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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 6, 2010 0:37:36 GMT -4
The time in which Templeton had soent in the states had already proven very different from anything he had vere done before. Life itself felt different there and Tempelton was finding it hard to adapt to life the way it was supposed to be there. He had for the most part always felt at peace with who he was in the world and with what the world was around him. He had been able to find his sanctuary within life no matter how long it had become but since he had been in the states he seemed to be missing that. A large part of that was the absence of a spiritual family to find himself a part of.
Tempelton had always latched on to the religious live of other; amking himself apart of religous groups and that was where he felt at home the only real home he could muster up for himself in 400 years. But this was different; for the first time Templeton felt alone and he was not at all at peace with the feeling that he was alone in the world.
Having found himslef in Tennesse Templeton sought out the nearest church he could find. St. Peter and Paul Catherdral was the nearest thing Templeton was going to get to a comforting spot and he would gladly take it. He stood stock still outside of the church gates for what felt like an eternity as the rain poured down from the sky soaking him to the bone. He hardly took notice though as in reality it wasn't as if he was going to catch his death out in the rain.
He had killed a woman the night before and until Templeton felt at peace with himself and his actions he would not step foot in the church. It wasn't that he couldn't it was that he wouldn't. Murder was a sin this of course was something he kad known for a very long time but Templeton believed that no sin could not be forgiven if forgiveness was truley sought.
God was a forgiving being if forgiveness was asked for and it had been lifetimes now that Templeton Bathory had been asking for forgiveness. He bowed his head as the rain poured down harder and a crack of lgithning screamed across the sky. Whispering a prayer of remorse for the life he had taken under his breath Templeton waited for forgiveness. Waited for the sensation which would allow him to step into the church and know that his soul was once again at peace with the world and those within it.
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 6, 2010 10:10:24 GMT -4
Catherine had errands to run, which was what was keeping her from remaining at her club that evening. Being that she was a vampire and a nightclub owner, Cat slept during the day. She normally awoke around 3 or 4 after retiring to bed near 5 or 6 AM.
Tonight she was in need of a gift for Stan, and after dropping quickly by the club to ensure her human employes weren't burning the place down (or stealing thousands of dollars, whichever came first), she headed off in search of one.
In truth, Stan was an easy man to shop for. He appreciated his nice clothes, and he was fond of religious artifacts given his human profession of priest.
Cat found that Tennessee was not one of her favorite places that she'd ever lived. She found country music maddening and the shopping was fair, at best, if you knew where to look. But Stan was happy there, and she was happy with him, so she made the best of things.
Cat could have gone to the local mall and picked out some clothes, but she'd done that the last time she decided she needed a gift. Not wanting to fall into a rut, she headed for a nearby church-St. Peter and Paul Cathedral-to pick up something. The church sold old items it had replaced in its services, and Catherine had seen a gold crucifix online that would look nice in Stan's den.
It was raining, and that less than impressed her. She should have stayed home that evening. But she promised herself she would pick up the crucifix and then head home to lay in the hot tub.
Pulling her car to a stop in the lot next to the church's gates, Cat saw a man standing in the pouring rain. She rolled her eyes. Hum-.
Wait, he wasn't human. Cat could pick that up instantly. And there was something about him which she knew. She knew she him from somewhere. Something in her screamed it.
Throwing on the matching navy blue Burberry hat which matched her rain coat, Cat got out of the car. She shuddered as her Jimmy Choo heels touched water and rain. Strolling towards the man, she stood next to him.
"Have we met?"
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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 6, 2010 20:43:37 GMT -4
Even with his eyes closed Templeton could feel the storm around him grow in severity. The flash of lightning filled his vision even with his eyes shut. The world was restless that was for certain and it seemed that as time grew on the more severe the world grew in its distress.
Storms were an interesting act of nature; dangerous no doubt but much less so to him all things considered. But there was still something to be said to find ones self caught in the middle of one of the powerful moments nature had to offer. It was empowering and even more so it allowed you to feel as if maybe just maybe you could focus that power...though that would be a bit of a fools errand.
"Have we met?"
Templeton's eyes snapped open and the lightning flashed in the gold of his eyes. He had been distracted in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard the woman...the vampire approach. He had never spent much time with those of his own kind but he was able to tell a vampire from a human; in truth it was no great skill any vampire would be able to tell the difference.
"I do not believe so ma'am," Templeton answered catching the other vampire's gaze.
He was positive he had never met the woman before as he had not met many people in his life...extremley long that it was who were still living and he had met even fewer vampires.
