...
You see the world in black and whith
No color or life
You think you'll never get it right
But you're wrong, you might
The sky could fall, could fall on me
The parting of the seas
But you mean more, mean more to me
Than any color I can see
[Coldplay - Low]
...
After the 'incident', Godric had taken her back to the hotel, though she wasn't entirely sure how he did it, as she hadn't been awake by then. They had probably thought it would be better not to leave her alone, as she found herself lying beside Pam when she woke from a nightmare.
Her whole body trembled and her shirt was sticking to her body as if she had slept outside in the rain. The excruciating headache that plagued her, didn't exactly help her to cope with the experience either and she soon found herself on the verge of a panic attack, when memories of her dream forced their way into her consciousness.
Her heart still hammered like mad, when the scene repeated itself in her mind over and over and over again. She absentmindedly reached to the side of her neck, where this monster had slammed his brutal teeth into her and gulped while tears silently ran down her cheeks.
She had felt so helpless – and she still did. What if someone sneaked into this room now and kidnapped her? Pam was out of order for the day, she wouldn't be of much help.
Knowing how irrational her thoughts were, she forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down again. No one would kidnap her – why should anyone even be interested in her? Because she was a friend of Godric? That fact should rather be deterring after what she had witnessed...
When she had finally calmed down, she took a glance at the clock on the bedside table, which told her it was not even 11am. She let her body fall back onto the bed again and tried to go back to sleep, but though she was still tired, she just couldn't bring herself to close her eyes for more than a minute.
What if someone indeed sneaked in?
She put one of Pam's lifeless arms around her body and closed up to her as near as she dared to, but it hadn't the expected effect.
Pam just wasn't Godric.
With an irritable sigh, she sat up again, putting her shopping partner's hand back in its former position and pulled her legs over the bed's edge, allowing them to dangle there for a few moment.
Her head felt dizzy and hurt like hell and apart from that the room spun around her as well. Absentmindedly she reached for her purse on the bedside table, as she knew she couldn't dare to forget her emergency medication now.
She had seized up several times over the last weeks, but fortunately it had either happened when she was in the bathroom, or when she was still in bed, therefore neither Pam nor Godric got wind of it.
She had needed the injection only once, as the other seizures had been only minor ones, hardly worth mentioning, as they had been over before she even reached the purse – but still she didn't feel comfortable without it anymore...
It took Laura a few minutes until she felt content enough to keep herself on her feet and stood up, determined to get to Godric's room. Her surroundings still seemed to dance around her to some extend, but it wasn't bad enough to keep her confined to her bed.
She was just about to close the door behind her and turned to cross the living room, when she stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her.
"I am sorry if I startled you", Godric apologized, putting the piece of paper he just had read to the side and looked up at her. Blood was dripping from his nose and ears, but he didn't seem to mind at all. "I could not sleep."
"Neither can I...", she admitted and bit on her lip in embarrassment. Why did she feel caught all of a sudden? A minute before she had still feared she'd be kidnapped and now her only concern was, how pathetic her words just sounded.
"Did you have a nightmare?", he asked concerned, a worried line appearing between his eyebrows, before he stood up to slowly approach her.
"Yes...", she confirmed, while she felt her cheeks turning red and averted her gaze in shame.
Why the hell was this event having such an impact on her? It hadn't been more than a messy bite! Godric had come in time and saved her – he had even healed the wound, for god's sake! There was absolutely no need for her to go crazy now...
"You have no idea how sorry I am for what happened", his low voice suddenly reached her ears, causing her to look up at him in confusion. He had stopped about a step in front of her, as if he wasn't sure if she'd want him to get closer. His eyes had this gloomy expression again, so hopeless it almost pained her to look at them.
"You saved me, Godric!", she reminded him and closed the gap between them, "Please don't blame yourself for what happened – you haven't been the one who tore my neck open!"
He winced visibly, probably because of her tactless choice of words and averted his gaze, obviously not affected by her statement in the way she had hoped. She sighed frustratedly, her head still hammering like mad, and laid one of her palms flatly onto his chest.
"Look at me, Godric", she demanded a bit roughly and he did what she had asked for, with slightly furrowed eyebrows, "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead by now – there is absolutely no need for an apology! I owe you my life!"
She noticed how he gulped at her statement, before he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again without a word. They stared at each other in silence, Laura's hand still resting on his chest until the blood running from his nose started to concern her.
Slowly she lifted her hand to his face and tried to carefully brush the trail of red liquid away, still not uttering even a single word. The sight irritated her and though she knew that it was normal for him to get the bleeds during the day, it made her worry about him.
She was aware that he observed her every move intently, while she tried to clean his face without smearing the blood all over it. Carefully using one finger at a time, she made sure she wouldn't just spread it around his mouth.
First her thumb wiped most of his blood away, gently brushing over his lips in that process. She tried hard not to enjoy the sensation too much, but still noticed her heart rate increasing a bit.
Just when she wanted to use her fourth finger to finally get rid of the last traces of his blood, his tongue darted out, doing the job for her. Only when he had long stopped, she became aware that she was staring at his lips and blinked a few times, averting her face in an embarrassed manner.
She felt him grab her hand gently then, but did not bother to look up, until she sensed his lips on her fingertips. In an almost shocked state, she slowly turned her head in his direction again to observe what he was doing.
His lips closed around her middle finger, sucking on it almost deliciously and trailing his tongue over its tip before he repeated the same process with her pointer-finger until he finally reached her thumb.
Her eyes were still wide in shock, when he finally let go of her hand, which slowly sank to her side on its own. Embarrassed, she finally realized that she had stared at Godric the whole time and averted her gaze immediately.
What the fuck had just happened?
But even if that situation had just caused an adrenalin-rush, she couldn't suppress the yawn, that suddenly forced her mouth open and clapped her hand over it to cover it in the last moment.
"You are tired", Godric noted concerned and eyed her intently, "Was it wrong to let you sleep beside Pamela? Is that why you are here? – You wanted to return to you own room?"
Immediately she felt heat rising to her cheeks again and dropped her already averted gaze to the floor, inspecting the wood as if it was one of DaVinci's paintings. Biting on her lip in embarrassment she contemplated her options and finally opted for just ignoring the question.
