...
"Don't come closer or I'll have to go
Holding me like gravity are places that pull
[...]
Everyone I come across in cages they bought
they think of me and my wandering
but I'm never what they thought
got my indignation but I'm pure in all my thoughts
I'm alive...
Wind in my hair, I feel part of everywhere
underneath my being is a road that disappeared
late at night I hear the trees
they're singing with the dead
overhead..."
[Eddie Vedder – Guaranteed]
...
Laura awoke to the sound of a dull hum and an ever present headache, the next day. Blinking a few times to adapt her still rather sleepy eyes to the thankfully quite soft light in the room, she immediately felt her eyebrows furrow in confusion.
Where the hell was she? This was not Eric's place and hadn't they been in Godric's room there, when she dozed off?
She knew there was no need to panic though, as said vampire was lying beside her in bed, observing her with poorly hidden amusement over the top of the book he was currently reading in. So she allowed her gaze to wander off to take a closer look at the room around them. And Laura quickly came to one conclusion: she knew that room; she'd been in it before; but still she couldn't for the life of her remember where this room was situated…
"Did you sleep well?", Godric asked with a low voice and placed his book on the bedside table, before he skidded a bit lower to be on her eye level and turned toward her with a smile.
His smile… It was such a rare and beautiful sight, that she couldn't help but grin in return and when she remembered where ever these lovely lips of him had been the night before, she felt an all too familiar heat rushing to her cheeks. When Godric cocked an eyebrow in a questioning manner, she only muttered a "yeah" and nodded, not able to wipe the certainly goofy grin off her face. But honestly: who wouldn't have been beside themselves with joy in her place?
She had had sex with the most desirable, handsome and caring man she'd ever had the pleasure to come to know. He had not only made it most satisfying for her, he'd also shown her how much she meant to him – even if he probably didn't mean to; the idiot had really thought he'd be only her second choice after all!
Even if she'd had the feeling that he somehow couldn't fully let go, that he had tried to hold a part of him back, she had perceived it as 'love making' rather than simply 'having sex'. She just couldn't believe that it would've been the same with any other person, even if they'd acted exactly the same way…
Her hand moved as if it had a mind on its own and came to rest on Godric's bare chest, her fingers lightly brushing over his pectoral tattoo once again. Suddenly a thought came to her mind and she immediately looked down at her own body, to find it wrapped in something like a silken bathrobe.
If they really had changed places – which was obviously the case – she was glad that she hadn't been transported completely naked…
"If you are wondering where we are, we are on the plane", he informed her with this attractively calm voice of his, and brushed his fingers absentmindedly through her hair. So that was why she had the feeling she knew the room – it was his cabin in the private jet of his! She wasn't really surprised that he hadn't wasted any time to head to Siberia, as he'd already pointed out She may change her position soon and it was obvious that her health was on top of the list of things currently on his mind.
And she was glad that at least one of them worried about it, as she certainly was much to happy to do so at the moment…
"We should arrive soon, but I will have to transport you on my back for some distance, to keep our presence unknown as long as possible. And… I am afraid you will have to walk about the last mile on your own..."
His words seemed to pain him, when he spoke the last sentence and his eyes searched hers for any reaction. She felt her lips twitch into a faint smile and brushed her fingers upwards along his throat until they cupped his cheek.
"I've no problem with that. Just point me into the right direction", she replied with a shrug and leant in to touch her lips to his. She immediately felt his fingers tighten in her hair and was drawn closer, when he responded with eager nips before his tongue flickered along her bottom lip. Without another thought she opened her mouth to him and moaned involuntarily when she tasted him again. The texture of his tongue felt so right against her own and his teeth weren't sharp at all – as long as his fangs stayed retracted at least…
"I would love to accompany you, but your chances are much better without me being close", he explained when they parted again and Laura took a few breaths of badly required air. "It does not feel right to send you to Her all on your own…"
"Do you know her? Personally I mean", Laura asked cautiously, as his words almost lead her to believe he did. His past was still a touchy subject though, so she didn't want to ruin the moment with digging too deep…
"Yes. We met once...", he admitted reluctantly and averted his gaze. It almost seemed as if he'd be ashamed – but what for?
