Reaper's Genetic Legacy Experiment [Complete]

[mpart]

Ooh! I love this! Sheogorath's expression! That was amazing! I definitely can see some interesting updates coming.   

[LivvieLove]

Its been so long I might have to go reread the last few chapters lol

Brilliant as always!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9720 using Tapatalk

Thank you! Sorry, I know it's been a while! I've got a new job now though and my boss is really awesome and has granted me a rather large dose of freetime which is being filled with school and now... Sims! I'm really glad to be back.

I'm so glad to have you back. This is so compelling.

Thank you! I'm so glad to be writing again!

Loved how the photo collage at the end broke the tension.  Sane and focused Manjun is kind of terrifying.

I was actually in that house and I looked around and saw the photo collage and started laughing when I remembered it and thought of how wonderful my Sims are together... and then I realized I just had to fit it in somewhere.

Ooh! I love this! Sheogorath's expression! That was amazing! I definitely can see some interesting updates coming.   

Sheo's going to be paying someone a visit soon, from what I hear. I'm greatly amused to see where the darling takes him.    

Alright, so I went on a binge of playing and have enough photos for like... 4 updates. I'll likely get the condensed (since I take 3 of every shot, it seems) to two updates incoming! I have some spare time, but unfortunately not enough. I begin the next update... soon!

[LivvieLove]

Warning: much dialogue being had.


Friendships
Music filled her ears as the sound of a stringed instrument beckoned Eveline through a heavy fog. It wasn't a stringed instrument she was familiar with though, like the one her father played.

Eveline let out an audible groan as she slowly came to. She shifted under the weight of sheets and a blanket before her eyes snapped open. Panic. Desperation. She sat up like a rocket and clutched the sheets tightly in her fists. She made a strangled sound as she grasped to see something, anything.
Her magic seemed to be slow to get started, but eventually the wall broke down and a fuzzy line of sight came into her vision. Eveline felt her whole body relax as she slunk back down into the covers. She could have cried happy tears at that moment, but she was still shaking off the grogginess she felt. Her vision was very limited at the moment - her magic was stretched thin enough as it was after everything.
Everything? Eveline closed her eyes and tried to remember what even happened the night before, but nothing came. Just fear. Paralyzing fear - and something about Ivan? She sat up in bed, her face scrunched while she thought.

She had been drugged. She figured that much out at least. What was the last thing she remembered?
It had been dark and someone was... holding her? Comforting her.
Then there was her grandpa, but that couldn't have been him. He doesn't smell like pine. That smell was familiar but she wasn't sure where it came from.
If it wasn't her grandfather then... who was it?
Violin music drifted into her room, as did the scent of french toast. Eveline swung her feet over the edge of the bed and slowly brought herself to stand.

She couldn't see much farther than the door to her room, and she felt a little woozy standing up too fast. She put her hand on her head and tried to steady herself. "Watcher?" She called out quietly.
There was no response.
Eveline felt her breath catch in her throat. "Anyone?" She half whispered. She tried to not panic, but her limited sight range was causing her great anxiety. She immediately grabbed the clothing she had thrown on the floor by her bed in the previous days and struggled to put them on. It wasn't her usual outfit, but she didn't actually care at that moment. She felt like she had tunnel vision - she had to find her grandfather, or her mother, or her father... or just anyone friendly. Where was the watcher? Why wasn't she responding? There were too many questions. She lurched forward to her door, but ended up tripping over her own feet as she did so, causing her to stumble out into the living room where she was abruptly caught.

Her vision was whirling, contracting and expanding in front of her. She couldn't quite grasp much. Her hand was instinctively on her head.
"Eveline? Eveline!" The world sounded like she was under water, but suddenly everything came rushing forward all at once.
"Huh?" Eveline steadied herself on the person in front of her before she nearly panicked again. She was about to yank herself backwards when she breathed in and the night came rushing back into her. Pine, spices, and cinnamon. The world came into focus so suddenly it left Eveline reeling. "Oh, ow. Watcher." She grumbled as she rested her head on the safe shoulder.
"Do you need to sit down? Eveline? What's wrong? Uh... Sir?" Eveline let her face scrunch up as she connected the dots in her head.
"Jupiter? Is that you?" Eveline asked wearily. "Who are you talking to? I thought I was at home? Where am I? What happened?" Words came pouring out of her mouth faster than she could even gather her own thoughts.
"Pumpernickel!" Majnun shouted from the edge of the room.
Eveline felt her brow furrow. "Grandpa? What happened?" She stepped away from Jupiter and towards her grandfather. Majnun had sat down at the table with a plate of food.
As Eveline took the step forward she could hear her grandfather mumbling under his breath. He was completely gone. "Rocking pool, sat and gnomes and upward spirals." Majnun scratched at his neck repeatedly, his right eye twitching.
"Grandpa?" Eveline felt her heart drop. What was going on? "Grandpa... something happened last night -" She paused suddenly and turned around to face Jupiter, "- and you were there! I think. I mean... maybe?" She turned back around to Majnun, "grandpa... what happened?"
It was as if Majnun didn't even hear her. "Sandpaper! Eat your glorious sandpaper! You need all the fillings of lead!"
Eveline's mouth was open in slight disbelief. Her grandfather was mad, but at the same time he wasn't - this was just outright lunacy. This was not the grandfather she loved. "Grandpa... please!" Eveline took another step towards him, her voice soft and barely above a whimper. "Please, this isn't you. I need you to come back to me. I need you to tell me what's going on. Grandpa... please I'm so confused." Eveline reached out to him, but stopped short. The tears she had nearly felt earlier were brimming at the corners of her eyes.
Majnun stopped and looked at her with a soft smile. "Tender warmth under the snowtrail." He patted her hand gently before turning back to what he was doing.
Eveline closed her eyes slowly and let out a breath quietly, resigned.
"I'm to inform you that we're going to be taking a trip out of the country today, Eveline." Jupiter spoke quietly.
Eveline stood still for a minute while everything processed in her head.
Not receiving any answer from her, Jupiter took a step forward and tilted his head towards Majnun, "sir, I need to get some..." he hesitated, his voice dropping somewhat, "supplies before we take off." He sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth.
Majnun was waving his hand back and forth in the air like a conductor, "swish, swish, swishy-swoosh!" He burst into insane laughter.
Eveline just stood, not bothering to move from where she was. She sighed and then went into the kitchen to grab a plate of french toast before moving to sit across from her grandfather.

Jupiter hadn't moved yet, and seemed to be waiting for some sort of dismissal.
Eveline took up her fork and knife and cut a small piece of her french toast and waved it in the air on her fork. "So you work for my grandfather?" She asked, coldness edging into her voice.
Jupiter seemed taken aback by the sudden shift in everything. "I... I guess you could say that?" Jupiter shifted uneasily. "Have I upset you, Eveline?"
Eveline placed the bite of french toast in her mouth and swallowed it down without really tasting it. She stuck her fork, slightly aggressively, back into the french toast and shrugged. "You're free to collect whatever you need. My grandfather keeps his wallet in his lampshade in his room. Take whatever you need. He won't notice. I promise." Her voice was even and calculated. It made Jupiter thoroughly confused. Eveline didn't let Jupiter speak before asking, "what time do we leave?"
Jupiter stuttered and stumbled, "well... the plane leaves in 5 hours and I-"
"Then I'll see you back here in three." Eveline said finally.
Jupiter hesitated, "if I've done something that's offended you-"
"SHARP! SNAPS! DOUBLE WEASELS!" Majnun jumped up from his seat and went running for his bedroom. Eveline didn't move once from where she was, she just sat, twisting her next bite of french toast around on her plate calmly while Jupiter jumped, thoroughly shocked from the scene.
"You haven't." Eveline stated before she breathed out slowly. "I have a lot to process, Jupiter. Please feel free to take what you need and I'll see you back here in a few hours." Her voice had softened. She expected Jupiter to take his leave and leave her to her thoughts - or at least to some quiet where she could cry alone.
Jupiter nodded, "would you like for me to pick you up anything while I am gone?"
Eveline's head snapped up, as she had been lost in thought for a brief moment, "hum? No, thank you." She said quietly.
Jupiter bowed to her slightly before walking out the door quietly - not even bothering to take any money offered to him.
The second the door clicked shut Eveline dropped her fork onto her plate and shoved it away from her. Her head collapsed onto the table. Of course he worked for her grandfather. Her one best friend she had in the world tried to sell her to vampires, and the only other friend she thought she had was only there because her grandfather paid him to be. Just perfect.
Eveline had been so distracted she didn't even hear her mother come out of her bedroom and approach her. In her upset, Eveline had even let her magic retract completely. She just couldn't make herself care anymore. Mary gently ran her hand along Eveline's hair and Eveline shot upwards in her seat.
"It's alright love, it's just me." Mary said quietly.
Eveline relaxed and put her head in her hands, wondering if her mother even knew what happened. Should she share the catastrophe that occurred? Or should she just assume that she would overreact? "Hi mom." Eveline said weakly, settling on the latter.
"Hi mom?" Mary smirked. "My daughter gets dragged halfway around Bridgeport by a mad god and his goonies for the entire night she was supposed to be enjoying prom, and the first thing she can muster to say is 'hi mom?'"
Eveline started to sob quietly.
"Oh sweetheart," Mary pulled a chair over from the other side of the table and she pulled Eveline closer to her. Hushing her, like Mary once did when she was a baby. "Everything is ok now." Mary soothed.
Eveline cried so hard she couldn't even form complete sentences to tell her mother what was wrong. She leaned into her mother and cried for a solid twenty minutes before she finally calmed down enough to speak again, "what happened to me, mom?"
Mary let out a solid, controlled breath - one she learned from her martial-arts training. "Your friend Ivan put something in your drink and was planning on selling you to a vampire clan for reasons that are still unknown to your grandfather and I. That boy Jupiter fought them all off all on his own until the Watcher came for you and sent those vampires running back to their caves." Mary said the last part with less control than what she had said the rest, showing her distaste for the vampires in question. "Jupiter then took you back to your grandfather, who brought you home at an ungodly early hour this morning and who hasn't said a single sane thing since." Mary was stroking Eveline's hair as she spoke.
Tears rolled out of Eveline's eyes, "why would Ivan do that, mom? I thought... I thought he was my friend."
Mary closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. "I don't know love. I'm so sorry."
"I went from having friends to not all in one night. This really sucks." Eveline whimpered.
"What about Jupiter, isn't he going with you on this trip? He seemed very fond of you." Mary said hopefully.
"He works for grandpa, mom. He's paid to be my friend." Eveline said coldly.
"I doubt someone who was just being paid would fight a losing battle to save the person they were paid to watch." Mary gently spoke, hoping to cheer Eveline up.
Eveline thought on that for a moment, "maybe." She said quietly. "Or he could've done that so he didn't have to face grandpa's wrath."
Mary made a small face and nodded, "can't say I wouldn't do anything to avoid his wrath either."
Eveline looked over at her mother, "you?!"
"Of course! If you had seen what he did to your last principal you would too." Mary stated firmly.
Eveline felt a burst of laughter come up, "what do you mean? What did he do?!"
Mary shook her head while grinning, "I'm not telling. It was just too much!" She stated overdramatically.
"Mom!" Eveline was grinning back at her, but Mary just touched her cheek.
"Don't be so discouraged about friendships dear. Think of it this way, these are all tests to weed out who is going to stand by you at all costs."
"Whatever the heck that means." Eveline muttered.
"Well, you should go pack for your trip." Mary patted Eveline's shoulder.
"Where am I even going?"
"Egypt, apparently."
"Are you coming too?"
"Nope, just you, Jupiter and your grandfather. Watcher preserve you. You should see if you can get a refund for your grandfather's ticket, tell them you don't want to pay full price for half a person." Mary nudged her.
Eveline giggled, "he really is out of it. What happened?"
"He won't say, or rather, he'll say a lot but none of it even remotely makes any sense."
Eveline shook her head, "can't you please come along with us? I don't want to be alone." Eveline begged.
"I'm not allowed to, love. Besides, I've got research to do."
"Research... what research?"
Mary stood up completely and looked at her daughter, amusement completely gone from her face. "There isn't a spell that I'm aware of that will inflict the amount of pain and torment I want to cause that stupid boy and those vampire rats without killing them." Mary spat. "So I'm going to find one." With that, Mary walked back into the master bedroom, only pausing before closing the door, "don't forget to hug your father before you go, dear. He's worried about you."
Eveline sat at the table for a few moments longer before she went to shower the sadness off of her. She could hear her grandfather banging against something in the room next door, singing loudly to a crazed tune.

