Empasse

Once Vivienne was unconscious, Piers ripped his shirt off and immediately pressed it gently against the gashes in Vivienne's neck to try to stop some of the bleeding. He stared down at her for a moment before he moved his shirt from her neck and allowed some of her blood to pool into his hand. He brought her blood to his mouth and drank it. His eyes flashed a bright red, a knowing washing over him and he cursed under his breath. He couldn't waste any time now. He put his shirt back against her neck as he picked her up gently and disappeared into a shadow.

Oliver was sitting in an armchair in his room at Vivienne's home, reading a book. Suddenly Piers stepped out of a shadow in the corner of the room with a bloodied Vivienne in his arms. "Oliver." Piers voice was loud and commanding. Oliver jumped up with a concerned look on his face. "Downstairs." Was all he said before the two rushed at the speed of light. When Marcus, Vivienne's uncle, had renovated the house several years ago, he had implemented a lot of secrets that even Vivienne didn't know about. One of those was a secret area in the basement that he built to be of use for the Circle. There was a shooting range, a library with ancient and secret texts. There was also a small hospital like area. Marcus had prepared for a wide range of possible events. He had made the home a fortress.

Oliver had pulled out his phone, calling a doctor he had on speed dial to come to the home. Less than twenty minutes later he was there and he began to try to work at fixing the various wounds. As the doctor worked, Piers stood outside, looking in from two large glass windows. Piers had his arms folded tensely across his chest as he watched. Oliver returned with a simple gray t-shirt and handed it to Piers who put it on quickly and roughly. "What happened?" Oliver asked, an edge in his tone. "Someone looking for the vials." Oliver tensed noticeably and an obvious irritation washed over his expression.

"How long have you known, Oliver?" Piers asked, his eyes never leaving Vivienne. The doctor was cleaning the wounds on her neck before attempting to stitch them shut and a nurse had already administered an IV and was cleaning the blood off of her face. "I've always known." Oliver spat out in an annoyed tone. "And you left her unprotected?" Piers shifted his eyes to Oliver now, obviously angry. He wasn't just angry, he was furious. "I made an oath, Piers. Not that you would know anything of those." Piers was having a hard time disguising his anger and disgust at the moment. "To hell with oaths." He said, taking a step towards Oliver. "She could've died, Oliver, or worse." Oliver flicked his eyes to meet Piers'. "Do you know what could happen if anyone else were to find out? If anyone else were to know?" He asked in a low voice.

"I do." Oliver seethed with anger at Piers. "Which is why I told no one." "Does SHE even know?" Piers asked, stepping back now. "No." Oliver said and Piers ran a hand through his hair out of frustration. "She doesn't know?!" He was yelling now and his voice was so commanding that for a moment the doctor and nurse had stopped to look up. Piers paced for a moment, thinking about what to do. "She couldn't know, Piers, no one could. Marcus didn't even know. Not until the end."

"She will not be leaving my sight again." Piers hissed. Oliver watched Piers with curiosity now. "Since when did you grow an affection for a woman? Much less a human?" In all the years Oliver had known Piers, he had never known him to have many friends. On top of all of that he couldn't even remember the last time he had seen Piers with a lover. He wasn't sure now if he ever had. It had to have been many, many years ago. Piers was a tyrant. He was a stoic display of brutality and an iron fist. Emotion wasn't something people ever saw from him. Oliver certainly had never seen him react this way over anyone.

"Affection." Piers spat as he paced. He was livid and it was radiating off of him now. He pulled his eyes back to Vivienne, watching the doctor's careful hands as he stitched the gashes in her neck closed. Something about looking at her forced him to calm down a bit. He heaved a large sigh and sat down in a chair that faced the windows. He ran a hand through his hair and gestured towards Vivienne. "How did you find out about her?" Oliver moved and sat in the chair next to him. "Her mother." Piers' eyes darted to Oliver, waiting for more of an explanation. "When she died, she made me promise her that I would protect her at all costs. That she could never know. Especially Marcus. She didn't want this for Vivienne. She had hoped Vivienne would never know."

Piers made a 'tsk' sound as he rubbed his temples. "How could you not tell me..." He asked in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. "You of all people should've been the last to know, Piers.. You think I wanted her to know who you are? I never wanted her to meet you at all." Piers looked at Oliver, angry all over again. Oliver shook his head. "Can you blame me, Piers? Think about it. Think about who you are." There was a venom in his words but Piers understood. "I would never harm her, Oliver." Oliver scoffed and shook his head. "Just being in your presence could harm her, Piers. She was seen with you ONE NIGHT and this happened. She's already harmed because of you."

Piers stood, his tall figure towering over Oliver and for once a flash of regret came over Oliver's face. He bowed his head to avoid Piers' gaze. "The only reason you are still alive at this moment after your tongue and blatant disrespect is because there's more that you know... and I know how much Vivienne cares for you."