by Jodie Pierce
“She’s just a child,” he cajoled.
“Then, why wouldn’t she answer me when I spoke to her and demanded a response from her?” she asked.
“Lizzy hasn’t said a word since I’ve met her,” he explained. “Don’t know why.” Now, she felt silly. There was still something about that child. Thinking about Lizzy sent a cold chill up her spine. She drank more wine and lay back on the pillows to think.
Chapter Six
The Count left, and she was alone with her thoughts. Had she imagined the evil coming from that child? The whole situation now seemed bizarre to her with the room completely lit up and an explanation for Lizzy given; however, something about her just did not feel right.
Coletta came running down the stairs.
“Hurry, Miss. Bath time. Master wants to take you out shopping, tonight!” she explained, almost breathless from running. The Countess was very excited as she hoped it was for some new dresses. She loved to shop for dresses. She threw the covers back and ran up the steps, following Coletta. She bathed and got ready as quickly as possible. She waited again in the parlor for the Count. When he arrived, he again bowed and kissed her hand. He truly was a sweet man. He also presented her with a box tied with a pretty, purple ribbon. She opened it, and in it was a long, hooded, purple cloak made of velvet.
“It sometimes gets chilly at night, so I thought you should have something pretty and warm,” he explained, looking slightly embarrassed.
“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. “Thank you very much. I will cherish it.” She placed a gentle kiss on the Count’s cheek. Now, he really looked embarrassed.
“Shall we take our leave?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
They rode in the carriage for awhile until they were on a cobblestone street, signifying they had reached town. They got out and walked down the street, looking in many store windows, but most of them were closed. Finally, they came to a dress shop that was open.
“Ah. Here we are,” he said, and they entered the store. “Choose whatever you like. Money is of no object here,” he instructed and waved his arm across the entire store.
The Countess was delighted. There were so many beautiful things. For every dress, there was a matching handbag, shoes, hairpiece, and jewelry to go with it. She took a couple dresses and went into the dressing room. They all fit beautifully, and as she was admiring herself in the mirror in the last dressing room, she heard voices, whispers from behind the curtain in the dressing room.
The people whispering had an accent, so she couldn’t understand them fully. Finally, her curiosity got the best of her, and she peeked around the curtain.
“Come in, child. We been ‘spectin you,” said the voice with a Jamaican accent. The woman was old and plump and wore her hair in long dreadlocks. She had long, yellow, curving fingernails and many missing black teeth. She had dots across her cheeks and nose—the sign of a fortune teller—but she also had many warts and pustules all over her face. She was a rather scary sight at first.
“Me?” The Countess stammered.
“‘Tis fate that brought ye here. Would ye like ye fortune read?” the woman asked.
“I have no money,” she replied.
“‘Tis ok. Fate will pay for it since it brought ye to me,” she answered. “Let me see ye palms.”
She held out her palms to the woman, her hands shaking, and she hoped the Count wouldn’t miss her.
“Here. Hold this, and tell me what ye feel,” the woman said as she placed a piece of black stone in the center of the Countess’s right palm.
“It’s a weird feeling. Dizzy and pulsing,” she explained.
“Just as I thought. That stone is Jet, and what ye felt signifies that ye have an old soul. Been ‘round for awhile,” the woman said.
“What can I use to ward off evil,” she blurted out. The woman just stared at her as if she hadn’t heard her. Finally, when she was just about to ask again, the woman got up and went rummaging in the back. She came back and handed her another stone. The stone was red and green in color.
“Ward off evil, ya say? Well, dis be Bloodstone. It’s not actual blood in duh stone, but it can be used to banish evil and for mental clarity; however, I would not be showin’ it to ye Count. He does not believe in such tings. Also, take this pink stone. It is Rose Quartz, which can give ye positive energy, and this Black Obsidian can take or remove yer negative energy if ye let ‘em.”
“Thank you, but again, I cannot pay you for these things,” she explained.
“No need, child. I know ye, and ye been kind. Keep ‘em as gifts. Let me put ‘em in a velvet bag for ye. Go now, before ye are missed.” With that, the woman was gone.
She wandered back into the dressing room just in time to hear the store clerk ask if everything was all right.
“Everything is fine. I’ll take all five dresses with all the matching accessories. Please get them together for me,” she instructed. When she came out, the Count seemed very happy, and she tried to seem as excited on the way home as he was about her new purchases; however, all she could think about was the woman behind the curtain and the stones in her pocket.
Chapter Seven
Again, her resting time was one of torment, just as she knew it would be. She placed the small bag of stones in her pillowcase, under the pillow, hoping it would help, but the woman gave no instructions on how to use the stones, so she returned to the same night terrors. The same movie projector played the same scenes of death, destruction, and torture over and over in her dreams. She knew this would happen and was afraid to go to sleep. She fought off sleep for awhile, but it finally won out. Again, her bed was soaked with sweat, and pillows were thrown across the room. This time, when she woke up, she had to stifle an immediate urge to scream. Lizzy was sitting on the end of her bed in an Indian-style position, watching her. “Oh. Hi, Lizzy,” she said, trying to sound calm when all she wanted to do was run.
