Chapter10 –An old Story–
The schoolbag slid out of my hands when I discovered the empty meadow. The sun was already so low that only the highest tree tops were enlighten by a few golden sunrays. Although it is impossible I was sure that my heart had stopped beating.
He wasn't here. I was too late.
My legs and arms started to shake and a lump formed in my throat.
"And don't forget our deal. I will be waiting for you."
A salty flavor spread in my mouth and I noticed that a few tears had escaped out of my eyes. I didn't dry them, I didn't move at all, I couldn't move. My hands felt like stones – heavy and cold. My entire body felt like something far away, like something that wasn't mine, like something new and foreign. Staring at the emptiness in front of me was the only task I was capable of.
"I'm late. I'm sorry."
My head snapped up and I spun around. He was standing directly behind me, his face sad and wreathed in pain.
Driven by relief and another unknown power I took a step –erasing the last bit distance between us– and wrapped my arms around his torso. "You made me wait," I mumbled in his cold chest.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, his voice suddenly rougher than before.
For a while no one of us said a word. It was absolutely silent, even the usual sounds of the forest were gone. There were just the sound of our breaths and my quiet sobs. But unlike the last few times this silence didn't hurt my ears. This silence was perfect because he didn't break it to ask me let go of him. He allowed me hugging him for what seemed like a little eternity. I was sure that this was the most beautiful moment of my life.
He decided to end the silence in the end with a sigh.
I looked up at his gorgeous face interrogatingly.
He chuckled at my expression, his sweet cool breath washed over my face. "We are a lost case, aren't we?"
I blinked in irritation. "Huh?"
He chuckled again, it sounded so beautiful. "Standing is uncomfortable," he suddenly changed the subject. "Why don't we sit down?" He nodded towards something behind me.
I shook my head fiercely and pressed myself harder against the length of his body. "No, I like standing."
He laughed but didn't argue. Suspicion woke up in me; he usually – no always would argue. But before I could come up with a logical reason for his strange behavior the ground under my feet suddenly vanished.
A shriek of surprise escaped through my lips when I noticed him carrying me on his arms – bridal style. "Let me down!" I demanded, giggling.
He laughed; it was the most harmonious melody I had ever heard. "No, better not. With your luck you would probably just sprain your ankle again."
"That's not true," I objected when he put me down on the fallen tree trunk at the meadow.
He grinned freshly. "Truth hurts, my dear."
I blushed. Did he just call me "my dear"?
He sighed. "I know I shouldn't, but it's simply impossible for me to not like your blushing face," he said in a whisper, his golden eyes looking at me so intensely that my cheeks become even hotter, his words add the rest.
"So…" –he bended down to my face– "warm."
My heart skipped a beat and I leaned closer without ordering my body to do so.
He was gone instantly.
I jumped up to my feet, my head spinning around, my eyes torn wide open with panic. What was going on? Have I done anything wrong? "A-Adrian?" I called; my voice not louder than a whisper.
"I'm here." I turned around, finding him standing hidden in the shadow of the trees at the farthest end of the meadow. "Stay where you are… I just need a moment…"
Despite his advice I stepped nearer to see his face. His eyes were pressed shut, his brows knit in concentration, his lips formed to a hard line. He was standing – no frozen at one place, his hands clenched to fists, so hard that I believed that the bones underneath would break through his beautiful skin the next second.
"Adrian?" I asked carefully.
He didn't react.
My eyes fell to the ground. "I'm sorry."
"Why do you apologize?" he asked back, his voice suddenly louder and nearer.
My head snapped up, seeing him standing right in front of me – I could touch his cold skin if I just lifted my hand. My heartbeat increased. "How did you do this?" I gasped.
He smiled. "You answer my question first then I'll answer yours."
I looked down again. –There were just inches between the tips of our feet! I blushed. "I did something wrong," I replied in a whisper. "I don't know what, but something I did upset you."
He lifted my chin with his long cool fingers, making me look into his eyes, or maybe he just wanted to look into mine. "I'm different," he said after a while; it sounded like a sigh. "My outer appearance might look like everyone else's, but I'm not like everyone else. I'm not human." His voice broke at the last word.
"What do you mean?" I wondered, fighting the urge back to stroke his face with my fingers. I didn't know why but being together with me seemed to need all of his strength.
He watched me for a long time, searching for the right words I guessed. "What kind of… special features have you noticed on me?" he decided to ask in the end.
"Your inhuman perfect looks," I almost said but stopped myself just in time. "Umm… I don't know how to describe it, but sometimes I have the feeling you know exactly when and where I am in danger."
He commented that with a stiff nod. "What else?"
"Well… umm…"
"The fox," he helped my memory.
"The fox?" I thought back. "Well, that wasn't so… unusual, was it?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I killed it with my bare hands."
"You saved me that way," I interjected.
He shook his head in disbelieve; an amused but also bitter smile decorated his face. "You are impossible. How can you see in a murder a positive point?"
