"Stop rubbing it." Jake elbowed Kira as she rubbed the patch over her left eye, the woman stuck her tongue out her hand dropping to her side.
Kira had sustained a significant amount of injuries when the floor collapsed: broken leg and ribs, a fractured wrist and arm. She had numerous lacherations, internal bleeding and a broken eye socket. As though she had slipped through the debris, Kira narrowly avoided being crushed, falling numerous floors below out of reach and out of sight. Far from where she had fallen, the human woman was found in the loading dock, intentionally hidden from any form finding her unless they knew where to look.
Rolling her good eye, "Look, I didn't fall two and a half floors to be told I can't scratch an itch." She frowned crossing her arms in her seat.
Jake handed her a beer, "Fair enough, Doctor Sanders did a hell of a job patching you up."
"Guess there's a couple perks to having vampire blood?" Kira popped the top.
The vampire chuckled, "Enough to join the dark side?"
Kira paused mid-sip, shooting him a glare against a joke in bad taste.
"Sorry."
Kira stood, Jake dropped his head in his hand at the stupidity of the comment he made without thinking. She walked passed Jake and Wolfgang who glanced at her after she went back towards the end of the train. Doctor Sanders had indeed healed her, using her own blood. As a vampire who had not gone through a full transition, her blood would allow for a gentler, though slower healing of the human's body. Broken bones were mended in days, fractures in hours, there was no surgery needed, and scaring would not occur. Still...for a few days Kira would be tender and sore.
Sitting in another compartment, enjoying a view of the German countryside, Emily turned in the rotating chair to greet Kira.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked, extinguishing a cigarette in the ashtray, "Still in pain?"
Shaking her head, "No." She exhaled in frustration, "Just...a lot on my mind."
Looking to the back of the train and the front, they were the only ones resent. The sound of the locomotive and the ambient noise was enough to ensure no one would hear them. Emily gestured to the seat in front of her, Kira turned around to the door she came from and shut the blinds, going to the seat offered after. Flexing her hands in and out, she felt her internal cup of fear and anxiety nearing a boiling point.
"He knew my name." She exclaimed clenching her jaw, "He knew my real name. That shouldn't be possible. I...I watched my entire family be slaughtered...right in front of me." Her words lost their frustration and instead began to spark an old, familiar, feeling within her.
She had long suppressed it, long hidden it deep within her. It was irrational, unpredictable, and a fury of emotion that would threaten her chances of survival. Hatred. Hatred of the vampire, what they did to the world, what they did to her family and what they did to her. Against her best efforts, it was never fully extinguished, those embers born out of the past were always present, never truly gone. Kira had allowed those embers to dwindle to near ashes, until being attacked and nearly dying, but unlike before she did not allow the fire to rage, she contained it, allowed it to be fed by her desire to survive. And now...those embers were being smothered by this chain, this Stigma.
"This vampire, you said he had 'cat-like' eyes?" Emily asked inquisitively.
Nodding, "It's the first time I've seen or heard of a vampire with eyes like that, I asked Carmilla and she looked surprised...scared even." Kira calmed the growing heat in her chest, "I've never seen her scared before."
Emily tilted her head curiously, "And he came to you?"
Kira nodded silently, thinking about his words, thinking about the meaning behind them. The coincidences in what he said was no doubt targeted, underling meanings meant to unsettle her and ending the conversation with her name; it was to make her believe him. This vampire sought her out specifically, knew how close to Carmilla she is, he did not go through all that trouble just to warn her the Empress would eventually kill her. Not that that much was not already common knowledge, Kira had been preparing and planning for that for a long time. Oh. She recalled another block in the road.
"I wanted to ask you about the Stigma."
Emily gestured 'go on' to Kira.
"You mentioned before the original version was to bind vampires to the one who branded them right?"
Nodding that she was correct in her memory the human continued.
"Is it possible that 'binding' is present in the one on my neck?"
"Absolutely not." Emily sternly rebutted, "I designed it to ensure no one could be bound to the commands of another. Despite my state now, I too was once human, in another life."
Looking out to the window, watching the rolling hills race by as the train effortlessly and seamlessly glided across the railroad tracks Kira said the word that more close describes the state she believed herself in.
"What about being sired?" She said quietly, rubbing her irritated neck, "Not necessarily being bound in the obedience sense, but a physical apprehensiveness on being seperated?"
