L'uncia: Princess Liliana

Robin wasn't sure why anyone was so afraid of death. It was actually a bit more pleasant than living, despite how barbaric the trade off was.

It was much more peaceful than she had expected " death that is. Why anyone had been so terrified of crossing over was beyond her because as it was, she couldn't have been anymore relaxed. She sank back into the darkness of her mind, or oblivion she supposed, allowing herself to become further lost. It hadn't hurt, not as much as she had anticipated. It was almost a relief feeling that last bit of air forced out of her. She was lightheaded for a second, but the feeling quickly vanished, replaced by a much more soothing one.

Despite her current euphoric state, she was slightly disappointed. She had always believed the saying that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes and was looking forward to it. She wanted to recap; she wanted to remember what it was like to be truly happy but was not granted such a gift. It was all right however, so long as she had the content feelings she was having now, then that was okay too.

Only vaguely did she wonder where she was. She had grown up catholic and believed in Heaven and Hell. By the descriptions of both she had learned, she was in neither. So then… where was she? The bliss she was submerged in didn't allow her to worry over it, instead it seduced her into an even calmer state, if that was at all possible.

Her thoughts were silent for a while as she continued to float in the black waters. That was another thing she found quite off. Nowhere had she read that there would be water, black, warm water. It smelled of lilacs and vanilla, disgustingly perfect. Yet still, she couldn't help but wonder why. As the thoughts crossed her mind, more calming feelings washed over her. It was as if they were being forced into her, leaving her no other choice but to relax. Being the skeptic that she was, she couldn't help but ponder over that.

She forced herself to sit up, ignoring the angry protesting of her back and limbs. Back and limbs. She had a body? She looked down at herself, studying her naked flesh through the black water that surrounded her. Where had that come from? It hadn't been there a little while ago. Again, the feelings pressed against her, only this time she was more aware of it. She wiped around, eyes searching through the darkness for something, anything. She was alone however " by herself in the once pleasant, now eerie black lake. The lilac and vanilla scent grow stronger, forcing itself up her nostrils causing her head to spin.

Relax… Shh… You're okay…

The female turned once again, splashing about the water in search of the feminine baritone that had rung in her ears. She found herself alone once again however. Panic began rising inside of her. Her naked chest rose and fell steadily, her worried eyes turned to and fro.

She groaned as unbearable pain shot through her from her neck. She reached up with her hand, holding onto her neck desperately as the pain became even more intense, blurring her vision with tears. The female screamed, her lungs burning and her neck throbbing uncontrollably. She hyperventilated, unable to bare the pain. Suddenly, her body was pulled under the black water, leaving her gasping and swallowing lilacs down her throat.

The water was no longer soothing, no longer could she feel the calming feelings as before. All she could feel, focus on was the blinding pain shooting through her. What was happening to her?

She was pulled deeper under the water, her body falling much faster than water normally permitted. Hot, white light pressed against her eyes, causing her to scream and suck in even more water.

"Robin! Robin!"

Someone was calling her name. A voice she didn't quite recognize, but it was calling her name. She could feel arms locking around her arms and her waist, tugging at her. What was going on?

The white light faded to black.

"Robin! Goddamn it, Robin!" the voice shouted again.

She could hear loud hissing and snarling, animal like almost, coming from some place. It took her a moment or so to realize that the snarling was coming from her.

The arms tugged on her more violently and suddenly she could see.

Her black eyes stared at the frightened woman before her, cowering in the corner. Her sliver hair was curly and cropped short, just below her chin. She stared back with large, hazel eyes, terrified. Robin wasn't quite sure what the woman was afraid of, but whatever it was must have been monstrous the way she was shivering.

"Robin… Robin can you hear me?" the same voice asked, this time calmer.

She turned her head, spotting a tall, thin girl staring at her with pale eyes. Her long platinum blonde hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail that hung down her back. She wore a blue and white, stripped, button down shirt with a pair of light blue jeans. Her feet were tucked into a pair of orangey-brown boots suitable for the cold weather outside. Robin allowed her gaze to travel back to the woman's face, studying the thin white brows and long white lashes that framed her eyes. She noticed that the girl's skin was impossibly pale, as were her eyes and hair. She looked unreal almost, unnatural, as if she didn't exist.

Liliana.

Robin opened her mouth to speak, her brows knotting together when the arms around her tightened. She shifted her head and in an action that was foreign to her, hissed. It was nasty and wet, venom pouring from her teeth as she snapped at the men holding onto her.

