Thoughts and Decisions

Arianna bowed low. "Empress." She said as she raised her head. Elena bowed as well before she was pulled in front of Valdemar. She didn't look in the empress's eye. She was smart enought not to, to any royalty. Arianna remained beside Valdemar, her eyes shifting to Brutus as he made an entrance. Her lip twitched a little but otherwise she remained still. Elena noticed Brutus as well but didn't look at him. She was too afraid to.

Heidi's eyebrow rose a touch as she heard their names be announced, and then what they were here for. She stood softly from her chair, glancing over towards the group of three and she didn't smile, but she didn't seem annoyed either. She stepped down the few stairs that led up to where she'd sit, to come into the light so they could see her properly.

Her eyes dilated the minute the light of the candles hit her in the face, illuminating her face and body, the glow of the candles rippling off dark brunette curls. She held a hand up to Brutus snarling, signalling him not to. She smiled ever so softly then at Elena, her eyes instantly curious, but of course being a Vampire, she could smell the blood in the girls veins.

She then turned her attention to the adult Vampires. "How old is she?" she asked immediately, her voice soft yet deep.

Brutus snarls deepened as the scent of the girls blood filled his nostrils, stopping only when he was told to. Brutus's eyes never left Elena. He would have loved nothing more than to rip her throat out right there. Valdemar looked from Brutus to Heidi. He swallowed slightly, patting his hand on Elena's shoulder. "16." he said simply, nodding his head.

Brutus let out a slight disappointed groan, before going silent once more. He was hoping for her to have not been of the proper age, in which case she would be given to him.

Arianna nodded her head slightly, confirming what Valdemar had said but she herself didn't say anything. The phrase 'Do not speak unless spoken to' applied to her as well. Elena flicked her gaze to Brutus as he groaned but quickly moved them back to Heidi. She tilted her chin downward a little but never moved her gaze away. She trembled a little but not as much as she would have if Valdemar and Arianna were not here.

Hearing how old Elena was, Heidi smiled ever so slightly, her voice breaking out into a laugh at Brutus' disappointment. "Don't be too disheartened Brutus, there's always another. They come in every Sun now a days," she sighed, but then walked over towards Elena. She was within touching distance now.

Gently, a long pale arm stretched out to touch the girls face. Her hand was incredibly cold, yet smooth and soft. Her fingers slid under the girls chin, and tilted her face upwards so she would look Heidi in the face. Heidis eyes ever so softly narrowed down towards her.

"And what is it, Elena, that makes you wish to become something like us? Something that preys on your kind like cattle?" she asked quietly. It wasn't to intimidate the girl, but to ask her honestly and see her reaction. Her eyes shifted to Valdemar and Arianna.

"Have you two had her some while?" she asked, looking between them. She then paused and laughed."Oh. You were the one who stopped Brutus, hm?" she questioned.

Brutus looked to her lightly with a smile. He nodded his head slowly. It was true, he got the chance to rip a lot of people's throats out these days, he wasn't complaining. Valdemar watched as Heidi reached out for Elena, he kept his hands on her shoulders to comfort her.

He cleared his throat lightly as he smiled down to the girl. His eyes then moved to Heidi as she questioned. "No Empress, it's not been too long. We wouldn't keep a young under age human." he said lightly.

His eyes then moved across to Brutus who's eyes narrowed to him. Brutus grunted slightly as if to confirm it. "Yes, empress." Valdemar said slowly.

Elena relaxed a little bit, knowing Valdemar was there. Surprising, mere hours ago, she thought he was going to kill her. She glanced at Brutus again before back to the empress as she spoke to her. "There is nothign fo rme in this life." She quietly. "I am tired of being looked down upon like I am nothing, I am tired of being weak and not being able to defend myself." She said, flexing her fingers a little to keep herself calm.

The corner of Arianna's mouth curled upward a little, knowing what the girl was talking about. She herself had been in a similar situation and it was hard, knowing that you were the weaker species.

Heidi looked up to Valdemar as he spoke, her eyes watching his lips when the words came out, before slitting and going back to looking at Elena. She smiled ever so softly at the girls' reaction. "You're small trio is impressing me," she said truthfully, letting go of touching the girl's face. She allowed her arm to drop to the side then before she looked back down upon Elena.

