The Vampire Pirate's Daughter

by Lynette Ferreira

  We have replanted the vines in the soil, and the ‘vitis vinifera’ we chose is thriving in this climate and ground. The first winter we prune the vineyards and we carefully tend the vines. I enjoy the silence and the sun-drenched hills dotted with the planted growing grapes. Amanda has adjusted well in the circumstances and there are fewer and fewer mornings when I notice her tired eyes or hear her soft agonizing moans in the middle of the night.

  At night, we gather in the large kitchen around the bulky wooden table. I like the dungeon feel of the room. We laugh and joke and we have really meshed well as a group. We get along as if we have known each other forever.

  *

  It is already late summer and one night Peter announces that he feels the sugar content of the grapes has reached the correct level of sweetness to start picking. Our first wine is going to be a table wine, so the sugar content needs to be lower than that of a sweet wine, because table wines are usually drier.

  The grapes have to be cut from the vines by hand. I work silently and the sun is blazing down on my head, even though I have a bright scarf wrapped around my hair. I move my basket along with my feet and when it is full, I carry it toward the waiting wagon.

  When I reach the wagon, Edward smiles down at me, while he says, “This is hard work.”

  I laugh. “It sure is.”

  “When Callum gets back he will be shocked when he sees all that we have accomplished.”

  “We sure will.”

  I get another empty basket and looking over my shoulder while I walk away, I say friendly, “Stop slacking. You have to finish your section today.”

  He sighs. “Peter is a real slave driver and I preferred it when Amanda was in charge. She is moody, but not so bossy.”

  I walk away from him with Callum on my mind. It has been so long, almost two years since he left.

  Night falls and I stay to finish my section. Herman has driven the wagon away, but I will leave my baskets where he will park the wagon again tomorrow.

  They will not stop working tonight anyway, because Claude and Justin have started crushing the grapes in a huge cylindrical container that we bought. We did not want to make the wine in the old-fashioned way of crushing the grapes by treading on them barefoot. Once the grapes are crushed in the container, the juice is run off into the vats and barrels for fermentation. We are making a white wine, so we only need the juice, whereas if we were making a red wine we would use the pulp, juice and color-bearing skin.

  It is such a beautiful night, the moon is full and the sky is clear. The air feels crisp and as I walk back toward the château, the river winks at me, inviting me to come in for a dip. I look toward the house and decide to have a swim, because when I get home I will be pulled into another chore. I feel like floating on the river, maybe just drift with the flow and get out when I have passed the village. I will enjoy the walk back. Maybe I will have a good run to get the cobwebs cleared from my mind. Callum has been on my mind constantly the last few days and I wonder blissfully whether it is because he might be thinking about me as well.

  I walk into the river with my clothes on, because I could not get out of the river on the other side of the village and run naked through the fields. I smile amused at the thought.

  I drift toward the middle of the river, the flow is slow and I look up at the moon as it follows me. The water around me glimmers with the light and the stars reflect off the water. I could imagine floating in the sky.

  I am blissfully relaxed by the time I start to see the lights from a few houses in the village and reluctantly I swim toward the shore. I did not want to go past the village, unwilling to venture too far away from home.

  I wade onto the riverbank and then from the corner of my eye I see two dark figures to the side of me.

  The one shadow laughs sadistically. “We were wund’rin when you’d come out o’ the river.”

  I feel instant fear.

  The other shadow agrees, “We thought we was following ye to the North Sea, the way ye was driftin’ along.”

  I turn to run and my clothes hang from me heavily. A steel grip folds around my arm and pulls me backwards, while a voice sneers close to my ear, “Where are ye goin? I am hungry, lassie.”

  The other man laughs heartily.

  I try to pry my arm out of the painful grip. I turn to lift my hand and to scratch his face. They must be vampire, because if they were human I would have gotten away without even trying.

  The man grabs me around my waist as I turn toward him and then with lightening speed he bends his head toward me.

