Vampire Residence

V

The woman's voice was firm, her words brooking no argument. Her gaze was unwavering as if daring Eleanor to question her decision.

Eleanor herself was at a loss for words. She had so many questions- about what had happened, about what had been done to her- but one question kept repeating in her mind over and over again.

"Why?"

The woman held her gaze for a moment longer before her expression softened slightly, a hint of uncertainty crossing her face.

"Because... I could not bear to watch you die."

The confession was so unexpected that Eleanor could only stare, her mind trying to process the weight of the words. The woman had sounded so cold, so indifferent before, that the hint of emotion in her voice now was almost a shock.

"You... couldn't bear...?" The words sounded absurd. The woman was a stranger; why would she care what happened to Eleanor?

"I couldn't bear to watch you die," the woman repeated, her voice taking on an almost pleading quality now. "You are... important to me. I had to save you."

The confession took Eleanor completely off guard. The woman's expression had transformed from cold detachment to almost vulnerability. Her eyes had taken on a pleading quality as if begging for understanding.

But how could any of this make sense? The woman was a stranger. They had never met before. How could she possibly be 'important' to her?

"But... I do not know you." It was the only coherent thought she could manage. The situation was too surreal, her senses buzzing from the strange drink she had ingested.

The woman chuckled humorlessly at her response, her face once again hardening as she seemed to regain control of her emotions.

"You don't know me," the woman echoed, her voice emotionless again, "No, you don't."

There was something in her tone that sounded like resignation as if she had expected this response.

Eleanor's brain was struggling to keep up. The situation was getting more and more confusing by the moment, and her newly heightened senses weren't helping matters. She could sense the tension in the woman's body and could hear the strange, slowed beat of her heart.

"Who are you?" She managed to ask, the question sounding more desperate than she would have liked.

"You will know soon enough."

The response was vague and unsatisfying. It only fueled Eleanor's growing frustration.

"How soon is 'soon'? What happens now?"

The woman said nothing, her gaze once again fixed intently on Eleanor's face.

"Now... you turn."

"..I am sorry." the woman's voice was quieter now, returning to the same resigned tone as before.

The woman's tone was softer now, almost apologetic. But there was no mistaking her meaning- no denying the reality of what had just been said.

Eleanor's mind was racing, her heart thudding in her chest. She wanted to deny it, to argue, to fight it. But the changes she had already sensed in her body told her it was too late.

"No... no, no, no..." she whispered, her voice cracking as fear and despair began to take over.

"I am sorry..."

The woman's words were a quiet plea for forgiveness, an acknowledgment that there was no way back.

Eleanor knew it too. She felt the changes within her body, the heightened senses, the strength and speed. The hunger. She was becoming one of them.

With each whispered "I am sorry," the reality of her fate became more and more inescapable.

"No... please, no..."

The words were a broken whisper, her voice shaking and her body starting to tremble.

The woman's face was almost sympathetic now, her eyes flicking over Eleanor's face as if trying to offer some kind of comfort, even as she condemned her to a life as a monster.

A monster. A vampire.

The word echoed in her mind, sending a fresh wave of horror crashing through her body.

"I had to save you."

The woman repeated the statement, her words almost a desperate plea.

Eleanor only half heard her, a faint crimson haze starting to form in her eyes. Part of her knew that its only purpose was for her to watch, like the little sheep she'd envisioned and counted in her mind at night as a child, to lull her to sleep.

"Save me, or damn me?"