After a long shower, Eveline decided on a new change of clothing to wear to Egypt - one that might make her a little less recognizable, just in case that vampire clan had allies elsewhere.

She finished off her outfit with a pair of aviator sunglasses. She stepped out into the living room where her father raised his eyebrow at her. "New getup." He tilted his head, "something doesn't seem right though." Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
Eveline went to respond with a snappy comeback when the door opened and Jupiter walked in, stopping abruptly to stare at her. "Eveline? Wow... you look-"
"Something just isn't right here; no, something just doesn't belong." Alec cut Jupiter off with a sing-song voice.
"What? I didn't..." Jupiter scrambled.
"-Dad!" Eveline whined.
"Forgive me, dearest daughter, it's just that I forgot that you were so sensitive to the light rays of the sun." Alec teased.
"They are sunglasses, right?" Eveline ignored her father's comments.
"Yeah, you shouldn't wear them though, they cover up your eyes." Alec responded.
Eveline groaned. "These things are made so people can't see my eyes! That's the point."
"Oh!" Alec slapped his forehead lightly, "so THAT'S what those things are for. Here I thought they were to protect those of us who are too weak to not have to stare at the sun from damaging sun rays." Alec chuckled.
Mary leaned over from tinkering with the television, "why do you want to cover your eyes, dear?"
"It's... nothing. I just don't want people to recognize me. You know... just in case those vampires have friends."
Eveline waited for another joke from her father, but none came. Instead she heard the sound of plastic cracking and her mother scolding, "ALEC!"
"Huh?" He responded back.
"The remote! You just crushed the remote, Mr. Macho Man." Mary teased.
"I'm going to slaughter every last one of those scum if I see them, Mary." Alec's voice was just above a whisper with all the strength of a shout. He threw the remains of the remote on the ground and stood, moving to hug his daughter. Like a switch, his voice flipped to something much softer, "have a wonderful time on your trip my dearest daughter." He smiled. "Get into lots of mischief for me."
"Of course." Eveline smiled. She was then passed off to her mother who had a very hard time letting go.

Jupiter sat in the aisle seat next to Eveline on the plane. Majnun was in the seat in front of them, already asleep after Eveline gave him a strong sleeping pill for the flight. It had been an hour already on the plane and the stewardess had passed out blankets and pillows to everyone.
For a brief minute Eveline thought about making a joke about her taking the window seat when there was nothing for her to see, but she stopped. Jupiter works for her grandfather. She reminded herself. He's not there to be her friend. She slowly moved to get comfortable against the wall of the plane.
Jupiter sat rigid in his chair next to her, Eveline could feel how tense he was. "Is everything ok?" She asked quietly.
Jupiter turned to look at her with inhuman speed before rolling his shoulders in an attempt to appear relaxed. "Yeah, of course. Are you alright?"
Eveline played with the hem of blanket she had, "look, I know you are just doing this because you have to, but I'm not..." She trailed off and sighed, unsure how to finish.
"What are you talking about?" Jupiter's voice held several different tones, from offended to curiosity.
"I just mean that I know that you're working for my grandfather, and that while you may not want any sort of relationship with me outside of business but that-"
Jupiter stopped her. "Where did you get that idea?"
"You told me you work for my grandfather."
"Yes I did, but that-"
Eveline cut Jupiter off in return, "Listen Jupiter, I've been through hell and back in one night, please let me finish." She paused and Jupiter quieted. "I don't know why the vampires wanted me. I don't know why my best friend-" She paused, exhaling hard, "Ivan." She corrected, "I guess he doesn't really qualify as a friend anymore." She shook her head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. The point is, you don't have to pretend to be my friend anymore. I'm a big girl. Yes, I'm blind, but I don't want friendship out of pity or because someone is paying you to do it. Clearly you're uncomfortable, so please just be honest with me. I can take it."
"What?!" Jupiter said loudly, a few people on the plane looked at them and shushed them - everyone at this point had been encouraged to sleep, and most of the passengers were already doing so. Jupiter's voice softened immediately, "you think I'm your friend because I pity you?!" He asked, outraged.
Eveline shrugged, "I was actually leaning more on that my grandfather was paying you to do so."
"No." Jupiter shook his head, "no, absolutely not! He's not even paying me period." Jupiter scrambled, "but even if he was... do you honestly see me as that kind of a person?!" His voice mirrored hurt and confusion.
Eveline continued to pick at the blanket and shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be a reflection about you. Just about me. No one wants to be friends with the freaky blind girl. Ivan didn't mind though. He never treated me like I was fragile. I thought..." She clenched her teeth into a smile. "Under the given circumstances, can you blame me for wondering if I actually had any friends?"
Jupiter nodded and they were quiet for a minute. "I know exactly how that feels." He looked down, a strange smile forming on his face. "I'm not sure what's worse, having only fake friends who care about your last name or not having any friends at all." The joke was hollow.
Eveline smiled softly, "the famous son of Lola Belle." She recalled.
"You know that woman hasn't even called in seven years? I'd hardly call me her son any longer." Jupiter shook his head with annoyance.
Eveline felt a twinge of sadness. Here she was complaining about her one friend turning on her, she couldn't imagine not having anyone. She wasn't sure what to say at this point, so she just reached over for Jupiter's hand. He jumped slightly at the first touch before he relaxed, taking her hand back in his.
He looked at her intently, "so you really thought that I didn't actually want to be around you?"
Eveline shrugged, "I wasn't exactly in a great frame of mind when I drew that conclusion, and you've been stiff as a board since we got on the plane. I figured you were upset at having to be so close to me." Eveline teased lightly.
Jupiter laughed suddenly, leaving Eveline confused.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just..." Jupiter shook his head, grinning. "Nothing."
"What?!" Eveline said more insistently. A woman across the aisle glared at them and shushed, but Eveline couldn't be bothered to care.
"Just you." Jupiter smiled a toothy grin at her. "You don't seem to have any idea the effect you cause on me. I don't know whether to find it alarming or endearing."
Eveline blushed suddenly, swallowing and looking down. She released his hand in order to push her hair out of her face. "I... I have an effect on you? I didn't... do I make you uncomfortable?"
"Not at all." Jupiter spoke with ease, "that's the problem though. I shouldn't let my guard down around you. I don't want to hurt you. I'm not like those-" He cut himself off and sighed. "Who am I kidding? I am a monster. I just... I want you to know that I'm not..." He clenched his fists.
Eveline cut him off, grabbing his hands in hers. "I don't see you that way, Jupiter." Eveline realized that wouldn't be enough, and idly rested her cheek against his shoulder; she took a breath in and felt calm. "I feel safe with you." She said quietly. She closed her eyes again while taking in another soft breath and suddenly realized how tired she was.
Jupiter nodded thoughtfully wanting to say more but deciding against it, "you should get some rest, you know. You still haven't fully recovered from last night."
"I don't think I ever will." Eveline mumbled. She reluctantly pulled her head away from him and rested her head on the pillow she had laid against the plane wall. "Jupiter?"
"Hmm?" He hummed back at her.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into all this." Eveline had closed her eyes by this point, suddenly feeling drained from the entire day. "I'm really glad you still want to be my friend." She felt herself drifting off.
"We make an odd pair, don't we?" He mused.
Eveline just grinned at him. "The adventures of Blind Girl and Vampire Boy. They should write a book about us." Her voice grew softer as she struggled to stay awake.
Jupiter smiled at her, watching her drift off, "more like Beauty and the Beast." He whispered. "Sleep well, Eveline." Jupiter sat up again and focused forward. He was determined to not let himself get too comfortable.

After a while on the plane, turbulence struck and Eveline groggily readjusted herself against Jupiter's shoulder. He was unsure what to do at the time - her scent filling his nose and her pulse ringing in his ears. He looked at her for a moment with longing as he reached a hand to gently move a strand of her hair from her face. His heart clenched. This is something he could never have, or at least, never thought he could. He looked forward to Majnun who was taking up two seats in front of them and hoped that he would make good on his promise.
It was the only thing that kept Jupiter going any longer - the hope that one day he wouldn't have to suppress everything he feels for her. Maybe if he was lucky enough, she might actually feel the same way.
Until then, it was moments like this that reminded him of the beauty of life.

"Eveline? Wake up."
Eveline could feel herself coming to from sleep, but for once she didn't feel panicked about the darkness. The scent of Jupiter filled her nose and she knew she was fine, no matter where she might've been. She groaned and stretched idly. "Huh? What... what happened?" She slowly realized she was lying entirely on top of Jupiter and jumped back. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even-"
"We're here." He spoke softly, without even acknowledging her apologies.


The adventures were only just beginning.