Templeton shifted his eyes from the woman to the church in front of him once more. He had come looking for forgiveness and he wasn;t entirely certain he had found it but he had located a stranger instead; or well a stranger had located him. His eyes returned to the woman once more there was something about her that seemed familiar seemed as if he should know her or as if some part of him needed to know who she was and he was not at all certain why that was.
Apparently God worked in rather strange ways.
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 6, 2010 21:08:13 GMT -4
Catherine took a quick evaluation of her situation. She was now standing in the rain (which was in general a violation of all she stood for), in front of a church (the things we do for those we loved), and talking to a stranger (again, against most of what she stood for).
Well, she was having a banner evening for sure.
"I do not believe so ma'am,"
"No, I'm quite certain we have. In some manner or the other."
Catherine could have asked him where he was from, or where he'd lived, but vampires had a tendency to live everywhere so that wouldn't solve the problem. But he was a vampire who came to a church? What brought that on?
The storm was coming down like hell now. Catherine was pleased to discover if you spent $1,600 on a raincoat, you could at least be certain that the water wouldn't go through to your clothing. She now had proof of that, unfortunately.
"I'm Catherine Bathory, though I can't guarantee that you would have known me by that name. I'm certain we've crossed paths somewhere in the course of our existence."
Catherine realized that the pull she felt towards the vampire was familiar, she knew it from another situation. Suddenly it struck her-it was the same pull she'd felt from Alexia and Jaron all those years ago. But that was damned near impossible. This vampire could not contain her human blood...could he?
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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 6, 2010 22:51:55 GMT -4
"No, I'm quite certain we have. In some manner or the other."
Templeton's brow knitted slightly in confusion. He was certain or rather just about certain he had never met the stranger before yet it seemed the stranger was rather certain they had indeed met before. It seemed a rather confusing situation for all involved and Templeton was not certain they would find the answer any time soon.
"It is rather impossible as I have only lately made my ways here to the states and before that I do not think the company I have a habbit of keeping is the same as yours," Templeton attempted to explain but being sure to keep as polite as possible. He didn't wish to offend but no matter how familiar the woman seemed to be they had not crossed path; not in this life...no matter how long it proved to be.
"I do apolog..."
"I'm Catherine Bathory, though I can't guarantee that you would have known me by that name. I'm certain we've crossed paths somewhere in the course of our existence."
The apology Templeton had been about to offer the woman fell silent upon his lips as her name echoed in the air around him.
That was impossible.
Casting a glance at the looming church and then back at the woman Templeton attempted to make some sort of sense of his current situation though he would be the first to admitt things weren't looking rather clear.
"Where did you get that name?" Templeton asked his voice growing as cold as ice.
He knew it was custom for vampires to travel and change their name with time and for protection but he had kept his name. It was all he had that remained of a mother her barely remembered; from a life he could barely recall.
Life could change adn the world could literally change around him but he had held on to his name; the one thing which rooted him to who he was. Who he had been born as.
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 6, 2010 23:02:24 GMT -4
There was rain skirting dangerously close to dripping in her eyes. Catherine didn't like that. It was going to damage her makeup. And that was going to make her cranky.
"It is rather impossible as I have only lately made my ways here to the states and before that I do not think the company I have a habbit of keeping is the same as yours,"
"Regardless, there's some sort of a...." Catherine paused, thinking of the term, "bond, if you will."
Catherine knew there was something. She had the same bond with her maker and with her siblings. She knew there was something here, and she was fairly certain she'd never given the vampire her blood.
"Where did you get that name?"
Catherine raised an eyebrow. Well, the mention of her name had changed his mannerisms. And Catherine wasn't pleased with someone so testy about her name. If this vampire had a problem with the Blood Countess, Catherine would take him out.
"That was my mother's name." Catherine had stopped using the pride she'd once had over her bloodline. It reminded her of the time with her maker, and that was not pleasant.
"My mother was Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess." Catherine's blue eyes dared the other vampire to have an issue with that one.
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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 7, 2010 9:51:46 GMT -4
Templeton's normally calm eyes had taken on an entirely different sensation to them and they never for a moment moved away from the woman in front of him. It could be as simple as the vampire knowing of his mother and wishing to use the name for a time...or it could have been something more severe...something disrespectful...something which would cause her life to need to come to an end rather abruptly.
"That was my mother's name. My mother was Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess."
If Templeton had been looking accusingly at the vampire before his eyes only darkened considerably at this new piece of information. He was no scholar in regards to the family he had been meant to have as any time he had spent with them he had been far too young to recall and the time he did recall had only been with his mother walled up within the castle. There had been paintings of others and his mothers mad mutterings of others but even when he she had died and he had been placed with her cousin the man had told Templeton his family was dead and there was nothing left of the Bathory line save for himself.
