Queen of the Night
Jun. 14th, 2013 10:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
primogen_vampirateMina's office was dark and cramped. There were no windows, of course, but enough light could get in from the humming florescents in the hallway. And the door was open an inch or two, which was all the light the three women needed. They stood in a tight circle; Mina leaning against the front of her desk, still wearing her gaudy pirate costume from the party, with her fedora; Rosa against the wall in her usual black dress and usual scowl; and Brie, the most beautiful of them, dressed as Joan of Arc, with her back to the door. Within their little circle was the chair.
From a distance, it looked rickety and old. One might even mistake it for something hastily assembled from wood. But the gleaming white rods of the chair were bone. Naked and exposed. And the women could feel power trembling from the chair. More than just power. Emotion. Fear. Which was only logical.
"What do we do now?" Rosa asked. It was easier for her to be businesslike about it. After all, she didn't know the poor man.
"He can't survive like that much longer," Mina said. She, by contrast, was struggling to remain businesslike. Although she had no special affection for Luke, there was an association that she couldn't ignore.
Poor Brie, unfortunately, loved him with all of her heart. "There has to be a way to undo the spell," she insisted, reminding Mina very much of the stubborn teenager she had been. Her fingers never left the bones and if either woman happened to get too close to the chair, her fangs would flash, a territorial animal ready to pounce on any intruder. Although, for her own part, Mina didn't want to touch the bloody thing.
"We could ask the Dragons," Rosa suggested offhandedly.
Mina shook her head. "By the time they finished all the research, a month would be up. We need a more immediate fix."
"Like what?"
"If the Baron did this to him, the Baron can bloody undo it."
Rosa laughed a dry, bitter laugh. "We've been trying to control the Baron for months," she said. "I don't think we're going to get on his good side now."
"I'm not talking about his good side," Mina said dryly.
"Do we even have any Cold Iron left?"
No. They didn't. And all three of them knew it, so Mina felt no obligation to answer. Nor did she feel the need to ask what the next plan would be.
They didn't have one.
"I can change him back for you."
The voice came from an empty corner of the room. Formerly empty, at any rate. All of a sudden, the darkness exploded with butterflies. They were silver and copper and pink and they sparkled like pave diamonds. Mina's pistols were out in the blink of an eye. Both Rosa and Brie bared their teeth, Brie getting in front of the chair that had once been her fiance. When the butterflies congregated together, however, the resulting form held up her hands in surrender.
They had seen her before, of course. The Queen. One of the True Fae vying for the city. But not like this. She normally appeared to them in the form of a huntress, wearing skins and mimicking the goddess Artemis. Tonight, however, she looked quite tame by comparison. Her long, golden hair hung loose around her shoulders, topped by a silver tiara. She wore a blue gown, like something out of a Renaissance painting. It seemed to flow, even though there was no breeze.
"How now, spirit," Mina muttered under her breath, lowering her pistols. Bullets would do no good against the True Fae.
"Wither wander you," the Queen replied, giving Mina a knowing smile, like they shared some kind of secret.
The very thought of that turned Mina's stomach.
Brie's fangs retracted. They were of no more use than bullets. "You can help him?" she asked, looking between the Queen and the chair.
The Queen nodded. "I can turn him back to flesh and blood," she promised.
"Don't even think about it, Brie," Rosa said. "You know what happens when you make deals with the Fae."
"And the Prince has forbidden it," Mina added.
Brie glanced between them, her pretty, green eyes torn. But then she turned back to the Queen. There was a look on her face that Mina understood well. A hungry look. A longing look. And she knew, all of them knew, that the Queen truly was Luke's last hope. "You can turn him back?"
"Yes," the Queen said. "All I ask in return is that you carry my name. I need to fight back against what the Baron's done."
That was the Queen. Always seemingly the lesser of two evils. But Mina never forgot that she was an evil nonetheless. And to her credit, neither had Brie. But Mina knew what was going to happen. "I..." Brie was struggling with herself, two instincts warring. She was the Sheriff. It was her duty to obey the Prince. And the True Fae could not be trusted.
But it was Luke.
"Brie..." Rosa whispered.
Brie turned, looking at Rosa and Mina. "What do I do?" she asked.
"You say no," Rosa said.
Mina shook her head. "I cannot condone what you're thinking," she said. "Neither of us can. But I won't stop you." She sat down on her desk, the weight of the ring she wore on a chain around her neck sinking into her chest a little bit. Mina did not suffer fools. Never would. But when it came to two fools in love, she found her resolution somewhat lax. At least enough to look the other way at this disaster in the making.
The displeased look on Rosa's face indicated that she was not so keen on the idea. But Brie was her friend and, after a bit of a sigh, she sank down beside Mina on the desk. It was as much of an assent as Brie would get out of her.
