A/N: I've made a few alterations to the story, on chapter 14 (I think) and on chapter 16. About vampires from Original bloodline not eating food, and about the way they go to Norway (nothing major, just something for a bit more realism).
Now I have a question!
There is supposed to be an arc after this one and before the one from Chicago, what I want to know is if I should skip it and go straight to Chicago where some major stuff is going to happen. Or should I do it anyway?
I'll leave it up to you guys.
Poll on the comments!
[Blood Diary Entry]
As I flew at really obscene speeds, I quickly spotted the SUV; the car was still speeding for dear life.
Then, taking advantage of my intangible state, the mist seeped into every crack and crevice of the car, allowing me to slip inside without much difficulty.
Once I did reform back to a corporeal state, I decided to tease the two women a bit. I leaned in slightly, and when my head was right between the two…
"Boo!"
Rebekah jumped up, startled. Mom nearly had a heart attack. The car swerved, going from one lane to the other. We were lucky that we were the only ones driving as far as the eye can see.
"Darian!" The two screamed in anger and relief.
Rebekah slowed the car to a stop, and both she and Mom got out of the SUV, circling and getting into the backseat with me.
Mother pulled me into a hug, and I could feel warm tears dripping onto me. Rebekah, not as close to me yet, decided to just give my head a few pats and flash a proud smile.
I resigned myself and stayed where I was until my mother calmed down.
Subtly, I gave a check to the clock on the car's bloodstained panel, which was showing '3:47 AM', laying to rest a few doubts I had.
"The devil's hour, huh?" I muttered, and both ladies heard me.
"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked, frowning.
I looked at her, though diminished, I could still notice faint traces of nervousness. She doesn't seem to like ghosts that much.
Kinda cute for a thousand-year-old vampire.
"We crossed that particular stretch of road at precisely 3:33 AM, and I think that isn't just a nasty coincidence… But what do I know, maybe that thing just haunts it all night, and we happened to stumble into its territory at that particular time."
Rebekah nodded, and Mom just stared back towards the place where we were attacked.
"So-" Rebekah was about to say something, but I interrupted her by giving a gentle squeeze on her thigh, just above her knee. She gave a frosty look, clearly misunderstanding what I wanted to convey, but her quiet anger evaporated when she looked into my eyes.
"Thank you, Rebekah… for keeping my mother safe." Mom gave me a gentle squeeze, "I mean it, thanks a lot."
Rebekah shook her head. "I didn't do much, no need to thank me."
"You did enough," I paused, taking a deep breath, steadying my resolve.
Judging by her scared state, she seems to have a genuine fear of ghosts or spirits, and in her panic, she could've just gotten out of the car and run away. It would be much faster for her than driving the car. Yet she kept her cool and kept my mother out of harm's way. That merits the trust I was withholding from her.
I exhaled and looked her in the eyes. "Whatever you want to know, I will tell you." My grip on her became a bit stronger. "I promise I will not lie to you. Even if it means you won't like the truth, I promise I shall not keep it from you." Rebekah's eyes shook a bit. "I am not quite sure why is it that my every instinct tells me that you are trustworthy, or why I feel so comfortable around you, but I now know you meant it when you promised to keep us safe if it came down to it."
Mother held me a bit tighter, and Rebekah's hand found its way atop mine. My eyes glowed, and my voice took an ancient tone, I readied myself to do something which I had no way of taking back. It was abrupt, but it felt right; it felt like I was about to make the most important decision I had ever made—surpassing even the moment where I chose Isolde as my mother.
"Rebekah…" My voice startled her; she recoiled a bit, not out of fear but of the strangeness I emitted. I pulled her closer and cupped her cheek with my free hand. Mother seemed to notice something as she released me from her arms in silence.
Rebekah swallowed dryly, her gaze unsure and remarkably vulnerable at this moment.
I steadied myself and spoke again, my voice filled with the same imperious tone but with an underlying kindness to it.
"Rebekah Mikaelson, what I intend to do has no return from… it is final and absolute. You said you wanted to be by my side, to understand me. I am giving you that chance now. I intend to pledge a vow; it is one of the most potent applications of my kind's blood magic. If I proceed, my existence would be bound to yours and yours to mine. And whatever direction our relationship takes in the future, we would become inseparable, and even if we wanted to, we could never bring harm to each other." By now her whole body was shaking. Mother hadn't said anything, but by her heartbeat alone, I could tell she was nervous about this turn of events, but she chose to trust me. "Know that even if you deny this, I will still consider you my friend, and I will still keep my promise about being truthful to you, but if you do accept the vow, I will be able to tell you so much more than if you didn't."
