13-03-2012, 11:08 PM
Chapter V
Things had been going well for Maria over the past few days. She found out where her dead-to-be boyfriend was and she had planned to fulfill her wish to make him suffer big time. But before that, she had a courtesy visit to attend.
Ever since the pureblood princess created the night class, Maria had become a close friend of hers. So, before leaving for rainy England, she decided to pay a visit to her to say goodbye. And this was the reason why she's sitting in Kuran's mansion's living room, waiting for her friend to bring the tea.
"Sorry to take so long, Maria-san."
"It's okay. But in your condition it would have been better if I would have helped you."
"Don't be silly, Maria-san. You're my guest, and besides, I am pregnant, not ill, and I am able to make tea and carry the tray here. But don't tell Kaname that I carried the tray. He's obsessed with me not carrying anything heavy." A small smile formed on her lips.
Since Kaname had returned to her side, she had decided to never let go of him. She remained glued to his side and when they had to separate for few hours, tears formed in her eyes and she posed the question "You won't leave me, will you?" And seeing her drowning into a sea of tears, he always had to come back earlier.
A five-hour job would take only two hours. He hurried back to his crying wife and now, his lovely wife had been pregnant for about six months. And ever since she became pregnant, he never left their home. He worked his council jobs from home.
"How's your married life?" Maria asked when Yuuki finally sat on the chair in front of her.
A fine trace of pink formed on Yuuki's cheeks. "Mhm…I guess that means it's pretty good?"
"Kaname is a wonderful husband. And since I became pregnant, he's never left me alone, except the moments when I have visitors such as yourself and we want to chat as girls."
"He's home?"
"Yes, he's in his study. He has some issues regarding the vampire council to solve. He took advantage of your visit to let us chat so he could solve those problems. Did you want to say hello to him? I can call him if you want."
"It's okay, that's not necessary. I saw him last time when I stopped by. Besides, I don't want to disturb him if he's working. I came to talk with my best friend, woman to woman."
"Mm…do you want to talk about Zero?"
She knew everything about her. The question didn't come as a surprise since they talked a lot about their men when they were alone. Maria listened to Yuuki talking with such adoration about Kaname that she wondered if she would have the same feelings for Zero. It didn't take long until Maria started to talk with passion about Zero.
But that was in the past. The only passion she could talk now would be her desire to kill Zero. Should she talk about this?
"Yuuki-chan, I am lonely! Zero-kun is on mission in some place far away from Japan. What's worse is that I don't know how long his mission will be."
"Oh…I am so sorry Maria-san. When Kaname is away from me, I feel lonely too, but I'm always able to survive because I know he will return to me. If I didn't have his love, I know that I wouldn't have survived. His love saved me. I understand perfectly how you feel. You're probably just so worried about him."
"Not really."
"Huh?"
"Don't get me wrong, Yuuki-chan! My situation is different from yours. When Kaname was away from you, you did not know where he was or what he was doing. I know where Zero is, and Chairman Cross assured me that Zero-kun is okay. It's just that have been so many days without him, and I miss him. Ever since we became a couple, we were never separated for this long."
"Since you know where he is, then why don't you go after him?"
Maria knew Yuuki would understand her. They're women's after all.
"You think is a good idea, to go after Zero-kun?" she acted so well, that Yuuki thought that her words were like a revelation to Maria. Little did she know that Maria was a good actress and she had hidden her actual intentions.
"Of course is okay for you to go after him. You love each other and nothing should stay in the way of your love. Not even his mission in another country."
"But Yuuki-chan, what if I'm only disturbing him? He never mixed his job with his personal life. I don't think he will be pleased with me. I think he might be upset if I went after him."
"Nonsense. You're in love with him and he has deep feelings for you, too. It's normal for a couple in love to be together. Zero is a strong hunter and you being there won't jeopardize his mission. Beside, you will be safe too. So, prepare your luggage and go after him. I am sure he misses you, too."
"You think he misses me?"
"Of course he misses you. You spent more than a year with him, and in that time you two developed a strong bond."
"Thank you Yuuki-chan! I knew that if I spoke with you, I would feel better and find a solution to my problem." Yuuki smiled kindly to her female friend. "Before I leave, can I see your baby's room?"
"Of course you can." And both of them went upstairs.
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Rose had taken advantage of Zero's walk into town, and she went to visit the person she intended to see a few nights before. It was time for her to see the person who changed her entire life. She left early in the morning, and on her way to Anya's house, she thought about ways to confront her.
Rose was aware of their situation. She was a mere human being, while her enemy was a pureblood vampire. Yes, she knew perfectly well about Anya's true nature. It took her ten years to find her and soon they were going to meet.
Anya took her morning meal, and afterward, sent Walter into town to buy her some chocolate. From some unknown reason, she desired it. Soon after Walter's departure, she sensed a familiar presence. Even if it had been years since she had felt it, it wasn't a presence she could ever truly forget.
