Persephone

23. Progress

Sadness, fear, frustration, loneliness, anger, and hopelessness. Waves of emotion assaulted Alastair the moment he was conscious. All of it was new and almost frightening, yet exciting. Alastair had not felt such emotion in almost 1000 years. Where had this come from? He was so lost in the rivalry of new unfelt emotion that he did not notice the small shaking form tucked into his side until a soft sniffle came from it.

Alastair's eyes snapped open, red iris' burning into the ceiling. Suddenly his entire body came into focus. He lay on his back in his own bed, his right arm curled around his beloved, whose head was tucked in the crook just below his collarbone, the indent between his shoulder and his chest. His hand rested on her hip, fingers wrapped around the slight curve in her figure, her knees bent and pressed gently against the side of his thigh.

Wet.

His chest was wet. Why was his chest wet?

His doll. His darling Persephone was crying softly into his chest, no doubt trying to suppress her emotions. But she could not, he was now feeling her internal turmoil, and no matter how delicious it was to feel again, it was heartbreaking that she felt so strongly about her situation. After all, that is why he felt it. When he had fed her some of his blood once more, he knew it would quicken the growth of the bond between them, but he had not quite expected this. Though, perhaps this was because, of all the bonds he knew off, this was the only one with a human. Vampires had a tendency to not feel so strongly about anything that did not pertain to their own pleasure. His little human felt an entire array of emotions that confused and delighted him. Yes, of course, before he could mold his way into her mind and simply tell what she was thinking, but this was different, he almost felt these emotions as his own and he reveled in it. He no longer had to keep constant tabs on her mind, especially after yesterday. Anything Persephone felt strongly about he would feel, though he believed less intense, but all the same he would sense her.

Slowly, as not to scare his girl, he drew up his free hand and gently caressed a loose curl away from her face, wiping away a few tears in the process. At his touch, Persephone jumped, then froze. Alastair felt her fear spike forth stronger than her other emotions.

"Hush, darling girl, do not cry no more," he cooed soothingly, continuously stroking her hair.

Persephone's heart rate picked up as she was frozen, surprised at his kind manner towards her after the day before. There was a beat, then, as if something from Alastair's dreams, Persephone threw her arm around his neck, tucking her face into the crook of his neck, her body now on top of his, sobbing harder.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I won't ever do it again. I won't do anything again, I'll do anything you ask, just p-p-please don't send me back there," she warbled, her voice muffled by his skin.

It was Alastair's turn to freeze, she had never been anything close to affectionate or even sorry about her actions. What was only a few seconds stretched on into eternity for Alastair as Persephone's chest shook with the violence of her sobs, a chorus of "Please, please, please, please," followed whenever she had air, her hand curled around his neck, fingers through his hair, tugging at it as she clenched her fist.

Alastair slowly wrapped an arm around her waist, hand settling at the small of her back, the other coming up to tangle itself in her hair. Kissing the side of her head, he hushed her, "Shhh, it's alright sweetheart, I will not send you back there," at this, her chest shook once more as another slew of sobs came, these of relief, "You must promise you will be good though."

Persephone vigorously nodded, "I will, I will, I promise I will."

Alastair gently pet at her hair, "I know you will my darling. You need not worry. I will never punish you without reason. I do not like to punish you my dear, but you must learn to listen. My actions will always react to yours, alright? It is your choice, you will choose how your time here is spent. It is your choice to live a happy life here. Is that clear?" Alastair's voice was soft but firm, he needed her to understand that this was only for her own good.

Persephone nodded, "Yes, yes it's clear, I understand," but still, her sobs did not stop, if anything they became stronger.

Alastair tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to his chest as he wrapped the bedding around them. Drawing his fingers through her hair, he cooed quietly at her, occasionally pressing a kiss to her hair, "It's alright, you are safe. You will not go back, I promise."

He allowed them to lay like this for over an hour as Persephone's sobs faded to whimpers and eventually nothing. She was calm now, he could feel it in her emotions. The fear had retreated, ever present but not as pressing, though her confusion at her sudden need to be so near it him was apparent. A small smile graced his lips, the bond was growing, she could no longer resist entirely, she took comfort in him as he did her. This was just as it should be. Progress, that was exactly what they needed.

A/n: heh beat my word goal today by two hundred words! Two new chapters, one for each story