Black Rose
Chapter 1: The Gift
I had been waiting for days for the package to finally come. It was Alexander's birthday gift and I was anxious for it to arrive, and was worried that it wouldn't be here on time.
But the package finally came. It was the day before Alexander's birthday and I had almost given up hope, but it came.
I rushed it up to my room and called Onyx, the one who had recommended the gift to me.
"It came!" I squealed.
"Really? Its there? About time. You'll probably want to open it up and inspect it for cracks and scratches and stuff." She suggested.
"I'm already on it. It looks alright."
"That's good. Just make sure you've got the instructions and care details. You can't afford any mistakes."
"I know. I'll make sure to read them thoroughly."
We hung up and I put the gift back into the red velvet bag. I hoped with all of my heart that it would work.
At sunset the next day, I stood at the gate to the mansion. The little gift was wrapped in foil paper with shiny little bats on it. I was both excited and nervous to give Alexander my gift. I took a deep breath and pushed the gate open.
I knocked on the door and was greeted by Sebastian, who was toweling his hair dry.
"Hey Raven." He grinned, one fang glistening in the light of the streetlamp.
When Alexander's best friend had first come to visit, I'd had reservations. But since then, I'd become very attached to him. He was kind of like a friendly leech. He kind of…stuck to me. We were pretty tight. And I'd mostly forgiven him for trying to steal my best friend and accidentally almost making her immortal.
"Hi Sebastian." I smiled.
"Alexander's almost ready." He said, leading me into the house. "Oo! A present! What did you get him?"
"I'm not telling! It'll ruin the surprise!" I said, knowing that Alexander might accidentally overhear.
Sebastian pouted teasingly, and we both laughed.
"What's so funny?" Alexander asked, entering from the staircase.
"Nothing." Sebastian chuckled, stepping back so that Alexander could give me a hello kiss.
"Happy birthday!" I said, presenting the present. "Or, birthnight I suppose."
Alexander laughed. "I told you not to do anything like this."
"And I told you it was already done." I said. "So just open it!"
Alexander took the little package from me and unwrapped it. He opened the velvet bag and a silver ring fell into his palm.
"Raven, is this…" He whispered in awe.
Sebastian took one look at the ring and I heard his breath catch. "No. Freaking. Way."
"So you know what it is?" I asked.
"Yes." Alexander said, almost breathless. "I've heard of these, but never really thought…"
"He didn't think they were real." Sebastian said. "I knew a guy who had a friend who was rumored to have had one, but no one really knew for sure because they couldn't prove it."
"How did you get this?" Alexander asked.
I told him the whole story. I'd called Onyx and Scarlet a few weeks ago, looking for something good to buy for a gift, because I had run out of ideas. They told me about a ring they had that was supposed to give a vampire a window of safe time in the sunlight. The ring was called the Bathory Crystal ring, and it was made by a vampire alchemist in a special line of jewelry that had similar powers. The girls were willing to sell me the ring at a good price.
"We have no need for it." Onyx had said.
"We don't need sunlight." Scarlet had affirmed.
"I can't believe it!" Alexander said, leaning back in his chair. "And they've actually used it?"
I nodded. "It was their dad's or something. They said they used to experiment with it years ago."
Alexander and Sebastian were both in states of shock.
"There are obviously limits to its use." I said. "Onyx gave me the gist of it, but she also included a more detailed letter to give us all of them."
"What did she tell you?" Alexander asked.
"There's a time limit. Something like a maximum of ten hours before the effect of the ring wears off. I think it's a pretty good time. Its about a day of sun. But it has to be charged in a special way whenever its not in use, or it won't work. And it takes a full ten hours to charge completely."
Alexander thanked me for his gift by taking me into his arms and kissing me long and hard.
"Raven, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."
Alexander thanked me again as he took me home.
"We'll try it on Sunday, just before sun rise." He said. "That'll give us enough time to charge it up and read through Onyx's letter thouroughly."
I could see the excitement in his eyes. I said goodnight to him and went inside I'll admit, the gift was as much for me as it was for him. I was being a bit selfish with it. I wanted to be able to be with my boyfriend in the day time. I wanted to have picnics with him under the sun and go to amusement parks all day, and swim with him on hot summer days. I just wanted to share those things with him that we couldn't share before. Sure, I wouldn't be able to hang his photo in my locker, or go out to an Italian restaurant, but I'd still get at least some time with him during the day. I couldn't wait to try it out.'
I hope you've enjoyed this story and I really hope you continue to read! Its my first VK fan fiction, and its been festering in my head for a while. I think I've finally got the story line down to a point where I can write this thing! Please read more when I publish it!
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^^^The ring this is based on can be found on the above web page labeled as Bathory Crystal ring.