The doorbell rang, and Anya went to open the door, even if it was something as disgraceful as picking up the trash for her. But she couldn't risk anyone else seeing Rose.
The moment the door cracked open both females were put face to face.
Rose had changed since the last time Anya saw her. At their first meeting, Rose had been a fifteen year old girl, her face features had held a childish look, as well her body. Now, after ten years her body had womanly curves and she looked like the woman she had clearly become.
For Rose, Anya was the same as she was ten years ago. The passing years did not affect her at all. It came as no surprise since she was a blood-sucking monster. For a moment she wondered if drinking the blood of humans helped Anya maintain her youth. Anything was possible in Rose's point of view.
The moment Rose saw Anya, she recalled memories about their first meeting.
There had been a heavy storm that day. In the morning it had been a pleasant day, but around noon clouds had gathered in the sky and hours later a heavy rain started to pour. Lighting had struck people's houses and fires had erupted out of nowhere.
She had been inside, locking all the windows when she heard the animals from the stable. For her entire childhood, she had lived around horses and by the sounds they made, she knew that something had not been right.
She shut the windows and rushed to the stable in a hurry.
The animals had been agitated; they were disturbed by something, but Rose had put their mood about the weather aside. She started to count the horses, and while she did so she noticed one of them had been missing.
She had gone outside in that heavy storm and she had looked around. Eventually, she had seen the missing horse near the trees, entangled in tree branches. She had hurried to the place where the horse was when a strange sound took her by surprise. She had no time to react and she had found herself with a small tree branch piercing her chest. Blood flooded from her wound, and she had collapsed on the wet ground.
Her sight and her breathing had been hazy. She had no experience in medicine, but judging from her stab wound, she had suspected that one of her lungs had been punctured.
She remembered fighting for air. With a hoarse voice, she tried to yell for help. And when she thought that all her effort were futile, she had heard approaching steps. A soft smile escaped her lips, as she knew those steps could only belong to her husband-to-be. Only he would come here at a time like this; he was worried for her safety.
But she had been wrong. Those steps did not belong to her beloved one, but to a woman, a woman with a hood.
With her hazy eyes, she could she had seen the person standing beside her. That woman was so beautiful that she knew it would have been impossible for someone like her to pass unnoticed by a man or a woman.
"Are you dying little one? Do you want my help?"
Rose lift up her hand, a way to ask for help since her voice had failed her at that moment.
"I guess you're in need of help, but I never do things for free. If you want to live, you must give me your man."
She remembered wondering if she had heard the question correctly? The strange, beautiful woman would save her if she agreed to give up Walter. "Never, never! I prefer to die than let him go! Did you do this to me?" she yelled, but her words were lifeless. Suddenly, sleep surrounded her and she fell unconscious.
When she had woken up, she had found herself being lifted off the floor by Walter. She wanted to talk to him, but her words were stuck into her throat.
A few minutes later she fall unconscious again and when she woke up she was in a hospital room, alone. She did not know why at that moment but she felt as though someone was missing.
"Welcome to my house, Rose." Anya was the first one who spoke, bringing Rose to reality. She thought if she hadn't done so, they wouldn't have started a conversation within the hour, and they wouldn't reach the goal of their conversation either. So she had to break the ice.
"Whatever" she replied and invited herself into Anya's house.
For ten years, Rose had searched for the monster that had changed her life, and now she was sitting face to face with that monster in her living room. Fate was really a strange fortune.
"You know why I am here, don't you?" Rose did not want to beat around the bush, she went straight to the subject.
"Hmm…I can guess."
"Exactly, I am here for Walter. You took him away from me ten years ago. I am here to get my man back." Rose had always been a determined person. She could have given up clothes, books, or even a good life style, but love was not one of those things. For her love, she would fight even with a blood-sucking monster. No one would keep her love away from her.
Even if it took years to find her man, she still came here to challenge the monster to battle. She was going to protect her love with her teeth, with her nails, with everything she had. If the vampire wanted a war, a war she was going to get.
"Oh my, you still have feelings for him, even after all these years? I thought that you would have gotten married and had a few children by now. Besides, you should be polite to the person who saved your life."
"What?"
"Yes, if it weren't for me, you would be six feet underground right now."
"Don't be so full of yourself, vampire. I have nothing to thank you for. You took Walter away from me. Do you think my love was sugar and honey in all those years? For years I searched for what belongs to me, and I will get him back. My life is filled with sorrow without his love."
"Then fall in love again with another man. The problem would be easily solved that way."
"Are you a fool or just pretending to be one? Walter is my soul mate, I cannot live without him, and I cannot fall for another man. But I guess you never loved anyone before. If you had, you wouldn't have separated us because you would have known the pain."
