Faith Maria Winter

I’m not sure what time it was when I woke. I was surprised that I had awoken at all. I wanted to see where I was, but all I could figure out was that I was in a long, comfortable box. There were even breaths on my neck, and a hand wrapped around my waist. It was far too dark for me to see who was there with me. I reached up, to see how I was to get out, and saw that the top of the box lifted with ease. The lid slid off, crashing onto the stone floor. I sat up and looked around. I was in a mausoleum. There were coffins as well, which made my heart beat louder. I stepped out of my “box” and looked at it, holding in my screams. It, too, was a coffin. I was in a brightly lit crypt with three coffins.

The stone walls let no sunlight in, but there were plenty of candelabras, making the small room very bright. I looked for a way out, but the only way (a large metal door) had a huge lock on it. Still, I pulled on the door with all my strength, making a loud clanging noise echo throughout the crypt.

“Arrête,” A voice ordered. I turned to see Blake sitting up in the coffin I had previously been in. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, smiling gently. He held out a hand to me, “It’s locked up tight, as you can see. Come back to sleep,”

“But...it’s a coffin!” my voice was harsh but quiet. I felt so odd talking in that room, a room reserved for the dead, “Coffins are for corpses!”

“I know that,” Blake stepped out of the coffin, sighing. He walked to me with a calm smile on his handsome face. I stepped back, bumping into the door, and glared at him.

“Did you kill me?” I demanded, my voice louder now. Blake shook his head, reaching for my hand. He saw the disgust in my face and lowered his hand.

“You’re not getting back in that coffin, are you?” he asked. I shook my head, and Blake sighed, running his fingers through his black hair, “Please, Faith, it’s much safer for you,”

“I don’t see how,”

“My friends will kill you if you don’t,” Blake gestured towards the other two coffins, “Isaac and Marcus don’t like that you are still breathing…If they see you alone, they’ll surely kill you,”

“So, I’m not dead?”
Blake shook his head, chuckling quietly. My face lit up, I was so sure he’d killed me.

“You are alive and…” Blake sighed, “At least sit with me so I might explain this to you,” he reached for my hand again. I hesitated, but took it. Blake led me to his coffin and put the lid back on. He sat on top, and I sat beside him.

“Last night when I...bit you, your blood was so sweet that I thought stopping would be impossible,” we both cringed at the memory, “Still, something made me stop. When you passed out, and I saw you, limp and pale, I just couldn’t do it. I got a glimpse of what you’d look like dead, and it brought me pain,” Blake closed his eyes, probably seeing me, almost dead. His eyes opened and he forced a small smile, “The right thing to do would’ve been to leave you for you father to find. Then your family or servants could nurse you back to health...of course, I feared they wouldn’t heal you. I feared that your people would be frightened of you becoming...me, and would kill you,”

“And...what are you?”

“Never mind that for now,” Blake said, jumping off the coffin. I followed him, as he slid the lid back so he could get in, “I guess if you stand near my coffin, you should be fine,” he said, laying back and closing the coffin. I stopped him from closing it all the way, he smiled at me.

“Y-you weren’t going to just leave me, were you?” I asked, getting in with him. Blake closed the lid, and we were engulfed with darkness. Immediately, I regretted my choice to stay with Blake in the coffin.

“Don’t worry,” Blake whispered in my ear, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling me close. His words gave me comfort, and I closed my eyes.

I had the strangest dream.

I was standing in the middle of a huge chess board surrounded by large stone walls. There were cracks in the walls, and sunlight streamed in small streaks across the floor. I put my hand in the light, and it burned. Quickly, I drew my hand back and stared at the scar left from the sun with curiosity.

Blake stood beside me, glaring ahead. At first, I saw nothing. Then, from the shadows, a large group of about 20 cloaked figures stepped forward. The figures’ cloaks were pitch black, and I was unable to see their faces. Red glowing eyes were the only thing I could see from under the hoods of the mystery group.

I realized that Blake and I were holding hands, and I looked into his face. He looked back at me and I gasped. Half of his face was wrinkled and old, while the other side, the side I could see best, was perfect. He looked at me with sad eyes, then looked back at the crowd. A low growl came from his throat as the crowd took another step forward. I moved closer to Blake, cowering beside him. I wanted to ask Blake what was going on, but I was unable to speak.

Suddenly, the group disappeared except for one. The boy lowered his hood, and I stared into the hateful face of Isaac. He gave us a smug smile and punched the wall. He disappeared, just as the rest of the group had, but now Blake was shrieking in pain. I felt burning as well, as sunlight poured into the room.

I opened my eyes and sat up quickly, breathing hard. Blake was smiling gently at me from the door of the crypt. Marcus and Isaac were awake as well, and they seemed impatient.

