by Pet TorreS
As she approached, I inspected her face, her walking form. She practically swayed as she came toward me, but I was searching for a hint of something more sinister. As hard as I tried, I could see no malice in her, and I found myself once again wondering if Eros was wrong about her. She had been nothing but a friend to me so far, and I couldn’t bring myself to shun her before she’d done anything wrong.
When Valeska reached me, she placed a hand lightly on my shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. “Vincent has asked me to tend to you. Today is a big day!”
I furrowed my brow, unsure what she meant. Before I could ask, she grabbed my hand and tugged me along down the hallway. “Come on, we’ve got to get you dressed!”
CHAPTER 5
I spent hours in the care of the vampire Valeska. It was all recommended by my father, because he wished me to have the best care from his servant. At this moment, we were locked in my private bedroom.
While she was choosing a perfect dress for me to be dressed in during the night, all I knew was that there would be a celebration in my honor. It was a kind of welcome at my father’s castle.
Valeska took care of all the arrangements for the ceremony. Minutes before the event, she came back to my bedroom and helped me put on my dress and she also helped me finish my makeup. As soon as she completed her task, she came out of my bedroom.
After that I stood for a moment, walking from one side to other with so much mystery hovering around me.
Suddenly I remembered the blood on the lake.
I thought that mirage could be a warning in relation to what was to happen later. That thought helped to make me even more nervous. I should not be afraid. After all, I was inside my father’s castle … I also was with my friends. What harm would they do to me? I thought about it and began to feel more relaxed.
After a half hour, I left my bedroom. My intention was to go to the main room where the event would happen. I had difficulty in walking with my dress dragging on the floor. My feet stumbled on the fabric.
When I arrived at the main room, everyone was there, except my father. Even feeling a little confused, I stopped at the front of the huge hall and tried to look normal.
As soon as I entered, I noticed everyone was looking at me, that is, Valeska, Bizak and Eros, since then, I immediately lowered my head.
Valeska, with her friendly manner, offered me her cold hand, so I walked to her.
“I have never said this before, but you look beautiful in this dress!” she said as I approached her.
I put my face down again as I was embarrassed at her praise. I also knew Bizak and Eros had heard her praise too.
However, I did not want to be in the spotlight that night. Throughout my life I had always passed unnoticed before people and even though it seemed that history would pivot at this time, it was something out of the question for me.
“This red dress suits you,” Bizak said, gazing at me from head to toe. I went red.
But Eros said nothing since I arrived there and his silence made me feel ridiculous in my clothes.
I was in my red dress and I was wearing heavy makeup on my face. Valeska used strong colors, making me look like a female dancer in a nightclub, not to mention anything about my red lipstick and dark shadows around my eyes.
My blood-red dress was beautiful and in my opinion, it was outrageous. I had never dressed like this. But there is a first time for everything...
My father came into the main room. His eyes came over me as I was standing next to Valeska.
“My child, you look beautiful!” he said, holding my delicate hands. His gaze shone in my direction.
Then he kissed them in an affectionate manner. I fixed my eyes on his tender act.
Despite the fact that he was a monster, it was just moments before he seemed so human, so distinct. I forgot completely I was now living with a vampire.
“Today is your big day! Daughter, I expected so much for this moment!” My father said, looking in the direction of my neck.
Hearing those words, I glanced at everyone around me. At that moment I could see in their expressions they knew what would happen to me that night. They were not allowed to speak about it, not allowed to spoil the surprise.
My father let my hands go and then he walked to a huge dining table. There was food and drink. He held some cups and filled them with a red liquid.
This liquid had been made by vampires. It was a mixture of blood and alcohol.
He handed the cups to everyone, except me.
“You still cannot drink it,” my father said and raised his glass, making an invitation to toast the occasion. “Let's make a toast!”
One and all stood holding their glasses.
“We’ll make a toast to celebrate my daughter’s new world!”
He stared at me. Vincent was satisfied at my presence in his castle.
“VALKYRIE, THE VAMPIRE PRINCESS!” he exclaimed and everyone then touched his cup on theirs.
I stayed in the same place, watching everything, since I was not allowed to share that toast and that drink with them.
Valeska went to the dining table and walked back to bring me a cup with an unknown liquid.
“This you can drink,” in high spirits, she said and smiled at me. “It’s a red fruit juice.”
I tasted it and frowned to myself as I sensed its strange taste. It was nothing like anything I had tasted before.
“Do you like it?” Valeska asked me with vast curiosity.
“It's different ...” confused, I answered as I could not describe my sensation. My fingers touched my red lips.
My father was standing next to Eros and Bizak as they was sipping their drinks and chatting. I could not hear the theme of their conversations. Their talk seemed interesting and it was stamped on their faces.
Valeska stole my attention as she started a conversation with me.
“After you become one of us, you will know how exceptional it is,” she said.
