The Vampire Stefan

Part 1 chapter 1

"Margarethe, wait by the carriage my dear. There is a time and a place for everything, now is the time to gather firewood. I will have not to see you injured, even scratched upon one of the thorn-filled bristles."

"You worry so much for me." She replied. "But that is my fault for being engaged to a helpless romantic."

Margarethe was the most beautiful woman in all the land.

Her hair was in natural ringlets, brown and silky, bouncing lively, like her person. Margarethe's eyes were aqua blue, which astounded me. I'd never seen another lass like she. Margarethe was caring, beautiful, but most importantly, she was mine.

I wasn't, and still am not the worst looking of the lads, but I could easily fly below the radar if I preferred it so, I could be above it just as easily, however. I think that must have been one of the things Margarethe loved the most about me; she knew that I could easily have any woman that I wanted, but she was my only love, my only life, my only cure to what some people would call my soul.

"Be careful now, Stefan. Watch where you step, and take in loads of air, this damned altitude is hard on the lungs."

"Alright." I said calmly. I kissed her forehead and disappeared behind a path leading to a woods on the right side of our horse and carriage.

With me, I held an axe in my right fist and a gold locket around my left which belonged to Margarethe. I cannot remember ever returning the locket. I hope that I did, but those are pointless details.

I was to gather firewood as an offering to the almighty gods, whom I know now exist, at the court of the highest king of the day. He was to be putting together a speech of which Margarethe was dying to hear. We'd come from Bristol to London, which would not be a terrible journey for most middle class folk, but Margarethe and I hadn't a penny to our names. The horses and the carriage were our only means of transportation other than foot, I inherited it when my father grew old and faded. Margarethe had me however, and I had her, so we felt like the richest people in the universe, side by side, until we thought that we would grow old and grey.

What fun she and I had, nabbing the occasional apple from the produce stand keenly, then paying for it later out of gilt, running up and down public buildings where the staircases want on.

But those were our younger days. We had seen them, believe it or not, once upon a thought.

I'd proposed to Margarethe not a month ago, but she waited. When I asked her to be my wife, she could not help but tell me that she was waiting for me to ask her the question, but she did not want to propose to me because that was highly unorthodox in the time of our youth.

~So there I was, chopping down the trees one by one until I got about three good ones down, or was it four? I'd always been so good at memorizing the slightest details, so it still remains a mystery as to why I cannot tell you how many trees that I cut down, but yes; let us go with three, shall we?

I can remember the slightest details of cutting them down, especially the wood chips flying towards my face, having to squint them away, and having them get stuck in my legs, arms, and side. They didn't bother me though. What bothered me was the cold air nipping at places like the tips of my nose and ears, though being so hot, wanting to take of my coat, but I would definitely catch hypothermia if I did. There was snow on the ground, nearly a foot and a half now, fresh snow still falling. This was the eye of the storm that had been upon us for nearly a fortnight now. Margarethe thought that it would never end.

'I'd ought to be getting back to her now.' I said to myself.

I would tend to talk to myself when I was alone, to let myself know what I was really feeling instead of keeping all of my emotions inside. I don't any more though, it's much too human.