Chapter 7 – To Build a Home
There is a house built out of stone.
Wooden floors, walls and window sills,
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust.
This is a place where I don't feel alone.
This is a place where I feel at home.
'Cause, I built a home For you For me
[The Cinematic Orchestra – To Build a Home]
The first thing she recognized when she awoke, were the sunbeams, which almost reached the knotted carpet on the floor beside her bed. As the bedroom was situated on the westside of the building, this meant that she had slept most of the day away. Again.
With a heavy sigh she got up, tried her best to ignore her aching head and started her 'morning'-routine – which consisted of a little 'breakfast' and an extensive shower. After she had rubbed herself dry, she slipped into a corn poppy red blouse with black, shiny buttons and a skirt of smoothly falling fabric.
It was made of silk her mother had bought, as soon as she had realized that Laura's sewing wasn't just a quirk. It's base color was a dark shade, like clotted blood and vine branches were woven into it in brighter red tones. She quickly took a picture of her outfit with her cellphone camera and sent it to a certain Viking. Eric would be proud of her choice of attire, when he awoke...
A quick glance onto her simple, black wristwatch told her that it would soon be 5 pm and she was quite late, if she wanted to arrive at Godric's new home two hours before sunset, as he had asked her to. She had absolutely no idea why he wanted her to be there at such a time, when he would obviously still be asleep, but she would still comply with his request. As if she would be able to tell him 'no'...
Originally she had planned to look up which busses she had to take, but as there wasn't enough time left, she just grabbed her purse and Godric's gift (which she had equipped with a royal blue bow before she went to sleep in the morning) and hurried down to the street, where she took the first cab that stopped for her.
After reading the address loudly off the card Godric had handed her the night before, the driver meandered through the busy traffic and she used the time to rummage in her purse in search of her cell phone. Despite its unimpressive size, there was obviously plenty of room for it to hide …
„Hey honey – what are you up to this evening?", she heard the cheerful voice of her grandmother from the other end of the line. She was still young at heart and very fit for her age. When her grandfather died about fifteen years ago, she had decided to move into her son's neighborhood and occupied her mind with babysitting her grandchild. That was probably the reason why Laura was so attached to her Gran – in most of her first childhood memories, she played an important role.
„The modifications of Godric's new home are finished", Laura told her in an equally happy tone, „He invited me to take a look at it – I'm quite eager to see it, to be honest. I wonder if it's like his old house has been …"
„You said it was rather intimidating, didn't you?"
„Yeah, well … it was. All huge and luxurious, but there was nothing that would have radiated at least the tiniest vibe of coziness", she recalled and her eyebrows furrowed, while she thought of this beautiful, but rather cold house.
„Didn't you tell me that Godric had been a sheriff of sorts? Maybe it was meant to be intimidating", her Gran guessed and Laura could picture the thoughtful look she surely displayed with her warm, brown eyes.
„Well, that would explain why his home gave me the creeps, while his personality is pleasant and calming", Laura chuckled and could hear her grandmother join in on the other end of the line.
„I'm so excited to finally meet him in nine days", she told her after a while and her voice almost sounded a bit dreamy.
„You're already counting the days?", Laura laughed in disbelief.
„Hell yes! After all you've told me, he has to be the loveliest being on earth!"
„Now, stop exaggerating!", Laura muttered, but could feel the blush spreading in her cheeks.
„You know I don't! – What did you get him for his new house anyway?"
This question caught Laura off guard and she bit her lip hesitantly. Should she tell her the truth, or claim she completely forgot to think about a gift for the ancient one?
„That would be 23,40 $, Miss!", the driver ripped her out of her thoughts and she finally realised that they had already stopped.
„I'm sorry, I have to go Gran", she pressed and once again sifted through her purse, „I'll call you tomorrow. Bye!"
She hung up before her grandmother could reply anything and fished the required amount of money out of her wallet. With a soft "thanks", she handed it to her cabman and hopped out of the taxi.
And the first thing she did after viewing the property in front of her, was glancing on Godric's card once more, to make sure that the driver had taken her to the right place.
It was the complete opposite of the mansion that had been blown up about two weeks ago. The generous garden was enclosed by an at least eight feet high metal fence. Time had coated it with an almost black patina and somewhere in the back of the property she could see ivy trailing around the stanchions.
Hesitantly she laid her hand on the handle of the gate and with a high pitched creak, it opened and allowed her to step onto the bright gravel walk leading to what she'd call a generous single-family house. She hurriedly closed the entrance gate behind her and turned to examine the building in front of her for a few moments.
