Chapter 5 Rhenawedd
Dettlaff frowned and mistrustfully narrowed his eyes. "What is this? Why do you want to be friends with me?"
"Well...", the young woman hesitated and wanted to punch herself for her last sentence. The tensed attitude of her counterpart was clearly noticeable and Livia bit her lower lip briefly. "How shall I say, I think there is simply no plausible reason for the offer."
The vampire remained in his defensive stare and kept looking at the young woman piercingly. Livia could literally feel his inner struggle. The striking blue eyes reflected an honesty that Livia had previously only known from small children. Neither a spark of malice nor wickedness seemed to hide in them, while his lips were pressed tightly together. Gradually she began to understand Regis's point of view, and yet she could not ignore the past actions of this being.
A small sigh echoed from her as she finally started again: " Regis warned me about your lack of social skills, but I didn't think it was so ... serious." After a short pause for thought she continued. "Look, to see someone as an enemy, you need a reason. For example, someone has done something to me that makes me feel hurt or even attacked, while there is no real need for a rational cause for friendship. One feels attracted to the other person, feels gratitude or has a personal interest in getting to know the person."
Meanwhile, Defflaff listened to her in silence with visibly great interest.
"And which of these reasons applies to you now?"
Livia had to blink briefly after his reply. "We both have a mutual friend. I want that friend to be happy, so I'm helping him. His descriptions of you were extremely positive and he asked me to get a picture of you by myself. Besides, you just saved my life. I don't know what value life has for an immortal, but it has great weight for me."
"You want to be friends with me because of Regis and because you are in my debt?"
Livia stared at the man in disbelief and did not know what to say in response. The following silence was extremely unpleasant and Livia struggled with herself. She hardly noticed her physical reaction to the cold water in which she continued to kneel. Her still outstretched hand began to tremble while some parts of her skin turned slightly white next to the noticeable goose bumps.
Her "conversation partner" did not miss this fact. His body language continued to reflect his insecurity, yet he slowly and almost tenderly grasped her hand and his gaze seemed slightly worried besides the continuing tension.
"The water seems too cold for you. I will take you home so you can rest."
Although both were completely soaked, Livia noticed that the vampire's hand was still warm. This fact made her smile a little, because until now she always noticed during meetings with Regis that he had a slightly cooler body temperature than her when she hugged him or shook his hand. Vampires generally seemed to have a slightly lower body temperature than humans, but it seems to be more stable.
Dettlaff didn't miss the little smile and interpreted it as happiness about the help he provided. He could not get out of the state of confusion around her presence. Her statements and her behaviour made no sense to him, which made it all the more difficult for him to react appropriately. His Rhena was so far the only human being he had close contact with.
~ Metinna 1274 ~
"Is this seat taken?"
The tavern was bursting with people and the waitresses had their hands full serving each guest. There was bawling and drinking in the surrounding places, others played cards and entered with high stakes. Mostly he watched the people from a distance. They fascinated him and a wondrous glow seemed to surround these beings. Despite their mortality, they were full of life and action. They did not waste any thought on their imminent death and brought it about even faster with wars or already smaller fights. What a short-sighted way of thinking!
But a bright child's laugh, a joyful cheer when two acquaintances meet again after a supposedly long time or lovers who only have eyes for their partner touched Dettlaff's heart. He himself could not have had such experiences, but it was enough for him to absorb the scenes from a distance as a silent observer. This culture was the complete opposite of his.
Higher vampires are very different. Some live in complete seclusion as hermits, others mingle with humans or there are those like him who are attracted to the lower ones of his kind. The typical pack behaviour calms one down and the community never lets the individual down. There are clear structures, making words unnecessary. Only the actions speak for themselves.
Despite his membership in the pack, his curiosity towards mortal beings increased over the centuries. In Defflaff's eyes, the use of language to communicate with his counterpart was extremely convenient. Misunderstandings could thus be avoided. It surprised him that humans were easy to distinguish. Good and evil. Black and white.
"No."
The black-haired woman was dressed like a run-down vagabond, but her movements had something noble about them. Her gray eyes remained fixed on him, while with a nod to the waitress she signaled to go get a drink. Her slightly protruding chin and full lips were particularly striking. In combination with her smile, she looked extremely smart and sympathetic.
"Thank you very much. It shouldn't come as a surprise anymore that it is quite busy here in the evening, and yet I regularly get lost here. But I have never seen you here before.
What would bring a nobleman to this dump?" The smile remained on her lips and Dettlaff noticed that he liked the unrestricted attention of a human being.
