The News

Kiara returned from her talk with Vincent. Her car was parked back at her place and she'd actually run back to the mansion. As she suspected no one had even noticed she'd left. She brushed away some of the leaves from her hair and casually went back to the front of the mansion.

As she walked inside she noticed Bill's office door was still closed shut. She shook her head as she noticed more guards heading down another area of the ground floor. She followed them, having a small hunch that they were being all overzealous protective over where Jessica was. Sure enough there were two guards blocking a door. She rolled her eyes. Bill really went to extremes. Had he not learned Jessica didn't like being locked down as such?

She approached the guards who both gave her a look.

"Can it you two... Stephan failed at killing me and he shot me point blank, so both of you have no chance, now move" she said.

The guards hesitated, looking at each other. She let her eyes shift to their were glow "Move" she growled. That got their attention and they moved out of the way.

She knocked on the door twice before opening it. "Jessica?"

Slowly...she was building her strength up before she went to him, before she began her training again. She would need it. No one would answer her questions about Bill or Kiara, or even Brianna. There was no available "information" so she assumed they were all dead and these idiotic guards had no idea how to break the news. James was tight lipped and each night went out for "errands". The only places she could go were the rooms in her wing. Her workout/training room wasn't complete because she moved out before doing it then moved in and got hurt. Would her luck ever change?

So instead, she was in her bedroom, listening to her ipod and practicing moves. Combat moves, the basics Quinn did teach her. She winced and fought through her pain, jabbing and uppercuts with a quick high kick. Her side throbbed in pain and she grit her teeth as she repeated the move. Kicking high again, she lost her balance from the sharp pull and pain, falling on her ass. "DAMN IT!" She said loudly and ripped the earbuds from her ears. Seeing Kiara stand by the door she gasped and quickly stood, trying not to show how much pain that caused.

"Kiara....you're....you're....Bill? Is he...no...please don't." She was here to deliver the blow...they sent her to tell her they were dead.

Kiara raised her hands in a calming motion. "Relax...Bill is very much alive... well he's a vampire so technically he's dead..but you know what I mean" she said as she took a few steps forward so she wasn't talking right by the door.

"Brianna is currently with Quinn right now in her own little lockdown. Bill felt it best we don't keep you girls too close together, we don't want to make things easier to the enemy"

She looked around the room and shook her head. "stupid guards" she muttered before looking at Jessica.

"tell me what happened to you"

She sighed in relief and listened to Kiara's explanation of what had happened. "But Bill...where is he? No one will tell me anything." Brianna was still with Quinn and safe, that was good. She didn't want anything bad to have happened to her.

Nodding in agreement, she moved over to the loveseat at the corner of her room, offering Kiara the chair on the side. "Tell me about it. Those GI Joes are making me miserable and James is no help in distracting me. He acts like I'm frail and he's keeping something from me I just don't know what."

She looked down at her hands and blew out a breath. "Well, I was packing up the house...the one I'm selling. These guys came in and started shooting. I was hit and it was lodged in my side near my ribs. This small bullet with silver coating it, small prongs that stick out which held it in place and it emptied liquid silver into my body. I was shot with a liquid silver bullet before but it was a cake walk compared to that shit." She shrugged and shook her head. "They were from Texas so I feared the worst with you and Bill. And with no one telling me anything....well....you know."

Kiara nodded. It confirmed what little she knew that Isabel was clearly playing with fire. She sighed.

"Well... it wasn't a cakewalk for us in Texas. They tried to blow us up and then Isabel being the fucking genius she is thought it'd be smart to try and kill me while she had Bill in a meeting" she said before letting a sort of sadistic grin curve her lips.

"Needless to say she's going to have to send more than 5 vampires after me" she said before looking at Jessica.

"Bill is currently in his office. He's been locked there ever since we arrived last night. I don't know what he's doing but I know he's there and very very angry" she said. She looked at Jessica's expression and shook her head. "Oh not angry at you... he's pissed at Isabel and has vowed to grant her the true death"

She jerked her head towards the door. "As for the guards...Bill put the fear of god into them. He's set out strict orders that you are not to be left unsupervised under any reason... mostly because when you were shot it damn near killed him from the pain"

Her eyes widened. She had met Isabel on one occasion and she seemed nice, but she also seemed bitter about the betrayal from her human. It was back when she was with Hoyt and it made her question human and vampire relationships. "Isabel...she...but why? Why would she want to do that?" It confused her. Isabel was the Sheriff of something in Texas...right?

She swallowed before picking at her nail and then looking back at Kiara. "He...felt it? Like felt my pain? Does that mean...our bond? Is it?"

Kiara nodded "Bond is as strong as ever... Bill collapsed in agony when we were in texas. Down right scary that was" she said with a nod.

"As for Isabel...who knows.. she's a bitch. She's jealous of Bill and the power he gained in such a short time"

She looked around the room again. "For now I need to know what you need in this room and I need to know your preference of Donors. With hep V on the rise we're not taking any chances"

She smiled, feeling relief and happiness because it meant that she and Bill's bond was still good. She feared it had been broken since she hadn't been able to really feel him much, maybe it was all her distractions and her own pain...maybe that's why hers was so excruciating. "Kiara...." She thought about her words before continuing on. She thought about apologizing but really didn't know how. After all, it was Kiara's words that hurt her. She shook her head and changed the subject.

"Well, I have everything I need...sorta. Uh...could you...I want to finish setting up my training room. But I need someone to get everything I need for it, since I'm locked up. As for donors....I prefer the ones you always hand pick."