Anya knew exactly what Rose was talking about. But because she liked to play with humans she was always seen as a monster. But couldn't she see that she was looking for love and at the same time, she wanted to escape from it? Did she think it was so easy for a pureblood who lived for an eternity to find love?
Anya hated humans, and envied them at the same time. Humans had a short life, but they could find love faster and they took full advantage of their short life spam. While she, a pureblood vampire remained without love. Her society was invaded by vampires she didn't even like.
She couldn't afford falling in love with a vampire lower than her, since he would live shorter than her. If she fell deeply in love and ever truly found her soul mate, she knew her entire world would end.
Her life was filled with misery, so she took her revenge on humans, and turned them in something like her, a vampire, a being which could not love.
"I even think that you're the one who wounded me that night. It was you, wasn't it? I heard that vampires have special powers, so I guess it was you who wounded me."
Hearing her words, Anya's thoughts flew into the past.
She had seen Walter while she had been taking a walk in the streets. She had been bored and she had hoped to find a good coffee shop and waste her time there.
When he passed by her she instantly noticed him. She had spent a week in town and knew every man that lived there, but it was for the first time when she saw him. He had a different aura, and she remembered being strongly attracted to it.
She wanted to find more information about him. She used her abilities on humans, and to her displeasure she found out that he had been engaged to a lovely young lady. This was how people described Rose.
The next day she saw them in the town holding hands. She could grasp a part of their conversation, they talked about their upcoming wedding. She couldn't stand this when she heard it. That man attracted her and she remembered believing that she was prepared do whatever it took to have him.
When Anya left to pay a visit to the young girl the storm had not started just yet, but when she got there, the horrid storm had already begun along its course. If she would have been a mere human girl, she would have yelled and asked for shelter. But she wasn't. She was a vampire among vampires, a pureblood, and some lighting and thunder didn't scare her.
Anya saw the horses in the stable, and as she had expected, they became aware of her presence and became agitated. One of them escaped and ran away to the trees nearby and remained stuck in a branch under a strap from a saddle that hadn't been removed yet.
She heard a door and some steps and she could see the young girl coming outside to check on the horses. Anya saw Rose heading towards the missing horse. Like Rose, she heard a noise and later she saw the small tree branch which stabbed her.
Should she listen to her pleas or not? Should she save her or not? Suddenly, she felt another human presence, it was him – her fiancée. And in that second she made her decision – she would give her time and if she will refused to hand him to her, then she would make him obey.
She used her healing powers on the girl, enough for her to survive until she reached the nearest hospital. Rose had to be alive if she wanted Walter.
"Nonsense." Anya replied. "I had no intervention in that matter. But if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been alive when he found you. You can deny it all you want, but you're alive because of me."
"I will repeat again and for the last time…I am not indebted to you."
"But I wonder if you remembering Walter despite me erasing your memories about him is due to love." Anya wore a puzzled expression on her face. She really was curious if deep feelings for someone could cancel the effect of "erased memories."
So, her memories were had been erased. When she woke up on that hospital bed, she wondered what had been missing. She had a lot of visitors, but none of them talked about Walter. Two years later, when she remembered him and asked some of her friends they said that they did not say anything because they thought she had been in shock after his death. And wanting to protect herself, her mind erased any trace of him. They even helped in taking away Walter's belongings.
But all her memories flooded back in a single day, as did the memory of how she lost him. While she looked outside and saw trees on the ground she remembered her own drama – the beautiful woman who said she wanted her fiancée, and she saw her fiancée too, how he carried her to the hospital and on the road, he encouraged her to hang on to her life, for him.
"A woman will never forget her first and only love. It's something only humans are able to do," she mocked. "I cannot say the same for you. Give me my man back! If I need to fight with you I will do it!"
Anya was bored already. All this girl could say was "my man". Didn't she know that Walter didn't belong to her anymore? Walter had one master, and the name of his master was Anya Cold, not Rose.
And what did she meant to say that she would fight with her? Did she really believe that she, Anya Cold, a pureblood, was going to waste her time fighting with another woman for a man? That would be a disgrace for her, not to say an immature act of stupidity.
Moreover, Rose had a huge problem.
"Oh my Rose, I am afraid that Walter does not belong to you anymore."
"What do you mean by that? He came with you because you threatened him, not because he loves you."
"True, he came with me due to some weird circumstances, but since I sank my fangs into his throat he became my slave."
"What?"
"He's not a human anymore, he's a vampire. Moreover, I am his master, and a slave will listen only his master's words. If you told him to come to your side and I told him the same thing, he would listen my words since mine are stronger and he cannot disobey a command from me, his master."
"I don't believe you. You're lying to me."
"Whether you believe my words or not does not concern me. Suit yourself. You can see Walter anytime you want to convince yourself. Now, if you will excuse me, it's time for you to retreat. You know where the door is."
