What Are You A Queen? [Corbin]

[BUFFY JUDAS DIOR]

Buffy stood outside the royal gates, trying to find a button to press that would either a) open the gates or b) get the attention of the guards inside. The iron gate was dark black, the gate was blacker than black, maybe it was the beating of his fear-stricken heart or the fact that he wasn’t wearing his contacts but the gate was intimidating. Everything about this place was intimidating. He knew how vampires were around him, he had just had a bad run in with Maggie and escaped alive, now he was going to the royal vampires to retrieve his mask from the party. Maybe he could sneak in something about Maggie and get her killed by the royals that would be awesome. He put a hand on his neck and felt where she had bitten into him, it would leave a scar soon enough but now it was a bunch of scabs, how unattractive.

He looked at the gates height, determined to get his mask, he thought he could climb it. He jumped and grabbed part of it, going up the gate with ease. Once at the top, he used his upper body strength to haul his legs over and drop onto the ground on the other side. As soon as he hit the pavement, four vampire guards were at his side, hissing at him. They took one look at him and stopped snarling but looked at him curiously. “What the-“ one of them said as Buffy flung his hands up. Another man walked over and tried to probe his mind, another psychic. He was human so and Buffy hated people trying to probe his mind, GET OUT! Buffy screamed telepathically. The man’s hand twitched and his face also, he was powerful but he clearly got the message. “What is your business here? Why have you intruded onto this estate?” One of the vampires said. Buffy brought his hands down and looked away from the psychic and looked at the vampire guard who spoke. The guard’s nametag read Bill, vampire Bill, almost made Buffy laugh. “I left my mask here…” Buffy told him.

“You snuck into the royals estate for a mask?” Buffy nodded, seeing as how ridiculous that was. “You expect us to believe that?” He asked. Buffy furrowed his brows at him, “yes…it’s the truth…Vampire Bill…” Buffy said with a slight sassy tone. “What are you?” The guard asked. “I…” He started to say when he noticed one of the vampires step towards him. “He’s lying. Take him inside…” One of them said. A vampire pushed Buffy and he started walking, in the middle of the vampire guards. Inside, they sat him in a chair in the middle of the main room that the ball was held inside of. One of the guards, started patting him down and Buffy stood up, “back of, you’re giving me a woody…” Buffy told him as one of the vampires behind him sat him down. They all started laughing “why shouldn’t we drain you? The queen doesn’t mind casualties and you smell mighty good. Look like someone already bite into you…” He said touching Buffy’s neck.

Buffy winced and moved his head, “because I don’t want to kill you and I’m sure you don’t wanna die.,…” Buffy told him. The guard looked at him and nodded to another guard, and he left. To get the queen, Buffy guessed. “Look, I just want my mask and I’ll go…” Buffy said but the guards didn’t respond. Buffy’s eyes turned to one of the guards who had been acting really twitchy, something Buffy had seen before. The vampire as trying not to bite him. Buffy zoned in on him, his fists starting to clench. The vampire had his eyes closed and moved his head to the side, taking a deep sniff, his eyes opened right at Buffy and Buffy stood up. The vampire rushed him forcing him back into his seat, he took another big sniff and went for his throat, Buffy had no time to react, nor did the other guards. He only screamed.

[CORBIN ROSE HALLOWAY]

Corbin was in her study looking over the countless papers that she had been given to approve. Ever since the ball the amount of paperwork she had to look over was a total nightmare. No one had been able to figure out the causes of the murders and the witch that had been found upstairs in her study was now in the Mansion's holding cells. They weren't able to get much out of her but they figured that whatever this witch had intended on doing backfired and she was caught off guard by the sudden malfunctions in her abilities. Giving a heavy sigh she looked up at the clock and realized it would only be a few more hours before she would have to go to the basement with Heath to sleep. She wished that she had a full day to complete her tasks instead of just a few hours of the night. That aspect really sucked.

The queens concentration was soon broken by the sounds of voices and moment downstairs. It was too sudden and jerky to be just the guards going over the normal routine of the night. It actually sounded like that something was breaking out. That is when the smell hit her. It was blood but this blood was different. In seconds the queen was downstairs, her fangs extended as her eyes narrowed on the scene in front of her. "What is the meaning of this!!" she growled before the men all froze. "Step away from him now and leave the room, that will be all thank you. I will handle it from here." she hissed sternly. Soon Buffy and the queen were alone, her eyes studying him carefully as she held her composure. "Is there a reason that my guards are acting like morons and that you are sitting here in my mansion? I expect some answers."

