Able to walk about on her own, she managed to get all the way here from the neutral area Rush had brought them too. That had been a feat unto itself. Moving lately was the biggest foe she'd ever faced. At least the tingling painful sensations had faded after a few days, but she was now tired almost every second of being awake. So was Rush though, so they were a good pair.

Rush was a slug in vampire terms. Certainly he could still move faster than human comprehension, but against other vampires he wouldn't be much of a fight. Having drained himself to protect them from that mage's life spell and then lost pieces of himself to Vincent's assault, he was barely back in one piece.

She was too weak to provide him with blood, but Rush explained that he used blood servants that his father employed when she had voiced her concerns. The thought of that morbid. It reminded her of those poor girls that had been forced to work at the vampire bar. A big house like the Shades though would have people like that on hand in case anyone was injured. For some reason, she had never imagined it, blissfully unaware of much about the vampire world.

To the effect of his weakness, Rush had drilled it into her skull this morning that they had to avoid conflict at all costs. Rush wasn't exactly diplomatically savvy, but he was stoic enough to not cause much incident. Mer, on the other hand, was inept when dealing with anyone, especially Darius, though thank god he wasn't coming. That stuck up piece of self-entitled vampire family head thought meeting inside of the mage complex was far too dangerous to even be considered. So, it was just her and Rush, going in through the front door, rickety as all hell.

Upon entering, Mer hadn't expected to see her father so close to her aunt. From the last encounter, Mer had gathered that her aunt loathed the sight of him, and yet, as Mer stepped in the door, Damien released Lia from what had been an embrace.

"Remus Shade," her aunt spat Rush's name in her normal manner. At least that hadn't changed.

"You called?" Rush was never one to disappoint, and having not noticed his entrance, Lia stumbled back from Damien and Rush.

Expecting some sort of exchange of heated words, Mer was surprised when Rush's eyes locked on Damien instead. Rush growled and took a step back from all of them, herself included. Damien hadn't even said anything yet, so she was lost by the open aggressive behavior. Rush was usually much quieter about his dislike of people, and she had certainly never seen him back away like he was now.

"Darc Aurion," Rush uttered under his breath, and Mer jumped at her father's mage name.

If Rush recognized him, did that mean the Haze spell was no longer active? That would at least explain why he'd been hugging her aunt.

There was an angry dip in her father's eyebrows, crunching them down to the bridge of his nose as he turned to face Rush. A growl rippled out of Damien's throat in reply to Rush's own defensive stance, startling Mer with how instantly they'd flipped the hostile switch. Even with what Rush had said, they had somehow managed to find a dangerous confrontation.

"Remus Shade," Damien spat back. "You haven't the faintest how badly I want to destroy you." Damien's smirk was downright sinister as his dark energy flooded the room.

And then Rush was gone.

Like... gone, gone.

The man had taken one last look at her, horror had passed over his eyes, and he'd bolted. Leaving her behind, he likely hadn't even looked back as her jaw dropped and she stood there like an abandoned prom date. Glancing around, she found Neil mirroring her expression, reclined on a bench in the corner. When she looked to her father again, his expression was much the same.

"Did he just run?" Damien asked with worry, making it clear that he'd just been harassing Rush.

Weak as he was, Rush had feared for his life and fled, but couldn't he have at least taken her with him? Or had he thought that dangerous too?

"Hey, if we're taking votes, I'd run too if I had a choice," Neil said from the corner, resting his head on his arms that he'd folded behind it. "I'm stuck with you."

That snide little shit. Mer glared at him but only for a moment before she looked back to her father. "Good job. Now we have to reschedule the peace talks," Mer said with a sigh, and Damien frowned apologetically.

"I didn't think I would frighten him so badly. Forgive me, Meredith." Damien pressed his hands together with a light bow, and she let out a breath of defeat. Staying grumpy at him was impossible.

It was hard to not be excited to see her father, but it was also troublesome that Rush had left her here. The man certainly wasn't coming back for her, and she had no intention of checking into hotel imprisonment tonight.

"I hear you're giving out hugs," Mer prompted her father, and he smiled before scooping her up into his arms. In a tight, yet warm embrace, he was likely only above the temperature of ice from hugging her aunt previously. Regardless, her father's arms were the most comforting thing she'd ever felt in her life–safety, love, and warmth.

"I'm always giving them out if it's for you." Damien pressed his face to hers in an affectionate manner, but it was hard for her to focus much on her own happiness when she could see Neil beaming loathing at her from the corner.

"Is your Haze spell gone?" Mer asked as Damien released her back to the ground, and Damien nodded.

