3rd chapter
Vladimir took a last glance at the field in front of him, before he turned his attention to the woman next to him. She looked at him through still narrowed eyes, waiting impatiently for his response. For a few seconds, he just stared at her. "You are right in the assumption, that the two of us are not alike," he started, watching her every moving muscle carefully. "In fact, our species differ fiercely from one another." He noticed her growing confusion at his words, he was perfectly sure, that as soon as he would tell her, what he was, she would be quick to jump to presumptions, she knew from books. The vampire wished they still lived in times, when vampires were still known to humankind. Everything would be so much easier for both of them. "To put it simply," he continued. His eyes pierced into her brown ones, trying to read the thoughts going through her head. "I'm a vampire." As soon as the words left his lips, it was dead-silent between the two of them. His expression didn't change much as he continued to watch her reaction.
Amanda had no idea, how long they stood there in silence, how long it had been, since he told her, that he claimed to be a mythological creature. She had absolutely no clue how she should react, a part of her wanted to laugh, another part wanted to question his sanity, a very small part believed him and a huge part wanted to retreat as quickly as possible from that person in a matter of self-preservation. She blinked heavily, not sure what to do with the given information. He didn't seem lunatic before, but he could be psychotic in any way, if he truly believed what he told her. Amanda opened her mouth, but not a word came out of it, she couldn't laugh, he didn't seem to make a joke. So, it was either true, which she highly doubted, or he needed severe psychological treatment to cure whatever he even remotely, honestly believed what he was. Another few minutes passed and Amanda decided to follow the most logical part of her mind. She cleared her throat, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and turned slightly in the process.
"Well," she started, her voice a little higher than usual. "Thank you for sharing, I promise I won't tell a soul." She chuckled nervously, trying to remember what she knew about vampires from literature. If he truly believed that, she had to play along, maybe he was in some sort of satanic cult and truly did drink blood from time to time. "But I guess I have to leave; it's getting late and I have so much to learn and my shift starts later this evening. So, I better get going." She flashed a forced smile over her lips as she slowly turned around, making slow and careful steps, while she tried to breath calmly. She knew full-well, that her next shift at the restaurant was in the following week, but he didn't.
An almost tired sigh left Vladimir's lips as he watched her reaction. He remembered how easy it had been back then, but today's society completely forgot about it, forgot about them. He closed his eyes for a moment, scolding the Volturi once more for their doing, even though, in the depth of his mind, he could understand their acting and that concealing their race from the humans, had its positive side effects. When he noticed, she was already several metres away from him, he knew he had to act. "You don't believe me." He was no fool, obviously, he realized that she made excuses to leave, her uncomfortable twitching and her heavy blinking were clear indicators as well. He was far too old to fall for such antics.
At the sound of his voice, Amanda froze on the spot. Her eyes were widened and her breathing hitched. She forced herself to remain calm, partly glad about the distance she brought between the two of them already. She gulped and turned slightly to look at the man, who still stood in the same spot. She didn't want to upset him, as she didn't know what he was capable of and she was out there all on her own. Her phone would be of no help either, as she had no signal that deep into nature, out of civilization and furthermore, she could only call her parents, who lived several hours away from her. Slowly, she calmed her breathing. "I do," she started, her voice trembling under the pressure. "It's just that I have to get back home, now. Goodbye," she continued and turned once more. In her mind, she counted each step she made in order to appear calm and not run away.
"The first thing, you should know about me, is, that I don't lie." Vladimir knew she needed some sort of prove, but the lie, that flew so easily from her lips, angered him deeply. She also accused him, indirectly but still, of lying. He couldn't let that pass; it went deeply against his pride and beliefs. He had always been honest, which complicated some things, but he wouldn't want it any other way. With his inhuman speed, he appeared next to her, his voice just above a low growl at the unspoken insult. "The second is, that I despise liars."
