by P. L. Kurup
“In half an hours’ time you will never see me again,” Samuel placated.
The priest said nothing, but tapped his shoe impatiently. The situation worsened because Amelia was late and though this was a bride’s privilege, it made the groom sigh. He fixed on the doorway willing her to enter, but to his dismay she did not. He turned to the priest and muttered, “I don’t know where she is.”
The priest gestured to the doorway and Samuel turned to see Amelia strolling into the great hall wearing her gown. The bouquet of red roses she carried was a perfect contrast to the ivory dress and the silk veil gave her a graceful elegance. She wandered down the hall and took her place next to Samuel.
“You look astounding,” Samuel declared.
The priest approached the couple and opened the bible. As the vows were pronounced, Samuel took two rings from his suit pocket and placed the first on her finger while she placed the second on his.
“I know pronounce you man and wife,” the priest said.
Amelia and Samuel kissed and when they parted they saw the priest exiting the hall. She looked at her ring elated at what it meant.
“When did you buy the rings and book the venue? Not to mention buy your suit?” she quizzed.
“When you were choosing your dress. I knew you would be awhile.”
She slapped him playfully on the arm and he chuckled.
“This is the happiest day of my life!” she stated.
“Likewise.”
The newlyweds left the hall engrossed in each other and weaved their way to the forecourt.
Getting into the car, Amelia couldn’t help reflect that she was now Mrs Samuel d’Orleans.
Chapter 26
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“Patience is a virtue.”
“Can’t you give me a clue?”
“I’m afraid not.”
She tutted and looked ahead. They travelled for several uneventful miles before he turned into a street littered with rundown houses. She sank in her seat and glared at the end house, a dull grey building once used as an orphanage, her orphanage. Paint peeled off its walls and roof tiles tumbled to the ground. The lawn where she played hide and seek now stripped of its grass. She didn’t know why he brought her to such an awful place on their wedding day and she wished they would leave. He pressed his foot on the accelerator pedal and the car sped past the horrific edifice and onto another road.
“Forgive me, I merely took this route because it’s the quickest way to the theatre,” he explained.
“The theatre?” she repeated, forgetting about her childhood trauma. “Are we going to see a play of some kind?”
“No.”
“A musical then?”
“I can’t tell you because it would ruin the surprise.”
Her teeth clenched at the stubbornness of her new husband.
xxx
Samuel drove through winding streets and combatted heavy traffic to reach a place she was very familiar with; Trafalgar Square. There, she saw tourists and locals celebrating the New Year. Her heart rejoiced on seeing so many happy people on a day that was very special to her. The sun had set and a misty haze covered London. The streetlights turned on one after the other and submerged the buildings in a sublime glow. She eliminated Claude and Lucas from her thoughts as nothing was allowed to sour her happiness.
He drove through a one way street and parked between two large cars. Amelia had just opened the door and he was there to offer her his hand. She took hold of it and for the first time she didn’t notice the coldness of his skin. They carried on and turned an insignificant corner, when she stopped suddenly and gasped, “Oh, my word.”
“Do you like the surprise?” he asked her.
“It’s spectacular.”
They strode to an 18th century theatre with pillars near the entranceway and posters of Swan Lake embellishing the walls. Crossing into the foyer, they were inundated by hundreds of well-dressed patrons engaged in conversation. Bright red curtains draped the windows and several ushers were dotted about the place ready to offer assistance. Amelia and Samuel blended into the gathering, their wedding clothes aptly suited for the event. Once their tickets were checked, the couple strolled into a vast auditorium strewn with bright blue seats. She marched to their row and took the centre seat while he sat beside her.
“The closest I got to watching ballet was when they showed it on TV,” she admitted.
“It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before.”
A steady stream of people entered the room and took their seats, and in time the room was full. The curtains opened and she saw a set adorned with paper masher trees. The dancers came on stage and she sat up straight determined not to miss a single detail. Her senses were overwhelmed by the sumptuousness of the production and not knowing the story of Swan Lake did little to dampen her enjoyment. The performers enthralled her with intricate moves and she clasped his hand as her contentment rose.
xxx
Samuel’s head turned to the sound of footsteps travelling down the foyer. The steps could’ve belonged to any person on the planet, but his mind stirred to the possibility of a nonhuman intruder. He followed the entity as he walked up the stairs and approached the doors to the auditorium. He felt Lucas’s presence behind the door, and moved to get up, when Lucas walked away. Though, his enemy’s presence couldn’t be detected, Samuel’s eyes roamed the length and breadth of the room. When the lights came back on his gaze was focused to the side and not on the stage.
“Are you hungry?” she asked him.
“No, I had my fill this morning. The parks offered up several squirrels.”
“So why are you so distracted?” she persisted.
“No reason,” he replied.
