Chapter 14:
Blank
Evangeline shot up in bed her breath coming in shallow gulps as she tried to shake away the lingering darkness. Her eyes slowly adjusted and took in the dark bedroom confused as she tried to remember what had happened to her. The bed she sat upon was large, large enough for four people to sleep upon comfortably for an entire night. She ran her hands over the silk sheets hoping the texture would help jog her memory but nothing came. Her eyes went to the window where she had a grand view of the snow covered gardens below illuminated in the light of the moon.
"Where am I?"
"You're home," she gasped and turned towards the voice, her body going rigid when she saw a man standing there.
No, this wasn't a man. He was something else, something sinister and dark she could feel it. His icy blue eyes scanned over her as she straightened in the bed slowly moving from her body to her long black hair and then finally meeting her wide fearful brown eyes. He smiled the expression soft and adoring, a sharp contrast to the monster that she somehow knew was lurking beneath that handsome face. Suddenly it all played out before her. She heard a crash. Left the safety of her warm house, walked out into the snow in nothing but a thin nightgown, saw a creature the likes of which would haunt her dreams for the coming years...
"Bertrand," Evangeline gasped her eyes wide as she recognized the man before her as that creature. He released a relieved sigh and nodded, his eyes filled with relief as he made his way to the bed to sit beside her. "How did I get here? Where exactly is here?"
"What's the last thing you remember Angel?" He asked, cupping her cheeks in his hands as he watched her expression carefully to gauge her reaction. Her brows knitted in confusion wondering why he was watching her so closely.
"The night we met..." she began her eyes locked with his, refusing to look away. "There was snow and so much blood."
"You don't remember anything after that?" he asked his voice sounding relieved, why would he be relieved she didn't remember anything? She shook her head in answer. "Your memories have been tampered with Angel."
She didn't know how to react to that. "What?"
"You were kidnapped by some very bad people," he explained as one of his hand moved to push a strand of hair from her face. "They had you imprisoned for quite some time and twisted your mind so much it was everything I could do to undo the damage they'd done." He sighed in relief again resting his forehead against hers. Her heart skipped a beat at the familiar action. They'd done this before...no. She saw another face resting against hers, one with green eyes...
"How long have I been asleep?" She asked shaking away the face from her mind causing Bertrand to move back, his gaze careful as he watched her every action.
"I've had you asleep for a week in order to undo the damage those two have done," he explained as a smirk spread across his pale face. "Don't worry Angel, no one will take you from me ever again. I've made sure of that."
For some reason her hand went to her neck. She recalled pain, an excruciating burning sensation flowing through every inch of her body as something imbedded in her neck and a liquid was forced down her throat. Bertrand was taken aback when she knocked his hands from her face and made a mad dash for the bathroom, stumbling like a newborn deer as she did so. She flipped the light switch and turned to the mirror above the sink her eyes locking on her neck. Her stomach dropped.
There in the side of her neck were two healed puncture wounds as if made by two sharp fangs, but that wasn't it. From each whole an intricate white flower vine trailed over her shoulder and shot down her arm, disappearing under the long sleeved nightshirt she was wearing. Her fingers, shaking, moved the sleeve to inspect the rest of the embedded vines in her skin as they wrapped around her arm and ended up on the back of her hand, blooming into a beautifully intricate white rose that was a stark contrast against her dark skin. But that wasn't all. Her eyes were drawn further to her ring finger where the vines continued and seemed to wrap around it like a band cradling a red jewel that too was embedded in her into her finger. She traced the jewel with her finger wiggling it trying to see if it would come loose. It didn't the stone feeling as if it ran deep into the marrow of her bone.
"I see you've discovered my mark," Bertrand said as he came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. "I have one too." He raised his left wrist before her to see. Her eyes broke away from her hand down to his offered wrist to trace over the designs she saw tattooed upon his deathly pale flesh. The flower vines were similar to hers, only they were a deep crimson and started at a cut in his wrist and spread to the entirety of his left hand. Like her there was a red gem embedded in the back of his ring finger.
"What does it mean?" Evangeline asked her voice shaking.
Bertrand bent down, nuzzling his face against her raven hair taking in a deep breath of her scent reveling in how it was now permanently tinged with his own. "It means you are bound to me for as long as I continue to live. You will no longer catch illness, you will heal faster than any normal mortal could, and you will be stronger that you ever were before." His arms tightened around her waist. "You are a part of me now as I am now part of you. No matter where you go I will be able to find you. You are my bride, my eternal companion."
