Just Rewards - Coraline, Josef, Mick/Beth - ONESHOT - PG

[heartagram_lala]

Title: Just rewards
Author: Heartagram_lala
Fandom: Moonlight
Characters/Pairing:Coraline, Coraline's sire, mentions of Josef, and Mick/Beth
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for ep 12 and 13
Word Count: 2752
Summary: What happened to Coraline after The Mortal Cure...
Notes: Set sometime in the future, after episode 12


Coraline lay in the centre of the dark room, her hands cuffed in silver, and a stake protruding through her chest. Her blood had stopped flowing from the wound an age ago, and her eyes had no colour but yellow in them. Her skin was almost transparent and her features gaunt with hunger.

Her lips were chapped, her fangs elongated and aching for something to sink into, her whole body ached with the need for blood. The bloodlust she felt was worse then when she was a newly turned.

She didn’t know how much time had gone past since she had been brought here by her brother, but she was sure it was a while, she had been given blood sparingly over the time, and she suspected it was for nothing more then to keep her alive enough to prolong the torture.

Finally, the man who she had been destined to see entered the room; she was thrilled and desperate at the same time. She knew this was the ultimatum; she would live or die with his word.

He walked over to her without a word and grasped the stake on her chest, twisting it once for nothing more then fun, and smirking at the groan of pain that escaped his captor’s body, he pulled the stake free with a single hand.

As the stake was removed from Coraline’s chest she let out a strangled groan, she growled and tried to move but the silver handcuffs binding her hands had drained nearly all of her strength.

The hole in her chest was barely beginning to heal, and her eyes were obviously yellow, she was in need of blood, and soon.

Coraline went to speak but was hushed with a hand, she knew not to disobey her sire, no matter what.

He circled her, twirling the recently removed stake in his hands, admiring the dark stain of Coraline’s blood that covered over half of the thick stake.

“What ever am I going to do with you?” he asked, his eyes finding Coraline's for the first time.

The question was rhetorical, and Coraline knew it, so she didn’t move to answer, knowing it would only anger her sire further.

Her sire was never one to pussy foot around, so as Coraline suspected, he got right down to the reason he was there, “first you bring another into our bloodline, without asking for permission,” he began, smiling as Coraline tried to sit up but failed.

He continued to circle her swishing the stake around and delighting in the instinctive flinches Coraline couldn’t help but surrender to whenever he pointed the stake at her, as he continued to speak.

“Secondly you completely misjudge this person’s morals and what he wants in life, further betraying the family by brining someone who hates what he is, into out royal family,” her sire spoke calmly, his eyes remaining in their human form, but his anger was not hidden from Coraline she feel it flowing freely from his body, he was doing nothing to hide it, the calm tone just made it all the more chilling.

He continued to circle her and speak in the same haunting tone, “and then just when I thought you couldn’t do anything more insulting, you steal from me, and use something that was made purely for the survival of the species, to try and degrade the species further by calling it, and using it as, a cure, on the same man who you so selfishly brought completely unawares into our world” he spat out.

Turning to stand in front of Coraline he caught her eyes and glared at her, “although I guess waking up to find woman you loved, who you trusted and wanted to spend the rest of your mortal life with, was a vampire, and not only that but she didn’t tell you, and then murdered you on your wedding night, would royally fuck up most people!”

“I gave him a gift” Coraline spoke, immediately wishing to swallow the words but they were already out of her mouth.

She felt her sire’s open hand connect with the side of the face and the next thing she saw was the concrete floor, she felt the bones in her face struggling to heal, and found that she could not upright herself with her hands cuffed together behind her back, so she was reduced to laying face down on the floor until her sire decided otherwise. <i>If</i> he decided otherwise.

“Surely I don’t need to explain what I stuck you for,” her sire said, once again rhetorically.

Coraline remained where she was, her vision beginning to blue with the vampires form of dehydration, a lack of blood for quite some time, and many open wounds.

“What you gave him was not a gift, you betrayed him and while I do not in any way shape of form, see vampirism as being a curse, what you did was betray him and curse him” he said with obvious loathing for Coraline abusing her power as a vampire.

Yes he was one of the strongest vampires that remained, yes he could basically do what he wanted with the world, but he still had morals, he was from a time when laws were not to be broken, and when trust was more important the almost anything. He despised the actions of his once fledgling, and felt no shame in telling her so.

