Author's Note: To my dear and patient readers: Thank you so much for bearing with me. The last few weeks have been a real hassle, and I'm not quite out of the tunnel yet. I won't trouble you with personal problems, but I have been rather preoccupied. No, I didn't forget about you, or about this story. As always, thank you for reading and for posting reviews. You guys make it all worthwhile.

Sincerely, D.

Chapter IX

There are events which can occur in a person's life that have such a great impact upon the heart, the mind, and the soul, that the feelings we experience during these times haunt us until we seek refuge within the earth, or upon the pyre. I have lived through many, and I find myself wondering, will death be powerful enough to shelter me? Or, is it hopeful dreaming that there is a lee behind the figure of whichever god chooses to embrace what remains of me? For every time I fall to my knees and pray for succor, there are another dozen times in which I plead to remain as I am.

Is there any purpose in this? Or are we all figures set carefully upon a celestial board and meticulously moved about by beings with unfathomable hearts? Who can condone such suffering? The God of my father, that jealous desert deity? Perhaps there is no rhyme nor reason for our existence and its travails. It may be that the gods have grown tired of the cyclical entertainment we provide and have moved away to begin anew with another race of hapless creatures. If that is so, then they have all the pity that remains within me.

If I have not yet wasted it upon myself.

Norgard was fastidiously pinning her hair up beneath her cap in preparation for the mid-afternoon meal when her brother shoved open the heavy door of the scullery sleeping quarters and leaped onto the mattress beside his elder sister. "Norgard! Norgard!" He bounced about in excitement, sending her pins to the floor as he gamboled with the pillow.

Norgard curbed her urge to shriek at the rowdy boy and swatted at him in irritation, snatching the pillow and smacking him soundly in the head with it. "Here now Christoph! Can't you see I'm busy? What's got you in a tizzy anyway?" She scooped up the pins and caught her brother's pants leg, dragging him into a sitting position beside her. "Messenger came on a horse and said he's coming back! He's coming home right now!" Christoph said gleefully, his chubby face a mass of dimples as he grinned at his sister expectantly.

Norgard froze, pin clutched in her trembling hand before she visibly shook herself and secured another lock, smiling at her brother as she did so. "That's wonderful news Christoph! And I bet you were first at the stables to hear it, yes?"

He puffed up, immeasurably pleased with his sister's praise. "That's right! I was! They said the Baron's coming home, but I didn't care none about that! I knew your 'lovebird' would be home too, so I rushed to tell you!"

Norgard gaped at her brother. "'Lovebird'? Where do you hear these things Christoph? Have you been eavesdropping on the maids again? Their talk is filthy! I won't have that, I'll tell Cook and the armsmaster to keep an eye out for you, Mr. Snoop!"

Christoph eased slowly away from his sister until he was beyond her reach. "I weren't in the eaves, I was hiding in the closet!" He shot back, and barely managed to shut the door before Norgard's pillow bounced from the paneling. She sat back, laughing as she finished with her hair, her spirits momentarily lifted.

She rose and straightened the rumpled bedcovers before retrieving the pillow and tossing it carelessly onto the mattress. Her humor faded and she frowned as she pondered her next move. She was uncertain which disturbed her more, the vampire which had attached itself to her lover, or the possibility that he might possibly be betrothed to a strange woman. She cursed, angry that she had forgotten to address the Sylph concerning the Baron's plans. She had awakened in a drained state from the previous evening's contact, and had been unable to repeat the rite. She blinked back the wetness in her eyes in frustration as she attempted to convince herself that it was caused by dust motes. "I can't fall apart now!" Norgard groaned, "Ah, Joachim. What does this life have planned for you, my love?"

Joachim breathed deeply as his horse plodded through the hamlet surrounding the manor. The smell of hearthfires and livestock permeated the spring air with its homely familiarity. Home. Everywhere he looked, the villagers were halting in the midst of their tasks to turn towards him with awed expressions. Recluse though he was, there was not a villager present in the crowd who had not heard of the Baron's sickly heir, and the tragedy surrounding his birth. Joachim's fingers tightened on the reins as the first whispers drifted towards him from the amassed crowd.

"Look at that!"

"The Lord's son is riding?"

"Where's his cane?"

"He looks so strong!"

"'Tis not natural..."

"Shush! 'Tis the work of God!"

"Or the Devil..."

The horse whickered uneasily and shied away from the encroaching villagers. One woman was bold enough to grab his leg as he passed by, a look of worship upon her face, eyes gleaming with the zealot's light. "He's an angel descended to us! Shining white!" Tears spilled from her eyes and she unwrapped her shawl to reveal the still figure of a sickly infant girl. "Please lord! Save my daughter, my Ida! Heal her!"

