Chapter 2:
So, thank you for all the great reviews :P
I have to say, I don't know why I am updating now, since I have an IT exam tomorrow, but since I can't revise for that, it's not an issue... the english mock & maths mock for tomorrow, however, have more bite...
NOTICE: WHERE IT SAID THAT Sam HAD SURVIVED CARPE CORPUS, PLEASE IGNORE IT! I CANNOT EDIT THE CHAPTER BECAUSE MY LAPTOP LOST THE CHAPTER, BUT PLEASE IGNORE THAT!
I don't own anything!
Claire's POV:
"No," Amelie states to me simply, as if I am a small and dumb child rather than what I am.
"You don't even know what I was going to say!" I half explode at her, before remembering who I am talking to. Her slightly silvery coloured eyebrow – this colour because her hair is such a light colour – arches slightly at my insolent tone and the way that I am half stood up in the indignation that she pre-empted such a thing for me to be saying. "Ma'am," I add on the end in a sulky tone, trying to calm down enough so that she doesn't decide I need another punishment for insolence: the last time was to work with Oliver for an entire week. I really can't face that again.
"Au contraire, my Claire," she says with a half smile, evidently going to enjoy this thing she is revealing. And when Amelie enjoys something, that usually means that the rest of us aren't going to be fairing particularly well… "I think you will find I know exactly what you were going to say. You, ma petite, were going to ask whether or not Shane could accompany you to the ball this coming week," she uncannily guesses what I was going to say… how she does it is beyond me.
My mouth hangs open in shock as I begin to stutter, "H-how did you- never mind," I decide not to press the issue of how she knew what I was going to ask and simply take a different route. "Could we, like, keep the conversation in the same language? As every time you speak a different one it takes my mind a few seconds to translate it and then I almost miss the rest of the sentence," I request for the language to be in my native tongue, since she is technically a foreigner in my country, as I am not very good at French.
Yet Amelie takes this as an invitation to begin to speak exclusively in French – something I should have anticipated: after all, it is Amelie.
"Oui, Claire, c'est possible pour tout le entretien d'être en français si tu preferais," Amelie says, her perfectly flawless accent only reminding me that she isn't English (or American) and simply a spoilt vampire who is used to getting her own way. "Or is English what you meant?" she switches seamlessly back to English and you cannot even tell that she is French… oh, but that is what a thousand (or more) years of speaking this language does for you, isn't it?
"English," I reply hastily, not wanting her to explain everything in French – I can understand it if it is spoken at least semi slowly, but I get the feeling that the way Amelie is being today, she will speak at the most rapid speed she can.
"Very well," she responds coolly, entirely unwavering in her Ice Queen mode – but when does she? "Where were we? Ahhh, yes, dear Mr Collins," she answers her own question, a wistful expression on her face for some strange reason.
"So… why can he not come?" I ask, hoping for one of two things. One: that speaking her native tongue relaxed her enough so that she will just blow everything off and say 'screw it, he can come'. But I don't really think that that is viable, so there is the second option: that she gives me an appalling reason for him not being able to come so that she has to concede to me that he can come, though she may be slightly angry.
"Have you actually managed to forget, Claire, that he participated in a plan which could have revealed all of us? Please, do not insult my intelligence by reminding me once again that he was drugged or controlled or whatever it was that you decided informing me would make me not kill him," she sighs, outwardly showing emotion for one of the first times in this meeting.
"No, I didn't forget," I mumble, and look her right in the eyes; hers are cool and collected, so shiny and dangerous looking that I can see my reflection in them.
"Then you will see the problem: my people are not happy with his involvement and Shane appearing at a party for them will not exactly help me in my mission to keep this town peaceful… unless you want your little boyfriend dead, which would simplify many things, I would recommend you do not push this matter," she says, reverting from any emotion she showed me merely seconds ago to the Queen Bitch, the one who wants everything her way and accepts nothing else.
"Is that it – I go alone to the party?" I confirm. "Wait, why do I even need to go?" I press the issue that I was perfectly prepared to raise if she denied Shane access, which she did.
All of a sudden, the golden bracelet on my wrist begins to shine a fiery red colour, digging into my skin and burning me. I put my other hand to it and try to prise it away from my protesting skin, but it will not move. Looking up, I see Amelie staring at my wrist with a decided interest before looking away, also relieving the pain at the same time; wow, she is pissed or something, to be asserting her power so obviously to a human.
"You wear my symbol, therefore you come to my party: I needn't remind you, Claire, that you chose to accept the level of Protection that I offered, and the exchange that you made for it," she hisses, and I understand instantly that she is referring to my exchanging of body and soul for the highest level Protection available – admittedly, something I have had to call upon many a time. "As for an escort…" she trails off as the portal door opens and Myrnin steps through.
"You called, milady," he says, bowing down deeply to Amelie, at the same time as giving me a wink which makes me almost burst out laughing.
