Author's Notes: I have found a new inspiration. Pyro George, my normal muse, has taken a vacation and was last seen off the cost of Hawaii. Thank you Ben! Ben will never read this, and no one cares who Ben is, but I thought I should thank him all the same.
And a second thing, things may seem a little OOC here, but I would like you to keep in mind one of the attributes of vampires (discussed by Kara and Ferra when checking out the hot guys at the club *hint hint*) and a reminder to track how close Tarren is to Ferra. Another thing to remember is that Ferra has just gone through extreme trauma, and is a little off her rocker. I know what she does in this chapter seems to go against her new maturity and stuff, but like all people struggling to change, she has a relapse. I know that gave away a little of the plot, but I wanted to explain that so people could make sense of what was going on.
The Turning
Chapter 11
Alliance
My eyes fluttered open tiredly. For a few moments, I was thankfully unaware of where I was. Then I realized where I was and screamed. Tarren was standing over me, and I was in the worst cell I had ever seen. Then again, I haven't seen too many cells now have I?
"Where the fuck am I?" I asked rather rudely, forgetting that he probably held my life in his hands.
"You'll be fine, just wait for the drugs to where off," Tarren tried to soothe me.
"I don't want to wait, I wanna out of here now!"I screamed again. I like screaming.
"Shhh," Tarren somehow calmed me down, "It's going to be fine, just lay back. Do you want some tea?"
Tea? I couldn't help but laugh. Tarren wasn't laughing though. I stared at him and I tried to find the anger that I had before. The drive, the passion that I had to stop what was happening. But somehow I felt fine. I shook my head and tried to focus again. Tarren is evil, wants to take over the world and kill humanity. Now that I have that straight...
"FUCK OFF!" I screamed and felt the ground beneath me shake. The energy was coming back to me, and then drugs were wearing off.
"Please restrain yourself," Tarren asked politely, accepting a cup of tea from a servant. It seemed so out of place in the dark, dank cell. It even came complete with bars and mice. I guess if you are going to go for the whole medieval dungeon thing, then you have to go for the whole nine yards or it isn't worth it.
"Get me out of here, or I'll kill you all," I threatened. The power welled up within me.
"I hope you happen to recall my threat of a virus that would wipe out mankind," Tarren reminded softly.
"I'll destroy it when I destroy you," I explained. Looking back, I guess I was far too confident. But boy, was about to be told.
"Ferra, I believe you are a wonderful young girl, and you have a lot of potential," Tarren stood up, taking a drink of his tea, "but please don't overestimate yourself. I am afraid that you believe that you have far more power and control than you believe you do. Trust me, when I was younger, I felt the same way, but now that I am a few hundred years older, I see how naive I was."
"I have more power than you can comprehend," I shot back, standing up myself. I was so much smaller, that I couldn't physically intimidate him, but I also sent out a wave of energy. I knew that he was sensitive to it, and would feel the power. In my head, I was thinking about it knocking the wind out of him and crap. Man, he was so going to pay for everything that he did to me. All the pain that he caused me and my friends. Me vengeful? Never.
"I also believe that I have much more energy than you believe I do," Tarren smiled. It took me a moment, but I felt a blast of power ten times what I gave him. It still wasn't close to what I possessed, but it got me thinking. I didn't even feel his energy level rise, the energy was just suddenly there.
"Shit," I choked as I tried to get my breath back. I'm sure he got the effect he wanted.
"Besides, if you kill me, the virus will still find its way into the population. I have given orders to my men hidden around the world to release the virus if they don't hear from me within 24 hours. You think you can just find them, but I'm sure that you didn't even feel me draw the power towards me. If you can't feel that, then how do you expect to find a over a dozen vials all over the world? It only takes one of the vials to eliminate the humans," Tarren explained, and sat back down with his tea. The moonlight reflected off his pale skin and gave the room an eerie glow.
"What do you want from me?" I asked, trying to think.
"I want you to preform a ritual with me. It will make you my bride, as well as liberate your brothers and sisters," Tarren got up and knelt in front of me. When he said 'brothers' it reminded me of my little brother, and I felt a fresh wave of emotional pain. I couldn't let anything bad happen to him.