"And you realise you're going to have to kill? Every single night, maybe twice or three times. And then of course, we have our celebrations, where you harvest blood?" she questioned. "Do you believe you can do that? Kill the others for being weak?" she asked with a light smile on her face, her eyes lifted to look at Valdemar again.

"Ohh? You did? Strange. No one can stop him, usually," she sighed, looking over her shoulder to her beast like companion, then back to the three of them once more, her eyes glittered. "After my questions, if I'm satisfied, which of you will be doing the siring?" she questioned, her eyes looking between woman to man, before she laughed.

Valdemar watched Heidi with slight caution in his eyes. He smiled to her lightly. "Thank you." he said with a nod. He looked down to Elena as Heidi spoke. He had briefly gone over that with her earlier, but put so bluntly, he wondered if she would be able to actually do it.

Brutus looked to her with a slight snarl. He then patted his stomach. "He was distracted ripping up the corpses of the order." Valdemar told her. "The order set a trap for us at the girls house. They almost managed to take down Arianna." he informed her calmly.

Brutus hissed slightly. The mention of the order was going to anger Heidi. Something that would be better off avoided.

Arianna nodded in appreciation to the empress's comment before looking at Elena. Who didn't look as afraid, in fact, her demeanor had changed completely. She was calm but still quiet, unless spoken to of course. "Yes, I do realize that I would have to kill to survive...I can do it." She said with a slight nod.

Arianna smiled lightly, impressed by the girls courage. Her eyes went to Valdemar as he mentioned their run in with the order. "They are getting stronger." She said carefully. "They caught me by surprise." More like they caught her when she wasn't paying attention, but same concept.

Elena looked behind her at Valdemar, then at Arianna as the ultimate question was asked. "I will...that is if she wants me to." Arianna said, to which Elena nodded her head slightly.

Heidi glanced between Valdemar and Arianna, before laughing idly. Hearing about the order however, her eyes hardened, but she tried not to let the anger she felt get the better of her yet, but it showed when her eyebrows dipped, eyes narrowed and jaw twitched a little. Her fingers curled back into her palm and her nails into the skin, but she showed no expression of pain.

"Almost, yet didn't. That's the thing. Let's time, let's make it not even close," she spoke sternly, her voice incredibly authorial. She smiled ever so slightly at Elena. "You really think you're going to be able to kill?" she asked curiously, crouching suddenly to Elena's height.

Hearing what Arianna said, she nodded slowly. "So you're taking the ultimate mother mode. You won't be able to deny Arianna at all if you accept, Elena," she warned, before slipping her hand into one of her long dress pockets.

"Brutus. Bring one of the humans. A small one," she called to him without looking to him at all. In truth. Heidi kept humans ranged in age, size and gender in her manor. They had no idea she was a Vampire, but knew they were being held captive for some reason. This'd be why.

Valdemar watched Heidi's reaction carefully. Brutus's eye's were still trained on the small girl. "I took care of them." Valdemar said slowly. He watched as she knelt down to Elena's height. He kept himself from pipping up, listening to her words instead.

Brutus snarled slightly at the mention of mother mode. Valdemar looked to Arianna with a light smile before back to Heidi once more. Brutus then looked to Heidi, a dark smile moving over his face as he was given his orders. He disappeared from the room slowly. Valdemar watched him go.

Valdemar's hands relaxed on Elena's shoulders, dropping to his sides then.

Arianna nodded her head, bowing it slightly. "Yes, empress." She said, Heidi was right, they needed to to be more aware of the order. Especially now that they were getting bolder and stronger. They had already managed to kill a vampire lord, Ishmeal.

Elena nodded her head slowly as she kept her gaze on Heidi's face. "Yes." She said quietly, then glanced at Arianna at the mention of mother mode. She smiled lightly before looking back at Heidi. Her eyebrows came together in slight confusion but didn't question the empress.

Arianna was also curious of what was about to occur, she looked over at Valdemar, then over to Brutus as he went to get the human. 'What is she up to?' She wondered.

