Title: Knight Life
Author: Luna
Feedback: Loved and appreciated…send it to ambersgrrl@yahoo.com
Archive: Luna’s Night Moves, Tainted Fiction, and Full Moon Romper Room…anyone else please, just ask.
Fandom: Ring of Honor/TNA/Wrestling
Rating: NC-17 (What else would you expect from me?)
Type: Fantasy
Pairings: Too many to list…just read to find out who’s with who.
Disclaimer: I have not now nor have I ever been associated with Ring of Honor or TNA. All the characters that you recognize belong to Ring of Honor, TNA, or themselves with the exception of the ones I’ve created. Nothing is being gained from this except a need to pass the time.
Summary: They’re tired of being lonely wandering from town to town and living for centuries in the company of their chosen brethren. Now they’re going to do something about it. Will fate play kindly with them or will they be left in misery?
Author’s Note: This is going to be slightly AU. Please people, if that bothers you do us both a favor and STOP READING NOW!!!
Anything else: Many thanks need to go to my loving sister who held my hand as I worked out the kinks in this idea. My other sister, the one god forgot to give me at birth, much love goes out to her for her most excellent beta work and all the time she spends holding my hand. You girls ROCK!!!!
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Even with his considerable height advantage Lance wasn’t able to catch up to Chris until the other man had already reached the young women’s table. He flashed the five ladies his most charming smile as he stood next to his friend. He hoped that they weren’t the fawning type. That had gotten quite old in a hurry.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like feminine attention but some women seemed to take it to an extreme. They would bat their eyelashes and gush at any and every comment he made without really listening to him. Their next thoughts were never delivered subtly but brazenly usually by means of a key card to their room.
Lance tuned back into the conversation to hear Chris’ muttered apology. The blonde that Daniels seemed so intent on was a cute little thing; not really his taste but she was a beauty in her own right. The young girl that had been on the dance floor with her was staring curiously at him. He raised an eyebrow at her, which only caused her to do the same.
He had to smile at that. It wasn’t everyday that one found a person that could communicate without words. His gaze traveled to the woman on her left. He suddenly felt as if he’d been sucker punched. Her long chestnut colored hair framed a beautiful face. Cat like blue eyes peeked out from under thick sooty lashes, and her lips just begged for a man’s kisses. He sucked in an unneeded breath.
A low chuckle caught him off guard jerking his head in the direction of amused turquoise eyes.
“What,” Hoyt asked gruffly annoyed at having been caught staring so openly.
The redhead shook her head amusement clearly written upon her face. “Not a thing,” she responded. “Though one word of advice…you might wanna close your mouth. That’s not an attractive look for you.”
The big man scowled at the young woman who was not in the least intimidated by him. Another companion, this one a platinum blonde, seemed to find the whole thing remarkably funny. It only caused his frown to deepen.
“Oh c’mon big guy,” she managed between chuckles. “You’ve gotta admit that if the situation was reversed you’d be the one doing the laughing.”
Lance snorted at that. He would never laugh at a woman, at least not where there was any chance of her hearing it. His momma raised him better than that!
The short multicolor haired girl stared balefully at the bottom of her empty beer bottle. Raising her strange hazel eyes she pouted at the others. “Okay whose turn to buy,” she questioned. It made him wonder what round the girls were currently on.
“Mine,” the platinum blonde said, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously.
“Hold it,” the smaller woman said knowing that look. “No more tequila Paige.”
“Why ever not,” the blonde asked because she knew that Mya had just enough alcohol in her to go on her usual rant.
“Because,” the young woman announced rather loudly, “Tequila leads to drunkenness, drunkenness leads to nakedness, and nakedness leads to coyote ugly!” She shivered violently at the reminder of the last time she let Paige goad her into drinking that much.
“Coyote ugly,” Chris questioned clearly not as up to date on the slang as he should have been.