"What is she like?"
"I know her too little to answer that question, Laura", he told her with a sigh, "Eric could probably tell you more about Her, but as I had to promise her to keep her presence and our brief conversation unknown to him, not even I know when exactly they crossed paths. But I suppose it was before he was turned."
Godric turned to lie on his back again and pulled her closer, which prompted her to rest her head in the crook of his arm. She had a hard time keeping an eye on his face from that angle, but it was still manageable and now that the vampire finally opened up a bit, there was actually something to see as well. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, while he stared at the ceiling as if he were deep in thought.
"She made pretty clear that she does not like vampires. But she likes Eric for some reason – she was intrigued enough to follow us for a while at least. Secretly of course – but I realized someone was on our heels after a while and confronted her. I am still surprised I survived that encounter..."
He chuckled lightly and to her annoyance he actually sounded amused. What the hell was amusing on the thought that he could have died that night?!
"I don't think that's too funny", she informed him rather sourly and pinched his side to make a point. "So she is even older than you."
"Yes. At least a millennium, but I suppose it is even more", he replied, while he looked down at her, "But do not misunderstand me: She is not a vampire herself!"
"I know, Jaromar told me a bit about her – but that's about it. But how can she be so old then?", Laura asked curiously and realized that she'd sat up, her palm again resting on his perfectly accommodating chest. Godric propped his torso on his elbows as well and seemed to think about that question for a moment.
"I am not too sure about it. Nobody knows what exactly She is, but the sun does not harm her. There is nothing else like Her – at least not that I know of..."
"So she's pretty special then. Must be a rather lonely life, don't you think?"
"I suppose so, but she does not look for company – on the contrary", he explained and his eyes had a serious expression when he looked at her, "She has been living far from any other settlements for a few decades now, changing her position every few months. Jaromar tries to keep an eye on her, as he knows of her dislike for our kind. From time to time she is known to show compassion for some especially poor humans, but she has never had much mercy with vampires."
"So either one of you played a really nasty trick on her, or she is one very biased person..."
"I am afraid your first guess will probably be the more accurate one", Godric sighed and flopped back down again, before he turned his gaze towards the ceiling again. "I think it is the best if you mention your name as soon as you face her."
"Why?", Laura asked baffled, her eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"It was probably her, who saved your grandfathers life. While we were…", he started to explain, but obviously needed to think for a proper word to describe the time they had parted because of one of their many misunderstandings.
"Idiots?", she supplied helpfully and sighed. She could have sworn that she saw Godric's lips quirk upward at the edges, but then he coughed into his fist, probably to hide a grin – for whatever reason…
"Separated. I think separated is what I was looking for… I was able to dig a few stories about some of your grandfathers old friends up. Some of them have the same backstory and one of them ended up as a portrait artist. Fortunately a collection of his works has recently been published as an art book and apparently there was a stage in his life, wherein he only drew this one woman over and over again."
"It was Her, I suppose?", she asked curiously, when he kept silently staring at the ceiling for a few moments. His eyes darted to Laura again and though he somehow managed to deliver the 'yes' with only his intense gaze, he nodded slightly.
This was a very important information. If this was true – and the story about her grandfather's friend indicated that – she'd have to thank her first and foremost. If it hadn't been for her, saving her grandfather, she wouldn't even exist and there'd be no need to even ask for her help...
Godric's gentle fingers trailing up her arm, returned her attention to the present again and a smile spread on her lips when he carefully tugged on the sleeve of her bathrobe. She immediately obliged and laid down beside him again, resting her head on his shoulder once more, but this time taking the liberty of observing her own fingers – how they followed his collarbone, brushed over his sternum – how they trailed the little valleys between his abdominal muscles…
"Why'd you been so vexed?", she asked quietly, not daring to look up at him, but when she didn't receive an answer right away, she felt the need to elaborate the question. "Back in Iceland – we'd had such a lovely start there and then something went wrong – horribly so! – and I still have no idea what exactly caused you to ignore me like that..."
