A Vampire Fairy Tale (Ronnie Radke)

Memory

         Annalise shuddered and didn't immediately pull away from Ronnie when the world stopped spinning. Instead, she peeked up at him from his chest and whispered, "Does that EVER stop feeling like one too many beers before going on a roller coaster?"

Ronnie chuckled and glanced down at her, "Yes and no. Long distances still have that effect. I just get my sea legs faster...or would they be land legs?"

Annalise shook her head and chuckled as she stepped back and looked up at the castle in the distance, "Tell me that's not where we're going. It just looks like Dracula's castle."

"That's because it is. My family are direct descendants, and my father insists on living on the most cliché real estate on the face of this planet," Ronnie rolled his eyes, "The good news is, this is as close as one can get without walking up to it. You can't teleport any closer, and he even has an EMP that kills cars if they get too far down the path. That's partially to deter our enemies, and partially to make an easy meal if any humans get too close. This is the heart of our order, and a well-kept secret, surprisingly."

Annalise frowned toward the castle and then looked over at Ronnie, "Even with all of the technological advances, you still feed off of humans?"

Ronnie smiled over at her as they hiked. He took her hand and laced their fingers as he carefully responded, "You always did have issue with that. But the short answer is yes. It's not as easy as walking into a blood bank, even if our order controls about half of the blood donation centers in the world."

"How's that for irony?" Annalise chuckled. She braved a glance at Ronnie and smiled at his confused face, "How is it not ironic that vampires control blood banks? I can't imagine they keep consistent stock."

"It's one of our ways of giving back, to be honest. Most of us follow a very strict code when it comes to who we feed off of, and it keeps humans off of our scent to control things they don't expect," Ronnie paused and thought before continuing, "And our staff at the blood banks are human. Call it loss prevention."

"A code? What kind of code?" Anna looked up toward the castle, then back at Ronnie. She didn't want to feel apprehensive, but everything in her was screaming to turn back and run.

"As an unwritten rule that most of us follow, we won't feed off of children, or pregnant women. In fact, most feeding off of any woman is purely sexual, consensual and never fatal. The only people we kill with feedings are criminals and clergy members," Ronnie stated matter of factly.

Before Annalise could respond, they found themselves at tall, black wooden gates. She stopped short, and her steps wavered. Ronnie looked back at her, and upon sensing her fear he put his arms around her tightly.

"This place was made to deter humans, and the sense of dread you're feeling is totally normal. But trust me, there are more people in that building that want to protect you than there are who would hurt you- including a father in law that is anxious to see us reunited so he can retire. You are safer here until you have your memory back than you would be anywhere else in this world, Annalise."

She looked up at him and it her lip, "Are you staying here?"

Ronnie looked down at her and frowned, "I can't for now. I have to get back and continue my tour. We are the world's best-kept secret, and I can't suddenly disappear. The music industry offered us a safe haven. I have to honor my contract with them."

Annalise frowned but nodded. As they turned toward the gates again, they slowly began to swing open. As they walked through the courtyard toward the doors, she felt an air of déjà vu that made her pounding heart slow to a normal rate as she took in the dark beauty of the land surrounding the last vampire stronghold.

Ronnie smiled down at her as they approached the doors and whispered, "Are you ready to understand everything that never made sense about your life?"

Annalise nodded nervously, and she realized she had been squeezing Ronnie's hand until they reached the doors. Ronnie smiled widely as he pushed them open and said, "Welcome home at last, Annalise Belmont."