Just as Chloe imagined it would, the vampires and the humans of Godric's nest quickly accommodated to her presence. Now that Godric's underlings were out of their initial frenzy of meeting her, they seemed to enjoy the marks she left around the house. Chloe always seemed to be occupied with herself, but she left her traces all around the villa. A faint smell of caramel and freshly-cut grass would be present in one room, a half finished bottle of Scotch and several books lying around would be found in the next. The woman seemed to occasionally forget feeding herself, which was common for human companions of vampires. But Isabel suspected that her forgetfulness came from something else. Any given moment if a human or vampire walked through the corridor, they would either hear some music coming from Chloe's room, or find the library room ransacked, books missing from the shelves.
When she did resurface at night, she would go and find Godric. Initially, Godric tried to avoid her; he wasn't interested in having conversations about his life motives, and quite frankly he was disturbed by the fact that she could see the dark and crippling despair he was in. The second night that Chloe spent there, he was sitting in the large living room, thinking about how much he detested this feeling of being caught, as Chloe casually walked in and said "Hey". She walked to the liquor cabinet, whistling as she poured herself a shot of Jameson. "I am a bit of an advanced drinker" she said as she smiled and turned to Godric. She sat down on a chair, looked at the ceiling for a second with a serious face and then she said "I bet Hemingway was a huge cunt".
"What!?" Godric exclaimed not being able to hold in the laughter her statement induced.
Chloe grinned as she continued "I just... I mean his writing was brilliant of course, but I bet he was a huge asshole".
Godric was laughing out loud now. What was about this woman? Less than 24 hours ago she made him want to disappear from the face of earth with her words and now she was making him laugh? "He really was, I can tell you that" he answered as his laughter slowly diminished.
"Wait, you knew Hemingway?" Chloe squealed. "Holly shit!". An amused smiled set on her face. "Tell me all about it".
And that was the start of it. Every night after that, Chloe would find him, slowly intake the contents of the liquor cabinet, and ask him about the historical figures he have met. Not even once Chloe asked Godric anything personal, which Godric was extremely grateful of. He started growing fond of her. Some nights, for brief moments, he couldn't remember how his life was before this strange being made tipsy, snarky and painfully hilarious comments about the people he knew from his past. The nights he spent with her made him feel some strange feeling inside. Satisfaction was a part of it, yes, but uneasiness was the other part.
About two and a half weeks after her arrival, Chloe finally dreamed in her sleep. In the sleepy haze that was her dream, she heard her heels clicking on the sidewalk as she walked towards the store that she was supposed to visit. "Mark's Musical Instruments" the sign read. She pushed the door and eyed the bearded man standing around the cashier's. The man looked up, he seemed dazed for a moment, and then he asked "May I help you?". Chloe's answer was the end of the dream "No, I help you".
She opened her eyes and felt a sense of certainty rising in herself. She jumped out of the bed and opened her laptop, trying to find the address for Mike's Musical Instruments. As she wrote down the address to a piece of paper she murmured " My job must've been quite difficult before the age of the Internet". She quickly got dressed and walked out of the house. She felt the warm rays of sun on her skin, and she whispered to herself "When I manifest, the great work begins".
It was already dark as she walked out of the store. "Oh boy" she thought. Usually she could tell how long she would have to spend with them but this one took longer then she anticipated. She quickly looked around for a cab and hoped that Godric wouldn't be too mad, or worse, something wouldn't track down her smell.
Chloe let out a sigh of relied as she walked in the doors of her new home, only to find Isabel's stern and frowning face. "Hey...I'm sorry about being late, I couldn't keep track of the time".
Isabel nodded but stood there frowning.
"Is something going on?" Chloe managed to ask.
"Apparently last night, a bit before dawn, there was an incident between vampires and humans. A couple of humans died and a few vampires were destroyed". Isabel said in discomfort. "Godric received a phone call from the King; they blame him for lack of discipline. So between that and... well, you disappearing, I'm afraid Godric is not in a good mood."
"Fuck" Chloe said out loud as she walked towards the living room. "Godric I am so, so sorry" she said, watching the ancient vampire turn to him and look at her with pure anger.
"Are you as stupid as you look?" he asked. In a blink of an eye he was in front of her, grabbing her by the arms and looking deep into her eyes. His fangs clicked. "You will now tell me what you are" he hissed.
"I...I should leave" Chloe said as she tried to set herself free from his grip.
"You can't be glamoured" Godric hissed in disbelief. "WHAT. ARE. YOU?" he asked one more time as he tightened his grip. Chloe couldn't say a word. Her heart was beating in terror. The gentile vampire that she grown to care was now on the brink of hurting her.
For a second Godric looked like he was going to sink his teeth into her throat and drain her. Though he managed to stop himself, the anger, the destruction was still rising in him. He started shaking her in anger and frustration as he grabbed her by her throat and swung her across the room.
Chloe's body hit the wall in full speed and collapsed on the ground. Pain and agony took over her entire being. It felt like everything in her body was broken. She looked up and saw Godric staring at her.
"YOU DESTROYED MY WORK OF CENTURIES!" he roared. Chloe thought for a second that the entire house was going to fall apart with his voice. "NEVER WILL I FIND PEACE AGAIN! BECAUSE OF YOU!". He looked at her in hate, anger, and pain.
Chloe managed to bring herself on her feet. She stared into Godric's blue eyes now burning with agony.
"Kneel" she said.
"What the HELL are you talking about?" Godric spat at her.
"Kneel Godric" she said with anger and determination in her eyes.
Godric wanted her to disappear. He wanted her to dissolve and never exist again. He wished he never met her. He wanted to leave this place and take refuge in a secluded corner of the world. But instead, his body did what was told and he kneeled.
He saw her take a long breath in. For a second time seemed to have stopped. She spoke:
"When you are old and grey and full of sleep".
She took a step towards him.
"Dream of the soft look your eyes had once, and of their shadow deep".
Her deep voice echoed through the room. "What are you doing Chloe?" Godric asked in rejection. But he couldn't look away from her as she approached.
"How many loved your moment of glad grace; and loved your beauty with love false or true".
The colours of the room started to melt away now. Only her face was visible. Her voice sounded like the chant of something angelic. Godric was being washed away with a sensation, a feeling he couldn't quite recognize.
"But one woman loved the pilgrim soul in you".
Chloe now stood right in front of him. She raised her hand towards his forehead.
"And the sorrows of your changing face".
A bright light barely left her fingers and entered between his eyebrows. Godric felt himself caving in his own body. Overcome by serenity, lightness and harmony. For the first time of his existence, he felt free of anger and destruction.
It all happened in a split second, but for that moment he recognized the feeling she blessed him with: Tranquility.
Godric raised his head in the sweet exhaustion and confusion he was in, grabbed her hands in gratitude and asked "What are you?".
She lowered her head and kissed his forehead. Still keeping her lips there, she answered.
"I am your negation".
The poem Chloe reads here is a short version of "When You Are Old" by W.B. Yeats. Thank you so much for reading. And thank you for all the reviews. Cheers.