Disclaimer: Lenore the cute little dead girl belongs to Roman Dirge.
…
Noise was around her as she sat in the backseat of the Ford, brooding and unbelievably irked by the situation in which she found herself right then.
It turned out that the next day, right in the morning, Howard Wilbur had sent a car after Lenore to bring her to his house and know her better. Her mother thought it was a brilliant solution and decided she should accompany her, at least until she got there, because, quoting, "it was too dangerous for Lenore to be left alone just with an unknown driver, especially since there was quite the panic in the town due to the horror the vampire has spread". Lenore failed to understand how her mother would protect her if they were suddenly attacked, but she didn't comment. Now Evelyn was sitting next to her, quietly smiling and looking out the window, probably thinking how lucky she was that her daughter was soon going to be wedded and gone from their home. Lenore got even angrier at the idea, which made the frown on her face even more visible.
She definitely had to do something about it, before it was too late.
Maybe she didn't have many alternatives, because her parents were pretty decided on sending her to that man's house for good and few options would change their mind. One would be her convincing them that she was too young and that her consort was a creepy guy who was probably going to make her do various other creepy activities- her mother was too overprotective not to be convinced by that, but she needed proof, too, so it was pretty difficult. Two would be her acting creepy and showing her strange part, which was definitely the most efficient option. Plus, she had used that before on the other men her parents wanted her to marry with and it worked marvelously. Her mouth curved upward into a small smirk.
She was never going to be married to anyone. Never.
If she wanted to get rid of that bothersome guy, she would have to act as quickly as possible.
Lenore stood silently and thought intensely about what she should do to weird him out, but it didn't last long because a small crowd of people gathered on the street attracted her attention. One of them was holding a speech as the others listened intently and, after the car got closer, she could hear it as well. He was apparently persuading them to revolt against the vampire, catch him and destroy him, because the authorities were too slow. The second victim was found after the first murdered woman from last night and the situation was getting worse and worse.
Lenore didn't manage to hear more, although she was able to see the many posters stuck on the walls with the vampire's picture, the same one that was used nine years ago. Her mother fidgeted near her and she suddenly felt her slip something into her hand. Lenore turned her head and looked at the small, silver cross from her palm.
"…What?"
"For protection." Evelyn explained dead serious. "I've read in some books that vampires fear crosses." She patted Lenore's hair that was tied up with a white piece of silk. She snorted.
"Come on, mom, those are tales."
"So had been vampires until Ragamuffin appeared." Her mother hurriedly retorted, furrowing her brow. "It's just a precaution, dear." She took Lenore's hand and squeezed it lightly. "You're my only daughter and I don't want anything to happen to you." Lenore sighed and held her mother's hand tightly in turn. She actually didn't care in the slightest about the chaos the vampire created. She didn't even want to be protected.
"I know." She gazed at the cross and took in the miniature detail that was carved into it. "Besides, we don't even know if these work."
"Well, we must try something." She was suddenly absorbed into new thoughts, while her lips formed a tight line. "Maybe garlic would work, too, I've read about-"
Lenore chuckled lightly and shook her head at her mother's excessive care.
"Why don't you give me a stake, mom?"
"I actually thought-"
The sentence wasn't finished because the car suddenly went to a halt, as it stopped in front of a white, enormous house, which had an elegant Victorian influence in its pattern. The driver turned his head and smiled politely.
"We have arrived, madams."
Both waited in silence for the driver to step out of the vehicle and come next to Lenore's door to open it. Lenore wouldn't have waited if her mother wasn't there, because she didn't like when she was treated like she wasn't capable of doing such simple, minor things. She knew it was just a rule of courtesy, but she didn't agree with these formalities at all. And there was another reason why she didn't hurry to get out.
She had to meet Howard Wilbur and that idea wasn't in her agenda for sure.
When the driver opened up the door, her mother threw her one last worried look before she nodded and made a motion with her head that Lenore was supposed to go. And given the fact that Lenore was irremediably stubborn, she naturally didn't move an inch from her seat. She continued to look ahead, avoiding her mother's gaze which was beginning to turn into a glare.
