Daughters of the Moon Pt. 07

"You will," said Gwen. She could hear the lie in her voice. She could tell she didn't believe it herself.

There was an awkward silence as they looked at each other. Gwen could tell Abby didn't want to call her out, but she knew Gwen was lying

"I think I'm even more nervous about Carla," said Abby finally.

"What? Why?"

"You told me all about her and... and she sounds so wonderful."

"God yes, she's so great. You're going to love her."

"But I guess I'm worried. I know she's really sweet but it sounds like you have a really close relationship."

Gwen smiled and ran a hand through her hair, "Yeah, we do."

"You don't think she'd be jealous of you had another childe so soon after her?"

"Oh... I mean no I'm sure she wouldn't mind but... Abby I can't make you my childe. When I said I would turn you I meant as a revenant. Like the girls. That's why I asked you to go see them."

"...oh."

"I mean I would love to have you as a childe eventually. But I can't make another full blooded vampire so soon after Carla. It would really weaken me. And I feel like I really need to concentrate on Carla right now. She's having a hard time adjusting and I need to be there for her. She's my first childe and I barely know what I'm doing. But you can become a revenant now and in twenty years or so I can turn you fully."

"Twenty years?"

"Probably more like thirty, but yes, so not that long."

"...I see."

"I'm sorry if I wasn't clear before. You didn't know about revenants and it was really a spur of the moment offer so I didn't really explain it well."

Abby pulled away from Gwen and started getting dressed.

"Oh no, are you mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," said Abby. She sounded mad.

"I'm sorry!"

"It's fine. It'd be ridiculous to expect you to take me as a childe. I mean I'm just a farm girl and Carla was a powerful mage when you found her."

"I... well yes... but that's not why..."

"And you just met me, you probably knew Carla for years before you offered to turn her fully."

"Not exac..."

"Really it's so much more than I deserve. I'm so lucky to even have the opportunity to join the house as a retainer."

"Thrall..."

"What?"

"Thrall. That's the... that's the word we use to describe revenants. Though I like retainer a lot better, I think I'm going to use retainer from now on."

Abby finished getting dressed. "I'm going to go find Lily."

"Wait," said Gwen.

Abby turned. Her face was pale.

"You're leaving?" asked Gwen.

"Just for a while."

"But you'll be back before dawn, right?"

"I don't know," and with that, Abby turned to leave the tent.

Gwen felt panic rising in her. She couldn't remember the last time someone had left her when she didn't want them to. She was pretty sure it had never happened. Abby was so wonderful and she had had it so hard. She needed help. She needed Gwen to protect her.

"Abby, you're my thrall. You can't leave."

Abby stopped, her back still to Gwen, "What did you say?"

"Abby..." Gwen called on her blood and summoned the Painted Eyes. Her voice took on a deeper timbre.

"Don't be mad."

Gwen touched Abby's back and she shuddered and drew in a sharp breath.

Gwen put her arms around her thrall and leaned her head on the back of her neck, "I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but it will all work out." Gwen kissed her neck. Abby made a shocked little noise as Gwen's lips tasted her skin.

Gwen leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Stay with me. I'll take care of you. I promise. I'll make you happy."

Abby was trembling. Gwen moved down to Abby's neck again. Kissed it gently.

"Gwen don't..."

"It'll be okay," whispered Gwen.

Then she bit down.

Abby stiffened and cried out. Then she started breathing hard as Gwen drank from her. Abby's blood was so warm and rich. Full of her strength and cleverness. It massaged Gwen on the inside, giving her a nice mellow climax as Abby collapsed in her arms. Gwen carried her over to her bedroll and laid her gently down, continuing to suckle on her and enjoying the gentle moans as Abby shuddered under her teeth.

After a few minutes Gwen pulled away and licked the wound gently; she looked down at Abby's heavily lidded eyes.

"I'm so tired."

"You'll be okay, just close your eyes and get some sleep, you'll feel better in the morning."

Abby made a little sound of protest, but then she laid back and drifted off.

Gwen looked up, relieved. Things had gotten out of hand but she was sure Abby would feel better in the morning. Gwen knew if she just had a chance to explain things better she'd be able to make Abby understand the wonderful life Gwen was offering her.

