Turned

Chapter Eleven.

Fiona was bathing when I awoke the next morning, her fuming anger for Julius having shared my bed hung thick in the air. I sat on the edge of the mattress, watching him sleep when Hanna stirred, pushing herself up onto her knees, yawning as she stretched her arms out high above her head. She rubbed at her eyes like a small child would then blinked up at me, her lips curling into a smile when she saw me. I extended my hand and motioned for her to come to me, which she did getting up on shaky legs and stepping over to where I was sat so that she was stood in front of me. I took hold of her hand, gently trailing my thumb across her palm “Du möchtest für immer bei mir bleiben, Hanna?” I asked letting my eyes trail up her bare arms to her small face and big eyes. I had asked her if she would like to remain by my side forever and she quickly nodded her head a few times to get her response across. I tilted my head to the side slightly, knowing what I wanted to hear but not sure if it would be her reply “Why?” I questioned in English. Hanna smiled, her hand slipping away from mine to touch her chest as if signaling to herself “Love…you” she managed to get out, her hand moving to motion to me when she said it. Her words were simple enough ‘I love you’ but she still struggled to communicate them quite a bit. I made a mental note to help her speak more fluent English. It was an answer I had been waiting for, she could have told me that she liked the expensive clothes or all you can eat foods, but she did not, she said that she loved me and that is why she would like to stay with me. It was not a passionate love, not yet at least, it was the love a child had for her mother, a woman had for her savior, a gratitude and an attachment. I nodded and reached my hand out, flexing my index finger. She jumped at the sudden movement but when my free hand took hold of one of hers she immediately calmed down. I placed my claw to her lip, slowly as if not to frighten her then nicked it, drawing blood. She winced at the pain, about to speak when she saw that I was doing the same thing with my bottom lip “Come” I ordered, easing her forward so that she was stood between my parted legs, looking down at me with curious, confused eyes. Her cheeks lit with a light blush when she finally noticed my breasts through the slit of my gown. I caressed her cheek as Julius stirred beside us, my hand moving to grip the back of her neck, gently guiding her head down towards me. I kissed her, something she was not used to since her eyes went wide, and her body stiffened. It took some time but eventually she eased herself into it, kissing me back and allowing my tongue into her mouth where it roamed, savoring her taste. When I pulled away, she was panting heavily, her eyes hungry but not for food as she gazed down at me. Julius was awake, sitting upright and having witnessed the entire thing. I shot him a smile because of his jealousy ‘Kiss’ I said through our connection, motioning to Julius when I spoke, only Hanna able to hear the single word. She nodded, her body having an uncontrollable need to do as she is told and turned to climb onto the bed, on top of him. Julius started to protest, leaning back but she pressed a quick peck to his lips before he could, sitting back to smile at him in a way a happy child would smile at her father “She likes you” I announced, wrapping my arms around her waist and leaning my chin on her shoulder. Julius seemed both surprised and fascinated with Hanna which was a good thing, he was becoming curious and curiosity would be the cause of him bonding with her “You best get used to her” I said, drawing his attention from her and onto me. His jealousy was no longer there but he was cautious of her, wanting all my attention for himself “She will be around for some time” I finished, getting up from the bed, taking hold of her hand and nodding for her to follow. She quickly did, trailing me to the other side of the room where Fiona’s suitcase filled with my clothes sat. I dug through it in search of something for Hanna to wear, ordering her to strip as I did. She glanced at Julius with shy and frightened eyes when I reached out, cupping her face and forcing her to look at me “Du bist schön, es gibt keine Schande” I said, meeting her eyes. She slowly nodded her head, a small blush on her cheeks when I called her beautiful and told her that she should not have any shame. Julius could not understand a single thing, watching us from beneath the sheets, his head leaned back against the headboard as he watched us. Hanna stripped, tugging her gown over her head and discarding it on the floor with her back to Julius. There she was, naked and exposed, however he was not looking at her like she thought, he was looking at me. I found her a figure hugging, pale blue dress that had a large slit up the front, it had a black corset and long sleeves that went down to