Eclipse (a Vampire:the Requiem Fanfic)

{to Eclipse. She knows ;) <3}




It's been a year since my embrace. A long, lonely, wretched year. I remember it like it happened just yesterday.

Me and my sister walk home from that club, the Asphalt Mix. I always thought it was the most stupid name for a club, but at least it was good in the inside. And even though my sister is two years younger than me, we enjoy having a cocktail or a drink together. And sometimes, even the music's not that crappy. Music has lost its style, nowadays. I mean, there used to be songs where one had put their soul into, and you just listened to it and you cried and cried. Or danced, or cheered, or something anyway.
There used to be music. Now it's all bling-bling and no technique at all. And I'm not talking only about rap. Yeah. Everyone else has turned into a 'pimp' or something. There are really, really few good musicians left. And sometimes, Asphalt Mix puts some of their songs in the 'jukebox'.
'So, did you have fun tonight? I ask my sister.
"It was totally awesome. I would have never guessed a Bloody-Mary could be so tasty. I mean, it's only tomato juice and gin."
'Vodka. Not gin.'
"That one." we laugh as we decide that it's probably time to go home.
Well, it's not like our mother would yell at us or something. We had all the time in the world. Our mother abandoned us when I was ten, never telling me the reason. She may have been a drug-addict, or part of a mob or something. Anyway, she left, and that's what matters. She left me with Susie, my younger sister. All alone, let to raise and protect one another in whatever way we could. Yeah, thanks mom.
And dad, he was simply nonexistent. I don't remember having a dad, maybe he did what he did with my mother, and decided he was too much of a worthless person to help a mother raise his kids. Cheers to him, bet he's homeless or in jail, or something like that.
'Any good movies on tonight?' I could really use a thriller, or at least a comedy.
"Don't think so, except if you want to see Spiderman for the tenth time.."
No way.
'Oh damn... Wanna go to the video club to see if there's anything good to rent?'
"Why not? Let's go!" we laugh once again. And they say goths have no fun. Oh yeah, that too. Even though I hate labels, I believe they make people less than human, I can't help it, I'm a sucker for black, for fingerless gloves, for boots, for chokers, for the dark beat, the emotional songs and all that. And even though saying I 'm a goth would sound poser, there's no denying my nature. I just like dark stuff. Can't help it.
I look at Susie. Fortunately she's a regular one. No trend on her, nothing emo, nothing metal, she has her own style and she doesn't give a damn about whatever anyone else thinks about the way she looks. I smile. Well, I am like her, I just adopted this as my style. I mean, if someone calls me a freak, or anachronistic or whatever, I couldn't care less.
My sister stops walking.
"Jul. Do you hear footsteps?" I stop to listen.
'No I don't.'
"Juliette... Are you sure you don't hear them?"
'Yeah, Susie, I'm-' Oh god. I do. And they're not the footsteps of someone walking. I look at Susie.
'Run.'
We start running. Damn me and my stupid ideas! Go to the video-club! Sure! At this time, and through these dark alleys. Damn!
The sound of footsteps is closing in on us, yet I look back and I still can't see anyone.. Susie looks at me, her little face twisted from agony, she asks me 'what're we gonna do?', without talking, just by looking at each other in the eye we know what we want to say, and words are unnecessary.
I look at her, and I say 'keep running'.
The footsteps sound closer and closer to us, yet again I look behind me and I see no one. Where the hell are- oomph!
"Greetings, pretty señorita" That guy! Where the hell did he come from? One moment he wasn't there, and the other I bumped on him!"
"My, my. A most lovely catch, don't you think Sergio?" He looks latin or something.. so does that other guy that just entered the alley. How many of them are there?
"Aye, Manuel. She is a pretty one." Where's- Fuck! He's got Susie strangling in his grasp! When did he get her?
"Listen to us, pretty young lady. We are the one Brotherhood, The Brood Of Belial. We are heretofore claim your ass.. Mine."
"Juliette!!!!"

And then, darkness. Echoes, in the night.
"So you're leaving her like that?"
"Yup. Nothing to do with her anymore."
"Damn man. You must have killed the little girl."
"So fuckin' what? We're the Brotherhood man, We kill whenever the hell we wanna."

"really now..."