His own eyes were wide with panic. "Please..." he whispered weakly, as he strained to pull his leg from her grasp, "I cannot! I cannot help you!"

The woman continued with her pleas as though she had not heard him speak, and when he began to frantically shake his head she screamed and thrust the bundled body of her daughter towards him. Joachim pulled away from her with a sharp cry and struggled to remain in the saddle as his horse reared in a panic, sharp hooves lashing out. He watched helplessly as one hoof struck the woman in the chest, spinning her about before she dropped to the ground, where she lay in the mud like a pile of discarded rags. The men-at-arms rushed to surround the nobleman as a small group of villagers pulled the woman and her daughter out of harm's way.

One of the guards snatched the reins from Joachim's hands and led his horse away. He looked over his shoulder, brushing his silver hair from his eyes as a man sank to his knees with the woman in his arms. It was only when the man began to scream that Joachim realized she was dead, and he felt a weight, like that of many stones, pulling at his heart. Shuddering, he faced forward resolutely, but he cringed every time the bereaved villager's voice rang out behind him.

"He is the devil!"

And from somewhere on the wind, Joachim again heard that cynical, mocking voice: "On your head be it."

Norgard stood like a child, with her face pressed to the window, watching in astonishment as Joachim waved away the aid of a stableboy and quickly dismounted. He payed no heed to the rest of the party as they milled about, but instead made haste for the front entryway, opening the heavy oak doors with such force that they slammed into the stone walls on either side. She jumped in astonishment and clapped her hands over her mouth as she observed his agitated behavior. He made straight for his rooms, ignoring the looks of the staff as they hurried out of his way. Here too there were whispers of disbelief.

Norgard lifted her skirts slightly, bunching them in one hand as she set off in his wake. He did not slow his pace until he reached the corridor oustide his chambers. Her heart was in her throat, and she wiped the nervous perspiration from her hands shakily.

"Joachim." she called out softly. For a moment, he remained silent, with his hands clenched into fists, his back perfectly straight. When he turned to look at her, his eyes were vacant, and his voice was hollow, completely devoid of emotion as he spoke. "I killed her. The woman and her daughter. My God! Does the child live? Or have I murdered twice within the space of one day?"

"Joachim, what do you mean?" Norgard queried, as fear clutched her heart in its merciless grip. "Why would you harm anyone? Ah, love! Come with me now and we'll sort all this out!" she finished in a firm tone which held more conviction than she truly felt. She moved towards him while she spoke, and as she finished she took him reassuringly by the hand, noting with apprehension how cold his flesh felt as it pressed against her own. Swallowing, she opened the door of his chambers and led him to the windowseat. Joachim sat mechanically, and he would not meet her eyes when she settled beside him.

"Well," Norgard began, "this isn't the greeting I was expecting, but life plays its games with us, so I can't say I'm surprised. Joachim, if you love me, look at me when I'm speaking to you. This is important."

Joachim's hands clenched at her words, but he raised his eyes and met her steady gaze with his own. Norgard reached out slowly and stroked his face with her fingertips. "That's more like you." she murmured.

"Norgard, I... So much has happened, I am unsure where I should begin and how much I should tell you. I am not the person you knew at the time I departed." He shook his head in frustration, as his eyes narrowed. "Not even the gods will soil their hands with my troubles." he spat bitterly.

It was at this moment that Norgard's suspicions were confirmed. She took his cold hands within her trembling ones, noting the polished appearance of his nails as she did so. "Love, I know what has happened. I know what you are, and what you have become, but you are still Joachim! You are still the man I love, nothing could change that! You weren't given a choice, and I know that if you had been, you would not have chosen this existence!"

He shook his head once more, this time in anger. "You cannot understand! Not even I can say if I would have chosen death over life. I have never lived as a human should!" He rose to his feet, pulling her upwards with him. "Look! I have no need for support! I can run, ride a horse, dance, cartwheel if I wanted to! My vision after dusk would shame the cats who prowl the granary at night! Norgard, this is life. This is freedom." he whispered the last as though he were reassuring himself.

Norgard rested her face on his shoulder. "If you're so sure, why is it that you sound so doubtful? Who are you trying to convince? Me, or yourself?" She ran her hands over his back, noting the tension present in every muscle. Fine shudders coursed through Joachim's frame as he exhaled shakily. "I'm terrified."

Norgard closed her eyes and tightened her hold as she swayed slowly from side to side, creating a gentle rocking motion which seemed to soothe Joachim's agitation. "What terrifies you, love?" she queried as she combed his hair with her fingers.

"Everything." he panted, "How bestial and savage can the vampire's nature become? Will I be discovered by humans and executed for what I am? Must I kill in order to live? Where will I live? What will I do, will I change, deep down inside? Will you still love me?"

