Romance Fan Fiction / Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Blood That Ties ❯ Powers Unleashed ( Chapter 6 )

Author's note: I'm so sorry about the lack of updating! Work and life have gotten in the way once again, as well as a case of writer's block. But! The way is clear now! And once again I will pump out another chapter for you all to enjoy. AND! With the holiday season upon us, I demand one gift of you all. REVIEWS!

 

The Blood That Ties

It seemed that when Gabrielle came to her decision, her thoughts became as translucent as the grin on her face. Gabrielle could only guess this because as she locked eyes with Emeris, he seemed to wince and brought the book in his hands into contact with his face, with a certain degree of force.

 

“I can only assume by the stupid grin on your face you've made your decision.” It seemed that Emeris's thoughts were equally translucent. Gabrielle didn't even bother answering the boy, her grin just turned mischievous and Gabrielle found herself shifting in her seat. At that, Emeris just groaned, forcing the book back into his lap and flipping through it angrily.

 

“I should have figured...” The brunette muttered to the detailed pages of the book, refusing to even dignify Gabrielle with another snarky remark.

 

“If you're trying to get on my nerves Emeris, you've already succeeded many times today. There are only so many times I will bother to fight with you about your attitude.” Gabrielle smirked, musing over her decision in her mind. Sure, staying with the Order probably meant she would have to endure many more nights of bickering and attempting to learn from Emeris. But in the end it would be the best decision, this place would ensure her a way to avenge her family, as well as deal with her new existence. It was more promising that what fate had in store for her outside these walls.

 

“Wouldn't dream of it, Princess.” It had been annoying the first time, frustrating the second; but now the nickname was beginning to have an infuriating effect on the young red head. So much for keeping her composure, Gabrielle could feel her temperature spike, and that blasted vertigo was back again.

 

A soft growl emitted from her dry lips, and she narrowed her eyes forebodingly. That would be Emeris's only form of a warning before Gabrielle would give up the fight to end the night in a civil fashion. And for a moment, Emeris returned the gaze, finally choosing to look up from the heavy book in his lap. Another stand-off, a rematch of their earlier clash in Gabrielle's bedroom; when Emeris had decided it would be better to treat her as a dog and not as a human. Emerald met Cerulean, and the stakes were the same. Who ever looked away, whoever changed the topic, whoever backed down would be the loser; and the victor would receive the pride on the table.

 

However, this time, Emeris was the one to back down, his eyes dropping back down to the book. Though he did mutter something incoherent under his breath, Gabrielle decided to accept the victory at face value, the mischievous smirk back on her lips.

 

“Do you have any other questions about your existence? God forbid I bore you with all these trivial rules and policies when you could be running to the Abbot to tell him you're willing to be his new lapdog.” Leave it to Emeris to back down from a fight, yet still make her feel as if she was the loser here.

 

“Other than who put the stick up your ass...” A mumbled hiss emitted through her teeth, her grip on the arm rests of the chair tightened. Gabrielle had never raised her hand to any human, even during her short time as a vampire, but she was beginning to consider Emeris having the honours of being first. But violence wouldn't get her anywhere, if anything it would be a one way ticket out of the order, before she even officially joined.

 

“Let's see...Why does the sun mean death for me? I'm still technically a human aren't I?”

 

“Of course you are...To an extent. And I shouldn't really word it as death by sunlight. It's more of sunburn, just in fast forward due to the fact you're...Well...” Emeris seemed to struggle with the word, using his hands to uselessly gesture to her current state. However, he soon gave up when Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, still clueless. “You're dead. Technically. But technically you're not. Technically you're mortal, but you'll live for thousands of years. Technically your heart has ceased it's beating, yet you still need blood in your veins. It's the problem with describing a vampire. It's all technicalities...Unfortunately over time you'll never learn the exact answer to any question you may have, you'll just learn to stop asking.”

 

Gabrielle had to admit, even though Emeris was a jerk the majority of the time she was with him, when she needed a question answered he didn't beat around the bush. It was an admirable characteristic. But the fact he was only blunt because he wanted her out of his hair as soon as possible outweighed that fact.

 

Still, it was a bit unnerving to hear that she was dead, yet seemingly trapped in the world of the living. Actually, it sounded like a bad horror movie twist.

 

“Sounds like a horrible existence...” The anger from earlier had dissipated, Gabrielle's voice soft and gentle. Of course she was merely commenting to herself, she wasn't meaning to have a conversation with the man who seemed to loathe her presence.

 

“Definitely not one someone chooses willingly...At least, those who know all the consequences. Unfortunately, many fledglings are turned out of love; their minds are already fogged to begin with. They don't realize that in a few hundred years their creator will grow bored of them and find someone new. The Seelie has tried many times to put through a law forbidding the creation of any fledging, willing or not. But the same reason the law is needed is what prevents it from being put into play. Fools...”

