Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 40

Upon waking up, Tobias realized that for the first time after a long while, he felt relaxed.

In the past, every time he woke up he would feel the burden of his past weigh heavily on him like a rock pulling him down, but waking up next to Cecilia made it all go away. The crushing pain and guilt that met him every morning of being a vampire were surprisingly gone.

There was still the pain and the regret for what he had done but the soul-crushing grip it had on him was no longer there.

When he told Helen about those emotions for the first time, it was difficult for her to believe him, since although vampires did feel some human emotions it was highly unusual for them to feel as much as he felt. Since strong emotions weren't something Helen was familiar with, there was nothing she could do to help him, but Cecilia, with her mere presence, helped a part of the pain go away.

He wasn't sure if it was gone forever but even if it was just a short relief he was grateful for it, he was grateful for Cecilia who ended up being so much more important to him than he expected.

His eyes met Helen's, who was still on guard, and he could see something resembling a smile in her eyes.

Even though he hadn't told her anything, he could see that she already knew. Helen always knew.

Once Cecilia woke up as well it took her a moment to realize that she had been sleeping in Tobias' comforting embrace, and she felt like that was a good way to start one's day. His strength helped her find her strength and go on no matter what. They couldn't give up. There had to be a place they could go to, a place where they could hide.

"Come on you two. It's time to go." Helen said, as soon as she saw Cecilia was awake.

"Won't you take a nap?" Cecilia asked.

"I don't need to sleep. Most of us, ancient vampires, don't need to sleep. Even you, young ones, don't need it but you tend to function better with it. Old habits and all that..." Helen said.

Her tone of voice made it clear that she thought sleeping was for weak, but Cecilia said nothing as she had started to realize that was just how Helen was. She wasn't doing it to irritate Cecilia, it was just a part of her personality.

Tobias got up and lowered his hand to help Cecilia up which she took gratefully, not because she needed the help, but because she considered it to be a nice gesture, such a human thing to do. It made her think that even though they were vampires, they could be in control of their actions. They didn't have to be the monsters humans spread tales about.

Once they left the creepy little house, they headed off wanting nothing more than to reach a haven, where they could just be. They traveled for some time in quiet, each one of them lost in their thoughts until they finally reached the waterfront.

"Wait here. The guy I am getting the boat from isn't very friendly, he thoroughly dislikes meeting new people." Helen said.

Although they had no idea how Helen managed to organize everything so fast, they did as she told them, and were grateful for her wide range of skills that they were barely able to comprehend.

While they were waiting for her return, Cecilia stared at the never-ending water thinking about all that happened, trying to imagine what the future might hold for them.

The peacefulness and the beauty of the water shimmering in the morning sun put her in a pensive state of mind and that made her worry more. Up until that moment, they were reacting to what was happening around them, but now that she had some time to think, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen to Tobias and Helen if they got caught. After all, the trouble was entirely her fault, and yet they never said a word to chastise her for her behavior, they just stood by her.

"What was I even thinking? That I, a newly turned vampire, who didn't understand how the vampire world worked, could just waltz in Stanton's company, murder my killer and get away with it? That would've been impossible even in the human world, and yet I thought I could do it in a world that was much more dangerous and unpredictable! I must've been out of my mind," she thought.

"Okay, we are all set. Let's go." Helen said.

She led them to a small but strong-looking boat nearby.

'Calamity' wasn't a promising name for a boat, but Cecilia decided not to comment on it since all three of them were on edge. It was clear they had to leave the familiar territory, and go somewhere where no one would expect them to go, and the boat seemed like a perfect way to do so.

Upon entering the boat, Helen used her vampire speed to navigate the boat because, when you were as old as she was, there was nothing you couldn't do, even sail a boat. Cecilia couldn't help but admire how strong and capable Helen always seemed, and wondered if there was anything Helen couldn't do or something that scared her.

The trip was a silent one since neither one of them was a good company. Even the sea was calm, there were no crashing waves to disturb their quiet.

After what felt like an eternity to Cecilia's frazzled nerves, they started approaching an island. It was a very small island and the part they were slowly gliding toward looked abandoned.

"Welcome to the most haunted island in the world!" Helen said, with a huge smile on her face.

She seemed to be enjoying the sight of the deserted buildings on the beautiful island more than Cecilia considered normal.

"What is it with you and haunted places?" Cecilia asked, barely controlling the bitterness that threatened to seep through her voice.

"As I told you before, regular haunted places can mask our presence for a short time. However, this island here, the most haunted one of them all, it can do the same for a long time. Besides, most vampires avoid these kinds of places, I guess it's a superstition or something. They think it brings bad luck." Helen said.

"Does it?" Cecilia asked, with a shaky voice.

"Of course not. There is no such thing as bad luck." Helen said.

"Some time ago, I believed there was no such thing as vampires, but here we are," Cecilia mumbled under her breath.

Although Helen heard her, loud and clear, she decided to ignore the comment, not wanting to get into a fight when there were so many other things they had to do.

As they got off the boat, they started searching their surroundings for a place to stay, and the nearby abandoned house seemed like the best choice for the time being, since they needed to rest and feed as soon as possible.

"Home, sweet home," Tobias said, as they opened the creaky door of the dust-filled house.

Although she knew they didn't have much of a choice, Cecilia thoroughly despised the state of disrepair of the house. It gave her the creeps.

"It's okay. We will be safe here." Tobias said.

He could sense her discomfort, but there wasn't much he could do but try to make her feel better. Then and there, he decided to do his best to make her stay on the island as pleasant as possible.

Helen, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the mystic air of the place, the old power that still lingered in the walls, and the bareness of it all. Even the house's crumbling walls gave her a sense of comfort that she usually didn't have. She got a feeling that she would enjoy the island more than she thought possible.

"Lunchtime!" She said as she handed out bags of blood.

They drank them up quickly, and all of them could feel the energy coming back to them and the immense pleasure of human blood circulating through their veins. A delicious meal was always a good way to set one's mind at ease, and even Cecilia started feeling a bit better about the whole ordeal.