What's in a Name? Ch. 04

Thanks to my dear editor, LissaSue!

***

The warm bed tried to hold her captive, it was really too comfortable to even think of getting out of. Turning on her other side, Ravenna tried to catch sleep again; it was to no avail, her bladder protested too much. Grumbling, she sat up, giving the room an unconscious quick sweep before she moved to the side of the bed.

She recognized the room she was in. It was the room Alexander De L'Ile had brought her to after he had found her in her cell, heavily wounded and emaciated. He had nurtured her wounds and tended to her fears, and she was feeling better than she had in a very long time. The delicious food he'd been bringing since she'd woken up the day before had contributed to that significantly; the meals made her stronger every time, and now she felt like she could get out of bed to walk around a bit.

Her body still protested if she moved too quickly, but she felt the urge to get out of bed and to get a shower; man, she really craved a shower. Looking around the room, she decided she'd try her luck with the door in the corner next to the window.

Slowly, she slid to the side of the bed, dangling her legs over the side. Holding on to the side of the bed, she stood carefully, testing her balance before she took a hesitant step. A big smile formed on her face as she felt the returning strength in her legs; they had refused her for a long time.

Carefully, she walked to the door. She was right; it was a bathroom, and what a bathroom. Oh, wow. It was as luxurious as the room she'd been sleeping in. Warm, black floor tiles caressed her feet, cream colored, big, fluffy towels covered the shelves, and there even was a matching bathrobe hanging from the wall. It housed both a grand shower and a bath big enough to hold two, a range of different soaps on the side of it.

She decided a shower would not do in a room that screamed pampering like this one. She turned on the water to fill the bath, adding soap from a purple bottle. Was it lavender? It sure smelled good. She quickly went to the toilet, relieving her straining bladder, and found a new toothbrush to brush her teeth before stepping in the bath.

Testing the water with her toes, she sighed contentedly as she felt the warm water against her skin. Sinking into the water, she felt the warmth envelope her tired limbs and she relaxed against the side of the bath. Tuning out her surroundings, she dreamily floated there, soaking until her skin started to get all wrinkly.

***

Alexander entered her room with a dinner tray. Confused, he looked for the girl he had left in the canopy bed, but the room was deserted; Ravenna nowhere to be found. His keen eyes caught the closed bathroom door, and he walked over to inspect the room behind it. It was locked. He frowned. She had still been very weak when he'd left her last time. What had she gotten herself into? He tried listening through the door for any indication that she was alright, but he heard nothing except her slow, steady heartbeat. She certainly was not moving.

"Ravenna?" he called worriedly, knocking on the door.

The sudden knocking abruptly pulled Ravenna from her daydreaming. Alarmed, she jumped from the bath into the bathrobe she had found, leaving a trail of water behind. A burst of panic coursed through her and suddenly, chaos erupted.

Everything glass in the room exploded, the mirror, the glass holding her toothbrush, the shower screen, the lamps on the ceiling, not even the decorative glass panels on the wall survived. At the same time, Alexander burst through the door. He halted as soon as he saw the girl standing in front of the bath unharmed, staring at the mess around her, stunned. She was still soaking wet, her hair in disarray.

Alarmed by the sudden events around her, she looked at Alexander, upset. "What did you do that for?" she barked at him, angrily.

Unbelievingly, he looked at her for a moment until he suddenly started shaking with laughter; she really looked flabbergasted. "Dear Ravenna. You've been trying, quite successfully, to mangle my house for the last two weeks. I can't blow up glass and houses." His eyes twinkled with mirth as he looked at the furious, disheveled girl. "You can."

Ravenna looked at him puzzled. "You suddenly came bursting in and..." she tried to find words for what had happened around her. "You blew up the bathroom?" she said questioningly. "I was just lying in the bath." She looked around her uncomfortably, taking a step back from the man across her.

Alexander shook his head. It was obvious the girl had no idea of her own powers. He wondered how he would introduce her to them. "I was worried because I didn't hear you move. I just knocked on the door, called your name, and then all hell broke loose. That's why I forced the door."

