Bride in Black

"While I was away, Mother died, and that was the final straw for him. When I returned, I discovered the man I'd once called father was no more, and I told him as much. The tyrant who'd replaced him claimed I wasn't the son who'd abandoned his family to join in the barbarism of war." Raymond snorted gently. "I couldn't argue that point, so instead, I told him of the experiences I'd had, what I'd lived through. It was difficult to speak of, but I wanted him to know why I was... what I'd become. Maybe then he'd share with me why he'd changed."

Raymond's eyes held pain once more, and they shied away from Eleanor's. "Instead, he told me he would ensure I kept those terrible memories forever... as a reminder of my disobedience to him."

Wearily, he dropped himself into the chair facing Eleanor and looked deeply into her eyes. She froze and couldn't look away.

"He physically changed before my eyes, becoming the monstrous beast you encountered. Before I could move, he leapt upon me and crushed me to the floor. He numbed my neck with his tongue and then bit deeply until he reached my very lifeblood. He drank and drank until I felt my life slipping away."

He saw the horror in her eyes. "Yes, you remember those sensations, don't you. You've experienced them, too." He nodded before continuing. "It seemed a horrible end, but I clung to the idea that I'd finally have relief from the night terrors the war had given me. If my father had had any decency in his soul, he would have continued drinking until I was dead. I would have welcomed it."

The pain returned to his eyes as he continued. "If I'd been stronger, I would have ignored your pleas and let you escape this fate. That would have been far more merciful." His brows drew down again as his memories returned to his ordeal.

"The monster savagely attacked me to bring me to the very brink of death. Again and again, day after day, he did this. Afterward, he'd drink my blood until I could almost feel the sweet release of my mortality, and then he'd drag me back, forcing me to drink his blood, adding his vile sustenance into my veins. I was conscious and aware of it all, each time. It only ended when I found myself strong enough to fight my way free."

"STOP! Please stop!" Eleanor cried as her body shook. She struggled to get control of herself once more. What he spoke of was madness, yet... she believed every word, for he was right. She had experienced it. She needed to turn the conversation from this macabre reminiscing as it fostered a most unwelcome desperation in her. To combat the bizarre, she reached for the mundane. "Aside from being a soldier, did you have any other aspirations for your life?"

Raymond looked at her in surprise, his darkening mood derailed by her interruption. "Oh, well... I once had dreams of being a barrister or a doctor." He glanced around the room. "Somewhere in this collection are books my father purchased to assist me with my goals." He frowned as he recalled how he'd ultimately rewarded the man.

Eleanor needed him to stop focusing on his father, but all she had was her own story, so she used that. "We shared a dream then. I also wanted to be a doctor, but society doesn't seem ready for a woman in this field of study. For all our claims of civility, man slips back into savagery when confronted by unconventional thoughts and behaviors." She sighed as she hadn't meant to mention savagery, so she looked at the books. Even with the waves of lethargy sweeping through her being, her longing to read them all pulled at her soul. Her fate was so unfair! So much knowledge she would never have. "I only wish I had time to fulfill that dream, no matter the challenges."

His eyes went to hers, and it felt like a physical touch. The intensity of his gaze was breathtaking.

"I would have liked to have witnessed you graduating from medical college," he said softly.

Her breath caught in her throat at the honesty in his admiring gaze. They suddenly looked away from each other in embarrassment.

He cleared his throat and spoke without gazing at her. "I've done my absolute best to spare you what I endured, but you must be fully aware for what comes next. I pray your grasp on your sanity is as strong as your will. Stand fast, and I'll meet you again on the other side."

Finally, he looked towards her again, and her eyes felt the undeniable pull of his. She felt herself falling into those dark orbs as his pupils seemed to have grown to fill them. She was dimly aware of him moving closer, his mouth opening slowly to expose his long, sharp, white fangs, much like his fath—no! No! NO!

Her neck felt cold from the touch of his tongue, then a pressure. She struggled to breathe, to scream, to move... but she had no strength left. What little energy she had in her body was draining from her, a sip at a time.

He'd promised to save her, yet he was taking her life anyway!

Before the final dark took her, one more sensation rose to the surface of her fading comprehension. Strong hands on hers with a gentle touch, someone compassionate seeing her off.

She wasn't alone, which felt like the grandest gift of all.

"Eleanor King?" The thought came to her as a parting wish.