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He needed space to reflect on his doings. His mission here had to be simple – find his target and kill it, when he had the evidence to do so. But in the past few days, his life had been an utter mess.
At first, he ran away from that fragile vampire because he was afraid of commitment, but Maria would never know this, and now he was stuck with a pureblood vampire. Probably, this was the price he had to pay for being a cruel criminal in his past life.
Everything started when that woman made advances toward him. First he had been strong enough to resist her, but later she showed up in his dreams, and they were doing…naughty things. Having sex with another woman in his dreams was cheating, was it not?
No, of course not. He couldn't control his dreams, but what happened after…is that cheating?
He had responded to her kiss; of course that was cheating. He had cheated Maria. He had come here to think about his relationship with her, and he ended up kissing another one. And it just so happened to be his target-to-be no less. Maria was small, but she was going to be furious if she found out what had happened between Zero and the putrid pureblood. It was better for him to avoid infuriating her further. She was already mad at him because he had left without saying goodbye. God, he was doomed if she found out. He promised himself that he would never kiss that pureblood again, and going further than a kiss, like in his dream certainly wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't allow it to go that far. It wasn't going to happen again…it wasn't…
While he was absorbed in his thoughts, Zero had a familiar sensation – he sensed a vampire. He put his thoughts aside and, following his instincts, he went after the scent.
It led him to a coffee shop nearby. He screened the place with his eyes and spotted the vampire. To his surprise, it was the same vampire who had attacked Rose. It was crowded, in daylight – he couldn't take out his gun and shoot that bastard. Zero had to wait for that vampire to be alone with him. But his primary problem was how to make him go into a secluded place.
His target left the coffee shop twenty minutes later. The moment he went out the door, Zero was behind him.
"Don't move, and don't make a scene. We two need to have a talk." The vampire could feel something pressing into his back.
"I remember you. You're the guy who stopped me the other night. Are you a hunter?"
"Yes, I am. Bastards like you who attack humans are killed by the likes of me. Don't you know that vampires who attack humans are put onto a hunted list and eventually killed by hunters? Maybe in the past vampires were free to hunt anytime, anywhere and anyone, but now-a-days it's prohibited. Sorry to break the bad news to you so suddenly."
They walked for minutes in silence. With his eyes, Zero tried to find isolated places where he could finish off his target. While Zero made his own plans, the target did as well. With his eyes, he looked for crowded places where he could accomplish his plans.
Suddenly, he saw a gathering few feet away, and he went into that direction. It was bad for Zero. People bumped into each other, and if he wasn't careful, he would lose him.
Why did Zero have to be an attractive guy? A girl bumped into him and wanted to shout at him to look where he was walking, but when she saw into whom she had bumped into, she wanted to know more about him.
And she wasn't the only girl who spotted him. Few seconds later he was surrounded by six girls and all of them wanted his number. He cursed his good looks. Because of it he had lost his prey. When he was able to release himself from those fanatic girls, his target was nowhere to be found.
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Rose couldn't believe that that hateful vampire turned her back and left like she was nobody. She wanted to shout and curse at her but decided to not give into her satisfaction – she decided to leave.
But when she opened the door, she saw him – her fiancée. She couldn't control her emotions when she saw him, she ran, directly into his arms.
"Walter…I finally found you."
Walter recognized her - she was the woman who haunted his dreams. Vaguely, he remembered his attachment for the girl that was now in his arms. But this didn't matter anymore; now he lived for someone else. Another woman was the master of his heart.
"Miss, would you be so kind as to detach your arms from my body?" Rose was surprised by his words. His words were cold, like she was a stranger to him. What happened the love he had for her?
"Walter, it's me, Rose. Your fiancée." Walter removed her arms from him.
"I know who you are, Miss. But what is in the past belongs to the past. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go inside. Be careful on your way back, Miss." Walter passed by her. Rose couldn't let him go like that. He was her soul mate, she wouldn't let him go.
"Walter! I am Rose…your fiancée. I am the woman you proposed and vowed to spend the rest of your life with me. You were taken away from me ten years ago, but I won't accept that."
"You won't accept what, Miss?"
"I won't accept to be away from you. Are you listening to me? I won't accept it. And if I need to fight with that witch from inside then I will do it. No one will take you away from me."
He was taken aback by her words. He could see determination in her eyes, it was like a fire ignited inside her with no chance to be extinguish.
"Walter?" he heard the voice of his master. "Come Walter, come to my side." His master ordered.
On the other side Rose called Walter too. "Walter, leave that woman's side and come again to me. We are betrothed. Come by my side!"
He looked at both, but in the end he made his choice. Anya had been right. Her words were stronger – Walter came faithfully to her side, leaving behind a crying girl, screaming his name like an echo in the distance.