She felt his chest heaving before she heard a heavy sigh and looked up at him with a rather shy expression. He had a slightly pained smile on his lips when he regarded her out of the corner of his eyes.
"This was a misunderstanding. One of many, I suppose", he explained and sighed again, before he carefully placed her head on the pillow and shifted his position so he could face her properly. His gaze was apologetic and annoyed all the same, though – if his annoyance was directed at the situation back then, or her – or even himself – she couldn't tell for certain. "You asked a rather personal question about Eric and I assumed you were interested in him as more than just a friend. You both already had your bond and I knew that Eric would not have been disinclined, so I was rather… rude to you – I am sorry about that."
"I'm sorry I ever gave you such an impression", she mumbled and carefully brushed her fingers through his hair. His smile turned to a more heartfelt one and he briefly pecked her on the lips, before he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes for a moment.
"I am glad you kept me from burning", he softly admitted out of the blue and she couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm glad you allowed me to...", she replied with a smile. "I hope you and Eric will soon come to terms again – if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been there. And in spite of your stubborn opinion that he'd been willing to… upgrade our relationship, he's always tried to drive me into your arms. I was just too dense to believe him. I thought it was some kind of game for him, watching as the naive little human makes a fool of herself…"
"I will apologize to him, as soon as we get back – I promise", he told her in a serious tone and pecked her on the nose briefly. "But you should also know, that he would never deliberately hurt you like that. He does care for you – a lot more than I am comfortable with to be honest – and he would never lie to you, if it was not absolutely necessary…"
Laura couldn't help but grin brightly at him when she heard that. "You are aware that you just defended Eric, hm?", she laughed, and it was her turn now, to peck him playfully on the lips, before she continued, "I thought this would be more difficult, but I'm glad you just convinced me of the contrary: you two will be back to your old behavior in no time!"
"I would not go that far… but the cuts will heal", he assured her gently, while his fingers let go of her hair and trailed down to her jawline. Laura thought he would be grabbing her chin in that all too familiar hold any moment, but his eyes darted only briefly to her lips, before they settled on her own once more.
His gaze was intense and she had no idea how he did it, but somehow she immediately felt her heart flutter and a familiar heat pooled in her lower belly, while her throat went dry. He kept her eyes captured with his, while his fingertips grazed her throat, trailing lower, until they stopped at the cleavage of her robe.
When she noticed his tongue darting out of his mouth, her gaze briefly flickered to his lips to watch as they were moistened deliberately and without any hurry. By the time her eyes settled on his again, his pupils were definitely wider than they had been before and she could feel a single finger trail down the valley between her breasts, effectively parting the fabric of her bathrobe in the process.
"Didn't you mention we'd be 'landing soon'", she reminded him with a breathy voice and closed her eyes when his finger had reached her midriff and opened the loose belt with a single tug.
"What about it?", he whispered mockingly and the feeling of his breath grazing her lips was almost too much to handle. Without thinking, she leant into him, pressing her body against his and claiming his mouth with a hungry kiss. Despite his immediate response she could feel him grinning into her lips and she quickly reached under the blanket to pinch his buttocks reprimanding, realizing only in that moment that he was actually naked and gasped in surprise. He only chuckled lightly and sneaked his hand below the fabric of her bathrobe, brushing his fingers upwards until he reached her right breast.
She hissed in pleasure when his fingertips grazed her nipple and involuntarily threw her head back, while she arched her spine to lean into his touch. Just when she'd lifted her right leg to wrap it around his waist and pull him even closer, she heard the familiar cracking sound that announced one of Anne's notices.
"Mr. DeGaule, Laura – we'll be landing soon. It may get a bit bumpy."
Laura couldn't suppress an annoyed growl, but had to grin sheepishly when this elicited a chuckle from Godric.
"We better get dressed than undressed then...", she sighed and propped herself on her elbows, while she watched Godric getting up to fetch her duffle bag and place it on the bed beside her. He had obviously packed it for her and though it couldn't have taken him too long, as she hadn't really unpacked it in the first place, she was glad that he'd thought about it.
It was obvious, that his thoughts were occupied with other matters at the moment – and, as the brief glance into her duffle bag revealed: he even had thought to pack the few things she had placed in the bathroom.
