Holier Than Thou

[Soran Nightblade]

"Yeah. That's the plan." Vlad took a breath and held it. "As I advanced, Sinead became more and more convinced the objective was accomplished. I was already in full control of my powers and capable of living civilly among humans, though I wasn't in touch with them emotionally. But there was a final frontier Maxwell hadn't managed to get me across, and he was determined.

Holy magic wasn't like the other weaknesses that were carved out of me. No amount of exposure made me any more resistant. Absurdly dilute doses would reduce me to a complete mess.

Then a day came when Sinead visited unannounced. I wasn't restrained as I usually was. I was in horrible shape at the time, and the agony made me fierce. The only thing that stopped me from successfully killing her was probably that I couldn't access my powers with so much poison in my system. I gave it my best shot though. She had magic to protect herself, but it was Maxwell who found the scene and hauled me off of her shields. I don't remember it well, but there was a blowup between them. She warned she would pull the plug on the whole thing.

"So Maxwell got desperate, and pissed, which is a bad combination. He dosed me with enough holy water that night to make sure I would learn a lesson, an amount he would normally administer over the course of months.

"Sinead came down and pulled the plug on the whole project the next day. Maxwell didn't have to tell her I was dying. She could hear the screaming. The whole castle heard."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele's expression had gone hollow with Vlad's words. That last few sentences twisted her stomach into knots so tight it hurt. Her hands had unknowingly clenched so tight her nails cut into the skin of her palm. She'd even stopped breathing.

And then a tear fell. The idea of his agony, having seen him tormented by holy magic before, broke her. She didn't think she should be the one crying, and it didn't feel right for her to be dissolving into tears in front of him. But, to know that Vlad would be put through that again and there was nothing she could do to save him... and that he was sacrificing himself for her. It broke her heart.

"I'm calling it off," Tenele muttered. "I don't need his help. I've been doing fine. I haven't had a bad spell yet. I'm calling it off, or I'm killing him. Those are his two choices." She shifted to her knees and struggled with getting up, managing to gather enough frustration to literally throw herself to her feet.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad blinked and went still as a statue. "My love..." He wanted to tell her she was being insane, and that she could die, but he had a feeling she knew that already. "Maxwell would not allow us to back out now, even if I wanted to. I want to keep you safe."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele frowned at him, her eyes watering. "What would he do? Kill you?" she muttered. "You're his prize. His greatest accomplishment..." Tenele pressed her lips together. "I hate it. I hate how he and Sinead treat you like property to be managed. You're not a loose cannon, and you're not a science experiment."

"And if I wasn't pregnant I'd try to kill him," she seethed. She placed a hand on her stomach, taking in a shaking breath. She felt rage consume her. She couldn't do anything about the situation. She couldn't fight him, couldn't tell him to go away, and she couldn't convince Vlad that she was okay. It made her feel helpless, a feeling Tenele hated.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad stood up and put his arms around her tightly. "If he doesn't get what he was promised... he will try to take it by force," he explained quietly. "It would be highly dangerous to back out now." He didn't know why he wasn't straight-up forbidding it. Her protectiveness, along with Sinead's was leaving his carefully forged resolve splintered with fractures.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele rested against him. She felt like she was choking. The idea of Vlad being tortured, the image of him screaming when they were making his immunity the first time, it was all she could see. All she could hear. So what if he was invincible or if he was immortal. He felt pain. He would feel pain. For a year.

"I understand," she sighed, shutting her eyes and pressing into him tighter. "I'll not anger him."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad took her face in his hands and raised it to face him, stroking her hair back gently with his fingertips. "Hey...It will be all right. Okay? I know what I'm getting into, and I know I can handle it. Besides, I'll have Talon with me. I'll be at you side before you even get to miss me."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele nodded, but even as she did she felt the tears roll down her cheeks. She took a deep breath to calm herself and reached up to wipe her eyes. "I'm going to step out for some air," she whispered to him, lifting her hands to his face. She brushed her fingers against his cheek, and forced a smile. "You should check on Sinead." She gave him a gentle kiss before stepping away and cutting through the bedroom for the balcony, Stalker trailing her ankles.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad lingered on Tenele as she crossed to the balcony. Sinead's feelings were the last thing he was concerned about at the moment. But his wife had a point, and he was her servant. Walking to the door, he knocked stiffly. "My queen," he muttered beside the doorframe.

"What is it, Vladimir?" the quiet answer came from within.

"So, Tenele and I like to enjoy ourselves in that tub, so I don't recommend using it."

"That's crude, Vladimir!" Sinead snapped. A moment later, she threw the door open and frowned at him like he was an untrained dog.

"Beg your pardon," he bowed smugly, gesturing for her to come back into the main room.