This woman...this stranger was an anomaly which did not add up.
"That is not possible," Templeton explained simply. This stranger did not add up and Templeton was not sure matters of his mother needed to be discussed so close to a house of God...when it came to his mother Templeton had long since decided that himself and God would have to agree to disagree.
"The children of Elizabeth Bathory were taken when she was accused and they were murdered...her youngest was walled up in the castle with her. The Bathory line is dead," Templeton explained as he struggled to keep his voice even and void of emotion.
He had not been granted a great deal of time with his mother but the time he had spent with her even in its darkest was something he still clung to and attempted to never lose touch with.
"And matters of Elizabeth Bathory need not be discussed so near the doors of the house of God," Templeton explained his eyes scanning the area around them and resting upon the large cemetery which sat across the street from the church.
"I will not consider to discuss her here," Templeton explained slipping his hands into his pockets.
"I will be within the cemetery if you wish to speak further; if not have a good evening and may the Lord bless you," Templeton whispered as he walked away from the woman and crossed the street into the cemetery.
The rain was coming down rather heavily as Templeton pulled open the door to a large crypt in the center of the graveyard. Candles lit the rather large and lavish area as he took a seat up one of the 2 pews. Apparently his forgiveness would have to wait as life had dealt him a different hand of play this evening.
Templeton did not like the emotions talk of his mother brought up; it made him feel isolated in the world and he had struggled for several years now to get past that emotion as his studies of faith had long since told him he was never truly alone.
Pulling a chain with a cross into his hand Templeton allowed the cold of the metal travel through his skin. The chain and cross had been his mothers...or perhaps it had been his fathers he would never be certain but his mother had held on to it for all he could remember and when she had died it had been the one thing Templeton had taken from her body. He had needed something from his mother and the cross had been what he had taken.
It was why Tempelton Bathory and the God of creation disagreed on the state of his mother's soul.
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 7, 2010 12:20:42 GMT -4
Catherine realized now that the ends of her long hair which was not covered by her hat were soaked. Frowning, she glared at the hat's plaid lining. She was going to end up home a drowned mess.
"That is not possible,"
Catherine disliked being argued with, especially on something so simple as her own lineage. She would have expected such an arguement from a human, but not from her own kind. How would he know who she was related to?
"The children of Elizabeth Bathory were taken when she was accused and they were murdered...
Close, but no cigar. Catherine had heard that line before. It was one of two popular myths circulated through history. The other was closer to the truth, that the children had been hidden during their mother's arrest. As she opened her mouth to speak, he dealt the final blow.
her youngest was walled up in the castle with her. The Bathory line is dead,"
Catherine's eyes darkened with anger and curiousity. She was angry because she had no idea why this random vampire was so hung up on the Bathorys. And how, exactly, did he know about the youngest?
"How do you know about the boy?" Catherine asked, her eyes burning into the man's. "History has never mentioned what happened to him."
Catherine had found a few brief mentions of she and her siblings in articles and books, but never of the younest boy. They merely mentioned the Countess had 4 young children, but they couldn't even get names straight.
"And matters of Elizabeth Bathory need not be discussed so near the doors of the house of God,"
This man was odd, and he was trying her patience. Catherine was dead set on finding out his interest in the Bathorys.
"I will not consider to discuss her here....I will be within the cemetery if you wish to speak further; if not have a good evening and may the Lord bless you,"
May the Lord bless you? Did the Lord make it a habit of blessing vampires? She was going to have to check with Stan on that one when she got home.
Catherine wanted out of the rain, and she wanted to finish the conversation. Digging her car keys from her purse, she threw the now drenched calfskin bag onto the front seat and locked the car, tucking the keys in her pocket. If the bag was ruined, it didn't matter. She would cook up some tears and Stan would get her another.
Following where the man had gone, Catherine stepped inside the crypt. Seeing that he had seated himself inside, Catherine strolled forward, taking off her hat and shaking out her wet hair as she walked.
"There were four Bathory children. The eldest was Jaron, the second Alexia, the third Cordelia and the fourth Templeton. The older three were scattered when the Countess was arrested. Her cousin was the country's prime minister. He aided in the lie that the children were killed to keep anyone from seeking revenge."
Catherine leaned against the second pew, watching the man. There was something in his hand that she couldn't quite get a good look at. What was so important he needed it right now? Oh well, she was the one who had made a special trip to a car to save a handbag, she supposed she couldn't critize."