"Laura?", his gentle voice reached her ears again and she sighed in defeat, realizing that ignoring him probably wouldn't do it.
"I didn't feel safe there...", she started and hoped this would explain everything, but when she spotted his confused expression she reluctantly continued, "I had this irrational idea that someone might try to kidnap me. This King's Son or-"
"No one will ever touch you again – I promise to keep you safe!", Godric interrupted her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I was too late once – trust me: this will not happen again!"
She bit on her lip hesitantly and looked up at him with what she hoped was a grateful expression. "I know that, Godric..."
"Then you can return to you room and sleep without concern, Laura", he told her softly and reached to her cheek as if he wanted to caress it, but only suggested the gesture, never really touching her skin.
"Godric, I-", she started, but stopped again, looking self-conscious up at his face before she continued almost inaudibly low, "I wanted to go to your room..."
Laura noticed something like surprise and maybe even shock scurrying over his face before he controlled his emotions again.
"Then we should probably go there", he suggested, while a faint smile spread on his lips. She just nodded in relief and couldn't help but smile in return. Before she even realized that he had picked her up, she felt a sudden rush of wind blowing through her hair and knew he had taken her to one of their bedrooms.
Within the blink of an eye she was sat down on the edge of a mattress, the light on the bedside table illuminating the room one moment later. When she looked up, she saw Godric standing in front of her, looking down at her with a cautious expression.
"What?", she asked confused and tilted her head to the side eying him expectantly.
"Are you sure you want this?", he asked in a hushed voice, still not moving even an inch, "You preferred to sleep in a separate room for the last several weeks..."
She bit on her lip in embarrassment and lowered her gaze to her lap, inspecting the dot-pattern on her sweatpants as if it was a scientific discipline.
Why the hell couldn't she just forget about the events of last night and fall asleep in her own room? It would have spared her this awkward conversation...
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep anywhere else", she admitted meekly, still staring stubbornly down at her knees, "I know it's silly, but I don't feel safe if you're not close..."
She felt the mattress move under her and knew he had sat down beside her, even if she still didn't dare to look at him.
"I am glad you do not fear me", he admitted in a low voice, causing her to forget all her embarrassment and look up at him in surprise. He had a faint smile on his lips and almost seemed to be sort of relieved.
"Why should I fear you?", she asked bewildered, "You saved me, Godric! I really can't understand your logic..."
He just chuckled slightly before he slowly wrapped an arm around her and leant his chin on top of her head, pulling her closer towards his body. It felt so good to be in his arms again, so secure, so very right – as if she was meant to be there.
She inhaled his pleasant scent contentedly and caught herself smiling in his shirt when she nuzzled her face into it.
"I think we should rest now", he whispered and she could feel his chin softly brush against her temple while he spoke, "We both need it..."
She nodded reluctantly and the next moment his arms loosened around her. When she looked at him again, he stood beside her, gesturing towards the bed while he pulled the bedcover back in invitation.
She quickly removed her sweatpants and slipped under the blanket, making herself comfortable in the middle. Only a few moments later, Godric lay beside her and faced her with a questioning glance. Obviously she hadn't been able to convince him that she felt safe in his presence...
Without a word, she closed the remaining gab between them and snuggled up to him, wrapping her arm around his naked torso, only now realizing, that he had undressed like usual. When she felt him slowly putting his arm around her as well, she rested her head on top of her hand with a content sigh, nestling her face up to his bare chest and inhaled his specific, earthy scent.
She had absolutely no idea, how she had been able to fall asleep without having him so close beside her for so long. It just felt so right to lie in his arms like that and if some memories about that morning in Sahar's Hammam resurfaced – so what? These were definitely pleasant memories – she should have been grateful for every moment reminding her of those...
If Godric had missed this as much as she had? Probably not...
"Do you think they'll judge you?", she asked worriedly, while her fingers absentmindedly brushed up and down his spine in slow motions. His eyes were already closed, but she supposed he was still awake. It preyed on her mind that he would probably be punished for what he did the last night.
"I already got a summons."
"What?", she asked in shock and immediately looked up at him in concern, "When? Where?"
"At midnight – in the King's palace."
She gulped and dropped her gaze to the pectoral tattoo right in front of her. Her fingers were still trailing up and down his spine, while she wondered how they would punish him, just to come to the conclusion that she had absolutely no idea.
"What will they do? Will you be allowed to bring a witnesses?", she asked desperately and looked up at him again, "I would like to speak for you – you merely saved me! If you hadn't intervened I'd be dead now!"
He opened one of his eyes to examine her briefly, before she felt his arm around her tighten, pulling her even closer to him.
"Calm down Laura – everything will he fine", he assured her with an alluring voice, his eyes already closed again, while she felt herself involuntarily relax, "We should rest now."
She merely nodded in silence and snuggled up to him, brushing her nose against the smooth skin of his chest. It was soothing to feel him like this, to be embraced by his strong arms, to trail her fingers across his muscular back...
When a few minutes had passed, she gently loosened his grip and pulled back a few inches to take a look at his face. His eyes were closed, but he still looked just like he had a few moments ago. She wiggled herself carefully out of his grip then, stopping her movement every few seconds to see if he would react.
"Godric?", she tried to wake him with a strong voice, to be on the safe side, "Are you awake?"
When he didn't react, she immediately robbed to the edge of the bed and reached for her purse to look for her cellphone.
"God's Laura! Do you have any idea how early it is?", Belle's drowsy voice reached her ear and Laura couldn't suppress a sigh of relief – she had already thought she'd have to rely on a lousy message. "I hope this is an emergency!"
"It is!", Laura assured her hastily, "I've been attacked by a vampire and-"
"What?", the redhead interrupted her and suddenly sounded wide awake, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine – that's not why I'm calling", she told her vampire friend impatiently and continued to explain, "Godric saved me – and ... Well, he... took care of the bastard who bit me. The problem is: he obviously is the King's son, or something and now Godric received a summons for tonight – midnight in the King's palace..."
"Shit", was all she received from the other end of the line for a few moments. Then she heard Belle sigh heavily before she continued, "How exactly has Godric taken care of Luc? You said he 'is' the King's son – please tell me that means he's at least alive!"
