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 Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:52 am
 
But he did wonder, as he often did when given a moment alone to think, what would happen to him once he regained his memories? When Jamie and Pierre married? He would surely go his own way. And what of this sorceress's son whose body he now inhabited? He was out there somewhere. In another body? Trapped in an object? Or... gone? He felt the impending darkness pulling him deep into its depths as Pierre hurried indoors [Link], the sun beginning to peek over the trees into the clearing.
"Welcome to my home," their guide told them, "This is the province of Eden Glen, in Ross-shire Valley."
James stood, marveling at the building and allowing the first glow of the morning to bathe him in warmth, driving away the memories and fears. He resolved to spend the day out-of-doors.
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Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 7:34 am
 Mrs. Knight dropped her hand from James', slightly flustered at her daughter's child-like attitude towards the man. She was such an ignorant and sensitive creature - seemingly unhardened by the world's turmoil. She did, however, lurk behind the group as they hurried inside. Anna tested the level of her fusion and allowed the sun to spill over her. It was hot. The heat increased as more of her figure were exposed. It became uncomfortable, but bearable. And then it stung. She gave in to a trot and entered the residence, short of breath.
The residence, from the outside, reminded her oddly of how she imagined Macbeth's mansion to appear. Earthen literature, she mused, Mind you, Jamie, dear: there are rumors of a library filled with Earthen history and things. Her daughter was silent. Perhaps she does not like to read, or perhaps she could not care less for her previous home. She knew many disregarded the tales and true stories as utter fiction and not exactly of any importance.
Jamie? There was a silence. Anna swallowed and glanced around nervously with her right hand on her chest.
They were appointed their rooms, not soon enough to ease her impatience, and she closed the door abruptly, leaving the group to their tour (careful to rouse suspicion) and locking them out.
The extraction process was painful and tedious and risky, but Jamie grew to her original form unharmed and her mother rested her on the bed. She laid there, breathing with difficulty and diving in and out of consciousness. As Anna gazed restlessly on her daughter, a glimpse of something delicate and silver caught her eye.
They are tied, her eyes widened. Pierre could feel her pain and feebleness.
Crouching beside her daughter's bedside, she drew a letter opener from her pocket (having restored her own clothing) and slit her wrist deeply. Dark blood gushed out of the vein and the cut was pressed to Jamie's lips. Shortly thereafter, she took to it as a young vampire sapling. Anna smiled at this. She grew stronger, rapidly, and the air around her quivered slightly.
"You have strong blood from your father's side, dear," she explained and withdrew, enveloping her arm loosely in a wash cloth and dabbing Jamie's lips and chin with another. "Wash your face," ordered she, "there by the basin."
Jamie stood and walked with ease, being fully recovered, and did as she was asked. She turned.
"Oh, mama. How I've missed you!" She exclaimed, hugging Anna around her waist. They sat like that for a few moments until a curious knock sounded at the door.
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 11:58 am
 Pierre knew that something wasn't right. He could feel Jamie's wave of exhaustion after she snapped the door closed. After a moment, she felt strong again, and he assumed it was because she was resting. He felt ashamed.
He waited for the group to move on before turning to her door. He hesitated, his finger tips on the door knob. He sighed, thinking better of it, and knocked hesitantly. He leaned forward toward the door so that he could speak softly, his lips almost brushing the polished wood. "Jamie," he asked. Silence. "Jamie?" Still no reply. "I'm sorry. I know I've not been the most... attentive," he began, struggling to find the right words, "I keep forgetting you're human. Well, no. That's only partially true. I keep forgetting to mind your needs for rest and food. But I'm more aware than ever that you're human."
He leaned his back against the door, his face turned to the side, still speaking quietly. "The longer I'm here, the more time I spend around these other vampires, the more I regress. The more I lose my humanity and compassion. The more I stop... enjoying your heartbeat," Pierre admitted in a dejected voice. "I find myself growing angry at it again." Still silence.
"You know I love you. I'll always love you. I'm just... I'm changing. The closer we get to the capital, the more James remembers. The closer we get, the more I become like them. Like Rem," he added in a whisper.
Pierre felt a deep surge of hatred and anger; he couldn't tell if it was toward himself, toward Rem, or...
"I'm sorry." He shoved away from the door and caught up with the rest of the group on the stairs to the next landing. I'm sorry...
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Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 12:58 am
When he was gone, Anna released Jamie. She was quivering uncontrollably, but could not make sense of her thoughts. She wanted to run to him, tell him it doesn't matter and that her heartbeat would cease to irritate him...
"Because there would be none to annoy him," her mother finished for her. After being acquainted with her memories, it was not at all difficult to guess her thoughts. "Are you sure that is what he wants, my dear?"