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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 12, 2010 21:40:42 GMT -4
Templeton knew that the woman...the vampire would either join him or would go about her life. As he eyed the chain in the palm of his hand Templeton felt a great sense of unrest; he never much liked when the feeling came about him but there was very little he could do about it in retrospect.
Templeton didn't raise his eyes to meet those of the other vampire as she made her way into the crypt.
"There were four Bathory children. The eldest was Jaron, the second Alexia, the third Cordelia and the fourth Templeton. The older three were scattered when the Countess was arrested. Her cousin was the country's prime minister. He aided in the lie that the children were killed to keep anyone from seeking revenge."
He allowed the woman's tale of the Bathory children to hang in the air; dead as thoughs which surronded the two of them. The names he knew; but those were names anyone could know....save for his own. That was one he was rather certain had not made it within the pages of history. She knew things; things she should not and things she thought she did which in fact she also did not know.
"Your story is flawed," Templeton stated simply as he allowed the chain to hang in his hand as he looked up to meet the eyes of the woman.
"The Primie Minsiter ensured that the Bathory children were dead but it was not to protect them; it was to protect himself. The youngest was pulled from walls alive when the Countess'; body was pulled from there. He raised the boy until he traded his life away at 16," Templeton explained before casting his eyes down once more.
"The youngest was the last Bathory life he took."
Templeton was not one to seek revenge but it had been very lucky; a blessing no doubt that the Prime Minister had never crossed his path again as he was rather certain it would have been the first life Templeton would have taken simply to watch the man's life slip away.
He deserved nothing more.
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 13, 2010 18:50:27 GMT -4
Catherine waited. It was all she could really do until until the other vampire responded to her statements. Her tension was rising. If he was going to press her on her own life story, she could counter with anything. She just hoped she could keep her temper.
"Your story is flawed,"
"Oh is it now?" Catherine demanded, a hint of anger finding it's way into her voice. A growl was threatening to rise in her throat.
"The Primie Minsiter ensured that the Bathory children were dead but it was not to protect them; it was to protect himself. The youngest was pulled from walls alive when the Countess'; body was pulled from there. He raised the boy until he traded his life away at 16,"
The words Catherine had been searching for left her throat. How did she respond to that? And more importantly, how did he know that? Catherine and her siblings had been all over the world researching her youngest brother, and they could find nothing on him. Jericho's maker had argued that the boy must have survived, because human history would have clung to a small child's body being removed from his mother's. But books, the internet, and oral histories had turned up nothing on Templeton.
"How do you know about him?" Catherine asked. "How do you know what happened to my brother when my family hasn't been able to locate him?"
"The youngest was the last Bathory life he took."
"Tell me how you know that." Catherine crossed the room to the other vampire and caught sight fully of what was in his hands.
She knew that cross, remembered it from deep layers of memory buried in her brain. Her mother had worn it-had been wearing it the last time she saw her. She assumed it had gone to the grave with her.
"Where," she asked, fighting the urge to rip the item from his hands, "did you get THAT? That was my mother's."
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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 14, 2010 23:29:33 GMT -4
"How do you know about him? How do you know what happened to my brother when my family hasn't been able to locate him? Tell me how you know that."
Templeton casted a glance at the woman; she was convincing...far more then any other fanatic he had ever run across and she knew her history well...almost too well. But the soul was easy to lie to. Over the years adn voer the centuries one could literally convince themselves that something was true and it would be no time at all before they believed it with the heart and soul.
Templeton had no family; hadn't for a very long time...longer then he could remember and he would be sure to remember that as he did not wish for himself to get hurt under the weight of false promises and family. The Bathory children were dead that was one of the things which Bishop had told him as a boy that he could actually believe; it actually made perfect sense considering the lives his mother had taken...there were those who had been wounded and seeking revenege...he knew all too well about revenge.
"I know many things you'll find about Temp..."
"Where, did you get THAT? That was my mother's."
Templeton's eyes snapped from the cross in his hands to Catherine as her harsh voice filled the small space of the crypt. Her words made no sense to him and for a moment it was as if the world had stopped around them allowing him time to process what was occuring. Glancing down at the cross adn then back tot eh other vampire Templeton found himself void of answers.
He didn't know about his mother's social habbits before he had been born but he had known the necklace had been very important to her; a gift from his father and she had kept it near as she had him once his father had passed away. The necklace was not something well known it hadn't been recovered with the body as Templeton had taken it and he had not seen it in what paintings he had seen of his mother before his birth.
It was something personal...something private...something others didn't know about who had not been inside Bathory walls.