"As hard as it is – I am afraid, I have to agree", he told her, but got into bed once more to lean over her again. "But it would be wise to start with the undressing before we move to the dressing part, no?"
And just as he'd suggested he helped her undress before they reluctantly tore apart to finally clear their heads and get clothed. It was a hard thing to do – especially with such an exceptionally gorgeous example of the male specimen in eyeshot – but somehow Laura managed to get dressed nonetheless.
When they had landed and left the plain, Godric wore his usual attire, just supplemented by a simple jacket. It still would've been much too thin for any human in this area – they were in Siberia after all – but according to his assurances he wouldn't need more.
Laura herself was glad that she'd packed the dawn coat Anne had gotten for their detour to Island, before she'd been heading to Shreveport, otherwise this little trip would probably have proved to become a rather cold one. But it took her only a few minutes on Godric's back, to realize, that even with the protection of the fluffy feathers in her jacket, she'd be freezing soon.
- 4° F wasn't exactly a temperature she was used to…
She already had the feeling that her nose would be falling off any minute, when Godric suddenly stopped. He'd been running through the tundra for about ten minutes now and crouched down to let her hop off in the middle of nowhere. Her limbs felt stiff from the biting cold, but Laura tried to play it down to keep him from worrying too much.
"You will have to take the last mile alone", he reminded her and regarded her with an apologetic look. "If you keep heading in this direction, you will find her camp", he stated and pointed to the north. As it was starting to dawn, she could see potential obstacles in her way and she'd be able to navigate to wherever it was this woman was hiding without any problem. Quite fortunate, as she supposed it wouldn't be getting much brighter so far north at this time of the year…
"Don't worry so much, Godric. I'll be fine", she assured him and patted his cheek with her thick gloves. "She's not a vampire, so she probably won't bite", she joked to lighten the mood, when he kept looking at her worriedly.
"This is not funny, Laura", he muttered and embraced her a last time to bury his nose in what would have been the crook of her neck – if it hadn't been wrapped in various layers of cloth. "There are many other ways to harm you...", he pointed out, and she noticed that his voice sounded unusually throaty.
"I will mention my name, before I do anything else – I'll tell her my grandfathers story to remind her of what she did for my family, and I'll make sure to thank her", she assured him and brushed through his lovely hair, as soothingly as she was able to with her thick gloves she wore.
"I hope it will work out as planned and she will help you", Godric sighed when he finally let go of her again. "Good luck, Laura", he whispered and caressed her cheek a last time with his cold, bare hand, "I will be waiting here for your return."
She nodded in understanding and turned to make her way through the knee-high snow. Trying not too look back at him over her shoulder to keep from making their parting harder than necessary, she kept her gaze stubbornly directed to the north and made sure that she always had a distinct mark she could concentrate on for every stage of her little journey.
There wasn't much to go by – a bush formation here, the collective of a few conifers there and later a little river she could orient herself by. After some time she found herself muttering to herself about making some physical exercise in the future – at least every now and then – and cursing the damn snow to hell and back…
Under normal circumstances she would probably have covered the distance within ten or fifteen minutes, but it was bitterly cold and she had to cut her way through the annoying white, so it took her at least half an hour until she could see something like a tent sheltered between a few trees. It didn't take her long to discern the silhouette of someone sitting there, but only when she had nearly reached the camp, did she realize that the women had been eying her closely the whole time.
The fireplace in front of her was burnt down already, but a few pieces of the charred wood still glimmered and cast an eerie light on her face. It seemed rather youthful, but Laura couldn't tell for certain in this sparse light, and her features were very feminine and smooth. Her hair on the other hand, had probably seen better days and hung shaggy just a few inches below her chin, framing her face in untamed waves. The woman was clad in what seemed to be at least one layer of fur, as she sat there on a logged tree trunk beside the fireplace, eying her intently.
"You are either very desperate, or very brave", she stated calmly, without making the slightest move, "Or simply ignorant."
"I'm afraid the first option fits the best", Laura admitted sheepishly, not able to keep her teeth from chattering from the cold, "My name is Laura Freeman. I think you're responsible for the survival of my grandfather some seventy years ago..."
