Family mausoleum (sam)

Go towards the light...that was what they said wasn’t it.

A door however made much more sense.

So this was death, she thought, the logical part of her mind desperately trying to stay in charge. And I’m in a tomb.

A flicker of the memory of her death flew past, provoking contrasting sensations, fear and desire.

The marble floor was cold against her feet, and she padded across to the boundary of the room.

Shielding her eyes with her arm, Sam pushed the door open, listening out for anybody or anything that might be outside.

The moon isn’t supposed to be this bright. I suppose she thought that is the reason for the theatrical flair, away from light and sound and movement. Giving senses time to adjust.

Adjust to what exactly was the million dollar question.

Hardly dignified, she half stumbles half falls out of the building.

She had nothing to qualify this against, no yard stick. Would it always be like this, a constant struggle to control her senses. How long had she been like this?

She looked around, scanning the cemetery for any sign of life, even the lights of cars in the distance.

She unconsciously smoothed the dress as she saw him. It was a fruitless exercise, she knew with the texture of her hands that her face was monstrous.

Her motion did grow a little more steady, there was purpose here, he had not abandoned her. The relief of that washed over her, and with it grew confidence.

Pushing herself towards him, trying not to lurch as her muscles protested, willing herself forward.

She focused on Eliah, as the sounds and smells and noises continued their assault, even the wet hem that caught on her bare legs as she walked fought for her attention.

Eliah started to walk inside the Ellison Cemetery to find his love, finally the two reached eachother in an eternal embrace.

Eliah hug her with intense force
as she held to him to never let him go.

Their gaze locked and kiss. Samantha was again his and he of hers, forever, as equals right now death seemed like an small price to pay.

He took her under his coat and lead her into the castle. Her muscles sore and her bare feet felt cramps torturing her with every step. Eventually they got again to the house where everything had began and took her upstairs giving her a chance to be washed. Two maids were to this task, to bath her and cleanse every part of her body, oil her skin with unguents and brush her hair. Eliah had chosen a beautiful dress for her, very victorian, embroided and beautiful yet overcharged.

Eliah said.
"You look beautiful my Queen." smiling at her.

There was a world of questions she wanted to ask, but she contented herself with just being with him again. There was something new there, a connection that was stronger than before.  Something that seemed to form part of her very core.  

He had taken her life and given her a new one.  Samantha was not used to be being in the dark, waiting for answers.  For him, however she felt like she could forgive anything, whatever he had done, what ever it was she had allows him to do.

While her feet and legs ache and cause her pain, the soft wool of his coat brush against her skin, the smell of his cologne fills her nostrils.  And like this they struggle on, each agonising step after another.

The stairs seem like a mountain, the driveway, gravel biting into her feet like glass or so it seemed.  But eventually there was smooth stone beneath her feet, soft carpet, warm water washing away the dirt, heating her ice cold skin for a time.

She stood at the end, dressed in the elborate gown.  

Eliah she tried to talk, her voice raspy and weak at first, never used before.  Her vocal cords learning their purpose again, or for the first time?  It was hard to classify the then and now.  

It wasn’t that she had died, but the world before had.  She had no use for the pettiness of before, the small people, small jobs.

Eliah, I love you there she thought, start with the important things.

She smiled back at him, reaching out for his hand, a hand that no longer felt cold.

I am ready for anything if you are with me.  Yours completely.

Her old self would mock her for the sentiment, for this new thing she had become however knew she could love no one else as deeply.  It was if part of him resided in her, but she did not have the words to describe it.

And there was desire to, a desire to taste his blood again, to feel what she had felt before.  The thought should disgust her but the reality was far removed.

She spoke once more as they began to walk.

Samantha doesn’t seem right anymore, but neither does Margaret.

Perhaps, we can come up with a new name together? Maybe someone from your family, our family.

Her confidence returned at his close proximity and found that her mind at least hadn’t suffered the same as the rest of her.

Tell me the worst now, so you can show me the good.

You said I would be cursed.  What does that mean exactly?  

I read a few things in your library, but I would like the full story.

And also she tried to not lick her lips at the memory please tell me more about your blood.  Does it always taste so.. she struggles to find the right word.

For me..

Apart from you that is, my family are the only people I truly care about.

