Sadly, she turns her attention back to Dylan. She sits on the ground in front of his grave and tells her best friend everything, knowing if he were really here he would be her friend and listen, even if it was about another guy. At one point she finds herself laughing and at another moment she felt tears spring up in her eyes.
As she is wiping the tears from her eyes a thought comes to her. Excitedly she runs to her car and pulls out a piece of paper from her briefcase and writes a note, a short one like the one Alessandro had left her, and puts it in front of Catherine’s grave along with a couple of flowers that she had brought for Dylan’s grave. She stares at the display and prays that he will see them.
***
Alessandro watches Anna-Marie, as he normally does, as she walks slowly to Dylan’s grave. Unbeknownst to Anna-Marie, he has continued to watch over her from afar. Today she has confused him. He watched her as she jumped up from the ground in front of Dylan’s grave and ran to her car. His senses fired on high alert. He thought his cover was blown and she knew he was there. But she didn’t leave. After a minute she got back out of her car and put a note along with flowers on Catherine’s grave. After a few long minutes she said her good-byes and left. Alessandro waited for a few more minutes to make sure she wasn’t going to come back before he went to read the note.
It was short and simple and made him smile for the first time in a month. It said, “I’m sorry, Anna-Marie.”
Alessandro takes out his phone to call Michael and cancel their plans for later, because tonight he has a lot of thinking to do.
“Hey, man, it’s Alessandro.”
“Hey, dude, where are you? I’ll come meet you.”
“I’m at the cemetery, but you don’t need to come.”
“The cemetery? Why are you there?” Michael asks, then pauses. “Man, did you follow her again today?”
“Yeah.”
There is another long silence before Michael speaks again.
“Man, what the hell are you doing?”
“I don’t really know to be honest.”
“Well, you better figure it the hell out before things get any worse.”
“Michael, don’t you think I know this? Don’t you think that’s what I have been trying to do for weeks now?”
“Whatever, man, it’s your life; just don’t pull the rest of us down with you. I’ll see you later.”
Without a response, Michael hangs up. Alessandro has never had this situation come up in all his life. His family has been all that has ever mattered to him. He knew Michael wouldn’t understand. Hell, he didn’t even understand it.
***
By Saturday afternoon Anna-Marie starts to wonder if it is too late to make amends with Alessandro. At one o’clock in the afternoon she hears a faint knock on her door. Her heart starts to pound in her chest and she quickly jumps up off of the couch and runs to answer it.
Anna-Marie is unable to breathe as she comes face to face with the most beautiful almond eyes she has ever seen.
“Hi, Anna-Marie.”
“Alessandro,” she says breathlessly. She has been thinking about this moment for days, replaying over and over the different scenarios in her mind. No amount of preparation can prepare you for the awkwardness one feels at a moment like this. Then he smiles, which puts Anna-Marie at ease instantly.
“I’m so glad you came,” she says to him. “Please, come in.”
Anna-Marie stands to the side allowing him to walk through the door.
“So, how have you been?” Alessandro asks.
“I’ve been good. It’s been busy at work.”
“Good, I’m glad.” Alessandro pauses, “Look, Anna-Marie, I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry that I lied to you, but I hope you know it is absolutely imperative that I keep my secrets. I wish there had been a different way.”
Anna-Marie holds up her hand. “Alessandro, stop. I understand why you had to do it. Just promise me that you will never lie to me again. All of this has been a lot to take in, but I’d like to think I have a fairly open mind. Hell, I’d have to, to believe all of this.”
“I promise.”
Anna-Marie takes a deep breath. “Alessandro, you have saved me, not only figuratively but also emotionally. I have been so disconnected for so long and I was content to live that way. I have been living my life in a blur. I can’t tell you anything about this past year, other than how I have felt. Then you came along. You didn’t know me or Dylan. It allowed me to get out of my head and start over. Then you went away and I felt lost all over again.”
Overcome with emotions for this woman standing before him, Alessandro slowly walks closer towards Anna-Marie and grabs her hand and pulls her close to him. Without thinking, he cups her face and kisses her softly.
Anna-Marie smiles and whispers in his lips, “I feel like I’m dreaming.”
Alessandro pulls away. “Would you go somewhere with me?”
Anna-Marie looks at him curiously. “Where?”
“I’ve told you about my world, now I want to take you somewhere special to show it to you.”
Anna-Marie swallows hard not knowing what to expect. “Okay.”
A few minutes later they are driving through the country with the convertible top down. It is a perfect sunny August day. Fall is creeping in, but you couldn’t tell by the weather. They soak in the heavenly views of the monstrous blue ocean, with its many boats resting on its smooth crystal surface. The salty scent of the ocean air is intoxicating.
This town has always been so magical to Anna-Marie ever since she could remember. There’s no other place in the world she has ever wanted to be. How can there be so much craziness and pain in the world on a day like this?