Amanda jumped at the sudden appearance of the man next to her, her heart skipped a beat only to race after. The alarmingly dangerous sound of his voice; she had no clue; one could make such a sound, took her breath away in an instant, sweat built on her palms in her state of growing nervous more and more. The atmosphere around them changed drastically, she felt the hair on her arms standing up as fear crawled through her whole body. The heat, she felt just minutes ago was replaced by a cold she had never felt before; the adrenaline began to pump in her veins and primal instincts to get to safety wanted to kick in, she didn't know she had. But she felt her feet being stuck in place once more, she breathed heavily as she tried to understand what exactly just happened. She had no idea, how he could close the distance between them within the blink of an eye, when they were roughly 15 metres apart already. The immediate threat in his words were burned into her mind; he knew she lied. Amanda didn't dare to look into his eyes, she kept her gaze straight, not moving a muscle willingly. "I," she stuttered. She took a few deep breaths, until she found the courage to turn to the man. She looked directly into his unnatural red irises and her breathing slowly normalized. She didn't know what it was, but the threatening aura around him disappeared. "I'm sorry." Her voice still trembled slightly. Truth be told, she wasn't proud of herself for lying, but the whole situation was almost too much to bear for her.
Vladimir returned to a more relaxed stance at her apology. He didn't want to frighten her, but he also had to make his point clear. He was at the point, where he didn't know what to do, once more. A barely audible annoyed sigh left his throat at his own vulnerability. "Don't be afraid," he said much softer than before. "I do not wish to harm you in any way." He eyed her stiff form, still not completely convinced of his inhuman nature. "I merely want to get to know you," he ended and fought the urge to touch her warm skin again. He waited so long for her to step into his life, he could wait a little longer.
She gulped at the intensity of his words. Something told her, she could trust him and it frightened her even more than his actions. Amanda couldn't look away from him, even if she wanted to. His eyes drew her in and as his accent grew stronger, she opened her mouth to say something, but she remained silent. It took her a few more seconds to finally form a sentence, the fear inside of her lingered in the back of her mind, occasionally reminding her to get herself to safety. Her tensed muscles began to relax one after another, giving her back the possibility to move out of her frightened stance. "I believe, I need to think that through." It was still much to take in, no matter if she decided to believe him or not. She noticed, how he retreated a little, the slightest nod in her direction. "I will find you here, once I'm ready, won't I?" She earned another nod in silence from him. A small smile crept onto her face and slowly but steadily, she made her way away from him, out of the forest and back to her flat. Her movement was static, as her muscles still weren't completely relaxed. Her mind screamed at her to run, not looking back once and never set foot in that forest ever again. She didn't follow it, she knew it was wiser to walk away, while in the depth of her mind, she was fully aware, that running from him was futile.
She didn't utter a single word, since she had left him. Her mind raced, trying to sort everything she saw and heard that day. But the more she thought about it, the more logical his statement seemed. It was impossible for anyone to close that distance in less than a second, his red eyes could be contact lenses, but then again, why would someone wear them outside of any parties and in spring. His cold and pale skin was another thing, she couldn't really explain, even though that would be much more reasonable than the other things she noticed. Amanda groaned in frustration, pushing her cushion on her face to muffle the sound. She didn't know why she gave it so much thought; she could just never step in that forest again and therefore never meet him again. It could be as simple as that, if her curious nature and her fascination wouldn't get the better of her.
Amanda lived with the nagging feeling inside of her for three more days, before it became unbearable. Despite her better knowledge, she had to know what was going on with him. What game he really played, as she was sure, if he wanted to hurt her, he would have already done it. It was in the morning hours, when most people would sit at work or at school, that she found herself in that forest once more. Lucky for her, it was a cloudy day, the temperature was way more endurable than the last time. She got there with a plan and he had some explaining to do. It took her a moment, to get to the right place and she saw him standing at the same spot he stood the last time, as if he hadn't moved at all. Her consciousness screamed at her run, to turn around and never look back, but she didn't. Despite knowing better, she proceeded to get in his direction, until she came to a halt next to him. Her hands fiddled with the hem of her shirt and her nervousness was clear to be seen in the way her eyes moved, how she wettened her lips and blinked way more often than needed.
