The beauty of a woman.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes that she wears,
but in her rythm and her grace and the way that she cares.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes,
cause that's the doorway to her heart and the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is the passion that she shows,
that with each passing year, only ever grows.
[Original poem by Audrey Hepburn.]
The sky was grey and roared with anger as Vlad desperately tried to reach for her. It was as if the entire world knew and shared the burning fire in his chest, the burning sensation of hope. Hoping he would be able to save her. But she was falling down from the high tower in a threatening rapid speed and he could not reach her. Vlad cursed under his breath as he stretched out his hand and flew with inhuman speed after his beloved. He refused to accept her fate, he refused to accept her defeat.
There was a certain look on her face when their eyes met. She did not look frightened, or sad. She looked at him with such wonder, for his loyalty to her, for his bravery, for what he did to save his people, to save her. Vlad stared into the deep pools of gold honey that were her irises. He thought of their first night together and how she had given him the same look as now. A look of total surrender. She had been so afraid of him and what he would do to her, back then. He thought of the moment they had first interacted with each other. He had been an agressive and regular drinking broken man, and she had been coy but was born with a tongue sharper than his best sword. Needless to say it was nothing less than disasterous.
But they were soulmates, and they had grown to love each other with each passing year. She had taught him how to be humble, and in return he had taught her how to be brave. Over the years, they had started to bond so closely that their souls had become inseperable. Unable to live without the other by their side.
Those precious years with her, had turned his world upside down. Years of pure bliss and wonder and where he felt that all was well and he didn't have a single worry in the world as long as she was there. He could not bear the thought of losing her now, when he needed her most than ever. She had been the cure that healed his wounds when his heart had been so blackened by anger and hatred for the world. She had soothed his soul and even had managed to bring out a more playful side of him. The boyish side he once had but had lost far too quickly because the world was cruel to those with a softer nature than others.
They were still falling, the ground seemed to willingly wanting to swallow his precious wife. He stretched his hand out even further and tried to reach even the smallest part of her, her hair, her finger, something that would help him secure her life.
But she was out of reach.
Frustrated, he released a growl that let the beast inside of him take charge. His facial features changed, his eyes became narrow and glowed yellow. His skin became leathery dark and finally his fangs grew out. Vlad growled again, not aware that he had fully transitioned into his vampire mode.
Mirena saw him changing in front of her eyes but she wasn't afraid of him. She had seen him worse than this when he was still human. He would always be her Vlad and his vampire physique did not bother her.
Vlad was so focused on saving Mirena that he barely registered her grunt as she crashed onto the earth with a sickening thud. He immediately caught the wind under his wings and his cape, and was able to land much more smoothly, which pained him to the core that his wife had not been able to.
Quickly but carefully, he hurdled her broken form into his lap amd craddled her like a mother craddles her new born baby. She moaned and cried out in pain, tears dripping from the corners of her eyes.
"My love..." She whispered as Vlad checked her body for injuries.
He would not and could not accept that this was her end. He saw no physical injuries but knew from the blood dripping out of the corners of her mouth, that it had to be internally. He carefully supported her neck as she managed to bring her hand up to his cheek to stroke him one last time.
"Leave me here." She gurgled. "Our son, our people need you."
But Vlad shook his head and refused to leave her side. He gripped her hand and pushed it against his face, trying to feel every fiber and every living and still breathing cell of hers in this critical moment. He breathed her womanly scent in deeply. She smelled like a fresh pine forest, like the grass after a long day of rain, like the sky during a heavy snowfall, and like his wife whom he loved more than he loved himself. But I need you...
"Vlad, let me go."
He started crying. Something he had lastly done when their son had been born. "I can't live without you."
"You can. And you must." A tear fell from her eye. "My life ends right here, yours not."
His cries made Mirena revive for a moment somehow. She managed to shift in his lap and shook her head.
"No, you mustn't give up! For the sake of our son!"
He couldn't bring out a word and only kept staring at her beaten yet still beautiful face.
"Vlad..." She grunted as an idea came to her mind. Unable to speak due to inmense pain on her chest, she simply tilted her head backwards and showed him her elegant neck.
Feed on me.
His breathing quickened as his senses were suddenly heighted at this sight. He could hear the weak beating of her heart. Having to have suppressed his ever growing thirst for days, her offer sounded more inviting each second. But she was his soulmate and the mother of his son. And so he desperately tried to search for a different way to safe her.
"I could never," he heard himself say, yet he could feel his fangs grow out of their hiding places once more. I could never hurt you.
She tugged at his arm as her breath started to become more laboured. Do it for your people.
But Vlad didn't care about his people right now, he wasn't married to them. His soulmate was right in front of him, sacrificing herself for others. Something he never wanted for her. She didn't deserve to become a human sacrifice.
He glanced at her bared neck and noticed the pulse under the skin. It looked so inviting. The soft, ivory skin, The warmth of the blood flowing through her veins. The sweetness of her pure and sincere soul. His vampire self begged him to feed on her clean and youthful blood but his human heart pleaded him not to kill the love of his life.