It was built of bake-stone and with its reddish brown color, it fit perfectly into the rather untouched garden. The dark, pointed roof rounded the picture out and gave the building an inconspicuous, natural look.
As it seemed, it consisted of three floors with big windows and as the third floor was situated directly under the roof, its ceiling height was the utmost (because of the pitch of the roof) and its front was completely made of glass. She even could spot a pot plant standing in one corner, because other than the other floors, the windows of the third one weren't blacked-out. So her gift would hopefully be appreciated...
Slowly she made her way to the dark brown, wooden front door and used the old fashioned stag head door-knocker. She already wondered, if Godric had forgotten to hire someone to open for her, when the door opened miraculously to reveal a well lit, little vestibule with a metal hail stand – reminding her of the fence outside – and a black mat which obviously was meant to put shoes on – but there was no one to be seen. Was it possible to open this door from afar? She hadn't heard any humming noise such electric strikes usually sounded...
A bit confused she entered the house and hurried right towards the foot-mat to get rid of her shoes, when she heard the door snap shut behind her. Startled, she turned around to examine this strange closing-mechanism, but was even more surprised when she found herself staring at Godric.
"Good afternoon Laura", he greeted her with his usually soft voice and chuckled slightly, apparently because her face told him that she hadn't really expected him to be there.
"Likewise", she muttered puzzled, but cocked one eyebrow in the next moment, "Shouldn't you still be asleep?"
"So you thought I would sleep at this hour, but still you followed my request and came here – just because I asked you to?", he asked and she couldn't just hear the slight amusement in his voice, but also see it in his eyes when he approached her.
"Yeah – silly, I know...", she grumbled and directed her attention back to her shoes again.
"That is not necessary", he stated and nodded towards her feet.
"You're sure about that? The heels are probably not the best treatment for your hardwood floor...", she pointed out and furrowed her eyebrows in concern.
He chuckled and gave her shoes a once-over, before he gently shook his head and gestured for her to follow him.
"It will have to endure Isabel's and Pamela's shoes as well – at least yours do not feature a stiletto heel...", he explained while they crossed the stairwell.
There was this name again. Eric had referred to her as Pam and his maker called her Pamela, but it was definitely the same person. As Godric's reaction at their first encounter made it totally clear that he didn't associate with humans very often, Laura concluded that she had to be a vampire as well.
But who was she and who was this Isabel?
Her thoughts were rapidly interrupted, when they entered the room on the other end of the stairwell. The first thing that struck her eye was the beautiful kitchen area, which was definitely quite generous, considering that the host was a vampire. Its fronts were made of dark wood, reminding her a bit of her grandmother's kitchen, but generally it was much more linear and modern.
"The fridge is stocked with what my day-man considered to be 'healthy food'. As you told me your sleeping pattern matches mine, I thought it was appropriate to have something edible for you at home – feel free to prepare a meal whenever you get hungry."
She glanced at the vampire in surprise and hesitantly made her way over to him, to get an idea of the fridge's content over his shoulders. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and onions were situated in a box in the bottom and a lot of milk products like yoghurt, butter and such were on the next level. Meat was there too, of beef and poultry as it seemed. Such a waste …
"That was very considerate of you, Godric", she admitted in a soft tone, though she had to get something straight, "But I probably won't eat the meat, as I'm vegetarian. I'm sorry, I should have told you already … Maybe your day-man can make use of it?"
"Why do you refuse to eat meat?", he asked with a bewildered look on his face, as he closed the door to the fridge again. It was obvious that he couldn't quite comprehend her decision.
"Why do you refuse to drink human blood?", she retorted in a dry tone and stared challengingly at him.
"That is not comparable, Laura."
"Oh, I think it is quite the same: you don't want to hurt humans and I don't want to hurt animals", she explained patiently and the sight of his baffled face caused her to smile, "Though I wouldn't mind eating meat, if I had the guts to hunt and kill the animal providing it. I just think humankind is heading in a wrong direction, when it comes to how we treat the ones below us in the food chain. It's disgusting what some poor creatures have to endure – just because we like to eat meat every day at cheaper and cheaper prizes..."
"So through vegetarianism you want to make a statement."
"No. I want to change something", she clarified, "I can't change how other people choose to live, but I can change my own lifestyle. It's a tiny step, but if more people decide to take this step, it will still have a positive impact on animal husbandry - and the climate."
