Vivienne

“Huh?”  Casey blinked and smiled at the two vampires. “Oh.  I drifted out for a minute.”  She looked into her mistress's crystal eyes and confessed, “Vivienne, I got wasted with my mom earlier.  I have had visions of that little girl, and it's been bothering me since I left the hotel.”

“I did indicate that I would assist you with that memory at a later time.”  Vivienne pointed at herself and Faye. “Allow the two of us to get cleaned up quickly and I will be happy to address the girl vampire for you.”

Faye stopped looking at Vivienne’s perfect gray-blue lips and down at her torn and bloody blouse. “Carrie.  That’s who I look like.” 

Vivienne looked between her progeny and ward expressionless and smiled, “Race you, Faye.”

Casey watched as Faye bolted off with Vivienne following close behind. “I was thinking of Sidney Prescott, myself.”  Casey chuckled and picked up the chair where Faye had flipped it over.  

“Good one, Casey.”  Faye giggled from the top of the stairs. “What do you think, Vivienne?”

The French vampire responded flatly, “Think of what?” Vivienne’s voice lightly echoed from the restroom.

Casey heard Faye start laughing harder just before the sound of the shower starting.  The ward began looking at red from the licks of flame that were pushing upward and once more the twin red eyes appeared in her mind and the one single word that the little girl uttered without emotion -Hunger-.  She’d just put her head down and started to cry once more when she felt the two vampires return.  Sniffling lightly Casey turned to face the couple. “I-I sorry, Viv.”

Tossing the bloody clothes on the fire, Vivienne raised one eyebrow. “Sorry for what, Casey?”

“I should be stronger than this.”  Casey wiped her eyes clear and sat back in her chair, looking at the cedar deck.

“Why would you believe this is the case?” Vivienne calmly asked. “You and Faye are in the same situation, adapting to your new reality.”  She reached out and patted Casey’s hand. “I can lock the memory away so you won’t suffer, if that is what you want.”

Casey looked up and shook her head, the auburn locks bouncing softly. “That’s okay.  I prefer to keep my memories, thank you.”  She pointed to Faye. “She was just complaining about the lack of her own.”  She started rubbing her temples with one hand, “You told me it was mercy before.  I want to see that.”

Faye seemed to go into a quick trance and then looked at Casey with her bright green eyes. “Little girl?”  Her memory flooded back to her, “I-I answered the door to a little girl knocking on my door.  Sh…she sounded so frightened.”  Faye reflectively put her hand on her forearm. “She and a couple others broke the door down when I…I…mistakenly answered.”

Vivienne looked between her two creations and started rubbing her chin lightly. “It was mercy, Casey.  That little one had no comprehension of what or who she was.”  She pointed to her progeny, “Even Faye thought she was in a dream at first.  That little girl was locked in a dream, hungry beyond measure.”  Vivienne patted Casey’s hand, “You didn’t kill her, Casey.  The band did, Drake did.”  Pulling out the letter from Franco Tarsey, she handed it to her ward. “This was why Drake caused all that damage.”

Reading the note then handing it back, Casey cast a look of disbelief to Vivienne, “The Flying Cannibals did all that to get your attention?”  She started to whisper solemnly, “Murdered them all.”

“Just to try and capture me, Yes.”  Vivienne looked worriedly between them both. “Casey, perhaps considering it from another angle can help you cope.”

“What Vivienne?  What angle?”  Casey sighed defeatedly.

“Did she scream or make any noises when you shot her with the crossbow, Casey?”  

“No, Vivienne.  She looked at me and said, hunger.” 

Faye’s eyes lit up in excitement and she blurted, “Casey, the girl wanted you to stop her.  Can’t you see that?”  She bounced excitedly in her seat, “If she didn’t attack, or scream for an alert, or even whine when you killed her, then it’s what she wanted.”

“Impressive, Faye.”  Vivienne subtly interjected. “Amazing.” Vivienne reaches over to squeeze Casey’s hand a moment, “Faye is right.  I was just about to say the same thing, and offer the means to reinforce it.”  She paused to string her long black hair over one shoulder. “If you want I can make it a triggered command to see the incident from the angle Faye presented.”

“Thanks but no, I have enough problems with the commands I have in place already.”  She starts tapping on her chest, “The rapid healing gave away part of the puzzle to Brian.  I didn’t say a thing.”  Casey then explained the encounter and what had occurred until she’d left for her mothers house.

Absorbing the information that Casey just gave her, Vivienne leaned back in her chair and slowly ran her index finger over her bottom lip. “I am inclined to believe that Brian is the least of the problems overall.”

“What do you mean, Viv?” Casey perked up and watched Faye crawl onto Vivienne and settle in her lap. “Adorable.”

“Thanks.”  Faye beamed.

