So, I felt like updating again, so I did :D aaaand, I would like to let y'all know that I have finally decided what path to take with this story and that I will write a Sequel to the Vampire Game! :D eek! So excited (: Well, hope you Enjoy! (:
Lily had begun to adjust to the Cirque in a matter of days, and by a couple of months was truly a member of the family. She seemed to be a smart girl and had a real talent with animals, including the Wolf-man. The more time I spent with her, the more she grew on me and the need to protect her grew stronger, as though she were my own child.
"So, what happened to her, Van?" Evra asked me. The new location that the Cirque arrived to had a clear pond nearby so Evra and I took Lily out for a swim. We were sitting on the grassy bank, watching her splash around and chasing after ducks.
"Steve happened." I muttered. Evra looked at me. "What? What do you mean Steve happened?" I sighed and started my story. "Well, after you and Cormac took Darren, I fought with Steve and he let me go. I was losing blood fast and didn't have any cash on me so I went looking for a tree house to stay at. The tree house I found happened to be hers and she found me and when I woke up, I was in her bedroom." I smiled weakly at the memory.
"She had brought me breakfast and then her dad came in…" I trailed off. "What happened with her dad? Was he a bad guy or something?" Evra asked me. I shook my head. "No, quite the opposite. He was an old friend of Darren and me, Tommy Jones." I explained. Evra raised a brow. "Was?" I nodded. "Steve came and tried to get information from him, so I took Steve captive and Told Tommy to take his family and leave, that I'd meet up with them later." I took in a ragged breath.
"I was too late, Evra. A group of Vampaneze got to them first and I…I had to trade a life for a life; Steve for Lily." I whispered hoarsely. I looked up at Evra, whose eyes were filled with shock and sympathy. "That's not even the worst part…she has a brother, Brandon. He can't be more than eight or nine…and they blooded him." I finished. Evra remained silent and then pulled me into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Vanessa. I know how much you wish that boy didn't get this card dealt for him." He said, patting my hair. I nodded and pulled away when I heard footsteps coming from behind us. "Hey guys." A feminine voice said. I looked up to see Evra's new wife, Merla. I smiled weakly. He had grown up so fast, had his first baby on the way, while I was stuck in the body of a sixteen year old.
"Hello, Merla." I greeted kindly. She carefully sat down next to Evra and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Playing with Lily I see." She smiled. I nodded. "Yeah, she wanted to go swimming, and how could I say no? She's been working so hard." I said, looking back at her. Just then, she stepped out of the pond, shivering.
"Can we go home now, momma?" she asked. I froze and Evra looked at me worriedly. She just called me her momma. I smiled weakly; it didn't bug me like I thought it would. In fact, I had already begun to treat her as my daughter. I stood up, brushing off the blades of grass from my shorts and walked towards Lily.
"Yeah, baby. Let's go." I picked her up and let her sit on my shoulders. "Besides, I've got to talk to your Uncle Tall." I told her. She nodded and waved at Evra and Merla. "Bye Uncle Evra! Bye Auntie Merla!" she giggled. They smiled and waved at her in return and then turned to each other and spoke softly to one another. I felt a pang of jealousy at this. While Evra could be with the one he loved, I hadn't even seen the one I loved in months. I hadn't even had any word from him, or my mentor.
I went straight to Truska's trailer and knocked before entering. "Hey, Truska? Can you watch Lily for me? I need to talk to Mr. Tall about some stuff." I asked her as I set Lily down on a chair and grabbed her a towel from the towel cabinet. Truska came from behind her wardrobe and smiled at me. I looked at her and her red-sequin dress glory. "Looking good, babe." I said, giving her a wink she smiled bigger and rolled her eyes.
"So is that cool? I swear it won't be more than fifteen minutes." She nodded and shooed me out the door, gaining a giggle from Lily. "I'll be right back, Lily. Okay?" I said, before walking out the door. She nodded and waved at me. "Bye momma!" she said. I smiled and left, then walked towards the center of camp where Mr. Tall's trailer would be. I hadn't even raised my hand to knock when I heard a voice from within. "You may come in, Vanessa. I have been waiting for you." I pushed open the door and looked around at the familiar office full of his trinkets that he would invent for the show. I smiled and plopped down on the small couch he had in the trailer near his desk.
