An early Christmas gift from me to all of you. Lot's of information and something else exciting at the end happens so I think you'll all like this one!
Rose rubbed her tense shoulder gingerly while lounging on Baron's sofa for the past hour. She was considerate when looking back on her actions previously and sought to apologize to Sterling first. Awhile ago she had heard him return but she sat frozen like a stone on the sofa while coming up with something witty and decent to say. Her face was contorted deep in thought while she bounced her knee up and down subconsciously. As every second ticked by, she became more aware of every little sound that creaked in the room. The refrigerator would make a dull hum and the air vent came on an interval of every twenty minutes. Her eyes buzzed around the room, trying to come up with a good enough reason to not go across the hall but it was futile and she gave up shortly while pulling herself to her feet. The keycard was still in the fluffy pocket of the plush robe as she clicked the door behind her. She approached his white door across the hall with caution and knocked with an uneasy fist.
The door swung open in her face as his mouth was open to say something only he withheld his speech. Her face is wafted with thick smoke and his eyes are red while he looks to be in a state of derailment. His shirt hung free from the elastic of his pants and the first two buttons of his shirt were undone as was his tie that rested upon one shoulder. He looked baffled to see her.
"Ah, you have returned." He says with much candor.
"Well for two reasons actually, more to the point can I come inside for a moment."
"In what manner would you like to come inside?" he says in a slur which she scrunches her face with disgust. He was being much more crude then earlier and he was a mirror of himself. His stubble seemed more adamant on his face and he leaped back inside without the use of his cane, using the wall as a substitute crutch.
"I'm so glad you had to bring up earlier." She mumbled while shutting the door which seemed to skip his mind. His coffee table had an ash trashed with hand rolls laid out in a row. Also a spilled pill bottle was present.
"Having a self party?" she asked with a raised brow. Something was askew about him but she tread lightly. His behavior was clearly heinous.
He plops on the cream sofa with a manic chuckle to himself. "Just finishing where we left off I suppose."
"Since you seem so keen to bring that up, I might as well tell you that it won't happen again. Us I mean, and doing…that." She gestured between them to make her point clear.
"Verily, I was just about to make the same statement. A grand experience but I feel nothing more should come of that." He seemed to sober slightly with a roll of his shoulder.
She nodded, "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page." He seemed less inclined to answer her now as he stared blankly at the coffee table. He lit up another hand rolled smoke, the haze capturing his face dimly.
"You said you had two reasons to come here, what else can I assist you with?" he doesn't look her way when speaking. The edges of his face looked hard as he held scorn and contempt.
"I need to find a washing machine; preferably right away."
"Oh I see, you need to get rid of the scent that lingers there, lest Baron should find out about your little escapade across the hall." His remark was snide and he acted confident over her.
"Will you help me or not?" she asks with a huff.
"I will, so long as you come with me somewhere first."
She winced. Of course he would lay down a price, he was a typical gambler. "Where would we be going?"
"I have to make a quick stop to the cellars and meet a fellow chap around back. He has a special package for River."
"I suppose, though would it require me to lend a hand?"
"Heavens no! I don't want you tainted with the work we accomplish from behind closed doors." He sat up and snuffed out the butt while buttoning up his collar once more. "Allow me to straighten myself before leaving of course."
He walks away, towards the hall while she stands in the middle of the room, feeling transparent. What business would she be finding out about exactly? Surely she couldn't go in just a robe with nothing but her bare skin underneath. But she doubted he had clothes lying about like River had; he seemed too tidy and kept a closed profile on himself. He returns while straightening the cuffs of is shirt and sporting his walking stick with the silver handle.
"Am I to wear this?" she asks while grabbing at the robe.
"Unfortunately I have nothing else for you. What happened to the lovely dress you had on earlier?"
"I had only borrowed it from River but I left it back in Baron's room."
"We don't have time to wait; you'll just have to keep a tight hand around the collar." He brushes passed her to the door.
"We're taking the elevator?" she asks while following behind.
"Of course, it leads directly to the basement cellars. How else would we get there?" He mocked her question as if were a dubious thing to even ask.
"Couldn't you do that thing all vampires do, that makes you appear somewhere else in a flash?"
