Dissolution of Arms
By Eerie
Chapter Two: Enchantment
Starlight filtered through the open window on the far side of the wall, mingling with the cool breeze and adding to the illumination of the room with its soft glow. Charlotte rested with her back and pillow against the headboard, watching the strange shadowdance that played across the floor and walls from the rivaling lights of the stars and breeze-tickled candles.
Her legs ached for the chance to walk freely again and her muscles cried out against the weakness that had overtaken them. But Meier insisted that she spend one more day in bed to allow her body the chance to get used to being awake from a long spell.
She eyed the book that laid open facedown across her knee and sighed, finding herself too restless to continue it. The sharp shadows splayed over the room regained her attention for a moment before she allowed herself to slip into daydream, wondering what the world outside that window looked like. Would it be similar to Earth but cast in eternal shadow? Or would it be like some surreal fantasy world that her imagination could never begin to fathom?
Images of trees with black leaves above fields of obsidian earth and strange shoots of vegetation filled her mind. She imagined herself propped against one of those strong and smooth trunks while the stars glimmered through the softly falling leaves of onyx velvet, welcoming her, or mourning her. A feathery breeze touched her cheek and she reached out to catch a strange leaf. Holding it in her palm, she examined it, noting with interest the red network of veins throughout its luxuriantly soft skin. Taking it between her thumbs and forefingers, she ripped the leaf in two down the center and watched with something resembling glee as a thin trail of red liquid emerged. It leaked over her wrists and formed crooked trails down her arms. The little leaf dropped from her fingers and her hands twitched. Raising one wrist slowly toward her face, she opened her lips and emerged the tip of her tongue, eager to taste the crimson liquid that glinted like molten rubies in the night lights.
Her reverie was suddenly broken by a soft rapping upon her door.
"Yes," she answered, disappointment quickly replaced by excitement over the chance that she might explore today.
The crystalline knob twisted and a long-fingered hand pushed the door open. The white-haired vampire entered the room with a tray upon which rested a single fluted goblet made from burnished silver. He quietly closed the door behind him and approached the bedside, setting the tray on the floor. Charlotte graced him with a warm smile and gratefully accepted the goblet from his hand.
The liquid contents ran smoothly down her throat, its heady scent alone reviving her senses. The taste of this mysterious juice was like nothing Charlotte had ever experienced on Earth. She could only think to describe it as fruity, yet not sweet, spicy and yet mild. One could ponder on exactly what it tasted like for so long that it was impossible for it to become boring, for there was nothing in existence that could truly compare with it.
It was lukewarm when she first took it from the vessel but seemed to either heat up or become refreshingly cool when it was swallowed, as if the matter itself knew the desires of the body into which it was taken. Yet it satisfied her cravings and she began to feel her strength returning little by little as she was able to take it for herself.
Meier claimed that he had tried to induce her to drink a bit while she lay in the clutches of slumber, but she rarely unclenched her teeth long enough to take any. "I feared you were still in great pain for the first several days, but your body gradually gave in to its hunger," he had told her.
Charlotte faintly recalled the revolving theme of her unending dream during that time. She remembered the blood everywhere in sight and Carmilla's cruel laughter cutting through the air like a crisp icy wind that sent chills over her spine. And she saw her beloved Meier, lying at her feet when she realized where the source of the sea of blood came from. His depthless eyes had clouded over to stark white and his mouth fell open in a silent agonizing scream. She remembered trying to cover her ears from the horrid sound of Carmilla's mocking laughter but she could not move, could not even summon the power to pull the lids over her eyes and spare herself from that terrible image.
Charlotte shuddered in spite of herself and drained the last drops from the goblet, quickly pushing that memory from her mind. She handed it back to Meier whom had been watching her cautiously. He set the empty vessel back onto the tray and stood over her, that look of a watchful hawk still in his eye.
Catching this, she wrinkled her nose playfully and said, "What? I'm not going to break Meier. You needn't watch over me so."
The man turned and moved toward the window. Leaning his weight into his shoulder, he pressed himself against the wall beside it and gazed out into the night. Charlotte waited for him to speak and watched the wind truss the white strands of his hair that adorned his favorite colored beads. An apprehension seized her.
"Meier?" she ventured.
"The stars seem to have grown brighter at your awakening. The nights that you laid with your pain and torment were so dark and always cold while I waited for you to come back to me," he said without looking at her. A moment passed and a smile slowly overtook his lips; his eyes sparkled at a thought that he kept to himself.
"Would you like to see them now?" he asked and turned to face her.
Her worry vanished and her face brightened before she answered, "More than anything."
"Then so you shall."
The strange juice had already revived her to the point where her body was stronger for walking and her mind eager for Meier's tales of this strange city's history. "That juice," he had told her on the night they made love, "is an extract from the mysterious flower known as the 'chisuna'. It grows all over this place and is the source of life for we vampires who live among it. I have no doubts that it will sustain yours to the fullest as well. When you are a bit stronger I will show it to you."
