The Queen of Hearts

I will ensure that you suffer

Gabrielle observed Antonio for the remainder of the evening, going so far as to stalk him back to his home after he retrieved an infant from another location. The child was surprisingly quiet as her small fingers gripped onto his shirt and her face burrowed into his chest. There was a strange stirring in Gabrielle as she watched the interaction, but it quickly dissipated when she watched Antonio place the child into her crib. This was the opportune time to act.

She slid down from the tree she had been in and slipped into the house. Gabrielle strode directly to the nursery, eager for her feast, but when she pushed open the door the room was empty save for the infant. Instead of allowing her burning throat to overtake her, she followed her nose. The man was downstairs in the living room. She slithered down the stairs and remained by the doorway in wait.

Her eyes noted every minuscule movement of him as he neatened up the area around him. Every beat of his heart pulsated through the room. The intake of air in his lungs blew through her as it oxygenated the blood she would soon consume. His skin brushed against his clothing as he reached over to grab the remote, but Gabrielle realized too late that this would require him to angle in a way the put her in his line of sight.

She watched in glee as every single hair on the back of his neck stood up.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice demanding yet riddled with fear.

Antonio was petrified as Gabrielle stepped forward and smiled at him. It was far from the pleasant smile she had given him earlier in the cafe. No, this smile showed her true nature as her fangs protruded menacingly. Antonio wanted to believe that he was dreaming, but he knew better. He knew this was very real and that he needed to get away, but he couldn't just run.

Gabrielle approached him slowly. This was part of the game she played -there was no rush since her prey was cornered. She would take her time with this one as she knew he would be especially decadent.

A high pitched wail interrupted both individuals from their thoughts. Antonio had been praying that little Isabella would stay quiet until he could reach her and his worst fears came to life as Gabrielle's attention snapped upstairs. Her concentration had been broken, but her mind was still in a predatory train of thought. She would kill whatever interrupted her and return for Antonio.

To ensure that he did not try to escape Gabrielle grabbed him and sunk her fangs deep into his flesh. This would incapacitate him, but it would take a while before the venom killed him. Since she was not a pure blood vampire, her own blood was required to turn an individual. Her venom alone would simply kill her victims.

Antonio fell to the ground clutching his neck as Gabrielle stalked up the stairs. She stared at the crying infant momentarily before picking it up and cradling it into her arms. Her previous plan to kill it faltered, as the child calmed and rested its smack head into the crook if her arm. Gabrielle took the chance to look at the baby closely, since it was unlikely that it would ever happen again. Female vampires were unable to bear their own children unless they were pure bloods.

Gabrielle had been so engrossed in the child in her arms that she didn't hear Antonio as he struggled into the kitchen to grab a knife before pulling himself up the stairs and dragging himself into the small nursery. Although the the venom was working on him, his love and will to save his child was stronger. She screamed and almost dropped the child when the blade was thrust into her body.

Pulling the knife out, blood poured from Gabrielle's wound, but she was too enraged to notice. Just as she was about to lunge at the man, she gripped onto the child painfully tight causing Isabella to wail. Again her attention was ripped from the task at hand to the small infant. As Gabrielle looked at the child, a sadistic smile spreading across her face and she smelled fear filled the room.

"You will pay for this. I will make you regret every day of your pitiful life for ever pushing that filthy thing into me. I will ensure that you suffer," she said darkly as she exited through the window, with small Isabella in her arms and Antonio crying for his baby in the background.