Vampire Quest Ch. 02

--Sorry that it has been so long but life gets in the way. Between school and life in general, my story took a back burner.--

"I might be a what?" Rhiannon couldn't help sounding incredulous. She didn't want to believe Natasha but how else could she have these thoughts and feeling. Could they be from a previous life? She had heard about previous lives before but the people who had experienced them had always died, "What do you mean? Reincarnated. You know what happens with past lives. They kill people; the forces cause the body to overload. No one I have ever read about has survived," she started pacing across the ground, "Why are you telling me this?"

I told you this because you have a right to know. I also knew the woman you were reincarnated from. Her name was Tanya. I saw you one day and thought she was back. It was a jolt to my system," Natasha turned from Rhiannon and wiped the tears from her eyes, "Would you like to know more?"

"Yes, I would, please." Rhiannon answered.

"Then follow me," Natasha started walking across the cemetery at a fast pace.

Rhiannon had to walk at a slower pace because she couldn't see the low headstones. She took a step forward and felt herself start to fall, but she never hit the ground. Instead she felt a pair of arms around her waist and felt herself be put upright.

Natasha felt Rhiannon's body against her own and wondered if she would be able to keep her hands to herself. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. Thank you. I'm sorry. I seem to be slowing you down." Rhiannon told her.

"No, it's my fault. I forgot I was with you. I can see the stones so I don't trip but you can't see without the moon or sun." Natasha explained.

"So, it would seem we are both at fault," Rhiannon replied.

"Yes, it would seem so. Come on, take my hand. I know of a way to get there faster," Natasha held out her hand.

Rhiannon placed her hand in Natasha's and felt a flare of heat right to her core. "Where are we going" she asked.

"You'll see. Just trust me." Natasha thought of Alina's castle and seemed to disappear from the cemetery and appear somewhere in the mountains. A select few knew exactly where Alina's castle was. Alina had a spell put on it to make sure that anyone who was there that was uninvited would forget the location as soon as they left the land and they had no way of communicating it to anyone outside of the property line.

Rhiannon stumbled as her feet met the ground and a queasy feeling entered her stomach. She felt like she had just gotten off of an upside down roller coaster.

"Did you have to run so fast?" Rhiannon asked.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't risk being followed. Many would love to overthrow Alina and take her place as queen or king of the vampires. I can not risk it." Natasha replied.

"Alina...My mother, Alina." Rhiannon felt as if the air had been sucked from her lungs.

"Yes, Alina. She is the only person who can explain all of this." Natasha turned to go inside.

Rhiannon followed at a slower pace, looking at her surroundings. Her mother didn't spare any expense. The yard was full of many different types of flowers and shrubs. They were in bloom which was confusing being on a mountain surrounded by snow.

"Are you coming or are you going to stand there staring?" Natasha asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm coming. I was just looking around. It's so beautiful." Rhiannon told her.

"I know. It never fails to amaze me that she made it this far." Natasha replied. "Come on, this way. We have to hurry. If I know Alina then she already knows you're here and why."

_____________________________________________

"You would guess right, Natasha. I knew you were here before you ever crossed my borders. My seers told me to expect a special guest." Rhiannon turned to see a beautiful woman with long auburn hair with red streaks through it, walking toward them. As the woman got closer, Rhiannon saw aquamarine eyes and a small, sloping nose. She looks just like me, Rhiannon thought.

"Rhiannon, come here, child." Alina asked her, not knowing what was going on inside her head.

Rhiannon walked to her mother, wow, her mother. It didn't seem real.

"You seem troubled, child. What is going on inside that head of yours?" Alina asked her.

"I didn't know about you. Now looking at you is like looking at my reflection. I could be looking at a mirror for all I knew. Why did you agree to keep me a secret? Do you know what I had to endure from her? Didn't you love me enough?" Rhiannon couldn't help what she was saying. It didn't dawn on her that you don't talk that way to royalty. She was too pissed to care.

"Never think that I didn't regret my decision every day of my life. I loved you. I didn't want you to grow up ridiculed and laughed at. You are different. You can walk in the sun whereas most of our kind is pushed to the darkness. Your friend here" gesturing to Natasha, "is one of the lucky few who can bask in the daylight and not die. I wanted you to have a different life."