Charlotte squeezed Meier's cool hand and beamed up at him with the delight of the prospects awaiting her. He smiled down in return and led her through the main hallway of their new home toward the twin set of heavy doors that stood before them. Stopping at the threshold, Meier released her hand and replaced it around her waist as he pushed a door open. The torches framing either side of the grand hallway flickered dramatically as the outside air swept through. Charlotte's brown locks whipped away from her face and shoulders and she breathed deeply of the cool fresh scent that enveloped her. Meier pulled gently and they resumed their journey, stepping out onto the soft earth.
The scenery was much like that on Earth, yet many differences captured her attention. The stars, for one thing, were not the only sources of light in the sky. From opposite sides of her even gaze she could see two majestic moons. The one on her left side glowed a dull shade of orange and looked enormous against the stars, which did seem to shine much brighter than they did at home. The second moon was white like the Earth's, only further away, and it appeared to be moving faster than its companion, if that was possible. But nothing seemed impossible in this place. Mountains gave feature to the landscape on the horizon; their peaks sharp and jagged even from a distance glowed strangely beneath the celestial lights. Trees similar to those of Charlotte's vision grew tall from the ground, their boughs stretching far away from the trunk, their indecipherable shade of leaves shivering in the breeze.
Truly, such sights were these things before her. Charlotte scarcely remembered to breath as she gazed in wonder. Then, something small and pale wavered beneath a tree nearby, catching her eye. She saw instantly that it was a flower with ivory petals that grew abnormally long from their stem and swooped low toward the ground before ending in spiral-shaped curls. From the center of this flower grew three yellow stamen topped with tiny translucent anthers in the shapes of perfect spheres.
As if reading her mind, Meier led her to the object that transfixed her and plucked it neatly from its bed.
"This is the chisuna," he said and handed it to her, delighting in her reaction.
The flower's scent was just like that of its elixir. Meier reached out to pinch the spheres from the long stamen and lowered them ceremoniously to the ground.
"Here shall grow three more just like it. This is the way we restore our resources. Moonlight is captured in these globes and provides the plant with nourishment, similar to the way your sun nourished the plants of Earth," he explained, "But if they are spoiled, nothing will come of them. They are very delicate structures."
"It's lovely. And so strange," she said, breathing in its perfume.
"For as long as we live do these plants keep us alive and in health. It is believed that this flower has served as our means of survival before the Great Bloodlust," Meier paused in reflection before continuing, "It is said that this plane was the birthplace of my cursed race, and that our ancient ancestor known as Dracula was the first to discover the path to the garden in which humans dwelt. Few followed in his footsteps at first, for they feared the unknown territory. Yet as the stories returned to them of this new essence of life that was sweeter and more intoxicating than any chisuna, imaginations began to ponder. It is no surprise that a great many followed the path through the stars to your home planet afterward. But good things never last forever," Meier finished with an air of melancholy and they began to stroll among the impressive trees.
"But others remain here now?" Charlotte inquired.
"Yes. There are but a few of us that remain. Our numbers have dwindled significantly because of the fools who found themselves butchered in the new land by the humans. My own ancestors lived quite differently, taking what they required and leaving excess to the others who found in blood an uncontrollable ecstasy. And most humans are creatures that crave their concept of justice by any means," Meier said and thought back darkly to the dhampire whom he had fought in the Castle of Chaythe. He was in fact the main source of the vampire race's threat of extinction. The very son of the man who had led them to what he believed would be a new and great life, which wound up leading to their violent deaths on that planet. What an irony.
"I can tell that your family was wise," Charlotte mused aloud, "you have nothing in common with those creatures of the Dark Heritage that guarded us when we eloped."
Meier remained quiet for a moment and cast a glance at the tremendous orange moon before speaking, "I cannot feel pity for those of the Barbarois. They are but feeble creatures that have crawled from the festering ground to grovel at our feet. They chose their fate long ago and it will not last much longer," his voice grew dark and tinged with bitterness, "Yet I think that they shall be content to die with it."
The two walked on steadily in silence, each with unique thoughts. Abruptly, Meier stopped and stepped in front of the woman to block her path. Her eyes were surprised.
"Such a lovely evening should not be dampened by this kind of talk. Let us enjoy it instead," Meier said and, without waiting for a reply, lifted his beloved off her feet and spun around.
Charlotte laughed light-heartedly, its sound echoing into the night.
As Meier had suspected, the evening wore more on Charlotte than she had let on. He helped her undress and laid her comfortably in bed where she quickly fell into a peaceful sleep, a content smile upon her full lips. The candles still burned steadily in the holders when he closed the window against the breeze. He slowly drew back to her sleeping form, drinking in the sight of her until he stood tall above her. A strong ache wormed through the depths of his heart, one that could almost feel pleasant but left him with such a deep sadness that he could hardly notice it.
Breathing rhythmically, her dark hair curled about her face, her hand resting on her lover's pillow, Charlotte remained unaware of the crimson eyes that watched her, unaware of the sensitive ears that listened intently to the tiny inaudible heartbeats that arose from her womb.
To be continued . . .