her wrists. I paired it with a pair of black pants and some brown boots, giving her a thick brown fur coat to keep her warm. I helped dress her before getting dressed myself, my back to Julius who was trying his best to focus on clothing himself properly but was failing miserably. Fiona exited the bathroom just as I was finished getting dressed in my usual attire, her body wrapped in a simple, red figure hugging dress. We gathered our things and went down to the bar where Hamish and Graham were already waiting, Hamish reading the newspaper and Graham looking hungover from a night of festive drinking “Good morning” Fiona politely greeted, placing her suitcase beside Hamish’s chair. He looked up from his newspaper to greet us when his eyes locked onto Hanna, the small woman hid away behind me as if she was afraid of them, but I knew better, she was observing them, cautious of them like a true fighter would be of a new opponent “Who is this lovely lady?” Hamish questioned, getting up to approach her. She ducked away, bearing her fangs which was luckily not caught by any of the people surrounding us. Hamish smiled, holding his hand out for her to take and after assuring her that he would not try anything with me around she placed her hand in his, blushing when he placed a kiss to her knuckles “Hanna and I have some important business to attend to” I announced, glancing at Julius to let him know that he was going to stay with the rest of the group. He nodded his head in agreement, but shot a glare in Graham’s direction. The human looked at me and Hanna with furrowed brows “Who is she?” he asked, jerking his head in Hanna’s direction. I could see some curiosity in his eyes and it made my veins pulse with anger at the thought of him evaluating her with his eyes. I touched her hand, holding it tenderly in mine, a motion that everyone noticed “She is mine” I said, turning to head for the door with Hanna being led by her hand. Julius watched us as we left his head only turning when Fiona spoke to him, but he was not focusing on her words instead he sent me a silent message through our connection ‘The train leaves in an hour’ he knew what I was going to do, he knew that I had to made due of my promise to achieve revenge for Hanna. I glanced back at him from over my shoulder to find him glancing down at the table ‘An hour is all I need’ I assured, the bell on the door chiming as we stepped out into the dreary day. I took her back to the building where I had found her and knelt to inspect the ground where she had been sitting. Hanna glanced around with fearful eyes, her hands lifted, cupped close to her chest. I turned to look up at her “Du bist bei mir sicher” she swallowed hard, nodding her head when I assured her that she was safe with me. She stepped closer to me, glancing down at the blood and the corpse of the w***e that had yet to be found. There was a strong scent mixed in with Hanna’s and the unknown woman’s, an expensive fragrance that was very familiar to me. It was a cologne only available to high ranking nobles. I followed the scent down the street and a few blocks around to a large mansion that sat near the end of the street. I ascended the steps to the house and knocked, watching Hanna when she began to fiddle her thumbs and placing my hand on her arm to reassure her. The door opened to reveal an old butler with large, thick glasses that he adjusted to get a better look of me “To whom to I owe the pleasure?” he asked, his voice faint and fragile. I gave him a warm smile and dropped my hand away from Hanna to curtsey, bowing in greeting. He spoke English despite being German because all nobles and their servants were obligated to learn English and since I was clearly not German, he went with the more obvious choice of language “I am lady Evana De La Crona, Duchess of Paris here to see the young Master” there were two other people in the house at the time, one was a twenty-five-year-old male and the other was a woman, wailing as she was dominated by the Duke of Nuremberg. The butler inspected me closely then bowed and stepped aside, allowing me into the house. Hanna followed, her eyes gazing around nervously as we stood in the foyer “I will inform the Duke of your arrival, just a moment” I nodded, watching the man slowly make it up the stairs. My eyes locked onto a bar that sat off to the side and I moved over to it, reaching for a glass and pouring it pull of aged wine, taking a sip when the sound of a man yelling reached my ears. Hanna winced, and I knew that I had found the right person. I stayed calm and silent when he appeared at the top of the stairs, his pants hung low on his waist, chest bare and feet exposed as he glared at me for having interrupted him “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded as if he was speaking to a dog. I set my glass aside and in the process moving enough for him to catch sight of Hanna behind me. He froze