"Step out of the car, Lenore." Evelyn spoke rigidly. She grasped Lenore's arm and tried to lightly push her out, but it was useless. She still remained immovable as a rock.
"Nah-uh. I don't want to."
Evelyn sighed exasperated and pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Please stop being so immature, Lenore. You're not ten years old anymore!" She took a large breath of air as she applied some force into moving her against her will. Lenore suddenly scrunched her features up in despair.
"But I don't want to get married!" She complained loudly. "I'm too young and I hate that stupid Willow guy!"
Her mother backed away and crossed her arms angrily.
"I was almost sure we had to come to this. You can never do what you're told, can you?" Evelyn's blue eyes were so intense that Lenore found the need to look somewhere else. "This is one of the best, if not the best choice for your future life. Howard Wilbur will offer you everything you need. You don't know how hard these times are. I married at 19 and my mother as well and every woman in our generation. This is the most convenient way!" She huffed, before she stretched her arm to push Lenore again, although they were interrupted at the right moment.
"Is there something wrong?"
They both lifted their heads to see the titular Howard Wilbur standing next to the car. Lenore expected him to be upset or at least serious since he heard a part of their conversation, but, contrarily, he was actually smiling nicely. Lenore adopted a grim expression as she refused to look at him. Her mother forced a smile instead.
"Sir Wilbur!" She exclaimed quite relieved. "Thank goodness you're here. Now you can finally take Lenore" At this she threw Lenore a reprimanding look. "From here. I think it has come the time for you two to get closer." She smiled wider as she grabbed Lenore's wrist and lifted it so that guy would take her hand, which he did, before he brought it to his lips. Lenore thought she was going to get sick.
"I think so, too, Mrs. Lynchfast." He smiled. He suddenly took both of them by surprise when he dragged Lenore out of the car. "Don't worry, she'll be safe with me." He reassured her, seeing Evelyn's concerned expression.
"I'm sure she will." Her mother radiantly retorted. Her demeanor changed brusquely in the following moment, when she turned to Lenore. "Behave well."
And that was about it. The driver closed the black door and started the car, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. Lenore's lip trembled in nervousness. She felt so betrayed and downhearted that she didn't notice that the man next to her was still holding her hand. Only when they started returning to his mansion, Lenore felt the tightness of his arm and violently shook her hand to release herself from his grasp. He didn't say anything at the gesture. Lenore thought about running away for a moment.
His house was indeed something. It was even more sophisticated than her parents' and the decorations that adorned it reminded her of those palaces from the pictures she found in her mother's books. Lenore was pretty aware that she would definitely have an amazing time in that place. Perhaps she could convince that guy to let her live there without them getting married, but she realized it would sound like an absurd idea to everyone. Especially her parents.
She stared in awe at the somewhat strange paintings that were hung on the tall walls.
Damn, it was gorgeous.
"It's quite impressive, isn't it?" He offered her a sly smile, which quirked Lenore even more. She shook her head.
"Not really, Willow." She retorted blankly, waiting for his reaction. He sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't really remembered your name." Lenore carried on, suddenly brightening. "Is it John?" He began to look dejected, which meant her plan was having its effects. "Earl? Harry? James?" She grinned. "Stop me at one."
He started smiling again and Lenore believed she almost popped a vein in her head. She suddenly felt his palm between her shoulder blades and a small shiver cursed through her entire body.
"Your parents warned me that you're going to be quite difficult to handle." His face approached hers and Lenore felt the instant need to back away repulsed. His smile then suddenly turned into a grin. "We will be married and that's settled. You won't change my mind no matter what tricks you have in mind or how horrible you'll behave, my dear Lenore. " He stated with a fake sweetness. "I need to have a presentable image in this society and a cute wife is the element that's missing from the complete picture." He smiled falsely for the umpteenth time, which induced a mixed feeling of disgust and the desire to hit him in the face.
Lenore stared at him emotionless. If he thought he impressed her, he was ridiculously wrong. She would just ignore everything he would say.
Her bun was tight and she suddenly raised her hand to loosen it, but he caught her wrist to stop her.
