4th chapter
They walked for a long time over fields and through other parts of the forests, while Vladimir explained the basic knowledge, she had to know. She listened carefully, not interrupting him once, truly trying to understand and follow his words. Some doubts remained, though.
"So, you're telling me, that you're old. No offense, but old," Amanda started and noticed a slight smirk on his face. "And that you have some kind of rules, that the likes of me are not supposed to know about the existence of your race, for example." He nodded slightly to acknowledge her point. "So basically, you telling me all of that, puts me inevitably in the situation to choose between dying or becoming like you. Am I right?" She lifted an eyebrow as she looked at him, her voice falling into a scolding tone at her potential demise.
"If they would ever find out," Vladimir answered, the smirk still visible on his face.
"I wouldn't tell anyone, but still thank you," she said and let the sarcasm be clear to be heard in her voice. A sigh left her lips as she stepped over a branch on the ground. "According to your explanations, all the tales we share about, well, vampires are mostly false." She eyed him shortly, before she concentrated on her steps again. "You, obviously, don't sleep during daytime, you can't be harmed by incense or sacred objects, you don't need permission to enter homes or die due to a stake to your heart." Amanda glanced at him, waiting for him to clarify her thoughts.
Vladimir scoffed in amusement at those things, being even considered as an option to take on a vampire. "No, those are just rumors."
"What about the blood?" Pure curiosity filled her voice as she asked the question, she was just interviewing him, rather than completely believing everything he said.
He looked at her, the smirk widened slightly. "That is true." He enjoyed her questions, even though he knew that she still didn't fully believe him.
Amanda hummed, her mind raced, wondering about one thing. "Then why would you spare me? Just because of that 'bond' you talked about? I mean, you couldn't possibly know about that from the beginning."
Vladimir took an unneeded deep breath. "No, I didn't know then, but I was just not in the mood to hunt." He looked at her through playful eyes. "I gave you several chances to leave me be, but you were very insistent, well, and here we are," he ended and looked back on the way ahead.
"And what made you even realize that there could be such a bond?", she asked further, not fully satisfied at his answer.
"First, I realized that your presence calmed my mind and the discussions we had were never dull or draining as those I had in the past with humans and vampires alike. Second, your scent. To us, humans are prey, as simple as that. The smell of their blood is the first thing, that reaches our senses, telling us where to go. But your personal scent almost completely covered the scent of your blood, which is something I've never encountered before. To harm you, would be last thing I could do." He didn't bother looking at her, but he felt her eyes on him.
Amanda needed a moment to think all of that through. Her eyes switched from his straightened figure to the trees around them. "So, I guess, you expect me because of that bond, I'd leave everything behind and follow you to wherever you want to go?" She shook her head slightly. "Because I can't do that, I have responsibilities, I have a family."
"So, there is nothing? You came here today, just because you wanted to be nice to a stranger? Not because you were curious, not feeling the slightest bit of relaxation now?" For a moment, he didn't dare to look at her, almost fearing that she felt absolutely nothing.
She stayed quiet for a while, not sure if she wanted to give an honest answer, yet. A part of her, that grew stronger in a terrifying rate, wanted to tell him, but the other part still yelled at her to shut up from the deepest corner of her mind. "I," she started and her fingers played with the fabric of her shirt. A frustrated sigh left her lips, before she spoke up again. "There is something, but I can't name it. It's," she continued and sighed again, frustration was clear to be seen in her eyes. "It is relaxing to be around you, as if we were old friends trying to update each other over the years apart." She chuckled nervously at her comparison, but didn't look at the man next to her.
He remained silent, but could barely hide the smile on his face at her words. "Now you do think about self-preservation. Talking to a stranger alone in the woods was acceptable, but joining me would be too much to ask? Does the thought frighten you to be somewhere you don't know, yet?" There was a slight mischievous tone in his voice as he spoke. "I mean, look around. Do you know where we are now?"
