Melissa proceeds with her plan and little by little Karen is shaped into the assassin she so desperately wanted to become, just not in the way she wanted to learn. She is taken nearly to death many times over the course of the next few years.
Only once she bound herself to Melissa was she allowed out of the cells. But if she thought the pain would be eased by doing that she was sadly mistaken. Her training was nearly as vicious once she was released as it was as a prisoner. But she learned and she learned to do so rapidly to keep from repeating any of the lessons.
She learned to hone her response time to be faster than she ever thought possible. And still she wasn't fast enough, she did learn to block most of the hits, but she couldn't ever get them all. Always after a sparring match, Karen would need healing.
Even Timothy's vampire children that came over with him helped in her training. They are the most vicious and deadly of the fighters in that seethe. More than once she nearly died from one of them losing control and only Timothy being there to control them stopped them from killing her.
She learned to put up with their sneers and disgusted looks. She knows that she deserves them after nearly killing her mistress. She realizes just how wrong she was now, but her lesson was learned too late. None of the vampires will ever forgive her for what she did.
She does her best to stay out of Travis's path as much as possible. She dreads each time he is her teacher because she knows that he will take out his anger and pain on her, even though Melissa had another child of his.
"I know, there is nothing I can say or do to earn your forgiveness, but I am more sorry than you will ever know for what I did to you and Mistress." She isn't allowed to call Melissa by her name like the other were always allowed to do. She knows that she will never gain the forgiveness necessary to gain that right. She would hang her head in submission, but as long as he is teaching her it is dangerous to take her eyes off of him even for a second.
Travis gives her a grim sneer, "At least you know that much, bitch." Travis has never called her by name, nor does he intend to do so any time soon.
"You will never be fully accepted here."
"I know. This is part of my punishment. When mistress decides it is time to turn me I will live as a vampire in this seethe, but never be a full part. I will be denied the protection of the seethe while at the same time be the one to take down The Master's enemies." That is what she was instructed to call Timothy, The Master. Most would think it pretentious, but Karen doesn't. She was shown just how powerful Timothy is and that she is alive only by Melissa's sufferance and he wanting Karen to be the seethe assassin. She knows that her continued existence will be determined on how well she continues in her studies and how good of an assassin she becomes.
She knows that she will never have the close relationship with Melissa that her vampire children have and she mourns for something she can't ever have. She wonders how she can desire something like that from the very one that hurts and tortures her or has her tortured rather. Then she wonders why she ever thought becoming an assassin was ever a good idea and taking that job was smart. She had known that Melissa McGavity was high profile, but thought she could handle it. She realized far too late that she would never had made it for long as an assassin even if there weren't vampires in the world.
It just all comes crashing down on her all at once and she doesn't even try to protect herself when Travis comes after her. She takes his hits full force and allows him to do whatever he wants.
When Travis feels her depression he disengages immediately and has Timothy come over and feed her blood.
"What the hell, Travis? This is what I expected from you when we first captured her, not now." Timothy chastises him even as he forces his blood into Karen's mouth. She doesn't respond.
"Shit, better call Melissa down here. She might be able to get her to respond." Timothy says, he's worried but not panicked. He doesn't think Melissa will care all that much if Karen dies now.
"I'm already here. What the hell happened to her, Travis?" Melissa says not taking her eyes off her nearly dead bonded.
Travis shrugs then explains, "I don't know exactly. She was here waiting for training, kept eye contact with me, talked a bit, but when I attacked she didn't try to move or stop me at all. She just took everything I gave her. I stopped once I felt her depression and her joy at the pounding. I think she wanted me to kill her."
"What did you talk about?" Timothy demands since Melissa was busy dealing with Karen and had to put her full attention on the human.
"She told me that she knew that she would never be forgiven for what she did and she understands why. She apologized again for the pain she caused and when I told her that she would never be fully accepted here all she said was, I know. After that we didn't talk and I started the training."
"I see," Timothy says thoughtfully looking at the beaten human before him. "She's broken now. Fully and completely. I'm not sure that she'll be able to be put back together again, she may be more like humpty dumpty."