Alina turned to walk away, "Wait, I need your help." Rhiannon called after her.

Alina turned back, "I know. Follow me. There isn't much time. Midsummer is almost here. That is when all will unfold."

Rhiannon knew that Midsummer was one of the most powerful days of the year and that it multiplied a witches and vampires power almost tenfold.

Rhiannon followed her mother into the solar where she saw tempered glass. So that is how many vampires were able to sit in their houses with the windows uncovered. Rhiannon felt a presences behind her, turned and almost walked into Natasha.

Natasha put her hands on Rhiannon's arms, "Are you Okay?"

"Yeah, I wasn't paying any attention. I thought I saw something in the windows. Almost like a shadow or something you see out of the corner of your eye and when you turn to get a better look, it disappears." Rhiannon told her.

The look on Natasha's face seemed to be of fear. "Alina, you need to come here."

Alina came back to where they were standing, "What is going on? You look as if someone walked over your grave. Oh, bad choice of words."

"Well, I was just telling Natasha that I thought I saw a shadow cross over the window but when I looked again, it had disappeared." Rhiannon explained.

Alina suddenly turned and almost ran from the room, "This is worse then I thought. We need to hurry. Someone is here and they are not welcome but that doesn't seem to stop them. They want you and I won't let them have you."

They walked from the room and followed Alina through the house and many secret passage ways until Rhiannon couldn't remember where to go to get back to the entrance.

________________________________________________

Finally, they reached a dark room. Natasha saw Alina searching for the light switch. She knew that Alina didn't need it but Rhiannon did. Some things she may have inherited from her mother but that wasn't one of them.

"What are we doing here?" Natasha asked.

"This is where all of the visions are seen from the seers. Every single one of them is recorded into a database for future reference." Alina explained.

Alina finally found the switch. Illuminating the room, Natasha looked around and saw protective markers on all of the walls and doors. In the center of the room, a woman sat in the lotus position on a high rise section.

"Welcome all who enter my domain. I see that we have a few issues to discuss. But one is one important then the others." The woman said as she opened her eyes. Natasha saw that they were a milky blue, the woman was blind.

"Yes, Natasha, I am blind. I was not born this way though. Just cursed I guess, to be made this way when my powers became too much." She answered.

"How did you..." Natasha started to ask.

"Know. I see all and hear all. Even the thoughts that you don't say out loud. They are as clear as your sight." The woman moved to stand, "But enough of that. I see that you are in need of some guidance."

Rhiannon walked to her and stopped short. "What do you mean guidance? All I want to find out is why I was told that I may be a reincarnated vampire hunter. I know what happens to people who are plagued by their past lives. They die and no one has figured out how to stop it from happening. I just want to be normal. I hate the fact that I was born to be both a vampire and a vampire hunter. There is a little irony in that. How can I be both?"

"Just as the one who came before you was. She knew what she was and she knew that she would never be able to be both. So she chose. Now it is you turn to choose. You need to pick, night or day. Your life has been planned out this far but this is you destiny. To chose a life with the family who condemns you or the woman who cares for you"

"Choose... What do you mean? I can't choose between my families? That's like asking me which hand I like better, my left or right." Rhiannon replied and turned to leave.

"If you don't make a choice then you will die. You have one week and then you will be at war in yourself to make the choice that will change your life forever." The woman said and went back to her high rise section to resume her lotus position.

Rhiannon stormed from the room and started to walk down the hall when she realized that she had no idea where she was going. She turned to see Natasha right behind her.

"Are you alright? That is quite a blow to find out that you have to make a choice between the darkness and light." Natasha asked her.

"At least you have never had to choose. You have always had both. Now I have to choose and I can't have both. Why me? Why can't I just be normal? That is all I have ever wanted." Rhiannon started to cry.

Natasha didn't know what to do. She took a step towards her but Rhiannon seemed to shy away.

"Don't, I don't need your pity. You only want me because I look like the other woman. You don't want me for me. Just leave me alone." Rhiannon yelled at her and started to walk away.

