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"Are you sure about this? What if it hurts Oame... what if it hurts the Bride?" Doll fretted over Lamia's shoulder. The black-haired woman sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Doll, I know what I'm doing. This isn't enough blood to turn Annika into one of us, but it is enough to cement her place at my side. And as long as Annika remains human, Oame will be fine. Now, hand me the dish."
Reluctantly, Doll passed her the small bowl of rice and plums, and then watched as she pricked her finger on a silver hatpin. A small drop of blood blossomed to the surface. Lamia let the small drop of her blood drip into the bowl. "Take this to her," she snapped at Doll.
"But... Lamia... I don't think this is appropriate. She trusts you."
"Let us have an understanding, Doll. You are one of my pets. I tell you to do something and you do it. I want no questions from you, no arguments; I just want obedience. Do you understand?"
He nodded and shuffled his feet back to his usual post - at Annika's side. There was a nagging pain in the back of his head telling him not to do what he was about to. If he fed Annika Lamia's blood, she would never be free; she would be corrupted and evil... like he was. He didn't want to do that to Annika... he loved her. She was his best and only friend; how could he take away any future choices she would make? But if he disobeyed Lamia, she would kill him.
Annika was sitting inside her cage, talking to her stomach.
"I know I'm not the best person in the world, Oame. And I also know that I'm going to make a kooky mom, but I promise to love you. No matter what, always remember that I love you. Okay?"
Doll froze. He couldn't do it... he just couldn't. He wouldn't allow Lamia to steal Annika's beautiful light. He looked down at the bowl and removed the plum with Lamia's blood on it. He would rather die than hurt the Bride.
"Here's your dinner!" he smiled at her.
Annika clapped her hands and smiled. "Yay! I'm starving! Oh, and it's one of my favourites too!" Doll watched as she picked up the chopsticks and quickly devoured the meal. He smiled and squished the plum in his hand, letting the warm fruit ease between his fingers. He wouldn't let Annika suffer the same fate he did.
"How are you feeling tonight?" he asked.
"I'm fine, just really hungry."
"Well you're eating for two, right?"
Annika laughed, "Technically, yes. At least that's the excuse I'm going to use for eating like a Hutt. Aren't you going to eat something?"
"I've already eaten," he said, blushing.
"Oh that's right. Doll? What's that like? Biting someone?"
Pulling up a chair he sat down and shrugged his shoulders. "It's just what I have to do. Sometimes I think I'm really two people, the man and the Vampire. I don't know which one I want to be. When the hunger comes, I have no choice but to satisfy it. It's an urge that takes over... it's so powerful that I can't ignore it. That's not to say that I haven't tried. I read once about a Clan of Vampires who overcame their addiction to blood. And that's what it is - an addiction. Like a drug, it becomes the most important thing in your existence, and like every other animal in the galaxy, I have to survive. I think a lot of humans are horrified that I feed off other humans, but I'm not a human anymore. Take you for example - you don't eat any animal products, but most of your friends do. To you, that's disgusting, but to them, they are just feeding. You overcame that addiction. I think I can do that too... at least I hope I can."
"Oh, Doll. I'll help you in any way I can, okay?"
"I am what I am, and I'm proud of that... but if I can resist the hunger, maybe I can help others," Doll laughed. "A Clan of vegetarian Vampires."
Obi-Wan sat in his bedroom trying to meditate. He was having little luck as his mind wandered back to Annika, who had now been gone for three months. He wasn't angry; he was afraid, afraid of losing the only woman he ever loved. Obi-Wan smiled to himself as he remembered his childhood and the talks he and Qui-Gon used to have about human emotions.
"It doesn't matter, Master. I'll never have to worry about girls," he had said. "I'll never have to bother with love."
In either a moment of keen Jedi foresight, or ironic coincidence, Qui-Gon told him, "Don't be so sure young one; you may yet find yourself smitten by a beautiful Princess."
Obi-Wan rubbed his head. He wished his old Master were here; he needed desperately to talk to him. Sighing, he stood and clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt. He decided to take a walk and clear his mind, which would help him to put this situation in perspective. Anakin stopped him on his way out.
"Master Kenobi!" he yelled. He trotted up and placed his hand on Obi-Wan's arm. "Someone is here to see you."
The two Jedi walked to the Room Behind the Waterfall and found a very nervous Doll standing in the library. Obi-Wan ran over to him and grabbed his collar. "Where is she?" he yelled.
"I'm here to tell you! Please... let me explain."
Obi-Wan released him and looked at the already assembled group of senshi. Priire, Kousotsu, Yuki, Ciel and Xarae all sat around, watching patiently. Folding his arms, Obi-Wan stood and glowered at Doll, who began to talk rather tentatively.
