A/N: Thanks to KillerKitty16 for her review. It's good to know I can
bring someone other than myself to tears when I write.
Adam Christophen had tended to his emotional wounds left from having to leave his daughter, Madeline, twenty years earlier, but he still had days where he missed his daughter a lot. He especially missed her on the days when he was lonely, and he had been lonely for seventeen years. For three years, he had Madeline's friend Mae to keep him company, more than just intellectual company Mae had been his sexual company as well, but she had stopped coming around a lot. The last time he saw her was very brief, and she just came by to see how he was. She was moving somewhere else, and it had broke Adam's heart.
Adam had to hire new workers at his home after he let his workers go. He gave his workers the option to leave whenever they felt it was their time to pursue a new calling. He had a houseful of new workers with only one of his first set of workers. Anita, the black African-priestess and immortal, was the only worker who stayed with Adam. She had been his friend for as long as he had been a vampire, and a little before then. He relied on her to get him through the rough days, and she made no fuss about it.
Anita walked into the living room, where Adam sat staring into the fire. "Adam, honey, how are your spirits?"
Adam glanced over to her. He knew she worried about his spirits and would use the power she could conjure up to help raise his spirits. "They are lower than normal, Anita. But, I do not wish to have them raised. I would like to have some pain today."
"Why is that, sir," she asked.
"Because, I feel a pain in the air that I'm sure is my daughter's." Adam replied.
Anita stood still and closed her eyes. She was searching for that pain Adam spoke of. He noticed when she had locked onto it. "See, it is Madeline's pain," he told her. Anita nodded in response.
"I think some tragedy has struck her. I hope it is not her son, Benjamin. I couldn't bare have her face a pain so deep." Adam said gazing into his fireplace.
"Like the pain you endured." Anita suggested.
Adam nodded. "I had to work long and hard to get over that pain."
Adam heard a knock at his door, and he looked over at Anita. "Who could that be at this hour?" It was late in the night, which was the only time Adam could be out of slumber. He was a vampire and had to live in the darkness or wrapped up in a cloak to hide his skin from the sunlight.
Anita shrugged at his question. "I do not know, honey. It would have to be somebody who knows you are a vampire, or else they would not be here at such an hour."
Adam got up off of his crimson velvet couch and walked over to his door. Cautiously, he opened the door. He saw a young woman standing in the doorway, no older than Madeline had been when he left her at Anna Valerious's manor. The girl had reddish-blonde hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Her hair was very straight, and she looked pale and breathless. Adam assumed she came from a long journey, mostly because of the dark circles under her eyes. "Hello," he told her.
The girl looked up at Adam, and he noticed she had vibrant green eyes, a lot like his own. Her face seemed amazingly familiar to Adam, but he didn't know why. "Are you Adam Christophen," she asked breathlessly.
Adam nodded. "Yes, I am."
The girl let out a sigh and smiled at him. "I have been seeking you for many nights of harsh travel," she told him.
Adam ushered the girl inside, and she did not object. Adam told Anita, "Bring out some tea, please?" Anita noticed the girl and how she looked weather-worn, and she went into the kitchen to make some tea.
Adam gestured for the girl to sit on the couch, and she did. "Anita makes some amazing tea." Adam really did not know that because he drank nothing but blood. But, he had heard from his workers that Anita's tea lifted the spirits and cleansed the body. The girl sitting seemed to need her spirits lifted and soon. Adam had many questions about the girl, but he did not want to be rude and ask them all at once. So, he struck up a conversation with her. "Where have you come from?"
"My mother and I were visiting Romania, and we were on our way to Transylvania."
Adam knew that area well from the time he'd spent there. "I've been to Transylvania. It's a very long journey. How come your mother is not here?" He expected the girl to say she had died along the journey.
"My mother disappeared one night. I had fallen asleep and woke up without her near. I searched for her a whole day and found nothing but an old journal of hers in her bags. I opened the journal and read it. That is how I found out about you." The girl looked up into Adam's eyes like she was searching for answers to questions she had.
"Why would your mother write about me in her journals?" Adam asked curious to know why a woman would write about him. He did not remember meeting many women when he traveled back from Transylvania to his home in London.
The girl took a moment to answer. Adam could smell the fear thick upon the girl, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the girl's answer. The girl opened her mouth, but still did not answer. The girl swallowed hard, then drew enough courage to speak. "You were her lover."
Adam stared hard down at the girl and began to realize who she was. The reddish-blonde hair and the girl's vibrant green eyes began to make sense. "Who was your mother?" Adam asked with wide eyes.
