Six weeks have gone by since the last time Eve had a vision of her father.
42 days.
1014 hours since Selene had that wonderful surge of hope at finding her lost love through their daughter.
6 weeks since she woke up to this new world.
Michael
Where are you my love
I need you so much... now more than ever
Over and over again, the same thoughts of dispair have been a regular companion to Selene in the last fortnight, her hope running thinner with every day of fruitless searching. She tried to hide it as much as possible of course, for her daughter's sake. But she must've been failing at it, apparently. Eve kept following her with worried eyes.
HIS eyes.
Selene sighed longingly, watching the streets through the window of the safehouse David found for them recently. A small, one-bedroom apartment in a basement that, by the smell of it, seemed to be abandoned at the moment. David chosed it for its discreetness and little windows that would keep daylight at bay. After accomodating what little they had he went to get some blood. But that was hours ago.
Meanwhile, Selene stood watch at the bedroom's little window next to Eve's bed to keep her company until she could fall asleep but with little success. The girl kept tossing and turning in bed, unable to council any slumber.
"M-Mom," stuttered Eve, still a little awkward at the term of endearment. Affection was something that neither of them was used to, but Selene had been trying to repair that. She didn't want her daughter to become like her: harsh, roughened by battle and with thicks walls around her heart. She deserved to be surrounded by love, care and devotion. Precious things neglected to her during so many years.
"Yes dearest," said Selene with a little smile. She's been working on her attitude towards Eve as well, trying to be as kind as she could despite her many centuries of coldness as an habit. Eve knew that, and appreciated her mother's effort more than she could tell her. That's why she wanted to make her happy, if only for a moment. But how? There were so many things she didn't know about her, things she craved to know. As it is, the years they spent appart weren't the only obstacle to that knowledge, but Selene herself. She was a soldier. The only activities she enjoyed were cleaning her guns, training and destroying Lycans, sharing only things related to those subjects.
There was another "thing" though, something that Eve glimpsed in the last few days. Her mother told her when they met that Michael was the only man she's ever loved. At the time she didn't make too much of it, but as the days went by her mother's distress grew more and more palpable: she truly missed Michael, and her sorrow was such that it permeated her hard exterior. Eve understood then how to approach her.
She was about to ask her when a sound alerted them both. It was David with the blood. He heated two mugs and brought them to Eve and Selene. They thanked him and he retired to the living room with his own mug and laptop. Selene closed the bedroom's door and sat at his daughter's bed. Eve seized the moment. She finished her blood, lay on the pillows and looked intently at her mother, who was running her fingers through the girl's long hair.
"Tell me something."
"About what?" said Selene, curious.
"Tell me about..." Eve choked a little on the next words, not wanting her mother to take it the wrong way, "...when you and my father met each other. How you two ended up together?" she said with all the innocence she could muster.
Selene's breath hitched in her throat, her eyes betraying her surprise. But then she swallowed and quickly re-arranged her features into a calm expression, taking a sip from her mug to gain some strength. She sighed sadly, fond memories assaulting her mind.
She was so absorbed that she failed to notice the fact that David might be listening to everything from his spot. And he was, actually. He couldn't help it; he knew who Selene was and what she has done. Her actions changed the Vampire and Lycan world. He didn't know the details though, her reasons behind them. Nobody did. This was a golden opportunity to learn the truth from the culprit herself.
"It happened so quickly, all of it..." began Selene, her eyes lost in memories. "In less than a week everything changed, not just for me but for everyone around me as well, Vampire and Lycan." And human, now. Selene was very aware of that.
"It was raining that night; I was doing what I have been doing every night for the past six centuries: tracking Lycans to kill them. I was very good at it, one of the best Death Dealers. I went down the subway, looking through the crowd of humans for clues."
She snorted. "I never cared for worthless humans. Their little lives were insignificant to me."
A moment of silence went by.
"He, however, drew my attention. He was soaked by rain..." she trailed off, remembering. Eve watched the swirl of emotions playing on her mother's face, a little smile tugging at her lips.
She must be picturing him, Eve thought. Outside, David craned his neck towards the bedroom, forcing his hearing.
"He was walking fast to catch the train, as everyone. But then he saw me and he just... stood there, staring at me. I couldn't help but stare at him too. Not just because he was very good-looking," she winked at Eve, getting a giggle from her, "but... the way he looked at me... so openly," she frowned. "It unnerved me. Normally humans were afraid of me; it made me feel... strange," she murmured with a pause, "but then something distracted him and the moment passed. It was just a matter of seconds, no more than ten. But for some reason the whole thing stuck in my head," she said taking another sip.
