Tale of a Vampire

Chapter 1

There was nothing more around him, nothing more existed. The calm those moments brought was overwhelming. There was nothing like it. The frenzy he usually felt disappeared when near her. His eyes didn't know any other direction but the one where she was. Diana was perfect. Perfect in every sense and he lived obsessed with her. He was obsessed with her beauty. Obsessed with the way her long blond hair fell down her shoulders graciously, and by the perfect way it curled. He was obsessed with the tone of her skin, so candid, pure like she was and by her blue glare. Diana was born in the castle shortly after Constantine and Alice had arrived. Alice died when Diana was three years old and she was raised by her father and by him, of course. Constantine was his butler, no he was more than the mere butler, he was a friend, someone he trusted since the first day he arrives in Ceann Tòrr, the property he acquired when he arrived in England and that he named according to his origins. A Gaelic name that meant "top of the hill", for the castle was at the top of a hill near Winchester forest.

The lady was now eighteen years old and at the perfect age to marry. Contrary to what was expected from women at her age, Diana didn't think about marriage. She couldn't care less about what society thought, she was a free spirit and owned her own thoughts. Many young men had come to the castle to ask her father for her hand and she had denied them all with delicacy. Constantine had promised his dying wife he'd let Diana marry for love and so she remained single.

"Play something else." James asked. Diana said yes with a soft nod of her head. She smiled and her eyes never left his and her fingers began to play the piano wonderfully. His thoughts flew far away while she lullabies them with a sweet and soft melody.

He couldn't tell his heart beat faster for her, his heart didn't beat at all. There was an unexplainable desire. He needed to be near her, he needed her presence. Her giggles made him happy, made him feel human. Her beauty made him dizzy, the fascination he nurtured for her made him scared, scared of losing control and kiss her fatally. The smell that emanated around the house, her smell was addictive. He wanted her avidly but he refrained due to his nature. James knew his desire was wrong for Diana was human and he was not. The rules say that no vampire should get involved with humans and she was his biggest temptation. Diana finished the music and he applauded standing.

"Anything more my Lord?" Diana asked him.

"Lady Davenport..." James got up and bowed. "You are very talented." He added.

Her eyes shone when she looked at him, exploring every trace of his face. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen, blue as the sky and his smile...his smile was the most beautiful of all. When he smiled her heart always skipped a bit. She too lived fascinated with her master and secretly, he was the reason why she refused every marriage proposal she had had until then. Diana was sure her master shared a secret with her father, she just didn't know what. It was common to find them whispering. She never seen him during the day and his hand was cold, sometimes warmer but it was usually cold. Sometimes his gaze wasn't sweet but cold. He had a peculiar sense if humor, a dark humor that didn't make her afraid but that delighted her. Diana loved the implicit sarcasm in most f his jokes. Yes...the master had a dark soul.

"Is there anything more that I can do for you, my Lord?" She asked politely.

"Yes." He answered looking in her eyes.

James was sure she felt something for him, or it his power to hypnotize his prey with his look that caused Diana to look at him in such awe. Nevertheless, he never tried anything, not even bite her. He had promised Constantine that Diana would be safe and he should keep his promise. It was hard to resist...the blood that ran in his veins, the one he had sucked from innocent victims, boiled when he looked at her, when he felt her scent. He always had to control his instincts whenever lavender emanated in the air.