Chapter 78. A Life.

Long ago…

"Pick it up, Anne," her father ordered her.

Today little Anne was in a place she'd never been before. It was an area beneath her home that was colder and darker than any of the other rooms she'd ever been in, past the big iron doors that her father's guards always stood in front of, wearing impassive faces along with their imposing black armor.

Today, after breakfast, instead of being allowed to go off and play with her attendants, Anne was summoned by her father to his office where he greeted her with a big smile and a warm hug.

"Hi, Daddy!" Anne said happily. She very rarely was able to see her father in the day. He had a very important job that constantly kept him away. But today, he was making special time for Anne, and that pleased her very much. "Come along, my buzzy little bee," he said to her as she took his hand.

"Daddy," she laughed. "I'm not a bee! You're silly!"

"Is that right?" he wondered. "Am I a silly daddy? Well, I suppose I must be! But you still look like a bee to me!"

Having said that, he then picked her up and carried her in his arms, giving her kisses and hugs as she laughed and yelled. Soon, they stood before the dark door, where the guards each bowed deeply before their lord and stepped aside to admit them.

"What's in here, Daddy?" Anne asked with a child's curiosity.

"Something very important, Anne," her father replied. "Something important to the success of the Godwells. And today it's your turn to see it."

Then he led her down a series of stairs illuminated by flickering torchlight, that led to a corridor of barred cells, where broken-eyed men and women sat, some weeping, others silently staring ahead, all of them desperately trying to avoid receiving the attention of Lord Godwell and his young daughter.

When they reached the room at the end of that strange corridor, Anne saw what her father wanted her to see. A young man tied to an altar table, struggling to escape his bonds but unable to move.

"Daddy? Who is he?" Little Anne wondered.

"He…is a very bad person, Anne," her father said to her in his soft and gentle voice.

"He is?" Anne said with wide eyes. She'd never seen a bad person before. She hadn't even known they truly existed. "Daddy, what did he do?"

"He tried to hurt us, sweetie," her father said sadly. "He disobeyed the laws that we must protect and tried to encourage others to do the same. He fought back when we captured him and was disrespectful when we passed judgment upon him. He was very, very bad."

Anne couldn't believe it. "Very, very bad?" she asked, scandalized.

"I'm afraid so, Anne. And because of that, it's fallen upon us to punish him. The laws of the Godwells are the laws that all men must obey. We're not merely a family, sweetie. We're the only people who matter in this world. And for others to defy us is an unquestionable wrong. It mustn't be allowed."

"Really, Daddy?" Anne asked.

"Mm-hmm," her father solemnly nodded. Then he took something from one of the pouches he wore around his waist and set it on the bound man's chest. After that, he lifted Anne and placed her on top of the prisoner.

"Pick it up, Anne," he told her.

"What is it, Daddy?" she asked him as she studied the strange tool.

"This is a dagger, sweetie. Hold on to the handle and don't touch the blade. It's very sharp and I don't want you to cut yourself. Hold it like this, see?"

"Like this, Daddy?" she asked as she imitated his movement.

"Exactly like that, sweetie," he said proudly. "My little girl is such a fast learner!"

Anne giggled, pleased that her father was impressed with her. "What do I do now?" she asked him innocently.

"Now, I'm going to show you how to teach bad people a lesson," her dad said to her with a smile, as he pulled out a dagger of his own. "Now pay close attention to what I do, Anne, okay? I'll go first and then I want you to copy me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Good girl, Anne. Now first, we'll begin with his eye…"

Annie followed her instructions perfectly.

Her father was very pleased with her.

___

Anne leaped at Everly and crashed with an audible thud into the ground, while her opponent jumped back before rushing in to catch her with a football tackle. While she had Anne pinned beneath her, Everly tried to press her thumbs into Anne's eyes, but before she could push them in fully, Anne kicked up wildly with such strength that Everly was forced over her. Now that she was the one in the dominant position, Anne grabbed the girl by her throat and began squeezing as hard as she could, intent on throttling her to death.

"Anne, you're so wild," Everly said admiringly.

"Just die," Annie whispered desperately to her. "I hate you so please die!"

"No, you don't," Everly said to her as she slowly forced Anne's hands away. "You love this. This is who you are!"

"It's not!" Anne sobbed.

"It is! And it's great! This is what you were made for!" Everly laughed.

"Shut up!"

"I won't!" Everly giggled. "Murderer."

"I'm not!" Anne said. "I only did what had to be done!"

"Monster!" taunted Everly. "Freak!"