[BUFFY JUDAS DIOR]

The guy hadn’t sunk his teeth in yet and Buffy was already screaming his little head off. But it worked cause soon someone was coming, his savior. That is until she started yelling and the guards started to leave the room. “You better go!” Buffy spat at him. He looked at Corbin as she yelled at him now. “I…I…” He stuttered. She was a vampire that much was obvious but she looked familiar. “Are you the queen?” He asked her. She was utterly gorgeous and had such a royal disposition she didn’t even have to answer the question. “I jumped your fence..” He tried to make light of it with a bit of added laughter. “I left something here from the Royal Ball, which I must say was fun to say the least.” He tried a hand at buttering her up. “You’re crazy guards escorted me in here which doesn’t make a lot of since cause if I did want to hurt you, I very well could of. You need to talk to your guards about manners also.” He told her.

“Am I suppose to bow?” He asked, inserting a smile at the end.

[CORBIN ROSE HALLOWAY]

“I jumped your fence..I left something here from the Royal Ball, which I must say was fun to say the least.” Corbin rose her eyebrow slightly as she tilted her head. Her arms folded over one another as she studied him. She could tell he was trying to talk her up and that normally was what most people did in her presence. She didn't blame them either she held great power. That power was something that she was slightly scared of losing due to her inability to control her emotions.“You’re crazy guards escorted me in here which doesn’t make a lot of since cause if I did want to hurt you, I very well could of. You need to talk to your guards about manners also.” Corbin gave a nod. "I am aware of this. I will be disposing of a few of them shortly." she said sternly before she walked a little closer to him taking in his scent again.

“Am I suppose to bow?” "That won't be necessary but if you wish to pay your respects you can." her sternness softened slightly, her eyes darkening as the sweet scent hit her more. "What does this mask look like? And most importantly what are you?" There was something about him that was very compelling to her and she couldn't put her finger on it. He was something she had never smelt before.

[BUFFY JUDAS DIOR]

Buffy raised one quick brow when Corbin told him that she was going to dispose of one of her guards in appreciation. “Much appreciation.” He noticed her walk a bit closer and he tensed up for a second before relaxing. He knew how vampires got around him, but this Queen seemed to show some restraint, that didn’t go unnoticed, he also appreciated that. In answering that he could bow if he wished to show respect, Buffy stood and went on one knee and bowed to her. To Buffy respect wasn’t something he took lightly. Yes, sure he was a little boy crazy and tended to flirt a lot but he never disrespected someone. People seemed to disrespect him all the time, the people who thought he was a fake crazy mind reader, vampires who just thought they could bite him all willy nilly and most importantly, men who thought he was THAT easy. She had already gained his respect when she came to his aid, so he bowed.

“It’s a pleasure to officially meet you, your Highness…” Buffy said taking on a serious tone. He looked up at her and stood up to face her as she came closer to him. He started to answer her first question but then she asked what he was and his words froze in his mouth. “I’m human…” Buffy told her. He was tired of people asking him. He was so unsure, it was becoming more and more sensitive to him. He wasn’t one to openly show emotions in front of people though, so he just looked away from her. “A lot of people have been asking me that lately. I hear that I smell enticing and glorious. I don’t understand it myself…” Buffy said glancing back at her. “I am partially psychic though. I have nothing to compare the scents to since I’ve never been around another real psychic or had enhanced senses.”

He looked around for a brief moment at the room they were standing in. It looks different but the same if that was possible. It seemed to be a little bit larger, maybe because it wasn’t packed with people now. “Anyway, my mask is blue, with a little hat on it.” He looked back at her, curious as he always was. “What do you remember of your human life? If I may be so bold as to ask. Were you royalty and now you still are since you’re a vampire or did you become Queen once you were a vampire?” He asked. “I don’t know much about the vampire world, but I am a firm supporter of their rights…” Buffy told her with a small smile.

[CORBIN ROSE HALLOWAY]

“I’m human…a lot of people have been asking me that lately. I hear that I smell enticing and glorious. I don’t understand it myself…” Corbin gave a slight frown confused slightly by his answer. "Well you don't smell human." “I am partially psychic though. I have nothing to compare the scents to since I’ve never been around another real psychic or had enhanced senses.” Maybe this was the case, but Corbin had been around plenty of psychics before and never did any of them smell like buffy.“Anyway, my mask is blue, with a little hat on it.” Corbin walked over to a small chest in the front of the room. There had been several things that had been left behind and Corbin only saw it as fair that she keep them all together before she donated them to her servants if they weren't claimed in a few days. It didn't take long to spot his mask.