"Yes, he's alive – Godric punched him into a pulp, but he seemed to recover quite fast", Laura immediately assured her, in a rather sour voice though, "I think I also saw him take his fangs."
"Shit", she heard Belle curse again and felt her eyebrows rise in confusion.
"What's the big deal? They regrow, don't they?"
"Of course they do!", the redhead told her in an annoyed tone, "But it'll take months!"
"Oh...", Laura just muttered dumbly and bit on her bottom lip. She hadn't known that. At least this filthy bastard wouldn't be able to bite anyone else for a while...
"I'll inform Jaromar about this – don't worry, honey – he'll take care of the situation. Everything will be fine!"
"Godric said told me something like that as well", Laura sighed helplessly and looked over her shoulder to the sleeping vampire beside her, "But somehow I trust your words more than his... Just out of curiosity: what's the usual punishment for something like this?"
"Oh, at least he looses his fangs as well and spends a few weeks buried in a silver coffin", Belle told her casually and Laura could almost picture her, moving her hand in a casual gesture, "But as it was the King's Son who was Godric's 'victim' I suppose it would more likely be months or even years... But as I said – Jaromar will handle it, don't worry Laura – seriously!"
"I'll try...", she muttered in a low voice, her eyes still resting on Godric. How could he have been so calm about this summons if he knew what he'd receive? "Thank you so much for your help Belle – I don't know what I'd do if he got punished because of me..."
"Well – to be fair: he wouldn't have needed to take Luc's fangs", Belle told her dryly, "But I suppose he deserved it. Just try to hold him back next time..."
"I strongly hope there won't be a 'next time', Belle!"
She just heard the redhead chuckle in the other end but she soon coughed and got serious again. "I'm glad you called me – it was the right thing to do! Don't worry honey and go to sleep – you sound quite tired."
"Thanks, Belle – you should resume your day rest as well, I'm sorry I disturbed it..."
"No deal, hun. This was indeed an emergency. Sleep well, Laura – and take care of the old man, will you?"
"I'll try my best – but he isn't the easiest person to take care of. Rest well Belle – and thanks again."
"As I said – no deal. And now hang up already – I need my beauty-rest!"
Laura couldn't suppress a laugh but she supposed it wouldn't be a problem as Godric hadn't been woken from her conversation so far.
"Bye Belle – sleep well!"
For once it wasn't her hammering head that woke Laura in the evening – though it indeed ached – but the feeling that someone ran his fingers through her hair. When she became aware of her surroundings, she also felt something cool under her cheek and arm – no even under half of her body!
She was obviously lying partly on top of Godric again and moved her leg a bit, which was wrapped around his hip, to feel if he was wearing his shorts this time – he did.
Reluctantly she finally opened her eyes and as her head rested on his muscular chest, it was the first she could see clearly. Feeling her cheeks blush, she hastily closed them again and took a deep breath to calm down.
"Good evening, Laura", Godric's smooth voice reached her ears and made her shiver a bit when he said her name. His fingers still ran soothingly through her hair – if he was aware of the effect it had on her, or if he did it because it had the same effect on him, she didn't know. But it definitely felt extremely pleasant. She could have lain there all night... but he could not.
"Good evening", she finally replied with a drowsy voice, "What time is it?"
"10:11"
"And you still lie here with me?", she asked him in a shocked voice and immediately pushed her torso up to eye him concerned, "Shouldn't you prepare yourself for the hearing?"
"It is unnecessary to prepare myself – I already know what I am going to say."
"And what would that be?"
"That I lost control in exactly the same moment as I saw him biting you – and that I am guilty in every charge."
"What?! Are you nuts?!", she asked bewildered and brought her body in a sitting position to have a better view at him.
"No, Laura – I am not 'nuts'", Godric told her dryly, his firm glare resting a moment on her, before he averted it to stare at the ceiling instead, "It is of no use to defend oneself in front of the King of the North-Western Territories... If he has an opinion, he tends to maintain it – no matter how convincing the opposition's arguments are. If this scum indeed was the King's son, I am 'screwed', I am afraid "
"So you just give up?", she whispered in such a low voice she could barely hear it, "You leave me just like that? You promised me to stay..."
"Pamela will bring you home, Laura", he assured her, still staring stubbornly at the ceiling, his arms crossed behind his head, "I am sure your parents would like to travel with you as well. Jaromar will inform you if he finds Her and if he does, she hopefully will be willed to help you..."
"I don't care if he finds 'her' – I don't even care if she'll help me!", Laura jelled at him, suddenly losing her patience with his self-destructive attitude, which caused him to finally face her again.
He seemed surprised by her outburst but she couldn't really blame him for that, as she had hardly raised her voice in his presence so far. "What I care about is you! And now get the fuck up and find something appropriate to wear while I talk to Pam. I suppose a human witness won't be of any use to you – but Pam will surely speak on your behalf!"
She had caught herself waving her hands around in an upset manner while Godric had pulled his body into a sitting position, staring at her with lifted eyebrows.
"It is important that he finds Her, Laura", he only told her calmly, as if he hadn't heard her other words at all, "She is able to heal you!"
"Oh, fuck my silly tumor! I don't care about it at the moment – and you should care much less!", she told him in a slightly shaky voice, her arms crossed in front of her chest now. She was so upset, that her anger almost caused her to cry and she got up to pace about the room. Only when she had calmed herself down a bit she continued to talk. "Would you please – just for once! – think of yourself now? This is important! – I don't want this to be the last night to ever see you! It may be just a few years for you, but I probably won't have that much time to wait for you!"
Obviously startled by her words, he immediately got up as well and was at her side within a second. With a firm grip on her shoulder her caused her to stop her pacing and faced her with an almost guilty expression on his face.
"I am sorry, Laura. I did not see it that way", he admitted gently and brushed his knuckles conciliatorily over her cheek, "I will try my best to convince he King to let me go and if that does not work... I will find a way to see you again – I promise Laura."
"You didn't seem very keen on keeping your last promise a few minutes ago – how can I be sure you really mean it this time?", she asked him doubtfully, looking up at his face with a concerned expression.
