A/N: Glad to see people are still enjoying the story :) We're reaching the end now; I think there's one more chapter after this. I really hope you all enjoy it, especially this chapter. I enjoyed writing this scene the most.
"Stop crowding me!" Herbert pushed Anneliese away with his elbow and shot her a nasty look before returning to his magazine.
"But Herbert," Anneliese whined as she tried to get close to him, "it's so hot in here! Sitting next to you is like sitting next to a block of ice! Please let me sit here for just a while longer..." Herbert pushed her away again.
"No. Go take a cold bath." Anneliese sighed with defeat and flopped back against the arm of the sofa.
"It's too hot. All that work to fill the tub... I can't be bothered!"
"Koukol will do it."
"I already asked him." Anneliese tugged at her dress, wishing she could just take it off. "He said he is busy. He doesn't like me."
"Really. I can't imagine why..." Herbert yawned and flipped a page in his magazine.
"Oh Herbert, please! It's just too hot tonight. I can't stand it! Just let me lay against you for a while."
"There's a lake out back. Why don't you go drown yourself in it?" Herbert muttered. "Anything to stop your incessant complaints."
"A lake?" Anneliese sat up and clutched Herbert's arm. "Will you take me to it?"
"You've just gotten over being ill. I don't think you should be going for a swim." Herbert pulled his arm out of Anneliese's grasp and returned his attention to what he was reading.
"I feel fine now. Please... It's stifling in here. This heat is killing me!" Herbert sighed and set his magazine down on a side table.
"You know I can't take you outside," he told her. "It's against Father's rules."
"Your father and his stupid rules," Anneliese mumbled as she got to her feet. "I bet you don't even realize how lucky you are to be so cool in the summer. You've probably forgotten what it's like to feel as though you're being baked in an oven in this heat."
"Where are you going?" Herbert asked as he watched her walk out of the room.
"To my room where I can suffer in peace!" Herbert laughed and picked up a new magazine.
-.-.-.-.-
Anneliese lay spread eagle on the bed-unable to stand the feel of her own sweaty skin-in her camisole and pantalets and stared at the ceiling. The sudden heat wave was unbearable; even the broken window in her bedroom offered no relief. It wasn't long before she became drowsy but just as she started to fall asleep she heard someone walk into the room.
"Doesn't anyone around here ever kno- Oh..." Anneliese sat up and pulled a sheet over herself. "Your Excellency."
"Herbert said you were interested in going down to the lake."
"Just to cool off," she replied quickly. "I swear I wasn't going to try to escape. I don't think I would make it very far anyway. It's too hot to run. It's too hot to do anything at all. It's... What is so funny?" She asked when he chuckled.
"You are." Anneliese blushed and looked down at her hands. "I will take you there for a little while if you would still like to go."
"Oh yes, yes! I would love to go!" She jumped out of the bed and almost grabbed his hand before she realized what she was about to do. "I need to get dressed first but I'll be quick." She picked up the dress and corset she had left in a heap on the floor beside her bed and started to get dressed but Von Krolock stopped her.
"Just put on a robe and a pair of slippers. I will wait for you downstairs."
-.-.-.-.-
Anneliese walked down the grassy path beside Von Krolock. One hand held a lantern up in front of them to light their way and his other hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist. She wasn't surprised that he didn't trust her not to try to run but she had told him the truth; she had no intentions of trying to escape. Even if she had, there was no chance she'd make it through the thick brush of the forest in her light robe and flimsy slippers.
Eventually the narrow path they were on opened up to a large clearing and Anneliese gasped at the sight before her. The small lake was so still that it reflected the light of the full moon perfectly like a mirror. On the opposite side of the lake she could see the the edge of the forest and beyond that, the dark outlines of the mountains in the distance. In front of her, hundreds of wildflowers covered the small plot of land that lead right up to the edge of the lake.
"This must be absolutely beautiful during the day," she sighed.
"It's been so long. I don't remember." Anneliese watched Von Krolock as he hung his lamp from a branch and sat down, leaning back against the tree.
"How long has it been?" She asked him. He shook his head slowly.
"I don't even know anymore. After a while you stop keeping track of time. Go on, get in the water," he ordered gently. "We don't have all night." Anneliese quickly shed her robe and slippers and carefully stepped into the water until it was just above her stomach. The coolness of it made her shiver a little and it was such a welcome relief from the heat.
"Are you coming in?" She called out to Von Krolock. He looked at her and scowled.
"I'm not terribly fond of water."
"But you bathe, do you not?" Anneliese couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face.