"..beautiful rose..."

"...apologies..."

"...curse.."


Ugh.. My head... What happened? I feel so.. weak.. Susie.. Where's Susie? Where am I?
Calm down Juliette. Get Up. Damn it hurts. I feel as if I got hit by a car.. Who the hell were those guys? And why did they take Susie? Is she safe? Christ, I swear I'll kill em if they hurt her...
Wait a minute.. When that guy beat me unconscious, I was in an alley... And now.. I'm under a soft and comfortable blanket... I must have been put to bed by someone.. But by who? And where?
I look to my left, away from the wall that the bed's right side faces.
"Good evening, my beautiful flower.."
Not again.. I swear that If I could, I'd jump on him and beat him like there's no tomorrow..
"Do not fear. I.. Saved you from those pathetic excuses for thugs."
'Thanks.' I really can't find anything better to say.
"Please. You have to trust me. I will not harm you. I never could."
'Who are you, and where am I?'
"I am Jack. And you are safe. This is one of my houses, which I use in times like these."
'Jack. Did you see where those.. Thugs took my sister?'
"Unfortunately, no."
Shit. I let out a big sigh.
"I killed the one that dared lay a hand on you. But when I turned to attack the other one, he was already going for their car. I had two choices. I would either save you, or go and kill that guy and suffer the loss of an innocent. Which would you choose?"
I turn my gaze away from him.
"I'm not going to hide anything from you, my childe."
Suddenly my eyes are stuck on him. how didn't I notice his charisma before? He looks... So elegant, so trustworthy..I suddenly feel like I can trust him and he can trust me as well, though.. He seems nothing special, with his little face, no beard on it, and his unkempt hair.. I wonder how old he is, he looks somewhere close to thirty..
"My childe. You are no longer human."
I nod.
"Do you know of creatures called.. Vampires?"
I nod.
"What If I told you that they were real?"
They can't be. not now, not ever. Their very existence is a natural paradox.
I nod.
'It would make sense.' I say, not believing myself.
"And now, what if I told you, you are one of them, just like me?"
My insides scream. Every pore of me is shouting that this cannot be true. Not now, not ever. There is no bloody way. I shake my head, I try to move despite my horrible pain, and eventually I stop.
And I nod.
'That explains how I was saved, and why I'm in so much pain, I guess.' Am I really saying this? Though It makes sense.. Somewhere, very deep inside my mind, in the depths of the subconscious, it actually makes sense.
"You are one of us, my childe. And I am your sire. Merely the one who gave you this chance of changing, of living on. A curse to some, a blessing to others. Allow me to explain things in more detail as I offer you the first meal of your new life."
He smiles, and he opens a bottle of what seems like blood-red wine, and he goes to another room and brings a large glass to pour it in. He pours some, and then puts his hand behind my head and raises it, so that he can help me drink. I would never dare deny this proposal.
And I swallow, and I swallow, more and more each time, until I realize that the glass is empty. He smiles and pours some more in it, and I know from the smell that it is not wine.
Again, I drink, and suddenly all the pain is gone, I feel like I'm born again. Better, faster, stronger, cleverer. This glass empties much faster, and I crave more... He smiles even wider, and throws the glass to the wall, letting it smash into tiny shards. He grabs the whole bottle, and feeds me like you feed a baby milk from a bottle.
"Drink, my childe. Taste your salvation, and your ties to the world of the night.. Drink, and rest. For tomorrow night, I will show you the ways of the Daeva."
Words are meaningless right about now. I drink, and there is nothing else in this world except me and my drink. No thoughts. Just feelings, blazing in me with the eternal fire of what I realize is blood.