He stared at her for a few moments and seemed to ponder over her words. Just as she started to feel a bit awkward, he coughed and averted his gaze.
"Flour, Rice and legumes are in here", he told her, obviously changing the topic by showing her around some more and knocked on one of the big drawers to her left, before he went on, "Jam and conserves are in here."
He continued to knock on or point to the respective front, while he explained what was behind each door, until he was finished with the kitchen area and turned to leave.
Laura just stood there a few moments, flabbergasted, with her mouth slightly agape. There was food for a whole company in this kitchen …
Hurriedly she followed the vampire, but almost bumped into him when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
„Would you like to set your plant down somewhere? Or should I carry it for the time being?", godric asked and gestured to the present she still carried around like an idiot, „It looks heavy…"
"Shoot, I completely forgot about that!", she exclaimed in embarrassment and held the Little tree out to him, „It's a gift - for your new home."
"For me?", the slightly baffled vampire asked her and hesitantly divested her hands of the grey plant pot, while Laura tried to ignore the casual touch of his fingers during this process, as best as she could. .
"Of course, Godric", she confirmed and rolled her eyes playfully, "It doesn't look like much, but this tree is over 150 years old, so take exceptionally good care of it!"
His eyes inspected the little tree and while he balanced the low pot in one hand, he delicately observed the structure of the plant's branches and leaves with his other.
"It is an elm", he stated after a while and concentrated his attention on her face again. His gaze was a bit peculiar, as if he suspected her of an ulterior motive. How could he even think of something that absurd …
"Yeah – I know it's not as fancy as Japanese maple, but this tree has been part of our family for quite some time", she defended the little plant Godric still caressed with his gentle fingers, "And it has been in my care for about nine years now – Gran gave it to me, after my rat Steward died. It had originally been the gift of a Japanese gardener to my grandfather – he had taken some photographs of his Bonsais and published them in a few magazines. To thank him for the attention that brought to him, the gardener gave Grandpa this tree. And now it's yours."
"Are you sure, you want to divest yourself of it?", he asked with a soft voice and eyed her in concern.
"Yes. I told you it was in my care recently – who will look for it, when I'm gone?", she told him without batting an eye and shrugged nonchalantly.
Godric's gaze traveled over the tiny tree in his hands once more, before he turned to step into the stairwell and looked at her, out of the corner of his eyes.
"Very subtle move, Laura", he stated dryly and started to head towards one of the two doors under the stairway. She just laughed and shook her head in amusement, glad that he obviously understood the reason why she presented him with this miniature tree, but didn't seem to have any intention to refuse it.
He picked the door to the left first, stepping over a gorgeous sand and chocolate colored silk-carpet.
"This is one of the guest rooms. A private bathroom is attached", he remarked offhandedly and let her take in her surroundings. She inhaled sharply as she let her eyes roam about the room.
It was held in warm orange and brown tones and she could spot a similar but much smaller carpet, like the one she just had seen in the stairwell and the orange and red patterned bed tick looked so soft, that she supposed, it was at least partly made of silk too.
"It's beautiful Godric", she muttered in awe and gave him a small smile before she reverted to observing the furnishings.
The huge bed dominated the room and it's dark wood contrasted the light one of the hardwood floor nicely, which was laid everywhere at least on this floor. A bedside table was situated on each side and the lamps on them reminded her of the ones they had in the library at school.
On the right side stood a cozy looking, chocolate colored sofa with a tiny wooden table in front of. Its backside was shuffled right to the eggshell-white wall. A few feet beside it, was a writing desk situated, apparently made of the same dark wood as the other furnishings in the room.
Against the left wall towered a huge wardrobe and between said wardrobe and the bed, she discovered a door. She shot Godric a questioning look before she hesitantly crossed the room to open it and as she'd assumed, it led to the bathroom.
If she had considered the one in hotel Carmilla fancy, this one was at least equally noble, but in a more cozy way. The tiles were not as dark, but sand colored and traversed by brighter and darker brown shades in a natural looking way.
A bathtub at least three people would fit into, a walk in rain shower, two sinks with beautiful reddish looking bathroom fittings and a semi-separated toilet, caused her to sound an awed "wow", which educed a soft chuckle from Godric.
"Impressed?"
"Yeah, definitely. Just how wealthy are you?!", she exclaimed disbelievingly and waved her hands around. He just shrugged, as if this wasn't really anything special and turned to continue their tour to the last door in that floor, where she found a similar guest room, just mirror-inverted and decorated in sea-green colors.