"I do what I must but I take no pleasure in it." Anneliese knelt down on the sandy bottom of the lake so that she was immersed in the water up to her neck. She couldn't remember ever being somewhere so peaceful before. The only sounds she could hear were the water swishing when she moved and an occasional hoot from an owl from the forest. As long as she kept her back to the castle and Von Krolock she could almost forget that she was being held here against her will. What she could see before her was so open and beautiful; the complete opposite of the prison she was locked up in.
Anneliese took a deep breath and sat down, completely submerging herself in the water. It was even more peaceful down there. With the pressure of the water against her ears all she could hear was her own heartbeat. As she listened to the rhythmic beats she wondered how long it had been since Von Krolock had heard his own heart beat. One hundred years? Two hundred years? Even longer? On one hand she couldn't imagine spending eternity on this earth; life here was too cruel to want it to go on forever. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but envy all the things he must have seen... the changes that took place in their country every time a new ruler took over and all the inventions of things that they now took for granted.
Suddenly Anneliese felt herself being pulled from the water and she gasped for air when she reached the surface. She struggled but Von Krolock didn't let go until he reached the bank where he dropped her on the ground. "What did you do that for?" She spat between coughs. She rolled over and sat up to see him standing over her, out of breath and completely drenched from head to toe.
"You were under too long. I thought..." He sunk to his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "I thought you had drowned."
"Well I didn't!" Anneliese coughed up a little more water. "I'm fine!"
"Obviously!" Von Krolock shouted. "You just... Damn it, Anneliese..." He ran his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it away from his face and stared at the ground. "You just-"
"I just what?" Anneliese was no longer shouting but she couldn't hide the irritation in her voice. Her lungs burned from the water he had caused her to inhale and her ribs ached from the way he had grabbed her. "Did I scare you? Did I scare the big, mean vampire?" Anneliese watched as Von Krolock seemed to deflate before her eyes. With a heavy sigh he hung his head and dropped his shoulders and she suddenly wished she could take back what she said.
"Yes..." he said barely above a whisper. "I get scared, Anneliese. Believe it or not this... big, mean vampire gets scared. All the time."
"Your Excellency... I..." Anneliese didn't know how to respond. She wanted to go to him and try to comfort him but she was afraid to touch him.
"Please, enough with the formalities." Von Krolock shifted into a sitting position, turning away from Anneliese to face the lake. "I'm tired of it. Just call me Heinrich."
"Heinrich..." Anneliese said; she felt strange calling him by his name but she liked it. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"I wasn't always a monster. I was human once, you know. I feel all the emotions that you feel. I'm not immune to fear or sadness or loneliness." Anneliese crawled over to Von Krolock and sat beside him. She looked at him but he kept his gaze fixed on something off in the distance in front of them.
"You shouldn't feel so lonely," she whispered. "You have Breda and Herbert and they love you." Von Krolock lowered his eyes and shook his head.
"I've been a terrible father to Herbert. I honestly don't know why he even stays with me. And Breda..." He stopped speaking and took a shaky breath. "I destroyed her. It's my fault she is the way she is. I can't even take care of her properly because I'm too ashamed to face her. She's my baby sister yet because of my shame I've cast her out into a filthy grave, allowing her to rot and depriving her of clothes, a comfortable place to sleep and the other fine things I've given to Herbert. She should despise me for what I have done to her."
"Herbert loves you very much," Anneliese assured him. "He just needs to hear that you love him as well. And Breda... if you give her a chance you will see that she doesn't blame you for anything. She loves you. You're too hard on yourself and you think you're only punishing yourself by pulling away from your family but you aren't. You're punishing them as well." Von Krolock didn't respond. He continued to stare out at the lake and they sat silently for a short while. Eventually, Von Krolock stood and walked away and when he sat down beside her again he had removed his shirt, shoes and socks to allow them to dry.
"What are you afraid of?" Anneliese asked once he was seated. Von Krolock looked up at the stars and sighed.
"Myself." Anneliese looked down at his left hand, which was resting on his thigh, then gingerly placed her hand on top of it. Von Krolock immediately looked down at her hand and she was about to pull it away when he put his right hand over it and squeezed it gently. He looked out at the lake again, keeping hold of her hand. "I'm afraid of what I have become. What you have seen... that isn't me. I wasn't always like this."
"You can change, Heinrich..."
"I can't. I can't change." Von Krolock released her hand and wiped his eyes. "I hate having to kill yet I have to kill to stay alive. It's a vicious cycle and I can't escape it. Everything I touch I destroy and no matter how much I want to stop, I can't... and the guilt I feel over it is eating me alive. I would give anything to be a normal human being again, even just for one day. Anything to be able to feel the sunlight again, to be around and accepted by other people... even to be able to enjoy a piece of chocolate again." Von Krolock laughed weakly and the sound of it broke Anneliese's heart. "I want to remember how it feels to be touched out of love instead of being attacked because they're afraid of me."