"You came back," Vladimir mused, the slightest bit of surprise in his voice, though he was undeniably glad about it. He had hoped that the bond that connected them, was strong enough for her to feel it, but he couldn't be sure. He glanced at her shortly, before he turned his attention to the field, he stared at it for quite some time. Of course, he knew she had questions, but her, coming back, was all that mattered at that moment.
"You do have some explanations to do," she started but her voice didn't sound as strong as she wanted it to. "I cut lectures for this, so it better be good." The smallest of smiles appeared on her face and as she looked at him, he had the same amused expression on his face. "So, you claim to be a vampire, a fantasy creature of the night. How come I always see you at day?" Amanda lifted an eyebrow and waited expectantly for his answer.
"I don't claim to be anything," Vladimir answered monotonously. "I am a vampire, and most things you claim to know about my kind are nothing more than lies." At his statement, his voice was filled with pride and yet he didn't grow annoyed at her question. He turned to look at her, how she narrowed her eyes, just waiting to get further explanations. "What is it, you want to know?" He expected her to ask more questions about his kind, which would be truly understandable. Though, her first question surprised him.
"Why do you want to get to know me? We've barely met each other." Amanda uttered that question out, as it was the most important part she wanted to know. If all of his statements were true, why would he even bother to know her? Surely, she wanted to know more about him, being a so-called vampire, but that had to wait until she got a proper answer to the asked question. She didn't dare to look at him, though.
Vladimir hummed slightly, thinking how he could break the news to her. He needed a few seconds, in which his mind raced. "Let's be honest," he started and followed her example at taking in the nature around them. "Just like humans, some of my kind get into relationships by creating chosen bonds. Other, rare individuals get the privilege of meeting their perfect fit." A low scoff escaped his throat at his next words. "The other part of your soul, some might say." His eyes travelled up into sky, noticing how the clouds broke apart and the first rays of sunshine, for that day, fell on earth. "I never believed in such special bonds, when you're drawn to another being without reason, until I witnessed it first-hand many years ago, when my brother found his wife." Sadness flickered in his eyes as he recalled memories from his coven and being remembered of everything they had lost. Both remained silent for a while, before he continued. "It seems, after all those years, fate has decided to bind me with such a bond." That was the moment, he looked back at the woman next to him, looking for any kind of reaction from her.
To say Amanda was shocked and confused at his words, was an understatement. He might not have said it directly, but she knew he wanted to tell, that he somehow felt a connection to her, some sort of curiosity to know her better. For a second, her eyes widened at the realization, as she slowly discovered her sudden curiosity of that mysterious stranger, was something he felt as well. The immediate trust, she had towards him, emanated from the same origin and that she made her way out there to meet him, despite having to study, felt like another proof to her. Suddenly, the thought of him, being a real vampire, didn't sound so strange anymore, if it weren't for her consciousness that warned her every few seconds to get up and run. Amanda cleared her throat, trying to ease the tension between the two of them. "So, tell me about you and your kind," she said and smiled slightly at him.
Vladimir looked at the woman with a mixture of amazement and confusion. He couldn't comprehend, how she could take all that information with such an apparent ease, she should be frightened, running for her life at everything he had told her, but she didn't. She had no clue, what she got herself into and yet, he was amazed at her mental strength. He took a deep breath, as an honest smile appeared on his face. "Care to go for a walk?"
"Of course," Amanda answered and mirrored his smile, as they both started to move. She somehow expected to make their walk through the forest, as the sun managed to break through the clouds, but Vladimir led them through the open field. Amanda lifted an eyebrow, still not fully convinced about the vampire thing, but she didn't question his decision to possibly get exposed in the sun.