The girl stared into Adam's green eyes, and he felt her fear die out seeing his eyes. "My mother was Mae Robertson."
Adam sank down onto the arm of the velvet couch from shock, and he stared into the girl's eyes. He was looking at the product of his and Mae's love. 'This girl is my...daughter,' he thought. He felt his heart's pain fade away for a moment at finding a new soul to protect. His eyes grew moist, and he reached out to the girl. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and asked, "What is your name, child?"
"Alexis...Christophen," the girl replied softly.
Adam felt his heart swell, and he took the girl in his arms. She leaned into his chest and began to cry. He stroked her back, and he held her in his embrace. He had never expected the reason Mae stopped coming to see him was because they had a daughter. He felt a little angry at knowing Mae didn't let him know about Alexis, but the anger didn't last long because Alexis pulled away from his hug. She pulled out a leather-bond book and handed it to him. "Here is my mother's journal," she told him. "If you read the pages, perhaps you will not be angry with her. She was afraid of how to tell you about me."
Adam held Alexis's eyes, and he took the journal. "What do you think happened to your mother," he asked.
"She spoke of her enemies looking for her. That was why we were running." Alexis told him.
"Who were her enemies?" Adam asked.
"She told me a terrible woman named Victoria." Alexis replied.
Adam felt his blood boil at Victoria's name. Alexis noticed the fire that burned in his eyes, and she cocked her head to the side. "You know her?" Adam nodded, and Alexis spoke again. "My mother told me that she had to hide me from her. She said Victoria would take me from her, and she wasn't going to let that happen."
Adam remembered how Victoria had caused him to lose Madeline, and he felt his instincts want to protect the daughter that he'd just found. Victoria had caused him enough pain for his eternal life, and he refused to let her escape his wrath again. "She escaped before I could finish her off," he told Alexis. "She and I had a battle, one that I was winning. So, Victoria ran off when she realized she did not stand a chance against me."
"I believe Victoria took my mother from me, but I don't know why she didn't take me as well." Alexis told Adam with tears in her eyes.
"Perhaps that is for the better." Adam told her.
Alexis's eyes filled with tears. "I miss my mother," she cried.
Adam watched his daughter cry, then he wiped the tears from her eyes. "I will help you find her."
Alexis stopped her crying for a moment. "What if she is dead?"
Adam let a smile spread on his face. "Mae couldn't be killed so easily. Her bloodline is hard to destroy."
"Because she's a witch."
Adam nodded, not knowing that Alexis knew Mae had been a witch. "So, you knew your mother was a witch?"
Alexis nodded and said, "I am one also."
Adam felt his heart sigh at the fact that Alexis wasn't a vampire like him but a witch like Mae. That gave Alexis a great advantage over him. "You are lucky," he told her.
"I am lucky that my mother taught me how to use my magic before she disappeared." Alexis agreed.
Anita returned with tea for Alexis. She saw the drastic change in Adam, and he told her, "Anita, this is Alexis. She is Mae's daughter."
Anita had a skeptic look in her eyes, so Adam continued. "It appears that Alexis is my daughter." He saw Anita's expression turn to a look of delight. Anita handed Alexis the tea and gazed into the girl's eyes.
"Yes, she does have your eyes Adam. Those eyes are hard to shrug off as any other bloodline but yours." Anita had joy in her tone, and Adam knew it was because Anita was glad that he finally had someone new to care for. It had been too long since he had a reason to be happy, and Adam was glad to have joy again.
"Alexis, this is my housekeeper and friend, Anita." Adam said.
Alexis bowed her head. "Hello," she said.
"Hello, dear girl. Have you come just in time to cheer Adam's spirits up. Seems his heart has been weighed down with emotions again." Anita told Alexis, who was sipping the tea she'd been given.
Alexis looked down into the cup of tea. "Mmm, this is good tea."
"I'm glad you like it. Came up with the blend myself. Added a lot of minerals and herbs to it, so it lifts the spirit while--"
"Cleansing the body?" Alexis asked.
Anita grinned then nodded. "Yes."
Alexis nodded. "I thought so. I haven't felt this well in many days."
Adam smiled. "Well, you can stay here until I find your mother."
Alexis glanced over at him. "I'd like to come along."
Adam furrowed his eyebrows. "It'd be dangerous for you to enter where I'll be heading," he warned her.
"It was dangerous from whence I came, but I made it." Alexis said, and Adam realized she had his stubbornness as well as Mae's.
"All right," he replied. "We shall head out and find her day after tomorrow."
"Why not sooner?"
"We must rest up and pack everything we'll be needing. That will take up an entire day." Adam answered. "We have to head back to Transylvania, where I feel Victoria will be lurking."
