Samantha Cassidy

Samantha had worked all afternoon on the Italian chicken dish that sat in front of her, and yet it was the very last thing on her mind as she sat at that table across from the vampire that had scared her so genuinely that the nightmares had yet to fade. It was only at Dorian's prompting did the Faerie Queen even glance back at it, a sigh on her lips as she regarded her roommate. She was doing this for him, and yet with every single second that passed, it was becoming harder to focus on that very fact. Still, at Dorian's prompting, she found herself raising up to serve the three immortals the meal. It was easy to give her shaking hands something to do as she dished out the pasta and the chicken to each plate before she passed it back to each of them. She was grateful - entirely so - for the man that sat beside her and the way he tried so desperately to include her in the conversation. And how she wished that she could simply ignore all of those feelings that so existed in the pit of her stomach. As such, the woman was truly unable to focus on the conversation of the British food that Dorian seemed so desiring to coax from her.

No, instead the young woman could no longer hold in the accusation that held in her mind. She hated herself for voicing it the moment that it slipped from her tongue, and yet even voicing it at all had that sick feeling in her stomach lessen. She couldn't, even for all that she loved about Dorian, simply sit here and pretend that night in the forest hadn't happened at all. Her gaze had raised just slightly to watch the smile fade off the vampire's lips, her affinity called to life as so to calm the vampire if the situation would require it. The idea of making the vampire angry made her feel sick, and yet it seemed as though she had so little a reason to worry about it. Sebastian's face regarded her with that blank expression, though that didn't bother her so much as the scrape of Dorian's silverware against the china. Briefly, there was nothing but guilt as she felt that distress that she had caused her best friend, but it, too, was lost to the words that Sebastian offered her.

It was Dorian's words that surprised her more-so than the words of the vampire, her gaze flicking over to Dorian. Did she like it? What kind of question was that? Of course she hadn't liked it. It had been against her will. An assault. She had been held so intricately within that power - a power she was still certain was his - and unable to move or protect herself. There had been no choice in the matter. And yet... and yet despite that, she had found pleasure in it. Cutting through that utter terror had been some unexplainable desire. That had been the piece she couldn't explain to herself at the time. She'd blamed herself. She'd felt like she had been in the wrong. And yet her affinity to manipulate emotions that she had developed only countered that. He had done that to her. It had not been her fault.

"No," The girl said finally, her eyes set entirely upon Dorian as she answered his question. "No, I didn't like it. I don't particularly like when things are done against my will. You attacked me and held me by force and at the very least, you owe it to me to..." The girl's words seemed halted in her throat, and for a moment she couldn't remember where the end of the sentence was going. When it returned to her, she couldn't understand why she had wanted to say the sentence in the first place. Yes, it had been an assault that the vampire had done to hurt, but he hadn't killed her. And Dorian cared so deeply for him. She was being ridiculous. Cruel. Spiteful. Selfish. The girl merely looked down at the plate of food in front of her, blinking rapidly as she tried to work through the thousands of thoughts that seemed to crash like waves in her mind. Each one contradicted the last, and not a single one of them made a bit of sense.

"I don't... know," The girl's voice lacked the accusing tone she'd had only seconds before. No, she sounded meek now. Unsure of herself. Still, her eyes were trained on Dorian as she strove to answer the question he'd asked of her. Had she liked it? Yes. Yes, even though that spot had been sore for days and she'd had nightmares. Yes, she had enjoyed the feeling of his fangs within her. But still, the stubborn part of the girl would not voice that, so instead she merely stared at the plate of food as she worked so hard to sort through the mess of emotions and thoughts that seemed to clash within her all at once. None of it made much sense. The girl was entirely unaware of Sebastian's hold upon her emotional state, but the empath was sure that something was off. And yet, even then, the empath remained entirely powerless to do anything about it.

"Y... yes. I suppose I did like it. But I don't... I don't understand it." For the first time since Dorian spoke, her gaze flicked over to the vampire. That fear she held for him was gone, and in it's place was that entirely overwhelming... it wasn't quite anger, no. Curiosity? Not quite that either. Her eyes looked at him, her features remaining not... accusing as they had been. No, she solely wanted to know why. In that moment, the young woman found that she truly wasn't bothered by her roommate's presence or the way that he might so hate her for ruining their evening. And he would hate her for putting any of these memories out there. Later, she would care, but for now she was stuck merely blinking at the vampire as she tried to make her thoughts make some semblance of sense.

He was manipulating her. Of that she was positive. He was doing the exact same thing that he had done within the forest in trying to keep her calm and complacent and to stop fighting. And she hated him for it. She hated him for that night in the forest and she hated him for keeping that same hold on her now. Because she hadn't wanted what happened to her. She hadn't wanted any of it and she refused to let him... Without thinking or hesitation, Samantha's own ability lashed out, pushing Sebastian's calm demeanor towards... well, guilt. She wanted him to feel it, to feel something for what he had done and the trauma that he had caused her He should feel guilty instead of the blank expressions he offered her.

"I begged you," She said finally. She kept her gaze entirely on Sebastian - Dorian effectively ignored for the moment as she spoke. Later, she would apologize to the faerie if he'd hear it, but for now her attention was only on the vampire. "You kept me... I couldn't move or fight or do anything except beg you not to, and you drank from me anyway. I... At the very least you owe me answers. Don't pretend you don't know what happened." At that, the girl let her affinity drop away from him as she finally let her eyes travel back to Dorian, unsure of what she would find there. Hatred?

"Thanks," She replied half-heartedly, finally acknowledging the way he'd tried to steer the conversation back to something less dramatic. The faerie girl could care less about the dinner in front of them. No, she wanted answers for the burning questions she had. "I thought you'd like the lemon."