Join Me in Pieces

Chapter 1

A/N: Another fantasy fic because I'm a sucker. Witches and vampires woo hoo. And smut in a couple chapters 'cause...yeah.

"We've lost another one."

Evanora sighs, putting her face in her pale, cold hands, chipping nail polish on her fingers. It had been such a long day as it was, trying to come up with political negotiations to slow down the war, or potentially stop it all together. Hearing that yet another one of her witches had been lost certainly didn't help.

It was rebels, obviously. Cerulli would never order that his people go and kill one of hers. He was smarter than that.

"Who was it?" Evanora asks, putting her hands down.

"Zimmerman."

Evanora snorts and sits back, "He was an asshole anyway."

"He was one of our strongest."

"And he let it get to his head. That was his downfall."

Evanora had been sitting in her unfinished basement, on the concrete floor, in front of one of her many altar spaces. It was dark, the candles being the only thing that lit up the room. She was barefoot, in only a black camisole and yoga pants. Evanora assumed that her familiar had let in Rowan, a fellow witch who had received word that another one of their coven members had been lost to the ongoing war with the vampires. Rowan was young, but wise beyond her years. Her bobbed brown hair at times hid her gorgeous green eyes, which Evanora constantly pestered her about. She would make an excellent leader one day, should Evanora ever feel the need to pass the torch to someone...which would come sooner than either of them would expect.

"I don't understand," Evanora continues, "I want this war to end, and Cerulli wants it to end as well. What are we doing wrong?"

"You know as well as I do that sometimes, civilians just don't want to listen to their rulers," Rowan says, standing behind her friend who was still sitting on the floor.

Evanora again just sighs, running her fingers through her long, wavy black hair.

"Don't tell Scott and David, not yet," Evanora says, "I'm officiating their wedding tomorrow and I just want everyone to be happy for the occasion."

"Got it."

"Should I meet with Cerulli personally?" Evanora asks.

"You haven't met with him before?"

"Well, yes, but sort of involuntarily. Conflicts between our peoples that require us to be in the same place at the same time. We've never actually set up a one-on-one meeting together though."

"Be careful. Political alliances are tricky business."

Evanora raises her eyebrows, as if to be coming to a realization, "Political alliance..."

Thinking about the wedding that she'd been ask to officiate tomorrow, while being entangled in this centuries long war with the vampires, trying to figure out a truce...This could be the craziest idea in the history of the conflict between the witches and the vampires...but it just might work.

"This whole war started because one of our kind killed the former King and Queen, yes?"

"Yes," Rowan answers.

Evanora gulps, then nods, "That'll be all, Rowan. Thank you."

As soon as she appeared, Rowan vanishes. Silence falls over the basement.

Evanora's blue eyes drift to the candle flames, dancing in the darkness around her. Evanora shakes her head to herself, running her idea over in her head.