"How can you say that? You don't know what goes on inside my head. Don't ever presume to know what I am thinking. I barely know what I am thinking. There is only one thing that I know. I can't get you out of my head. You are always there and I am always thinking about you, the way you look, your lips, your eyes. It never goes away. Do you want to know how I feel? This is how I feel." Before Rhiannon could react, Natasha pulled Rhiannon to her and kissed her. At first Rhiannon was too stunned to react but she soon wrapped her arms around Natasha's neck and started to kiss her back.

If kissing Rhiannon when she wasn't getting into it was bliss, then when she was into it, was absolute torture. Natasha backed her into a wall and started running her hands over Rhiannon's body. Rhiannon broke the kiss and let her head fall back as she allowed the sensations of Natasha's hands take over.

Rhiannon moaned as she felt Natasha's fingers move over her taut nipples.

Natasha, all of a sudden, moved away. Rhiannon looked at her with concern.

"What's going on? Why did you stop?" Rhiannon asked.

"I can't make love to you when your mother could walk out here and see us. I...We need to find a place where we can do whatever we want and take as long as we want." Natasha explained, walking to Rhiannon and kissing her. Once again, Natasha seemed to be pulled into the kiss. With the last of ounce of her will, Natasha pulled away from the kiss and wrapped her arms around Rhiannon.

"So we find a place. Now before I explode from the sensations that you have started." Rhiannon grabbed her hand and started to walk back the way she came.

"If you want to..." Natasha started to say, but was cut off as Rhiannon pulled her into their room. "I take it you have no objections to this or us" Natasha asked her.

"I want you to make love to me until we can't move." Rhiannon told her as she shut the door to the room.

Natasha moved her hands down Rhiannon's body and up under her shirt, pushing the shirt over her head, revealing a blue Chinese dragon tattoo that went from her nipple to wind around and end at her belly button. Natasha stepped back and just looked at the beautiful woman in front of her. She stared at Rhiannon for so long that she made her very uncomfortable.

Finally Rhiannon couldn't take it anymore, "What?" she asked.

"Nothing, you're perfect." Natasha replied. She ran her hands over Rhiannon's upper body. She couldn't believe how soft she felt. She started to lead her to the bed but all of sudden; her hands just seemed to push completely through Rhiannon. She watched as Rhiannon just started to disappear before her eyes. She had no idea what was going on.

"RHIANNON! What is going on? Where are you going?" Natasha started to yell.

"I think it's a spell. I will be back, my love. I promise." Rhiannon was able to get out before she disappeared.

Natasha ran from the room screaming for Alina. She started to frantically mind talk looking for her queen.

"What? What is going on? Where is Rhiannon?" Alina asked as she appeared right next to Natasha.

"She disappeared right before my eyes. She said something about a spell and that she would be back. What is happening? Who took her? Why?" Natasha asked.

"It was probably her coven. They have probably been searching for her. Her high emotions probably made it very easy for them to locate her." Alina explained.

"How are we to find her?" Natasha asked. She started to pace back and forth as she became very agitated when nothing seemed to be getting done.

_______

Rhiannon waited until the spell was done before she tried to move around. What she saw was unbelievable; her entire coven was standing around in a circle with her father in the center using amethyst to bring her to them.

"What is this?" Rhiannon demanded. She looked at all of the surrounding witches and they each bowed their head, as if afraid of her.

"We have brought you here to ask you what it is you think you are doing." Her father demanded.

"What do you mean? What I am doing? I am finding out about my life. You know the one you forgot to inform me of. Where I find out that my mother is queen. How I am reincarnated from a person in the past." Rhiannon told her father, as she started to fix her clothes, as to not flash anyone who didn't need to see anything.

"I understand that you have many questions and I don't have many answers. I just wanted you to have a normal life and to not be condemned to a life of darkness. I understand that it was selfish of me to want to keep you from your past but you have to understand that it was not just my choice. Your mother had a say in it also. Don't just blame me." Her father informed her.