When they ascended the wooden stairway, Laura couldn't contain an appreciative whistle. The whole second floor consisted of one big room. To her left she found an obviously well-stocked bar with five bar stools in front of, on her right side were several, huge wall-high book-shelfs positioned like they are in libraries, but parallel to the wall, as if the interior decorator – whoever that had been – had included the sunlight into his consideration.
But a big part of this floor was occupied by a large sitting area, with three couches and a few armchairs, but also two beanbag chairs. They all had different colors, but still fit together nicely. She chuckled at the sight – she hadn't reckoned Godric to own a beanbag chair!
Most of the seating accommodations were turned to a wall and as it was suspiciously bare compared to the other walls in the room, which were all decorated with mostly modern art and landscape photographs, she supposed it would be used as a screen. As her eyes darted to the ceiling on the other side of the room, her assumption was confirmed by a video projector hanging there.
"I love your new home, Godric", she admitted and strode towards one of the beanbags, "It's much friendlier, than your last one!"
She was just about to sit down, when she was startled by a buzzing sound and jumped around to figure out what it's source was. Relieved she exhaled, when she realized that it just had been the window shades, which obviously rolled up automatically at sunset.
"It is much more to my liking too", he agreed and stepped to her side, looking out of the window into the untamed garden, "I should have stepped down from my sheriff duties a long time ago. I had not even realized how much it bothered me until now..."
"So the house and most of your behavior had just been show", she asked, though it rather sounded like a statement and that was probably the reason why she didn't receive an answer. Silently they both stared into the beautiful wilderness outside, just lit by the light of the moon and the last indirect sun-rays. Her gaze traveled over the partly strong, partly rather weathered trees to a little pond with water lilies on top.
"I'm glad we both managed to escape our personal charade", she told him softly and enjoyed the gorgeous view of the garden, she hadn't been able to see from the front, "You appear to be much more at ease."
"I am", he confirmed in a low voice and she could sense his gaze being stuck to her, "Come. I want to show you something I am almost certain will be to your liking."
She turned her head into his direction and found his outstretched spare hand waiting for her to grab, while his other still balanced the inconspicuous Bonsai she had brought along. Slowly she laid her palm into his and noted to her dismay, how her heart rate sped up, when he closed his fingers around hers.
He led her up the stairway, while she desperately tried to think of something that would distract her from the fact that she obviously enjoyed the vampire's touch more than she should.
"Well, that was not the reaction I expected", she heard his slightly disappointed voice, when they had come to a halt and she immediately snapped her head up to finally take in her surroundings.
Her free hand slowly reached to her mouth, to cover the awed expression her face certainly displayed. Like the second floor, the third consisted of one big room, but as the ceiling was simultaneously the roof, it had a dark wooden surface and tapered off.
Throughout the room several plants provided a comfortable atmosphere, but what really impressed her were the many instruments spread over the whole floor, the smaller examples resting on shelves, hanging on tight robes from the ceiling. But especially the grand piano in the center of the room caused her face to light up.
"You never mentioned that you're a musician!", she exclaimed in a reproachful tone and continued almost timidly, gesturing towards the imposing instrument, "May I try it out?"
"I would not describe myself as a musician, but throughout the years I have tried to play a few instruments", he explained with a soft smile, "And of course you can try it out. I did not know that you are able to play the piano as well?!"
"It was the instrument I started with – my mother thought it was the easiest way to learn the basics and I think she was right", Laura muttered while she approached the black beauty. She carefully lifted the fall and grazed her fingers upon the keyboard, before she adjusted the piano stool and sat down.
Before she knew it, she had started to play Chopins Nocturne No. 20 and completely dwelled in the melody and the feelings it evoked. Her fingers flew across the white and black keys and seemed to remember exactly what to do, because her mind was somewhere else completely.
"Where have you been?", Godric's low voice reached her ears a few moments after the piece had ended and she could feel his presence directly behind her. She turned her head to look at him, silently cursing the fact that she seemed to be like an open book for him.
"This particular piece always reminds me of a scene from 'The Pianist', which in turn led my thoughts to my Grandpa. He had to witness the crimes and cruelties of the Second World War as well", she told him with a soft voice and averted her glance to look at the floor, before she continued in such a low voice, that even Godric could barely hear it, "He was a kid then. And a Jew. and in the middle of it all..."
There was a long pause before either of them dared to break the silence.
"How did he survive?", Godric's question finally resonated in the room.