The lights dimmed yet he remained focused on everything other than the performance. Amelia, on the other hand, was mesmerised by the ballet and she soon forgot about her husband’s strange behaviour.
xxx
The final bars of music played and an elated audience took in the last remnants of the Swan Lake ballet. A burst of light enveloped the stage and he noticed a man standing between the dancers. The figure appeared and disappeared in a millisecond and was too fleeting to be detected by mortals. Samuel, however, knew that Lucas could massacre not only Amelia, but half the audience in the space of a minute. Claude couldn’t be detected anywhere and this unnerved Samuel as knowing a vampire’s whereabouts was more reassuring than not knowing.
“We have to go,” he said, taking her hand.
“I want to see the dancers bow to the audience,” she said.
“We can’t stay any longer.”
He pulled her down the row into and into the aisle. A moment before she left the auditorium, she glanced back to see the prima ballerina take a bow. They ploughed through the foyer and stepped outside where a rush of cold air immersed her face. He observed the streets for several seconds and saw roads filled with heavy traffic. He took hold of her hand like he’d done so many times before and walked down the street where their car was parked.
xxx
Amelia looked behind her and saw the chaos of night time London. Something she’d seen countless times before. She didn’t understand the urgency behind his actions and thought them a little excessive.
The road they parked the car on was darker than the others since the streetlights above were fused. Though, it was no less busy and had reams of pedestrians roaming its cobbled path. The car was parked halfway down the road and when they were a metres away from the vehicle, Samuel stopped.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
Amelia was yanked free from Samuel’s grip and pulled through a narrow alleyway with such force that her feet dragged on the ground. She looked at the street, but couldn’t see Samuel anywhere. Kidnapper and captive emerged from the tunnel-like alley and strolled to Trafalgar Square where people from every corner of the globe gathered to have fun.
“Help me. I’m being kidnapped,” she
yelled at the horde.
“Lucky you. I would love to be taken captive,” replied Peter, a man clutching a walking stick.
“You don’t understand. He’s going to kill me.”
Amelia’s feeble voice didn’t sound distraught enough for her to be taken seriously and Claude was able to escape without suspicion.
“Where are you taking me?” she demanded.
He didn’t reply and she pulled her arm with such ferocity that he lost his grip. Amelia turned and was shoved to the ground by Samuel, who stepped forward and stabbed Claude in the chest with Peter’s walking stick. Claude staggered back and fell into one of the fountains. His descent went unnoticed by the hordes since they were too busy chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Samuel had pierced Claude’s chest, but not his heart, and the vampire rose from the water and skulked away like a cowardly thief. Samuel was about to chase him when she grabbed his arm.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she said.
xxx
Samuel and Amelia ran across the road forcing traffic to stop and got into the tiny car which Samuel had moved to the front of the square. He started the car and spun it onto the road. The car sped away and she looked in the side mirror for signs of either Lucas or Claude forgetting that they didn’t have reflections.
“The vampire that snatched you is dead,” Samuel said.
“What about Lucas?”
“Lucas is still alive.”
She didn’t stop staring at the mirrors for half an hour. Trafalgar Square was miles away when she finally looked to the front. She realised they were no longer in the city, but on a dusty road dotted with farm buildings and sheds. It was an eerie journey as streetlamps were absent and the only light came from the car headlights.
“Where are we going?” she asked him.
“Scotland. We need to get as far away as possible from London.”
“So why can’t we go to Italy? Or France? Maybe even Germany?”
“Because that requires waiting in one place for long periods of time. It’s the easiest way for a vampire to detect you. Believe me, Scotland is the only option at this time.”
Chapter 27
The journey took hours one and Amelia’s eyes drooped. Her desire to stay awake was so intense that she bit her lip to stop herself from doing so. Her reward was a landscape of trees and acres of darkened fields. It would be another five hours before they arrived in Scotland and she sighed thinking of the duration. They came to a road littered with street lamps and she tilted her hand and made her wedding band shimmer under the light. She chuckled at her childishness and turned to Samuel for a response, but he hadn’t said a word since leaving the city. She twice opened her mouth to speak then stayed quiet.
“I can’t wait to go back to university. Of course, now you’ve paid for the entire course I don’t have to worry about Mrs Baker breathing down my neck,” she blurted.
“You can’t go back,” he said quietly.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s the easiest way to find you.”
“I can change my name. Where a disguise. There must be a way I can hide from him.”
“That won’t do any good, Amelia. Sooner or later he will find you and it will be your downfall.”
“So I have to keep running for the rest of my life? Give up everything I wanted? That’s not living, that’s death by another name.”
“I’m truly sorry,” he said. “All I ever wanted was to make you happy.”
Amelia said nothing to his comment and stared at the road with a sense of disbelief at what she heard. No longer interested in staying awake, she allowed herself to lapse into a profound sleep.
xxx
Hours later, they crossed the border to Scotland and travelled on a bridge spanning the River Tweed. It was approaching 3am and Samuel too struggled to stay awake. He shook his head recognising the desperate situation he’d put his new bride in. The villages became scarcer as the drive progressed, the landscape more barren. In time, the only thing surrounding them was a swathe of wheat-coloured earth.