Heidi smiled a little between them. "Good," she replied shortly to Valdemar, before walking back over towards where she'd been sat earlier. "Come in, come in and sit down. No need to be all good and proper," she called over her shoulder, suddenly her mood changing again. She sat down herself, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing down the silk of her skirting.

She opened her hand and signalled to a plush red set of chairs that had been lined up by the servants for the three of them. She waited for Brutus to bring back a smaller human, and was debating mentally how to go about this, but of course being who she was, she needn't beat around the bush.

"You realise you're never going to grow up, Elena?" she called across, waiting for Brutus.

Valdemar smiled lightly at Heidi's sudden change of mood. The empress's bipolar nature was well known throughout the vampires. He moved to one of the chairs slowly, placing a hand on Elena's back as he ushered her over to them as well. He sat himself down on the far right one, gesturing for Elena to take the middle.

A scream echoed from down the hall, getting louder. Brutus then kicked the door open. Forcing it to slam into the wall with a loud bang. Valdemar turned his head to him. In his right hand he carried a young girl in by the hair, no older than 7.

He stood beside Heidi's seat. He grunted slightly as he held the girl up to her questioningly.

Elena sat in the middle chair, only to jump when the door was slammed open. Her eyes immediately went to the young girl, up to Brutus, and then to Heidi. She started to get scared now, having some idea of what she wanted her to do.

Arianna sat down in a chair beside Elena, she was unfazed by the door slamming. She remembered now and had witnessed this type of thing before. She swallowed lightly, her eyes flicked to Valdemar before they went to Elena. She wasn't so sure now if the girl would be strong enough to kill.

Heidi smiled brilliantly as the young girl was dragged in by her hair. "Oh Brutus don't rough house her," Heidi scolded, not getting up from her luxurious chair. She leant her arms over the sides of the plush material and her eyes light up with pure excitement. Her servants were close to hissing in hunger at her sides, but they didn't dare go against what Heidi wanted.

"So Elena, we'll see how much you want this. Don't worry. We all started with this," she smiled, leaning her hand out to the side. One of the servants bowed their heads and placed a golden hilted dagger into Heidis hands. Heidis fingers curled around the hilt, before holding it out infront of her towards where Elena, Arianna and Valdemar.

"Take it," she encouraged the girl, looking then to the 7 year old amused.

Brutus looked to her with dead eyes. He then dropped the girl at Heidi's feet with a slight grunt. He stepped to Heidi's side properly, taking his seat at her side in a normal chair. It was obvious that it was once well padded and fancy looking. But that was until he had his way with it in his tempers.

Valdemar looked to Heidi, before back to Elena lightly. His eyes then moved to the dagger, he closed his eyes before re-opening them again. It was something that stayed with you, proving that you were willing to kill to become a vampire. The memories of his first kill would forever be in his mind. At the time it had scarred him, but now he had done worse to the human race.

A slight smile moved over his lips as Elena was offered the dagger.

Elena looked at the girl again before back at Heidi, she was hesitant as she reached for the dagger. She knew now what the empress wanted her to do, but would she have the willpower to take an innocent life? The question raced in her mind, she kept telling herself that at least she would not be killed by the vampires

Arianna watched intently as Elena took the dagger, she too remembered her first kill. It seemed as if it were just the day before. It hadn't fazed her, but she was more worried for Elena that anything. She raised her chin a little and shifted in her chair, watching and waiting.

Heidi waited till she took the dagger, before looking to the 7 year old at her feet. "Don't feel guilty, Elena. She was an orphan. A nobody. Someone without a name, roaming society. She'll only die if you put her out her misery," she smiled, leaning her arms over her legs gently, her head up straight as she watched calmly.

"You can do it however you like," she murmured, before watching as the little girl realised what was going on, and got up to her feet in a stagger. It was obvious she was panicking and she ran to one of the Vampire maids who'd fed her in the past few days, pleading with her to save her life.

Heidi looked to the younger girl, then to the teenage human. The Vampire maid looked solemn, not touching the girl in the slightest as she clung to the maids dress, tears running down the childs face.