"Don't let your hair loose." His voice was grave and quite different from the polite, sweet one he used not more than ten seconds ago. "You have to look mature. I'm meeting some important persons in a few minutes." He explained.
Lenore snorted in derisiveness.
"Yes, alright. Like I'm going to do what you say." She untied the piece of silk and her long, blonde hair fell over her shoulders and back quite messily. She turned her head, waiting for him to appear at least irritated by her disobedience, but he was just smiling again. Frankly, she believed for a moment she was the one who was going to snap. Did this guy ever get mad?
"Of course." He spoke. "I forgot you don't listen to anyone." His bright expression- no, really, Lenore actually pondered the thought of slicing that face with an axe- didn't change. Not even one bit. She actually compared him to a brain dead puppet that had a smile glued to its face for an eternity and she realized the resemblance was not unbiased at all. She figured out most business people and those who worked every minute of their lives were like that. Her father was another example, even though he didn't annoy the hell out of people by smiling every time he spoke. In fact, he was quite the opposite in this aspect: he rarely showed any emotion.
"Just be good while I'm holding the meeting. It won't last long." He told her- while smiling, naturally-, before he turned his back to her, heading towards two large, wooden doors at the end of the enormous hall.
That's when it dawned on her. She could easily sneak out and get out of there quickly, while he was not watching. It was the perfect chance to escape. Plus, he would definitely get mad if he saw she made so much trouble. Lenore threw him a quick peek, before she took a step backwards slowly, then she took another, faster than the first. She turned halfway quite excited, prepared to bolt like a-
"Don't you think about running away." His joyous voice struck her like a branch in the head. Her features contorted in annoyance, as she swiveled on her heels, facing him again, only to notice that he didn't even see her attempt at escaping, because he was still walking calmly, with his back turned to her. He just assumed that she would do it. Was she that predictable?
Lenore huffed, before she followed him quite peeved by the fact that she had to participate in the meeting, which was one of the things she despised the most.
It was going to be a long day.
Screeching of chairs, shifting and fondle entered her ears as they found themselves into an extremely large room, larger than Lenore had ever seen in her entire life. It could almost be a court room of some sorts, even though it didn't have rows, like one would. In fact, it appeared to be a massive, elegant living room. Except that, instead of sofas and furniture, it had an excessively long, dark wooden table with forty or fifty chairs placed around it.
Some of the chairs were already occupied by various, well dressed, presentable men, who were over thirty years old. They were standing up in respect for Howard Wilbur and each one nodded in the moment he made his entrance. He responded to all of them with one nod, before he motioned them to take their seats. They did as told and waited patiently for his words, while Lenore just remained passively behind him, having the tempting urge to yawn loudly.
"Greetings." He started beamingly, measuring each one of the people that were present in the room. "Before we start, I want to show you my fiancé and future wife, Lenore Lynchfast."
He stepped to the side, revealing a quite disheveled Lenore, who gawked at them like they were fantasy creatures. Of course, she did it unintentionally, because her nature was to be weirder than most civil human beings, although the looks on those men's faces surely suggested that they didn't know she wasn't staring at them like that on purpose. They most probably believed she was intentionally rude and this wasn't bothering her at all. In fact, she actually enjoyed it. Even so, they didn't comment on her strange expression, they just smiled politely and nodded at her, before they returned to the business that was about to be discussed. She inhaled deeply as she lazily took a seat to Howard Wilbur's right, prompting her elbow on the table and resting her head in her palm, like she didn't have any education. She could hear Howard Wilbur adjusting his voice, probably in slight embarrassment, which raised her hopes up concerning her plan to make herself unwanted by the guy.
"We have received more dates about the second event, from the authorities." A brown haired, quite simple man began the conversation, on an uneven tone. He was fidgeting nervously and Lenore observed most were quite agitated, which was particularly odd since influent men like those were always down-to-earth and stable. She guessed that the matter they were all there gathered for was serious.
"What are the news, sir Thomas?" Wilbur inquired, darkening suddenly, which relieved Lenore to an extent. Thank goodness he was able to wipe that sickening smile off his face.