[Magpie2012]

Totally on the Jupveline ship. I just wish he would realise that just because he's a vampire it doesn't make him evil, just like being human doesn't make a person automatically good

Sent from my D2005 using Tapatalk

[mpart]

I'm on the Jupveline ship too. Jupiter doesn't realize that their are worst things to be then a vampire.

[LivvieLove]

Totally on the Jupveline ship. I just wish he would realise that just because he's a vampire it doesn't make him evil, just like being human doesn't make a person automatically good

Sent from my D2005 using Tapatalk

All-aboard the Jupveline ship! Choo Choo! 
Seriously though, I built the Jupveline ship but Jupiter is having a really hard time getting past his bloodlust. I mean, it'd be pretty hard to be intimate with someone when all you kind of want to do is tear their throat out. Poor guy. Though at the moment I believe that HE believes he's been friendzoned. All for the best, really.

I'm on the Jupveline ship too. Jupiter doesn't realize that their are worst things to be then a vampire.

I would question anyone who wasn't on the Jupveline ship at this point, bahaha. I tried to make him the sweetest guy, but unfortunately for him his bloodlust is getting in the way of happiness!  It's ok though, I'm notorious for my happy endings for my simmies. I just... can't... bring myself to hurt them. Killing Noten was way too hard, so it filled me up on unhappy endings.

ANYWAYS. Lots of pictures to get through here! 
Let's do it!

Fair warning: these coming chapters are meant to be banter-based relationship building for Jupiter and Eveline. I apologize if it's boring, but I really felt that we needed some happy, cheery, gooey moments after all that occurred previously.

Trust and Bloodlust: Part One
"So... where are we supposed to go?" Jupiter asked suddenly.
Jupiter and Eveline stood in the entryway of the airport with Majnun in tow.
Eveline felt her heart drop. "You mean you don't know?!"
"I figured you would!" Jupiter shifted uneasily, the realization dawning on him, "I mean... this is your family. I figured you had a house here or something."
"Nope, I've never left the country. We have a place in China, but unless we got on the wrong plane... we shouldn't be in China." Eveline put her hand to her face exasperatedly.
"What should we do?" Jupiter looked to her for some kind of idea.
Eveline sighed, "leave this to me." Her voice dropped to a mutter, "com'on gramps." She tugged at Majnun's arm.
Eveline was growing ever-thankful for the insane amount of sleep she gained both on the flight and the drug-induced coma did for her. She opened up the expanse of the magical network before her and began to weave what she wanted out of it. She closed her eyes behind her sunglasses and was beginning to make commands of her magical energy that was brimming beneath the surface.
Jupiter tried asking if she was ok, but she didn't respond. He looked at her, feeling thoroughly confused, but she didn't appear to be doing anything out of the ordinary except for standing. She held a hand up to him, slowly letting her fingers form into a fist until the only one left was her forefinger, signalling him to wait. "What's going on?" He whispered to her, looking around in each direction, in case she spotted something.
Majnun suddenly took off out the doors and into the distance. Eveline started muttering under her breath.
"Hey, wait!" Jupiter shouted after him, he moved to follow after Majnun, but Eveline gripped him by the arm. She lifted her other hand that wasn't holding him and flexed her fingers towards the door while muttering something unintelligible under her breath. She suddenly sharply motioned that hand back towards them and Majnun was dragged back through the doors to right in front of them. He struggled against her magic, and Eveline winced - trying to maintain her powerful grandfather was difficult, but thankfully he was magically drained.
"Please don't run off Grandpa," Eveline said through gritted teeth. Jupiter, who up until that point had been having trouble figuring out what was going on, jumped into action and gripped Majnun by the sides. It wasn't enough to cause a scene, but it was enough to hold him steady. Eveline breathed a sigh of relief and let go of her magical hold before turning and drawing circles in the air with her hand. A chain of light formed and rested around her arm, like she had lassoed it out of the thin air. She hooked one end to Majnun and tied the other to herself, the chain then disappeared from the air.
"You can let him go, Jupiter." Eveline said quietly.
Jupiter did so immediately and took a step to the side. Majnun took a step forward but got pulled back by the imaginary chain.
"Cool trick." Jupiter smirked. "You should teach me how to do that."
Eveline laughed. "Trade secret." Then her face got serious. "Jupiter I need to ask you something... something rather huge."
Jupiter sensed the seriousness in her tone and turned to look at her straight on. "What is it, is something wrong?"
Eveline shifted uneasy, weighing her options in her head. "Listen, if something happens to me-"
"No, nothing will happen to you. I won't let it." Jupiter cut in.
Eveline giggled, "that's sweet, but that's not what I was trying to say."
Jupiter gave an embarrassed smile, though Eveline couldn't see it. Eveline continued, "I'm going to be expending a lot of magic until we get some information. I'll do my best to maintain myself, but I could have some... side-effects."
"Side-effects?"
"You know, temporary blindness, fainting, dizziness, spontaneous combustion... I've never actually needed to use this much magic at once and I'm not sure if I actually have it in me to do it."
"You don't know how much magic you have?" Jupiter seemed appalled. "I thought all magic-users had to be aware."
Eveline sheepishly smiled. "My mom told me that she'll show me how to do it... but I've kind of... been blowing her off to go out and have fun at night instead."
"We're doomed." Jupiter teased.
"Oh hush. I'm sure I'll be fine. I just wanted to know if you could manage if something happened to me?"
"Nope. I'm 99% positive I would fall apart without you." He teased. "Yes, I'm sure I would figure it out." He responded seriously.
"I'm glad." Eveline grabbed Majnun by his arm and walked him out the sliding doors and into the sun. Jupiter hesitated for a moment, knowing it was going to hurt, but followed shortly behind. Eveline stopped and pushed Majnun down onto a bench. "Inside my bag, Jupiter, there's a tablet, can you grab it for me?" Eveline said while standing in front of Majnun, keeping a hand on his forehead to hold him down in his seat.
Jupiter nodded and scrambled to look through her bag. "This?" He handed her the tablet and started to step away to give her space.
"Yes, thank you." Eveline looked at him for a moment, hesitating. "Jupiter, could you-" she looked down, "this will sound ridiculous, but could you touch me?"
Jupiter's eyes went wide, "I, uh, I-"
"I mean, put your hand on my shoulder or something? If my vision goes out in the middle of this..." She trailed off before continuing, "well, I don't want to be alone in the dark." She finished.
Jupiter's face relaxed a little, "of course." He sounded sure, however he hesitated before taking a step over to her, his hands faltering just before they rested against her shoulder.
"I promise I don't bite." Eveline teased.
Majnun was barking at this by this point, saying things in other languages - or just unintelligible noises. Jupiter was unnerved by the difference in the man that sat before them now than the one he saw the other night.
"Calm down grandpa." Eveline said soothingly. "It's just me. It's Evie." Her voice was soft. She began to murmur under her breath and Jupiter could feel a shift in the air around them.
It was like the world was continuing on around them, and they were just in this little bubble. Eveline kept her hand on Majnun's forehead and had reached the other one that had been holding her tablet out to hold the bubble in place.
Majnun gasped as if he had been holding his breath underwater. He fell out of Eveline's palm and steadied himself on the bench. Jupiter was horrified to see the surprising clarity that filled Majnun's weary eyes. "My swallow." Majnun said affectionately. "Don't overexpend yourself."
Eveline smiled at him, "we need to know where we're going, grandpa." She handed him her tablet.
Jupiter wasn't entirely sure what he was witnessing, what magical exchange was taking place, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know either.
After Majnun finished writing out some details into her tablet he handed it back. "Forgive me, my dear. I'm all kinds of out-of-sorts."
"You don't need to apologize, grandpa. You know I understand."
"Just know that those vampires will be taken care of. I can assure you of that."
"You can tell me more about it later, when you're feeling well again." Eveline kissed his forehead and Majnun smiled an acknowledging smile.
He then turned his gaze on Jupiter. "Remember what our deal was." He said levelly. "No distractions."
Jupiter nodded instantly, feeling fear creeping in on him.
Eveline let go of the bubble and stumbled forward; Jupiter fluidly moved forward and caught her before she even really lost her balance.
"Thank you." She pulled herself up and adjusted her shirt. "I think I'm alright. That took less than I thought it would."
Jupiter nodded to her and they pulled apart. "So where are we going?"
"To this address." She handed the tablet to Jupiter. Majnun had rolled out of the bench and onto the ground. Eveline bent over to collect him while Jupiter looked at the tablet. "Up we go, grandpa."
"Shall we?" Jupiter offered her his arm, and she took it, her other arm holding Majnun up. They slowly waved down a taxi that made it's way around the bend towards them.
"What was that all about?"
"What?"
"The 'remember our deal.'" Eveline made a face as she exaggerated her grandfather's voice.
"He just made me promise I would protect you at all costs." Jupiter simplified.
"In exchange for?" Eveline spoke slowly, expecting him to fill in the blanks. The taxi came to a break in front of them.
Jupiter thought long and hard about what he wanted to share and what he preferred not to. "Let's just leave it at that he said he would owe me a favor." Jupiter responded.
"Ah. That hardly sounds like a fair deal." Eveline opened the door and put Majnun in first. They fought with him to get him in while she spoke: "you're stuck with me for who knows how long, after having to escort me to prom and save my life - on several occasions apparently - and he only has to 'do you a favor?'" They buckled in Majnun together and Eveline suddenly realized how close they were. She shot up quickly and bumped her head on the top of the car, causing her to groan
She really was making a fool out of herself. "Are you alright?" Jupiter said quickly, he put her head into his hands so he could examine her and Eveline thought her heart would explode. She barely mumbled a response, her eyes wide. Jupiter gave a half-smile. "You know, you're right. Your grandfather really is getting the bad end of that deal." He smiled and immediately separated himself from her before climbing into the front seat next to the driver.
Eveline felt like her knees would give out now that he wasn't there holding her up.
"Miss, are you coming?" The taxi driver asked impatiently.
"Hum?" Eveline blushed furiously, realizing that she'd just been standing there with the door open. She closed it and ran around the opposite side of the taxi before climbing in.

It was a long drive before they finally pulled into the specified address.