She lifted Jamie's chin and met her eyes. The girl nodded, and then shook her head and, finally, lifted her shoulders.
"But what do you want?" She tore from her gaze and started fixing the bed and deciding on a fresh dress from the ones she had in her cupboard. So similar were they that these would fit each perfectly.
"You want power, don't you, Katherine?" Anna held out a faded green dress that would fit Jamie perfectly. For her she took a midnight blue garment that complimented her fair skin and silver hair. Jamie was silent.
"You've wanted it all along. Ever since your days in the orphanage. You could have had quite a happy life - unbothered by violence - but you chose to protect and avenge. Your soul is pure, but naive and young. Be careful of that power, Katherine." She trailed off a while before continuing on another, more lighthearted note, "You would look gorgeous in that. Do hurry!"
Once they were both dressed, they ventured in the direction of the small crowd. They walked arm in arm until they reached them. Anna let go of Jamie as she (the latter) slid her hand into Pierre's.
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Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 4:18 am
Sir William directed each of his guests to their rooms and a few entered for a long rest. It was not long before he noticed that he was only followed by the captain's guard, the prince, his bride-to-be, and a stranger-companion of Jamie's. "Well, why don't we all adjourn to the library? It's well-lit and we can call for something to eat... and to drink," he added with a glance at Pierre.
"This way, if you please," he said, opening two large doors. "Make yourselves at home. I'm afraid it's not as large as some; I prefer being active to reading. But, it does have comfortable furnishings and two floors for those who do enjoy to read." [Link]
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 2:48 am
Pierre gave the room a quick once over. "It'll do quite well, thank you," he said, entering. He found a chair far from windows and settled in it as Sir William poured him a strong mixture of vampiric brandy and aged, cured blood. "Strong," he commented, "Very stout."
Sir William had a questioning look in his eye. He did not need to say his thoughts aloud to be understood. Pierre nodded slowly as he started to explain. "You must think it terribly strange that I've chosen a human as a companion. You're not wrong." He lowered his voice so that Jamie would not overhear, "At first, it was because I regarded her as property - and that's what she was. She was my human slave to do with as I wish - drink, turn, wait on me hand and foot... When others showed interest in her, naturally I became jealous and sought to keep my prize to myself. We spent much time together that way, and I learned a lot about her - but at the same time, I knew nothing. I still no nothing." He fought a rising lump in his throat and continued, "I wanted to turn her and have her belong to me in a way that would keep the others from coveting her. I thought it was her blood that they were after."
Pierre took a long draught from his glass and mulled over his next words carefully. Sir William waited patiently for him to continue. "I was... so very wrong. They saw her beauty, her personality - they knew there was something special about her. Something they wouldn't mind spending eternity with. And I knew what it was; she made me feel human again. She took away the hatred and pain, the bitterness, the evil that comes from their kind of vampirism. I didn't want to lose that feeling. I didn't want to lose my humanity again. For that I came to love her."
He paused again, teetering on an unseen edge, threatening to plummet into the misery of truth. "But still, they came in hoards. Still, they came to court her. I burned. I wanted none other to have her. I wooed her. I seduced her. I made her love me. But... when I am to become human, will she still love me? Or will that, too, fade?"
Pierre lapsed into thoughtful silence, allowing his fears to surface. In truth, he had manipulated her love. He had used his powers of persuasion - his charms used to lure prey. In a way, she had been his prey, though a prey of a different sort. Nothing changed. He was still a monster, and she was still under an illusion. "None of this is real," he said quietly, downing his drink in one last, desperate gulp. "She doesn't really love me. I forced her. She could have been happy with Francois..."
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:54 am
Jamie's mother demanded her attention once again. She was actively analysing the style of the rooms, saying that is was grand, but lacked the homey feeling she was used to. She then continued to babble on about how there was a lot of light pouring through the windows during the day where she lived and that their private library, although not extensive, had a glass ceiling. Jamie did not comprehend this completely. For her, it seemed, being a vampire was entirely irrelevant. She talked of sunlight as if it was a medium of art. She could not help but to become slightly annoyed at this. Perhaps she was a bit too eager to shed her human habits. Perhaps she was even more anti-human that Pierre had first been.
Sir William's words echoed through her mind. They reminded her of her incompetence. It implied that, or even challenged her to be tough and to prove her worth; to prove her power. She would, she thought, but there was one unsettling thought: the Prince. He said everything would become elevated upon turning - her emotions, her thirst for power, control and blood, and her sense of right and wrong would become scrambled. Nothing of this, however, worried her as much as the disapproval of her fiance.
