Venice, Italy. 11 June 2007
"Well, Isabel, we have no explanation for how, but all of your wounds have healed and you're ready to go home." The doctor looked at the clipboard in his hand over and over, as if convinced he'd somehow brought the wrong chart. "I've written you a prescription for an iron supplement since this is not your first bout of anemia. I'd suggest plenty of red meat and leafy greens as well."
Isabel nodded and smiled, her first real smile in days. "I can handle that," she assured him, and he left the room. Josephine handed over the clean clothes she'd brought and Isabel cautiously stood. When her legs seemed fairly steady, she started toward the bathroom to change. But she paused, a frown twitching the corners of her lips.
"What's wrong?" Josephine asked, her voice full of concern. "Are you feeling okay? I can have the doctor come back if you're still feeling poorly!"
"No, I feel fine. It's kind of dumb..." Isabel looked at the bathroom door, then at Josephine. "I'm afraid of the bathroom mirror..." Her cheeks burned with embarrassment over such a ridiculous phobia, but after the sheer number of times the shadow had attacked, she wasn't willing to risk seeing her reflection. Being in the hospital sucked.
Josephine seemed confused for a moment, then realization lit up her eyes. "Oh, that makes sense. How about I wait in the bathroom while you change in here? That way, you don't have to even be in the same room as the mirror."
Relief flooded Isabel's veins and her shoulders immediately loosened. "Yes, please." Josephine gave Isabel's hand a squeeze and hopped into the bathroom. Isabel quickly removed the hospital robe, put her own clothing on, and sighed with relief. "Okay, I'm dressed. Let's get out of here."
Isabel checked the room for any belongings, but it seemed she only came with the robe she'd been wearing. She stuffed it in the bag Josephine had brought her clean clothes in and together the women exited the hospital.
"Did you manage to find out where Sebastian went?" Isabel asked as the pair walked down the dark street. Josephine shook her head, and Isabel felt her stomach drop. "I can't believe he'd drag me all the way to Venice, only to up and disappear. And of course he'd do it just as I got my memory back!"
"Men are so dumb sometimes, but I'm sure he's just trying to figure out how to get rid of the shadow. Should he have told you or even me where he was going? Yes. But at least he left you somewhere safe?"
She knew Josephine was being genuine, but the thought of a literal coven of vampires stories below the ground being a 'safe place' made Isabel laugh. "Most humans would disagree with that statement. Honestly, I still don't know that it's completely true. I'm sure the coven has grown since I last lived there, what, nearly 400 years ago?"
"Way too long," Josephine agreed. "And you're right. There are plenty of family members you haven't met yet, but nobody would actually hurt you. Victor wouldn't allow it. And one thing definitely hasn't changed: nobody dares disobey Victor."
"Except Sebastian. He's gotten paranoid in his old age, too." Isabel began to laugh again, and this time Josephine joined in agreement. It still felt strange to have all of these new memories and relationships floating around in her head, but Isabel was grateful for them. The love and trust of hundreds of years calmed the anxiety about Sebastian running off, at least enough for her to function. And having the memories to match having her sister back was amazing, too.
Isabel's stomach began to growl and Josephine stopped in the middle of the walkway. "Have you eaten since the risotto yesterday?" she asked, and when Isabel shook her head, Josephine sighed. "Now I'm the one failing! Let's get you something to eat before we go back underground. Actually, we should probably do a real shopping trip so nobody has to keep popping out multiple times a day for takeout."
"I don't have any money on me, though..." Isabel protested, but Josephine waved her off and began dragging her to the nearest market.
"Don't worry about it. You're a member of the coven since you're married to Sebastian, so you have access to coven funds." Josephine pulled a debit card from her pocket and waggled her eyebrows. "It's so much easier to carry money these days! Let's get you fed."
The evening streets were busy with young couples strolling, elderly people watching the stars come out, and parents chasing their kids for 'just a few more minutes, Mom!' Everything felt so lively and familiar. Isabel enjoyed the breeze on her face and the sounds of joy around her all the way to the market, where she and Josephine purchased two bags of groceries.
"I really don't know if we needed this much," Isabel insisted again as she and Josephine carried their purchases back into the night. "You know I'm going to join Sebastian wherever he is, as soon as we find out where that may be."