"I know who you are referring to, though 'Freeman' was not the name he answered to when I pulled him out of that mass grave", the woman told her after she had thought about it for a moment, but didn't show any sign of emotion. "What do you want, child? You are not here to talk about the past."
"No, I'm not", she admitted and stepped a bit closer to the fireplace in hope to feel a bit of the lingering warmth, but she wasn't so lucky. The few meager coal pieces weren't enough to provide warmth. "I wanted to thank you though. If it hadn't been for you, I would never have been born."
"I appreciate your heartfelt thanks, but what do you really want?", she repeated and her voice sounded a bit harsh now. The woman had furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance and was staring at her with a piercing glare. "You are involved with Death – so, tell me: why are you here?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand...", Laura muttered confused and took a startled step backwards when the woman suddenly stood directly in front of her. She hadn't even seen her moving, which made it pretty clear, that she at least had the inhumane speed in common with vampires...
"The vampire known as Death has been sniffing around here lately and now a fragile little human stumbles into my camp", the woman spat and her furious eyes almost glowed when she leant even closer towards Laura, causing their noses almost to touch, "Do not tell me this is a coincidence – his smell is all over you!"
Laura's eyes grew wide at that revelation and her cheeks turned pleasantly hot. "Yeah – well – ahm – ...", she stammered at first, but shook her head then, to sort her thoughts and met the woman's glare head-on. "Godric told me you'd be the only person capable of healing me. I'll be dying soon – the doctors diagnosed cerebral tumor and gave me 12 to 18 months to live. That was 10 months ago..."
The woman narrowed her eyes and leant back again, allowing Laura some private space again. Now, standing directly in front of her, she realized that She was not much taller than her – if at all.
"You are on first name basis with Death – not just a fling then...", the woman noted and kept a calculating eye on Laura, while she rounded the fireplace again to sit on the log there again. "You may sit down – but if you prefer to stand you are allowed to do so of course."
Laura hurriedly made her way to the tree trunk as well and cast a questioning glance at Her, to make sure that this was okay, before she took a seat beside her.
"How well do you know Death, child?"
Sighing heavily, Laura contemplated her next words carefully. She was aware that she had only gotten to the front page of the first volume of what was the encyclopedia of Godric's long and eventful life. He had a lot of secrets and much more tales, he had simply not had the time yet, to tell her about. She didn't want to hear anything from this woman, Godric didn't want her to hear – but how to communicate that without sounding rude?
"I know there is much he regrets – probably the things that earned him this name", Laura began and shrugged, "But I don't know anything about that and as long as he's not ready to tell me himself, I would prefer to keep it that way. He may do something stupid again, if he thinks I hold it against him..."
"Stupid again?", the woman inquired and when Laura lifted her eyes from the coals to her face, she could see a cocked eyebrow, questioning her statement. Her face didn't show anything else though – not even a hint as to why she wanted to hear more.
"He wanted to leave everything behind. He wanted to burn...", Laura explained and averted her gaze again, returning it to the fireplace. The red and orange color of the glimmering coals had something soothing to them, and though they weren't capable of warming her physically, they at least warmed her a bit from within. "How he could ever have thought about that is beyond me. Eric was devastated – his reaction alone should have caused Godric to reconsider..."
"You know Eric?", he woman asked now and even if she tried to hide it, Laura could definitely hear a bit genuine curiosity and surprise leaking from her voice. Putting an effort into suppressing a grin, she nodded but didn't elaborate. If the woman wanted to know something, she would have to ask more specifically.
"But he is well now? – Eric I mean", she asked and this time she didn't even try to conceal her concern, "He is still alive, right?"
"Yes, of course. Last time I saw him was yesterday evening", Laura told her with a shrug and tilted her head to glance at the woman beside her, "Do you know him as well?"
She kept quiet for a few moments and just stared into the glimmering coals silently, before she started to explain. "I knew him – a long time ago, when he was still an innocent little boy. I watched him grow into a strong young man and I would have loved to help him become the leader he had been born to be – had not this beast attacked his tribe with his host of wolfs. I lost him that night – and I rue it to this day..."
