LORE: End Game (MATURE)

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:05 pm

Vlad was lying next to Tenele, restlessly watching for any sign of waking from her pale form. The doctors had talked him into removing his arm from where it was draped over her, saying it would make it harder for her heart and lungs. For once, he was cooperating with everything they told him. Surprisingly, they hadn't told him to leave. In fact, they'd recommended he talk to her out loud, because the voice of a well-known aquaintance (they had such a pretty way of phrasing it) sometimes helped. He'd cooperated with that, too. It was too embarrassing to even rethink the stories he'd told her and the feelings he'd admitted while she was lying so still on the cot next to him.

The Queen had come to visit, too. That had been a quiet, morbid ten minutes where surprisingly little was said between them. Sinead had just sat beside Tenele and watched her, and watched Vlad watch her, and then she'd kissed Tenele's forehead and touched Vlad's shoulder briefly before returning to her endless responsibilities.

It had been a day and a half. The longest day and a half he thought he'd ever experienced. It was the middle of the night, and the candle had long since drowned itself. Vlad wasn't exactly sleeping, but he'd gone into a daydreamy state. So when Tenele moved slightly in the sheets beside him, he was aware of it. But he'd fleetingly imagined such a thing several times already, and it didn't quite impress him as real.

"Vlad? It's very dark..." Vlad peered at Tenele's back in the darkness. In the corner of his mind, it was dawning on him, that he'd heard her. It was real. But not quite fast enough.

He jerked upright as a loud thunk sounded beside the cot, and all at once, she wasn't in front of him anymore. "Oww," her groan came up from the floor.

"Tenele!" Vlad gasped, throwing off the blankets and leaping off his side of the bed to go to her. His muscles responded easily, as if he hadn't been lying still for 36 hours. He crouched in front of her. "Tenele," he whispered again, not sure why he was suddenly whispering. He paused a moment, and realized she couldn't see him. He snatched almost clumsily for the fresh candle on the nightstand and struck the flint with his telekinesis. A flickering light filled the space between he and Tenele, and he stared at her, still looking uncharacteristically startled.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:00 pm

She was lying on her side, her face resting on her hand wearily. Green eyes stared back at him and she had a soft smile on her face. Though, she still looked considerably tired, she still seemed to be a little bit better. As the candle flickered to life she was captivated by his expression and though he looked startled she admired how handsome he was. She wanted to reach up and touch his cool cheek, but knew she'd look rather ridiculous since she'd shake uncontrolably.

"I can be very silly sometimes, you know?" she pointed out, pulling herself across the distance on the floor and hugging herself to his lap, her head resting on his legs and her arms twining around his waist. She enjoyed the closeness and it made her feel safe. She always felt safe around him.

"How long have I slept? It feels like days..." Her voice was barely even above a whisper. She smirked because they both seemed to be whispering as if they were afraid of breaking the clean silence of the night with loud talking. The peace was almost painfully beautiful, since peace rarely seemed to find them anymore. "How long do you think it will take? Before I'm well again?"

She hated the question even as it rolled from her lips. However, it was said and though it made her feel weak and helpless, there was no taking it back. She wondered what Vlad thought of her, if he considered her exactly that. Weak and helpless. Though, in all entirety she was exactly that. If Lothos was alive, which thankfully he wasn't, then she'd stand not chance against him. Absolutely no glimpse or hint of a chance and the helplessness of that enraged her.

She hated being weak.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:39 pm

Vlad couldn't help staring at her for a few seconds. Up until a minute ago, he hadn't been sure if she'd get better at all. Now here she was, smiling and talking. "Not long," he lied in answer to both her questions. He scooted next to her and curled his arms under her weight to lift her back to the cot. "I need you to stay awake for a few minutes. Are you thirsty?" he said with poorly concealed urgency, as if she might disappear at any moment.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:42 pm

"I think I can manage staying awake for a few minutes," she said with a smirk. "Oh, dear. I'm feel like my mouth is full of sand. Yes, I'm thirsty." How long had she gone without food? How long had it been since she had eaten? Did it matter? She supposed it did, for to regain blood one needed to eat.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:36 pm

"Good, now keep your eyes open, I'll be right back," Vlad said, and then did something extremely un-Vladlike. He went for the doctor. A minute later, he and the older(looking) man rushed back in through the doorway. Vlad resumed his place at Tenele's side while the doctor prepared sugar water and a thin straw for her to drink. Vlad got in bed beside her and helped her to sit up...and by that, I mean he literally held her up. Her body felt too light.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:43 pm

She sighed, really not liking the fact she couldn't do this for herself. She insisted on holding the glass of sugar water. Which meant she held it to her chest, propping it up on her bossum and sipping the water from the reed straw. She drank the hold glass in a matter of seconds and then with a sigh and quivering hand she handed it back to the doctor. "There," she said, glancing back at Vlad. She leaned in against him, resting her head there.

"How long before I recover?" she asked the doctor seriously. She wanted to be well by tomorrow, but knew for a fact that it would be unrealistic. "I'd like to be moved to my room. I'm about tired of this hospital. I seem to own this bed. I'm sure you can understand where..." She took a ragged breath and leaned in more against Vlad. "Where I'm coming from."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:02 am

The doctor crossed his arms and tried to give real consideration to Tenele's request. But in the end, all he could say was "Maiden, you've been over and out for nearly two days. It's a bit of a miracle you woke up at all, and if Lord Dracul hadn't called me, your next sleep could have been much longer. Forgive me, but you're not ready to leave yet."

