Finish what you started

"You wanna try that again, princess?"

Brianna did not say anything but smirk at her words as she heard her groan as she stood up again as she turned her attention back to Jessica. Running full speed at her as she missed Jessica as she spun and she cursed out as Jessica deflected her attack as pain sprung through her back as she rammed into the wall as her arms sprung out to lessen the pain from colliding with the wall. Swiftly turning around as she could see that Jessica was fighting through her own pain as she turned to attack again.

Running again at her as Jessica ducked as she threw herself into the air and did an old girl like move and grabbed hold of her pony tail and used all of her strength and spun her own body around Jessica as she grabbed hold of her shoulders and slammed her to the floor.

"Princess enough for you?" she smirked.

She let out a small scream of annoyance when she grabbed her by the hair and spun around, slamming her to the floor. Brianna was on top of her with a smirk, Jessica narrowed her eyes and brought her legs up wrapping them around Brianna's chest and pushing down with her legs so Brianna was now on her back. She sat up and quickly turned, flipping her to her back, still restrained in her legs as she bent her body back, causing Brianna to bend in unnatural ways.

"Of course it is, how bout you?"

Brianna screeched as her body arched and twisted in unnatural ways as she fought against them, first trying to break free her arms from the pin.

"....Daddy's little princess trying to be like daddy" she sneered.

Glancing to Arabella who stood beside Quinn and observed their battle as she knew that she could not let Jessica beat her at this, she had to prove that she was learning, that she was getting better. Screaming as loud as her lungs would allow her to as she broke her right arm free and latched around Jessica's neck and pulled back so that her body arched in full stretch as she could not help but smirk at Jessica's pain.

Once Jessica had released her grip on Brianna she took the first chance that she got and grabbed hold of one of her legs and spun her around on the floor as she gathered speed and let go off her as she watched as Jessica flew and collided against the wall shattering the large glass mirror.

She ignored her comment and bent more, causing her more pain. That was ultimately a mistake. She had bent back close enough for Brianna to grab her neck and pull back, causing her body to stretch and her side to radiate with pain. She screamed and felt like her insides were ripping, finally releasing her hold on Brianna, she felt Brianna grab her leg and spin her. Sliding fast against the floor of the room, she rammed the glass mirror and felt the sharp pricks of the shards fall onto her body. She smelled her own blood and anger surged through her. All she could see instead of Brianna was the guy who shot her from Texas. She would not be a victim any longer. Fighting through the agony, she got to her feet and rushed towards Brianna, faking left and going right. She swiped her foot against her legs and brought her off her feet, quickly getting on top of her and punching her dead in the nose. Fast healer or not it would still cause tears.

Brianna watched ready for Jessica's counter attack as she would not let Jessica get one over on her again, not after all this training that Arabella and Quinn had given her. Watching as Jessica moved swiftly as she launched herself straight at her but had mis-judged her as Jessica quickly dodged her by going the opposite way as she was instantly swept off her feet and landed hard on her back as Jessica straddled above her and as she cursed and screamed out as Jessica's fist landed hard on her nose as she felt it break as blood began pouring from her nose, her eyes already beginning to become heavy as she tried not to show anyone that she was already beginning to regret this.

With her bloodied hands as she grabbed hold of Jessica's hair and pulled her head down as she used her own head to slam against Jessica's as she pulled herself out from underneath Jessica as she used the heel of her shoe and kicked Jessica hard in the face as Jessica fell back onto the floor as Brianna scrambled to her feet.

"Not so good now are you?"

She felt the prick of tears in her eyes when Brianna slammed her head against hers, fighting through the pain, she dug into the deep part of her...the part Quinn taught her to use only when needed. "Finally you're actually fighting me like your life depends on it!" She got back to her feet and wiped at her lip that was bloody. "You do not want to be on the wrong end of a stake...or a gun filled with silver filled bullets. You don't want to be weak...be a victim. You have to tap into the part of yourself you hide from everyone else...you know what I mean." She stepped forward and got into position.

