Immortal Ch 06

New York City 2007

There were times in her long life that she thought she'd come to regret the decision that she made that night at the Duke's manor in England. A thousand life times to live and learn, that's what she'd told Lothie that finally convinced him to that the fateful and fatal step into immortality, but if she'd known what she did now, Elizabeth wasn't so certain that she would have ever considered it.

Picking up the crate of mugs, she moved towards the sink, dumping them without ceremony into the warm soapy water. She still didn't understand Lothian's fascination with this place; a bar tucked into an alley in New York City, but they had called it home for nearly seven years now. When she'd first been shown the warehouse, it was rundown with no running water or electricity. Hardly her first choice to turn into a booming business, but somehow, after a lot of work on all their parts, they'd completely turned it around.

It was the kind of place that catered to 'others', as she called them. She was sure that Lothie had seen the idea in a book someplace before but they'd turned the crumbling brick building with no electricity or running water into a place where creatures like them could mingle with those that were like them and those that wanted to be them. They had all sorts that would walk through the door, from vampire to human and after the first year, she'd had to grudgingly admit to Lothie that it was a good idea.

Elizabeth found that she actually loved it. Of course, many of their customers were dark and moody, the pseudo Goths that wanted to be vampires and even a few who were. She called it the 'vampire syndrome' and it always annoyed those around her that she remained pale and blonde and beautiful and chipper throughout her nights. She got to be the sweet hostess and then try her hand at being a rock star by taking the stage for one song a night. She always had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.

If only they really knew the pain behind her eyes, the quiet moments that made her feel melancholy and despair. She sighed as she watched the bubbles overtake the glass in the sink and decided to leave it for later, turning round to sit behind the bar. Resting her chin in her hands she looked up towards the skylights, knowing that night would come soon, the frosted glass already turning pink and purple with the dying light.

It was out of the blue that she felt a tear course down her cheek, her fingers catching it and bringing it out so she could look at it. Crystal clear, just as they always were, hanging from her fingertip before dripping to the counter. That was the first sign that things weren't right, her tears showing her for what she really was. As another escaped her eyes, she thought back to the night in England that she'd decided to join the ranks of the creatures of the night; one of many nights in her existence that she wished she could have back.

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England, 1487

Elizabeth stepped into bedroom with a shiver. Her mind was already thinking of a millions ways to back out of this. Her resolve wasn't so strong as she saw Gabriella standing by the fire, her gown of white linen gleaming in the soft light. She jumped as she felt Lothie brush past her, watching as he made his way to Gabriella's side and whispered something in her ear. Gabriella's eyes went wide before a smile took over her face and a light seemed to glow from within her.

"Oh, Elizabeth," She murmured, her face full of motherly pride as she stepped towards the girl, her cold hands wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her into a tight embrace. "Are you sure about this?" She whispered in the girl's ear, her cold breath making Elizabeth shiver.

"She better be because I doubt we could let her back out at this point." Lothie said over Elizabeth's shoulder, slipping past her to stand by the fire, his eyes glowing in the soft light as he appraised the girl before him. "Are your intentions pure?"

"I ... I believe so." Elizabeth answered back, her voice shaking as she stammered, unable to get the words out that she so desperately wanted to say. She shrank away from the look that he was giving her, wishing the floor would open and swallow her whole.

"If they are not pure, then I do not believe that any of us would be happy with the outcome." Lothie insisted as he watched her body and mind war with each other, half of her skittish and ready to run and the other standing proud in place, accepting the things that she had no control over.

"Lothie, you scare her." Gabriella hissed at her mate, giving a reassuring smile to Elizabeth as she wrapped an arm around the trembling young girl. "Give us a moment, darling." Her voice was a whisper, but the threat was clear if Lothie didn't leave. Gabriella wouldn't have this girl scared anymore than she already was.

Lothie nodded after a moment, his eyes narrowing at the woman that he loved, his mind sending her a dangerous message as he exited the room, the door clicking shut softly behind him.