  He stops for a moment and then he sniggers amused, “Wha ave we ere?”

  The other man asks excitedly, “Wha’s it?”

  “She ain’ human.” The first man replies perplexed.

  The other man steps forward and I struggle against the arms pinned around me. The man pushes his hand against my chest, pushing against my breasts aggressively.

  He looks up at the other man confused, “She ain’ got no heartbeat but I can smell er.”

  I try to get away from them and thoughts of death flash through my mind. I wanted to see Callum again. I wanted to spend forever with him.

  The man holding me tightly to him laughs meanly. “A bloody half-breed, this is. Betta to rid the earth o’ them.”

  The other man jumps forward eagerly. “Me first, me first.” The stench from him makes me gag involuntarily.

  The man holding me with a vice-grip to him pushes the other one away with the palm of his hand. The little, smelly man stumbles back. “I’m first, wait ye turn, eejit.”

  I hear my scream of defiance echo into the night, but then I feel the excruciating pain as his teeth sink into my neck. He is standing in front of me and he has my hands gripped in his behind my back. He pulls me toward him and his other hand pushes my chin away from the exposed area.

  As I feel him bite me, his teeth breaking through my skin painfully, my knees go weak and then I am hanging from him. A feeling of complete weakness overwhelms me. I feel a strange thump, thump in my chest and I feel myself gasp for air.

  I am dying.

  From a distance, I hear a voice call my name and the man drops me to the ground. I hear the little one hiss, “I ne’er go’ a turn.”

  There is a slapping sound and then I hear them run away.

  I feel myself lifted and carried, and I feel a darkness take me.

  Faintly I hear Amanda shriek. I feel the arms around me put me onto a bed gently and Amanda’s voice telling everybody to leave the room.

  Her hands are all over me, pulling the wet clothes from me. I feel weird. My entire body is tingling. It feels as if my body is shaking from the rhythm of my heart. It is the strangest feeling, although it feels familiar. Previously I never noticed my own heartbeat until it stopped, and for a time my body felt unbelievably silent. I got used to that though, and now the action of breathing and my thumping heartbeat seems loud in my ears.

  I shiver, and realize that I feel cold, so very cold. When last have I felt a chill in my bones?

  Opening my eyes, I look into the worried eyes of Amanda.

  “What is going on?” I ask softly. My neck is painfully sore, I move my hand up and tentatively I touch the origin of the pain.

  Amanda is frantic and she whispers, “Oh, Susie. When I said you would die when a vampire bites you, I did not mean drop dead immediately. Because your father was a vampire and your mother human and you survived the fever, if another vampire bit you, you would turn human again. Thus your immortality is taken away from you, and you will indeed die eventually when the course of your life has run out.”

  I look up at her confused. “Human?”

  A dry sob escapes her. “Yes, human.”

  “Why has nobody ever told me this before?” I struggle to say.

  “I was going to, but I have never felt the need before. When we got here, I thought there could be a possibility with the others, but although they seemed savage they turned out to be quite ci
vilized.”

  I suddenly remember something and I ask, “So why did William not turn human for my mother?”

  “I don’t know Susie. Maybe he wanted it to be forever and he did not want to lose her eventually anyway through natural death. I really don’t know.”

  I have so many questions, but I cannot fight the darkness as it drifts closer.

  *

  I sleep fitfully for weeks. By the time I walk out of my bedroom weakly, the wine has been barreled and the frost lies thick on the ground outside.

  I walk toward the kitchen. I have never before realized how draughty and cold this big house is, as I fold my arms around my body and I shiver.

  Claude is in the kitchen and he stands up concerned when he sees me. He looks at me apprehensively, not knowing how to deal with me now that I am a human.

  I ask him softly, “Would you mind lighting a fire in the wood stove for me?” We never replaced the old stove, because we did not need cooking facilities.

  He says, “Sure.”