He steps into the elevator and waits for her to join before putting a key into the wall. Clearly only exclusive people were allowed in the cellars.
"Of course I can't take you that way. It is too difficult to transport two people together without jumbling molecules. Even for new vampires, it takes years to learn that practice for one, let alone two."
"So it can't be done?"
"Unfortunately no, which makes travel with you a slight handful. At best we can send you from here to earth but that is a different skill set entirely."
"I didn't realize it took so much to be a vampire." She notes aloud.
He hums in response before the elevator doors pull open into dark, cramped quarters. His wing tips clip on the floor while the pads of her bare feet make a smacking sound. The room smelt musty and like berries. Empty bottles were everywhere and florescent lights flickered on the ceiling. A garage door led outback where she and Sterling were headed. He pushes a large red button on the wall the casts the door open into the midnight air of Nocturne. Two large trucks are parked outside and a large man stands in waiting. Rose couldn't make out his face from afar but when they appeared closer she gasped upon seeing his scarred eye. The lid was shut and he held a deadpan expression with a glint of hell in his silver eye.
"Here he is, the man of the hour. Did you bring the money?" the man asks his voice deep like the drums of an orchestra.
"Paid in full." Sterling reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a stack of bills to which Rose raises a shocked brow.
The man takes the money from Sterling and Rose catches the glimpse of an opal ring on his pinkie finger. He seems to take notice of her as his silver eye finds her gaze. She shrinks back from fear and he smirks cruelly.
"And is the girl extra payment?"
Sterling casts a careless glance at Rose behind him before answering. "No, she is the girl we discussed before. She is Rose."
"Aye I should have known though her beauty was forestalled from my sight until nigh." He looks at Rose again only Sterling stands aside this time much to her objection. She studies his face but can't help to keep staring at the scar that maims the perfection of beauty. He seems to scowl at her observing.
"You must have only looked upon creatures with perfection for you eye me with such disgust. I apologize for not being up to standard to your high maintenance expectations. Tell me Domina, does my face frighten you." His expression was dark, but his voice was pained.
She finds the courage to speak again. "I only look at you with an intellectual's sight. Your face does not frighten me but your tone shakes my spine straight. Really you don't have to be so rude."
Sterling nearly chokes from her words and suddenly she wondered if she had struck the wrong tone instead.
Alas her words seem to stump him for a moment before he looks serious. "Than I shall ease my stance for which I assaulted you with. I am used to assuming what females think of me."
"It is alright though you called me Domina, in which I am puzzled."
"It is a friendly term for lady. You most certainly are a gentle soul Light Bearer."
He knew what she was and she wasn't surprised in the least. It would have to be something she would have to get used to apparently. "A lady? I find that appalling because of how I greet you. I'm only in an over sized robe; not very fitting for a lady." She says with a chuckle.
The corner of his lip lifts for a moment before returning stoic. "A pleasure to meet you Rose." He gives a curt nod before going to the back of the truck and pulling open the door.
Incased inside were bottles of red liquid by the gallon. Rose was more than sure it was blood but something was different in the care they took with the merchandise. Sterling engages her reaction while the men hooded in black work on unloading the truck contents into the storehouse.
"Can you handle things without me from here?" Sterling asks aloud.
The dark stranger nods and casts one last brooding look to Rose before Sterling drags her off. She was curious about the man she had just met and couldn't help but feel an air of similarity around him. He was both dangerous and a gentleman. The ring he bore looked to be a signal of importance or stature amongst vampires and she found herself on familiar ground; her mind flooded with questions.
"Who was that man just now?"
"That was Banish, Tristan's older brother."
Suddenly a huge puzzle piece falls into her lap, "Oh I thought he appeared familiar but I wasn't sure. Is he important because I saw the gold ring on his hand?"
They turn back onto the elevator and go to a new floor while she pesters Sterling with an onslaught of questions that seemed to hinder his mood.
"That is a family ring he has worn for generations. Banish is an Earl. He sits on the high council with Max and has stayed an elected official for nearly two hundred years."
"Wow so long. What other high positions sit on the council?" She had never favored politics but the vampire league tickled her sides with interest.
