Chapter Ten:

Savior

Len wasn't surprised by the sight of many lanterns burning in the night nor the shouting voices of villagers as they searched for his recent victim. It hadn't even bothered him knowing that he may be caught and burned at the stake. What tore him up inside and made his stomach wrench was seeing the one who had found her. Of all people, why did it have to be her?

Seeing Rin break down like that only deepened his self-loathing. He bit a fang into his lip as he watched, painfully, as the villagers gathered around her and Mieko shoved her way past Rin. He heard Mieko's crazed screams and hoped desperately that someone would stop her. Was this his punishment for involving himself with Rin? For getting too close? If so it was crueler than hell, to be forced to watch Rin's heart break in front of his very eyes and be helpless to do anything. Rin's screaming left a pain in his chest that he hadn't felt in hundreds of years. And as Rin fled from them, Len cursed the villagers for being so cruel and cursed himself for causing her downfall. There was only one thing he could thing of to reconcile for his actions. He grabbed his jacket off of the hanger and flew out the door at inhuman speed.

There she was right in front of him, the girl he had promised to keep his distance from, the one he longed to just be near. He had often found himself wishing, hoping to see again if only to stroke her sun-kissed hair as she slept on that marble stone bench again. Now here she was, lying on the ground before him like a broken doll. She must have passed out from running so long. Len examined her as he carefully lifted her off of the ground in his arms. She had scrapes and cuts on her legs and she was as cold as death. He wrapped her in his long coat and whispered a silent thanks to the heavens that she was still alive.

He wasted no time in rushing her to his mansion. She was alive, but wouldn't be for long if she stayed out here in the chilling night air. He ignored the broken glass from his earlier fit of anger and walked up the steps with her in his arms. He gently set her down on the soft bed in his room, the same room where he once watched over her from afar. He carefully wrapped her in the warm velvet quilt and brushed the hair from her face. She looked so fragile, Len almost feared that he might break her.

Len stayed by her side as she rested, leaving only to feed . It would be dangerous for him to be around her when he needed to feed, with her weakened state he might accidentally lose control and kill her. When he wasn't feeding, Len sat in a chair by her bedside, holding her hand in his. Rin's body was starting to regain it's former warmth and Len was hopeful that she would recover soon.

For the very first time Len had become a vampire, days seemed to take years, stretching on forever. Until the moment she woke. Len wasn't sure how many days she had been out and now that she was awake, he suddenly felt very nervous. It was just slight movements at first, but then her amber eyes peaked out from her eyelids and she slowly sat up. Len was speechless, unsure of what to say to her.

Rin was aching all over her body, but she was oddly comfortable. Where was she? She remembered collapsing in the woods, giving in to her fate. She looked around the room, everything in it looked antique, as if she had stepped back into another time. She was lying in a soft bed with a red velvet quilt and a candle burned by her on the nightstand. It was then that her gaze rested on the man by her bedside. He had blonde hair that he wore tied back, his clothes looked like something nobility might wear, and he had amber eyes that rivaled her own. She couldn't find any other word besides beautiful to describe him, but perhaps angelic came close.

"You... saved me?" Rin asked, unable to tear her eyes away from him.

Len didn't trust his voice so instead he just nodded. Rin's sparkling gaze made him even more nervous. "Thank you. May I ask your name?"

Rin's appearance wasn't the only thing that had changed, her voice was like silk, gently caressing him with each word, he knew this must be how many of his victims had thought about his own voice. "Len..." he answered, in almost a whisper. Rin smiled at him. It was such a heavenly smile, Len felt captivated by it, but also felt like he hadn't deserved it. "You shouldn't. You shouldn't thank me," Len said with his head down. "It's my fault your like this. It's my fault that the people you care about were killed!" Len stood up and began walking a few steps away from her side. He knew the look she would have, the fear and hatred she would have toward him.

Rin should have been afraid, she was in the presence of the same man that murdered her friends, but she wasn't. Somehow looking at Len, she didn't hate him. Len didn't seem evil to her, in fact he looked like he was racked with guilt. When Len suddenly started walking away from her, Rin found that her hand reached out for him and caught a hold of the back of his shirt. He turned and Rin stumbled out of bed, her legs refusing to hod her, she fell straight into Len's arms.

Rin didn't have a clue what she was doing, but being so close to Len, it somehow felt nice. She could smell a familiar sweet scent coming from him, it smelled like something she had treasured, like a rose, her rose. Rin snuggled into Len's chest and a faint redness came to his cheeks.

"Rin...?" Len asked, nervously.

"It's okay, I understand." Rin said, lying her head against Len's chest.

"No, you don't!" Len said, moving her to arms distance. "You have no idea what I am! I'm a monster that hunts people to live! I'm a vampire and you are my prey! You have no idea what I could do to you right now!"

"Go ahead, you could do whatever you want with me with your power, but you won't. I'm not afraid of you because I know you don't want to hurt me. It's not your fault that you're a vampire, you have no choice but to take the blood you need to survive." Len couldn't argue with her, everything she said had been the truth.

"How can you not hate me?" Len asked, pain visible in his eyes.

"You've done so much for me. Now let me do something for you, I want to give you the life you saved, if you'll let me..."

Len was overwhelmed with so many emotions at once. He pulled her back into his arms and ran his fingers through her golden hair. Rin wanted to stay with him, it was like a dream. Len could only hope that this dream would never end. Rin had said that he saved her life, but Rin had changed him, made him feel more alive than he had in centuries. Who was the real savior here?