"It appears you do have a house here, Ms. Reaper." Jupiter teased from the front seat. "A gorgeous one, too."
Eveline snorted, "I'll take your word for it."
Jupiter felt his eyes go wide, "I didn't mean-"
Eveline laughed, "it was a joke, you learn to make a lot of them when you're 'visually impaired.'" She exaggerated the last two words, even Jupiter chuckled at that.
They gathered their things, paid the driver and slowly got settled in. Majnun went running and locked himself in one of the rooms, screaming as he did so.
"Uh, is he ok?" Jupiter's brow furrowed with worry.
"Yeah, he's fine. Just let him have some time to recover." Eveline stated calmly. She started moving her bags through to her room when she noticed there was a slab of rock in there too. "Huh? What's this?"
"That would be where I would be sleeping." Jupiter nodded awkwardly. "I should probably move it out of your room. I'm not sure why he had it put here."
"Don't worry about it. We can share a room, it won't kill us." Eveline teased. "This thing doesn't even look that comfortable." She patted her hand on it. "Don't you ever get a crick in your neck?"
Jupiter shrugged before collapsing down onto the stone slab. "It feels mighty comfortable to me. Though anything would at this point." He mumbled, his eyes closed.
"Are you alright?" Eveline poked at him.
Jupiter's eyes opened suddenly, "hm? Oh right. Yes. I'm fine, just a little tired." He gave her a weak grin.
"Didn't you sleep on the plane?" Eveline joked.
"No." His answer was serious. He rolled over onto his back on the slab "I haven't slept in..." He paused and started counting on his fingers. "Has it been three or four days?"
"Watcher! How are you even still alive?" Eveline felt tired just thinking about it.
"Trying to have a human schedule as a vampire goes against nature." He whined. "School every morning, go home, crawl in bed, can't sleep at night. Ugh." His eyes were closing again. "Even when I could sleep at night, that got interrupted by the nutters-" His eyes burst open suddenly, "Er that's not what I mean!" He said suddenly sitting up.
Eveline laughed loudly, almost doubled over, "you called my grandpa and his family nutters? That's so perfect." She said as she gasped for air and continued laughing.
"I don't mean any offense by it..." Jupiter said suddenly.
Eveline slowly calmed down, gripping her chest tightly from all the laughing, "that is probably the best thing I've heard all week." She shook her head. "You should be tired more often. You're hilarious when you don't worry so much about offending me."
Jupiter relaxed back down, "I like to be cautious. All it takes is one bad taste joke to ruin a friendship, and right now your friendship matters greatly to me." He noted.
"Well thanks. I think the sunshines out of you too." Eveline teased.
Jupiter raised an eyebrow at her, "what?" It was a mixture of amusement and confusion.
"Just a phrase I picked up from my gramps." Eveline moved across the way and laid down on the bed that was meant for her.
Jupiter chuckled, "can I ask you something strangely serious?" He asked suddenly, rolling over on the slab to face where she lay.
"Shoot."
"Why aren't you... Oh watcher how do I word this?" He put his arm over his eyes as if that might help him focus.
"Why am I not insane?" Eveline responded immediately.
"Well, that wasn't how I was going to word it, but yeah, that was the gist of it. I imagined doing it a lot more charismatically."
Eveline laughed, "you're going to make my side hurt for weeks, you know." She sighed, "it's a really convoluted story of lineage. It started with Agnes." Eveline closed her eyes and remembered her mother's voice telling her this story.
"Yeah, I know that one. That one doesn't explain why your grandpa is, oh, how did Liam put it... King of the Nutters?" Jupiter let out a loose laugh.
Eveline grinned, her cheeks hurting, "my grandpa isn't insane though." She started.
"Whatever you say." Jupiter laughed, "whatever you say."
"No, I just mean that's his magic. He's a god for a reason, but godhood has a steep price." Eveline got serious. "Magic has a steep price." She sighed. "The amount of power he has came at the cost of his sanity. The cost it wanted from me was my sight."
They sat in the quiet for a moment, "so you've never seen anything? At all? Not even yourself?" Jupiter asked finally.
"My mother said it was like I was born with hexes over my eyes. So long as I'm living and breathing as a witch - I will not have my sight. Don't feel bad though; I can still see somewhat, and you can't really miss something you've never had." Eveline explained. "The hardest part will be my kids." She struggled. "My kids will have it worse than I, and my grandkids even worse than that - at least, the ones who will inherit my grandfather's blood."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm happy with how things are, even if I can't see. Now, did I answer your question?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"Of course. Now get some sleep. We'll address everything else after you've rested." Eveline ordered.
"Yes ma'am." Jupiter mumbled, already halfway there anyways. "Just hit me if you need anything, I've been told I sleep like the dead." He gave a wolfish smile with his eyes still closed.
Eveline threw a pillow at him jokingly, but he caught it in midair without even opening his eyes. "You'll likely want to use something harder than a pillow." He threw it back, hitting her squarely in the face.
"No fair! I can't see projectiles!"
He just grinned. "Goodnight, Eveline."
"Good morning, Jupiter." Eveline corrected, but Jupiter didn't even hear her.
 

Eveline woke up suddenly and sat straight up in bed, gasping. Her sight slowly filled in the room and Jupiter was sound asleep on the slab across from her, at least, she could hear him. Vampires levitated on the slabs in their sleep, she had learned in her boredom one day while researching them. She could hear him breathing if she focused hard enough. She thought about saying his name, but decided against it. She crawled out of bed and went out the side door. The house they were in was built up to be many air conditioned rooms that were not connected. You had to step outside just to go into another room, and she could feel the heat from the mid-afternoon sun beating down on her immediately. That answered her question about what time it was.

As she walked around she passed by her grandfather's door, where she could hear him making loud crashing noises and screaming. She put her forehead on the door briefly, feeling sad that her grandfather was suffering likely in the same way she would be if she overexerted herself. She couldn't shake her mind out of the idea that he was suffering because of her. Same as when Jupiter had been injured from the vampire attack.
It was a hard concept for her to swallow. She walked on around the edges of the courtyard, listening to the sounds of Egypt. It was surprisingly pleasant here.
She began her exploration, going into every other door in the house until she finally found the main hall and kitchen area.

The house was surprisingly clean for a house her grandfather owned, she noted with amusement. She walked past a bunch of bookshelves that she deemed as "useless" before entering in the kitchen and sensing something on the wall. She walked over to it, knowing exactly what it was, but for some reason she actually cared this time.

"So you've never seen anything? At all? Not even yourself?"
She closed her eyes and tried to picture herself, but nothing came.
Her brow furrowed, and she remembered something from a long time ago.
"Hm," her grandpa Noten got down to her level, "then promise me you'll remember that you're beautiful, just like your mom."
"I promise. Can I go play with Bear now?"
"I wish I had asked what he meant." She whispered. Her hand reached forward to touch the glass.

"Is everything ok?"
Eveline jumped, causing Jupiter to jump as well, which resulted in both of them giggling.

"Ah, yes, just checking out the wall here. It's a nice wall." Eveline patted the mirror suddenly.
"Indeed, I'm sure it's a lovely wall, but are you sure it had nothing to do with the mirror that's on it?"
"There's a mirror there? Oh, what do you know." Eveline snorted and waved her hand in front of her face blankly, "how would I know there was a mirror there?" She stressed.
"Mhm." Jupiter didn't seem convinced.
"So, what are we doing here anyways? My grandpa doesn't usually shout for us to pack up and take a vacation." Eveline changed the subject quickly.

"Collecting something apparently. I don't know what. He left the instructions on your tablet earlier."
"Ah! Right!" Eveline went and collected her tablet before handing it back to Jupiter. She idly waved her hand in front of her face again, "you're probably a little better at reading than I am." She joked.
"Exactly five flame fruit. No more. No less." Jupiter read off to her.
"Where the heck do we get five flame fruit? That's a plant that's been extinct for hundreds of years." Eveline complained.
"Someone paid attention in history."
"Just to the interesting parts." Eveline shrugged. "They caused the plant to go extinct when fighting - oh." She stopped suddenly.
Jupiter sucked in his lips. "Vampires. Yes."
"Why do we need these then? To fight off that clan?"
"Unlikely. Your grandfather already sent someone to dispatch them." Jupiter said levelly.
"When did this happen?!" Eveline looked confused.
"Well Sleeping Beauty, that's what happens when you sleep through the night. It's why I, myself, never like to do so." Jupiter teased.
Eveline playfully slapped his arm. "I was DRUGGED."
"Yeah, well I had been beaten to a pulp, you don't see me complaining." He grinned.
Eveline got serious, "don't joke about that. I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble."
"I'm fine, Eveline. Only a few broken bones and a scraped up face, that's all." He shrugged.
"Oh my gosh! That sounds terrible! How are you- wait... are you joking?" Eveline scrambled, trying to focus to see if she could tell how badly he was injured.
"I heal really fast, Eveline. Please, don't worry." He said quietly. "I meant it when I implied that it was no big deal. One small upside in being a monster, I guess." He half-smiled.
"Why do you do that?" She looked at him seriously.
"What?"
"Call yourself that. You're not."
"I am, by definition, a monster, Eveline." Jupiter retorted.
"Stop." Eveline demanded. Her voice wasn't even remotely playing anymore. "You're not a monster, Jupiter."
Jupiter sucked in a breath. "If you could feel what I do, you would think I was a monster too." He spoke quietly, however his voice was melodic. "I can feel your blood moving beneath your skin. Doesn't that disturb you?"
Eveline swallowed, but didn't back down, instead she took a step closer. "I can see neighbors walking around their house. Doesn't that disturb you?"
"That's hardly the same." He tried to argue.
"You won't convince me. Am I a monster?"
"Of course not-"
"Then neither are you."
"Eveline," Jupiter started.
Eveline held up her hand, "ah-ah-ah. Discussion closed."
"Hardly."
"Zip. Closed." She finished. "Moving on now, where are we going to get these "exactly five" extinct flame fruit?"
Jupiter sighed heavily. "It also says something else on the list Majnun wrote."
"Oh?"
"A name."
"That's a start. Let's go!" Eveline turned to head for the door, but Jupiter didn't follow. She turned back, "you coming, or what?"
Jupiter shifted uneasily, "if it's all the same to you, I'd much rather wait a few more hours before heading out." He shrugged, "sensitive skin, you know?"
"Oh?" It dawned on her, "oh... oh! I'm so sorry, I forgot."
"Weren't we just having this conversation?"
"No. That conversation closed. I stopped paying attention to it."
"So I see."
Eveline's stomach growled. "Oh, probably a good idea to eat first anyways. I wonder if we can order a pizza out here?"
Jupiter laughed, "I doubt it. What would you like to eat?"
"Pizza! Oh, no, wait, spaghetti sounds great!" Eveline joked, "I wonder if they have an Italian delivery place here? Maybe we can call across the Mediterranean?"
"One spaghetti, coming right up." Jupiter raided the fridge.
"Will it have plasma for sauce?"
Jupiter glared at her, "no." He said with disgust.
"Then I don't see how you're going to cook it." Eveline smirked.
Jupiter smirked right back, "well, last I heard, you don't see much anyways."
"Ha-ha." Eveline rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses which he couldn't see.
"Ah! I found it. Tonight, you shall dine on some spaghetti. Or at least, something that looks like it." Jupiter mused.
"You're cooking for little ol' me? I'm honored." Eveline grinned as she sat down at the table.