Heidis eyes narrowed over at the girl, before smiling pleasantly back to Elena. Her eyes then switched to Valdemar as she winked at him amused.

Valdemar watched her take the dagger, a smile still on his face. He nodded slightly to Heidi's words. "End her misery." he murmured to Elena lightly. "You can draw it out or end it quickly." he added calmly. "Which ever way you want." his eyes then moved to the girl as she ran to the vampire maid.

Brutus's eyes also followed the girl before he stood to his feet. He walked over to her slowly, gripping her hair in his hand once more. He dragged her along the floor. Throwing her down in front of Elena. He then gestured to slashing across her throat several times. He then mimed rimming her throat clean out.

Valdemar looked to him with a shake of his head. This time Brutus didn't move. He stood there, blocking the girl from running off again.

Elena slowly moved over to the girl, she could see the fear in her eyes. The same fear she had when her father came after her. She decided it would be a quick death. No one deserved a torturious death, not even this orphan. She kneeled down and placed her hand on the girls forehead. "It will be quick." She said, nodding her head.

Without hesitation, she pressed the blade to the girls throat and slit it. Blood quickly seeped from the wound as Elena stood up, she stepped back as to avoid stepping in the blood. Her gaze lingered on the lifeless body before it went up to Heidi.

Arianna's nose flared slightly as the scent of blood filled her nostrils, she cleared her throat lightly but remained where she was. Her gaze flicked between Heidi and Elena.

Heidi watched the young girl look at Brutus absolutely terrified. When Elena placed a hand on her forehead, her eyes went wide and fearful. She screamed to protest, but the scream was cut off by the slit of the throat. Heidi watched as the body jolted, before falling face first into the floor. The blood caused a pool around the body, soaking the clothes and hair.

Heidi however let out a sudden loud laugh and clapped her hands. She pushed herself from her feet, clapping in amusement. "Wonderful!" she proclaimed, holding her arms out either side of her as she looked to the dead body. The only person Heidi had love for in the world had been Elijah. And now he was dead, there was nothing more to her heart.

The only other person that had room in it, she supposed, was her adopted son, Jay. She'd put him through this before even thinking of adopting him. He had to earn the title as the Prince of Vampire. Heidi beamed happily as she looked to Arianna and Valdemar. "You should congratulate your new daughter," she smiled.

Her voice then suddenly disappeared into almost threatening as she looked to Elena. "But be warned. Never drink the blood of a corpse that is too old. Arianna and Valdemar will teach you rules of Vampirism, and of your religion," she murmured, her eyes then looking directly into the girls.

"Siring you will hurt. Your body dies," she murmured, walking over to the girl. She didn't even care when she stepped in the blood. "You will experience death, but don't fear. You'll be reborn moments later. Arianna will bite you, drain you of your human life. Before it ends, she will feed you her own blood. You must, must without a doubt, take it. If you do not, you will die a human and not be reborn Vampire. Do you understand?" she asked, looking to Valdemar and Arianna also.

Brutus watched as the girl looked to him. His expression still the same. No sympathy what so ever in his eyes. He smiled darkly as her scream filled his ears before it was cut off by the blade being drawn across her throat. The scent of blood filled his nostrils as he rocked backwards and forwards on his feet, waiting to see if Heidi would allow him the blood or not.

The scent of the blood also filled Valdemar's nose, he placed a hand over his nose lightly. He stood himself up, patting a hand onto Elena's shoulder. "Congratulations." he said with a light smile. "We will." he said as Heidi explained that they would teach her.

He watched Heidi as she explained what would happen. His eyes being drawn to Brutus who looked starved, even though he had drained the order members not long before.

Arianna stood up from her chair and moved behind Elena. "Congradulations, dear." She said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Elena gave a slight nod of her head, the girls scream still rang in her mind. She was drawn from her thoughts as Heidi explained the process of turning. She dropped the dagger on the ground and turned her head to look at Arianna.

"Don't worry." Arianna said, rubbing her shoulder. She looked to Heidi and waited for her to give her the order to change Elena. Her hand took a slight firm grip on the girls shoulder.