Kiara nodded. "I don't think Bill will be too happy seeing you overexert yourself, but I'll see what I can do. I'll have a donor up here shortly as you need to feed and regain your strength" she said as she stood and brushed her hands over her skirt.

"I have to warn you...Bill... he isn't the same man you know. He is very angry...very..." she searched for the appropriate word. "...very distracted. He rather have everyone he cares about locked away in a bunker so he can focus" she said, speaking from experience.

"I don't believe the same. I believe you should know what you're up against and be prepared for it" she looked over at the door. "I'll have the guards back off a bit, but you must know that the security outside the mansion is nearly triple what you see here... when-" she was about to say that she had gotten Bill back from texas but for some strange reason she didn't want Jessica to think of Bill as having a weakness. "-when Bill and I returned from texas we barely arrived before dawn. He was adamant to get security around the mansion knowing you were here"

There, at least Jessica's image of Bill has her father and as the man who could fix everything remained. It would be far too cruel to shatter that image, not when it wasn't necessary.

"Overexert myself? Hah...I just...well I wanted to set it up for when I could use it, you know." She lied...very badly. Changing the subject again, she spoke about security. "I could only imagine. Bill can get a bit paranoid at times but I guess it seems as if we are at war. Thanks for the heads up though. I am starting to feel better. Can you tell Bill that? Maybe he won't worry so much. I also may need a favor....later, much later. But for now, can you just tell him I'm okay. I'd like to see him...if...if he wants.

She smiled. She was acting more like Bill's employee than anything else as she nodded to Jessica. She pulled out her phone and texted something real quick. "I'll stay here for a moment as the donor is brought up. I need to make sure she's to your liking as she'll be your donor on a more permanent basis for the time being"

She paused when she spoke of seeing Bill. It felt strangely bittersweet to feel the things her words brought out in her but she smiled all the same. "I'm sure Bill will be eager to see you. I'll let him know you're up" she said.

A few minutes later a knock on the door signaled the donor. Kiara opened the door to reveal a young looking girl.


She looked around shyly before her eyes landed on Jessica. "Are you Miss Hamby?" she asked. The girl looked no older than 18 and despite her small voice she didn't sound scared, just unsure of what to say.

She smiled back, maybe no apologies were needed. It was in the past and Kiara seemed to be back to her old self, well the self Jessica liked. She seemed kind and caring, something the old Kiara didn't show very often. Whatever happened to her must have really done a number on her. She looked towards the door and watched as a young looking girl walked in. She looked at Kiara then back at the girl who asked for Miss Hamby. Jessica smiled nicely and waved a hand. "That would be me. You can...wait in the next room. There is tons of movies if you want to watch anything. I'll be there soon." She waited until the girl left and looked at Kiara.

"Okay she looks...really young. I don't...well I mean...why her?"

Kiara chuckled. "She's of age trust me... " she said, but only spoke until the girl was in the other room.

"She's a runaway...from texas no less. From what I found out a vampire in texas kidnapped her when she was 16 and well...you can guess what happened to her. She ran away a few months ago and I found her. She has really good blood but I can't trust her with other vampires. I figured with you, she'd at least have a vampire who wouldn't scare the shit out of her"

She smiled softly. "Besides... Bill would kill me if I leave you with a male donor...you know how old fashioned he is"

She felt bad for the girl. She knew the feeling of being tortured...among other things. Victor reminded her just how cruel and animalistic vampires could be. She lowered her head and knew she had to change that image for this girl. It would be nice to have a friend. Looking back at Kiara, she smiled. "Thank you. Really, thank you." This would help her seal up her own wounds from being a victim of vampire cruelty. This could really be helpful to her and to this girl.

"What's her name?"

She nodded "Her name is Annie. She doesn't remember much of her past, I think the vampire must have glamoured her too much, hence the shyness. But she's real good at chores, so she can be your assistant during the day"


She looked back at Jessica. "Correct me if I'm wrong but theres another vampire staying here with you right?"

She nodded in understanding, figured as much that the vampire would glamour her. But deep down, the scars would always remain. She sighed and shifted in her chair at the question. There WAS another vampire staying with her...except for when he went on these secret missions he never spoke about.

"Yeah, his name is James. I'm really not sure his preference...still getting to know each other I guess."

She nodded. "Well... I suppose I can come visit and see if I cannot catch him, or if you can find out his preference in blood I can have another donor set for him"

She walked towards the door. "Feed Jessica... gain your strength and I'll let Bill know you want to see him"

She smiled and thanked Kiara again. There was silence for a while until Kiara stood and walked towards the door. She used her speed to move to where Kiara stood, blocking her exit. "Thanks again, Kiara. I'm glad you're all okay." Before she really thought it through, she hugged Kiara. "It's nice to have you back to being...you." She stepped back and released Kiara. Giving her a small smile, she looked down and moved around her so that she could leave.

Kiara blinked and felt utterly confused when Jessica hugged her.

"It's nice to have you back to being...you."

She smiled and nodded. She wasn't going to let Jessica know just how fucked up Kiara really was. Again why shatter the poor girl's illusions?

"Have a guard find me if you need anything else ok?" she said before inclining her head and leaving the room.

She nodded and moved to the loveseat again, hearing her door close she sat back down. Grabbing her phone she sent a text to James inquiring of where he'd gone to now. She sighed and remembered Annie. It was time for introductions...and for feeding. It was now or never.