Face To Face With The Past

[Demetri Asimov]

The night had just drawn over the sky, and the streets were starting to close up after a long day of trading. Most of the people were starting to head home, all of whom looked tired and worn out from the day’s event. There was one man, however, who looked as if he was just starting his day, and in a sense it was true. Demetri had only been awake for a few hours, and decided to take a walk out into the streets, and then through the park. He needed some time alone to think; sometime to sort out where he was going to go from his current point in his long life.

Things with Luna had taken a bit of an unexpected turn, a disappointing turn even. Out of all the things Demetri had planned to expect, her sudden change of heart was not one of them. He had hoped by now that she would be too far under his thrall to care what happened to her next, unfortunately for Demetri, she seemed to still have fear and doubt within herself. Until Demetri knew what else to use to try and deal with this fear and with this doubt, he had decided to give Luna some space.

It was one of the reasons why he walked through the park right now at the dead of night. Not only was his thoughts on Luna, they were also on Lyra, who seemed to be taking longer with her problem than what she first thought. Demetri loved Lyra with all his undead heart. But, there were times where he questioned their relationship, or at least the nature of their relationship. He couldn't help but wonder if Lyra loved him in the same way as he did her. Demetri liked to think she did, but even that was in doubt within his mind.

Half way through his walk, Demetri came to a large oak tree, and decided to stand under it for a while to clear his mind. He was just about to get comfortable under the tree when he spotted a face that he thought he'd never see again. As soon as Demetri's gaze came upon the eyes of this face. He frozen rock solid, and was in shock over who he was looking at right at that moment. After all this time she was still...alive.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

Nataliya was not sure if she liked this town. It was maybe a tiny bit too large for her, she still felt a bit nervous around humans, and continued to fear that she would loose what little control she had over her feeding. Luckily it had not been long since last and as such she took the chance of strolling through the inner park after the sun had gone down. She dressed seemingly, maybe a bit more on show that most woman would have, but it did not matter to Nataliya in the same way it once had.

She felt safe here, having been on the run for 35 years, she doubted that he of all people would settle down here. He had felt so comfortable in Russia and not having heard even rumors of him being in Scotland, or Britain for that matter, she felt safe.

That was until she saw a body she could recognize, even now after not having seen it for years. "No, no. Not him, Not you. Not here. Not now." she began mumbling in russian, her birth language was still the language she went to when she was surprised or shocked. "It cannot be true." she added.

  

[Demetri Asimov]

After Demetri had a moment to take in the sight before him, a soft smirk spread across his lips, while he took a step closer toward Nataliya. In a sense Demetri shouldn't be all that surprised that Nataliya was still alive, well, still in existence anyway. He had trained her after all, both before and after her transformation. At the time Demetri thought that she was going to be by his side for quite some time, and he wanted Nataliya to be the best predator and hunter she could be.

If only Demetri knew that she would betray him, and sneak off into the night without even so much as a note goodbye. Well, he might not have gifted her with the gift of immortality in the first place. He would have in fact, killed her like all the others, and moved on to the next flight of fancy. But at the time Demetri thought and felt as if he had found the perfect woman. One that was unlike all the rest, one that had a natural talent of seduction and beauty about her. How could Demetri have known that she would turn out to be a siren?

Once Demetri was close enough to take Nataliya in her full detail. Demetri couldn't help but smirk even wider, and chuckle subtly to himself. She looked good for a woman of her real age, in fact, she looked better than good. Nataliya looked like the angel of darkness Demetri knew her to be, seductive, glorious, yet deadly and vicious on so many levels. This encounter was either going to be beneficial for Demetri or he would end up stung again like he had done all those decades ago.

"Well I'm kind of at a loss for words, Nataliya. Which as you know from experience doesn't happen every day." Demetri spoke in flawless Russian, knowing that Nataliya might still be in too much of a shock to speak in any other language. "I suppose I should ask how have you been after all these years? Have you put my training to good use I wonder?" As he asked his last question. Demetri moved a step closer, now closer enough to reach out and grab Nataliya. If she decided to end this encounter as abruptly as it had started.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

She could not stop herself from taking an additional step back, but it was not easy in her dress and Demetri could easily catch up with her. Her eyes looked over him, he looked like himself, not aged a day, though the clothes had changed a bit since those days. She was still not sure how he would react to her taking off just like that. She feared that he would loose his temper, there was a chance and she was going to be careful with her steps for now.

"You always knew what to say." she replied, with a small smile. He had managed to create a whole world for her, a whole web that had changed her life for five years. Well - it had changed her entire life, but those five years being with Demetri had still been so different from the rest of her memories.

