Welcome to Gaia! ::

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.

Joyce looked up at Bryce and noticed that he was shaking. She took as deep of a breath as she could and put her hands behind her back. She still looked down, but she undid the ribbons from the back, so Bryce didn't see her exposed back. It still had slight scars from Rhiannon. After a short pause, the corset was off. Truthfully, you couldn't notice a difference. Her with the corset and her without the corset. Her waist was only a few inches larger, she had a tiny waist. But it still didn't seem natural. The dress she was wearing now was tight, so you'd figure once the corset was loosened, there's be some difference. Not much.

She glanced up at Bryce and then back down to her hands.
"Doctor says my ribs'll never be the same, they got shifted." She mumbled. Then she realized she shouldn't be talking about personal things with a boy, and then realized she didn't care a moment later. Her eyes welled up again and she covered her face with her hands. She was so ugly. Her waist was curved to look thin, it hurt sometimes, with or without a corset. Her neck was going to have a big scar, and her back already did. Her hair wasn't in pretty ringlets like her sister's. Her face was so pale it might've been a vampire's to begin with. She was so hideously ugly... she just felt so filthy right now...after what Parker did. She felt so low, so shallow, like the lowliest creature on earth right now...nothing more than some common, immoral...why hadn't she struggled more? If it meant death, at least she'd have some dignity, but now she had to forever live with the shame...no man should lay hands on her unless he was courting her...she liked to think of Bryce as just that one expection. He could never like her, and now, no one could...her mom had basically arranged a meeting for her to meet with a boy from around town, but now...no chance of that, no chance of a happy life...she wouldn't be happy with some stranger anyways, but still...she'd be married, and now she was so hideous...

She wasn't sure why she was obsessed with her appearance all of a sudden, but knew it had something to do with the corset. Whenever she changed or caught sight of her waist in a mirror, her stomach churned. Though corset's were needed to look presentable, a young woman needed to, well, not look like that underneath. Her ribs shouldn't be curved, and perhaps by wearing the corset, even when she slept....out of sight out of mind?
She trembled a little, face still in her hands. Her neck stung and burned, but it wasn't really on her mind. No one would have her after another man had ruined her. And, after all, wasn't her goal in life supposed to be to be a housewife? Pretty easy goal, and now she couldn't even do that much.

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.

Joyce shook, but pulled herself together. She didn't want Bryce to leave. She knew healers couldn't do anything first of all, her mom would never let her. Magic and a woman's body shouldn't mix. And it was too damaged, had been there for too long. Bryce seemed uncertain if he should leave, he rubbed her arm, offered a shower, and it meant the world to her. She stopped shaking slowly and looked up at Bryce with teary eyes and just hugged him, her head on his shoulder. She didn't care that he could see her back. It was just her back. It was probably inappropriate, but she wasn't fit for a man to touch her now anyways. Not after what Parker'd done.

She was limp on his shoulder, she felt weak because off the loss of blood. A bath sounded great, now that she felt so filthly and soiled after Parker had touched her. Not to mention the only bath she'd had in years was swimming in the lake and a leaky faucet in their house. Hogwarts changed that, but still.
She released him after a moment or two, her face so pale it was the exact opposite of her hair now.
"I'm pretty sure just being around you made me break about every rule in the book of morals.
She smiled weakly. "A bath sounds lovely, actually." She sighed and held his hand, looking at their entwined fingers with an air of weak bliss.

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.

She just smiled knowingly and gratefully at his comment. Again, she would've curtsied, but just didn't have the effort.
She nodded and brought her nightdress and bloomers with her so she could change in the bathroom. It was light, flowy, and almost see-through, so she'd probably need that guest robe anyways.
Joyce smiled and released his hand reluctantly. She turned the shower on and closed the door behind her just as she heard voices. She couldn't tell what they were saying, so she assumed it was Bryce's mother. She had the water on slightly cold because she was used to the freezing lake. She turned it up a little but though, and the warmer water was simply delightful. She smiled to herself, and gently washed out the cut on her neck, and let the suds slide down her scarred back. They didn't sting anymore, though her neck throbbed and pulsed like an open wound. It was an open wound, really, but at least it was only a deep cut. It'd heal. It was weird, taking a shower in someone else's home. She was almost positive this was against the rules, too. But she couldn't care less.

She took about fifteen minutes in the shower, running the shampoo through her hair and washing her face. Her hair was so flat that it didn't need to be combed through anyways, she just ran her fingers through it and found, as usual, there weren't knots. Her hair was fairly thick, but stick-straight. She towel-dried it so it wasn't sopping, and dried off with the towel. She put on her short bloomers, long nightgown that was almost to her ankles and was a sheer, cottony white, the one she had been wearing in the lake, and the bath-guest-robe on over it.

She stepped out into the hall again, her hair, now that she was standing up, fell to her knees. It was all one length, not layered or anything, and it looked immaculate on the bottom, every strand of hair the same length, none sticking up.
"Thanks." She said, curtsying a bit, not too low or she was sure she'd fall over she was weak, but her hair skimmed the floor as she bent her knees, right foot infront of the other. As she stood up though, she lost her footing a little, and almost instinctively grabbed Bryce's hand for support as she stood up.
"Sorry..." She said flushing. Parker'd drained all her energy when he sucked out all that blood.

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.