Things had been going well for Maria over the past few days. She found out where her dead-to-be boyfriend was and she had planned to fulfill her wish to make him suffer big time. But before that, she had a courtesy visit to attend.
Ever since the pureblood princess created the night class, Maria had become a close friend of hers. So, before leaving for rainy England, she decided to pay a visit to her to say goodbye. And this was the reason why she's sitting in Kuran's mansion's living room, waiting for her friend to bring the tea.
"Sorry to take so long, Maria-san."
"It's okay. But in your condition it would have been better if I would have helped you."
"Don't be silly, Maria-san. You're my guest, and besides, I am pregnant, not ill, and I am able to make tea and carry the tray here. But don't tell Kaname that I carried the tray. He's obsessed with me not carrying anything heavy." A small smile formed on her lips.
Since Kaname had returned to her side, she had decided to never let go of him. She remained glued to his side and when they had to separate for few hours, tears formed in her eyes and she posed the question "You won't leave me, will you?" And seeing her drowning into a sea of tears, he always had to come back earlier.
A five-hour job would take only two hours. He hurried back to his crying wife and now, his lovely wife had been pregnant for about six months. And ever since she became pregnant, he never left their home. He worked his council jobs from home.
"How's your married life?" Maria asked when Yuuki finally sat on the chair in front of her.
A fine trace of pink formed on Yuuki's cheeks. "Mhm…I guess that means it's pretty good?"
"Kaname is a wonderful husband. And since I became pregnant, he's never left me alone, except the moments when I have visitors such as yourself and we want to chat as girls."
"He's home?"
"Yes, he's in his study. He has some issues regarding the vampire council to solve. He took advantage of your visit to let us chat so he could solve those problems. Did you want to say hello to him? I can call him if you want."
"It's okay, that's not necessary. I saw him last time when I stopped by. Besides, I don't want to disturb him if he's working. I came to talk with my best friend, woman to woman."
"Mm…do you want to talk about Zero?"
She knew everything about her. The question didn't come as a surprise since they talked a lot about their men when they were alone. Maria listened to Yuuki talking with such adoration about Kaname that she wondered if she would have the same feelings for Zero. It didn't take long until Maria started to talk with passion about Zero.
But that was in the past. The only passion she could talk now would be her desire to kill Zero. Should she talk about this?
"Yuuki-chan, I am lonely! Zero-kun is on mission in some place far away from Japan. What's worse is that I don't know how long his mission will be."
"Oh…I am so sorry Maria-san. When Kaname is away from me, I feel lonely too, but I'm always able to survive because I know he will return to me. If I didn't have his love, I know that I wouldn't have survived. His love saved me. I understand perfectly how you feel. You're probably just so worried about him."
"Not really."
"Huh?"
"Don't get me wrong, Yuuki-chan! My situation is different from yours. When Kaname was away from you, you did not know where he was or what he was doing. I know where Zero is, and Chairman Cross assured me that Zero-kun is okay. It's just that have been so many days without him, and I miss him. Ever since we became a couple, we were never separated for this long."
"Since you know where he is, then why don't you go after him?"
Maria knew Yuuki would understand her. They're women's after all.
"You think is a good idea, to go after Zero-kun?" she acted so well, that Yuuki thought that her words were like a revelation to Maria. Little did she know that Maria was a good actress and she had hidden her actual intentions.
"Of course is okay for you to go after him. You love each other and nothing should stay in the way of your love. Not even his mission in another country."
"But Yuuki-chan, what if I'm only disturbing him? He never mixed his job with his personal life. I don't think he will be pleased with me. I think he might be upset if I went after him."
"Nonsense. You're in love with him and he has deep feelings for you, too. It's normal for a couple in love to be together. Zero is a strong hunter and you being there won't jeopardize his mission. Beside, you will be safe too. So, prepare your luggage and go after him. I am sure he misses you, too."
"You think he misses me?"
"Of course he misses you. You spent more than a year with him, and in that time you two developed a strong bond."
"Thank you Yuuki-chan! I knew that if I spoke with you, I would feel better and find a solution to my problem." Yuuki smiled kindly to her female friend. "Before I leave, can I see your baby's room?"
"Of course you can." And both of them went upstairs.
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Rose had taken advantage of Zero's walk into town, and she went to visit the person she intended to see a few nights before. It was time for her to see the person who changed her entire life. She left early in the morning, and on her way to Anya's house, she thought about ways to confront her.
Rose was aware of their situation. She was a mere human being, while her enemy was a pureblood vampire. Yes, she knew perfectly well about Anya's true nature. It took her ten years to find her and soon they were going to meet.
Anya took her morning meal, and afterward, sent Walter into town to buy her some chocolate. From some unknown reason, she desired it. Soon after Walter's departure, she sensed a familiar presence. Even if it had been years since she had felt it, it wasn't a presence she could ever truly forget.