"I have survived." she added. She was not sure what to say, a part of her wanted to run before Demetri lost his temper and decided to take revenge of the last thirty-five years. But she was scared - she had spent the last thirty-five years running in fear of this, and now they met. "Do you mean the training that left me as your slave? Because in that case no. I have survived - simple as that." she finished, taking another step back, not noticing the tree behind her. Standing directly against it, she just kept her eyes locked on Demetri. What did he want?

  

[Demetri Asimov]

Nataliya was correct; Demetri always did know what to say and when to say it. Especially when it came to the opposite sex. It was ironic in away because back when he was human, all of those years ago, he couldn't say more than one word to a woman. In fact Demetri was sure that, if he remained human, then his parents would have most likely sorted out an arranged marriage for him that's how bad he was back then. After the transformation took place, Demetri was nothing more than a wild animal. But, over time, he began to learn things about himself. He started to see himself in a whole new, yet very dark light, and eventually these new found life lessons turned into a strong confidence.

One that had helped Demetri murdered countless innocent women. It also helped Demetri come up with creative lies that helped him lure is prey into his trap. Although those lies were different when it came to Nataliya. Demetri effectively destroy her human world, took away her humanity, and free will. He then replaced them all with a web of lies and half truths that he implanted into Nataliya's mind. Until she was nothing more than a willing servant, an affective one up until she ran away from him.

Even now after thirty five years. Demetri wasn't sure what went wrong back then. Hell, the very night before Nataliya left, they shared a beautiful moment together. By human standards the moment would have been morbid, even twisted. But by a vampire standards it was something beyond beautiful. There was no doubt in Demetri's mind that night that Nataliya would be his for eternity. An idea that was shattered the next night when he awoke to find that Nataliya had taken off into the night. At the time Demetri did try to track her down. But after a week of searching, and destroying everything in his path. Demetri realized that he wasn't going to find her, and even convinced himself that he would never see her ever again. It appeared now that Demetri was wrong for a second time, and his once great masterpiece was standing before him.

When Nataliya brought up the fact that his training turned her into his slave. Demetri half smiled, and rubbed his hand over the left side of his neck. "That's where we disagree my sweet Nataliya. You weren't my slave, you were my companion. One that I thought loved me, until you ran away that night." There was a slight hint of anger within Demetri's tone. But not enough for him to act upon it just yet. In fact Demetri wanted to see if he could gain back an asset that was lost to him until tonight.

As Nataliya backed up until she was up against a tree. Demetri stepped forward once again; now so close their bodies were almost touching. "I take it by usage of the word slave that you do not think fondly of our time together? Do you even remember our song? Do you remember the words I used to whisper into your ear?" All the while Demetri asked his questions. He spoke in flawless Russian, and he reached out to strong the back of his fingers down the side of Nataliya's neck.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

Asking Nataliya, she was not even sure what had happened all those years ago. One night she had just realised what she was doing with her life and how Demetri actually treated her. She did not wanted to accept that and out of desperation she had just started running. It had worked, but she was tired of running and looking over her shoulder the entire time. "You never treated me as your equal. You were always using me, either to do what you asked me to ot to sleep with you." she answered calmly, though she was far from calm. Her mind kept telling her that she should run, but she could not help it, there was something familiar, something safe about Demetri. She knew that it was dangerous, but for now she was going to stay here.

"I thought I loved you, but I cannot help but fear that you just used me." she whispered and looked at him. "It is hard to forget. You meant everything to me for over five years." she added, still whispering and looking away from him, she did not have the strength to look into his eyes - those eyes could captivate her if she was not careful

  

[Demetri Asimov]

Little did Nataliya know that those words that Demetri used to whisper into her ear on an often bases were actually words to re-enforce his control over her. Demetri had trained her mind to react in a certain way to these words, reactions that he could manipulate to his given desire at any given time. This training/re-enforcement began when Demetri first met Nataliya. At first it was just subtle, a whisper word here, a whispered word then, and then the desired reaction Demetri wanted to see in her when he spoke that word. After a time Nataliya began to react without being shown how to react.

In fact it got to a point where all Demetri had to do was speak or whisper the word, and Nataliya would just react automatically. It was like training a pet dog or cat to react to their master’s wishes, and it was exactly like that as far as Demetri was concerned. He wasn't looking for an equal; he was looking for an eternal companion. It was Demetri's hope that this mental conditioning would allow him keep Nataliya on a tight leash. But something must have backfired or gone wrong somewhere along the line, because Nataliya was able to run away from him. That was the mistake he was going to correct in Luna, Demetri was going to make so the very idea of running away from him was repulsive, and even unseemly.

