Divergence: The Vampire Queen

What if?

"Whats it like to be human?" It was such a simple question, but one he had never asked in his life. He had been born this way, and when she'd looked at him like he was a monster, it hurt so much. He had never been anything else. All his life, he'd been told that he was superior, standing above the masses as a leader. Could he be jealous of what humans had? What even did they have? Vulnerability? Fragile lives? He wanted to know.

"It sounds silly, and I know it's not my place to ask, especially at a time like now. It's just... I touch you and think warmth, light, love. Which makes me feel like until now everything else has just been nothing, like stone." He looked back at her with genuine curiosity, as if she held the key to a wonder previously unseen.

"I don't know." She said honestly, enjoying the fact that he was as curious about her as she was about him. "I mean, I never thought about being anything else, but it is nice to just lay in the sun and feel the warm rays. They feel invigorating instead of draining. That's a major difference."

Natalia thought for a moment longer. "I get winded if I run too long. Or we kiss too long..." she blushed. "Oh! My cheeks get hot! I don't think you do that. I feel hot and cold. That can certainly be nice or extremely unpleasant."

"It's just... different, but it's all I've ever known." She looked away for a second. "I was taught to fear things that were different, but you—" her shining green eyes fell on him once more, "you don't seem like the monsters in stories. You seem... kind and passionate and loving." Her pale hand stroked his cheek. "And you're a very good kisser. Not that I have anything to compare you to, but against what I had imagined it might be like, you exceeded expectations." She blushed once more.

"Well, I am happy to have exceeded expectations," he chuckled softly, giving her hand a gentle kiss.

"And what about you? I mean—you've only ever been you. Still, haven't you had a lot of contact with humans? You are a prince. You must've been required to interact with others sometimes?"

Before he could answer, something flashed across her face that was akin to fear. "You...you said you could make people forget? And do what you wanted, right?" Her eyes bore into him as she asked, "You won't do that to me, right? You won't force me to forget or make me do something against my will... right?"

He had to think quickly. He already had, but how could he say that to her? The best he could do was undo what he had done. "You will ignore my previous commands. You are free to do as you please: run, hide, act as you want to. You will not remember we had this moment." He compelled her to be free.

Today was indeed a day for big firsts. She would remember none of his compulsions until or unless she turned. Then she might get flashes of the times she had been, but even that wasn't guaranteed.

He smiled, acting as if none of that taken place. "Natalia, I do not need to make you forget or make you act against your will. I wouldn't want to. You're perfect just the way you are. I would not wish to erase any of our experiences together." His smooth lie finished with a kiss. He knew that might come back to haunt him, but it was so far down the line, he wouldn't concern himself with it now.

As she relaxed against him, he circled back to the prior questions. "I can't tell if I feel warmth or the cold. I didn't believe I truly did, but when I'm with you, I feel something tingly and different. When I'm in the sun, it's more of a dull ache that turns into a blistering pain, but I don't think that's warmth."

"Warmth is comforting," Natalia told him. "It's like a hug."

"That is far closer to what I feel with you. You radiate it." His smile was broad as her perfect little cherub face stared up at him. "Perhaps that is also love, though."