"When he was deported to Majdanek – supposedly to finally be put to death – he had barely been alive by the time the train arrived", she told him with a cracked voice and brushed her fingers over the keys' surface absentmindedly, "In fact, they thought he was dead already and threw him into a pothole with the other lifeless bodies. But a beautiful, blonde woman pulled him out beneath the corpses a few hours later and when he gained consciousness again, she helped him to leave the country. She paid for his transport and told him to find an address in New York. When he came there, it was a row house, inhabited by people like him – all victims of war cruelties, all saved by the same woman."
Silence fell again, only cut by a few scattered tones she conjured from the impressive instrument. She observed how Godric slowly stepped beside her and placed the little elm onto the center of the piano lid, before he gestured her to move over.
Hurriedly she made room for him and he sat down beside her on the stool. He was so close, that his arm grazed hers, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Deliberately he laid his fingers onto the keys, but before he had the chance to start playing, she quickly voiced what she still wanted him to know. "I'm quite positive that this woman was a vampire."
Slowly he turned his head to look at her with this much too familiar, inscrutable gaze of his.
"How do you come to that conclusion?", he asked and not even his voice betrayed what he thought at that moment.
"My Grandfather saw her much later at one of his exhibitions – or at least he claimed, that it had been her. She was gone before he could have talked to her, but he was quick enough to take a picture", she told him with a soft voice and felt how the corner of her mouth slowly lifted, "She still looked exactly like the night she had saved him. Grandma thought he went insane then, but when you revealed yourselves a few years ago, she started to believe that he could have been right all along."
He stared at her for a few seconds before he averted his gaze again. "It is possible, but would have been quite uncommon", he admitted and brushed his fingers over the keys like she had done a few minutes ago, "Usually we did not interfere in human affairs. It would have been counterproductive as we normally benefit from wars – nobody cares for a few more missing bodies in such times."
"Where have you been at that time?", she blurted out before she really thought about it. When she realized what she had done, she clapped her hand to her mouth in shock and stammered excuses.
Why the hell didn't she think, before sputtering what was on her mind? She knew full well, that he was having issues with his past – surely he didn't want to be reminded of that particular time either!
With dread she observed how his gaze wandered off into the distance, as if he was caught by a memory. His face was blank and nothing reminded her of the refreshing hours they had just shared. Carefully she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it softly.
"I'm sorry Godric. I didn't think before speaking – I didn't mean to remind you of your past", she whispered and eyed his stern profile with concern, "You don't have to answer."
Her apology obviously had some effect on him, because he snapped out of his stupor and slightly turned his head to stare at her, out of the corner of his eye. A shudder ran down her spine, when she discovered his almost pleading look.
"Augsburg", he stated before he directed his gaze towards the keyboard again and continued in a whisper so soft that she had trouble understanding him, "I should have been somewhere else, but I was in Augsburg."
She gave his shoulder another reassuring squeeze and sighed wearily. "But I suppose you have been there for a reason. Whatever your absence somewhere else has caused, who knows which effects it would have had, if you hadn't been in Augsburg", she pointed out carefully and leaned her head against his frame, gazing down at his gentle fingers, lingering motionless on the keys. "We tend to look back and think of the numerous better outcomes that could have developed, if we reacted in a different way at some point on our way, but we usually ignore that far worse results could also have occurred.
"Don't get me wrong – it's definitely a good thing to analyze the past, to learn from it and make it better the next time, but it's no use to ponder about it too long. Whatever happened, happened. What's gone, is gone. Cursing yourself for things that have passed won't change anything – you'll just feel miserable."
She wanted to tell him something like that since the moment on hotel Carmilla's roof, but she hadn't planned to lecture him so bluntly. But a simple „Hakuna matata" probably wouldn't have sufficed.
"I know that Laura", he muttered and shot her a quick glance, before he averted his gaze down to his fingers again, "I suppose it is easy for you to comply with it. But it is not as easy to act on that advice, if you are responsible for the death of loved ones..."
Although she tried hard to ease the gloomy mood Godric had fallen into, Laura didn't succeed. She was glad that he obviously trusted her enough, to share a tiny bit of his past with her, but she regretted that she had caused him to fall into this depressed state he was currently in.
Both of them had played a few pieces on the piano, but when Laura's belly had vociferously made itself felt, they had silently returned down to the kitchen, where Laura immediately started to prepare her meal. Godric observed every single of her moves from his position at the wooden table, which didn't really add to her ease.
When the soup finally was done and she carried pot, plate and spoon to the table, neither of them had talked for more than half an hour. She seized the seat beside Godric and wanted to fill her plate, but stopped, with her fingers already on the scoop.