Gwen looked up, considering. It was still an hour until sunrise. She decided to say hi to the girls and maybe grab a drink with Christoph before it was time for bed. Leaving Abby's sleeping form behind, Gwen left the tent

...

The next evening when Gwen awoke, Abby wasn't there. The bedroll next to her was empty.

Gwen felt a moment of panic. She had left. She had really done it. She had waited until Gwen was asleep and snuck away in the day.

Gwen dressed quickly and left the tent. The Dracul camp followers were already breaking down some of the tents to prepare for the night's march but typically the vampires' tents were the last to go. Gwen walked through the camp, asking if anyone had seen Abby, until she passed by a tent and heard her voice. She quickly went in and threw back the opening.

Will was lounging in his bedding and Abby was sitting cross legged with her back to one of the tent walls, her friend Lily was next to her with her arm around Abby, they all looked up as Gwen stood at the opening, fear marred the girl's features and Will looked uncomfortable.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She kept her voice quiet but her anger burned in it, an undercurrent of malice.

"We are having a conversation," said Will; he spoke very carefully.

"Abby came here looking for Lily while I was asleep and when I woke up, I joined in."

"What could you possibly have to say to her?"

"Gwen, when you first took me you said you were okay letting me go, right?" asked Abby. She was speaking low and fast and was hugging her knees to her chest while sitting on the ground.

"You want to go back to the village? But your mom..."

"No... no, not the village. I want you to give me to Will."

Gwen just stared at Abby, mind going blank, "What?"

"I want to be Will's thra... retainer. Then Lily and I can be together, and Lily says Will treats her well, just like you said he would."

Gwen stared at Abby. She felt strangely numb, as if there were too many emotions trying to push their way up from inside her and they were getting stuck at the doorway to her conscious mind.

"You... you want to be with him? What... what about us?" Gwen hated how small her voice sounded. But Abby's rejection sent sweeping pains through her chest and closed up her throat.

"After last night, I don't think there's an us, Gwen."

"Lily, why don't you and Abby go grab us some bottles of blood. Gwen and I need to talk."

"Okay," said Lily, speaking very quickly

Lily and Abby got up and quickly left the tent before Gwen could gather her wits to object.

When they were gone, Gwen glared at Will.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! I swear they came up with this on their own. They laid this whole scheme on me as soon as I woke up."

"Uh huh. Sure."

"Gwen, come on. what you do with your thralls isn't my business, I mean what you did to Abby... I mean it's not my thing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Using the Painted Eyes to manipulate her, feeding on her to knock her out. I know most Mircallas do stuff like that but I thought you... well it didn't seem like you. But I can understand how you got... carried away. But that's not the point. All the houses do things the others don't like and we have to live and let live, so I wouldn't normally interfere with what goes on between you and one of your thralls. But Lily has been really nice and understanding about this whole situation and we've become friends. Abby is her friend too and she's really upset about what you did. She asked me to keep Abby safe."

"You? You are going to keep someone safe from me? That's fucking rich."

Gwen could feel her blood singing through her body. Filling her with rage and jealousy. The blood whispered to her: No one left the embrace of a Mircalla. No one.

"Okay, okay, how about a Wager?" asked Will. He said it very smoothly. Gwen could tell he had rehearsed this conversation.

"A Wager?"

"Yeah, I'll Wager Lily against Abby. Winner gets them both."

"No. I don't need another thrall. Abby's all I need."

"Oh come on. Lily would be much happier as a thrall with your house. You could rescue her from my clutches and give her the life she deserves. You don't need to keep her. She'd be a wonderful gift for Sophia."

Gwen had to admit Will was right. Gwen could picture Sophia's pleased smile at Lily's beauty. Lily as a cupbearer for Sophia, and one day a revenant at court or even a full blooded courtier. A whole life of power and pleasure, all thanks to Gwen. But she shook herself. She could tell this was a trick and she wasn't going to fall for it. And Abby was what really mattered.

"No, I'm not going to waste my time with some stupid game," said Gwen.

"Don't you want to know who'd win?" asked Will.

"I already do."

"You sure? Nikola thought I could beat you and he's never wrong. You know, his plan was for Matej to bow out and I would fight you for Carla. I was supposed to beat you to a pulp and take her for myself. It's funny to think Carla could have been my thrall. I didn't think about it at the time but now that I know her, she could have even been my childe.