Why did he chose me? He could have had any lady he wanted. He could have pursued the most beautiful in all of Ravenheart and the purest of heart. I am human. I have as many flaws as any monster if not more. I have betrayed and seduced. I have killed. Despite my intention to protect, I am still... What makes me any different from a vampire except my lack of strength, wisdom of age, ethereal beauty and abilities to enchant?
How could anyone ever love you? She thought to herself. A sharp pang pained her chest.
It's a fairy tale romance, Jamie. Falling in love with a prince? How pathetically important you think you are. Something's amiss. There has to be. Things that seem too good to be true usually aren't. Yes, he took you for pity, she decided with finality and a cold disposition towards herself. Silly little girl. You should stop throwing tantrums when you don't get what you want...
There was a brief silence between thoughts that were filled by Anabel's lectures on gardening and jam-making. This ended quickly, though, and she resumed the previous topic of the importance of light indoors.
He's perfect in every conceivable way, she stole a glance his way, but averted her gaze shortly thereafter to avoid spilling the tears that threatened to swell into her eyes. It would be a tremendous effort to match him. Does he, too, hold me to standards? Would I have to prove myself constantly? I have to choose: duty or happiness.
The duo moved to the next window. Anabel stared out at the forest. She seemed serene and almost happy despite her violent past and everything she has lost. 
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Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:55 am
James sat upon the soft grass, basking in the sunlight that was so often denied him. He struggled with the weight of his memories, hardly understanding what was real and what was simply being displayed before him as an illusion of his mind. The sorceress should never have given me her son's body. She should never have confined him to her lake. This body is nothing but a curse. I must find a way to gain another and return this form. It has brought me nothing but misery.
He clenched the blades of grass in his fists and closed his eyes as tight as he could, willing himself to remain in the present; his head was swimming and he felt as though he would fall into the sky.
As soon as the feeling passed, James crawled into the shade of a nearby willow tree and leaned against its trunk, quickly drifting off to sleep from the exhaustion of the night.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:32 am
When Anna helped herself to a small glass of brandy, Jaime decided to leave her to the company of the other vampires. They were uneasy - the whole lot of them - and this was working on her nerves. She stole two shiny red apples from the table, prepared herself a tall glass of icy water, and slipped away. The residence was brightly coloured and detailed. It seemed to stand in stark contrast to Ravenheart's monochromatic style and to Anna's descriptions of her little cottage out in the country.
It was just a while outside the capital, she had said, and had a large garden where she grew her herbs and fruit and vegetables. To Jaime's surprise, her mother actually switched between human and vampire forms regularly to enjoy the sun and the food. It was a nice idea to be capable of enjoying the perks of both worlds, but it came with a price. Anna grew weaker by every transformation. Jaime knew this, because some of her memories were transferred through her blood.
Jaime, you were suckling on your mum's blood, she laughed at herself. She was grateful for it, though, despite the oddity of the situation. She has never felt this strong and awake in a very long time.
Eventually, after some relaxed strides and stopping to take a sip of water, she reached the outdoors. The sun was high and the morning bright, yet there were still clouds in the skies that promised patches of shade and, fortunately, that the day would not be excruciatingly hot and unpleasant.
Human pleasures. The sunlight lit up her skin and hair as she entered it, reflecting off the light, pale colours of her being. There was a sweet, earthy smell to the air and the birds and cicadas were chirping and crackling happily as if the war was only a speck of dust on the shelf of significance. She found James under one of the trees nearby. He seemed to have dozed off.
"You're still human, right?" she asked softly, doubting he would hear her. She placed an apple on the ground near his right thigh, took a gulp of water and strolled into the forest. She didn't wander off too far and constantly made sure that she was still had a visual hint of the building.
After the battle or war, or whatever chaos they've made in Ravenheart by now, is over and sorted out, I'll invite Mama to join me in Rhodesa. We'll start a fruit grove there and she can continue her hobby of making jams and things. She would be happy there, helping to heal the land and the people. I would visit her every day and we could go on family picnics with Pierre, James and the lot. Maybe there will be a pair of smaller golden haired heads to join us, she giggled at the thought of being happy with a family to call her own. Imagine that. Everything seems so unreal... Haha This world contains monsters and vampires and things, and you consider simple happiness to be 'unreal.' This is such a roller-coaster, though, she stopped and lifted her chin to stare into one of the trees. The leaves were brightly coloured where the sun shone through them, and darker in hue where shaded, creating a canvas of juxtaposed light and dark with the occasional gap of pure light and blue sky.
They're both acting very odd - Pierre and James. Pierre said something about regressing into becoming like Rem, she shuddered at the memory. Surely, he can't really mean that. He's nothing like Rem. Both of them... Then again, why did they attack one another earlier? Her brows furrowed in worry and confusion and desperate hope that everything will turn out fine. A sudden chill spread through her body and rustled the dress. She retreated, seeming as relaxed and poised as ever, to where James was sleeping against a tree trunk and sat on the grass across him, under another tree, watching him.