The queen's pink-rimmed eyes avoided his as she stepped back out. There was a sheepishness to her that Vlad never really encountered, and that made him hold his tongue a few more seconds than normal before his frustration boiled over.

"I hope you're pleased. The decision was made, and we'd come to terms with it. Now you've upset her anew. The doctors say she's not to be stressed.

"All pregnant women get stressed, Vladimir," Sinead sighed. "Are you certain this was every really her decision? Or is it you whose resolve has changed?"

"Stop it, now, Queenie," Vlad warned.

"Don't use that attitude to blow around this. If you need help, ask for it!"

"How are you going to help? Or were you hoping to "supervise" again?"

The venomous words brought the conversation to a halt. Sinead met his eyes soberly. "No. No more of this madness. Don't you remember how you were when you came out of development? Do you think that will be good for your wife and child? Let's find a different way to help Tenele.

"Or you could just go back to Ighten and stop throwing doubts and false hope into the equation, when we've already made our decision!" Vlad said with stiff formality.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele rested on the lounge near the balcony railing, sobbing quietly into the hem of her dress while Stalker nudged her with his cold nose. She knew that there was no point in crying, and that crying wouldn't change anything. But, she couldn't stop. She couldn't seem to turn the tears off.

And then there was the matter of Maxwell. The sun was setting. He'd arrive shortly as he did whenever he made his visits. She had no desire to see him, and she hadn't figured out a way to act normal around him... Or at least with the usual level of hostility.

Tenele took a deep breath, and then exhaled. She took another, and then exhaled. On the third one she dried cheeks and eyes with shaking hands. She could hear Vlad talking to Sinead, and it didn't seem things were going well between them.

All of this is because of selfishness, she thought sourly. She placed a hand on the bottom curve of her belly and pushed to stand, hoping maybe she could put out whatever fires this decision of hers might have caused.

Tenele took a step. She felt a rush of heat and dizziness. Having stepped to the edge of the lounge she feared falling. She control fell, sort of collapsing gently into a small pile at the edge of the lounge, missing the seat completely. Tenele blinked her eyes to focus her vision. Stalker pressed his muzzle to her cheek, and she pushed his face away gently.

She lifted her gaze to the sheer curtains at the door, and contemplated calling for Vlad. But, with Sinead here, and with the conversation they'd had, and how she insisted she was well, she didn't want him to worry.

[Soran Nightblade]

Stalker didn't relent in his investigation of his fallen mistress. He snuffled warily around her neck and face before diving through the curtain toward Vlad at a brisk trot.

Vlad was in the middle of arguing with Sinead when Stalker's abrupt present stole his attention. "What is it?" Vlad frowned at the wolf impatiently.

Stalker made a low growl in the base of his throat, drawing a few steps back toward Tenele and edging sideways.

"I know she's upset, mutt," Vlad sighed.

Stalker spoke, or barked, then. The sound was unnatural and to most would likely be quite bone-chilling. Vlad cocked his head at the unusual vocalization and headed toward the hound, who quickly spun and led him through the other side of the curtain. Vlad immediately noticed Tenele on the floor.

"Easy. Easy," he murmured quickly, dropping down next to her to support her back. His arms were immediately around her, brushing her hair aside. "Into bed, okay?" he scooped her up against him. "You're okay."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele swallowed dryly and let Vlad carry her back into their bedroom and place her in bed. She curled on her side and reached out for his hand, unwilling to let it go. She closed her eyes and let the dizziness run its course, and her heart rate drop back to a calmer pace.

"I'm alright," she whispered after several minutes. "I'm just going to rest here. But, I'm alright."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad sat on the mattress next to her, holding her hand securely while his other hand wove back through her hair. "If you keep acting so tough, I'll look bad," he teased her gently, reaching out to the nightstand to light the candle there.

Sinead watched the scene anxiously, unused to seeing Tenele in such a state. Seeing Vlad's attentive, calm care of her and Tenele's loving trust brought a knot to her throat. They took such care with each other.

"Maxwell," Vlad murmured quietly into the flames. A few moments later, the demon was in the room with them. The demon took a look around, from Vlad to the pale-looking patient, to the regal but similarly pale form of the queen standing a few feet away from everything.

"I'm to have an audience?" he surmised, without much interest, as he set a large case on the table and began organizing his tools.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele smiled at Vlad's teasing, but the moment Maxwell arrived she felt her insides twist into knots of hatred. "Does having an audience make you nervous?" Tenele asked Maxwell, her thumb rubbing lightly over the skin of Vlad's hand.

She wondered if he had any weakness, any family, and heart at all. Looking at him, and judging by how he acted, she felt he must sit alone all day in his office and think of ways to torture people.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Not in the least," Maxwell said flatly. He threw on a stethoscope and listened carefully to the heartbeat that Vlad knew perfectly well he could hear unaided. "Any changes in your general health?"