Mature: Desert Moon

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's lips tightened a little, but they didn't even come close to making it into a grin. "I don't think I can right now, snack," he said quietly.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara frowned. "Are you sad?" she asked him, looking ready to burst into tears along side him. "Don't be sad!" She planted kisses on his cheeks. "I love you, daddy."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad put his arms around her, and despite himself, felt tears fall down his cheeks. "I'm glad, snack," he said in a choked whisper. He knew Talon was watching, knew he was upsetting Tenara, but he couldn't hold it back. After six days, he'd hit his limit.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara cried with him. Though, she didn't know why they were crying. She just knew she didn't like seeing her usually strong father upset.

Talon excused himself from the room to offer the two of them some privacy. He wasn't sure why his master was that upset, but he knew it had to do with Tenele.

"Daddy needs a nap," Tenara choked. "Naps make me feel better. Let's nap."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad nodded blankly. He stretched back on Tenara's bed and tried to control his breathing while his daughter wriggled into his arms. Vlad lay on his side and circled his arms around her protectively. He had no physical need of sleep, but she was right. He had to get his brain off, before it drove him mad.

After a while, his thoughts quieted and he breathed restfully across the top of Tenara's head.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele sat cross-legged at the stern of the ship, watching the sun begin to set and the water froth behind them. She was angry at Vlad, and she may have said some hurtful things. But, she couldn't let him control her. She didn't like the way he ordered her to do this and that, and he didn't seem to understand how that made her feel.

"Don't grow fond of him." Don't do this. Don't do that.

What was she going to do with a man who wanted to control her? How was she ever going to make this work with him?

"I don't know what I'm doing," she murmured out loud, fading into sobs. She covered her face with her hands and cried. She wiped her eyes as fast as the tears fell, trying to hide them away before she got caught. He treated her like a child. It made her feel like a child, like she was doing everything wrong...

Maybe she was, compared to the way she normally acted. But, if he wanted to win her heart, he had to show her he trusted her.

And he didn't trust her.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad was jolted awake by a burst of nausea and pain. He opened his eyes and sucked in air. "Awake, pretty bloodsucker?" Sam asked him dryly. "Like my little doodle?"

Vlad managed to turn his head and spot the emblem sketched onto the floor around Tenara's bed. His arms tightened around Tenara, without much strength. He flashed his gaze to Sam, outraged.

"I guess I got it right," he mused. "Never know when you pick these things up in books." He walked slowly to the edge of the bed. "Sorry about this, but word on the street is you're pretty strong. And I saw what you did. You made my pretty lady cry. I'll take good care of her, once you're out of the way."

Vlad's eyes widened. She cried? he thought guiltily.

[Emora Deen]

Vlad's light movements weren't enough to wake Tenara, but the man talking roused her a little. She blinked her eyes open. She felt a little sick. She wasn't sure why. Something made her achey. She didn't want to get sick. She wanted to go to dinner with the captain.

Tenele dried her eyes. The sun had set and she'd be going to dinner soon. She needed to get Tenara ready and to at least wash her face enough so her eyes weren't so red. She collected herself, smoothed her hands over her dress, and headed back to the room.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad glared at the man as he hovered over him. It was difficult to move under the pressure of the spell. "Don't worry, bloodsucker. I'll get you out of that ward. But you need to be good, so I brought you a little collar." He pulled out a chain looped with a huge chunk of what looked like raw metal. It didn't feel like raw metal. Vlad could barely look at it as the sailor held it out toward him. He'd taken something and melted it down. Something holy. The vampire cried out as the chain was clasped roughly around his neck. The metal sizzled into the center of his chest. He felt himself being hauled up, Sam crooning something about the lovely necklace he'd given him.

The vampire barely managed to look back at Tenara. "Don't leave her in there. Let her out!" he ground out hoarsely, more horrified by the sight of his daughter in a holy circle than by the ripping, screaming pain in his chest. A hand closed over his mouth harshly. The vampire tried to thrash, and found his muscles quickly losing any mobility at all as they stepped out into the hallway.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara sat up, wrapping her arms around her tummy. "Daddy?" she called, looking around the room and then up at the man taking her father away. "Daddy!!" Tenara tried to leave the bed, but every time she attempted to put her foot down it felt to hot. "Daddy!" she sobbed. This felt too familiar for Tenara. The last time a man came into her room while she was sleeping and did this she didn't see her father or her mother for months. Her eyes had a faint glow of red in them, but every time her powers lit to life they were squashed by whatever was keeping her from leaving the bed.

As Tenele rounded the corner to head another floor down she heard Tenara screaming, begging for her father.

"Tenara?!" she took off in a jog down the steps to the lower level where she saw the man with Vlad. "What are you doing? Let him go!"

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad stared dizzily past Sam's waist at Tenele in his path.

The sailor spat. "I didn't want you to see this, little lady," he threw Vlad aside and drew a knife. "It's a shame. I wanted you to myself, but now I'm gonna have to do something about you too. No worries...I can still fuck you when you're dead."

He lashed out at her with the seasoned balance of a sailor, aiming for her chest.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele screamed, she threw herself back, the edge of the blade catching her dress and cutting it open across the front. It nicked her skin lightly. She scurried back across the floor.

"Wait, wait, wait!" She cried, until her back hit the steps. She lifted her hands up as a shield. "Don't kill me. Don't hurt my family. Please. W-why take me dead when you can have me living? Just let them go. Give my daughter her father..." Tenele put a hand to the cut dress. "I'll do whatever you want, just let them go. Please. Put away the knife."

[Soran Nightblade]

The man laughed. "Vladimir Dracul would kill me in a heartbeat if I spared him now. I only got him because he was sleeping so sweetly with his little girl. He crouched down, pushing his knife blade to her neck. "I'll tell you what," he sneered. Keep your mouth shut like a good girl, and I'll only kill him.

Vlad struggled to rise up, but all he achieved was an agonized groan. He closed his eyes and struggled to send an SOS to Talon, but his mind was just a blur of pain, not focused enough to call on his bloodling.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele looked fearfully from Vlad to the man holding the knife at her throat. "I'll be as quiet as a mouse if you don't kill him," she renegotiated. "Just leave him in the room with my daughter. Leave him locked up. Leave him alive... and I'll be the most willing woman you've ever met." Tenele felt bile creep up into her throat, but she made a good show of it. She looked him up and down the length of his body, but she pretended she was looking at Vlad.

All she had to do was get the knife away from him... She was a fighter, right? A warrior... She could handle one guy... But, she was also too afraid of messing up. If she was dead, who would take care of Tenara?

[Soran Nightblade]

"No," Vlad choked. Anything but that. Not again. His gaze went to the top of the stairs that led to the deck. His blurry eyes widened. Matthew was standing at the base of the stairs, confused. "Tenara!" he ground out. If the child was free, she could give their attacker a nice little thank you gift. Tenele wasn't herself. She couldn't fight back.

The man seemed to register what the vampire meant, and glanced toward the bedroom. Something was happening to Tenara?" He lunged for the room. "I'll be back for you, Tenele!" he shouted, ducking inside.

"Shit," Sam cursed. This was getting out of hand. He had to dump the vampire, first and foremost. He was the biggest threat. The man slung his fist out and punched Tenele in the side of the jaw. Hoping that knocked her out, he grabbed the suffering vampire and dragged him up the stairs to the deck, making swift progress of getting to the railing. It was dark now, and the decks were relatively empty. Vlad tried to call out, but the world was starting to blur apart. He panted limply against Sam's back. He had to find a way to kill this man. Take him with him.