"Did I want this?" she asked her voice steadier than before. Bertrand's eyes opened slightly at the question.
"What?"
Her heart dropped to her feet as slowly tears began to trail down her cheeks. The sight of the mark branded into her skin, as if she were cattle, a piece of property, made her feel sick. Her arms rose and broke away from Bertrand taking him slightly by surprise at her sudden movements.
"Did. I. Want. This?" She demanded again her voice rising despite her tears. A fire was burning from inside her bringing forth rage and pain that has been pushed away by someone else, possibly the creature before her.
"The sun will be rising soon and you should rest more. You need more time to let everything sink in and for you mind to settle," He said as he tried to reach for her. She darted away from him surprising him at her speed.
"I don't want to sleep I want answers," she spat her eyes alight with a fire Bertrand recognized from when he retrieved her from the underground. He didn't like that fire. It needed to be squelched.
He darted forward, grabbing her by the arm and forcing her to look into his eyes. She fought him but eventually succumbed as he forced her mind to shut down and collapsed into his arms. He sighed as he scooped her up into his arms, cradling her in his arms as he carried her to the bed where he laid her down. Gently he moved a stray strand of hair from her face and gazed down upon it, reveling in the peaceful look on her face.
"Let's try this again."
~*~
She could see a boy she recognized from her class sitting upon the bank of the stream in the midst of a lush green forest, looking as if the weight of the entire world was upon his shoulders. Sadness filled her at the look upon his olive toned face and felt the desire to want to brush aside the black hair that fell into his green eyes. An idea came to her and a smile spread across her face as she took a step forward...
The lush green fell away as she stepped forward and she began running. The lush green of the forest was replaced with grayed bark covered in bright white snow. She could feel her boots filling with the wet white substance and see her ragged breaths as she ran, not really sure where to before she broke through a line of trees and into a little clearing that smelt of death and rotting meat.
Again everything fell away and was replaced with a dim kitchen where a boy stood before her. The sides of his head were shaved and his un-spiked Mohawk fell in a wet mass over the one side of his head. She could feel tears streaming down her cheeks as the boy reached forward to cup her face and slowly leaned in towards her, his familiar green eyes closing the slightest as her world began to fade to black again.
~*~
Her eyes shot open and she looked about the dark room for a second time. Her eyes locked on the windows to the snow covered gardens beyond, finding this whole thing familiar as she sat up in bed. Once again Bertrand stood a little ways away from her, staring into a mirror as he buttoned up the front of his shirt, his eyes turning to look at her in the mirror.
"Good evening Angel," he greeted with an adoring smile quickly flitting over to where she sat in the bed causing her to jump.
"What happened to me?" Evangeline asked as he leaned down and placed a kiss upon her crown. An unpleasant shiver ran up her spine at the action. "Where am I?"
"You were kidnapped by some bad people," he explained as he took her hand in his, the hand that possessed her mark, and placed a delicate kiss to the jewel embedded in her ring finger. Her eyes were fixed on it, obsessed with the unfamiliar white floral pattern in her skin. "They messed with your memories in an attempt to turn you against me."
Her eyes broke from the brand in her skin to look into Bertrand's face. "Why would they do that?"
Bertrand smiled, pleased with her answer. "Because they know how much you mean to me," He placed another kiss to her hand pairing it this time with a gentle caress of his thumb. She shivered again, the action making her feel ill. "What do you remember?"
She sat there and thought for a moment. Her memories were still blurry but she could recall a few. She saw Bertrand standing before her outside a small home, bleeding profusely and somehow she'd healed him. He swept her away then, leaving the little house behind. She could feel anger filling her at the thought of being taken from her home, from being taken.
"You...you took me," she accused fixing him with a glare.
"It was only fair considering that night you took my heart," he said with a smile trying to tame the anger he saw blooming within her.
"Did I have family you took me from? What gives you the right to do such a thing?" She demanded.
"You lived alone Angel," he answered his eyes locking with hers, all adoration lost only replaced with steel. "Your parents died in a car accident a year before and you had no other living relatives. You were more than happy to leave that place." She shook her head. That didn't sound right, none of it was right. The memory was a familiar one but it was as if it had been twisted, edited for some reason.
"These memories feel wrong, they're not right," she admitted as she rested her head in her hand. Bertrand looked down at her in irritation for a split moment before forcing her to sleep again.