Adam Christophen had tended to his emotional wounds left from having to leave his daughter, Madeline, twenty years earlier, but he still had days where he missed his daughter a lot. He especially missed her on the days when he was lonely, and he had been lonely for seventeen years. For three years, he had Madeline's friend Mae to keep him company, more than just intellectual company Mae had been his sexual company as well, but she had stopped coming around a lot. The last time he saw her was very brief, and she just came by to see how he was. She was moving somewhere else, and it had broke Adam's heart.
Adam had to hire new workers at his home after he let his workers go. He gave his workers the option to leave whenever they felt it was their time to pursue a new calling. He had a houseful of new workers with only one of his first set of workers. Anita, the black African-priestess and immortal, was the only worker who stayed with Adam. She had been his friend for as long as he had been a vampire, and a little before then. He relied on her to get him through the rough days, and she made no fuss about it.
Anita walked into the living room, where Adam sat staring into the fire. "Adam, honey, how are your spirits?"
Adam glanced over to her. He knew she worried about his spirits and would use the power she could conjure up to help raise his spirits. "They are lower than normal, Anita. But, I do not wish to have them raised. I would like to have some pain today."
"Why is that, sir," she asked.
"Because, I feel a pain in the air that I'm sure is my daughter's." Adam replied.
Anita stood still and closed her eyes. She was searching for that pain Adam spoke of. He noticed when she had locked onto it. "See, it is Madeline's pain," he told her. Anita nodded in response.
"I think some tragedy has struck her. I hope it is not her son, Benjamin. I couldn't bare have her face a pain so deep." Adam said gazing into his fireplace.
"Like the pain you endured." Anita suggested.
Adam nodded. "I had to work long and hard to get over that pain."
Adam heard a knock at his door, and he looked over at Anita. "Who could that be at this hour?" It was late in the night, which was the only time Adam could be out of slumber. He was a vampire and had to live in the darkness or wrapped up in a cloak to hide his skin from the sunlight.
Anita shrugged at his question. "I do not know, honey. It would have to be somebody who knows you are a vampire, or else they would not be here at such an hour."
Adam got up off of his crimson velvet couch and walked over to his door. Cautiously, he opened the door. He saw a young woman standing in the doorway, no older than Madeline had been when he left her at Anna Valerious's manor. The girl had reddish-blonde hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Her hair was very straight, and she looked pale and breathless. Adam assumed she came from a long journey, mostly because of the dark circles under her eyes. "Hello," he told her.
The girl looked up at Adam, and he noticed she had vibrant green eyes, a lot like his own. Her face seemed amazingly familiar to Adam, but he didn't know why. "Are you Adam Christophen," she asked breathlessly.
Adam nodded. "Yes, I am."
The girl let out a sigh and smiled at him. "I have been seeking you for many nights of harsh travel," she told him.
Adam ushered the girl inside, and she did not object. Adam told Anita, "Bring out some tea, please?" Anita noticed the girl and how she looked weather-worn, and she went into the kitchen to make some tea.
Adam gestured for the girl to sit on the couch, and she did. "Anita makes some amazing tea." Adam really did not know that because he drank nothing but blood. But, he had heard from his workers that Anita's tea lifted the spirits and cleansed the body. The girl sitting seemed to need her spirits lifted and soon. Adam had many questions about the girl, but he did not want to be rude and ask them all at once. So, he struck up a conversation with her. "Where have you come from?"
"My mother and I were visiting Romania, and we were on our way to Transylvania."
Adam knew that area well from the time he'd spent there. "I've been to Transylvania. It's a very long journey. How come your mother is not here?" He expected the girl to say she had died along the journey.
"My mother disappeared one night. I had fallen asleep and woke up without her near. I searched for her a whole day and found nothing but an old journal of hers in her bags. I opened the journal and read it. That is how I found out about you." The girl looked up into Adam's eyes like she was searching for answers to questions she had.
"Why would your mother write about me in her journals?" Adam asked curious to know why a woman would write about him. He did not remember meeting many women when he traveled back from Transylvania to his home in London.
The girl took a moment to answer. Adam could smell the fear thick upon the girl, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the girl's answer. The girl opened her mouth, but still did not answer. The girl swallowed hard, then drew enough courage to speak. "You were her lover."
Adam stared hard down at the girl and began to realize who she was. The reddish-blonde hair and the girl's vibrant green eyes began to make sense. "Who was your mother?" Adam asked with wide eyes.
The girl stared into Adam's green eyes, and he felt her fear die out seeing his eyes. "My mother was Mae Robertson."