“It’s about time you woke up!” Marcus whined, “Blake wouldn’t let us out until you were awake,”

I rubbed my eyes and got out of the coffin. Blake nodded to me, then took a key out of his pocket, unlocking the door and letting Marcus and Isaac burst through the door excitedly. I followed them slowly, and Blake followed me out. It was night time.

“Why did you make us wait for that human?” Marcus asked. I felt uneasy by the way he said human.

“I wanted you to show her how we, too, can be gentlemen,” Blake told Marcus. Isaac was staring at me...no, he was glaring at me. I backed away from him, bumping into Blake.
“Be nice,” Blake ordered Isaac, who looked away quickly, “But don’t be angry at Faith, she’s not used to sleeping during the day and waking at night. She even woke up this morning,”

Marcus and Isaac chuckled.

“You sleep during the day?” I asked, looking around. It was night time, but I had no idea they had just woken up as well, “That’s odd,”

“Faith, you just slept during the day, my dear,” Blake told me.

“You told me to…” I sighed, “I didn’t know it was the day, no light can get in that mausoleum,”

“Of course not, silly girl,” Marcus chimed in, “Vampires die in the sunlight,” He gave me a smile showing his pointed teeth.

“V-vampires!” I felt faint.

“Of course, what did you think we were?” Blake asked, as if this was a normal conversation.

“Well...I never thought you were a vampire!”

“Stop complaining!” Marcus yelled, “It’s terribly annoying.”

“Well excuse me for not being used to talking to fictional creatures!”

“Do I look fictional to you?” Marcus took a step towards me. Blake grabbed my waist and pulled me behind him. Marcus gave him a taunting smile, then turned around, “Let’s go,”

Isaac seemed please, he started to walk off, but Marcus didn’t move quite yet.

“Blake, shall you be joining us?” he asked. Blake shook his head.

“I’ll stay with Faith,” he told Marcus, who shrugged and ran after Isaac.

I watched the two vampires run off, and I finally looked at my surroundings. Marcus must have been telling the truth. I stood in a cemetery...Blake lived in a coffin in a mausoleum in a cemetery! Blake saw the terrified expression on my face and sighed, leaning against a tree. His silver eyes didn’t make me feel at ease, they made my fears grow. My heart sped up. Blake must have heard it, he sighed once more.

“I’m sorry,”

“For kidnapping me?” I asked, just trying to clarify why he was apologizing to me.

Blake stared at me, a blank look in his face. He growled then, and punched the tree he was leaning against. The tree shook from the force. I screamed and backed away from Blake.

“You think I kidnapped you?”

“You came into my home and murdered my servants,” I reminded him, “I watched you kill a girl quite important to me, then turn to kill me,” Blake closed his eyes when I reminded him of his original plans, “But, for some reason, you didn’t kill me. Instead, I awake in a coffin with a vampire!” A human living with a vampire, a horrid thought, “Am I your pet?”

Blake seemed to chuckle as he opened his eyes. He shook his head, “Darling, you are not my pet,”

“Then…”

“You are still alive because I was unable to kill you. Of all the beautiful girls I’ve murdered over the years, you were the only one that I…” his voice softened as he was unable to finish his sentence, “Sorry I frightened you just now.”

That was comforting. Blake wasn’t keeping me here against my free will. He just wanted to be with me, to protect me. I smiled at him, feeling much calmer.

“You weren’t that scary,” I told him, trying to lighten the atmosphere. Blake pretended to look hurt, making me giggle.

“I’m not doing something right if I can’t scare a little girl,” Blake laughed, I shrugged. Blake gave me an evil smile and bent down into a pouncing position. I back up.

“Don’t even-” I couldn’t finish my sentence. Blake jumped at me, wrapping his arms around me in a protective cocoon. We fell to the ground, though I barely felt jostled. The two of us laughed, rolling in the wet grass.

Blake rolled off of me, laughing. I sat up and placed a hand on is chest, smiling into his perfect face. Blake rubbed my side, making me blush. I looked at his hand on my waist, and groaned. Blake seemed confused. He lowered his hand and looked at me.

“It’s ruined,” I rubbed my night gown. It was torn and muddy, and useless.

“Don’t worry,” Blake said, standing up and helping me to my own feet, “I’ll get you something more suitable. Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back in a few moments,”

I nodded, “Okay,” and smiled as Blake ran off, towards the town.

I was alone in the cemetery. I shivered, but not from the cold wind. I didn’t have the courage to be alone in the cemetery at night, but I was having so much fun with Blake that I didn’t even think to tell him. I could tell Blake was fast, but how fast?

I felt terribly scared. Like someone was watching me. I backed up, expecting to feel the cold metal of the crypt. Instead, I felt the cold body of a man.

As a scream formed in my throat, his cold hand darted over my mouth, and another grabbed both of my wrists. I struggled as much as I could, but I knew it would make no difference. The cold skin and the silent quickness told me that this man was a vampire, and I was his dinner.