"Let me go," she growled, thrashing about and hissing at them.

"Robin, you have to relax."

"Relax! How can I when there are three men holding me against my will, my neck is burning like only God knows what and my teeth feel like they're going to fall out!" she snapped, turned her eyes back to Liliana.

The blonde smiled pleasantly despite of the angry expression Robin held. "You must calm lest I keep you like that."

Robin crunched her brows together before slumping in defeat. Liliana smiled brightly, revealing perfectly straight white teeth, except for the protruding and deathly sharp canines. Robin stared at those teeth for a while, horrifying images of the blonde covered in blood flashing through her mind.

"You bit me," she said evenly. "You pushed me down… and bit me."

Liliana stared at her friend, watching as her mind began to process what had happened to her. They were all out on the road, driving into town in order to pick up a few things that Robin would need from the market. Being what she was, Liliana hadn't needed food " not really " but decided to come along for the drive. The two had been chatting happily, singing along to some random country song on the radio " a song Robin swore up and down that she hated yet somehow knew all the words to.

The two had been so submerged into their conversation that they hadn't even noticed when the deer dove out into the road. Caught in the headlights, the beast stared at the car silently awaiting death. It wasn't until it was too late that either of them had noticed it there. Robin swerved the car, sending them spinning along the road before crashing into the railing and flipping over it, plummeting down the side of the hill. It felt like forever to Liliana, the two of them in Robin's old, purple, 1973 dodge challenger, flipping over and over. She could hear Robin screaming, glass cutting into her flesh as the car smashed into the ground. She remembered screaming for her friend to wake up, shaking her over and over after pulling her from out of the car. When her light brown eyes finally opened up, she couldn't keep herself from smiling and tears from spilling down her cheeks. Her happiness was short-lived because soon after, the brunette's eyes began to dull and it would be only a matter of time before her pupils dilated. She had acted quickly, not really thinking, all she knew was that she had to save her she had to "

"You b***h! You killed me!" Robin snapped.

The men holding her tightened around her again as she launched herself forward, arms stretching out to get a grip on the blonde's neck.

"Stay away from Princess Liliana!" the men shouted at her, wrestling her down to the floor of the room.

Robin screamed, her eyes black with rage. She kicked at the men, flinging her arms about and succeeding in casting them off of her.

 "Princess Liliana," the enraged woman snarled. "You protect that beast! She killed me! Killed me!"

Robin charged forward, ready to take down the girl she had called her best friend for all of three years.

Liliana had been new to their school in Scranton, transferring from Italy in the middle of their sophomore year in high school. No one was too interested in talking to her and after her archenemy, Celia had publicly black listed Liliana " possibly because Eric (senior and quarter back of the football team) had started to like her " Robin had taken her in. She befriended the Italian girl quickly, as well as the others in their crowd of friends. Robin had trusted Liliana and Liliana trusted Robin, so much so that she told her a secret, one that she was never to repeat. Liliana was a vampire. Not just any vampire however, she was a royal one at that.

Robin of course hadn't believed any of the nonsense her friend had spewed at first, dismissing it all as some corny Halloween story " after all, it had been Halloween ", that is until the blonde opened her mouth and showed her the sharp teeth she had in there. The pieces had finally all fell together. Why Liliana never ate, why Liliana was always accompanied to and from school with a black umbrella and two body guards, why Liliana never showed her teeth when she spoke or smiled. Everything made sense. The dark glasses she wore outside, the hoods and gloves she kept on, why her car had tinted and bulletproof windows like a rapper. Liliana was not human.

"Princess Liliana saved you," one of them hissed at her, grabbing onto her body, locking her arms by her sides. "You would have died had she not done what she did. Don't you remember? Any of it?"

Robin thought back. All she could remember was the dark water, calming her and soothing her. "It was you," she whispered softly, staring out at her best friend.

Liliana watched her with a closed off expression. She recognized that. The same one she wore when the two had first met. She was guarded now, afraid of getting hurt. She was closing herself off, possibly waiting for some sort of verbal lashing or possibly even a physical one.

"Liliana " "

"It would have been painful," her voice sounded at last. "The change would have been too much for you to handle. You were… you were already beaten up… I had to distract you."

Robin was silent, remembering the voice from her euphoric state. It had been Liliana, inside her mind. Compulsion.

"Let go of me," she said, calmer this time.

The men around her tensed, looking to Liliana for direction. When the princess nodded, they let her go, backing away from her, but not giving her too much space lest she attack again.