"Shut up!" screamed Gwen. And she instinctively drew on the Painted Eyes. Her voice thundered and echoed with her rage and Will and was struck silent.

"I don't want to hear any more of this fucking bullshit. There is no way in hell I would ever let Abby or Carla join your gang of fucking degenerates."

Will's face went stiff and blank. He stood. He was average height but that meant he towered over Gwen. His fangs came out and his eyes turned completely black.

"What did you call me?"

Gwen leaned forward "de.gen.er.rates. You vomit blood into corpses to create fucked up monsters and torture people with your disgusting nightmare magic and crawl in people's windows at night and feed on them like perverts. Your whole house is fucking degenerates and I'm not letting you get your hands on my poor sweet girl."

Will punched her. The impact reverberated through her entire body, vibrating her bones and shaking her heart in her rib cage. The world turned topsy-turvy as she flew through the opening of the tent and tumbled head over heels into an open space in the camp.

Will came out of the tent after her. His eyes were still black and his fangs were still out.

"I can't believe you said that to me. We sang on a table together!"

Gwen drew her sword. It rang steely in the air.

"Stop!" demanded Helena.

They both froze as Helena used the Scepter on them. Gwen struggled against the compulsion freezing her in place.

"What is the meaning of this?" Asked Helena.

Will closed his eyes and rubbed them while breathing out slowly. When he opened them they were back to his normal hazel. He apparently had enough freedom to shrug, "Fighting over a girl."

Gwen heard Christoph laugh, "Makes sense, Lily is a tight little piece."

"It doesn't matter what you're fighting about. You are members of the blood in good standing, not ferals or outcastes. You are still under my command and while that is so you will comport yourselves with dignity."

There was a moment of silence as Gwen tried to get her all consuming anger at her betrayal under control. She took a deep breath and thought about what Sophia would want her to do right now, in this moment.

She opened her eyes, "You're right, Helena. I apologize for my ill manners. I was distraught."

Gwen felt Helena release her hold and she sagged a little as her muscles relaxed. then she stood up straight and looked Will in the eye.

"William Maria Savon, I claim Injury. You struck me unprovoked."

"I deny the Injury. I was provoked. I offer no apology. I offer bloodshed. Furthermore I claim Insult. You insulted my house and the blood in my veins."

"I acknowledge the Insult. I offer no apology. I offer bloodshed. Furthermore, I offer a Wager. I offer my thrall, Abby Lehman, against your thrall, Lily Albert."

"I accept your Wager," said Will, "Helena, would you do me the honor of acting as my second?"

"I would be delighted," said Helena; she had a wide grin and her fangs were showing.

Gwen turned to Christoph, "Will you act as my second?"

Christoph's yellow eyes were bright, "Fuck yeah, I can't wait to see this."

"Then it's agreed; I will make arrangements. The duel will commence at the witching hour tomorrow night." said Helena

Gwen smiled to herself and her blood whispered to her joyfully. She would show Will and his entire disgusting family what happened to anyone who tried to take her loved ones from her. She would take everything from him. She was going to cut Will apart in front of the entire army and she would patch things up with Abby and give Lily a good juicing before she presented her to Sophia. She had turned Abby against her after all. It was all going to work out just fine. It was going to be fun.

"I request the thralls be held in remittance until the duel is concluded," said Will.

"I agree," said Helena.

"I agree," said Christoph.

"What are you doing?" asked Gwen.

"It'll be fine Gwen, neither of you should be fucking with the thralls before you settle this."

"Fine!" said Gwen. It didn't matter anyway. Tomorrow night Abby would be back where she belonged.

"The wagers will be held in my remit until the duel is concluded," said Helena. "Now, everyone prepare for the night's march. We have miles to travel before the twilight's entertainment."

...

Helena was predictably overjoyed at the prospect of a duel and had made preparations with great enthusiasm. They were in the more populated lands surrounding the capital so their little army ended the night's march outside a small city. The city had a jousting arena and racetrack, and Helena sent messenger crows ahead to appropriate it for the night's festivities. Word of a duel between two of the country's new overlords quickly spread and onlookers from the surrounding area went to bed while the sun was up so they could wake at midnight to watch the duel. A local Dracul lord named Aram had agreed to act as arbiter for the duel and had even hastily hired musicians and a circus troupe to provide entertainment leading up to the main event.