"STOP!" Anne shrieked.

__

Years later.

"Father, it hurts," Anne sobbed as she lay on her side, bleeding from her mouth and nostrils. "I can't breathe. Why can't I breathe?"

"I'm sorry, Anne," her father said sorrowfully, as he knelt by her side. "I know how much it hurts; I do. But this is a good pain. A necessary pain. One that you're taking upon yourself for the benefit of our family. You're being very brave right now."

"Daddy," she sobbed. She hadn't called him that in years. But she was now in so much agony that her recognition of him was breaking down, reverting to her childhood. "Daddy, why?"

"Because the Godwells need this from you, Anne. Because I need this from you," her father said.

He took her hand in his own and began stroking it reassuringly. "You're not like your other sisters, Anne. You're going to survive this. You're special. I have a feeling about you. I know I didn't waste my time with you," he said to her with a doting smile. "Endure this, Anne. I believe in you…"

__

Suddenly Everly flew forward, into the air, breaking loose from Anne's grip while laughing wildly. Then more bolts of lightning began erupting from the earth, destroying the ground beneath Anne's feet, and tearing away at Anne, electrifying her, torturing her, but unable to finish her off due to her high magical resistance.

"Oh, Anne, that would kill an ordinary person a hundred times over," Everly said happily. "But not you, though! Magic can't get the job done, can it? But you still feel the pain, don't you? You still feel the pain!"

"What do you know about pain, little girl?" Anne howled at her floating adversary. "What do you know about true suffering? What has life ever brought you but chances to excel?"

"Guilty!" Everly cackled. "Guilty, guilty, guilty!"

She descended from the sky to land on her feet. Then she strode forward until she stood inches apart from the crouching Anne and raised her arms. Anne, expecting another attack, was instead surprised when Everly embraced her in a crushing hug and continued to quietly laugh in her ear.

"I'm a product of pure, dumb luck, Anne," said Everly's merry voice. "I used to believe I was a chosen one, that the things I've acquired were due purely to my own will. And to a certain degree, that's true. But I also came upon my powers by simple happenstance. I got lucky, Anne."

"Then why have you become like this?" Anne asked her, desperately trying to understand.

"Because I'm not grateful for my good luck!" Everly answered. "Because I don't care that it was all random. I'm still me! I'm still greedy, prideful, and in need of entertainment. I'll always be this way. I don't mind. I love being me."

"Everly, no—" Anne said.

"Anne, yes," Everly tittered. "The real question is why don't you like being yourself? You're beautiful and powerful but all you do is feel pain for other people. All you do is follow your family's will; despite how much it makes you miserable."

"That's not…that's not true," Anne said, trying to deny it.

"You've killed so many people, Anne. The guilty and the innocent. Women…children…all supposedly to protect the noble line you were assigned to protect from diminishing even more…"

"I had to," Anne said miserably.

"Of course, you did," Everly said with a voice filled with empathy. Because if the nobles keep breeding the magic out of their families, the horny little morons that they are, their connection to the elementals will fade completely. And without the elementals to protect them, the seven kings will invade this land and ruin it."

Anne said nothing. She only stared at Everly's helmeted visage. On it, her face was reflected, filled with conflicting emotions and needs.

"You do everything for these people. You've followed your duty like a good girl. Like a good little soldier! All these centuries spent being used by people just as uncaring and ungrateful as I am. Oh, poor Anne! Poor, poor Anne! Don't you get it? You've killed the innocent to preserve a society as rotten as this! A society so broken and foul that it gave all the power in the world to a person like me! ANNE! YOU ENABLED ME! YOU MADE ME POSSIBLE!"

"SHUUUUUUUT UP!" Anne screamed. And this time, something within her broke.

__

"Father, no," Anne wept.

They were in the prison beneath the estate once more. But now, the one tied to the table was no criminal. No instigator of disharmony, no sworn enemy of the social order.

It was a girl.

Just an ordinary girl.

Anne had practiced for years on the prisoners her father placed before her. Her instincts were superb, and her talent was unmatched. Within minutes of going to work on someone, she would break them. She would have them confess their every sin in life and beg for reformation and redemption.

And if it was necessary, she would also dispose of them with cold, professional detachment after first making them regret their choices in life with every fiber of their being.

By the age of seventeen, Anne had killed more people than most people had ever met. She didn't care. It was for the good of the Godwell family.

But now, after barely surviving her sickness, her father demanded this of her.