~*~
"With all due respect, My Lord, if you continue to mess with her mind like this you'll completely destroy it," A man's familiar, slightly accented, voice said from somewhere in the dark. She locked onto it, using it to pull herself out of the darkness that was clouding her mind.
"And you will do well to remember this is none of your concern, Will," A voice snapped at the previous one. This one sounded familiar.
"I am well aware, however you have placed her well being in mine and Lisette's care therefore I am merely following orders by showing concern for her Ladyship's wellbeing," Will answered smartly earning him a hiss from the older vampire. She could hear the sound of struggling and a gasp before someone spoke again.
"Your insolence is weighing on my nerves," a man growled.
"But you want my abilities," the accented voice gasped breathlessly. The other man hissed again and a thud filled the room.
"I will be back before dawn," He spat in farewell before slamming the bedroom door behind him.
"I hate that guy," the remaining man spat.
"As we all do Will," A female voice said from somewhere in the room.
"Then why'd you try getting in his pants?"
"Because the safest place in our world is on the arm of an elder," the woman answered truthfully from wherever she was in the room. "I was merely trying to look out for myself."
"It didn't look that way when you stormed out of the room and made a mess of one of the servants," he added making her hiss in irritation at him.
"Now you're weighing on my nerves," she growled making him laugh.
"It's what I do best I'm afraid," he said proudly as she felt him move to the side of the bed where she laid and lean close to her face. "Come now sweetling, he's gone now so you can wake up now."
Cautiously she opened her eyes and met the green eyes belonging to the irritating man in the room. He was deathly pale with freckles speckled across his nose and cheeks paired with bright ginger hair and green eyes. A smirk was spread across his face as he gazed down at her. She could see his white sharp fangs peaking out with his smirk and one word vibrated though her; vampire.
"It's about time you woke up!" he greeted receiving a blank stare in return.
"Who are you?" She asked as she sat up and searched the room for the other vampire she'd heard. Her eyes found her and she wasn't surprised to find a beautiful woman with blonde hair and a flawless figure. "And who am I?" she asked softly her eyes gazing sadly at the bedspread in confusion.
"You can't remember who you are?" the woman asked in surprise. She shook her head. "Can you remember anything?" Again she shook her head, a blush spreading across her cheeks. The woman cursed. "So he just opted to erasing all of her memories, the bastard."
"They'll come back," the male vampire said surely. "Her mind just needs a minute to reboot. Although with how much he's been messing around in there I wouldn't be surprised if she really did lose everything."
Her head shot up eyes wide. "Someone's been messing with my head?"
"I'm William O'Hare, your Ladyship," Will introduced with a bow making the woman roll her eyes, ignoring the confused young woman's question for the moment. "And my charming friend over there is Lisette."
"I am no friend of yours cretin," Lisette hissed, her eyes turning red in anger at the other vampire.
"Don't let her sour mood fool you we're actually the best of friends," Will whispered to her as if it were a very important secret. "As for who you are your name is Evangeline Agate but Bertrand, the one who left not long ago, calls you angel. The two of us have talked a couple times before actually, does that ring any bells?"
She sat there and thought for a moment. The name sounded familiar and now that she thought about it this man, Will, did look semi familiar particularly his over confident smirk. After another moment of thinking she looked up and met Will's green eyes. "I don't like his nickname. People call me Eva" she replied sternly.
Will's smirk grew. "See, I told you it would slowly come back to you!" he cheered reaching out and pulling her into a hug. She didn't feel comfortable with the action and pushed him away as if his touch burned. He fell from the bed and onto the floor causing Lisette to snort when he rose with an indignant look on his pale face.
"Where am I and why am I here?" Eva asked her eyes fixed carefully on Will.
"I'm getting to that Sweetling hold on." Will answered earning a glare from Eva.
"I remember that name too," she answered. "I don't like it either."
Lisette snorted again. "I like her."
Will sighed in irritation. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. "Anyway long story short our master, Bertrand, has taken a liking to you and against your will has marked you as his bride and tampered with your memories to make you more compliant with his wishes."
"What?!"
Lisette sighed. "Great job William."
"But you can't say or do anything right now against him or he'll put you asleep again and wipe your mind clean till you have the personality he desires," Will explained further. "The story he's been trying to drill into your head is that you were abducted by some enemies of his and they wiped your memory to try and turn you against him. Before that you were living here with him perfectly in love with one another."
"I'm so confused," she sighed in aggravation. "How long have I been sleeping for?"