And that was one year ago. And I still haven't found my little Susie. I hope she's ok, or there will be hell to pay for each and every one of those motherfuckers...
And now, one year later, as if they just noticed I exist, the prince and his little office fellows call me in their headquarters, using someone with a name like Nathanail or something.
"Eclipse, if you please." He shows me the door to his car. Oh, and, that's my new name. They told me that you have to have new names in order to escape from your past. Whatever. It's just a excuse for me to use one of my favorite nicknames. As for escaping from my past, thanks, I'll do that when I find my sister and avenge her snatching away by those bastards. Or at least one of them, cause Jack killed the other.
I get in the car, and patiently wait for us to get to the prince's headquarters.
"My apologies for the lack of attention on our behalf. We I assure you we were unaware of your embrace, as your sire did not mention anything about you, or anything else. Come to think of it, we haven't seen him for a year or so. Even the Nosferatu are having trouble in finding him."
You won't find him. Even I can't, and I'm his childe. He moves from house to house and from apartment to apartment just as quickly as we enter the rooms of a house. He hasn't shown up much since my embrace. He just filled me in on the basics, told me about the pros and cons of each clan, told me the bare bones of how the Kindred society works, and then left. He sends a letter every now and then, though. Letting me now that he is ok, and asking me if I am doing good as well. I always write back, wondering why he doesn't show up, or why he doesn't send an email or something, or if he'll actually receive the letter.
"Not only that, but the subject of the Brood's activity is getting worse night after night. More people are found mysteriously dead, or dry, without any drop of blood around them, and many more are missing. Police is going crazy, and Athens is at the edge of her seat, biting her fingernails and wondering in terror when it will all end."
'Bastards.'
"I couldn't have put it better."
'Yes you could. "blood-sucking bastards".'
"Heheh. But we are all blood-sucking, dear Eclipse. I believe it is one of the common traits of the Kindred."
Whatever. Some time passes, and the guy -Nathaniel's his name as I remembered-, announces we're there.
We get in, past the iron gate, and I come across ten or more kindred in the same hallway.
We all look at each other, the hair on the back of our heads standing, and we battle ourselves mentally, so that we can resist the urge to just go Rotschreck and slaughter anyone in the vicinity. We look as if we got over it.. At last. I really hate it when the Beast wants control.. Wait.. What's that? I think I heard someone growling! Everyone's jumping on a frenzied kindred, trying to get her to get a hold on herself. She's struggling, and everyone's shouting at her to calm down. The door at the end of the hall opens, and someone in black rushes out, tells everyone to get away, grabs the frenzies vampire by the neck, lifts her in the air, and while she's struggling and screaming, he looks at her right in the eye, and issues an order that she just couldn't disobey:
"Stop."
And the woman freezes, and she looks at him with her jaw dropped.
"Come to your senses." She nods, and he puts her down, as easily as he lifted her up.
Everyone is at ease now, and they go back to their works. Wow. The man's got style. He smiles, warmly, holds her hand, and whispers to her:
"Emily, If you act like this again, I'm afraid I will have to stake you and keep you in the catacombs for a few weeks.." She freezes. ".. You know how much I admire your skills, and how I need them for the building's well being, as well as mine." She nods. "Don't make me do something I will regret.."
"Yes prince. Sorry prince." So he's the Prince? Wow. So he can rule the beast that Athens has become.
He gets a good look at me, and then he goes back to what appears to be his office.
Nathaniel just stands there, all cool and indifferent of the whole situation that just took place.
"That was Prince Vladimir."
'I figured as much.' Nathaniel laughs, and we walk towards the door to the prince's office.
Some Nosferatu guy appears right in front of us, and he looks a bit amazed to see that I didn't lose my temper while seeing him. I can't say I'm a Haunt specialist -Haunt is another nickname for them-, but I've just got used to the fact that some Nosferatu might pop out of nowhere in front of me. After all, I've been kindred for a year or so..
We go inside after some questions from the Haunt. The prince is sitting behind his desk, looking at some paperwork. He instantly sees us once we enter the office, and turns his attention to us.
"Prince Vladimir, I have brought you Eclipse."
"Thank you Nathaniel. You may leave." There was something in the way he said that. It was as if he said 'you will leave'. And so Nathaniel did.
"Good evening, young lady. It has come to my attention that you have had a quite unfortunate event, a year or so ago. I would like to talk to you about this. Please. Take a sit."