"But if I do that, then you'll kill every human anyway," I felt the rush of tears. Where was my mask of sarcasm when I needed it?
"You'll be my Queen," Tarren spoke softly, taking my hand, "We'll rule the world together. You can spare some humans if you wish."
I will never forgive myself for what I did next. I actually considered it. I was thinking about the power of ruling the world, I was thinking about being a great leader. No one had ever expected anything from me, and here I was, being given the world.
"I'll give you time to think," Tarren smiled softly. Standing up, Tarren softly leaned over me and kissed me. His cold lips were smooth and tasted like herbal tea. He didn't smell of death, but of flowers. It was like a spell over me. It was probably just drugs though.
Tarren left the room, leaving a trail of energy behind him. A servant closed the door to the cell. The sound of lock being closed echoed throughout the hallways.
I punched the hole in the wall. I didn't know why, I just felt like everything sucked, and the wall deserved to be punished. Really though, I wished the wall would punch back. It was all my fault what was happening. I probably could have prevented everything, but I didn't. Tarren was right, I had no control over my power. I could throw energy at something, but I didn't have enough control to try to find a virus or to change every person's body to be immune to the virus. Life just sucked.
I guess, I never really had much of a chance to just sit and cry. Everything had been happening so fast, and I had been trying to do so much. Yeah, poor me, just a little baby pouting because she can't save the world. "I can't do this. There is no way out. I'm fucked beyond fucked. I'll just be happy with Tarren." Then I sat there and cried. I had not been given anytime to cry, and I had nothing better to do than sit in a cell, so I bawled my eyes out. I cried like a little baby and refused to stop. I screamed, and I lost all sense of reality. Different scenarios played through my head over and over. How every human on the planet including my family, Kara and Kara's baby were tortured beyond belief, and I just sat there watching, drinking blood from a wine glass.
"Oh shut up," I heard a familiar voice.
"Get away from me!" I screamed and with a quick bolt of energy, threw Eve against the wall. Then I kept on crying like the immature piece of crap I felt like. After a few minutes, there was nothing, and I thought that maybe I had hallucinated her. Then I felt strong arms wrap around me. Eve smelled like bad shampoo and cheap deodorant, but it felt good to have someone there, holding me, caring about me. I let my problems fade into incoherent thoughts, as I rocked back and forth gently.
"I can read your mind," Eve finally pushed me away from her and looked into my eyes.
"And pull rabbits out of a hat," I joked, though my heart wasn't really in it.
"You can't give into Tarren," Eve order me.
"Well, last time I checked, it was my only choice, and he'll make sure of that," I snarled back, leaning up against the cracked wall.
"So you are just going to let him rule the world?"Eve threw up her hands in disgust.
"Well, since you seem to know everything, why don't you tell me what to do, All mighty Queen of the Bitch," I had not been so pissed off with someone before in my life. Didn't she think I had thought about what to do? Didn't she realize that I didn't want to make this decision, but I had no other choice.
"I died for my world," Eve snapped back at me, "and you would rather marry the vampire that will put it into turmoil and chaos!"
"You're saying to kill myself?" my jaw dropped open.
"Better than handing over the most powerful being in the world to the second most powerful being in the world, to free the other most powerful beings in the world, so that they can massacre, torture and enslave the people that the world was meant for," Eve shook her head, "I don't see what is so confusing."
"Who says that the world was made for humans alone? If I kill myself, Tarren will just find another way to complete his ritual and he'll still take over the world, but at least by marrying him, I have some influence over him, therefore saving pain. So it's the lesser of the two evils, right?" I tried to explain myself to Eve, but she wouldn't hear it.
"This isn't my world, you aren't my responsibility. I tried to help you and to guide you, but you keep refusing my assistance. I wash my hands clean of you Ferra, and the consequential slaughtering of countless lives." Eve vanished, leaving me in a worse position than when I began.
"Ferra?" Tarren began to unlock the door.
"Please, just leave me alone," I asked him, another tear escaping my eyes.
"I felt another entity in here," Tarren opened up the door and closed it behind him. I was so pissed off at Eve, I just wanted to rebel against her. I didn't care what she said, I was going to do the exact opposite of what she said, not because it was right, but because I hated her and her 'holier-than-thou-I-died-for-my-world' attitude.