As she walked over and handed him the mask his next question caught her off guard slightly.“What do you remember of your human life? If I may be so bold as to ask. Were you royalty and now you still are since you’re a vampire or did you become Queen once you were a vampire? I don’t know much about the vampire world, but I am a firm supporter of their rights…” It had been a while since she had talked about her human life. It really had been nothing glamors or memorable. Still to that day she struggled with her demons of that past. That was currently getting her in major trouble with the monarchs that began to see her as unfit to rule. "I don't remember much about my human life.." she lied. a bit of sadness hung on at the end of her sentence before she figured that she should at least tell him something.

"I know that I was in love. Heath and I started dating before I found out that he was a vampire. A few months later it was decided that I would be his queen and I was turned. I'm the classic Cinderella story. I lived in a crappy apartment and enjoyed dreaming more then reality." she said softly trying not the cry. She wasn't going to mention her struggles with self confidence, depression, and alcohol. During her human life she had dreamed of death daily. She wasn't going to mention her rather violet transformation either. As soon as she found out that Heath was a vampire she got scared and tried to run, that was when he caught up to her and the rest is history.

[BUFFY JUDAS DIOR]

“I get that a lot too. I don’t know what I really smell like…” Buffy told her. That question just kept coming up, annoying him in the back of his head. He currently had a lot going on. He had a huge party to plan, he had a sudden idea to host a Halloween party in his home but he didn’t want to think about that right now. He looked around the home before looking back to Corbin who held out his mask. “Oh, thanks. That’s it…” He told her, he took it from her his finger just brushing her hand. He could tell with his next question she was a little caught off guard. Buffy didn’t want to seem rude but he deemed it a good question. It wasn’t just to be nosey but it was a question he had never had answered. He had just learned that asking how one was turned was like asking what’s your favorite sexual position. Okay, not exactly the same but it had the same amount of secrecy. When she started to talk, she was brief and he noticed that it was, in fact, a sensitive topic but she still went on. Buffy appreciated this.

Heath? Vampire King, I believe. he thought. When she finished, Buffy knew there was more to it than that but he didn’t push. He got his answer. He looked at her with sad eyes and took a step forward. “And now look at you. Beautiful, kind, which I didn’t think you would be to be honest, feminine but strong at the same time.” Buffy told her. He hadn’t known her for long but it seemed to fit her from what he knew of her already. “Although, I don’t know you that well, you could be a major bitch…” Buffy laughed, he hoped the joke would go over well and she wouldn’t be offended. He had good people skills and thought a joke would bring her out of her sadness. She was too pretty to be sad. “I have a request…” Buffy told her, hoping this too would go over well. “Your Highness, I would like to formally invite the Queen and King to my Hallow’s Eve party.” He asked her. “It would mean a lot to me if you both came. I work at Falls Café and know how people have reacted towards the costume party. I am a firm believer in vampire rights and that they can tame their thirst for blood. Consider this another chance to open the minds of these people in Jamerson Falls. You are the first ones I thought to invite.” Buffy told her.

“Speaking of…” he started. “Do you know what happened at the party? Who killed that man and Vis?” Buffy asked, a sad frown for his friend Vis’ death. “Maybe I could use your bodyguards as well. Like I said, I can read thoughts and plan on keeping everything…kosher.” He smiled to her. Buffy would never admit this but power was attractive to him. And in Corbin’s position, he could use a friend like her.

[CORBIN ROSE HALLOWAY]

“And now look at you. Beautiful, kind, which I didn’t think you would be to be honest, feminine but strong at the same time.Although, I don’t know you that well, you could be a major bitch…” Corbin lips lifted slightly forming a smile. She had noticed that she had gotten rather silent around Buffy and at that moment she couldn't tell if it had been because he had touched on her transformation or because his scent was so calming. She had a lot of control because she knew if she had been as reckless as most vampires she would have bit into his neck the moment she laid eyes on him. There really was only one reason that she could think of that would hold her back from drinking fresh blood that smelt so good and that was her humanity.

“I have a request. Your Highness, I would like to formally invite the Queen and King to my Hallow’s Eve party. It would mean a lot to me if you both came. I work at Falls Café and know how people have reacted towards the costume party. I am a firm believer in vampire rights and that they can tame their thirst for blood. Consider this another chance to open the minds of these people in Jamerson Falls. You are the first ones I thought to invite.” A party sounded rather fun, she liked to get out as much as she could and she wasn't going to lie she loved how she seemed to turn heads at the very sight of her presence."Of course I will attend this party. I could use something to do this Halloween any way. I need to get away from the paper work for a night." The young queen didn't get out much and that was mainly because Heath was looking out for her safety. She was sure with some convincing that Heath would agree they both attend with a few guards at least. In a way it also seemed like a good opportunity to clear things up with the public. Ever since then people of the town had been blaming the royals for the murders since both were basically a cold case. Nothing new had been found.

