My Bonds: Little Lacey

@LaceyStripped

Most humans are bothersome, annoying breathers who take up space until their temporary, insignificant existences are extinguished. Many humans are for the most part, bearable, suitable company for a night here and there and welcome sources of nourishment, not truly valuable, but not awful to have around. Some humans are gifted, rare creatures who possess talents even my kind can covet, envy, and want for ourselves. And then still, there are some humans, possibly the most rare of all, who are simply, well...

Special.

I don't mean special in the way I refer to Roman Lucious as being special, of course, though humans are far too often that as well. No, Lacey Tackett is simply that unique, rare human with a distinctive spark all their own. Even a blind man could see it clearly. She was never like the others around her and I am sure the fates would agree with me fully when I say she never will be.

When I first met the diminutive Lacey, she was living with and loving a lion and that alone says a great deal about her. A Shifter of such magnitude would be difficult for even the best of us to control, but she wasn't remotely intimidated. Here she was, a human with no quirk, no gift, nothing particularly significant about her, yet in my mind, the Shifter, this being and creature of power, was always hers.

There was no question about it to me, she knew how to handle him.

To be honest, it is not like me to take much interest in the humans around me, and I wonder if Lacey would have fell to the wayside had she not taken such an interest in Nolan Ferrior, or Brier as he was called at the time. The Werepanther that was Fangtasia's bouncer and bonded to my child Pam and the exotic dancer dating a lion had struck up a bizarre but strong friendship. As it became increasingly clear I would be turning Nolan in order to save him, what was important to him was worthy of more of my attention, and once Lacey had my attention, well, she never lost it.

There was a courage in her that struck me immediately. Lacey did not hesitate to tell me exactly how much she was disappointed by Nolan's decision to turn, nor the circumstances that surrounded and led up to his demise. While she had to be incredibly aware I could be insulted by her thoughts on my child, my newborn, and her understanding of vampire relationships in general, she was never intimidated. Blunt and total honesty was what I quickly came to expect from Lacey Tackett, no glamor needed. And never any fear.

To Lacey, it was as if we were all simply... people. Some were dead, some spent their full moons with fleas, some were like her, others were not. I can't say I entirely agreed, feeling I am certainly superior to all other races that exist on this realm and others, but it was rare to find a human with such philosophy. I am used to humans throwing themselves at my feet because I am so superior and I am also used to humans hunting me because they believe me so inferior. But viewing me as if I were an equal? That was something I wasn't accustomed to. It was strange, it was bold, and I found myself able to respect her view, whether I agreed with it or not.

Naturally, I was not the only one who noticed this human was special.

My Deputy was quickly intrigued by Lacey, the signs were obvious even before he took her on a now infamous trip to the showers in the back of Fangtasia. Lacey became more important to me as their relationship flourished and unfolded in front of my eyes nightly. What is important to Roman will eternally be important to me, and as he bonded to the girl, Lacey became more than just my Deputy's newest toy and pet. She was an entity completely unto herself, one who stood on her own, but one who was entering a world she didn't truly know unprepared, but without hesitation.

Truthfully, she fascinated me.

There was a fight that emerged in Lacey almost immediately. Torn between her own ideals and expectations and those of the undead, every night I watched her learn and practice more acceptance and aplomb than most could ever achieve. There is much more to my business and the roll of my Deputy than simply helping to run a night club, but Lacey dove in head first. I watched her nurse wounds Roman never should have gotten in the first place. I watched her pity him, me, and others when we didn't truly deserve it. I watched her offer compassion none had earned. I watched her sacrifice her own blood and shed tears for causes that were never her own. I watched her give herself- her whole self and every part of her life- completely to a vampire unconditionally, who even I could debate perhaps wasn't worthy of such.

She loved him.

I think I knew such a thing for certain after being on the receiving end of a highly unfortunate poisoning. Trying to be myself while feeling and truly being weakened to such a degree was a near impossibility. Roman watched my struggle, he felt my distress and pain, and it tortured him as well. I needed blood, all vampires present could see such a thing, and that only made my position more vulnerable and volatile. Without hesitation, Roman stepped back to the booth I was sprawled in with Lacey at his side and offered me blood from his human.