"Well, the murder was particularly gruesome. We have reached various conclusions, but the most prominent one is that he is more savage than last time." The brown haired man shook his head, his skin paler than it should probably be. He seemed disturbed. A silence enveloped them as they watched Wilbur thinking about his last sentence. They hoped he wouldn't ask after all, but fortune wasn't on their side right then, hence he indeed wanted to find out details.
"How bad?" Wilbur practically whispered, his voice halfway strangled, which definitely took Lenore by surprise. She was a girl at least ten years younger than most of them and less experienced, as well, and she wasn't bothered by the situation in the slightest. Then again, as many people said, she was weirder, too.
"The victim's anatomy was oddly… exposed." Thomas retorted, fervently wiping his face with a tissue. "I'm not sure if I can be part of this anymore, sir Wilbur." He tremulously mumbled. "I'm afraid my wife and children will be in danger if I continue the investigation on the vampire."
Murmurs here heard from the others; some were protests, others were agreements. They were all conflicted as to what they were supposed to do and what actions would be useful to them in reaching their goal of catching and imprisoning the vampire and it appeared the solutions were limited.
"We must remain calm." Lenore observed for the first time the old man that had been at her birthday and told her about Ragamuffin. "I've asked the European authorities about their attempts to destroy the vampire and they said nothing worked. They have even tried to set him traps, but it's futile, because he has an impressive intelligence and he has never been tricked by anything."
Wilbur furrowed his brow in confusion.
"I don't understand. What methods did they use to attract him into traps?"
"People." The old man sighed in hopelessness. "They made various women walk alone at night on empty, dark streets. They were prepared with fire and guns in case he made his appearance, but nothing happened. They think he can sense when someone is out to attack him. That's why he never showed up where and when they wanted him to."
The excitement and curiosity that grasped Lenore right then were overwhelming. That was better than anything she could imagine. The thought of a few hundreds years old vampire, who was also practically impossible to catch, was tearing at her mind and especially her own will, which was beginning to grow more and more by the minute. She was aware that her desire of finding and meeting the vampire was irrational and irremediably dangerous, but that's what determined her to be so attached to that will. If only she discovered a method through which she could meet him and be sure that he wouldn't attack her, a method that wasn't known by anyone. But then she didn't want to be murdered either so she guessed she had to conform with the fact that her will wasn't possibly going to be fulfilled.
She wasn't capable of doing it. Despite that she believed the vampire was terribly fascinating, especially because it was impossible to find him- anyone who indeed found him, or vice versa, was apparently killed- and because she couldn't know anything concrete about him, the scandalous thought of going after Ragamuffin would mean her certain death. This frustrated her. Why was Ragamuffin like that? Why did he constantly kill people so viciously? He could at least feed in secret, without anyone knowing about his existence, but he was just letting his trail everywhere, which was spreading his infamous name in the entire world. She wanted so much to know, she was so inquisitive regarding his history and provenience that she couldn't stand it anymore.
"The picture." Lenore suddenly spoke, attracting everyone's attention. They ridiculously synchronized the movements of their heads which they all turned to her at the same time. She stopped and ogled at them taken aback, but she managed to recover quickly. "If no one has actually managed to see him clearly, how has the picture on the posters been taken?"
"There were various vague sightings of him around the world and a portrait of him was conceived, a portrait that we believe and hope it's close enough to the real one." Sir Thomas replied, still anxious and sweaty. "If only we knew his true nature, then we would have discovered his fears and weaknesses, too. The thing is, he's not like an ordinary vampire if he feeds off people, instead of drinking their blood. That's why we can't find out for sure what can harm him."
Lenore remembered the cross her mother gave her. She wondered if they pondered this possibility. Even though not many persons had access to this information, because her mother gathered it from books that belonged only to the family and were passed through generations.
Maybe it was possible for her to go on the streets if she had the cross, after all.
