I'm quite pleased with this one and, though it doesn't really move anywhere much it's a suitable opening for the next chapter. I kind of lost my steam nearer to the end, therefore its got less happening then I would have liked and the writing style wavers a bit nearer to the end. Other than that, I think it's fine. Heh. Also considering that it's been AGES since I last updated. I write this for you, my reviewers, and for no one else and you guys are the only reason I haven't abandoned this. So I hope you'll enjoy!

Also, as a side note (I've no idea how many times I've said this) It would be grately appreciated if any of you guys could check out my fic on fictionpress 'Hunter' I go by the same penname so it's not that hard to find and I probably update more frequently.

Now, with that all said, on with the chapter! (replies at the bottom)


Chapter 15

The sun danced upon the horizon; a red rolling disk in the distance bathed in luminescent light, surrounded by hundreds of colours blurring from its edges. The land was dull, hazy, the sun spilling over its surface and blurring the landscape, sending an omniscient orange glow cascading from its edges and rising into the dense morning air. A hill rose before the sun, bathed in a dull orange light, the grass tinged a pale green from the wavering sunlight cascading over its surface.

Its vintage point was shadowed. Something dark and blurred was silhouetted by the pale light of the rising sun. A dark blur –a horse- and a figure, slowly approaching, cutting through the air at a rampant speed as it approached the town, the castle behind it a mere dot upon the horizon.

The figure stopped its horse, pulled the reins, a soft neighing sound filtering across the hill and echoing through the air. He jumped off, landing upon the grass with feline agility, then pulled at the reins once again, bowed the horse down, and sat upon the edge of the hill; overlooked the wide expanse of land stretching beneath him.

It looked so calm, so peaceful, basked in a silent serenity and overcome by a pale, white glow dancing from its edges and submerging it in an innocent haze. It was like light, light being fed into the edges and slowly disappearing as it reached the centre, slowly being overcome by darkness and a thick layer of fear and mistrust.

They were his people –his country.

What right had he had to just leave them like that? To just leave them to his brother?

Had he really been that selfish –that naïve?

What had he done?

Merloch ran his hand through the grass, coiling a single blade beneath his fingertips and tearing it out, ripping it into shreds, then digging once again for another. It was like a cycle: pull, tear, shred, drop, then pull once again. It was almost instinctive, as if his hands knew what to do and his brain had no linkage to his actions, to his thoughts, to his movements. It was all just instinct.

Had everything just been instinct?

Had it always been instinct?

How could he have been so stupid, so thoughtless, so cold?

Had he really thought that just by running away from it all, by leaving it behind, it would disappear –cease to exist?

Had he really been so self centred that he had thought his actions would hold no consequence, that his actions would affect only him and have no impact upon those around him?

And now everyone was involved, now everyone had to pay for his mistakes, for his idiocy, for his cowardliness. He was on the edge of a cliff, watching the water foam beneath him, rise and crash against the rocks in thick torrents before slowly diminishing and rising once again in a never ending cycle. But the cycle had to end. He had to make it end. He had to pay for his mistakes –he had to solve it, because he knew that he was the only one who could.

Because of him, everyone was now a part of the pact –the blood pact. Everyone was involved in a feud between him and his twin brother, a feud from hundreds of years ago. Everyone: the people of his country, the bureau of time, Flint, Dr. Goodman, Dr. Grey, Tony…Sara. Especially Sara; he had pulled her into this mess and now it was up to him to take her out, no matter what.

He was the only one who could solve this; the only one who could end it. And he had to act fast –act now.

Merloch heaved himself up off of the grass and swung his legs over the horse, slowly mounting its rigid back. His eyes strayed over the town, once, twice. He grinned and pulled at the reins, allowing the air to lash against his hair, basking in its coolness.

He had a plan.


oOOooooooooooooOOo

Sara stretched her arms, yawned and gently kicked off the blankets. She slipped out of bed and made her way toward the balcony, pulling open the curtains and stepping out onto its smooth exterior. Her bare feet brushed against the cool marble, the coldness tingling her soles and sending a soft chill reverberating through her feet, her legs.

She sighed and leaned against the railing, allowing the cool morning breeze to lash against her face and send her hair dancing beneath its inferno, dancing like waves crashing against the rocks and falling back into the sea. The fresh air tingled her nose, washed through her nostrils and sent a cool chill omitting through her body.

"You're up early."

Sara pivoted, suddenly, then retained her calm demeanour and leaned against the railing, her arms folded.

"Don't you just love the morning, Cathy?"

Cathy raised an eyebrow and folded the loose dress hanging from her arms, once, twice. She placed it onto the bed and made her way towards the wardrobe, her eyes straying over the clothes rail.