"I came here to warn you. I'm fearful for the Bride - Lamia is growing more and more ruthless in her determination to gain power. She wanted me to do something tonight that I couldn't."
"What's that?" asked Obi-Wan.
"She wanted me to trick Annika into eating a drop of her blood. That's the beginning - once she ingests the blood of a Vampire, it will be too late to stop. She will already be on the path to becoming one of us. At first, I thought Lamia had true feelings for Annika, but now I am convinced she doesn't and that she is only using her. The only one Lamia ever truly loved is Akira Takahashi, the vampire that created her. If she had honest feelings for the Bride, she wouldn't want to hurt her. She would have let her leave when she wanted to."
"Annika wanted to leave? To come back here?" Priire asked. Doll nodded.
"She read the letter left by Ciel, then she wanted to leave. However, Lamia talked her into staying... and she is very persuasive."
"So, why are you here? Why are you telling us this?" Obi-Wan said. His anger was building up inside him, and he felt like he might explode.
Ciel spoke next. "What exactly will happen if Annika does drink Lamia's blood?"
"At first, not much. But it will slowly kill her - it will turn her into a vampire and twist her thoughts. It will keep her connected to Lamia forever. In a sense, she will belong to her. The more blood she takes in, the faster the process. It would be different if Annika wanted to become a vampire, if it was her desire - then it would be a beautiful thing."
Looking on with fascinated eyes, Ciel asked "Beautiful? To be dead?"
Doll smiled. "Oh yes. But it comes with a price. In exchange for youth, amazing powers, and heightened senses, you lose your soul and gain a never-ending lust for blood."
"I don't understand something," Yuki said. "You've known Lamia for all this time, and you're just now worried for Annika?"
"The Bride is a token for Lamia, something she can use to her advantage. She has no real feelings for her - other than physical ones, that is. Truthfully, it is not Lamia that worries me. It is Akira. There is a reason more than half of the members belonging to the Shittai Clan are female. I know the look he gave Annika. If he wants her as his own, he will take her. Lamia won't want her after Oame is borne, but she knows that Akira will. That's why she wants to feed Annika her blood, so Akira can't have her. In the future, should Akira make advances towards the Bride, Lamia will kill her. She is so possessive and jealous. For more than one hundred years, Lamia tried to kill Akira. She eventually gave up when she couldn't find out what would kill him."
Kousotsu sighed and asked, "Why did she want to kill him if she loved him?"
"Jealousy. She was jealous of the attention he gave to his daughter, Alice. She wasn't a vampire, but Lamia made her one. Then she killed her in front of Akira."
Obi-Wan swallowed hard. "How old was Alice?"
Doll shifted uncomfortably. "Seven."
"What can we do?" Xarae asked.
"I want a safe place to take the Bride, a place where Lamia and Akira won't find us. Somewhere we can live until Oame is born."
"You can stay here," Yuki offered. "We'll keep you both safe."
"No. You'll kill Oame."
"I swear to you, we will not do that," Obi-Wan pleaded.
Doll thought for a minute. He had to get Annika away from Selket, and as for right now, the Jedi was his only choice. "Okay. Tonight, Lamia is giving a concert at the Club. That will get her out of the way; Akira, however, will be around somewhere. I'll try to keep him and Cinnamon and Lilith away from Lamia's bedroom. There is a secret underground entrance into Selket; it's the way we get in and out. Behind the building there is a painting of a black rose; hidden under the paint is a censor that will open a panel. Be sure to touch the second thorn - if you touch anything else, the club will be alerted to your presence. Follow the tunnel, and I'll be waiting there." Doll walked past Obi-Wan and Anakin.
"Doll?" Obi-Wan said. "Thank you."
"Have you ever eaten a pomegranate, Annika?" Akira asked the pinkish-haired girl. She shook her head. "Would you like to?" She nodded. "Good, because I brought one for you. I prepared it myself." He opened the door to her cage and stepped inside. He sat down on the bed next to Annika and touched her abdomen.
"Has she moved for you yet?"
"No, she hasn't grown enough to do that. Although every now and then, I feel things... it feels like flapping butterfly wings."
"In another month or so, you will feel her moving all the time, then she will progress to kicking. You will make a wonderful mother."
Annika blushed. "Thank you. I hope so."
"You know," he said, turning his attention to the plate of fruit in his lap, "pomegranate is a very healthy fruit. You just have to watch out for the seeds. I tried to remove them all, but there might be a few remaining. Don't worry; it won't kill you to eat a few - they simply have a bitter taste." He smiled. Slowly he picked up a slice of the blood-red fruit and placed it in Annika's mouth. After she swallowed it, he passed her the entire plate. "I'm glad to see you enjoying it. Please, it all of it."