Her chair screeched soundly as she gradually inched closer to Wilbur. No one noticed, so it was good until then. She didn't want to look like she was desperate and enthusiastic, because she didn't want anyone to realize what she was actually planning to do. It was a madness, that was true, but no negative emotions were clouding her mind, except for the nuisance provoked by the fact that she had to bother acting falsely to convince and trick that guy into letting her out for a few minutes. She got closer and closer until she was touching the sleeve of his suit, which finally distracted his attention from the meeting. Wilbur slowly turned his head and Lenore forced out the sweetest, most fake smile, her face beginning to hurt.
"Sir Wilbur…" She started, trying with all her might to be seductive, in spite of the fact that she had never tried something like that before. It was tremendously hard as she hated being close to the fool. He responded with a larger smile when he observed her closeness and covered her hand with his.
"What is it, my dear Lenore?" Lenore put all her effort into not distorting her face in distaste at the sound of his sugary tone and especially into not jumping thirty feet away from him.
"May I be excused from this meeting? I'll wait in the hall." She swallowed heavily, sensing her stomach contents sway from too much lack of personal space. She could see his smile starting to fade, most probably due to his disbelief. He already knew what she was capable of and Lenore was sure this was going to be difficult. "Please?" Her voice turned even more high-pitched while the grin on her face was becoming more painful by the second. "I can't stand being here anymore. The vampire subject is too terrifying." She lamented, feeling somewhat contemptible and silly. She had no choice. It was the only way.
Remorse and understanding enveloped those men's expressions and Lenore was almost confident that she was going to obtain her purpose.
"Let the young lady go, Howard." The old man spoke. "I think she has heard enough." The others muttered agreements and Wilbur gave a long exhale, gazing at Lenore with a little more trust.
"Alright." He stated with a small smile. Lenore stood up abruptly enthusiastic. "But only if one of my servants accompanies you." She froze.
"But…" She trailed off. "Why don't you trust me?" She dramatized, pulling a sorrowful expression off. "I'm nineteen after all, I can handle myself. I'm safe inside, am I not?" Wilbur averted his eyes, watching the guests, slightly ashamed by Lenore's display.
"I know you are-"
"Then why?" She interrupted him, this time with large gestures. She covered her eyes with the back of her hand, sighing loudly. "How do you expect us to get along, if you don't trust me, Sir Wilbur?" Lenore inquired theatrically. "How?"
She could see the others' befuddled and amused faces out of the corner of the eye, although her gaze was fixated on Wilbur's face, which was slightly red. He offered her a small, tremulous smile, before he nodded and, to Lenore, that was enough.
She turned and went out in small, hurried steps, without even looking back.
…
An entire palette of warm colors painted the sky, while dusk was throwing a dark veil over it. Her feet were throbbing from so much walking on the agglomerated, dusty streets of Nevermore, ignoring every person that passed near her. She couldn't believe it was the first time when she truly wanted to be home. On top of it, she was sure her parents, along with an ashamed Howard Wilbur, were looking for her in despair out there, somewhere in the town.
She would be in so much trouble if they found her, especially because she ran away from Wilbur's house. And she still hadn't found Ragamuffin, in spite of all her attempts to sneak into every creepy place she knew in that town. She went on dark, empty alleys, near abandoned houses, even to the cemetery. Nothing. He was nowhere.
Sometimes she thought if this was just a false panic created by foolish, amateur killers who committed murders only for fun. It was more plausible than an immortal vampire, anyway. Lenore meditated upon this subject so much that she convinced herself this was the actual truth. There was no vampire. It was a big, magnificent invention.
Plus, she couldn't even return home because she didn't have knowledge of what was her position right then. Even though she was born there, Lenore never got to know that town completely, due to her parents' overprotectiveness, which reduced her freedom and imposed her rules, forbidding her to be like other children.
That meant she was lost in her own town.
Her feet almost gave up and she would have collapsed if she didn't sit quickly on the first steps that appeared in her sight. Her white dress was already dirty and covered in various stains and dust, while her hair was even messier than usually, standing out in all directions, like a chicken's feathers. She imagined for a moment what would be like if she was an actual chicken and she smiled serenely at the idea. Her life would have been so much better.