"You won't find any hangers in there. The clothes change every time you open it."

"You're very…happy, today."

Sara grinned. "And why does that come as a surprise?"

Cathy shrugged, then closed the wardrobe and leaned against its exterior, imitating Sara's pose. "It's…unusual."

"And why is that?"

She shrugged again and made her way to the bed, lifting up the neatly folded dress lay upon it. "It just is."

"Elaborate."

"You're usually really…thoughtful. And you dwell a lot, especially recently. Ever since Merloch escaped, that is."

Sara grinned once again and made her way back inside, slumping onto the bed. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Cathy frowned. "What do you mean by 'okay'?"

Sara sighed, then grinned broadly. "I mean, okay, I get your point."

Cathy creased her brows, then made her way to the bed and sat beside Sara.

"No…" she began. "You mean 'okay I'm okay with the answer you gave, Cathy, because it's so far from the truth that I'm okay with it,' right?"

Sara frowned and picked up a pillow, then gently hit Cathy with it. "Since when did you become so unusually analytical?"

"Since when did you become so unusually hyper?"

"Since last night."

Cathy's eyes widened as Sara let out a small gasp and covered her mouth. She picked up another pillow and hit her with it.

"You can't hide anything from Clever Cathy." Cathy grinned.

Sara frowned. "I'm not hiding anything from you," she replied.

"What happened last night?"

Sara glared. "Nothing happened last night."

Cathy rolled her eyes. "Something happened last night. Otherwise, you wouldn't have admitted to last night making you happy."

"I didn't admit to anything."

Cathy rolled her eyes, again, and once again hit Sara with the pillow. "You know that I'm going to get it out of you, so quit dancing around the subject otherwise you'll be late for breakfast."

Sara got up and made her way to the armoire, rummaging through its contents and pulling out a dress. She made her way towards the full-length mirror and held it before herself, surveying her reflection.

"I'm getting used to these. Like, before, it seemed so weird not to wear jeans and tracksuit bottoms but now… I kind of like them. The dresses, I mean."

Cathy furrowed her brows. "Number one, I have no idea what a 'jean' is and number two, quit dancing around the subject!"

Sara grinned and twirled before the mirror. "Oh but, Cathy, darling, I'm standing perfectly still. Does it look to you as if I am submerging in more aesthetically pleasing movements?"

Cathy groaned. "You're not going to put me off by using big words, you know. I'm not so easily swayed."

"I never said that you are."

Cathy rolled her eyes. "The Master is expecting you for breakfast, milady. So quit wasting time and tell me already."

Sara quickly stripped off her night gown and pulled on the dress, then made her way to mirror and worked a brush through her hair, wrenching out the many knots that had accumulated themselves throughout the night.

"I told you, I have nothing to tell."

Cathy ran her hands over the dress, which was neatly folded in her arms. Her eyes strayed over the room, once, twice, then stopped. "Why is there a large path of water beneath the door of your balcony?"

Sara tugged at her hair, the brush cutting through it harshly, causing her to bite her lip in pain. "It was probably raining last night and the water must have seeped in beneath the door."

Cathy opened her mouth, about to say something, then stopped, finally deciding not to breach the subject any further. "Do you want any help with your hair?"

Sara handed her the brush in reply, and she hurriedly pulled it into a neat braid. "Let's go and have breakfast."

Sara nodded. "Yeah, okay."

And with that they left.


oOOooooooooooooooooOOo

Sara rotated her spoon, her eyes cast over the hundreds of ripples as they cascaded across the surface of her bowl, strayed to the edges and slowly disappeared. Cathy's footsteps echoed through a heavy silence, accompanied by the heavy clanging of a few plates as she lay out the table.

"Did you sleep well?"

Sara looked up, caught off guard for a moment, then replied, "Yes, why do you ask?"

Verloch shrugged, then leaned back into his seat, his breakfast lay their, neglected. "The weather –it was far from pleasant."

She coiled her fingers over the end of the spoon, clutched it tightly and stirred once again. "Oh, was it? I didn't notice."

The hall was once again basked in a thick coat of silence, before Verloch decided to speak up once again.

"We had a visitor last night."

Sara kept her eyes downcast, her grip upon the spoon tightening. "Who?"

"Merloch."

The heavy sound of dishes crashing to the floor filtered through the room, followed by a gasp. Sara turned her gaze, her eyes meeting with Cathy's.

"I'm sorry, sir. They slipped."

Verloch cast his gaze over her bent form as she gently brushed the broken shards onto her apron. He opened his mouth, about to say something, then decided against it and instead replied, "Get it cleaned up quickly."