"She hasn't done anything," Anne tried to tell him. "I can tell just by looking at her! Father! Please, I can't do this."

"Anne," her father said to her with his gentle, patient voice. "Anne, surviving the first onset of your abilities, is just the first part. The symptoms have receded for now, but they'll come back, eventually. Unless you do this."

"Father, I don't understand," Anne said.

"You need to drink her blood, Anne. It's something that must be done periodically. To maintain your life and stabilize your magic, you need to take power from someone else."

"Do…Do I have to k-kill her?" Anne stammered.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie. Once a month. A life for a life," her father said.

"But why?" Anne sobbed. "She hasn't done anything."

"Anne," her father said to her. "You must understand, my love. Life…life isn't about what we do. It's about who we are. Anne, you're a Godwell, darling. And the Godwells are the only people who matter."

"Daddy, please," Anne begged him.

Suddenly, swift as a snake, her father produced a knife which he thrust into the bound girl's neck. He then twisted it and looked frankly at his daughter.

"I've wounded her mortally, Anne," he informed her. "When I remove this blade, she's going to die, regardless of what you do. That decision's already been made. The real question is, are you going to waste her blood? Decide for yourself, my angel. I'm done speaking."

Then, her father pulled the knife free and left the room.

The girl continued to lay there, staring helplessly at her, while her life's blood jettisoned out, so red, so bright, so vivid…

Anne stared at it, just as helpless as the dying girl before her. Mesmerized.

Hungry…

When her father returned a half hour later and beheld his blood-spattered, weeping daughter, he took her in his arms and told her how proud he was of her. How glad he was that she'd made the right decision. How she'd bring endless glory to their family name…

He said many things that night. But despite his praise and assurances, Anne knew that she had done something unforgivable.

Anne knew that she was now a monster.

__

Everly stopped taunting Anne when the other woman stopped speaking. She'd seen the exact moment when the vampire had utterly snapped and knew that she was no longer fighting a rational being.

Sanity was such an interesting commodity. Most people thought of it as an unlimited resource, but Everly knew for a fact that it was a lot scarcer than they realized. And sensitive too.

In The Dark Knight, the Joker managed to drive the trusted Gotham District Attorney, Harvey Dent, completely mad by telling the truth about the corrupt nature of the city that Dent had sworn himself in service to. He pointed out that everyone Dent trusted had compromised themselves morally and made his job all but impossible to do. That he couldn't stand against corruption while being surrounded by it.

Killing Dent's girlfriend and burning off half his face had also done a number on his psyche. As a result of the clown's manipulation, Dent turned into the sort of monster he'd spent his career battling.

Everly had been in awe.

Yes, like so many restless, edgy youth, Heath Ledger's Joker had been a huge influence on Everly's life. The way he'd deftly anticipated every question Dent would ask and then put his own life on the line in a game of Russian roulette, the better to thoroughly corrupt his prey, had been a decisive moment in Everly's decision to swear herself to the forces of evil.

Of course, she completely denied that movie's influence over her life, and loudly jeered any cringy buffoon who dared to say, "Why so serious?" where others could see them. But in her heart of hearts, Everly knew the truth. Heath's Joker had become a sensei to her.

And now, by lightly paying homage to his technique (which is to say, shamelessly ripping him off) she had driven Anne completely nuts.

Although knowing that she had pushed another person into insanity was totally fucking radical, it hadn't been completely intentional. Everly just wanted to take the vampire far past her comfort zone and force her to confront her true nature. Everly hadn't lied at all about her admiration for Anne. In her way, she did love the poor creature.

But Everly's nature was to dominate what she loved. Equality and mutual respect were never going to be viable options for those she chose to be hers. First, they had to be destroyed. Then rebuilt. Just as she'd done with Grail.

Hmm. Where had Grail been lately? Had she misplaced him somewhere? It seemed she had. Well, that was a little embarrassing. It harkened back to her childhood when she always had to beg her parents to help her find the weapons that came with her Decepticon action figures because she was always losing them.

Ah, well, he was probably fine.

__

"HOOOOOOLD!" Grail bellowed as he brought the full weight of his axe down on the demon's neck before kicking its body away. "Hold the line, damn it! Even if these screaming beasts drag us all to the shores of perdition itself, know that we die now as TRUE WARRIORS! Let the fires of hell choke on our stubborn souls! Find your hearts and grip your steel! NOW, FORWARD!"