"I'm not the only one with daddy issues...bring it little girl." She hoped provoking Brianna would teach her what she learned from Quinn, to tap into that dark energy. She spun around and avoided her next attack, back handing her across the face. "Come ON!"

Brianna heard every word that Jessica spoke which only made her even more angry as she launched herself at her only to be slapped hard against her face as she landed on her knees among the broken shards of glass that pierced her hands.

"You think you have it all don't you? Daddy's first vampire, little princess of the kingdom...You don't know what my life was like! Having to stand by my mom's grave, when my dad should have been the one protecting me when all he wanted to do was find happiness at the bottom of a bottle. Having to go days without food, because he was so drunk and nearly loosing our home because he forgot to pay the bills!" she sneered.

Throwing herself at Jessica again as she landed several punches at Jessica who dodged them, as she fought back her tears. She was letting her emotions get the better off her, that was what Quinn had wanted to change.

She heard the turmoil in her voice and felt for her. It was not the place nor the time to go the woe is me route and she had to teach her that. She dodged the punches and was impressed at her will to fight and her ability to defend herself. She caught her by the throat and slammed her down, grabbing a shard of the glass and pressing it to her throat. "SO USE IT! Use the pain...fight through it...let it fuel you. Don't let it control you, you control it! FOCUS!" She dropped the shard and stood, moving back so that Brianna could get on her feet. She had now become the teacher, sort of. Her side was engulfed in pain, but she ignored it by focusing on her will to not ever be a victim again. Russell....Victor....vampire assassin...never again would she let it happen.

'Use it! Control it! Focus'

She could hear Jessica's word repeat in her mind as she let all the pain from her childhood come to the surface as she used all of her strength and pushed Jessica from her as she shard of glass no longer pierced along her throat.

Pushing herself to her feet as she threw herself at Jessica with all of her force as she landed on top of her as her fangs clicked down as she hissed as she landed several punches in Jessica's stomach as she heard her growl from the pain.

As Jessica laid on the floor clutching her wounded stomach as Brianna reached for a large piece of broken glass and replicated what she had done to her.

"I. Am. Not. Weak" she hissed.

She coughed and squeezed her eyes shut tight, the pain almost too much to bear anymore. Brianna straddled her and placed the shard to her throat like she had done moments before. Jessica smiled and nodded, opening her eyes. "Not anymore you're not. I'm proud of you." She reached up and grabbed Brianna's hand that held the shard of glass to her throat, slowly moving it away from her skin.

"You can uh...get off me now. I've had enough." She felt another sharp pain and realized it was probably a broken rib trying to heal. She had fought through her pain and she had succeeded. Right now though, the ground was comfortable and she didn't think she could or wanted to move anytime soon.

"Not any more you're not. I'm proud of you."

Brianna dropped the piece of glass as Jessica moved it away from her throat as Brianna stood to her feet.

"Thanks I guess...You too" she replied.

Seeing that Jessica was in pain as she offered her hand to help her to her feet as she slowly stood up. Turning around to see an approving look from Arabella as she turned her attention back to Jessica as she could feel her own blood still staining her face.

"Sorry about that...I should go...I need to shower" she smiled a little.

She looked at the hand she offered and debated taking it. The floor was nice. Taking her hand, she slowly got to her feet and grabbed her side, forcing a smile and nod. "It was fun...yeah..." She nodded and moved over to the wall, bending and placing her hands on her knees. She could feel her body repairing itself and it hurt.

She heard Brianna say she needed a shower and nodded. "Yeah....no prob." She said, still looking down. Inhaling slowly, she tried to get a grip on her pain. Maybe she slightly overdid it. She could hear mumbles from Quinn and Arabella. "I'm fine, just you know...getting myself together. I'm fine." She looked up and forced a smile, blowing out a hard breath as she stood.

Brianna turned to see Quinn approaching as she turned from him, she did not want to see him right now. He had put her against Jessica, she was beyond angry at this minute, she did not care if it was all for her training.

"I want to be alone" she grumbled.

Turning from both Arabella and Quinn as she made her way out of the training room, leaving the three musketeers to have their talk.