  He rushes out of the kitchen in search of wood and I sit down on a chair. I am hungry. I want a big bowl of warm oats, the way I used to eat it when I was only six years old, sitting here at this very same table. I want to pour large spoons full of sugar and then watch it melt into the warm oats, before I pour the warm milk over it. I hear my stomach growl. The sound is loud and it gives me a fright. I laugh cynically, because I cannot remember when last I heard that sound.

  Claude comes back into the kitchen and silently he puts the wood into the little door in front of the large black stove.

  I stare at him and I can see he feels uncomfortable being here with me all alone. I ask kindly, “Where is Amanda?”

  “They are pruning the vines.”

  “Already?”

  “You were sleeping a long, long time.”

  Softly I say, “I thought I died.”

  He does not reply.

  After a while, I say, “I am still the same person, you know?”

  He looks up apologetically. “I know. It just feels… It is …”

  “Don’t bother. I know it can’t be easy.”

  When he has the fire going, he walks toward the cupboards on the opposite side of the kitchen. I stand up and pull the chair I am sitting on closer to the stove and then I sit closely beside it, so that I can feel the warmth.

  I hear him say uncertainly, “Amanda bought you some food…Human food. There are a lot of different things here and then there are these tubs of chocolate things in the fridge.”

  I stand up from the chair and I open the fridge. I smile pleased when I see the little tubs of decadent chocolate mousse. I lean into the fridge and break one of the tubs away from the six-pack.

  Eagerly I pull the silver lining from the top and I dip my finger into the pot. I stick the big lump of chocolate on my finger into my mouth. My eyes close involuntarily. It is total bliss. The bubbles and the decadent chocolate melt onto my tongue.

  I open my eyes when I hear a drawer open and then Claude leans across to me with a spoon.

  They come into the kitchen noisily and then they stop talking as one. The silence is immediate. I see the relief on Claude’s face. Amanda rushes toward me and then I see her hesitate for a moment, before she hugs me.

  Edward, Herman, Claude, Justin and Peter remain standing on the other side of the room, while Amanda sits down by the table. Amanda starts talking first and not long after they all join in. Soon we are laughing and talking, but when Amanda leaves the room, the silence once again descends upon the room.

  I sit staring down at my hands awkwardly and decide that this is my home, so if they cannot stand the thought of living with a mere mortal, they can move.

  Resolved in my decision, I stand up and I am about to say that they are all welcome to leave, when Amanda comes back into the room and I feel the room heave a sigh of relief.

  This carries on for a few weeks and when I cannot stand it anymore, I stand up one night and I wait for them to stop talking amongst themselves.

  They all turn toward me anxiously. Amanda smiles up at me encouragingly.

  I take a deep breath. Weird to do this, but it really does happens naturally. At first, I used to take measured breaths every second and then I forgot all about breathing.

  They all look at me in anticipation and I start to feel nervous, but I am standing now and I will feel even more awkward if I sat back down. I clear my throat and then I say, “I am still the same person. I know you all feel funny having me around, but don’t worry, I am not scared of you. I am not scared that you would want to feed on me.” I laugh dryly. “It would be interesting to see what would happen to me next if one of you did!”

  Edward starts laughing nervously and then they all join in. Amanda looks at me warily.

  I say warningly, “That was not an invitation though and I am not dinner. If your urges get too much, you leave.”

  Claude walks toward me. He is the one who saved me that dreadful night from being drained completely and hesitantly he hugs me closely to him. It feels nice to be held and he is so bear-like I almost disappear into him. He turns away from me toward the rest of them, but keeping his arm over my shoulders. He glances down at me, smiling his lopsided grin, and he says, “We will never feed on you. You are like our baby sister.”

  Individually they each come toward me, they hug me close and suddenly I do feel like the little sister. I feel safe and know instinctively that they will protect me.

  I start cooking for myself, because you can only have so many chocolate mousse tubs, before the decadent chocolate starts to taste tart and too sweet. Cooking is difficult. Justin teaches me a few things, because he tells me proudly that he used to be chef once, a long time ago. During my cooking lessons, I learn more about him and his relationship with Peter, than I do about cooking.