Laura pondered over this new information, while she kept eying the woman beside her thoughtfully. "But he is still there – you could still go to him, talk to him…", she reasoned carefully, but tried another approach when she noted how the woman shut her eyes and furrowed her brows as if in pain, "You were close to him then, right? Would you … would you tell me your name?"
That obviously caught the woman off guard, as her head immediately spun around to face Laura. Here eyes were wide again, regarding her with a baffled look.
"I mean… everyone that'd been talking about you, always referred to you as Her or She with such a dubious tone and this is somehow getting old. You surely have a name – and I would really like to know how to address you properly", Laura explained a bit awkwardly and felt her cheeks heating up again.
But the woman obviously didn't think that her request had been an embarrassment at all and gave her the first smile so far. It was faint, barely there at all, but Laura had definitely seen it before it disappeared again.
"I had many names – some bring back happier memories than others", she explained and turned her face to the fireplace again. The small smile creeped back onto her lips before she continued, "You can call me Greta."
"Nice to meet you Greta", Laura told her with a relieved grin and offered her a gloved hand. The woman laughed, but accepted it nonetheless, drawing attention to her bare hand when she clasped Laura's to shake it.
Maybe there were more similarities to vampires than just their speed, and these furs were just a disguise…
"It has been a while since someone asked for my name", Greta admitted, "I have been traveling through the northern latitudes for a while now and tried to keep away from civilization as well as in any way possible. You are the first one bold enough to seek my company in about ten years..."
"You've been alone for ten years?", Laura exclaimed disbelievingly, "How did you survive that? That must've been terribly lonely!"
"I never said I was alone", Greta pointed out with a smile and put two fingers to her mouth to whistle. The noise echoed jarringly through the bleak landscape and it didn't take long until Laura could hear something approaching them. The first animal that came into eyeshot was a caribou, which trotted casually towards the campsite. It was the first of many but reindeers weren't the only animals that headed in their direction now.
Laura's eyes grew wide in horror when she spotted a bear making its way toward them and only Greta's firm hold on her shoulder kept her from escaping the place.
"You are shivering – she will help you to warm up again", Greta explained while she beckoned the bear closer still and Laura's eyes grew even wider, when she realized what the woman had implied.
"You want me to cuddle with a bear?!"
"Why not? She is warm and she will not harm you. In fact she has a rather gentle nature – she enjoys it when you stroke her behind the ears."
Laura's heart was hammering like mad when she felt the huge animal making itself comfortable behind her and when a huge paw made its way around her middle to pull her closer, all the words she could have shouted in protest, stuck in her throat.
It took her a considerable time to adjust to this new situation, all the while sitting stiffly on the log, back pressed against a bears front. When she finally managed to come to terms with it, she had to admit that it indeed felt somehow cosy like that, and that warmth was slowly sweeping back into her limbs.
"He is waiting for you, is he not?", Greta suddenly asked out of the blue, drawing Laura's attention back to her. The woman's gaze was set on the horizon, directed south where somewhere in the distance Godric was indeed waiting for her return. Did she notice his presence despite the distance that was still between them?
"Yes, he is", Laura admitted slowly, and realized only now, that she'd been petting the paw that held her for quite some time already. When she cast a careful glance upwards to take a look at the bear that graciously provided warmth for her, she was met with a calm and content gaze and therefore kept running her gloves over the animals fur. It somehow felt soothing for her as well…
"You are close."
"I like to think that, yes."
"How come a girl like you wants to be with Death?", the woman asked, turning her head to face Laura and eye her with what seemed to be a blend of curiosity and concern.
"He is not Death anymore – far from it", Laura explained with a sigh and reverted to stare into the coals again. Only two little pieces were still glimmering, but it was enough to keep her gaze locked on them. "He regrets what he's done in the past and he tries his best to make amends. Did you know that he was the Sheriff of Dallas? From what I heard he had a rather controversial policy that allowed humans in his area much more freedom and even protection from vampires, than in most."
"He was?"