"When did you actually learn to cook? I mean... do you taste your meals?" Eveline suddenly got curious.
Jupiter laughed as he continued prepping the food, "if you can't already tell, sleep isn't as important to..." He always had trouble using the word in relaxed conversations. "Those like me." He finished. "I had a lot of time on my hands to learn a lot of things."
"Like the Violin?" Eveline smiled.
Jupiter stopped suddenly and looked at her, "you heard that? I'm so sorry. Did I wake you?"
"Not at all. I love music. It's actually something I can enjoy. You were so good at it too. Will you play for me later?"
"It's one of my newer skills, so I'm still learning a lot, but if you'd like I could try." He turned back around and got to chopping again.
Eveline rested her head on her hand, "so what other skills does the infamous Jupiter Belle possess, I wonder?" Eveline thought out loud, hoping for an answer.
"I dabbled in a bit of martial arts, cooking - well, obviously, and photography."
"And you call yourself a big, scary Vampire?" Eveline teased.
"What about you? Any hidden talents?"
"I take pride in being a public nuisance." Eveline joked, but then her smile faltered, "but no. Not much special about me. I can't see, so that takes away pretty much every skill there is." She paused thoughtfully. "Except gardening."
"A gardener?" Jupiter didn't sound like he believed her.
"Yes. A gardener. Feel free to make fun if you want, but I find the earth soothing. The only way I can see is through extension of the ground, so I guess I feel kind of sentimental about it." Eveline shrugged.
"I wasn't planning on making fun. I just think it's really cool. I couldn't grow anything to save my life. Jack was always the green thumb. It felt like everything I touched died. I once knocked over one of his plants trying to help water it, which then knocked another one over, which then knocked the alchemy mixture Liam made over into another plant and thoroughly killed all the plants in the room at once." He chuckled. "Jack made me swear to not touch any of his plants ever again. He was joking of course, but it was a running joke between the three of us."
Eveline laughed lightly. "I haven't actually done any growing. I'd probably kill all the plants too. I do a lot of research into it though - well, that's why I knew about the flame fruit. Imagine - if we actually find one I could potentially bring it back to life!" Eveline shrugged, "or try to, at least."
"Dinner's ready." Jupiter called.
They sat together at the table where Eveline began to eat up while Jupiter looked up the name of the person Majnun was directing them to.

"This is amazing!" Eveline said with her mouth half-full.
Jupiter smirked, "thanks. I guess I don't need to taste-test my food to know it's good."
Eveline nodded, "aren't you going to eat something?"
"I already have."
Eveline stopped eating for a moment and tilted her head, "what, exactly, do you eat?" She paused, "or... who?" She asked quietly.
Jupiter reached into the bag his laptop came out of and pulled out a pulsing fruit. "Jack calls it the Plasma fruit. He made it himself so I wouldn't have to eat human plasma. I was... thoroughly against it as a child. Well I still am, but that's beside the point."
"Can I touch it?"
Jupiter nodded and Eveline reached out to grab it in her hands, "it's so strange, it feels like it has a heartbeat. How cool." She whispered. "It fills your hunger?"
"Kind of." Jupiter shrugged. "It keeps me from starving to death, so that's good."
"Care to elaborate?" Eveline put the fruit back down on the table and finished up her food.
"It doesn't take away the bloodlust." Jupiter put the fruit away in his bag. "Part of me wonders if I'm just always supposed to have this pounding in my head and hypersensitivity to human contact, but it seems to be getting worse over time. I don't remember it being this bad when I was a kid." He shrugged. "Who knows?"
Eveline's brow furrowed, absorbing the information. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I didn't know."
Jupiter looked at her inquisitively, before bumping his elbow into her arm. "You don't have to keep me at arm's length you know. I'm very good at monitoring myself."
"I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."
Jupiter coughed for a moment, "ah, I guess I didn't explain that well enough... no. It's not a bad feeling, it's a very, very good one. That's kind of the problem with it. It's supposed to feel good for both parties. You know, seduction and all that jazz." He tried to be nonchalant about it, but deep down he was praying she wouldn't make a comment about him being too close with her.
Eveline nodded for a moment, "ah, well, how lucky for you that you always get to be smooth and charming. Meanwhile, I'll be over here... banging my head on car ceilings and tripping over doorframes in times of crises." She cringed.
Jupiter laughed though, "don't you realize how much better you handle car ceilings and doorframes than every other blind person?" He teased.
"Yeah, yeah." Eveline stuck her tongue out at him. "Has the sun set yet? I'm bored." Eveline said quietly.
Jupiter looked to the window, "that it has; well, mostly, but I can handle the setting sun rays. I also found our target's address."
"Just one last thing before we go," Eveline stood up from the table and grabbed a plate of food.

"I'll be back." She took the plate and wandered out the door. Jupiter followed her close behind, even though she said she would come back he never wanted her to be alone for long periods of time.
Eveline magically unlocked Majnun's door and moved to open it.
"I don't think he wants to be disturbed!" Jupiter said quickly.
"He already is disturbed." Eveline joked. "I don't think he'll mind me." She opened the door slowly, "it's best if you wait here, though." She walked in and shut the door behind her.

The crashing in the room stopped suddenly, and Eveline slowly opened the door and stepped out again. "There. All set?"
"Is everything ok? Should we wait for him to start this?" Jupiter said quietly.
"He wouldn't have given us the name if he wanted us to wait." Eveline reassured.
Jupiter nodded, "let's go."

Jupiter spoke in Egyption with the person who lived at the supposed address of the written name.

Eveline quietly waited at the end of the drive, trying to make out what they were saying, but soon realized that even if she could hear them properly, she still wouldn't understand. If only she knew more than one language.
Jupiter started to head back over to Eveline, "two bits of good and one bit of not good news." Jupiter stated to her when he got close enough.
"What is it?"
"Well, he knows that there is flame fruit around here - somewhere." Jupiter paused, "but he doesn't know where exactly. He has a way to find out though, and he wants us to do some ancient tomb searching for some old documentations."
"Sounds fun!" Eveline squealed.
"Sounds dangerous." Jupiter noted. "I'm not so sure-"
"I'll do it! It'll be grand!" Eveline went running for their kenspa.
"-if we should..." Jupiter trailed off and sighed. "I go where you go." He said exasperatedly.
"My turn to drive!"
Jupiter's eyes went wide, "no! No! No!"


"Stay close behind me." Jupiter called to her.
"Whatever you say, bossman." She teased.
They explored the rooms of the ruins, happily there weren't any traps, but it didn't stop Jupiter from testing absolutely everything first. In one of the chests was a keystone that Jupiter carefully picked up in his hands. "I bet this is for that door over there - the one you said was locked. It's a keystone."
"Fancy!" Eveline reached over and picked it up out of Jupiter's hand but was massively surprised at it's weight. "Crap, I guess that's the 'stone' part of a 'keystone.'" She smiled sheepishly. "I can do this part!" She wandered over to the wall and Jupiter gave her an amused smirk.
"Be my guest."

Eveline paused suddenly, breathing hard at holding the weight up in her hands. "Uhm... mind telling me if I'm hot or cold?"
Jupiter coughed suddenly, and looked at her wide-eyes, "well, I mean... you're beautiful..."
Eveline grinned suddenly, her face turning bright red, and she faltered with the keystone, "I meant, based off of how close I was to actually getting the keystone in." She said quickly.
"Oh!" Jupiter almost prayed there was a trap door beneath him that would open up and swallow him whole at that moment. "Sorry, I, uh... you're warm, but you're up too high. Here." He walked over behind her and helped her prop the stone into the wall, his chest was pressed to her back. He could feel the heat from her embarrassment on her cheeks and ears and smiled at the thought that he wasn't the only one. Eveline gave in at this point, and decided she would take a direct approach with him. She stood on her tip toes in a way that she knew would cause her to lose balance and applied force to the stone.
If he wanted to make her embarrassed, then this was war.
Once the stone slid in, Eveline tumbled backwards and directly into him. He steadied her easily and she turned around to face him, feeling dangerous. "What was that again about being hot or cold?" She breathed, giving him a smirk.
He sputtered, and then chuckled, pretending she was just pulling his leg. "We, ah, should... erm move forward, right?"
Eveline grinned and turned to open the door, brushing past him on the way. It made her feel better knowing she could at least take him down a rung on the sophisticated scale.
They managed to find an old library deep within the tomb that Jupiter tore through looking for the right documents while Eveline watched.
"Oh hey look! Here they are!" Eveline called suddenly.
Jupiter immediately stopped and looked at her, "where?!" He called.
"That's what it will sound like when you find it." Eveline smirked and leaned against the doorframe.
Jupiter rolled his eyes and shook his head. "That's not helpful you know." He called to her.
She giggled, "it's your fault for not remembering the obvious." She shrugged. "Don't mind me, I'll just stand here looking... what was that word? Beautiful? Yeah, beautiful was what I think you used." She smirked.
Jupiter wasn't as perturbed as she expected him to be, he shrugged nonchalantly while flipping through old parchments, "you act like that's something you have to try to do." He smiled while he read. "When in reality it's just a state in which you exist." By this point he had picked up on her teasing and embraced it fully.
Eveline flushed and looked away, pretending to be bored, but they both knew better.
"Hey, I found it." Jupiter said suddenly, and both of them snapped out of it. "I really found it. Wow."
"That's great! What do we do now?"
"We turn these papers in, and then we turn in ourselves. It's getting early." Jupiter put the book in his bag he carried and they made their way towards the exit.


The sun was creeping into the sky by the time they arrived back at the house. Eveline looked like she was about to drop. She excused herself to the bathroom to scrub the layers of ancient dust from herself while Jupiter decided to make her breakfast.

Eveline ate slowly, and Jupiter volunteered to take breakfast in to Majnun that morning. Eveline was grateful, and she crawled right into bed after that.

She was almost getting used to having Jupiter around all of the time; in fact, she hoped he never left.

[mpart]

Aww! Those two! I love Liam! 

[PeregrineTook]

The "doesn't want to be disturbed" "he's already disturbed" part was fantastic!  Another lovely update  :=)

[Magpie2012]

Ship! Ship! Ship! *steamship noises*

Sigh, I so adore these 2 together. I think Evie could teach Jupiter that the "feel good for both parties" aspect of his bloodlust is really true. I can't wait til they figure that part out lol smexy as all get out!

[LivvieLove]

Two updates in a row. I've got to catch up! I'm going! Mush! Mush! Mush!
Actually I've just had a lot of free time on my hands. Thank my new/old boss (was my old boss, left that job and rehired me at a new company, he's amazing).

