Forming Connections
A pair of golden eyes were looking in intent at Vlad now.
He was sitting upright against the panel of the four-poster bed he shared with Lisa, arms holding their newborn son to his bare chest. Two weeks had passed since the birth and they were exhausting ones filled with constant feedings and sleepless nights. Nevertheless, the King of Vampires and his wife could not have been more overjoyed in welcoming their child into the world.
They decided to name him Adrian as an homage to Lisa's Saxon ancestry though the meaning of the name itself was not without debate between the scholarly couple. Lisa insisted it referred to the once-flowing river near the Italian village of Hadria while Vlad believed it was to describe the black sands surrounding it instead.
The little one made cooing sounds and started to squirm, grabbing a small fistful of thick, dense chest hair. "What is it, puiule?" Vlad cooed back, looking down at the loose-wrapped Adrian. "Is it feeding time again?"
Whimpering, Adrian continued to wriggle against his father's chest, who chuckled in amusement.
"Alright, let's go get your mother—"
Sensing her presence, Vlad looked up to see Lisa already standing around the doorway with a tired smile across her face.
She had been resting a few rooms down but had awoken to find herself alone. Once the grogginess had worn off, she figured her husband went to their bedroom to attend to their child without waking her.
"Ah, perfect timing, darling."
"I'm getting the hang of the whole 'mother's intuition' thing," she beamed.
She strolled over to the opposite side of the bed, settling herself down gently next to Vlad. He lowered their little boy from his chest into Lisa's outstretched arms, unaware of the sigh he let out as he did so.
Vlad never said out loud of the feelings that rose within him whenever he had to separate himself from his son—his expressions and movements, however, never failed to betray.
Lisa was quick to reassure as always. "Oh, come now dear. You'll have him again sooner or later."
"Of course."
She turned Adrian towards her, a hand tugging her slitted chemise to expose a breast and stroking his cheek to encourage him to fully latch.
As she fed and soothed their child, Vlad found himself admiring his wife, despite the bags under her eyes and tousled hair. She was glowing, her hair shining from the filtered sunlight of the nearby window and with the faint blush on her cheeks from the summer heat. She was truly a sight to behold in his eyes.
All while holding the greatest gift she has given him.
"Isn't he just the cutest? His hair's the color of yellow bedstraw flowers," she was still suckling Adrian as her attention turned back to Vlad.
"Yes, and he just so happens to have been born when they're picked by villagers," he grinned at the memory of his son's birth.
It was a night many humans saw as a time that magic and miracles were at their strongest—with fairies descending upon the world to bless people and even heal diseases. They also bestowed the yellow bedstraw with its medicinal properties that young maidens would pick when daytime arrived to make wreaths out of and wish for love. Miracle or not, their son was delivered easily without problems.
"Sânziene. It's when we celebrate midsummer," she breathed.
She was never one for superstitions, but the day was of importance to her for harvesting herbs. Back when she was a maiden herself, she would practice the rudimentary medicine of the time. Care had to be taken to store some of it away to not weave it all for wreaths by accident. It all paled now in comparison to the knowledge her husband had—much to her delight. She had grown frustrated with how little there was that she could do before she found him. Gratitude could not even begin describing what she felt for what Vlad had taught her in such a short time.
The little boy began to drift to sleep within his mother's arms. His parents then placed him in a simple wooden cradle near their bed, being rocked gently by them.
"Tell me again how he will develop," Lisa's voice was soft, barely above a whisper.
Vlad instinctively straightened as he often did when he used to teach her. "His physical development will be like that of a human; first tooth eruption at six months of age, speaking few words at twelve, and so on. However, the ageing process ceases when he reaches adulthood, and his mind will be prodigious—unlike the typical child. He will learn quickly, processing and retaining given information along with many other talents and powers of vampiric nature."
She raised a brow at him. "This doesn't mean at twelve years of age, he'll take to the village square without our knowledge to spark thought-provoking discussions amongst the villagers like Jesus?" She attempted to cover her mouth in shock of the possible consequences, but the glimmer in her eyes remained as she continued.
"Lord knows what'll happen to him! They're more likely to believe he's the Antichrist come to lead them astray with falsehoods instead of a well-meaning prodigy."
Caught between laughing and frowning at his wife's cheeky display, something of a huff came about instead.
"My dear, I know you jest about the future abilities of our boy, but we have to prepare. There's no telling how quickly they will manifest." His grip on the frame of the cradle tightened. "We must make sure he won't fall into too much trouble in the future."
It was almost supernatural how quickly Lisa's expressions could change. She appeared to rise to him, hands on his and voice unwavering.
"And so we will, one day at a time."
Relaxing her stance, she gave a small smile again. "Now it's time I say for us to rest while we can till he stirs."
Maybe it was the warmth of her calloused hands and smile or he truly was softening. Either way, the effect of this woman on him was the same; he leaned in close, kissing her before pulling away with half-lidded eyes.
"I couldn't agree more," he drawled.
With Adrian finally asleep, they returned to their bed—Lisa bringing her head to Vlad's chest as they laid down together before Lisa fell asleep. He looked over his wife and their child sleeping peacefully for a few moments.
For a centuries-old immortal like him, having come to this point had been a difficult process. Ever since Lisa arrived in his life, he realized he needed to let things go and accept them for the way they were. He certainly did not like it, but he was trying.
For her sake and now their son's.
He planted a kiss atop of Lisa's head, sighing in content.
"One day at a time…" he whispered back.
Puiule - A Romanian term of endearment that means chick, cub, or a young animal and is used to address boys.
Sânziene - A Romanian pagan holiday that celebrates love, fertility, summer, and the gentle fairies of the forest, Sânzienele, on June 24. It's also the name of the bedstraw flowers that are picked to be woven into wreaths and thrown onto the roofs of houses for prosperity.