An hour after the mercenaries had finished setting up the encampment Gwen made her way to the arena. She could faintly hear the music of the circus as they finished their set. She was dressed in her house colors and had used grooming powder to give her long, dirty blonde hair a shine. Her sword was polished and at her waist. There were excited murmurs as she made her way through the gathering crowds and whispers about her name and her deeds. Gwen took pride in the awe that followed her like a boat's wake.

By the time Gwen arrived, the circus had finished their final act and had left the arena. When she walked into the arena, excited murmurs filled the stands; she saw Christoph and walked towards him. As she walked the length of the arena the crowd began to applaud. She saw her girls, the revenants she had trained and fought beside, cheering loudest of all. Christoph's half bloods, Helena's mercenaries, they all cheered for her. The villagers who had given up sleep to watch caught their enthusiasm and soon the whole arena was cheering for her. She waved to her friends, to her allies, even to the strangers as she walked up to Christoph. He gave her a smile as she approached.

"You ready babe?"

"Oh yeah. I am going to teach him a fucking lesson."

"Ha. Just leave him in one piece. Pissing off the Savons is a pain in the ass."

"We'll see."

There was another wave of noise and she saw Will enter on the other side of the arena with Helena at his side. There was scattered muttering in the crowd but no one cheered for him. Will was still wearing his baggy carpenter pants and workman's coat, although they at least looked like someone had washed them. He had the hammer he had brought to the battle in a loop in his pants. They walked about fifty paces apart and stopped. Gwen stared at Will, feeling the sleeping rage within her open an eye and stretch. Will looked back at her. She couldn't read his expression. Not that she really cared what he was feeling.

Then, Lord Aram stood from the arbiter's box, in the stands at the center of the field.

"We are gathered here to observe a duel to resolve a dispute between members of the blooded. The combatants have agreed to settle their dispute honorably and avoid unnecessary shedding of the blood. Thus order is maintained and the blood preserved. Combatants. state your names and final offers.

"I, Ser Gwendolyn Sophia Mircalla, offer neither apology nor remuneration, I offer bloodshed."

Will stepped forward, "I, William Maria Savon, offer neither apology nor remuneration. I offer bloodshed."

"In addition to the claim of Insult and Injury, Gwendolyn Mircalla has offered a Wager. Do you wish to continue with the wager?"

"I do," said Will.

"I do," said Gwen.

"Bring forth the prizes,"

Lily and Abby were brought out and put in seats near the arbiter. There were appreciative mutters at Lily's beauty.

"William, as the challenged party, you may offer the terms of conclusion."

"I propose a duel to full blood."

There were excited murmurs from the crowd. Many duels were only to first blood, which meant the duel ended the first time one of the duelists used their blood to heal a wound, a full blood duel ended when one of the duelists healed three times. It meant the duel would last longer and be more intense. The crowd would get a better show.

"Gwendolyn Sophia Mircalla, do you accept?"

"I do not. I propose Languor as a conclusion, with Succor," said Gwen. She couldn't stop herself from grinning. She felt her fangs sliding out.

There was a round of gasps all around the arena; even the arbiter blinked.

"Shit Gwen, I didn't know you were that pissed," said Christoph.

"I thought you wanted a show. And all these people stayed up past their bedtime. Might as well make it fun."

Will stared at her. As the challenged party he wasn't required to agree, but he raised his voice, "I accept."

Gwen understood the crowd's shocked response. The shocked gasps turned into a round of muttering as those who understood explained to those who didn't. A duel to Languor meant the duel only ended when one of the deuslists lost so much blood they fell into a coma. It was usually easy to revive from Languor with enough blood, assuming you had someone you trusted to feed it to you. It only took a few days. though some vampires could take weeks or even months to awaken.

Succor meant the duel would be paused after each injury, to give the injured the opportunity to heal. It reduced the chances of a single blow ending the fight early.

Duels to Languor had fallen out of favor. They were a relic of an older, less civilized time. Gwen had just proposed that she and Will take each other apart, slowly and brutally, for the entertainment of the crowd. Gwen saw Callie lean over to Abby and start whispering to her, and Abby's face paled. Gwen growled, just a little, in excitement at what she was about to do.

"Does either combatant wish to offer further terms?"

"No."

"No."

"Very well, seconds take your positions."