"Senators are keepers of law, The high Consul directs finances within our borders, you already know Max to be Prime Minister; his job is decision making for our realm and to visits the other realms for negotiations. Chancellors, Treasurers and Ministers also sit on the council though they only qualify for small sectors and for votes. "
"And are any of you on the council?"
"Baron is a Senator though he hasn't attended a meeting for an age, much to the dismay of Max."
"He's a Senator?" Her brows hit her hairline in surprise and interest, "So what are the rest of you?"
"Well before Baron became a Senator, we formed a blood oath to become the Sanctions Creed in which we fight for our realm and for peace. Myself, Baron, Cardinal, Tristan, River and Kane are all members."
"What's a blood oath exactly? I'm sorry; it must seem like all I can come up with is questions."
"Do not apologize. I suppose it is important for you to learn now. Baron will at least be pleased I didn't waste your time. As for your question, a blood oath is a sacred ceremony that binds vampires to each others will. In a way we are like brothers now and we would die to defend each other. We are all connected; even now I can feel the others from miles away. We can hear each others call like a telepathic link."
"But if you are not related, how come Banish and Tristan are brothers."
"Their family is…complicated. Both were born to be vampire by the same person and all of their family before them were and are vampiric as well."
"So vampires have children?"
"The only vampires capable of child birth are a blessed vampire called the Nutritor Vitae. If you were a regular mortal and I was to change you, you could not bare a vampire young."
The thought of becoming vampire sent a chill through her and she wondered why he used the example. "So I would be forced to never have a child."
"In a manner of speaking." He was blunt and seemed dispatched about his race. She wondered if he actually liked being a vampire at all.
"Than how has your race been able to keep its numbers high?"
"Ah that is a secret I am not allowed to share. The Nutritor Vitae are kept protected and I am not allowed to share that with you. Even many Nutritor Vitae do not know what they are."
"How can you hide such a thing from them?" She asks with a judging tone.
"A rule enacted by Max many a year ago. As you might have guessed, many have lost fondness for his reign."
"And I can see why." They stop off at the third floor and she is relieved to see a pair of washing machines next to a dryer. It looked like a laundry mat and storage for cleaning supplies.
She was about to undo the robe but pulls the clothing tightly together. "Umm I have nothing on underneath."
He huffs in annoyance before digging through a pile of laundry in a wicker basket. He tosses her a white towel that was short and would barely cover her knees, but she wasn't about to complain with the look on his face. She quickly changes while remembering to pull the keycard from the pocket. The machine buzzes in the silence between them. He leans against the wall nonchalantly while she clutches the white towel to her body. The water spun in endless circles through the front load machine like a cyclone. Her mind was frazzled and dizzy from the avalanche of information she had acquired and she just wanted to slow down for a moment.
"You're so quiet. A moment ago I couldn't shut you up, what's going on in that head?" he asks from his spot on the wall.
She looks into his green eyes for a moment before looking at the stone tiled ground.
"I don't know. It seems like forever since I've been home and already I've adopted so much time into learning your culture all the while I can't figure out how Demons had found me on earth in the first place."
"I don't want to worry you, but I too found that odd. Their scent on Light Bearers is weak at best and they beat us to you; it's almost as if someone led them straight to your location." His cane was positions in front with one hand on top, the other combing through his dark hair. His sea green eyes were cast down to the floor as his brows furrowed. His dove grey suit was looking fresh and perfect on his tall, lean body and for a split second she forgot her woes.
"Are you criminals?"
He looks up with a frown and a curious expression. "How do you figure that?"
"A secret meeting to deal blood that smells like berries in a back warehouse? I'm not stupid Sterling. I felt like I was a scene of the Untouchables with Al Capone."
He chuckles darkly. "And if I am to reveal anything, will our little savior run off and tell?"
"There is really no one I could tell." She answers with a careless shrug.
He nods his head in acknowledgment to that statement. "We're bootleggers of Demon Blood, though I place the blame mostly on River. He is an addict when it comes to the stuff though it does reel in the money here at Crimson."
"And an Earl who sits on the council deals the stuff?"
"I know; how corrupt we vampires must be to do such a thing but everything is about greed and profit. You know there is little difference between this world and yours."
"Was it Max who outlawed the blood?"
"No actually it is a higher calling that was written in our amendment when we were given Nocturne. Some vampires of old still strongly believe in the law and we would find more than heat if we were to be caught."