Then she thought, no more.

Epilogue

The long black limousine pulled up to the curb, and the driver stepped out of the gleaming ride. He hurriedly moved to the rear passenger door and opened it to assist the petite woman from the car. Dressed in a tailored black jacket over a deep red silk shirt worn open at her throat and dark slacks, the black sneakers she preferred jarred with her outfit. She refused to torture her feet in uncomfortable shoes merely for fashion. Besides, these sneakers lived up to their name.

The similarly dressed man who stepped from the vehicle behind her had wide shoulders and a broad chest, which made for a much more imposing sight. Long black hair hung to his shoulders and gleamed under the evening's streetlights.

"Thank you, Philip! You can pick us up at the brownstone tomorrow morning at eight," he said in his deep voice.

"Yes, sir. Have a good evening," the driver replied and nodded to the woman before closing the door and returning to the driver's seat.

As the limo pulled away, the woman turned to the man and smiled up at him. His lips picked up her smile, and he tipped his face down to kiss her. She purred in appreciation after he pulled back.

"How was your day?" he asked.

She grinned as she enjoyed their ritual of discussing the events of their day. He was such a good listener! "Interesting! I got to add six stents to a patient's heart."

The man's brows rose. "Six! Was blood moving through the heart at all?"

"Poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Even with the stents, if he doesn't adjust his lifestyle, he has maybe five years left, at best," she sighed.

She spoke of some new issues she'd had with the hospital administrators, who were always balking at her willful ways. He just smiled to himself, hearing about her battles.

They talked as they walked the remaining blocks to their home, another cherished daily routine.

"And your day?" she asked when she finished.

He smiled as his eyes scanned the shadows and gave her a little shrug. "I won my cases. Most of them, anyway. The judge was such an unpleasant little Troll; I found it difficult to refrain from biting him."

Eleanor's sweet giggles brought a smile back to Raymond's face as he enjoyed the delight on hers. They walked hand in hand along the sidewalk as they'd done in so many cities around the world over the century and a half they'd been together.

Soon, they'd slip into the shadows to find their meal for the night. The city never truly slept, and encountering someone walking its dark streets alone wasn't difficult. They never chose the same target twice, only those who could spare little blood. They never took more than they needed for the following day and always left their marks only slightly worse for wear but unaware of the reason. They'd also find a couple of twenties in their pocket when their senses returned to them. This was Eleanor's idea, and she explained to Raymond that it was just fair compensation for their day's meal. He'd had a good laugh the first time she'd surprised him with it.

Raymond recalled how much difficulty Eleanor had during her first months in her new state. He'd been resigned to hiding away in the mansion, venturing out only to feed on the blood of deer from the dense woods surrounding the property. Now, he had company. The terrible fate he'd imposed upon her had been a desperate act of loneliness and selfishness on his part. When she gradually understood the true nature of her condition, she forgave him and began to put her brilliant mind to work on improving their living conditions. She'd awakened something in Raymond that he'd lost in the years before his father turned him. Something precious he'd lost in the war.

He found hope.

In their time together, they'd experienced so much. Every day brought them joy just from the pure pleasure of sharing it. They took comfort in how their thoughts meshed these days. They always kept an eye on the future to see what new challenges it might bring for them to conquer as a team.

A short time later, after they'd fed, they'd almost reached their street with its cozy row of brownstones when Eleanor looked up and gasped in surprise. "Oh! That's something new!" she exclaimed.

The couple stopped as others came out onto their steps to point skywards at the rippling green light seemingly overhead. "The aurora borealis, visible over Manhattan?" Raymond pondered quietly. It was indeed awe-inspiring, but his gaze quickly turned to see how Eleanor was enjoying it. He saw the beautiful light reflected in her lovely eyes and was captured by the moment.

As the lights above began to fade, she finally noticed his attention. She snorted quietly. "Why are you looking at me when there's a gorgeous light show above us?"

He took her hands in his as they faced each other. "Your beauty captured my heart from the first day I met you—I know, not your favorite memory... but I knew at that moment I'd never see anything more beautiful in my life. I haven't been proven wrong yet."

She lifted herself on tiptoe and kissed him tenderly. She couldn't believe how much she loved him. From everything he'd shared with her, his greatest gift was time.

Now she had enough time to fulfill all her dreams and, best of all, someone to share those dreams with!