She could hear him inhale sharply, but then he sighed heavily and sped to the other side of the room for a moment, only to reappear a second later in the exact same spot he had stood in.
"This is my most precious possession" he explained, while he opened a white handkerchief to reveal a simple ring, "It is the only thing I still hold from my human days."
First Laura had not been overly impressed by it, but when she heard how old it obviously was, she saw the trinket with different eyes. It was engraved with ornaments – probably runes – and if its color and the way Godric held it wrapped in fabric was any indication, it was probably made of silver.
That he had kept it over all those decades, centuries – millennia! – proved that it indeed was of great value to him.
"Who's was it – if I may ask?", she inquired in a hushed voice and looked shyly through her lashes up at him, "This person must have been extremely close to you, if you kept the ring for such a long time..."
A faint smile appeared on his lips and he ran the fingers of his free hand absentmindedly through her hair, while he seemed to think of his past.
"It was my mother's – she gave it to me when my maker's men came to get me", he told her with a monotone voice, apparently deeply in thought, "They caused a riot and my mother obviously already had an idea how it would end. She wanted me to have it, so I would never forget her..."
She took a step closer to him, her chest brushing his when she reached for his hand. It still held the ring and she slowly closed the handkerchief, then his fingers around it. When she looked up at him again his eyes weren't somewhere else anymore, but intently resting on her, as if he waited for her next step.
"Why did you show it to me?", she asked hesitantly, biting on her own lip when her gaze briefly scurried to his, before she forced her eyes to concentrate on his again.
"Is that not obvious?", he asked with a smile and tilted his head to the side before he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lingering at the spot where her jaw merged into her neck for a few moments. "I want to give it to you – as a promise that I will return in time."
She felt herself inhale sharply, while her eyes widened in surprise and – let's be honest – also in shock. He wanted to entrust her with such a valuable possession? What if she lost it – it wouldn't have been the first time for her to loose a ring! He had cherished it for two millennia – what if she managed to accidentally break it?
"Godric, I don't know if that's such a good idea...", she stammered and dropped her gaze in confusion, catching herself staring at his pectoral tattoo once again, "What if I loose it? What if I break it?"
Her voice sounded a bit high pitched, when those two questions left her mouth. She was deeply upset about the fact that he obviously trusted her enough to confide his mother's ring to her – a two millennia old ring, for fucks sake! How could he do that so easily?!
"I trust you to keep it safe", he merely stated with a mildly amused smile, as if he just had read her mind. He lifted the fabric she had just closed a few moments ago, to pick the ring up. The two fingers holding it, sizzled, obviously being burned, but before she could have reached forward to grab it, he had put it on her ring finger. "It fits perfectly, no?"
All she was capable of for the next few moments, was staring speechlessly at her hand and only when Godric forced her to look into his face – with this familiar, gentle chin-grip of his – she was ripped out of her day dreams again.
Was he aware what a symbolic power a ring had? Well, he was over 2000 years old, he had to be – but did he give it to her with another intention or just the one he mentioned?
"I know you will keep it save – and it will not be for long", he assured her with a smile, his thumb brushing gently over her chin, "I promise."
Unable to reply something comprehensible she merely nodded at him.
She would simply refuse to take it off until he returned. That could become a problem when she had to wash her hands though, but she could skip that too – hygiene was much too overrated anyway...
"Go get dressed now", she just muttered lamely when she had calmed down enough, "I'll go and talk to Pam."
Other than Laura had thought, she didn't have to look for the fashionable female vampire – she sat in the living room and tapped her perfectly manicured nails impatiently on the armrest of the chair she rested in.
"About time that you come out of there", Pamela immediately addressed her and waved a piece of paper around, "Care to explain that?"
Laura grabbed the sheet, slightly annoyed by her behavior and realized, that it was the summons Godric had talked about. It was rather formal but definitely already accused him of treason, though there was to be a trial at midnight – according to the letter.
Laura just sighed and looked up at Pam, who seemed as frustrated as she had felt about half an hour ago.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about", she informed her with a shrug and put the sheet on the couch table, before she made herself comfortable in the chair beside Pam's.
"Shoot, human!", she merely demanded with a cocked eyebrow and looked expectantly at her.
"Would you please go with him?", Laura begged, giving the female vampire in front of her the most desperate glance she could manage, "Someone has to witness for him – and I suppose my voice wouldn't have much weight in a vampire trial..."
"I almost feel offended", Pam stated and sat back in her chair, inspecting her nails with her usual, bored attitude, "Of course I will speak on his behalf – he is my Grandsire after all!"
It felt like a weight had been lifted from her and Laura couldn't suppress a relieved sigh. "Thank you so-"
"Oh shit!"
Pam had got to her feet in an instant and started to pace back and forth as if something had deeply upset her.
"Care to tell me what your problem is?", Laura asked confused but also slightly concerned. It couldn't be a good sign, if a usually composed vampire was suddenly highly alert...
Just when Pamela opened her mouth to answer, someone 'knocked' so hard on the door, that Laura wondered why it didn't immediately give in.
"Someone open the fucking door, or I swear I'll slam it down!"
Even before Pam did what the man had demanded, Laura was aware who exactly wanted to get in. She knew that voice – she'd recognize the Viking everywhere!
As soon as the door was opened he stood in front of her in a flash, tilting her head from side to side without any concern about her privacy or something.
"Are you okay, Tiny?", he asked harshly, obviously still pissed for whatever reason, "Any injuries i should know of?"
"Nope, Hulk – calm down!"
Her eyebrows were furrowed and her stare angrily directed at Eric, who towered over her without any intention of backing away. His fingers still held her chin – gently though, but it didn't feel nice to be treated like a doll – and the second time within half an hour! – She knew where he had that move from, though...
"You heard her – calm down Eric", Godric's firm voice suddenly reached Laura's ears and she immediately turned her head to look in its direction. He stood in the doorframe to his room, clad in a grey suit – he even wore a tie! – and stared with this unsettling, emotionless face at his progeny.
Eric seemed to loose it then: Laura didn't even see him move, he suddenly just appeared only inches in front Godric, forcing him to look up at his progeny. She had never seen him challenging his maker so very boldly, but on the other hand she hadn't ever seen him that furious either.