“What Josef gave Mick was more of a gift then what you did to him, he gave Mick something he willingly asked for, knowing full well what it entitled, and for that I respect Josef. And I respect Mick for his choice as well, it couldn’t of been easy” her sire continued, enjoying talking in riddles and the accompanying confusion he could sense coming from Coraline.

“Surely you must have felt the blood bond between you and Mick weakening, or did you just ignorantly hope that you were just going insane from lack of blood?” he continued.

Coraline had indeed felt that something had changed whilst she had been kidnapped, she didn’t feel as close to Mick as she usually did, she didn’t have a sixth sense of what he was feeling, but as her sire had guessed, she had played it off as mere bloodlust confusion.

“A hopefully one off event happened because of you, a vampire had to be re-turned, complicating the bloodlines and heritage where said vampire is involved. Although I must say Josef will make a much better sire, or half sire, then you ever did. He even made a better surrogate sire after you so completely screwed up the basics with Mick” he continued, his tone still as if he was relaying the morning weather over his newspaper.

Coraline was in complete shock, from what she could gather from her sire’s riddles, Mick was once more a vampire, Josef was his sire, and Mick had asked to be turned back before the cure wore off. She couldn’t fathom a single reason why he would want to do that, all he had ever wanted since she had turned him, was to be mortal again, she had hoped that she could win him back by giving him back his mortality, but that obviously blew up in her face.

She was broken out of her ravine by her sire’s voice once more, “strangely enough, I have been contacted by Josef on behalf of your ex-husband” her sire said, almost gleefully spitting out the word ‘ex.’

At this Coraline’s head snapped up from its previous resting place against the comforting cool concrete, completely at a guess as to why Mick would be trying to contact her sire. For a moment a flame of hope flared to life in her chest, maybe he was bargaining for her life? She struggled to roll over so that she was on her side and could find her sire’s form with her eyes, she could make out the blurred outlines of his figure and the gleam of his smile.

“it seems, while he would not have chosen to be brought into our family, hell he probably hates all of us just because of our relation to you, that he does respect what that means, and the old vampire laws that most young vampires overlook” her sire said placing the stake on the ground before walking over to a table she hadn’t noticed before in the corner of the room.

“Now, will you remain calm if I uncuff you, or will you stupidly try to fight me?” her sire asked before picking up a small key from the table.

“I will stay calm, I know my place” Coraline said, albeit rather bitterly.

Before walking over to her Coraline noticed he turned to face what she had thought to be a solid wall, but she was mistaken, as soon as his hands began to move, to open a hidden door, she smelt the sweet aroma of blood, and as he turned around he placed a tray with three glasses on the table.

“Good” her sire said before walking over to her and placing a full glass of blood in front of her eyes, he smiled as she tried to grab for it but the cuffs stopped her, he stood over her for a moment, enjoying her struggle, before taking pity on her and uncuffing her.

Coraline grabbed the glass and sat up as soon as her hands were free from the poisonous silver bracelets, she downed the glass of blood ungracefully and looked greedily at the other two full glasses sitting on the table.

“They are for you, you know I don’t drink from anywhere but the source” her sire said, as she immediately jumped up to find some more blood.

As Coraline downed the second glass she could feel her body healing, the gaping wound in her chest was all but healed, her broken cheek was back to new and her vision was sharp once more, now all that was bruised was her ego, and her heart.

“Thankyou” Coraline said, wanting to try and earn a few brownie points with her sire.

“I am not feeding you for your own good. You should know me better then that. I simply need you to stay alive, well undead, until I can punish you accordingly” her sire said calmly as if telling a child that this time the grounding was for real.

“I did not intend to disrespect the family” Coraline said, genuine remorse fluttering in the corners of her eyes.

“The first time no, but the second time? And the third? by then you knew what you were doing was against some of the highest of vampire law, but you carried on without thought to the consequences of your action, and as such you must be punished” her sire spoke, his voice never deviating from the eerily calm tone.

With the hunger for blood back under control, and her body healed, Coraline’s mind focussed back on what her sire had told her, she looked up and her sire smiled, he knew what she was about to ask, and gave her a nod of permission to speak.