Tempelton pulled himself to his feet his eyes searching the face of the vampire before him; it was impossible...had to be as he couldn't stand the thought that he had been alone for so many years when he had been blessed with family whom he had never had the chance of knowing.
"I took this necklace from the body of my mother the night she departed this world."
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 15, 2010 7:24:58 GMT -4
"I know many things you'll find about Temp..."
"How?" It was the only question she could ask. For Catherine to be knocked speechless was a rareity. If Templeton had died with their mother, what was to know? The statement itself indicated that the boy was alive-and Catherine was becoming more and more convinced that she was speaking with him.
"I took this necklace from the body of my mother the night she departed this world."
Catherine's eyes were glued to the necklace in the vampire's hands. She knew the cross. She knew it had to be the same one. There were things her memory had latched onto, and that cross was one of them.
This was utterly, completely, impossible. Or was it? There were three surviving Bathory children, why couldn't a fourth be as well?
She searched through her memories. Her little brother was a faint glimpse of the past. She remembered an infant in her mother's arms-constantly, in her mother's arms, she recalled, except for an occasion or two she remembered him in a cradle or in Alexia's arms. Alexia had been older, she'd been allowed to hold the baby. Catherine, while it was fine to trust her with murdering servants, could not be trusted to hold her baby brother.
She recalled once, when the boy was around one, that he'd taken a doll she'd strategically placed on a chair. She'd screamed as though she was being murdered herself. Not because the baby had her doll, but because he was touching her things and that could not be tolerated.
Closing the distance between them, Catherine stood face to face with the other man.
"If you took that from your mother's body the night she died, then you were with her. And if you say your mother was the Countess Bathory, then that would make you Templeton Bathory."
Catherine felt her features softening. She realized that she deeply wanted this to be her brother. For years, family had meant little. But now, she wanted all three of them in this world. Alexia and Jaron would have heart attacks-if their hearts had been beating, that was.
"If you are Templeton, tell me. My brother and sister and I would be glad to have you."
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Post by Templeton Báthory on Jul 15, 2010 21:06:26 GMT -4
Templeton allowed his eyes to lock with those of the woman as she stepped up to him. Her eyes were a pool of emotions and feelings and Templeton didn;t need to be a vampire to be able to tell the confusion his statement had caused for her and her own confusion brought about Templeton's at a very alarming rate.
"If you took that from your mother's body the night she died, then you were with her. And if you say your mother was the Countess Bathory, then that would make you Templeton Bathory."
"Indeed it would."
Templeton kept his identity very close to the chest as he was not a fan of unwanted attention and it allowed him to focus on his own peace with the world and the things he had done in his very long life time.
"If you are Templeton, tell me. My brother and sister and I would be glad to have you."
Templeton didn't know what to do with this...any of it. Taking a step back from the woman he slipped the cross back into the pocket of his trousers. This wasn't possible; he had spent far too long with no family...no family because Bishop had told him there was no family for him to have and according to her...according to Catherine they were here...all still here and all still alive.
"You can't be her child...I..."
He had no words; not the faintest idea on what to say or do or feel.
"My name is Templeton Bathory...and I am the youngest son of Elizabeth Bathory...my family is dead though...have been for a very long time. Even longer then I have been a vampire...I am sorry you have lost your brother but I should be on my way..."
And without another word or without allowing another moment to pass by Templeton dashed from the crypt into the storm filled night.
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Post by Catherine Bathory on Jul 15, 2010 21:29:20 GMT -4
If she had been breathing, Catherine would have been holding her breath. She needed to know who he was, and if he was who she thought he was.
"Indeed it would."
"Then....." Catherine's eyes widened. "You really are him. I thought it."
Catherine felt a surge of emotion. Part of her wanted to grab him, embrace him. But that wasn't quite her thing, and she knew it wasn't a number of vampires things. She held back...watching him
"You can't be her child...I..."
"But I am. What do you want to know?" She titled her head, studying him.
"My name is Templeton Bathory...and I am the youngest son of Elizabeth Bathory...my family is dead though...have been for a very long time. Even longer then I have been a vampire...I am sorry you have lost your brother but I should be on my way..."
"Templeton-." Catherine held out a hand to stop him from leaving, but he was gone. For a long moment, she stood staring into the storm where he'd gone.
So that's what had happened to Templeton. The Bathory children vampire set had been completed...and the boy had obviously been well lied to when he was alive. Catherine had no idea what she would say to him, but she would speak to him, and convince him he had family who wanted him.
Taking an unnecessary breath, Catherine headed towards the doorway and the storm. Stan was going to have to wait for his gift. She needed a nap.
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