Lance smothered a grin and waited for the young girl’s response. He was half tempted to enlighten the older man when a small hand was laid on his arm. He looked up to find the brunette smiling shaking her head slightly. Clearly this was going to be very good.
Mya goggled at him. “He can’t be serious,” she thought in her tipsy state. “You know, the guy, or in your case girl, is so ugly you’d rather gnaw your own arm off rather than risk waking her up by trying to remove it.” She nodded her head. “Bet it happens to you a lot,” she blurted out. Her eyes widened comically as she realized what she’d just said.
The others laughed as she blushed. She dropped her gaze to the table her ears throbbing as the blood rushed up to her face. It was a subtle reminder that they needed to feed soon as Hoyt caught sight of Chris staring just as intently as he had been. A gentle nudge was all it took for the other man to refocus his gaze elsewhere.
“I think,” Mya started. “I think I’m just going to go now.”
The brunette’s hand shot out stopping her sister before she had done much more than rise from her seat. “I don’t think so sunshine.” Martina’s voice softened. “Mya, honey, we were just teasing you.”
The younger girl sighed. “I know, but I really do need to go,” she emphasized the last word making it clear that it wasn’t only an escape attempt but also a need to relieve her bladder.
“I’ll go with you,” Katrina said knowing that as much as Martina would have wished to give her younger sister a bit more breathing room some habits die hard. It was partially due to the fact that Marti had basically raised the younger girl that made her more protective than a sister normally would be.
“Thanks,” Martina mouthed over Mya’s head.
The redhead smiled in response.
The two headed towards the rear of the club where the facilities were located. Paige took that as her cue to get the drinks. She knew how Mya could be when she wanted a drink and didn’t have one. It was almost worse than a two year old in the middle of a temper tantrum. Almost.
Paige snagged the cocktail waitress as she was strolling past and placed their order. She extended the invitation to the guys currently occupying their table as well. They declined with a shake of the head. Shrugging she went back to watching for Mya and Katrina. Those two were the most likely to get “lost” on their way back. They usually heard some song or other that they just had to dance to.
As predicted Kat and Mya wound up on the dance floor after the visit to the facilities. There was just something about those two when they danced. It was as if they were the only dancers in the club. They moved in time to one another floating together and away seemingly at random but with a grace few seemed to possess. Most of the male patrons stopped to watch the duo as they moved across the floor.
The song ended and the girls made their way back to the table and their friends. They stopped at the edge of the dance floor not quite at the table but well within sight, if not the hearing distance of the others.
Mya ran her fingers through her tri-colored hair her blue green hazel eyes scanning the club. She sucked in a sharp breath between her teeth. Her first thought was, “I’ve got to be dreaming,” quickly followed by, “He has to have been a ticket in a former life…cuz he’s got fine written all over him!”
Katrina looked at her friend and followed her gaze smiling indulgently until her eyes landed on his friend. “Oh baby,” she said softly. “Break me off a piece of that!”
“Only if he brings his friend,” Mya returned a wicked smile curving her lips.
Chris had heard the girls approaching and been curious about what had kept them. Their quiet conversation had left him intrigued. He half turned to see what they found so distracting. He couldn’t have been any more shocked if a hunter had shown up brandishing a stake. They were currently drooling over the two surliest members of his clan.
For their part neither Punk nor Ki had any idea that they were being watched, but Aries didn’t miss the looks the girls were sending their way. He smothered a grin behind his hand as he watched Chris lean down just behind the girls. He had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.
“You know you could always invite them to join us,” He said just loudly enough to be heard over the music but not by the others.
Both girls visibly jumped at the sound of his voice. They hadn’t realized that he was that close. Mya was busily shaking her head hazel eyes wide with something close to panic while Katrina gave the young men a speculative look.
“Friends of yours,” the redhead asked finally turning to look back at Daniels.
“You might say that,” he answered evasively.
Kat focused the full weight of her gaze on him. “I do believe that I just did. Say we go over there, what kind of reaction should we expect?”
