Chapter 11

Once the group of us returned to Darien's place, the girls, Darien and I tried our best to make Valentino comfortable, even though he was still unconscious. Raye and Mina also took their time in readjusting to their normal selves. "Amazing how much drinking blood messes you up," Mina said, shuddering. She gingerly sipped on her tea and attempted to eat rice, but often felt nauseous. Raye's luck was no better and she resorted to taking a nap on one of the spare bedrolls in hopes that the feeling would pass. I glanced at the clock. It was well past 3 am and the wear from so little sleep was starting to show on the faces of Amy, Lita, Darien and I. Mina looked up at us, "You guys are exhausted, aren't you?"

We all nodded. "None of us slept well last night, so this has been quite the day," Darien responded.

"Why don't we all take Raye's cue and sleep a bit?" Mina suggested. "I'm still use to a nocturnal schedule, but a little beauty sleep never hurts! Plus, I do need to get back on a normal human schedule."

"What about Valentino?" Amy asked.

Mina stifled a laugh, "Well, Vampires don't sleep, you know. They do all their work during the night and do some rest in the daytime, but nothing like sleep. I don't think Valentino's actually slept in over 100 years. I'm sure his body is happy to finally get some!"

"Over 100 years?!" Lita exclaimed, "How old is this guy?"

Mina's expression softened, "Why don't you wait until tomorrow? I'm sure he'd be more than welcome to share his story with all of you once he gets use to us. He's really not a bad person, he's just been misguided for quite some time."

"I'd say so! 100 years is more than 'some time,'" Lita retorted.

Mina quietly giggled, "Yes, but not in terms of vampire years. Just wait, he'll tell you everything."

Despite our curiosity, all of us took Mina's advice and set off to bed. I barely hit the pillow and was already asleep. I didn't even wake when Darien came into bed beside me, pulling the covers up over me.

The next morning, Raye was the first up. She had made tea and pulled the curtains in the living room back, allowing the sunlight to wake the rest of our guests up. Darien was a bit more subtle in waking me up. He carefully planted a kiss on my cheek, "Get up, sleepy buns. There's tea and muffins ready in the dining room."

"Mmm, muffins," I mumbled. I rolled over to face Darien and nearly whacked him in the face in the process. "oops, sorry there, Der."

He smiled, "It's not a problem. No harm no foul, right?"

I nodded and embraced his neck, pulling his lip towards mine. He returned my kiss warmly and then said, "Okay, enough of that. I think our guess is ready to really know you."

I bolted up out of the bed, "Valentino's awake!" I shouted, barely able to contain my excitement.

"Shh! He is, but he's still very unsure of himself and what's going on. He has all of his memories, but being a human again is a whole new experience for him. His senses are more dull than they were when he was a vampire, but his body right now is reacting as if he had a hangover."

I glared at Darien, "And you would know how that feels?"

Darien smirked, "Of course not, my dearest. I wasn't a college student at some point, after all, was I?"

"Don't get smart with me, mister," I said, giving him my best pout.

"Oh, come on, Serena. It's really no big deal. I'm sure you've felt the same way before, even if not necessarily due to alcohol. It's like having a migraine or the flu."

I nodded, "Okay, okay. I'm ready to meet Valentino the human now. Let's go!" I slipped on my slippers and scooted out to the dining room where everyone else was seated, asking Valentino basic questions, stalling the good stuff until I got there. I took a seat next to Raye and Valentino turned towards me, "Sailor Moon! I mean, Serena," he said, a bit flustered. "I apologize for my actions. It is not decent for a gentleman to fight with a young lady, especially one as lovely as you."

"Hey, watch it there, sir," Darien joked, taking a sip of his tea.

Valentino blushed. "So, you all want to know my back story, correct?"

Lita and I nodded eagerly, while Amy reservedly answered, "Yes, please."

"Well, where to begin," Valentino pondered. "I suppose from the beginning. I was born Valentino Romano in Sicily, Italy in the spring of 1842. I was from a modest family where my father supported my mother and I by working as a silversmith. I had a comfortable child hood and attended school until I received an apprenticeship as a tailor at the age of 17.

At that point, everything for me was going smoothly. I was betrothed to a beautiful girl, who actually resembled Mina quite a bit. It was under her father that I became an apprentice and he recommended that I court his daughter. Angeline was her name. Angeline was everything to me. We were to be married in the summer of 1870, after both of us had turned 18. However, one night changed all of that.

I was returning from the workshop late one night. I had been working hard to mend my mother's wedding dress as a gift for Angeline as her mother's had been destroyed in a house fire some time before. As I completed a final mend, I had blown out the candles and locked the door behind me, proud of my handiwork and excited to present Angeline with the dress later than week.

In those days, Sicily had some crime, but usually not in the area of the city in which I resided, so I took to measures to protect myself against muggings or any other crimes. Besides, I was so blissfully happy that it was hard to imagine anything bad happening to me. Looking back, I wish that I had been a bit more cautious. After all, I had so much to lose.

Anyway, I heard footsteps behind me. While this was nothing out of the usual, the fact that they seemed to follow me seemed a bit strange. I became increasingly nervous and attempted to use a tight back alley as a shortcut home. It was there that Count Augustine assaulted me. He gripped me from behind and used his powers of numbing his victim's body on me before he sunk his fangs into me."