Josephine smacked Isabel's behind with the bag of groceries and smirked. "Only if it's safe! We'll see what Victor knows, then you can try to talk me into helping you get to Sebastian. But if it's too dangerous, you're staying right by my side until that husband of yours comes back."
Husband. No matter how many times Josephine said it, and no matter how many memories she had of it, suddenly being married to her barely-boyfriend was still a shock to the system. "You know, the pet names and pushiness make a whole lot more sense now that I know we've been married for four freaking centuries. I thought Sebastian was just one of those guys who latches on ridiculously fast."
"Only to you," Josephine laughed. "Both him and Remus. Who is an absolute mess at the moment, by the way. He ran into Sebastian carrying you to the hospital and I thought he was going to go on a rampage." She rolled her eyes and turned onto the road that led to the keep. Isabel sighed, memories of the two brothers fighting over her through the years filling her eyes.
The two fell silent until they reached the keep kitchen, where Josephine began putting away the food they'd purchased. Isabel sat in her (newly remembered) favorite spot near the back wall and watched. The walk had been long and tiring to her body, which was still recovering from the trauma she'd been through.
Soon Josephine placed a fancy salad with nuts and fruits on the counter in front of Isabel, whose mouth began to water. "I figured you probably haven't had many vegetables with Sebastian feeding you, so it was probably time for something green."
"It's almost like you've known him almost as long as I have," Isabel teased and dove into the salad. It was everything she could have asked for. Light and fresh, sweet from the fruit and crunchy from the nuts, it filled her belly and brought a smile to her face. She finished it in minutes then stared at the bowl, a bit disappointed that she hadn't taken more time to savor it.
But she had other business to attend to. "I'm going to talk to Victor," she announced, and set down her fork. "Thank you for taking care of me, Josie. Now it's time for me to take care of myself for once."
"I'm coming with you," Josephine insisted. Isabel shook her head, but she remained firm. "You don't have to worry about Victor hurting you, but since you're not actually one of his children, there's no guarantee he'll be particularly willing to help you. You're going to want a negotiator. And you'll probably want to put your robe back on."
Annoyance flared, warming Isabel's stomach, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to think logically. Josephine was right, and she knew it. Without Sebastian at her side, she had very little sway with the master vampire.
"Fine. But let me handle it, okay?"
Josephine agreed, helped Isabel into the robe, and together the pair headed for the throne room. This had all seemed like a grand idea when she'd made the announcement, but now that she was actually on her way to talk to Victor, nerves started eating at her. What if he wouldn't talk to her at all? What if he did, and it was bad news?
She could come up with scary scenarios all day long. But thankfully she didn't have time, because her feet got her to the throne room in less than two minutes. Isabel stopped at the door and raised her fist to knock, but froze. The anxiety morphed into fear and instead she began to pace back and forth across the hallway.
"Do you need me to get us in there?" Josephine asked, one eyebrow raised. "I know you gave me explicit instructions to let you do this yourself, but, uh. You're doing a pretty good job of spiraling before you even get through the door." She snickered and lightly cuffed Isabel's shoulder, and Isabel glared at her.
"I can do it," she insisted, and again walked up to the door. She knocked, softly at first, then more boldly when the first barely sounded like a tap. Then she stepped back and waited. After a brief pause, the door opened and a vampire Isabel didn't recognize waved them inside.
Isabel stepped into the throne room and was immediately struck by a multitude of memories. The dozens of times Sebastian had come here, begging for permission to marry her. The day Victor said yes. The fight between Victor and Sebastian. Being torn through those doors and whisked away to a life away from everyone she'd come to know and love.
And now, entering again without Sebastian at her side.
Victor sat in his throne on the dais, his curiously mild eyes focused on Isabel and Josephine as they made the long walk across the ballroom space. Isabel did her best to keep her heart under control and appear calm, despite being a roiling sea beneath.
When she reached the dais, Isabel dropped to one knee and bowed her head, extending her arm to the master vampire. He reached out, took it, and pressed her wrist to his lips. She felt his fangs brush her skin, but Victor made no move to actually bite her.
"I see you are still human. I can only suspect this means you're immune to our venom in this life, as well. I suppose that is to be expected after this many reincarnations."
