Tainted Love

Chapter 1

     I'm standing outside of a large Georgian mansion in the gardens.
     They are lush with flowers and beautifully shaped hedges. It is all so beautiful.
    "Well, here goes nothing." I drag my suitcase and other bags to the front door. I have barely made my way upstairs when I drop my keyboard bag. "Zeus' thunder," I mutter. I reach down to pick up the bag when another hand meets mine. I look up to see who it is.
     A young man of my age is staring into my eyes. He seems tall and muscular. The man is dressed in jeans and a tight red t-shirt. His feet are covered in combat boots. His black hair is in a crewcut. "Do you need any help?"
     "Um, yes. Thank you."
     The man picks up my keyboard bag. "Hello, I'm Sherman Wakefield."
     "Iliana Antonios. Are you studying here in London?"
     "Yes. I want to look into the history of the country. Learn how wars shaped the land and its people. I'm kind of a huge war nerd. I came from the United States to learn more of the art of war. The British had the best navy at one point. I found that quite interesting and decided to look further into it. I arrived about last week. So, are you staying in Falkhurst Mansion with me?"
      "Yes." I turn away from him. I know what he is and I know that us being near each other is dangerous. I quickly haul my suitcase and a few other bags inside the mansion. I gently put them on the floor.
       Sherman follows. "Are you scared of me? I know we're strangers now, but we can be friends if you will let me. Please let me. I want to be. It would be awkward to live here for a time together and not be friends. What do you think?"
      "Well, that does seem awkward. It's just... um, I have human issues. It's hard to explain." I pull out my room key to see which room I am assigned. I pick up my bags and start lugging them to my room.
      "Wait." Sherman runs after me. "Just tell me what's wrong? I can take it." He looks at my room door. "Six? That makes us neighbors."
      I open the door... only for Sherman to stand in the way. "Move please. I'm hungry and the sooner I get settled, the sooner I can get something to eat."
      "Just tell me what's wrong. I'll move, you can get settled in, and I can take you to get something to eat." Sherman crosses his arms.
      My body fills with the need of blood. I yearn and thirst for it. I need it before I wait too long. I drop my bags and approach Sherman. I hate what I am going to do to him, but it is necessary. I haven't fed on blood for a week and I need it to survive. I place a hand on his shoulder and gently bend his head to the side. "I'm sorry," I whisper in his ear. I let out my fangs and sink them into his neck.
      "Stop! Iliana, stop it! Get off me!" Sherman tries to fight me. He tries to push me away.
      I drink until I have had exactly enough to live another week. I release my grip on him and lick his wound.
      Sherman looks at me, mystified. "Why did you do that? What are you?" He now looks horrified.
      I shove him out of the way and drag my things into the room. "Once again, I'm sorry. Good evening." I slam the door shut. I plop on the bed, unsure of my actions. I notice the familiarity of the bed I was on. I look around the room. "No. It can't be. How is this? Why am I in this dreadful room?" I get up and walk to the wall. I spot a painting that I have never wanted to see again in my entire life.
       It is a painting of me. I am dressed in the clothes of a maid from 1813. The dress is white with a brown skirt. I wear a brown top that is laced and tied at the back. My hair is tied back in an 1800s maid's bun.
     I shudder. I can never get the image of my first true love out of my head. Sure it was more than three hundred years ago, but how can I forget? I still own a piece of music my late lover composed and wrote. I walk to my suitcase and unzip it. I pull the sheet of music out and race out of the room. I have to find his piano. I make my way into the living room.
      There it is. The large piano sits in the far corner of the room to the left side of me. It gives off a sense of depression now that its player is dead. Dust covers every inch of the piano's surface and the keys. It hasn't been played in so long.
     I want to hold back, but I can't. I graze my pale fingers along the keys before sitting on the seat. I place the sheet music where I can see it and play. I start playing the music... and tears flow down my cheeks. I don't have the same calming air as I did when I played by my past lover's side.
     Memories flood my mind— the many times we played together, the picnics we shared, and the many kisses he gave me.
     "Is everything alright?"
     I jump and look behind me.
    Sherman looks shocked, he is looking past me.
    "What? Sorry I was crying. It's just that I have many connections to this place. I should—"
    "Shh. Are you seeing that ghost over there?" Sherman points across the piano at a hooded figure who hovers above the living room floor.
    The figure has a hood pulled low over his head, but I can make out his mouth and the blood on the right side of it.
   "Theodore? Is that you?" I stand and approach the ghost.
    It remove the hood, revealing the face of my beloved. His blue eyes are even paler than when he was alive. His hair is the same pale blonde shade. I make out the nasty gunshot wound in his chest.
     Sherman looks between me and Theodore. "You know that ghost?"
     I stare deeply into Theodore's eyes. "Is it really you?"
    "Iliana. Help me. Save me."
    "My sweet Theo, whatever is the matter?"
    Theodore leans in and kisses me, his lips cool against my own.
     I feel the same sensation as when he was alive.
     Sherman seems to have been whining behind me. "Y... you j... just k... kissed the ghost."
     "I know." I lock eyes with my lover's ghost.
     "Iliana, please save me. Only you know how. You must save me from getting murdered. I want to be with you in a more solid form... preferably my own body. Please, make me what you are. Go back and do so. It's the only way," Theodore pleads. His eyes, two pools of sadness, lock onto me.
     I am his only hope... but how can I time travel? "My love, I want to save you from the terrible fate you had been given all those years ago. I just don't know if turning you is a safe option, nor do I know how to time travel. Please, tell me how to save you." Tears form in the corners of my eyes.