The two girls stared at one another, both searching for something. It was Liliana " surprisingly " who made the first move. She tossed her arms around her best friend, pulling her in and hugging her tightly.

"I was so scared," she whispered, hot tears burning into Robin's shoulder. "I didn't think you were going to make it… You were screaming so loudly, snapping and hissing. I'd never changed anyone before, I wasn't sure if I was even doing it right. Morgan, he… he said that not all human's can handle the change, that not all of them could survive with maggiore blood in them. Your eyes… they were so, so scary."

Robin only listened, patting her friend's back, trying to soothe her. Which was weird, considering she was the one who had died.

"It's alright Liliana. I'm not dead, not really anyway," even through death, Robin was able to be sarcastic.

The blonde pulled her head away from Robin's shoulder, standing up straight and looking over her face, a small, bitter smile tugging at her lips. "I'm going to miss your eyes."

Robin stared at her. "My eyes?"

"I think… maybe you should look," Liliana said nervously, pulling away from her body.

Robin stared at Liliana for a long while before turning her gaze to the men who once held her. They wore stern expressions for the most part, but she could see pity in their eyes. She turned to look to the woman on the other side of the room, still cowering and flinching when Robin made eye contact with her. Was she that scary now? Sure, she hadn't had the best people skills before, and she had been acting all wacko before, but…

Robin found herself walking into their en suite bathroom and flicking on the light. Her eyes turned to the mirror and she screamed when she caught sight of herself. Her once brown orbs were now a glossy red, a slightly brighter ring of red within the both of them. The whites of her eyes darker than black it self. However, that wasn't the most terrifying part of it all. The veins around her temples, pressing against her skin, visible and nasty.

"Oh my god," she gasped, taking a step back, only to rush towards the mirror once again upon noticing the straight white teeth and sharp canines that replaced her old teeth. "What… the f**k."

She stared at herself long and hard, watching the way her red eyes followed her in the mirror. It took her a moment to notice her skin and hair. She had always been proud of her darker skin and hair, deciding that it was best compared to the other variations. She had her mother, an African doctor from Ghana, and her father, a White-British psychiatrist, to thank for her lovely coffee complexion. However, that once honey colored skin was now ashen, still dark, but no longer the glorious shade it once had been. Her hair, while still thick and curly, was more than a few shades lighter. Her father had had brownish blonde hair but she had inherited her mother's black hair. Now, her hair resembled neither of them. It was blonde. Not nearly as white as Liliana's, but blonde nonetheless. What would she say to her parents when they saw her? Her skin, her hairs… f**k! Her eyes!

The female breathed in and out slowly, trying to digest what happened to her. So what if she was a little lighter than she was before, she was mixed and still looked it, no one would really notice it. And her hair, so it was blonde, lots of people had blonde hair, no big deal. As for her eyes… she could wear contacts right? Right?

"F**k…" Robin groaned, pushing herself away from the sink.

Her hands delved into her hair, pulling at the strands a bit out of frustration. What would she do now? She couldn't just leave their apartment like this? She couldn't go to class with her eyes resembling a demon's. Was she a demon now? She had never asked Liliana if God accepted vampires, but… surely he could forgive her this sin? She had done a lot of lousy s**t in her life, but he still loved her right? He could look this discrepancy in her humanity right?

"Liliana…" she said softly, but she knew the vampire could hear her.

The blonde appeared by the door, looking sheepish. "Yes?"

"My eyes…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to miss them."

~*~

---

The air felt different now that she had changed. It was like feeling everything for the fist time. Liliana had explained everything to Robin after she got over her shock. Turns out there were three types of vampires, maggiore, morti and omicida. Liliana was a maggiore " a pure blood vampire " and Robin was a morti " a human turned vampire. An omicida was the bad kind of vampire, the kind one saw in the movies. They were the morti that for some reason hadn't adapted to the change and were, for lack of a better term, evil.

Liliana had expressed her relief that Robin hadn't been reborn as an omicida, she'd have to bring her before the council and they'd exterminate her. The idea of being exterminated sent chills down her spine. Liliana explained that if she had been omicida then it would have been hard for all of them to take her down alone, especially since she was a newborn and newborns were a lot stronger than any other form of vampire " and a lot more reckless too.

When Robin posed the question about the council, Liliana explained that they were highest of the royals and guarded the vampire government for life terms. It was a monarchy of sorts and because Liliana's father was on the council and her mother yet to birth a son, Liliana would be taking over her father's position when he finally retired.