"Sit down, Myrnin, I need to speak with you both regarding the ball," she sounds more than slightly exasperated with Myrnin, something I can appreciate that she must have had to experience for many centuries… but she cannot be… can she?
"Ah, yes, are you finally going to hand me my official invitation?" Myrnin asks with a sense of exhilaration in his tone. "After all, I heard that you cannot get in without one – it is an exclusive party, someone informed me… that should mean, of course, that Oliver cannot get in, I presume?" he sounds hopeful by the end, turning to look at me with a happy expression.
I smile back and something in his eyes sends a rush of something I feel with Shane through me, confusing my already addled brain – I think it is time to point out that it is seven fricking am! Amelie called me in here at 6:30am, so I think my slowness ought to be accepted at this early hour.
"Myrnin, I hardly doubt that they are not going to let you in without an invitation when you are one of the guests of honour," Amelie rolls her eyes, making even the simplest of motions elegant. Of course, she is wearing a traditional Amelie suit of a sky blue skirt and matching jacket over a blouse that could probably fit in with Monica's wardrobe if it was dressed differently… and pearls. Of course, Amelie would have to have the pearls on at this time in the morning, wouldn't she? It's fricking her.
Myrnin, his reaction what I expected, jumps up and looks like a little kid on Christmas Day. My heart goes out to him and makes me think, for only a second, why we aren't a couple… but before I even finish the thought, I stop myself. I'm with Shane! Not Myrnin – and I don't want to be with him! I stop thinking about it entirely, instead focusing back on the conversation.
"I'm a guest of honour?" he confirms. "Well, it is always nice to have one over on that dog," he continues, quite evidently discussing Oliver there.
"As for the invitation, I sent it to your home approximately three weeks ago – try looking underneath the pile of absolute rubbish you have accumulated since I last ordered you to clean the laboratory," she continues icily, her tone deathly enough to stop the gleeful antics of Myrnin and make him sit down in his chair like a naughty boy – Christmas day is over! "You are both in need of a partner… therefore; I deemed it prudent for you to go together. Consequently, say hello to your dates for the evening," she continues: WHAT? She has paired me with Myrnin? She has paired me with my boss? Jeez, what is wrong with her?
"No," I say sharply, ignoring the look of hurt that passes over Myrnin's face as I reject him. "I'd rather take someone else, thanks."
Amelie's eyebrow arches again, but this time I can feel the anger in her face, as it spreads through the room and into me: unfortunately, I have the joy of experiencing her emotions. "The only other choice is Oliver, so if you would rather go with who Myrnin described as a 'dog', that is up to you," she responds in a manner which makes me sound as if I was singing a love song to a baby, it is so threatening.
"No, no, I will go with Myrnin," I back down from the argument and she nods, evidently pleased with the decision that she obviously had to know I would make. Just great, I get to not go with my boyfriend and get to go instead with the person who he thinks has feelings for me, and I have for him (that's Shane who thinks Myrnin and I are having a fling, by the way). That is exactly what I wanted.
"That is everything settled then," Amelie says with a degree of finality. I stand up and Myrnin makes to follow me out of the portal without a word until she calls him back, "Myrnin, not you. I want a word."
I walk straight out of the portal and through into the house without a word or even another glance at Myrnin; it isn't him I'm pissed with, it's Amelie. But to look at Myrnin would be to look back at Amelie and if I did that, I would end up at least attempting to do something that I would regret. And, I have to say, that would not be the best idea, with Amelie how Amelie is.
"So, what did she say?" Shane asks, sounding hopeful. It hurts me to have to tell him that he can't go to the ball, but I don't think he would have wanted to go anyway. I move across to him and wrap myself up in his arms, breathing in his scent before answering.
"She said no, that you caused too much tension with the whole bite club thing and that you being there would just spark off something," I sigh, feeling his body tense up entirely as I mention this.
"Well you're not going, if you're going to be alone," he says, with a degree of definiteness about it that instantly gets my back up.
"Wait a minute," I respond with a touch of Amelie in my tone (this is what we have come to call the cold anger in voices: Amelie) as I step away from him. "So, just because you're not going, I'm not allowed! Shane, you're my boyfriend, not my Dad!" I retaliate with, amazed at how protective he is being! It feels like he is smothering me with it… that isn't how it is supposed to be.
"You are not going to a vamp fest with nobody to protect you; if it happens in the middle of a party, Amelie isn't going to care about what happens to you – she'll be too busy being a hostess or whatever it is that she calls it," he snaps back, only because he cares for me but still. I'm an adult now and he cannot boss me around!
"Who said I had nobody to protect me?" I retaliate, deciding to reveal about Myrnin in the heat of the moment and regretting it afterwards.
"Why, who is taking you now?" he asks, seeming rather suspicious suddenly. I sigh, wishing I hadn't shared this titbit of information, and sink down onto the sofa.
"Amelie said that I have to go with Myrnin, as neither of us have partners… to go to the ball with, I mean," I tack this on the end, realising that it sounds as if Amelie thinks Shane isn't in the picture.