Such a thing is, to say the least, taboo. Roman's claim on Lacey was complete with their bond and the AVL has put a great deal of pressure on all vampires not to pass our humans around like they're some kind of blood factory for the use of us and all our friends. What was more was the fact that I could tell by her reaction to my Deputy's words, he hadn't discussed such a thing with her before making the offer. My own hesitation to accept was reflected in her own hesitation to be bitten by or feed any other vampire but him.

But Roman was proud to have made me such an offer. It wasn't that he was giving up any claim on his human or that she was not important to him, it was simply that his Sheriff needed something his human could provide. I firmly believe Lacey saw the same thing in Roman's face that I myself did.

And just like that, she extended me her wrist, nodded, and asked me to do it.

It was never said, but to me, the sacrifice she made to me that night was not for my benefit, my health, or my preservation, though I am certain Lacey cared for me even then. No, it was a sacrifice of her very self, of her very core to another, made entirely for Roman.

Loyalty such as that is an extraordinary and rare gift all it's own, and I would never look at Lacey Tackett the same way from that night forward.

I, of course, went on to heal completely, and time went on, but Lacey became even more important to me. The relationship between my Deputy and Lacey was, at times, difficult for me to witness. I was confronted with things I didn't understand or was unwilling to think much on. If I am honest with myself now, I would say I was somewhat jealous of Roman. It was not that I desired Lacey, nor that I wanted her for myself, but I was not entirely certain he deserved her, something I pointed out on more than one occasion to him.

To me, Lacey was a kind of ideal. Her loyalty was unfathomable. She was so often selfless, both willing to spend night after night in a booth of Fangtasia or to fly across the country at the drop of a hat, whatever was demanded of her. She trusted the words of Roman and I and listened without hesitation to instruction. Our enemies were her own, without question. She was set on satisfying all of Roman's needs, whether they be sexual, nutritional, or merely her companionship, whenever he called upon her. Time and time again my Deputy strayed without apology, and Lacey turned a blind eye, forgiving without words of remorse being offered. When our duties took us away from those we held dear, she simply waited on our return, ready to tend to the vampire she had committed herself to in blood.

We're not meant to be loved, but she loved him. I could look in her eyes and see it.

Such humans are impossible to find and I wished such a thing for myself on more than one occasion. Roman had been fortunate enough to find this being of infinite, unlimited potential, and he was blind to it. Selectively blind, truly. Not a night goes by that I believe Roman didn't know what he had found, but he was frightened of it. He never confessed such a thing aloud, but I am certain of it all the same. In all his years, Roman had never bonded to a human before her, she opened so many doors and possibilities to him he hadn't even known existed, and he had gotten in over his head. He was uncertain, he didn't understand, and rather than explore it, he hid from it.

Without him ever having to explain it to me, I understood.

It wasn't easy for him to adjust to so much at one time. Since bonding to Lacey, he had explored bonds with other. They ripped at him and pulled him in opposite directions, a difficult thing to deal with when such a thing is new to a vampire. He was bonding deeply to Lacey and quickly at that. Every "feeling" Lacey had, he was inundated with. Feelings he had discarded himself seven hundred years ago were suddenly plaguing him at every turn. Every error he made in her own eyes, he felt. He was rapidly growing to rue their connection, just as we all can when so bonded to another.

I was concerned for the both of them. Roman was becoming a shell of himself, confused and miserable, and Lacey was grieving a love that wasn't what it had been or could be. I worried. I worried that a rare, extraordinary human of such loyalty would become jaded towards the undead she had embraced so wholly. I began looking at Lacey as more than just a loyal human. I saw in her the potential to be much more than that.

She was strong and fierce. She wasn't afraid. She didn't shy away from a fight. She knew what she wanted and little could deter her from getting it. She was passionate. She was intense. And of course, there was always that incredible loyalty of hers.

