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1917

Lucy's hand rested on the doorknob to Mina's bedroom. The moment news broke about Mina's condition, Lucy made her way back to London. She used to always be there for Mina, but ever since Lucy's encounter with Mr. Grayson at the Harker residence nearly two decades ago, she hadn't seen her beloved friend. They could have most likely gotten over the confession that caused them to become estranged in the first place, but how was she supposed to explain her everlasting youth over the years as Mina began to age?

Closing her eyes, Lucy slowly swung the door open to reveal her best friend laying asleep in bed. Her lip quivered at the sight. The doctors were calling it the Spanish Flu, but Lucy had seen this illness in many countries, not just Spain. It was unlike any other sickness. This one attacked the young, the healthy, and was quick to take it's next victim.

Approaching her friends bedside, Lucy hovered for a moment. After all this time, and even in sickness, Mina's beauty remained. Lucy pulled a chair from the corner, sat down, and watched Mina's chest rise. Listening closely, Lucy could hear each faint heartbeat. These were the only things in the room that gave her comfort, for they meant that her love was still alive.

Lucy hesitantly slid her hand under Mina's. It had been so long since she last felt the touch of her first and only true love. Mina's warm skin against Lucy's cold fingers sparked something in her. If her heart was still pumping blood through her body, it would have skipped a beat and flushed her cheeks.

"Mina, my love… These men, they say you don't have long, and the things I've seen… I know this to be true." Lucy spoke softly. Slouching her shoulders, she looked down at their intertwined hands. "I'm so sorry for leaving you." she paused again. She would be crying if she were able to form tears. "How I wish you could hear me…"

"She can't." Lucy heard a deep voice say from the corner of the room. Even after all of these years, she couldn't get that voice out of her head. Without facing him, Lucy growled and exposed her fangs. "Relax, Ms. Westenra. I came in peace." the man said as he stepped into the candlelight.

"The fact that you are even here at all sickens me." Lucy seethed.

"Isn't it about time you get over this petty grudge you have toward me?" he put his hands in his pockets. "I am your maker, after all. Show a little respect?"

"If you weren't already dead, I'd kill you." Lucy threatened Grayson and glared over her shoulder at him.

"Ah, yes, but our beloved Mina already did that, didn't she?"

"I only wish I could have seen her chop your head from your ghastly body."

"Terribly sorry you could not have been there." Grayson replied sarcastically.

"Enough of this!" Lucy stood up, frustrated. "What is your purpose here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Grayson directed a glance toward Mina.

"If she were awake, she would send you away without even the slightest regret."

"And she would have you stay?" Grayson chuckled briefly, but his face grew serious. "Ms. Murray wont be waking up, not again in this life."

"My god, is that the reason why you are here?" Lucy's eyes narrowed. "You're waiting for her to die."

"Tragic, I know…" Grayson admitted.

"You can not have her." Lucy growled protectively. "I wont let you take her away from me, not again."

"There is nothing you can do, Ms. Westenra. Mina will die, and I will have my Ilona back."

"Mina will never be yours." Lucy knelt down quickly and stopped within inches of Mina's neck.

"You silly, naive little girl." Grayson shook his head. "You don't want to do that."

"Oh, but I do."

"If you turn her, she'll hate you like you do me." he warned.

"You…You had no reason to turn me into this." Lucy glared up at him for a moment before turning her attention back to Mina. Running her fingers down Mina's neck, Lucy could feel the faint pulse. "I would be saving her." she spoke, her voice softened.

"No, you would be stopping her heart, essentially killing her." Grayson corrected. "Have you even turned anyone before?" When Lucy remained silent, Grayson scoffed. "Didn't think so."

"Leave us alone!" Lucy screamed and stood up. Her eyes burned an icy flame.

Grayson took a few steps back just beyond the reach of light. Lucy could feel he was still there, he's never really left her alone, but she considered this as close to a victory as she would get from the ghost of her maker.

Crouching back down to Mina's side, Lucy retracted her fangs and wrapped their hands together again. "A sign…" she whispered into her loves ear. "Please, Mina, anything to tell me that you will not hate me for what I am about to do…"

Lucy suddenly felt movement underneath her hands. Looking down, Mina's arm moved slightly. She brought her eyes up to Mina's, whose were now open.

"Lucy?" she managed to speak. "Is it really you?"

"Y-Yes." Lucy nodded and smiled. "It's me. I'm here." she tightened her grip on Mina's hand.

"Am I…" Mina swallowed hard. It was clear she had trouble forming words. "Am I dead?"

Lucy furrowed her brow for a moment before she understood what Mina was suggesting. "No, my dear."

"What happened to you?" Mina asked, her words still slurring. "They said you were-."

"I had to go for a little while…" Lucy interrupted. "But I'm back now."

"I've missed you." Mina smiled at her friend and gently squeezed her hand. "You haven't changed a bit."

Lucy broke eye contact. If only Mina knew the truth...

"Lucy…" Mina spoke again. "You're cold."