"I hope you don't mind if I eat in your presence?!", she finally broke the silence with a raspy voice.
He deliberately shook his head, his look still indifferent since the serious conversation on the third floor and to emphasize his wordless answer, he detached the scoop from her grip and slowly filled her plate. She observed his action with mild surprise and smiled at him when he gestured to her that she should start eating.
After she had emptied three plates, she finally felt saturated, grabbed the pot and plate and carried them back to the kitchen area to wash the dishes. But just as she had almost reached the sink, she felt that all too familiar twitch in her arms which could only mean one thing.
"Godric! I-", was all she could blurt out in a desperate cry, before everything she had held in her hands, fell to the floor with a clank. She felt how her muscles went rigid at one second and bent at the next, which caused her to lose balance. The last thing she witnessed, before she lost consciousness, was the fast approaching floor.
When she awoke again, she didn't only feel the familiar pain in her head, but her whole body hurt as if she had been crushed by a train. With a pained moan she tried to move into a sitting position and noticed during that process, how soft the base was, she was lying on. When she finally opened her eyes, the first thing, that caught her attention, was a beautifully crafted, obviously quite old wardrobe opposite the bed she was positioned on. Where the hell was she?
"I was already toying with the idea of forcing you to drink my blood."
Startled, not only by the unexpected sound of Godric's voice, but also by the content of what he just had said, she turned her head in the direction it had come from and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, indifferently staring at her.
"Well, I'm glad it wasn't necessary", she sighed and slightly massaged her temples, as her headache started to increase.
"You were lucky I was there – what would you have done if you had been alone?", he inquired with a harsh voice and closed in before he continued reproachfully, "Your bag with the medicine was at least ten feet away – why did you not take it with you?!"
"As you just said, it had only been a few feet...", she muttered timidly, in a lousy attempt to excuse her actions and lowered her gaze to her restless hands. Only now she realized that she apparently had cut herself – probably by shards of the plate she had held – as the palm of her right hand had been carefully bandaged.
"But you would have never been able to reach the syringe in time!", he almost bellowed and grabbed her chin to force her to face his intimidating glare, "Do not ever be so foolish again! I cannot keep an eye on you during the day!"
Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized that his concern for her safety was the reason for his fury and couldn't suppress a lopsided grin, as she watched a small trail of blood trickling down from his nose.
"Well, obviously you can", she commented dryly and gestured bluntly to the evidence of her statement. Irritated, he let go of her chin and wiped the blood away with a quick flick of his finger.
"I am totally serious Laura: do not make such a foolish thing again – do not dare to ever leave your medicine behind, not even 'just a few feet'!", he commanded in a tone, which made totally clear, that it would be the best, if she didn't contradict his order.
"Yes master", she muttered reluctantly, accenting the world like she had witnessed Eric doing it, when he named his maker like that in a mocking way. She didn't want to admit, that he was right – she had been incredibly stupid...
Godric's glare softened remarkably and a wry smile formed on his lips. "I am merely a friend, who is concerned about your safety, Laura. If I were your master, that would not have happened in the first place."
"Because you'd have forced me to drink your blood the minute you got wind of... my condition?!"
"No", he answered in a low voice and captured her with a meaningful gaze, "You would be a vampire and therefore not be plagued by this illness."
"Oh", she just voiced inanely and bit shyly onto her bottom lip. He chuckled softly and gave her a warm smile, before he laid something into her hands. Puzzled, she glared down and found an envelope with her name written on it, in the most accurate handwriting she had ever seen.
"What's this?", she asked in confusion and closed her fingers around the paper to convince herself that it was really there. Who would write a letter to her?!
"It is an invitation", he offered and nodded towards the envelope, "Open it."
She quietly did what she was told, still baffled that it was really meant for her. But when she finally opened it, there was no letter at all, but a sole card – obviously an entrance card – where something about a police ball was written.
"A ball?", she asked dumbfounded and lifted her confused gaze up to look at Godric. He was still smiling at her, a bit tiredly though, and nodded.
"If you want to, we can go there", he told her gently and tilted his head, looking at her expectantly. She just glanced at the card in her hand once more and turned her gaze back the next moment, to eye the silently waiting vampire in front of her. "You mentioned that you would like to attend a ball, no?", he carefully inquired, when she didn't seem to answer him.
"Yes, definitely, but-", she stammered and started to fumble around awkwardly, with the card in her hand.