At those words, Amanda immediately stopped. She looked around through widened eyes, turning in each direction, scolding herself for not paying attention on the way, as she noticed she had indeed no idea where they were. She had never been in that area, as beautiful as it was. Slowly but steadily, fear crept through her body, an unwelcoming coldness filled her limbs at the thought to be helpless in an unknown place. Her breathing hitched at the realization and she started to blink uncontrollably.
"You have nothing to fear, as I already told you. No harm will come to you in my presence," Vladimir said as he noticed her behavior. He continued his walk and she soon followed his lead further. He knew, he had to convince her to leave her old life behind sooner rather than later, but she had to come to that conclusion on her own. The following minutes, they walked in silence and slowly, Amanda began to calm down again.
"Where would we go, if I decided to trust you?" Her voice was low, but held the same tone of curiosity in it. She didn't see his almost triumphant smirk at her question, though. Her eyes focused on her way, she noticed the bigger distance between the trees and she was able to see another field in front of them, not too far away.
"We mostly travel around the globe, though we do enjoy staying in our home country for a while," Vladimir explained.
"Which is?" Amanda interrupted him as she was eager to know where the accent of his originated from.
Usually, he hated to be interrupted, but she couldn't know, she would learn soon enough. She had to learn so many things, but nothing they wouldn't manage. No matter what, he was at a point, where he wouldn't let her go. "Romania, as it is called now." He spoke with pride and he looked at her once more.
"So that's where the inspiration for 'Dracula' came from," Amanda said jokingly and couldn't help but grin. "Who is this 'we', you're talking about?" Her eyes searched his, but he didn't hold her gaze for long. She furrowed her brows at his behavior, not sure if she said something wrong.
Vladimir sighed inaudibly. "That would be Stefan, my brother, so to say. We are the only ones left, after our coven was slaughtered." He didn't bother telling her about that part of his past in particular. She had so much time to learn and he didn't want to relive those memories at that moment.
Amanda nodded in silence, not sure how to react to such news. She clearly heard the anger and hate in his voice and she didn't want to direct those emotions to her. So, they walked in silence again. Roughly two metres before they would reach the field, she stopped, taking in the beauty in front of her as the sun was hidden behind a small cloud. When she noticed, that the man next to her calmed down a little, she dared to speak up again. "You know, I really want to truly believe you, but you have to acknowledge, that it is not as easy as it may be for you. I mean, can you show me any proof, nothing big, just something?" She looked inquiringly at him, but when she saw an almost devilish smirk on his face, she quickly spoke up again. "Not that blood part, if you don't mind." She chuckled nervously.
The amusement was clearly visible on his face at her words. He lifted his head and his eyes searched the sky, just as the cloud that hid the sun moved on. "I guess I can show you something," he said finally as he looked at her once more. He proceeded to get to the open field, that was lighted by the warm rays of sun.
Amanda lifted an eyebrow at his actions. "What are you doing?" She stumbled after him, suddenly feeling tense and if she were honest, even a bit afraid of whatever he was about to do. She had no idea what he was up to, but the thought alone of him getting hurt in any way, frightened her. Her nervousness rose with every second and when he came to a halt right in front of the field, she looked through worried eyes at his next actions. He lifted his hands into the rays of sun and when Amanda saw how his skin neither burned, nor reacted in no way at all, but began to sparkle; her mouth hung open in pure shock. She tried to form words, to say something, but no sound left her lips. She wanted to reach out and touch his hand as she couldn't believe her own eyes, but she restrained herself. It would be inappropriate. Amanda shook her head slightly, not sure if she was in a daydream or had any kind of hallucination, as that was impossible.
Vladimir lowered his hand a little later, eyeing the woman next to him shortly. The reaction of his skin to the sun was nothing new to him, but the only way he could prove his point without startling her, though he began to grow impatient. He wanted to take her away, to hide her from the rest of the world and make sure she is safe. Each day, even each hour, she walked among human society while being a human herself, was a threat to her life he wasn't willing to take much longer. It didn't need vampires or beasts to reduce humankind, they were perfectly capable of doing so themselves. "Was that proof enough?" He glanced at her and when she didn't respond, he started to walk again. Without a second thought, he walked across the field while his skin reflected the incoming light. Of course, he made sure that no one else was around, but he could perfectly rely on his senses on that behalf.