"Yes… He's been unseated after an ordeal with a radical vampire-hating group of idiots", Laura explained with a frown and had difficulties to suppress her anger when she thought back to that time. "Godric offered himself to end the ongoing hate although he knew, that they would probably burn him. He should've known that his death wouldn't solve anything – and he should've known that Eric wouldn't let him play the sacrificial lamb… I'm glad he's always there when Godric makes one of his more stupid decisions", she chuckled and thought back to her first encounter with the Viking, when he had still been searching for his maker and thought she'd be able to provide some kind of information.
"You're close to Eric as well..."
"Yes – and if you refuse to help me, we will probably grow much closer", Laura shrugged. Admitting their plans openly to the woman was a gamble, but somehow she had the feeling it would have the desired effect rather than backfire.
"You intend to allow him to turn you."
"Godric, yes. Eric offered as well – but as the bond I have with him already strained their relationship enough, I'd prefer Godric as a maker..."
"You have a blood bond with Eric?", Greta asked in surprise and her head whipped around to face Laura with lifted eyebrows. Her expression was probably as close to baffled as it would ever get then.
"Yes. It was a rather impulsive decision on both of our sides – he wanted to protect me and I wanted to prevent myself from another onslaught", Laura shrugged, "I wasn't aware what I was getting into at that time though. Had I known that it would drive a wedge between Godric and him, I surely hadn't accepted Eric's offer. Though his blood really helped with my headaches for some time..."
"I suppose you are in good hands then", Greta stated thoughtfully after she had been sitting quietly beside her for a while and stood up then. When she turned, she gestured Laura to follow her, who reluctantly complied. Cuddling against a bear was actually a more comfortable experience than she'd expected…
Greta started to get two of the stronger caribous to trot closer, and helped Laura climbing on the back of one of them, before she hopped on the other. The animals immediately started to head south as if they somehow felt what the woman wanted them to do. It was frightening to think that someone had such complete control over another living being, but somehow Laura just knew, that Greta would never abuse her power…
When she first spotted Godric's silhouette, he was already standing there rigidly, as if he'd heard them approaching long ago. As they drew nearer she could see his wary glance, probably because of the company she was in, but tried not to think anything of it.
She was aware that Greta didn't like vampires – for whatever reason – but she didn't think she'd hurt Godric. The woman hadn't made the impression to be bearing a particular grunge against him.
But the first thing she said when they stopped in front of the man she loved, made Laura's blood run cold.
"Do you still want to die?"
It had been asked with such a casual tone, that it made Laura shudder and she cursed herself for ever trusting that woman with any information she had fed her with this last hour.
"No. Not any more", Godric answered calmly, but she could see how tense he was when his eyes scurried to her for a brief moment.
"A pity. I would have known the perfect punishment for you otherwise", Greta told him nonchalantly while she slid off her reindeer. Without any hurry she rounded it to step to Laura's side and held a supporting hand up to her, obviously offering to help her down.
"How can you say something like that?", Laura whispered in despair, shocked by how easily the woman had gone from threatening Godric's life to lending her a hand. Without answering at first, Greta grabbed one of Laura's gloved hands with one of hers, while her other made a motion that probably should have meant like 'come on!', which caused her to slip from her caribou as well and land on rather unsteady feet just beside her.
The woman wrapped an arm around her to steady her for a moment, but let go when she realized that Laura was able to stand on her own – and rather uncomfortable with their closeness.
"When the time comes and he dares to tell you about his past, you will know why he deserves punishment", she only told her in a matter-of-fact tone and turned towards Godric again.
"Being forced to live, no matter how resourceful your attempt to end your miserable existence – chaining you to effective immortality would indeed have been the perfect punishment for you", she began in a rather cold voice, while she stepped closer towards Godric, who still stood where he'd been as if frozen into place and stared at the woman stoically. "It is excruciating for me as well. Still… I have been informed you intend to turn Laura?"
Godric seemed a bit startled by that and his eyes scurried questioning to Laura for a moment, who only shrugged sheepishly. "Indeed. This is the plan, should you refrain from helping her at least", he admitted reluctantly and eyed Greta with a wary glance.
