Fire and Ice by Quartz Shard "Come on Elizabeth!" my friend shouted over her shoulder. "I'm coming," I grumble stumbling on the pavement with my high-heels. I was hopping on one foot as I pulled on my other shoe, which had fallen off my foot. I scuttled over to where my friends were knocking on the door to the speakeasy. The bouncer glanced out the peephole; we struck a pose. To get in we had to be the crème de la crème of the fashionable. We had to act as if we, four young teenage girls, hung out in back alleys all the time. Which, lately, we did. "Back again ladies?" I looked nonchalantly behind us while my friends excitedly talked to the bouncer. The dark alleyway didn't look inviting. Feeling shivers crawl over my spine, I felt suddenly cold and very aware how thin my dress was. Skimpy thing couldn't keep the cold out if it wanted to, I thought, picking at the material. I ran my hands over my hair, cropped short for fashion. I felt a small pang whenever I thought of it. My hairdresser had unceremoniously sheared my hair, which had previously been long and luxurious. All in the name of style, I thought, fishing into my purse for a cigarette. My companions continued to chatter desperately to the bouncer trying to impress him with the knowledge that they belonged inside. I lost patience. "Damnit James let us in! I'm getting cold!" I shouted. There was a stunned moment of silence, then with a creaking squeak the door swung open. We walked inside. I glanced around. The dim lights and fashionable music made the room a flapper's heaven. In the center of the room there were several couples doing the Charleston and on the sidelines there were several couples kissing and doing some serious petting (petting for the un-informed means second base). Some of these couples wouldn't stop at petting, I knew, and I watched several of them get up and leave the club. I could feel my friend Amanda press herself against my back in that annoying way of hers. I turned and looked into her cold blue eyes...sometimes she gave the feeling of a glacier...but not around me. Sometimes she was even too friendly, too touchy. She was always grabbing my arms, legs or waist, playing with my hair or hugging me. I was finding myself beginning to respond and my heart felt like it burst and pink lights flooded my eyes when she touched me...it scared me a little. She whispered in my ear, her warm breath sending shivers in my chest. "Wow Elizabeth! That was amazing how you just...got us in just like that! Do you think that James has intentions towards you?" she giggled. I sighed, shooed her away and headed towards the bar for a drink. That relationship could never happen...what would my parents think? "I think that Amanda likes you. The way she's all over you. You have to watch out for girls like that...girls that like other girls..." I chuckled. If it has two legs Maria thinks it has sexual intentions towards someone. She had not even thought that I encouraged the behavior. "Yea, James and Amanda, I'm a sexy cat. I wish!" I give Maria's shocked face a smirk and take a sip of my liquor. Moonshine. I spit it back into my cup; that stuff is dangerous. That's what I hate about prohibition, can't get a decent drink anymore, I thought. Maria continued to talk and I listened with half and ear. "So, anyway I said, of course I don't agree with Margarette Sanger, she's making it easier for these girls to sleep around. But it is a needed service since after all with all these girls having sex before marriage and many of them not caring if they got pregnant..." "But it's a sensual revolution, girls!" Susan bounded up to us with a young red haired man. She snatched my cigarette out of my fingers and took a long puff of it. I snatched it back. Cigarettes are expensive and I only get two dollars per week allowance. She glanced at me and laughed heartily. "Loosen up, Elizabeth! I'll buy you more. What was I saying? This is Frank. Frank, this is Maria, Elizabeth and Amanda, my friends." Frank grinned widely at us. "I was just going to my house of prostitution on wheels. Any of you ladies want a ride?" "No thanks," I politely smiled at the young man. "Susan and I need to talk, can you wait?" "Sure." He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth. Something about him made me un-easy almost: the way he seemed to be hunting Susan. He was too focused to have been drinking as much as he had; and the way he stared at her neck... I pulled Susan aside. "Susan, what are you doing? You can't just go off with some strange man like that! He might rape or kill you!" I shivered. Susan didn't look too worried so I went for the one argument that might sway her. "You don't want people to think you