Inhuman
Chicago, Illinois, 1864
Astra glared forward at Elijah, who was moving about as he prepared for leave for the day to deal with other arrangements that would take them out of America. He planned to go to Paris; he even went as far as to try and bribe her with Rome. Astra just snarled at him from where she was remained curled up on the plush chair all night. She refused to sleep, which in turn caused Elijah doubt and kept him awake to watch her.
"Please, stop looking at me like you wish to kill me," Elijah finally said as he moved over to where she was perched, her eyes dark and menacing as she looked at him. She looked like she really wanted to rip his throat out in that moment. He sighed softly and reached out toward her, "Astraea-"
"Stop calling me that!" she screeched, hitting at his hands with the strength of a vampire her age, causing Elijah to flinch and pulling his hands back, the broken bones inside mending themselves almost immediately. She looked like a lioness, ready to pounce on him and crush his neck in her jaws if he dared to reach for her a second time. When he darted forward again, Astra nearly roared in outrage when his hand encircled her ankle, snapping the metal and leather anklet that was wrapped around the joint. Elijah was faster, however, and was on the other side of the room with the anklet in his hand before she was on her feet.
"Forgive me, Astra, but this is for the best," he said, looking toward the window. Astra glanced over in time to feel the horrible burn of the sun on her skin and immediately darted back to the other side of the room, hidden in shadows.
"You bastard!" she hissed, hand on her cheek as the skin mended itself underneath her palm, raw red giving way to tanned perfection. Elijah's eyes held true sadness within them as they looked into her hateful, rage filled ones. He would give anything to have her look at him with the love she once felt, but he knew that he would need to work very hard before her eyes ever looked to him without at least a hint of malice. Turning on heel, he pocketed her anklet as he walked from the hotel room with her hurling a shoe at him in the process.
Throwing herself back onto the chair, she glared over toward the sun that was streaming through the window with more hatred than she had in so long. She had tricked herself into believing that she didn't need to worry about sunlight anymore; she had worn that anklet for so long, and before that there were rings, earrings and even a nose piercing when she had been rebelling and decided to throw off Elijah's searches even more. He'd never expect to be looking for someone that had a nose ring.
Rising to her feet, she carefully manoeuvred around the sun so that she was in the shadows as she approached the window and threw the thick curtains closed as far as they would move, leaving only a sliver of light on the floor that stretched halfway across the room. Even though she wasn't standing in the sunlight, she could feel the warmth as it radiated from the window and thick curtains, heated beneath the penetrating touch of the sun.
Kicking off her other shoe, Astra began to stalk the length of the room angrily now that the sun wasn't restricting her. She made sure to keep away from the beam of sun that still hit the floor, but even if she walked through it her skirts would protect her. In socked feet, she stalked like a caged lioness, angered and frightened all at once. She didn't know what was going to happen now that Elijah had found her; after evading him for so long she stopped thinking about the consequences of getting caught. She fooled herself into believing she was safe.
Halting in her pacing, Astra took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down before she ended up doing something foolish. Turning away from where she was facing the wall and manoeuvring around the patch of sun, she immediately went for her bag. Forgotten after Elijah had confined her to the room, she pulled the heavy suitcase onto her bed and unlocked the clasps that held it closed.
At all times, she was listening carefully for any sign that Elijah was coming back, her hearing ranging all the way to the end of the hall for an extended amount of reaction time. Elijah always had a lighter step than everyone else, habit after years of being surrounded by other vampires, and Astra had trained herself to recognize his ghostly footfalls.
However, the halls alternated between silent and rowdy from the other guests that had less respect for solitude and silence. Not that she was complaining; it would make it easier to pick the odd one out. Pushing aside clothes, she found the small silk bag of jewellery that she had always carried around with her. Pulling open the swings and dumping the contents onto the bed, silver and gold earrings, necklaces and rings littered the surface of the bed.
Shuffling through them, she settled on a simple silver ring that slipped onto her right middle finger perfectly. It held no gems or stones, only a wispy engraved pattern. It was a couple of decades old but still held its pristine condition.
