Tasiilaq, Greenland
December, 1988
A strong wind blew from the east as the sun began to dip below the freezing, cold ocean.
Two vampires stood face to face, nearly half a mile apart. Both bared their teeth ready to strike should the other move too suddenly.
"Why don't you just give up and let me have what I want? Either way, her fate is sealed. It was over the moment I caught her scent," James said in a calm voice. It portrayed none of his sickening intentions.
"Why make me chase you across every fucking continent? Are you afraid to fight," Victoria taunted him. She wanted him angry and irrational. It would be easier to kill him.
"Just let me have her, Tori. We can go back to the way things were before. When you were mine. We were happy, weren't we? We had everything we wanted. Don't you miss it?"
Victoria was silent for a long moment, simply staring at his once, handsome face. James stared back with a frantic look in his eyes. It was as if he had driven himself mad with this obsession over Raven's blood. His lips were pulled into a wry smile that looked plastic.
He looked like a demon, a scourge that needed to be irradicated. Calling on the good ole days would not be able to keep him alive.
"I'll give her to you on one condition," Victoria said casually, taking the smallest step forward. He backed up, causing rocks to fall from the cliff behind him.
The expression of shock and awe on his face was so severe that she couldn't believe it. That was one emotion she had never seen on him before. He was always calculated. It seemed his hunger was clouding his brain. She would take advantage of that.
"You can't keep treating me the way you do, James. That's why I decided to take in the human. You weren't making me feel loved," she whispered in a shaky voice, allowing her manipulative skills to shine.
James' face softened, and she knew she had him. He had never been able to resist being needed. He viewed her as his and this attention seeking turned him on. She had to keep herself from sneering. This scenario made more sense to him than her actually caring for Raven.
With only a moment of hesitation, James was coming closer to her. The small smirk at the corner of his lips irked her soul.
"Tori, I knew this was some sort of punishment. You don't have to worry about that anymore. I swear it. Maybe I'll even share her with you."
When his arms wrapped around her, she tensed up for a moment and shut her eyes tight. Her gift was absolutely shrieking at her to get away, but she had to do this. She could not keep chasing him across the globe, and aching day in and day out to be with her...Raven.
"I love you, James," Victoria forced the words out of her mouth and felt disgust curl in her gut.
He did not reply. Instead, choosing to pull at her shirt, trying to take it off. This was her cue.
Before she could bite down into the crook of his neck, the wind blew hard. It carried a familiar scent that made her wrap her arms around James tightly to keep him from running.
Laurent appeared as if he were a ghost to wrap his right arm around James' neck. She was confused as to why he hadn't simply ripped his head off until she saw the stump where his right hand used to be.
"Get the fuck off me!" James roared, thrashing in their hold.
Victoria smirked and bit down into his neck. When she pulled back, a chunk of his flesh came with her. Her beast rejoiced at the sound of his blood curdling screams. She gripped his head, trying to rip it from his body.
James thrashed with all of his might, shaking himself free of a crippled Laurent. Victoria attacked with all she had, swiping with deadly nails and dodging powerful blows. She screamed when he managed to dig his fingers into the side of her neck, deep into the flesh. She couldn't remember that last time she had felt physical pain so intense.
Laurent took this distraction to grab James' left arm and pull with all of his might. He immediately tried to pull away but that only made it worse.
In a matter of seconds, his arm was separated from his body as if he were a doll. The sound he released echoed through the forest and reverberated off the glaciers around them.
It was then that James knew there was no way he could possibly win. Without hesitating, he took off towards the ocean. Victoria followed, teeth bared and dripping with venom, but she was not fast enough to catch him.
"You're as good as dead," she growled as he dove into the Arctic Ocean gracefully.
Laurent watched his old friend collapse onto the frozen ground with sad eyes. Victoria was coming completely undone. Her entire being being was consumed with killing James. To see him walk away free yet again made her feel completely and utterly hopeless.
"I'm sorry. I've failed you twice," Laurent apologized. She shook her head adamantly.