"About three weeks," Lisette answered moving closer to the bed take a sniff and then turning up her nose ignoring a new spray of questions flowing from Eva. "You need a bath. Come with me and I'll help you get into the tub."
Eva watched Lisette cautiously as the gorgeous woman moved into the bathroom and started running the water. Slowly she got out of bed and stumbled her way to the bathroom, surprised her legs still worked after not using them for so long. Once inside the bathroom Lisette closed the door and bade the young woman to undress. Eva looked at her in surprise, silently telling the other woman she refused to undress in front of her. Lisette only sighed and turned around, waiting until Eva had undressed and submerged herself into the bubbly water.
"Now then let me help with your hair," Lisette stated as she moved to the tub and began washing Eva's long hair for her.
"You don't have to help me wash you know," She informed embarrassedly. "I'm...well however old I am I'm capable of washing myself."
Lisette chuckled, though the sound had no humor in it, and continued to help the young woman with her hair. "Yes I'm sure but I want to. It reminds me of when I was human and would help my sister wash her hair." She paused, her hands not moving as they just rested in Eva's long black locks. "You remind me of her."
"What happened to her?" Eva asked as Lisette rinsed the last of the conditioner from her hair.
"I'm going to pick out something for you to wear," Lisette said and excused herself from the room leaving Eva there in the tub wondering if Lisette's story was a tragic one.
She shook her head and banished the thoughts away. She shouldn't be worrying about the past of others when she wasn't even certain of her own. Her thoughts wandered to the memories slowly returning to her, or what were supposed to be her memories. She recalled multiple things she had done with the vampire master Will called Bertrand. Some things were simple like seeing films together or having dinner. Then there was one of the two of them, tangled in the bed in the other room, their lips locked together in a passionate embrace before he sank his fangs into her neck...Her eyes darted down to her hand and studied the mark there that led up to the puncture wounds in her neck, a wave of anger growing as she stared down at it. There was a disjoint between her emotions and her memories, as if they weren't hers...like they'd been planted there...She sighed and refused to think about it any longer, pulling herself out of the tub and drying herself off. Lisette entered not that long after she was dry with her underwear and a navy blue dress that reached just above the knee.
"It was in your closet," Lisette said with a smile that didn't seem very convincing to Eva. "It's one of your favorites."
Eva nodded and took the dress from Lisette's offered hands before the vampires returned to the bedroom. She glared at the dress for a long moment, dreading having to put the garment on wishing for an oversized sweater and a pair of jeans instead. With reluctance she pulled the horrid piece of cloth over her head and adjusted it into place before returning to the bedroom where Lisette waited, Will nowhere in sight.
"Where's Will?" Eva asked.
"He has some business to take care of," she said with a shrug as she stepped forward and motioned for Eva to return to the bathroom and take a seat in front of the mirrors.
Her eyes scanned the cosmetics scattered on the sink in front of them. All of the bottles and containers looked brand new, never having been touched or used before. She was surprised Bertrand hadn't tried harder to make it look like she'd been living there before her "abduction" "Lisette how long have I lived here with Bertrand?" Eva asked.
"About two years I believe," Lisette answered. "Well, that's what he's going to try and make you believe."
"Then why aren't there any used makeup items or a vanity or something to indicate that I've been living here?" Evangeline asked as she look at the dress she wore. "Even this dress, which you said is my favorite one, looks brand new. He's either really sloppy in his planning or thinks I'm a complete idiot."
Lisette put down the hair dryer she'd picked up and stepped in front of Eva so the young woman was looking at her. "Eva, you need to just roll with all this right now. I know that you feel angry and you're not sure why but you need to play Bertrand's game," she grabbed a hold of Eva's hand and squeezed it. "We're working on a plan to get you out and take Bertrand down but we can't do much until you remember everything. So just play along and pretend for right now, ok?"
Eva looked into Lisette's eyes, searching for deceit of any kind. When she found none, she nodded. "I'll play along...for now." Lisette smiled and gave her hand another squeeze she stood up and went back to fixing her hair. After it was dry and had been curled excessively Lisette went to work on putting makeup on Eva's face. She hated it right away, being poked and prodded, having goop and creams of all kinds smeared across her face like a blank canvas...At the thought of blank canvas she felt a stab of longing. She loved to paint it was the only thing she remembered that made sense and she smiled.
"Do I have any art supplies here?" Eva asked Lisette when she was finished and began putting away the makeup she'd been using.
