Who is Edith Cordelia

Chapter 13

I was speechless and taken by surprise by her words. All I could do was stare at her while she hung her head down and released a deep breath.

My mind was going thousands of miles a second, trying to rack my brain for something to say, but always ending up on a dead end.

Then, much to my surprise, Edith moved closer to me again and placed her head on my shoulder, so I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist.

Then she continued to speak.

"That man, his name was Raphael. He became one of us only few years ago. Other than me, there are some who acquired to ability to turn other people like us. Unfortunately, Raphael was able to trick one of those men. He was seen at the street, he got ganged up and was beaten to the brink of death. Eduardo, the vampire who saw him, couldn't really run him to a hospital to save his life because that would bring us out of our hiding, that time we were still preparing. So Raphael convinced him to just turn him, after Eduardo slipped about him not being human. Eduardo came back to our hideout with a passed out Raphael with his body already starting to turn.

Raphael was chaotic and many of us had wanted to take him out, but Eduardo would always plead with us. He kept saying that Raphael just needed time. You see, Eduardo was like that, too, like most of us. At first, his heart was only filled with hatred and anger and would kill and destroy everything he sees whenever he wanted. But, with the right guidance, he was able to move past it. Some took longer than other, but they managed. I wish I could say that all of us moved past it, but some didn't, much to our dismay."

Once again, she removed her head from my shoulder and looked at me, one of her hands finding their way to my cheek and caressed it gently.

"But, we're still not perfect. Whenever there's something or someone that reminded us of our horrid past, we sometimes lose control of ourselves. We never wanted to kill people, but when we entered the palace, we were struck by things that reminded us of that and we kind of lost control. Killing was never our intention... At least, not anymore" i raised a questioning brow at that, in which she returned with her gorgeous smile.

"I told you, we weren't like this before. When we were preparing, we were filled with hatred, too. That's why we were preparing for destruction"

I started rubbing up and down her back softly again. "I'm so glad that you've changed" I whispered to her, and her eyes shone a little. "Me too" she whispered back.

"If that was the alley where you got assaulted in, why were you there? And how come you didn't lose control?"

"Because you were there, too" was her response. My question was barely even out when she answered without a second though, and it made my heart skip a beat once again. "W-What do you mean?" I asked through my loud, frantically, beating heart that I'm sure she can hear.

The pained look on her face before got replaced by a smile before she opened her mouth again to answer me. "I was... following you... to make sure that you always get home safe" My heart fluttered once again by her words, and it's really a rare occurrence to see a shy Edith. I'm always used to seeing the confident one. "And I was missing you, too" then, the atmosphere got immediately shifted with heavy sadness. Once again, we were left staring at one another.

"You knew that we were leaving that day" I don't even know how long it has been since we've escaped from the palace and has been living with Christopher. I never felt the need to keep track of time anymore. I barely even know the date today. 

"I did" she nodded 

"Then, why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you stop me?" She moved away from me, her eyes now refusing to look at me.

"I've already taken a lot from you, Blanche, and I don't want to stop you from getting the freedom that you wanted" she sighed in a defeated manner.

"What if I didn't want it anymore?" I countered, thinking that I have backed her in a corner, only to find out that it was me getting backed up in a corner.

"Then why did you leave?" when her eyes looked at me, I was overwhelmed with the sadness that it held. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she kept analyzing me, while I remained look at her with my mouth agape, taken aback about what she said.

"I-I don't know" I stuttered stupidly with a sigh.

"I was horrible to you, Blanche" No, you're not. "I hurt your father, I hurt your people, I even raped you." Her words were becoming firmer and firmer each word that came out of her mouth, and the sadness that it contained also became heavier. "And I regret everything that I did to you, your father, and your people. But I cannot take it back. You can say that I was driven by hate and anger, that we were driven by emotions, but what we did, that was still us. You cannot deny that fact, Blanche"

What I cannot also deny is the fact that my name sounds so good coming out of her mouth, despite the serious conversation that we are having right now. During the time that I have been with her, Edith had never mentioned my name, even just a slip, and I really wish I could cherish each moment that she's uttering my name right now.

"I was aware of what you and Miranda was planning, everyone was"

"How come no one came to stop us?"

"I told them not to" she admitted

I knew it was too easy to be true.

"It was never my intention to hold you captive, or your father, or any of those people in the cellar. I just had to put them there because, if not, I don't know if I or any of my men could stop ourselves from slaughtering them. They remind us too much of what had been done to us. But you, I couldn't let go of you" Her eyes were boring into mine as she said the last words.

"W-What?" I stuttered stupidly once again.

The steps she took towards me once again were abrupt that it took me by surprise, making me stumble on my feet and almost fall, but, of course, Edith wouldn't let that happen. Before I could even blink my eyes, she was already holding me on her arms once again.

"The first time that I have laid my eyes on you, there was something in you that captivated me and each passing day that I have spent with you, that feeling kept growing stronger" she paused. "I thought that I'd be able to stay away from you, but not being able to see you every day was eating away at me, at my undead heart, and I couldn't stop myself from checking up on you" her hold on me tightened. 

Then, just as quick as it tightened, Edith stood me on my feet and released me. "I'm starting to catch feelings for you, Blanche, and, even though you weren't hostile with me anymore before you left, there's no way that it could've been true" her eyes looked defeated once more.

"I'm starting to like you, too. Maybe even more" I admitted whole-heartedly without batting an eye.

She looked at me gaping, her mouth opening and closing several times as she attempted to utter out words. Before she was able to, I made an order.

"Take me home"

Instead of seeing happiness, delight or even relief in her eyes, what I saw was complete sadness.