Looking down at their hands, Lucy bit her lip. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"Over there…" Mina nodded to the cabinet. "Take a blanket, I don't want you getting this dreadful sickness."

"It's okay, I'll be fine."

"Don't be silly, Lucy." Mina argued. "Go on."

"Mina, darling…" Lucy held her loves hand tighter. "I'm immune."

"Immune?" Mina repeated, the idea puzzled her.

"Yes." she nodded.

"I'm envious of you, then. This Spanish Influenza is dreadful. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy." Mina tried to reposition herself. "How did you become immune? Did you find another aspiring doctor in your travels, perhaps one smarter than I?" she tried to joke.

"No…" Lucy let out a small laugh for many reasons. She knew of no one smarter, and would never find another Mina, no matter how many years she could spend searching. "Mina, what if…" Lucy worried her lip. She needed to ask, especially since she didn't know how much longer Mina would be conscious, and how much longer they'd be alone. "What if I could make you immune, just as I am."

"How?"

"It's a painful procedure…" Lucy began. "But afterward, you would be immune. Immune from any pain and illness."

"Is it dangerous?" Mina asked cautiously. "Have there been unsuccessful treatments?"

"I survived…" Lucy reassured with a smile. "And you are much stronger than I."

Looking down at their hands, Mina thought for a moment. "Alright, I trust you." she smiled softly as she closed her eyes and rested her head back on her pillow. "But I'm going to rest a little more now, if that's alright."

"Yes, of course." Lucy nodded. She began fixing Mina's bed sheets up around her shoulders when she felt a hand touch her arm.

"Promise me…" Mina whispered softly. "Promise that you wont leave, at least not without saying goodbye this time."

"I wont be leaving you." Lucy gently brushed Mina's hair out of her face and exposing her neck. "Never again." she promised as her lips got closer to Mina's pulsing vein. Wrapping her hand around Mina's head and her other arm around her loves body, Lucy lifted her off of her deathbed and sank her fangs into her neck. She could feel an incredible rush through her body. This was a completely different sensation than when she fed. Underneath of her, she could feel Mina's body tense as she let out a gasp. The taste of her blood, mixed with this new sensation, sent Lucy into a fit of ecstasy that it took all of the strength she had to release her love.

Laying Mina's limp body back on the bed, Lucy sat beside her and cleaned her off with one of the warm cloths. It was going to be hard enough to explain to Mina that she was now a member of the living dead, she didn't need her to wake up covered in blood.

"You actually went through with it." Grayson stepped out from the shadows again.

"You sound surprised." Lucy returned the cloth to the water bowl and moved to the chair beside the bed.

"I am, all things considering…"

Lucy looked over to him curiously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Considering you just gave her to me so easily."

"I bit her. I turned her. She's mine now."

"Yes, you did bite her…" Grayson nodded and stepped closer. "But you didn't turn her."

Lucy's eyes narrowed on her maker. "What are you talking about?"

"You can't be blamed for not knowing how to properly turn someone…"

"Properly?" Lucy got angrier and more impatient as Grayson spoke.

"After all, you were borderline unconscious when I turned you."

"But I-I bit her, I turned her…" Lucy repeated and looked down to Mina.

"Like I said, naive…" Grayson sighed and exposed his wrist. "You forgot to give her your blood. It's the only way to complete the transformation."

Lucy quickly brought her wrist to her lips and drew blood. Placing her open wound over Mina's mouth, she pleaded. "Drink, please… You have to come back…"

"She already has." Grayson lifted his gaze just past Lucy.

Following his line of sight, Lucy saw nothing but empty air. Facing Grayson again, Lucy stood up quickly. "No… She can't be…" her voice weighed down with disbelief. Lucy yelled and showed her fangs as she lunged at Grayson, but he disappeared. Remaining crouched where he once stood, Lucy balled her fists and slammed them into the floor so hard she cracked the floorboards.

Suddenly, she felt an additional presence in the room. Lucy turned around to see a doctor standing in the doorway, seemingly frozen in fear. In a single leap, she was on top of him. Lucy listened to him choke on his own blood as she ripped into him. Seconds later, Lucy could smell the two servants that had appeared in the hall. Rage still filled Lucy's body, making it impossible for her to control her actions. Releasing the doctors corpse, she ripped both mens throats from their necks and let out another scream, almost as if to lure anyone nearby to their unknowing slaughter.

Four patrolmen. Six servants. One doctor. Lucy stood, covered in blood and surrounded by her victims lifeless bodies. Her instincts told her to keep going, find more sacks of useless meat to shred, but her eyes moved back over to Mina.

Moving almost as if she were in a trance, Lucy made her way to Mina's bedside. Her eyes watched Mina's chest intently, looking for any sign of movement. When she saw none, she focused her hearing to catch even the slightest pulse, but heard nothing except silence. The things that had brought her comfort before were gone.

Her fangs disappeared as she draped her body over Mina's and held her in her arms. After a few moments, Lucy pulled away from Mina's body and brushed a few strands of hair away from her love's face. "I was wrong." Lucy's voice wavered.

"Turning into this…" she paused. "It doesn't make you immune to pain."

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