3.5--You Know Her?

Uther ushers Harper into the hidden "safety" room of the Umbria household.  It is a soundproof area stocked with all of the necessities should any mortals become suspicious of their unusual neighbors.  


Seeing the coffins in the corner, Harper releases a shudder.  She's either going to be murdered, or her assumptions are correct about what Uther (and his family) are.  She's obviously not comfortable with either option.


Uther senses her apprehension.  "No harm will come to you when you are with us, Harper.  We just simply want to talk."


"Well, let's talk then." Harper takes another glance around the room and suddenly feels the urge to get this meeting over with.


Uther shakes his head. "We must wait for the others to arrive.  I have sent them to check on your Uncle and I need to be sure that Vittoria is occupied before I tell you everything.  It's important that she thinks she has the upper hand for the time being or she might lash out in desperation."

Before Harper can ask any further questions, Viktor and Meladonna enter the room and take their seats.


"Where is Dellayna?" Uther asks abruptly.


Viktor grimaces. "She offered to remain on watch over the blood-bag's house, should Vittoria become aware of our little meeting." Sensing Meladonna's icy-stare, Viktor adds a quick "no offense, mortal" to Harper.

"Can you sense her from here, Meladonna?"


Meladonna sits in silence for a moment, seemingly under some invisible mental pressure, before nodding in assent. "Yes. Our link is strained, but I can still read her thoughts.  We should have ample warning if Dellayna becomes concerned."


Uther sighs. "All right.  Then we have no further excuse to stall this meeting.  Harper, are you sure you are ready to hear what we have to say?"

"We don't have time for this, Uther.  Whether she is ready or not, we must get this underway.  We can all sense Vittoria's impatience; it's only a matter of time before she..."


"Hush, darling." Meladonna pats his hand to placate him and then smiles at Harper. "Feel free to answer Uther's question honestly, Harper."


"I'm ready." Harper nods cautiously.

Uther gazes at Harper, gauging her emotions, before continuing. "Then I'll start with how your family fits into this mess, or at least what I know of it."


"Adamaris." Harper states sadly. "It started with her, didn't it?"


Uther nods gravely. "That's partly correct, yes. Adamaris' unintentional meeting with a certain vampire was the catalyst of this whole situation."  Uther stops for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to continue. "From what we gathered, Adamaris wandered aimlessly for a few days, later finding herself in Bridgeport.  On her first night there, having nowhere to stay, she went to a local shelter just outside of the city limits.  Vittoria's mother, Rebeccah, was a frequent feeder of the area.  She would pick up hapless runaways for sport as it had always been a fetish of hers to kill the young and hopeless.  Your sister caught her eye that night; Rebeccah attacked and as is her habit, she left Adamaris' bloodied things for the authorities to find."

"Rebeccah was a stain upon our kind.  Killing the helpless and leaving the evidence as a boast of her exploits; she deserved the fate she got." Meladonna retorts.


Uther raises his hand to pacify Meladonna. "Please, let me continue." He pinches the bridge of his nose and Harper can see that he's visibly exhausted. "Rebeccah did something strange that night, though.  Instead of disposing of the body, she gave Adamaris eternal life and took her back to her hideout.  This puzzled our leader, Lord Vincent, who was a former lover of Rebeccah.  He knew her habits quite well and this was something out of character.  Worried that she might be planning something extreme, as Rebeccah had threatened our clan on multiple occasions with a full scale attack, Lord Vincent sent myself, Meladonna, and a few others to reason with her.  What we found..." Uther stares intently at Harper;  "...what we found was your newly transformed sister standing over the ashes of Rebeccah."

Uther allows the information to sink in, raising his hand again to quiet Viktor's next interruption.  Harper relaxes her breathing, hoping that focusing on controlling the rhythm will calm her. It doesn't. "Did Ada kill her?  Did she kill Vittoria's mother?"