    "Calm yourself, my love. Do not shed any tears. In your room, you will find a portrait of yourself. Focus on it and you shall simply be yanked back in time during the year that we met. I know exactly where it's at as I have spent many years since my death, roaming these halls and rooms. I have been searching for any sign of you. The moment I heard my piano, I knew it was you. Please go and save me from the present fate," Theodore kisses my forehead, "Come with me. I shall show you the painting." His ghost floats out of the living room.
     I follow with Sherman close behind. I enter my room.
      Theodore's ghost hovers near the wardrobe. "Behind this is the portrait of you that I had someone paint for you. All you have to do is look at it and think back to the year we met. Then you shall be instantly transported there. In the wardrobe you will find some of your old maid dresses. You may want to put one on. Good luck and please save me." The ghost vanishes.
       Sherman looks like his eyes are going to pop out of his head. "What's going on? Why and how would he have had someone paint a portrait of you if the ghost's—"
     "Theodore."
     "Yes. Theodore. Anyway, how would that be possible if he was alive during the 1800s and, by the looks of him, was murdered at that time period?"
      "Sherman, I should probably be honest with you before I leave to save Theo. You will want to sit down for this."
      He hesitantly sits on my bed.
     "I'm not from this time. I was born the same year as Theodore to a family of vampires; therefore, I am one. After my mother was staked by a rich man who lived near the area of the woods where we lived, my father sent me to get a job as a maid for someone. After my twentieth birthday, it was decided that I would work for Lord Falkhurst. I came to this mansion many years ago and earned the job. I was provided with maids' dresses and what little human food could be spared. Every day I did what was asked of me. One day, Theodore wanted to go horse-riding; his fiancée, Anne Worthing from Ireland, rejected his invitation. He came down to the kitchen where I had spent most of the morning washing dishes. Theodore invited me to go with him and so I went since he asked it of me. What I didn't know was that it would lead to something more than friendship. We rode through the woods along his favorite path and stopped at a clearing. In the clearing was a waterfall and near the lake was a picnic blanket with a basket. I didn't know what else to do except sit with him and dine as he had asked. I spotted a black box in the bottom of the basket. Theodore had meant for him to find it first. He pulled it out and opened it. I knew what he was going to do. Theodore wasted no time in proposing. I hesitated and then told him to wait until his engagement with Anne was broken. Theo consented. After that, whenever he could, Theodore would come to my room to express his love for me through words and gifts. Our lives were simple until Anne learned of his love for me. One day, we were alone in the living room. Theo stopped playing the piano and approached me while I was cleaning. He held me in his arms and leaned in to kiss me. A gunshot rang out. A bullet grazed his shoulder. We both dove behind the couch. I peered over the furniture to find Anne with a gun. I grabbed Theodore's hand and dragged him outside. Anne followed, but I tackled her. She ended up shooting herself... but we found out that she had shot Theo's mother earlier. That night was a terrible night. Theodore knew the costs and risks. He sent me back to my father's home. I have dwelled there until I came here. When I heard of Theodore's death and that it was a murder, I was devastated. It was the one time that I had wished I was human. I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, but I didn't have the strength to turn him when he asked. He knew what I was before he proposed and knew what he was getting himself into. Theodore wanted me to turn him, but I couldn't bear to think of my fangs digging into the neck of the man I loved most dearly. I don't know who shot and killed the man I love. You humans are fragile. After all these years, I never thought I would ever see Theo again... and now his ghost is asking me to save him from getting slain. I know what I have to do. You know too."
      "You're not really thinking of going back in time are you? I mean, how do we know that's possible and that you can prevent Lord Falkhurst's death?"
       "Look, I have a chance to save someone I have always loved. I have never loved anyone the way I loved Theodore. He still owns my heart. I still felt the spark between us when his ghost kissed me. My sweet Theo still loves me, even in death his heart belongs to me and mine to him. There is no way I will let Theodore suffer this fate any longer." I open the wardrobe and pull out one the dresses.
         The fabric feels so familiar to my fingers and hands.
         I close my eyes as tears leak from them. "Theo," I whisper before opening my eyes. I leave my tank-top and leggings on, slipping the dress on over them. "Sherman, are you coming or staying?"
        Sherman heaves a sigh. "I don't know. I would say that if you ever come back to fill me in on what's happened and you seem to need help, I will gladly help you save your beloved. Just take care of yourself until you return."
        I sit beside Sherman. "Um, about this morning... I'm sorry I bit you, and licked you. I was just so taken over by hunger that I didn't even worry about my secret being found out. Can you keep the secret that I'm a vampire from the Georgian Era?"
       "Of course. I doubt they would believe me anyway. I never believed the stories until you bit me. I just wanted my life to be as normal as it can get and I suppose that I was denying the truth for no reason. Are there any other creatures I should know about?"
       I tapped my chin, thinking. "The only other ones I can think of are the werewolves, fae, angels, and demons. If you think about it, those are the most famous ones amongst humans other than vampires. I have a friend who's a fae named Stone. He has so many stories of the olden days when supernatural and paranormal creatures lived in peace and harmony... when humans came we all went into hiding. During the peak of human control, I was sent to be Theodore's maid. It's a story that I will never forget. Maybe you and Stone could talk about some things... if you want a real history lesson," I stand and approach the painting, "Well, see you when I get back from my first trip." I stare deeply at the painting and then close my eyes. I can feel a vortex around me.
       It sucks me in and darkness surrounds my body.
      The next thing I know, I am falling from the sky.