The Vampire's Soul

Rosie

A woman.Her vampiric senses are diminished. She's in a bubble, her hands feather light and her eyelids are as heavy as the stone in her head. Her ears take her outside where she can hear the sound of sheep and their bells ringing in the distance. Her cold hand removes the thin sheets off of her body to examine the bandages tightly wrapped up around her shoulder and her left leg. The job is rather sloppy but the blood seems to have stopped leaking out of her wounds.She's so enthralled by her physical state that she only hears the human come in at the last moment, giving her only a few seconds to cover herself with the sheets, positioning herself in a defensive stance towards the open door.'Oh... You're awake!' A woman exclaims, smiling to the vampire who tenses smelling humanity on her.Rosie retreats in a haste, and falls from the bed, exhausted hands unable to catch the sheets to anchor herself in time.'Careful you're not...' The woman tries eyebrows frowning in worry.'Stay away from me!' Rosie groans, gritting her teeth when the pain in her shoulder awakens.The woman halts her movements, slightly offended by this sudden outburst.'I just want to help you. If you keep on moving like that you're going to worsen your injuries-''Stay. Away.' Rosie stands up, her achy muscles roaring under her skin. She's hurting all over.'Why am I naked?' The anger emanating from her is son intense that the other woman visibly tenses.'I had to rid you of your clothes, they were so dirty. Full of mud, blood and God knows what else. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you I-'She makes a step towards the chest of drawers next to the bed and Rosie looks at you with a dark stare, watchful, ready to pounce if necessary. She doesn't know if she could defend herself, ignoring to what extent she's physically affected. But she'll try. She doesn't really look threatening but she never knows. Humans are never to be trusted.You set water and a plate of food on the chest of drawers before turning your attention towards the young woman who's still glaring at you. How could she be unwelcoming in your house? You fold your arms on your chest, trying to put things into perspective.You found her in a pitiful state, riddled with bloody holes in her body. You can't even start to imagine what she went through. You can start to understand her hostility towards you. Her fear of you.After all, she woke up naked in an unknown place.You sigh, putting your hands on your hips.'Okay, let's start from the beginning... My name is Mika, what is your name?' You ask, trying to break the ice.She doesn't answer, reserved. She's cautious.'I'm not going to hurt you. I swear. Do I look dangerous to you?' you try with a warm smile.She tilts her head to the side, as if she was taking her time to think about your questions. She's hunched a hand on her shoulder through the sheets.Her jaw sets and you know she's gritting her teeth when she speaks again.'Yes... You do.' She spits, stern, eyes turning into slits.'Oh...' You laugh nervously. Whether it's her statement or the uncomfortable atmosphere that's settled between the two of you, you don't wish to stay any longer in the room, wanting to instead give her the opportunity to calm down.'Look...' You clear your throat before pointing a closet at the other hand of the room.'You can choose anything in there to wear. I took the initiative to throw your stuff away.''You should eat something or you'll collapse again.' You absentmindedly say ,looking at the plate you set for her.'I'll give you some privacy now.' You whisper before closing the door and as soon as you're out of the room Rosie's body deflates, her tense shoulders relaxing.Looking over at the plate of food, her nose crunches at the prospect of having to eat that. Human food. She could almost gag. She sighs exhaling frustration, anger and fear that were nestled into her chest.You're a human but you haven't done anything to her yet. Don't you know what she is?Looking at herself in the mirror, she doesn't notice any tell-tale sign that she is what she is. No physical clue sounding the alarm. After all, you did offer her human food rather than kick her out yelling at the top of your lungs.Rosie shakily breaths, droopy eyes turned towards the wooden floor. Her hearing takes her in the other rooms of the house and she can hear you in the kitchen. You're cooking... Singing something she's never heard before. The sound of your feet is cadenced. You're moving from left to right. She hears your airy laugh and a cat meowing right after.Having trouble swallowing down her dry throat, she quickly plans out how she's gonna play this out. What would be the smartest move?You're stirring the stew while moving your hips softly swaying to the music. You take your cat in your arms, and in that position he doesn't look so comfortable, crushed against your chest like your little baby. You hug him, cooing at him, asking if he likes the song. Obviously he just meows at you confused.Rosie can see some bruises on your skin. Most of them are concealed under your long clothes and your turtle neck, but when you bend down to let your cat down, she can clearly see the dark spots on your skin. She tilts her head intrigued.When she clears her throat at the kitchen door you stop dancing. The young woman you found unconscious in your garden is looking at you with less aggressive and fearful eyes. Her eyebrows are joining as if she was sharing the same feeling of confusion with your cat.'Hey...' You simply say, looking at your cat who's walking towards the woman to rub its fur on her legs. She looks at the animal sneak in between her legs with astonishment, hands clasped around a plate and a glass both now empty.'Did you like what I made?' You ask to engage discussion since she's so silent.'Ah...' She starts your cat stealing all her attention. He meows and purrs against her.'Yeah... Sure, yeah...?'You frown at the lack of certainty in her voice. She also looks mildly unsure whether or not she actually liked your meal.'It's my first time cooking this type of cuisine so I hope it didn't taste too weird... I really hope you're not saying that to be nice.' You chuckle, getting closer to take the plate and glass from her hands but when she senses your body moving towards her, she moves back.You look at each other silently for a few seconds before her eyes land on your hands lifted towards her , she understands that you want to take what she brought from the bedroom.She settles for a 'thank you' when she walks towards you, shoulders suddenly more relaxed. When she's at