A disgruntled Tara stumbled as she was led blindfolded down an unfamiliar corridor. She scowled visibly, almost tripping over an indention on the ground in her blind haze. A string of expletives followed, each a mere mutter as she tried to keep a steady balance in her new Louis Vuitton's.
"Careful." Pam's voice drawled from behind. The blonde steadied the young vampire by placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll ruin your shoes."
"Well maybe if you take off this damn blindfold," Tara countered with a sway, grateful for Pam's guidance. She knew that without it she would have face planted at least fifteen times already.
Pam rolled her eyes. "You're a vampire, Tara," she stated simply, an irritated edge to her tone. "Use your senses and maybe you won't look like a baby giraffe taking its first steps."
"Bitch," Tara muttered.
"Insubordinate," Pam replied casually.
"Stubborn ass," Tara bit out.
"Fine ass," Pam corrected.
Tara sighed visibly and deeply. She couldn't disagree with Pam on that one.
"Where are we goin' anyway?" Tara exasperated. She had to bite back yet another expletive as she lost her footing and was caught by Pam in a swift and effortless manner.
Pam rolled her eyes for what seemed like the one hundredth time that night. From Tara's, "are we there yet?", to her, "where are we going?", she was growing tired of her progeny's impatience.
"Whatever happened to a little mystery?" Pam questioned aloud with an exhale of breath, a tint of reminiscence etched on her words. "A little romance," she added, though with a firmer tone.
"Fine." Tara admitted defeat. "At least tell me how long more it's goin' to take to arrive."
Pam huffed and pulled her stubborn progeny to a stop. She removed the blindfold in a quick and elegant manner, discarding the item unwillingly.
Genuinely surprised, Tara raised an eyebrow. "I-"
"We're here." Pam deadpanned as she cut Tara off and gestured to the door beside them.
Tara followed Pam's hand to the door. "You brought me all this way for a door?" Looking back, she swept her eyes over her maker. She donned a knee length lilac dress, a pair of heels from a designer she didn't know - Marc Jacobs, maybe - and was wearing her good gold. Pam never got this dressed up for no apparent reason.
Tara scrunched up her facial features, genuinely confused. "And why the hell are you so dressed up?"
"I don't recall ever beginning a game of twenty questions with you," Pam responded irritably. "And no, I didn't bring you all this way for a fuckin' door, you imbecile. If you would just wait so much as a minute for me to explain…" she trailed off, eyes widening briefly in an annoyed action.
Pam removed a key from her clutch and popped it inside the lock, twisting until a click was heard. She pulled down on the handle and pushed the door open, nodding inside and letting Tara step in first.
"Wow," Tara breathed as she crossed the cream coloured carpet and into the beautifully decorated condo.
Tara noticed the living area first. From the loveseat to the flat screen television, to the warm fire within the fireplace and the Picasso painting that hung above the mantel. She swept her eyes to the left where there was a kitchen. The colour scheme was black and white and each appliance was fitted accordingly. She wondered why Pam would invest in such a novelty as a kitchen but being that her maker didn't do anything halfway, it didn't faze her all too much.
Tara's curious eyes scanned over the area again, from the stairs leading to the second storey, to the doors off to the right and then back to the most noticeable thing about the condo, the windows.
Large glass windows overlooked the beautifully lit city, a breathtaking sight. She briefly glanced back to her maker with a tender smile before she delved deeper into the condo and stopped right in front of the window. She caught a glimpse of a familiar landmark and wondered if her eyes were deceiving her.
"Is that…" Tara trailed off, her voice sounding uncertain.
"Uh huh," was all Pam said in reply.
"Wow." Tara repeated her earlier words as she set her eyes upon the Eiffel Tower in the distance, completely in awe of the structure and its surroundings.
"First time seeing it?" Pam asked from behind. At Tara's slow nod, she smiled. "First time in Paris?" She pressed further.