"I like her. She should not have to suffer the hardships of being a creature of the night…", the woman stated seemingly absentmindedly and suddenly turned to face Laura again, grabbing her chin without warning. "Do you want to be a vampire? Do you want to crave blood and cause humans to suffer?", she asked blatantly and Laura's eyes widened in horror. All she could do to answer was shaking her head vigorously. But it wasn't such an easy decision…
"'Forever' may look attractive now, but you may fall out of love with him – what then? You would be restricted to a life in the darkness, fueled by the blood of the living", Greta pointed out harshly, and shook Laura's chin as if to pound sense into her.
It was a strange sensation, as Laura knew from experience that such a motion usually caused her additional pain. In fact her headache seemed to subside though and by the time then the woman let go of her again, sighing and shaking her head as if in defeat, the pain was gone completely.
Without another word Greta hopped onto the caribou Laura had been sitting on, which had still been waiting patiently beside them. When she lifted her head to take a glance at Godric again, her expression was stern.
"Before you do anything rash like turning her – come find me again. I may have another solution for you...", she offered, though it sounded more like an order.
"You are healed, by the way – think of it as repayment for your pleasant company", she informed Laura when she had urged the reindeer to turn on the spot and gave her a small smile before any hint of emotion suddenly left her face again. "Do not mention our encounter to Eric with even a single word. I do not wish to see what he became…"
"But-", Laura tried to reason, but was cut off immediately.
"No 'buts', child! I have been living here in peace for ten years now – I intend to keep it that way", she told her sternly and urged the caribou forward, the other one falling in step beside her. "Do not come looking for me again, unless you really intend to gain immortality, and trust me – this is not something anyone should wish for...", she shouted over her shoulder when she had already been a few steps away, and Laura could only nod while she waved her goodbye awkwardly, still not really sure if this whole encounter had been real or not.
"We will respect your wishes", Godric assured her firmly, and nodded in confirmation when Greta shot him a last piercing glance. The woman gave a nod in response and turned north again and as if she'd spurred the animals on somehow, they suddenly sprinted away, heading towards her camp again.
Laura slowly stepped beside Godric and both of them kept watching Greta's silhouette becoming smaller and smaller, until she wasn't visible any more.
"I don't think she meant it..."
Godric cast a questioning glance at her from the side. "You mean what she said about Eric?"
"Yes."
"I do not believe it either. We should still respect her request."
Laura couldn't help but frown at that prospect. "You sure? They were obviously close…", she pointed out carefully.
"They probably were – but I do not intend to incur her wrath, Laura", he reminded her slowly. "Maybe we will find a way to lead him into the right direction without actually telling him anything, but for now we should be happy that she helped us and let it go."
As Laura couldn't deny the truth of his words, she only nodded reluctantly and climbed on Godric's back, when he crouched before her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to let it go so easily though, and was already plotting her next steps while Godric sped through the tundra once more, returning them to the warmth and safety of the little plane waiting for them somewhere in the south.
AN: hey there – it's me again ;) I hope you liked the chapter and I didn't take too long ^^'
Now that this story is slowly coming to an end, I get a bit sentimental and want to take the time to thank everyone who read it – and even more so, those kind people who left me a few words, sometimes even repeatedly ;)
Thanks to those who added the story to their favorites – or even me to their favorite writers (yeah – that actually happened *blush*) – I'm glad you liked it so much and I feel honored that some even like my writing style (which hopefully improved over the period of time I've been writing on this story).
Also a bit thanks to everyone who is following the story or me as a writer – I really appreciate your interest and am glad that there are some people out there who actually read what I'm writing here ^^'
A big thanks especially to sammiesealface, galwidanatitud, Tlynnson, himmelblauesBluetenblatt, PursuitOfHappiness00, daydreamer06980, Serena, downbelowgirl, Arenola and treewitch703 for the motivating words they left for the previous chapter :) I love to read what you think about this story – thank's so much for keeping me posted ;)
The next update will probably be an epilogue and therefore mark the end of this story. I'm really glad you kept reading up to this point and hope you'll drop by to read the next and last chapter as well ;)
Thank's for reading - it's been a pleasure writing this with such a nice and supportive readership ;)
~ Orange