arms length you notice how much taller she is compared to you.'You're welcome.' You smile warmly before washing the dishes into the sink.She puts a hand on the back of her neck, looking around.'You... huh... You've got a nice home.' She tries awkwardly, leaning against the wall.'Thank you... You know you can sit on a chair or the couch...'She looks at you with no emotion, eyes empty and cheeks hollow and white as a sheet. You wonder if she really should be up.'Or maybe you want to go back in the bedroom and lay down? How are you feeling...? Seriously?''I'm good. My wounds are still bleeding though.''Oh about that... My friend is coming tomorrow to look at them and he'll give you stuff like pain killers to help.'Looking at her you see her throat constrict, she's fidgeting with a ring on her middle finger. It's silver and looks ancient.'Oh... yeah? He's gonna look at my wounds?' She stutters looking away from you, her fringe falling on her dark eyes. She sounds nervous so you try to appease her. You've seen how she behaved with you. You have no idea why she's so wary of you but you're gonna try to put her at ease and win her trust.'Yeah, he's my long time friend, he works in a medical cabinet as a nurse. I trust him a lot.''Ok...Thank you.' Her fidgety hand with the ring on her middle finger goes to hide behind her back.'No problem, but how did you get those wounds?' You dry your hands on a kitchen towel when you're done cleaning the plate, glass and fork, facing her again.'I... I was... Walking... Walking in the woods and I just... I guess I shouldn't have been walking in a... bad weather where people are known to hunt...Hunt wild animals...' She shrugs, chewing on her bottom lip, looking down at her naked feet.'Oh my god! You got shot in the shoulder and leg! I would be absolutely livid, you could have died. It totally was their fault!' You put a hand over your mouth, shocked.'Yes. I know but they didn't see me or anything, and I thought I could get home in time to get treated but I just-''Collapsed in my cottage.' You end for her, frowning, narrowing your eyes.'Yeah...''Oh! Does that mean you live close by?''No.' She suddenly gasps, wringing her hands. 'Not at all.''I am traveling... I live really far, I was just sightseeing in the area and it turned out that venturing in unknown places is a bad idea.' Her laugh is short and dry as if she was nervous. And you know she is. You put that on her shyness or awkwardness.'God...' It's your turn to chew your lip.You definitely look worried for her. But she looks so nonchalant about this whole ordeal. She could have died, for God's sake!'I hope you get better soon, seriously. What's your name?''My name? Is huh... My name is Ros- I'm Yoora. Yeah. Yoora. My middle name is Rosie.' Rosie laughs nervously.You chuckle at her hesitancy around her own name. She really should go lay down, you think.'Well, really nice to meet you, Yoora. Welcome to my house and make yourself at home.' You smile at her and she gives you her version of a smile, a little less bright and tighter than yours, but it's a start.'Thanks for having me.' She mumbles eyes fleeing yours, embarrassed when she can see you noticing the bruises on your neck.Sitting on the porch outside, Rosie takes a breath of fresh air. It's been so long since she's had the freedom of being outside without being 'supervised'. The freedom to step outside and enjoy, as ironic as it sounds, the sun, the sound of the leaves in the wind, and the fresh air of the countryside. It feels so good she could actually jump out of joy and euphoria.Leaning further into the long chaise, she spreads her fingers needing to physically grasp this moment of simple happiness she's currently enjoying, afraid it'd slip away if she doesn't hold onto it. Afraid it could all be but a dream and that she'd wake up in her cell.. She's a few centuries old, but she's never taken the time to appreciate nature and what it had to offer her.It took those atrocities to happen and her being sent to 'prison' for her to finally enjoy the act of breathing. She doesn't need to breathe. it's not necessary to her survival, but doing so, inhaling deeply, she feels closer. Closer to the earth, closer to the meaning of something she can't really grasp.In a moment like this one, as hungry as she is, as emotionally distressed as she is, as weak as she feels, she chooses to smile. Crying would be useless. She's always thought crying was a useless human behavior. Would crying bring them back?Rosie scoffs. Humans and their stupid conditions. She squints her eyes when sun rays sting her retinas and the warm sun gently brushes against her face. She knows she has a few minutes left in the sun until it starts burning her, but she cannot for the life of her detach herself from this moving moment she's experiencing. She's one with nature around her. She can smell everything at once, see and hear every bird chirping, each leaf flitting around, smell every sugary fruit in Mika's garden she'd actually hate the taste of. She can feel the cold water in the stream ten minutes away from this house on her finger tips. She feels everything.She's dead. But she feels alive.Rosie smirks, moving her hand in front of her eyes.'You corny bitch, you're gonna fry if you don't get back inside.' She whispers to herself.From where she's sitting she can hear Mika talking in a motherly tone to her sheep on the other side of the cottage.Rosie knows she's gonna have to act a little more welcoming towards her if she wants to stay here longer, if she doesn't want to raise even more questions about her strange behavior and the actual reasons why she arrived here. She's going to have to act human and assimilate with everything she knows humans do.She grimaces at the thought of having to eat human food.Earlier today when Mika offered her that meal she had to throw it outside by the window and throw some dirt on top of it to conceal her crime.She has nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, but in the middle of the country, this place seems to be the perfect hideout. She's gonna have to do this. For survival, she'll put her pride aside. And stoop as low as feigning humanity. Her fingers curl and she groans in disgust.Away from the city, away from the hunters and the prying, judging eyes of humans, she might have a chance to stay hidden, but she's gonna do this the smart way. She knows that if you learn the truth of her nature she'd have to leave, or jab her fangs in your jugular. She is hungry, and she'll soon need to feed but for now she needs you to ignore everything about her blood sucking tendencies.