Romance Fan Fiction / Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Blood That Ties ❯ Offer ( Chapter 8 )

Author's Note: Well, New Year! New possibilities...Best of all, new chapters! And that's what I'm giving you guys! I want to thank all my silent fans out there! Yes I know who you are; I get the notifications, drop a review or two! I won't bite I promise! In fact, thank you to Ancient Spirit for reviewing on my MM site. Always a fan of reviewers who like to make predictions! Plot bunnies and ideas of what you wants would like to see are also helpful!

 

The Blood That Ties

 

The journey through the labyrinth of halls and passageways of the Order differed greatly now that Gabrielle was in different company. Cold stares and whispers turned to friendly smiles and joyous greetings. Those who had shied away from her when she traveled the halls with Emeris now approached her and offered a proper welcome.

 

“It's nice to see a new face around here!” One woman had commented, offering her a gentle smile as she passed. “Take good care of this one, Jean!”

 

Gabrielle couldn't help but blush. Sure, being the daughter of an aristocratic family had garnered her attention. But unlike her late sisters, she was never one to revel in it. She would much rather be harassing the help, or finding some new way to annoy her tutors. She was never one for social graces.

 

“Are the people here always this friendly?” Gabrielle asked, pulling her attention from the people who now littered the halls. Exactly where were these people when she had gotten lost?

 

“Well, typically they're much less vocal, but this is because you are a rarity here. A rose in a garden of tulips...”Ever the gentleman, Jean took a moment to pause in his tracks, turn back to Gabrielle, and offer her a gentle smile, his eyes sparkling.

 

He certainly knew how to make a girl blush.

 

“Typically, vampires are under strict rules when turning and creating new fledglings. Not to mention they are a bit of a self-governing society. So we're lucky to have the chance to host a fledgling in our home. Even luckier for us, we got a pretty one.”

 

Home...

 

It was nice to have one again, even if her newest teacher was a pain in the ass.

 

“Oh, I guess that makes sense... I would expect them to be more frightened of me...What with my new diet...” Gabrielle's head dropped slightly, and she regressed back to her habit of biting her lip. Of course she was ashamed of the fact that blood was now added to her list of favourite foods, especially if she was the only one in the entire Order who preferred the life-sustaining substance.

 

“Oh yes...There is that little problem isn't there? Well, if the Abbot offered you membership in the Order in the first place, he must have already made the appropriate modifications so that you would be the most comfortable. I mean, you have had such a horrible hardship handed to you already. The least thing you need is to be worrying over your new thirst.” At this point Jean moved his hand to place it on her shoulder, just mere inches away from the tattoo that marked her place in the Order.

 

Gabrielle's eyes widened. She hadn't told him why she was here.

 

“H-how do you know about my hardships?”

 

Jean's smile seemed to turn sheepish, and his free hand moved into his blonde locks. The lightest of blushes appeared on his cheeks, and it became obvious that he had not meant to let on that he knew.

 

“Well, as an honest man I should tell you... When I saw Emeris with you when you first arrived, I could not help but be intrigued by you. It is not very often that Emeris brings back anyone to be evaluated.”The two shared a look of understanding. They both had their own beliefs of why that statement was true. “I know it is often curiosity that kills the cat, but for a woman of your beauty to be seen with...That... So I did a little research. After realizing who you were, it didn't take long to piece together what had happened.”

 

“...Oh...” Was all Gabrielle could say, she had be trying to repress that event almost immediately after entering the Order, back when she thought she was entering her own demise. It was wrong, but dealing with the death of an entire family was a burden in and of itself. But to deal with being a vampire as well...

 

“I don't know how I'm going to do this...” There. She said it. She admitted it openly.

 

“No one expects you to do this all on your own, Gabrielle. That is why I'm taking you away from your studies for the rest of the night. I'm going to show you the support system you now have now that you are a part of the Order. The burden you bear is too much for any one person, so it is only fair that I show you the people you can rely on. We're not all like Emeris here.” Jean seemed to hiss out the name, hinting at the already obvious rivalry between the two. It was enough to allow Gabrielle to smirk slightly, her gaze finally lifting up from the stone floor.