At this Valentino swallowed hard, then forced himself to take a sip of tea. "I'm sorry. It's difficult for me to recount the details now."

"Take your time," Amy encouraged.

He nodded before continuing, "The pain of his fangs piercing my skin was unlike anything that I have felt before. My veins immediately burned as the poison rushed through them. As I felt my mind go blank, Augustine whispered in my ear, 'You are a remarkable person, but you have yet to see your full potential. Come with me and you will become all that you have wanted and more.' I was unable to respond, but the pain I felt didn't seem like anything I could possibly want and I knew that what ever was happening to me would take me away from my Angeline.

I stayed on the ground until the next morning. By the time I awoke, I could think of nothing except my thirst. I stumbled into the street and drained the blood out of the first person I saw, a young girl half my age. Nothing had ever seemed more rewarding, but with my thirst quenched, I realized that even though this action was not who I truly was before, it was who I was to become. I couldn't bear to bring myself to see my family again, so I fled the city. I wandered alone from then on, taking victims where I could. After nearly 40 years, I hadn't left the country of Italy because it was still my homeland, but then I realized that nothing was the same. By that point, I was also better able to control my thirst, so I walked back to Sicily. I inquired about my lover's family and no one had answers for me until I entered the old tailor shop where I had once worked. The name had changed, but the shop was not. I walked in and met a tailor my age. I inquired about Angeline and her father.

The tailor look downcast as he told me that Angeline's father had passed nearly 30 years earlier. Angeline had also perished, although he did not know the reasons for either's death. He informed me of their burial plots and I made my way to the cemetery. I first found Angeline's father's plot, which stated that he had died of a heart attack. It was Angeline's epitaph that would have broke my heart, if I could still feel it. Hers stated that she had died not even a year after I disappeared. While hers did not say her cause of death, a passerby caught my attention 'The tailor's daughter, hmm?' I nodded, 'You knew her?' The stranger shook his head, 'No, I'm just the cemetery groundskeeper. She was a lovely woman. Died from poison, they say, perhaps due to heartbreak. Such a shame.' Clicking his tongue, the man walked away, providing me with no other information. It was then I decided to leave Italy. I didn't care where I went, I jus wanted to get far away.

Fast-forward another 40 years and I met Bellevue in northern Russia. I was astonished that there was another person who was traveling through a barren, freezing cold land with apparently no problems. I quickly made my way to the person and discovered it was a woman not much older than me. When she faced me, I also saw they shared another trait with me; red eyes and pale skin that showed no sign of life. It was her who recruited me to join her clan of vampires. She had been plotting for years to overtake the world, but wanted a sufficient army of already-turned vampires and then select only certain humans who showed great potential to become new vampires.

With her, I traveled through China and India and found a number of other vampires from all parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. We eventually disguised ourselves well enough to gain entry into Japan where we decided to set up our base in an inactive volcano. Even with a number of vampires substantial enough to do true harm, Bellevue decided that only a few of us were truly worthy. She set us through rigorous courses of strength, will, and mind before she selected four of us to be her loyal servants. The rest she killed, absorbing each of their powers, if they possessed any that were unique. I was thankful that I had been selected. I felt that perhaps this was the greater purpose that Count Augustine had referred to so many years before. Even then, she put us through more training and encouraged us to focus on taking the life ambitions out of humans, their true life blood, in her eyes. She believed that it was ambition that kept humans alive, not their actual blood.

Her ways are certainly eccentric and she was a demanding woman. She also exerted an enormous amount of self-control, whereas I was rash and impatient. Because of this, she sent me on the mission to collect life blood from humans and select a few new warriors for her mission. However, I failed her."

Valentino dropped his head and then shook it as he smiled to himself. "Perhaps it's for the better. I have found that humans are even more beautiful than I remember, especially in the content of their life's goals. No one should strip them of those. I certainly never wanted mine taken away."

"Valentino," Amy asked gently, "What exactly is Bellevue's mission in taking the ambition out of humans?"

"World domination primarily, but she wants every human on earth to submit to her as their queen without question, make them her puppets. She believes in order to do this, they can have no motivations to act otherwise and rebel. It is a sinister goal and I am ready to fight against her however I can. But I must warn you all," Valentino paused, "there are other warriors fighting on her behalf who are much powerful than I am and are growing more powerful as she gives them greater powers. It is only a matter of time before her true strengths are shown, even if they are through the work of others."

Amy, Lita, Darien and I absorbed this warning while Raye and Mina watched along, already aware of all that Valentino had said.

"It's time for us to get ourselves ready, scouts," Mina said. "Luckily, Raye, Valentino and I are a bit more knowledgeable about what's to come, which could prove to be extremely useful in a matter of weeks."

Amy, Lita, Darien and I nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's start again. We'll use what information we know and fill in the gaps with what Mina, Raye, and Valentino know," I said. Although I had felt powerful and undefeatable less than 24 hours ago, I knew that these powers had to be developed if they were to be any real threat. Valentino's defeat and transformation was a walk in the park compared to what was to come.