The doorbell rang, and Anya went to open the door, even if it was something as disgraceful as picking up the trash for her. But she couldn't risk anyone else seeing Rose.
The moment the door cracked open both females were put face to face.
Rose had changed since the last time Anya saw her. At their first meeting, Rose had been a fifteen year old girl, her face features had held a childish look, as well her body. Now, after ten years her body had womanly curves and she looked like the woman she had clearly become.
For Rose, Anya was the same as she was ten years ago. The passing years did not affect her at all. It came as no surprise since she was a blood-sucking monster. For a moment she wondered if drinking the blood of humans helped Anya maintain her youth. Anything was possible in Rose's point of view.
The moment Rose saw Anya, she recalled memories about their first meeting.
There had been a heavy storm that day. In the morning it had been a pleasant day, but around noon clouds had gathered in the sky and hours later a heavy rain started to pour. Lighting had struck people's houses and fires had erupted out of nowhere.
She had been inside, locking all the windows when she heard the animals from the stable. For her entire childhood, she had lived around horses and by the sounds they made, she knew that something had not been right.
She shut the windows and rushed to the stable in a hurry.
The animals had been agitated; they were disturbed by something, but Rose had put their mood about the weather aside. She started to count the horses, and while she did so she noticed one of them had been missing.
She had gone outside in that heavy storm and she had looked around. Eventually, she had seen the missing horse near the trees, entangled in tree branches. She had hurried to the place where the horse was when a strange sound took her by surprise. She had no time to react and she had found herself with a small tree branch piercing her chest. Blood flooded from her wound, and she had collapsed on the wet ground.
Her sight and her breathing had been hazy. She had no experience in medicine, but judging from her stab wound, she had suspected that one of her lungs had been punctured.
She remembered fighting for air. With a hoarse voice, she tried to yell for help. And when she thought that all her effort were futile, she had heard approaching steps. A soft smile escaped her lips, as she knew those steps could only belong to her husband-to-be. Only he would come here at a time like this; he was worried for her safety.
But she had been wrong. Those steps did not belong to her beloved one, but to a woman, a woman with a hood.
With her hazy eyes, she could she had seen the person standing beside her. That woman was so beautiful that she knew it would have been impossible for someone like her to pass unnoticed by a man or a woman.
"Are you dying little one? Do you want my help?"
Rose lift up her hand, a way to ask for help since her voice had failed her at that moment.
"I guess you're in need of help, but I never do things for free. If you want to live, you must give me your man."
She remembered wondering if she had heard the question correctly? The strange, beautiful woman would save her if she agreed to give up Walter. "Never, never! I prefer to die than let him go! Did you do this to me?" she yelled, but her words were lifeless. Suddenly, sleep surrounded her and she fell unconscious.
When she had woken up, she had found herself being lifted off the floor by Walter. She wanted to talk to him, but her words were stuck into her throat.
A few minutes later she fall unconscious again and when she woke up she was in a hospital room, alone. She did not know why at that moment but she felt as though someone was missing.
"Welcome to my house, Rose." Anya was the first one who spoke, bringing Rose to reality. She thought if she hadn't done so, they wouldn't have started a conversation within the hour, and they wouldn't reach the goal of their conversation either. So she had to break the ice.
"Whatever" she replied and invited herself into Anya's house.
For ten years, Rose had searched for the monster that had changed her life, and now she was sitting face to face with that monster in her living room. Fate was really a strange fortune.
"You know why I am here, don't you?" Rose did not want to beat around the bush, she went straight to the subject.
"Hmm…I can guess."
"Exactly, I am here for Walter. You took him away from me ten years ago. I am here to get my man back." Rose had always been a determined person. She could have given up clothes, books, or even a good life style, but love was not one of those things. For her love, she would fight even with a blood-sucking monster. No one would keep her love away from her.
Even if it took years to find her man, she still came here to challenge the monster to battle. She was going to protect her love with her teeth, with her nails, with everything she had. If the vampire wanted a war, a war she was going to get.
"Oh my, you still have feelings for him, even after all these years? I thought that you would have gotten married and had a few children by now. Besides, you should be polite to the person who saved your life."
"What?"
"Yes, if it weren't for me, you would be six feet underground right now."
"Don't be so full of yourself, vampire. I have nothing to thank you for. You took Walter away from me. Do you think my love was sugar and honey in all those years? For years I searched for what belongs to me, and I will get him back. My life is filled with sorrow without his love."
"Then fall in love again with another man. The problem would be easily solved that way."
"Are you a fool or just pretending to be one? Walter is my soul mate, I cannot live without him, and I cannot fall for another man. But I guess you never loved anyone before. If you had, you wouldn't have separated us because you would have known the pain."