Brie turned to face the Queen. She squared her shoulders, straightening her spine. Just as she had done as a child, facing her mother for a scolding. Mina smiled at the familiarity of it all. And she imagined it would be the last time she recognized her beloved niece. The True Fae had ensured that nothing would ever be the same.
"All right," she said to the Queen. "I'll carry your name. Now change him back."
The Queen smiled. That was all it took. No incantation, no silly rhymes. A smile. And the rickety chair of bones flashed so bright that Mina couldn't see it well. All she knew was one minute, it was a colorless chair, the next, it was a handsome man. He looked as though he had been in agony and suddenly found relief. And he held his arms out to Brie, but Mina couldn't see what happened next.
Her body was suddenly rocked by an intense heat, like a fire. Her vision went white and she fell back onto her desk, knocking off her books and papers and pens. Half convinced that she was actually on fire, she tried to raise her hands, to pat herself out, but she felt locked in rigor mortis. She couldn't move. She couldn't fight. And a feeling, like a warm hand, ran up the length of her body. It started to invade her, going in through her mouth and nose and ears, even her pores.
Perhaps it only lasted half a second, but it felt like years before the burning sensation left her. Weak and shaken, she tried to sit up, only to roll off the desk and onto the floor. As she watched her palms hit the carpet, a cloud of glittering sparkles rose up from her flesh, blowing away in the hair and dissolving. She raised her head, looking back over her shoulder. Rosa was in a heap on the floor, in front of the desk. Brie had also collapsed, but Luke managed to catch her.
Mina opened her mouth to say something, but her ears were suddenly bombarded by an angry cry. What the hell has she done to us? It was Rosa's voice, but Rosa hadn't moved her lips. My skin feels like it's on fire! That was Brie, but she was silent too.
Suddenly, Mina felt her mind being bombarded by thoughts, drifting out of the two of them like smoke. Rosa was angry and resentful. She didn't know what to make of this. She'd never wanted to be a vampire, now what was she? Tears of blood were streaming down her face, black in the darkness of the office. Brie, by contrast, was confused. She hurt all over, but she felt safe and warm in Luke's arms. She loved him so much. She wanted to marry him right away. Was there a chaplain in the hospital? And would Luke be willing to become a Mekhet, she wondered.
Try as she might, Mina could not shut out the sounds of their thoughts. Each one was like an invasion, a stab to the temple. She curled up on herself, as though that would do her any good. But even the feel of her own body was foreign to her. She felt like she was being held by a stranger. She was no longer herself.
But what was she?
From a distance, it looked rickety and old. One might even mistake it for something hastily assembled from wood. But the gleaming white rods of the chair were bone. Naked and exposed. And the women could feel power trembling from the chair. More than just power. Emotion. Fear. Which was only logical.
"What do we do now?" Rosa asked. It was easier for her to be businesslike about it. After all, she didn't know the poor man.
"He can't survive like that much longer," Mina said. She, by contrast, was struggling to remain businesslike. Although she had no special affection for Luke, there was an association that she couldn't ignore.
Poor Brie, unfortunately, loved him with all of her heart. "There has to be a way to undo the spell," she insisted, reminding Mina very much of the stubborn teenager she had been. Her fingers never left the bones and if either woman happened to get too close to the chair, her fangs would flash, a territorial animal ready to pounce on any intruder. Although, for her own part, Mina didn't want to touch the bloody thing.
"We could ask the Dragons," Rosa suggested offhandedly.
Mina shook her head. "By the time they finished all the research, a month would be up. We need a more immediate fix."
"Like what?"
"If the Baron did this to him, the Baron can bloody undo it."
Rosa laughed a dry, bitter laugh. "We've been trying to control the Baron for months," she said. "I don't think we're going to get on his good side now."
"I'm not talking about his good side," Mina said dryly.
"Do we even have any Cold Iron left?"
No. They didn't. And all three of them knew it, so Mina felt no obligation to answer. Nor did she feel the need to ask what the next plan would be.
They didn't have one.
"I can change him back for you."
The voice came from an empty corner of the room. Formerly empty, at any rate. All of a sudden, the darkness exploded with butterflies. They were silver and copper and pink and they sparkled like pave diamonds. Mina's pistols were out in the blink of an eye. Both Rosa and Brie bared their teeth, Brie getting in front of the chair that had once been her fiance. When the butterflies congregated together, however, the resulting form held up her hands in surrender.