Pausing once, Astra listened carefully for any sign of Elijah. Assured that he wasn't in the building, she pushed everything else out of the way and looked down at the ring in her hand. It was given to her from a human woman that she had befriended back in the late 1700's, the ring once belonging to her before she fell ill. Astra had offered to help her, but she had refused and simply stated that she was ready for her fate. Even if that meant death.
Turning the ring over in her fingers, Astra frowned at the memory of it. She found that she couldn't wear the ring for long because it reminded her too much of the fragile lives of which humans live and leaves her with a sadness that draws her away from the human world. If she was ever going to blend in with the humans than she needed to stop thinking about never befriending them because of their inevitable death; she needed to forget that they were different from her.
Scoffing, she looked toward the door that Elijah had walked out of.
If he had his way, she would never walk amongst the humans. Perhaps he would lock her away so she'd never run again, or compel her to stay at his side against her will. He'd promised never to compel her without her permission, but she didn't know what he was anymore. Honest, trustworthy, lying, deceiving. They all seemed to blend together as possibilities to his true nature.
Shaking her head, the Roman turned her attention back to the ring.
Foolish of him to think that taking her anklet would actually stop her.
Roman Empire, Tiber River, 78 A.D.
Curling herself against Elijah's sturdy form, Astraea found herself stuck in between depression and elation. She was alive and with Elijah, without any coughing fits or sickness thus far, but at the same time her family was now dead and she couldn't even give them a proper burial. She didn't even know where they were when they died; were they alone? Together? Pained? Frightened?
Elijah was rhythmically stroking her hair, alternating between soothing pets on the soft blonde strands and running his long fingers through the tendrils. Nicklaus and Rebekah had wisely departed some time before, leaving the two on their own on the deck of the ship. Astraea's eyes remained fixed on the steadily fading smoke, barely visible after the distance they had travelled in a few short hours.
"What now?" Astraea asked quietly, her fingers gliding along the soft material of Elijah's tunic. It was smeared with soot in areas and could probably never be salvaged, but the patches that were still clean were so soft that Astraea found her fingers toying with the fabric just to feel it.
"I cannot say with certainty what will happen," he began softly, his breath ghosting her temple as he spoke. "We will figure everything out in time, Astraea, I promise." She sighed softly and leaned more heavily against him, taking comfort in his sturdy frame. "You are always welcomed here, with myself and my family." Smiling, Astraea began to feel better at the prospect of Elijah and his family. There was no one that could ever replace her own family, but she knew that Elijah and his siblings would always step in to at least ease the pain that filled her heart.
"I love you," she breathed out so softly that Elijah, even superior as he was, barely heard it.
"And I you," he assured, leaning down to press a lingering kiss against the crown of her hair. The smell of death still clung to her and Elijah had to fight to push her away. It was unsettling to smell and he couldn't deny that he was still greatly concerned as the why she smelled so strongly of it after hours of a steady heartbeat echoing inside her chest.
"Brother," Nicklaus said from a couple of yards away, only loud enough for Elijah to hear. "We will be arriving on shore soon; perhaps it is best that you and Lady Astraea change, so as not to draw unwanted attention." Looking down, Elijah knew that the younger man was right. While he was covered in many layers and smears of ash, Astraea had residual blood on her clothes from her death and it was sure to draw attention. "Rebekah can lend her some clothes to wear."
Elijah's hold tightened on the small female in his lap; he didn't want to release her, let alone be separated from her with a distance of any kind between them. However, he knew this his brother was right. Slowly unravelling her from his arms, he stood in one fluid motion with her pressed against his chest, her legs giving for a moment and leaving her to fall heavily against him.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked carefully, his hand moving to rest on her lower back. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Astraea steadied herself carefully before she pulled back enough to stand on her own.
"I am fine, thank you," she assured, smiling up at him gratefully. Still holding onto her with an arm around her waist, Elijah guided her slowly past his brother and toward the steps that led down into the cabins of the ship. Nicklaus watched them walk past with a critical eye, never moving from his spot. Astraea met his eyes for a moment before looking away sharply; there was a dark curiosity in his eyes that made her shudder.