Anna-Marie closes her eyes and soaks it all in, never wanting to open her eyes again.
When they come to a stop, she opens her eyes to find them in front of one of her most favorite plantations in Wilmington.
“Oh, I love this place.”
“I figured you would. Do you know the plantation’s history?”
“Of course I do. I’ve come here many times ever since I was little and I have researched as much as I could on it through the years.”
“But do you know the true history? It’s secret history?”
“Umm . . . no. What secret history?” She stares at him, baffled.
“Come on, let’s go walk around and see what we can find. I haven’t been here in a very long time so the details are a little sketchy.”
He gets out of the car and quickly rushes over to her side. He opens her door and takes her hand to help her out of the compact car.
“As you know, this is the main house,” he says pointing to the grand white mansion.
She nods her head in acknowledgement. “I know, isn’t it marvelous? I have always had an irresistible draw to this place ever since my first visit when I was a child.”
Anna-Marie stares up at the prestigious three-story white house. This is by far the most beautiful house Anna-Marie has ever seen. There are four enormous white columns that flank the entrance of a wide lazy porch. Just beyond the porch is a row of bay windows. Its enormity seems to fit perfectly with its wondrous surroundings.
“Did you know this isn’t the original manor?”
She quickly turns to him, looking confused. She thought she knew everything about this place.
“No, I didn’t. I never read that before.”
“Yep, the original was almost as big and just as beautiful, however it burned down many centuries ago.”
“Wow, I never knew that.” She turns back to look at the house as if seeing it for the first time.
“Most people don’t. The locals back in the 1800’s erased that part of its history from the books. The only history that people remember about the plantation is the story that was made up, which isn’t entirely wrong; it’s just not the beginning. Come on, let’s walk through the garden.”
They walk silently into a large garden, both lost in their own tho
ughts. The sound of the river that runs alongside of the estate is hypnotizing and the hundreds of assorted flowers in bloom give off a sweet aroma. There are so many different flowers here of all shapes and colors designed into all different patterns in the landscape.
Although she is by no means a flower connoisseur, she has been so fascinated with this place for such a long time that she has tried to learn their names with each visit though. There are still many she doesn’t know the name of.
Of all the beautiful foliage of different shades of blue, green, white, pink and many more, oddly enough her favorite is the live oak trees. They are such beautiful and majestic wonders in this part of the state.
They come to a stop just beyond the small family chapel at the ancient cemetery. The enormous live oak trees that enclose this small cemetery make it appear eerie, as if from a movie, with sage colored moss hanging down from the limbs and covering most of the ground.
Anna-Marie always thought it was so sad to see the whole family buried here, but also happy that they were all together, even in death. The markings on the graves have been long gone, even before Anna-Marie’s time, but according to history the family of a king lays at peace here.
Alessandro walks up to the largest of the seven kingly graves and kneels down on one knee in front of it. He wipes away moss from the marker that had fallen from the monstrous green trees that shelter the whole area and tries to decipher the barely visible writing.
“’By the sin fell the angels,’ William Shakespeare. I used to be able to read the writing on the headstone. They are so weathered now, it’s almost impossible to read now, but I will never forget that verse.”
“Wow, is that really what it used to say?” Anna-Marie stares at him with wide eyes, shocked by this beautiful revelation.
Alessandro nods his bent head.
Alessandro seems very emotional so Anna-Marie stays silent, letting him know he can speak.
When he turns to her, his face is full of emotion.
“This was the first Brotherhood headquarters.”
Anna-Marie continues to stare at him, utterly stunned. She had never heard this before, but really why would she? She never knew there were real live vampires in the world before last night either.
He turns back to face the tomb. “A very long time ago, over three hundred years to be more precise, the plantation housed the very first order of Brotherhood. There were seven of them in total. They were the first civilized group and they created the laws for our people here in this very spot. We still follow most of those same laws today.
“They were tired of all of the cruelty and bloodshed they had witnessed in their long lives. They thought humans were being killed senselessly and knew there had to be a better way.
“Of course, change is never taken easily.” He turns to stare at her again, knowing all these changes in her life weren’t easy either.
“There were no such things as Rogue and Brotherhood up until that point. They were all the same, beautiful, cruel and majestic creatures.”
“If they were all the same, then how were they anything but cruel?” Anna-Marie asks.
Alessandro looks away from her and back toward the tombs.
“Vampire is just a name that was created many, many years ago. Their origins aren’t completely known because the first generation was eliminated a very long time ago. However, there is ancient script saying they were once angels of God himself.”
“Seriously? Angels? You’re kidding! There are really angels, too? I have always thought of angels as being kind and beautiful beings.”
“For whatever reason, they chose a different path than where God was leading. A group of them got together and fought against the righteous path, and in return God punished them. He banished fourteen of his beautiful creations to earth. He cursed them to live as blood thirsty animals. They became monstrous creatures, never being able to return to heaven again, or partake in the pleasure of the glorious light of day and all the gifts that life has to offer.
