They were back in Necromion. The sky outside the full length window was dark, full of mist. Not even the moon's beam could reach into the room, making the only light coming from a dim candle, placed on a single table.
Eve fingered several beads on that table, allowing them to roll back and forth under her finger. She stared at them, but wasn't thinking about them. She was thinking about many different things; the King, Namor, betrayal...death. Sometimes it calmed her emotions. At other times it only heightened them. For this particular time, it just gave her something to think about.
The door behind her suddenly opened. Eve looked over her shoulder, strand of blonde hair falling into her eyes. Samir was standing at the entrance.
He bowed. "My lady. May I enter?"
"Yes."
He walked towards her as she studied his feet. It always amused her. Very few could float like he did. Very few could ever be like he was. Within moments he was standing behind her, and Eve turned to face him. For awhile neither spoke, and Eve was becoming frustrated.
"Well? What do you want?" She asked.
Samir's black eyes darted a little. She could tell he was looking from her left eye to her right. "You know I would never lie to you?"
Eve hesitated. Why was he asking this? "Of course."
"Good." He stepped closer. By now he was only inches, if that, from her own face. "You know I would never harm you?"
Taking a step back herself, Eve bumped into the table. She set her hands on either side of the edge to keep her steady all the while watching him. "Yes. Why do you-"
"You know"-he interrupted, taking another step to where he was now almost pressed into her-"I would never betray you?" He moved his hand up, delicately touching the side of her neck.
Eve's muscles tightened. What was he doing? "I...Yes..." But now she didn't know if she believed her own words.
The look in his eyes changed. It wasn't loyalty, admiration, concern. A fire burned there. She knew that fire well, having spent many nights in its presence. It was hatred.
"Samir, what are you-"
"Shhh," Samir whispered, moving her hair back, away from her neck, exposing her white flesh to the gentle ember burning behind her. His eyes then moved down.
Eve stood there, weakened. Any other time she would have been on top of it, protecting herself with a snap of her fingers. But now she felt confused, not knowing what to do. She felt her blood rushing, and he must have felt it too because his hand grasp more tightly onto her neck. Before she knew it, he was leaning down. Eve then panicked, moving her hands from the table and pressing them into his chest.
"Samir, stop!" But her cries didn't register with him. "Stop! Stop it!"
He leaned enough into her that it made Eve fall back onto the table. She heard the marbles roll and then drop one by one onto the stone at their feet.
Plink. Plink. Plink. Other than that all she could hear was her heart beating widely.
Samir had his lips against her skin now, resting on the side of her neck. Then he opened his mouth, his fangs descending onto her flesh like a vile monster. Eve's fingers closed tightly around his tunic at his chest. She waited.
Then she gasped.
~*~
Her own gasp woke her up. Eve's eyes shot open and it took her awhile to register where she was and what she was doing. She had been asleep. Her cheek was resting on a wooden table, a single candle burning next to her.
Slowly she sat up. Before her on the table was the bottle of poison Roden had promised her. She remembered studying it, taking notes, and going through others when she must have fallen asleep. But how for long?
Standing, Eve grabbed and dressed into the rest of her clothing. She slipped into her silk shoes, the last of her attire, and rushed to the door of the loft, opening it to reveal the stairs. As slowly as possible she made her way down only stopping when she had full view of the main room; the last place she had left Samir.
After her dream, she half expected him to be waiting in the shadows, pouncing on her at the last second. But it was obviously silly because she spotted him sleeping soundly on a chair. She stared at him for a time, making sure not even her breathing made a sound.
Although she hated to admit it, and wouldn't to anyone but her own conscious, the dream had shaken her. Eve had gone for years being hated, ignored, and eventually betrayed. Samir had been, and still was, the only one to claim such loyalty as a faithful servant. But why? Sure she had saved him from possible death, but that didn't mean much in today's world. At least with someone like her.
While keeping her eyes on the sleeping vampire, Eve quietly sat down on one of the bottom stairs. She continued to watch him intently, pondering on why such a creature would want to be with such a woman.