I could see on her face a pretentious gaze, with intent to convince me that mortality was no fun.
“You can have everything you wish for ... You can realize everything you want to,” she continued with a gentle voice. “What have you wished for?” She asked me as she was supposing what would be my answer.
I did not answer her. I just stared at Eros with his glass in hand as he was listening to my father all the time. My eyes devoured him and this answered her question.
Valeska knew perfectly what Eros represented to me. After all she was a lady and every lady knew when another lady was in love. She just wanted to confirm her suspicions, those which should be affirmed by my lips.
She gazed at me and then she gazed at him and again her astute gaze came on my face.
“Eros is your big wish,” she declared.
At that moment I expelled the juice from my mouth, which I had choked on. It was a shock to hear this coming from her, to hear such claims from her lips. Everyone looked at me and they frowned in silence.
“This always happens to me ...” I tried to disguise that constrained situation.
I had no courage to face Valeska. She knew perfectly well the reason why I choked on my juice. I did not speak for cowardice of what was really happening to me. Valeska moved her investigative eyes on me. She noticed I would not say anything to her, not at this moment, at that instant, perhaps ... on other day.
We remained for hours in that festive mood, our cups were never empty. I could not stand to take more juice and look many times in Eros ‘direction and not get his attention, not even a glance ...a smile ... or his approach.
My father walked behind me and put his cold hand on my right shoulder. I retracted my body’s muscles as I was feeling a shivering sensation. My time had come. This was the most expected moment of this night.
“It's your time, Valkyrie,” my father said. “You’ll have everything you wish for.”
His three servants were approaching him, as they were side by side, standing and watchi
ng us. The three of them knew what my father predestined as soon as he said those words.
‘IT’S YOUR TIME.’
But I continued without understanding why there was so much mystery all around me.
“We cannot wait any longer. If we don’t do what must be done, you will die,” my father continued. “You must join us while you can.”
Eros and I faced each other in silence. I didn’t know what to do or what to say at that moment.
“MAKE YOUR CHOICE! Which one of them will suck your sweet blood?” Vincent asked me.
Before me, his three servants were standing, only a short distance away. They were in order, Eros, Valeska and Bizak.
At that instant I felt a great fear which I could not kill. I was about to become a vampire and live my immortality in the darkness among them and away from my mother and the planet Earth.
“Who have you chosen?” my father insisted.
My bleary eyes watered as a spring of tears appeared. I wished for only one person. My father and his servants saw perfectly my choice through my motionless eyes.
“EROS!”
My father said out loud.
“I cannot do it,” Eros shook his head at us, refusing my choice.
“She chose you!” Vincent said then, a flash of anger in his eyes and his voice rose.
“I cannot ....” Eros murmured in stumpy voice and shook his head another time. He didn’t look persuaded to do it. He didn’t look at me during that. Everything looked very confused in his life.
“Do it now!” his master ordered him in irritation.
I stood, scared, awaiting the elected one to end all suspense and do what should be done to me.
Eros walked gradually, dissatisfied in my direction. His clothes sounded darker. He did not want to stick his pointed teeth into my soft neck. There was a reason for it, but I didn't know what.
No vampire would refuse a great invitation like that. Valeska and Bizak would do it with immense pleasure. This, however, had been assigned to Eros.
My father moved backward to see Eros in front of me. He was almost ready to get his first bite in my flesh. He grabbed my shoulder and carefully removed my hair from my neck with his other hand. I stared up at his attractive face and saw his gray eyes changing color.
He put his cold lips carefully on my neck.
My heart’s beating and my heavy breathing came up to his ears like a pleasing melody, an invitation to sink his teeth into my trembling flesh.
Then I looked up at the dark ceiling. A strange feeling came over my body. A burning sensation went through my flesh. It seemed I was on fire. Then I closed my eyes and abandoned myself to Eros’ pleasant bite.
Being bitten by a blood sucking monster should be somewhat unpleasant and Eros made it ... tasty. My body writhed for a few seconds, followed by light moans, almost impossible to hear. I leaned my hands against his neck. It was a way for me to endure my pain.
My eyes rolled like a small spiral, changing color from second to second. It was the first hard effect of his bite on my body.
But Eros had lost his control. His bite should not take so long and he looked at my blood with an insatiable lust. The more he sucked my blood the more he wanted to suck it to the last drop. His agitation was so great he squeezed my ribs with debauchery.
He had not only sucked my sweet blood, but my thoughts. At the end of his bite he had visions about me and he searched my unconscious. Several images of me wanting a kiss from him, every time I wanted to be kissed by him.
All the kisses I had imagined of him from when I met him in school, they were all revealed to him. Even a kiss I had imagined hours before his bite including the moment my eyes ran over him when I first got to the hall. His bite revealed everything I felt for him, that is, my wishes and my unbridled passion for him.
