UmaPrincesa

Just one content warning this chapter, same as the last one:

Spoiler

Gore (descriptions of the blood, and the cleaning of the blood from chapter 2).

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Thanks for reading! 😊

Chapter 4

"Lina…Th-that doesn't sound very nice. A thrall? Does that mean I'm your slave now, or something?" The blood on the couch below me makes squishing noises as I shift nervously. 

"No, no way Lua, absolutely not! I promise I would never hurt you, or try to control you. No matter what, I will always respect your autonomy and independence. I promise." Lina says, her eyes filled with conviction.

Feeling slightly reassured, I nod for her to go on. 

She looks down, searching for her words. "It does mean however that we are… linked now." 

"What does that mean?" My voice rises a bit more than I intend it to. 

"It means that we are connected. We are able to sense where the other is, and what each other is feeling, no matter the distance. When one of us is hurt, the other will feel it, and if one of us dies, the other will too. We will also experience certain symptoms when we are away from each other for too long. That's why you feel so bad right now, it's not from your neck wound, or loss of blood. The transformation took care of all that. It's because, after I turned you, I went out to see what happened. I moved the trail of blood leading here to the opposite direction. There's a lot of police out there right now. I made sure none of them got close to our apartment. They’re searching for you in the other direction." 

Lina places her hand on my shoulder with a sad smile. "I'm sorry Lua, I never should have done this without your consent. It goes against every value and belief I have. I promise I will do anything you need. If you want to never see me again I'll disappear, I’ll make sure I stay close enough not to hurt you, but never interfere with your life. Just say the word and you'll never see me again." 

I look up into my friends eyes and see nothing but sincere kindness, and a lot of sadness. I know she means it. Her caring gaze tips over the last domino holding back my emotions. All the strength leaves my body as I collapse into her arms, crying uncontrollably. 

"No Lina please, please don't leave me. I don't want that. Please stay." I plead as I cry into my friend's strong embrace.

"Ok, it's ok Lua. I won't leave you. I promise." She comforts me as she rubs small circles on my back. 

I cry for a long time, as the weight of everything that's happened falls on me all at once. Lina holds me as I let it all out.

I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Why couldn’t they just leave me alone? Did I kill that woman?...

After what feels like a long time I think I’m ready to speak again. I reluctantly pull away from her. "Thank you." I say with a small brush of my hand on her forearm.

"Thank you for saving my life." I say with more confidence. "I know I didn't consent to it, but I couldn't have. It’s ok, I'm glad you saved me. Even if my life is going to be very different now, I'm glad I still have it, and whatever challenges that brings we will face together. So no running off, or disappearing on me, ok?" 

Lina smiles softly down at me. "Ok, thanks Lua. Just remember, whatever you need from me to live your life to the fullest, I promise I will do it for you." 

"Thanks Lina, I trust you. But right now I think I need a shower to live my life to the fullest." I say, gesturing down to my tattered, blood soaked dress. 

With a small laugh Lina stands up. "OK then. Do you need help getting to the shower?"

"No, no, I'm fine". I say with a confident grin as I stand up, before my legs immediately collapse from under me. 

Lina catches me before I hit the ground. "Whoa, slow down there. C'mon, let me take you."

With a kind smile, my vampire roommate picks me up in her large arms, and carries me towards our bathroom. Wow, her arms are strong. I feel light headed as she sets me down in our bathtub. I must have lost a lot of blood…

She stands above me, shifting slightly uncomfortably. "So, uh… Do you think you can take it from here, or…" Lina trails off as she looks up to the ceiling. 

I giggle, "Yes, Lina. I think I can manage. Thank you." 

"OK, I'll just go and, uh… clean up the living room then." Lina mumbles over her shoulder as she awkwardly shuffles out of the door. 

My nice hot shower eventually turns into a nice hot bath as I take the time to reflect on everything that happened. An hour of marinating later and I feel ready to rise from the Lua soup I made. I slowly dry my sore and tired body, wrap it up in a robe, and drag my wrinkly self back out to our living room. 

I am shocked to find it completely clean. Lina is sitting at our small table by the window with 2 mugs of tea. She slides one to me as I sit down. 

"Thanks, sorry I took so long." I grimace as I burn my lips with my first sip of white lavender tea, my favorite. 

Lina reaches across to place her hand on mine. "That's ok, are you feeling better now?" She asks.

I gaze out our window at the magnificent view. The first rays of sunlight flicker through the holes in the walls of the Castelo de Santa Geórgia, casting thin rays of light down onto the city, and across the river in the distance. 