"Well, yeah," Tara murmured in response. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the gorgeous city. "Farthest I've ever been from Bon Temps is New Orleans. Alcoholic momma, you know, didn't have much time for vacations," she explained with a shrug.
Tara didn't open up often, but neither did Pam. Their words never compared to the feelings felt within the bond they shared. Pam knew that those words stung Tara to say but yet her strong progeny acted as if it was nothing, as if having an alcoholic mother and a horrible childhood was nothing she couldn't handle. Tara still had emotional scars, scars that could only be healed with time. Now that she was a vampire she had all the time in the world, and Pam would make sure that she was the one to help heal her.
Pam approached Tara from behind and slid her cool, slender arms around her middle. Tara exhaled deeply in response, not expecting such a tender action from her usually cold maker. But she allowed herself to sink into Pam's touch and close her eyes as she felt the blonde's kiss to her shoulder.
"Well all that changes now," Pam whispered soothingly. Her voice was like silk, like a cat purring, and Tara couldn't help but to feel comforted by it.
Tara placed her arms above Pam's and opened her eyes slowly. "Why are we here, anyway?" she asked her, moments later.
Pam furrowed her eyebrows and spun Tara around in her arms so she could face her. "It's your birthday," Pam began slowly, looking a little unsure. Had she gotten the dates wrong?
Tara felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. Her eyes brimmed with tears and before she had time to hold them back, they were cascading down her cheeks leaving a bloody streak in their wake.
Concerned washed over Pam for her progeny. She could feel Tara's pain and surprise through the invisible string that was their bond. "Hey," she cupped Tara's cheek gingerly, "what's this?"
Tara began to wipe away the tears, shaking her head in a dismissing way. "Nothin', I'm sorry…I didn't mean-"
"Ssh," Pam interjected calmly. She caressed the skin of Tara's cheek and raised her gaze so she could look into her eyes. "Have I gotten the dates wrong?" Pam asked with a hint of guilt. She mentally scolded herself and made a note to smack Sookie Stackhouse across the face upon returning to Bon Temps.
"No," came Tara's quick reply. "No," a little firmer this time, she swallowed the lump in her throat. "You didn't," she reassured her maker.
"Then what is it?" Pam wasn't sure what had caused Tara's tears but wanted nothing more than to stop them.
"I always cry on my birthday," Tara explained quietly, her voice child-like, both warming and breaking Pam's heart at the same time. "It's always the worst day."
Pam nodded slowly with blue eyes full of sincerity and empathy. Tara made her have feelings and she wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she welcomed it nonetheless. The only other feelings she had were those that concerned Eric or her vanity, mostly the latter but prominently the former. She had only been on the receiving end of the maker and progeny relationship until she turned Tara, and like all vampires, she still didn't know how it worked exactly.
Her relationship with Tara was both maternal and sexual, something that was looked down upon with humans but expected with vampires. Perhaps it was an odd concept, a bizarre combination, but when she felt such strong and urgent feelings towards another person, she didn't think of what was within the realm of the norm. She cared about Tara, so she acted on it, even if the girl was bad for her reputation as Shreveport's Ice Queen.
"Until now." Tara spoke up, breaking the silence.
Pam's eyes sought out Tara's, a light smile taking hold of her lips. She wiped away Tara's bloodied tears with her thumbs and kissed each smudge mark in such a way that Tara couldn't help but feel the love and protection that emanated from the blonde.
"I told you," Pam's voice flooded Tara's ears like music, "that all changes now."
Tara nodded and welcomed Pam's lips on her own as the blonde leaned in for a kiss. Soft and tender, they held the kiss and drew it out for as long as possible, much like their first one within the Authority.
When their lips broke apart, Pam turned Tara around and held her from behind. They gazed out at the city below them, Tara's fingers making smoothing circles over Pam's skin.
"Happy Birthday, mon amour." Pam whispered with a kiss to Tara's neck.
Tara smiled and tightened the hold on her maker.
And a very happy birthday it was.