Blood Ties (NaNoWriMo 2015)

Forty-Five

The sky was still black when I got outside, I hadn't bothered to check the time before I'd left, this was one of the few aspects of this trip I had not planned. However, despite that, I had been informed enough to know how this was supposed to go. When we would arrive at the hotel, it would no longer be dark, more pale grey than anything, early enough in the day for us to start resting up and getting ready for the night that followed, but not so early as to endanger Damon.

Keith, like the gentlemen he was, set my bags into the trunk and shut it, grinning. He looked nervous to me, but also a little excited as well. "Take care Ember," he wrapped me in a hug which made me shiver. Despite his warm heart, Keith was still one of the coldest vampire I knew.

"Thanks," I said. "You too, take care of your mom."

"Of course," everyone at the manor had felt Johnathan's passing, but it was obvious to anyone that Caiyun had been affected the most. The full effect of Damon being alone as leader of Robur, I had heard, was fully hitting her now and I knew she'd need whatever support she could get right now assuming it was true.

I smiled, "Great." I heard a door open and saw Damon hurrying out of the manor, dressed as per usual in business attire. Today it was a blue button down and black pants. At least five people swarming around him like bees. I caught snippets of conversation, "Richard," who I assumed was Richard Erable. "Don't forget about" and some other names I didn't recognize. Damon nodded politely to them, responding in quick, short words or sometimes even an entire phrase.

"I've got it," he said, addressing everyone. "We'll be fine," he popped open the truck, set his own suitcase inside and grinned at me. "Morning Ember."

I yawned. "It most certainly is morning." I agreed, for the last month and a half, I'd been full adjusted to the vampire timetable but I suppose the part of me that remembered human life still was anti-morning, at least until I got my coffee.

Damon shook his head, "We need to get going." He opened the door and bowed like he was some sort of butler.

I rolled my eyes, but the sarcastic effect was ruined by my smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Be safe Damon," I heard Keith say and then Damon bid him goodbye and assured him that yes, he would be safe. I had to agree with him on that one, if we were right about Richard (and I was fairly sure we were) I didn't think he'd risk doing anything these next two weeks. Too risky, we were going to be surrounded by the High Court and the Twelve and while Richard Erable seemed to be many things, I did not think stupid was one of them. He wanted to gain something from his attempts on my life and Damon's, getting caught would not do that for him.

I slid into the cab of the car, Damon had offered the idea of a limo which I'd quickly shut down. That would attract way too much attention. I peeked over on the middle seat, glad to see the wig box there as I'd requested. Damon slid into the car as well and noticed the box instantly. Pointing he asked, "What is that?"

"A wig," I said opening the box and pulling out the blonde in a box. "I've been missing for almost two months," I reminded him. "If cameras in the airport catch my face, they might start searching again. Facing facts, I can't afford to be found now can't I?"

Damon didn't answer, but I think he looked impressed. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"You've had other things on your mind," I reminded him, slipping the heavy thing over my head. I was certain I'd been sweating in a few hours with this mass on my head. "Besides, the manor doesn't have cameras, nor does any vampire dwelling because you don't show up on film and you barely interact with the human world, so with those combined why would you have remembered that bit about airports?"

"I needed that," he said and Damon tossed the box to the ground as the car began to move. "Buckle up," he reminded me, even as he clicked his own into place.

I giggled and did as I was told. Fact of the matter was, Damon was not that small, seeing him sit in the smallest sea, long legs scrunched up to accommodate for the lack of space and slouched to avoid hitting his head on the car-was all a very funny site.

"Do I have ink on my face again?" he asked, reaching up to his cheek as though he could feel around for the stains.

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "No, you're fine."

Damon's arm tightened around my shoulders, a mock-hug. "Great, the last thing I want to do is walk into the place looking like the Painted Whore."

"You're so dramatic," I chided, in a different set of circumstances I'd have laughed at his use of the phrase "painted whore" but not now. He was too serious, I didn't even have to get a look at his face to know he had a furrow between his thick eyebrows, a frown on his thin lips and a storm raging in his blue eyes. "Calm down," I told him, lacing my fingers through his. "It's going to be fine."

Damon laughed harshly. It sounded more like a bark. "How do you know?"

"Easy," I said and I stole a kiss. "Sealed with a kiss, no one can break a promise after that right?" I rested my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes and allowing myself to focus on the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.

"I never thought I'd see you use that on me," he remarked. "You never seemed like that kind of girl."

"What kind of girl?" I asked, eyes still closed. Maybe I'd try and get a little snooze in before the plane ride. With my luck I'd probably get the seat right in front of the kangaroo kid.

"The kind that believed in those sort of fairytale things," said Damon. "You've always seemed way too much of a realist."

"I was," I admitted. "But then I found out my life was saved by a very handsome one hundred year old vampire whom I ended up dating eighteen years later. That's pretty fairytale if you ask me."

"Fairytale?" Damon repeated, amusement coloring his voice. "I think you have the wrong genre. Vampires fit more into gothic or horror than fairytales."

"Depends on the vampire," I replied, snuggling closer to him. Our temperate differences sometimes made this difficult but we were learning to manage. One of those methods involved cranking up the heat wherever we were at to make his coldness an asset. Today was no exception, the vents were pouring out blasts of hot air and Damon was a relief from it. "You're very fairytale Damon, like the prince."

"Thanks," he said I heard barely restrained laughter in his voice. "You are too, you get to be the witch."

I opened one eye. "What?"

"Well you're not useless enough to be the princess," he reasoned, still chuckling. "You're a witch, just a very pretty one."

"Nice save," I muttered, closing my eye and letting myself drift off into a light sleep. Despite my usual instincts and some of the facts that were staring me in the face, I had a good feeling about this trip. I felt like it was going to go well.

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New chapter! Not much happened but did anyone else find the fairytale thing funny? I thought it was, but then again I find many things funny and few of them actually are! Ember is being unusually optimistic! I'm proud of her! You guys think it's justified? I'd love to hear your thoughts so please do COMMENT and VOTE if you enjoyed!

Write on! =D