FYI: Chloe, Helena and Darien are characters from Emmiie's The Not So Secret Life of Helena Callahan series, so the part showing Chloe's point of view is fan fiction. Komar is a spirit that has invaded Chloe's body; Chloe was originally a witch that fought vampires and other supernatural beings that threatened mankind. Why and how this is related to the current storyline will become apparent later on. Clues to this story plot can be found in my entry for Emmiie's One Shot contest, Just One Fix.
@Emmiie: I hope you like it, I had some real trouble getting Chloe's POV right, if you have suggestions, they are very welcome.
Chloe’s POV
I woke up standing in a grubby bar. Darien and Helena were in front of me, looking questioningly.
“What?” I asked.
“Where am I?”
“Chloe?” Helena asked carefully.
“Yes?” I responded.
She shrieked and rushed over to hug me.
Whoa. Ouch! Her chainmail dress pressed painfully in my bare arms.
“What on Earth are you wearing?” I asked her and Darien started laughing.
“That’s what I told her this morning.” He said.
Helena did a little pirouette. “It is a present from Deacon. What do you think?”
I saw that in between the iron rings little diamantes were placed that twinkled in the limited amount of light that was available in the bar.
I grinned; it was just Deacon’s taste. Sleazy but expensive.
I looked around realizing that I have never been here before.
“We are in a bar?”
Darien put an arm around Helena and looked proud. “Welcome in Bloody Mondays, Your Highness. We serve any drug or alcohol that you might think off.”
He pointed to a large flat screen on the wall that displayed their current inventory.
I looked around. Although it looked grubby, its interior used to be quite chic. Separate private cubicles with black leather couches lining them. Smokey glass tables in the middle with chandeliers hanging above them. The walls were covered in burgundy velvet and the ceiling had an intricate design on it.
One side of the room spanned a huge bar, made of black wood with white art nouveau spheres that were the lamps above it. The wall behind it displayed a set of built-in shelves littered with bottles of different colours and a huge mirror behind it.
Big shiny red vases were positioned at strategic locations across the room, the huge dark feathers in them giving some privacy to the people sitting behind them.
At the middle of the space there was an elevated stage that could rotate with 5 stripper poles on it.
The bar looked like a porno-fantasy came true, I thought smilingly.
Darien pulled me out of my exploration.
“How can we be of service, your Highness?” Darien asked me.
I waved my hand dismissively. “Drop the formal address, I am still the Chloe who you saved from the werewolves. I hate these titles.”
He nodded. “As you wish.”
“Komar send me to discuss a business proposal with you. She wants you to distribute the alien blood. She needs your connection with the underworld.”
Helena and Darien smiled.
“We’ll be drug dealers. That is so bad!” Helena grinned.
I rolled my eyes. I knew they would like the idea.
“Great. Komar will send a sample of the blood so that you can test it. We might need to dilute it for weaker vampires.”
I sighed. Great, I was setting up a drugs deal.
Helena put a hand on my arm. “Why do I get the feeling that you disapprove of this?”
“Because I do. But she will kill everyone that gets in her way, including me.” I said bitterly.
“Can’t you get her out? Like you did with Dravec?” Darien asked.
I shook my head. “No, she is much stronger than he ever was.”
“And Komar has been changing my body for centuries, to avoid me deciding to ditch her. I already have trouble controlling it now she is out. I am afraid I will be trapped in here alone, unable to do anything, if I force her out.”
“F*ck.” Helena said.
I shifted uncomfortably and didn’t know what to say.
“There must be something that we can do…” Helena said desperately.
I remained quiet. There really wasn’t anything I could think of that would help us out of this shitty situation.
Darien stood there with a frown on his face.
“You do still have access to all your primary functions when she is in control?” he asked.
“Yeah. I think I do. I am the host, so she never can push me completely in unconsciousness.” I said thinking hard.
“Can’t you menace her with a random fall out of functions?” he suggested.
“Guerrilla tactics.” Helena added grinning.
I smiled from ear to ear. That was an excellent idea.
“Darien, you are a genius.”
We discussed our tactics for about an hour, Helena serving us drink after drink. They really had the most delicious cocktails I ever had. I was impressed.
However, the crowd in front of the bar was getting rough and Helena was eager to perform.