"What is the problem Laura?", he asked concerned and eyed her empathically. She bit onto her bottom lip again and darted him a quick glance, before she lowered her gaze to her hands again.
"Would this be... some sort of... date?", she asked a bit shyly and now chewed on her lip. Her childish behaviour in such a situation was absolutely embarrassing, but she was too tired to think of a more subtle way to find out where they stood.
"I do not know if it will count as a date, but I intend to pick you up and enjoy your company. Probably I will ask you to dance with me and when you want to leave, I will take you back home", he answered honestly and with such patience, that she couldn't help but smile brightly at him.
"Then I'd love to attend this ball with you", she answered and examined the card once more, "It's this Saturday, isn't it? I'll have to practice a lot if I have to dance in three days..."
He just chuckled quietly and stood up from his sitting position, only to get rid of his shirt. Puzzled, she stared at the scene before her and her still quite rosy cheeks, gradually turned an even darker shade of red, while he started to fumble around with his belt as well.
"Godric, what-...", she started, but her voice failed mid-sentence. It was pathetic how the view of a bit more bare skin, put her off her stride – and the really distressing fact was: she was absolutely unable to bring herself to avert her gaze all the same...
"I am sorry for being so blunt, but I need to rest Laura, and I do not intend to do that fully clothed", he simply stated, before he removed his belt and got rid of his trousers.
"So this is your room then...", she mused and forced herself to distract herself from the half naked vampire in front of her, by further examining the room.
It was basically equipped like the guest rooms, but the furniture definitely had more history and had probably been in Godric's possession for at least a few decades if not centuries.
There were two impressionistic looking paintings on the walls. The fist pictured a slightly rolling landscape with a river meandering between the hills. The second puzzled her a bit, because it looked like it was old, but pictured a river delta from an aerial perspective. She couldn't quite understand how the painter could have pictured it from that angle – at least not a few centuries ago - but she probably just overestimated its age...
The rustling noise of the bedspread and the motion of the mattress caused her to focus on the vampire, currently making himself comfortable under the blanket beside her. He already looked awfully pale, which reminded her of the fact that she hadn't seen him drink True Blood today.
"You didn't try a bit of my blood, did you?", she asked him bluntly and eyed him concerned, while she gestured to her wounded hand, "Thanks for taping it up, by the way."
"No I did not", he noted with a tired smile, which grew to a lopsided grin as he continued, "But it was tempting – that is why I bandaged it in the first place. So you see: there is no need to thank me." Laura just stared at him disbelievingly and cocked her eyebrow.
"A few gulps wouldn't have hurt you", she stated dryly and started to meddle with the white cloth around her hand, "I should remove the bandage to test your statement. I highly doubt that it is tempting after all the medicine I consumed in the last weeks..."
"Do not challenge me", he warned in a low voice and grabbed her arms to stop her.
"Why won't you just drink Godric!", she exclaimed upset and withdrew her hands with a rough movement, to rip the bandage off in one go, "It's not like it would hurt me or anything, I already have a wound, you just need to-"
Her words stuck in her throat, when Godric jumped above her and pinned her to the bed in the next second. "Do you really want me to become an animal and suck you dry?!", he bellowed and her ears rang from the intensity of his voice, "I did not taste human blood for almost five years Laura – I do not know how I might react if I tasted yours!"
Though his face was so extremely close that it made her feel uncomfortable, she forced herself to stand his glare. If she averted her gaze, it would mean that she gave in, or – even worse – was afraid of him. Both conclusions weren't to her liking, therefore she simply had to endure his piercing stare as long as possible.
"I think you overreact", she muttered defensively and furrowed her eyebrows, "You are old – you said so yourself! Surely you are able to control your thirst by now!"
He didn't respond but kept staring at her. His hands were still wrapped around her wrists to hold her down and his whole body bottled her up. She could see him clench his teeth, as if he had to restrain himself from showing her two certain ones and the muscles of his broad shoulders twitched noticeably.
The fact that he was almost naked didn't make the situation any easier. His tattoos were once more in her field of view, but she forced herself to keep her glance pinned to his face and his face only. She sighed, when she realized, that he wouldn't change this uncomfortable position, if she didn't alleviate the situation.
"You don't have to drink mine. But please, drink real blood at least once a month – it can't be healthy to live solely off this generated substitute!", she pleaded softly and tried to free herself from his grip, but he still wouldn't let go of her. Instead he sank his elbows down onto the mattress and leant his torso on them, drawing even closer through this action.