"It had become troublesome after Vincent's passing. I no longer need it to protect myself, and it causes more problems for you and I if people keep forgetting me," Damien explained.

"How's that going over with the vampires?" It really wasn't a question as she could see how tense Neil was, sulking in the corner.

"Neil is just upset with me, that's all. I've tried to explain to him that I'm not going anywhere and that I'm still his servant, but he's a bit dejected."

"Who are you calling dejected?" Neil appeared next to her so close that she actually jumped back a foot, and he whipped an annoyed hiss in her direction.

"Play nice, Neil." Damien patted him on the head affectionately. It was the exact same thing he had done to her when she'd been hostile to Neil before. Neil was having none of that though, and he slapped Damien's hand off his head.

"Don't patronize me," Neil growled.

It was funny to watch her father slide an elbow over Neil's head and lean on him like a piece of furniture, and even better when Neil slipped out from him and her father stumbled. It was an interesting dynamic. Even though Neil had initially come off as a vicious little beast, it seemed as if he were a little less so when her father played around with him. Damien really cared about Neil, as he cared about her, and it made it hard for her to hold a grudge against Neil.

Would she ever like him? Probably not. The guy was an asshole, but she could see being cordial.

"Do you want to be friends?" Mer asked Neil, and he froze from where he was shoving Damien in the ribs. There was a strange expression as he eyed her in probingly, and he let out a derisive breath.

"Vampire house heads aren't friends with sacrifices." Neil smirked in a crude gesture, causing her to glare and clench her fists.

How she wanted to just sock this midget in the face, but without magic, she'd just break her hand. Stuffing all her rage back into her chest, she let out a long slow breath.

"Come on. We fought side by side, and you defended me as I defended you. I think you could peel back a few layers of your angry little schnauzer wall to accept friendship."

Neil bristled on her wording, narrowing his gaze in response.

"Damien's mine." Neil possessively slipped his hands around Damien's arm like a twelve year old claiming possession over a parent, and she snorted laughter. It reddened Neil's complexion, and it was not something she'd seen on his face before.

Well, well, he could be embarrassed. Mer was sure Rush was immune to much of that.

"All yours," Mer said, raising her hands in surrender. "To be fair, you've known him longer, and I have my own vampire to keep me occupied. We don't have to be best buddies and go to concerts together, but allies would be nice." Mer extended her hand out to Neil, and he leaned more into Damien as if it were dangerous. "I have literally no magic to harm you with. Just a hand shake." Insisting was like coaxing a dog that had been kicked for too many years to accept a new master.

It was an agonizingly long minute, but Neil eventually crept out from behind Damien and extended one hand to her. Gripping hers, Neil still had the other attached to Damien's sleeve, tethering him to safety. Cool against her own skin, as Rush's skin was when he touched her initially, it warmed in her hand. As she smiled to Neil, the blush was still apparent on his cheeks.

"Damien's still mine," Neil maintained as he crawled back to him and held onto his arm.

"Yeah, yeah. I have my own family and vampires to deal with. Just share now and again, okay?" Mer responded kindly.

Neil frowned at the thought of sharing her father.

"If you pay me, I might consider," Neil retorted, and she sputtered a laugh.

"You shouldn't whore the poor man out. Do you how in demand he would be?" Mer joked, causing Neil to further redden, and Damien laughed, pressing Neil to his side. "As much as I'd like to hang out and spend time with you guys, I should really be getting back. I don't want Rush to get worried that you're coming for him, so I'd like to clear that up as soon as possible."

"Could you at least stay for lunch?" Lia asked, walking to the side of Damien that Neil was not on. Mer didn't imagine her aunt was comfortable by the Arc heir.

Mer was hungry.

"Lunch then, but I really have to go back after." Lia looked happy to know she could spend time with her, though something else was gnawing on Mer's mind. "Rush will know if Damien takes me back and likely flee to somewhere else. Is there another way for me to get home?"

They looked to each other contemplating, and Neil cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. "I can take you back."

Mer was honestly surprised that the tiny grumpy vampire had offered.

"Rush is familiar with my presence and won't be scared off by me, even if he's not as strong right now as he usually is. I will return you to Rush after you acquire sustenance... if you would like."

"Thanks..." Mer trailed off. "It's called 'eating' though." Mer taunted, and Neil narrowed his eyes, not amused. Before he could retort, her aunt and Torin hugged her in turn and puller her off to the cafeteria.

