Emerald Angelic Devil – Chapter 6 2009
Chapter 6 – Doctor Cullen
France 1671. What a time to be a vampire. By now my eyes were a lovely shade of gold, not entirely human but not vampire in the least. I could now pass for human especially at night. I had found that the people of this city looked more at who you seemed to be then who you really were.
I found that the money I had saved could buy me nice clothing and thus I fit in. I found a butcher I could sell my catch to on a regular basis. He thought I was a trapper of sorts and was glad for the meat to sell in his shop. I left him thinking whatever it was that he wanted as long as I made money.
Soon I found that France was full of wondrous delights I had never dreamed possible in my old life. Some of the delights would have been considered sinful by my father, which drew my interest all the more. Having been deigned so much all of my life made me now engross myself to the extreme. I was like a kid in a candy shop.
I found the opera to be grand. Every performance found me in a box seat listening to the words I did not understand but understanding the whole performance as it was played out. Later I learned the language but for now I was enthralled with the sound. I learned that my hearing was much better then it had been in my previous life and this allowed me to enjoy life much more than before.
I came to notice sounds that I had missed before with my weak human ears, some simple, but some more complex, such as a heartbeat. I could tell the difference between the young and the old. I could hear when a heart was labored in its beats such as with an obese person or what I came to learn later as a heart condition. These were not the only sounds my weak human ears had missed however.
I soon learned I could hear conversations that were not meant to be heard. Secrets passed between lovers or in conspiracy. I learned a great deal about people with this great power as I considered it. I was able to learn things about people to help further myself with those of importance. Soon I had made my way into the higher class society just by listening.
Great hearing was not the only thing I learned I possessed. Soon I also found my eye sight had greatly improved. I could see things from great distances as well as seeing things more intricately as I had discovered upon my rebirth. I could stare for hours at something such as a painting seeing much more then I had ever before. I could pick up everything such as brush stokes, even being able to tell you were the painter had covered mistakes.
I also found I possessed great strength. I actually had to be careful when dealing with humans because I could easily crush a hand or shoulder. If I did not control myself; a simple pat on the shoulder could easily end in disaster. This I discovered after only one mistake where I broke a man's hand. This lesson aided my assimilation rather quickly.
These were not the greatest of my abilities in my opinion. I felt that my compassion for human life had increased tenfold and this is what allowed me to not take a life. This compassion I felt aided me in keeping to my diet of animals. After about six months of my new life, I found the scent of humans did not tempt me unless I had not fed that day. This compassion along with a series of events led to my decision to become a doctor.
I had already found an interest in anatomy with my strange diet but as of yet had not discovered my true calling. One night I came across a man who had been stabbed in an alley. I smelled the blood before I found the man. As I came upon him, I knew his life was draining away with each beat of his heart. The compassion for his life took over as I knelt over him examining his wound and I never once felt the urge to feed. I did not notice this till later as my only concern was to save him.
Quickly I worked using my neck cloth to make a tourniquet, stanching the flow of blood. I then carried the now unconscious man to my home. Once there I poured over my books on anatomy and soon found out how to mend the vein and stitch the wound. Once I had the blood stopped I removed my make-shift tourniquet and was delighted when no more blood flowed from the wound.
I cleaned the man up and left him sleeping in my bed as I had no use for it anyway since I had also found I did not sleep. I left the man to recover and went to feed as the smell of his blood had finally started getting to me. Once I was well feed I stopped by a friend's home to beg a bit of food and wine telling her of my nights events. She gave me the food gladly but warned me to be careful as the man was of a lower class and possibly dangerous.
I returned home to find my patient still unconscious. I checked his wound once more and found some seepage but nothing to indicate he was still losing blood. I cleansed the wound and redressed it before taking my leave once more. After I paced quietly pondering what I had just done. At first all I could think of was how I had withstood the lure of his blood.
Not knowing any other vampires I did not know this was a great feat. I only knew how much human blood tempted me and that I did not want to kill. I felt pride in myself at the thought of how I had not killed anyone. Then the thought occurred to me that I had not even noticed his blood till right up to the end. I marveled at how my only thought was to save his life, not take it.
As I pondered this I heard him stir and went to check on him. As I entered the room, I saw he was awake and when he saw me he began to try to get out of bed. I quickly reassured him he was safe and I meant him no harm, the opposite in fact. I explained how I had found him and saved his life, telling him of all I had done. He seemed impressed that someone of my assumed class would care enough to save someone of a lower class.
I brushed off his compliments and told him of my own humble origins. As the days passed and his wounds healed, we became friends. He told me his name was John and of his life and I did the same. He would laugh at the stories I told of my witch hunting days and marvel at how I had changed my station in life as he called it. He was impressed but when I told him how but when I mentioned he could do the same; he scoffed at me and told me not everyone could pull off this great feat.
I never told him I was a vampire but he soon guessed I was different. After he was healed he came to me and told me he knew I was special and different but that he did not want to know any specifics. I was floored by this but his next request hit me like a ton of bricks. He asked if he could stay on with me. He suggested a position such as a butler or valet but we both knew he would be more than that.
I considered his request and decided that I would make a go of it. I had my own conditions such as he would lead an honest life from here on in to which he readily agreed. I also asked that otherwise he lead his normal life as I really did not require the services he offered. Companionship was more important to me. He agreed and life went on.
Soon however news of how I had saved his life spread and I found people began coming to me for basic medical treatment. I figured John told people of how I had saved him and sent them to me as he had begun to call me Doctor Cullen. It did not take me long to find my true calling in this life. I would be a Doctor.
