Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I don’t suppose there’s any chance that you’ve changed your mind? Sulpicia asked Edythe hopefully, “Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company.”

Edythe hesitated. From the corner of my eye, I saw both Felicia and John grimace.

Edythe seemed to weigh each word before she spoke. “I’d rather…not.”

“Archie?” Sulpicia asked, still hopeful. “Would you perhaps be interested in joining with us?”

“No thank you,” Archie said.

“And you, Beau?” Sulpicia raised one eyebrow, smiling at me.

Edythe hissed, high in my ears. I stared at Sulpicia blankly. Was she joking? Or was she really asking me if I wanted to stay for dinner?

It was the blonde one – Athenodora – who broke the silence. “We can’t have you leave as a human either way.”

Edythe fumed beside me, I could hear a rumble in her chest, building toward another hiss. I couldn’t let her attitude get her hurt.

“Him becoming one of us or die, is that it?” She said, pulling me even closer to her side.

Athenodora pointed a slim finger at me. “She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets.” Her voice was soft like silk.

“There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well,” Edythe reminded her, and I thought of the handsome receptionist below.

Athenodora’s face twisted into a haunting smile.

“Yes,” she agreed. “But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If he betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy him? I think not,” she scoffed.

“I wouldn’t–,” I began, my voice cracking. Athenodora silenced me with a look that send a chill down my spine.

“Nor do you intend to make him one of us yourself,” she continued. “Therefore, we should remove that vulnerability and bite him. After all, we do not offer any second chances.”

Edythe bared her teeth, pushing me behind her. Felicia leaned forward, eager to fight.

“Unless…,” Sulpicia interrupted, smiling “Unless you do intent do give him immortality, before you leave us?”

Edythe hesitated for a moment before she answered. “And if I do?”

Sulpicia smiled even wider. “Why, then you would be free to go home and give my regards to my friend Carine.”

Edythe turned around to look into my eyes, I stared back.

She seemed to weigh out her options. Was it really such a loathsome idea? Would she rather die than change me? I felt like I’d been hit in the stomach.

Edythe stared up at me with a tortured expression.

Archie stepped away from us, forward toward Sulpicia. We turned to watch him. Sulpicia waved off her anxious guard as they moved to block Archie’s approach. I heard Edythe’s teeth snap together and winced.

“I will do it!” Archie said and raised his hand.

Sulpicia met him halfway, took his hand with an eager, acquisitive glint in her eyes. She bent her hand over their touching hands, her eyes closing as she concentrated. Archie was motionless.

No one moved. The seconds seemed to pass agonizingly slow and I grew more and more nervous, wondering how much time would pass before it was decided.  

Sulpicia’s high laugh broke the silence. “That was fascinating!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Archie answered dryly.

“To see the things, you’ve seen – especially the ones that are about to happen!” She shook her head in wonder.

Archie nodded. Edythe gripped my wrist, like she would try to run away with me any second.

“Certainly, there is no problem if we do it that way. Except if you would have any objections, Beau?” Sulpicia looked at me, smiling excitedly.

Edythe’s grip tightened and she whipped around to stare at me. I looked at Sulpicia.

“No–,” I said, my voice failing to let me add anything else.

Sulpicia smiled wider, showing off her perfect white teeth. She clapped her hands, clearly excited. “I’m so terribly curious to see how you will turn out! Demetria, if you could lead them up the tower?”

Demetria nodded, gestured that we should follow and then set off the way we’d come in, the only exit by the look of things.

“We’ll see each other again in a few days, young Beau,” Sulpicia said, waving us off.

Edythe pulled me along beside her, Archie was closely by my other side, his expression hard.

Demetria led us through different corridors, before we went up a staircase. I did my best not to trip, but it happened anyway. Edythe helped me out. I wasn’t sure if I should regret my decision now, she seemed so unhappy about it.

We ended at the top of the stairs, in front of a set of wooden doors. Demetria opened them for us and waited for us to enter. As I went in Edythe let go of my wrist, staying still at the entrance of the room.

I looked at her, kneading my sweaty hands nervously.

“No leaving, until he is a vampire!” Demetria let us know.

Edythe nodded, looking at the floor with a sad expression.