are easy!" Susan rolled her eyes. "Ladies, we are in the midst of history! A revolution! We will be remembered by the wild things that we do now!" I rolled my eyes. "Yea, history will be the tales of a bunch of whores. No one will remember you after tonight, Susan, not even Frank. Revolution? A trick to get the milk without buying the cow. In three years you will deny you were ever here or that you did any of this. Please, don't go." "Elizabeth, in three years you will be married to some...some...boring sap who's only credit is he is steady and you will regret not enjoying your youth while you had it because you were such a prude! You sit back and watch people but are too afraid to be one! You're too afraid to act on your feelings!" Susan's face was red. She had dug in her heels. She wanted to go with Frank. "At least she will be married Susan! As no man would marry you if you go with Frank!" Amanda, in my defence. Where did she come from? "Hold on," I said. "I was too harsh Susan, please, stay here." "Hmph. Well Frank and I will be leaving. Any you girls coming? He has friends." "No thanks," we murmured our eyes on the ground. "Yea!" Maria said. "I don't wanna regret my youth either!" "Yea, Maria, good for you!" Maria, Susan and her man of the moment left the room. "What are we going to tell their parents?" Amanda said, always with the obvious. "Nothing," I muttered. What Susan said really got to me. I am enjoying my youth, I thought "I'm gonna enjoy my youth for once," I said. I had made up my mind. "Amanda," I said. She swung around and her cold blue eyes met my warm green ones. Very slowly I brushed the red hair from her face. She seemed mesmerized my my actions. Even more carefully, my heart beating a mile a minute, I cupped her chin in my hand and tilted her chin up to my lips. The kiss was gentle and light but I could feel the underlying heat. I heard her moan and felt her arms go around my elbows, holding me. Taking this as encouragement I deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to explore. Then, suddenly, with a jerk, her lips were gone. And the look on her face held such shock and disgust that it made me cringe. I blinked away tears as I handed Amanda my drink and grabbed a faceless guy and headed out to the center of the room. ********************** Stupid, stupid stupid!!! With vermin of all things! Amanda felt disgusted with herself. She had let it show in her face and it had scared the frightened loving woodland creature in Elizabeth away. She almost pounded her head against the wall. She knew the rules, she knew it was impossible to love a human without consequences, and she knew she had known she was in love with Elizabeth. And yet you let her kiss you, a wicked little voice said in her mind. How could I just let that happen? You gave her her Kiss of Death. She bit her nails and for a second let herself be amused. Kiss of Death? Now that is a little too melodramatic. She chuckled then sobered up and took a swig of alcohol and motioned to the bartender for more. Now what am I going to do? She was so beautiful and mesmerizing. Amanda couldn't resist the urge to kiss, just once. But that once had proved to her that it was true, she was in love. I can't let her die!! The Night World will get her for sure if I don't do something soon. Wait, if I turn her into a vampire she'll be alright. No, she'd hate immortality without company. I'd better change myself and Maria and Susan too. Who can I get to do it, right now? James will do. Susan left with some Night Worlder's. I'll make a call. The witch cringed at the thought of the change but she was willing to do it...for Elizabeth. She motioned to James the bouncer to join her. ********************** Out of the corner of my eye I saw Amanda gulp down my drink. The next couple of hours left in a haze as I danced with guy after guy, partner after partner. I would have danced the rest of my life except what I saw out of the corner of my eye. A group of intoxicated people had gathered around Amanda. They were laughing and poking her. She had passed out. Normally this wouldn't have bothered me except the fact that usually sleeping people breathed. "OH MY GOD!" I screamed. "Amanda, wake up! Wake up Amanda!" I turned to the crowd who were backing away cautiously. Now that their game was broken up they understood the seriousness of the situation. "We have to get her to a hospital! People! We have to get her to a hospital before she dies! Did you hear me? I said she could die like this!! Do you hear me!!" I screamed, I cried, no one cared. My Amanda was dead any nobody but me cared. No one cared about me anymore. "We can't, if we take her to a hospital they'll know she was drinking