"Thank you, Akira, I will! It's delicious!"
He laughed at her enthusiasm, straightened his tie, folded his hands in his lap, and then watched her finish the food. Doll walked in just in time to see the blood-red juice drip from Annika's chin. He ran up to the cage and gripped the cold iron bars. Akira gave him a sinister smile.
"So, there you are, Doll. I was wondering why the Bride was alone. Care to share your whereabouts with me?"
"I... was checking out the grounds. I thought I felt the essence of a Jedi."
Akira slowly walked up to Doll. He placed a finger on his chest and said, "If I were you, I'd be careful. Lamia is already angry at you - I wouldn't anger her further. And the last thing you want to do is anger me. Never leave your post again."
"Yes, Takahashi-sama." Doll shuddered as the black-haired man left the room. Then he looked up at Annika and frowned. He ran up the steps and looked into her eyes.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"What were you eating?"
"A fruit... pom- poma-something. It was really good! There were a few seeds, but other than that... I actually wish I had another one. Why?"
"How do you feel? Are you feeling okay?" Doll asked. He grabbed Annika's hand and squeezed.
"Now that you mention it, I am feeling strange. Maybe I'm tired."
"You have to tell me, what are you feeling? Light-headed? Are your eyes going in and out of focus?"
"Yes... I told you, I'm really tired."
Doll hung his head and slammed his fist into the black satin quilt on Annika's bed. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I tried... I really did."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Just lie down and rest. You will feel better tomorrow morning." He tucked the quilt under Annika's chin after she had fallen asleep and then closed the cage door behind him. It shut with a small click that echoed around the room. A tiny noise alerted him to the slight figure standing in the doorway. It was Lilith.
"My, my, Doll. It seems you are in a bind."
"Not now, Lilith."
"Yes, now. Your poor friend... now belongs to Akira. Isn't that perfect? Can you imagine Lamia's reaction when she finds out? First of all, she'll know Annika didn't get her blood first, so she'll kill you. Then, she'll try to kill Akira... and then -" She drew out the last word. "- after the brat is born, she'll get rid of your precious Bride."
"Shut up."
"Why are you so mad, Doll? Is it perhaps because Akira beat you to it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Come off it! For all your self-righteousness, you want to taste her. Don't deny it. Even now you can hear the blood chugging through her veins, and it makes your mouth water. I know you haven't been eating lately... still trying to be something you're not?"
"Leave me alone - you don't know anything, Lilith!" To Doll, it felt like his insides were imploding, he was so hungry. And there was a bit of truth to Lilith's assessment of him. He did want to bite Annika, but only because she was so important to him. He wanted to have a little piece of her, just a small taste. He was so hungry. "You know nothing," he repeated.
She threw her head back and laughed. "Oh yes I do! I know you went to the Jedi this afternoon," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "But guess what? I know something you don't."
Doll looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"There is no concert tonight. Lamia has plans, and they include leaving this pitiful planet. Maybe if you're lucky, she'll take pity on you and allow you to travel with us. That is, until she finds out that you allowed Akira to steal her glory. Ta!" Lilith said, fanning her fingers in Doll's direction.
He sunk to a chair and stared at the sleeping Annika. This was his fault. He'd been careless and underestimated Akira. He never should have left her side.
By the time Obi-Wan and the senshi arrived at Selket, Lamia, Akira, Annika, and the rest of the Sanctus Clan were gone. Obi-Wan stood in the centre of the empty cage that once held his girlfriend. Looking around, he felt disgusted. He had been so close...
Something small and pink caught his eye. Moving a blanket, he saw a pink rabbit, and lying under it was the letter he had written months earlier. It was worn and tear-stained. Obi-Wan turned the letter over in his hand to find elegant, cursive handwriting, which had to belong to Doll.
He read to himself, "Plans changed. Leaving planet. Bara no Kuroi."
Sailor Asteroid re-harnessed her blaster and said, "They must've just left; some of the candlewicks are still smoking."
Obi-Wan looked at Sailor Hoth. "What does Bara no Kuroi mean?"
She shrugged and replied, "Black Rose."
The Jedi thought for moment. "Leaving planet..." he said out loud. "Plans changed, leaving planet, black rose. Leaving planet... the docking bay!"
The group ran as quickly as they could and arrived in time to see a sleek, black ship leave the atmosphere.
About the Senshi in this story:
Oame
Doll
Lamia
Annika/Sailor Bakura
Priire/Sailor Asteroid
Kousotsu/Tuxedo Jedi
Yukiko/Sailor Hoth
Ciel/Sailor Centrali
Xarae/Sailor Iridonia
Cinnamon
Lilith