"FOR GRAIL!" shouted the ferocious villagers he'd organized into a desperate defense against this terrible demonic incursion. Only days earlier, they'd been but simple farmers and laborers. Now with the training he'd given them, and with his words igniting their fighting spirits, they had been transformed into the region's best hope of survival. As one, they boldly stepped forward, fearing no fiend.

"FOR GRAIL!" they proudly shouted again. "FOR THE DAWN!"

And so, screaming their defiance against the unholy evils now arrayed against them, Grail led these humble people to eternal glory. Those who fell would be dutifully mourned, their courage praised, and their sacrifice never forgotten.

But those who survived this day would become living legends…

For this was the village that held!

__

"Yeah, he's probably just sitting around, waiting for me to come get him like an old hound waiting for his master at work," Everly chuckled to herself. "Good 'ol Grail..."

__

"What are you looking at?" Anne asked the young man curiously.

"Nothing," answered Marcis Vae-Es Belsar, as he stood at the balcony with a drink in hand, gazing idly upon the citizens of the capital, bustling before him on the streets below. "Nothing at all."

"Oh," Anne said, uncertainly. She'd seen this man many times during her various visits to the royal palace. She knew that he was a close friend of Prince Septis; Marcis, the second son of the lord of Van Belsar County.

Marcis possessed a handsome, mischievous face which Anne found fascinating. He rarely comported himself with the dignity required of his station. Indeed, he hardly seemed a noble at all and was infamous for his frequent pranks and for getting his circle of friends (including the prince) into trouble.

Now, standing alone with him, despite her greater age, Anne found it difficult to speak in his presence. It was an issue she'd been dealing with for nearly fifteen centuries of life. Speaking casually to others was just hard.

"Hey, do you suppose I'd be in trouble if I dropped this glass and it killed someone?" Marcis suddenly asked her.

"What?" Anne asked in alarm. "Is that something that you're considering doing?"

"Me? No, no. Just a thought experiment was all," Marcis smiled. "It's just that, this is the royal palace and all, yes? So, if I dropped a heavy glass and it hit someone on the head and they died as a result..."

"That would be a crime, yes," Anne informed him.

"Okay, but would it be a crime or a crime?" Marcis wondered.

"What do you mean by that?" Anne asked him.

"Well, since this is the palace, my potential random victim is just as likely to be a noble or even a royal as it is to be a mere servant. So that's a one in three chance that I could be punished, executed for treason, or get away with it entirely. After all, who cares about commoners?"

"You should!" Anne said. "Defense of the common man is one of your duties as a nobleman."

"Yes, I've been told that many times before," Marcis said with a careless wave of his hand. "But that's not necessarily something I find to be true. I certainly haven't seen such practices being performed by my peers."

"It wasn't always that way," Anne said sadly. "There was a time when the lords of this land upheld their duties with the utmost solemnity."

"I suppose you speak from personal experience, Lady Godwell," said Marcis.

"I do," Anne nodded. "My condolences by the way for the passing of your older brother. I've lost siblings myself. I know it to be a pain that recedes slowly."

"No worries, my lady," Marcis said indifferently. "I killed my brother myself. It was hard doing for the first two minutes or so. Some people simply don't want to be throttled."

"Lord Marcis!" Anne said in shock. "Why would you tell me that?"

"Oh, I assumed you already knew and were playing coy," Marcis laughed. "You Godwells have your hands in everyone's business, after all. I considered myself no different."

"Well, I had no idea," Anne said angrily. "And now that I know, I regret learning of it!"

As she turned to walk away, Marcis grabbed her by her elbow.

"Ah, one moment, love. Now that you know my terrible secret, how can I possibly let you walk away?" asked Marcis.

"Release your hand, my lord," Anne warned him tersely.

"Not until I've first silenced you," Marcis purred.

"And how pray tell, do you intend to do that?" Anne demanded to know.

In response, he leaned in and kissed her. And it was…

Tremendous.

"Care to join me in my room?" he asked her.

She did.

Later in the week, she married him.

__

The fight was beginning to lose its luster. To Everly's disappointment, without a sane intellect to guide her actions, Anne had been reduced to a wild beast that attacked in predictable patterns that were easily anticipated. After Anne tried to gnaw on her through her armor for the third time, Everly had had enough.

"I'm a victim of my success," she sighed to herself. "Once more the fragility of the human mind works against my interests. I can't help but crush everything and everyone that rises against me. I'm as relentless as the tide that sweeps away all the little sandcastles. Do you hear me, Anne? I'm the tide."

Anne ran at her again slashing away with her claws, and snapping with her jaws, her teeth clanking like steel traps. It was such an admirable display of ferocity. And yet so pointless.

