The fire consumed her body. The poison seeped through her pores, seeped into her skin, burning her from the inside. She felt her body convulsing as the fire took over, consuming her soul, her mind, her being. She could feel as the poison, that's what she assumed it was, ate away at her internal organs. She could feel it entering her veins and her body beginning to shut down as the venom, the poison, attacked her body.
She was too weak to fight, to weak to think. She somehow managed to open her mouth and let out a small groan. A groan of pain. Of agony. She wanted this to be over. She needed it to be over. She couldn't handle the pain anymore. The fire. The burning. It was excruciating. Her fingers grabbed the sheet beneath her and gripped it tightly as the pain shot through her heart.
Blackness. It surrounded her. She couldn't see through the mist that seemed to have appeared. She tried to breath but her breaths became short, gasped. Her eyes began to close, her breaths slowing more, the blackness covering her like a blanket. She gave up. Gave into the darkness. Let it take her. She felt light. With another sharp pain through her body her heart stopped and her eyes closed. She faded into the darkness.
Her eyes fluttered open. Darkness. That was the first thing she saw. She thought that maybe this was it. Heaven. But Heaven wasn't meant to be this dark. The pain, she noticed, had gone. There was no more burning, no more pain. She smiled to herself and began to sat up. She took in her surroundings. Four walls, highly decorated with old paintings, a black curtain up at the window, the lights off. However, some light did shine through the gap in the curtain and she could see that she had been lying on a bed. 'What is this place' she thought to herself.
"I'm sorry" a voice whispered from inside the room. "I am so sorry" She looked around to see where the voice was coming from. She had someone shuffling around the room and the light suddenly come on, basking the room in a soft glow. She looked over at the figure that was approaching her.
It couldn't be. Her mind must have been playing tricks with her. It couldn't possibly be him. There was no way that it was him. But it looked so much like him. "Esme" the figure stood directly in front of her and looked into her eyes. It was him. She couldn't believe it. after all these years she was finally seeing him again. The one that she had been dreaming about since she was 16. She had noticed that he hadn't aged. It had been 10 years since she had last seen him and he still looked as handsome as ever.
"Carlisle?" her voice was hoarse. Rough. Burning. It was like nothing she felt before. A need. A thirst. But for what? She couldn't pinpoint what it was that she needed.
"Dearest Esme" Carlisle placed a hand gently on her cheek and smiled at her. She leant against his hand. She never thought that she would see him again, but here she was, feeling his touch. "I am so sorry. But I couldn't let you die. I just couldn't" his voice choked at the end.
"What do you mean Carlisle?"
"I – I – You're a monster and it's because of me. I never meant to do it. I am so sorry Esme. Please forgive me"
Esme was confused. What did Carlisle mean by she was a monster? She placed a hand on his arm and kissed it gently. "Please tell me what you mean"
Carlisle sighed and sat on the side of bed. "I'm not like everybody else. I'm not – human" he looked away from her. Ashamed of what he had done. "This is going to be difficult and very impossible to believe I know, but I'm – we're – Vampires"
Esme's head started spinning. Vampires? Carlisle? Her? This had to be some kind of joke. But she looked at the expression on Carlisle's face and she knew that it wasn't a joke. That what he was saying was the truth.
"When I saw you there, motionless in the morgue, I knew that I couldn't leave you like that. That I had to do something. When we first met, I knew you were special, that we were meant to meet again another day, and when I heard the story of what happened to you, I knew what I had to do. I had to have you back in my life, I needed you, and for that I am sorry. I was selfish and know I have damned you into this life. Made you a monster"
Esme leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing makes me happier knowing that I now have the chance to be with you, in a way that we could never have before. I don't care what you, I mean what we, are. All I care about is that you cared enough to save me, to bring me to be with you"
Carlisle smiled again ran his fingers through her hair. "Thank you for accepting who I am, and what I did to do. I understand if you want to leave. I am not going to make you stay"
"I want to stay. I want to be with you. Forever" she kissed him again, and for just a small second, the burning in her throat disappeared. Carlisle pulled back slowly and looked at her, knowing what she needed.
"Forever we shall my dear, but first we need to get you fed" He helped her off the bed quickly and took her hand. Esme smiled and followed him. She didn't care what she was. What he was. All she knew was that she was with the man she loved. Forever.