"Yes." He says, following Harper's train of thought. "It is uncommon for new vampires to be able to kill older ones, as vampires are typically under the complete control of whoever changes them.  That is, until they learn to break the mental link that keeps them in subservience.  Some never learn that or choose to keep their link active, as you'll find with Meladonna and Dellayna..." Harper looks at Meladonna who smiles peaceably at the sudden attention.  

"Dellayna is my daughter.  We chose to keep ours.  Please continue Uther..."


Uther pauses again, to give Harper some time. "What did Mya tell you of your great-grandmother?" He finally asks. 


Harper grimaces.  "That she disappeared.  Nothing else."


"Rebeccah's real name was Hannah Sybil Hendricks, sound familiar?"


Harper gasps, but Uther continues before she can voice her astonishment. "She was kidnapped and kept as a 'pet' of sorts by a rogue vampire named Wogan Hemlock.  When he grew bored of her, he transformed her as some sick joke and severed the mental link himself, leaving Hannah to her own devices.  Hannah lost all semblance of sanity after that point and gave in to her desires.  When Lord Vincent tried to reach out to her and offer her help, she wouldn't take it.  She was too far gone at that point. Instead she changed her name and became a sadistic vagrant, jeopardizing the safety of all our kind." Uther frowns after finishing his last sentence, as if it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. 


Harper clenches the arm of her chair apprehensively, wondering whether she truly wants to ask her next question.  "And Lord Vincent, is he..." She trails off helplessly.


"Yes.  He is your great-grandfather.  He left Hannah, or Rebeccah, when she was pregnant with Mya as it is extremely dangerous for vampires to have children with mortals.  To keep them safe, he separated himself from them and refrained from intervening... even when Mya was shipped to the nearest orphanage.  Luckily for Mya, when Rebeccah was changed she lost all interest in her daughter.  Despite his lack of intervention however, Lord Vincent always had someone watching your family in case that changed."


"That still doesn't explain Vittoria or how Adamaris was able to kill our great-grandmother."


"Rebeccah adopted Vittoria and took her in after killing her family some years back.  Vittoria was raised to hate all mortals, even her true parents.  We had hoped that with Rebeccah's death Vittoria might come to her senses, but she has not.  It seems she truly regards Rebeccah as her mother and is fulfilling her revenge by killing those most important to Adamaris.  And as far as Adamaris' powers go, we suspect it has to do with Lord Vincent's blood.  Any family that directly comes from Mya's bloodline will be exceptionally strong, you included."

Meladonna suddenly convulses, lurching violently over the couch in pain, grabbing both Uther and Harper's attention. She places her hand on her forehead, as if trying to push her thoughts back in. Viktor moves quickly to her side, but she pushes him back weakly. "Mel, what is it?"


She shakes her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Vittoria knows about our meeting.  She... struck Dellayna, but let her go.  She's on her way back now... Vittoria has done something, but Dellayna's thoughts are too.." At that Meladonna lurches a second time, grasping her stomach. "Corrigan... I can't see it, but something is wrong."


Harper jumps up suddenly, making her way for the door, but Uther grabs her arm tightly restraining her movement. "I need to get to my Uncle!" Harper yells trying to wrench her arm from Uther's grasp, but he's too strong.

Just then, Dellayna bursts into the room seemingly unharmed despite Vittoria's attack.  "It's too late." She says sadly. "Your Uncle is dead."
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^^Post Title Is a Song, Click If You're Curious^^

I changed Wogan's story; he and Beau have always been my favorites and since Beau has made multiple appearances in other legacies I went with Wogan. 

I know there's a lot going on in this chapter so I hope everyone is able to keep up.  It was confusing even for me, and I'm the damn author. 0.o

Family Tree TL;DR: Hannah Sybil Hendricks (Rebeccah) & Lord Vincent>Mya>Olive, Corrigan  (Sybil was adopted so she didn't inherit Lord Vincent's blood)>Adamaris, Harper