“Have you been sitting there awhile?” she asked. Lizzy shook her head “yes”. Again, she wondered if Lizzy was causing these visions in her dreams.
“Where are your parents, Lizzy?” she pushed. Lizzy shrugged her shoulders.
She started to rub her own left shoulder and forearm, because it had fallen asleep. Lizzy moved toward her and reached for her forearm. She started to rub it, and the Countess started to relax. Lizzy is being kind. How cute, she thought to herself. Next thing she knew, Lizzy dug her nails into the Countess’s forearm enough to make it bleed and was licking the blood. The Countess screamed, and the Count came running downstairs.
“Look what she did to my arm!” she insisted.
“Coletta! Get Lizzy out of here, and lock her in the chamber,” the Count ordered. At his instruction, Lizzy’s smile turned to sobs and wails. Coletta dragged her kicking and screaming out of the room.
“Here. Drink some wine. It will calm you,” the Count offered.
“I don’t want wine! I want an explanation! What is that...that thing? She is no ordinary little girl. I felt the evil coming from her, and now this! Be straight with me,” she demanded.
“Ok. She’s a vampire. As are you and I,” he said as he sat down in the chair next to the bed.
“What?” she shrieked. “I am not a vampire. I don’t go around killing people and drinking blood.”
“Well...actually, the wine I give you is blood. Also, you are of the oldest vampire race, so you don’t require as much.”
“I can’t believe this!” she said as she started to cry. He moved to the bed and put his arms around her.
“I had hoped you wouldn’t find out like this. I usually like to sit you down and tell you about it,” he explained.
“What do you mean usually?” she asked.
“Well, there is a cycle you like to live through. You stay on Earth 10-30 years, and then you get bored and lay dormant. At the turn of the century, I wake you up, and you come out to explore. You’ve always loved the thrill and excitement each life broug
ht. To some extent, you get to be a new person each time. You start out like a small child, a whirlwind of information-seeking—sucking up everything in your path, absorbing it, and spitting it back out. You’ve always caught on quickly, and the learning process was always half the adventure, according to you. Being an Ancient, you are kind of like a Queen and have to keep up with the times, but you get bored quickly, so you go to sleep for long periods of time. Only I know your place of slumber, for fear of potential harm to you, so I am your devoted, secret protector for all of eternity,” he smiled. For a brief moment, his eyes glazed over, and she thought he might be in love with her.
“So, you take care of everything, and I just basically get to be Queen?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, his eyes cast down.
“If I’ve never told you before, thank you for everything you do, have done, and will do for me,” she said.
“Thank you, Countess, for trusting me and making me out of love,” he responded.
“I made you?” she inquired with bewildered and loving eyes.
“It was many, many centuries ago. I was your Bookkeeper, and every time I would come to the house, you would try to seduce me. One evening, just after leaving your house, I was mugged, shot, and left for dead. Now, you always watched me walk down the street from your window, so you saw this happen and raced to my side. You hadn’t realized it until then that you had fallen in love with me and didn’t want to be without me, but you had to leave the choice up to me. You said I could die a human death and be gone forever or die a human death but live forever with you. It would be a hard and different life, worse than anything I could imagine. One of servitude, struggle, and ultimate responsibility for your life for all eternity, but in the end, you would always love me. I figured that was a small price to pay for my life. I agreed to your offer. You sat with me for three days, and when it was done, you mentored me in the vampire world. So, you see, I owe everything to you,” he explained.
“As I do you,” the Countess replied. “Do you know who made me?” she instantly thought and asked.
“Those were your more sentimental times, and we shared much, but you never told me. I’m sure it’s locked away in that pretty head of yours, and you just need time to recall it,” he said. He then got up and left her alone with her thoughts, for he knew she had many.
Chapter Eight
Vampire. It’s amazing how one little word can change your life so drastically. Also, who created her? What did the Count mean by “sentimental times”? Did she become a monster? Did she really still love the Count? She was still wondering how she could have no clue or intuition in the back of her mind that she was a vampire. Although she was sure she didn’t know what blood tasted like, she was certain it didn’t taste like the delicious wine she had been drinking. Suddenly, she had to find out. She was sitting in her bed and turned her right palm up. She took her left thumbnail and dug it into her middle fingertip until it bled.
“I can take care of that for you,” came an anxious, small voice. She looked up, startled to find Lizzy coming toward her.
“No, thanks,” she replied and immediately stuck her finger in her mouth. The blood tasted salty as it danced around on her tongue, but it was not as delicious as the wine. Lizzy looked disappointed and sat on the foot of the bed, pouting. She finally realized what had happened. Lizzy had just spoken to her.
“You can speak,” she said to Lizzy.
