Chapter 12- Nathan Remembers

Nathan made his way from the facility to where the mountains became flat land. A glacier had once been in this place. It brought him back to a time over a thousand years ago.

No human thought anything could inhabit a place like this, but the immortal beings came to this place once every 100 years to share their stories and to mate. The queens would bring their chevaliers with them to the frozen wilderness that was now called Alaska. The palace was hidden far from the range of human strength.

When they all came together, a queen would look for the chevalier of her opposite bloodline in order to reproduce. If the queens came to an agreement, the chevalier would be traded for a few human slaves or a chevalier from that queen. Then, once the meeting was done, a queen would take the chevalier with her and the mating process would occur once she returned to her homeland. They could mate many times, but only one time would she bear queens.

The time in question was Nathan's fifth journey to the North Palace. He lived in England with his queen and her first two chevaliers. The queens and their families were scattered all over the earth in different places, but the favorite chevalier of his blue queen was the first chevalier of the red queen of Japan.

The Queen of Japan was furious with this union. She refused to trade her greatest warrior for anything. The chevalier was very tall with broad shoulders. His black hair was slicked back into the style of a samurai. His expression always remained placid as his piercing blue eyes caught every movement.

It didn't matter to Saya- Nathan's queen. This was the one she wanted to be her mate and nothing would stand in her way. During the festivities, she disappeared from the festival, taking the chevalier with her. When they returned, she had already claimed him as hers.

The rival queen would not be satisfied and threatened Saya's life. The Counsel of Elders convened and decided that Saya was to be exiled with the chevalier she had stolen. All three of her chevaliers were given to the Japanese queen as retribution. She sneered at the gift and released all three chevaliers.

Saya's first chevalier took his own life- what was a chevalier without a queen? The second went to fight in human wars and became a great warrior among men. They worshiped him as a king until his madness caused his downfall. He was beheaded by his own people.

Nathan followed his queen even after he was released, anger still dominated his feelings as he watched over Saya and her mate from a distance. They hid away here in Iceland- there were not many people here and they could remain in hiding. Before she gave birth, a great storm came. The place that was their shelter was ripped apart by howling winds and blinding snow. The couple faced the storm, but realized they wouldn't make it. Both were weak. There weren't many animals or people to feed from this time of year.

"My queen, you must survive to preserve the next generation," the chevalier demanded. There was fear in her brilliant blue eyes as he continued, "You must take your fill from me and transform. Fly south- away from the storm."

She shook her head as tears froze on her face, "No, Akihiko, I will not leave you."

The surprise at the way she spoke to him was evident in his face. A queen never addressed a chevalier by name. He shook off the surprise as his heart swelled to bursting. "You must!" he demanded, "You must save our daughters!"

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she realized he was right- the duty of a chevalier was to protect his queen. Before she could make another argument, she latched on to him and began to drink his life force. In the depths of despair, she drained his corpse and felt her life-force grow stronger. She looked down upon the body of her mate and her heart shattered.

She grabbed his katana and let out a loud keening wail that was lost in the howling winds. Her long black hair blew around her in thick waves as she lifted her mate's katana and slammed it into the ground where he lay. Her fingers elongated, her mouth and nose grew longer and more animal-like, leather-like skin came down from under her arms, and her skin became grey and stronger than any man made armor. She took to the skies with a mighty roar.

Nathan looked on. His heart was still hardened against his queen. She had abandoned her chevaliers and her own kind for this man. He was torn between his love for her and the feeling of betrayal that tore him apart.

The winds had turned her around as they swirled and pelted her with tiny needles of ice. She was now headed into the mountain range and toward the glacier. She could barely see the mountains through the blinding snow. She dodged and swerved until her wing caught on a rock, spinning her as the flesh of the wing ripped. She was slammed, head first, into the side of the mountain.

Nathan watched in horror at the events unfolding in front of him. Her body fell into the snow. He rushed to her side to find that the side of her skull was bashed in and she wasn't regenerating. He tore his wrist with his teeth and shoved it toward her mouth.

She shoved him away and spoke, "No! My faithful chevalier Nathan, I cannot live without Akihiko. I choose to join him. Live on Nathan- enjoy your immortal life and have the fun I always promised you that we all would have together."

Tears fell from his eyes as he realized he was too late. If only he had made his presence known sooner. If only he had let his anger go! He could have saved her! "My queen, my Saya…" He began to weep out loud.