Joyce nodded but didn't really say much. Oh, crap. She'd forgotten her bonnet...still, she wasn't so clean and perfect anymore. She nodded her thanks to Bryce's mother, she felt too tired to get up and curtsy. She was a bit dizzy, light-headed. She remembered how badly the potion stung and was grateful Bryce was here for her. She sighed silently and put her hand to her neck for a moment, her finger gently prodding it. Yep, it was deep. She'd have a scar, which would raise questions, it was on her neck, and a young woman shouldn't talk about her past.

She quickly removed her hand and looked at Bryce with her pale face, deep brown eyes looking all the more striking now. She smiled faintly. She was smiling quite a bit, weak smiles, just glad to be alive.
"Much better...just a bit dizzy." instantly and silently scolding herself for complaining. Part of her was curious as to where Parker was, to where Bryce's father was. But another part of her truly didn't want to know. If she ever saw parker again...ugh. It was odd to think that in her 14, almost 15 years, that was the closest a boy had ever been to her. Bryce, of course, she'd hugged, but it was in proper context. Technically, if she was honest with herself, she knew that 'going that far', really letting a man hold you, carry you, all that (except with Bryce, after all, she'd been passed out or injured all the times he did so it didn't really count..), it meant Parker really should be courting her to be allowed to do that. It's not like she wanted that, never. But her head just hurt all the more thinking about that.

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.

Joyce sat there, running her fingers through her flat hair when Lucius walked in. She shuddered at his words and stared at the floor, wishing she could turn invisible. She almost let out an audible sigh of relief when he left, but managed to say quiet. When Bryce got back and pressed his forehead to the table, she looked down at him and smiled slightly. She opened her mouth, but she couldn't bear to ask the question, where was parker? All she remembered was a crack, and he was gone, Bryce carrying her. Truthfully, it was odd. Parker should technically be courting her after touching her like that. If her mom knew, she'd probably disregard the vampire thing and say rules are rules. She vowed to never tell this to her family. She was kinda confused, really. But she knew she wished more than anything that she'd never have to see him again. After all, she was a victorian, old-fashioned girl. He of all people must know the old-fashioned morals, know how 'improper' it had been. Her mind reeled a bit.

At that moment, Bryce's mom left and walked back in with the potion for her neck. She took a deep breath to compose herself and put her hair behind her neck to expose the deep, throbbing, angry scarlet cut. Really, it wasn't even two little bite marks like you'd picture. But a deep, long scarring wound. Of all the luck...
she gritted her teeth and the potion stung but she did her best to stay quiet. She only let a small whimper out and squished up her eyes, gripping Bryce's hand with her weak arm to keep her from falling, falling, falling.

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.

"Yeah." Joyce said, trying to sit up a little straighter. She pushed her long hair out of her eyes, it was long enough to sit on by quite a bit. She breathed heavily for a moment, then smiled at Bryce and thanked his mom as she put pancakes in front of them. Mmmm...smelled delicious. She used her fork and knife like the proper little girl she was and did her best not to glance at Bryce too often. After all, she really needed to go back to her bonnet and being proper once she felt a bit better. But, as Bryce said..it was okay to let go this time. No judgement.
She was finishing up and handed Natalie her plate. But just as Bryce's mom walked into the kitchen to clean up the dishes, someone else walked in.
Parker.

Her eyes grew twice as wide at the sight of him, and he approached them, looking sinister. He wanted to finish what he started? Just eat? What...why...
She had to clap her hands to her mouth to stop herself from screaming or vomiting, but that didn't erase the fear in her eyes. She saw parker glance at the mark on her neck. He was only a few feet from them. She slid her chair closer to Bryce with each step that parker took towards them, eyeing Joyce, almost hungrily. (hope you don't mind me saying this). Was he so overcome with bloodlust that he'd attack her again? Would Lucifer support his actions? As if in response to this thought, she could've sworn she heard footsteps from the attic.
Alexandra?
Lucifer?
Her head reeled and spun again and she whimpered slightly, like a dog in pain. Finally, when he was simply too close for comfort, she grabbed Bryce as if it were a tight hug, and buried her head in his chest. She didn't cry, she didn't scream. She felt like she'd gone mute. She was shaking, but not as bad, now that she was in his arms. After a moment's pause, she just whispered under her breath in a trembling voice that she knew parker would hear;
"Just don't let go just don't let go of me, Bryce just please don't let go, promise me you'll never ever ever let go..."

Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

When Joyce's chair was hit, she let out a whimper. She couldn't believe her ears, what was happening. She knew she shouldn't have come now, and she looked up at Bryce with watery eyes as if to say; 'I'm so sorry to have done all this.'. It was all her fault. Just her presence had tempted Parker to attack her...all her fault. She needed to make it right. She shuddered, and decided she wasn't going to sit here and cower. She sat up carefully, and looked at Parker with watery eyes.

"If...if you're upset because Bryce has broken vampire tradition, well..." She gulped, trembled slightly and looked down at her shoes.
"You...you have broken tradition as well."
She was grateful Alex, Natalie, and Lucifer were gone. This was a matter between her and Parker. Still...she needed Bryce there because she knew Parker may very well attack her after what she said.
"By you placing your hands on me in such a matter...we should have been...you should have been courting me. What you did was tantamount to rape."
She looked unnerved by her own daring.
"That is to say, you should have been intending to marry me. If...if you don't like me causing trouble here, breaking traditions and being friends with Bryce, causing him to attack you, then...."
She looked at Parker's face for a moment before glancing back down.
"That is to say...we are even."

her face was hardly a foot from Parker's. He could bite her again, he could do anything. She was shaking horribly, her face pale and her hair framing her face. She glanced at Bryce's foot, not being able to look him in the eyes, just wanting to know he was there. He would always be there.