She would make an amazing vampire.

Again, thinking such a thing was a terrible taboo. Lacey was Roman's. Not only did I know such, but everyone knew such a thing. I had spoken to Roman about his history and was already well aware of the fact that he had never turned another. He feared doing such a thing. Some of us are Makers. Some of us never will be.

But here was this vessel of untapped potential. I began to consider all things fate had handed us since Lacey had first walked through the doors of Fangtasia. Roman hadn't found Lacey. I hadn't found Lacey. She had found us. This was her calling, her purpose. She was meant to join us, to be as we are, to exist in an eternal darkness, ageless and immortal. Her humanity was meant to be temporary and only pave the way to something far greater. And she wouldn't be just another vampire, not even close.

She was destined to be great.

And so I crossed a bridge without ever looking back. I offered to turn her and make her my child at any moment she so chose... and I did so without telling Roman, nor seeking his permission, approval, or consent of any kind.

Call it pride, call it stubbornness, call it knowing something special when I saw it, I don't regret making my offer. For as long as I walk this earth, I will never regret offering to turn Lacey.

Of course, I probably should have told Roman upon doing so, but it wasn't truly about him. He had a fear I understood, one I wanted him to confront, but one I don't think he'd ever have the courage to face when it came to Lacey. He could never take her life, not even temporarily, nor do I think he could ever stand to lose her completely through death as humankind tends to prepare itself for. My offer served purpose to each of us, whether we chose to see it or not.

As Roman and Lacey's relationship and dynamic seemed to further sour, it became even painful for those surrounding them. I knew things had reached a devastating low when I witnessed the Dark Prince give his blood to, bond to, and heal Lacey from unthinkable injuries because Roman was too focused on dismembering an already dead human to address the situation. When Lacey was shown more compassion by a vampire cop, myself, and fucking Dracula than she was by someone she was so deeply bonded to, things were unthinkably bad.

And though Roman struggled to admit such aloud, they both knew it.

My offer had sat on the table for some time without being called upon in any way, but I knew that would quickly change. Their connection was hurting them both, more so with each passing night, and so I invited Lacey to my home, once more, without informing Roman in any way. She renounced Roman's claim on her and with the extension of my bleeding wrist to her, I severed the bond that tormented them and made Lacey my own.

Of course, calling Lacey my human seems wrong, though it is my blood and our bond she is tied to. I have never attempted to control Lacey despite the fact that, because of our bond, it would be relatively easy to do so. Lacey is not meant to be controlled, nor tamed. With a clear mind absent of Roman's constant presence in her mind and body, I released her back into the world to do all the living she desired to before I finally silenced her heartbeat eternally. I watched her error, I watched her stumble. I watched her soar, I watched her best adversity time and time again. Each time, I let her choose her own path, good or bad, and I wait, ready to be called upon any time she needed guidance or advice.

Heartbeat or not, I'm already her Maker, and I'm already quite proud of her.

The fates are not through with her humanity, however, and neither is Roman Lucious. When Lacey finally decided it was time to end her existence, Roman stepped forward, making her question her decision. I am ultimately pleased he did. If I had been given the choice and freedom in when my life was taken from me as I have given Lacey, I would not have let even a shadow of a doubt linger in my mind. Lacey still looks at Roman with the love I recognized in her eyes the night she extended me her own wrist. She is not at all through with her humanity.

And now, she is set to be a mother, something that, in it's own way, saddens me. Though I am pleased Lacey will leave no stone unturned in her human life and will not have to look back centuries from now wondering what if, I can't help but rue the fact that she will not be made a vampire anytime soon. I simply can't turn her soon and rob an infant of a mother, just as my own children were robbed of a father. In addition to that, Roman has seemingly reopened his arms and his silent heart to Lacey and even her unborn child and I fear the bond I now share with her stands in their way.

I suppose death would be boring if you were prepared for what came next, but just this once, I truly wish I knew.