Please don't hate me...

Right at the second I did hate Luc but it was a superficial type of hate which evaporated the moment I saw pain in his eyes. I wanted my hate to be stronger for him, I wanted it because I felt weak and foolish for being swayed so easily. Luc had put me through so much hell and he deserved to be hated for it. My heart was broken and it was his fault... and yet even though he had broken my heart, my heart was still beating and it was beating for him.

I stared at him and he looked away from me ashamed.

"Luc," I began, "I can't hate you... I don't know why, maybe it is because of this stupid bond or something but whatever it is, no matter how hard I try, I cannot bring myself to hate you... I just can't."

Luc's dark eyes lightened and a renewed hope glimmered across his face as a hint of smile threatened to break his usual brooding expression, "So you think that you may love me." He said.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I think love is a little premature."

"I know it's love," Luc said, "Even though you have shut your mind off from me, I know that you love me as much as I love you."

I didn't reply. I didn't have the guts to confirm nor deny his accusations. So I folded my arms and watched in sudden alarm as Luc stepped closer to me and said in a low voice, "I haven't kissed you for what feels an eternity,"

My mind blanked and I watched in slow motion as he leaned down towards me. Quickly I thrust my hand between his lips and mine and reminded him, "I have just spent the last ten minutes dry heaving into a waste paper basket. I think that I require a toothbrush and some mouth wash before we do any kissing." I said.

Luc made a frustrated groan and backed away from me. He turned to a small door next to a medieval looking tapestry and said, "The bathroom is in there, I had Henrietta fill it up with toiletries and other supplies that you might need- personally I am not au fait with what a lady requires to freshen herself up with so I placed Henrietta in charge of sorting out the bathroom and your room."

"Thank you, I do appreciate it." I said.

Luc moved out of the way and said, "Go and freshen yourself up. I will be waiting for you after you finish."

"Aren't you going to continue your hunt for Casper?" I asked.

"No, I want to spend tonight here with you- I just want to hold you in my arms and know that you are safe." Luc breathed.

My heart fluttered and I felt myself falling under his spell. I opened my mouth to reply but instantly forgot the words. Luc smiled and gently kissed my forehead, "Go, I will wait for you- I promise."

I nodded my head and moved past him hurrying towards the bathroom. I focused on the medieval tapestry that was hanging next to the bathroom door and tried not to think about Luc. The tapestry looked like a biblical depiction of hell with a number of women being burned alive in front of a strange temple structure. A chill crept down my spine and I entered the bathroom to clean myself up.

Henrietta had done a brilliant job of stocking the bathroom up. I spent the next half an hour sniffing and trying out mini bottles of shampoos, conditioners and soaps. Henrietta had even brought me five different types of mint mouth wash- which I need after a week of solid sleep. I cleaned myself up and changed into fresh night dress. I stepped out of the bathroom and found Luc hovering outside the door.

"I was worried you might have fainted." He said with a worried expression.

"No, I was just taking my time to examine all the goodies Henrietta had brought me." I replied.

"Ah well I asked Henrietta to see to it that you had everything you needed. I even asked her to decorate your room for you while you were asleep. I hope the furnishings are too your liking but should you wish to change anything let me know and I can arrange for your furniture to be replaced." Luc said.

I smiled at him and looked around my surroundings and said, "I think I can survive here, although," I said pointing at the freaky medieval tapestry next to the bathroom door , "What is that all about?"

Luc followed my finger to the wall and looked at the tapestry for a few seconds then hissed a curse under his breath and said, "That tapestry shouldn't even be here," He said irritably, "It's a historical document that is supposed to be stored away carefully in the palace archives where it can be maintained correctly- I have no idea where Henrietta found this."

"What is the tapestry supposed to be about?" I asked curiously.

"The tapestry depicts what happened soon after the fall of the first vampire empire that happened seven hundred years ago- it is to do with the origins of the city and I doubt you are in the mood for a history lecture, at least not after tonight." Luc said.

Wait- did he just say the 'origins of the city'? The memory of Henrietta mentioning it to me- she had told me to ask Luc about the origins of the city. Maybe she had even been smart enough to place this tapestry here so I could ask Luc.

"Oh I would love to hear about the history behind this tapestry. I love history and this would be a wonderful distraction, so please tell me, I really want to know about the old empire." I begged.

Luc pondered my request for a moment and said, "Well, the old empire was ruled by my Great Grandmother who was this great Mayan Empress who swept across Central America into North America and united all the warring covens under one rule- her rule. Under her rule she built towns and cities for vampires and other supernaturals to live in. She also founded the great temples where vampires could go to become priests or priestesses of the old religions. Port Cressida was built upon the ruins of the only stone temple in the whole of North America. The tapestry here depicts the old temple that once existed where the palace now stands." Luc said indicating at the stone building carefully woven into the picture.

The building in the tapestry had a stair step pyramid design that was identical to the Mayan temple ruins I had seen in picture and on TV. The temple looked strange against the snowy backdrop of mountains and forest in the tapestry, but I imagined it must have looked even stranger in real life. Even so the middle and the back ground of the picture was not the subject matter which was capturing my interest. What I was interested in was the women being burnt alive in the foreground of the picture.

"So who are the women being burnt alive in the picture?" I asked.

"They were the priestesses of the temple- women of extraordinary talents who were selected to serve the gods," Luc explained, "These women possessed abilities which are now virtually non-existent amongst vampires. Some had the ability to see into the future, while others could read a person's past and there were even a few who could commune with the dead."

"They could speak to ghosts..." I said in bare whisper.

Luc nodded while studying the tapestry, "Yes and its part of the reason they were burnt alive. When the empire fell, it fell literally overnight. The Empress' son went mad and unleashed a hell on earth the likes of which had never been seen. The great royal city disappeared in a single night and the Queen that had held the empire together for a thousand years was dead. People wanted to blame flesh and blood for the terrible calamity that had fallen upon their beloved Empress and her family, and so they turned against the priestesses who they accused of cavorting with evil spirits and bewitching the Empress' son to commit terrible evil against his people. This picture depicts the night the priestesses were dragged from their temple and burned alive for their crimes against the Empress. Only a few priestesses escaped and they were the ones who many years later made this tapestry as a record of what happened that night seven centuries ago."

I stared at the tapestry and finally understood what Henrietta had meant when she said that this city had been built on the blood of people like me. These priestesses had been blamed for the genocidal meltdown of the Empress' son, Prince Tuta the Terrible, and had been burned alive in some kind of pre-christian witch hunt.

"That's awful..." I commented quietly.

Luc shrugged nonchalantly, "It was a long time ago."

"What about now- I mean, are vampires with these abilities still hated?" I asked.

"Well for a long time after the massacre those types of abilities were considered the most unholy of all the vampire abilities. Women who were turned or girl children that were born with these abilities tended to be quickly burned alive when their talents were uncovered." Luc said.

"What about men and boys, were they burned alive too?" I asked.

"Strangely, for reasons unknown to me, these abilities only ever affect women... Mia, you look pale. Come and lay down next to me." Luc said suddenly taking my hand.

I took his hand and walked away from the tapestry feeling a terrible sickness inside my soul. Henrietta had been right about everything and now I was caught between Luc, Louis and possible angry vampire mob if my secret ever got out.