“You spoke before about Josef contacting you on behalf of Mick, may I inquire as to what that was about?” she asked, her eyes darting around the sparsely furnished room.

“Yes you may, the conversation, and the events set forth by it do include you,” he said coldly.

Coraline’s interest was piked now, and the flicker of hope she felt grew a little brighter, however as her sire smiled and began to speak her hopes were dashed.

“Josef was asking for permission to bring another fully into our world, and our family. As the guardian of Las Angeles, and a Vampire of a respective age, Josef knows how things used to work, and he knows that the highest of families, ours being one of them, still operate by the ancient rules” her sire spoke, he seemed to be dragging out the torture for as long as possible.

“He was asking to sire a vampire?” Coraline asked as she stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, not daring to move.

“No, did you not listen to me? He was asking for permission for Mick to sire a vampire” her sire said with spite.

Coraline could feel the anger and hurt bursting forward from her mind and heart, and it was only made worse by the happiness and glee of her pain flowing freely from her sire. Mick was hers and couldn’t sire another, she would stop him, or better yet, he would be denied permission.

Coraline looked to her sire with almost pleading eyes, “but you shall deny him permission?”

“No, he has my permission” her sire spoke almost happily.

“Who does Mick want to sire?” Coraline asked, confused by her time in solitude as to how long she had been held captive, and not knowing the going on of her Ex-husband over the last, what she suspected, were months.

“his bride” her sire said, his face finally breaking into a smile as he felt the full force of Coraline’s pain that his words caused.

“His bride? But I am still his wife” Coraline said, trying to reason with the ludicrous claims of her sire.

“Oh I took care of that, nothing for you to worry about, a completely legal annulment of your marriage and all record of it” he said practically glowing.

Coraline was on the verge of tears, from anger, frustration and pain, but she was trying as hard as she could not to cry, to cry would show her weakness and she didn’t want to appear any weaker then she already we to her sire.

“and she isn’t his bride yet, the wedding is to happen while she is still mortal, something about wanting to enjoy wedding cake and champagne” her sire prattled of, his personal dislike for such formalities evident.

“Although I do find it rather intriguing, the whole mortal marrying a vampire thing. It’s much like his first wedding, to you. Except obviously his bride to be knows of what he is and loves him unconditionally. She loves him for what he is, not what he isn’t, unlike you, who wanted to change the very nature of his being,” her sire continued, she found in unnerving that he had not moved in quite some time.

“I love him for everything he is and was, I just wanted more than a mortal lifetime with him” Coraline said, her tone unforgiving, and she expected another slap, but did not mind, she wanted to speak her mind.

“That was not love my dear” was all her sire replied, he did not move to strike her and this only further confused her.

There was silence in the room while Coraline pondered over everything she had learned, she did not dare to speak or move so she remained looking at her sire.

Finally he broke the silence, “would you like to know what your punishment is?”

“Yes” Coraline answered, though in truth she had hoped that she had been through her punishment already.

“You are to witness the wedding, from a far, and bask in the happiness that Mick has found, away from you. You are to feel the full wrath of heartbreak and pain and you are to know that this is your very last chance. If you do anything remotely out of line I shall have no choice but to kill you myself” her sire spoke calmly.

“Thank you for sparing my life” Coraline said and took a curtsey.

“I just hope that this punishment will finally teach you the severity of your actions over the years, because I do not want to have to kill you my child, but know this, if I have to, I will” her sire said before standing and walking towards her.

Coraline braced herself for whatever was to come and was surprised as her sire placed a kiss on her forehead before turning towards the nearly completely hidden door.

“Oh, and Josef sent this for you” her sire said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small folded card, he gave it to her and left the room.

Coraline looked at the card and felt her heart break; the words on it were very simple, the card read, “You are invited to the wedding of Mick St John and Bethany Turner”

Finally Coraline let the tears fall.


-----------


Coraline and her sire were walked into Josef’s living room by a team of security guards, Coraline felt like rolling her eyes at the hilarity of it, knowing that her sire could kill them all before they knew what hit them, but she knew better.

Josef walked into his living room wearing a tux, with a freshie hanging off each arm; seeing his guests had arrived he dismissed the freshies and straightened his suit before making his way over to the pair of vampires.

“Sir” was all Josef said as he stuck his hand out to Coraline’s sire, he took it and gave a sturt “Josef” in reply.