"You have to be sure in this, Elizabeth." Gabriella murmured in the girl's ear as she guided her towards the fire, turning her away from the flames so that she looked at her. "This is not a decision to suddenly decide is a mistake."

"I do not believe it would be a mistake." Elizabeth whispered softly. "I'll die without this."

"You'll die because of this." Gabriella's laughter in the matter served to unnerve Elizabeth even more, her shaking intensified as her resolve began to crumble anew. "My dear, if you do not wish for this fate then we will make sure that your last days are filled with comfort and happiness. You know we would do nothing to harm you."

Elizabeth sucked in a deep, shuddering breath as her mortality was spoken of as a fleeting thing. She knew it was true, but part of her wanted to rage against the dying light within her body. Comfort and death or death and life, those were her choices.

"Then I am prepared to die." She said, her voice strong as she raised her tear-filled eyes to meet Gabriella's strong gaze. "God needs no more angels. Perhaps I can do good here on Earth."

"Perhaps." Gabriella spoke softly as she stepped forward and caressed the side of Elizabeth's face, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before taking her hands and pulling her deeper into the chamber. "Do you know what you are, my dear?" Gabriella asked as she drew Elizabeth towards the fire, seating her in one of the comfortable chairs that she always kept near.

"A farmer's daughter." She answered simply, her face growing red as Gabriella began to laugh. "Nothing special in this world."

"No, my dear, you are something very special. A being that is as old as time." She reached out and brushed an errant hair out of Elizabeth's face with a soft smile. "My dear, you're an Immortal."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at Gabriella as she spoke; lying was one thing, but to tell her something that wasn't the truth as a matter of comfort felt horribly patronizing to her.

"I promise you, little one, that I do not lie." A cool hand stroked Elizabeth's fevered face as Gabriella spoke. "There is a small group of those that live through time, living life among us as if they were normal. Most live and die, but they will always be resurrected."

She thought on that for a moment, her eyes sparkling in the light of the fire. She could choose death and hope that she would be resurrected like Gabriella promised. "You mean I could choose to die?"

"You very well could, Elizabeth. It is your right as an Immortal to do such, but a warning first. If you choose that path, it is hard. You remember nothing of your former life and yet you are doomed to repeat it. Your life as you have already lived it will be what awaits you in the next. Lothian and I wish to give you a chance to live in the way that you want."

"It is what I wish." She murmured softly as Gabriella wrapped her in a hug and held her for a long moment before she went to find Lothie. Elizabeth couldn't bear the thought of losing a lover again and again; once had been hard enough and though she knew that she would not remember it, it was a heartache powerful enough to make up her mind.

Her thoughts were still far away when both vampires returned and Lothie spoke, the words lost as Elizabeth's head snapped towards them. She stared dumbly at them as he smirked and began to laugh, causing a deep red stain to creep across her cheeks.

"Stand up, princess." He repeated again and laughed once more as Elizabeth stumbled to do such. He stood looking at her intently as Gabriella moved off into the background, letting her lover have his fun, but still keeping a watchful eye out for Elizabeth. Pausing for a moment, he had a thoughtful look in his eye before he reached out and had his protégé naked in an instant, her nightgown flung to the far reaches of the room.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth shrieked at him as she quickly covered herself for modesty with her hands.

"Searching, princess, just to make sure." He murmured as he reached out and traced his hand over her cheek, smiling at her in his disarming way as she slowly dropped her hands, her toes curling into the carpet beneath her feet with nervous energy.

Lothie circled her, looking over her body with a careful eye. He knew what he looked for, it was just a matter finding the small mark. As his fingers traced over her hip, leaving gooseflesh in their wake, Lothie paused as he felt the small piece of raised flesh. It was small, no bigger than the tip of his little finger.

"Scar?" He asked casually as he let his fingers leave her flesh, watching as she turned her eyes towards him for a moment before reaching her own fingers behind her hip to trace the mark.

"N-no. I've had this since birth." She murmured, shivering slightly at the look in his eyes as he carefully kneeled down behind her, his cold fingers gripping her hips to keep her still as he closely examined her skin.

