by S. J. Frey
It was my turn to ask questions now. Even though I don’t like bringing up the fact that Amy lied to me for four years. I think it’s time that I learn who Amy really is and not the lies that she was feeding me from before.
Amy smiles sadly and letting her head drop a little, “Yeah, I went on a few, but that was only to fill the boredom. Most of the time, I was constantly keeping watch in case unsavory people tried snooping around.”
“So, you never had anything serious?” I ask.
“When I was first turned, it was during the French Revolution. I was living in Paris and worked as a servant girl for this family. Little did I know, the family was vampire aristocrats that were part of the Second Estate. I wasn’t the only human servant they had, but I was the clumsiest. The family had a son named Henri, and he used to torment me. He would give me the hardest jobs and would still find things for me to do. To his dismay, I would overcome every obstacle he gave me. After a while, he slowly stopped and became nicer to me, seeing that he couldn’t break me.” Amy takes a breath and looks down at her hands as she plays with the hem of my blanket.
“We fell in love and met in secret. Eventually, he told his family, and that did not go well at all. Things began to get violent during the revolution, and we were trying to flee. Someone grabbed ahold of Henri and killed him before the family by beheading him. He hadn’t reached his twenty-first birthday and didn’t reach vampiric maturity yet. I was beside myself, and the family blamed me for his death. As a punishment, they turned me so that I could live the rest of my days with the guilt of his passing. When we found our new home, they were abusive to me and didn’t stop until Master Edmund came for a visit. He saw how malnourished and weak I was and requested that I serve him instead of the family. They agreed, and to my surprise Master Edmund was nothing but kind to me. He told me what happened with Henri wasn’t my fault, and I can’t let things from my past keep me from going forward in the future. I had only one true love, and I don’t think I can let myself go through all of that again. It’s weird, I never told anyone this. Not even Darren.” Amy says with a shrug.
I am speechless, and the only possible thing I could think of to do was reach out and place a hand on her shoulder, rubbing her pale skin with my thumb.
“This is what friends are for, and my father was right. You can’t let your past stop your future. One day you’ll be able to move on but do it at your own pace.” I nod.
Amy snakes her arm around my waist and gives me a small side hug. It isn’t as tight as her previous hugs, but I know she is hurting. I slide my arm around her waist in return and rest my head up against hers. We close our eyes for a moment, like we are meditating, and take a deep breath.
It was finally my turn to be there for her when she needed me and not the other way around. I’m glad that Amy opened up to me because now her healing process can begin. Even though this happened to her hundreds of years ago, it was never too late to heal.
Thirteen
A few days after the attack, I try to keep myself out of everyone’s way. Darren respected the space I wanted and did his best to not bother me. My poor neglected station wagon sat in the gravel driveway with its trunk still full of what little property I owned. The boxes from school sat untouched, filled with clothing, posters, and my professional camera. Going to New York for Photography sounded like such a fun idea at the time, but now I’m only left with a box full of pictures from past assignments and a diploma that will never be framed.
I sit among the gardens using my camera to take up-close color photos of the roses. The morning sun shines lazily on the drops of dew on the rose petals. A monarch butterfly perches carefully on a leaf cleaning its face. I lift my camera up to snap the picture, but the sound of a female’s voice causes the insect to fly away. I groan, looking up at Amy, rushing over to me on the ground.
“Lizzy! You need to get cleaned up and dressed,” she demands.
I would have expected this sort of demand from Darren and not from her. I groan louder and lie down in the fresh grass as a form of defiance.
“Just five more minutes,” I whine. I forgot how good it feels to have a camera in my hand again to capture life’s moments.
“I would love to give you more time, but I can’t. You have a guest, and it’s urgent,” she insists.
I roll onto my back and slowly got up from the damp ground giving her a huff. Pieces of grass clung to my shirt as I wiped away the strands. Deep down inside, I hope that it wasn’t Lorcan trying to apologize for what happened the other night.
This time I didn’t have to wear a stuffy business suit like the last time I met Lorcan. Instead, I was able to wear something more comfortable, like my yellow sundress. It had a statement that said, ‘yes, I’m dressed cute, but I’m also lazy at the same time.’
Walking down the stairs to the foyer, I start to become anxious about what was waiting for me. As if my life hasn’t been eventful enough already.
Darren is talking to a tall man with short, dirty blonde hair. They talk briefly and turn to me as I step off the last step. “William? This is a surprise?” I say in astonishment. Seeing my father’s lawyer was the last thing I was expecting. A striking fear crept up into my chest as I look at Darren, hoping that William didn’t discover the vampire secret.
William embraces me briefly and kisses me on both cheeks, any formality is entirely out the window. “I believe we have much to discuss,” he smiles as a small fang poked out of his lip.