“You can watch the wedding via my office, I however am part of the wedding party, and must walk the bride down the isle, so I must bid you a due,” Josef said speaking calmly but respectfully to the older vampire, he then turned to Coraline.

“I hope this warning has already been drilled into you, but if you so much as think of ruining this wedding, I shall quite happily kill you myself” he said with a serious expression.

Coraline looked at Josef and saw no traces of the respect his eyes once held for her, “I wish to do nothing more then receive my punishment” she said softly.

“Come then my child” her sire said as they bid Josef farewell and made their way to the office.


-----------


Coraline’s sire sat next to his child on guard, just in case she had a moment of madness, but he was pleased she was keeping herself in check, he could feel every emotion pouring out of her, hate, anger, envy, hurt, love, the works, but he was proud she was sticking to her word and didn’t dare more.

He felt the moment that he had been waiting for hit him full force, he had been waiting for Coraline to break, for her to give up all hope of having anything to do with Mick St John, and for her to accept that she must move on, he felt the realisation and pain hit him like a ton of bricks.

It came when Mick spoke to his new bride, “I will love you forever, and all eternity.”

Coraline knew those words, she had heard the same man speak them to her on her wedding night what seemed like a lifetime ago, but his words had been shorter, he had promised her to love her for his mortal life, he had promised Beth to love her for all of eternity and his immortal life, and with that Coraline was broken.

---END---

[Moonlighter]

Hmmm, can't feel sorry for Coraline -- she brought this on herself. This was an interesting little "filler" for what happened after TMC. I liked that part of Coraline's punishment was that she had to witness the wedding! Nice twist.

[heartagram_lala]

Hmmm, can't feel sorry for Coraline -- she brought this on herself. This was an interesting little "filler" for what happened after TMC. I liked that part of Coraline's punishment was that she had to witness the wedding! Nice twist.

No i've never felt sorry for Coraline at all, she deserves everything she's got coming, and more!

I thought that twist might be fitting, and amusing to us Cora-haters, i guess it would be the ultimate punishment for her, besides death, to see Mick happy, without her, even thought she is still deluded and thinks she will get him back, no one could not see how happy he is with Beth =D

[francis]

This was very fitting for Coraline, I felt sorry for her. The scene where she was shackled and in bloodlust was chilling. She brought this onto herself, but what a punishment! First the torture of being staked and malnourished, then having to witness the wedding.
Very well thought out, lala.

[tecc]

Ahhh...I remember reading this one before.

Coming from someone who never felt sorry for Coraline (I never felt the show gave us anyone to be sympathetic to), I can visualize this happening and being a true and just punishment for all that she has done.

Thank you for letting me revisit this one again. Great read.

[heartagram_lala]

This was very fitting for Coraline, I felt sorry for her. The scene where she was shackled and in bloodlust was chilling. She brought this onto herself, but what a punishment! First the torture of being staked and malnourished, then having to witness the wedding.
Very well thought out, lala.

Thanks =P I'm glad you liked my punishment for her, and yes she did bring it on herself

[heartagram_lala]

Ahhh...I remember reading this one before.

Coming from someone who never felt sorry for Coraline (I never felt the show gave us anyone to be sympathetic to), I can visualize this happening and being a true and just punishment for all that she has done.

Thank you for letting me revisit this one again. Great read.

I never felt sorry for her either, she did nothing to deserve sympathy, she simply used anyone and everyone to get whatever she wanted without thought or regard to anyone's feelings but her own. I'm glad you felt my punishment fitting, and thanks for the lovely comment =D

[jen]

Very fitting.

Coraline needs to move on. I know...what are the odds...but if she can learn from her mistakes and turn her attention to cooperation, things may go easier for her.

Love the MickBeth wedding (of course) and the way they are carefully respecting the rules of vampire society. Nice touch.

[heartagram_lala]

Very fitting.

Coraline needs to move on. I know...what are the odds...but if she can learn from her mistakes and turn her attention to cooperation, things may go easier for her.

Love the MickBeth wedding (of course) and the way they are carefully respecting the rules of vampire society. Nice touch.

Thank you, i'm glad you found the punishment fitting, i know a lot of people have a hard time dealing with the Coraline issue and i felt like i needed to put her in her place =P