Chapter 1.8: Pandora Status: Still a Bitch

   With great displeasure, Pandora hauled herself out of bed. She looked over at the lump in the duvet that was her husband hiding in warmth and sneered. Ever since that bloody cat had died, he had been inconsolable. Okay, so it only happened last night, but still! It was a cat! It was hardly like one of the babies had died, jeez!

   Speaking of...
   She headed into the nursery and lifted up Varius, who balled his fists and opened his mouth in a wide O to scream.

   She caught a whiff of something unpleasant and grimaced. At that moment, Varius then began giggling to himself.
   '...Damn kid,' Pandora grumbled. She placed Varius back in his crib after he had been tended to and dumped Renatus on the floor with a bottle before going downstairs to do a few boring chores like checking the mail - and hoping for a letter from Wogan, even though she would never admit it to herself - and practising some magic. She realised her husband had awoken when she heard an anguished wail.

   The heartbreak of losing his precious pet had unsurprisingly not abated overnight. Renatus toddled into his parents' room, unnoticed by Ignatius.

   This time, her conversion ritual turned a piece of fruit into a hunk of copper.

   Unimpressed, she was about to give it another go, when Ignatius came downstairs and decided to console himself with ice cream.
   'Fucking seriously?' she spat. 'You're acting like a teenage girl who got dumped because your cat died?!

   'Do you not realise how pathetic that is?!' she continued, when Ignatius ignored her venom. 'God.'

   A swish of magic. The copper disappeared, and was replaced with...
   '...Horse food? Oh great. Some people get awesome things like WooHooium or Mummitomium, and I get horse food. Here, give it to your dumb dead cat,' Pandora said, and threw it at Ignatius.

   Not in the mood for anything remotely constructive, especially with his wife doing her best to make him feel worse, Ignatius sat himself down on the sofa, hoping to numb his mind with some brainless programme. Unfortunately, Pandora sat beside him to prattle on.

   'Is this all you're going to do all day? Just sulk and watch game shows? Newsflash! Cats aren't people! Why do you care? I mean, if it was one of the kids I could understand that, at least kids take nine months to get a new one, but a fucking cat? Let's just go down to the bloody pet store! You'll forget about that mangy stray in no time!'

   To his credit, Ignatius refused to rise to her insensitivity, which served to annoy her further. She got up, grabbed the thrown piece of horse granola and put it on the table, turning it into a seed while glaring daggers at her husband.
   She only stopped when she heard the sounds of crying from upstairs, and turned her eyes momentarily toward the staircase.
   'You gonna get that?' she gruffly barked.
   'He's probably hungry,' Ignatius flatly responded.
   'Father of the motherfucking year right here! Husband of the motherfucking year. Pfeh, lump of the year, more like,' she poisonously hissed as she stamped her heels up the steps.

   'Shut up baby.'

   'There. Nice carpet. Change of scenery. You can look at the ceiling from an even bigger distance. Aren't I a great mum?'
   It became obvious after a minute or so that Varius had not started crying because he was hungry, stinky or in need of sleep, but rather he was about to go through the aging process. He sat up, still shrouded in his deathly tight blue blanket and blossomed into a toddler.

   Eyes closed, he looked pleased with himself, as his dark hair grew. It also became obvious that Pandora's "great mothering" of putting him on a lit oven had left its mark, as his burn scars grew more obvious.

   His dark eyes fluttered open again, as he looked around the room. Something was different! He felt funny. A good funny, but funny nonetheless. His small face broke out in a grin.

   The next day, Ignatius forced himself to do more with the children if only to shut up his wife.

   When they went into the boys' bedroom, another devastating wave of grief washed over him. He stopped for a moment, clutching a hand to his broken heart, as Renatus practised his best menacing stare over the top of the crib at his back.

   'Shut up! Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!' Pandora screamed.

   When he thought he could carry on again without bursting into more tears, Ignatius gently picked up his burnt son, gritting his teeth at his scars, resentment growing further at Pandora. Irresponsible bitch, he thought.

   Jumping back into her bedclothes for some inexplicable reason - Ignatius did not care to ask - she plonked her new toddler on the single potty in the scarcely decorated nursery, as Renatus shrieked.

