Kings of War

Xander had taken off directly after the council meeting for an important trip, leaving the young vampling all by herself. She didn't really mind. She didn't like to sleep by herself, but she could look after herself for a little while, and besides, Shaun was going to be around and she knew he'd hover over her in Xander's absence. He could be big and scary sometimes, so impatient and violent and crude. he was usually nice to her, though. Sometimes she thought that he treated her more like a pet, but she didn't say anything. He kept her safe and he'd never hurt her, so she liked him. He had told her to wait for Eli to come out, and so she did, obediently waiting in the hallway.

She had picked up right away on the fact that Eli looked as if somebody had kicked the shit out of her. Her first thought was that it was Shaun; but then she remembered the pain in his eyes whenever somebody brought up Eli and Jason, and she knew that he would never hurt her. She questioned, but Eli didn't get a chance to answer. Instead, the rather imposing knight Stephen stood behind her, looking rather intimidating and it seemed to cut Eli off. Stephen had never hurt Elizabeth, or even spoken shortly to her, but she felt her blood run cold. Something wasn't right here, and she didn't like it. No matter what Stephen said, she was Xander's queen and she ranked above him, and there was no way she was going to let him take away Eli, not when she looked so terrified. So, of course, she intervened-- politely. She knew she had power because she belonged to Xander, but she would never throw it around like that.

It caught her totally by surprise when Stephen grasped her arm, so much so that she cried out in pain. He never even spoke rudely to her, nevermind hurt her. It scared her as much as it hurt, especially the way he was looking at her. She tried to yank back, but his grip was iron. She barely heard the words he said. She turned to Eli, eyes wide with pain and surprise and found the woman had the same expression; Elizabeth didn't need to ask to know that this was why she had been limping. She didn't know where he was taking them, only that she was helpless to resist and before long he had thrown both she and Eli, and much to her dread and dismay, locked the door.

Elizabeth had never been so afraid in her life. Xander kept her safe. He sheltered her, and everybody knew that he'd kill anyone who hurt her. This...she didn't know how to handle this. But no matter how afraid now, she wouldn't let him intimidate her into keeping this from Xander. She would tell him. He would make everything better like he always did.

Eli shuffled Liz behind her in what Liz could only think must be a motherly instinct. Her heart hammered so loudly that she could hear it, feel it pulsing in her chest. She held Eli, hoping to offer some protection. Stephen was way out of line-- and Liz knew that he would end up paying for it. Whatever he did to either of them now, she would tell Xander the moment he walked in the door. She wouldn't let Eli suffer without saying something, nor would she let Stephen treat anyone like this. She squealed loudly when Stephen's hand lashed across Eli's face in a vicious backhand, clinging to the red-headed woman. She was absolutely speechless, not sure of what she should say.

And then the door banged open with such force that Elizabeth jumped, clutching Eli to her. She thought she saw fear flicker in Stephen's eyes, and Shaun was absolutely seething with fury. She had seen him angry before, but it was nothing compared to this. It rolled off hiim in big hot waves, and she was just a little afraid of him, too. He wasn't interested in them though. He slammed Stephen into the wall, yelling things that didn't really connect to Elizabeth. She felt like things weren't really matching up, and that there was something she wasn't being told. Shaun's fist, armed with brass knuckles, slammed into Stephen's face and blood sprayed everywhere, in her face and her hair and she screamed, holding tighter to Eli.

Over and over again Shaun smashed his fist into the knight's face, the sickening sounds of crunching bone filling the room. Stephen's head bashed against the stone wall, his blood forming a huge pool on the floor while Shaun continued to pound away methodically. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the gruesome scene. Steohen's attempts at fighting became feebler and feebler until he didn't move, just hung limply where Shaun pinned him against the wall. Finally Shaun let go, letting Stephen's corpse fall to lay in a crumpled mess on the floor. Panting, he turned to them. Elizabeth was covered in blood, her face, her hair, her clothes. Her eyes were wide, and she clutched to Eli half out of fear and half out of wish to protect her. Shaun's eyes met hers, his breath coming heavily. "Go to Xander's room. Get cleaned up, and I'll come talk to you in a few minutes." Elizabeth was frozen for a moment, and then she nodded. She thought she saw something pass between he and Eli, and slid out from behind the woman. Shaun's eyes followed her for a second, and he reached out to touch her shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to see that bullshit, dollface. I'll be talkin' to Xander about this."

His little show of affection was odd, but not unappreciated. It comforted her a little, as did the fact that she knew he would be coming to check up on her once she had washed Stephen's blood from her face. With that in mind, she left Eli and Shaun to themselves. It seemed to her they had some unfinished business to work out.