 

“Thank-you Jean, I appreciate this more than you know.”

 

“Then shall we continue?” Jean offered his hand to her once again, and this time Gabrielle took hold without missing a beat.

 

~*~

 

“So, this is your hangout... An armor room?” Gabrielle's eyebrow raised in a confused gesture, a confusion that forced her to bend over and read the plaque describing the room once again.

 

“This place was originally a castle that was later expanded to appear like a monastery. Castles in this day and age cause for a lot of attention, and the last thing the Order needs is regular...Normies roaming the area. And every good castle has an armor room!” Jean seemed overjoyed with the fact before flinging the grand, but nevertheless creaky doors open.

 

Just like any other room in the Order. The armor room was a beauty within itself. Keeping with the gothic theme of the entire building, the room was a vast beauty. A luxurious Victorian parlor set adorned the center of the room, with a well used coffee table in the middle, suggesting that this place was indeed a hang out. Shining armor, shields and medieval weaponry decorated the farthest two walls, the wall parallel to them covered in plaques, and the eastern wall seemed to be made entirely out of stained glass.

 

“Black and red stained glass? Certainly brings a new meaning to the word gothic...” Gabrielle raised her eyebrow once again. It was no doubt this room was just as beautiful as the other rooms they had walked through, but the glass had remained the same. It was odd to see such a discrepancy.

 

“We spent last night tinting the windows, so that hardly any natural light comes in.” Jean commented, flashing her a dazzling smile as he guided her through the room over to the wall of glass. “Most of the rooms in the order are illuminated with natural light, or fire. But natural sunlight can kill you if I can remember correctly. Heaven's forbid if anything should happen to you. So my crew decided we could give you at least one sanctuary that doesn't involve being around Emeris.”

 

Gabrielle was awed. No, more than that. She was floored. From the doorway, it looked as though the glass was simply tinted darker than any normal stained glass. Painting the wall of glass would be a feat in itself, but upon closer inspection, it was obvious something greater was at work.

 

Moving before her eyes, a thin dark cloud of shadow crawled across the surface of the real window that lay behind it, mixing with a like-wise red cloud that seemed to mimic blood. A veil of this dense, cloudy mixture of black and red seemed to have a life of its own, its patterns moving and changing much like clouds in the sky.

 

“It's...Magic...” Gabrielle whispered to Jean, her eyes the size of saucers as she hesitantly extended her hand towards the glass. A wisp of the red cloud seemed to curl away from the window, beckoning her to touch it. Curiosity over the texture and feel of the stationary cloud overwhelmed her thoughts of whether or not the anomaly could even harm her.

 

“Careful there! Hate to watch you burn yourself!” Chimed dual voices in perfect synchronization behind her. Voices so close and sudden that Gabrielle immediately yelped, spinning around as she jumped backwards. If it wasn't for Jean's hand on the small of her back, she would of surely fallen against the shadowy veil, and found out what exactly the voices meant by burn.

 

“Damon! Darien! You know better than to sneak up on people!” Jean scolded the twin boys that stood before the frightened Gabrielle.

 

That was, until she noticed the wings.

 

Gabrielle has to pull away from Jean and rub her eyes profusely before glancing at the boys once again, ensuring that this time she wasn't just seeing things.

 

The two boys stood shoulder to shoulder, leaning against one another as they smiled mischievously at the young redhead. Both were light brunettes, both had dark brown eyes. Everything was so symmetrical about them that only the blind wouldn't get that they were twins.

 

Again, except for the wings.

 

The wings themselves were symmetrical, both appearing like batwings; but one twin's was black, and the other's was red. Gabrielle had never seen such creatures back in the world she used to know. She couldn't even take a stab at what they even were, and chose to stare mutely at them, her jaw gaping open.

 

“Well Darien isn't this a sight?” Commented the black winged one, who after process of elimination, had to be Damon.

 

“Quite, never seen a fledgling try to catch flies before.” Replied the red winged one, who after process of elimination, had to be Darien.

 

Gabrielle could only blush, snapping her mouth shut quickly as she dropped her gaze down to the floor, where she made yet another discovery; they had tails too. Thin like rope, with a spade-like tip, colored to match the colors of their wings. Just what were these boys?