He felt relieved as he couldn’t sense Lucas following them. This meant that Amelia would be safe for a little longer. He noticed the fuel gage was empty meaning the car could stop at any time. The lack of houses, shops and phone coverage made this a tricky prospect should the car halt. However, he knew that the trifling inconvenience of being stranded would be superseded by his inevitable lust for blood. His cravings weren’t unbearable at this time, yet before dawn every molecule in his body would cry out for a drop of gory comfort.
xxx
The vehicle jerked forward, waking Amelia, and she looked round to see the desolate landscape.
“Where are we?” she asked slurring.
“Scotland,” he replied.
“I must have slept for four hours at least,” she calculated.
“Five.”
“About what I said earlier,” she said, looking at him, “I shouldn’t have been so harsh. I know you’re only trying to protect me.”
Samuel was about to reply when the car thrust forward again and came to a gradual halt.
“Damn it. We’ve run out of fuel,” he cried.
She checked her mobile phone to find there was no service.
“I’m sure if we wait someone will give us a lift to the petrol station,” she said.
“There’s no one to ask. You have to change into something warmer and take your gloves and scarf too,” he said.
He kissed her and she gave him a reassuring smile. While he got out of the car, she scrambled to the back seat and opened her suitcase. She plucked out a purple jumper, trousers, socks, gloves and scarf and changed into the items tossing her red scarf around her neck. Easing out of the car, she was enveloped by a merciless wind that made her shudder. Samuel shut the door and she walked up and took his hand, her gloves protecting her from the frigidity of his skin.
“Do you know how far the town is?” she asked him.
“About five miles. It will be a difficult trek,” he forewarned her.
“I’m sure it’s no more taxing than walking around London during a rainstorm,” she replied cheerfully.
They walked down the lonely road. It was still dark and she couldn’t see the ground they walked on or the landscape around them. The bitter cold made her teeth chatter and her ears and nose turn numb. Breath curled from her mouth once a second. It was unbearable and she squeezed her shoulder against his to gain a smidgeon of relief from the cold.
“It won’t be long now,” he reassured her.
“How do you know? Have you been here before?” she asked, through chattering teeth.
“I came here three decades ago when I wanted to be far away from the hustle and bustle of life.”
xxx
Two hours passed and they continued to walk down a road that seemed endless. She noticed the sky had lightened which gave her the first glimpse of the landscape. The desert like scenery from before was replaced by dozens of fir trees lining the road on either side. Climbing up the now steep road, she wished for a place where they could call for help.
They strode to the top of the road where Amelia saw a village strewn with an array of buildings. A feeling of bliss came over her knowing that their arduous journey had come to an end.
“Only another few more steps,” he said.
They walked into the village and she observed houses, shops and even a church. The earliness of the day meant no one was about. She wanted him to stop and ask for help regardless and attempted to convey her desire through thought. He seemed uninterested and she scowled at his indifference.
They turned into a narrow street and she saw a Victorian house on top of a hill surrounded by a pretty garden. He’s finally going to ask for help, she thought. As they reached the grey front door, he took a key from his pocket, thrust it into the lock, and turned it, the door opened without delay.
“I assume this is where we’re going to spend our honeymoon,” she deduc
ed.
“It certainly is.”
He lifted her into his arms and after stepping into the house shut the door with his foot.
“You can put me down now,” she said.
“Are you sure? Cause I can carry you for hours.”
“No, I’m fine. You can put me down and I promise I won’t fall.”
He placed her on the ground and as she walked round the house he made a call on a red coloured phone concerning the car. She looked round the living room to see that it was a generous size and decorated with a sofa, coffee table and beige curtains drawn against a bay window. The place had a musky smell which she believed was due to it not being aired in a while. Though simple in nature she appreciated its spaciousness and isolation. She noticed a painting of a lake surrounded by dense woodland hanging over a fireplace and walked over to it.
“You painted this?” she asked. “Is it France?”
He pulled on the curtain cord and as the drapes flew back it revealed the scene from the painting. Amelia traipsed to the window and looked in awe at the scenery.
“It’s breath taking,” she declared.
Moving behind her, he kissed her on the neck and she responded by closing her eyes. It was one of the most sensual experiences of her life, but as she became immersed in the act, another view invaded her mind. To begin with the image appeared as undiscernible flashes – a face, a hand, a wall.
Little by little she recalled looking out a bedroom window toward an immense garden and feeling Samuel kiss her the same way. Spinning round, she saw him standing before her and wearing an 18th century outfit, his face the same as it was now. She caught her reflection in a mirror and saw herself with flowing blonde hair.
“I’m Alexandra d’Orleans.”
Her eyes opened and she saw the lake in front of her again. She took a moment to get her bearings and when she did she realised the images were real. She spun as she’d done in her vision and touched his face, sensing the centuries of sadness he’d endured.