Quinn stepped up closer, handing Jessica a bottle of blood and a towel.

"Took it a bit further than expected, but well done. I'd say you found what you were missing about halfway through. Did you need to break her nose though? I'm going to have to re-break it to fix it now."

Quinn rolled his eyes but chuckled.

"It was a good match. Arabella will see to your needs. You are welcome to come again and train with me once your Maker approves it. You are probably wondering why I put you two against each other here. You both needed it."

He nodded to Arabella and walked from the room.

https://devotedtowriting.forumotion.com/t2100-anger-issues

"She'll heal Quinn. It's not the end of the world and last I checked I had a broken rib. She learned though. She needs to take her emotions out of the equation or she'll regret it. It took me a while to learn that. She's good, I give her that. You did well."

She took the towel and wiped her own blood from her face and hands, opening the blood and taking a welcome sip. It slid down her throat easily and hit the spot. She winced at the healing and sighed. "I get it. I guess. I know you do things for a reason."

Arabella watched him walk out of the room and shook her head.

"He always has his reasons for things, including leaving you to my care. She was barely ready for this match and he needs to explain to her why it happened. He also knows that you and I have things to discuss as well. My own experience being trained by him gives me an interesting perspective. You were trained as his partner, I was trained as his daughter. You can I think see the difference."

Arabella smiled at Jessica and offered her another bottle of blood. She nodded toward a closed door on the south wall.

"When you are ready, we have showers through that door, and should have something that will fit you well enough for your trip home. Firstly though, I'd love to hear more about your vampire friend. I have heard Jonathan's impressions of him but I think he is overly critical about him."

She watched him walk out and sighed. Quinn was always so touchy when it came to women he liked or loved. Guess that never changed. As bad as she wanted their friendship back, she knew it would never be the same.

"Thanks." She took the other bottle of blood and slid down the wall to her butt, unscrewing the top. Taking a sip, she smiled at her question. She and Arabella never were friends but now things were different.

"Well...he's an older vampire. He still has habits of old time ways. You know. The gentleman, very good with manners and he cares...he cares so much. I've never seen another vampire care like that. Well, besides Bill. He's just...he's really wonderful. But I'm afraid it'll just be the same as..." She looked down at her hands and shook her head. "I never had the best luck with men"

Arabella smiled at the emotion catching in Jessica's voice.

"It sounds like you've fallen hard for this one, Jessica. Harder than you did for Jonathan. It makes me happy to see you happy. I know we have had our differences, but I really am happy for you. As you know, I am a bit older myself, and can tell you one thing when it comes to vampires and relationships. Do not judge it by human standards. I know couples who have been on and off for decades and I know a few who have been together and exclusive for even longer. The important thing to remember is that human rules do not apply."

She smiled. "I think...no I know...I love him. But I'm afraid to say the words. I think it's because I'm afraid to let myself be happy again because it always gets so fucked up in the end. He always says we have nothing but time...but what if we don't? I guess I'm just sorta scared of what the future holds for us. It's never a guarantee."

She thought for a moment. "Quinn and I...we'll never be like we were will we? I mean...he was sorta like my best friend. I miss that. I miss him. And I still love him, I mean I always will. But not like...love him. Am I making any sense?" She laughed and shook her head.

"Sometimes you don't have to say the words to show how you feel, Jessica."

She slid down to sit next to Jessica, smiling.

"I have been around since Mussolini was in power, Jessica. I don't even know if you know who that was. In all that time, I have learned that there are no promises in life, no guarantees. All we can do is enjoy the good times and hold onto them when the bad times come."

She opened a bottle and took a slow drink.

"...and no, it will not be the same, but that does not mean a friendship cannot be there. He has a lot going on right now, Jessica. More than you know. More than any of us know probably. He and your Maker share a common enemy in Texas, but they go about making war in different ways You are making perfect sense. You are trying to dip your tos in unknown waters and are a little afraid you will be bitten. He will not do that. He may no longer be in love with you, but he still does care. Why do you think he set things up for the match?. If he didn't care, he would have told you to leave, or even called the King and told him you were here. Do not make the mistake of seeing his coldness for being uncaring. We both know he holds a lot in, more than is healthy at times, but these are hard times and he feels he has to be just as hard to do what he must."