He links my arm with his and leads me towards the dining room where tea and snacks are waiting. “Something tells me this isn’t about selling the manor, is it?” I ask, trying to hide the shock from my face. So, William is a vampire as well. To think you know someone.
William chuckles and pulls out a seat for me at the head of the table before seating himself. “I’m afraid so. Some things needed to be sorted out before I could come to you,” he says softly.
It’s weird. William has this warm demeanor compared to some of the other vampires I met so far. He has this persona about that makes him so inviting, but maybe it makes him dangerous at the same time.
“I was at Lorcan’s party under the suspicion that he was up to something, and I was right. Normally, I would stay away from all vampire council functions for the simple fact I can’t stand them. However, I wanted to see if he invited you and that it wasn’t a ploy. I was pleasantly surprised you showed up and looked radiant,” he grins.
“Why didn’t you say hello?” I ask as I pour some tea for the both of us.
He takes a sip and sighs, “I would have, but I was undercover. The vampire council and I don’t get along. I didn’t come here to catch up, Elizabeth. I came here to tell you that the attack at Lorcan’s estate was staged by Lorcan. I managed to grab one of his henchmen and gave a convincing interrogation. Needless to say, he told me everything.”
My stomach feels like it’s doing backflips. I knew Lorcan was trouble the moment I met him. The fact that it is confirmed makes my dangerous situation more apparent. I see Darren out of the corner of my eye by the door. His body stiffens a little but relaxes when our eyes met.
“Lorcan is threated by you, Elizabeth. If you take over, then he will be removed from the court. I also have reason to believe that Lorcan killed your father. Edmund came to me shortly before his death to draft his will. When I asked him the specifics, he kept me in the dark. After his death, I began to question the council. Let's just say my accusations with the certain members of the council are what got me in trouble.” He says with a smirk while taking a sip of tea.
“When you first stepped into my office, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much you reminded me of your father. Well, maybe not as mischievous.” He chuckles.
“Mischievous? From everything I’ve heard, he sounded like a boy scout,” I shrug.
William laughs and sighs, sitting back in his seat. “We were a couple of hooligans back in the day. In the days before the great vampire war, we were young and couldn�
�t sit still. Vampires were under strict rules, and we would rebel against the council by terrorizing them. We would let chickens loose in the chamber and chase after the young maids,” he smiles.
Picturing a young William trying to gather chickens to let loose in a meeting made me laugh with him. After a bit, I see a glimpse of sadness wash over him. He stares at the wall in front of him, where a picture of a gazebo on a pond in soft pastel sits.
“I miss my dear friend. Up until the end, he only spoke of your mother and how much he loved the two of you. He wanted nothing more than to protect you.” William says softly, bringing our happy feeling to a halt.
He slowly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. It looks old and fragile, with holes poking through the white fabric. Gently he takes the bundle of cloth and places it on the table, sliding it towards me. It is wrapped around something that looks heavy and makes a metallic dragging noise when pushed.
I stare at the lump for a moment and pull the cloth away to reveal a key. It is made of brass and looks like an old skeleton key.
“A key? What is this for?” I ask, perplexed.
“Right before your father died, he gave me that key to giving to you when the time was right. I vowed to your father that I would watch over you until you made your decision. He said the ‘truth will be revealed when the key finds its home.’” He smiles.
I look closer at the key and touch the teeth thinking back to the box in my father’s study. Maybe this key is for that box?
“When you make your decision Elizabeth, come visit me at my office. It will be fun to get better acquainted with my niece,” he beams and slowly rises from his seat.
Hearing him call me his niece, it makes me feel a little at home. Even though the family I had is gone, I’m starting to discover a new family here for me. I smile and stand up too. “Should I start calling you, Uncle William?”
He flashes a bright smile at my teasing. “How about Uncle Will instead?” He chuckles.
William reaches out a hand to shake mine, but I walk right past it and wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him. It caught him by surprise. He grew rigid at first but slowly wrapped his arms around me, giving me a hearty hug.
After our embrace is over, I watch Darren escort William out of the dining room. The key feels heavy in my hand, and my palm itches with anticipation of what this key will unlock. I wait for a few minutes and hurry out of the dining room, down the hall, and into my father’s study.
This key holds all the answers to the missing pieces of my life, and I need to find out the truth.
Fourteen
If my hunch is right, this key should unlock that box I found.
The study is in the same manner that I left it in. Papers were still stacked on the desk, books in the looming towers on the floor, and the curtains opened slightly to let just enough light into the darkroom.
The only thing absent from this room is a fine layer of dust, which I’m sure Reginald or Darren probably cleaned off.
Sitting back in the chair behind the desk, I stare at the key before opening the drawers. A tiny part of me wants to ignore everything that is going on and say, ‘Not my problem,’ but there is the urge to know exactly what happened the night my father disappeared. I open the drawer carefully and pull out the wooden box I found on my first day at the manor. The key fits perfectly, and like a well-oiled machine, it opens with a soft click.