She whimpered and swallowed thickly. Vlad hated to see her so hurt, so broken. But eventhough she knew her life was over, her eyes still shone brighter than the stars of the heavens. Because she would always live, in the hearts of those who loved her. And that thought made her soul find peace and acceptance.
Vlad was in agony. His hunger for blood started to cloud his mind and made his vision blurred. Still, he could see his beautiful wife in front of him. He couldn't contain the beast inside of him any longer. He had to drink, he knew. And he had to save their son. Their beautiful son, his only reminder of his beautiful wife. He could not lose Ingeras as well.
Driven by this thought, Vlad bent down. Mirena encouraged him by smiling and closing her eyes. He recognised the soft dip from her collarbones to the beginning of her neck, it was his favourite spot on her entire body. Whenever they were making love, he used to nibble on it, kiss it and nuzzle his face in it. She was so sensitive there and he loved her to the stars and back for it.
His is heart almost exploded in his chest when his vampire senses smelled and heard her blood race through the veins, that laid under the thin skin. Everything he sensed was hightened through his vampire blood and his resistance of feeding on her slowly became unbearable to him. Beneath him, Mirena whimpered which brought him back to her and their sad situation. He stared longingly at her cracked porcelain face and gave in.
Mirena accepted her fate and tried to relax while she waited for his teeth to be sunken into her flesh. Instead, he planted a long and passionate kiss on her full lips, momentarily throwing her off but then she eagerly kissed him back. They both savoured this pure and tender moment. Taking in each other's love with their entire beings and both trying to trick Time, so that they could spend longer in embrace.
She opened her eyes and looked at the windows of his soul. Do it for our son...
Vlad cursed the day he went up Broken Tooth. He cursed the being that made him into this monster. He cursed the Turks for having kidnapped him when he was only a boy. And he cursed his father for giving him away. But above all, he cursed himself for having not been able to save his love from the grasp of Death.
Mirena gripped his arm tightly. She was ready. ...and do it for me.
He smiled through his tears. With an animalistic howl into the sky, Vlad finay gave into his thirst.
"Gorgeous."
Startled, she looked up from her kneeled position to where the voice had come from. Her view was partly blocked because she was wearing a sky blue cloak and she had the cap pulled over her head in an attempt to gain some privacy.
"The roses, madam." He simply explained and stepped into view.
The handsome man sat down next to her on the soft summer grass. While he reached his hand for the flowers, his fingers brushed over hers, sending small jolts of electricity up his spine.
"Are they... for your husband?" He played with her delicate fingers and very much liked the feeling of her tender, ivory skin.
She brought up a rose to her nose and let its sweet scent fill up her nose. She smiled broadly when she thought of her handsome and loyal husband. "Yes they are."
He moved closer towards her and softly pulled the cap off of her head, revealing her long locks of golden hair that shone brightly in the sun. He admired the intricate braid and played with the few loose strands that complimented her heart shaped face. "Then, he is a very lucky man."
The sun shone brightly upon them as they sat in the garden, admiring each other's beauty. Here, among the rose bushes and apple trees, they had created their own little sanctuary, their piece of heaven.
"He is indeed." She whispered while their noses met and danced around each other.
He slowly placed his lips on hers. Their kiss was a passionate one, heated with their undying love and desire. His hand travelled to the small of her back and he gently pushed her down into the grass that softly tickled her neck. She moaned when he started kissing her all over, nibbling in the crook of her neck and on her earlobe. She pulled him back up to meet his oak brown eyes. They were dark, sincere and fierce. He had been through so much, yet whenever they were together, his eyes glistened with pure joy.
Here he was able to fully relax and be at peace. And it was those moments, she cherished the most.
"Vlad," she cupped his face lovingly with both of her hands, feeling his rough stubble scratch gently against her palms. "You're gonna have to save some of your love, from now on."
Not understanding what she mean, he just chuckled and nuzzled into her neck again.
"For whom," he laughed.
She gently took his hand, kissed his rough knuckles and then placed it on her stomach.
"For your child..."
It was as if the earth had gone quiet all together to watch the two of them, lying in the grass. One soul in two bodies and two lovers making one.
Vlad looked at his hand on her stomach that was still flat but would soon grow bigger for the sake of their child. He blinked a couple of times and tried to process what she had just told him and it made him love her even more.
"I'm pregnant, my love." She said while smiling broadly, showing her perfectly white teeth.
He sat up, not knowing how to respond. He then jumped up high into the sky and laughed out loud. He ran around the field, making her laugh. After he had shouted to the whole world multiple times that he was going to be a father, he ran back to his wife, scooped her up into his arms and danced while overwhelming her with kisses.
"Mirena, my gorgeous bride!"
Later that night, when they both laid worn out in bed and after a day of celebrating with the castle staff and the villagers, Vlad once again bombarded his wife with quick love kisses. He still could not believe that he was going to have a little boy or girl running around in a few months.
Under the covers, he laid his hand on her bare stomach and started loving really hard with every fiber of his body so the growing child would feel it down there. He stared into Mirena's bright and gentle eyes and wished the day would never end.
"Time is always too short for those who need it, but for those who love, it lasts forever." He recited their favourite poem.
She smiled her signature lopsided grin as she pulled the both of them under the covers.