A New Belief

Sitting in her room at The Authority, Nora’s mind swam in the empty abyss that it had fallen into since the death of her maker, Godric. She shivered slightly at the thought of what he must have felt as the sun burned him. Crimson tears filled her eyes as she thought of how he had just given up; on himself, on Eric and on her as well. Bringing her knees up to her chest, Nora laid her face on them and began to cry softly; not wanting to show how angry and hurt she was but unable to keep it locked inside.

Her quiet sobbing finally subsiding, Nora lifted her head and stared into nothingness. She had never felt this way before, she always had something to believe in, something to fight for. When she was a human, she believed and fought for herself. As a vampire, she believed in Godric and fought for power; believing that it would make him proud. Now, she was left with nothing. Everything that Godric had taught her he had thought was wrong in the end. To Nora, he was telling her that she was wrong, a mistake. Feeling her entire world coming crashing down around her, Nora looked to the ceiling hoping for some kind of understanding.

Salome smiled as she watched the monitor. The timing was perfect, even if she had not anticipated it. She thought carefully and decided her best course. Young Nora was in a perfect place for conversion. She was lost without her Maker. Her brother was distant, and she already felt trust toward Salome. Now was the time. She flipped off the monitor and motioned for a pair of donors to follow her as she left the room.

As she got close to the room, she stopped and listened. She motioned for the donors to remain outside. The young Chancellor was very 'proper' and would never want her weakness exposed to the donors. She thought over her plans and smiled to herself. As the walked in, one thought ran through her mind. Nora would soon be within the fold.

"Oft times company can be helpful when we have lost someone close. Our kind even more than the humans. Would you care for some company?"

Hearing Salome's voice, Nora quickly wiped at the blood that streaked her face and forced a half smile to her face, "Yes, of course Salome. Please, do come in."

Nora scooted over on the bed so that her dearest friend and mentor could sit. "I..just can't believe he's gone. I knew that he was conflicted but I never thought that he would meet the sun by choice." It struck Nora as slightly odd that she couldn't even bring herself to use Godric's name.

Furrowing her brow Nora looked to her hands, not wanting to meet Salome's gaze, to seem as though she were weak, "Do you think that he's right? That we should not exist? Are we truly an abomination?"

"Do you think that he's right? That we should not exist? Are we truly an abomination?"

Salome tucked a curled finger under Nora's chin, lifting her face so she could look into her eyes...

"Sweet Nora...you know that he and I spoke much in the last days. He was lost in himself. His ideals had become shallow to him and he had lost his path. Not everyone is made for immortality, my dear. Your maker will be dearly missed, but we must be brave. We must be strong so that he may be proud of us, wherever he is now. As for the idea of abomination...no, my sweet, we are the farthest thing from it, but that is a discussion for another time. You know that I was trying to help him find his way, and I would like to help you find yours through this troubled time. The loss of your maker is no small thing, and you should not be alone."

Salome kissed her forehead softly, stroking her hair...

"I am here for you if you want me to be. When you are ready, I can tell you more about things he and I spoke of. We had many nights where we would be at odds in our discussions, but always we would be open to learning. This is something I believe he would want you to follow as well. I am willing to guide you, but this needs to be at your own pace. I am your friend first...and right now you simply need a friend."

Salome sat down next to Nora, curling a gentle arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and kissing her cheek softly..

"Sweet Nora...you know that he and I spoke much in the last days. He was lost in himself. His ideals had become shallow to him and he had lost his path. Not everyone is made for immortality, my dear. Your maker will be dearly missed, but we must be brave. We must be strong so that he may be proud of us, wherever he is now. As for the idea of abomination...no, my sweet, we are the farthest thing from it, but that is a discussion for another time. You know that I was trying to help him find his way, and I would like to help you find yours through this troubled time. The loss of your maker is no small thing, and you should not be alone."


Nora nodded emphatically as Salome spoke, wanting nothing more than to make Godric proud of her. That was all she ever wanted, to make her father proud. "I hope that, wherever he is, he has found peace. And you are right, of course, I must be brave. He would not be proud if I lost my way because of this." Nora remembered how often Salome would tell her that she and Godric spoke, how she had wanted to help him out of the deep depression that he had fallen into; Nora had always appreciated Salome's efforts and they grew closer, more like sisters, because of their united efforts to help him.

"I am here for you if you want me to be. When you are ready, I can tell you more about things he and I spoke of. We had many nights where we would be at odds in our discussions, but always we would be open to learning. This is something I believe he would want you to follow as well. I am willing to guide you, but this needs to be at your own pace. I am your friend first...and right now you simply need a friend."

"Salome, I am always open to any teachings that you have for me. I just don't know what to believe anymore. How could someone like Godric, someone so strong, lose his way? I know that he felt that turning me was a mistake. I don't want to lose my way the way that he did."

Resting her head on Salome's shoulder as she kissed her cheek, Nora wrapped her arms around Salome's waist. This was the only person left that Nora felt that she could truly be herself with. That she could show vulnerability to and not be judged or taken advantage of. Burying her face in Salome's shoulder, nuzzling into her, wanting to only feel closeness to another person at that time.

It was at that time that Nora came to a decision, she would be open to anything that Salome had to teach her.

"Salome, what I need is to make my maker proud of me. I suppose I never truly grew out of that human need...to make my father proud. Anything that you are willing to teach me, I am willing to learn." Picking her head up from Salome's comforting shoulder, Nora forced a smile upon her face. "I want to do this, for him. If he was open to learning from you, then so am I." Grabbing Salome's face, she placed a gentle kiss on her mouth. "You are all I have left, I want to learn; to make you proud now." Nora smiled softly, genuinely at her friend, her sister, her mentor.