Wife of Vladimir ||Book One||

Her Sacrifice

"I don't know if I'll ever witness a sight as horrific as the one on the other side of that door.

The room was an old study of ours, one that hadn't been used for years. It was mainly for guests or if there were multiple people in the family that needed a space for their work. It had remained so untouched, the dust had begun gathering on the shelves and furniture. It was rather bare, aside from a desk, several chairs, a bookshelf, several paintings on the wall, and two wide windows with crimson curtains that hung in front of them.

I quickly scanned the room as I took a step within, only stopping my wandering gaze when I found Rosetta.

She was curled in the corner closest to the door, covered in blood that wasn't her own. It stained both her hands entirely, splatters going up her neck and face. The light nightgown she had worn was now soaked in a mixture of different colors of red. There was a drenched spot in the middle of her chest. Surrounding her were eight male bodies, all that I recognized as the vampire hunters. Some were torn to shreds, others just lightly impaled. It didn't matter to me, only that they were dead. Rosetta had killed them.

My steps carried me to Rosetta in a dazed manner as I collapsed to my knees beside her, holding my hands out above her as I tried to process what I was seeing. 'Rosetta!' Any words I had left my body. I couldn't comprehend what had happened to her. 'My dear Rosetta,' I mumbled as I looked over her again. Why was there so much blood? 'What happened? I turned around and you were gone!' I lifted her from the ground and pulled her into a tight hug. To my surprise, she gasped.

'Vladimir,' Rosetta whispered through a higher pitch, as if she were pained.

I felt something jab against my chest. It burned. Slowly, I loosened my arms until I could look down and see what the cause was.

Before I saw the source of the pain, I had imagined things so differently. I thought the blood belonged to the hunters that surrounded us. I thought that I would help Rosetta up and find Leo, who I imagined was hiding in the room somewhere, and we would escape our burning home. I... I imagined that she would be here with us right now.

It was the very first time that I felt completely powerless. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could try to do.

I saw the tip pointing out. When I moved her nightgown and pressed down the slightest bit to expose the silver stake that pierced her heart. 'R-Rosetta.' My mind went blank and all I could do was stare. I mentally raced through all the parts of Trevor's journals that I had read. I searched for any way that I could save or help her. The only thing I could recall was how Trevor had stated that there was no coming back from silver through the heart. There was no changing fate after that.

This wasn't supposed to happen to us. This wasn't supposed to happen to Rosetta and I. We led such an amazing life and did everything we could right. We were supposed to see our children grow and become adults, we were supposed to see Transylvania thrive beneath us. We were supposed to have eternity.

'Vladimir, don't waste these moments,' Rosetta whispered. She raised a bloodied hand to caress my face, slowly moving her thumb across my cheek. There was one of the weakest smiles I had ever seen upon her face.

Words from the past repeated around my head.

I had failed.

I can't believe I get to marry the woman with a flower and the sun in her name

I stared down at the woman I had long loved, remembering how vibrant she had been when we had first met. She had been full of life and laughter. Rosetta had been human.

Father hasn't the heart to take them down, and for that, I am grateful. Without them, it would be too dark in here. The paintings have brought me joy, too, over the years. They are just as mother said. They are easy to escape into