"Don't worry about it," I stood up with determination.
"You seem calmer," Tarren smiled and glided toward me.
"I've been thinking, how do I know that are you going to keep your word?" I spoke with confidence I didn't know I had. I was still trying to figure out how he had drawn so much energy into him without me noticing. I watched the energy around him. It was like I could almost see the areas of concentration. It took me a moment, but I found his trick. He didn't actually take the energy into him, like I did. With me, the energy flowed through me, and I felt the rush of power, but Tarren had enough control that he could draw energy to him, but not into him. It was like a protective aura of power.
It seemed that energy seemed to change slightly when it went into someone, and when I read his energy level, I was only looking for that one type. Tarren was right, I had so much to learn, and he was the one to teach me.
"I am a vampire of many years, even compared to our people," Tarren began, "I am a man of much honour, and I would dare not tarnish it with such a petty thing as lying. Besides, if we are to be married for centuries, we must have some trust. We can not rule the world being enemies," Tarren got so close to me, I could feel his breath against me. His hand reached out and touched my hip and made its way up to cup just underneath my breast. I braced myself, but refused to move.
Tarren gracefully removed his hand and smiled. He bent over and brushed his lips against my cheek. "You are so beautiful my Queen," he smiled.
"I never even said that I would go through with this," I informed him.
"We both know better than that," Tarren whispered in my ear. "Come on, a Queen deserves better living conditions than this.'
Tarren took my hand, and it was like I was in a trance. He led me out of the cell and down the hallway. At the end of the dark hall was a stairway. He carefully guided me up the stairs, holding my forearm and bracing my back.
When we got up two or three levels, I was taken down a Victorian hallway. Chairs and couches lined the halls as I was led to one of the three doorways. I was a little surprised that it was a large bathroom, but when I looked in the mirror I could tell why I needed to be there.
My face was covered in blood and my hair was matted with dirt and grease. My clothes were ripped and torn. I saw for the first time, just how pale I was and how my pupils were dilated beyond belief. I would have to ask someone later what dilated pupils meant. My canine teeth were so large and pointed, I didn't know how I closed my mouth. I could barely recognize myself.
"Please," Tarren stood behind me, putting his hands on my shoulder and smelling my neck, "take a hot shower, it'll make you feel better."
A servant was also with us in the bathroom and Tarren ordered him to leave.
"Umm..." I looked down at myself and then at Tarren. I knew that I was going to be married to him, but I didn't want him to see my naked just yet.
"My apologies," Tarren turned around and faced the doorway.
"Ahem," I cleared my throat purposefully.
"I'm afraid, someone has to guard you my dear, and I would rather that I be here, than someone who might try to take advantage of you," Tarren replied and dutifully faced the doorway. When I was convinced that he wasn't looking the mirror, I tried to undress myself. It was like I snapped out of my trance, and everything hurt really bad. I nearly feel to the ground.
Tarren was by my side within seconds, "Are you all right my dear?" he asked sincerely. I didn't get him. I had seen him so cruel and mean, shooting people and drinking blood, but now I saw him caring about me honestly. I didn't know what to do. Everything kept changing, I couldn't keep track of what was happening. It was like I had split personalities. Everything was happening so fast.
"Shh," Tarren helped me up and then looked at me, "You'll feel better after the shower, I promise."
I tried not to cry. It felt so good to have someone care for me for once. He could be so gentle and sweet when he wanted to be. He almost reminded me of Riever. It was then that I felt so bad. By doing this, I was betraying the hot sexy hunk that I called Riever. I was even betraying Kara, Kara's baby and Daemon. I even felt bad about betraying Cirelle.
I leaned up against the counter. I was so tired and I was in so much pain. It was coming in great waves, and I couldn't stop it. Tarren was standing behind me again and he moved my strap down my shoulder. He then used one of his long nails to cut down the back of my shirt. The shirt fell to the ground. I wanted to stop him, but the trance was coming over me again. I could smell Tarren all over me. At the time I didn't realize it, but he was using his energy and hormones to put me into a suggestible state of mind. "Relax, everything will be fine," Tarren began to slid cut my skirt off. I could still feel the pain skyrocketing out of control. All I wanted to do was to have my shower and sleep.