She pushed me to stay for the show but I wanted to get back to the palace and check up on Zea before Komar tried to regain control.
I said goodbye to both, hugged Helena, and Gerald leaded me back to the car and we drove back to the palace.
Komar?
Yes. Is it finished?
Yeah, they agreed.
Good.
I felt her trying to regain control.
Just a few more hours, I want to catch up with old friends and talk to Zea.
Okay. Fine. Call me when you are ready.
Thank you. See you later.
Bye.
Peter’s POV
Anastasia hit the wall with her fist on her way out.
I smiled. She was so sexy when she was furious. I couldn’t wait to get that little hellfire in my bed.
She would forgive me eventually and judging from the heat of her response just now, we were going to have a lot of fun.
When daddy-dearest had ordered the match I originally had fought bitterly against it. No way that I was going to dilute our bloodline with a dirty Halfling.
But when I had worked with her and seen her in action I had been forced to change my plans.
She stimulated me, like no female had ever before. I couldn’t keep my hands off of her. She was smart and beautiful, with an attitude that sent me over the edge.
God, how I wanted her.
I lay down on the cod and stretched my arms behind me. Now, she was mine, and nobody could stop me.
Not even the royal pain in the ass herself.
It made my blood boil that she offered herself freely to the bloodsucking bitch. To be protected against me.
How could she not see what she does to me? I would never do anything to harm her.
Regaining her trust will be difficult. Especially after the stunt I just pulled.
But I needed to make sure that she would never run from me again.
If she only knew the hell that she had put me through when she had disappeared. Before my spies noticed her presence at the vampire palace.
I had been so worried that a rival clan had killed her. I don’t ever want to be put through that again.
The poison makes sure of that.
She will hate me for some time, but it is worth it. I won’t let her leave out of my sight ever again.
At least I could kiss her every 24 hours from now; I was looking forward to that. I looked at the bars in front of me and groaned. The rest of the time was going to be so mind f*cking boring. They didn’t even give me some book to read.
I wondered when they were going to feed me.
I was starting to feel peckish.
I grinned. I might just eat me out of this prison if they didn’t give me any food soon.
Zea’s POV
God that felt good. I licked the blood my fingers and instructed one of the guards to clean up the mess.
The frustration of having to endure the endless sniggering and bitching of the court without repercussions had been building up inside me for years. Every night I had dreamt about doing this. It felt so good finally to be able to rip somebody’s head off.
Kieran’s disrespect had pushed me over the edge. He had dared to mock me in public by calling me teasingly “Your Majesty” in front of the crew, who all know exactly what our relation is.
Sharing my blood with him was a grave mistake. I hoped that when he saw how I felt about him, he would take pity on me, or dare to give into his own feelings. Instead, he only grew more arrogant and disrespectful.
His nerve astounded me. I would need to put him back into his place, I realized grimly.
I glanced over to him and saw that he was studying my clothes.
I looked down and realised that I was covered in the bitch’s blood. Ugh, even her blood reeked of trash.
I excused myself from the bridge and walked back to my quarters to get cleaned up.
When I was halfway down the corridor, Kieran called me back.
“Zea! Wait.”
I swivelled around.
“What happened to ‘Your Majesty’? Oh wait; there are no other vampires around, so making fun of me isn’t nearly as amusing.” I yelled to him.
He smiled and winked, and started walking towards me.
“What do you want?” I snarled.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
Yeah, boy, that is the right response. You’d better be afraid of me.
He took a step backwards and held up his hands.
“What?” I growled.
“You’d better come back to the bridge. There is something you need to see.” He said quietly while studying me.
I walked back, ignoring him while I brushed past him.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards.
“Did I do anything wrong, Zea?” He asked.
I laughed; he was such a good actor. But he wasn’t going to make a fool of me ever again.
“If you want to keep your hand, I suggest that you remove it from my arm immediately.” I said with menace dripping from my voice.
He pulled back his hand as if he had burned himself, and looked at me taken aback.
“And from now on you will address me by my title always. Either in public or in private. Otherwise I just might need to assert my dominance again.” I threatened him, baring my fangs and pushing him against the wall.
A frightened look came in his eyes and he nodded.
“Yes. Yes. Your Majesty.”
I grinned sweetly and let him go. I walked back to the bridge and heard his footsteps catching up.