"Oh, Anne. My esteem for you is endless, I swear it is. Is that why you let your mind shatter? To spite me? To steal away my enjoyment of this moment? What a cruel woman you are."

Everly stepped closer to the broken vampire and once more embraced her. But this time instead of mocking her, she made quiet, soothing noises, and gently ran her hands down Anne's dark red hair, soothing her like she would an upset child.

"Enough. We're done," Everly told her quietly but firmly.

"Shh. Stop. It's over," she insisted. Eventually, Anne relented and stopped struggling. She rested her head against Everly's breastplate and sobbed adrenalized tears as the tension was released from her, leaving behind a sad, lonely creature that had been alive for far too long.

"It's okay, Anne," Everly said to her.

"Kill me," Anne begged her. "Please kill me."

"Why?" asked Everly.

"Because I'm tired of hurting other people. And I'm tired of being hurt."

"A person can't help being who they are, Anne."

"Yes, they can. I was just never brave enough."

"Are you sure about this?" Everly asked her.

"I am. But Everly…"

"Yes?"

"If you can, please bind my soul to the earth."

"Why?"

"I don't want to see my family again. I don't want to be in their afterlife."

"What do I get out of doing you this little favor?" Everly asked her.

"What?" Anne asked as she turned her gaze towards her.

"I'm just kidding, Anne. I'm not as cruel as all that," Everly smiled. Then, as she'd done to Fenneth before her, Everly drove her fist through Anne's chest and crushed her heart.

Anne fell limply into Everly's arms. She blinked once…

__

"Hello," Anne shyly said to her new employee, a spirited immigrant from Oldstead that she hadn't yet met. "Are you the one the institute recommended?"

"I am," the beautiful researcher said with a confident nod. Instead of bowing to her as Anne's station demanded, the golden-haired woman instead boldly raised her hand and waited for Anne to shake it. "I'm Lyona Skolder, at your service, of course."

"Of course," Anne smiled. "And I am—"

"I know who you are Countess. I'd have to be blind not to notice you. You're gorgeous! But you're way too pale, don't you think?"

"Do you think so?" Anne asked her.

"Yes, I do," Lyona said firmly.

"Does it bother you?" Anne asked quietly.

"Hardly! I've got more important things to do than concern myself with someone's complexion, after all. You didn't hire me to tell you when to get a tan."

Anne laughed at that, impressed by the other woman's fearlessness. "Lyona, was it? Would you care to join me for lunch?"

"I don't see why not," Lyona said. "But I insist we eat outside! Come on, Anne. Join me in the sun," she said with a kind smile.

She held out her hand once more. And with no hesitation, Anne gladly took it.

__

…then she was gone.

Weren't you supposed to seize her soul and bind it to the earth? Eris asked her after Everly laid the body on the ground.

"Yeeeeah, I have no idea how to do something like that," Everly said. "Look at her face, though. Wherever she wound up, I think she's okay with it."

Perhaps so, Eris said. Would you like me to copy her mind?

"Yes," Everly said after a moment's thought. "You know, this is the second time we've heard about her family's private afterlife. I wonder if we should do something about that."

Everly. Are you suggesting we turn their paradise into sulfur and ash? Eris asked her.

"I don't see why we shouldn't," Everly said. "They certainly wouldn't extend any mercy to us. Besides, the Rat Room could always use some new blood, couldn't it?

"I won't lie, the idea of adding the Godwells to my collection is greatly appealing," Eris said eagerly.

"I thought that might interest you," Everly smirked. Then she looked upon Anne's body and sighed. "What a complicated lady. I wonder if she suffered so much because she was a good person, or if it was because people aren't meant to be immortal?"

I suspect it was an issue of temperament, Eris said. I find it far more likely that Anne simply refused to fully embrace her nature as a predator. At some point, you must make a choice. Are you a fox or a hen?

"Why a fox?" Everly asked. "Why not a wolf?"

Because wolves hunt in packs, answered Eris. And a fox, like a vampire, is always alone.

"Wow," Everly whistled. "Deep thoughts with Eris, huh?"

I confess to bearing considerable insight into the human psyche. After all, I enjoy preying upon it.

"Indeed," Everly said. "Well, we've got a copy of her mind and memories. I suppose we can honor her wish to be left to rot. But only because she put up such a great fight."

The boundless depth of your kindness astonishes me, Everly.

"What can I say? I'm a very good person," Everly said as she exited through a gateway.

"I always have been."