"I assume you know why I'm here then?" I said, looking at him. He nodded. "Yes, yes I do. You wish to return to Vampire Mountain, correct?" he asked me, his large dark eyes boring into mine. I nodded. "Yes, sir." I said, smiling. He nodded. "You could have left whenever you wanted to, Vanessa. What is holding you back?" he asked. I hesitated. "It's Lily." I said, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
"I couldn't bear leaving her here; I just love the little tyke so much. But…I don't think I can take her with me. What if she gets hurt on the trek to the Mountain? What if she gets killed?" I ranted. Mr. Tall chuckled slightly and I turned to see that he was smiling and was now sitting at my feet on the couch instead of behind his desk. I raised a brow at him.
"Vanessa, you remind me of a man that has come to be a good friend of mine." He said. "How so?" I asked curiously. "Well, he had a similar situation. He had a child here with him at the Cirque and was going to leave to make it to Council, but he was fearful of leaving the child behind…and of taking the child with him." I smiled softly. "And what did he do?" I asked.
"He took the child with him, and that child turned out to be one of the greatest Vampires in history." He said, smiling fondly at me. I smiled. "So…I should take Lily then? Just like Larten took me?" I asked. He nodded. "We are not too far from Vampire Mountain right now, so I suggest that you leave tonight." He said. I nodded and stood up. I looked up at him and smiled before giving him a huge hug. "Thanks, Mr. T." I said. He gave me a squeeze in return. I pulled away and smiled.
"I'll check in with you before I go." I said. He nodded and went back to his desk where he continued with whatever work he was doing.
"Bye, Lily! Be careful, and don't talk to strangers." Evra said, giving Lily a hug. Leaving was always the worst part of traveling, that's when you had to say good bye. Evra straightened up and smiled at me, holding out his arms. I smiled and fell into the embrace of my best friend. "I'm going to miss you." I told him. He nodded. "I'll miss you, too." He pulled away and grinned. "Tell Darren and Crepsley that we all said hello, and that their coffin and hammock is here if they ever need them." Evra said. I nodded and took Lily's hand. "Ready, baby?"I asked her. She nodded. I picked her up and began our journey to Vampire Mountain.
Two months later
"Momma…I'm scared." Lily said as we gazed up at Vampire Mountain. I squeezed her tiny hand. "Don't be, you're safe here." I told her as I gazed lovingly at my home. I bent over and let her hop onto my back. "Are you holding on tight?" I asked her. "Yes, momma." She said. I nodded and began scaling the Mountain slowly, making sure I wouldn't put Lily in any danger. "Momma? Will you sing for me?" she whispered. I smiled weakly and began singing a song for her as I climbed up the Mountain.
We reached a cavern where the entrance to Vampire Mountain was. I stopped singing and walked towards the gates. "Who goes there?" One of the guards asked. "Vanessa, Vampire Princess, and Lily." I said. "The Council recognizes Vanessa, Vampire Princess. The Council does not recognize Lily." The guard said. I glared at the man. "Vanessa, Vampire Princess recognizes Lily." I said harshly. The man blinked and flushed. "Yes ma'am. The Council recognizes Lily, you may proceed." He said. I smiled. "Thank you." I said, and walked into the Mountain.
I set Lily on the ground and took her small hand in mine. She stuck close to my side as passing Vampires gawked at us. I could feel her fear and started singing the song to her. She seemed to relax as we walked up through the Mountain and towards the Hall of Princes. When we got there, I leaned over and got to eye level with Lily.
"Okay, Lily. You're about to meet the Vampire Princes now. You have to be on your best behavior, okay?" I told her as I smoothed down her frizzy hair. She nodded silently and I opened the doors, letting them close quietly behind us so I wouldn't alert anyone of our presence just yet.
"But Paris, would that not be the wise thing to do? If we send out small search parties, we can find the Vampaneze Lord and kill him. It's a win-win situation; we end the war, can be at peace with the Vampaneze clan, and we will get the Princess back." A general said.