at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide and hand gripping the top of his trousers to keep them from slipping “It is a pleasure to meet you Duke” I said, drawing his attention back onto me. His eyes were the color of dirt and his hair was a bright carrot red that made my nose scrunch up from the brightness of it. He was not handsome in the slightest and had freckles across his face, despite being well built to an extent, he was still not worthy of a woman of Hanna’s beauty “Hamond, Hamond Weber” I mockingly nodded my head a few times, taking a long sip of wine before turning to face the man. He seemed annoyed, but his annoyance was replaced by confusion and slight fear when my next words floated into the air “Ah yes, I had heard the wench upstairs yell it a few times” I tapped my index finger against my glass, glancing around at the foyer to a painting of him on a mighty steed, attempting to look dashing. There was an expensive vase beside me on the glass table and a mirror that hung above it “How did you-?” he could not finish his sentence since I set my glass down on the table loudly, cutting him off. The walls in the house were soundproof, but my hearing was more advanced, able to hear a man begging from over twenty blocks away “You see Hamond, yesterday you did something…unforgiveable” he instinctively looked at Hanna when I spoke of his act. He knew, the guilt was getting to him, but only because he had been caught. He was a man who knew no remorse, no guilt. He felt that his father’s fortune would protect him no matter what he did, he was convinced that nothing and no one could touch him, but I was going to show him that he was not as untouchable as he thinks “And all unforgivable things must be punished” I stepped towards him, a slow step that caused his heartrate to quicken and his breath to catch in his throat. On instinct he took a staggering stop upward, placing some distance between us on the stairs when I reached the foot of the staircase “I just cannot decide whether I want to kill you or fatally maim you” he turned and tried to run, pushing his butler out of the way as he headed for his bedchambers. I sighed heavily, finding it futile for him to run, yet they always did, they always believed that there was some way to escape if they just tried hard enough. I slowly made my way up the stairs, Hanna following me “I do beg your pardon, sir” I said to the butler when I passed him in the hall, bowing my head when I spoke. Apologizing for his Master’s hard shove was not typically something I would do however he was old and well past his prime therefor deserving a bit more respect than Hamond gave him. There was a clock on the wall, ticking down the hours and I noted that we only had half an hour left to finish our task. I would have enjoyed taking my time with Hamond, torturing him for hours before finally killing him or severing a certain appendage but there was no time, so I opted for the quicker rout. He had barricaded his bedroom door shut but it was quickly dealt with by a kick from me. The doors flew open and furniture scattered, scrapping across the floor as the naked woman inside cried out, clutching the bed sheets to her body as Hamond held her in front of him like a shield. I took a step towards the pair, but he grabbed hold of her head forcing it back and pressing a blade to her neck “Stop, do not come any closer or I will kill her” the woman was pleading with me, her eyes begging me to have mercy and help her, to save her. Alice would have laughed if she was there, telling me that I had turned soft for not just killing the wench, however Hanna was there, and she was still fragile, she needed to trust me, not fear me “Hanna-.” I began, turning to face her, she was staring at me with wide eyes, wondering what I was about to do next. I slowly moved my right arm to grip the hilt of one of my daggers that hung from my belt as I continued to speak “Do not look away” she seemed to understand as when I quickly turned, tossing the dagger with the speed of light and enough precision to impale it in the center of Hamond’s forehead, causing him to let go of the woman, stumble back into the corner of the room with his eyes rolling back into his skull and slid down the wall until he was sat on the floor. He went limp, blood smearing the cream wall, his mouth gaping. The woman screamed and rushed past me, out into the hall where the butler stood horrified when she passed, rushing out the door without even bothering to dress herself. I stepped towards the corpse, bending to pluck my dagger from his skull and wipe it on his pants before sheathing it “Come, we have a train to catch” I instructed Hanna when I passed her on my way out of the room. She bashfully nodded and followed, her eyes watching as I shot the butler a smile. We then disappeared out the door and into thin air or at least that is how it seemed to the butler that tried to follow us.