Wrapping her arms around her partner, Vivienne gently kissed Faye’s newly cleaned cheek. “Based solely on what you have told me, Brian doesn’t have any solid evidence.”  She paused, “The only thing that is left over from the hotel is your clothing.  So let’s consider that tangent dead.  That is the easiest to clean up.”

Faye looked away from Vivienne’s blue eyes and revealed, “No, Vivienne.  There is more.  Casey and the hospital, I remember you getting the call from the nurse.”  She looked to Casey, “Was there anything about your rescue that could be a complication?”

Casey closed her eyes and drew the memory to the forefront and played the scene in her head a couple times.  “I am trying to hear beyond the sounds of the emergency crew clearing the rubble looking for survivors.”  She opened her eyes briefly, “I didn’t know it would be this confusing.”  Casey took a deep breath and played the events one final time in her mind. “Yes, there was a news crew there.  I remember seeing the microphone above the crowd when they strapped me to the stretcher.” Casey paused and squeezed her eyes shut focusing intently. “Channel 14, lady reporter mentioned I had risen from the ashes, called me a phoenix.”

“Wendy Richards.”  Faye snapped immediately.

“Amazing, mon amour.  How do you know this?”  Vivienne tucked a single pink braid behind Faye’s ear.

“Mom and Dad kept the news on fourteen, and she’s the main field anchor these days.” Faye snuggled deeper into Vivienne’s arms, then blinked in surprise. “I-I remembered!”

Vivienne squeezed Faye a little tighter and kissed her ear lightly, “You seem to do everything quickly, Faye.” Turning to look at Casey once more, “So, the reporter and the nurse at the hospital.  Which means footage and hospital records.”

Casey nodded, “Officer Martin.  He could be a problem.”

“How do you know about him, Casey?  I met him before our rendezvous at the Ocean Lily.”

“The car, Vivienne.  When I was coming here.”  Once more pointing to the soft glow behind her, Casey explained further, “He pulled me over when he saw the car.  Thought it was you driving, and thought I stole the car.”

Faye shook her head and looked at Vivienne, “Probably pulled her out of the car while he searched to see if the car was listed as stolen.”

“Yep.”  Casey flatly commented. “I answered his questions and another officer came over and introduced himself as Gemelli.  Said I matched the description of a missing person named Karen Collins.”

“They released you, so the questioning couldn’t have been overly difficult, Casey.”  Vivienne noted.

“Stupid questions really.  He asked the same question in six different ways, just stupid cop double talk.”  Casey shrugged, “Just thought you should know.”

“How can Karen Collins be missing when you signed the release, Vivienne?”  Faye questioned softly.

“Incredible, Faye.  I think I know what is going on with you.”  Vivienne smiled and looked between the other two. “You mentioned earlier that Casey’s blood didn’t make you hunger.”

“You are bringing that up now?” Faye chuckled, “I can’t keep up with how you think.”

“I disagree, mon amour.”  Vivienne winked at her progeny. “You have the uncanny ability to make connections easily and can even out pace me while hunting.”  Giving Faye another quick kiss on the cheek, Vivienne kept going. “It was why I said I would race you upstairs earlier, mon amour.”

“Sneaky.”  Faye purred as Vivienne started braiding the black locks closest to the pink in her hair. 

“Allow me to explain what I mean.”  Vivienne drew a breath, “The two observations are invariably linked.”

“Go on.”  Faye and Casey said together.

“Faye.  It would appear that you can adapt to your surroundings almost seamlessly.  That has manifested itself quite a few times now.”  Gathering her thoughts so she would be clear, Vivienne continued. “I do believe that you held back how intelligent and adaptive you were when we first met.”

“I’ve been a nerd my whole life.” Faye sighed and blinked slowly, “I told you before that I remember everything about our meeting, that includes the fear that was in the back of my mind.”  She nuzzled into Vivienne’s neck and kissed her lightly. “I am sorry I held back what I had figured out, Viv.  You are right, I have always learned quickly.”  Faye kissed Vivienne’s hands quickly, “I do have parts of my memory that are in a fog, that much is true.  I have been pretty aware and struggling since you told me it wasn’t a dream.”

“Nothing to forgive, Faye.”  Vivienne returned the kisses to her hand with a light and soft kiss to Faye’s lips. “Adaptive and fast.  You do them almost in unison.  I suspect that is why you sniffed Casey earlier and mentioned that you didn’t need her blood, but could smell it.”

“Yes, Vivienne.  If I am right, then the reason is because you made us both.  I won’t hide anything from you again.”  Faye looked at Vivienne worried.

“A very good pledge, mon amour.”  Vivienne winked, “There is nothing to worry about, or be forgiven for.  While you do adapt fast I am certain that nothing you have done has been disingenuous.”  The song “In The End” started playing from Vivienne’s phone and she looked back to the others. “How fortuitous.  It would appear that one of our problems is contacting me.”