Entertaining the Vampire King

The Need

It was my birthday yesterday, and Taeyang released his two new vids ON MY BIRTHDAY.. so I've been a little busy 😂.  Also going to a Vertical Horizon concert tomorrow, so yay!!

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I vomited violently into the bushes, trying to breathe while I heaved.

"Ayla, it's okay." Adisa said lightly. She stroked my back and it almost instantly made me feel better.

"How bad is it?" She said softly as I stood up. I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and wiped my mouth. I had gotten used to carrying a few around, seeing as I got sick nearly every day.

"I'm getting used to it. I just wish I could eat cherries again. The smell alone makes me sick." I gave her a weak smile.

"I'll make you a tonic, you should feel better. But with this baby, I'm not quite sure how things will go."

"Adisa..." I began. I didn't know how to approach the subject of Adrian. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

"Hmm?" She seemed distracted, not surprising at all. If he truly was as bad as she said, even I feared his return. And Thaddeus... had he known? My head was nearly spinning.

"A few weeks ago, before I found out I was with child... I went to a ball. And there was a man there, a vampire. He said his name was Adrian." I paused and watched her face as it slowly sank in.

"I see." Was all she said. We sat in the daylight in pure silence for so long. I watched the ducks glide in the pond across the pathway, enjoying the slightly chilled air. I was surprised I no longer felt cold when I was outside.

There were no goosebumps on my skin despite being able to tell there was a chill in the air. It was nearing fall and the trees were beginning to turn brown... it would be very cold soon.

"I didn't know Adrian was even still in England." Adisa said quietly, breaking the silence.

"The last I saw, he was in Spain getting himself into trouble a few decades back."

"You saw him?" I asked.

"Yes. I have managed to run into him a few times over the years. It's quite hard not to considering my line of work."

"Line of work, but I thought you were a healer..." I had truly never known much about Adisa except the little Thaddeus had managed to tell me.

"I am a healer, yes. But I work with mostly vampires. I suppose Thaddeus truly told you nothing?" She giggled lightly.

"Not much, he said it was your story to tell, after all."

"My story indeed. Thaddeus is entirely too cryptic." She said flatly. I laughed harder than I should have.

"After the incident with Adrian, I went into hiding. Mostly from my own family since they would want me to answer for all I had done for the vampires. They weren't all bad, mind you. Thaddeus showed me that much. I found that many didn't actually kill for pleasure, but merely for sustainable life. Some clung to their humanity and tried to live in society. The few allies I made over the years I continued to help. My own kind... our kind... they would have disowned me. I have been on my own ever since." She smiled lightly and sighed, staring up into the sky.

Poor Adisa. She had been ruined by vampires and yet here she was, helping Thaddeus. I owed her my life and the life of my baby.