Anya knew exactly what Rose was talking about. But because she liked to play with humans she was always seen as a monster. But couldn't she see that she was looking for love and at the same time, she wanted to escape from it? Did she think it was so easy for a pureblood who lived for an eternity to find love?
Anya hated humans, and envied them at the same time. Humans had a short life, but they could find love faster and they took full advantage of their short life spam. While she, a pureblood vampire remained without love. Her society was invaded by vampires she didn't even like.
She couldn't afford falling in love with a vampire lower than her, since he would live shorter than her. If she fell deeply in love and ever truly found her soul mate, she knew her entire world would end.
Her life was filled with misery, so she took her revenge on humans, and turned them in something like her, a vampire, a being which could not love.
"I even think that you're the one who wounded me that night. It was you, wasn't it? I heard that vampires have special powers, so I guess it was you who wounded me."
Hearing her words, Anya's thoughts flew into the past.
She had seen Walter while she had been taking a walk in the streets. She had been bored and she had hoped to find a good coffee shop and waste her time there.
When he passed by her she instantly noticed him. She had spent a week in town and knew every man that lived there, but it was for the first time when she saw him. He had a different aura, and she remembered being strongly attracted to it.
She wanted to find more information about him. She used her abilities on humans, and to her displeasure she found out that he had been engaged to a lovely young lady. This was how people described Rose.
The next day she saw them in the town holding hands. She could grasp a part of their conversation, they talked about their upcoming wedding. She couldn't stand this when she heard it. That man attracted her and she remembered believing that she was prepared do whatever it took to have him.
When Anya left to pay a visit to the young girl the storm had not started just yet, but when she got there, the horrid storm had already begun along its course. If she would have been a mere human girl, she would have yelled and asked for shelter. But she wasn't. She was a vampire among vampires, a pureblood, and some lighting and thunder didn't scare her.
Anya saw the horses in the stable, and as she had expected, they became aware of her presence and became agitated. One of them escaped and ran away to the trees nearby and remained stuck in a branch under a strap from a saddle that hadn't been removed yet.
She heard a door and some steps and she could see the young girl coming outside to check on the horses. Anya saw Rose heading towards the missing horse. Like Rose, she heard a noise and later she saw the small tree branch which stabbed her.
Should she listen to her pleas or not? Should she save her or not? Suddenly, she felt another human presence, it was him – her fiancée. And in that second she made her decision – she would give her time and if she will refused to hand him to her, then she would make him obey.
She used her healing powers on the girl, enough for her to survive until she reached the nearest hospital. Rose had to be alive if she wanted Walter.
"Nonsense." Anya replied. "I had no intervention in that matter. But if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been alive when he found you. You can deny it all you want, but you're alive because of me."
"I will repeat again and for the last time…I am not indebted to you."
"But I wonder if you remembering Walter despite me erasing your memories about him is due to love." Anya wore a puzzled expression on her face. She really was curious if deep feelings for someone could cancel the effect of "erased memories."
So, her memories were had been erased. When she woke up on that hospital bed, she wondered what had been missing. She had a lot of visitors, but none of them talked about Walter. Two years later, when she remembered him and asked some of her friends they said that they did not say anything because they thought she had been in shock after his death. And wanting to protect herself, her mind erased any trace of him. They even helped in taking away Walter's belongings.
But all her memories flooded back in a single day, as did the memory of how she lost him. While she looked outside and saw trees on the ground she remembered her own drama – the beautiful woman who said she wanted her fiancée, and she saw her fiancée too, how he carried her to the hospital and on the road, he encouraged her to hang on to her life, for him.
"A woman will never forget her first and only love. It's something only humans are able to do," she mocked. "I cannot say the same for you. Give me my man back! If I need to fight with you I will do it!"
Anya was bored already. All this girl could say was "my man". Didn't she know that Walter didn't belong to her anymore? Walter had one master, and the name of his master was Anya Cold, not Rose.
And what did she meant to say that she would fight with her? Did she really believe that she, Anya Cold, a pureblood, was going to waste her time fighting with another woman for a man? That would be a disgrace for her, not to say an immature act of stupidity.
Moreover, Rose had a huge problem.
"Oh my Rose, I am afraid that Walter does not belong to you anymore."
"What do you mean by that? He came with you because you threatened him, not because he loves you."
"True, he came with me due to some weird circumstances, but since I sank my fangs into his throat he became my slave."
"What?"
"He's not a human anymore, he's a vampire. Moreover, I am his master, and a slave will listen only his master's words. If you told him to come to your side and I told him the same thing, he would listen my words since mine are stronger and he cannot disobey a command from me, his master."
"I don't believe you. You're lying to me."
"Whether you believe my words or not does not concern me. Suit yourself. You can see Walter anytime you want to convince yourself. Now, if you will excuse me, it's time for you to retreat. You know where the door is."
