𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄:
Gratitude
(1841)

TW: Mentions of Murder and Death

FOR A DECADE. A HANDFUL OF EVENTS HAPPENED.

Maria had successfully earned her revenge on her former coven in Monterrey with the help of her second-in-command, Eloise.

Maria unleashed the twenty-three newborns that Eloise had trained well. She is eager to prove herself to Maria.

They had only nine newborns at the time, and a pair of older vampires were controlling them.

They took them down more easily than Maria could believe, losing only four in the process. It was an unheard-of margin of victory.

Maria is thrilled.

Success made Maria greedy.

It wasn't long before she began to eye other cities.

In the first year, she extended her control to cover most of Texas and Northern Mexico.

The city changed without any human beings' knowledge.

Maria became dependent on Eloise.

They are gaining power, strength, and land easily.

Winning wars left and right.

Rumors spread about the vampire wars happening in the South.

Though humans thought it was a war between humans, they were severely wrong.

They battled with humans, but it only lasted for minutes, breaking their necks in a second, not to mention a free bite.

Over the last ten years, Eloise discovered many things; one of them was her gift.

They don't know what her gift is called, but they gain an advantage because of it.

The women are merely talking about their appearances and how they will look if they have a different hair color.

"Eloise! Imagine yourself with black hair! You would look gorgeous in it!"

Lucy simply told her. And Eloise did imagine herself with black hair.

Miraculously, her hair turned black. And to say the women in front of her were rattled. They gasped loudly in shock and amazement.

And Eloise thought something happened until she saw a glimpse of her hair, which was supposedly blonde but turned black.

She, too, was confused and alarmed.

That happened a year after she was changed.

Maria had told her that vampires are gifted with abilities like the Volturi.

But Maria thought Eloise didn't gain one, much to her disappointment, but that all was erased when she saw Eloise's hair change before her very eyes.

Throughout the years, Eloise practiced her ability, experimented with it, and learned what she could and could not do.

And she had learned a few things.

She can change her overall appearance, meaning her hair, eyes, and skin color. To summarize it all, she can change her facial features and physical features, along with her scent.

And even allowed her to walk freely outside when the sun was shining.

When she finally had a grasp of her ability, she took the appearance of Nettie.

That worked exceedingly well. And Maria couldn't be happier.

Her ability reminded her too much of her false appearance when she was human.

A gift that enables her to pretend to be someone else.

It made her quite gloomy.

Not only did she discover her useful ability, but she also made peace with the fact that she was no longer in touch with her emotions.

She no longer has the guilt swirling around and following her.

She was not the girl she used to be.

She did not know if she liked it or not.

The killings will do such things to a person who was treated as if a breakable porcelain doll before and now turned into the creature of the night who drank blood for a living and killed for her freedom.

It started when Maria tasked her with killing the newborns that she trained and bonded with.

Newborns are no longer useful when their first-year ends.

Their human blood is no longer lingering in their veins, and therefore, they do not have the strength they had in their first year.

They are no longer as useful as they were before. As Maria said.

At first, Eloise disagreed, saying they should let them enjoy their immortal life.

And Maria shut her off quickly, immediately arguing that they cannot set nearly 20 vampires in the world, that they will attract the Vultori's attention, and that they'll eventually stop them, walking in on their own death sentence.

That was when Eloise divorced, with her emotions.

She no longer forms a bond with the newborns she trains.

Her freedom has consequences of which she is certain.

Eloise is many things, but not a liar. When Maria told her that they should warn the newborns that if they walk outside in broad daylight, they will burn and turn to ashes.

So, they can only walk freely when the sun is setting. They don't know that they shine beautifully when the sunlight brushes against their skin.

She had given those orders to Lucy and Nettie. With the two women instructing them lies.

In a decade, Eloise has gotten far better at fighting.

However, she still can't beat Maria.

With those fights, Eloise gained scars. They were littered all over her body, from her neck down to her legs.

Battle scars, Maria told her, and said that she should wear them proudly.

Every scar means a battle victoriously won.

Newborns are vicious, and that was proven right when Eloise gained her first scar.

It was painful, as if every hot needle was prickling her skin, almost burning in pain.

A vampire's venom is what permanently scars a vampire's skin.

And Eloise felt insecure about her body.

She remembers in her human life that, her mother always scolded her for getting a tiny scar whenever she was playing, saying that her skin should be spotless, taken care of, worshipped even.

Mother must be disappointed in me.

Eloise first thought when she saw her body.

For an immortal that is portrayed and embodies the word perfection.

Eloise felt utterly imperfect.

And she hated how it made her feel. Feeling ashamed of her own body was something Eloise never expected to experience as a vampire.

Sure, she would always be insecure about herself, but vampirism easily removed her flaws, but the flaws were quickly replaced with bite marks that could never be removed.

A scar for life, literally.

Not even her ability could erase the scars.

Do not get her wrong. She loved this life. She had already experienced many things and had done many things she hadn't had the opportunity to do in her human life.

And for that mere reason, she is grateful to Maria.

She owed her a debt that could never be fully repaid.

Sometimes, she does wonder what more there is to this immortal life outside of chaos, war, and bloodshed.

But Eloise never ponders. Her thirst for curiosity can be the reason for her temptation for another way of this life.

Eloise sometimes thinks about her human life, how her human self is caged like a bird.

Instead of a golden cage, a fancy mansion replaced it, with society freely gazing at her.

Will her human self be disappointed in her?

For killing without mercy or being proud of escaping the caged walls her mother and father built over the years?

But did she fully escape?