I nod, and I go to sit at the left chair of the two that are in front of the desk. He sits on the other side, places his hands together on the desk, and says:
"Now tell me, young cainite. What was your.. Experience, with the Brood?"
'They kidnapped my sister sir.'
"Please. Call me Vladimir, or Vlad for short. And tell me, when was that again?"
'About a year ago.. Vlad.'
"Would you please describe to me what happened?"
And so I do. I tell him of Susie, of the footsteps, of everything that happened in that alley. Except the fact that I was saved by Jack. Being a man of power, he probably knows that anyway.
"Rather Interesting... And I suppose you've been searching for your sister all this time?"
'Yes.'
He puts his face closer to his hands, and leans a bit to my side.
"Would you be interested in helping me.. Help you?" and now he's smirking.
'What must I do?'
He gets up, and starts walking towards the wall to the opposite of the door.
"You see, Eclipse. We are going through dark times. Athens is going through dark times. People are missing. People are dying, people are being embraced. In my city. And of course, if anyone wants to put the blame on someone, then they will blame me, for everything. The Brood of Belial are all beastly punks without a cause. They exist to kill, and to indulge themselves in other acts of barbarity. I will not put up with it any longer, Eclipse. And I need you to help me. Any minute now, Nathaniel will find one more kindred like you, who will want vengeance, or at least to go and search for them, by my command. I need you to go to a certain warehouse and investigate along with this other kindred. Also. Ask questions in any way you will, from anyone you will. This is a job of attaining knowledge of their whereabouts and their plans. Help us, and we will help you."
I nod.
The doors open, and Nathaniel walks back in, with a young man following him. Nathaniel bows.
"Prince Vladimir. I have brought you here the latest spawn of the Brood, the Ventrue Franz."
Hm, that guy seems familiar somehow.. Nathaniel said his name is Franz. He is tall, slim, and he wears casual black clothes. He looks rather nice to tell the truth, it's as if he emits an aura of handsomeness. I take some time to look at him while Nathaniel explains to the prince how he found him. Interesting story. Bet he's pissed of at the Brood. he hasn't paid any attention to me, he's just looking at the prince.. Oh, there we go, he looks at me. I smile a little, and then look elsewhere. Some seconds pass, and he's still looking at me. Huh? I look at him again, and when he realizes it, he turns his gaze to the prince again. Heh.
Right about now, Nathaniel has stopped with the long speech.
"You have my gratitude, Nathaniel. Please. Leave us, we have some certain matters to discuss..." Somehow the prince's voice sounds more booming now, but not much.
He looks at Franz, and then nudges him to take a seat with his hand.
Franz sits next to me, and he nods at my direction. Is his one eye darker than the other one?
The prince sits right where he was before, and puts his hands right how they were before. Then, he starts making a speech, describing the situation to Franz. He seems like he could care less, but like he'll help anyway.
"..Eclipse here, has too fallen victim to the Brood's action, maybe in a more.. indirect approach." The prince looks at me.
Franz asks what they did to me. I tell him they kidnapped my sister, and Vlad tells him that they think they kidnapped my sister, as if he's implying that the Brood didn't take Susie, and that my word was not that valiant. That wasn't so nice, Vlad.
"You are to aid Eclipse in a job.. You are to go to a certain warehouse, which our Nosferatu informers claim to be a Brood gathering point. You are to go there, and use as much force as is needed to extract valuable information about the Brotherhood, their common places, and why they are doing all this. You are free to kill as many as you have to, as long as the required information is gathered."
Kill? I'd rather not, but if I have to..
The prince gets up, tells us that we are dismissed, and that Nathaniel will equip us with whatever we may need. Bet Nathaniel can't 'equip' me with my sister.
We get out, and find Nathaniel waiting for us.
"How did it go?"
"Jolly good" Franz says, and by the look of it, if he used more irony, it would flow from his sleeves.
'It was alright' I say, looking at the floor. I think I'm closer than ever to finding my sister..
"Now, because we do not have much space, given that there are kindred everywhere in search of Brood movement, if you do not mind, you will be residing in the same Haven. That is, the same 'hideout'." that's Nathaniel.
Excuse me? Whatever. Still beats living alone in the same house my sister was.
'Fine by me.' I shrug. Franz looks at me. What? Did you think I would mind living with a guy or something? As if we'll cooperate a lot or something..
"I guess.." Franz says, still with his 'too-bored-for-ya' attitude. Tough guy, eh?
"It's settled then" Nathaniel announces.
We get in the car, and he starts driving, taking us to our brand new haven.
I wonder how many spare havens the damned Invictus have...