I look up at his face and see it is set in the hard lines of jealousy it is whenever I come home from Myrnin's lab or when I mention Myrnin's name. I managed to wrangle it out of Eve the other day that the reason he made sure that they went out for dinner without me was that he lied to say that I didn't mind them going out sans me, which pissed me off more than I would care to admit to anyone.
"So you're taking the bloodsucker I like the least to the ball, party, whatever it is," he confirms and I nod, looking away from his face. I wait for a response but I don't get anything for a long time. "Well, I have to go to work now. We'll talk about this later… but Claire, I really don't like this."
Screw you, I think for a second before remorse sinks over me – what's happening with me and Shane? But I push this to the back of my mind as I pick up one of the books Myrnin gave me the other day and begin to read, smiling as I read the annotations my lovably eccentric boss has made in the margins…
Myrnin's POV:
"Close the portal, Myrnin, and make sure that nobody can interrupt us," Amelie orders me coolly, none of the usual friendliness I, and only I, get because of our long history together. She is entirely my ruler at the current moment in time, her icy control reaching out and destroying the limited power I have: I have no desire to be ruler and I wouldn't get it anyway… I have no desire to be bloodthirsty and violent…
… that is only the monster in me.
"What do you want now, Amelie?" I ask as I sit down in the chair in an entirely informal fashion. "Let me guess, it is something to do with my outfit for the ball? Well don't worry, I will not be bringing out the blue ruffles again: the last time made me think they were rather much, would you not agree?" I continue lightly, noting how her face hardens into even more of a perfect mask than normal, showing how she is angry with me. Oh, this is not good.
"Do you have any idea what I have just done for you, you little jester?" she snaps at me finally.
"Nope, not a clue," I shrug back, doing my best to imitate the sulky and aggressive form that a teenager of today takes. "But, Amelie, do enlighten me… I know you are going to tell me, but I would like to know this century rather than after 2300."
She rolls her eyes at me again before drumming her fingernails on the table, the nails painted a rather disgusting shade of blue. I certainly wouldn't wear that if I were female, but who knows about the difference between the genders? Perhaps I shall have to run a study…
"I know you have feelings for her, you absolute moron!" she hisses: WHAT? She knows how I feel about Claire? How does she know: is she psychic? Has she finally managed to achieve the impossible and read inside my brain… or is she an alien? So many possibilities… "Oh, you fool! I know what you are going to be thinking and I am not psychic nor an alien or anything else that you could possibly be thinking about in that ludicrous brain of yours!" she confirms my belief that she is psychic by reciting off exactly what I was thinking about…
…but back to the issue in question. She knows… as in…she knows about how I feel about my little Claire, my little bird who burns so brightly… those are the entirely wrong metaphors to be using in conjunction with one another but I am slightly more distracted by the fact that Amelie knows about me and my feelings.
"I think you have been reading a few too many of your romance novels, Amelie, and had a little too much cocaine of late," I attempt to make a joke of it, but she isn't smiling… apparently my attempts at humour are being wasted on her.
"Do not be a fool: I know how you feel and understand that I am simply considering the consequences of what a… relationship could do for the two of you," she replies sharply, looking me in the eyes. "Understand, Myrnin, that if I feel it is too dangerous for her, that I feel you pose too much of a threat to her life, I will order you to stay away from her… but for now, I see no harm in it. As long as you remember she considers herself to be in love already, so your chances are already limited," she continues with a steely edge to her voice as she talks.
"I think I can take that challenge," I reply, holding her gaze fully without wavering. She has surprised me – I thought she would have ordered me to lock away any feelings I have for Claire, but perhaps the love she had with her Samuel changed her…
... shame, isn't it, that he perished when Bishop attacked, isn't it?
I walk to the door and unlock it, seeing my lab before my eyes instantly.
"Be careful, Myrnin," she calls after me, and for a second I think she is concerned for me. But then she continues. "After all, I don't have anyone else to run the machine, do I?"
I tip an invisible hat in her direction but refrain from bowing: I am her equal, in so many terms, and therefore I have no need to bow.
"I always am, Amelie," I reply, an edge of determination the only thing I can hear from my voice. "After all, am I still alive? That was a rhetorical question, by the way," I add on the end, as she opens her mouth.
"Goodbye, Myrnin," she ends the conversation even though I was already leaving and even though I go to speak, she has already turned her attention to the riveting papers Oliver has submitted for her to read. Of course, she chooses the dog over discussing with me…
But I am to go to the ball with Claire! Perhaps… perhaps love will flourish; perhaps we shall have a shot when she is away from that little brat… perhaps…
I return to the lab and sit down in the chair where little Claire sits, simply to breathe in her scent. She will be mine, one day…
… But will she be alive to know it?
Whatcha think, guys?
This wasn't originally supposed to be this long… it just sort of… happened.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Review, please! I'm in a sort of updating mood, so if you review, I'll write the next chapter soon XD
Vicky xx