"It wasn't murder," I disagreed, wincing at his choice of words. "It was self-defense."
He laughed. "See, that's what I mean."
"Would you answer my question now?" I reminded him, changing the subject.
His laughter stopped instantly. "Haven't I just answered it? I'm not… normal."
"Yes," I admitted, my eyes wandering down towards the ground again. "But… how can you be so fast and…" –I remembered last night– "and how did you heal my ankle?" –I swallowed– "What exactly are you?"
His body suddenly tensed when I asked the last question, but he didn't take his hand form my chin. Instead, it wandered up to cup my cheek. I shuddered slightly at the cold. His hand disappeared.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm making you feel cold."
I shook my head. "No, I'm fine." I took his hand in mine –suppressing a shiver– to underline my words. His pale slender fingers looked so long next to my small ones.
He didn't pull his hand back; instead, he started with his explanations – at last. "Speed is an ability given to me when… I became what I am now. All the others of my kind are abnormally fast, too."
"There are more people like you?" I goggled.
He nodded. "Yes, but I'd like you not meet them." His yaw tightened and his golden eyes darkened a bit.
"So all of you are fast and can heal injuries?" I tried to blow away his sudden tension with the next question.
It worked, his eyes melted to liquid gold instantly. "Running fast – yes. Healing injuries – no. That's just a gift that only I have."
I smiled. "I always knew you are a unique person," I said without thinking about it. I blushed when I heard my own words.
His eyes widened a bit in astonishment but then he smiled. "Everyone on this planet is uniqueness itself." –his face clouded– "Even a monster like me."
I shook my head fiercely. "You are not a monster!" I objected resentfully. "You are one of the most helpful and kind-hearted persons I have ever met!"
He laughed; it was a humorless laugh. "That's the first time someone describes me with these kinds of adjectives."
I didn't respond; I didn't know how to respond. His words sounded so sad – so sad that they could be nothing but the truth. I lifted my hand, stroking with the tip of my fingers his cold smooth cheek. It was like stroking a block of marble and it felt surprisingly good. He closed his eyes, leaning in the touch. "Mmm… Really should go…" he moaned.
I shook my head and my other hand gripped his harder. "No, you can't," I whispered.
"No, I guess I really can't…" he admitted with a sigh. "Mmm… so tired… so tired of staying away from you…"
"Then don't," I suggested. "If you're tired then sleep."
He chuckled. "Sleep would be nice. Too bad I can't sleep."
I blinked in confusion. "You… can't sleep?"
He opened his eyes, his face raying amusement but also a little hint of bitterness. "No, I can't sleep."
I felt my mouth drop open.
He laughed. "Surprised?"
Although my mouth was torn wide open I wasn't able to make a single noise.
"It's another reparability of… my kind."
I nodded slowly, my neck felt somehow stiff.
He lifted his free hand to my chin, helping me to shut my mouth. "Are you okay?" he asked concerned.
"Hmm… I'm just wondering…" –I looked up at him, my brows knit with skepticism– "You really don't sleep?"
"No." He sounded amused again.
"Never?"
"Never."
"B-but…" I shook my head, lost at words. "How… how is that… possible?"
He shrugged. "I don't know either. I guess my body just doesn't need or can't use the recovery which sleep gives."
I cocked my head to aside, wanting to ask him, but I kept the words on my tongue. I had already asked him before and he hadn't answered it. He didn't want to answer that question, I could see that. But I really wished to know more and more about him, to understand him at last.
He saw the conflict in my eyes. With a finger he rubbed the frown between my brows away. "Stop thinking about it," he said softly, reading my intentions. "You don't want to know that. Trust me."
"But I want to understand you," I insisted. "And therefore I need to know... what… you are."
He sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's better for you to not know." –he paused, his eyes suddenly wide with hope– "Or… no, maybe it would be good for you to know."
I blinked in surprised at his sudden change of opinion.
"Yes, maybe you would be finally reasonable and keep away from me if you knew the truth."
I opened my mouth to object, to promise him that I would never leave him no matter what happened, but he put a finger on my lips to silence me.
He looked in my eyes for a very long time as if he wanted to say goodbye, as if he was planning on never see me again. His expression made tears climb up in my eyes, I blinked them away quickly.
"Chloe," he began, his velvet voice sounded like the most beautiful piece of music when he vocalized my name. "Have your parents or grandmother ever told you stories about blood drinking monsters?"
I shuddered slightly at the last three words but tried to think back.
I remembered one evening.
It was already dark outside; it seemed that someone had dyed the sky with a bottle of black ink. It was Halloween and because of the storm all my friends gathered at my house to play instead of wandering from house to house and demand for sweets.
"Spine-chiller!" I think it was Chantal who had demanded for it.
Granny smiled a mysterious smile that I had never seen on her before, it scared me. "Are you sure?" she asked in a low whisper. "I mean, are you really, really sure that your little nerves are ready for this?"