They started to talk in another language then – first it was only Eric who shouted, but as the minutes went by, Godric raised his voice as well. By the way Pam winced from time to time, she could obviously understand them, but Laura wasn't sure if she should ask her what exactly their problem was, as she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know.
This was obviously not a calm conversation but rather a monstrous argument and by the way both vampires clenched their fists, it even had the potential to become a fight...
"If you're not man enough to do it – I'll do it!", Eric finally shouted and stalked into Laura's direction again, causing her to widen her eyes in confusion. Well, if she was honest she also felt a tiny bit of fear – but who wouldn't, if an angry vampire-Viking stepped in their direction in such a frightening mood...
"I can command you not to!", Godric growled, but didn't leave his spot in the doorframe. Laura still had absolutely no idea what was going on and just looked back and forth between the two of them, in hope someone would have the mercy to fill her in. But of course she had no such luck...
"If you really care for her, you won't!" Eric spat, eying Godric over his shoulder for a brief moment, before he turned to face Laura again. He planted himself in front of her like he was extremely confident of what was about to happen, but the expression on his face betrayed that he was everything but.
"Laura, I have to do something you won't like – but it's to keep you safe!", he tried to explain and shifted his weight awkwardly from one leg to the other. So much to the confidence...
"What is this about? Why are you two arguing anyway?", she wanted to know and eyed the Viking confused and also a bit worried. She didn't like the sound of 'do something you won't like' – actually it scared the shit out of her...
"There is a way to make you 'off limits' for another vampire", he explained patiently and leant slightly down to her, to make his imposing stature a bit less intimidating, "If you are claimed, no one else is allowed to even touch you – or he will be severely punished!"
"Like Godric punished this bastard?", Laura asked hesitantly, to better understand.
"Like Godric punished this bastard!", Eric confirmed with a nod and straightened himself again, before he continued to clarify, "Only that it would've been his right, if you had already been claimed. But he refused and still refuses to – that's why I am going to claim you, Laura. I'm sorry to do this now, but there is no way I'm going to leave you on the other side of the world, while you're still literally fair game!"
The Viking had growled the last few words with an angry glance over his shoulder to his maker and Laura couldn't help but gulp about the content of his little speech. She had absolutely no idea how he intended to accomplish this – for all she knew he could have been talking about deflowering her, as he seemed quite concerned about it as well...
And the fact that Godric refused to 'claim' her wasn't a good sign either...
"How exactly are you going to do this?", she asked meekly and couldn't help but duck her head in prospect of his answer.
"I will give you my blood, then I will bite you to leave a visible mark", he explained with a blatantly worried look on his face, "I swear you will hardly feel the sting – I will be as gentle as possible!"
"There is no need to give her your blood", she heard Godric interject sharply and Laura peeked around Eric to see him staring furiously at the Viking's back.
"Wouldn't that be bonding?", Laura asked before Eric had the chance to reply, when she remembered the conversation in the Eiffel Tower's restaurant. Her gaze scurried expectantly back to Eric who seemed surprised about her question.
"I don't intend to draw blood from you Laura – that scum took enough yesterday...", he explained and she merely nodded. "Besides, the blood exchange has to take place simultaneously, otherwise it's not a real bond."
When Eric still kept staring expectantly at her, she just returned a confused glare. "We talked about my blood", he reminded her calmly and leant down to her again, grazing his fingers softly along her jawline while he spoke, "It would at least mitigate your symptoms..."
Laura just stared deliberating at him for a few moments, but sighed heavily before she finally nodded once more.
Eric didn't waste much time and immediately bit into his wrist, before he wordlessly offered it to her. She couldn't help but gulp, while she gently wrapped her fingers around his forearm. How the hell should she be able to drink his blood? This was just gross!
With a disgusted expression on her face, she lowered her lips to the gash and closed them around the wound. She took a deep gulp of blood, hoping this would speed the process up and it would be over soon.
But just when the first drop of the red liquid touched her tongue, it felt like the most delicious thing she had ever tasted – not even Mousse au Chocolat came even close to it! A warm feeling slowly spread in her whole body, immediately relieving her from the pain she had constantly been in for the last couple of months.
Greedily she took another gulp and another one, and sucked on the wrist until she finally felt someone gently parting her from the blood source she had clung to like a maniac.
As soon as she realized what she had done, she blushed madly and immediately tried to clean her face. Certainly it had to be a bloody mess...
Eric's stunned stare didn't make her any more comfortable either and only caused her to rub her skin more furiously until she finally snapped a "You could help me, you know?!" at him.
He just blinked a few times, as if she had just ripped him out of a daydream – could vampires get that distracted? – and coughed before he answered firmly: "There's no blood anymore. You should stop rubbing or you'll only start bleeding yourself..."
"Fine!", she snapped and threw her hands frustratedly in the air, "Why are you still staring at me then?!"
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and furrowed her brows, glaring at him expectantly, but also with a tang of anger. Why the hell did he have to make her feel so very self-conscious?!
"Sorry to interrupt you, but we should get going", Pam reminded them and tipped impatiently on her wristwatch, "It's only ten minutes until midnight – we better hurry!"
"Laura will stay here – I do not want her to see this", Godric suddenly stated and Laura was slightly shocked by his bitter tone. He had promised her to come back safely – and soon! – but by the sound of his voice, she doubted his intentions now.
Had he changed his mind again? … But he gave her his ring!
"I agree – she shouldn't have to see that", Eric growled and shot a dark glance at his maker, as if it was his fault that he'd probably get punished, "I'll stay here and keep an eye on Laura. Pam, you go with him. Speak on his behalf and make sure he doesn't talk himself into any more shit..."
Godric hissed something in that unknown language – or maybe it was another one this time, Laura wouldn't know – obviously furious about his progeny's words. But nonetheless he approached Pam and put his hand on the small of her back, ushering her to the door.
"Please, try to come back as soon as possible", Laura heard herself call on him desperately and took a step in his direction, but stopped in her tracks as soon as she noticed the hurt expression on his face, when he looked at her over his shoulder for a last time.