"Yes, but the whole point for Vanessa being with the Vampaneze Lord, Liam, is an act of diplomacy." Mika said warily. "I think we should give it a shot." A younger voice said. I looked towards my throne to see Darren sitting on the floor in front of it, Larten standing behind it. Darren looked different now. He somehow looked older, maybe from the new scars.
The Vampire General, Liam, looked to Darren. "Yes, thank you. Sire Paris, there are other ways of diplomacy than letting that abomination live." Paris rubbed his temples. I frowned, he looked so tired…so weak. I squeezed Lily's hand and began walking down the aisles between the two seating areas as the Princes and Liam argued back and forth and the Vampire Generals spoke amongst themselves.
As I passed by the rows, the Generals stopped speaking and by the time I got to the front row, everyone was silent except for the Princes and Liam, none of which had yet noticed me. "Paris, my dear, how long has it been since you've had anything to drink?" I asked. They stopped talked as they stared and gaped at me. "Vanessa." I looked over to see that Darren was standing up, staring at me.
Suddenly the room burst with chatter, all about me and my traveling counterpart and Liam started speaking even more fervently to Paris about the need to attack the Vampaneze. Darren walked closer to me and stood not two inches away from me. With shaking hands, he cupped my face.
"You're here…you're safe." He whispered. I nodded. "Yeah, so are you." I whispered. He examined my face. "How long has it been since you drank blood?" he asked me. I felt Lily stiffen beside me. I looked down at her to see her staring up at me, confused."Why did he ask if you drank any blood, momma?" she asked.
The room immediately fell silent because of one word. One little word.
Momma.
Darren looked at me, horrified. "You…you and Steve?" he asked, shocked. My eyes widened. "What? Darren no! I swear!" I gasped. He shook his head and started walking away. Larten was immediately by my side. "Vanessa, who does this child belong to?" he asked. I didn't answer him though. Instead, I picked up Lily, placed her in Larten's arms and raced after Darren.
I stopped running when I had gotten to the middle of the aisle, where Darren had reached the door. "Darren, stop!" I shouted. He stopped and turned slowly, looking betrayed. I wouldn't blame him, either. He knew Steve and I had a history, including a physical one. But I loved him now, him and him alone.
Slowly, I began walking towards him until I stood right in front of him. "That's not Steve's kid." I whispered. "But it is yours?" he asked. I bit my lip. "Darren, it's complicated." I said quietly. He glared at me. "Who are her parents?" he demanded. I looked at him. "Yes, I am her mother, but…I'm her adoptive mother." I said quietly so Lily wouldn't hear. Darren stared at me, confused.
Tears sprung to my eyes. He looked at me shocked. "Vanessa? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked me worriedly, taking hold of my face. "That's Tommy's kid, Darren." I whispered. His eyes widened. I bit my lip and looked down. "I had to make a trade…" I whispered. I looked back up at him. "I had to trade her for Steve; I couldn't just let her die like Tommy—"
"Tommy is dead?" he asked. I nodded. "So is his wife, Laura, and her brother Brandon…oh dear god." I sniffled. He stared at me. "What happened to her brother?" he asked me softly. I turned and looked at my mentor when I said this. "Her nine year old brother has been blooded as a Vampaneze." I said. Larten's mouth fell open slightly.
He knew what pain that caused me. Lilly wriggled in his arms so that she could see me. "Momma? Momma! Momma, why are you crying?" she cried out. I flitted to my mentor's side and took Lily from his arms as she started crying.
"So…this Lily, she is human?" Arrow asked. I hesitated and nodded. "Yes, she is." I said. "And is she your assistant?" Paris asked. I looked down at Lily and then to Paris. "No, she is not. She is too young and right now, she will be Lily, my child. But if Vampirism is a path she chooses to take, then I shall mentor her." I answered. Paris nodded and looked at the Generals. "Please, everyone leave. Mika, Arrow and I have a grave matter to discuss." He said. I stared at him, confused. "You do not need my help, Paris?" I asked. He shook his head. "Nor do we need Darren and Larten's. You three would be emotionally biased on the subject matter." He said. I nodded slowly.
"Yes, Sire." I said before bowing and walking out the doors, towards the room I used to share with my cousin what felt like a long time ago.