Cathy nodded, her eyes never leaving Sara's.

She knew. Cathy knew.

Sara turned her attention back to her breakfast and stirred once again.

You better have something up your sleeve, Merloch.


oOOoooooooooooOOo

Hoof beats pounded against the rough earth, shouts echoing through the small bazaar as a single horse hurtled through the crowd, slicing through the air like a knife cutting through flesh. A figure was cloaked in black, a hood concealing his features, the tail of his cloak flying behind him as he purged deeper into the centre of the bazaar.

"Follow me."

A whisper echoed through the crowd, mesmerized them, entranced them, sent their minds dancing to a soft tune like the fatal melody of the Pied Piper.

"Follow me."

Their eyes scoured over the figure, over and over again, the recognition barely dawning, a faint wisp of smoke searing atop a candle, waiting for the fire, waiting to be lit and to crackle above the soft wax. They followed him, their legs moving without accord, or maybe they were moving willingly, maybe they were drawn to the soft melody of the voice playing in their ears, coveting their minds and purging them with this deep sensation, this necessity for more.

A small stage was set out in the centre of the bazaar, a stage constructed of dozens of thick planks of wood strewn haphazardly atop a few old stands. The reins of the horse were pulled, a soft neighing sound issuing throughout the centre of the bazaar as the figure jumped off and made his way toward the stage. He mounted it, slowly; all eyes trained upon him, watching his every movement.

Why were they drawn here?

What did he do?

Was he a sorcerer –a magician?

What was he promising them? What was the promise of the melody they had heard –the two words laced with so much, yet so little?

Who was he?

He took the centre of the stage, the air basked with a thick coating of anxiety. All was silent, like a vacuum, a vacuum stretching out to the deepest corners of space. His footsteps echoed throughout the bazaar, all eyes trained on him, and then he stopped.

He pulled off his hood, and grinned.


Yes, yes. I know that not much happened. But as I said at the top, I lost steam nearer to the end and I found I couldn't write decently if I continued. So you'll have to be patient. I'll try and update faster this time, depends on my schedule :D. Bloodpact's nearing an end, it'll probably go to about twenty chapters. So I hope you guys will stick with me until then!

Chisakami Saiyuki; LOl. We'll see about Verloch finding out what happened, and sorry that I didn't grant your second wish. I took quite a long time on updating this –frowns- but I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

The Spiked Dragon; Oooh. You gave me three reviews, or are there three spiked dragons? I'm not sure. Oh well. I'll reply to all three reviews. :D. I'm glad that you think this rocks. –blushes- personally, I reckon it's pretty sh-t heh. But I decided to continue it cause I don't like leaving things unfinished, and I only do so in the most dyer of circumstances. We'll see about the pairings. J most people want Sara/Merloch. And thanks for saying this rules J comments like that put a smile on my face.

Doray; Oooh, light and not very heart pounding? Nice. Heh. I'm glad I managed to write a chapter like that. Girl, duh, of course I'd consider your vote. :D. You're my reviewer and first andforemost one of my coolest friends. And now you have msn –sticks out tongue- so we can talk whenever we catch each other online. I have no idea why I'm the first to call you wicked…'cause you're really wicked so you deserve to be called it as much as possible. :D.

MirokuLover; I don't think that Vampire diaries has a fourth one, I think it's only a trilogy. It didn't mention anything about a fourth, anyway. Hmmn. Aww, you're so nice. Lol, damon was brilliant. Part of me actually wanted him to go with Elenna instead of Stefan. Not that I didn't love Stefan, it's just Damon was so hott. Heh. Lol. I'm weird like that. Yeah, there are quite a lot of good things on the internet compared to published stuff. Have you ever been on fictionpress? There's some wicked stuff on there. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thNx for your review!

Dutch Cheshire Cat; I'm glad you liked it . Yeah, my style has progressed a lot since I started with this. I started writing this over two years ago I think…so…yeah…J. It's funny for me to look back at the earlier chapters and at how badly I used to write. I'm glad you think I've improved, that's really nice to hear and it makes me happy. :D. as pathetic as that does sound. I write on fictionpress too, you see. And I write there more than I do here so this fic is more like a way for me to get out of writers block than anything else. J. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for your review! It was short but it made my day!

22RnB22; Lemon? Nah. I probably won't put one in. it would totally undermine the fic and ruin it. As for a threesome, hell no. lol. That just would not work. Anyway, that sort of stuff creeps me out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reviewing.

I'm sorry if I missed anyone out and if I did, be sure to let me know! And I'll give you double replies next chapter and a line of sorries :D.