My work too, it’s not just about solving the problem, putting back the fragile pieces. It is the satisfaction that I can help, sometimes when no one else has the capacity.

The wonder of it all, how all the parts fit together, each part connected to the other. The order and chaos crammed into a simple human form. she gets more animated as she speaks, remembering what it was she had loved about her vocation.

Sam moved away, the memory of what she could have done too fresh in her mind.

She was horrified at herself and the reality of the thing that now appeared to share her body

Shaking her head in disbelief No, that can’t be right...I would have done anything for a single drop.

Is it always this bad, this hard she looks at him in desperation Can I learn to control it.

Will it always be this painful?

Eliah was telling her nothing complicated essentially, and definitely not anything that Sam couldn’t comprehend intellectually.

But yet. She still felt overwhelmed. Was the control the thing she would learn, or was is always going to be this hard?

Her decision was made, this was not something you turned back from. Better then to tackle it head on, to do whatever she could to impress both him and these Ventrue. And she thought med school was hard.

How do I address them? These two Ventrue Vamtresses, and what is a harpie?

The more she heard, the more obvious it was the extent there was to learn.

This was politics on a grand scale.  And a global one at that.

Rather than a simple peek past the curtain, Eliah was going for the full expose.  

She stacked the organisation in her mind, the structures and interactions must be a mind field...bad enough when people move on, retire.  These people do not simply fade away, they must cling to it.  If losing yourself to the Beast was the consequence of losing your sense of self then how highly do they place these political games.  

Position and responsibility were not new concepts for Sam, the medical world is littered with old ideas, great importance placed on your rank, ability, experience and then of course, who you knew and who knew them!

As for the rest, without context it made no sense at all, just names with no meaning, good thing she was an excellent study.

I will try my very best not to disappoint...Sire. she said the last with a smile, trying it out for size. Do you mind me asking if you embraced Margaret?

She felt a sharp unnatural pang of guilt at causing him pain, subtlety was not Sam’s strong point and her mind had a habit of leaping from one subject to the next as it found a connection, however tenuous.

I’m sorry Eliah.. she responded quickly. Feeling very much the lesser of ‘equals’ as things stood.

I have lots of questions, most of which will be covered during my training no doubt. For now I need to know three simple topics.

How to survive in this new form and its restrictions.

How to present myself to others in our Clan and outside it.

And finally to learn the correct steps to ensure your good name is upheld as mine becomes known.

This is politics to a level I have never seen before. And I think navigating it will be more than a lives work.

The focus of which is the arrival of the two Harpies and the first introduction.

She uses this internal filing system as a way to shield herself from the rising terror. A short while back she had woken alone in a tomb, every movement an assault on her senses. On top of this, the introduction, it felt like yet another test, and she didn’t want to think of the consequences failing would mean.

Eliah smiled to Sam and began to answer her questions.

How to survive in this new form and its restrictions.

Noticing Samantha's increasing anxity Eliah tried giving her some confidence.
"You'll survive My Queen. All these may seem new for you but for our clan is being like this for a hundred thousand years. You're not alone and we will turn you in the best version of you."

How to present myself to others in our Clan and outside it.

"During your Agoge we will teach you everything you need to know about other Clans, for the moment you won't be expoused to them. As kindreds of Ventrue the Clan will support you and teach you the proper way. This is a period where mistakes are acceptable and all questions are tolerated and answered."

And finally to learn the correct steps to ensure your good name is upheld as mine becomes known.

"Let the Arpies inspire you and lead you to be better and learn everything you can."

This is politics to a level I have never seen before. And I think navigating it will be more than a lives work.

"No mortal is ever prepared to deal with this at once. If you have the will to learn there is nothing you can't do. While you wear that dress, a symbol of your Agoge, you will be preparing for this level of politics"

The focus of which is the arrival of the two Harpies and the first introduction.

"We can simulate that. What would you say to me pretending to be a Arpie?"

Sam nods as he talks, so there was a little wiggle room to learn, that was good. She absorbed the other information as he spoke, her internal thoughts categorising each new morsel to its correct place.

Even it seemed, the possibility that she would be wearing the same dress for the next who knows when. Had they never heard of scrubs?

I would appreciate that Eliah, just so I know the formalities. How long do we have till they arrive?

He looked at his wrist watch.
"About an hour dear."