"You're right. About all of it really. I'm sorry I never gave you the time of day. I just...dismissed you. You're actually really great to talk to. Thanks for giving me that extra insight. Maybe you're right, no words need to be spoken. Maybe he'll just know. He's not like anyone I ever met." She looked down for a moment, not sure why she was about to say it but she did.

"When I was...well when we were in the vamp camp...they were forcing us to do things. Some of it awful. I mean Pam was in therapy. If you know Pam you know why that's bad. I thought I had it good. Until they wanted to see how we...well how vamps...sex. They wanted us to have sex. I was forced to have sex with James in front of god knows who. But he refused. He refused to do that to me against my will. Even suffered for it. It was then I admired him. For standing up for me. I had no one else. Quinn was...well...you know. Anyway...I guess the reason I'm telling you this is because I haven't told anyone the whole story. When I...well when I slept with him...I thought I was going to die. Bill had seen it. I was vulnerable and lonely and scared...it just happened. But more than that...I think I started to fall for him then and that scared me even more."

She finally looked back up and sighed. "It's all so complicated. After victor...well after all of it...I just dunno if I'll ever be the same again"

"The best advice I can give you is not to dwell on what happened in the past, but learn from it rather than forgetting it entirely."

She finished off her bottle and set it aside.

"As for giving me the time of day, I am sorry about attacking you. I was just trying to protect Jonathan and I thought you were trying to hurt him again. The files I saw from the camps talked about that kind of thing but I didn't know you were involved in that part of things."

She rested her hand on Jessica's.

"that had to have been tough to watch. He was in pain and you only wanted to make his pain stop. Then you thought you were going to die and took advantage at a small slice of life. I see no fault in it. I, however, can also see Jonathan's side of things. How much has he told you about why he left you after the 'Victor' incident?"

She looked Jessica directly in the eyes and spoke slowly.

"Did he tell you that he could no longer control the craving? Did he tell you about the four vampires that died simply because they were in his path when he was trying to leave? He drained them all, Jessica. He could not control it. That was why he left. He did what he could to put you near friendly transport and then did what he felt he had to do. You have no idea the pain it caused him."

She nodded. "I'm trying to move forward from it but sometimes...the nightmares make it hard. I didn't even know vampires could have nightmares." She took another
sip of blood and tensed up when she brought up Quinn leaving.

"He's said vague things that I don't get. Well partly because it was all in arguments and I wasn't listening I guess." She listened to Arabella and frowned, realizing now what he meant. He wanted and could have killed her because of his addiction. "I didn't know. And all I wanted to do was help him. I just thought I wasn't good enough."

She looked down at her hands and took a sip then looked back at Arabella. "I didn't know. I didn't realize he had gone through so much. I thought about him every night...at the camps. Then I lost hope when he never came. But I didn't realize it was because he couldn't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"

"You don't need to be sorry, Jessica. I just wanted you to understand the reality of what had been going on. I didn't know how much he told you of it, or how much you listened to. I just felt you should know."

She smiled as they talked.

"Just sitting here like this is a nice change. The only people I get to do this with much is Cassia and Brianna. They are both great, but you tend to run out of things to talk about when you talk to the same people every day. The discussions can go a bit far afield when the topics run dry..."

She gave Jessica a knowing look, and smirked.

She smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you for telling me what he couldn't. I appreciate it. Maybe now that all things are in the past we can all move forward."

She laughed. "Yeah, I agree. I don't really have anyone to talk to. I have this new donor and she's sweet but...well let's just say we have something in common that reminds me of a horrible thing. But I can't wait to get to know her. She seems sweet." She looked at the bottle in her hands, taking a sip.

After a few silent moments she spoke. "How can I be better for Brianna. I mean...a friend. A sister? I've never had a vampire sister. Help me to...understand her?"