Portrait Of A Vampire

Henry

I awoke before dawn. Our bodies intertwined and the sheets wrapped around us. I kissed Emma's cheek as I gently laid her from my chest to her own pillow. She was beautiful when she slept, like an angel I thought as I smiled and bid her farewell.

The streets were vacant as I walked back home, my small heels clicking along the pebble stones, echoing down the long dark alley ways of old London. I shivered, wrapping my brown woolen shawl tighter around me. You'd think being a creature of the night I wouldn't get this cold, but then again...I wasn't like the rest of them. That's what my master had said. He told me how different I was and how annoying. I remember when I told him I didn't want to kill anymore. He laughed at me and said I was a fool. He said that this was my nature now and there was no stopping it.

I struggled with it for years. I would cry alone in my room of the manor. He gave me everything I desired let me be totally fair. He furnished me with jewels and satin gowns. I had servants. I even had a horse I named Harry and we would ride together sometimes for hours. That was until I killed him. It was right then and there as I held that beautiful horse's head in my lap, his blood dripping from my lips that I told myself no more of this life. I wasn't accepting it. I wasn't accepting me. I ran away that night. My master knew of course, since my scent was his own and he knew when his blood had gone far. He came after me. Cornered me in an old cemetery and gave me a choice. I think he felt he owed it to me now, seeing how badly I was suffering. I could see the tears in his eyes as he asked me to stay with him. Almost begging. But he knew.

I knew why he had created me. I knew he was lonely and needed a companion but alas I couldn't stay. I had to leave. It had been nearly 20 years with him and I couldn't allow myself to stay one more night. I remember the way his grey hair fell over his eyes as he looked down and sighed. He dug his cane into the ground as if thinking hard. After a moment and a single tear rolling down his soft pale cheek, he nodded to my decision. I stood there clinging to the gravestones as he wished me good luck, walking slowly with his cane out of the cemetery. That was it. No big fight, or argument. I think he accepted it finally. I heard later on that the manor was sold and the owner had died. Maybe he killed himself or simply vanished into the hills. I like to picture him with his family though, seeing the life he could've had if they had lived together. Did I make the right choice? Yes. Did I miss him? Sometimes. I missed his stories most of all. He'd tell me all about the people he had met and what grand adventures he had been on. He had sailed the world, been everywhere he claimed. I learned a great deal from him. And that is all I can say.

I sighed as I walked up the steps to my room. I watered Ruby and kissed her petals, wishing her a good morning. My tummy rumbled. I knew I'd need to eat again soon. I licked my lips, still tasting Emma on them as I washed my face in my basin and then my hair.

My reflection was worn as I stared at myself in the vanity mirror before me. My blue eyes looked tired and my chestnut hair curled and waved hanging over my shoulders. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath and then out. I tried my best to swallow the sadness that was brewing within me. It always came and went just like the oceans tide,  always never ending. I sniffed savoring my sweet tears for a moment when it truly would me a something more. The overwhelming guilt that would come with each kill, the loneliness of my breaking heart that missed my family and missed being a part of the world. A creature of darkness can never been seen. Not for who they truly are. Humans don't understand this. They can't or perhaps won't. They only ever see what they want to see. A monster. A vile demon from the depths of hell who drinks blood and lives for years sheltered from the sun and the eyes of their blessed god.