Her icy cold claw cupped his cheek as she continued, "Nathan, please look after my daughters. One will be a great warrior like her father and the other will have a voice that will be worshiped by all who hear her."

Nathan nodded as he sobbed. She turned her head into the wind and he felt her pulse stop. The cold weather on the glacier would be her tomb. He transformed into his true form and used the rage he felt to strike the frozen earth. The ground opened up and swallowed the body of the chiropteran queen.

The next century brought forth a plague on mankind. Unfortunately, the plague was even more deadly to the immortals. Nearly all died when infected by the humans they fed from. While Nathan mourned over the loss of his queen, his own kind were dying all around him. When the plague finally ran its course, only a handful of chevaliers remained. For all Nathan knew, there could still be some alive today, but he was certain the rumors of vampires were probably true.

He kept away from Iceland and tried to live his life, the way his queen had asked, but in the end he was always alone.

~0~

It was this way until the 1960's when he was traveling through Vietnam. He was traveling through the jungle, just exploring the world when he felt the strong call of blood and heard the mournful song that made his blood roar in his ears. His vision hazed in the color red. A queen was near!

He crashed through the trees and splashed through the swamps as he felt the presence become stronger and stronger. Suddenly, he felt the nick of a blade at his throat. It was a chevalier, of course. His hands went up as he tried to get a look at the man who held him from behind. He could feel the man was taller than himself and he had heavy, black wool long sleeves- a jacket.

A serene yet stern deep male voice asked, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Relax," he responded in his sweetest voice, "I'm just a tourist. I just wondered into this camp. As you can see, I have no weapons and can't defend myself."

The man who held him released him and vanished in an instant. He didn't get a good look at him, but he knew he was a chevalier- the chevalier of a red queen. Deciding to press his luck and to see how strong this chevalier was, Nathan moved toward where he felt the queen was. There were military vehicles and tents set up. She was in a military camp?

His thoughts went no further. Something large and very heavy smashed into the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

When he awakened, he was back in the jungle wondering what had just happened. He could feel the presence of the red queen was about 3 miles away- her chevalier was closer. In the opposite direction, he sensed a blue queen. He arrived where she was being kept during her sleep. It seemed to be an old church and she was guarded by a rather odd chevalier.

Nathan was able to sneak around the place and discovered the queen had not just one chevalier- but four. He joined them and they made him drink the queen's blood, making him a chevalier. Little did they know, he already was a chevalier.

It was explained to him that his queen and the red queen, her sister, were fighting each other to the death- that they had been fighting each other for nearly a century. He was astonished. Usually queens only fought if they were battling over territory, but never to death!

He found out later the reason why the queens were fighting. He wanted to take Diva away from there- to give her a chance at a decent life, but Amshel had her completely dependent upon him. Amshel had abused her to the point of making her insane. He thought it would help her if she had babies to ground her thoughts.

Solomon also seemed to be completely dependent upon Amshel's word- calling him "Big Brother." Nathan scoffed- if they only knew anything about their ancestors, this would have stopped immediately. The queens say was all that mattered. Her chevaliers obeyed her completely.

When Diva did wake in 1972 and Nathan discovered how much she resembled his queen. He questioned Amshel about Diva's mother. That was when he discovered that Diva and her sister were his queen's daughters! It made him even more gentle with the beautiful blue-eyed living china doll that was Diva. He tried to show the others how to behave toward her, but they were so reliant on Amshel that they didn't even take heed.

It also seemed eerie to Nathan that Amshel looked so much like the mate of his queen. The only difference was that Amshel appeared at least 20 years older.

On Christmas of 1972, Karl called them in to assist him. He had lost his arm in a battle against Diva's sister. He kept speaking about how magnificent she was in battle and her glowing red eyes. When asked what happened to her, Karl could only spout awestruck praise.

Nathan and James were sent out to find out what had happened to Saya, but all they found was her chevalier.

Hagi was asking around the encampment of soldiers if they had seen the Red Shield or his queen. Nathan noticed his he had a bandaged arm and hand hidden under dark woolen sleeves. There was a very large and heavy looking instrument case held by a strap over his shoulder. His style was rather old-fashioned, but he was truly a handsome man.

James wanted to attack him and take him hostage to Diva, but Nathan felt that they should give the chevalier an offer and possibly end this war. James finally agreed to give his idea a chance and they headed for the chevalier.