 

It was odd, how they could be at one's throats at one moment, then calmly discussing the ethnics and logic of her new existence the next, with hardly any transition in-between. But Gabrielle never let herself forget that he was only being so hospitable so that he could deter her from joining the order, and get her out of his way. Still, it didn't prevent her from enjoying a proper moment of company in the midst of all the loathing and quarrelling...Even if it was found in the same person.

 

“I wouldn't call them fools. Love is uncontrollable, but I will agree that it is blind...” Gabrielle mused over the thought for a moment. Every girl had at least one experience of falling for a boy, and willing to go to the ends of the earth for him. And in nearly every case, it would end in heartbreak, but it was inevitable that it would happen.

 

“Then I can only assume you were as foolish at one point as well. I wouldn't put it past you.” There he went again, jabbing at her, reminding her that he still disliked her. That she was still a thorn in his side since the moment he found her in the forest. It was an act that was getting old real fast, and Gabrielle found herself struggling more and more each time to keep her temper down to a manageable level. Bickering was fine, but to actually lash out at him; that was another thing entirely.

 

“And I can only assume that you have never been in love before. I wouldn't put it past you.” Her words were venomous as usual. Aiming to sting at him the same way he jabbed at her. It seemed this time she had stumbled upon another closed wound, as Emeris was quickly to grumble and slam the book shut, scowl appearing back on his features.

 

“You don't know anything about me. So I would suggest you keep your mouth shut.”

 

“I can say the same about you.”

 

“Ha! You really think you're an enigma to me just because you're a vampire? Well Princess, I'll tell you one thing, you're as translucent as every other spoiled brat that's walked into this place!”

 

By this time, the book had been tossed to the floor, and the two now had no other excuse to turn down from this fight. They had been itching for it ever since they stepped into the room and traded in their sparring matches for a mock classroom setting. Gabrielle was at the edge of her seat, her breathing hardly controlled. She was going to end up doing something she regretted, but she was pushed too far to come back now.

 

“Spoiled brat?! This coming from the man who won't stop whining about doing his duty because would have rather slacked off and left me for dead. If you didn't want to deal with the consequences of doing your job, I don't see why you even bothered saving my life!” She was trembling now, anger having a full grip on her. Her headache was back, and it seemed the tension was building at an alarming rate. Gabrielle worried that if they kept this up, her head just may explode from it all.

 

“We've been over this, and I don't feel like explaining myself again to you if you didn't listen the first time.” Emeris snapped, his hateful eyes glaring at her as he forced himself to his feet. Gabrielle quickly followed suit; he was not walking out on her again.

 

“I did listen. You just don't make any sense.” Gabrielle hissed the words, forcing herself to only take one step towards Emeris. True, she wanted to get properly in his face, and then promptly slug the guy in the face. But by the might of her will and urge to stay within the Order restrained her from doing so. However, her restraint didn't stop Emeris from rolling his eyes and turning to leave her once again.

 

“I never did anything to you; you have no right to be angry with me!” Gabrielle couldn't control her tone any longer. She screamed the words angrily at him, and stomped another step towards him to prevent his escape.

 

She however, did not mean to send the brunette halfway across the room.

 

It wasn't even a slightly graceful fall.

 

Emeris was sprawled on the floor, just a few inches away from the bookshelf he had been to a few hours ago. The carpet was crumbled and bunched underneath him, and the chair he had been sitting in had been turned over as well. It was a hell of a push that had been for sure...

 

The problem was Gabrielle's hands had remained at her side the entire time.

 

Unless her anger had allowed Gabrielle's hands to move faster than her mind could comprehend, she was certain she had not done anything physical towards the boy. Yet he was on the floor, a good ten feet away, staring at her with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. Fortunately enough, it had seemed the sudden act of violence had caused the tension to disperse, and Gabrielle's headache was gone.

 

A shocked silence fell over the room, the duo now staring at one another with a mixed gaze of surprise and horror. Gabrielle was trembling once again, though this time it was from a completely different emotion. Surely he would kill her, or at least have her removed from the Order as soon as possible.

 

But, Gabrielle was sure she had not laid a hand on him. She even stretched out her trembling hand in the direction Emeris had been in, just to be positive. And sure enough, there was an obvious gap between the tips of Gabrielle's outstretched fingertips and where Emeris had been standing a few seconds ago. Just what had she done?

 

More importantly, what was Emeris going to do?

 

Emeris groaned softly in pain, and he visibly winced as he forced himself into a seated position. Gabrielle winced as well, but remained frozen to her spot, unsure what to do. A part of her wanted to run up to Emeris and help him to his feet, apologize relentlessly for doing...Whatever she had done. Another part of her wanted to just turn on her heel and run. The two sides clashed within her, leaving her just to gulp and wait for Emeris to react first.

 

It was a few silent, agonizing moments before Emeris stopped hissing in pain, still struggling to shake off the pain from the fall. His eyes locked with hers again, and for the second time in a row, Gabrielle winced and dropped her gaze to the floor. It was over now, surely if some unkind words would set him off, a violent act such as this would surely garner some disastrous reaction from him.