Adam sank down onto the arm of the velvet couch from shock, and he stared into the girl's eyes. He was looking at the product of his and Mae's love. 'This girl is my...daughter,' he thought. He felt his heart's pain fade away for a moment at finding a new soul to protect. His eyes grew moist, and he reached out to the girl. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and asked, "What is your name, child?"
"Alexis...Christophen," the girl replied softly.
Adam felt his heart swell, and he took the girl in his arms. She leaned into his chest and began to cry. He stroked her back, and he held her in his embrace. He had never expected the reason Mae stopped coming to see him was because they had a daughter. He felt a little angry at knowing Mae didn't let him know about Alexis, but the anger didn't last long because Alexis pulled away from his hug. She pulled out a leather-bond book and handed it to him. "Here is my mother's journal," she told him. "If you read the pages, perhaps you will not be angry with her. She was afraid of how to tell you about me."
Adam held Alexis's eyes, and he took the journal. "What do you think happened to your mother," he asked.
"She spoke of her enemies looking for her. That was why we were running." Alexis told him.
"Who were her enemies?" Adam asked.
"She told me a terrible woman named Victoria." Alexis replied.
Adam felt his blood boil at Victoria's name. Alexis noticed the fire that burned in his eyes, and she cocked her head to the side. "You know her?" Adam nodded, and Alexis spoke again. "My mother told me that she had to hide me from her. She said Victoria would take me from her, and she wasn't going to let that happen."
Adam remembered how Victoria had caused him to lose Madeline, and he felt his instincts want to protect the daughter that he'd just found. Victoria had caused him enough pain for his eternal life, and he refused to let her escape his wrath again. "She escaped before I could finish her off," he told Alexis. "She and I had a battle, one that I was winning. So, Victoria ran off when she realized she did not stand a chance against me."
"I believe Victoria took my mother from me, but I don't know why she didn't take me as well." Alexis told Adam with tears in her eyes.
"Perhaps that is for the better." Adam told her.
Alexis's eyes filled with tears. "I miss my mother," she cried.
Adam watched his daughter cry, then he wiped the tears from her eyes. "I will help you find her."
Alexis stopped her crying for a moment. "What if she is dead?"
Adam let a smile spread on his face. "Mae couldn't be killed so easily. Her bloodline is hard to destroy."
"Because she's a witch."
Adam nodded, not knowing that Alexis knew Mae had been a witch. "So, you knew your mother was a witch?"
Alexis nodded and said, "I am one also."
Adam felt his heart sigh at the fact that Alexis wasn't a vampire like him but a witch like Mae. That gave Alexis a great advantage over him. "You are lucky," he told her.
"I am lucky that my mother taught me how to use my magic before she disappeared." Alexis agreed.
Anita returned with tea for Alexis. She saw the drastic change in Adam, and he told her, "Anita, this is Alexis. She is Mae's daughter."
Anita had a skeptic look in her eyes, so Adam continued. "It appears that Alexis is my daughter." He saw Anita's expression turn to a look of delight. Anita handed Alexis the tea and gazed into the girl's eyes.
"Yes, she does have your eyes Adam. Those eyes are hard to shrug off as any other bloodline but yours." Anita had joy in her tone, and Adam knew it was because Anita was glad that he finally had someone new to care for. It had been too long since he had a reason to be happy, and Adam was glad to have joy again.
"Alexis, this is my housekeeper and friend, Anita." Adam said.
Alexis bowed her head. "Hello," she said.
"Hello, dear girl. Have you come just in time to cheer Adam's spirits up. Seems his heart has been weighed down with emotions again." Anita told Alexis, who was sipping the tea she'd been given.
Alexis looked down into the cup of tea. "Mmm, this is good tea."
"I'm glad you like it. Came up with the blend myself. Added a lot of minerals and herbs to it, so it lifts the spirit while--"
"Cleansing the body?" Alexis asked.
Anita grinned then nodded. "Yes."
Alexis nodded. "I thought so. I haven't felt this well in many days."
Adam smiled. "Well, you can stay here until I find your mother."
Alexis glanced over at him. "I'd like to come along."
Adam furrowed his eyebrows. "It'd be dangerous for you to enter where I'll be heading," he warned her.
"It was dangerous from whence I came, but I made it." Alexis said, and Adam realized she had his stubbornness as well as Mae's.
"All right," he replied. "We shall head out and find her day after tomorrow."
"Why not sooner?"
"We must rest up and pack everything we'll be needing. That will take up an entire day." Adam answered. "We have to head back to Transylvania, where I feel Victoria will be lurking."