They were nearly 20 feet away from the darkly clad man when two daggers embedded themselves in each of their shoulders. The chevalier was before them, in a fighting stance. The strands that had worked their way loose from a blue ribbon tied at the back of his head were dancing in the light breeze.

"We are not here to fight you," James informed as he pulled the dagger out and twirled it in his hand. Nathan noticed the red jewel in the hilt of each.

He said nothing as he continued to watch them. His face seemed completely emotionless as he waited for the next part of the conversation.

Nathan finally spoke, "We came to give you a proposition to end this war."

Hagi still kept his stance and finally responded, "I will only do what Saya wishes."

Nathan's eyes widened a bit as he heard the name of the red queen. She was named after her mother. Aside from that, it was a moment of relief to know that this chevalier behaving just as he should. Only his queen could make a decision like the one they were suggesting.

This war had made Hagi wary, but Nathan could sense the feeling of alarm and guilt came off the chevalier. Outwardly, he appeared the picture of calm, but he was a bundle of nerves inside. Nathan saw the images of the recent events that occurred as he tapped into Hagi's mind.

Hagi had allowed the Red Shield to use his blood to awaken Saya. Nathan hid the wince that he normally would have given. All chevaliers were warned to never force a queen to awaken. Not only do they lose control for the time they are awake, but the hibernation resets and he has to wait another 30 years for her to wake up.

But this poor chevalier was not even aware of half of the things he needed to know about himself or his queen. It was to be expected- none of these queens or chevaliers had a Council of Elders or even another queen to explain things to them.

The worst part was that the Red Shield had taken her with them and hidden her from her chevalier! No wonder Hagi was alarmed and out of sorts! A queen should be guarded at all times while in her sleep. She is weak and can easily be killed. Nathan knew better than to tell anyone of this. Saying anything would have deadly consequences for the red queen.

Nathan walked past James and placed an arm on the taller chevalier's shoulder, an apparent act of sympathy. James wore a look of complete shock as Nathan seemed to be talking with the apparently much older chevalier. They all knew that Hagi was Saya's chevalier nearly as long as Amshel had been Diva's- that meant that if they were to join forces, it would make Hagi second in command. What Nathan was doing was an act of rebellion! How dare he act without Amshel's consent!

It was painful to Hagi as he went over his thoughts. What this chevalier was suggesting was wrong- he could feel it. Yet, he still was upset at the memory of how Saya looked at him when she awoke. Saya had been the image of pure hate and rage, tearing at everything she saw and heard. This was all his fault. He couldn't imagine how he could ever face her again. She had cut off his arm and nearly killed him. He had to continue to protect her, but could he trust her? It wouldn't matter one way or the other if she didn't wake up this time. This had never happened before and he was afraid she may not wake up this time.

Hagi was so busy in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed Nathan's arm on his shoulder. He shrugged the arm from his shoulder as Nathan began to speak.

"I'm sure Saya is as tired of this fighting as you are. She would want there to be peace between us all. I'm sure she would be thrilled to find that while you were away you managed to negotiate a peace between our parties," Nathan coaxed as he began to lead the chevalier toward the mansion in the jungle.

Hagi followed obediently as he mulled over what this chevalier could possibly want from him. The speech was that of a master salesman and was about to pull out the trump card on him.

"You know Saya wouldn't want any more innocent people to lose their lives because of chiropteran blood."

As Nathan predicted, the words hit home. The chevalier gave him a glance, but Nathan was certain he saw the remorse in Hagi's blue eyes. They came upon the mansion as James began to look around for any escape route. He knew at any moment Amshel would show up demanding answers for why the chevalier was not eliminated, but standing in front of the very place where Diva was.

Nathan gave a sly smile as he used a secret power that covered the kinetic energy Hagi emitted since he was the red chevalier approaching the territory of the blue queen. He turned to Hagi and briefly thought of the spider and the fly- "Come into my home," said the spider to the fly.

"All we want you to do is to spend a little time with out dearest Diva. She's been very calm lately- you know how it is when they're about to go into hibernation," he informed.

"How will spending time with Diva bring peace for us all?" Hagi asked.

Nathan smiled inwardly at the chevalier's mistrust. Hagi was certainly handsome and seemed easy going, but he was a shrewd one. But Nathan knew something Hagi didn't know- when a chevalier came near to his queen's sister his blood would call out to her and her blood to his. The desire to mate would be irresistible. He just needed to get Hagi close enough to see her.

