The Vampire's Promise

As I sat concentrating on what I could see with my mind outside the palace, Vladimir dropped a book on the table in front of me. I snapped out of my trance-like state and looked up at him.

"What's this?" I asked and grabbed the book.

"It's just a little bit of history," Vladimir smirked, seeming to know that there was more to the book than just 'a little bit of history'. My gaze dropped to the cover of the book.

"I can't read this." The title was written in a language that I did not know.

"Yes, you can," Vladimir sighed, placing his hand on the back of my chair. The fingertips of his other hand brushed over the cover. "All you have to do is open your mind to the book, just like with what you practiced before."

"Open my mind to the book?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes," Vladimir chuckled, amused by my reaction. "More specifically, open your mind to the language that your kind used to speak in."

"Okay, I get opening and closing my mind to people and- and places, even... But opening my mind to a book; to a language? That's just impossible! How am I supposed to open my mind to it, if I don't even know what it is?" I placed the book back on the table. Both of Vladimir's brows rose.

"You choose now to call the things we've been doing impossible?" he asked. He turned away from me, walking for a bit and putting his hands to his head. "You are one strange person."

"Look who's talking," I rolled my eyes at him. Turning back around and placing his hands on the back of my chair again, he looked me in the eye.

"You can do this, Carol," he insisted. "Remember all of the things that you are now capable of doing; this will be much easier, I assure you. This is a language that you do in fact know, you just have to make it resurface."

He poked my forehead and I grabbed his finger, sighing and agreeing, "Okay, I can do this. Or at least, I can give it a shot."

Letting go of his finger, I took the book in my hands again. Vladimir let out a content sound and walked away.

Alright, Carol I thought to myself. You can do this. Just think about the... uh... language of the cards, I guess?

I sighed again and muttered, "This is pointless."

"No, it isn't," Vladimir said in a sing-song voice. I shot him a glare before looking at the cover of the book again.

The book seemed to grow closer to my face as I focused, though I knew that neither the book or myself was moving. I gasped as suddenly I knew what the words on the cover meant.

"The Origin of the Magic Four," I read aloud. An interest sparked deep within me and I pulled the book open to the first page.

"Excuse me?" Vladimir asked.

"That's what the cover reads," I explained to him. "I thought you knew that?"

"I didn't know that. Anyway, you did it," Vladimir seemed to praise me as he walked over to me once again.

"Yeah, now shut up," I waved my hand at him.

"No." He grabbed my hand and kept a tight grip on it, not letting go when I tried to pull it back. "I want to know what's written here too, could you read it aloud?"

I looked up at him and gave him the coldest stare I could. "Only if you let go of my hand," I bargained. He released my hand, and a secret disappointment rolled through me as I returned my attention to the book.

"Right," I whispered.

"Have you ever wanted something, but didn't want to work much for it?" The world inside the book seemed to consume me as I began reading. My mind greedily consumed the information gave, just as I assumed Vladimir's did.

I read for hours, learning much about my kind, only stopping to drink water when my voice became hoarse.

The cards had been created by a witch named Senna, out of the greed of a group of fairies. Luckily the cards were born with another form, and were able to escape the fairies.

The freedom was short-lived though, because a goblin really did come into the picture and try to eat the cards. Three were successfully devoured, while I managed to escape- and fall into the hands of another witch. This witch was Morgana, and the person who wrote the book. Apparently after a struggle with the previous vampire king, she had lost me to the river.

"Wow," I breathed after finishing the book.

"That certainly clears some things up," Vladimir agreed. I shut the book and allowed him to take it from me.

"So, how come you weren't able to read it?" I asked and turned in my seat, watching him walk over to one of the many shelves in the room.

"I don't know the language," he sighed. He looked about the shelf for a while before placing the book within one of the rows.

"How did the witch know the language?"

"She probably learned it from you," he answered and walked back over to me. "Let's end this session now; it has gotten very late, and you're not the only one who needs a drink."

My eyes widened a little, and something shifted in Vladimir's eyes. He slowly leaned closer to me and placed a hand on my cheek. A certain organ of mine began pumping blood through me harder than it normally did.

"Forgive me if this is... crossing a line that I shouldn't," he whispered and continued to lean closer. My eyes fluttered shut as his lips met mine. I returned the kiss, which then ended rather quickly when he pulled away.

A small smile rested on his face when I opened my eyes. I smiled shyly back at him.

"Good night, Carol," he whispered, and gently caressed my cheek as he pulled his hand away.

I sat there, alone in the room, for a long while. A strange happiness coursed through my veins.