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He needed space to reflect on his doings. His mission here had to be simple – find his target and kill it, when he had the evidence to do so. But in the past few days, his life had been an utter mess.
At first, he ran away from that fragile vampire because he was afraid of commitment, but Maria would never know this, and now he was stuck with a pureblood vampire. Probably, this was the price he had to pay for being a cruel criminal in his past life.
Everything started when that woman made advances toward him. First he had been strong enough to resist her, but later she showed up in his dreams, and they were doing…naughty things. Having sex with another woman in his dreams was cheating, was it not?
No, of course not. He couldn't control his dreams, but what happened after…is that cheating?
He had responded to her kiss; of course that was cheating. He had cheated Maria. He had come here to think about his relationship with her, and he ended up kissing another one. And it just so happened to be his target-to-be no less. Maria was small, but she was going to be furious if she found out what had happened between Zero and the putrid pureblood. It was better for him to avoid infuriating her further. She was already mad at him because he had left without saying goodbye. God, he was doomed if she found out. He promised himself that he would never kiss that pureblood again, and going further than a kiss, like in his dream certainly wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't allow it to go that far. It wasn't going to happen again…it wasn't…
While he was absorbed in his thoughts, Zero had a familiar sensation – he sensed a vampire. He put his thoughts aside and, following his instincts, he went after the scent.
It led him to a coffee shop nearby. He screened the place with his eyes and spotted the vampire. To his surprise, it was the same vampire who had attacked Rose. It was crowded, in daylight – he couldn't take out his gun and shoot that bastard. Zero had to wait for that vampire to be alone with him. But his primary problem was how to make him go into a secluded place.
His target left the coffee shop twenty minutes later. The moment he went out the door, Zero was behind him.
"Don't move, and don't make a scene. We two need to have a talk." The vampire could feel something pressing into his back.
"I remember you. You're the guy who stopped me the other night. Are you a hunter?"
"Yes, I am. Bastards like you who attack humans are killed by the likes of me. Don't you know that vampires who attack humans are put onto a hunted list and eventually killed by hunters? Maybe in the past vampires were free to hunt anytime, anywhere and anyone, but now-a-days it's prohibited. Sorry to break the bad news to you so suddenly."
They walked for minutes in silence. With his eyes, Zero tried to find isolated places where he could finish off his target. While Zero made his own plans, the target did as well. With his eyes, he looked for crowded places where he could accomplish his plans.
Suddenly, he saw a gathering few feet away, and he went into that direction. It was bad for Zero. People bumped into each other, and if he wasn't careful, he would lose him.
Why did Zero have to be an attractive guy? A girl bumped into him and wanted to shout at him to look where he was walking, but when she saw into whom she had bumped into, she wanted to know more about him.
And she wasn't the only girl who spotted him. Few seconds later he was surrounded by six girls and all of them wanted his number. He cursed his good looks. Because of it he had lost his prey. When he was able to release himself from those fanatic girls, his target was nowhere to be found.
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Rose couldn't believe that that hateful vampire turned her back and left like she was nobody. She wanted to shout and curse at her but decided to not give into her satisfaction – she decided to leave.
But when she opened the door, she saw him – her fiancée. She couldn't control her emotions when she saw him, she ran, directly into his arms.
"Walter…I finally found you."
Walter recognized her - she was the woman who haunted his dreams. Vaguely, he remembered his attachment for the girl that was now in his arms. But this didn't matter anymore; now he lived for someone else. Another woman was the master of his heart.
"Miss, would you be so kind as to detach your arms from my body?" Rose was surprised by his words. His words were cold, like she was a stranger to him. What happened the love he had for her?
"Walter, it's me, Rose. Your fiancée." Walter removed her arms from him.
"I know who you are, Miss. But what is in the past belongs to the past. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go inside. Be careful on your way back, Miss." Walter passed by her. Rose couldn't let him go like that. He was her soul mate, she wouldn't let him go.
"Walter! I am Rose…your fiancée. I am the woman you proposed and vowed to spend the rest of your life with me. You were taken away from me ten years ago, but I won't accept that."
"You won't accept what, Miss?"
"I won't accept to be away from you. Are you listening to me? I won't accept it. And if I need to fight with that witch from inside then I will do it. No one will take you away from me."
He was taken aback by her words. He could see determination in her eyes, it was like a fire ignited inside her with no chance to be extinguish.
"Walter?" he heard the voice of his master. "Come Walter, come to my side." His master ordered.
On the other side Rose called Walter too. "Walter, leave that woman's side and come again to me. We are betrothed. Come by my side!"
He looked at both, but in the end he made his choice. Anya had been right. Her words were stronger – Walter came faithfully to her side, leaving behind a crying girl, screaming his name like an echo in the distance.
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