"So you all used to live on earth before Nocturne was created I gather."
"Yes that is true. Nocturne is fairly young on vampire terms. We've lived here for more than three hundred years. It was becoming to much of a hassle with our kind feeding from humans. Now we stay here in the eternal night and drink from each other while partying, gambling and sinning our way through forever." He seemed to snarl at his own kind's habit of living but she didn't bother to pry.
The buzzer on the washing machine ran and she switches the robe from machine to dryer. The room was bland and chilly. The dull eggshell walls seemed to grow closer with each passing minute as she brushed her untamed ebony curls from her face. Sterling seemed content on staying quiet which suited her too. The hour felt stretched too long and she wanted to be alone. Her mind replays when she arrived at his room and the drugs he had on his table. He looked like a raving junkie with a disheveled appearance and empty eyes. He had called River one but it seemed like he was much the same. She wanted to ask desperately that it ate away at her but too many things could go wrong if the words were uttered so she bit her lip and kept the thoughts tucked away. Sterling wasn't her problem no matter how much the good in her wanted to help. She would have her own problems to deal with soon enough and that worried her all the more.
The robe was warm when she slipped it back on. Sterling turned around while she changed out of courtesy which actually made her feel better. The robe smelt of detergent and heat from the dryer but no longer like Sterling which was a relief. She wandered behind him to the elevator where they stayed silent to the top floor. They go half ways to their own doors though Rose pauses, feeling queer not to thank him for his help.
"So this was an interesting adventure." She starts off. Her neck was stiff as she rubbed it.
He nods. "I'm glad to have helped you with both the robe and your questions."
"Yeah that was my favorite part." She gives a small smile in which he only stares at. Something flashes in his eyes but it was gone before she could trace the emotion.
"Good bye Rose." He bows slightly before limping to his door with cane in hand.
She watches the closed door long after he had departed. After standing in the hall long enough to leave her foot prints in the carpet, she makes her way back to the quiet room. It was exactly the same as before; she was expecting something to change somehow but it didn't. She felt exhausted again and the large bed down the hall sounded inviting as hell. The sheets were still a jumbled mess and she dives into them like a security net. She fell asleep in an awkward position; not even sure if her head had hit the pillow but it was a lost thought in the murmurs of the night.
Her eyes flash open later to the sound of a door shutting. She wasn't sure how long she had slept; whether it was five minutes or five hours. Standing on her feet she makes her way from the bedroom and into the sitting area. A dark figure rested against the counter in the kitchen. The smell of blood was in the air and clothing was shredded. His hair was a matted mess of nature's debris mixed in like a stew of nonsense. His face was weary and yet bold with a dirt smudge under his eye.
"You're back." She says frankly. Inside her heart wept at the sight of him. How long had it been since she had seen his beautiful face?
He spared no words and made short time in the distance between them. He loomed towards her, making no sound with footsteps or breathing in the process. Whatever was coming was a storm but she longed for it in any shape or form. He backed her up towards the wall slowly and she gulped inaudibly as he leaned in towards her ear. The sight and smell of him overloading her sense's until she was incoherent.
"You are mine Rose."
Her knees buckled but he caught her with one steady arm while the other was drawn into her hair. Their lips met in fiery passion and all she could think about was the heat. The moment was right no matter the circumstance. Something had smoldered between them in the time line from earth until now and the rope had finally snapped free. He tastes like strong alcohol mixed with plums and cinnamon. His arms were powerful and she could barely wrap all the way around him as he engulfed her against the drywall. His tongue found her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She withheld to make the passion last longer but eventually gave in and soon it was war in their mouths in which he was the victor. He made no attempts to unclothe her; he seemed more content on keeping her close and she was fine with any contact he gave her. Desperation and pain washed off him and entered her as she understood and was empathetic to the feeling. She had captured his attention the night they stole her away and she would belong to no one else ever again. Whether or not troubles would arise she was uncertain and that suited her just fine.
So a tiny moment to something beautiful is starting. I thought it would be better for Baron to explain next chapter what happened with him and his friends to Rose so they can bond more. This moment was about them finding each other for the first time and will help them both through tough times ahead.
Review and see you all in the New Year!