They had seen her before, of course. The Queen. One of the True Fae vying for the city. But not like this. She normally appeared to them in the form of a huntress, wearing skins and mimicking the goddess Artemis. Tonight, however, she looked quite tame by comparison. Her long, golden hair hung loose around her shoulders, topped by a silver tiara. She wore a blue gown, like something out of a Renaissance painting. It seemed to flow, even though there was no breeze.
"How now, spirit," Mina muttered under her breath, lowering her pistols. Bullets would do no good against the True Fae.
"Wither wander you," the Queen replied, giving Mina a knowing smile, like they shared some kind of secret.
The very thought of that turned Mina's stomach.
Brie's fangs retracted. They were of no more use than bullets. "You can help him?" she asked, looking between the Queen and the chair.
The Queen nodded. "I can turn him back to flesh and blood," she promised.
"Don't even think about it, Brie," Rosa said. "You know what happens when you make deals with the Fae."
"And the Prince has forbidden it," Mina added.
Brie glanced between them, her pretty, green eyes torn. But then she turned back to the Queen. There was a look on her face that Mina understood well. A hungry look. A longing look. And she knew, all of them knew, that the Queen truly was Luke's last hope. "You can turn him back?"
"Yes," the Queen said. "All I ask in return is that you carry my name. I need to fight back against what the Baron's done."
That was the Queen. Always seemingly the lesser of two evils. But Mina never forgot that she was an evil nonetheless. And to her credit, neither had Brie. But Mina knew what was going to happen. "I..." Brie was struggling with herself, two instincts warring. She was the Sheriff. It was her duty to obey the Prince. And the True Fae could not be trusted.
But it was Luke.
"Brie..." Rosa whispered.
Brie turned, looking at Rosa and Mina. "What do I do?" she asked.
"You say no," Rosa said.
Mina shook her head. "I cannot condone what you're thinking," she said. "Neither of us can. But I won't stop you." She sat down on her desk, the weight of the ring she wore on a chain around her neck sinking into her chest a little bit. Mina did not suffer fools. Never would. But when it came to two fools in love, she found her resolution somewhat lax. At least enough to look the other way at this disaster in the making.
The displeased look on Rosa's face indicated that she was not so keen on the idea. But Brie was her friend and, after a bit of a sigh, she sank down beside Mina on the desk. It was as much of an assent as Brie would get out of her.
Brie turned to face the Queen. She squared her shoulders, straightening her spine. Just as she had done as a child, facing her mother for a scolding. Mina smiled at the familiarity of it all. And she imagined it would be the last time she recognized her beloved niece. The True Fae had ensured that nothing would ever be the same.
"All right," she said to the Queen. "I'll carry your name. Now change him back."
The Queen smiled. That was all it took. No incantation, no silly rhymes. A smile. And the rickety chair of bones flashed so bright that Mina couldn't see it well. All she knew was one minute, it was a colorless chair, the next, it was a handsome man. He looked as though he had been in agony and suddenly found relief. And he held his arms out to Brie, but Mina couldn't see what happened next.
Her body was suddenly rocked by an intense heat, like a fire. Her vision went white and she fell back onto her desk, knocking off her books and papers and pens. Half convinced that she was actually on fire, she tried to raise her hands, to pat herself out, but she felt locked in rigor mortis. She couldn't move. She couldn't fight. And a feeling, like a warm hand, ran up the length of her body. It started to invade her, going in through her mouth and nose and ears, even her pores.
Perhaps it only lasted half a second, but it felt like years before the burning sensation left her. Weak and shaken, she tried to sit up, only to roll off the desk and onto the floor. As she watched her palms hit the carpet, a cloud of glittering sparkles rose up from her flesh, blowing away in the hair and dissolving. She raised her head, looking back over her shoulder. Rosa was in a heap on the floor, in front of the desk. Brie had also collapsed, but Luke managed to catch her.
Mina opened her mouth to say something, but her ears were suddenly bombarded by an angry cry. What the hell has she done to us? It was Rosa's voice, but Rosa hadn't moved her lips. My skin feels like it's on fire! That was Brie, but she was silent too.
Suddenly, Mina felt her mind being bombarded by thoughts, drifting out of the two of them like smoke. Rosa was angry and resentful. She didn't know what to make of this. She'd never wanted to be a vampire, now what was she? Tears of blood were streaming down her face, black in the darkness of the office. Brie, by contrast, was confused. She hurt all over, but she felt safe and warm in Luke's arms. She loved him so much. She wanted to marry him right away. Was there a chaplain in the hospital? And would Luke be willing to become a Mekhet, she wondered.
Try as she might, Mina could not shut out the sounds of their thoughts. Each one was like an invasion, a stab to the temple. She curled up on herself, as though that would do her any good. But even the feel of her own body was foreign to her. She felt like she was being held by a stranger. She was no longer herself.
But what was she?
