Wife of Vladimir ||Book One||

Her Loneliness

"Things were going better than I had ever hoped at first, but things were different. A silent change had happened between Rosetta and I that we never spoke about. I had set up another bedroom in the lair beneath the bedroom for myself, which I would retire to around dawn each morning. We would pass by each other as I went to bed while she woke up for the day. Come dusk, she'd get into her bed and I would be waking up. I would hurry to our bedroom to speak with her and to kiss her goodnight. We would talk for only about an hour before sleep would overtake her, no matter how hard she tried to fight it. I'd be alone in the night.

It was strange not being around Rosetta and not being able to talk with her whenever I wished. Everything I wanted to do with her had to wait for either the first hour she was awake, or the last hour before she went to sleep. When things had first changed, I had really tried to change my sleep schedule around to match hers despite the warnings in Trevor's journals not to, but it was impossible. Any source of light, no matter how big or small, pierced through my skin and reminded me too much of the pain I had endured during my transformation. It forced me to stay within my lair until it was completely dark at night and around the mansion. Rosetta had tried switching her schedule around too, but she found herself more exhausted than usual. I assured her that we'd find a solution.

I searched endlessly through Trevor's journals for anything that showed a way for us to go back to living normal together, but after weeks of searching I only had found one option. I wasn't fond of the idea and hadn't a single idea if Rosetta would have approved of it. In his journals, I discovered that I had the ability to create another creature like myself out of a human. All it would take was one bite, as if I were about to drain them.

Briefly, I saw my world change. Our schedules would be perfectly synced together without any effort. I wouldn't have to worry about any harm falling upon her. The loneliness that filled both our hearts would disappear and we would be able to spend the rest of our days together as one.

That quickly changed as I watched my darling Rosetta transform inside my mind. I watched as the color of her skin faded, the intensity behind her freckles disappearing until her skin was clear and smooth. I watched as her eyes of emerald disappeared forever into ones red like a rose. I saw her fall to the floor, screaming out in the same pain that I had endured. Would I be able to handle watching her suffer?

My heart wrenched as I quickly pushed the image from my mind, knowing that I wanted a different future for her. I wanted something better for her, something that she didn't need to suffer through. I wouldn't allow it, especially not if she didn't want it. I could still offer it, but I wanted to continue searching for another solution so she could have an option. The last thing I wanted to do was force her into this life.

While I studied my ancestor's journals, I kept a small portrait of Rosetta upon my desk. It kept me focused and reminded me of the second option I needed to find.

This life had provided me with many challenges. The hardest one to get over had been my extreme thirst for blood. I had flipped through the journals in the beginning to see what could have been done, as I didn't want to kill the people around me to satisfy the urges. Trevor had stated within his works that he preferred the blood of animals when he was forced to stay local. It kept him focused on his people and ensuring that his secret was safe while he watched over them. When his thirst outgrew animals ever so often, he'd go as far from Transylvania as he dared and would find a victim there. He never killed his own people.

Another glance at Rosetta's picture revealed an image in my head that I had never seen before. I could clearly see her covered in the blood of our people, with eyes wide in both confusion and satisfaction. It would be quite possible that I could lose my beloved wife to the monster within.