 

“She's a pretty one that's for sure...” Spoke the owner of the red tail, which caused Gabrielle to lift her head up slightly. The twin boys gave each other a mischievous look before moving away from one another and enclosing upon Gabrielle. Every move of theirs was so synchronized; it was hard to distinguish whether there were indeed two of them, or if one was simply the mirror image of the other.

 

“Quite a unique hair style for a fledgling... You think she's a day walker?” Whispered Darien, grasping a lock of her hair and comparing it to the color of his tail.

 

“No way, look at her skin, she wouldn't last a nanosecond in the sun.” Damon smirked as he ran his cold fingers along her neck, over the intricate swirls of her tattoo.

 

All in all, Gabrielle suddenly felt very cramped and very shy. Being mouthy to those around her who were human, or at least had powers that could not harm her was one thing. But, she couldn't even figure out what these twins could be, much less what they were capable of. Gabrielle shot Jean a worried look, but was met with a dark cloud separating him from her side.

 

“Uh...Uhm...”

 

“Tweedle-Dum, Tweedle-Dee, don't you have better things to do other than sexually harassing the new girl?” The twins both paused from their close inspection of Gabrielle to look up at the new voice, smirks never leaving their lips.

 

“Where's the fun in that, Andrea?” They both replied, moving away from Gabrielle, the cloud soon dissipating from Jean's side. Jean seemed to shudder and wipe furiously at his arms and clothing, as if he was sure some of the cloud has attached itself to him.

 

Gabrielle couldn't help but laugh softly, whether it was just her nerves or if she genuinely found the situation funny she was unsure of, but it at least gave her the courage to look up at the newest addition to the room.

 

At first glance, one would assume they were looking at a painting, not a breathing, living being. Not one strand of silken black hair was out of place, and not one blemish could be found on her light olive skin. The girl held so still and silent, only her intense dark eyes hinted that she was even living.

 

Gabrielle would be lying if she said she wasn't intimidated by her.

 

“You're late Andrea. Bring anything back from the outside?” Jean seemed to dismiss being encased in shadows, a gentle smile back on his features. He turned his attention back to Gabrielle, giving her a warming look, as if to dismiss her tension from the current situation.

 

“Nothing special. Some snacks from a local corner store, snapped some pictures of the new race track. I did however...” The dark haired beauty's stoic face broke into the tiniest of smiles, and she reached into the folds of her flowing black skirt to disclose a small silver bag. “Find an alluring bottle of Malibu...” Her smirk erupted into a Cheshire grin as she slipped out the pint sized bottle of rum, and the entire room seemed to brighten considerably.

 

Picking up a hefty grocery bag from the floor, Andrea didn't hesitate to pour the contents onto the coffee table, causing all the occupants of the room to flock to it, even Gabrielle.

 

Candy bars, chips, and various other snacks and goodies littered the oak table, the shiny and colourful packaging luring them to open them and try. If Gabrielle had not been raised around the finer, expensive things in life, she would probably be familiar with a few of the products. But that was not the case, and Gabrielle found herself just as awed as those around her.

 

“What the heck is a....Wunder Bar?”

 

~*~

 

“I have to admit Gabrielle, I pity you.”

 

Gabrielle's head snapped up from her position on the couch, sandwiched between the twins Darien and Damon. A piece of nougat with gummy bears in it hung unattractively from her mouth as she glanced up at Andrea, who had muttered the sentence nearly emotionless.

 

“I guess I should be used to that...” Quickly moving the rest of the bar into her mouth, Gabrielle sheepishly glanced up at the dark haired woman, whose eyes had not moved from her since she appeared in the room. Gabrielle hoped that she was just curious, and was not looking at her so intently as a way of sizing up what a threat she could be to her...Like how Gabrielle had looked at her earlier. “I don't have a lot not to be pitied for...Now that my family is dead.”

 

“That's horrible as well....” Darien sympathized gently to the red head girl, placing a warm hand on her shoulder.

 

“...But being forced to be Emeris's protégé is a horrible burden!” Damon tried to say as seriously as possible, placing his cool hand on the other shoulder.