“Of course I can, silly,” Lizzy replied. “I just didn’t feel any need to speak to anyone else here. It was you I was waiting for all along. You are the one with the power to lead your people as their Queen. You will also find a strong man, not that lovesick puppy you have upstairs, to stand by your side and become our King. Everyone will be so happy when you take your proper place. The place he’s been keeping you from. The place you once occupied before him,” she explained.
“So, it was you who put those images in my dreams,” she accused.
“Maybe,” the child grinned sheepishly.
“If that’s what I am to do—those awful things in my dreams—then, I want no part of it,” she said.
“Oh, we have ways of convincing you,” she said airily.
“We? We who?” The Countess yelled after her, but Lizzy had already jumped off the bed, skipped up the steps, and was gone.
The Count must have passed Lizzy on his way down, because he rushed to the Countess.
“She didn’t hurt you again, did she?” he asked.
“No, I’m fine, but she did speak to me,” she said.
“Are you sure?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yep. Clear as day,” she replied.
“What did she say?” he asked, looking amused and almost taunting.
“I can see you don’t believe me, so I’m done discussing this with you,” she said, sounding irritated.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically. “Did you think about our last conversation? Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.
“I have tons of questions, but let’s start easy,” she said. “What powers do vampires have?”
“Each vampire has their own set of powers,” he replied.
“Ok,” she said, already irritated at his evasiveness. “What powers do I have?”
“Well...let me think. You can fly...but you’ll need lots of help the first few times until you get the hang of it, again, and you should never go out alone. You heal quickly from any kind of injury or sickness. You are an amazing mind reader. No one has been able to shut you out of their head, yet. You can touch someone and see the past, and you are unbeatable with spells and wands,” he said proudly.
“I thought only witches and wizards used spells and wands,” she mocked.
“They do, but those skills come in handy for us during battles with other vampires, familiars, and humans,” he explained. She was getting out of bed and looking for something to wear.
“So, when can we go flying?” she asked excitedly.
“Tomorrow night we will have enough cloud cover,” he explained. She looked disappointed.
“I want to go. Now!” she announced, stomping her foot for added emphasis.
“That’s my spoiled Queen.” He laughed and left her standing in the middle of the room, with her arms crossed and a pouting expression on her face. She was not one for patience.
Chapter Nine
By 11:00 p.m. the next night, she had already bathed, dressed, and was pacing the parlor floor while waiting for the Count. She had her purple, velvet cloak ready in case she got cold but couldn’t imagine what was keeping him. She had even summoned Coletta and asked her to go ask Master what was taking so long, but she looked aghast at the request and refused. At midnight, he appeared in the parlor with no apology and headed for the front door. She was livid! He knew how important this was to her! They went outside, and he was right about the cloud cover that night. There was no moon in sight.
“Ok, hold onto me, and we will fly,” he said.
“I want to fly on my own,” she pouted.
“You will, but not on your first flight. You have to remember what it feels like first,” he explained.
“Fine,” she said, reluctantly giving in and holding on to him tightly.
They slowly started to rise from the ground. First, just their feet seemed to be free. As they slowly started to rise, their clothes moved around them and made their entire bodies feel free. The cool, night air stung their faces and made them feel alive. Finally, as they picked up speed, her hair was flowing behind her like a horse’s mane. She felt so free, and all her worries in the past few days were gone. She knew how the birds felt and wished she could fly forever and never have to come down.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but flying with two people is exhausting and can only be sustained for short periods of time. We are going to have to head home,” the Count announced. She just nodded. She was disappointed but understood. She couldn’t wait to fly alone. She was silent the rest of the way home, en
joying the last of their trip and the air around her. It felt very familiar to her.
When they arrived, she thanked him and called Coletta to help him into the house and to bed. She told her the Count was tired from their walk. She, however, was not ready to go inside just yet. She was still full of adrenaline and didn’t want to let go of the wonderful experience she’d just had. She also craved more of that night air. Even without instruction, she had to at least try to get her feet off the ground. She stood there, with her eyes closed, and wished to fly. She stood there for what seemed like forever, just wishing and wishing, but nothing happened. Finally, she opened her eyes, and she was three feet off the ground! She was amazed and proud but broke her concentration, so she came crashing down. She did this probably 20 more times, until her body ached, and she could no longer concentrate. Nothing more than hovering was achieved that night, but she did it by herself and was happy with just that.
The following evening, the Count found her in the rear of the grounds, just hovering in the air.
“Isn’t it magnificent?!” she exclaimed.
“Come down this instant!” he barked.
“Why?” she snapped.
“Because, I said so,” he snapped back.
“Show me how to come down,” she said slyly.
“If you can go up, you can get down. How do you get down any other time?” he asked. She looked sheepish but did not answer.
“Don’t make me come get you,” he threatened. At this point, she was determined she would not come down, because it would mean falling in front of him and admitting she didn’t remember how to come down properly, yet.
“Do as you wish, but I am not coming down,” she sneered. He jumped into the air, grabbed her, and brought her back to the ground.
“Get your filthy hands off me!” she shrieked. “You can’t just manhandle me like that! You know who I am! I thought you would be proud of what I taught myself,” she said.