7

onotonous. That was the one word Evonne used to describe the following days. She would wake, shower, dress, eat, and then find ways to keep the boredom at bay. On certain days, such as these, she would spend time outside in the gardens. But even that was beginning to carry the stench of boredom. Video games, movies, and funny internet websites also held no interest. She would sit down with the hopes to watch The Wizard of Oz, only to find herself dozing off before the movie went to color.
Her life was like that. A black and white movie waiting—wishing—to find color. She could see the blue sky out beyond her window, beyond the reach of the lush, green trees. And there she sat, inside her room, surrounded by the manor, the estate’s walls, and the rough sea of forests.
She had seen a few glimpses of her father and David, but they were busy as always.
While in the kitchen, looking for lunch, she saw Jonathan and Pax talking with a few cooks. They were laughing over past experiences, leaving Evonne to wonder what she had been missing. But their laughter stopped as they saw her enter. Evonne knew that they weren’t talking about her, but it was the thought that they ceased everything on account of her.
She had no equal here. No real friend. The only person she felt any friendship with was David, and even he had been avoiding her as of recent.
Sleep had become her best friend, her combatant against the boredom. She would lay in bed and stare out her window at the moonlit clouds crossing the night sky. Was this a preview to the rest of her life?
Watching the lulling clouds as they sent her off to sleep, Evonne wished for a different life.
 
Evonne’s eyes snapped open. Her ears focused on the sound of dogs barking. It was another part of the estate’s security. Ever since the second wall was constructed, dogs were set to roam free in between the two walls. The breed of choice, Rottweiler. Her father’s dogs, however, unlike the timid house pet, went through their own rigorous training and took to the title of guard dog with ease.
But it wasn’t the dogs that woke Evonne. Something was in her room.
Evonne’s eyes went from the door to the window. “Who’s there?” she called out meekly.
A shadow moved in the far corner of the room.
Evonne’s breath became lost in her throat.
“Have you forgotten me?” a calm voice asked. The figure stepped forward but stopped before entering the moon’s light.
“I can scream,” she threatened, “and someone will be up here to deal with you.”
“No you won’t,” he said, keeping his tone mild. “Curiosity and defiance remains strong within you.”
Evonne felt her mind tug forth the dream she wanted to forget. She heard the words leave her mouth, “You’re him.”
The vampire took a step forward into the dull light. His hair appeared dark as well as his clothes, giving his face an odd glow. He continued walking.
Fear ran through Evonne. She threw off the covers and rushed for the door. Before she could reach the handle, a hand forcefully grabbed her wrist and swung her onto the bed. She felt the vampire’s weight move over her, straddling her waist as he pinned her arms above her head.
Evonne began to struggle underneath him. “Let me go!”
“Why are you fighting me?”
“Let me go!”
He increased his grip on her arms and whispered, “I’m not here to kill you.”
Against the screams of her rational mind, Evonne relaxed her body. She allowed her eyes to focus on him. His face was innocent and void of malice. She knew not to trust him. But to call out for her father, for anyone to help, it would be her last words. Evonne’s mind switched gears. She had to play it safe. Show no fear.
The vampire released her arms, and then raised his upper body to gain at better look at the human. His eyes moved over her, taking in her appearance. Twelve years had passed, and she had long since shed her child image.
Evonne drew her hands toward her chest. She wanted to rise up and shove him away, but she stopped herself. It was too dangerous. Instead, she found herself stammering as she began to speak. “You… H-he… He warned me that you’d come here. I didn’t believe him.”
“He is Gabriel, my sire.” The vampire looked toward the door and listened to the voices coming from downstairs. He recognized Alexander’s annoying voice, joined by four others, including that of a female.
“Why are you here?” Evonne asked.
He looked down at her. “To protect you.”
“Protect me? From whom?”
“Your father.”
Confused, she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Ask him about his first wife… and his son.”
His son? “What are you talking about?”
The vampire ignored the question. “When the time comes, you will choose either me or your father. This is a choice you must make when I return to you. Many will fall in the protection of Eden. If you choose your father, then I will have no govern over your safety.”
Evonne played along. “But if I choose you?”
“Then I can spare you the same fate your father will be shown.”
“I don’t understand.” She shifted underneath him. His weight wasn’t unbearable, but it wasn’t comfortable either.
He titled his head to the side, trying to read her expression. “No more questions.” He lowered his mouth to her neck.
Evonne could feel his lips part and his teeth against her skin. She then felt the pressure as he began to bite down.
The fear returned.
“No,” her voice whimpered. Calling on her willing strength, she forced her hands upward, pushing him away.
The vampire stared down at her. There was confusion on his face. “Where is the brave girl I once saw? Have the walls of Eden softened you?”
As he spoke, Evonne could see glimpses of his fangs. This sent more waves of fear throughout her body. She saw herself as that small child in the presence of this horrific creature. But the scene shifted. She had been the helpless child, yet she remained brave against him. Why change the strategy?
He lowered his head, once more, and his mouth returned to her neck, the same side she had been marked as a child.
Evonne didn’t fight. She allowed the instinct of bravery to take command. The pain from his bite ran sharply down her shoulder, beating every thought and sensation into submission. There was no glamorization to this—no sense of pleasure or excitement. This wasn’t like the movies. It hurt like hell.
As quick as the bite began, his teeth withdrew. He began to drink, the movement of his tongue easing away some of the pain. Evonne thought about her father entering the room and seeing his daughter freely giving herself to a vampire. It wasn’t his anger that she feared, it was his safety. If the vampire viewed Alex or anyone as a threat, he would kill them without a second thought.
The vampire pulled away and traced a fingernail over the base of his neck. The blood moving from wound appeared black in the limited light. He moved his body off of her, giving her a sense of choice. He wasn’t going to force her. He would never force her.
Slowly, Evonne sat before him. Though the thought of the vampire’s blood repulsed her, she found herself moving closer to him. Her inner voice screamed in protest, while her body moved under its own command. Evonne placed her mouth to the cut and began to drink. The taste collided with her senses like a violent crack of thunder. It was an indescribable taste, one in which her body remembered but her mind chose to forget. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as possible. The force behind her drinking grew stronger as his blood invited her further.
“No more,” he ordered as he moved away from her.
Torn from the comfort of his blood, Evonne’s mind shuffled back into reality. What had she done? She wiped the remaining blood from her lips and stared at him, disgusted. Words tried to form but quickly abandoned her.
The vampire said nothing as he left the bed and returned to the shadows.
His voice entered her jumbled mind. “Rest now.”
 
The door to Evonne’s room opened. The eyes of her watchful father found his daughter asleep in her large bed. Everything was as it should be.
The dogs began barking once more, but stopped shortly after. Many of this top men searched the grounds and house, their efforts turning up nothing.
False alarms happened from time to time.
As Alex closed the door to his daughter’s room, he decided that this incident was no different.