   'Mumumumum,' Varius gabbled. He went ignored.

   Downstairs, and dressed again, because Pandora apparently was incapable of making the decision of what to wear for the day, she cast a quick good luck charm on herself. Feeling the effects immediately, she reached for her mobile phone and stabbed in a number.
   'Hey, Wogan? It's Pando-'
   Before she was even able to finish, the line had cut dead. She glared at her phone. So much for being luckier! Ugh.
   Her stomach grumbled, but the thought of another plastic tasting carton of synthetic blood did not appeal.

   She found Ignatius, and put him under her spell. Her eyes glowed beyond the brightness they had adorned since her transformation, and Ignatius became more...suggestible.

   He proffered his wrist to her when she stated she was hungry, which she rejected.

   That tasty jugular was so much juicier...

   Ignatius instinctively flinched when her elongated fangs punctured skin, and did not finish grimacing until the eerie sensation of being fed upon ceased.

   A little woozy, he peered at her with the expression of the terminally unintelligent.

   'Much better...' Pandora grinned. Peculiarly, she had felt a spark of magic between the two of them as she fed, and as she gazed into his dopey eyes, it intensified.

   Acting, but not thinking, she and Ignatius drew towards one another at the same time. Their arms intertwining around each other, Ignatius moved his face closer.

   He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly, sweetly. She returned the gesture, injecting more passion into it, until they were fully making out in the middle of the bedroom.
   'Wow...' he gasped, his heart lifting.
   'Wow,' Pandora repeated, stunned by the unexpected flourish of love she felt for the man she had previously screamed insults at. She was about to take him by the hand and pin him to the bed, when a little two legged curly haired person crawled in.
   Renatus wobbled over on his stubby legs before falling on his backside and applauded himself.

   'Mummy! Daddy!' he called.

   He got up to his feet, sturdier than before, as he underwent a similar transition to what his little brother recently experienced.

   He looked rather like a horrifying abomination for a brief moment, as his body tried to adjust to the transformation from toddler to child.

   Thankfully once his temporary Slenderman-esque figure had corrected itself, he looked far more normal. In spite of being the child of the de Ventias' with serious eyebrows, anyway.

   His proud parents - or perhaps more accurately, his proud father - immediately "splurged" on upgrading the nursery.

   ...And the garage.

   With pyjamas more fitting to his taste, that evening Renatus decided to put his newfound height, improved motor skills and speech to good use. By creeping up behind his mother and screeching.

   'Jesus fucking Christ!' Pandora yelled.

   'Don't fucking do that, you little asshole! Piss off upstairs!'
   A child for only a few hours and already angry at his mother, Renatus stomped up, wishing his dad did not have to work nights.

   The rest of the night went somewhat peacefully by a Pandora sloped off to bed.

   So she did not notice the odd cluster of specks around the bottom of the stairs.

   Something quickly formed from them, and floated through the sofa.

   Benedict's ghost let out an otherworldly meow, and leapt up on the table he used to sleep on.

   He looked around the familiar living room from his height, and jumped off again. When he moved, he was slightly hunched, his paws floating just above the wooden floor.

   As indecisive as Pandora, he leapt onto the table again, and curled up into a tight little ball, snoring gently. He was still there when an exhausted Ignatius returned from work.
   Already tired before he even went out, spending what should have been his time to sleep doing Wogan's bidding meant that by the time he eventually made it through the front door, it was a struggle to keep his eyes open. He could have happily slept on the floor, and probably would have if his back would not scream at him for it the next day. There was enough screaming in the house already thanks to his ball and chain.
   Subsequently, he traipsed reluctantly upstairs, oblivious to the slumbering ghost of his pet.

AN: I'M BACK, MOTHERFUCKERS!

I'm so so so sorry for being gone for so long. It's been kinda shitty over here in BL00DIEDHELL land:
*Depression/motivational issues - check
*Walking memory stick with un-uploaded legacy pictures - check (thank fuck for my housemate who isn't stupid and can find things that are actually under her nose!)
*Computer issues - check. It's a zombie. It died and hasn't been used for a couple of weeks ish. Today while I was on the laptop, it uhh...it turned itself on. Seriously. And then it fucked up again and turned back off. Zombie computer
*Laptop issues - check. I think I've got it under control, but it did give me a lot of stress and worry for a few days.