Chris scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Well that’s tough to say,” he said slowly. “They aren’t dumb enough to say no. I can tell you that much.”
Mya cocked her head to the side, “Oh and why is that?”
Daniels smiled down at the young woman. She was really different. Somehow she managed to be both naïve and streetwise at the same time. It made him want to protect her, to make sure that nothing ever changed her. That thought brought him back to the reason he had come over in the first place.
He cast a glance over his shoulder to find Lance entertaining the three remaining women. A soft smile graced his face as he watched Laney, he had found out, listening intently to some story or other that Hoyt was regaling them with. If he hadn’t watched her turn to ash he would have sworn it was his lost love.
Turning back to the girls looking expectantly at him he offered an embarrassed grin. “Sorry ‘bout that.” Mya smiled at him as Katrina nodded her understanding. “A true gentleman never denies an attractive lady anything she requests.”
Mya blushed furiously.
Kat snorted. “Let me know when you find one of those,” she drawled making it more than apparent what her thoughts on most men were.
Chris laughed at that giving them a gentle nudge in the direction of his comrades.
All humor at the situation fled Austin’s face as he realized that Daniels had just sent the two young women over to collect them. His blue gaze slid to Punk and Ki. It seemed they finally noticed the girls. Particularly Ki’s face had lost its scowl and while he didn’t look happy he was definitely intrigued.
The younger girl trailed behind the redhead. Aries couldn’t have told you how he knew the taller girl was younger. It was just some innate sense of his. The redhead looked fairly confident even with the multicolor haired girl clinging to her hand. Hazel eyes danced nervously around the club before settling on Ki.
“Ah,” Austin thought knowing why Chris had sent the girls over. He gave his best neutral expression as they approached the table.
“Hey,” Katrina said leaning against the table. “Would you guys care to join us,” she asked gesturing across the dance floor to where Lance and Chris already resided.
Mya inhaled sharply as Ki turned his undivided attention on her. His dark eyes held so much heat she was sure that she was going to melt into a puddle at his feet. He looked from her to Katrina and back drawing his lower lip between his teeth then letting it slide back out. Shrugging his acceptance he stood waiting for the others to make their choice.
The young woman tuned back into the conversation just as the raven-haired young man said, “Thanks but I’m comfortable right where I’m at.” While his words were polite his tone conveyed just how annoyed he was.
The two girls shared a look that did not go unnoticed by the three men. The younger girl shrugged her shoulder just as much at a loss as to why they were on the receiving end of his ire. The redhead turned narrowing her eyes on him. “Fine, keep your ass parked right there,” she hissed through gritted teeth clearly stung to be the recipient of his wrath. She turned to the other two young men, both of whom had to control the urge to take an instinctive step back. “You’re still welcome to join us.” Turning on her heel she stormed off across the dance floor.
Mya was torn. She was just as upset by the young man’s reaction and could find no real cause for it. Still she wanted to try and appear friendly so that the others would know just how sincere the offer had been. Sighing she cast a glance over to their table to see the redhead giving Chris an earful. She’d hate to be the other man right about now.
Sighing she turned to join her sister and friends. A warm hand enveloped hers. Surprised she turned to see the young man she had been ogling holding her hand in his. His scorching gaze left her feeling as if he could see deep inside her. She sucked in a much needed breath of air.
“Don’t let the actions of one man speak for us all,” he said quietly.
Mya shivered as his voice washed over her. She had to fight to keep the thoughts that voice brought to mind in check. “Well, if you wanna join us you’re more than welcome,” she offered a bit breathlessly.
Ki watched her disappear across the dance floor before turning to scowl at Punk. “Real smooth asshole,” he growled.
“Watch it dickhead,” Punk warned.
“Or what you’ll beat me to death with that chip on your shoulder,” Ki asked.
“You’re one to talk,” the raven-haired man said.