Vlad gave him a look that said he wasn't happy about the honesty, but he stayed quiet.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:10 pm

Tenele sighed, clenching her teeth slightly. She understood what he was saying. If she didn't get food and fluids into her body there was good chance she wouldn't wake up again... That meant death. No wonder Vlad had wanted her to stay up long enough for him to get the doctor.

"Okay," she said, putting away the idea of lying in a more comfortable bed, or a larger one that would comfortably hold her and the vampire that seemed adement about staying by her side. "I guess there isn't anything I can do to sway your opinion."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:58 pm

The doctor looked over the disappointed maiden and sighed. "I'll tell you what. If you get some color back by daybreak, and you're still bent and determined on getting back to a bed, I'll have the nurses relocate your treatment wherever you want," he said as he checked her pulse and temperature. She was showing all the signs of dehydration. "You're probably hungry, but we can't start you on food just yet. Try to finish a few more of those sugar drinks at your own pace over the next few hours, and then we'll talk. If you start to feel nauseous, you can swallow one of these," he said, placing a small cup of herbal pellets on the tray next to her bed. "I'm going to get back to sleep. It's still three in the morning. If anything unusual happens or her condition changes, wake me immediately," he said to them both, and then left the room.

Vlad looked at the girl he was holding upright. "Those are the breaks," he teased her. He wasn't sure which of his emotions were safe to acknowledge, so he was going to go with sarcasm.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:12 pm

Tenele grabbed the next glass, stealing the straw reed from the empty one and placing it in the full glass. She pressed the cup to her chest to steady her hands, fearing the tremble in her arm would cause most of the drink to spill out.

"I hate being like this," she muttered as she sipped the drink thoughtfully. She glanced at Vlad and smirked. "But, at least I've captivated your attention." Her voice was amused and she was so taken with being playful that she hadn't even realized how her free hand was idly holding the place on her bandaged neck where Lothos had sunk his cruel teeth so brutally.

She downed the drink extremely fast and set the glass back on the bedside table. Tenele was reaching for the next one, determined to get better faster than any human had ever before. However, she wasn't really considering the fact that too much sugar in an empty stomach could make her sick. That was the last thing she needed at the moment.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:03 am

Vlad reached out with his telekinesis and moved the next glass out of her reach on the bedstand. "Patience, my lady," he teased. "You're going to have to pace yourself better than that in order to get out of here at dawn." He tried to keep levity in his tone. He leaned over her and stroked the hair out of her face with a grin.

"You're awfully dull when you're unconscious. Don't ever bore me like that again," he upbraided her, leaning in to brush his lips against hers. He knew that in a few minutes he was going to have to let her sleep again, and the thought was rather unpleasant. Honestly, boring was the last word he could honestly use to describe the last two days. Slow, agonizing, empty, - he'd even admit to terrifying - , but not boring.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:46 am

OOC: I had this really awesome post written and I clicked “post reply” and it took me to haircut.net. What the heck. Lost my post

So here is the uncool version.

Tenele’s breath caught in her throat when his lips lightly brushed hers. She couldn’t help herself. She leaned in, melding into those cool soft lips. The kiss was slow and gentle. Soft. Almost bittersweet. A kiss that seemed like the first and last all at the same time, but she knew it wasn’t true. She felt well enough to live, so it would most definitely not be the last. Maybe it was bittersweet given the circumstances, for she was hardly healthy enough to fight and if more trouble came to the palace...

She wouldn’t think about that. Instead, the only thing she thought about were his lips against hers. She gave up her strength to that kiss, the urgency in it become evident until the point where she hadn’t the energy to keep it up and she slumped back into his arms, those gorgeous green eyes sparkling up at him. Her silver hair shimmered like mirror fragments with each shift of the candle flame and all she could do was look into those red eyes.

“I’ll never bore you again,” she replied to him with a soft smile. “If I had the energy I could ensure that right now.” The tone in her voice left the implication of something only he would ever understand, for he was the only man who had ever and would ever see that side of her. She found herself suddenly captivated by those dark crimson eyes and she grew fascinated by how handsome he was. How angelically demonic he seemed, if that could even be considered a term. Beautiful, handsome, yet rimmed with danger.

“Gods, your attractive,” she mused in a whisper, a trembling hand reaching up to brush her fingertips ever so lightly across his cheek and down over his lips. The look in his eyes seemed intense to her, though maybe it was her weary imagination. The look behind them drove her to the need to know what was going on in that mind of his. What wheels were turning what gears. What thoughts were spinning and roaming through the complexity of that which was Vlad’s mind. “What are you thinking?”

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:38 pm

"I am handsome," he responded teasingly. True, it was what had passed through his mind the moment she asked, but Vlad mentally cringed a bit at what he would have to admit to in order to answer Tenele's question the way she'd intended.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:42 pm

Tenele smirked at him. "Your avoiding my question," she prodded, wondering if he ever would give her a straight answer to it or not. She had spent enough time looking into those eyes to realize what the subtle changes in his expression meant, still it gave know hint to his actually thoughts.

"You are sly, Lord Dracul, but not that sly," she reminded him, a strand of silver hair sliding across her cheek. She shifted her face at the slight tickling sensation it ran through her.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:55 pm

Vlad fell vampire-still as he looked at her. It was what he did when he got really preoccupied with something and forgot to act human. He stroked the silver from her face with his pale, masculine hand and didn't speak. He knew he was a little out of sorts from watching her sleep on the brink of her life for so many hours, and if he just gave it a bit more time, he would be feeling normal again. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about. I just hate being bored," he said, but the look in his red eyes didn't match the levity in his voice.