Erika paced around the living room, wringing her hands and biting her lip. Where on earth was Natalya? Her wife was supposed to be home before dark, what with a vampire on the loose in their village. Why, just last week, her cousin's wife came home as a vampire, turning him into one as well. The rest of the town chased the two away, leaving Erika's family heartbroken. Elizabeta had been a good friend of hers, and Gilbert was very dear to her. Her heart ached for his brother, now left alone in the house the three of them had shared.
Erika was absolutely terrified that Natalya was going to come home undead, and there was nothing she could do about it. "What if she's been attacked? What if she's dead? What if she's been bitten? Oh Talya, please come home soon," she worried aloud, continuing to pace. "I need to sit down; I need to calm myself. I'm sure she's fine. There's nothing to worry about."
She forced herself to sit, twiddling her thumbs and glancing at the door every few seconds. Several minutes passed, when the door suddenly flew open. Erika leaped to her feet, practically tackling the tall blonde that had entered.
"Oh my goodness, I was so worried, I thought you were dead, I thought one of the vampires got you! Never, ever do that again, do you hear me? Never! Where were you? Why were you late? Are you alright?"
She paused a moment to allow her wife to speak, and frowned when the woman didn't say anything.
"Talya? You are ok, right?"
Natalya looked away, unable to meet the smaller woman's frightened eyes. "Erika, you need to get away from me before I hurt you. Please."
Just like that, Erika's world came to a screeching halt. All she could think was one word, over and over again. No. No, no, no.
"What do you mean? You would never hurt me, you can't hurt me. Please, just tell me you're ok, you have to be ok. You have to, please," Erika cried, tears already welling up in her green eyes.
Natalya sighed, still not meeting her wife's eyes, and pulled the collar of her shirt away from her throat, revealing twin puncture marks. "I'm sorry Erika. It's over for me. I just came to say good bye, pack my things, and leave. Now please get off of me."
The small blonde shook her head furiously. "No, no, it's not over for you until the final stage of the transformation. I can tell you haven't fully turned yet; you don't have fangs. It should be soon, am I right? You're not leaving me, Natalya Arlovskaya. Not that easily. Till death do we part, remember? By my calculations, death should part us in the next few minutes. I won't leave you until then."
Natalya exhaled angrily, before roughly pushing Erika away from her. "If I'm with you when I turn, I'll kill you, don't you understand? I'm leaving; I won't hurt you. I'm probably going to go get someone to kill me. See you in the afterlife. I love you," she said, her voice tender for the last sentence.
She stood quickly and turned to open the door when the pain hit her. "No," she gasped. "It's too late. Erika, run." Without another word, she collapsed, squeezing her eyes shut and screaming in agony as the change burned in her blood, stabbing like a thousand stakes ripping through her from the inside out. It was as if every molecule of her body was being burnt to ashes. The pain went on for what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes. Fangs burst from her gums, and her heart slowed to a stop. As suddenly as it had started, the red hot pain was gone, leaving only the sensation of ice in her veins. Her eyes snapped open, the once navy blue orbs now a chilling red, and her hungry gaze locked onto the woman next to her.
"Talya? Are you ok now? Are you thirsty? I bet you are," Erika said, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling brightly.
The Belorussian woman slowly sat up, not taking her eyes off of the smaller blonde, or more specifically, the pale flesh at the base of her neck. She could already taste the blood that would well up when she sank her teeth in, she could almost feel the sanguine liquid drench her tongue in delicious warmth, as she slowly drained the life from the pretty woman before her.
"Talya? Are you thirsty?"
Natalya nodded and started to crawl towards Erika, who didn't move a muscle.
"So thirsty," she whispered. The pain in her throat caused by the raging need for blood made it hard to focus. In the back of her mind, Natalya knew that she shouldn't hurt the other woman, but the rest of her wanted to bite, to feed, to kill. "I want you. Come here," she demanded.
Erika did as she was told. She sat on Natalya's lap, offering her neck to her wife. "Go ahead, liebeling. I don't mind."
Somehow, hearing Erika speak so kindly managed to bring the vampire back to her senses.
"Erika? What are you doing? I can't feed on you; what if I kill you? Are you insane?"
Erika shook her head. "It's what I want; it's what you need. Just bite me, liebe. I trust you not to hurt me." She ran her fingers through her wife's hair, smiling softly, before pushing her face into the crook of her neck.
Natalya closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying desperately not to give in to her instincts. She could hear the blood rushing through her wife's veins, she could smell it. She wanted to taste it. She wanted to feel it on her tongue.
She didn't realize that she was crying until she felt Erika start to rub her back comfortingly. She began to sob, choking out incoherent apologies.
"You don't have to apologize, Tayla. Go ahead. You won't let me die." She forced the vampire to get closer, wrapping one arm around her waist and using the other to press her mouth to her throat.
The smell was overwhelming, the sound of Erika's blood the only thing Natalya could hear anymore. Maybe if I'm careful, I won't kill her, Natalya thought. As long as I don't take too much, she'll be ok and won't turn.
Natalya opened her mouth, pressing her fangs against the other woman's flesh, before sinking them in.
As soon as the first drop of blood hit her tongue, she knew that this was a mistake. She wasn't going to be able to stop. Erika was going to die. As much as she wanted to pull away, she simply couldn't. Her instincts held her in place, forcing her to drink more and more of the wonderful liquid. After a few moments, Erika let out a weak sigh, her head falling forward.
Natalya instantly pulled away and held her wife's limp body against her chest, listening to her slowing heartbeat. "Erika? Oh god, Erika! No, please no! This is all my fault; I shouldn't have come back here, I shouldn't have been out at night!"
As she cried, Erika suddenly let out a piercing shriek. The transformation was taking place. Just as Natalya had mere minutes ago, she writhed and screamed as her body changed into that of a monster. Her wife could only watch helplessly as fangs burst from her gums and her heart stopped beating. When her now blood red eyes opened, Natalya pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm so sorry Erika. I've never been more sorry in my life. I hope one day you can forgive me for turning you into a monster, even if I never do."
The small blonde woman sat up and took Natalya's face in her heads. "Talya, I'm not angry. I'm overjoyed. We're the same now. We'll be together forever. Please don't hate yourself for this. I want this. I want you. I want you to be happy."
Natalya finally looked Erika in the eye. There was no anger in the crimson orbs, only love. "But what do we do now?" she wondered. "Once the townspeople find out about us, they'll drive us away, maybe even kill us. We'll have to leave. What about our families? God, Ivan... Katyusha will cry even more than usual. And your brother will probably track us down somehow. What are we going to do?"
Erika was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure," she finally said. "I-I don't want to leave Basch... And poor Ludwig, losing another member of the family... I think we should find Elizabeta and Gilbert. They're family, and they'll understand the situation."
Natalya nodded slowly. "That's a good idea. But you also need to feed. I can help you; that way you won't hurt anyone."
Erika bit her lip, her fangs a sharp contrast from her sweet face. "You promise no one will get hurt because of me? I doubt I could live with myself if I killed anybody... And I'm so thirsty. My throat hurts really bad, Talya."
"I know. And I swear that I won't let you kill anyone. Shall we go get you a meal?" Natalya stood and helped Erika to her feet. The shorter woman took a hold of the arm she was offered, leaning against her wife for support.
The two glanced around their small, cozy home, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time they did so, before opening the front door and venturing into the night.
Happy Valentine's Day.