Bloodline

~ Chapter 16 ~

A/N: It's been a while, but here I am again with a new chapter, though it's mostly a filler. It was fun writing at least. Hope you enjoy reading it. I don't know how I'll post the next chapter, but hopefully it is sooner rather than later. Please vote and comment if you like the chapter. 

Be great, be good, be kind. Chloe <3

What the house lacked in modernity it compensated in the cosy feeling and charm. Mia liked the fact that it transferred her to a different century and that she could experience what a cottage looked like all that time back. She gathered that Gideon lived here either for a prolonged time at the beginning of the last century, or during several different decades also at that time; the eclectic selection of things suggested that either of that possibility would be true, though the house itself seemed to be built even before the 19th or even the 18th century. It was by no means a tiny house, but it wasn't a big cottage either. The stone walls erected into two stories, comfortably fitting three bedrooms of decent sizes on the second and a quaint living room with a kitchen on the first. A modern bathroom was later attached to the first floor, which was promptly used by Mia first thing in the morning. Of course, most of the furniture was updated, but everything was chosen to match the style of the house. It almost looked like a cottage you would see in a fairy tale book, with vines grasping onto the stones, growing around the white windows and casting a shade in most of the rooms, rose-bushes circling the estate and plush green grass stretching into a trimmed carpet.

It was also to Mia's delight to discover that they were really close to a beach and after a quick lunch and much persuasion Gideon finally agreed to accompany her down to the sea. It was freezing outside and the wind was much harsher than back down south, but there was no snow whatsoever. They walked leisurely down the thin trail that would eventually turn into the sandy beach, Mia leading the way as she clutched the heavy jacket and scarf closer to her body to try and protect her skin from the harsh wind, and Gideon following close by, scanning the area for any uninvited intruders.

"When was the last time you came here?" Mia finally asked as they sat on a blanket a little bit farther away from where the waves reached.

"A few decades ago. I don't really remember."

"Was it then that you got the place?"

"No. I purchased it when I first came to Great Britain." Gideon lay down on the blanket, his arms behind his head as he recalled his first few years away from his original home. "It was sometime during the late 16 hundreds. The cottage was build a few years earlier. I bought it from an elder couple, offered a great sum for it and they moved to a smaller place closer to a bigger village." Mia rested her cheek on her knees and looked at the relaxed vampire that seemed lost in his thoughts. It was still terrifying for her to hear that he lived for so long, through so many centuries. But she also wanted to know about his past, so she was glad he was sharing something about himself. "I lived peacefully here, took a job with the local fishermen, the villagers liked me, and though the oldest generation didn't seem to notice or just looked past the fact that I didn't seem to age, the youth started to talk. They were becoming more aware of the fact that time didn't affect me, that I should have been nearing the same age as their parents, but there I was, looking just as the young people that I knew since they were toddlers."

"What did they do?" Mia lay down beside him and they were both staring at each other now, soothed by the rhythmic sound of the sea crushing into the shore.

"One night, they gathered and set the cottage on fire. I was feeding at that time, and only came back to see them cheering round the house, watching the flames swallow the stone and wood into nothingness. I didn't come out from my hiding spot until the early morning. Everything was turned into ashes, and though I could have just left it, sell it to somebody who would restore it, I kept it; I moved to London for a few decades, then came back and rebuilt it."