Anneliese reached over and gently cupped the side of his face in her hand. Von Krolock sighed softly at her touch and when he closed his eyes a few tears slid down his face. She caressed his cheeks, brushing the tears away, and he slid a hand up the length of her arm and over her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. With his free hand he grasped her waist and guided her onto his lap and pulled her against him in a gentle hug, burying his face against her neck. Anneliese put an arm around him to hold him and trailed her fingers down the side of his neck, over his broad shoulder and down his back. She alternated between light caresses with her fingertips, scratching gently with her nails and slowly stroking his cold skin with her entire hand as she made her way down then back up along his back.
Von Krolock remained silent as she touched him but when she dipped her head and kissed along his collarbone he moaned softly and tilted his head back. She planted soft kisses up along his neck and over his chin until she reached his lips in a heated kiss, their tongues instantly exploring each others' mouths. Von Krolock slid his hands underneath her wet camisole and she gasped against his mouth, the coldness of his hands causing goose bumps to spread over her skin. As they continued to kiss, Anneliese massaged his shoulders then slid her palms down his chest, grazing his nipples with her fingertips making him groan.
Needing to breathe they finally broke the kiss and Von Krolock pulled Anneliese into another embrace. "I want to feel you against me," he sighed against her neck as he pulled at the hem of her camisole. She pulled back just enough to remove her camisole and he immediately cupped both her breasts in his hands. He massaged them and when he lowered his head to take one of her nipples into his mouth, sliding his cool tongue over its hard peak, Anneliese moaned and arched her back, pushing herself against him. He moved to her other breast and after giving it the same treatment he returned his lips to Anneliese's and kissed her again. This time as they kissed Anneliese stiffened slightly when she felt his fangs against her tongue.
"It's alright," he sighed against their kiss. "I won't bite you, Anneliese. Please trust me..." He continued to caress her breasts and she relaxed against him. She moved her hands down to her pantalets in an effort to pull them off but Von Krolock grabbed hold of her wrists. "No," he whispered. "Not yet." He gave her a gentle kiss on her lips then looked into her eyes. "Just hold me for now. I just want you to hold me."
Anneliese put her arms around Von Krolock and held him tightly, resting her cheek on the top of his head and gently caressing his back and for the longest time they both remained quiet. She had no idea how much time passed before Von Krolock finally spoke again. "Anneliese?"
"Hmm?" She moaned sleepily.
"Your baby didn't die..." He whispered. Anneliese pulled back and stared down at him with wide eyes.
"What...?"
"I saw you the night you left him near the woods. I watched you leave the basket and once you were gone I went to it and found the baby." Anneliese continued to stare at him unable to believe what she was hearing. "I brought him to another town and left him on the doorstep of a childless couple."
"You... what...?"
"I went back a few days later to find they had taken him in."
"Heinrich..." Anneliese's voice shook as tears began to fall from her eyes.
"I returned a year later and have done so every year since to see how he was doing."
"What are you saying?"
"Your little boy is alive, Anneliese. You didn't kill him. He has a family and they're taking good care of him."
"You... saved my baby?" She whispered. When Von Krolock nodded she burst into tears and hugged him hard, sobbing against his chest, "Thank you... Thank you... Thank you..." over and over again. Von Krolock held her, stroking her hair and letting her cry for a while before he gently guided her off his lap.
"We should go back now," he whispered as he placed a kiss on her forehead before helping her put her camisole back on. "We need to get you out of these wet clothes..." He kissed her mouth, gently caressing her bottom lip with his tongue. "Get you dried off..." He licked her again and she parted her lips for him. "Get you warmed up..." He kissed her again, coaxing her tongue into his mouth with his own then sucking on it between his lips before releasing it.
Von Krolock grabbed his wet clothes, shoes and the lantern while Anneliese put her robe and slippers back on. They walked side by side back up the path they had taken to the lake but while he had led her down by her wrist, they walked hand in hand back to the castle. Once inside, he walked with her up the stairs. When they reached the first landing she fully expected him to take her to her room but he led her to the top floor and down the hall toward his bedroom. She tried to hide her uncertainty but she knew he either saw it or sensed it when he said, "I won't make you do anything you don't want to do." She stood on her toes and kissed him to assure him it was what she wanted then took his hand as he slowly led her to his bedroom.