“Speaking of. Do you know what happened at the party? Who killed that man and Vis? Maybe I could use your bodyguards as well. Like I said, I can read thoughts and plan on keeping everything…kosher.” Corbin knew this question would eventually be asked. "Unfortunately we haven't found anything new to explain things. I assure you my staff is working closely with the JFPD and doing everything they can." It felt like she was repeating the same thing she had said for the last few nights. The reporters never wanted to leave her front steps and always insisted that the Queen be interviewed considering she was unlucky enough to have one of the victims at her feet. Lately though the media was trying to interview her for a more personal matter. News was getting out that the queen was less then fit to rule alongside her husband due to her struggles.

[BUFFY JUDAS DIOR]

Buffy more than ever, now wished that he could hear the thoughts of vampires. He looked at her with squinted eyes, letting down his barrier. There was nothing to hear. Maybe he couldn't hear the thoughts of vampires because they were dead. Vampires were re-animated creatures and as far as he knew, otherwise dead. He listened to her as she responded to coming to his party. His lips parted and he smiled at her, "awesome!" He told her. "I shall send for you around 8 pm." He thought it would be sincere enough if he called a limo service and provided transportation for both of them. Although he didn't speak on what he heard, he knew what people said about the Queen. She was supposed to lead an entire nation of vampires, she knew stress. He was sure that it would be nice to just enjoy herself once. Let her hair down and not be Queen for a day. Unsure why he felt so comfortable around her, yet he was enjoying her company.

She mentioned that she didn't know anything about Vis' death and Buffy couldn't help but show his disappointment in his face. He also noticed that she kind of drawled on as she spoke indicating that she said that a lot. "Sounds like people ask you that a lot." He smiled. "People are just looking for someone to blame. Namely you, but just remember they're only human. It's what we do when were scared. It was the gays before vampires. Pretty soon they'll discover werewolves and hate them instead." he winked. "It must be tiring..." he changed the subject to what he was thinking about earlier. "Being the Queen and having nothing but unethical criticisms thrown at you. People who think they know, but they don't." He realised how pitiful that sentence was and took a step towards her.

"I pity you for that. I couldn't really handle it. People generally think pity is a bad thing but they never take in consideration that one is only trying to feel for you. I would love for someone to feel for me and try to think of what life must be like for me."

[CORBIN ROSE HALLOWAY]

"I shall send for you around 8 pm." It was rather interesting to see such a curious creature showing so much respect towards Corbin. She could have sworn that not even vampires gave her that much respect but she of course always over saw all those that were giving vampires a bad name . Most of them she was sentencing to a true death. Normally she would leave the dirty business to Heath, he was much more productive when it came to situations like that. Corbin on the other hand was better at dealing with the servants and humans that needed to speak with the monarchy. Being so young had its advantages as well as it disadvantages considering it hadn't been long ago that she too was human. That was probably one of the main reasons she was receiving so much criticism."That is very kind of you." she said with a smile. She was really enjoying the attention.

"Sounds like people ask you that a lot. People are just looking for someone to blame. Namely you, but just remember they're only human. It's what we do when were scared. It was the gays before vampires. Pretty soon they'll discover werewolves and hate them instead. It must be tiring...Being the Queen and having nothing but unethical criticisms thrown at you. People who think they know, but they don't." Corbin was silent again and only gave a slight nod. He seemed to understand despite knowing so little. It was hard and she felt her efforts to prove herself were worthless. It was wearing her out and she could tell that her husband was getting worried about what would happen to his newly turned wife."I pity you for that. I couldn't really handle it. People generally think pity is a bad thing but they never take in consideration that one is only trying to feel for you. I would love for someone to feel for me and try to think of what life must be like for me."

"It's no cakewalk that's for sure." she said with a slight smile trying to hide the sadness in her eyes. Still as a undead queen there was a lot of sadness she seemed to drag around. "I supposes this is what I signed up for though and I just need to embrace it. I can't be a queen if I can't put up with the criticism. No matter who is ruling there is always going to be a little hate club. It's best to just ignore them and prove them wrong. I do appreciate that concern though. " She paused for a moment noticing that she was starting to stare at his neck the smell really was getting to her but there was no way she was going to break her composure in front of her guest. "I don't mean to be a bother....but I'm curious about how you taste..." she said almost without thinking. Her eyes darkened slightly as she looked down and tried to control her urge. For a newborn she had more control then most. Heath had taught her well. "I'm sorry...I appreciate everything but its probably best you go before this urge gets any stronger. I can't really ignore the smell much longer."