So yes, that's why I've been absent, moreso the first reason than anything else and I've been very much aware of my lack of posting. Big big big big apologies for it :(.

And thanks to gemly_teddie for giving me a kick via MTS PMs. It was appreciated. :)

Chapter 1.7: Goodbye Old Friend

   Ignatius flung an arm out, draping it carelessly over his wife. The sun had just risen at six in the morning, and he was awake. Awake, but wanting to get back to sleep. His eyes were still stubbornly shut, and he was drowsy; if his alarm was not about to go off, he could have happily rested for several more hours.
   Something was wrong. In spite of being under the warmth of the duvet, there was something cold within the bed. He could feel a kind of chill on his arm, enough to properly rouse him from his slumber. He opened his eyes blearily, rubbing them as he sat up, and looked over at Pandora. Her skin was pale. He wondered if she was sick.
   'Wake up,' he mumbled, giving her shoulder a gentle shake. He hauled himself up out of bed, yawning and stretching all the while, and once she was up and turned to face him, her metamorphosis hit him all at once. 'What the...you're a vampire?!'

   'Oh God, you're going to start whining at me now, aren't you?' Pandora complained.

   'What in God's name have you become a vampire for?!' Ignatius demanded.

   'Maybe I thought it'd be fun! Maybe I though I had the option to do what I wanted with my body without having to ask you for permission!' Pandora yelled back.

   'A little warning would've been nice! What about the boys, what if they get scared of you? Or what if you forget you can't go out in the sun and kill yourself?!'

   'Do you really think I'm that stupid?!' she huffed.

   '...Of course not,' Ignatius lied, as he went into the nursery to tend to the children, 'but most people would probably forget to begin with.' He sighed and lowered his eyes.
   At least she's still got a nice chest, he thought.

   'What're you doing?!' he yelped in surprise, jumping back a bit when Pandora waved her fingers in his face.

   'You'll find out soon enough...!'

   Her hypnotic gaze made her eyes cross a little after they had lost their glowing pink hue and she shook her head. Was that supposed to happen? Ugh, these new vampire powers were so confusing. She made a mental note to ask Wogan if there was anything else she needed to know the next time she saw him. But first, time to test if her gaze had worked its magic on Ignatius.

   'Can I drink from you?'

   'Go suck a plasma fruit! I'm not letting you sink your teeth into me.'

   Ignatius tended to his first born, as Pandora lifted Varius out of his cot. In a moment that could possibly resemble maternal love, Pandora began singing to him. With her back to her husband, she did not spot Ignatius' clear opinion of her voice.

   'Who's wrapped in a tight little blue blanket? Varius is!' she tunelessly droned.
   'And on that, I'm going to the bathroom,' Ignatius grimaced.

   He peered into the mirror, observing his reflection. He frowned at the sight of wrinkles that had settled on his face since his birthday and sighed. At least there seemed to be no signs of greying yet.

   He held up his fists and pulled what he hoped was a menacing face.
   'Still got it!'

   'My teeth aren't so bad either...' he muttered.

   'But still...something should change. I want something new,' he said, contemplating shaving off his beard.

   'Hmm...hmm,' he said, checking out his new facial hair. Not bad.

   'Maybe tame the eyebrows...No, my eyebrows are fine.'

   He came back out again seeing Pandora in her work out gear, attempting her first taste of plasma juice. It was not the best thing in the world; it tasted cheap. The orange plasma juice was like the vampire version of terrible orange juice humans drank, and it had an after taste that she could only describe as plastic.

   She had spent the day working out in front of the television, enjoying the lack of fatigue being a vampire gave her. Once the sun had begun to set, she headed off outside to jog across the city.

   Benedict had skulked into the nursery to investigate his master, apparently oblivious to Renatus watching him in the corner of his eye.