Without another word he opened the door and the two were gone as if they'd never been there.
Shocked by what she had just seen, she slumped down on the couch and stared silently at the entrance, as if she'd hope he'd waltz through it any minute.
"He'll calm down again", Eric assured her and sat down beside her, "He's just pissed that you took my blood."
"You mean he's jealous?", Laura asked bewildered and turned her head to face the huge vampire beside her. He still eyed her in a strange way, making her slightly uneasy, but it was nothing in comparison to Godric's expression – it had simply scared the shit out of her. "It looked like it was much more than just jealousy..."
Eric sighed and fell back against the cushions, pinching his nose in a frustrated manner. When he finally lowered his hand again, he sighed heavily and stared firmly at the ceiling. "I don't know what's going on inside of him anymore", he admitted in a low voice. He sounded way more concerned than he looked, once again showing plainly who's progeny he was. "He lets me in only very rarely anymore. Sometimes I have the impression that you know him better than I do..."
She couldn't suppress a dry laugh at that statement. In her opinion, there was hardly anyone who knew him less than she did. There were so many things he didn't want to talk about and she was too afraid to address directly – so many things Eric probably had seen first hand, so many years he had spent at the side of his maker...
"I don't know him at all, Eric", she told him calmly, while she stared at the Viking's profile, who still inspected the ceiling, as if it was a masterpiece of art or something. "He hides so much from me, you already know – because you were there with him, when it happened. I understand that he doesn't want to tell me about his past – but he even keeps information from me that has to do with me! Did you know that he told Jaromar to look for a woman who obviously has the ability to heal me?"
Eric's glance scurried briefly to her, but soon rested on the ceiling again. "No – I neither knew about it, nor do I know anything about this woman you talk about", he admitted and she could see his eyebrows furrow in deep thought, "I mean I've heard rumors about 'healers' quite often over all those centuries, but they never really possessed those abilities. Do you think he really believes she can help you?"
Laura nodded slowly, knowing he would see it even in his peripheral vision. "In fact he seems to believe that she is the only one able to help me", she told him hesitantly and bit on her lip before she continued, "And Jaromar seems to agree on that. Obviously your blood won't heal me – though I have to admit it works way better than any of the analgesics I've taken so far..."
She noticed his glance shifting in her direction again, looking at her from the corner of his eyes, without tilting his head. "You're welcome", he just stated and a grin appeared on his lips, before he sat up again, finally turning to face her fully. He looked at her for a moment, before his face turned serious again. "I was quite baffled about the amount of pain you were in at first. You didn't even seem to mind..."
His eyes were narrowed at her, suspiciously examining her as if she had some sort of secret he wanted to know about. But she merely shrugged and smiled at him. "What can I say? I have practice in blocking it out – you said so yourself when you told Godric about my condition!", she told him nonchalantly but continued in a more serious tone, "Thanks for your blood though – you have no idea how wonderful it feels to finally be pain-free. Do you know how long it'll work?"
Now he was the one who shrugged, before he leant his elbow on his knee to rest the chin in his palm, looking thoughtfully at the couch table in front of them. "It could be weeks – it could even be months considering the amount you greedy little thing took!", he explained and winked mischievously at her before he elaborated his thoughts more precisely, "But there is also a chance, that you'll feel the first stings of pain in a few days again – it depends on how far the tumor has grown already..."
"Would you feel the pain as well then?", she asked hesitantly, looking at him in concern. She didn't want him to suffer with her. He had become a very important person to her and she didn't want him to be in pain because of her...
"Of course Laura", he replied with a faint smile, sitting upright again, before he turned into her direction. Without a warning he suddenly reached forward, grabbed her chin and tilted her head upwards, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I can feel your every emotion..."
She bit awkwardly on her bottom lip, while she returned his glare stubbornly, but simultaneously noticed how her heart-rate increased. Of course her stupid body had to work against her once more...
"Then you feel that I'm quite uncomfortable at the moment", she stated dryly, still staring firmly in his light blue eyes. She felt her eyebrows furrow, annoyed by his behavior, but didn't flinch even an inch.
"Yes, but there is something different as well", he told her with a smile – a genuine one, not this usual smirk he always wore to cover his emotions. "Something deep that overshadows everything else..."
She felt herself gulping at that statement, her throat suddenly feeling dry like the Sahara. "And what would that be?", she asked with a not half as challenging sounding voice, as she would have liked.
His smile didn't falter while he kept staring into her eyes in such a different way, unlike he had looked at her ever before. When he suddenly leant forward as well, it felt like her heart had skipped a beat. What the heck was he about to do?
She couldn't help but sigh in relief, when she felt his lips touching her forehead. Thank god he had just been aiming for that spot! She wasn't sure how she – or her hormones for that matter – would've reacted if he had really kissed her...
"Your worries – your concern – your deep love for him", he whispered and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I have to admit, I have never felt anything so deep and clear – it's amazing..."
"Have you ever shared your blood with a human before?", she asked with a doubting tone and cocked her eyebrow quizzically. He chuckled heartedly and began to caress her back in circling movements, his smile turning into a smirk.
"Of course I have", he told her with a seductive look, "You have no idea how intense it feels while-"
"Oh please!", she exclaimed and put a hand on his shoulder to push herself away a bit and returned his glare with a slightly disgusted one, "Spare me the details!"
He laughed again, hard and loud – he actually even laid his head back in his neck for a moment. What exactly had been so very funny about her statement, remained a mystery to her...
"I'm already eagerly looking forward to your first dreams about me", he told her without the slightest hint of tact, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and making her cringe. But then his body suddenly tensed and he seemed to become serious again. "I'm sorry to remind you, but there is still a task I have to carry out..."
When she looked up at him he seemed genuinely concerned, not even a trace of his formerly mocking attitude was left. She rested her head against his shoulder for a moment and wrapped her arms slowly around his torso, clinging to him as long as he would allow her.
That he obviously didn't feel offended by her behavior and tried to get rid of her embrace, surprised her – even more, when he – on the contrary – even put his arms around her as well to pull her closer towards his body.
The idea of being bitten again, made her shiver, but she forced herself to remind the fact that it would be Eric doing it this time, and that he certainly would be much gentler than this bastard the night before had been.