“But we’re not talking about him, we’re talking about you,” Aries interrupted.
“So now you’re on his side,” Punk sneered.
“I’m not on anybody’s fuckin’ side, asshole” Austin ground out. “Would it have killed you to be nice to her? She was staring at you after all.”
“The hell she was,” Punk countered. “She was staring at you the whole time she was over here. Not to mention her little friend didn’t realize there was anyone here but him,” he said jerking a thumb in Low Ki’s direction.
“You stupid mother fucker, if you would bother to pull your head out of your ass from time to time you would have seen her watching you for the past ten minutes!” Aries tried to calm down but lately he had been less and less patient with his friends. He rubbed his face in a frustrated manner that spoke louder than any words what he thought of Punk’s actions tonight. “Do what you want. We,” he motioned between Ki and himself, “are going to join those lovely ladies. You can sit here and sulk. After all that’s something you’re good at.”
Punk glared at their retreating forms briefly giving into the impulse and flipping them the one finger salute. He stared down at the contents of his glass. They just didn’t understand, he thought sourly.
As the youngest son of poor dirt farmers he had had nothing but his pride in an era and country that had claimed any man could strike it rich. He had toiled along side his family for years trying in vain to make ends meet. It never seemed to be enough no matter how many hours they spent in the field or how often they went without. The bank eventually foreclosed on them anyway.
It seemed to break his momma. After they took the house and the land her health took a turn for the worse. They had tried everything followed every lead, spent their last dime on any cure no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Still nothing had saved her.
With her passing his dad had fallen into the bottom of a bottle. It was one of the reasons he didn’t drink. He never wanted to be that dependent on anything, or anyone for that matter.
After that the family seemed to have nothing to hang around for and they all ended up going their separate ways, except him. Someone had to keep an eye on their father and with no one else willing to do it, it fell on him. It seemed that he was constantly dragging his father home from one saloon or another. He saw first hand the devastation that drink could cause and while he didn’t hold with those prohibitionists he damn sure could understand their thinking. He had seen the inside of one too many saloons for his liking.
The event, as he called it in his mind, that had changed his entire life happened late one summer evening. His father, as per usual, had gotten drunk; only this time he was threatening one of the saloon girls. The sheriff had sent a deputy out to the ramshackle hovel that he and his father shared. It was common knowledge that if anyone could talk the old coot down it would be his youngest son.
He had grabbed the nearest shirt at hand pulling it on as the deputy led him to where his wayward father was holed up. They stopped in front of one of the seedier saloons the town had to offer. He couldn’t stop his upper lip as it peeled away from his teeth. This particular establishment had a nasty reputation.
Casting green eyes around the first floor he noticed the sheriff stationed at the foot of the stairs. The man looked as tired of these calls as he was. His blue eyes held the weight of expectations, not just from his family but the town as well. His stark white hair and handlebar moustache weren’t nearly as neatly groomed as they would be on Sunday morning attesting to the late hour. He motioned silently up the steps knowing that the young man would be able to take it from here.
Distantly he heard the sheriff and the deputy speaking with the barkeep, most likely explaining away the situation. In the morning, the young man knew, there would be a polite suggestion to leave town. It always happened after episodes like these and he was slowly coming to resent his father.
The swinging doors squealed on unoiled hinges letting him know that the peace officers had vacated the premises. He climbed the stairs wearily wondering what the old codger had gotten into this time. This was a first for him. His father was rowdy when drunk no doubt about that, but it was the first time he’d ever threatened a woman. It made him wonder what his momma would have said. He stubbornly shoved aside the stabbing pain of her loss to the back of his mind to be dealt with later, much later.
On the landing he looked down the two corridors wondering which one to follow. He didn’t have long to wait as he heard a yelp and unable to tell whether it was male or female he charged down the longer hall. His long legs ate up the distance between him and his troublesome father. There was another sharp cry, most definitely male this time; he began running towards the room. He flung open the door never expecting the sight that met his eyes.
