It was 1664. Not a very influential year, on the whole. No new discoveries, no new monarchy or scandals of any sort. But for me, it was a life changing year. One day in particular, however was the most important.
On that day, I wandered downstairs and lit the fire in the hearth. It should've been done by our servant Anita, but I didn't mind. She was still asleep in the servant's quarters, and if my father woke up to find it hadn't been done, she would get a beating. She was only 16, too young to be struck by my father. She really was the worst servant ever, but she had become my confident over the past year.
A year ago that day, my best friend, Carlisle, had went missing. His father was the pastor, and so Carlisle had been out hunting vampires that day. He had told me to stay home, as there was a real chance of them finding the creatures, and it would become too dangerous for a young woman like myself. I had agreed to stay home, and simply watched from my window upstairs.
But I had never seen him again. Nobody had seen him. The vampires they found had beeen destroyed, but many people had died in the process. The pastor accepted Carlisle to be dead. One of the vampires had most likely drank him dry and cast the body back down into the sewer to rot. But I refused to believe he was dead. I couldn't afford to lose anyone else.
Carlisle was the brother of my husband, Isaac. I had never really spoken to him before Isaac's death, but after the funeral he became my best friend. I had had to move back in with my parents, as I couldn't afford to run the house by myself. Carlisle had helped me, loaning me money to pay for the rent, but it was useless. I still had to move back to my old home. I was cramped in my old room with mine and Isaac's child, Charity, but she died due to whooping cough. I had lost so many people, and so I refused to believe that Carlisle was dead. He had to be alive. He had to come back.
I could see the fire was getting low, so I went out to the pile of firewood at the back of the house. I had to trek into the woods slightly to get to it, as the house backed into the trees, and it was a dangerous walk. It was muddy due to the rain from the night before and the roots of the trees protruded from the ground, trying to make me fall.
I was bundling the logs in my arms when I heard a familiar voice behind me say, "Lucinda?"
I'd spun round, and dropped the logs. "C-Carlisle." I stammered, staring at him. He had looked so different. His skin was pale, paler than it had been before. Not just pale, but pure white, like the snow that fell in the winter. His features seemed more angular, and he looked more attractive than before. His hair was neatly done, like he'd just been home to make himself look presentable before leaving the house. Maybe he had. But his eyes - I couldn't stop staring into them. Whereas before they had been a deep blue, like the dress I had worn for my wedding, but they were completely different now. They were a golden yellow colour, like liquid gold. They were beautiful.
"How are you?" He'd asked me, smiling, as if there was nothing wrong.
I had blinked rapidly, saying, "G-good. In a state of shock, I'll admit." Carlisle had chuckled, as I'd continued, "And yourself? Where have you been?"
"I've been...away. Adjusting to things." He'd said in a low tone.
I'd frowned, urging him to continue.
"I've been alone for the past year, and , as much as I hate to take another life... I want you to join me."
My frown had grown as I'd said, "Take another life? What do you mean, Carlisle?"
He'd gulped and said, "Do you want to come with me, Luce? It's hard to explain now... how would you like to live forever? Become immortal and travel with me? I plan to become a doctor - you could come with me and study something. It's hard, for the first year, but it gets better. It's your choice."
Without thinking, I'd answered, "Of course, Carlisle. I want to come with you."
"But you'll be like this, for the rest of your life. You'll be 20 years old for the rest of your life. Never changing. You won' be able to have children. This is what you'll be... forever." He'd continued.
I had been more than a little confused, but I wasn't hesitant. Why would I want to stay in my miserable, dreary life here, at home, cramped up in my old room doing work that the servant should be doing and waiting for the day when I'll be completely alone. I'd nodded, aaying, "Let me come with you, Carlisle."
He'd nodded, and said, "Come with me, then." And held out his hand to me, leading me off into the woods.
254 years later, and I still thought about this day with a hint of sorrow. Sorrow for leaving my famile behind, my friends and loved ones. But my life was so much better now. I was a trained nurse working in a hospital in Chicago with Carlisle. It was 1918, and we had worked in many hospital during the war, before finding this general hospital. It was during the spanish influenza, so there was much to do all of the time. We always worked late, and the other doctors and nurses urged us to take time off to sleep and rest. We agreed occasionally, and had uite a laugh about it when we had gotten home. We didn't need to sleep, or eat. We had to hunt every week or so, but that was over in a matter of minutes, so long as there was a herd of deer or some form of animal in easy reach.
I pulled on my uniform and scraped my light blonde hair back into a neat bun. With our hair ebing of similar colour and our eyes both being bright gold, it was easy to convince people that me and Carlisle were siblings. And to be honest, we practically were. We had shared a lot of experiences together in the past 254 years, and it had made that brother/sister bond between us stronger.
As I walked into work with him that morning, I was cornered by Matron, the woman who ran our ward. The whole ward was filled with influenza patients, of varying ages and genders, so it needed someone to overlook it all.
"Lucinda," She huffed. "We have 4 new patients today. They will all be under your care, yes? Two women and two men. One of the women only speaks french, she's an immigrant, and seeing as you're the only one who speaks french in this entire ward you have to look after her, and the other 3 are a family: mother, father and son. The son is only seventeen. They'll be under your care, too."
I nodded, and headed off onto the word to meet the new patients and look at their charts. The french girl, Emily, was 24, but I knew she'd be dead soon. It made me sad to know that, but she had a certain...smell to her. Myself and Carlisle had come to know it well ovre the past few years. It wasn't pleasant. As I walked along to the next three beds, the odour followed me, past the parents of the small family. But it lessened as I reached the last bed, where the young boy lay. He was just seventeen. His forehead was beaded with sweat, his skin a sickly colour. His bronze hair was tangled, with strands lying across his forehead. As I walked to the side of his bed he coughed, and I could see the pain on his face as he did. All of the aptients on this ward had a severe cough. Just one of the symptoms of influenza.
"Sorry." He said in a gruff voice as I read his chart next to his bed.
I smiled down at him as he cleared his throat, his face still etched with pain. "Would you like a drink?" I asked. "Something to sooth your throat?"
"Please." He nodded, and went to sit up.
I poured him a glass of water and pushed down on his shoudler lightly, keepinghim lying down. I lifted his head so he could take a drink, and turned back to the trolley. When I turned back round, his eyes were closed. "Thank you." He murmured. His voice sounded better now, less hoarse.
"No problem." I smiled. "If you need anything else, ring the bell."
He nodded, but as I looked at him, I knew he wouldn't be doing that. As a human, I had always been able to see through people quite well - see their real personality and intentions. I could normally always tell if a person was faking a smile or pretending to be nice to achieve something. And as a vampire, this had morhped into a power. From looking at a person, I could see their personalities. And looking at this boy, I saw how sweet he was, and how much he didn't want to cause a fuss. I'd have to keep an eye on him.
After checking his chart for a few more seconds, I walked off to the other side of the room, attending to another patient that was ringing their bell.