Unfortunately there had been a setback in Luna's manipulation, and Demetri wasn't sure if she was worth bothering with anymore. It was why he was out here tonight; he was trying to decide on what to do about Luna. Demetri's mind, however, was now focused on Nataliya. He wanted to see if his trigger words still had an effect, and if he could regain control of Nataliya's mind and body. Why try and fix a mistake in a new model? When the original one was right before his eyes.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Nataliya." Demetri said in flawless Russian, and with a slight smirk to his face. When Nataliya looked away, Demetri leaned in ever more, and caressed the back of his hand down her neck. He then grazed his lips, subtly against her cheek, before whispering a trigger word into her ear. This word was spoken in Russian, and it was a word designed to cause Nataliya a touch of pleasure, while at the same time weakening her mental resistance, making her more open to suggestion.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

Standing there - against Demetri was something that Nataliya had never thought she would do again. She tried to avoid him, how could that suddenly turn into her standing in the middle of a park, in a new town - seven years old, it was new - against a tree and letting Demetri control her once again. It was simply embarrasssing, she was a vampire - was she not meant to be able to control herself and be free.

The trigger words were more connected to memories than anything else for Nataliya. Those words, they all made her think of a few memories that was all making her feel one thing - in this case pleasure. She could not really help it, there had been a lot of pleasure when she had been with Demetri, she could not deny that - but she did not wanted to let him take over her life again. "It is the truth." she whispered, and looked up at him, her eyes showing that she was slightly influenced by it all. Nataliya would not admit it - but Demetri still held a lot of strings attached to her heart and mind.

  

[Demetri Asimov]

Finally there was eye contact, and it was all Demetri needed to see that he still had influence over Nataliya. He could tell that the Nataliya he created moulded into a creature of perfection, and into a companion he always desired was still in there. All he had to do now was get her to remember. Demetri had to get into her mind once again, and reawaken all that had been lost over the past thirty five years. Maybe this was his chance to fix his mistake? Maybe this was why Demetri had come to the park tonight to clear his mind? These very thoughts excited Demetri.

So many years had he wondered what went wrong, so many times had he tried to fix the mistake in others, only to fail and start all over again. The possibility that he could regain control of Nataliya, and attempt to fix the mistake inside her mind he missed all of those years ago. Well, it was too much of a tempting idea, and if Demetri couldn't regain full control of his first masterpiece. Then he could at least try and work out what had gone wrong, so that he wouldn't make the same mistake in Luna or anyone else he might attempt this very thing on.

When their eyes met. Demetri took hold of Nataliya's chin, gently yet firmly, as to make sure that the eye contact was maintained. He then smiled, warmly, and stroked a hand through her hair, brushing back all of the loose hair from her face. "All of this time I knew you still loved me, Nataliya." Demetri spoke the Russian trigger word again after his first sentence, and he then spoke another trigger word that was design to get Nataliya to address him by a certain, authoritative title.

"We've spent so much time a part, it has hurt me so much. But I am willing to forgive you, Nataliya. But you must ask for that forgiveness. So ask me, my love. Ask for my forgiveness, and I shall grant it to you." Demetri last trail of thought was a test, one to see just how much of an effect he was having on Nataliya's mind.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

Suddenly being held, her eyes locked into Demetri's was not exactly a good thing. Or maybe it was. Nataliya was not entirely sure right now. Those eyes had looked at her with a lot of different emotions back when she saw them daily, they had hunted her with coldness and anger for the last thirty-five. She was not sure what to expect right now, but she kept her eyes on his. "Did - past tense Demetri. I am not sure what I feel for you anymore." she admitted and looked at him.

"Demetri, Sir, Master - you are not hurt. If you were hurt then you would have torn the world apart in search for me. My parents and family were still alive when I ran - You could have treatened them." she whispered. "And your forgiveness, I have needed it for thirty-five years. Please forgive me."

  

[Demetri Asimov]

From the way Nataliya was talking, it seemed as if she was at conflict with herself. One minute she was telling Demetri that she did love him, and the next minute she was giving into the triggers, and addressing him with respect. Nataliya also seemed to response to his previous command/suggestion when she asked for his forgiveness. It was clear to Demetri that his conditioning of her mind was still in there, but that on some level, Nataliya was trying hard not to give into it.

Demetri had to admit that he admired just how strong Nataliya had become over the past thirty five years. Even back when she was human, she didn't show this kind of strength. In fact, if this was the past, Nataliya would have been half naked, kneeling on the floor before Demetri by now. Even thought that was a sight Demetri would have enjoyed, greatly, at the moment. He decided that her strength was a better source of amusement for him, and the thought of breaking through that strength excited him even more so than to see her down on her knees, heeling like an obedient pet.