With every question, his voice rose, the panic more evident. His last query burst from him in a harsh, terrified cry, and Norgard wept as she replied, "I will always love you. There's not a thing you could do to change that!" She pulled back and gathered up a corner of her apron, brushing away the wetness from her face as she smiled at him, her lips pulling up at the corners, her clear eyes a mixture of love and sorrow. She traced his cheekbone with her thumb. "Not a single tear shed." she murmured. "You have changed. Why have you become frightened of showing your tears?"

Joachim inhaled and stood silent before replying, "I have found that one's emotions and fears can be used against you. Come. Walk with me. I have much to tell you, and a long walk will help me to collect my thoughts. Besides, I have not seen you for what feels like ages." He tucked her arm beneath his own and together they moved through the abandoned corridors and rooms like a pair of restless and wandering souls as Joachim recounted the events of the past few days. He omitted nothing, speaking to Norgard about his fears and pains, as well as the almost guilty pleasure he experienced within his newly strengthened body. His eyes burned with a luminous light when he described his brief meeting with the mother he had never known, and though her warnings deeply troubled them both, Norgard was grateful that he had been allowed to experience what every living being should. "Mother is the whole world to a child." she whispered.

Joachim faltered only when describing his interactions with Walter, and the vampire's negligent attitude when he hunted. She remained quiet during his tale, interrupting only to better understand what had happened or to reassuringly squeeze his arm. Not once did she judge him, and it was for her unwavering support that he was grateful. He remembered Walter's words, and for a moment he felt ridiculous about his fears concerning love and Norgard's acceptance of his new condition.

For a long moment the couple stood silently, and Joachim took in his surroundings. "These rooms belonged to my mother." he told Norgard softly. "I can feel her presence here. It is almost as if she is watching over us." He drifted further into the room, pulling the sheets from the furniture as he did so. Clouds of dust wafted into the stale air like a flock of disturbed pigeons as he uncovered yet another fragment of Anna's life.

"Green!" Norgard whispered tearily, sensing the otherworldly presence of a sister witch. "Everywhere green! Green bedclothes, green chair slips and carpets. The tapestries and the mural in the wash room are of forests." She shook her head as she cleaned Anna's vanity table, carefully dusting the bottles of precious oils and powders. "Why have you never come here before now, Joachim?"

Joachim grasped onto the heavy drapes and pulled them back from the window, choking on twenty years worth of dust as it rained onto his upturned face. "I don't know. I never thought to do so. I was told to remain in my chambers, and for the most part, I obeyed."

"Oh, and when were you naughty?" Norgard teased him. He favored her with a smile which transformed his entire face, bestowing him with mischievous dimples, and she was at once reminded of her troublesome young brother. "Cook made the most delicious berry pastries, and I was an expert at filching them when I was younger. I was small, and though I was slow I was an expert at hiding. Those pastries never had a chance to cool before I burned my greedy tongue on them!"

He frowned as he fell into a chair, kicking up more dust. "Of course now they don't seem all that appealing anymore." Joachim smiled ruefully and shrugged his shoulders in acceptance. "Pastries or life, hmm?"

His disarmed manner disturbed Norgard, as did his almost casual acceptance of his unworldly appetites, but she attributed this to the victim's mechanism of coping. Joachim had been traumatized, she was certain, and this was the easiest way for him to overcome the recent horror. She hid her misgivings and fastidiously cleaned Anna's mirror, aware of Joachim's eyes following her movements. She straightened her apron, and when she looked up, he was standing close behind her.

Joachim moved Norgard's hands away from her apron lacings before he slowly untied the knot, allowing the cloth to slip to the floor. Her cap retraced the apron's path as he pulled loose the pins and unbound her hair, burying his face in its length. For a moment, Norgard remained still as a statue, though she felt anything but! Never before had she felt such a sense of rightness, as though this was all a part of a greater plan. Her snappy response to his undoing of what had taken nearly fifteen minutes to arrange died somewhere between her lungs and throat as she felt the soft pressure of his lips against her neck.

He shuddered as he felt the quick pace of her heart beneath his mouth, and he pressed a kiss against her soft skin before slowly moving away. As he did so, he caught a look at his reflection. His pupils were dilated, and a flush had crept over his pale face and neck. Joachim cleared his throat noisily and swept Norgard's cap and apron from their resting places on the carpet. She crouched next to him as he was picking up her hairpins, and her hand on his wrist stopped him from completing his self-assigned task. "How long do you think we have before we're missed?" she queried, her green eyes bright.

