Broken Soul

The sun had just set. It was time to go. Evan had already left to take care of his business. Erick waited patiently outside for Dannie to join him.

Dannie took one last look in the mirror. She couldn't believe she looked like this. "I have never helped anyone in this manner before," October told her.

"I look like Cinderella or something," Dannie muttered in awe. She was wearing a purple gown that flowed down to her feet which were covered in white slippers lined with diamonds. Her hair was down and wavy. The makeup on her face was perfect and complimented with glitter.

She lifted her dress skirt up so she wouldn't step on it and made her way outside. She was surprised to see Erick in his red dress coat standing beside a horse driven carriage. "What is this?? Is this for real?"

"Evan set this up," Erick said and opened the door for her. "He said the Midnite use these for the guests at their gatherings." He took her hand and climbed up inside. Erick told the driver the address of their destination and then joined her. He took the seat across from her and just watched her beaming with happiness. The carriage began to move. They both swayed continuously but didn't mind.

"You look different," she observed. "Your eyes...They're blue like Evan's."

"I have to look like a vampire tonight," he replied. He knew she was expecting compliments regarding her appearance. "You look angelic."

Dannie's face blushed a little. "Thank you." Her ecstatic smile wouldn't fade away, even the slightest bit. The delighted expression on her face caused a tiny half-smile to tug on Erick's lips. He just watched her silently, trying to guess her inner thoughts and comprehend her emotions. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Being able to have emotions," he elaborated. "And...feeling for other people. To care about them."

"Well..." She wasn't sure how to explain. "Caring about someone can be a wonderful thing. But it can also be a curse. Like me, for instance. I tend to care too much about others and forget about my own needs. And sometimes, when you care about someone or like them but they don't reciprocate it at all, it can really hurt. Why did you ask me this? I thought demons had emotions in their human form and I saw you smiling at me..."

"We can express common emotion," he said. "But we don't experience emotional attachment to anyone or anything."

Dannie's expression abruptly died. "So...you're saying you don't care about anyone?"

"No."

"You don't care about me?"

"I don't."

"But today, you carried me out of that fire," she reminded him.

"I was ordered to keep you safe," he said. "That's exactly what I did."

"So, you're saying that if I was to leave right now and you didn't have the obligation of responsibility for my safety, you wouldn't miss me? Not even the slightest bit?" Dannie knew deep inside, he must have felt something for her. What it was, she couldn't exactly say. "I missed you when I thought you were gone..." Maybe she was saying too much now. But she was just being honest with him and hoped he'd be honest with her. "Would you be here with me right now if you didn't have to be?"

"There might be a possibility."

Dannie smiled again. "I guess that's better than a no."

Erick was thousands of years old and had been in the company of countless people over the centuries. But never once did he come close to saying something like that to any of them. Demons were not supposed to allow anyone to affect them or their orders. To his knowledge, it had never even happened before. Feelings were unheard of for a demon. He kept telling himself it just wasn't possible.

The carriage slowed down and then stopped in front of an exceptionally large mansion. Dannie looked out her window and her face lit up with astonishment. The building was so beautiful, like a storybook palace. Erick was already opening her door for her and held his hand out and she grasped it as she stepped down onto the stone driveway. Another carriage had pulled up right behind theirs. It was Evan. His timing had been perfect. He approached Dannie and offered his arm. "Shall we?"

She glanced at Erick, almost not wanting to leave him, but she knew Evan needed her. Smiling, she entwined her arm around his and let him guide her to the door. He knocked on it and they waited for someone to answer. Evan couldn't stop glancing at her. She noticed but didn't address it. "You're a sight to behold, Danielle," he complimented, letting himself smile a bit. "You look beautiful."

She couldn't help blushing again. All the compliments were flattering her. "Thank you."

The door finally opened and they were invited inside. The house was so bright and vibrant and almost everything was glistening from the lights and candelabras. They were instructed to go downstairs to the ballroom. It was larger than a gymnasium. The walls were golden; over-sized framed mirrors and paintings covered them. The floor was so glossy, you could see your reflection on it. A twelve piece orchestra was playing a classic Baroque composition on the other side.

"This can't be real..." Dannie muttered in bewilderment. "I've got to be dreaming..."

"You're not," Evan said, guiding her down the last step. "I promise."

A man met them at the end of the stairs. He was a sandy blonde vampire; his hair was combed over but a few rebellious locks had fallen loose, curtaining his left eye. He wore a black suit like Evan's and greeted them with a polite nod. "Evening, Mr. Novae. I see you were able to make it." He spoke with a British accent.

Dannie froze when she heard Evan's last name, at least the one he was using. She knew it wasn't his real one."

"And who is this?"

"This is Danielle," Evan replied. "My donor."

"Pleasure," the vampire grinned and took her hand then gave it a kiss with his ice cold lips. "Nice to meet you, my dear."