Chantal and the boys nodded eagerly, proving their bravery. I and the other girls nodded hesitantly after a second, jiggling secretly closer to the warm fireplace.
"Bien." The scary smile on Granny's face grew bigger. She took a sip of her steaming tea and started speaking in a mysterious tone. "Long, long time ago –I can't tell when exactly because uncountable many years have already passed since then– there was a young man who lived on a farm in a little village, as small as ours. He was a virtuous and honest person –never betraying a friend and always acting with God's blessing–, his parents were very proud of having such a good son. One day, it was a cloudy winter day before Christmas, big grey clouds forecasted the sky; the air was heavy pressing upon you, all signs foreboded a great storm just like the one we have tonight. Because the animals on the farm hadn't been fed that day, the young man went despite his mother's advices out to feed the animals. He said that these animals were his friends and that he and his family couldn't live without them so he must treat them well. When the young man reached the shed and had finished his duty, he noticed that one hoarse was missing. Someone had opened the door and stolen his family's hoarse! Driven by his strong sense of justice, he quickly saddled another hoarse and set off to the forest in order to find the culprit. While he was in the forest, searching for a clue to find the culprit, it started to rain. Strong winds blew through the forest, almost sweeping him from his hoarse. Then lightning and thunder filled the sky. The hoarse startled and went wild, the young man needed all his strength to not fall off the galloping hoarse. Suddenly a totally different sound mingled with the howl of the wind. It was a high bell-like voice and though it was obviously a scream for help it sounded like the most beautiful song. Led by curiosity and helpfulness, the young man turned his hoarse towards the direction where the voice came from. Without noticing it he went deeper and deeper into the forest and the storm grew stronger and stronger, the thick grey clouds covered the sun that it was as dark as night in the forest, the only things which were not black were the millions and millions of snowflakes. Then, when his whole body was shaking with cold and he couldn't feel his toes and fingers anymore, he discovered a human looking person crouching under a tree in the snow. She was small and fragile, like a fairy, her smooth hair long and shining like a waterfall of liquid gold, her body was shaking with sobs. Suddenly the hoarse went wild again, it nickered loudly as if it was fighting for his life. The sudden reaction took the young man off guard, he fell from the hoarse which galloped away, disappearing into the pitch-black woods. The young man got up, rubbing his hurting limbs with his ice-cold hands with a groan. 'Are you feeling well?' the beautiful voice asked him and when he looked up, he saw the most angelic woman standing in front of him. He stammered a yes. The foreign woman smiled a smile that could only belong to a goddess and stroke the young man's cheek with a long slender finger, it was as cold as the snow he was sitting on and just as pale as it. 'You came so far to rescue me,' the woman said with her angel-voice, her sweet breath washed over his face like a cold breeze. 'What a good boy you are.' And then, with these words, she bended down to sink her brilliant sharp white teeth in his neck."
I gasped, just like I had done that stormy night.
"Do you remember something?" Adrian's velvet voice demanded.
I looked up at him, his face soft and concerned. He seemed composed, as if he was awaiting me to run away the next moment, and I knew that he wouldn't keep me back from leaving. He had always just wanted one thing for me – being safe.
I nodded, hesitantly, watching his reaction.
His expression didn't change. "Tell me then," he asked for. "Tell me what I am."
I shook my head, looking down again. "I'm probably wrong." I hoped that I was wrong. It was simply impossible that such a wonderful person like him could be something like the woman in the story.
He lifted my chin with his cool fingers, making me look into his eyes. "You are not," he said, his tone sure. "I can see it in your eyes. Tell me, Chloe… what am I?"
"What kind of monster was that woman, Grandma de Trèfle?" I think it was Claudine who had asked in the end.
"Don't you know?" Granny asked back, her face serious now. "Have you never heard of these monsters? The monsters which only come at night because the sun would burn them to ashes? The monsters which creep into your rooms to suck the blood out of your body?"
We winced at the last words, moving closer together. We shook our heads no in synchronization.
"Than it is really time for you to know because these monsters are one of the most dangerous ones you can imagine," Granny whispered.
"Wh-what are they?" Even Chantal's voice was shaking.
Granny took another sip of her tea which had already cooled down in the mean while. Outside, a lightning shoot across the pitch-black sky; followed by a bloodcurdling thunder. "These blood-drinking creatures are called-"
"Vampire," I breathed. "You are a vampire."
okay, okay... I know that the end of this chap has a few similarities with the "twilight-movie"..... I tried very VERY hard to make it different - I swear I did!! .
The story Chloe's Granny tells is completly invented by myself ^^ I have searched for old French vampire-legends but couldn't finde any specific ones... they are all pretty the "normal" ones..... ^^ so I just came up with this story - hope you like it ^^
please review!! ^o^ thx!!
-Mulan-
PS. why won't anybody review "OlympicGames at OlympicMountains"??? It's really killing me!! T.T if you haven't got anything to do right now then read it and review please!! -thx!! ^^