"Yea, I'm a lot better I think, thanks. I still have a lot of questions though, if that's ok?"

Lina flashes me a warm smile. "Of course, ask away."

I nervously look around our living room, with a concerned furrow in my brow. "Ummm, where did all the blood go? There's no way you could have cleaned it that fast."

My friend gives me a powerful smirk in return. "Magic of course. I bottled most of it and put it in the fridge. Although I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I drank some, or maybe a lot… I don't know…"

I give her a fake scowl. "Lina, please tell me you didn't lick my blood off the floor!"

"No!" She quickly shouts in an entirely unconvincing tone of voice. Now it’s Lina's turn to shift uncomfortably. "Look, you just- you just taste really good…sorry…"

I feel my ears warm as I blush bright red. "Lina!"

Lina quickly composes herself. "It's not my fault! It's part of the thrall magic. I can’t take substance in anyone else's blood now, only yours. We have what I think is an evolutionary trait that makes your blood taste incredible to me, because you’re my thrall. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. I-I'm sorry, I'll learn to control myself better once I adjust to having a thrall."

I take a long sip of tea. "Ok sooo…you can only drink my blood. How often do you need to drink then? Do you have to bite me? Will it hurt? Wait- You can use magic too? Are you a channeller?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Lina interrupts. "Yes, I'm a channeller. A shadow channeller to be specific. Yes, I will have to bite you, sorry. We could do a blood draw instead, but you would suffer negative effects. You see, the vampire-thrall relationship is symbiotic. I'm not just taking your blood. I'm also replacing it with an injection from my fangs. It won't hurt. Some thralls even say it feels good, but your experience may vary. Oh, and we uh…we vampires need to feed 2 or 3 times a day, like humans…sorry."

I take a deep breath to calm myself. "Ok, that's certainly going to take some getting used to." 

I see that guilty look rise in Lina's eyes again, so I cut her off just as she starts apologizing again. "It's ok Lina. I like being alive, I'm grateful you saved my life. Really grateful even. If the price of that is you chewing on my neck a few times a day, then so be it. I'll be the best tasting thrall you've ever had!" I tilt my head and blast my friend with the cutest smile I could summon. 

My vampire roommate can't help but grin back at me. "Thanks Lua. Oh and you're the only thrall I've had. Thralls are linked for life, and vampires can only take one."

"Ok, it should be easy to be your best then! So then, what will you replace my blood with?" I ask. 

Lina pauses to think. "There’s a lot of names for it. It's similar to aether, but like a reflection of it. Some people call it anti-aether, some call it dark aether, but there’s words for it in almost every language. It functions the same as aether, but for dark magic. Once I've transferred enough to you, you should be able to channel dark magic, in addition to your water magic. You'll gain a second dark aspect too. This is what makes thralls so powerful. You're the only channellers capable of wielding 2 aspects. Once I train you properly, you'll be one of the most powerful channelers in the world."

Now it's my turn to interrupt. "Hold on, what's dark magic? I’ll get a second aspect? Can I choose it? I love my water magic, but I've always wanted to use the healing spells of earth magic."

Lina shakes her head. "No, sorry Lua. You don't have a choice. You will get the dark reflection of your light aspect."

"Elaborate please." 

"There are 10 aspects to magic, 5 light, and 5 dark. Just like night an-"

"What, no. There's only 4 aspects, earth, air, fire, and water." I interrupt again. 

My friend shakes her head. "No, most humans only know of those 4, but there are 10. Like night and day, light and dark magic are reflections of each other." 

The sun is fully risen as I take my last sip of tea, as Lina continues. 

"Shadow magic, my magic, is a reflection of fire magic, death magic is a reflection of air, stellar is a reflection of earth, and the reflection of your magic, water, is Lunar magic."

I perk up in my chair as a big smile grows on my face. "You mean I will be able to use the moon for magic?" My voice rises in excitement. 

Lina responds with a warm laugh. "Once we get enough anti-aether in you, and with a little training, yes. You'll be both a water channeller, and a lunar channeller."

I jump out of my chair and run to wrap my friend in a tight hug, nearly jumping onto her lap. "Wow, I love the moon! Thanks for making me your thrall Lina! We're going to have so much fun!"

My large armed friend chuckles softly. "I'm glad you're happy." She pats me on the head as I pull away. 

"Oh, one more thing." Lina says. "You're immortal now."