"You haven't failed me. I'm glad you're even alive. This is all my doing. I brought Ray into a world she doesn't belong in. I should have...I should have..."
"Don't even say it. If you would have left her in that house, she would not be alive today."
"I wouldn't have left her there. We could've killed him then and I could've turned her in to an orphanage or given her to a human family that wanted a child. I don't know. I don't think she'll be safe until she's turned. And what if she doesn't want to be turned? Everything is fucked," Victoria muttered, wishing she were able to cry.
She just wished her eyes could overflow for once. The frustration she felt was overwhelming.
Laurent placed his only hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. He knew she didn't mean that. He knew she would have never been able to leave his niece at that point. She was simply overcome with emotions that he could scarcely comprehend.
When Victoria finally calmed down, she let out a deep, unneeded breath to steady herself. She turned to Laurent and looked down at his stump sadly. That was her fault too.
"What happened," she finally asked. Part of her did not want to know..
"Well, I did what you asked. James was never one to be underestimated. We fought for a while and I thought I was nearly victorious. Until, he ripped my hand off. It was...incapacitating. I've never been dismembered before. I ran for it and he didn't follow," Laurent explained grimacing deeply. Victoria cringed as well.
"I'm sorry, Laurent. The first time is always the worst."
"I think the worst part was finding it. Well, the pile of ashes that used to be my hand. At least I took more from him than he took from me."
Laurent looked down at James' arm. It twitched and writhed like something out of a horror film. He grabbed the matches from his pocket and lit the limb on fire. They watched it burn with purple flames and thick, gray smoke billowing up towards the clouded sky.
"I have to follow him. He's on his way to tell the Volturi about me, about Raven. It's time to face my past, I guess," Victoria sighed, feeling a complex exhaustion that only vampires could.
Laurent grimaced, before wiping his face clean of emotion. There was no time for fear.
"I'm coming."
Victoria shook her head at him.
"I've asked enough of you. You need to go and be happy. You don't have to help me carry my burdens. Once again, this is my problem."
With that, she walked away, fully expecting him to take off in the opposite direction.
Instead, Laurent came to stand beside her at the edge of the cliff. Victoria rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend's stubborn loyalty.
"I can't carry as much as I used to anyway. I believe I'll just follow you."
Dear Vic,
I'm almost twelve now.
That means I'm a preteen. It's not much different than being ten.
Only a few things have changed.
I'm three inches taller. I know how to play piano and guitar pretty well so far. I'm getting into music a lot more. I can speak Spanish but not perfect yet. I'm getting better at gymnastics.
This year Kate says she'll teach me how to fight. Tanya is teaching me about literature and poetry. Maybe I'll send you some when I get better.
Irina, Carmen, and Ele are teaching me everything else.
Kate bought me a bunch of bras that I don't wanna wear. They're uncomfortable and itchy, but she says I have to. Ugh.
I won't explain what else happened. Eleazar thought I was dying, haha. Just know that being a girl sucks and it hurts alot and its just not okay and you should be happy you don't have to deal with it.
Sometimes I hate being a girl.
Oh yeah, Ele says I have a gift, but I'm not sure about that. A physical shield, he calls it.
When I try to follow Kate's instructions I can't get it to expand or whatever she said. We're gonna keep trying but it's not very fun. I think Ele is just crazy or something.
I'm still mad at you though.
That hasn't changed.
Tanya told me that once I'm a teenager, I get to go to high school. Mainly because I won't stop complaining about wanting friends. Friends that aren't "angels" and who are my age.
I just feel really alone sometimes, but I'm not as sad as I used to be. I distract myself from that ache in my chest with other stuff. I'm just frustrated and angry about it now. I still cry at night sometimes though.
I always feel like something's missing.
I think I'm accepting that you're gone and I need to make new friends.
Even if none of them will be as cool as you, haha.
They tell me that you love me and if you could be with me, you would. When I ask why you can't, they just say I'm too young to understand.
I'm not.
I'm still waiting for you, Vic.
Love, Ray