The immortal doctor pondered over the term, her brown eyes deep in thought. Now that I think about it...Emily's eyes are also a normal color. Carmilla said that means she's never had human blood, but she's pretty old. Kira remembered the vampire never mentioning her actual age, but Carmilla and Eona both have mentioned the doctor being in their lives for a very long time. If that were the case, as a vampire not full-transitioned she should still be aging and yet she is not. In her experimentations did she stumble across a fountain of youth?
"When you say apprehensive...do you get sick when you're separated from Carmilla and Eona for a certain length of time or perhaps distance?" Emily questioned professionally.
Kira frowned, "Why would I get sick from being seperated from Eona? Kinda what I've been gunning for for a while you know."
"I need to know all the variables, they are both Purebloods of the Tepes line, it is possible you could become affected by both." The scientific of her was beginning to emerge.
Discontent with the idea that she could actually be sired to Eona for whatever reason Kira continued, "In New York, I tried to leave, I was going to slip out with everyone busy fighting, but then..." She clenched the arm of the chair tightly, the light of the day suddenly cut off by the train's entrance into a tunnel.
"Suddenly I started to hesitate, the more I thought about leaving, the sicker I got, like my legs were attach to led whenever I ever made the attempt." Thinking about it more, she began to wonder if her turning against her own people was also a twisted kind of loyalty.
Did this sire somehow corrupt her sense of self-preservation and intent of survival? Somehow it seemed to taint and cloud her mind by an unnatural and unwanted desire to not be separated. She of all people trained herself to never allow this, to shut off her emotions and disconnect from what was happening around her, to her. Her body was a tool, a tool to survive, that was never in question and it allowed for her to do just that for years. Now that was no longer enough, her mind was sharp, she knew how to play the Game and would use it for as long as possible.
The perfect opportunity came and yet...she did not take it, she could not.
Emily crossed her arms, "Are you certain it's a sire or...have you become attached to Carmilla herself?"
The armrest snapped, "Are you kidding me!" Kira shot up, "I could never-not a vampire-"
Without taking a defensive against Kira's anger she responded, "Yet your body doesn't seem to distinguish a difference." Calmly she continued, "Emotions may have nothing to do with it, the Stigma physically altered your physic, it's possible that there are lingering effects of vampirism, siring you to who would have been your creator."
"Wait-creator?" The broken armrest was released, dropped with a *clank*, "You're-you're talking about the one who bit me aren't you!" Kira stood, "The one who almost killed me-!"
Emily stood, her hands on Kira's shoulders trying to ease her down, "No, the Stigma needed a base, a power to counter your turning and a Pureblood against a Pureblood was your only chance."
"Meaning...?" Kira asked heated, but sitting down.
"Your base...was Carmilla."
The sky blue eyes flickered another hue, "What?" She gritted her teeth, "Carmilla...saved...me-no-no that doesn't make any sense!"
Kira shook her head rapidly, standing again pacing back and forth. Carmilla never had an interest in Kira before she found out about the human's preference and that was not until she was eighteen. She took Kira from that cell and gave her to Eona to raise, the human child was like a new pet to give to her niece back then. But... Kira frowned, holding her sides. Carmilla was there when I woke up, not Eona. Even if it was to warm her bed she kept me around. She exhaled frustrated. She protected me, listened to me. What was she brought there for, why would she stop Kira from changing? Did she know who tried to kill her, was she protecting them? Her? What the fuck is going on? Am I sired to Carmilla or are we really...
The shuttered door opened, Eona took a step into the train car, an awkward silence taking over.
"Yes?" Emily asked lightly, Kira too angry and frustrated to give an answer without snapping.
Eona's eyes wandered from Emily to Kira, "We're getting ready to arrive at the station, you guys coming?"
"We'll be there in a minute." Emily waved her away.
The door shut, Kira slammed her fist into the wall, breaking the wood. She turned tapping her head against the same wall, trying to wrack her brain for a truth that was not that. The two of them could not possibly be; it was a sire, it was a synthetic bond, a fake. Her and Carmilla could never be, it was nothing more than physical attraction, it was no more than friends with benefits, there was no emotion, no care; she was a blood bag to her, dessert; the next warm body.
"Addressing that concern at a later date, with more privacy, the vampire you met: He wants something from you." Emily changed the subject, "It maybe wise to find out what it is."
