True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. It is, on the contrary, an element calm and deep. It looks beyond mere externals, and is attracted by qualities alone. It is wise and discriminating, and its devotion is real and abiding-Ellen G. White.

Chapter 1

The creature was demanding a bride, a woman to have for his very own, and Victor could hold him at bay no more.

"I will not create another" Victor thought with conviction when the creature first broached his demand his mind as much as his body refusing until suddenly his creation stood before him actually looking human with real tears, real pain in his eyes. He was a lost creature and for once, despite all he'd done, Victor found himself feeling sympathy for him. On his knees, his creation spoke to him, leveled with him letting him see the pain he had lived with since Victor had left him upon his birth by so cowardly running away. His words came more elegant then even Victor himself could have spoken and they belayed a depth of emotion that was altogether human. It made Victor realize so many things even as he was raising his gun to shoot him down. That monster he may be, his creation was a man, human in almost every way. It made him see him less as the monster, the creature, but lowering his weapon Victor suddenly found he couldn't shoot.

"Victor, please I need you" Ethan's voice broke the silence that braced between them then and in that moment, it was like fate, like god leading him in his task.

His mind was already made up to make him his bride, although he didn't tell his creature that as he left with Ethan, but when he saw that dying woman suddenly Victor knew. It was like god was leading him and when she said she didn't know what lay on the other side of the door, then he was sure. She was the one, his creature's bride, and after her breathing stopped, Victor knew his journey of creation was beginning. When he returned, Victor found his creature just as he left him.

"I'll do it—I'll make her for you" whispered Victor expecting some sort of gratitude or any response at all but receiving none. He repeated himself thinking maybe he didn't hear him, but again, the creature sat like stone not responding, and as Victor waited for a reaction he felt the chill of death lingering from where he had been. He felt it lingering on the body that lay just in the next room and its familiarity stalled him as he eyed his creature expectantly.

"I have found you a bride" Victor said it one last time his frustration growing as the creature remained unresponsive and that final time, those final words is what made him move towards him not realizing he was moving until suddenly he loomed over the form on the floor. When he stood over him only then did the creature look up.

"I will make you a bride—all I ask is patience and time—and in return I promise that she will be beautiful just as you asked" Victor felt his words as they left his mouth, but part of him still couldn't believe them. He had thought he would never be here again. That after this very creature had killed his last one that he would never do something so unholy again, but now suddenly he was. Only this time, it didn't seem so unholy, but predestined by some mythical god. As those thoughts passed over him, the creature stared still not saying a thing his golden eyes saying more then his words could. They held a mixture of emotions that clutched at Victor in an almost inhuman way, disbelief heavy there among those emotions as he stared perplexed yet afraid that he was playing some cruel joke on him. They stood in silence until Victor found he could stand it no more his reasons for doing this chanting in his mind as a continuous reminder. For as he looked down on his creation, Victor was reminded that he was not just doing this for him; he was also doing this for her.

Ms. Croft, she didn't deserve the life that she had lived or the way that she had died. Despite her profession, Victor knew that her soul had been pure, and that she deserved another chance. It was a chance he wanted to give her even if it would be with the man before him. She had died before it was truly her time and now he would give her a second chance; he would make her live again as only he could. As the thought passed, Victor remembered her last moments, all the blood flashing through his mind. He felt his heart throb at the memory. She hadn't deserved such a fate, to die in such a way, and Victor had another thought. Maybe this was his destiny, to right the wrongs nature committed every day, for the way Ms. Croft had died couldn't possibly be right, not in his or anyone's eyes. That was why Victor hoped so desperately to set things right with her. It was as much for her as for him and as his last image of her came upon him, only then did he dare break the silence.

"Would you like to see her?" whispered Victor knowing the answer as the creature climbed to his feel almost immediately. As Victor guided his creature the short way to the body, he could feel that same somber feeling; it had followed her body all the way to his workshop.

"Here she is" whispered Victor a sadness filling him as they came upon her cold form sheet covered still and glancing at his creature, Victor watched as he seemed to observe her, to take her in his anxiety building as he waited for his response once again. Would she be what he wanted? When he could endure the silence no more Victor moved forward feeling as his creature's eyes returned to him. Pausing to stare at the woman he had known beneath that sheet, Victor gently lifted it as the creature came to his side and revealing her face he looked at him when a gasp left his lips. The creature seemed to be in awe and looking at her, Victor couldn't help, but think that he should be. She was still beautiful even in death.

"She's beautiful" came his voice startling Victor from his revelry his hand touching the place over his heart as his face wore a look of utter devotion already. It was then that Victor removed the sheet completely watching as he circled her, taking every inch of her in before letting his eyes turn to him.

"When will you begin?" whispered the creature receiving the only answer Victor could give when without a response, Victor picked up a blade beginning right then.