It was the eyes, thought Selene in the safety of her mind.
His eyes...
His face...
His hair...
His body, his arms, his scent...
The way he looks at me...
She sighed.
Damn, I miss you.
Eve cleared her throat, amused at her mother's obviously distracting thoughts, and Selene came out of her reverie reluctantly.
"When I found out that the Lycans were after him I didn't doubt it; I went after him too, against the orders of the coven. I wanted to know why he was so special, or maybe I just wanted to see him again, I don't know. Honestly, I couldn't care less if I was attracted by him. I focused only in my investigation."
"The Lycans attacked Michael's apartment. One of them bit him and injured me while I was rescuing him. We escaped, but I was losing too much blood and almost got us killed in a car accident. He was hurt and bleeding too, but he took me out of the river, attended my wound and saved my life," she smiled wistfully. Eve loved to see her mother smile; if only she did it more often.
"I took him to one of our safehouses with the intention of leave him there, since the full moon would rise the night after that and he would turn into a Lycan, killing to feed."
"But instead we talked, for hours. He told me of the car accident that took his wife's life. I told him of the night the Lycans slaughtered my family..." she paused, frowning, "and now that I think about it... in six hundred years, I never told anyone the details of that story... Michael was the first. The first one on many things, actually..." murmured Selene without thinking. She blinked and saw Eve rise her eyebrows, mirroring David without knowing. Selene cleared her throat and thought better about mentioning the part where they kissed. She preferred to keep it private, a moment shared only by her and Michael.
"Anyway, I went back to the mansion and tried to convince Viktor of the betrayal of Kraven, the person he left in charge," she clarified to Eve, "but he didn't believe me. He only cared about the fact that I was consorting with Lycans such as Michael. He forbid me to leave the mansion. I didn't listen, of course," smirked Selene. "I knew Kraven would find Michael at the safehouse soon so I went there, but the Lycans got him first despite my efforts. I realise that I couldn't do anything without Viktor's help so I... persuaded one surviving Lycan to confess everything," she said delicately. Her daughter didn't need to know about her mother's 'persuasion' methods.
"He told Viktor and me about Michael being the last direct descendant of Alexander Corvinus, the first Immortal. About how they needed Michael's unique blood to combine the bloodlines so Lucian could become the first Lycan-Vampire hybrid. That convinced Viktor of Kraven's betrayal, the mere existence of the Lycan leader supposedly murdered by Kraven himself. Viktor told me then that I would be absolved of all charges... if I kill Michael."
Selene paused, thinking hard. Eve watched her, transfixed. David didn't move, too caught up on Selene's sudden stop. A feeling of trepidation invaded him. Has Selene became aware of his eavesdropping?
"I think that was the moment," said Selene in a clipped tone. A beat went by.
"What moment?" asked Eve. It sounded very important to her mother.
"The moment I decided to choose Michael," she announced simply but with conviction. Eve eyed her questioningly, and Selene smiled.
"If I obeyed Viktor, the Ancient of our coven and practically a father to me, that night would have ended in the death of Michael and all Lycans. I would've been pardoned, the war would've finished and a new era would've began for the Vampire clans."
Selene exhaled a short laugh. How different things would've resulted. She'd be still in the dark about Viktor's betrayal, blissfully ignorant.
"But I honestly didn't care about anything of that. The only thought that took place in my mind was the notion that Michael was going to die that night, when a force of Death Dealers that included Viktor himself was set off towards Lucian's den. Suddenly, all that mattered to me was taking Michael to a safe place far, far away from Viktor. I didn't care he was a Lycan... I just wanted him alive and safe, even knowing that if I did it I would be punished with death."
"So you see?" she asked Eve, who blinked at the sudden question. "That was the moment I decided to change my fate. Leave everything behind and run away with Michael, not just because of my feelings for him... it was the right thing to do."
Eve nodded in comprehension, smiling at her mother's devotion. Outside, David smiled too. He could relate to Selene. He did the same thing after all; maybe that's why she revived him with her blood before. Maybe she saw herself in him. The idea pleased him more than he cared to admit.
"But things didn't go as planned. Kraven caught us getting away and shot Michael with silver nitrate bullets."
Selene lowered her gaze. That was one of the worst moments of her long life. She uttered the next words with a pain-laced voice.
"I watched Michael struggle to stay alive... his beautiful eyes filled with fear, begging me... I never felt so helpless..." she whispered.
Tears clouded Eve's vision; she gulped and blinked them away. Selene swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Kraven shot Michael only because of me. He couldn't fathom the idea that I preferred a Lycan over him, when he made his intentions about me very clear from the moment I was turned. Intentions that I've rejected since said moment." She crumpled her face in disgust.
