Dark Angel

Chapter 15

"He's awake." Meredith said the moment Elizabeth came through the door.
"Where is he then?" She asked and Meredith pointed to the garden. Studying Elizabeth, she noticed that for the first time in a very long time, Elizabeth looked... tired.
"Are you okay?"
Elizabeth turned and flashed a fake smile.
"Yes of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh my..." Meredith gasped
"You still haven't claimed him."

"I'm working on it."

"But, it's almost-"

"I'm working on it." She snapped, held herself, took a dignified breath and continued.
"I'll tell him. We'll figure something out. As for now..." 
Elizabeth stared at the man sitting in the garden,
"Let's hear what he has to say."

************************************
"Francis..." Elizabeth said and the man slowly turned to face her. His eyes were sunken, the mass on his head looked more like a dirty bush than hair but, he seemed to be slowly recovering. He smiled- a painful one but, true nonetheless.

"Eliza..." he was the only one who called her that. Francis tried to get up to face her and after a few futile attempts, he gave a nod to welcome her.

"You shouldn't strain yourself for me Francis."

"I hate looking weak in your presence, you know that."

"I do." Elizabeth sighed. "But you need to rest."
Francis stared at her intently and his eyes widened in surprise as he heard her heartbeat.

"You found your Tether?"

"Yes, I did." She replied wearily.

He noticed.

"And you haven't claimed him? Why?"

"He's... mortal." She laughed quietly at the irony and he understood why.

Elizabeth had always despised weakness and humans were weak. So to be "Tethered" to the personification of weakness? That was The Creator's choice of an eternal punchline.

But he could see that there was more to it. He had been with her long enough to noice when she was struggling with something.

"Come on now, what else is keeping you from claiming him?"

She bit her lip- Classic struggling Elizabeth.
"It's complicated."

"Then simplify it for me."

"Well, another is Tethered to him also..."

Even though he was speechless, he still tried to speak.

"B-but that's-"

"Impossible yes. But, I saw her 'First Breath' myself..."

To his relief, she quckly changed the subject. Seemed none of them wanted to go that road for now.

"Do you remember the last thing that happened to you?"

He frowned as he tried to recollect the memories.

"I was informed of a... summons from you. So, I left my workspace and headed to your... uh... office when someone pricked me with something.

After that, nothing. Except for pain and darkness."

"I think you were infected with a disease that preceeds me."

"Preceeds you? But you are one of the eldest of our race."

"You know that's not true." She replied and he nodded.

A few years ago, the Seal that kept the much more older and powerful creatures was broken, nobody knew how but they felt it. From then on, they had been hearing whispers and rumours about a powerful being keeping the hordes of Dark Ones- a fitting name for all their species- at bay.

Elizabeth was as powerful as the ancient ones but age breeds power and she was young in comparison to them. She was turned to make sure the Royal family kept it's hold on the Vampiir and keep the turning to a bare minimum. Elizabeth accomplished all her tasks perfectly, but at a price.

"They are returning and foolish young vamps are trying to overthrow them. They do not understand that the 'Olde' have no problem wiping them out and starting again."

She rubbed her temples in frustration.

"But if this... disease is older than you, does it not mean..."

"Yes." She nodded.
"They are being influenced by an 'Olde'. One who seems to gain from overthrowing the Bloodline and letting a one-sided slaughter breakout."

Francis looked at her and realized there was no way out. Nothing they could do.

Unless...

"Perhaps, we should use this."  Francis pulled out a small beacon given to them years ago.

"I thought I threw that away after saying we were never going to ask for help." Elizabeth's voice went dangerously low and he bowed his head in apology.

A few years after the Seal was broken, they received the beacon from an anonymous source with a message saying that they would need help in the near future and should activate it if was an emergency they didn't know who to trust. Elizabeth however, decided it was an insult to her authority and told Francis to destroy it.

Appatently, he didn't.

"I'm sorry that I kept this from you. But, things are bad. If we don't do it now, the possibility of all of us dying is high." Francis advised. 
"Right now, we are hiding. Our castle has been taken, our people are probably being manipulated by an 'Olde' and we still do not know what is happening. Your teather is mortal and is easy to kill what do you want to happen?"

"Francis..." She cautioned, moving closer carefully.

"I'm sorry. But you made me swear to serve you the right way even when you were in the wrong."
He pushed the button on the small cylindrical device.

"No!" Elizabeth yelled and lunged for him, tackling him into the wormhole that neither had noticed had opened up behind Francis.

Falling into the darkness.