The Tale of a Vampire

Chapter 1

"Now then," the woman sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "Enough of my ranting. Let me get on with this story that I promised you." The boy scooted to the edge of his seat in anticipation as she cleared her throat.

"I was born in the year 1405, during what is now commonly referred to as the Medieval Ages, to a duke and his wife. I was the youngest of three surviving children and was born the only sister to my two older brothers, Barric and Jerold.

In my youth I was something of a rebel. I never listened to my teacher, paid little attention to my manners, and would often run off to watch the knights train. Of course back then this kind of behavior was unacceptable especially for a young lady like myself and so I was often punished. Back then that meant that I was often locked away; usually in a dark room without windows."

"Like a dungeon? You were locked in a dungeon as a child?" Elijah questioned and the shocked expression on his face made the woman smile.

She shook her head though the smile still lingered. "I suppose that's what it sounds like but no, it was not a dungeon. Rather I was locked up in an above ground room of the house made so just for the purpose. It wasn't uncommon for noble children to be treated that way. We had to learn to behave somehow, right? Besides it wasn't as if I detested it, in fact I some times enjoyed it depending on the time I was sentenced. It gave me time to think, gave me time to get lost in my head without being bothered."

"How long were you kept in there?"

"Sometimes a few minutes; sometimes hours; very rarely a few days."

"A few days?" the boy cried.

"Yes. That was how it was when I was a child. But, like I said, punishment such as that hardly deterred my rebellious ways. I, fortunately, was not alone in my rebellion for, during my fourteenth year of life I met another heretic. His name was Gavin, an esquire and the apprentice to one of the kingdom's most noble of knights, Charles."

The woman, finding herself speaking too quickly stopped and took a deep breath. A faint smile found its way onto her lips as she continued.

"Gavin was from a noble family, as all esquires are- were- but, as I later found out, was actually the illegitimate son of some baron. That isn't important though- what is important was how head over heels I ended up being for him."

"How did you two meet?" Elijah asked partially because he felt it was required of him and partially because he actually found himself wanting to know. The woman smiled wider and gave a short but cheerful laugh.

"We met while hiding believe it or not."

"Hiding? I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"We were hiding, like I said. Me from my teacher and he from Charles. We were both hiding from our duties and that was something that we had in common from the start.

'Why are you hiding?' That was the first thing that he said to me. I had snuck behind a large flowering hydrangea bush in a corner made by a wall and an old shed. I didn't see Gavin there until he spoke to me. I quickly turned around and found us face to face.

'From your array of suitors I'm sure.' He flirted and I raised my brow at him.

'Hardly.' I answered with a huff. 'My governess is nothing if not dreadful. I'm hiding from her.' And my mouth twitched just thinking about her.

Gavin gave a low chuckle. 'I understand. My master can be the same way.'

'Master? Are you a servant?'

He shook his head. 'No. I am a squire. I am avoiding my knight.'

'Hiding from.' I corrected him and he made a face as if he tasted the foulest thing in his mouth.