Travis snorts at Timothy's attempt at humor. He's regained part of what he lost of himself when Melissa woke up once more, but he will never be the person he was before.
Travis is quick to go to Melissa's side when she looks up and helps her get up. She has a hard time now that she is once more pregnant. No one was more shocked then Timothy. They hadn't planned on more children after Travis got her pregnant shortly after she woke up from her coma. They had another little boy.
"When she wakes, I want you to spend time with her. I won't lose her just yet and she has lost any reason to live. She feels that death is preferable to an eternity of being isolated and hated. I happen to agree with her. Make sure that she knows that in time she will be able to earn the right to call me by name, she just has to finish paying for what she did first."
Melissa looks hard at Travis, "I know that you paid almost as high a price as I did. You need to find it within yourself to forgive her or I will let her die. She wonders when you will jump out at her and kill her in some isolated place in the estate. That's why she stays in her room unless she is in training. I don't want her to feel trapped like she does. She won't make the transition if she thinks death is better.
"I won't be the one to turn her." Melissa turns to Timothy, "I want you to turn her when she no longer has this death wish."
"Melissa, I can't do that. I won't make another child. You know what I have to do to make one, what I have to do to make sure they are healthy and strong. I have no wish to be with Karen in that way. Beat her to death, yes, turn her HELL no. I have no desire to touch her that way. The turning won't take." Timothy is vehement in his protests.
Melissa looks at him thoughtfully. "You really feel that strongly about it?"
"Yes, I'm not sure that I could force myself to be sexual with her without being sick."
"Oh, damn. I don't want her to have the possibility of inheriting any of my psychic abilities."
"Have you ever thought that it would help her in her duties as an assassin, if she had psychic abilities. You will just have to bind her to you tightly and that will be difficult since she won't be wearing any marks and if she takes on your psychic abilities then there won't be the child/maker bonds either. You will need to establish bonds between you before you try to change her. Make her love you. She already desires and yearns for the closeness you have with your other three children. Give her what she wants." Cliff tells her as he comes out of the shadows.
He has taken to watching and observing the training of this assassin and has felt her desires and her yearning looks she gives Melissa and the others.
"Travis, it would be best if she spent a great deal of time with you. She fears you most of all, not because of the way you treated her, but because you were the one she wronged most next to her mistress. She knows what Melissa wants and so does her best to achieve it, trying to earn her forgiveness. But with you, she knows how much you hate and even loathe her. You need to change that."
Travis looks with unguarded hatred at Cliff at his words.
"She won't make the turn if she still feels the way she does now. I won't order it, Travis, but you know what I want from her. I'll leave it up to you to decide what you can tolerate doing." Melissa goes over to him and gives him a hug. "No matter what you choose, I won't be angry."
Then with those reassuring words she leaves.
"Take her back to her room and stay with her until she wakes up. I'll have someone come in with food for you." Timothy tells Travis, "Once she is awake, let us know what your decision is and we will keep you away from her if that is what you decide to do."
"I'm sorry, Timothy." Travis tells Timothy and ignores Cliff as he bends down and picks up the human.
"I can't do what Melissa wants from me either, there is no shame in admitting it, Travis. We can't expect more from you than what you can give and you give Melissa everything she asks for. She will understand if you can't this time. We'll figure something else out if you remain with the same feelings."
Cliff and Timothy both watch as Travis carries the unconscious female from the room.
"What do you think, Cliff?" Timothy asks watching Travis thoughtfully.
"He'll do it. He would do anything for Melissa, even this. He just has to get used to the idea first. He'll swallow his hatred and learn to deal with her. Melissa is doing this as much to save Travis as she is to save Karen. At this point she wouldn't care if Karen dies, but she does care about Travis and she feels that she's lost him to some extent. It gives her a great deal of pain every time she thinks about it."
Timothy presses his lips down in anger with this news. For Melissa's sake, and Travis's he hopes that Cliff is right. Should Melissa lose Travis, it would not be good. He doesn't like the new darkness that has taken residency in Travis either.