Chapter Text
Em opened her new eyes for the first time. She blinked once, twice, trying to recall how she had come to be here, in this old, dusty room. She shifted, feeling...silk? The silk rustled under her hands. As she tried to sit up, a pale hand reached down to her, lifting her gently out of a coffin.
A coffin. She was laying in a coffin. She tried to escape, but the hand held her in place, exerting tremendous pressure on her shoulder.
"Finally, you have awakened," the sonorous voice said, and suddenly the memories came back to her.
The beautiful man in the graveyard as she went to visit the tombstone of her father. He had said something to her that made her stop, paralyzed, in the graveyard. He had come closer and then...she blushed as she remembered him suddenly kissing her neck while she stood, unable to muster the energy to move away. She slapped a hand to the offending body part and felt the two holes there.
Not a kiss then, but a bite?
The world swayed as she looked into the man's face in better lighting.
"Welcome to your new home, Miss," he said, teeth flashing in the dim light of the stone room.
She stepped out of the coffin with his help.
"Where...where am I?"
"At my castle, of course. I own all of the land around here, including the graveyard where your ancestors are interred." She gaped at him.
"What? At your castle? But, my fiance! He'll be so worried." The man snarled.
"He cannot be greater than me. I am the lord of this land, I rule over all."
"I don't even know your name," Em replied, "And Gavin will wait for me forever. He promised to be with me until the end."
"You have no end now," the man replied.
"What?"
He sighed, raking a hand through his dark hair in an elegant motion.
"Do not be so dense, you fool. Have you not figured it out?"
"I told you she wasn't worth your time, Victor," a low voice echoed from a dim corner of the room.
Em looked over the first man's shoulder to see another, just as eerily beautiful yet more disconcerting. He swirled a crystal goblet with a disturbingly red liquid around, leaning against a chest of drawers.
"Stay out of it, Lucien," Victor hissed. Lucien laughed darkly and threw back the liquid in one smooth gulp.
"Shall I get the other one?" he asked, "He should be awake now. You can explain to both of them." Victor returned his gaze to Em, who shuddered under the intensity.
"I suppose," Victor said, holding Em's hand in his own. He reached out to brush her hair back from her eyes. Lucien looked over his shoulder and winked at Em.
"If he misbehaves, feel free to bite him," he said.
Bite him? Her free hand found the wounds on her neck again. She looked more closely at her surroundings while Victor continued to stare. The musty stuffed elk heads, the dusty furniture, the row of coffins lining the chamber; this was not a place for the living.
"You are quite a beautiful creature, you know," Victor said, finally releasing her hand, "I have been waiting for someone like you."
"Like me? What can I offer?" she asked, "I request that you return me to my home. Or at least the graveyard."
Victor walked up to her, causing her to trip as she tried to move away. He caught her around the waist.
"I do not think you would enjoy the consequences if I took you back home," he murmured into her ear.
"I told you to bite him if he misbehaved," Lucien said, coming back into the room, a young blond man in tow. He shoved the blond at Victor in one motion and caught Em up in another. He set her back on her feet and then retreated back to what appeared to be his usual spot in the room.
"Start explaining, Victor," Lucien said, leaning back and folding his arms.
Em snuck a glance at the newcomer in the room, doing a double take as she noticed bite marks on his neck. He met her gaze and she saw, really saw, his bright red eyes. The pieces clicked into place. Her eyes widened.
"Vampires?" she whispered, not daring to believe it. She had heard the rumors of course, everyone had. But she had not believed them. Victor spread his arms as if he wished to encompass the entire castle.
"Finally, she realizes! Yes, vampires. And I have given you a new life. Leave behind your mortal self and come to me." Em started to back out of the room, shaking her head, eyes wide in horror.
"No, no! This isn't happening. I have to get back. Gavin! Gavin!" she shrieked, before hitting something solid.
She looked up. Lucien was standing behind her, in between her and the door, although she hadn't seen him move.
"Sorry, lovely, but he can't hear you here. You're better off forgetting him." Em shuddered and fell to the floor, suddenly weak. Lucien glared at Victor.