Kira looked at her confused.
"If he made contact with you once, he will again. He wants something from you and if he is willing to cross Carmilla to get to you nothing will stop him." Emily analyzed.
Holding her arms out Kira huffed, "I don't have anything. I'm no one, killing me does nothing."
"Maybe Kira Nightraven isn't who he's looking for."
The train began to slow, screeching to a halt, gravity having them lean forward.
"Either way..." Emily stood, collecting her bag, "I imagine you will meet again."
Leaving the train car, Kira was alone to think on the doctor, her friend's words. She began walking to the other end of the car, opposite of where everyone else was. What could he possibly want with me? My family wasn't anyone important; dad was a solider and mom was a nurse. I'm the only one left and i've spent my life in the Palace. Thinking about her past, she could scarcely remember anything before the Red Night. At the tender age of five she was thrown into hell on Earth without knowing anything more than how to survive.
If it's not about my parts, then is it about Carmilla? Eona? He's not warning me out of the goodness of his heart, he wants something. Was it to drive a rift between them? An angle could be to use her closeness to the Empress to somehow blackmail her into trying to assassinate her? If that was the case could he be working with someone within the Council? It was not be a fairy tail, plenty of the members are not thrilled with how Carmilla leads nor her choice in...partners.
Nevertheless, based on her research and discussions with Carmilla, the Council's support of her is greater now than that of the previous Empress. Eona's mother died shortly before the vampires declared war on humanity. Kira says 'died', but rumors still circulate that her death was never truly clarified: suicide. Many do not believe that to be the case, but without evidence, without a body, it is difficult to confirm it was anything, but. There are very few ways to kill a vampire, the only certain way is to destroy their core. It is fact that a vampire can destroy their own core and thus jill themselves, but given the state of the room when their found her remains—the entire room had been burned.
That's certainly a justification in wanting to kill the Empress. Use her human partner, easy scapegoat; blame the Last Stand; harder crackdown on human regulation. If Carmilla were to somehow be killed, no matter by what method, Eona is the next in line. She would be crowned Empress and rule the Empire. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Kira thought, given Eona's personality then and now she treats humans rather fair for a Pureblood of the Imperial Family. Is someone aiming to make her Empress then? She is not someone who can be manipulated or controlled though. Eona is a progressive who may even dissolve the Council which defeats the purpose if the goal is to retain or gain power.
If not about them, then it's about me. Again that makes no sense. Is there something about my family I didn't know about? What relevance would it have now though? The only option Kira saw was to wait, wait and see, wait and allow her new cat-eyed acquaintance to find her again. As unsettling as waiting for a blind spot was, she knew he was not foolish enough to meet with her when she was heavily guarded, he would wait when she was alone or vulnerable.
The door to the train car opened behind her.
"I know, I know I'm coming Em—" Kira turned, expecting Emily, but instead was faced with another.
Wolfgang shut the door behind him, "Expecting someone else?"
"I'd rather jump off a roof, but knowing you, you'd do the favor of throwing me." Kira glared with her one visible eye.
The Commander chuckled, "Is the worst all you expect of me?"
"Of most vampires, just because i'm the Empress's Pet, doesn't mean i'm an idiot." She said with a scowl, "And I'm smart enough to know which one is next in line to try to take a stab at me."
Continuing to laugh, Wolfgang walked toward her. He was a Pureblood Vampire, just like the Tepes, Eona's father and the window of the late Empress. Extremely protective of his daughter, he has been known to eliminate anyone and anything that would so much as lay a hand on a hair. Devoted and Loyal to the Imperial Family, his family has served the Tepes for thousands of years, many having given their lives to protect the Imperials.
Wolfgang has never liked Kira, in fact he thought Carmilla's taking of her was to set an example to others. He thought she would die quickly, just as many of the Council Members, making a cruel game of how long a human would last alone in the halls. It surprised him the day he went with her to acquire a human pet, that she had done so for Eona rather than her own amusement. Despite his disapproval of having a human companion...he was relieved as a father to see his daughter happy. She rarely smiled since her mother had died.
"Then this should come as to no surprise when I say this: do not get caught anywhere alone, especially during the Council meetings." Wolfgang said as a formality than a warning, "It would be troublesome if you were to be mistaken as a snack for another."