The first incision he made somehow felt wrong as dark blood started to pool on the table beneath her. Victor didn't let it bother him for long though choosing instead to let it skip over him feeling the creature as he loomed over him with every move he made, one last thought penetrating his mind. When did he become so accustomed, so freely willing to cut a lost soul to pieces? Victor didn't give himself an answer as he continued to cut into her his work like second nature to him now. He found he knew just what to do, he didn't have to think about it though it had been a bit since he had practiced his craft. It all came back to him, he didn't have to think about a single movement, but instead his hands seemed to move of their own accord. As they did the creature was always watching over him and Victor barely noticed as he became engrossed in his craft again part of him feeling a type of ease as he worked at what he had once reveled in. Victor didn't pay attention to anything as he worked. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that soon the darkness of her blood and her unworking organs stopped bothering him as he worked long into the night then into the next. It wasn't until sleep demanded itself upon him that Victor felt his own strength lagging. He hadn't worked like this in such a long time. Finally, with a sigh of exhaustion on his lips, Victor found himself collapsing into a chair, the creature still staring at her prone body not moving. He was for the third time in his life covered in blood and as that processed in his mind, Victor looked up to find the creature standing over him.

"I must leave you now, creator. Tomorrow, I must go in search of work in this merciless city" whispered the creature his voice hard emotionless once more reminding him once more what he was despite the human qualities he had just witnessed in him.

"Where will you go?" the question left his lips before Victor had truly registered them. They seemed to surprise the creature as much as himself because suddenly the creature turned staring at him his eyes searching for something unknown. Silence fell and turning away again, he thought he would simply leave, but something seemed to be holding him back. Why, he questioned, did Frankenstein suddenly seem to care what happened to him? The creature didn't voice that question, but instead let it play around in his brain without an answer. As the creature turned to face him again, Victor was suddenly on his feet approaching him almost cautiously. Neither of them knew what to expect from the other as this happened until Victor was mere feet away his eyes staring intently at him.

"Why do you suddenly care what happens to me? I've been sleeping in alleyways and among the garbage since you created me—why do you care if I do so now?" exclaimed the creature an anger seemed to radiate off him then and Victor found he himself didn't have an answer for those questions. He only knew that suddenly he did, and he couldn't explain himself, he could only redeem himself his own selfish reason still guiding him though he was loath to admit it.

"You are my responsibility, besides, if I do this for you how do I know you will leave me be then?" said Victor not expecting the creature to move towards him then.

"You and I will never be truly parted. After all, what is Dr. Frankenstein without his creature?" said the creature his voice holding something that he couldn't quite place.

"How true" the thought responded to his words immediately even as Victor merely stared at the creature with no response in that moment.

"Nonetheless, I want you somewhere where I can keep an eye on you—come with me" said Victor moving to change then suddenly they were out the door his steps unsure as they traveled in the dead of night.

"Where are you taking me?" exclaimed the creature his steps a hint behind his.

"To someone who will understand all of this…who won't question it…she's faced darkness before and survived" exclaimed Victor smiling as he described Ms. Ives in the only way he could part of him thinking that it didn't do her justice. They moved through the snow then the cold seeming to bother neither of them. The creature listened to the words he said not understanding how such a person could exist even as he followed him still. Darkness was meant to eat people up and yet, his creator said that this person had faced it, and survived. In that moment, the creature followed, if only just to meet such a person. When they reached her home, Victor paused as he stood outside of it. For once, it radiated a peace that he couldn't remember seeing before, and he was glad for it. If anyone deserved it, it was her, and with that thought he moved forward once more a carriage pulling up as they did. A female figure encased in green stepped out, Vanessa Ives, looking as elegant as he had ever seen her.

"Ms. Ives?" Victor's voice reached out to her through the twilight of the falling snow his trust in her leading him forward. Slowly, her eyes fell on them as her body lingered on the stoop, and meeting his gaze, Vanessa offered him a smile before her eyes fell on the man a few paces behind him. Her curious eyes fell on him and Caliban couldn't help thinking that no one had ever looked at him like that even as she was offering him a smile.

"She's beautiful" that was Caliban's first thought when he first beheld Vanessa Ives and he was not just thinking of her true beauty, but her soul, even it seemed to be beautiful as she gazed upon him without disgust her smile radiating with her kindness.

"How could such a woman survive the darkness as Frankenstein spoke of?" that entered his mind next as her eyes appraised him taking him in as he did her his heart already telling him that she was different from the cruel world around them her smile and carefree nature as she stood there, the snow falling into her hair telling him that more then anything else as they stood in an unending silence.

"Doctor—who is this you bring with you?" came Vanessa's voice finally as Victor approached her while Caliban remained unmoving. Victor took her hand when she offered it then gracing it with a kiss and looking into her eyes, Vanessa saw a desperation there that she couldn't quite place before her eyes rose to the man behind him standing still as stone in the snow. There was something about him that intrigued her.

"I must speak with you. This man—he is my creation…I built him…brought him to life after he was already dead" the words were a shouted whisper as Victor spoke drawing her eyes back to his immediately.