Robin asked why she had never heard any of this before and the blonde looked slightly uncomfortable. However, she hadn't let up, she continued to press until she finally gave in. Turns out she wasn't supposed to tell her anything about the supernatural world in the first place. Their society was supposed to be secret. Humans were infamous for hunting down things that were different from them. Sure, the vampires were essentially much stronger than humans " they would win hands down in a one on one fight " but humans had numbers. Just the sheer size of their armies would cut down the vampires. Because their lives were precious to them, they felt it best to live amongst them in secrecy.

Robin nodded her head to all of this, understanding how that could be a problem.

"So what are we going to do about my eyes?" she asked after listening to Liliana explain the history of her people " Robin's people now " for over an hour.

Liliana studied her for a while. "They should heal soon. They won't go back to the brown color before. They'll probably be like mine since I'm technically your sire. That's why your hair is so light as well as your skin."

The princess stood up and walked over to Robin's dresser, opening up the draw she knew held the sunglasses. "You'll just have to wear these for now," she said, taking out the black Gucci sunglasses she had bought for her a year ago.

It was always bothered her that Robin never wore them, but supposed now she had no choice. "You planned a head, huh?" Robin said dryly, taking the glasses and putting them on.

Liliana only smiled, flashing her pretty teeth once again. "C'mon, lets get you fed. You're probably hungry."

Robin bounced off the bed at the prospect of food. She never shied away when it came time to eat. Something told her that the reason for the excess amount of "junk in her drunk" wasn't because her mother was black. But then she got to thinking. Liliana never ate, so how was it that she could?

 "I can eat?" she asked, voicing her thoughts.

"Hm?" Liliana sounded, looking at her friend questioningly.

"Can I eat? You never do."

"You can…"

Robin stared at her, just knowing there was a 'but' attached to the end of her sentence.

"But, you don't really need to. You won't feel hungry."

Robin crunched her brows together at that. "But you just said that I must be hungry, which I am."

A pained expression flashed across Liliana's face. She looked like an adult, not wanting to answer a child's question because the truth might hurt them.

 "You'll be hungry. Just not for food."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Liliana looked at her friend, trying to find the right words. When nothing but the truth seemed to fit, she went for it. "Blood."

Robin stared at Liliana, watching as the awkward smile splayed across her lips. "You mean I have to…?"

"Only if you want to keep breathing," she answered softly.

Robin greeted her teeth, feeling her canines nipping at the inside of her bottom lip. She had to drink blood. The very idea was disgusting. She'd never even seen blood before. Sure, she'd gotten cut before, but never had she seen a huge amount of blood. "How… how do I get it?"

"You hunt."

"Hunt? You mean people?"

"Or animals, depending. Human blood is a lot better though and more appealing. Drinking animal blood is often viewed as beastiality."

Robin kissed her teeth and rolled her eyes. 

"It's just eating er, drinking right? How is it at all sexual?"

Liliana blushed a little, mumbling incoherently. "Y-you'll see for yourself tonight."

"We're…hunting tonight?"

"Well yeah," Liliana said, walking out of Robin's room.

Robin stood and followed behind her. "You're a newborn, you have to feed at least twice as much as I do. Plus, you have to get enough to last you for a while, can't go hunting every night. And there's not like there are any blood-w****s around."

Blood-w***e?

Robin only nodded, shoving her feet down into her boots. Everything was new to her. It was hard for her to adapt really, but that was to be expected. She hadn't planned on being a vampire; she hadn't planned on being anything really. With her looks, she had mostly hoped to pick up a rich guy and mooch on his money. That was the only reason why she allowed Liliana to persuade her into going to college in the first place; apparently this was the place to meet naïve rich guys before they settled down. It was shallow she knew, but working and school was never really for her.

The three men, who Robin now knew as Christian, Andrew and Morgan, followed the two of them out. It was funny how she had seen all three of them at one point before tonight, but had never been introduced to them. She hadn't even known that they could talk. The most they did was follow a few yards behind Liliana whenever they went out.

"We talked while you were in the bathroom and we decided that Morgan will teach you to feed," Liliana announced as she locked their apartment door from the outside.

Robin turned her gaze towards the dark haired male who stood beside the small woman from before. Robin now knew her as Elle. She, as well as the three men was to guard Liliana. Robin doubted the woman was a decent enough guard, she was terrified and quivering over nothing but a newborn " Robin dismissed the fact that as it was, she was a lot stronger than the woman.