After seeing and feeling all my emotions, he felt sick. A strange torment invaded his poor soul of vampire, preventing him from continuing sucking my sweet blood.
Since then, he walked away from me, keeping his fist to his charming lips smeared with my own blood.
I fell to the ground, just on my knees, as I was helpless and completely confused at my future from that moment. I felt a bizarre weakness running through my fragile body. I could hardly see anything before me, but I could see everyone was transfigured in their gray eyes. They had the appearances of vampires.
Seeing Eros delighting in my blood, whet their thirst for blood. They wanted to do the same thing, except my father who had no courage to stick his teeth in my flesh at the moment.
He could bite anybody in the world, except me.
After all I was part of him.
My neck left was with two-small holes from Eros’ teeth. My blood still trickled down my neck.
Then my father knelt beside me and held my head to get my lips against his wrist. He made a small cut into it with his huge nail, unifying my taste to a few drops of his blood. I wanted more and held his wrist and sucked his blood as much as necessary to trounce my thirst for blood.
Drinking his blood was required in order for me to go on with my immortality.
CHAPTER 6
I slept three nights in a row. A deep sleep devastated my being. I needed to replace my energies since they had all been sucked up by the bite of Eros.
When I opened my eyes in fact, I felt my body was different and a little distant from me. I had a feeling I had never known before.
There was emptiness inside me. I did not feel my heartbeat. I was one of the living dead. I looked up at the ceiling and at the dark corners of the room. At that moment I realized I was in my bedroom, lying on my cold bed.
I sat up in bed and looked down at my hands. My skin was pale, there were no signs of blood running through my veins and the color in my eyes was not dark any longer. They had become gray like the eyes of my father, Eros, Bizak and Valeska. Around them, there was a dark circle. I realized I had turned into a vampire in fact, a poor immortal, who was bloodthirsty.
~~~
Hours later
I walked to the main room. My father was there, standing in a corner, waiting for my appearance. He knew I was hungry and would need much blood.
“How do you feel?” his voice serenely asked, Vincent was staring at my face. His eyes looked to admire my image like a vampire.
“Strange,” my right hand ran in the direction of my forehead and I answered confused after that.
“It's normal for you feel this way,” he justified and smiled shortly at me for the duration of that.
Afterward he walked quickly.
When I looked at him again, he was already near me, by my side. He held my chin to see my face better. All I did was look at him too. My father looked fascinated at my transformation. It was an honor for him. I had become a real vampire.
“You came to be a beautiful creature!” his tone of voice sounded different from other times. He was thrilled. “Perfect!”
But I remained silent for some time, looking into his gray eyes.
“You might be hungry!” Vincent said and held my ice-cold hand. Our gazes met and he remained waiting for my sweet voice.
“I need blood,” finally I whispered. My tone of voice sounded low.
To facilitate everything, I was led by him, who walked forward with great security. My father was taking me to an inexplicable place I did not know yet.
We went through several dark, silent corridors. There was nobody besides us. Maybe that made part of that moment that was on the subject of coming up to me.
Bats flew over our heads. They were frightened by the noise of our steps. Three of them began flaying against me. I lowered my head, trying to avoid colliding my face with their bodies. My father walked normally as he looked familiar with that species.
We stopped in front of a rock wall.
Vincent stared at it for a few seconds, in his a serious posture.
After that the wall answered his stare. Then it divided in two parts, opening a passage to another place
, which was no more part of his castle.
We went through it and automatically the opening closed and again there was an entire wall with no crack. I looked back over my shoulder as I was scared and watched the closed wall.
It was pure magic.
My father walked on and I did the same. We were in a town built of stones. There were small cottages. These emerged from the smoke into the air. The gray scene resembled a horror movie. I walked beside my father as I was looking around the dark ground.
“Where are we?” I looked back at the dark houses.
“On the ground of those who kill our hunger,” his voice alleged with deep wisdom. Vincent remained serious and his eyes continued fixed on my perplexed face.
“Do people live in this place?”
My eyes increased even more as I was surprised that a place like that actually had humans living there.
My father laughed at my sense of stupidity for some time. I looked up at his countenance, having fun at my lack of culture. Suddenly my shoulders compacted.
“No human would live in a place like this for many hours,” he explained to me with a serene voice. “Those who live here we call ‘pre- vampires’.”
“Pre-vampires?” I frowned at him as I had never heard those words before in my life and what they signified in fact. Rightly my mother would never accept as true that I had heard this from my father’s mouth.
“This is one of them,” he said, motioning to a creature approaching us bit by bit.
I looked perplexed in the same direction and saw something moving under a huge black cape, its face was covered by a great dark hood. It was an unknown figure for me.
My father had made it stop walking before us, using only the movement of his hand toward the creature.
I looked at Vincent without understanding his behavior, what he wanted me to do with the strange prey.
“Come closer!” he ordered me with apprehension. “This is your meal.”