Soon, I was fully undressed, and I didn't have to move a muscle. Tarren even opened up the door to the shower and turned it on for me. I don't know how, but he also had it no just the right temperature. Tarren helped me inside the shower. I watched his eyes, but they never drifted.
As I took my shower, I thought about how weird everything was. Sure, Tarren had done some pretty horrific things, things I would never forget, but I was the one that had forced him to do it. He needed me, and he had even tried talking to me, but I had rejected him. It was mostly my fault everything that Tarren had done. Tarren was trying to do what was best for his people... our people. Looking back, I never would have guessed what was happening, but I fell right into the trap.
As I finished, I slid open the shower door slightly. Tarren was standing by the door. When he heard the shower stop, he reached and grabbed a thick bathrobe for me. I stepped out, and he slid it on for me. He was right, I felt a lot better after the shower.
"Sit," Tarren smiled and I sat down on a chair in front of the mirror. Tarren picked up a silver brush, and began to comb through my hair. It was so much paler than I remembered it, even when it was wet, it seemed so much lighter. Tarren brushed back my hair delicately, taking care of any tangles without pain. I sat and it felt good, like I was being pampered. His soft, graceful touches were so entrancing, I didn't even notice the time fly till he was done. My hair was nearly dry. How that happened, I don't even want to know.
"Come, I'll show you your room," Tarren lead me out of the bathroom and down the hall to the next door. It was the biggest bedroom I had ever seen in my life. There was a 78" tv in the corner, there was a King Size canopy bed and a fire place on the other side. There was old renaissance paintings all over the place and everything seemed so warm and inviting.
"I could definitely get used to this," I smiled.
"It's all yours," Tarren smiled, "Now sleep, I'll wake you when I need you."
"Okay," I nodded my head as I took in everything about the room. The candles, the low light, the way everything was wood and sculpted. It was so beautiful. The rug was so thick and warm, I thought I could fall asleep on the floor right there.
I reached the soft bed and I felt like I was sleep on air. Everything was so inviting, I couldn't resist it. I don't know how long I was asleep for, maybe an hour, maybe a day, maybe a week, but one thing was for sure, I was completely out of it. Tarren touched my shoulder softly. It must have taken him a moment or two to wake me. I remember when my mom would try to wake me for school and I would throw an alarm clock at her.
"Precious," Tarren whispered into my ear playfully. I slowly gained consciousness. My ear tickled and I laughed as I pushed myself away from him. But I wasn't imagining Tarren tickling my ear. I was thinking about Riever. How I wished that it was him whispering into my ear on a warm afternoon in the shade of a tree. For a moment, I thought I had just fallen asleep on the blanket beside Riever. I could hear children laughing. Why do dreams have to be so cruel? As soon as I saw Tarren's pale face, I could smell blood. He had fed recently, and the smell was intoxicating.
I touched my head, trying to see clearly. Everything was so blurry. I couldn't think straight. The air smelled like lavender. It was probably the scented candles. Lazily, I slipped out of bed.
"Its time," Tarren came towards me, but I backed away. I tried to focus on the scent of the candles, not the decaying breath of Tarren.
"Time for what?" I asked, turning to the mirror and adjusting my hair. Tarren stood behind me and touched my shoulder. His hand was so cold. For a moment, I remembered old stories about how vampires couldn't be seen in mirrors. I had heard it was because they didn't have a soul, but now that I knew more about what vampires were, it seemed silly. Of course vampires had souls, if there was such things as souls. Vampires had emotions, families, and they lived. They weren't dead, cold and unfeeling as they were perceived. I was about to see just how strongly linked vampires were, and the bond that they held.
"For you to meet your followers," Tarren smiled. It felt so good to hear that I had followers. At first, I thought that would come with responsibilities and pressure, but Tarren seemed so capable of doing things for me I felt no pressure.
Tarren went to the closet and pulled out a long black dress, "I hope it fits," Tarren handed it to me. Tarren looked into my eyes, and I thought that he was about to say something, but instead he turned around and started to leave the room, "I'll be waiting outside, if you need any help, just call."