Demetria closed the doors; I was unsure if she would just wait there or leave us to it.

“Thank you, Archie,” Edythe said with a cold voice.

“If you wouldn’t have come here it wouldn’t have ended like that! This is the best possible solution,” He explained himself. “Now, do you want to do it or may I?”

Edythe’s eyes shot up to him, they were black as ink.

“Alright,” he replied, turning towards me. “Ready?”

I was still trying to wrap my head around what was about to happen. Of course it was quite obvious, since we were led to a room with a big bed. But somehow, I hadn’t fully processed it yet.

Taking a step towards Archie I reached for the hand he held out for me. Mine was shaking.

He made me sit down in the middle of the bed.

“Sorry, Beau – this will hurt,” Archie warned me, looking deep into my eyes as he sat down at the edge of the mattress.

He leaned towards me, one hand on my back. I closed my eyes, squeezing them as I felt his teeth sink into my neck.

I felt his ice-cold venom spread from my neck through my veins, setting my body on fire. I clawed my fingers into the blanket, suppressing my need to scream, instead focussing on Archie’s touch.

He made sure I properly laid down on the bed. The moment his hands were gone from my body someone laid down by my other side, taking my hand to hold it. I couldn’t open my eyes, but didn't need to. I knew it was Edythe.

The venom spread in my body, burning me alive form the inside out. It became worse and at one point I couldn’t hold my screams back anymore. I was sure, every vampire inside the palazzo could hear me.

·•·

The hours passed by like days, the days like weeks. Or maybe it was just hours, I couldn’t tell anyway.

Slowly but surely the burning stopped. At first at my toes and fingertips, then up my arms, legs and torso. I stopped screaming in pain as I could feel Edythe’s presence by my side, her head on my shoulder. Though I was unsure if she had stayed with me for all that time.

As the burning sensation was only left in my throat I opened my eyes, surprised by how colourful the painting on the ceiling was. But it wasn’t just the colour, I saw every crack in the paint, every dust particle in the room.

Ignoring my throat I turned my head towards Edythe.

She looked like herself, but also different in a way. Her beautiful face was pained, but she pulled the corners of her mouth up, trying to smile at me. It din't reach her eyes.

“Hello, Beau,” she said as she sat up, looking down at me.

Her mixed expression pained me.

“I am sorry.” She shook her head.

“Edythe,” I replied, my voice clearer than ever, which took me by surprise.

In an effort to not let her notice that, I sat up too, putting my hands on her shoulders. My movements were faster than I expected, which caught me off guard once more.

“I am alright, I am alive!” I told her smiling.

As I swallowed, I had to put my hand on my neck. The burning sensation of my new hunger distracting me.

Edythe stood up from the bed. “That’s what I thought.”

I sat still on the bed, like a statue. Starring at the mirror behind Edythe. Starring at my face – so familiar, yet so much more perfect. Starring into my red eyes. It made me uneasy but I didn’t dare to move.

Not too much time passed, before I heard steps coming up the stairs.

In a surprisingly sudden movement I stood up, on the other side of the bed and finally noticed Archie’s presence in the room.

He came to me, smiling widely, taking my hands into his.

The doors swung open, Sulpicia stepped in, two guards behind her.

“Oh, Beau!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up, smiling wider than Archie. “Immortality becomes you.”

“Thank you–,” I was unsure, but my voice sounded strong.

“If you want to, we will have dinner in a few minutes. I’m sure your thirst must burn you,” Sulpicia offered, stretching her hand out for me.

I wasn’t fully sure what her invitation held, but I knew, I didn’t want to drink from humans.

“No, thank you.”

“Alright, young friend,” she said opening her arms, looking at Edythe first then at Archie. “I’m sure all three of you must be starving. You are free to leave, as the sun is already setting. Once you are done hunting – we have a private airplane waiting for you.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” said Edythe. She moved in a way that looked like she was bowing.

Sulpicia turned around, leaving the room. Edythe came to my side, took my hand. “Try moving slowly,” she said, looking into my eyes. She seemed relieved, in a way.

It took me more control to move at a human pace, but I managed.

We followed Demetria down the staircase.

“We are not fast enough,” muttered Archie behind me.