Across the narrow street, on a brick wall, the vampire's eyes gazed at her. A small shiver trailed down her spine as Ragamuffin's dark, intense stare passed right through her and she had the impression for a moment that he was actually there. Of course, it was just an illusion, since it was just a picture, but she couldn't shake off that cold feeling. Now she partially understood why even the most powerful men were afraid of him. If just his portrait induced terror in humans' minds, she couldn't imagine what he would be like in reality. Lenore suddenly realized that her behavior had been witless and absurd that day.
How could she even think about finding him? She would have certainly been killed, if she accidentally bumped into him, and in a horrifying, monstrous manner nonetheless.
She would have been eaten alive, damn it.
Lenore guessed she was really bored with her life if she actually wanted to meet an insanely dangerous person like that. Even though he was frightening her, the wanting was still there, present in the corner of her mind. Various images were dancing in front of her eyes again, images in which she found Ragamuffin and they were getting along like two best friends, images in which Ragamuffin would actually change in good if he met her, images in which she had the power of making Ragamuffin a harmless person. Lenore didn't know for sure why she wanted so much to be his friend, although she had a vague supposition.
She was tired of everyone treating her like she was different in a bad way. She was tired of remarking the fact that no one had anything in common with her, that she couldn't possibly get along with anyone. Because she was weird, according to them. Because she wasn't normal and that was the main reason they avoided her all the time.
Lenore didn't know what normal meant to them, but, to her, Ragamuffin seemed closer to normal than those people. Or closer to a potential friend, at least. She was desperately looking for one and he seemed the only option left. If no one wanted to be her friend, then she would have to resume to drastic measures.
"Miss?" Lenore raised her head to see a plain looking, elderly woman, standing in front of her. She appeared to be tensioned. "I believe you should go home, miss." The woman spoke uneasily. "It's already dark and everyone has gone inside." She explained pointing with her hand at the already empty streets. One or two citizens could be seen far away, but they seemed to be heading towards their own homes, as well.
Lenore widened her eyes as she sensed panic creeping up on her.
"W-what about you?" She mumbled.
The woman lifted her eyes meaningfully for a moment, before she rested her gaze on Lenore again.
"You're standing on the steps of my house, miss." She said blankly. Lenore turned brusquely to see a medium sized, old house, with two small, dirty windows. The entire house looked poorly kept and she wondered if it rained inside during bad weather. Lenore nodded slowly and stood up reluctantly, permitting the old woman to pass near her and climb the stairs. She silently watched her as she fondled with the door knob, appearing to have some difficulties in opening it, but she did it after one or two minutes. Right in the moment the woman was stepping inside, Lenore decided it was better if she asked.
"Can you tell me what part of Nevermore is this neighborhood?"
The old woman remained petrified. She avoided Lenore's face for a few moments, looking quite shocked by her question. Then she gulped loudly, before her scared eyes fell on her.
"T-the l-last one." Her voice trembled, which startled Lenore to an extent. "Y-you're at the e-edge of the t-town, near the f-forest, miss." They stared in silence at each other; terrified, experienced eyes into young, resigned ones.
"May God be with you." The woman spoke, before she went out of her sight and closed the door behind her, locking it on the inside, leaving Lenore in the middle of the silent, dark street. The wind started to hum slowly, lifting some burnt leaves into the dry, autumnal air. Now she was completely alone and she was starting to believe that was going to be her end. Ironically, it didn't panic her the way she thought it would. In fact, she began walking calmly, silently watching the dark houses on both sides of the road and how the street lights were enveloping them into a diffuse, warm color. Various sounds could be heard from the garbage that was laying into the large trashcans, but Lenore consoled herself with the fact that those noises could only come from abandoned animals. And she was right.
To her joy, an auburn, brownish cat made its appearance from beneath some ruined steps and cut her way, running past Lenore and heading towards the end of the street. She rapidly followed the cat and whistled a few times to attract its attention, although it was useless, because the animal didn't give a sign that it noticed Lenore. She didn't give up and continued to walk on the cat's steps, trying not to lose it from her sight. Lenore couldn't recall when she last spent her time in the company of a cute kitty and she was really glad that she finally found one after so much time. After running for a while and passing near other empty streets, Lenore finally cornered the auburn cat and caught it in her arms, holding it tightly. She snuggled and petted it, calming down to an extent and forgetting about the strange, creepy place in which she found herself at that moment. She apparently ended up in an alleyway, which was probably the main reason why she succeeded in cornering the cat.