"You have a point, Nataliya. I could have killed your parents; I could have wiped out your entire bloodline in fact. But, do you know why I didn't? Because I loved you too much, and I didn't want to see you hurt." Demetri stroked his hand through Nataliya's hair as he spoke, and all the while maintained eye contact. "I want to forgive you, Nataliya. Thus far you haven't done good enough to warrant such a gift. I think you should kneel, and show me you truly desire...forgiveness." The time for playing games was over. Demetri gave Nataliya a direct command, and he waited to see how she would react to such a gesture, another test of her inner strength.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

She truly was conflicted - she had no idea what to do about herself in the moment. "If you loved me, you would have searched for me. I have been running for thirty-five years, running in fear of what you would do once you caught me. If you truly loved me, I would never have had to fear your reaction." she whispered. She could feel herself relax as Demetri kept stroking her hair - it was so nice to feel cared for once again. She had only been getting used to the life of a young lady when Demetri had her - she still needed someone to care about her every once in a while, but lately the only person who could do that was herself.

"Demetri, if you cannot forgive me for the last thirty-five years, just as I stand here - then you only want to humiliate me by making me kneel. Then you do not truly wish to forgive me." she said, her strength suddenly showing, but her eyes showed the fight inside her, how a part of her just want to kneel right at this moment and beg for forgiveness.

  

[Demetri Asimov]

Nataliya had a point when she talked about searching for her back then. The truth was that Demetri did search for her; he actually tracked her for a short while. But when he lost track of her just outside of Moscow. Demetri decided to let her go, because at the time he had too many investments within Russia. He couldn't leave them, and let them go to waste. Besides Nataliya wasn't the only companion that Demetri had at the time, they weren't treated as well as she was, granted.

In fact they were nothing more than human cattle that Demetri used and abused in every aspect of the word. It was due to Nataliya's betrayal that Demetri took his anger and frustration out on a few of his human companions. He unleashed upon them so much in actual fact. Demetri ended up killing a few of them, and had even left quite a trail of bodies within his wake. Thankfully Demetri had a connection within the law enforcement at the time, and not one drop of blood had managed to find its way toward him and his true nature. It gave Demetri a chance to let his contact know of the situation between himself and Nataliya, and that if she ever returned to the homeland. He was to be contacted straight away. But that message never came, and Demetri was left wondering for all those years...at least now he knew for sure about Nataliya.

When Nataliya failed the second test. Demetri stroked a finger down the middle of her face, over her chin, and down over her neck. He could see the fight within Nataliya's eyes. The war between his own mental conditioning, and her inner strength that she must have spent thirty five years creating. Demetri had to admit to himself that he never thought he'd live to see this day. The day that Nataliya finally stood up to him, and didn't give into his addictive charm. Not many woman, neither human nor vampire, had that kind of strength within them.

"Oh but I do want to forgive you, my dear. But on my terms not in yours..." Demetri's tone had changed from one of authority and power to one of anger. Even though he had admiration for Nataliya's inner strength. Demetri found it slightly frustrating that all of his work, everything he had implanted within her mind led to what he saw before him now. "I can see it within your eyes, Nataliya. The woman I found all those years ago. The woman I came to love is still in there somewhere, you just don't want to admit it to yourself. All of those years I spent getting you to embrace that side of yourself, embrace your inner truth. What a waste they turned out to be." With a hiss within his voice. Demetri pulled his hand back, and threw it straight into Natalia's face, disrespectfully and powerfully.

Nataliya was right about one thing. Demetri didn't love her, he had never loved her. It was just another layer to his control method, just another leash he could use to control his thrall more effectively. At least that was the idea anyway, an idea that failed when it came to Nataliya.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

Nataliya was luckily unaware of how Demetri had reacted to it, she would probably feel guilty if she did. She had believed that Demetri would stay in Russia, he seemed so perfect there and the country was big enough for him to be able to hide in it. So she had tried to stay out of it, which had been hardest in the beginning, with her family still there, still alive and russian being the only language she knew, but she had - in fear of Demetri finding her if she stayed there.

Nataliya shivered visibly, not because of the beginning cold in the night air, as it did not bother her, but because she recognized the anger in Demetri's voice. She gasped softly and looked at him fearing what would happen. "She is there, I know that." she said. "But I fear what will happen if I give in." she whispered, the fear clear in her voice. She did not really have time to react or try to get away from the hit that came. The feeling of his hand on her chin was close to making her cry, but she refused to let him get that reaction. She looked up at him, the hurt and pain easy to read in her eyes. "They have not been a waste - Without her, without the years with you, then I would not be who I am today. I just do not know which I prefer." she admitted.