"Why do I need to learn? It should be simple."

"When you were a baby, did you not have to learn how to feed yourself? You didn't know how to hold a spoon on your own," Liliana argued, walking down the hall and towards the stairwell.

Robin shrugged her shoulders. That was true. It was mostly the idea of learning to feed oneself at nineteen was unusual.

~*~

The six of them made it out to the Liliana's 2010 Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Liliana had explained to her that her beloved challenger had not made it through the accident. Robin was going to miss it, she decided, climbing into the passenger seat of the SUV. She wasn't a fan of the new cars they had out now, she liked her old thing just fine. It had been passed down to her; she was the third person to drive it. Her dad drove it in the 70s, her brother in the 90s and her in the new millennia. Just then she wondered how she would explain any of it to her father. He would wonder how she totaled the car and yet came out without a scratch and brand new skin.

"So, how does this work?" she asked, ignoring the extremely catchy country song on the radio.

Liliana cast her a side-glance before turning her vision back onto the road. "Well, it's not as simple as it looks really. Morgan usually takes me to a night club or something to meet guys."

Guys? Since when did Liliana meet guys? Robin narrowed her eyes slightly. She was meeting a brand new Liliana it seemed.

"Or girls," she offered, noticing the look Robin was giving her. "Doesn't matter really. Blood is blood."

Robin nodded her head. "Blood type?"

Liliana smiled. "That's the fun part. Everyone has his or her favorite, sort of like your preferred alcohol. Mine is type O, which a lot of people say is bland because it's so common. I guess you could say O is like the Pepsi or coke of blood."

Robin would have cracked a smile at Liliana's attempt at a joke any other time, but she was far too gone to be in a laughing mood.

"But as far as getting someone to allow you to feed on them, that's the hard part. Not everyone is willing. We're not like the omicida who kill for blood. Unlike them, we have self control," Liliana announced.

"And compulsion," a deep voice chimed in.

Robin looked through the rearview mirror to see Morgan staring back at her. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face. Robin had never spoken to him before tonight, but had always felt that he was a bit stiffer than the others. He was different from the Christian and Andrew. Robin wasn't sure how exactly, but she could feel it. Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that in the seven hours that she had been a vampire, he was the only one to speak to her, other than to tell her she'd be getting nowhere near Liliana.

"And compulsion," Liliana repeated him. "It's your best bet. Sometimes, humans are turned on by the idea of being bitten by us, it feels good apparently. Some will let you bite them, but others will need compulsion. I'm not saying to announce to the person that you're a vampire here to suck their blood or anything. In all honesty, compulsion is the best way to go. No sense in asking them really because you'll have to redirect their thoughts anyway because as I said, they aren't to know about us."

Robin thought about that. "What if they do know though? What if they found out?"

Liliana's face grew stern, her lips pursing together, but it was Morgan who answered for her. "Then you use compulsion on them. There are no exceptions."

Robin nodded, sitting back in her seat. She supposed that meant she wasn't allowed to tell her parents, or her brother about what happened to her. Not that she wanted them to know that she was now a bloodsucker.

"Don't fret, its not so bad," Liliana offered.

Robin ignored her however and moved onto her next question. "Compulsion. How do I do that?"

Liliana seemed to think about that. "I don't know… you just sort of do it. It's like breathing. No, its like when you see something that you want on a table and your hands reach out for it. Your brain just does it."

Robin decided then that it probably was best that Morgan taught her because Liliana couldn't teach worth s**t. What was any of that supposed to mean?

"It will come to you naturally," Morgan spoke up. "It is indeed as the Princess described it. Your brain will do the hard part for you and that's accessing the human's mind. You'll know when that happens too. From there you simply implant what ever you want them to think, feel, say, do or remember."

"How do I do that?"

"You think it," they both told her.

"Your minds are shared. They can see your thoughts and you can see there's. The only difference is that you can control theirs while they can't control yours. Whatever you think during that time will be what they'll think when you release them. It's simple," Morgan expanded.

"Only it doesn't sound simple," Robin commented.

Liliana smiled. "You'll be fine. You pick whomever you want and do your thing. Since this is your first time and you need to learn how to feed, we have to feed you at home. You can practice your compulsion on them at the bar or club, where ever we end up, and compel them to come home with you. Morgan will teach you how to get your canines to work though."

Robin sighed. That all sounded like a ton of work for one night. Robin Miller was not cut out for work.

Author's Note

Tell me what you think. Honest opinions. Anything I can work on? Anything I should try?