By Michiru

Lobelia rose into consciousness with one thought. �Owwwww,� she murmured, opening her eyes. Everything throbbed. From her head to her toes.
She slowly sat up, wondering if she had fallen out of the bed. She saw her clothes in a pile, but they looked as if someone has put them through a blender.
Bruises had blossomed over her body, and she began to inspect herself. She stopped when she saw the dried blood coating her left side. There was no wound, and in fact, when she thought of it, the bruises looked old. And the aches were starting to disappear.
�What in hell?� She murmured in Romanian. Then she heard the crying. It was soft, almost inaudible, but heart wrenching in intensity. Looking over in the corner, she saw Kanna, curled into a ball, shoulders shaking. She was crying.
�You beat me up,� Lobelia said with apparent calm. Inside, she was seething. She didn�t like losing battles, and hated it when people beat on her when she was helpless. �You beat me up!�
�Yes,� Kanna sniffled. �I raped you, too,� she added.
Lobelia stopped. Raped? How could a woman rape an unconscious woman? She beat her and raped her� �WHY?� She yelled.
�I don�t KNOW!� Kanna roared back, standing up in a super-fast motion, arms in the air as if in protest. �All I DO know is that yesterday I was raped! And since then Things have changed!� Kanna strode over to Lobelia, and grabbed her by her hair, forcing the blonde to look at her.
Lobelia�s eyes narrowed. How dare this woman do something like this to her! She felt the familiar rush of heat focus through her body.

Kanna was a mite worried with herself. Lobelia wasn�t her favorite person in the world (though I want her, the niggling voice in her head added), but she didn�t hurt people like that. Yet, here she was, hurting Lobelia.
She had done things to Lobelia�s body that she never would have considered before. And somehow, the most terrifying thing of all, was that the scent that Lobelia exuded before had changed dramatically.
She had bitten Lobelia twice. Once on the thigh, and once on her hip. Nasty bites that would take a long time to heal and that would leave scars.
Of course Lobelia�s body was perfect already, the bites healed, the bruises fading.
Whatever she was, Lobelia was now fine.
And those eyes filled with light.
Kanna backhanded her. �None of that, now,� she growled.
Lobelia looked up with a rage-filled expression. �You dare!� she hissed.
�I dare,� she growled back, her voice angry as well. Angry that Lobelia would dare to defy her. She forced a kiss from the younger woman, and then pitched her onto the floor. �You do as I say, bitch,� she put her hands on her hips, and glared down at her.

Lobelia stared up at Kanna, a look of incredulous shock. She had never seen suck mood swings. One moment, crying as if her heart were breaking, the next hard and strong. It made no sense.
It made less sense how she felt.
She could SMELL Kanna. Smelled her, and loved that scent. And she didn�t want to upset Kanna in the slightest. Especially since she knew she�d be nipped for it.
Nipped? Where did come from?
She took stock of everything. Increased sense of smell. She could smell everything from the mildew in the attic, to the wool of Kanna�s clothes. She could hear Kanna�s heartbeat, and movement of insects and mice in the walls. She could hear someone speaking a floor down. Maria. Asking where Kanna was.
Something very strange had happened. Kanna had hurt her, and badly. But glancing at her body, she could see that she was fine. In fact, a small cut she had gotten the day before was gone.
She was a bit disappointed to realize that she still couldn�t see very well. Whatever had happened hadn�t made her sight any better.
�Do you have any idea what you�ve done to me?� Lobelia asked in a cold tone.
�Done to you?� Kanna asked, looking stupid.
�Yes,� she snapped. �What have you done to me? You�ve beaten me. Fine. I�ve had worse. You�ve raped me. Sure. It�s happened before. But where are the bruises. Where is the evidence? I have no marks on me. What. Have. You. Done. To. Me.�
�I don�t know,� Kanna shook her head. �I don�t know what�s wrong with me. How could I know what�s wrong with you.�
�You stupid idiot!� Lobelia flared, getting to her feet- and found herself flying backwards, ears ringing. She landed in an undignified heap, halfway across the room.
�Don�t you ever do that again,� Kanna snapped.
Lobelia looked up to see Kanna�s eyes had changed to pale silver. She hung her head, feeling ashamed. And angry with herself for feeling that way. Whatever Kanna had done came with a price. Total subservience to Kanna.

Maria headed up the stairs the attic. Kanna had taken Lobelia up earlier, but hadn�t come back down.
Walking into the room, she was met with an unexpected sight.
Kanna�s big, brown body, locked in a passionate embrace with Lobelia�s lithe, white form.
Maria�s breath caught.
Kanna looked over at her, with pleasure-drugged eyes, gleaming silver in the scant light.
Lobelia looked up, and face contorted in a feral look of anger. A low growl began somewhere deep in her throat.
Maria turned and fled, atavistic fear building up in her stomach. Get away, get away.
She ran to her room, and closed the door, locking it, and then pushed her bureau in front of the door.
Finally, sitting on the edge of her bed, she panted, in shock.
Something was wrong. The look in Kanna�s eyes was too strange. Kanna�s eyes themselves were too strange. Silver? Kanna�s eyes were lilac purple!
Something was seriously wrong with Kanna, and not just by being caught having sex with, of all people, Lobelia Carlini.
And that growl of Lobelia�s� Maria shuddered. She had no doubt. Lobelia would have ripped her throat out with her teeth if she hadn�t run.
And she had a horrible feeling Kanna would have let her�

To be continued...