I turned my head around to him in confusion. It was then that voices reached my ears – loud and clear, as if the people were right with us, but they came from the antechamber instead.

I didn’t understand what they were saying, but it was clearly not just Italian. Were they tourists? They for sure were humans. I caught their smell and gripped onto Edythe’s arm.

“Don’t breathe,” she said in a low voice.

“Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!” I heard Sulpicia sing from the throne room.

Demetria left us, probably to join them.

Edythe set a pace that had me running fast, but still only at human pace. Yet we couldn’t get through the ornate door at the end of the hallway, before the screaming started.

·•·

We went hunting in the woods around Volterra. It felt freeing to just run, but all three of us needed to drink some blood, before we could travel back by plane.

It was only once we were in the air, that I realized I would never see Charlie again. I regretted not no have said any goodbyes, not to have hugged him one last time. But I couldn’t come back, for his safety.

Edythe told me we would fly directly to Alaska, land at a small airport. There, we would stay in their Danali residence, until I had myself under control. She assured me that she was proud of me for being able to not hurt any human in Volterra, but they didn’t want to test my control.

Chapter Text

Little grey rocks showered down on my head, scratching my exposed skin. A jagged spiky stone rolled down my right arm and I caught it reflexively. My fingers clenched around the long shard as my own survival instincts kicked in. There was no chance of flight, so, my body - not caring how ineffectual the gesture was - prepared for a fight.

Adrenaline jolted through my veins. I knew the brace was cutting into my palm. I knew the crack in my knuckle was protesting. I knew it, but I could not feel the pain.

Behind Riley, all I could see was the dull red of Victor's hair and a blur of white. The increasingly frequent metallic snaps and tears, the growling and hissing, made it clear that the dance was turning deadly for someone.

But which someone?

Riley lurched toward me; her eyes glowing with fury. She glared at the limp mountain of sand-coloured fur between us, her mangled, broken hands, curled into talons. Her mouth opened, widened, her teeth glistening, as she prepared to rip out Beth's throat.

A second kick of adrenaline hit like an electric shock, and suddenly I knew, what I had to do.

Both fights were too close. Beth was about to lose hers, and I had no idea if Edythe was winning or losing. The girls needed help. A distraction. Something to give them an extra edge.

My hand gripped the stone spike so tightly that a support in the brace snapped. I was strong enough! I was brave enough! – This much I was sure of.

But how hard could I shove the rough stone into my body? Would this buy Beth enough time to get back on her feet? Would she heal fast enough for my sacrifice to do her any good?

I raked the point of the shard up my arm, yanking my thick sweater back to expose the skin, and then pressed the sharp tip into my elbow crease. I already had the long scar there from my last birthday. That night, my flowing blood had been enough to catch every vampire's attention, to freeze them all in place for an instant. I hoped it would work that way again. I steeled myself and sucked in one deep breath.

Victor was distracted by the sound of my gasp. His eyes, holding still for one tiny portion of a second, met mine. Fury and curiosity mingled strangely in his expression.

I wasn't sure how I heard the low sound with all the other noises echoing off the stone wall and hammering inside my head. My own heartbeat should have been enough to drown it out. But, after the split second that I stared into Victor's eyes, I could feel two stumps on my shoulders – Riley was behind me.

Before I had the chance to whirl around and face her, I could hear Edythe’s familiar hissing. She launched herself off the ground and ripped Riley away from me.

That could only mean poor Beth was still laying on the ground. Was she maybe unconscious?

As I heard Edythe crashing into Riley, Victor appeared right in front of me. He put on a crooked smile, which promptly sent a shiver down my spine.

“Finally,” he whispered, pushing me back into the cliff wall.

When my head hit the stone Victor was already by my side again. He held me down and ripped on my bleeding arm. Ironically it was the same one Joss had bitten into more than one year ago.

I felt my hair getting wet, but couldn’t quite tell if it was because of the snow.

I could hear Edythe scream No! But I was aware she was fighting Riley and couldn’t help.

“I’ll be fine,” I muttered as I felt Victor sink his teeth into my wrist and my vision went blurry.

It didn’t last too long, and Victor must have been pulled away – maybe by Beth? – but I could feel the venom spread in my body, once again.

…