 

“Err...” Gabrielle could only laugh nervously. The twins only seemed to relish in that fact, their smirks growing wider, and Gabrielle wondered if maybe making people uneasy was a hobby of theirs. “What do you guys mean? I mean...Emeris is an ass and everything...But he seems harmless.”

 

The group quickly fell silent at that comment, and a collective look of disbelief hinted that maybe Gabrielle wasn't so accurate in her assessment of Emeris.

 

“He's just a diviner isn't he? This morning...Err...At twilight...I had an confrontation with him and ended up sending him halfway across the room...I don't see why you guys are looking at me like that.”

 

Collective disbelief turned to collective shock and awe. Gabrielle was digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole, hopefully it wasn't one that was going to upset everyone. Even stoic Andrea's picturesque face turned to utter shock.

 

“You assaulted him?! And you're still here?!” Andrea seemed to beat the guys to the punch, asking a question no doubt the rest of them were thinking.

 

“Yeah...He didn't freak out much...And the Abbot didn't seem to have a problem with it.” Gabrielle explained carefully, making sure to leave out the part about her accidently tapping into some telekinetic affinity in her. If they were freaked out over the idea of her physically assaulting Emeris, telepathically probably wasn't going to go over any better.

 

“Damn, I'd be watching your back in your lessons from now on, Right Damon?” Darien conferred with his brother, leaning over in front of Gabrielle to do so.

 

“Correct my dearest brother, but think, what if Emeris has found a new victim for his bad luck spells?” Damon answered coolly, smirking as the room fell silent for the third time. A sullen cloud seemed to overshadow the room, and all attention turned to Jean.

 

“Bad...Luck...Spells?” She knew she was asking a dumb question. What the spell did was obvious by the title, but she couldn't grasp the context. Bad luck could be as bad as stubbing your toe...Or losing your entire family. Jean's gaze was on the floor, a sad smile on his face. If anyone knew about bad luck spells and being on Emeris's bad side, it was most likely him.

 

“It's horribly rude of me to of kept this from you Gabrielle, especially since the Order has a policy of `finder's keeper's' that has you studying under Emeris for the meanwhile. You have every right to know his darker...er side.”

 

“You see, Emeris isn't just a diviner. That's just his affinity, his major. But his powers can stretch broader horizons than just any old diviner. He comes from a long line of witches and warlocks, people who the Order used to keep very close ties to because of their immense powers. It was that tie, and only that tie, that has Emeris in such good favours with the Abbot, no matter who he pisses off. He is the Abbot's pride and joy, thanks to his impressive bloodline. He won't even let the boy outside of the Order for more than one day a year.”

 

At this point, Damon decided to chime in.

 

“Remember when that governor of the shape shifter's society came in for a visit? He had the displeasure of bumping into Emeris. He bitched him out something proper! And the Abbot only sent him back to his room, and then allowed him to go outside the next day!” Damon's tidbit of a story seemed to trigger an annoyed response from the rest of the group, who seemed to remember the event bitterly. “Back to you Jean.”

 

“Yes, the Abbot has seemed to take the little commoner under his wing, and decide that he can do no wrong. And unfortunately, that has gone straight to his head. He mouths off everyone, not caring who they are, or whether or not they were simply trying to be friendly or help him.”

 

“When he first arrived, I was elated that I could share the hefty workload that comes along with being a diviner. So I extended quite the olive branch to him, and he simply threw it into my face. Cried out that I had no right putting myself on the same level as him, that I was beneath him. Soon enough, he goes running to the Abbot making these wild accusations that I'm a horrible diviner and lying about my readings!”

 

“Of course, Abbot's new pet would never lie, so he reduced my work by over eighty percent! It's like a major news reporter suddenly being demoted to a weekend weather man! Though I can't be too upset about that change. All my work simply went to him, so the little worm has probably been divining day and night since he stirred things up here five years ago...”

 

“Anyway, a few years ago, another fledgling turned by a renegade ended up lodging here, with a psychic affinity if I remember correctly. Her name was Desmona...And she was a fighter if ever I saw one. The Abbot found her suitable enough to be a field agent, hoping to catch a few renegade demons we were having some major problems with. For her protection, both Emeris and I were on divinity duty over her life source, taking turns while trying to keep relatively on top of our own projects on the side.”