Doubtfully, Ravenna eyed him. His smile irritated her. She tried to contain her anger; she still wasn't strong enough to escape from the house. It took her a moment, but then she shrugged and turned to the door, leaving Alexander behind in the mess.

He trailed behind her, walking past her to the hallway. "I've brought you dinner," he said, waving at the food on the dresser. "Don't let it get cold." Pointing out a large closet left of the door to the hallway, he informed her of the purchases he had made for her. "You'll find clothes in the wardrobe there. Get dressed and eat something, I'll be back in ten." He could not refrain from teasing her as he walked to the door, "Oh, and Ravenna? Please don't blow up this room too."

Ravenna looked at him stunned. It took her some moments to collect her puzzled thoughts, but then, she quickly walked to the wardrobe and started browsing its contents. She'd feel a lot better if she at least could put on some clothes. She sucked in a surprised breath as she sifted through the fabrics. The closet was filled with beautiful designer clothing that looked like they were her size. Well, would be her size when she'd gained some weight.

Whoever had stocked the closet had thought of everything; it was filled with T-shirts, blouses, skirts, some dresses, jeans, socks, stockings, and even bras and panties. Sexy bras and panties, she shyly observed. She chose dark blue, boot cut jeans with a simple T-shirt, groomed her hair, and attacked the dinner. It was not long before she heard Alexander walk towards the room again, entering it after a short knock.

Now she had had a bath and was dressed, Alexander recognized the shimmering beauty beneath her emaciated figure. She was not tall, about five foot three, and she had a beautiful, round, feminine face that expressed a strong character; her long blond hair showered over her shoulders to her waist. When she'd gained some more weight, she'd probably be downright stunning, Alexander mused. He hid his admiration; she was too edgy to appreciate that, at the moment.

"How was your dinner?" he kindly asked.

"Excellent," she answered politely, "thank you."

"Good," he said, smiling a crooked smile. "I've never cooked before, you know; had to make do with the cooking channel."

Ravenna looked at him, her brows furrowed. Right, what did he mean by that?

Alexander sighed, they still had a long way to go before she'd trust him; better start sooner than later. "You can choose what we'll do now. I can give you a tour of the house, or we can talk about what happened over the last few weeks and how we found you?" He looked at her expectantly; it took some moments before she answered him.

"The tour please," she said, fidgeting with her hands nervously.

Alexander nodded, hiding his smile, he had expected this answer. "All right. Let's go then." He walked through the door again and waited in the hallway until Ravenna caught up with him. She followed him reluctantly, hesitating on the doorstep before she stepped into the hallway. Sun poured in from glass panels in the roof, bathing the beautiful marble hall in golden sunlight. She looked around her appreciatingly; she obviously was in a vast mansion.

Subtly, she inventoried her surroundings; the stairs were across the hallway, one leading to the first floor and one circling up to the a higher story. Which would lead her out?

Alexander started pointing out rooms. "The room right from yours is another guest room, designed similarly to your own. On the left side is a sitting room with a billiard and bar." He took her to a pair of double doors on the left side of the house. "Here, you will find a library. If you're fond of reading, you'll find enough to satisfy your appetite here."

They entered a high room; shelves, stocked with endless rows of books, reached up to the ceiling and comfortable sofas were placed in the middle of the room to sit and read on. Ravenna marveled at the vast collection of books, sniffling at the smell of old paper that reached her nose. Everything in this room begged her to take a book and read, never to leave it again.

She lingered at the doors, but Alexander had other ideas than to stay there and guided her back to the hall where he started pointing out the remaining rooms. "On the right side there's a gym, and these stairs bring you to the second floor where you'll find my quarters. You're welcome to visit them, but you won't find much to do." A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. "Although you will find a nice and warm bed there," he winked and grinned internally at the blush that decorated Ravenna's cheeks. She'd better get used to it.

"There's a roof terrace on the fourth floor," he waved at the stairs. "The house holds five bathrooms, one in your room, one in the other guestroom, one in my quarters, one downstairs, and a spare one in the basement, next to the pool. Use whichever you like."