Kira crossed her arms, "I'm capable of taking care of myself thank you, I've done that for quite a long time."
"The Palace is nothing compared to the rest of the Council; you were sheltered, protected."
"I know how to play the Game." Kira said firmly.
Wolfgang scoffed, "A human has no place in the Game—"
"Which is why I learned how play." The human pointed out, "You've been gone for a long time so you still remember me as a kid—but i'm an adult now and i've learned a lot. I've learned how to go unnoticed, how to be invisible because now that's how i'm going to survive."
The vampire tilted his head in curiosity, "You think you're going to be cast out."
"I know I will. I'm human, I have a time limit, I'm only as valuable as the services I can provide and a warm bed cools faster than information." With great seriousness and certainty, Kira cast out any lingering thoughts of the Stigma, the unknown vampire and the sire.
"You overestimate my value if you think otherwise." She added.
Wolfgang walked toward her, "As a human? No. It is you who underestimates your value, not for what you are, but who you are, to them."
People began to disembark the train, filling the slightly illuminated station. It was near sunset now, the coming darkness a sign that the vampire's natural environment coming. Prowling the night, no human would be safe as they were stalked as they prey they were. Kira knew this feeling of stalking, feeling it all her life, her years in the Palace had not numbed nor dulled her to that fact. She did not grow weak behind tall walls and a cushioned lifestyle. A warm bed did not soften her to the reality of what was just outside the window. Kira may have turned a blind of action toward the treatment of other humans, but she did not mean she did not learn from it.
"Its doesn't change anything..." Kira said walking around Wolfgang, "I'm living on borrowed time."
Eona and Carmilla departed the train first out of formality. Greeted by a few Nobles and Purebloods they headed to the armored limousine accompanied by the Imperial Guard. Kira watched them leave from the train, waiting until the servants began to board tasked with retrieving belongings. She joined their ranks, having changed her attire to street clothes of a lower servant, having more formal attire for later in the evening. This is where her personal mission would begin, learning the servant routes and routines, see where the guards of the castle would be posted.
This was Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral home of the imperial family of Germany from more than a hundred years ago. Located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, it acted as the meeting located for many Council meetings before and post-war. While in the past the architectural blueprints were public knowledge, it ceased being accurate. Numerous modifications and alterations took place in the interior to accomidate the immortals; their needs and wants, interior decorating and such. Regardless it did not make it impossible to know what lurks within-Eona ensured she would not go blind and where there was historical castles, there were forgotten secret passages.
Helping the immortal servants, Kira noted immediately that there was not a single human among them. As she helped load the luggage, she also noted a few Imperial Guards remained stationed at the train, while this was not unusual for security, she noticed one broke off and followed as she and the servants finished loading the truck and hopped in the bed. Half-expecting the ride to be silent with the vampires glaring at the one who did not belong, she was surprised they engaged in conversation during the thirty-minute drive. Still, she was not alone, trusted staff members from the Palace were with her, aware of the decision to keep matters of the Palace within those walls.
"Its surprising to see a human a part of the Imperial staff." Stated a immortal woman, youthful, giving her forwardness it was likely she was newer and younger.
Kira thought it wise to answer for herself, "A slave is not worthy to be employed by her majesty. Her benevolence for allowing me to work and live is payment enough." She recited, this not being the first time she has said the line.
Keeping her eyes down, Kira showed submission, something her fellow staff members did not accept easily.
"She works well for a human, despite her physical disadvantages, Kira is one of the fastest learners we have ever had." Defended Edward, an ex-human who came to the house not long before Kira.
The others nodded in agreement. This helped win the staff in the truck over, but it was a pre-game, the real challenge was to continue her invisibility, working silently, inconspicuously while gathering the information she sought. Carmilla had briefed Kira on which Council members to pay closer attention to. There were twelve in all, each seemingly older and grumpier than the next. Nobles and Purebloods eager to play the Game, it is rare they have a new face. When the previous Empress died, Carmilla's place on the Council was left open, but she quickly awarded it to her niece Eona before she even sat on the throne. It did not win the new Empress any favors.