"I don't think so, but I'm sure if you ask the master he'll be more than happy to get you some," Lisette said as she led the way back to the bedroom where she helped Eva into a pair of matching navy heals. "You look gorgeous," she said as she admired her work. Eva carefully walked over to the mirror she recalled Bertrand using before and stared at herself. The woman looking back at her was beautiful, someone who looked as lovely as Lisette even, but it wasn't her.
"This isn't me," Eva sighed as she touched the looking glass gently. "This is a doll...not me." Lisette smiled sadly and walked over, placing a comforting hand on Evangeline's shoulders. Eva turned to look at her with a cautious look. "Why are you helping me? What's in this for you?"
Lisette smirked. "I'm sick of this vampire life," she said simply. "Though, I didn't realize it until the master brought you here. I want my freedom, to go out in the sun again and just live again." She paused for a moment, her smirk falling. "That...and I remember what it's like to be a doll...being poked and prodded and shaped into what other people want you to be, I wouldn't want that for you too."
"Is he going to hurt me? Has he hurt me before?" Eva whispered the anger she felt inside mixing with fear at what the vampire could do to her in such a vulnerable state.
"He won't hurt you as long as you play the part of the 'good little angel' like he wants you to," Lisette instructed quickly. "Which you must until the time is right." Lisette stopped and cocked her head to the door. "He's coming. After I leave go up to him and give him a kiss it'll please him and make him think you've accepted all this as true, do you understand?"
Eva nodded and took in a breath as the door opened, revealing Bertrand who was dressed in a button down black shirt and a pair of fitted jeans. He looked from Lisette, who was hiding Eva from view, to the rest of the empty room.
"Where's Will gone?" Bertrand asked as he noted the other fledgling's absence.
"He said he was hungry and didn't want to risk being hungry around Her Ladyship," Lisette lied flawlessly making Bertrand eye her carefully before nodding, accepting the excuse.
"And why are you hiding your mistress from me?" he asked with a cocked brow.
"To surprise you with this," she said as she stepped away, revealing Eva in all her made up glory. Bertrand said nothing for a long moment, standing there in pleased surprise as Lisette bade them farewell and departed from the room.
"Evangeline," he breathed, his eyes roaming from her heals to her curled black locks, gazing at her in wonder. She was beautiful and she was his.
Without a word Eva pushed aside her fears and stepped forward, coming to stand before him. Soundlessly she grasped his face in her hands and leaned upward to meet his lips with her own. He froze in shock for a moment before returning the kiss with hunger, claiming her mouth as his right away. She could feel a part of her screaming in disgust wanting nothing more than to pull away from him and jump through the large glass windows behind them. She tuned out that part of her mind, remembering she needed to play along like everyone was telling her. And so she did.
They pulled away after a while, Bertrand pulling her into his arms and resting his forehead against hers. They were both out of breath, though Bertrand didn't need air, and staring at one another with hooded eyes.
"Evangeline," he sighed, moving from her forehead to nuzzle her neck where his mark was embedded. "My angel."
"Yes," she confirmed making him pull her flush against him. "Yours, forever yours Bertrand."
~*~
Jasper sat at the kitchen table, his eyes focused on the doorway of the kitchen as Spectra came back with their guest. The young necromancer eyed him cautiously, although the two had been working together since a week after Eva was taken. The memory of that day still tormented him. He'd been overcome so easily and so quickly. Her training, though brief, had paid of tremendously...but it was all for naught because now she was in the hands of the very monster they'd been trying to protect her from.
"So," Jasper began as Spectra and their guest took a seat at the table with him. "How's she doing?"
"Still confused and fighting the memories Bertrand's trying to plant in her head," the young man replied with a smirk. "The more she fights against them the more he makes her sleep and the more he warps her mind." He paused when he saw the enraged pain-filled expression on Jasper's face. "She's a strong one though, I knew it the moment I met her. It won't be long until her memories come back and we'll be getting her out of there."
"Why are you helping us," Spectra asked as she eyed their guest warily. "We know what Lisette wants but you have neglected to tell us what you're hoping to accomplish."
He smirked. "I just want to be free from that bastard once and for all," he said honestly. "With him dead I'll be free to do what I want, when I want, and most importantly kill as much as I want."
Jasper and Spectra shared a look before Jasper gave the vampire his full attention again. "If you betray us, I won't hesitate to suck every last bit of life from that corpse of yours. You understand Will?"
Will smirked. "Wouldn't have it any other way Jaspy."
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