alcohol and the speakeasy will be closed down, we might lose our jobs and we'll get arrested!" The cold eyes of the crowd glared at me, making me smaller, making me vermin. Their eyes not unlike Amanda's but lacking the underlying warmth. These people were cold, while Amanda was fire and ice. "Hold on!" James the bouncer parted the crowd like Moses in the Red Sea. He leaned down and checked Amanda's pulse. Feeling nothing he stood up. "Hon, she's dead, there is nothing we can do. You don't want to ruin these people's lives do you?" "I guess not," I whimpered "Come on," he said, picking up the body of my dead friend "I'll take you home and we'll drop her off at the morgue." He pulled his keys out of his pocket and we left the club. As we were walking I noticed my friend was too pale to have died so recently...and what was that on the outer side of her neck? I was amused to find two puncture wounds on her neck. Just like Dracula, I mused. I hadn't noticed that our car had stopped in a dead end until James was on top of me. I gasped when the first sting of teeth pierced my neck and fought the overwhelming pain as blood was drawn out against my will. What the hell!? Don't fight it. James stroked my hair Hell, yea I'm gonna fight it! You bastard! YOU THINK YOU CAN RAPE ME?? I found that shouting at my killer helped the pain, as little by little my life force, my chi was drained from my veins. Then suddenly in my foggy, death-clouded mind something clicked! He was laughing, he wasn't raping me, he was eating me!!! You fucking bastard!! You killed Amanda too didn't you?!? I then felt genuine shock and anger as James said (or at least as close to said), Hell no! I'm doing Amanda a favor by changing her and her little friends!! Change?? Oh hell no!! I am not going to become some ..some..Parasite!! That's what the guy was, huh? You... But James' wrist was already pressed to my mouth and I was falling asleep as he stroked my hair. Sleep fiery one...this was the only way Amanda could love you and live. Love?? And then silence. I woke up. My veins were on fire. Amanda was there, sitting on my bed, with a cup of something red in her hand. "Drink this, it will help the bloodlust." I took the blood gratefully. As I sipped the cherry liquid I inspected her face. Did she find me repulsive? What Susan said about being afraid came back into my mind. I stared defiantly at Amanda. The woman who didn't love me the way I was, had to have me changed. "Did you really love me?" She looked startled. "I always loved you!" she said, knowing what I was thinking. "Is that true?" Then she laughed and took me in her arms and kissed me soundly. "What do you think?" I smiled. She was still a little flushed. "Why?" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, they call themselves the Night World..." "I think this is the beginning of a meaningful, loving relationship," I said after several, talks, cuddles, snuggles and passionate kisses. Amanda swaked and laughed loudly. "We'll see." **************************** The year is 2001. I sit at the bar with my two friends and lover, Amanda. Not Amanda anymore: we had our names changed after we became vampires. We were now the wealthiest young female made vampires in America. We are only eighty odd years...quite young by Night World standards. Amanda had been a witch before she changed herself and us...we have since repaid the vampires several times over for the favor. Maria was now called "Pallas," which mean virginal, because she died a virgin. She lamented this at great length. Apparently vampire flesh is so resilient that everytime she pops her cherry it heals again, so sex will always be painful, for the rest of eternity. Too bad Pallas turned out to be such a sex freak. She loves it! Couldn't get enough of it, and hates being a virgin for the rest of eternity. From my point of view she deserved it for walking out on me like that some eighty odd years ago. Susan became "Nightshade"...Beautiful and deadly. I, Elizabeth, became Raya...Fire. Amanda is now "Lynne"; a name I had given her when we became lovers...it means "coldly beautiful." And she was a beautiful person. We sat on the barstool. She pressed herself closer against my back and kissed my hair and I gave a happy smile. We were very happy. Lynne was right in changing us because together we were a united force, a team. Together we were fire and ice. Innocence and death. I turned my head and Lynne met my lips with hers. A kiss of pure love and sacrifice. Fire and ice. I closed my eyes in the warmth and rested there, in the heaven of her lips, losing my worries and cares for that one instant. Don't get me wrong, the adventure wasn't over....It had just begun. Fin