Nathan led the way toward the mansion as he stalled for time, "You won't need to do anything painful. Actually, I think you may enjoy this very much. If you like, think of it as negotiating a treaty." He caught the sight of James slinking away and gave a smirk. He knew it wouldn't be long before that would happen. James was not about to do anything without Amshel's stamp of approval. "There's a good little soldier boy," Nathan mumbled under his breath.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Hagi's bandaged arm began to twitch. His gaze followed the chevalier's to see Diva lounging in her favorite chaise lounge by the bay window. Nathan was surprised when he caught the almost pained expression in the chevalier's face. He was fighting the connection!

"Hagi," Nathan reassured, "you don't need to fight it."He placed a hand on his shoulder in reassurance as the chevalier gritted his teeth and gave a shaky breath. "It's completely natural for you to be attracted to your bride."

Hagi's eyes opened wide. It was obvious that he now knew the truth as to why he was brought here. "My bride?" Hagi asked. Nathan could feel the self-doubt twirling behind the black bangs that hung messily around his eyes. At that moment, Hagi's resolve returned and he began to speak in a low, but determined voice, "She may have hurt me, but I have hurt her even more. Saya is my queen." His hand began to twitch violently and he winced as he tried to bring it under control. "I will never let myself be tempted from my mission."

Allowing his hands to transform, Hagi unleashed the emotion he was feeling in a low groan and the twitching stopped. He was hunched over from the intense ordeal. As Hagi straightened, he gave Nathan a cold glare. "Saya's wish is my wish- I will not let you distract me from my mission."

With that, Hagi launched himself toward the window. His intent was to eliminate Diva- not mate with her. Nathan almost intercepted the chevalier when a streak of blue blindsided Hagi, carrying him with it into the nearby jungle. Nathan was left standing near the window.

"You fool," James accused as he came around the corner, Diva in tow. She was standing arm in arm with him, twirling a long stemmed blue rose and an eerie smile. "When Amshel is finished doing the job he intended for us, he will take the rest of his anger out on us. Since you are the main culprit, you'll get the worst end of it."

Nathan merely smirked as he knew Amshel could do nothing to him. "My dear James, aren't you even willing to give Diva a chance at becoming a mother?"

At this Diva's expression clouded as her hand tightened around the stem of the rose. In a deceptively sweet voice, she asked, "James, where is my sister Saya's chevalier? I want to see him."

James answered, "Amshel is taking care of him at the moment."

She pushed him back gently and allowed him to kiss her hand. She began to leave, but called out, "Amshel, bring that chevalier to me, RIGHT NOW!"

In the next moment, Amshel appeared before them, straightening his suit. "Diva," he smiled, "I was simply taking out the trash. What is it that has you troubled?"

"Amshel," she purred, "get Saya's chevalier for me." She then added in a more menacing tone, "I want babies."

"Diva," Amshel calmly answered, "I thought you would prefer a mate more deserving of you." His hand touched her cheek. "You shouldn't want after some street-raised urchin. Later, when we have made certain that your singing career has been established, we shall find you a more suitable mate."

With a sweet smile she turned and took Amshel's arm, apparently agreeing with him. Amshel glared over his shoulder at the two youngest chevaliers and allowed his eyes to turn red. With a growl he warned, "I will deal with you two later."

Nathan and James did get a firm scolding, which Nathan blatantly ignored. Amshel had to be cautious around Nathan, he could feel there was something different about him and he was too cautious to do anything to cross him. Nathan knew this, which is why he would blatantly disregard almost everything Amshel said.

James was a different story all together. He had some respect for Nathan at one point, but what Nathan had done had Diva thinking James didn't want her to have children- the one thing she had truly wanted more than anything else. Nathan just shrugged, "James was always a mama's boy anyway. It's about time he had to face facts that he's not enough for Mommy Dearest."

Nathan looked down at the landscape that lay before him. The glacier that once held his queen had long melted, leaving a lush green landscape that was nearly flat. There was nothing to tell where she had lain, but he knew the spot like the back of his hand. A thought came to his mind:

Hagi fought so hard against his own instincts- and overcame them with very little difficulty. How is it that he gave in so easily to a mere human woman? Although Nathan understood very little of love, he knew one thing- true love wasn't fickle and for Hagi, this was true love.

He smirked as he could hear his queen's voice speaking in his mind, "You know he would never betray Saya. Humans and science itself may say what it will, but you have seen where his heart lies."