A/N : Oh man! It's been forever since I've updated this, I know. This is just a friendly reminder to everyone that this is written largely based of an RP that was done this past summer…which we've since lost a large part of, so yeah. ;; Hopefully there'll be more of this coming soon.
From
Dawn to Dusk
Chapter 7 : Fighting Fire With Fire
Some time later, the young girl dropped the dagger along the edge of the fountain with a clank. The fistfuls of beautiful curls that had once dangled elegantly from her head now lay in dirty clumps on the ground; a reminder of the grace and beauty she'd had so long ago. But she felt more beautiful now than she ever had – she felt in control.
Lifting both palms to her forehead, she slowly combed her hands through her hair, closing her eyes as her fingertips brushed against her scalp. This was so much better – her head felt a great deal lighter, now. As she dropped her hands to her side, she smiled to herself, eyes opening slightly as the light breeze blew her now chin-length hair slightly, a few blue whisps from her dyed bangs falling before her face.
She wasn't sure what she'd noticed first the slight shadow that seemed to consume her and only her as she knelt before the fountain; the odd, almost inhuman presence that seemed to hang in the air; or the ice cold hand that gently, and so hesitantly, was rest upon her shoulder.
"…Mal?"
Moros. She closed her eyes again. She'd almost forgotten that he'd been there in the library with her; she was so stressed out, so afraid, so upset over this entire thing that she'd totally forgotten that she was the one who chose to follow him, not the other way around. But no, here he was…
Malanda turned her head slowly, bright blue eyes opening wide as they beamed up at him, still scared and shivering as a doe. Sure, she was feeling a great deal braver, now, but she still hadn't figured a way to express that. Instead her tearstained visage shed light on the terrible, cowardly self she really was beneath the glamour and the independence. Moros seemed to notice this, frowning as his ice-blue eyes met hers.
"Are you… okay?"
No, no I'm not. Antony's a dirty bastard.
You could have killed him, why didn't you kill him?
"I'm fine." She turned away, ashamed. Moros was a vampire. Vampire, she reminded herself. He could do things she couldn't, like overhear thoughts. Like sense the fact that she was blatantly lying to him, blatantly lying to herself. Her freshly-cut locks swung forward slightly as she hung her head.
"No you're not." Malanda's companion crouched beside her, tipping his head forward slightly in an effort to make her eyes meet his. She avoided him, though. She wouldn't look. She would just pretend he wasn't sitting there beside her, his eyes cutting her like diamonds; like razors. She would just…
"Well, I will be. Just you wait. Come tonight, I'll take Antony's kills – again – and this time with the wand he made me. How's that for payback…" She was speaking more to herself than Moros, which was made more obvious by the fact that her words were mere mumbles, hidden beneath her hair (what was left of it, anyway.) It was lucky Moros was undead; no mortal being could have heard her, much less understood the words she said.
"Mal, you're not going to be okay. I mean… you might be… for awhile… but what about next time?"
"What about next time?" She swung her head to face him, almost fiercely, causing the vampire to pull his hand from her shoulder. She regretted that; her expression softening slightly, but her words still laced with venom. "I'll deal with it. I'll run away, I'll sob till my eyes bleed, I don't care. Maybe I'll cut something else off; like one of Antony's limbs. Who the hell knows."
"Oh, so you're just going to let him treat you like shit?" Moros scowled at the girl. Malanda could tell he was getting frustrated; she could always tell.
"He… he doesn't treat me like shit all the time!"
"So the fact that it's only 'once in a while' makes it okay? I thought you were better than that, Mal."
What the hell did he mean by that? Malanda scowled. She hated arguing with Moros, she hated his opinions. Well, sortof, anyway. She'd never tell him how much she wished she could be like him; passionate and unbending. Instead she held her chin up a bit too high and caved under pressure and persuasion, which was never a good thing for someone who had intentions of persuading others. She just continued to hope that her enemies would never find out about her subtle weaknesses.
"Yeah, well…" She lifted a hand to brush her hair behind her ear, but it was a lost cause; the black-and-blue strands slipped down before her face again. Moros sighed in response, shifting his position so he was sitting Indian style. He watched Malanda in silence for a long time, considering her emotions slightly as he assessed the situation.
"Mal… why do you stay with him?" The girl winced. She'd hoped that Moros would drop the subject, but apparently not.
"Because it's free food, a roof over my head, and a warm bed to sleep in."
"But is being in a relationship with Antony really worth all of that?"
In one quick motion, Malanda snatched the dagger off the edge of the fountain and drove it into the ground, dangerously close to Moros' knee. "We're not in a relationship!" Moros didn't even flinch.
"Then what would you call it? It sure looks that way, Mal-"
"We're NOT!" She shouted loud enough for anyone in the dungeons beneath the mansion to hear, almost shaking slightly. Her reddened eyes welled up with tears as she turned further away. "We're not…"
Moros rubbed his forehead, clearly agitated with Malanda's actions, but feeling at least somewhat sorry for her. "Mal…" After a moment, he gently attempted to lift her chin, forcing her to look at him. She didn't resist, but kept her eyes averted. She wouldn't let him see the shame she was feeling, now.
"…what?"
"I just… I'm worried about you. You can't let him keep doing this…"
"And why the hell not?" She glanced up again, her eyes focused dangerously on the vampire, glaring at him agitatedly.
"Look, it's your life, right?" He clenched his teeth together irritated as he stood up, turning from the girl. "Just…" He glanced back at her once, shaking his head. "Nevermind."
"Moros…" She rose, her expression softening as she did so. "Look, I'm sorry…"
"You don't have anything to be sorry for. Antony's the one who should be apologizing."
"Well, I'm sorry anyway. But I don't see why you care so much…"
"I just do, alright? I don't know why…" He turned away from her once more, aggravatedly starting away from Malanda.
"Yes you do…" She somewhat harshly grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around to face her. The vampire continued to glance downward, however, avoiding her gaze.
"No, I don't."
"Moros…" Her voice was softer, now.
"Yes?" His light blue eyes beamed up at her through the long hair that fell before his eyes. Malanda frowned, letting their gazes meet for a moment.
"Nevermind." She scowled, removing her hand from his shoulder as she turned to go.
"Look, Mal…"
"I said nevermind."
Moros sighed somewhat exasperatedly, watching her walk away. Malanda was nearly out of the courtyard, one hand upon the stone archway that led towards the house when she heard his voice again, loud and echoing off the picturesque roof of Antony's lavish mansion.
"I like you, okay?"
Malanda froze, not daring to turn around.