  One day, while Justin shows me how to make Crème Brulè, he tells me, “Peter and I met one night very long ago. I was already turned, but Peter was still human. I always felt different, and in my nineteen human years I never felt any attraction to girls. Even Veronica, the woman who turned me, never had any appeal for me.” He smiles delightfully. “Then in a pub one night, looking for a man to love for a little while, and then kill him afterwards, I saw Peter across the room.”

  I laugh without being able to help myself. “You are saying that you used to be like the black widow spider, luring your unsuspecting victims with promises of love and devotion.”

  He laughs with me. “Precisely and then when I was satisfied, I literally ate them.”

  I gasp and Amanda walks into kitchen, reprimanding Justin sternly, “Justin, don’t talk like that in front of Susie, she is only sixteen.”

  Apologetically Justin says, “Sorry,” but he winks at me when Amanda turns her back.

  Chapter Twenty

  A few days later, I am roasting a chicken, and I keep a close eye on it, because I do not want to burn it – again.

  I have gotten used to the faces around me, watching me while I sat eating, while they sat chewing on their raw meat popsicles. The looks I got were either yearning or revulsion - it all depended on the day.

  I hear Peter call me from the hall, “Susie, there is someone at the door for you.”

  I look toward Justin, who is teaching me how to steam pumpkin. “Me?”

  Justin smiles, “And he smells delicious.”

  “A human?”

  He nods his head. “And a him.”

  I mumble, “Him,” while I walk out of the kitchen. I say across my shoulder, “Justin. You better watch that chicken!”

  I hear his delightful laugh follow me, while I walk down the hall toward the large double front door and I take a step backwards when I recognize the person standing in the hall.

  He is twirling his hands nervously in front of him and he is swaying on the balls of his feet. I cannot help smiling when he lifts his eyes and I look into those broodingly dark eyes.

  I see him sigh with relief and th
en I rush toward him. I fall into his arms. His arms feel stronger and his chest feels bigger. He is older now and I try to work it out but I cannot remember when I last saw him. It feels like decades ago, but I know it was only a few years, possibly two, maybe three.

  He moves away from me gently and then he holds onto my shoulders, while he looks down at me. “Hey,” he says softly.

  I smile. “Andrew, I have not seen you in so long. What are you doing here?”

  “I am here for you.”

  I turn away from him and holding onto his hand, I lead him back to the kitchen, while I explain, “I have a chicken roasting, and I don’t want it to burn. I cannot trust Justin, because he is probably doing his nails by now. I have to stay with him, or my dinner will be ruined.”

  Andrew says, “Wait. Chicken? Dinner?”

  I laugh dismissively. “Do you like chicken?”

  He answers apprehensively, “I do. Are you talking of real chicken.”

  “Yes, the cluck, cluck kind. What other kinds of chicken are there? I would like to know, maybe there is chicken that is easier to cook.”

  He stops me. “Wait, Susie. You look different. You are talking of chicken. What is going on?”

  Edward says from behind us, “She is human now, but you must still be careful of us.”

  Andrew looks flabbergasted. “Human?”

  I look at Edward reproachfully. “Don’t mind Edward. They won’t do anything to you.”

  Andrew shakes his head. “Susie? Is it true that you are human now?”

  I shrug. “Yes. It’s no big deal.” Andrew still wants to say something, but I interrupt him, “My chicken, Andrew. I am serious. Follow me.”

  I walk into the kitchen and the yummy smell of roasting chicken fills my nostrils. I walk toward the stove, but Justin stops me from opening the oven door again. “The chicken is fine, Susie. Leave it to roast now.”

  I tell Andrew to sit, while Justin and I continue making the pumpkin.

  Edward starts to talk to Andrew and I listen amused to their conversation. Edward always thinks he is funny. In another life, he could have been a comedian, he always foretells, but nobody else thinks so.