The mere thought of this monster made her wince in fear, but when she felt Eric's fingers running soothingly through her hair, she calmed down faster than she'd thought she would.
He would do this for her – to protect her from other vampires. She trusted him and he had promised not to hurt her. To top those aspects, she also had the ability to blend pain out to a certain extend – if she was prepared for it, that is...
"You can do it, Eric", she whispered and felt her fingers dig into the fabric of his shirt involuntarily, "I know you only do it to keep me safe. I trust you."
She felt him rest his chin on top of her head for a moment, before he loosened his embrace and grabbed her shoulders gently, to bring a few inches between them.
When she lifted her gaze to look at his face, he met her eyes with a questioning expression, as if he wasn't really sure, if she had meant what she'd said. Only when she nodded deliberately, his look changed to a confident one and she felt his hands wandering down to her hips, before he suddenly lifted her into his lap without a proper warning.
She gasped in surprise and only stared reproachfully at the Viking, when she found herself sitting on his thighs. But he merely kept glaring down at her with one of his trademark smirks and a 'so what?' attitude.
"Are you ready Tiny?", he asked, when he had brushed her hair to the side, exposing her neck to him. She had to gulp at the question but nodded nonetheless. He should better hurry so it would be over soon...
When he bent forward, lowering his head to her neck, his breath tingled her skin before she felt his nose brushing down her neck, along her carotid artery. She heard him inhale, then something clicked – probably his fangs – and when she sensed their tips graze her skin upwards again, she couldn't help but shudder. But it wasn't fear, causing her body to react in such a way. It rather was the thrill of his impending bite – the knowledge that he would, but not when or where exactly...
And then she suddenly felt a brief sting – hardly worth mentioning – and she had to admit it felt oddly pleasant. Eric kept his fangs sunken inside her for a few moments, obviously enjoying the sensation as well.
His hands pulled her closer to his body, digging his fingers into her hips in that process – if consciously or subconsciously she wasn't entirely sure of. Laura for her part, was extremely aware of her surroundings – also of the bulge in Eric's trousers.
She had felt it appear at her thigh, as soon as he had pierced her skin. But as Belle had told her that the pleasures of the 'two F's – feeding and fucking' lay quite close together, she wasn't really shocked about it – even if he wasn't really drawing blood from her...
When he slowly pulled his fangs out of the holes he had created, he deliberately licked the two punctures clean, before he pulled back enough to take a look at Laura's face.
"Everything okay honey pie?", he asked in a mocking voice, but wasn't able to hide his concern sufficiently behind his smirk. She simply nodded at him and smiled, gently squeezing his upper arm, where her hand must have wandered to on its own.
"You feel that I'm alright, don't you?", she mocked him back and winked at him, causing him to literally sigh in relief. She'd never thought she'd ever see the Viking like that – he almost appeared to be a bit vulnerable in that moment.
"I'm glad that you aren't afraid of me", he admitted, suddenly totally serious again, while he deliberately tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, which had stubbornly fallen over her neck again. He glanced at the bite marks he had left there and if she would've had to name the expression he displayed at that moment, she would have said he looked somewhat proud.
"You never gave me any reason to be afraid of you!", Laura informed him casually, looking up at him to meet his glance with a smile, "I trust you."
He seemed almost a bit surprised by that statement first, but smiled at her then, running one of his long fingers along her neck, only avoiding to touch his marks. "I wonder why you do that...", he muttered after a while, still occupied with caressing her throat.
"You are my accomplice – did you forget?", she reminded him and nudged him playfully into the shoulder, "Even if you try to appear like a heartless businessman to everyone else, you somehow always treated me differently. For some reason you care about me, or at least you make me feel cared about – which is a very lovely feeling by the way. After all our conversations and plotting concerning Godric, I just cant help trusting you, Eric. You somehow earned my trust."
His gaze had scurried from her neck to her face somewhere during her speech, looking at her with a blend of disbelief and surprise. Only now, Laura became aware again, how close they were and how very present the bulge in his trousers still was. A bit unnerved, she wiggled herself out of Eric's grip – which was quite easy in his stunned state – to hop off his lap and on the couch beside him.
Without another word, she grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, to zap though the channels, until she found a film that seemed quite interesting. After a while, she felt Eric relax as well and a few minutes later he leant back, resting his long arms on the backrest, obviously content to watch this film with her.
They spent some time like that, it must have been at least two and a half hours, as they where already halfway through the second film, until the apartment door finally opened and Pam stepped in.
First Laura already feared something had gone wrong and Godric had indeed been buried, but then Belle and Jaromar also walked though the door, closely followed by the vampire she had worried about.
She didn't even realize that she had gotten up, until she found herself standing directly in front of him. But just when she was about to fall round his neck, he backed away in the last moment, forcing her to lower her hands awkwardly.
"I see everything went fine", Laura stated carefully and turned around to look at Belle expectantly. But the redhead had only eyes for her neck and by the look she wore on her face she was quite baffled about the sight.
"What did you do?!", she whispered in disbelieve and clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, "Why did you allow Eric to claim you?!"
Within a second, said vampire was at her side, wrapping an arm around her in a protective manner and growled intimidating at Belle. "It was necessary and Godric refused to do it!", he snarled at her and his body language indicated that he wasn't exactly happy about her questioning their decisions.
"This is of no importance now!", Jaromar intervened with a harsh tone, glaring angrily at Eric before he continued, directed at Laura, "We were able to convince Louis that it was necessary for Godric to act like he did – which was easier than we thought, as that bastard who bit you was not this King's son, but Mahir's. I already informed Sahar to calm the waves with him, but still you shouldn't travel to the Southern Territories anytime soon..."
"That means no Rome or Barcelona...", Laura heard Pam mutter in a displeased tone, which earned her a reproachful glare from Eric that caused the female vampire to wince.
"We are done here, Belle", Jaromar stated in a rough tone and ushered his mate to the door again. But when they reached Laura's side he stopped briefly, putting a hand on her shoulder. Surprised by their hasty departure, as well as his strange behavior, she glanced up into his face with a confused expression. "It was the right decision to call us, but you disappointed me."