His father was tied to the shabby four-poster bed. The gaudy scarlet hangings and coverlet were threadbare in places. A lingering smell of old sweat, liquor, and sex hung in the air. His father’s dirty blonde hair sprinkled liberally with gray had fallen into his bleary hazel eyes. His face was a mass of mounting bruises and numerous abrasions.
The thing that shocked him the most was the glaring absence of a female. That was why he’d been roused from his piss poor slumber to begin with. Instead of the woman he had been expecting was a wiry looking ranch hand. His beady coal black eyes were trained not on his father but on him.
“’Bout time you showed up boy,” the hand said, spitting a stream of tobacco onto the hardwood floor. “Was beginnin’ to think we’d have to kill him fer nuthin’.”
It all happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to react as the door was closed and locked behind him. The first man was joined by a second. This one was an even dirtier version of the former, though there was something about him that raised the hairs at the back of the young man’s neck.
He heard his father yell something then there was a blinding pain in his neck. He could feel the other man’s lips attached to his throat and even though he tried to fight him off it was no use. The man was just too strong, unnaturally strong. The boy clawed, kicked, and even tried a few curses, all to no avail. Black encroached on the edge of his vision. He could feel death creeping up on him. Even in his weakened condition he tried to fight it. He didn’t want to die.
A dirty wrist was thrust under his nose a bloody gash cut into the tender flesh. He recoiled from it in disgust. The man was having none of that. He pressed the wound to his tightly compressed lips forcing him to either drink or suffocate. In the end the choice was made for him by his own body’s need for oxygen. He sucked down mouthful after mouthful of that copper liquid thankful when the darkness finally claimed him at last.
Nothing in all his life prepared him for waking up in that small confined space. He had panicked as it became painfully obvious that he had been buried. He clawed at the pine wood box choking as the loose soil spilled in on him. His only thought was to get out of there as quickly as possible.
The cool summer breeze had never felt so good against his skin as it did when he finally broke the surface. He paused by the plain wooden marker his father had somehow managed to afford to take stock of what happened. It didn’t take long for the memories to come rushing back to him.
He wanted, no needed, to know how his father had fared that gruesome night. Scanning the area he noticed another recent burial not too far from his grave. Walking down that short distance seemed to take longer than it should have as dread settled like a lead weight in his stomach.
It was a surreal moment when he realized that his father had not fared any better than he had. It also led to questions that he had no answer for, like who paid for the headstones and burials? They hadn’t had anyone but each other having long since lost contact with the rest of their beleaguered family.
His head fell forward dirty lank hair falling into his eyes as his heart clenched in pain. Having lost both his parents and not being particularly close to his siblings left him feeling like a ship with no port. He had nowhere to go and nothing now, not that he’d had all that much before. He still had his pride. That was the only thing left to him now and he would guard it fiercely.
Slowly climbing to his feet his said a final goodbye to his father. He brushed his fingers lovingly over the rough marker. Turning he left the graveyard to find the bastards that had done this to him and killed his father. Vengeance burned hotly in his veins.
It hadn’t taken him too long to find the men responsible for his father’s death and his transformation. They had miscalculated if they had expected him to be grateful; instead he was sickened. He had listened to them prattle on about his “new life” learning just enough to get by. When he figured that they told him all they were going to he killed them. Violently.
He never regretted that decision, not once, in the hundreds of years he’d been “alive.” He had learned a valuable lesson that night. He would never again let someone get close to him. It only led to heartbreak, usually for him. He was sick of burying loved ones and being the only one who remembered long after the others were dust in their graves.
Punk glared at the table where his reluctant friends seemed to be having a good time. Scowling down at his glass he swallowed the last of his coke. “I don’t sulk,” he thought acidly before getting to his feet to join them. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. He could be his usual charming self and watch as his friends tried not to kill him. Oh yeah, it was going to be a great night!