"A fire mark. I've read about many of these before, but never in my long life seen one." Lothie murmured, his breath caressing her bare skin as he stared at the mark.

"Will this have any ill effects on her, Lothie?" Gabriella murmured in the darkness as she watched the scene from her chair, worrying that the girl might be harmed.

Heated eyes met hers as a smirk appeared on his face. "I've never heard of an Immortal being changed, but I guess we will find out, will we not?"

"They could kill us for that, Lothian. It is not something to be done lightly."

He glared at his mate as Elizabeth shook in his arms. He knew that she didn't like the way they talked about her as if she weren't there. Not changing her now wasn't an option with him. He would rather die a painful death then to let the girl he'd come to care about pass into the night without so much as a soul to remember her. She deserved a chance to make her mark upon the world and in his tutelage, it would be a glorious one.

He was quick about it, no point in drawing out a death that could be painful. He circled his arms around her, pulling her tightly to his cold body as his hands caressed over her smooth flesh. Then, in a lightening fast moment, he struck, his teeth burying themselves into the tender flesh at the young girl's neck as the first splatter of blood hit his tongue.

As she screamed as he chose the moment to bite deep into the tender flesh of her neck. She screamed louder, her body clenching tight not only at the fingers that were still playing with her wet folds, but also at the pain of the bite on her neck. She fought against him, his grip like steel on her naked body as she tried to get away; her body was screaming that something was wrong as she began to feel lightheaded from the pull of the blood through her wound.

She was fighting him hard, something that he didn't wish as he freed a hand and moved his fingers to her surprisingly wet sex. They explored and touched places that he was almost certain that she'd never explored herself. As she moaned out in pleasure instead of fear, he pushed deeper into her, stopped by a small and fragile barrier.

"A virgin?" Lothie whispered in her ear in such a way that made Elizabeth shiver from head to toe. "Good girl." He laughed softly against her skin as his hand continued to play between her legs, never breaking the barrier that she'd worked so hard to keep.

Elizabeth's heart was racing as a soft moan escaped her lips, unsure of why she was feeling like this. This wasn't the same way that Richard made her feel when they'd sneak off from under her parent's watchful eyes. The way Lothie touched her made her fearful, but it was intoxicating the way his fingers worked, strumming against that tiny spot that made her muscles strain for more.

"More." She begged quietly, her voice a whimper of need as he pinched and prodded, seducing her with his fingers. "Please, Lothie, give me more."

He gave into her request, playing more as he finished drinking his fill. Soon, he felt her release upon his fingers with a weak cry, her honey coating his hand as he gently walked her towards the soft bed in the room and lay her upon the covers. Her skin was flushed from her pleasure, eyes rolled back so only the whites showed and he could hear her heart begin to stop. Cutting into his wrist, he pressed it against her lips, urging her to drink with soothing words as he felt a hand upon his shoulder and turned to see Gabriella watching intently.

"Drink, princess. It's the only way to survive." He murmured as Elizabeth's lips latched onto his wrist and began to pull the sweet liquid into her body.

She could hear voices around her, almost as if she were under water. Her body felt heavy and so very cold suddenly, although she still shook in pleasure every so often. And then the strangest sensation of all when her heart ceased beating and there was nothing but silence.

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The nights that followed were horrible, her body in agony as she twisted and turned upon the sheets of their bed in delirium, begging both Gabriella and Lothie to end her suffering as her mortality slipped away. By the end of the first night, she slipped from the mortal coil, her body expelling all that had made her human and leaving her a simple empty shell that would be rebuilt. By the third night, her skin turned cold, eyes bright, and skin pale like marble, blue veins tracing exquisitely through her almost translucent skin and her body was deathly calm.

As the moon rose on the fourth night, Elizabeth sat next to the fire, huddled beneath a brocade robe, her body filled with a soothing calm of nothingness. She felt nothing but cold, her lungs no longer trying to drown her and her thoughts at peace for the first time in ages. Hearing the door open, Elizabeth peeked around the back of the chair, watching as Lothie strode in, his body held in such a regal posture that she'd never really noticed before.