"The things I had to do to survive - The feed and the kill - they were easier to carry back then. But now - now I dread every single one of them." she added, once again in a whisper.

  

[Demetri Asimov]

This encounter hadn't gone the way Demetri had hoped it would when he first set his eyes on Nataliya. He had hoped that it would have been like slipping into an old pair of shoes, and that Nataliya had come crawling back to him after all these years. But then he saw the inner strength within her eyes. The near determination to deify Demetri's superiority over her body and mind. It was now getting to the point where Demetri was less amused and entertained by her strength, and was now verging over to the point where he no longer cared about Nataliya or this encounter. In fact the thought of killing Nataliya, and being done with it once and for all did cross Demetri's mind.

But then the memories of their time together came to the surface. The way Nataliya used to touch Demetri, and adore him in such a way that no other woman had since. It was all still so very fresh within Demetri's mind, as if it all happened only a few days ago. It was too much time, too much history together to just throw away by a simple snap of the neck. In a sense Demetri still hoped that there was some way of getting that woman back. A way of breaking through all that new found strength, and bringing back the woman Demetri spent years moulding and creating.

As Nataliya spoke her piece. Demetri took a step backward, and gave the young vampire a bit of personal space back. Although he was still close enough to stop her from fleeing, if such a foolish idea crossed her fractured little mind. When she had finished her little whispered speech about it being much harder to kill these days. Demetri couldn't help but smirk, almost smugly. "That's because you have grown weak without me, Nataliya. I gave you the tools to be the perfect killer, a predator in every sense of the word. For a time that predator survived without me by its side. But now I see that you're growing weak and feeble. It amazes me that another predator hasn't come a long and killed you for being in such a shameful way. You bring disgrace and disrespect to the very name of vampire." Demetri's words were said in a way that would be mean, and downright hurtful. He wanted to begin chipping away at her strength that was being slammed in his face like a warrior with a shield.

"Now that I have seen and experience you in this form. I know which Nataliya I would prefer to be here today. The one I helped created all those decades ago. The strong and the fearless killer that wouldn't even batter an eyelid taking out a family home. Do you not feel weak, Nataliya? Do you not feel exposed? And vulnerable to those around you? If not then you should be." While he talked. Demetri moved back toward Nataliya, and grabbed hold of her shoulders with a firm grip. "Your fear is your weakness, and it will one day be your downfall. I can help you, again Nataliya. I can make it so you never feel fear again. I can bring back that strong woman that was by my side all those years ago. All you have to ask yourself is this. Which would you prefer to be? Weak and feeble? Or strong and predatory?" Like the devil with a contract. Demetri failed to mention the fine print that came with such an offer. Although given Nataliya's past experience with Demetri, she might have already read the fine print that came with such an offer. All she had to decide now was whether or not she was once again willing to accept the terms of such a deal.

  

[Nataliya Vasilyeva]

How could it be so easy and at the same time so hard to slip back into being near Demetri. He was still her sire, she could never run away from the fact that he had created her, given her the chance of an immortal life. She would be lying to herself if she said that she did not miss him. She knew that if she just gave in and allowed him the control of her life once again, then she would not have to worry about the kill and the feed anymore. He could help her with it all, he had survived for over a century and even back when they had been together. Even in the beginning – which was more than forty years ago, she had only been twenty, when they met – he had been able to control his feeding, and never taken more than he needed, never so much that she felt completely weakened afterward. He surely already had someone to give him some blood from time to time.

She bit her lip and looked at him. “I have, I guess there is no running from it.” She said with a low voice and just looked at him. “I have been running all the time, not allowing anyone to find me. I was scared of how you would react if you found me.” She whispered. She took a deep breath in, when he threw the disgrace straight into her face. She had always had a sense of pride of being a decent person, and it had grown into being a decent vampire while she had been with Demetri. How could she have lost it so completely? She just stood still, completely frozen. Besides, even she could see that the space between them would not help her at all. Demetri was faster than her and could easily catch her if she tried to run away.

She listened to him and thought about it all. “She just seemed so weak, always depending on you.” She whispered before she smiled and looked into his eyes. “You know just as well as I that being weak is never a good thing. Why have immortality if you cannot use it to become stronger.” She said in a whisper. She was giving in to him, because she could not hold on to the fight. She carefully placed her arms around his waist. “Why do you do this to me, Demetri?” she asked, not meant for it to be answered.