 

“I guess I don't need to test for affinities now... Though... Next time you have the urge to demonstrate them; could you do it on someone who actually trains for that stuff?" His tone was rough and pain-filled, but any earlier sign of anger was gone as well. It both relieved and worried Gabrielle, though she lifted her gaze off from the floor. She would be livid with someone who has sent her flying across the room, whether or not they had meant to do it. Emeris hardly seemed the type that would be more composed in such a situation.

 

“A-A-Affinity?” She cursed herself mentally for stuttering in front of him. But how could she help it? She was still waiting for the storm to come.

 

“Back in your old life, there was...Some subject you were probably forced to study, that you found that you could retain easily. The human world call them gifts, we call them affinities.” Even in pain, he was still straight-forward with his answers. “Though I will admit, I've never encountered a vampire with a telekinetic affinity... A common trait with Ancients... It's usually a skill acquired after many decades of long and laborious training...I suppose it was only time before a fledgling with a likewise affinity would appear.”

 

Emeris rolled his shoulders slightly, wincing in pain as he attempted to relieve the ache from his system. It seemed he was moderately successful, as he was much quicker to get to his feet than he had been before.

 

“And stop staring at me like I'm going to go ape-shit on you. You were as clueless about that ability as I was. Even if you were knowledgeable about it, I doubt you could have controlled it anyway.” So he wasn't going to kill her? Or worse? That was a comfort.

 

Gabrielle finally exhaled a breath she was unaware she was holding, a sheepish smile on her lips. Since he wasn't going to be angry at her for the incident...She may as well revel in the fact she had exacted a bit of revenge for his wrongful dislike of her. Though she didn't have long to revel before the shock of his words finally hit her.

 

“Hold on, why can I do this?! What if I had actually hurt you? Though you would have deserved it, but I'm sure the Abbot would not have been impressed...” Emeris rolled his eyes as Gabrielle continued to ramble, moving back to his original spot, though not before setting the dishevelled items back in their places.

 

“It's normal, it's just a first for me to witness first hand...Though it would help your case if you told me any other time you've experienced this ability...”

 

"I...I just assumed that I was imaging things...You know...After effects from trauma...I still don't think I have all my marbles...” Gabrielle muttered, her hand numbly moving up to her cheek, her mind racking with the memories of wandering around in that forest. She had been in such a daze then, her mind muddled with the memories of her family's murder, the new urges inside of her. All she could remember was the stillness of the animals as she seamlessly plucked them from the forest and stole their lives.

 

“I think I used it on the animals...Maybe that was me...”

All this thinking and remembering was giving her a headache, there was no way she would going to remember a million odd activities within one day. A painful gasp escaped her as she hung her head, running her hands through her hair.

 

Emeris winced some as he tried to think as well, "S'alright, you don't have to strain yourself, just trying to get a lead..." A small scowl passed over his face, "In all likelihood your affinity was triggered a combination of emotion and mental fortitude... So you'll probably use it when you get angry as well as when focusing... Which might be a problem..." He trailed off, a scowl settling on his face as he stared at the floor, another wince of pain consuming him.

 

As much as she was enjoying her little revenge over Emeris, and his wrongful dislike of her, his pain was a little unsettling for her. The only one she really wanted to hurt was the fiend that took over her former life, not Emeris, no matter how much he deserved it.

 

“I'll learn to control it...Why else would I be here if it wasn't to better myself...” Gabrielle commented softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She forced herself to look at Emeris, at least look him in the eye and not shy away like a child who knew they had done something horribly wrong.

 

It was clear that Emeris was still suffering from the fall, and it was now getting to be time that it seemed ridiculous for him to still be in pain. But, maybe the guy just wasn't as strong as she had assumed...It was evident enough that he didn't get out much, and with his power being that of a diviner...Why would the Order focus on his physical abilities? It made sense when Gabrielle mused on the idea further. It certainly didn't make her feel any better.

 

Before she could properly think things through, and before Emeris could react, Gabrielle took one nervous step towards the boy and gingerly placed her hand on his bicep...Or lack thereof. Gabrielle was definitely right in thinking Emeris may just be a little on the weak side. Nevertheless, trailing her hand gently down to rest on his forearm, she was only showing a gentle piece of attention, enough to compensate for the damaged caused. It's not like her pride would allow her to apologize to him properly anyway.

 

“I'll...Go tell the Abbot my decision...We've done enough for tonight.” Truer words where never spoken. It would be insane to try and continue whatever lesson was planned for the night... Who knew how their next clash would end. Offering Emeris a ghost of a smile, Gabrielle promptly turned on her heel and left the room without another word.

 

Leaving a shocked Emeris, His mouth working silently as she left the room, his brain not really sending signals to it. That was honestly the first piece of affection of any kind anyone had shown him in years, and he didn't know how to handle it.

Eventually he spoke into the silent room, "... Thanks..."