Her eyes moved between them, back and forth, as if trying to see if he was joking, but soon she realized he was not. That was when her eyes settled on Caliban the curiosity still in her eyes. Vanessa had seen many things, but this was not one of them. For Caliban, her response only seemed to intrigue him, for she was not running or screaming in fright. This woman was still looking at him without disgust in her eyes those same eyes even daring to pierce his own in a way never done before. She wasn't afraid of him and that he found, was a balm to his fractured soul. He saw curiosity there and a kindness different from any he had known and then she smiled at him.

"Let's get out of this cold—come inside…both of you" whispered Vanessa finally turning her back on them. The doors opened before she could touch the door knob and a black man servant quickly took their coats. Nothing was said until it was just the three of them again and as everything seemed to move forward so fast, Caliban found himself apprehensive to take another step. Caliban then found himself in one of the most beautiful homes he had ever come upon.

"Come sit" called Vanessa suddenly distracting him from his thoughts his eyes lingering on her.

Caliban found that they were both sitting now, waiting for him. Victor sat in a cozy wing backed chair by the fire while Vanessa sat on the couch her eyes on him as she patted the spot next to her. She beckoned to him to come sit with her, but he remained at the door almost afraid to move or somehow displease this woman who seemed to see him already in a way the world until then had refused to. Silence remained as their eyes met her hand beckoning him still to come closer. After a moment, Caliban found himself sitting by her side as Victor told his story, their story, but the words seemed to flow over them. Vanessa Ives stared perplexed with curiosity at him the entire time never even giving Victor a glance until his story had ended. Caliban found himself staring back always waiting for her to suddenly look at him the way the world always did, but she never did. This lady seemed not to see him the way the world did, but as human. She looked at him like a man, a human man, and that is what was building a growing appreciation for her as they gazed upon one another still. That was the first thing that drew him to her even before he knew he was being drawn.

After Victor finished his tale even then Vanessa's eyes didn't stray even as Victor was asking her what he had come to ask.

"I need to know what he does—where he is—would you be so kind as to let him stay here with you?" whispered Victor both their eyes falling on him before Caliban found his returning to her. She was already saying yes, her eyes returning to him with a smile.

"I won't be an imposition" said Caliban before she stopped him.

"You never could be. I'm glad for the company, sir. Tell me though, what am I to call you, surely your name isn't the creature?" said Vanessa shocking him when she placed her hand atop his.

Caliban didn't answer her at first, he had never told anyone the name Vincent had given him, to others he was always John Clair, but with her suddenly he didn't want to be. It was the name he preferred, but looking at her, he found an honesty in her eyes that made him want to place his hand over his heart like he had done before.

"Caliban—a friend once gave me that name" said Caliban the words stumbling from his lips.

"I leave him with you then" said Victor his desperation in his voice as he left with no further explanation. They remained sitting there a moment until rising, Caliban found himself doing the same. Vanessa offered him her hand and staring at it, he found himself longing to take it.

Looking into her eyes, Caliban couldn't remember being drawn to anyone the way he was her. "Come, I'll show you to your room" said Vanessa moving forward catching him off guard as she took his hand to lead him. Caliban found himself overcome almost overwhelmed as he followed her his thoughts flitting through his brain. He had never had a room of his own before—and here this woman, who seemed to possess more kindness then existed in London, was giving him one. Vanessa Ives intrigued him from the moment he laid eyes on her.

She was an anomaly compared to everything else he had known. Looking at her, he found her covered in darkness, black draped over her shoulders, but there was something else too. There was a beauty about her that he could somehow tell she couldn't see herself and Caliban found himself glad to have met her as she faced him outside his new bedroom door.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to ask…I'm just down the hall" said Vanessa smiling a smile that he found he could not deny her in returning it.

"Thank you, Ms. Ives" whispered Caliban feeling as her hand slipped from his making him sad.

"Vanessa—no need for formalities here, Caliban" whispered Vanessa stepping around him his eyes on her back as she moved down the hallway into her own room. As she did, he remembered the sound of his name on her lips. She had made it sound beautiful giving him yet another reason for him to prefer it to any other name he might be given. That night, Caliban lay in a bed the likes of which he'd never experienced before. But despite that, he did not sleep.

He didn't need it the way others did and so instead he looked up to the perfectly white ceiling his thoughts on his bride to be. She remained on his thoughts until just before dawn when his body finally demanded sleep where his mind let him picture the moment when he would live, come alive as he had. He felt the electricity run through his body even in his dream state as his creator and himself screamed for her to live. And then she did. As silence and pouring rain filled their senses, they waited for her to rise, a masterpiece, and she did. First, her fingers then the rest of her until turning to face them, Caliban gasped. The woman that rose to life was not the bride he had helped place in the water to await creation. His bride, the woman that rose before them was none other then Vanessa Ives.