Jaden rose in silence, his gaze aimed downward as if his head had been weighed down by a great burden. As she laid down her request, no, her [i]order[/i], an icy chill went down his spine. He wondered how much he should tell her, wondered what she would think of him if he unleashed everything on her right now. While he knew honesty was what she desired and needed at the moment, he also knew that Clara wasn't as strong or unshakeable as she liked to posture, especially now of all times. . .  but he also knew that she could tell if he's holding something back. He felt trapped between a rock and a hard place, unsure which path t take. Either one could drive her away from him, but telling her everything about himself, including the reason he saved her in the first place . . . he didn't know how that would affect her in the state she was in right now.

Realizing that he had been silent for too long, Jaden took a deep breath, taking a moment to decide on the path he would walk down, then taking that first step. [color=Ivory]"I . . .I was a lord once, way back when. I'd been alive for more than a century, probably two, when I first found you. In that time, when I was wholly human, I had been in love. I would've given anything for her, would've killed for her. For a time she seemed to avoid my advances, but we were eventually wed and ruled together for a time, serving my king and tending to those under me as best I could."[/color]

[color=Ivory]"But then, my town . . . this town, was devastated by a disease of unholy origin. It infected everyone, dooming them to a slow, prolonged death for which there was no cure . . no relief. Even I wasn't safe from it, and my wife. . . my poor Diana. . ."[/color] As ancient memories drifted to the fore, so to did the old wounds they carried. Even now, he could feel the tightness in his chest, the poison in his veins that turned his blood to acid, the feeling of death's curved blade drawing itself across his neck, eager to harvest his mortal soul. [color=Ivory]"The thought of her dying in such a way drove me to madness, and I began hurriedly searching for someway to cure this sickness, even if it drove me closer to my own death as a result. It was in this state of desperation that [i]he[/i] appeared. Your sire."[/color]

Once more, anger bubbled up to the surface from the depths of his mind, but while the anger before had been internal and self-deprecating, this was full-blown, murderous rage. For a moment, all that could be heard were his heavy breaths as he struggled to calm himself, his fingers curled into a fist so tight that his knuckles turned white and blood began to drip down to the floor from the deep gashes he was carving into his own palms. It was a full minute before he was able to speak again, though it felt like so much longer.

[color=Ivory]"He came into my court with whispers of ancient cures and witchcraft, telling me he'd be able to cure not only me and Diana. . . but the entirety of my hold, and it wouldn't cost me a single coin. I knew that it was much too good of a deal to be with out cost, that he was hiding something from me . . but I didn't care. I took him up on his offer, and that was the beginning of the end. He worked his dark magic upon me as soon as the deal was struck, filling my body with the evil power of the demon. After that . . . well, you saw the scene in the club. They were all cured of their sickness, but no relief was given to them. By the time I managed to take back control of my body with the help of the the town priest, the damage had been done. All the men drained and all the women turned . . . including Diana."[/color] A soft sigh escaped from Jaden's lips as he let himself fall back into his seat, his fingers uncurled as he saw the flesh quickly knit itself back together before his eyes. Soon, any evidence of the wound vanished from sight, as if the incident had never happened.. Only the blood that stained his hands remained.

[color=Ivory]"From that day till the day I found you, I dedicated myself to hunting that man down. Revenge drove me to do terrible, terrible things in order to feed the demon, to grow in power, to get closer and closer to my goal. He sent terror after terror before me in an attempt to throw me off his trail or kill me, but all he managed to dow as slow me down. As the years went on, the gap between his got smaller and smaller, until I could almost smell his foul nature. On the day we met, I was so close to catching him, so close to ending the evil that had forced me down this dark path. And then, I saw you writhing in pain and agony on the beach. 'Another distraction' I thought, about to put you out of your misery."[/color] At this point, Jaden turned his gaze up to look at Clara, though his eyes seemed glazed over in memory. Like he was seeing someone else in her place. [color=Ivory]"But then I came to see you clearly, and it was like a ghost had come from my memory to greet me. Even now. . . you look so much like her, so much so that it hurts. 'The Perfect Distraction', I'm certain that's what he thought when he saw you wondering in the forest. The cunning devil knew me better than I knew myself, knew how I'd be unable to leave you alone like that, but also that I wouldn't have the will to kill you before the change was complete. He knew I'd take you in, and in doing so, would give up my chase. My guilt -and later, my loneliness- were hat much stronger than my desire for revenge."[/color]