Rebekah was waiting in her small chambers when Elijah arrived at the open door, Astraea curiously peeking her head inside to look around quickly. Rebekah smiled secretly at the woman's inquisitive nature, the upturn of her lips unseen by Astraea but noted by Elijah.
The elder of the two siblings turned to press a light kiss against his love's temple.
"I will be waiting for you to return, young one. You can trust Rebekah," he assured. Smiling up at him in return, Astraea nodded her head before Elijah completely disappeared from her side. Rebekah took note of the lack of reaction toward the fast departure, as though she was completely at ease with the lack of humanity within her lover.
"You do not seem so…surprised," Rebekah said as she closed the door behind Astraea's entrance, closing the two women in. A lantern lit the space near the center of the far wall, hanging in place. Whenever the ship rocked because of a fairly large wave it would sway on the chain that held it up, creating a creaking sound that broke the silence.
"I have had time to adjust to Elijah and his…habits," Astraea said carefully, her English stuttering and awkward for her. The other blonde smiled at the attempt none the less, however, and moved to where she had pulled out a clean dress from her bags.
"I think this one will fit you just fine; it was slightly too big for me and you are more broad than I am," Rebekah explained, holding up the dress. It was true, too. Astraea's shoulders and hips were more wide spread than Rebekah, and she had more of a chest as well. The proportions worked well for her, however, because of the length of her limbs; even her neck was long and graceful, not too thin as Rebekah had seen with some women through the decades she had her siblings had been travelling. "You are very beautiful."
Blood rushed to Astraea's cheeks as she blushed, the blooding red colour causing Rebekah to giggle faintly and move to assist in removing the Roman's current attire. "Thank you."
"You are much too modest," Rebekah commented as she helped loosen the tie at the back of Astraea's neck. "Although, I would expect nothing less from a woman that was able to catch Elijah's eye; he is a very quiet man and I would expect the same from his love." Astraea looked over her shoulder as Rebekah was talking, her strange, beautiful eyes looking into the other blonde's darker ones. The vampire stilled for a moment as she placed her hand onto Astraea's bare shoulder, noting the sharp contrast in their skin tones. Where Astraea was dark and sun kissed, she was pale and appeared to be painted in moonlight.
"I fear," Astraea admitted in a quiet, wispy voice.
Rebekah went still as her hand dropped from the other woman's shoulder. "Fear what?"
"Elijah is eternal; it is a miracle that I am still alive now." Astraea smiled sadly at the ground as she felt tears burn her eyes. "I fear death."
I know, been a while, my bad…
But, on the plus side there will soon be a break in school drama and I can write more and catch up on all that I've been missing. I know that I promised to write more recently, but at the time I didn't know that I'd get a shit load of things to do that would take up my time. So, I'll instead make the promise of making up for all of that!
Chapter 44 – Clarity in Despair
"Elena's fighting me," Luka announced suddenly, looking startled. His eyes were wide and he was beginning to tremble.
"It's not Elena," Astra said suddenly, glaring at the table top. She should have known. "It's Katarina."
"Kill her," Jonas ordered. Luka looked started, before the eyes of his body began to look around, seeing something that they could not. "She's a vampire, Luka, find a stake and drive it through her heart."
Astra, however, hissed in outrage, "No, the doppelgänger is mine."
Jonas turned his hard gaze away from his son to the vampire in the room. "If he doesn't kill her she'll stop him and we won't be able to free Elijah." Astra curled her lip back and glared at him with red eyes and fangs; no one would take the satisfaction of Katarina's death from her grasp. Jonas didn't back down, though, and soon she turned her gaze to where Luka was in perfect concentration. It didn't matter what she said, he would do what his father told him to.
Vampire and warlock watched together as Luka began to tremble and sweat, his breath growing ragged. Astra knew that he was in danger of getting hurt if he didn't get out of there, especially when going up against a vampire. Damon was also still in the house and Katarina could draw his attention and leave Luka to a fate of only death.