"Why couldn't you tell me when I got older? When I was able to make up my mind for myself. I had every right to know who my mother was and who I was. I had every right to make that choice for myself. I fell in love with a vampire and I feel that I should've been told what was happening. I feel as if my emotions are not really mine. It is as if another person is in me and I have no choice but to follow where she leads me," Rhiannon informed everyone, "how many of you knew what I was and who I was destined to be?"

She looked at every coven member and they could not meet her eyes. She felt ashamed to have ever known any of them.

"You are supposed to be my family. Yet you sit here, having lied to me my entire life. I am in love or feel as if I am. There isn't anything that I can do. I have to follow my heart and if that leads me to the dark then that is where I will go. It is my life and my choice. None of you can make it for me." Rhiannon told them.

"You will support your family. You were born a witch and you will die a witch. If you walk away from us then you will be marked for death. I will not have a traitor for a daughter." Michaela informed her.

"You are not my mother. You never cared for me. How could you agree to raise your husband's lover's child? How could you subject yourself to it? Did you really believe that he could love you?" Rhiannon demanded Michaela.

"You are right. You are not my daughter but I did raise you. I saw you as my daughter because I loved your father and thought that if he could see that I was willing that he would leave that tramp in the dark and come to me in the light. But later I saw that the only one he had ever cared for was you and your whore of a mother." Michaela stated.

____

"Natasha, we must be going. I know where she is. But if we want to save her then we must leave right away. We have to get beyond the hill so that we can phase to her." Alina told her as she rushed into the room.

"Why are you going? You know that if you die then the vampire race will be in grave danger. You are the salvation of our people. Stay. Just tell me where to go." Natasha tried to plead with her.

"She is my daughter. I can not leave her at the mercy of those that she used to call family. I love her and will try to save her until my last breath if I have to. I gave her up once; I will not do it again." Alina told Natasha, "But come, we must hurry."

They ran down the stairs and out the front door. As they reached the hill, Natasha sensed others phasing out to follow them to help if it was needed.

As they appeared, Natasha could hear chanting and yelling. She moved closer to the noise and saw Rhiannon surrounded by her coven.

"You can do nothing to me. You have already destroyed everything that I ever supported in this coven. I make my own decisions and will follow my own heart. I want nothing to do with any of you ever again." Natasha heard Rhiannon tell the crowd around her.

"I don't choose any of you. I choose the one I love." Rhiannon continued to tell the coven.

"You would choose someone you barely know, instead of your family," Carsten asked her.

"Yes, if I want to be happy and have my own life then I choose her." Rhiannon informed him, "I was chosen for you. I had nothing to do with being with you. I want my own life, with my own choices. If it doesn't work with her then at least I know. I have feelings for her. I don't know if it is love yet but I know that they are strong and I will regret it if I don't follow through with them."

"If you leave this coven, you will be considered an outsider for the rest of your life. If we see you, you will be killed on sight. You will have no part of this life anymore. You renounce your family, your magic and your heritage." Her father informed her.

"Fine, then that is what is going to happen. I choose her and my mother over any of you. At least I feel accepted with them, instead of the outsider that everyone made me. I always knew I was different, I just didn't know that everyone was afraid of me. Afraid that I was going to attack. Well, I am going to walk away from this calmly and quietly unless I am attacked and then there is nothing you can do to stop me from protecting myself." Rhiannon informed everyone.

She turned to leave and she felt a rise in power. It was like a ripple across her skin. She turned to see Michaela raise her hands and start to say a spell. She didn't let her finish. She sent a mental wave of power that knocked her down.

"You didn't listen to a word I just said. I would attack if I was provoked. Don't make me repeat myself." Rhiannon told her.

She stepped into the darkness that had surrounded the covens spell area. She tensed up when she felt a presence move from the shadows into her field of vision.

"Thank god, your okay. I was so worried." Natasha stepped forward to wrap her arms around her. Rhiannon stepped back and Natasha could see that she was afraid.

"What's wrong? Why do you pull way? You know that I care for you. You just told your entire coven that you cared for me. Was that a lie? Did you use me to get away from them?" Natasha went to step away and disappear when Rhiannon reached out to her with her hand. Rhiannon stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Natasha and just started to cry. She was shaking and seemed very scared all of a sudden.