His glare softened a bit, but she still felt quite uncomfortable because of the lack of mobility on her part. "You are really concerned", he noted and Laura couldn't have missed the amazement in his voice.
"Of course I am!", she exclaimed a bit angry now and after she shook her arms in another attempt to break free from his grip, she continued in a pissed hiss, "You act like a child! It won't change my mind if you keep holding me down, you know!?"
She slammed her head against his, when he suddenly let go of her hands, but still kept leaning on his elbows. With a painful moan she rubbed her forehead and cursed his awful timing. Couldn't he let go of her a second later or earlier?
"Why is it, you worry about me?", he asked her in a low voice and eyed her with such curiosity, that it almost made her speechless. Almost.
"Are you serious?!", she grumbled and observed him with an angry expression, "We already established that we're friends. Friends look out for each other – and you definitely need someone who looks out for you, because you act awfully self-destructive!"
While rubbing her forehead she suddenly felt something wet run down her temple and only then, she recognized Godric's hungry gaze.
"You really do not make it easy for me", he stated in a hushed voice and shifted his weight a bit, to extend the distance between them. Before she knew what was going on, he had grabbed the bandage and started to wrap it around her hand again. She didn't even try to protest, but endured the process wordlessly.
"Are you happy now?", she asked dryly and cocked an eyebrow, as he shifted his weight back when he was finished, causing their noses almost to touch.
"Honestly? Yes I am", he admitted with a mocking voice and grinned at her. At that moment he seemed more like a pubertal boy, than the 1000+ year old vampire he was. She just sighed heavily and shook her head in feigned disappointment, before they returned to stare at each other.
"Eric called some time ago", he changed the subject abruptly and his glare became a searching one, "Is there something I should know?"
"No."
"Really? He greeted you as 'darling'!", he recounted and furrowed his eyebrows in an accusing manner.
"Well that's not really shocking. He also calls me 'sweetie', 'cutie' and what personally think takes the cake: 'honey pie'", she moaned in irritation and rolled her eyes, "He likes to annoy me..."
"So he calls you often?"
"Yes, or vice versa."
"I have never seen you using your phone in the last few days", he noted and his look became concerned. That was not good. She had to turn the direction this conversation was heading to another way...
"What did he want?"
"He refused to tell me", he answered honestly and a thin line emerged between his eyebrows, "You probably should call him back, I mentioned the state you were in. He surely is concerned about your well being."
Laura just eyed him with a disbelieving expression and cocked her eyebrow again. "I doubt that, but I'll write him a message", she offered and gave the vampire above her a short once over, "Do you plan on staying like this for the whole day? That would add another unhealthy behavior to your list, by the way..."
He gave her a small and surely faked smile, while he reluctantly retreated, until he lay beside her once more. His eyes glanced at her with a mix of what she would call curiosity and a pinch of disappointment.
"If you wish to leave: I wrote the code for the security lock on a piece of paper", he told her in a calm voice, that didn't betray how tired he was, but his pale face spoke volumes, "You will find it on the table beside the mirror in the hallway. But certainly you are free to stay, if you want to."
Her head and muscles still ached and she wouldn't feel the urge to go anywhere in the near future, therefore she was quite grateful for his generous offer. "I'd love to stay, if you really don't mind", she answered slowly and examined him intently, before she carefully formed her next question, "Can I stay here – with you?"
The smile that appeared on his face then, was one of the rare ones that also reached his eyes. He had smiled at her like that only once and that was, when she had sung for him. A warm feeling spread in her chest and before she knew it, she felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards too.
"Of course, Laura."
AN: hello again!
sorry that it took so long, but I had a lot to do and not much time to write. I hope you like the result nonetheless, though it was just a Laura&Godric-only chapter. Again.
But the next will be different - I swear! Another person (who we all love) will have an appearance and I really hope I'll manage to do justice to this character ...
Thanks to Pelawen Night, downbelowgirl, musicluver246, JamesNorthman96, KatieMarrie and aandm20 for your lovely rewievs. I hope the Guest is pleased with this update?!
And as I usually like to reply to each review with a personal message, I want to take the chance to thank tanseynz for her kind words. I already started to correct a few mistakes (I found more in the fist chapters, which is hopefully ascribable to my writing/English improvement and not to my shortsightedness ...) and also tried to replace some words with more commonly used ones, as you recommended :) thanks for reading!
So, to all who follow this story: sorry for the many updates of the previous chapters :/
I hope some of you will leave a few words for me ;)
Thanks for reading!
last update: 05/2021