Remember when I used to fall asleep in your cell and you would share your food with me? You seemed so young - almost a blank, clean slate. Now you're a tortured soul, just like the rest of them. Nobody should have to endure the things you have gone through. Jaime sighed and averted her gaze to the soft tufts of grass in front of her. She stroked them, slowly, as if every individual blade was significant, and lifted her face to the breeze. There was a fragile peacefulness, threatened by what is to come and enforced by the fact that they were all more or less still intact for now - a positive outcome was imaginable and that was all that mattered.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 12:37 pm
James heard Jamie ask him if he was human before placing something on the grass next to him. As he heard her retreat, he opened one eye cautiously. An apple. He ignored it and resumed dozing in the warm air and shade. A short while later she returned to his side. A strange feeling unfurled from the pit of his stomach.
"You know," he said in a tired voice without opening his eyes, "I could never be human. But that doesn't mean I'm not mortal." He opened one eye and surveyed her before closing it again. "Thanks for the apple." He let the warm breeze blow over him and her scent reached him - slightly floral, very human. He frowned at his sudden ability to pick out the scent of a human. He knew he could not be normal.
What am I? I wish I could remember more about who I am and less about death and destruction.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 12:52 pm
“They’re mortal too, if you think about it. Mortal is someone who can die. Or is age the only cause of mortality?” Her voice was airy and untroubled. “Ah, well. They’re drinking blood again and that’s kind of boring, so… Mind if I join you for a while?”
She picked a flower from a weed that was growing among the grass and twirled it around between her index-finger and thumb.
“Even if you’re not human, does that really matter? I’m not entirely human either, as it turns out.” Her facial expressions remained neutral. She was still unsure how she felt about her family history, but she shared everything with James and it would only bottle up if she tried to suppress it. Sighing, she leaned back against the tree and gazed up through the leaves, wondering if flowers ever had the issue of falling in love with another type of flower.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 1:13 pm
James didn't know what she was rambling about, and decided that he didn't care. Probably Pierre, he thought. For some reason, this annoyed him. He shrugged it off and busied himself with studying the inside of his eyelids. After a few moments, he had almost forgotten she was there and began mumbling to himself in his half-sleep, half-remembering state.
He was young, perhaps nine. Pierre was of the same age, dressed regally and fidgeting with his collar as the two crouched low behind a log in the darkened forest. James slapped at his hands. "Will you stop that," he whispered angrily, "You're going to get us caught."
"But it's too tight," the Prince whispered back in complaint. "Yeah, but that will be the least of your problems if he catches us."
"But he's your father," Pierre insisted, "Surely he wouldn't do anything that bad."
"Ha! Please. You know what he's like. He'd catch us and skin us alive for being here."
The dream faded before he could grasp any more of it. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking in the light. I remember that... He struggled to recall more, but couldn't. Turning, he jumped slightly to see Jaime still sitting there. "Aren't you bored," he prompted.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 1:33 pm
Her shoulders slumped slightly. He was cold. He wasn’t the kid James anymore. A sad smile played on her lips as she realised this and the social barriers it created. There was silence. Her thoughts went blank for a while.
Aren’t you bored? “Nope,” she made a popping sound with her lips that indicated the contrary. Suddenly a whole packet of thoughts unfolded themselves in her mind. There was a lot to add after that simple statement, but nothing useful that would, somehow, ease the tension. She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. “How are you coping, James?” she asked softly, seeming genuinely concerned.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 1:39 pm
"Coping," he asked with eyes closed once more, in that same soft and quiet sleepy voice that people have when waking or before drifting off. "Imagine your brain being locked away from you - every horror and terrible thing you've done or seen. Then imagine having to live it a second time right before your eyes. Only this time, you can't tell if it's a memory or really happening. That's how I'm coping." The silence was thick, palpable. He opened his eyes. "I'm a danger to everyone. And he knows that," he didn't have to say Pierre's name to be understood.
He stared across the vast lawn at the estate, imagining the Prince tucked away safely in some gloomy, dark room, belly full of blood and sleeping heavily. He frowned. "Never could outmatch him," he muttered, looking down at the grass in front of his stretched-out legs.
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Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 1:47 pm
"He's a danger to us, too," it was out before she could stop herself. She never feared Pierre. She knew by intuition that he would not hurt those close to him. The scene of Pierre and James fighting flashed before her and she gulped. He would never hurt me. He loves me, he said so. He wouldn't...
"He's worsening as we're nearing the capital, he said. And so are you... What is at the capital that is so... disruptive?" She looked up at him, ready to hold his gaze if he was to glance her way.
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