I find a thick book that was is rough around the edges. Pieces of paper are sticking out the sides, and the string holding the book together is tattered and brittle. The cover of the book is labeled with initials “E.M.” in faded gold letters. I open the book gingerly to reveal yellowed pages with fading brown ink. They are journaling entries, all dating back as far back as the 1600s. After a few more page turns, I see the handwriting get progressively neater. My father kept a journal throughout his whole life. I notice some entries were smaller than others and stop randomly on a page to look at the date.
Nov. 21, 1701
“It’s been another gruesome day out on the field. The humans are getting wiser to our weaknesses. William said it might be another few months before this town would be empty of humans. Veon will stop at nothing until all humans are dead or slaves. I’ll never understand the man’s way of thinking. Yes, they are the weaker species, but should it not be our responsibility as the stronger species, to protect those who could not?
The council made all executive decisions on ceasing all interactions with humans as per the head Veon. William was distraught when all capable vampires were forced into an unnecessary army. There was nothing we could do to stop this from happening.
One thing is certain. Veon needs to be stopped before things get worse. Too many human lives are being lost along with our own. When will it all end? When all humans are dead or enslaved? When all vampires are dead? I wish for the day when vampires and humans could live in peace. No more hiding and no more violence. To be able to have a family and friends with no consequences. However, there might never be a day like that. One can only dream.”
My father wanted nothing more than for everyone to get along. In the end, it was his downfall. I page further through the thick book and stop on an entry that was a little more recent.
April 25, 1971.
“Humans are strange and complicated. After hundreds of years and after the horrific torture my kind placed on the human race, you would think we learned everything we could about them. They keep surprising me.
Since my succession to the head of the council, I kept the same rules that were in place from years ago. No human relations at any cost. As society started to evolve, our kind had to, as well. I wanted to make the world a better place, but humans became greedy over time and too fearful. After six centuries of moving around, I believed my talents were best suited in Virginia, where I can work in congress or some sort of politics. It’s like fate brought me to this small town on purpose in some sadistic joke.
I saved a girl today. No, she was a beautiful, strong-headed woman. She was dressed in colorful skirts and flowers in her hair, shouting at my place of work for peace, love, and no more war. I was transfixed by her aura and stopped an officer from arresting her. She yelled at me, telling me how, ‘the man was bringing her people down,’ but I was too busy focusing on her beautiful freckles that dotted her nose. Debra Evans. Reluctant to accept my help at first but stopped resisting when she realized she would be jailed. As much as she wanted to fight me, she was quick to comply until she was safe. I never met someone so passionate about their fellow species, and I was enthralled.
William said I was going to hell for getting involved with a human. Oh, how much fun I’m going to have along the way.”
Tears prick my eyes as I continue to turn the pages. I couldn’t remember how many times I asked mom how she met my father. The answer was always the same, “I don’t remember” or “It was so long ago.” Now I had some closure and not very surprised that my mother was at a peace rally. It’s almost romantic how they met.
The moment of nostalgia was short-lived when I stopped on an entry two months before my birthday.
April 25th, 1992
“I should have known it was all too good to be true. That my happiness was going to be short-lived. Debra will be having our child within a matter of months, and someone found out. I didn’t have time to get things in order. William was going to take my place in the council, so Debra and I could run away and raise Elizabeth without the fear of Veon’s followers. I received a cryptic letter today at work with the ultrasound pictures I had in my briefcase. In order to protect my loved ones, I have to leave them. Debra didn’t know about me, so they are safe for now. I was going to tell her before I proposed. How foolish could I be? I should have told her years ago, but I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. When did I become such a selfish man?
It kills me every time I look at her picture or of the ultrasound. To know that my whole life was taken away from me in a moment. The so
unds of Debra’s cries as I left, will forever haunt me. I only wish that one day, vampires can come from hiding so I can be reunited with my family once more.”
The lump in my throat grew as I finish reading. The anger I once held for my absent father, slowly melted into sadness. My father only wanted humans and vampires to be able to coincide in society, to be able to live and work. Why was that such a crime? He loved us, and I can tell by his writing that he didn’t want to leave.
The last written page of the journal was only four years old.
July 17, 2012.
“There is no more hiding now. Lorcan found where I had sealed myself away and is forcing me to come out. I know it was him who blackmailed me all those years ago. If my suspicions are correct, I will be dead by sundown.
I lived my life with many regrets, but loving and being loved by a human was not one of them. Debra was my salvation for the nightmares that plagued me. Elizabeth was the shining star to guide me in my conquest for peace among humans and vampires. If I die, I will die knowing that my family is safe.