Her sight was so much sharper in the hereafter, the way she could see everything in the shadows to the individual hairs that were atop Lothie's head at first seemed like a novelty, but then reality came crashing down on her as she noticed the serious look that he had on his face.

Taking the seat across from her, Lothie appraised her pale looks, admiring the beauty that was before him for a moment before he cleared his throat and settled back into the welcome chair.

"You seem much better, princess."

Elizabeth nodded her head gently, opening her mouth to speak, but stopping as she couldn't find the words to express how she felt. Her tongue darted between her teeth, tracing the sharp canines that now hung low seemingly too big for her mouth. "I do not hurt any longer." She finally whispered, her voice so loud in her head that it was if she were shouting her answers.

"You learn." A reminiscent smile on his handsome face as he saw her mind warring with her body, trying to figure out all that it had to offer now that she was no longer living. "The first few years are filled with learning. In time, you'll know all that you're capable of, but you must learn one thing now. Make no mistake, Elizabeth, if you break this cardinal rule, not even I can protect you."

"What rule?" She asked, her voice stronger as she nervously twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers.

"As the hunger grows you must learn to choose your victims wisely. Never children nor those that can be easily missed."

The thought truly disgusted her, the very act of thinking about taking life was more then she could bare. She tried not to, closing her eyes against the beastly nature that so badly just wanted to be released. "No, I'm not like that, Lothie."

"Princess, there are better men that you that have tried and failed. It's a noble cause, it truly is, but you pay for this immortality with blood. It never is easy, but it's how we survive."

"I'm not like you, Lothie." She murmured, her eyes opening to stare at him, the resolve plain in their depths as she clung to her humanity. "I can live just fine without it."

Lothie chuckled to himself, admiring her resolve, but knowing that it wouldn't last long. She was just like him in so many ways, young and headstrong, filled with sorrow and questions that might never be answered. He'd lasted two weeks before his resolved crumbled and he'd taken his first life. Leaning forward, he cupped Elizabeth's chin in his hand, bringing her gaze to his. "Choose wisely, Elizabeth. You cannot hold out forever and I do not wish to see one as young as you make mistakes."

She was silent, a slow nod of her head the only sign that she'd heard his words. She hated him in that moment and she let a deep, scorching hatred passing through her very core. He acted as if she had no control, but that simply wasn't true; she was always in control and she'd be damned to let someone tell her otherwise.

"I thank you for your warning, Lothie, but I do not need it." She looked at him with those intense eyes; those haunted eyes that were not tinted with madness.

"As you wish, princess." He said softly as she turned and stormed away, a small shiver racing up his spine as he thought of what a colossal mistake he might have made.

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Her fingers slipped over the keys like water, the music coming forth in a haunting melody that seemed to speak of sorrow and need, a passion that overtook all that could hear. Her voice was crystal clear, beautiful and mourning; over what, Elizabeth really couldn't say. In just a few short days, she'd not only lost the greatest love she'd ever known, but she'd also lost her life, a decision that was completely her own, but hard to swallow none the less.

"Such a lovely Siren to go along with her song." The voice in the room cause her to pause in her playing, glancing over her shoulder towards the door to see who dared disturb her.

The Duke stood there, the disgusting letch with a smile that oozed with his misdeeds. Elizabeth slowly smiled at him, seeing opportunity and a warm body. 'No, ' she quickly reminded herself, her attentions snapping back to the keyboard. Lothie had told her to choose wisely and she was sure that the Duke was anything but a wise choice. He was important and powerful, but then again ... she looked over her shoulder once more, sizing him up from head to toe. Would anyone really miss him?

"You flatter me, milord." She murmured as she slowly stood from the bench she'd been sitting on, smoothing out her silk skirts as she turned to look at him. "I still don't know why such a common girl like me would catch the fancy of someone like you." Her smile was charming, an innocent seduction in her eyes as she moved forward and ran her fingers over his chest lightly.

"You are much more receptive without your friends around." He commented, catching her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "You're chilled, my dear."