Though his voice was as mild as his eyes, Isabel still felt a chill run down her spine as Victor spoke. Perhaps it was conditioning, or perhaps it was his aura. "Sebastian has not yet had a chance to attempt during this life, Father," she replied. "I was slow to regain my memories this time."
"You say slow, child, but you had years to grow accustomed to each other in previous lives. My son has simply dug the both of you into a pit that he is unwilling to fill, and now you are reaping the consequences. While it provides an excellent case study, he has caused more than a little trouble."
Isabel withdrew her arm and frowned, trying to figure out what Victor was actually saying. "What do you mean, he's unwilling to fill it? Sebastian didn't tell me that he knew how to get rid of the shadow already!" She stared at Victor, waiting for him to deny the accusation, but he nodded. Her fists clenched as white-hot fury coursed through her, making her head pound with her heartbeat.
"If he didn't tell you he knew how to fix it, I don't suppose he told you what caused it, either?"
Isabel shook her head, too angry to actually say a word. Josephine lightly touched her elbow, but Isabel swatted her hand away. Victor let out the smallest of sighs. "I suppose I'll do what he failed to do, then. Sebastian has been stealing portions of your soul and locking them away in his paintings. That is what his magic does, why his paintings are so lifelike. But paintings made with such magic are to be destroyed after their purpose has been fulfilled. Otherwise, the subject is thrust into a never-ending cycle of reincarnation."
He looked pointedly at Isabel, whose jaw went slack. "So I...have been forced to live over and over again, because Sebastian refused to destroy the paintings of me? Because he's been stealing pieces of my soul?" The revelation was horrifying, and from the pieces, she guessed the rest of the story.
"So the shadow...that's the bits of me, isn't it?"
Victor nodded again. "Yes, as far as we know. His brand of magic is incredibly rare, and no one in our coven has ever come across a scenario where a vampire with art magic didn't follow the rules to this extent. To his credit, Sebastian didn't know what he was doing until you arrived two days ago. But instead of simply destroying the paintings of you, he has chosen to risk the coven in search of a different solution."
"What do you mean?" Isabel's knees felt weak with all the extreme emotions, but she fought to stay on her feet. She needed to understand the whole situation before she could make a plan to fix it. Because that was her job as his wife, right? To clean up her husband's messes?
"Sebastian has gone to attempt to get more information about his magic from the original coven."
Her white-hot anger was extinguished by the icy grip of fear. "You mean...he's gone to break the treaty? And you let him go?"
"I am not a dictator, and you know that. I told him the consequences should he choose that path. And I sent Remus to either convince him to change his mind, or to drag him back before he can actually put the coven in danger." Victor's eyes lit up with the mirth of someone who fully believed everything would always go their way. "Don't worry. Sebastian may be a wayward son, but Remus is a rock."
That did manage to lower Isabel's anxiety level a few notches. Until Victor continued to speak, that was. "However, should both of my sons fail me and Sebastian succeeds in breaking the treaty, he will no longer be associated with my coven. We will make no efforts to save him from the consequences of his newest actions. And, should that happen, you also will have no association with us."
"You can't kick me out, Victor! I'm alone with next to no money, no way to get back to the airport, and nowhere to go until my flight home if something happens to Sebastian." Isabel's knees finally gave out, and Josephine lunged forward to hold her up.
"You can't be like that, Victor! She's my sister! I lost her once already, and I'm not willing to lose her so soon again." Josephine's eyes blazed as she gently supported Isabel. "If you remove Aurora from the coven, you're going to have to remove me as well. We came to you together, and we'll leave you together."
Victor's face was unreadable as he considered Josephine's declaration. Isabel managed to regain control of her legs and took her weight back, but she continued to tremble. What-ifs blew through her mind like a hurricane while her sister and the master vampire stared at each other.
And then...Victor smiled. "Loyalty is one of the most prized traits in my children," he chuckled. "Loyalty and the willingness to protect our family members. Blood is what connects us all, so I suppose by blood you'll still be connected. Should my son lose his place among us, you will be allowed to remain through your sister. But should you choose to join Sebastian in exile instead? Then even blood will no longer bond you to us."