Taking the visitor's belongings to the back of the castle, the servants filed in, taking the baggage to the rooms set aside for them. It was a great advantage to know which vampire was in which room, especially to know which to avoid. There were some on the Council who enjoyed playing with their food before eating it. Others set their slaves out into the halls without a collar to be easy pickings for the wandering vampire out for a morning snack. Kira was very grateful that the Empress was her master now more than ever. To avoid that Kira wore a collar with the Empress's Sigil, having also applied makeup to cover up the Stigma as though it were never there. This collar was a thick leather, a ring was at the base of her throat, seeded comfortably in the curve. To both sides was the Imperial Sigil, fashioned like a belt in the back of her neck. The scarlet scarf was tied around her waist, she could not part with it, but she needed the collar to be visible.
Dinner would be served in the next hour, Kira found a place to change, removing her bandages, seeing most of her injuries healed. Afterwards, she followed the staff to the kitchen, receiving an order from one of the head maids to take tea to the Empress's Chamber and took the tray. Taking a cart, Kira rolled through the previously mapped hallways, which unfortunately had her cross one of the drawing rooms where she was surprised by the halting of her cart by a vampire's standing in her way.
"Ah." The vampire curled a toothy smirk, "What a treat you are." He said, holding the cart's end to keep her in place, "I wonder how sweet."
Kira lowered her head in a bow, "My lord, I have been tasked to bring tea to her majesty. If I may, she does not like to be kept waiting?"
"Oo, how tangy, a little fire in you." He hummed, opening the top to inspect the content, "I'm certain our Empress would not mind if one of her subjects takes care of their needs to better serve her." Reaching to her hand, his is grabbed, held in place by an elder african and bald vampire.
"If you value your life you will not touch her." The elder vampire threatened with a deep french accent.
A hand touched her shoulder, but she did not jump. Recognizing the touch.
"I agree." Eona stated appearing from thin air, "Touching a member of my house is grounds for death."
The first vampire hesitated, breaking into a cold sweat, his pride and boasting shriveling as a rasin. His eyes looked at the sigil on the collar. The crimson of his eyes paled, choking on an attempt at a response.
"L-lady Eona..." He bowed, "Surely such extremes are not necessary. Over livestock-"
Returning to the front, the older immortal stood to Kira's side.
"It does not matter what she is, she is the property of our Empress." He said, "If you were to touch her property what would stop you from aiming for her throne next?"
It took a great deal of restraint for Kira not to smirk, but this was not an ideal situation. She was having attention drawn to her, it was not ideal and she needed to defuse the situation quickly.
Keeping her head down and her voice low, Kira spoke up.
"My lady, my lord...it was a misunderstanding, I have been tasked with delivering her majesty tea and if I am delayed..."
The noble vampire gestured toward the end of the hall, "Of course, we should not keep a servant from her master. Please express our apologies to her majesty for the delay."
Bowing her head, she continued on, followed by Eona who waited a few more turns before they spoke.
"You alright?"
Kira scoffed, "No thanks to you. You know your saviors complex is getting old fast, I'm trying to keep a low profile and you jumping in like that makes it difficult to do my job."
"I won't apologize for protecting you." Eona stated without apology.
Growling with irritation, they began to turn to the short hallways where the Empress's room was, "Eona." Kira stopped before turning, "I'm serious, this...this needs to stop..."
For the last couple weeks Eona has been very forward about her intent on winning Kira over and Carmilla has tolerated it for now. The Empress is very possessive of what is hers and does not give up anything, for now Kira is one of those possessions and Eona is determined on taking the human woman away. They were becoming more and more public with their affections, but for what? Just to paint a target on Kira's back? To win her over? What were they thinking would happen? Carmilla used Kira to satisfy her sexual appetite, but Eona wanted something more, she wanted to go back to how things were.
Eona was Kira's first friend, her first girlfriend and for a time Kira believed they were in love...she thought she knew what love was. Everything changed when Kira was attacked, when she nearly died; Eona ran away, she abandoned her and then cut off all contact. She suddenly appears after five years and expects to pick up where they left off? Typical vampire, typical Pureblood. Kira was neither, she did not have the lifetime to simply forgive and forget and everything is different than before. Carmilla will never let her go.
"You know I'd never force you to do anything, but I won't give up on you either." Eona said, her hand on Kira's, "You may not forgive me for leaving, but please at least believe me when I say I did it because I thought it was the best way I could protect you."
Shaking her head, Kira tries to pull her hand free.
"I never stopped thinking about you." Eona touched the scarf tied around Kira's waist, its excess hanging over her thigh, "And I know you haven't stopped thinking about me."
