Eternity | Xavier Thorpe

Chapter Seven

Lara freed herself from Xavier's light hold on her. He was still asleep, but she didn't know how much time she had until he awoke.

She found a blank canvas and used her fangs to cut a small slit in her finger. Vampires bled differently from mortals - this would be enough for her painting.

Years ago, Lara had studied Vampire lore. She had every aspect of it memorised. This idea had come to her last night as Xavier slept.

Vampire lore dictated that it was the greatest declaration of one's love to offer their partner a gift of their own blood.

She had never experienced how she felt about Xavier before. She didn't know if it was love for she had nothing to compare it to, but it was a warm feeling, one that made her heart beat faster and her smile grow wider whenever she thought of him.

Lara moved her finger across the canvas, red spilling over it in thin lines. She went over those to make them darker. For his deep brown eyes, she held her finger to the paper to get the darkest possible colour. She did the same for his hair.

He was too complex to accurately portray, but she hoped her art conveyed how she felt about him.

Lara was finished before he woke up but there was one last thing she wanted to do. In the corner, she painted a butterfly - identical to the ones he'd drawn for her in class. He'd told her then they meant hope but she knew they also represented rebirth and resurrection.

Lara hoped that if she was ever reborn, it would be at a time when their souls could be together.

She left the shed and went back to her room. It was too early for anyone to be awake which was perfect - nobody would get in her way.

Lara grabbed the silver blade she'd had in her cupboard for years and pricked the tip with her finger to make sure it was still sharp. It was - a drop of her blood hit the floor.

She left Nevermore, blade in hand and travelled far enough that no one would see her or find her.

She pressed the sword to her chest, tears pouring down her face as she spoke her dying wish. "I wish to reconnect with Xavier's soul in my next life because with him, I want to spend eternity."

With those as her last words, Lara's soul was freed from her body, freed from her eternity of pain.

Lara Lazarus had finally found peace.