"Isn't what you are saying contradictory, and isn't this kind of bribing me to accept this 'vow' of yours or whatever?" She narrowed her eyes with subtle suspicion. "Furthermore, this is an eternal commitment, isn't it? I need more time to decide."
I shook my head. "I am not trying to bribe or push you to make a decision; it is simply the truth that some things about me I am not able to say without the vow. Much like you and your brothers share great trust, but you still do not tell them everything." At the mention of her siblings, her gaze hardened, and she almost took her hand from atop mine, but at the final moment, she hesitated. "As for time, I am afraid I cannot give you that, because I want to do something, and it will solely depend on whether you take the vow or not."
"You are pushing me, Darian, and I am not liking it one bit…"
"I see…" A pang of guilt and hurt echoed through me. Objectively, I am in the wrong here, as I dropped this on her lap out of nowhere; her reaction is completely justified. But a subconscious part of me can't help but feel disappointed, and unbearably sad.
The moment I decided to take my hand away from hers and remove the other from her cheek, she instead tightened her hold on my hand and grabbed the other, keeping them where they were.
I frowned and tilted my head a tiny bit. She closed her eyes and smiled softly, leaning her head against my hand. "I didn't say I didn't want it, Darian… I only stated that you are being pushy. These are two different things, and next time if you are going to drop any more life-changing decisions on me, I want time to decide."
Her breath hitched. I could see her weighing it—the risk, the mystery, the hunger for a bond. She didn't blink; instead, she tightened her grip and said, "Do it." Not because I'd pushed her, but because she chose it.
I smiled and stroked her cheek with my thumb.
Seeing the intimate scene, my mother narrowed her eyes and seemed to be on the verge of doing something, but held herself back.
"I am happy that you chose to trust me, Rebekah."
She nodded her head very slightly so as not to move away from my hand.
"I'll start the vow; you just need to repeat after me when you listen to me speak in English and just leave the rest to me." She frowned at my confusing words but just nodded again.
A second later, I started chanting in a language that neither of the two women could understand.
A deep and melodic chant, filled with elder solemness.
"Na'thar velan shor'kai vahr'mir,
u'vahr kai'thuun, zha'rel sen vahr'kal drav'na.
Vahl'rein sha'thor ven'kaar,
zhul'vaar vahr'rel sha'na veluun.
Jaelor ven'draal arak'thuurel,
vahr'sul ven'kaar shal maruun.
Vel'thuun daresh varr'kai zul'thor,
vahr'kael zhur'valaen tal'ek sha'mor—
vahr'suun al'karaen, al'venar, sha'miir."
When I finished, my eyes glowed bright red and my body heated slightly.
Then I recited the same vow in English, so that Rebekah could repeat after me.
""By name I stir the blood within me,
and by my blood, I call to the one I offer my vow.
Let our veins weave one oath,
a bond of trust and devotion without end.
Should the world rise to part us,
let our bond be the sanctuary where we remain one.
Should any hand dare deny our union,
may our united blood guide us back—
always, and ever, to each other.""
Mother winced slightly at the intimate pledge.
Suddenly, Rebekah gasped, and a blood drop, glowing brightly in crimson light, burst from her chest, hovering in the air. The same happened for me, though I only winced a bit.
The two drops hovered mid-air and danced around each other, before they trembled and shot back at us, this time changing recipients. Meaning I got Rebekah's blood and she got mine.
Her skin heated up, and her cheeks flushed a bit, her hold on my hands becoming far warmer and endearing.
She composed herself and looked back at me, biting her lips lightly. She spoke in a trembling voice.
"You will tell me later what all of this means, but now I want to know what it is that you want to do that needed the vow."
I nodded and kept caressing her cheek with my thumb. She leaned into the touch like a needy cat, and I swear she was almost purring.
"I want vengeance…" I spoke after a few seconds. Rebekah frowned, not understanding completely what I meant, but I could also see her instincts telling her exactly what I meant.
"That thing tried to harm us… Even if it didn't pose much of a risk to the two of us, it could have killed my mother. Furthermore, even if I didn't have those reasons I mentioned, its very existence unsettles you… I can feel that now, and for that alone I wish to destroy it."
Rebekah sighed and looked me in the eyes. Seeing the resolve in them, she shook her head but said no more.
"There should be a town nearby, or at least something along those lines. There, we will look into whatever it is that caused this thing to be born, and I will rid the world of its existence."
And just like that, a sudden and unexpected ghost hunt began.