Realization struck him and it was a moment before he could respond. "Oh," he replied loftily, his hand quivering in her grasp, "I would have to say at least another hour, then again, they might want to forget about me completely today. Perhaps I should pay them that favor. And you?"

Norgard smiled fiercely. "Today's a rest day for me. I've nowhere else to be." Her smile faded, and a look of desperation creased her face. "Besides, I don't know how long I have before I'll lose you again." Joachim pulled her close, tucking her face against his shoulder in an attempt to comfort her and quell his own misgivings. "I think," he said hesitantly, "that since neither of us is sure, it would be best to treat each second as though it is all that remains."

Norgard nodded, reluctant to pull away from him. When he rose to his feet, he caught her in his arms, lifting her with ease. "Now," he said, as he turned his back upon Anna's chambers, "I shall carry you." Norgard twined her arms about his neck, aware that she was smiling like a smitten fool, and not caring in the least.

"So, my lady, where does your heart desire to be?" he said teasingly, eyebrows lifting in a mockery of the court dandies he had recently seen. She laughed in embarrassment. "The destination doesn't matter none to me! I could become accustomed to being carried though! Yes indeed."

"You might not have a destination in mind, but I could use a clean set of clothes. Now that I have everything off my chest, I could do with a bath and clothes that don't smell like horse."

"Joachim?"

"Yes?"

"You're more fastidious than a woman."

"I'm hurt."

"Joachim?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

She caught his face with one hand, turning until she could look directly into his eyes. "Me and you. We'll beat this somehow, I know we will." Her voice held conviction and strength, and her face was set in a stolid expression. "You should follow this vampire. You don't know nothing about how to survive like this, Joachim. And he may be an unholy bastard, but he's a canny one I'm sure. He'll teach you how to make it in this world. Much as I want to keep you here, it won't work! Soon enough, we'll all be growing old, all except you, and that's when they'll know, when you'll be in danger." She broke off suddenly, gasping for breath and control.

Joachim wanted to block out the truth contained within her words, but he could not deny what she said. "I'll see how long he will allow me to stay. Originally, we bargained for a time which would be long enough for me to make peace with my parting from you. Perhaps there is a chance that I may win a few months from Walter. I would love to stay until Christ's mass, but I am unsure how he will respond to any extension. Believe me Norgard. I do not want to leave you."

He sighed heavily as they arrived at his door, and Norgard reached out, twisting the brass handle as Joachim pushed the door open with his toe. He kicked it shut behind him and set Norgard carefully upon the bed. "Well, I'm all for a quick bath." he told her as he pulled a dressing robe from the wardrobe before hurrying into the washroom. He leaned against the closed door and attempted to sort through his tangled emotions.

I don't want to leave. But, what other option do I have? I don't trust Walter enough to bring Norgard with me. Besides, she has a younger brother to care for and I certainly wouldn't trust Walter with a child! I don't know what happened to their parents, but she's all he has. I don't want to be responsible for taking that away. One day, I'll be able to sort this entire mess out, and then we'll see. I hope.

He bathed quickly, splashing himself with the cool water and scrubbing the dust from his hair. Joachim noticed that his body had ceased to perspire, yet another affect of Walter's 'gift'. He shrugged into the robe, knotting the ties at his waist before he padded into his room in search of a brush or comb. Norgard had slipped beneath the bedclothes and appeared to be dozing. He smiled as he brushed the hair back from her forehead and placed a tender kiss between her eyes. Joachim found the brush lying on the bedside table, golden strands were caught in the bristles. He chuckled as he ran the brush through his hair, working out the tangles.

There was a rustling as covers were pushed back, and the brush was snatched from his hand. Norgard pulled the brush through his hair efficiently, cursing as she did so. "I wish my hair were so easy to deal with! Look at that! I'm done with it already! I can't finish half of my head in that short a time."

Joachim turned to look over his shoulder, eyes widening as he did so. He turned away from her immediately, a blush suffusing his features. "Norgard!" he spluttered, at a loss for words. She laughed at his discomfort as she embraced his taut form. "It's alright. Look at me, Joachim. I want you to look at me. You seemed sure you wanted this earlier, in Anna's room."

"I must seem like a childish coward. Can you forgive me?" he asked her shakily. She reached around him, placing her palm over his heart.

"We'll treat each second like it's all we have left" she whispered before he pressed his lips to hers, bruising them with his desperate need for closeness. He twisted around to face her, the robe falling away from his shoulders like Atlas's burden as she pulled him into her embrace.

Anna's spirit drifted through the corridors of the manor, and her sweet voice lifted in a heart-wrenching melody, pulling at the senses of all who passed her by. Spectral tears fell from the curve of her face like early morning dew. Whether they were tears of sorrow or of profound joy, not even she could say with certainty.

One life ends, another begins.