We were seated on the train when Graham noticed some dried blood on my dagger. His eyes stared at the stained red metal, his hands cupped together as he leaned forward, his body shaking slightly whenever the ride would become bumpy “You killed someone” he announced, his eyes never leaving my dagger. There were not many people around since the German’s rarely ever left Germany and we were on our way to the Czech Republic, famous for its castles and language diversity where people spoke German, Slovak and Polish. I leaned forward so that my face was closer to his “I did” I said, nodding my head in agreement. His jaw tightened, and he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as I watched him. I wanted to see his reaction to know what would go on in his mind, knowing that I murdered a man just moments before meeting with him “I killed a man for raping a woman” I explained, watching his eyes soften a bit, no longer as dark as they were. Graham was against rape from his reaction, but would he find death a suitable punishment for someone who would abuse a woman in such a way? Julius sat back in his seat, his eyes locked onto us. He was more human than me, but knew from experience that nothing he could say or do would change my mind when it came to such things “Killing is never the answer” there was a flicker in his eyes when he said it, a gleam that had me curious as to what it meant. He was hiding something, and I could not determine what, so I searched his face, his eyes, his body for any sign, only to find nothing. I would push him past his breaking point so leaning back in my seat, I tilted my head to gaze up at the ceiling with a small smile on my lips “You are right” Fiona tensed at my words, she had been glaring at me the entire time, hatred directed towards me for killing a man even if he was a rapist. My eyes drooped as Hanna looked at me, her large eyes filled with wonder, confusion and curiosity as she sat beside me, in between Julius and I “I should have tortured him until he was close to death then severed his member and fed it to dogs for what he did” my words took everyone by surprise except for Julius. The breath caught in Hamish’s throat and Fiona’s eyes widened as Graham fell silent “But alas, I did not have the time” Julius cracked a smile when I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, faking disappointment. Graham surprised me by looking amused whereas Fiona got up from her seat and disappeared out the back door, onto the platform to get some air “Why go through all that trouble for a woman you have never met before?” Hamish asked, his eyes studying me. I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at Hanna. She was smiling bashfully at me, her lips were plum, and her eyes were big, adventurous orbs that held so many hidden secrets, memories and experiences “There is something very special about her” I found myself saying, sitting upright to brush a lose strand out of her face. She leaned into the palm of my hand, causing Julius to smile lightly at the thought of just the three of us, tangled in an endless life together, sharing one bed, bathing together and even sharing our bodies. There was a small spark underneath my hand, almost unnoticeable, but I noticed “I suspect that she has a gift” only one in every hundred Vampires were created or born with a gift such as myself or Alice. Graham watched my thumb brushing across her chin with cold eyes, eyes of jealousy that had once resided on Julius. Hamish leaned forward, his fascination peeked “A gift you say?” I nodded, gifts were most often linked to the elements like water or air however occasionally there were special gifts such as foresight and blood manipulation. Hanna, I suspected of having a special ability to control one’s emotions through touch. It was faint, but the spark I felt was a way of transferring her emotion of joy into my body. She could not control it yet, but she would come in handy in the future when she would have mastered her ability “It is still faint but in time she will learn to control it” I said, gripping her chin and tilting her head back slightly to examine her eyes and pursed lips. Julius would be much stronger and faster than her in physical combat because of him being a Royal, he had the ability to even surpass me whereas Hanna was less skilled in combat and would be able to help from the sidelines by allowing Julius’ opponents to feel weak and fatigued, slowing them down for him to kill “Was it your first time turning a human?” Hamish surprised me by asking. I turned to look at him, feeling Graham’s eyes burning into me, waiting expectantly for my answer. I gave a faint smile and nodded “Yes, as I said she is a very special woman” in over four-hundred-years I had never had the urge to change anyone before Hanna, but there was something about her that had called to me, something that would benefit me in the future and help me defeat the Order of the Silver Cross. She was my first Turn, the beginning of it all.