   The cat meowed at Ignatius, when the latter stood beside Varius' crib. Benedict rubbed himself against Ignatius' legs, meowing and purring. Ignatius smiled and still clutching Varius, sat himself down to fuss over all three of his boys.

   It took a few hours, but Pandora had managed to make it over to the other side of Bridgeport, to see Wogan again. But once she entered the lobby area of his high rise apartment, she got a shock.

   She had run into Morrigan. She bit her tongue and forced a smile, which was graciously returning, Morrigan apparently still not realising that she had a perfectly valid reason to claw Pandora's eyes out. A feeling that was mutual, once Pandora noticed the swelling in Morrigan's abdominal region.
   She was pregnant.

   Once Morrigan had left, Pandora hammered at the buttons on the call box furiously.
   'It's Pandora,' she hissed when Wogan answered, 'let me in!'

   Her face set into an expression of utter hatred, she entered the elevator and awaited its arrival on Wogan's floor. She let herself into his apartment, and hurried over to confront him.

   Wogan however, seemed not only oblivious to the fact she was furious, but also to the fact that she was standing right behind him.
   'Hello Wogan.'

   'I just saw Morrigan. She's pregnant?!' Pandora snarled at his back, causing Wogan to clutch a hand to his face.

   'What the fuck are you playing at?!' she carried on, Wogan's face setting into an expression of anger and concern.
   'Be quiet,' he ordered. 'My daughter's nearby.'
   'Why the hell is Morrigan pregnant?!' she demanded again, although more quietly.
   'Because she's my wife?' Wogan retorted. 'It isn't uncommon for a husband and wife to have children together.'
   'What about us though?!'
   '...I'm fairly certain you were still sleeping with Ignatius while we were seeing each other too,' Wogan evenly reminded her. 'Wouldn't I be right in saying that your second child was conceived after the beginning of our... liaisons?'
   'That's different!' Pandora tried to insist.
   'How?'
   'Because...' Pandora faltered. 'Because I thought you loved me, not her.'
   'I...' Wogan began, looking a little alarmed. He had never said anything of the sort to her!

   She shrunk away from him a little, feeling embarrassed. By his reaction, she had realised that he did not feel that way for her, and felt so stupid for saying it. Now he probably thought that she loved him. Maybe he thought she was going to demand they leave their respective spouses for each other. Truth be known, Pandora did not know exactly how she felt or what she had planned. She was simply enjoying the ride for as long as it would go. Now it felt she had fucked things up, and gotten in too deep.
   But it was too intoxicating to stop.

   '...I became a vampire for you,' she whispered, peering up at him.

   'I thought you might like me better if we were both vampires,' she added, when he remained silent.

   'You've taken a lot of liberties and made far too many assumptions. I don't know if we should continue with this. Just...leave. Please.'
   'You're not finishing with me?!' Pandora gasped, her jaw falling slack.
   'Yes. I made a mistake. Now go.'
   She goggled at him, her expression stuck. Wogan had to physically force her to turn around and shove her back into the elevator. She traipsed back home, numb with shock.


   The following morning, Pandora awoke to the sounds of both crying and movement. The babies were tended to, and the other sounds of movement were from downstairs.

   Ignatius had wanted to focus more on his alchemy but without spending half the day tending to his plants and stinking afterwards, so hiring a gardener seemed like the best option in his mind. She seemed pretty damn competent; Ignatius was pleased with her work. 

   Pandora sulked her way to the living room, and saw the newspaper that had already been read and discarded by her husband, but not actually thrown out by the maid yet. She was bored, and after the altercation of the previous night, unmotivated to do anything productive. Maybe trying some reading would take her mind off how she felt. 

   She scanned through the front page, her eyes glazing over. Ugh. The news was so boring. It was either full of crappy things that had been going on in the city, or worse, about politics. Who cared what the Leader of the Free World did? Not Pandora!

   She flipped inside, hoping for something more interesting. Maybe the paper would have some cartoons in it. Instead, she saw something else.

   "It's a girl!

   It's Vera! The healthy baby girl was born weighing 7 lbs, and is the newest and youngest member of the Hemlock clan. The entire family is now resting and looking forwards to the months ahead."