"Be good and stay here, kitty, alright?" Lenore whispered, checking her surroundings and searching for a place to hide during the night. Two large trashcans were prompted at the edge of the wall and she thought about getting behind them. She crawled on her knees, while holding closely the cat that was trying to escape from her grasp, and sat behind them, intending to be as quiet as possible. Soon enough, sleep was pressing on her eyelids like a heavy rock and she was aware that she was beginning to doze off.
Her dream didn't last much. Like a hit at the back of her head, the sound of screams and footsteps running on the main street suddenly woke her up. Some cats from other trashcans hissed, which made the kitty from her lap jump like burnt and bolt faster than a lightning. Lenore's first impulse was to run and shout after the cat, but, fortunately, she covered her own mouth with her hand, muffling the words that were about to escape. She stuck to the wall in panic and remained motionless, her breath almost gone. The screams and the footsteps were heard again, closer to the alleyway in which Lenore was hidden this time, which only meant one thing.
They were coming on that part of the street.
A cold breeze of wind engulfed her and she didn't understand if it really was cold or it was just the horror that seeped through her pores at those sounds. The heavy breath of someone who was running passed near the trashcans and the footsteps that belonged to the same person carried on their way, although they stopped ten or fifteen feet later, as the sound of breaking and hitting the pavement was heard.
Lenore realized the woman who was running- she knew for sure it was a woman since the earlier feminine screams could only come from her- stumbled and fell. The trashcans blocked Lenore's view, so she decided to move a few inches to throw a peek at what was going on.
It was a young girl, probably in her twenties, just as Lenore predicted. She couldn't see her face well, although she noticed that the girl was crying, while she was lying hopelessly on the edge of the street. Her elegant dress was slightly lifted to reveal a wounded ankle that was badly bleeding.
"P-please…" The girl cried, through hiccups, crawling desperately on the dirty pavement. "D-don't do it."
Lenore was confused. She tried to look closely at the scene, but she couldn't see anyone apart from the girl. Maybe she was insane, but Lenore profusely doubted it.
Another pair of footsteps came right behind the girl and into Lenore's vision and now she was definitely able to see him.
Lenore's jaw opened halfway as the vampire walked behind the fallen girl and stopped right at her feet. The first thing that came to Lenore's mind was that the people who described him did a good job. He, of course, was really pale and had black, messy hair. She couldn't clearly see his face in the dark, but she vaguely noticed that he was brutally smirking at the girl. He also was really tall. If she thought her father was tall, then she was wrong. Ragamuffin was at least half of head taller than him.
"I'm sorry this has to happen, lady, but sacrifices have to be made, alright?" He spoke through his teeth with a strange accent, not sounding sorry at all. It was the other way actually, because he sounded extremely pleased by the girl's cries. His soon-to-be victim gave a sharp shriek of terror when he approached her lying form and bent over her, baring his fangs. She violently struggled even though it seemed her efforts were of no use, because he wasn't deranged by her movement at all. He just continued hovering above her, intently analyzing her body.
"I wonder where should I start from." He calmly spoke as the girl furiously fought in his strong clutch, mumbling pleads under her breath like a lunatic. He apparently liked to torture and terrorize his victims before he killed them, a dawning that shook Lenore's entire being. She didn't know if she was supposed to act in this matter and interfere. What she could do? He would just kill them both.
She sneaked her hand beneath her dress and pulled out the cross that was dangling around her neck. Her mother said it might work, but the man from that day's meeting said Ragamuffin was different from the other vampires.
The girl screamed once again, making Lenore jump in alarm.
Well, it wasn't like she valued her own life that much, so it was worth a try.