"Excuse me. I'm not a nobleman, just a simple man passing through." One of her eyebrows rose while she bent over the table and supported her head on her hands. "Soso. Then this could be a most interesting evening. As travellers, we can tell each other about our adventures and future destinations." The vampire was more than overtaxed by the current situation. On the one hand he wanted to have a conversation, but this directness, especially with a woman, was foreign to him.
When the waitress came with the requested drink, she was stopped by the woman. "I'd like the todays special for both of us." Dettlaff wanted to reply something, but remained silent when the black-haired woman raised her hand firmly. After the waitress had disappeared into the turmoil again, his table partner turned to him again. "My name is Rhenawedd. How may I address you?"
"Dettlaff."
Rhenawedd smiled warmly at him and raised the glass. "For an entertaining evening Dettlaff." He could not define the feeling that was budding in him. It was strange to him and the moment seemed too surreal for him to actually take place. Optically he could adapt to people well, but subconsciously they had to feel his true nature, because most of the time they avoided him and did not pay any further attention to him, which was to his advantage in his role as a silent observer.
With pressed lips he raised his glass and then set about drinking.
"You do not seem to be a man of many words." Her gaze was directed only at him and he felt completely at her mercy. Her presence was marked by graceful dominance, while her femininity further enhanced her strong appearance. A spark of discomfort sprouted in him and urged him to leave the restaurant, but a thought that could not be described as rational kept him at the table with Rhenawedd. He liked the melodious name, as well as her well-proportioned body, her attention to him and her slim fingers.
"No. I travel a lot and hardly ever get a chance to talk to anyone."
When the waitress came with the meal, Dettlaff exhaled briefly with relief. The interruption gave him time to think about how to continue the conversation without attracting any more attention. This moment, however, was to have an irrevocable effect on his life, for when he was distracted he noticed too late that the waitress had left the bare silver cutlery on his side for both persons. Subconsciously he grabbed one of the enclosed napkins and lifted the cutlery to Rhenawedd.
She narrowed her eyes briefly and then reached for the cutlery. "Thank you. Please help yourself. I can't handle this amount of food by myself."
Dettlaff looked at her before he grabbed his silverware and turned to the meal. After a while the woman resumed the conversation and told him about her travels and special events. He listened to her in silence for the most part and rarely made any comments. Despite the lively tumult around her, the room seemed to be filled exclusively by the presence of this woman. The candles immersed the room in a warm light and the shadows of the visitors danced merrily on the walls.
After the plate was empty, the vampire took the word. "I thank you for this nice conversation. Unfortunately I have to move on now. Your food and drink are on me." With that he rose and put some coins on the table.
Leaving the restaurant, he noticed that her smell continued to haunt him. Although the humans seemed to be interesting beings to him, they were foolish and simple-minded to the same degree. What did she hope to gain from this persecution? Determined, he turned into a desolate side street and dematerialized into a dark red cloud. After she had also entered the dark corridor and realized that it was empty, she paused. Her confident voice echoed into the darkness: "I know that you are here. Come out! The conversation is not over for me yet. There's one more thing I have to ask you."
He had let himself be drawn in long enough by her pushy ways. Now, if he wanted to get rid of her for good, this was an appropriate time. Two steps away from her, he appeared in his vampiric form and bare his teeth. "Get out of here or I'll kill you!" Her eyes widened for a moment before a confident smile appeared on her lips. "Hey, why so cold? You couldn't get enough of my stories at the restaurant." She took a step towards him and crossed her arms confidently.
Dettlaff had not considered that this could happen and was completely baffled. This woman was unlike any human being he had ever seen before. Here he was standing in front of her and instead of fleeing from him she stepped even closer to the monster, which in turn retreated from her. "Why don't you run away from me?" This caused Rhenawedd to blink briefly and then laugh out loud. "This question alone is just too funny. A monster that mingles with people and then tries to keep its a distance in such an idiotic way. Please forgive me, but unlike your horrible appearance, your behavior is simply childish."
The vampire stood undecidedly before her and did not know how to respond to this harsh scolding. Claws out, long pointed teeth and the beastly face didn't seem to impress her very much. Her grey eyes did not let go of him and she bit her lower lip slightly. "Nevertheless you are extremely interesting. I would like to get to know you better and maybe I can teach you a thing or two about dealing with people. What do you think about that? We both benefit from it."
Driven by curiosity, he accepted her suggestion. They met several times and talked about mostly trivial topics. Nevertheless, he noticed that with time his excitement of another meeting grew steadily. Despite the knowledge of his true nature, she treated him as one of her own. When he annoyed her, she rebuked him, when he said the wrong things, she improved him and when he was at a loss during a conversation, she encouraged him. He liked her full attention and the subtle approaches. It didn't matter that she always got her way and mostly followed her interests. He gladly gave in and changed his role as observer to become her protector. At that time he did not yet understand the fact that Rhenawedd was shunned by many. In his eyes she was a perfect being who knew what it wanted. She did not even stop at making friends with a monster and spending her precious time with him.