"You haven't fed her yet? What about him?" he jerked his head at the other vampire, who was also swaying on his feet.
"I was waiting for the right moment," Victor said, "But you had to ruin it." Lucien lifted his lip in disgust and ripped off one of his gloves.
"I'll feed her, you get him. He'll be more powerful with your blood in him." Victor sniffed but didn't protest. He turned to the other vampire while Lucien bit into his wrist, causing blood to stream down. He knelt down onto the floor.
"Drink, little kitten," he said.
Em raised her head and shook it weakly, but as the scent of blood came over her, there was an agonizing pain through her gums as fangs burst through and her eyes flashed red. Suddenly the scent of blood was irresistible. She eagerly grabbed at Lucien's hand and drank her fill. As she did, it was as if a cold veil settled over her, coupled with an insatiable thirst. She tightened her grip on Lucien's arm and continued to drink greedily until he stopped her.
"Don't drain me, kitten. I'm the only one left to protect you from Victor."
"My name's not kitten," she protested, "I'm not some stray you found on the side of the road during a rainstorm."
"What is your name then?" She hesitated before answering.
"My name...my name is Em."
Lucien stood and lifted a hand to her.
"Em...nice to meet you." He pulled her up onto her feet. She felt...different...somehow. Everything was clearer, but there was a melancholy feeling about her that she could not shake. Lucien brushed his lips over her knuckles.
"I will leave you to get acquainted with your vampiric family, Em." She clutched his hand tighter.
"Wait!" she said, unable to stop herself. Lucien's eyes glittered.
"Remember what I said. You can always bite him if he misbehaves." She dropped his hand and watched him walk away.
Victor appeared in front of her.
"Ah, Em, is it? Welcome, welcome. I have brought you and Kiro here," he pulled the blond to him with startling speed, "Because I sensed that you have great power within you. Power that could only be awakened by becoming one of us." The pair stared at him blankly. Victor sighed.
"Kiro, your powers of enchantment were evident even without the psychic vampiric power of thrall. Your voice enchanted the entire village. And Em...well, there is just something magnetic about you. I will surely discover what that is."
"I can't stay here," Em protested, "My fiance will be searching for me." Victor smirked.
"Let him come," he said, "Mortals have no chance against the undead." With that he swept out of the room, leaving Kiro and Em to follow in his wake. She shuddered.
As much as she wanted Gavin to find her, Victor hadn't been bluffing.
"You're Em, then?" Kiro asked as they trotted behind their new master. He looked at her with large red eyes. She nodded silently, still thinking about Gavin.
"How did Victor find you then? He found me after a performance at a nearby village. I'd always wondered who was in this castle up here..." Kiro babbled on, seemingly uncaring that Em was not responding.
They continued to walk down the dark halls. There were no windows this deep inside the castle. Instead, torches lit the way.
Although it really should have been too dark to see properly, Em had no trouble navigating the cluttered hallways filled with suits of armor and portraits of old, stuffy men surrounded by an absurd number of clocks.
So many clocks, all ticking in precise unison. It was driving her crazy.
Maybe it had driven Victor crazy.
She was remembering now, the legends about the old castle on the side of the mountain. The charming young man that had owned the property and had invited commoners and nobles alike and they dined together in unity. The years passed in prosperity and liveliness until one day all of the people who were invited to the castle disappeared. It was said that on that day, every clock face in the surrounding towns cracked, and a demon ransacked the castle. Everyone who went up to investigate disappeared forever.
Em came to a stop and looked more closely at the clocks lining the hall. Every one of them had a hairline crack running down its face. She shivered.
Someone tugged on her hand.
"Em, c'mon, Victor is getting away," Kiro said, looking anxiously down the hall at Victor's retreating back.
"Let him," she said, "I didn't ask to be turned into a monster."
Kiro's shoulders drooped and his lips formed into a pout.
"You think we're monsters now?" he asked. She pulled her hand out of his.