She noisily pushed away one of the trashcans, exposing herself and standing up on her shaking legs. This caught by guard both the vampire and the girl, who ceased her cries and widened her pleading eyes at Lenore in silent help. Lenore could see on her exhausted face that she considered unlikely the possibility of an even younger girl, like Lenore, saving her. Ragamuffin, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes menacingly and scrunched his features up in distrust. To Lenore's amazement, he looked like he was the same age as the girl on the pavement, although she was very well informed that he was at least three hundred years old.
"What's this?" He growled, fiercely revealing his fangs at Lenore who stopped and remained like a still statue in front of them. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was almost going to break her ribcage and jump out.
"Mr. Ragamuffin, I think you should stop right now." Lenore said, unsurely pulling her lips into a tight line. She intertwined her fingers and fidgeted nervously, waiting for his reply. Ragamuffin stood deadpan and watched her like she was out of her mind, before he shook his head in an expression of contempt.
"Don't try to be funny, child." He bluntly stated, sounding slightly annoyed. "Leave, before I kill you, too." He turned to his victim, who looked half passed out and really confused by everything, gesture that angered Lenore. She should have run out of there when she still had the chance, especially since he apparently had no intention in attacking her for the moment, but that's what peeved her the most. And the appellative annoyed her even more.
"I'm nineteen years old, not a child!" She furiously pulled out the cross and lifted it so that he could see it. "And I also have a cross and I'm not afraid to use it, so back away!" Lenore made a few steps forward, holding out the cross in front of Ragamuffin, who enlarged his dark eyes in astonishment. The other girl mirrored Ragamuffin's expression, although she also seemed to be confused at the same time, probably because she hadn't heard of the method Lenore was using to scare the vampire away.
Everything appeared to go in slow motion as Ragamuffin stood up and concentrated his full attention on her. He wasn't giving away any emotion, while he walked towards Lenore, seemingly forgetting about his meal, and Lenore continued to stay in the same place with the cross raised, decided and unyielding. When he got closer than a few inches, he stared intently at the cross she was tremulously holding, then at her, still apathetic, to Lenore's growing demise.
With just two fingers, he pulled the cross out from Lenore's grasp and threw it away in the garbage.
Lenore stood dumbfounded and watched the scene, letting her arms fall limp down her sides.
"You're quite bold, aren't you?" He told her flatly. "No one had the courage or the bad luck to find me on their own and confront me with religious mockery like that." His gaze was so piercing that Lenore felt her legs slacken. "I will apparently have a rich meal in this night." He inched his face closer and Lenore backed away faster than a scared animal.
"No." Lenore murmured petrified. "No, you won't." Her whispery words were her last as she suddenly turned, intending to dart and run; she didn't even manage in making one move that would get her away from that place, because his cold hand grabbed her wrist and kept her on the spot before she even had the chance to blink.
She inhaled sharply and gritted her teeth tensioned and horrified as they remained frozen and stared at each other in silence. Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Lenore. She almost thought she was going to choke from fervor and anticipation, while Ragamuffin wasn't actually doing anything, apart from looking at her emotionless. He somehow seemed to study her, especially her face, which was contorted in fright and curiosity. Curiosity partly about what he was about to do and partly about him, as a being.
To her surprise, he abruptly released her wrist. Lenore hurriedly reeled backwards and widened her eyes taken aback by the gesture, but he turned around and started heading towards the fallen girl, who didn't appear to observe their earlier exchange, probably due to her inner struggle. Absurdly, Lenore didn't move as she continued watching how he slowly walked and stopped above the girl.
"You better start running now." He spoke and Lenore didn't even need more.
Her legs automatically moved in the very first direction she could find safe. Her decision hadn't been well thought, since, after a few minutes in which she didn't stop, she found herself at the edge of the town, near the stretched fields and the forest. Lenore wondered what happened to the girl and she only hoped that she was alright. She quickly disregarded the idea, regretful. He was probably consuming the girl right then. She was most surely gone from that life.
Everything she did was in vain. The cross her mother gave her was lost, she couldn't save the girl, she had been the subject of ridicule and most importantly…
She was horrifyingly going to be murdered by a vicious, cold blooded vampire. She was going to die.