When he was halfway across the field, Amanda came back to her senses at least partly. She breathed heavily, still deeply shocked at what she saw. She noticed he turned around, waiting for her to follow and her feet moved on their own. Her eyes travelled up to meet his and she nodded at him. That was the moment, the sun was hidden behind another cloud and Amanda realized that his skin reacted accordingly. She blinked, trying to process but deep down, she knew she believed him, even though almost everything she was led to believe about those supposed-to-be mythical creatures, was false. She didn't understand what changed, but when she finally acknowledged his words of him being a vampire, she felt her inner voice, that screamed at her earlier, fell into silence. The more she spent time with him, the way they looked at each other, the more she felt at peace. It terrified her to a certain extent, but not enough to scare her away. "What happens now?" Her voice was just above a whisper, uncertainty underlining each word.
Vladimir hummed lowly, taking deep breaths before he looked at her once more. He saw curiosity, but also a hint of fear in her eyes, but through it all, he knew she was on the verge of breaking, of finally giving in. "You already cut your lectures just to be here," he started, a small knowing smile spreading on his face. "Why not cut a few more and I'll show you what could be yours." He looked distinctively in her eyes, trying to read every occurring emotion.
She exhaled sharply at his words, the way he spoke with such an intensity, that she could hardly bear it. Amanda wanted to decline immediately, she had responsibilities, her studies, her part-time job and her parents, even though she felt, they didn't have the best relationship. They were always more drawn to her brother, the doctor, the man with a wife and two sons. Since Amanda had moved away, she had barely any contact with any of them. Calling once in a while for birthdays or holidays or to share important news, but not much more. And still they were family, they celebrated together, they cried together and deep down she knew, that they would always be there for her. She lowered her gaze, thinking about the proposition that now seemed very intriguing. She was never the adventurous type, never took any risks, except for when she first met that mysterious stranger, who somehow captivated her thoughts and emotions in a heartbeat without much effort. She let out a long sigh as her eyes roamed the ground in hope to find answers to her questions, even though she already knew them. In the depth of her mind, she began to realize that denying his offer and therefore cutting all hope to get to know him properly was a strangely horrifying thought. Whatever feelings she developed towards him was nothing she could compare with anything she ever experienced. Those new occurring feelings were frightening and exciting equally and her mind began to fight a war against her body, that was oh so willing to follow him without question, despite all the possibly dangerous consequences that might follow.
Without thinking much further, Vladimir took action. He saw her inner struggle, but he wouldn't want her doubts to win her inner argument. Even the slightest of possibilities of her to reject his offer, to reject him, fueled him with anger and despair. He couldn't let that happen. With the slightest bit of force, he lifted her chin with his right hand, forcing her attention back to him. A satisfied expression could be seen on his face as he saw her reaction, the way her cheeks blushed at the contact, how her eyes widened in surprise, her uneven breathing and of course, how her heart skipped a beat. It was like music to his ears and he loved how her body reacted to him. "What do you say, dragă mea?" He knew exactly what he was doing, playing with his voice, almost forcing her to focus on him instead of her thoughts. She was his and she had to finally accept that.
Once, Amanda was forced to look at the man again, all of her doubts were washed away. She had no choice, basically, she had already given up on resisting. There was no point, no way she could win against her emotions and his advances. For a few seconds, they just looked at each other and she slowly relaxed, though the blush didn't lessen its impact on her cheeks. The soft waves of pleasant shivers than run through her body due to his hand on her chin made her feel somewhat dizzy, but she was also in delightful peace. "I guess, I have to call in sick," she breathed. "But I think, I need a few things before we can leave." She noticed the smirk spreading on his face, but she didn't mind. The sudden close proximity paired with the already existing curiosity and trust she had towards him, put her in a state of content.
"Very well," Vladimir said and let go of her. He took a turn and a few minutes later, they arrived at the same spot they started. "Go ahead." He moved aside to let her guide the way to her flat to collect the things she needed. There was no way, he would let her get there on her own. He would make sure that she was safe as long as he was around.