"What else could a vampire be?" she asked, thinking about the years of life with Gavin that had been taken away. The best outcome would be for Gavin to think she was dead and move on with his life. Then, hopefully, one day, after he was safely dead and gone, if she still had a soul, she could pass on and meet him in the afterlife. Kiro stood and stared at her. She wanted to be disgusted by the unnatural red eyes looking at her, but his face was so full of emotion she almost couldn't bear it.
"You know," he said, "I was a monster in my past life. My mortal life, I mean."
"Weren't you an enchanting singer or something?" Em asked, looking over his shoulder at Victor, who seemed to have stopped moving completely. Kiro tilted his head.
"Just because I was...well-known...doesn't make me a good person," he said, "My powers, they could be used, they could be abused. I hurt people with my abilities, Em. Maybe it's not what type of creature you are that determines whether you're a monster. After all, aren't humans some of the worst ones out there?" Em stayed quiet. Kiro leaned in closer, whispering to her, almost inaudible among the sound of the ticking clocks.
"Maybe this is my redemption." The clocks stopped ticking. Em looked up and Victor was there.
"That's enough," he said, placing inexorable force behind the words, "Follow me." The trio took off down the hallway, eventually reaching a door. Victor placed his palm on it and it opened smoothly. Soft moonlight suffused every corner of the room unto which the door opened. Em stepped forward, reaching for the light almost against her will.
"This is where we can see the sunlight and stay safe," Victor said, "The glass here lets in the light but prevents it from damaging our skin."
"Then vampires and sunlight, it's true?" Em asked.
"You woke up in a coffin, didn't you?" Kiro asked, light-hearted again. Em shrugged. It had fit the mood at the time, so she hadn't thought twice, but this room, this room went against everything else she had seen in the castle tonight. It was a greenhouse full of out-of-season roses in white and blood-red, each rose gently bathed in moonlight. The only object out of the ordinary was a mahogany coffin set in the middle of a flower bed, piled full of white roses. Victor shot a look at Kiro.
"Did you do that?" he asked. Kiro shuffled awkwardly.
"I was bored, waiting for someone to come fetch me. It compliments my skin quite nicely, anyway." Em stifled a laugh and Victor looked pleased.
"Very well, then. Come, now, the daylight approaches, and the time of rest is near."
"We sleep all day?" Em asked. Victor smiled.
"You will. You are too young yet to have the energy to stay up long, at least not without another feeding. And we have no blood to spare here."
At the thought of blood, Em's fangs ached, but she clenched her fists until her nails dug into her skin. Drinking human blood would make this all too real. She had to resist...and perhaps that would bring her closer to her final moments and a reunion with Gavin.
"Come, then, Em, my creation, I will lead you to your room."
"But here looks nicer than anywhere else I've seen in the castle..."
"You will not care when you are resting, and you can spend as much time here as you want during the night. But for now, I will keep you all apart. Lord knows there are plenty of rooms to spare."
"Perhaps a creature as damned as you should not take the Lord's name in vain," Lucien said, suddenly appearing, lounging in what seemed to Em to be his characteristic manner against the doorframe. Victor scowled.
"Let he who is blameless cast the first stone," he retorted, "And as a former priest, I would think you would know that." Lucien smiled gently and it seemed to Em to light up the entire room.
"I am far from blameless, true. I have killed too many people for that, but I was not casting stones, you wretched creature, merely reminding you of your place. The place of damnation we all share." He swung a silver cross-like pendant around one finger.
"You were a priest?" Em asked. Lucien grinned, showing his fangs.
"Why, yes, I was, and a doctor, and I chose this life for myself." Em shuddered. Lucien threw his head back and laughed.
"She's scared, and why shouldn't she be? Victor, for once, allow her to stay here. She seems to feel more comfortable with our new songbird."
"I need to know more about each of them before I can let them alone together out of my supervision."
Lucien seemed to magic a new goblet of that same dark liquid out of nowhere. The liquid sloshed as he threw an arm around Victor's shoulder and led him out of the solarium.
"Rest well, kitten," he said, with a backward glance.
The door shut behind them. Em turned to say something to Kiro, but he was already sprawled in the coffin, fast asleep. Watching him sleep made Em unbearably tired and she found a darkened corner of the room. She closed her eyes and faded into unconsciousness.