"When he saw that I wasn't going anywhere with him he decided to kill me too, but no before revealing one of Viktor's dirtiest secrets." Eve's gaze went to her mother's clenched fists.
"He told me it wasn't Lycans who massacrated my family. It was Viktor." Eve's eyes widened. Selene tried to keep her rising temper in control.
"I didn't want to believe it at first, but I knew Viktor was capable of that and more. I realized then, my entire reason for existence had been a lie. Six centuries, killing hundred of thousands for the wrong reasons."
Eve swallowed thickly. She couldn't imagine the pain and fury her mother must've felt.
David mirrored her feelings, unbeknownst to both of them. He now began to understand everything. My father has been so wrong, he thought, angry. He gritted his teeth. So many misguided people that rejected and persecuted Selene and Michael everywhere. They couldn't trust anyone, only had each other. David felt sympathetic all of sudden. No wonder Selene wants to find him so badly. He's not just a lover to her. He's her ally in life, he mused. David could only hope that someday Selene would trust him the same way.
In the bedroom, Eve pleaded her mother with her eyes to continue the story. Selene smiled and took one of her daughter's small hands between her own, tracing a finger across her palm while thinking the best way to retell the next life-changing events.
"Then, Lucian appeared just when Kraven was about to kill me. Even though he was weakened due to the silver nitrate bullets, he managed to undermine Kraven for the time being. But I could only see Michael, marching towards the inevitable."
"Before dying, Lucian uttered just two words: 'Bite him' he said to me. I remembered then that Michael's blood was special, that my bite would not only revive him but make him strong enough to fight Viktor. So I did it, and that's how he became the first hybrid," she said stroking Eve's hair. Eve basked in her mother affections.
Selene's voice turned solemn. Now comes the event that sealed her fate.
"But then, Viktor arrived and I confronted him. I wanted to hear the truth from his own lips," she paused, her heart aching. Like her family's murder, Viktor's betrayal was a wound that would always remain open and raw. "Not only he didn't deny it, he tried to convince me that it was a good thing for me," she sneered disdainly.
"When he fought Michael they were even, at moments. But Michael wasn't a fighter. He's a doctor, he doesn't take lives, he saves them..." she said almost lovingly. "Viktor overcame him eventually, and when I saw he was just a moment away from taking Michael's life, I didn't think it twice. I took his ancient sword and... killed Viktor... betraying everything I stood upon." she finished with a long sigh.
She looked at her daughter, trying to discern some hint of judgment in her eyes. She only saw compassion, pride and admiration. Eve jumped from the bed and embraced her mother tightly.
"Thank you Mom..." she breathed into her mother's neck. "Thanks so much for confide me this." She loosened her hold and looked into Selene's eyes. "Don't worry, we'll find him. I'll put an extra effort from now on to get a hold of him, I promise" said Eve with conviction.
"What, you weren't trying before?" said Selene with a tickle. Eve giggled, much to her mother's delight. She vowed to make her daughter cast more often that beautiful smile of hers, so much like her father's.
"Before, I was seeing through his eyes," said Eve almost whispering and with teary blue-green orbs, "but now, I see him... through your eyes. And I can't wait to meet him!" Mother and daughter laughed and Selene embraced her tenderly for a long moment, then put her on the pillow and continued brushing Eve's long hair with her fingers.
"Sleep, dearest, we'll keep on looking for your father tomorrow, bright and early," Eve opened her mouth but Selene interrupted her, "and yes, I'll be here when you wake up," she assured her. Then after kissing her in the forehead Selene left the room quietly, while Eve cuddled contently into the sheets.
After closing the door Selene encountered David in the living room and froze. She couldn't believe that in her reminiscence she forgot completely about his presence. David met her eyes serenely, and she understood that he indeed overheard the entire conversation.
Like with his daughter before, Selene tried to look into his eyes for some sort of animosity or dissaproval regarding her past actions. But she found none, and no words were necessary for David to communicate his thoughts. Only a nod of acknowledgement and half a smile.
Selene exhaled a little sigh of relief and nodded at his ally as well, trying to convey her gratitude for his comprehension. David tried to dissipate any lingering bad energy by telling her about his new findings on recent Lycan activity. Selene's hopes surged again; Lycan activity meant a very possible clue to find Michael's whereabouts. If they can get Eve close enough she might get a connection to her father.
Soon my love, thought Selene with renowed strength. You'll have me and our daughter in your arms...
Soon.
FIN