LadyArianna:The Protector
Slowly you walk down the hallway, towards the door where candlelight and soft music sneaks out into the hall. You hear a soft feminine voice talking to someone. You approach the door and peer in. The sight is one of warmth,love, and security. Two women sitting in chairs, are immersed in a conversation, giggling as they talk. You have traveled long, and beared so much pain to reach her, the one they call LadyArianna, the Protector. Though she is a vampire, she protects the inflicted and the wronged. Even the lonely. The Lady turns towards the door, sensing your presence. "Come in stranger," she says. You push the door open, stepping in. She looks at you and smiles. "Welcome to my home," she says, "You are weary I presume?" "Yes. I have traveled far to find you." As you say this, you collapse in a heap to the floor. LadyArianna gets up from her chair immediately and goes to you. Her guest gets up also and goes for some water. The Lady helps you up and brings you to the couch. The one with the raven hair brings you a glass of water. You drink it down gratefully. "Thank you," you tell the raven haired beauty. "You're welcome," she says with a warm smile on her face. LadyArianna introduces you to the woman who gave you the water. Her name is solusRaven. "And as you know I am LadyArianna. What is your name?" she asks. You tell her your name. "Ah, well, welcome to my home. You may stay here as long as you like." As she says this, another figure enters the room. A tall, handsome young man with blonde hair and silver eyes walks towards the Lady, embracing her lovingly and places a kiss on her forehead. She gestures towards you, "Wolfe, this is our new guest. This is my love, Wolfebaine." He walks towards you, shaking your hand once he approaches. "Pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy your stay here," he says with a gentle smile upon his face. "Dearest one," Lady says to Wolfe, "Can you show our guest to a spare room. They're very weary from traveling." "Of course love," he says. "I hope you find your room suitable. Wash up and rest, then return here so we can talk." You thank LadyArianna kindly as you follow Wolfebaine to your room. Not far from the warm lighted room is your room. You follow Wolfe inside, seeing a fire blazing, candles lit, a freshly made bed, and a bathtub filled with steaming water. A room prepared as if you were expected. "When you are ready, please come back to the sitting room. LadyArianna is anxious to hear about your travels." He then departs leaving you alone.
Two hours later, you're clean and rested. You look at your reflection in the golden framed mirror, seeing the traces of fatigue still present in your eyes. You go back to the door and walk out into the hall, back to the sitting room. You walk in and see LadyArianna seated on the couch wearing a long silver gown, her reddish-brown hair down, curling slightly at her shoulders, her purple eyes reflecting the fire light. She is the only presence in the room. But it's enough. Her skin seems to glow, catching the light and absorbing it. Her cheeks are faintly flushed. She smiles and gestures for you to sit in the chair across from the couch. solusRaven enters, frowning a little as she takes the seat next to you. Wolfebaine walks in a few moments later. He takes a seat next to LadyArianna, gathering her into his arms. She looks up at him and smiles. Then she turns to you. "Tell me friend, why did you seek me out?" she asks in a soft, velvety voice. "To tell you the truth, I had heard of your kindness towards others and I wanted to see if it was true, since..."you stop, unable to say the words. "Since I am a vampire?" she finishes for you. "Yes," you say ashamed. "Don't be ashamed of what you ask. I am a vampire. If you'd like, I'll tell you how I became what I am. But please, don't be frightened. I won't harm you. I can't. Wolfebaine won't let me," she says as she looks at him. A quizzical look passes over your face as you look at him. "I am a Shattenhager, protector of mortals. I, myself, am not mortal, but I protect them. But that is another story," he says, staring off into the fire. You look at LadyArianna, even more confused. "How do you survive then?" you ask. "I have my sources. My sire, Mina, gives me blood. And Wolfebaine let's me drink from him, out of love, and his duty as a Shattenhager. And if I come across a mortal who is evil of heart, I take from them. But I never kill." You nod you head in understanding, feeling completely at ease. She looks at you and smiles. Wolfebaine looks at her with a bit of anger in his eyes. "You know I protect all mortals, even the evil ones. The psychological effect of you taking blood from them is dangerous. And I can't let you do that to them." She looks at him and lowers her eyes. "I'm sorry love. But it is my nature. And I can't change that. Unless you drive a stake through my heart, and then I just die." A single tear falls from her eye. He looks at her, the anger gone, her sadness reaching him. "But I understand that you need to survive also. And that means more to me than anything," he says to her while brushing away the tear. She reaches towards him and places a kiss on his lips. All the while, solusRaven is silent, off in her own world thinking. This is certainly one of the strangest gatherings you've been at. You then speak up, anxious to hear LadyArianna's story. "May I hear your story LadyArianna?" you ask. "Yes of course. But please, call me Lady." She sighs then, as if drifting back into memory.
"I grew up in Panthea, not far from here. My childhood was wonderful. I had a loving family. But when I turned 17, my life changed forever. My family was taken captive, forced into slavery. I am the only one who escaped. I had been out in the forest, walking and singing. A strange feeling came over me. A voice told me to run. If not I would die. So I ran, with only the clothes on my back and the gold coins in my purse. Night fell, and I was far from home. Frightened, I stopped running. I didn't know where I was. I heard the voice again, telling me not to be frightened, that it would take care of me. Then I heard a real voice, not one inside my head. It belonged to a young woman who had just stepped out from behind a great oak tree in front of me. It was the same voice that I had heard in my head. "Arianna, don't be frightened. You are safe now with me." she smiled. I felt a great relief wash over me. I knew that I would be safe with her. She walked up and introduced herself, "My name is Mina." "Mina, how did you know my name?," I asked. "I am a vampire. I can read thoughts and hear voices." I stepped back a little bit frightened. Vampires took human life. But she smiled again and reassured me that I would be safe with her. "Come, I'll take you to my home." Frightened and scared I followed her, knowing she was my only hope for survival. The woods were dark but she navigated her way effortlessly through them. Finally, we reached a building, which she called her home. We walked inside and immediately I could tell that she wouldn't hurt me. Each night that Mina appeared, we'd talk and get to know each other. We became best friends. She taught me how to use the sword, how to survive in the night. She was a beautiful young woman, also. Everywhere we went, the young man turned to stare. She is tall, long beautiful dark hair, large dark eyes that changed color and went from light to dark in an instant. She told me that I was beautiful too, a lady. She is the one who suggested that I put the Lady in front of my name. "LadyArianna suits you well. Keep it," she told me. And that has stuck ever since. I bring people in to my home out of her likeness, her goodness towards mortals. She kept me safe in a time of need, so I do the same. Anyways, I'm traveling from my story." LadyArianna stops and listens for a moment. "I never asked, are you hungry?" You shake your head no, wanting to hear more of her story. "I can eat later," you say. "In that case, let me continue. My time with Mina was wonderful. I learned so much. She often brought me to the Theater Des Vampires, a gathering for mortals and immortals alike. I met a lot of nice people there. One in particular, WhirlWindMatrix. He was kind to me. I thank him for that now. Oh, there were so many people there. I still go there sometimes. We all do," she says, gesturing to solusRaven and Wolfebaine. "In time, I grew weary of being mortal, spending my nights with Mina and other immortals who were captivating. By that time it was winter, and I had just met Wolfebaine," she broke off, looking at him with a smile upon her face. He looked at her and kissed her cheek softly. "We became friends. But he didn't know what I planned to do. One night, Mina made me a vampire. And now I can't go back."
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