   There was a bit about the Perry-Crewe family having a daughter of their own, but Pandora stopped reading before she even got to the newborn's name, shaking with fury.

   She let out a scream that startled both the maid and the gardener, but wisely, neither of them asked her what the matter was. Ignatius might have wearily asked her what her problem was, but he had gone out to the festival.

   ...Apparently to admire the wild flowers.

   Pandora slumped back down in the armchair when she felt something furry on her leg. 

   'Fuck off, you mangy stray!' she yelled at Benedict, shifting herself to prevent him from jumping up to her lap.

   It was too nice a day to stay stuck inside. 

   Ignatius' travels had taken him to the salon where he popped his head inside simply out of curiosity. One of the stylists was apparently far too interested in Matthew Hamming to pay much attention to him. Although to his surprise, she smiled warmly at him when Hamming meandered a way and she remembered she was meant to be working, not ogling. 

   'I appreciate Sims who take it upon themselves to learn a new craft. Let's get to know each other better,' she grinned.

   'Um...Thank you?' Ignatius said, not knowing how to reply. 

   'Ignatius de Venetia. Nice to meet you,' he said with a bow.

   'Ti Bellino,' the stylist giggled, and clasped his hand for a shake.

   What the hell, Ignatius said to himself. Where's the harm in a little playful flirting?
   Luckily for him, Ti seemed not to mind Ignatius practising his best lines on her. Although the same could not be said for Matthew Hamming.

   Hamming seemed to be devastated on Pandora's behalf, openly weeping. Ignatius rolled his eyes. Actors. If he knew what it was like to live with Pandora, he would be far less sympathetic to her. Besides, it was just a little silly flirting! It was not as though he was actually planning on seducing her.

   He grinned all the way home; taking a day off and just messing around picking flowers and chatting to pretty stylists had done wonders for his mood.
   So perhaps he should not have been surprised when it seemed the universe thought that too much happiness was not allowed.

   Ignatius' heart almost stopped when he noticed the gloomy, ominous figure of the Grim Reaper through the window. He dashed through the house, trying to see who was about to be taken. Please, not the children! Not even Pandora!

   He came stampeding down the stairs again when he realised that his family were safe, his heart dropping to his stomach.
   Benedict.
   Oh please, no...

   He clasped his hands to his mouth, eyes clenched shut as he fought back tears.

   He shot his wife a venomous look when he heard his wife answering a call on her mobile. His beloved pet was dying, and she was about to chat?! How could she be so callous?!

   Ignatius dissolved into sobs, as a tiny little urn appeared on the floor.

   He made an attempt to call out to the Reaper, to beg him to spare his precious cat's life.

   But his words stuck in his throat as the front door flew open, the roped spectre of death floating through.

   'No - you can't,' he wept.

   The emotions in the living room were getting too much for Pandora to be bothered dealing with, and she sought refuge in the nursery.

   'Benedict!' Ignatius yelled, as the Grim Reaper extended a bony hand.

   'Don't go with him...please...I love you,' he sobbed, as Benedict allowed himself to be picked up.

   He felt a surge of hope when Benedict was placed back on the floor, and threw his arms open to take his cat back in a tight hug. 

   But that spark of hope was almost instantaneously extinguished again when a glowing green portal emerged from the ceiling, shining beams of light in the portal's hue surrounding Benedict.

   The Reaper produced a pink toy mouse, filled with catnip, and Ignatius knew that all was lost. 

   Benedict playfully leapt up to try and catch it, and stared at the Reaper when he threw it up and into the portal.

   'Please don't leave me,' Ignatius whimpered. 

   With a final meow, his request was denied as Benedict took a giant leap and soared up after his toy. He and the Reaper shared a look for a second, before the latter faded away in a puff of black and grey smoke.

   He avoided eye contact with the only person left in the living room besides himself; the maid, who to her credit looked misty eyed as well. He wiped his tears away with his hand, sniffling and feeling as though his heart had split evenly in two.

   Carefully, he picked up the delicate little urn, containing the remains of his best friend, and carried them upstairs. He set it down on his bedside table, so that Benedict would always sleep beside him.

   As in life.

   As in death.