He took Ravenna downstairs to the entrance hallway. "This is the center of the house. To your left, you'll find the kitchen, dining room, and entrance to the basement. At your right is the living room, a study, and a closed veranda. If you go through that door at the back, you'll get to the garage."

They walked to the living room, and Alexander decided he'd give his friend a head start before introducing the fragile girl next to him. He'd probably been listening to everything he'd told her, but with Dominic and delicacy, you couldn't take too many precautions.

"Dominic," Alexander called, "I'm going to introduce you to Ravenna, be nice."

"Walking on egg shells here."

Alexander grimaced; this was going to be difficult if he already started like that.

Ravenna entered the living room behind Alexander where a young man claimed the couch. He sifted through the channels on a huge plasma-TV and looked up as they approached the sofa, grinning cheekily as he took in her appearance.

Dominic Orion, she realized as she took in the breathtakingly handsome features of the man. He was blond too, as was Alexander; although Alexander was darker. He broke the silence before Alexander could say something.

"Man, you really are one skinny broomstick," he shot at her. "Alex," he turned to his friend, accusing, "you definitely should feed her more."

Ravenna stiffened at his words, she felt piqued. It wasn't like she'd starved herself, they had. Anger and anxiety warred in her head, and she shifted behind Alexander's broad shoulders.

Alexander felt the change in the girl beside him and sent a mental warning to his friend, "She's still very scared, Nick. I'd appreciate it if you'd at least try not to make her trash the house; although I realize that being sensitive is not in your department."

Dominic was not deterred. "She'll get used to it. It's my natural charm," he grinned cheekily at Alexander, who sighed at his friend.

Ravenna was looking around her uncomfortably. The interaction between the two men was strange, almost as if the two men could communicate silently with each other, not a good thing.

Alexander regained her attention before her anxiety could take the upper hand. "Ravenna, meet Dominic Orion, my best friend and hugest pain in the ass."

"Ass, schmass," Dominic said, winking at Ravenna. "I still make better coffee than you do."

Ravenna just stared at the two; things were getting stranger and stranger here.

"Right." Alexander decided he'd make his escape to the study, before the girl next to him truly got upset. "We'll introduce you to each other later. Ravenna?" They walked to the office at the other side of the living room, escaping Dominic's teasing.

"Ravenna, please take a seat," Alexander said, waving to two leather fauteuils at the window, a side table in between them. She walked to the one nearest to the window and dropped herself in it. She looked a little tired from the tour he'd just given her, but also a lot less tense than in she had been in her room. Patiently, she waited for what Alexander had to say.

Carefully, Alexander started talking. "Two weeks ago, Dominic and I suddenly felt a strange feeling course through us like we both had never experienced before. It was a very intense energy consuming sensation that ended as sudden as it had started. About a minute after the initial feeling had abated, it started again, but much less intense than the first time. Dominic and I decided to track down the source of the energy, and found it originated at a building owned by Richard Mason's company."

He stopped for a moment to see how the girl across him handled the things he had told her so far. Surprised, he saw the skeptical and even somewhat annoyed way she looked at him.

"You can feel energy? Like paranormal gifts or something?"

"No, I do not believe these kinds of powers exist." He read her face for a moment and decided she probably would not panic if he continued. He'd have to tell her sooner or later. "I mean that I am not human. I am a vampire."

Ravenna snorted delicately, feeling uncomfortable at the same time. She'd been saved by a madman.

"Let me finish," he said, as he saw her skeptic look, "I am a vampire, truly. I will show you, don't be scared." Concentrating on the bureau in the back of the room, he lifted it slowly with his mind, letting it float through the room before placing it back on its original place.

Looking back to the girl, he read her mind, monitoring her emotions. He answered her unspoken thoughts. "You are not hallucinating." She looked at him shocked. "Yes, I can read your mind. No, I have not done that before because I do not want to invade your privacy. Four, seventy, two million three hundred thousand five hundred five," he groaned. "I'm not going to keep on repeating every number you can think of."

She looked at him with huge eyes, baffled by the display in front of her. Alexander tasted her emotions and found no fear, just surprise; an edge of acceptance already rising in her mind. He rolled his eyes, "seven oh seven."