When she saw his eyes scurry to her neck before he let go of her, she immediately knew what he had been referring to and her eyes widened in shock. She wasn't able to say even a single word and just stared silently at their backs, when Belle and the ancient vampire finally left the apartment.
"They don't know what they're talking about!", she heard Eric hiss angrily beside her, while she was ushered back to the couch by him. Not really in the mood to fight back, she just allowed him to sit her down, before he paced back and forth in front of her, demanding to know what exactly had happened at the King's palace and why Jaromar had been there.
Pam told him in her usual bored tone that the scum, had tried to feed the King lies about what had happened the night before. Apparently Louis had been quite suspicious about this bastard's accusation anyway and when Pam had told him everything from her perspective and that Laura had been claimed by this time anyway, Godric's punishment would have only been three nights, wrapped in silver in one of the King's dungeons. But when Jaromar stepped in and spoke on Godric's behalf as well, he even managed to save him from that.
"That still doesn't explain why he was even there!", Eric noted and glared expectantly at his progeny, who only shrugged unfazed.
"I suppose Laura called him in the morning", Godric's emotionless voice suddenly reached her ears and she turned her head surprised in his direction. He had been silently listening the whole time, intently following Pam's story but not showing any sign of reaction. This cold aura around him scared her and she was glad that Jaromar had been there, otherwise he would probably have done something stupid...
"Yes, I called Belle as soon as you were asleep", she admitted with a challenging voice and stood up to approach him, totally ignoring the other two vampires who doubtlessly followed her every move like hawks. Godric just kept staring at her, but showed not the slightest hint of emotion, not even when she came to a halt in front of him.
"I was worried about you...", she told him honestly and lifted her hand to touch his cheek, but again he flinched away, causing her to drop it in frustration.
"You were?", he asked in a monotone voice and when he even dared to look into her eyes at that question, she lost her nerves and slapped him hard onto the cheek. It was a miracle that he didn't back away this time, but she supposed he wanted her to suffer a bit, for whatever she had done that made him act so very cold towards her.
Her hand immediately started to throb in pain and Eric was at her side within an instant, inspecting it with a concerned expression.
What the fuck was wrong with Godric?
"He gave you the ring", Eric's muttered words suddenly ripped her out of her thoughts, and she looked at him in surprise. First she didn't realize what he had been referring to, but when she saw him staring at her fingers, which he still held gently in his own, she understood.
"I should probably give it back", she mumbled and withdrew her hand to carefully remove said ring. With slightly trembling hands she held it out to Godric, who accepted it without batting an eye and didn't seem to care about the fact, that the silver burned his skin.
Eric watched their interaction in silence and his eyebrows furrowed in concern, when Godric slowly left the living room to retreat to his own without another word. Laura could only shrug her shoulders in a helpless manner, when the Viking looked at her with a lost expression.
"We have to do something!", he stated in a frustrated tone and glanced at her expectantly, "Go to him – talk to him! This is all because of my blood – tell him why you took mine, but not his!"
"I can't do that Eric!", Laura exclaimed exasperated and waved her hands equally frustrated, "If I do that, I could have taken his in the first place!"
He growled angrily and kept pacing about the room, while Laura silently made herself comfortable beside his progeny. Both of them watched him without a word and only when the vampires started to get the bleeds, both retreated to Pam's room after a curt "good day rest".
Though Laura usually had the same sleep pattern as they had, she didn't feel the tiniest bit tired. Probably this was due to Eric's blood. But she decided not to try falling asleep but to take advantage of her state and first called her parents, then Patrick, for a more extensive conversation than usual.
All three of them seemed quite happy to have the opportunity to talk to an unusually awake Laura and her parents even showed her some of the photographs of the film they got developed for her.
About three hours later, she finally went to bed in her room, but although she hadn't been fazed by Eric's bite, the memories of 'the incident' kept pestering her, until she finally lost her patience and sneaked into Pam's room.
She and her maker lay obviously spooning in the middle of the bed and Laura decided to try her luck as big spoon, lifting the bed sheet on Eric's side. But just when she had slipped under it and wanted to close up to the viking, he suddenly stirred and turned around, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.
"I hope you'll finally fall asleep now", he muttered with closed eyes, "Your emotions make me nervous..."
"I'm sorry Eric..."
"Don't be sorry, Tiny. Just sleep – I need to get some rest..."
"I'll try my best", she told him and snuggled up to him, realizing with relief that he still wore a muscle shirt and shorts, "Good day rest Eric! Sleep well..."
"Sweet dreams, Laura", he muttered and when she looked up at him a last time before she turned the lights off, she noted that he had a mischievous smirk on his sleeping face.
AN: hey there :) I hope you aren't too disappointed with this chapter - almost no tease or cuddling, a highly reserved Godric and a rather unexpected claim... at this point of the story Laura needed to be claimed, as it just became too dangerous - but with her refusing Godric's blood and his refusal to only claim her, there wasn't much of an option. I just hope I prepared you sufficiently for this 'shock', as Laura wasn't exactly disapproving of the Viking's offer in former chapters anyway...
a big thanks to the reviewers downbelowgirl, Pelawen Night, Royal Ember, Anjelline, katz3ye, Jmck22, WinchesterGirl2975, Anabel, Reina434, Hpmia, Arenola, the two Guests, treewitch7031 and SimpleSummers for their lovely and motivating words! I really appreciate it that you (always) take the time to leave me a comment!
at Anabel: thanks for the review - I'm glad you liked the last chapter ;) just as you said: 'Godric has developed some heavy duty self-control in his 2000 years' - I hope you aren't taken aback, that he's starting to show self-destructive tendencies again, now that his 'Light' allowed his progeny to claim her. I just hope you didn't find it too depressing...
at Guest 1: thanks for your review! I hope you aren't too disappointed that it wasn't Godric who claimed Laura :/
at Guest 2: thanks for your kind words - I'm glad you like the story so far ;)
special thanks to Royal Ember and Arenola for helping me define what was 'appropriate' or not at this point of the story. sometimes I just can't see the most obvious things when I've buried myself too deep into it - so a huge thanks for your help!
~Orange ;)