Damien and Neil came with them, her father clearly wanting to spend time with her. Mer wasn't so sure if Neil was interested in spending time around them, but he was attached to Damien's side, so he was coming too. She'd have to eat fast though, as she was still worried about Rush.

"Is this close enough?" Neil asked her.

Staring at the front door, she looked back to him questioningly.

"I was actually hoping you'd transport me right into Rush's lap. Can you not do that?" Mer was blatantly sarcastic, but Neil looked back to her as if she'd been serious.

"I suppose I could, but he'd probably sever my head from my body," Neil growled, and Mer laughed. It surprised the little schnauzer, and he watched her worriedly. It was clear he didn't interact with people often. Neither did Rush. They'd make good friends, but she didn't know how close they really were.

"It was a joke, Neil," Mer said, and his face flushed with color again.

"I-I knew that." Neil turned away, and she smiled at his back. Maybe she'd been too quick to judge him. The guy seemed less and less like an asshole and more and more like a flustered kid who had shitty parents.

"Hey," Mer called to him, and he turned toward her. "I'll see you at the peace talks after I pull Rush out from under the bed."

"Yes, you will." Neil was still confused by her friendly gesture, and she sighed. These vampires' skulls were thicker than bricks.

"Best friends," Mer said bluntly, and he bristled, hissing. Then he was gone.

One small spell and just poof. That had gone well. Trying to be friendly with vampires never seemed to get her anywhere. When she was kind to Rush, he thought she was trying to kill him. Trying to be friendly with Mark had almost gotten her assaulted, and Damien really didn't count.

Opening and closing the door, she headed down the wide corridor to the landing, and then ascended the spiral steps before ending up at Rush's door. It wasn't often that she wandered his castle, but she'd been around the original one enough to know the way. The fact that this place was still a carbon copy of the original was eerie.

She slid over to the bed, and Rush was sound asleep. It was nice how he was comfortable with her roaming around the house now. Whenever Rush felt Darius's energy, he snapped awake in aggravation, but he'd gotten used to her mixed light and dark aura. Right now though, it wasn't like she had one. She'd be lucky if she could stand most days, let alone cast magic.

Lately, when he was asleep was the only time that he ever looked like he was at peace. Otherwise, he looked bored with life, hiding apprehension, or just plain domineering. It was hard to resist touching his face in this state, and she slid her fingers gently across his skin. It resulted in a small groan that made her smile.

"Meredith." Rush's eyes opened, but only just a sliver before they closed again. Lying next to him, she looked at his face and almost jumped out of her skin as his eyes snapped open again, though just a bit. "Did you even really love me?"

What? Why would he ask her that? To Rush, she was just someone he found appealing on occasion. The other half of the time, he thought she was going to kill him. More recently, he was even in some pleasantly cute denial about his affection for her.

"Rush, I–" Attempting to make sense of any of those words, she lost her voice as he lifted his fingers and touched her lips. It was strangely soft and affectionate, in a way that heated her complexion and had her looking away from him.

Rush touched her, but the way he was looking at her was too... dependent, as if he needed her. That was never something she'd seen from him, and she wasn't sure how to accept this affection, given with completely contrary words.

"Was it only to stay alive?" Rush kept speaking in his hushed, wavering tone, but she couldn't find words to respond.

Was that what Rush really thought?

"I don't want you to leave me." The words were soft at the start but grew aggravated and aggressive as he lifted himself. Hovering over her, he pressed one of her wrists into the bed, and she paled as his fangs lengthened. "I'm weak..." Rush said, trailing his fingers heavily across her face. It was uncomfortable how hard he pressed them into her skin, and she whined as they finally fell to the bed by her neck. "I let myself trust you." Rush's eyes were only half open, but they burned with a bitterness she'd never seen him show. "I allowed myself to feel things for you. Maybe not love, but something. But it was all a lie. You were only biding time."

"Rush, I never lied to you. I do love you!"

"It's too late, Meredith. If I can't have you, no one can." There was nothing but contempt and rage in Rush's voice. Restrained in Rush's grip, she was powerless as he lunged for her neck in a way he hadn't done since she'd blown up his arm. That time he had intended to kill her.

This time too.

Ready to meet her maker, helpless and confused, in the next moment a heavy weight pushed on her chest, and she gasped for air. Wriggling, she managed to get out from under Rush's full weight, but his hand snapped out and clutched her side.

Still expecting violence and blood, it took her a moment to realize Rush had passed back out. With him asleep on the bed, she wanted to escape, to get away from him, anywhere, but his stone grip kept her to him, and she tears lined her eyes.

Rush had almost killed her.

~~~~~~~~~

Word Count: 2934