Also, this isn't a formal announcement (that will come after this chapter), but you should really, really check out the Labelles by mpart and the wonderful idea of a collaboration between the two of us will be occurring both here and in Another Labelle Story. I'll do a proper formal announcement after this chapter is up with all the goodies. Until then: more lengthy update posts while the momentum is still going strong!

Trust and Bloodlust: Part Two
Jupiter was struggling with himself, going through twice the amount of plasma fruit than he normally would. He just couldn't be too careful. He wouldn't let the monster inside himself go. She had been so close to him the day before: so warm, so touchable. The hard part was that he couldn't figure out if it was the bloodlust encouraging him anymore or if it was... something else.

In the beginning he was drawn to her because she smelled of flowers, honey and something unplacable but it felt like fire. It was an intoxicating smell though that actually made him crave for the taste of plasma in a way he never had before. Though he had never let himself be that close to anyone either - to dance with them or to even stand so close. He always wanted so badly to be normal. It's why he even tried dating Elspeth. She had always called him a "freak" and she had made such a disgusted face when he tried to get too close. She always told him it was affectionate - just teasing in her name-calling and mannerisms, but now he knew better.
"You won't convince me. Am I a monster?"
"Of course not-"
"Then neither are you."
Even in their most playful conversations she's never once put him down. She was so sure that day that he almost believed her.
Almost.
He found himself smiling as he made her breakfast, or rather dinner - it was getting late and she would be waking up soon. Part of him thought he could get used to this: sleeping all day, making her food, discovering new things each night. It sounded exactly like the life he wanted, just minus the vampirism and reversed schedule. He thought of how determined she was to get the keystone in, or how she tried to help him move the statues around the room, even though she couldn't do much.
He looked down and saw he had nearly burned the grilled cheese he had been cooking. Yet he couldn't stop thinking about her. The way she smiled, her laughter, the way her cheeks turn pink when she's embarrassed. She takes everything in stride and he was so insanely jealous of that.
No he knew it wasn't the bloodlust anymore that drew him back to her, and that's what made it hurt so much worse.
What if she didn't feel the same way?
His heart dropped.
What if she did?
He couldn't be with her. Not like this. But if he were human...
He idly wondered if they would get married. Eveline would show up and crack a joke about crossing her fingers and hoping she picked the right color dress to wear; he chuckled at the thought. Then he wondered if they would have children? Certainly not just one, but most definitely at least one little girl who looked exactly like her mother. Blond hair and beautiful dark skin that turns bright pink when he teases her. She could have his nose, he supposed... but as he pictured the girls face all he could see were glowing eyes.
He shuddered and shook his head.
Wistful daydreams, that's all these things would likely ever be. No one recorded has ever been fully cured of vampirism. No one.
Jupiter sighed sadly, placing the grilled cheese on the plate next to him and turning off the stove. Even if he was cured, why would she choose him of all people? He probably just reminds her of what happened that night with the clan of bloodsuckers.
Yet, despite all of that, he still couldn't shake the fact that he hoped it would happen anyways.
He got a plate ready and as he turned around Eveline had meandered into the kitchen, wiping sleep from her eyes.

"How are you up before me?! I went to bed before you did!" Eveline pouted.
Jupiter grinned but didn't respond to her comments. He instead raised the plate up a little, "I made you some food." He paused, "oh, I really hope you like grilled cheese, at least."
"It smells amazing, honestly I'm surprised you think I'm that picky."
"I just want to be sure you like it." Jupiter shrugged, and he grabbed another plate which he planned to drop off with Majnun, but he paused and chuckled.
"What?" Eveline's face scrunched up in confusion as she took another bite of the sandwich.
"Your pyjamas are cute." He teased.
Eveline's eyes went wide as she swallowed, "watcher, crap I forgot to change!" She immediately stood up and started to head for the opposite door. She stopped abruptly and turned swiftly, grabbing the plate with the rest of the sandwich before running off back to the bedroom.
Jupiter just laughed and watched her go, highly amused.

Jupiter stepped out of the bathroom when he was ambushed by Eveline.
"Is it time yet?! Can we go? I want to go inside a pyramid tonight!" She squealed.

Jupiter laughed, "we're going to have to collect turquoise first so we can trade it in exchange for the entrance key."
Eveline groaned, "but that's so much work! Can't we just take the key?!"
"No." Jupiter said, unwavering.
Eveline sighed, "alright, alright. Where do we go first?"
"Well, I was going to see if the market had any turquoise first."
Eveline grinned, "clever, Jupiter, very clever."


"You're sure? You don't even have one?"
The woman shook her head, "no, I'm sorry my friend."
Jupiter sighed, "well, thank you for your time."
"Wait!" The woman stopped him, she then bent down and rummaged through the cupboards below her, "ah, here it is!" She waved some parchment at him. When she stood up she unrolled it and revealed a map of the area. She pulled out a pen and circled three areas. "There are turquoise deposits here, here, and here. If you go there, I'm sure you'll find some loose turquoise to take home."
"This is invaluable. Thank you so much." He nodded to her, and she smiled at him.
"You're the first young man to ever be polite to me, so I'm glad I could help. Please, take the map."
"Thank you again, miss." Jupiter bowed politely before turning and realizing that Eveline wasn't right behind him.
Panic filled him suddenly as he ran through the doorway and into the market square. "Eveline?!" He called out, his heart racing.
"Hey! Jupiter! Look!"

Eveline was waving at him as she made horrifying noises from the pipe. "I'm totally a snake charmer today!" She grinned wildly before attempting to use the flute again.
Jupiter laughed, "you scared me. I had no idea where you went."
"Did I make the snake come out?!" She leaned forward and put her hand in the basket, causing Jupiter to leap forward.
"Let's not do that today, shall we?" He snatched her hand away and pulled her to her feet in one swift movement.
"Killjoy." Eveline muttered. "Did you get the turquoise?"
"No, but I got the map that will take us to some turquoise." Jupiter put the scroll in her hands.
Eveline groaned loudly, "I was really hoping we would get to go into the pyramid tonight!"
"What's up with you and pyramids?" He joked.
"I don't know, they're massive! There's just something unshakable about them that I admire. You know?"
Jupiter looked at her in admiration, "yeah. I do." He said quietly, not actually meaning what she thought he was.
"Well, I guess we should get started on our turquoise adventure! Lead the way!" She took off running for the road.
"Hey! I can't lead if you're running the opposite direction with my map!" He called after her.

They were hiking mostly through uncharted territories of Egypt. They made their way around one bend and Jupiter stopped, frozen. Eveline noticed and called out to him, "hey! What are you waiting on? Dawn? We're burning moonlight here!"
"This is so amazing though! I wish I had my camera."

"Yeah, yeah. It's just a bunch of rocks." She teased.
Jupiter shook his head but smiled at her and they carried on. "The map says it's just a little ways further down this..." Jupiter stopped suddenly. "Road."
"Is that a pyramid?" Eveline asked suddenly.
"Yeah, Eveline... That's a pyramid."

"It's footprint is huge. I'm having trouble... even grasping it." Eveline seemed out of breath.
"It's incredible." Jupiter stared at it in awe.
"I think I found your turquoise deposits!" Eveline said suddenly, and she pointed to a pile of stones in front of them.
"Exactly where she said they'd be. Awesome." Jupiter said before turning his attention back to the pyramid.
Eveline shifted, "Jupiter?" She asked hesitantly.
He turned around immediately and for some reason felt like the words had been taken from him when he looked at her. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and shifted and finally he found his voice, "yes?" His voice came out raspy, but at least it was there. Suddenly the pyramid didn't seem that wonderful.
"Would you... describe it to me?" She asked hopefully.
Jupiter felt his smile growing. "I'll do my best." He paused, "here, come over here." He motioned as he sat on the ground.
She sat down next to him and giggled, "what are we doing?"
"I'm going to describe it to you, the best way that I can," he paused as something struck him. "But I wanted to ask you something first."

"Hmm?"
"Why are you wearing those sunglasses? It's just you and I. You really don't need them." He tapped the rim of her aviators.
Eveline looked down for a minute, remembering sad memories. "I used to get made fun of a lot as a kid for my eyes. I mean... I can't see them," she paused, her voice dropping to sarcasm, "clearly..." she sighed, "but other's have always told me that I look... well, like a freak. I guess I just... didn't want you to think I was a freak too, since we're spending an extended amount of time together." She shrugged.
Jupiter felt stunned for a moment, remembering all the times he'd ever been called a freak. It was painful to hear her say that about a word he only ever associated with himself. He sat up and turned to face her before gingerly removing her sunglasses from her face. He shook his head with disbelief. "You're beautiful, Eveline. You don't need to cover any part of you up. Anyone who can't see that is more blind than you are."
Her cheeks started to turn pink again and Jupiter grinned.
"Sit back." Eveline said quietly, as she pushed him back into a relaxed sitting position facing her.
"Hmm? What are you doing?" He was smiling, but suddenly she had her hands on his face and he sat frozen as they started to get warm in an unusual way.
"I just... want to see your face." She whispered. Her hands were warm with magic as she traced around the edges of his face. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. He studied her face while her hands studied his and he wondered what it would be like to kiss her. He bit his lip, feeling nervous.
"What color is your hair?" Eveline asked as her hands came into contact with it. "You said you had blue eyes but I don't know what color your hair is."
"Blue." He said suddenly. "Black with blue." He managed to choke out; but inside he felt like he his heart had wrapped around his vocal chords and was strangling him.
Eveline started to smile as she continued to trace along his face. Her hand ran over what was left of one of the cuts from the fight and her face fell slightly before scrunching into confusion. "What's this?"
"It's still healing from... well from the other night." He whispered.
Her face twisted into something sad. "You could've died." She whispered back and shook her head. "You could have died because of me..." She could feel her eyes starting to burn at the realization of everything that was at stake that night.
"Hey," Jupiter tried to comfort her. "Shh, it's ok." He leaned forward and put his forehead against hers.
"Why?" She asked finally. "Why did you fight? You could've run. Why did you stay?"
"I wasn't going to let them take you."
"That doesn't explain why though. You hardly knew me." Her hands were resting at the base of his neck.
"You're the first person I've ever been this close to." The statement was both the answer and just something he felt needed to be said. "When I'm with you, I don't feel like a monster anymore."
Eveline opened her mouth to say something but he continued: "you're such a beautiful person, Eveline. The world couldn't stand to lose someone like you."
Eveline pulled her forehead away from him, to his dismay. He felt her hands warm again as she continued to feel along his face. "Thank you." She whispered as she traced along his nose. "For saving me." She paused, "and for this. You know, Ivan used to talk about you. Well, before you were... you."
Jupiter smirked, "before I was me?"
"Before I knew you, and he knew you... we just knew you were the guy dating Elspeth. He always talked about how she... well... hated her boyfriend - you. I'm assuming." Eveline shifted awkwardly and Jupiter shrugged.
"She used to call me a freak a lot," he paused, "affectionately, of course." His tone dripped in sarcasm.
"That's not something you can say to someone affectionately." Eveline made a face. her hand moved along his cheekbone. "She's an idiot."
Jupiter tried to stifle a laugh but couldn't, "my goodness, Eveline."
"What? It's true. You're kind and funny and... gorgeous." Eveline's smile was warm as she continued to feel along his face.
Jupiter's eyes went wide, unsure of what to make of the comment. "Thank you." Was all he could manage.
Eveline nodded.
"So you and Ivan used to gossip about me?" Jupiter teased.
"Ivan was just jealous. He wanted to date Elspeth."
Jupiter snorted.
"What?"
"I knew Ivan was an idiot based off his allegiances, but I suppose it turns out he's a fool too."
"I told him she wasn't worth it." Eveline sighed.
"No, not that." Jupiter said quietly, "he thought Elspeth was a good option when you were right there."
"You act like I would've wanted him." Eveline made a face.
"It doesn't matter. He was pining for the wrong girl. That's my opinion on the subject anyways."
She could feel her cheeks burning. She let her magic fade away and her hands slowly drop before changing the subject. "I don't want to do this to the whole pyramid, so... you said you were going to describe it to me?" She joked lightly.
Jupiter couldn't stop smiling. "I dunno, I think you'd do a great job outlining the pyramid. It would just take the rest of your life."
"No thank you." She laughed.
Jupiter moved back to sitting beside her.

