When Night Comes

24. 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂'𝓻𝓮 𝓙𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓦𝓱𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓔𝓪𝓽

The next month had been spent in a haze, where everything seemed to happen at once at a very rapid pace, with her being an unwilling observer to it all. Interacting with everything proved to be quite the challenge, one she wasn't willing to attempt for now. She remained passive and defeated, knowing that there wasn't really any chance that her situation would get better. She was not unlike a walking corpse roaming the halls of the estate, wishing for a form of release. Like during the months leading to her turning, the girl's days were spent sleeping; the sunrays hurt, and while the burns quickly left due to her fast healing, it left a reminder in her mind. She wasn't welcomed amongst the living anymore, outcasted even by the sun.

She slept during the night as well, hoping that time would fly and, somehow, would make her feel better. They said that time heals all wounds. She hoped it would heal hers. Not the physical kind; her body had become quite resistant to physical injuries and scars disappeared in minutes at most.

Dorian did not comment on her state, fortunately allowing her to slumber with nothing but a small remark that her behavior was not that abnormal from other newborns, saying that it would surely pass. Once a night, he came to feed her. He had tried giving her human blood more than once, but she had learned to see the difference between it and her sire's. While her sire's blood tasted good, it did not compare to the smell of mortal blood. Their blood smelt like a sweet, heavenly nectar. Like a fine delicacy that she wouldn't allow herself to partake in for (Y/n) knew that if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop drinking. One drop would be enough.

Killian came regularly during the night. She recognized him by the immense feeling of guilt that spread in the room once he entered. She didn't know when she had begun to sense people's feelings, but she had become quite used to it, almost as if it were instinctive. She rarely opened the coffin – it was Dorian's, but she had practically taken it as her own by now – and simply listened as he took a seat and drew it closer to her. Killian would then open a book and start reading her a story. One each night, she believed. He always came whenever she was awake, somehow knowing that, while she remained in the coffin, she was not sleeping. He never said much, only read and commented on certain chapters. There was no discussion of her fate as a vampire between them; the guilt and remorse he felt told her everything. She did not blame him. How could she, when he had tried to help her?

Even now, when all hope was lost, he strived to make this situation better for her. She had learned that Killian survived on a diet consisting of animal blood, His sense of empathy for humans made it impossible for him to drain them without a second thought like Dorian did. She had attempted Killian's diet once, perhaps to defy her sire, but the smell was horrible. It tasted so bitter. She had gagged and thrown up everything ingested in mere seconds while wondering how he could survive on this vile thing. He hadn't commented on her reaction though and, by the lack of surprise, must have expected it.

She often wondered what he saw when he looked at her, if he saw the girl she once was or merely a shell of her former self. But she dared not voice her thoughts, afraid of what his answer might reveal.

Dorian came in and an argument had ensued between the two older vampires. The blond was beyond angry that the other had even mentioned his diet to the girl. (Y/n) could sense that the subject of Killian's diet had been brought to the table many times before between the two, but now that it involved her, Dorian was unwilling to compromise. She hadn't said anything; her opinions never really mattered in these quarrels anyways.

⊱ ────── {⋆𖤐⋆} ────── ⊰

Exactly one month later, Dorian grew tired of (Y/n)'s passive demeanor, the weight of her melancholy casting a shadow over the estate. Dorian resolved to take matters into his own hands. It was time; time for his newborn to experience the world beyond these walls. She would realize there were far more beauties to be found in this new existence.