A Silver Lining: Chapter 3
A/N: Much quicker update than the last one, found it a little harder to get this chapter done, so apologies, writers block is a curse!
-xx
xxx
"A Vampire?" Arra couldn't help but give a shaky laugh, as if to show she didn't believe what he was saying.
And why would she believe a word of it? Vampires were creatures of myth, the elders in society used to scare the young chirldern, and even the adolescents into staying inside at night. Could he really expect her to believe that he was this figment of someones over-active imagination, going around drinking human's blood. She grimaced at the sickening thought.
Larten nodded, his blue eyes reflecting his seriosuness on the situation. He knew it would take a lot to convince her. Denial was a human's greatest shield, he should know that. He didn't react too well when he first met Seba, scared out of his mind in a tombstone, on the run for murder.
"I know you don't believe me, Arra, but it is the truth."
"Prove it." Her voice was timid, but commanding, trying to regain some control over herself.
He was astounded at her reaction, she had just suffered the worst day anyone could imagine, and she was holding herself together so perfectly. He could only guess she had a mountain of strenght and didn't like to be seen as a vulnerable creature. he had to admit, he admired her for that.
A small smirk appeared on his lips, which seemed to light up his whole face. Her challenge was one he wouldn't back down to.
Choosing one of the least scary options to prove that he was indeed as he said he was, he flitted. So fast, she couldn't keep up, she had to blink in astoundment. He was gone! But surely he had only been there just a second ago. Had she hit her head so hard that she was now imagining things?
Once she blinked again, he was sitting by her on the bed, his hair a little ruffled, but the smirk was still in place as if he had never left. His right hand was clenched tight into a fist, and as he uncurled his fingers, he produced a flower.
Her breath caught in her throat for two reasons. One being that the flower was so beautiful, an orchid like flower, but coloured such a deeply intense blue, like the deepest colour of the night sky, with specks of white on the frail petals which made it seem like stars glittering on the night sky. The second, was that she knew there was only one place where this flower grew; on the mountains surrounding their small home town.
This was enough proof for the shell-shocked woman, as she gently took the flower from his palm and placed it on the makeshift bedside table, constructed from a few un-needed logs, just to perch some items on.
"So do you believe me now?" He asked, his eyes shining bright as they watched her.
She nodded stiffly, turning her head to look at him. "I believe you." She was suprised, that even deep down, she felt no fear. The figment of her nightmares as a child was seated next to her and she felt nothing but comfort. Surely, if he were a mosnter, he would have killed her just like the beast had killed Amicus. She felt her throat tighten at the thought, but she forced herself to swallow the lump. She would show no more weakness.
"You are taking this quite well, Miss Sails." He said gently, standing from the bed as if only realising how improper it was of a gentleman like himself to do such a thing. He paced the floor, his hands in his pockets before turning to look at her.
He took her appearance in carefully for the first time. The dark brown hair that flowed down her shoulders in a cascade of toussled waves. Her skin was pale, and she looked tired, which was to be expected. Her eyes were what caught his attention most; an deep green, which enabled him to see so much more about her than she could tell with words. he could tell she was hurting, badly, not just physically, but emotionally.
Arra nodded in agreement with his words, she was indeed taking this much better than she would have ever thought to be possible. Maybe it was because she was so numb from everything else she had endured in less than twenty four hours. "Well, I can tell you're a good man, and that you won't hurt me." She admitted to him, but instantly regretted it. that gave too much away, and it was never a good thing.
The smirk returned to his red lips, his eyes flashing with amusement. "I am pleased you think such a thing of me, Miss. Sails." He couldn't help but noticed how her brows furrowed when he called her by how he should be addressing her.
Only then did he realise his mistake. Referring to her by her maiden name must be brigning back memories, that she shouldn't be known as that, that she was going to take on her fiancees name. He made a mental note to himself for future reference. "You are quite quiet, I am sure your head is brimming over with questions." He changed the subject, not quite so subtley, but Arra was quite happy for a change in subject, something to tak eher mind off of the horrible events. She knew that once she was alone she ould allow them to conume her, but only then.
"Well, I guess the most obvious one is how did you become a vampire?" She asked, the curiosity evident in her voice.
"That is quite a long tale, one which I will withold from you until another day. But the basics behind it was that I became an apprentice of sorts, to a Vampire. I did his bidding for him whilst he slept, got him his food, guarded his coffin to ensure he would not attacked during the day. I was then made into a half-vampire, by a process called blooding." He extended his fingers out to her, and allowed her to see the ten scars, one at the tip of each finger.
"Half of my blood, was replaced with half of a Vampires blood. I then developed certain Vampire triats; I became more agile, the sun irritated me more. Once I proved myself worthy, I was then blooded fully."
Arra took the information in as if it were water, and she were dying from dehydration. "Do you kill people, then?" She asked bluntly, feeling she had a right to know.
He laughed a little as he brought one of his hands to the scar which he often rubbed absent mindly, running from the tip of his eyebrow to the bottom of his cheek. "I am well aware of the pre-conceived idea that Vampires are indeed blood-thirsty beasts. We are not. The reality, is that we only need a little amount of blood to survive. We do not kill our victims, simply leave them in a sleeping state and when they awake they are left with not a memory, but a tiny scar. The more often we feed, the better, but we only need it in small quantities." He explained softly to her, and he could already anticipate her next question.
"What about the monster who.. Amicus..." She said gingerly, dropping her gaze from him.
"There are two types of Vampires, I guess. He, was a Vampaneze. They believe in the traditional ways a vampire should hunt, feasting nightly on humans, leaving them dead, killing villages of people. It was was his skin was a purple colour and mine is not. He had consumed so much blood in his lifetime, it changed his skin colour." He said rather quickly, wanting to get it all out as fast as he could.
Arra said nothing, looking now at her hands. The lump returned in her throat and she nodded, blinking away tears furiously.
Larten cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting his weight, unsure of what to do. "Any other... Questions Mi-... Arra?" He asked, hoping to change the subject once more, and take her mind off of everything.
"Yes, one actually." She said, looking up to him, the evidence of the glittering tears in her eyes still there despite her best efforts.
"Will you turn me into a Vampire?"
xxx
A/N: Oooh!
Well, this turned out to be a lot longer than I expected, so hopefully it's enjoyable! :D
it'll be another week or so before I update next, school is taking up so much of my time, with lots of study.
Reviews will make me update quicker ;)
-xx