"Ok, so it's really big." He started.
"Yeah, I get that already."

They had only just collected all the turquoise they would need and started heading back by the time the sun was starting to rise. Eveline didn't even complain that they spent hours just sitting outside of the pyramid. There was a sort of boundary that seems to have fallen between the two of them now. The came home covered in mud and dust but they didn't care. They crawled right into their beds and fell fast asleep.

Eveline felt the darkness consuming her, she tossed and turned and could hear Ivan's laughter. She couldn't move, she couldn't see, she couldn't breathe.

She woke up gasping, her hand clutching her chest. Her magic hadn't fully surged in before she threw herself out of bed and onto the floor. "Jupiter?" She called out hoarsely. He wasn't in the room. Slowly her magic worked its way out and she took off running for the door.
She slid around the hallway making a beeline for the kitchen. Her vision was pulling in and out because she hadn't given it enough time to settle before she took off so fast. So when she burst into the kitchen she had to stop and focus to gather where Jupiter was.

"Eveline? What's-"
She ran at him and threw her arms around him. "I can't..." She breathed. "There's too much. I just can't." She rested her face against his shoulder and breathed him in.

Jupiter was shocked, but he immediately hugged her back. "It was just a dream." He said quietly. "It was only a dream."
She was trembling. "I just couldn't bear how dark it was. I was suffocating. I can't..."
Jupiter held her tighter. "You know I won't let anything happen to you."
"You're not leaving, right?"
"Not unless you want me to."
"Never."
"Then you have your answer."

Night descended. Jupiter and Eveline packed up all of their things they could. They weren't sure how long they'd be gone in the pyramid, but they would rather be safe than sorry.
"This one's even bigger than the last one." Eveline said in awe.

"Shall I describe this one too?" He grinned wildly.
Eveline stuck her tongue out at him, "do you still wish you had your camera with you?" Eveline asked. He had moved to find a way into the door.

"Why? It's just 'a bunch of rocks.'" He teased, mimicking her.
She took off her shoe and threw it at him, missing by a large margin.
Jupiter laughed loudly, "I'm so glad you're blind sometimes."
Eveline stomped over and retrieved her shoe and put it back on. "Well, I wasn't aiming for you anyway. It was just a warning shot."
"Uh huh." Jupiter grinned without looking away from what he was doing. The door creaked open and suddenly Eveline's face grew worried as the ground shook beneath her.
"What was that?!"
"That was the door. Welcome to the Pyramid of Burning Sands, Ms. Eveline."
"I wonder why they call it that?" Eveline thought outloud.
Jupiter placed the keystone in and the next door shuddered open. A massive wave of hot hair hit them. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that it has something to do with the warm air coming out of it?"
"Har har har."
"We should be very careful though, there's something strange about this heat." Jupiter warned.
"Let's get moving then, shall we?" Eveline ducked past him and into the room, but stopped a little ways in, "something is odd here."
Jupiter raised his eyebrows and walked past her. "I was trying-" A massive force slammed him into the wall, and all of the sudden there was fire everywhere.
"Jupiter!" Eveline ran over to him. "I'm so sorry!"
He felt her hands running along him, hot with magic. "I'm fine" he grunted. "What was that?"
"It took me too long to realize there was a fire trap in the floor... I panicked and shoved you into the wall to prevent you from getting hit."
"How could you have shoved me? You were all the way over-" He stopped. "Oh, I get it. Magic and stuff. Right."
"I'm so, so sorry." Eveline sat next to him on the ground.
"Don't be. You saved my life. I owe you one." Jupiter smiled.
Eveline shook her head, "no, you've saved my life many times already. If we're keeping score I would say that I'm the one who still owes you."
"I just saved your life the one time, it's nothing to write home about."
Eveline choked on a laugh, "sure thing." She looked down, "you also sat with me when I couldn't see, didn't you? I was so afraid... but you made it less scary."
Jupiter's face became serious, "you remember that?"
"I could never forget."
They shared a look for a long moment before Jupiter moved to stand up and helped Eveline stand with him. "Alright, so traps are everywhere. Let's be really, very, extra cautious, shall we?"

"I don't get it! Is this another dead end?! This can't be the end." Eveline put her head in her hands as she sat on the side of a pool of water.
"There's one thing we haven't checked." Jupiter pointed to the pool behind her.
"Go in there?! Gross! I can't even swim." Eveline shook her head.
Jupiter laughed, "who said you'd be going in? I'll do it."
"But what if something happens to you?" Eveline sputtered.
Jupiter grinned, "you're worried something will eat me in this boiling wasteland?" He began loosening the laces on his shoes and unbuttoning parts of his jacket.
"I don't know what I'd do without you." Eveline said just barely above a whisper.
Jupiter wasn't expecting such a serious response. "Then ask me to come back."
Eveline gave him a strange look.
"Ask me." He said again, more persistently.
"Alright, I'll bite." She shrugged, "please make sure you come back?"
Jupiter grinned, "then I'll come back because you asked me to."
"I don't think it works like that." Eveline was trying not to smile.
"Oh, it does. Just trust me on that one." Jupiter climbed onto the edge of the pool.
Eveline jumped back, "you really were serious about this?" She shook her head.

"I'm even going to keep my hat on, that's how easy this will be."
With that he dove in, and Eveline ran to the edge of the pool, trying her best to see into it, but she just couldn't. Water wasn't solid enough for that.
The next few moments felt like hours as she waited for him to surface.
The sound of bubbles grew louder and suddenly Jupiter burst through the surface, gasping for air.
"Jupiter! Are you alright?" Eveline shouted to him.
"I told you I'd come back!" He smirked as he dumped the water out of his hat and placed it back on his head.

He climbed up and sat on the edge. "Bad news, Eveline." He wrung out his jacket. "There's a tunnel down there that will be the way we need to go forward."
"There's no other way?"
"I'm afraid not. We've checked everything else."
"I don't know... I could swim in a pool when I was younger, but this... this is uncharted territory for me."
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do Jupiter."
Jupiter held his hand out to her, "then trust that I won't let anything happen to you."
Eveline hesitated, but took his hand and used it to balance herself as she stood at the edge of the pool. She closed her eyes and stepped off, dropping into the warm water. Jupiter's hand still grasped hers, and pulled her back towards the surface where she gasped. Jupiter pulled her to the side so she wouldn't be treading water. "Let me know when you're ready to go through." He said calmly.
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

They both pulled up to the surface of the water and gasped. Jupiter immediately yanked himself onto the edge of the pool and used himself to pull Eveline out. She lay on the ground coughing as Jupiter shook the water out of his hat again. "Not so bad, right?" He teased.
"Yeah, definitely not a fan." Eveline said between coughs.
Jupiter laughed and helped her to her feet.