“I don’t think God foresaw the effect his actions would have on the world as a whole. I would like to think, had He known how these creatures would turn out, He would have thought of a better punishment.”
Anna-Marie stares at him, shocked. Her heart is threatening to pound straight out of her chest. She is having a hard time wrapping her mind around this new development.
“The seven graves you see here are only half of that group, the good half.”
“But, how is that possible? What happened to the other seven?”
“Well, the bad half caused so much chaos and let themselves be known to humans. The humans were deathly afraid of them and for good reason. They wanted the abominations gone. The locals rallied together one night with flaming torches and burned the manor down with six of the Brotherhood inside, killing them all. No one knows what happened to the others. They seemed to have completely disappeared.”
Anna-Marie looks around feeling a little confused. “But, there are seven graves.”
“Ahh . . . yes, there are. The seventh belongs to a human woman that had the misfortune to fall in love with one of them.”
Anna-Marie turns back to the moss covered graves seeing them with a new light and begins to cry. “That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Yes, it is a sad story, but good came from it as well. There was a seventh Brotherhood, remember.”
Anna-Marie looks from the graves back to him.
“One of them got away?”
“Yep, along with the baby that had become the very first Protector.”
“Wow, this is so unbelievable.”
“Believe it, Anna-Marie, it’s the story of my history.”
“If the locals burned down the plantation with them inside, who buried them here?”
“The church did. Religion was strict back in those days. They believed that if you bury the dead on holy ground, their soul will be at peace.”
“But the tombs are so kingly, it makes them look like they were important people.”
“The only thing anyone can determine is the remaining Brotherhood that got away eventually came back and replaced the shabby stones with more appropriate ones.”
They start walking again and like the start of their visit, they do it in silence.
“Alessandro, where is your mom?”
The question slices through him like a knife.
“She died many years ago.”
“Oh, Alessandro, I’m so sorry. Was she sick?”
“No, she was killed.” He chokes back every emotion he’s felt for the past thirty years since her death.
“Oh no, that’s horrible.”
“Yeah, it was. It was taken very hard by everyone who had known her. She was an amazing person. She did not deserve to die as she did.”
“What happened?’
“Rogue.”
She stops and looks at him. He looks so pained. “Oh, Alessandro, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s the price we pay sometimes. Once your enemy finds your weakness, they will use it against you. That’s why most of us have the good sense not to give those bastards any leverage.”
“Can you tell me about her?”
“We all knew the day would come that she would no longer be with us. She refused to turn into a vampire because of me. She wanted to give me as much of a normal life as she could and she felt staying human was the only way to ensure that.”
“That was very honorable of her.”
“Yeah, I guess. I think I would have preferred her to be a vampire, rather than not be here at all. It seems like it was all for nothing. I would have become a Protector no matter what she did. My life would have been the same as it is now, only happier.”
“What was she like?”
“Oh, she was very beautiful and so full of life.”
“How did your parents meet?”
“In Italy, actually, after the end of the Second World War. The Brotherhood was in Europe fighting the larg
est group of Rogue and Mixed Breed there has ever been, and when they were done, they went back to Italy. Believe it or not he met her on the street. She was a street vender.”
“And it was love at first sight?”
“Actually yes, as cheesy as that sounds. He said she looked at him and had him hooked with one bat of her long dark eye lashes. The rest is history.”
“That is so romantic.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
Anna-Marie walks silently, pondering that tragic love story. It seems so unthinkably sweet to love someone so much that you would sacrifice your whole life to be with him, and then give it all up for the sake of your child.
“Alessandro, how old are you?”
He looks at her, confused.
Noticing his confusion she elaborates, “Well, you said you live longer than a normal person, so I was just wondering how old you are.”
“I was born on December 11, 1962, so I’m forty nine.”
She looks at him stunned, “Wow, but you look so much younger. How long will you live?”
“Typically, if we die from natural causes, we live to be about one hundred and fifty.”
Anna-Marie stops walking and looks at him. Mortified, she asks, “So you’re going to live for another one hundred years?”
“Typically yes, but most Protectors don’t live that long.”
That answer mortifies her even more than the prospect of living so much longer than she will.
They begin walking in silence before she speaks again. “And the Brotherhood lives forever?”
“Yep, unless, of course, if they are killed. It’s been known to happen.”
“How are they made?”
“Vampires?” he asked confused.
She nods her head “yes.”
Alessandro is hesitant to answer, but decides to despite himself, “They are made from other vampires. The originals wrecked havoc. They didn’t know what would happen at the time, but when they figured it out, it was too late.”
“Oh, and do they always turn out bad like the Rogue?”
He shakes his head, No, not always. It’s a choice. Becoming a Rogue is easier for them because they don’t have to limit themselves and their blood lust. They are like drug addicts, always needing more.”
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