"Okay," Ravenna said in a small voice, she was in a room with a vampire. "So, uhm, what does a, uh, vampire, well, you know, do?" He chuckled at her incoherent sentence. Her thoughts were not much more coherent.

"Most of the time, we just try to remain unnoticed. Vampires have superhuman strength, speed, and senses much sharper than humans. We do not age, and our strengths increase as we get older. That's inconvenient in the human world, but you'll find humans are blunt instruments. They observe the world very inadequately; we don't have to be overly careful."

"And, uh, well, you know." She turned red and felt extremely embarrassed; maybe this wasn't the most brilliant question to ask. Alexander followed the trail of her thought and couldn't help but smile at her embarrassment. It was a logical question to ask. "We get our blood from the blood bank. It's run by vampires actually. But we don't necessarily kill if we drink from a human."

"Oh." That was kinda reassuring, and kinda creepy. You think you're donating for humanity and, instead, these gorgeous vampires take a sip. Weird. "Sunlight?"

"Kills younger vampires when they are exposed too long; makes me a bit more sluggish, but nothing I can't handle."

"You're like an old timer, or something?"

"Hmm hmm, I'm over 5000 years old."

She stared at him. More than five millennia old, that's like, even before Homer lived, when humans still lived in caves. He certainly was good looking for being elderly. She winced, he'd probably heard that. Oh man. Alexander waited patiently for her to calm down again, a small smile on his lips. Her thoughts were completely erratic. Suddenly, Ravenna thought back to the interaction she had witnessed between him and Dominic.

Alexander answered her before she could voice her question. "Young vampires are able to speak to each other mentally, to read thoughts of weak minded individuals and influence them."

She shot him an irritated look; she really did not like that he was reading her mind. He chuckled. "Then shield me. I'm sure you're able to keep me out. Our gifts improve as we age, but you have a very strong mind. Even unshielded, I have difficulty hearing your every thought." Well, that at least was something, she thought annoyed. And how did he expect her to do that?

"Shh, just focus for a moment. Concentrate on the things you feel in your mind. At this moment, I'm not trying to enter it, try to remember how that feels."

Ravenna did as he said, retreating into herself to only feel, instead of hear, her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt a tugging sensation somewhere at the back of her mind. She fought it back instantly, angry by the disruption of the peaceful state. Alexander responded with a laugh. "Very good, that was me you just threw out. That's how you shield."

That was easier than she had imagined. She shot him some words she should not say out loud, concentrating on keeping him out. His face remained blank; he obviously had not heard what she'd just thrown at him, she thought contentedly. This wasn't so bad.

Alexander didn't have to guess what she'd been trying, and he grinned at her arrogant smile. She really was something. He continued explaining about himself. "As we age, we learn to sense intentions, emotions, and detect subtle power fluctuations. Some of us have extra powers. As I just showed you, I master telekinesis."

She frowned, trying to keep up with all the new information she heard.

"Well, as I told you, Dominic and I felt these strange waves course through us and we tried to find the source. When we arrived at Mason's terrain, we found that the building had collapsed partially, and that many people had died there. It looked like a warzone. We searched the building for any clue as to what had happened and found you there, hanging in a cell. You were severely wounded and emaciated; you looked like you would die soon. We decided to give you a chance to survive and took you with us."

"But you did not find the source of the waves?"

"Well, we did. We found you. But it was not until we had brought you here, that we discovered that you sent out the waves."

She started to feel skeptic again. Then again, everything he had just told her, he had been able to prove to her. She looked at him with big eyes; he could not be serious that she could do things like that.

Alexander saw her process everything. "You never knew you could do things like these, did you?" he said kindly. He pitied her; obviously she had never been guided in her life.

She shook her head. "What did I do, and how?" she whispered.

"I don't know," he said thoughtful. "To me, the sensations feel like subtle waves crashing in me, like the sea rocking against the shore. As long as they are not too intense, they are quite pleasant actually." He smiled. "Do you recognize anything like that?"

She looked at him stunned. He'd just described her comforting void.

Alexander saw the recognition in her face. He nodded at her encouragingly. "Try to focus on those feelings."