Eveline noted suddenly as she felt the need to yawn. "I wonder what time it is?"
Jupiter shrugged. "Who knows? Probably about mid-morning. Are you tired? Perhaps we should take a break and rest."
"Sounds good to me. We should at the very least air the tent out to dry."
"With as hot as it's been, I'm thinking it's almost best we leave the tent wet so it won't spontaneously catch fire." Jupiter laughed.
Soon they had the room cleared of all traps and they set out their tent for the night.
It was then though, that Jupiter felt real fear for the first time.
"No!" He immediately tore through his bags.
"What's wrong?" Eveline called from laying her things out to dry.
"No, no, no! My fruits! They're gone! I know I had more of them!" He put his head in his hands.
"I'm sure they're around here." Eveline tried to stay positive.
"You don't understand, Eveline... I can't..." His hands started shaking.
Eveline went over to sit next to him, but he threw himself away from her. "Stay back. Keep away from me. I can't risk this. I can't risk you." His panic was evident.
Eveline shook her head, "Jupiter. Everything is going to be ok." She slowly tried inching her way over to him.
"I'll swim back through, and lock myself in one of those sarcophagi we saw earlier. I'll probably have to collapse it first... but I think I can manage that."
"Jupiter..."
"If you use your magic you can collapse the tunnel after me. This is too dangerous. I shouldn't have risked this."
"Jupiter!"
"I won't put you in danger!"
Eveline stood swiftly and picked up her wet jacket she had brought. She balled it up and threw it at Jupiter. He stared at her, stunned, and everything was quiet.
"That got your attention at least." She sighed. She walked over to him and sat down on his legs, just in case he tried to get away.
"You shouldn't be so close to me." He shivered.
Eveline didn't listen. She gripped his face.
"Eveline..." He warned.
"Jupiter." Her voice was loud and firm.
He exhaled a shaky breath, but was doing his best not to breathe in.
Eveline let go of one side of his face and brushed her wet hair off of one side of her neck.
Jupiter started to panic. "Stop." He tried looking away.
"Take my plasma. Take it if you have to."
"No. I won't." He whimpered. "I won't be like them."
Eveline gripped his face again with both hands and forced him to look in her direction. It never mattered to her more than in that moment that he knew she was serious. "You aren't like them."
He tried to turn his head away but she swung it back around.
"STOP." She raised her voice for the first time. "Look at me, Jupiter." He complied. "This isn't you. That person you see yourself as - that monster - isn't you. I believe you can take my plasma and know when to stop. I believe that you have more than enough self control. You are not them and you will never be them. Please believe me." She bit her lip, and then remembered, "you promised you wouldn't leave me. I'm going to hold you to it. Please stay with me. Please come back to me?"
Real tears were coming from his eyes now and he trembled. "I... I just don't want to hurt you."
She pulled him close and hugged him. "Then you won't. Wasn't it just you who told me that you could do anything if you were asked? If you truly believed in it?"
"I'm so sorry." He sobbed.
"Jupiter... it's ok."
"You once told me that your greatest fear is the dark. Being alone in it." Jupiter breathed, "mine is that I'll lose control. That I won't be me anymore. That all I'll be is the monster." He clutched her tightly to him.
"That's not possible." Eveline whispered. "There is no monster, Jupiter. You are not a monster." Her hands brushed through his hair, knocking off his hat. "You're just tired and hot and this place seems never ending but we will find our way out. Let's not worry about your plasma until we need to cross that bridge. You're not out of food."
"No. You're not an option." He said firmly.
"Listen to me-"
"No. No. No!" He shook his head. "I will not bend on this."
"Jupiter... please." She begged.
"I'm not changing my mind." He pressed his head to her shoulder. "I will never let anything happen to you."
"Fine." Eveline let out a slow breath. "I can respect that, but I'm not going to just lock you in here either."
"You might not have a choice." He said coldly, through gritted teeth.
"We do, and that choice is that we're going to get out of here."
Jupiter looked at her, sadness still covering his face, "how can you be so optimistic? We should be prepared for the worst."
"The worst case? The only 'worst case' I can see if you going nuts trying to lock yourself in this pyramid and me going nuts trying to stop you. What if the other side of that wall is the way out? Then how silly will you feel? We're almost through. I can feel it. You have to hang in there with me though."
Jupiter nodded slowly, and Eveline felt relief flood through her.
"Let's get some sleep, ok?" She stood up and pulled him with her this time. They were both still reeling and Jupiter didn't have it in him to protest being in the same tent as her.


Jupiter's eyes were sore from when he had cried earlier. He opened them slowly and realized he wasn't alone. Eveline was asleep against him, breathing steadily. He felt shame burning in him from his outburst. He needed to keep himself together for her.

Once everything had been packed up, Jupiter slowly managed to push the right statues into place to unlock the door to the next room.
"How are you feeling?" Eveline broke the silence that had fallen between them.
Jupiter turned and looked at her, "I think I'll be alright." He paused for a long time. "I'm sorry for how I reacted."
Eveline took a step towards him, "there's no need to be sorry. Fear causes us to react in strange ways."
"It wasn't right though, and I'm sorry."
"Let's just work on getting out of here." Eveline smiled, "then you can apologize to me again." She teased lightly.
Jupiter smiled, but it didn't last. "Help me push this door open, I think something is stuck behind it."
They both pushed and worked against the door until it suddenly gave and they fell through.

"Jupiter... is this... what I think it is?"
"It's here... It's really actually here!" Jupiter actually started laughing hysterically. "We did it!" He turned and picked Eveline up and spun her around in his excitement.
They both celebrated and rejoiced before slowly collecting the few flame fruits they could.
"Eveline, I don't know if you'll believe this, but there is exactly five flame fruits here."
Eveline grinned. "Let's grab them and get out of here."

"It's hard to imagine vampires falling to this, you know?" Jupiter mused, however when he held the fruit in his hands he could feel the burning on his skin. Slowly he connected the dots.
"Hey, I think I found the exit! Look, it connects to the front! I can see it!" Eveline pointed to the hidden door she had pushed open.
Jupiter could feel his heart soaring with this new revelation, he turned and followed Eveline out into the dawn.

Eveline trotted several paces ahead of him. "I never thought I'd feel cool air again!" She called, waving her arms around. "It feels lovely!"
She turned when she realized Jupiter wasn't moving from where he stood.
"What's wrong? We did it! We made it out!" She jogged back towards him. "You should be happy! We'll go home and you can have all the fruit you can eat!"

Jupiter looked at her with admiration. "There's nothing wrong... In fact... everything is right." He said slowly.
"What are you talking about?"
Jupiter threw the fruit to the side and crossed the space between them fluidly, pulling Eveline into him.

Eveline stopped breathing and slowly melted into the kiss. Jupiter pulled back and waited, wondering if he had taken things too far, but he was almost too happy to care, but Eveline pulled him back to her for another kiss. She tasted even better than he imagined.

The sun was rising, and he didn't even care.

In that little burning fruit was the key to everything. If only he had realized it sooner.
"I always pay back my debts."
He would be human once again.


IT FINALLY HAPPENED. Holy crap.
Alright guys. It's three in the morning here. I've been writing for days. [collapses]
I hope my writing isn't that bad, considering I'm not even going to proofread this chapter. I've been writing since I posted the last chapter. Non. Stop. Oh sweet maker I'm going to crawl in bed for a few days and dream of the next few chapters. This one was so fun to write.
End scene!
Pull curtain!
Goodnight everyone! x.x

[Magpie2012]

Whoot!!!!! Kiss. Of. The. Year! Squee... I just wish he had trusted himself enough to bite her. That would have been the flame fruit on the cake!

[PeregrineTook]

Awww, how sweet!
Nice usage of the tomb raiding stuff to add the adventure element to the romantic story.

[KRae]

I'm not sure how you ever thought this could be boring.

[mpart]

Aww! Those two! Thanks for mentioning me. 

[LivvieLove]

Aww! Those two! I love Liam! 

I know, Liam is pretty fantastic. He cracks me up!  Jupiter and Eveline forever <3

The "doesn't want to be disturbed" "he's already disturbed" part was fantastic!  Another lovely update  :=)

(fist pumps the air) Yes! Someone noticed my [strange] attempt at humor! Woo! Thank you dear Pip, I'm still riding a high for basically writing three long chapters in a row.

Ship! Ship! Ship! *steamship noises*

Sigh, I so adore these 2 together. I think Evie could teach Jupiter that the "feel good for both parties" aspect of his bloodlust is really true. I can't wait til they figure that part out lol smexy as all get out!

Right?! I freaking love those two. I think they're my favorite romance ever - and I wrote Glitch and Emrin so that's saying something!
I don't know if I'll be able to write in Jupiter taking her plasma. I even went out of my way to get a mod that will allow teens to drink from other Sims. I just don't see his personality ever being accepting of that. That was the original intention but... I dunno. I'm going to have to be careful. These characters basically write themselves and I just go with the flow and I just can't imagine Jupiter giving in to the bloodlust and feeling ok with it.
Originally I had planned for those two to wind up trapped in the tomb and have him be forced to take her plasma, but it just didn't work out that way. Funny how that works, right?
I guess I'll just have to see how the story unfolds.

Whoot!!!!! Kiss. Of. The. Year! Squee... I just wish he had trusted himself enough to bite her. That would have been the flame fruit on the cake!

Oh I know, right? I was just so happy to see that kiss. It was amazing. Jupiter is kind of a wreck when it comes to being a vampire. Which is kind of a shame because I was really hoping for some hybrid babies, but I don't know if this one will be the case. Oh Jupiter, had to go and throw a wrench into my plans, again. 
That first time he was dating Elspeth and I was like  Hey! You're doing it wrong! But now he's under my control, and no longer thrall to the story progression, and he gave me a great backstory to boot (why are they dating but in the red? What a terrible woman! Eveline would be so much better to him! ~ Yeah that's how that went down).

Awww, how sweet!
Nice usage of the tomb raiding stuff to add the adventure element to the romantic story.

Thank you! I'm just glad I remember which tomb and questline got me to the flame fruit room on the first try. Let's hope the rest of her storyline goes as smoothly...

I'm not sure how you ever thought this could be boring.

Aw, shucks! I really appreciate that! I often write it all out thinking "I'm writing the greatest piece of literature that ever lived!" Then I go back through and re-read it and sudden it's all "DELETE THAT MONSTROSITY! I JUST CAN'T BEAR IT." So it's hard for me to gage whether I'm doing a decent job or not. I've made big strides in storytelling improvement, but there's always room for more. I also feel bad because I'm aiming for more pretty/story-esque pictures than just any old pictures so it's resulting in more story-telling and less pictures.
Either way, 'dat kiss though!

Aww! Those two! Thanks for mentioning me. 

Oh just wait, You get your own post here in a sec.

Update Announcement:
Holy crap you guys, I swear I spent the last three days writing those chapters. I had originally collected 150 pictures from the Sims and I just knew it was going to be a doozy. There's a special reason for cranking out all of these wonderful updates though and that's because there's a new storyline coming to town! In the coming chapters certain new characters will be introduced and have the Reapers and Keepers inflicted upon them. It's going to be insane! all new levels of awesome! 
These chapters probably won't make that much sense unless you're following up closely with my new collaboration partner: mpart.

Our stories are going to weave very closely together at some points, so I wanted to give a proper shoutout to her and a proper link and association will be added to my original post.
Another Labelle Story
This is a spinoff of her original of her Perfect Genetic Challenge which is also a fantastic read:
Labelle's Perfect Genetics Challenge

This has been super exciting to plan and get started - I've also updated the Family Tree and it's super spoiler-induced. So look with caution. :3

Just for some funsies (and because I truly did take 150 pictures for these chapters...) let's enjoy some honorable mention shots that never made it into the story:

The Story of how Majnun was Abducted:






The Story of how I Really Don't Know What's Going On Here but Eveline Looks Hardcore:

I feel like this would make an excellent cover for a strange novel.

The Story of Eveline Getting her Groove On:

To a classical instrument. Don't judge her. She's BLIND.

The Story of Jupiter is Actually Secretly a Weakling:



Eveline being like "Jupiter, pls." :


The Story of Majnun Being Mad - Which is Very Much Like Normal for Him:


The Story of I. Have. A. Million. Of. These. Make. It. Stop:





WHY IS JUPITER SO ADORABLE?!

The Story of We Should Really Get Going Eveline:


The Story of the Original "That's Just a Bunch of Rocks:"


The Story of "EveeerrryyyyBoooooddddyyyy-Yeah, Rooock Your Boooooddehhh Yeah:"


The Story of Don't Let the Blind Girl Explore by Herself:




The Story of RUN FOR YOUR LIFE YOU STUPID SIM:


The Story of THIS IS MY FAVORITE KISS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE DON'T JUDGE ME:


I love you guys. Thanks for reading.