Katera

Chapter 10: I've Fallen For You

She heard the voice and instantly turned to see a strange man standing there. It was only a mere second before he came at Maria and grabbed her. "Let go of me!" She said out of fear. As the man pinned her down, Maria shifted her body in a way that when she finally hit the ground combined with force of impact, he broke the lower half of her left leg. Maria then screamed in agony as the excruciating pain surged through her body. Also due to the impact, her leg also began to bleed.

"You're not going anywhere." The stranger said to Maria as he covered her mouth so she couldn't cry out for help. But unexpectedly someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him off Maria.

It took a few seconds for Maria to notice this, but when she did, they were fighting. She could tell who was winning, then the other person pinned the perpetrator against the ground.

"You're a vampire?" The man said concisely which was followed by a vague scream.

Maria used her arms to sit up against the wall of the alleyway as she watched. It looked as if the supposed vampire, was drinking the blood of the man who had attacked her.

When the person was seemingly finished, they turned toward Maria. She stared into the gaze of their glowing red eyes as they wiped the blood off their mouth. It took only a second before she realised who it was. "Adari, is that really you?" she asked.

"As long as the moon shines." He responded as the red glow in his eyes faded back to the normal blue, then he retracted his fangs. He walked over to Maria and knelt down beside her.

"Thank you for the help Adari. But if I may ask, why are you here? Not sound rude or anything, but we're currently miles away from Katera."

"I took a walk to clear my mind, while I was doing that I heard your scream. And now I'm here." He responded.

"But how did you know I was here? Like, how did you find me?"

"I followed the scent of your blood. Also, you shouldn't be out here all by yourself. You should really be getting home, where there aren't people waiting to attack you."

Maria then began to speak in an alluded tone while making gestures with her arms. "You're right but I can't even stand up much less walk. My leg is broken. With this injury I'll somehow wind up in a hospital and they'll tell me I'll never be able to walk again an they'll end up putting me in a wheelchair for rest of my life, I'll also lose my job. All because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"That is one way you could go, but there is another way besides the hospital-wheelchair scenario." Adari stated in a calm voice.

"Like what? Just sit here and suffer until I die?"

"That is another way, but not what I had in mind."

"Then what?"

"You can just take my blood." Adari suggested

"Uh, thanks for the offer but I'm gonna have to pass. I'm not a vampire I don't need to consume blood to survive."

"I didn't finish. I said take my blood because vampire blood, when consumed by humans has the power to heal injuries they might have. And before you ask, no simply taking my blood will not turn you into a vampire."

"You got any other solution because that just grosses me out." Maria said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Well there's also your hospital-wheelchair idea if that is what you would prefer. But do have to say living life in a wheelchair would probably make almost everything 10 times harder. But if that's your choice I could take you to the hospital right now."

Maria glared at Adari. "I guess we could go with your idea, though it still grosses me out."

"Okay then, and don't worry after about 24 hours, my blood will filter out of your system." He responded, he then let his fangs emerge and then bit into his arm causing himself to bleed. Afterward he lifted arm up to Maria's mouth so she could take some of his blood and she did.

Maria gagged after taking the blood, but about 15 seconds after taking some of Adari's blood, Maria's body began to heal itself. It didn't take long before her injuries were completely healed. When they were, Adari aided her in standing up.

"There you go, you're all better." Adari said with a smile.

"That was disgusting. I hope I will never have to do that again."

"I did say my blood would heal you, never did I say that the taste would be in your favor."

"And it was not." Maria ageed. "But I still will ask again, why it is you are here? Still not trying to be rude, I appreciate all the help. I do understand you were walking around doing nothing. But when you heard my scream, why did you come to help me? Why not ignore it and just head back to Katera? It's not like you didn't have something more important to do than helping me."

"I guess I can't really hide it anymore, from the logical standpoint of any my subjects, I suppose it would be true that my duties back in Katera are more important than being here to help you." He began to explain. "The reason I chose to be here instead of there is because..I love you Maria." He sighed "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I could never find the courage to do so. Which is why I lied to you in the woods, locked you in that cabin and intentionally kept the Myths and Legends book. I just wanted you to be around me. I get that what I'm say probably sounds absolutely ridiculous, absurd and unrealistic, that someone like me could love someone like you. But that doesn't shame me away from admitting it."

"You love me?" Maria responded in awe "He really loves me? How did I notice? Also, that void feeling..it's gone. Could it be that it was Adari all along? Did I actually care for him and not even know it?" She asked herself in thought. "Adari, I never thought that, well this is kind of hard to put into words. I feel the same way about you, and I'm not just saying that. It's true, you see, for the past week and a half I've been feeling this void feeling, but no matter what I did, I couldn't get to go away. I originally thought, it was my friend Rachel, since we got into a fight a couple weeks ago. So I tried to mend things with her, and now she hates me, and that void feeling was still there. But, when you showed up, it went away. Which leads me to believe that I unknowingly want to be around you too. Like it was only a subconscious feeling until now. Why else would I have agreed to walking with in the woods with someone who I considered a stranger? Or go back to city I rendered very dangerous, hoping I would never go back, only to go back just for a book and still not retrieve it? Honestly I feel safer and more comfortable around you, than I do most people, despite knowing that you're a vampire, and all the risks that come along with it."

Adari was surprised to hear Maria's answer but didn't know what to think of it. So he decided to keep silent.

Maria then broke the silence, "I guess I should be going now, seeing as I'm making things more awkward by the second." She then turned her back toward him and began to walk away.

"Wait." Adari said causing Maria to stop in her tracks. "Is that really the truth? Do you really love me?" He questioned "I must know."

"My feelings for you are true. I love you Adari. If I had you, I wouldn't trade you for another." She said with sincerity.

"Really?" He said in waning disbelief.

"Yes."

With that being said, Maria took few steps closer to Adari. Then she began to lean in and close her eyes as did he. They did so until their lips met and they shared a passionate kiss. Adari carefully wrapped his arms around Maria as she ran her fingers through his hair. A few moments passed before their kiss came to an end.

"Thank you Maria. I'm glad to have met someone so brave, confident and beautiful as you.