After a short time another aspect in her friendship was added. ~~~
She invited him to her place for dinner in the evening. She was aware of the fact that he did not need meals. Yet she regularly offered him food and shared with him. The conversation that evening, however, took a different course than usual. She spoke only briefly about her day and urged him to finish his stories quickly. He was much more surprised by the fact that she wanted to know more about his kind without warning.
What is a vampire capable of? Helps fire or holy water when a vampire attacks and after a bite you become an vampire being yourself. Why can he walk through the city in broad daylight and change his shape How big is his pack and what role does he play in it?
They had already finished eating, but her questions continued. He was pleased by her seemingly open interest in his species and he willingly told her everything she wanted to know. After some time her thirst for knowledge seemed to be satisfied for now at least and since it was already late at night he wanted to give her time to rest. When he got up, she also got up and walked around the table, dragging her hand lightly over the wood, to him. Their bodies were close together and almost touched each other so that he could feel her warmth.
Dettlaff looked into the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen, as she raised her right hand and stroked his cheek gently. This kind of tenderness was foreign to him and he closed his eyes to capture this touch with every fibre of his body. Shortly afterwards he felt her second hand on the other side as well.
When he opened his eyes again, she smiled at him and pulled him down to her for a demanding kiss. He wrapped his arms around her body while she pressed him against the table. With her touches and caresses, she made it clear to him what it was all about and he agreed only too readily. A slight smile was stealing to his lips, as she was not only a very demanding personality in everyday life, but apparently also in sexual terms. Her strength and determination were the main qualities that impressed him most and led him to adore her. She had to be aware of her physical inferiority to him and yet she took control with an impressive naturalness.
He wanted to lift her up and carry her to her sleeping chamber when she struck his hand decisively. "I do not need a prince to carry me, but a man who can give me what I need."
A demanding growl left his throat as he turned the tables, pressed her down hard on the desk and positioned himself between her legs. He tore off her clothes and ran his hands possessively over her body. Rhenawedd seemed to enjoy this lack of restraint, for her eyes flashed at him confident of victory and her mouth curled up into a smile. "I belong to you as you belong to me, body and soul." He took this statement as a confession of love, which only further inflamed his animal instincts.
The playful battle for power continued until sunrise. Lying side by side in bed, he looked at his beloved, who lay on her back, panting heavily. "Rhena, please forgive me, I should have stopped much earlier." His voice was still filled with lust, but his guilty conscience was reflected in his eyes. He wanted to caress her tenderly as she raised her hand. "Please, Dettlaff, why do you always want to caress and pet me. Did you copy this from other couples? This is ridiculous. You don't have to worry about me. I can take it. Even a furious vampire who lunges at his alleged victim and tries to devour him." She looked at him seductively.
This was the first time that her dominance gave his heart a painful sting. He didn't want to mate with her as he would with one of his own kind. He wanted to show her that she was important to him and that he would do anything to protect her smile. He wanted to be as close to her as possible on a human level. He wanted to have her full attention forever.
The young woman in his arms had absolutely nothing in common with Rhena, both visually and, at first glance, in terms of character. Her appearance was neither dominant nor decisive, although she had previously appeared quite self-confident at the river, despite her fear. It did not take long before she collapsed next to him powerlessly on the way back. Her lips were blue and her skin was cold.
It would be extremely foolish of him to consider her a good person based on first impressions. He had learned from the mistake he had made and would not rush to trust anyone again, especially if it was a human being. Language was not only a medium to communicate his thoughts, but also a means to influence others. One could lie, cheat and use power games.
He had had enough of humans. He was tired of company. He wanted to be on his own, far away from any civilization and lead a quiet lifestyle.
Then why was he still standing in her house?
He could tell which house was hers by the smell of her. When he arrived there he undressed her and covered her in her bed with all the blankets he could find in her household. Finally he lit a fire and stood in front of her again and watched her.
The trembling of her body was already slowly subsiding and he could hear her steady regular heartbeat. She looked extremely fragile to him. In contrast to Rhena, she seemed to be afraid of him as well, which did not stop her from confronting him. Why was she friends with Regis? What connected the two that the vampire trusted her so far and sent her to him with a potion.
Inside, a real war was brewing within him. On the one hand, the reason, which called for a retreat and on the other hand the curiosity, which made him stay. The latter had brought him only pain and sadness with Rhena. He walked to the window and looked melancholically towards the sunset.