 

“While Desmona was on one of the most important field missions, trying to track down the leader of the demons, Emeris was up to bat with divinity duty. For diviners, this is a piece of cake, draining, but easy. It's simply like watching a home movie; just the events are hours, sometimes days ahead of the current time. Interpretation is never a problem. So it was strange enough when Desmona ended up dead and Emeris didn't catch it.”

 

“The Abbot told everyone to just mourn Desmona, but not to investigate the cause of her death, to just accept the fact she was gone. I knew he was just trying to cover for his little protégé. So after some research and practicing, I managed to go back and see exactly what Emeris had done wrong that resulted in this girl's death. Turns out, Emeris saw the entire event play out, but wrote up something completely different and told Desmona to practically walk straight to her doom!”

 

“You can assure that I was furious that this point. So you can't very well blame me that I went to that commoner's room and confronted him about his foul play. He threatened me, saying if I told anyone that I would live to regret it. And back then, I didn't know who he was, so I had the same assumption about him as you, Gabrielle. If only I knew what I was getting myself into...Maybe I would of kept my mouth shut.”

 

“But of course, I didn't. I told everyone that would listen to me...Which was a considerable amount of people considering everyone had suspected foul play in the beginning. But, Emeris made good on his promise. Soon enough, I started becoming hurt more and more often from freak, unexplainable accidents, and my luck just seemed to get worse and worse. I went to the Abbot about it, and Emeris overheard. He laughed and asked how I was handling things, and if I had enough yet. That's when I discovered what a monster he truly was.”

 

“So you can see why it's so important that you know you have people to come to. People who know what you're going to go through these next few months with Emeris. Just so you know that you don't have to go through this alone. Along with any other pain in your life.”

 

It took a few moments of silence for Gabrielle to realize that Jean had finished. It took her even longer to realize that everyone was giving her the same intense gaze, that they were truly there for her.

 

“Oh...You...You don't need to...Really. I don't want you guys to be obligated to be friends with me just because you don't want me to be the next Desmona...” What kind of friendship would that be anyway?

 

“We're not offering friendship. Friendship is earned through hardship and trust.”

 

Andrea had finally spoken up, and for once it was not a unemotional, one word response. It was almost a passionate statement.

 

“It's a offer of a chance to get what was promised to you when you chose to join the Order. That mark on your neck signifies you as a part of a family that binds us all together under this roof. After losing your real family, it will be difficult to find people to be closed to. We may not even be those people. But it's a start. But, before we start weeping and quoting `Oprah', the sun is up and you probably need sleep to deal with the bullshit tomorrow will bring.”

 

“Your...Right...” Gabrielle was humbled by Andrea's strong words, that seemed to be backed up back everyone else in the room. A dark blush on her cheeks, and her gaze firmly locked on the floor, Gabrielle nodded politely to everyone, muttering her sheepish goodbyes before Jean followed her to the door.

 

“I'll help you find your way back.” Jean smiled, lifting Gabrielle's chin up to gaze in his sparkling blue eyes, full of pride and affection.

 

“Oh...Thank-you Jean. And Everyone...” Gabrielle had tried to pull herself out of her shy state to offer a proper goodbye to the newest people that had entered her life, but found that she was too overwhelmed.

 

Sitting in her room, Gabrielle realized there was so much that she had learned that she now feared. So much she tried to repress, that was now in the forefront of her mind. Gabrielle could feel a ball of anxiety sitting in her chest, and she knew it would stay for a long time, until she dealt with all her repressed feelings.

 

But at least she had a bit of a support network...Or at least the beginnings of one. And with that in mind the ball of anxiety seemed to subside, and Gabrielle felt that she could finally get some sleep. Blowing out the trio of candles that served as her light source, Gabrielle moved over to the heavy draped that covered the only window in her room. Gazing out into the world she thought she knew, Gabrielle could only whisper as she looked at the fading darkness.

 

`Mom...Dad... I think I'm going to be alright...'