Dannie almost laughed at how these vampires were acting so well mannered and polite. It was the opposite of how she originally thought they behaved.

"My name is Leighton. This is where I reside."

"Your home is lovely," Dannie blurted out without thinking twice.

Leighton grinned, baring his white fangs. "Thank you, love. I must greet my other guests. We'll discuss business later."

"I never knew vampires could be so polite," Dannie said as Evan escorted her to the middle of the dance floor. "I mean, not that you aren't or anything, it's just-"

"Would you like to waltz?" Evan asked, even though they were already there.

"I've never-"

"It's alright," he assured then turned in front of her and put his hand on her waist. She stifled a laugh. Dannie had expected him to do that, but the act amused her. Never in a million years did she dream she'd ever be waltzing in a ballroom full of vampires with Evan. The next thing she knew, she was gliding across the floor, spinning with him. She was wearing the largest grin of her life and trying so hard to resist her laughter. "This is insane!" she said to Evan after he twirled her and she ended up right at his side. Even he couldn't resist smiling at how much fun she was having doing a simple waltz. He turned her around once more to face him and she took a wrong step and her foot landed right on his. He didn't even flinch. "Sorry!" she said and leaned her forehead on his shoulder in embarrassment. "I told you I don't know what I'm doing..."

"It's alright," he laughed. Being near her was making him feel warm inside again. His eyes gazed deeply into hers. He became lost for a moment. The way she smiled and laughed and looked at him--it was like deja vu again. After a minute, he stopped moving and just stared at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned by his sudden behavior change.

He snapped out of it quickly. Instead of explaining, he took her hand and led her out of the ballroom and outside to the backyard terrace. There were flowers everywhere and it had a large, glowing fountain in the center. They sat down in front of it and she asked, "So this is the Midnite clan? Are these vampires on our side? They seem harmless."

"Whatever conflicts they have, they must leave them at the front door," he reminded her. "No one is allowed to harm anyone else within these perimeters. And most of the members of the Midnite are like me, I guess. They believe in having donors or feeding without killing. I don't know if they're on our side though. They tend to look out for themselves."

"They never invited you into their clan?"

"No. Apparently, I wasn't turned by one of them. My maker was either from the Dawne or was a loner, like me."

"You've never met your maker?"

"No."

"Do you want to?"

Evan wasn't aware that she knew who his maker was. He only assumed she was curious. "Yes. There's so much I need to know about how and why I was changed. And if those dreams I have are tied to it."

"What are those dreams like?" She knew exactly what they were but figured she'd help him unlock his memories.

"Well.." Evan thought about how to word the visuals that played inside of his mind every day. "In the dream, I see everything in someone else's point of view. A girl's for that matter. It's pouring rain and a man is chasing her. She reaches a dead end and he corners her and takes out a knife. Then, I see myself knock him down and I tell her to run. The other man tries to stab her and I tried to stop him but I see the blade plunge inside my chest. The girl calls for help and holds me...then the dream always ends there. The strange thing is..she has a tattoo on her arm, like yours. But it's a little difficult to see. I'm really starting to believe that girl is you...I just wish I could understand all of this..."

The spell of silence still remained. Dannie was still unable to tell him he was right. Since she couldn't tell him that, she just didn't say a word at all.

"You know," he continued, "sometimes I wish I could be like you. Human. And..normal. So I wouldn't have to hide anymore."

"Sometimes, I wish I could be like you," she confessed. "So I wouldn't age. Or feel pain. Or die..."

"But you forget," he added, "we age. But you don't see it. And we can feel pain. We can just heal most of it. And we can die. This life is not as glamorous as it's portrayed in books and films. It's rather lonely actually. No one wants to associate with you. You always worry someone will discover you. Nobody can care about you...or love you..." Danielle saw an emptiness in his eyes. He longed for his old life. But, before, he seemed content with his situation. She thought that perhaps his feelings were coming back into place now that she was close to him.

"Myra does..." Dannie blurted out.

"She what?"

"Loves you."

"No, she doesn't."

"How do you know?" Dannie inquired. "Have you asked her?"

"Yes," he replied. "Every single day. She always says no."

"Trust me, Evan, she does."

"No..."

"Really, I can see it. I see it in her eyes. The way she looks at you. It's pure admiration and devotion."

"It's an enchantment you're seeing," he confessed. "She's spelled so she'll stay with me."

"Ask her again," she suggested. "You never know..."

Evan smiled at her again. "You know, I envy you. It seems that no matter how dark everything seems around you, you can always find the light. I gave up looking for it a long time ago. Until you arrived."

Dannie returned his smile. "An optimistic vampire. I bet you're the first."

"I suppose you're right," he laughed.

"I am sorry for corrupting you," she teased.

"It's alright," he replied. He stood up and offered his hand once again. "Shall we return before we're missed?"

She accepted and they both walked back inside, arms entwined.