For some unknown reason, I was about to cry. I don't know if it was because I was so happy, because I was about to become the greatest leader ever prophesied, or because I was scared of not being able to live up to the expectations of me, or maybe it was because Tarren was starting to remind me of Riever. Tarren wasn't at all what I had expected. I thought he would be like an evil overlord, dictating his people, and enslaving humans for his purposes, but really, he was a great leader willing to do whatever he could for his people. He was so much that I hadn't seen before, caring, polite, gentle, and seductive.
It was a little hard to get the dress on because I was still in mild pain. It was weird, the first few days, I was rather numb and immune to pain, being able to push my body to the limits, but now, I felt so drained and in pain. I looked at myself in the mirror. The black silk dress fit perfectly. It was a deep v-cut top with spaghetti straps, and it hugged my new found hips and fell to the floor. There was a slit on one side that crossed diagonally to the other side, but nothing but a little of my shin was showing, because the back of the dress wrapped around as well. I guess that is a good thing because I hadn't shaved in awhile. I took a brush and fixed my hair quickly before exiting the beautiful room. It was still breath-taking.
Tarren smiled ever so slightly upon seeing me and took my hand. He had a familiar entourage of body guards and what I assumed were either advisors or other important political figures. He led the way down the hall. Everything twisted and turned, and I had lost my sense of direction long ago, but Tarren was confident.
A few minutes later, we were standing on a balcony in front of a thousand or more vampires. I have never seen so much black in my life. The night sky was lit up with thousands of stars and the air was moist with fresh evening rain.
"My children!" Tarren greeted, and they all began to scream. They're eyes were like wildfire, shining in the night, "We have been waiting for this moment for centuries. Tonight, the prophecies will be fulfilled and we shall no longer be prisoners of darkness. Give your praise and loyalty to the Chosen Child and your new Queen, Ferra."
The audience erupted into screaming and yelling. I had never felt so alive in my life. They were going crazy, and it was all because of me. They wanted me, not Tarren, not the body guards, not some idol or super star, just me. It was the biggest ego boost of my life.
"Do I need to say anything?" I asked as I waved to the crowd.
"You may if you want, but if you don't want to, they will be more than satisfied with your presence," Tarren wrapped his hand around my waist and held me closer to him. "Come, I have something to share with you."
I felt like we had left too soon. What I didn't know, was that Tarren was stopping me from seeing a gruesome tradition of sacrificing three live people into the audience and throwing pig's blood off the balcony. Good ol' wholesome family fun.
Tarren led me into one of the many chambers nearby. He waved off his guards, and we were left alone in the room. "I know this is a lot for you, and the decision that you made was not easy," no shit sherlock, "but I want you to know, that from the moment I first saw you, I loved you. I knew that you were the most amazing person I had ever met. You are so powerful, and so innocent. I know that you are marrying me for political reasons, and not for love, but I hope that over the years, you may learn to love me in return. I want you to know, that I will never force you to do anything that you do not want to do in this relationship. I do not expect anything after the marriage, unless you are willing to give it. I just want you by my side, and I want you to help me lead our people into freedom."
It was a lot to take in at once. I was glad to hear that he wasn't going to make me have sex with him or any weird bondage practices. It was weird having him be so considerate about me. At that moment, all I wanted to do was be with him. Something inside my head said that he was a good thing for me. I felt like with him, I would never experience any pain.
It kinda hit me then, an odd thought that I should have paid more attention to, but the only time I felt pain was around Tarren, and the more intense the pain, the closer he was. From hitting my head against the wall at the club, to the pain that rendered me immobile in the bathroom. He was always there. Even the first time I saw him, I was overcome with pain and I thought that I was going to die. I never felt any pain before that though, I was completely numb. Fighting with Kara was a breeze, because I barely felt the impact of the hits, and when I was running, I didn't get a cramp or anything and because of it, I could push my body further then I could before. But still, being the idiot that I was, I saw the chance of a life time before me. Tarren.
~End Chapter 11 - Alliance~
Author's Tidbits: Well, I know she seems totally OOC, but maybe its intentional. I am trying my hardest to foreshadow here, if you haven't gotten the hint, then maybe you aren't old enough to be reading this. Heehee... again, Pyro is still in Hawaii, sorry that I haven't updated. Eek...