian or Hunter?"
Piper's face softened immensely and she slid down in her chair a tiny notch. "No, nothing happened involving them. It was me. Everything became different because of what I did. Nothing was the same when I met Connor." Her voice broke on the name her chin trembled almost imperceptibly. If Thierry hadn't been reading the emotions in her mind, he would have sworn that she was going to cry. Instead, there was a distinct sense of longing and peace in her mind at the thought of this person.
"Piper, who is Connor?" Thierry asked softly.
"Connor was my souldmate."