Finding Forever

To get from our room to what must have been a dungeon or cellar, was a series of hallways and stairwells that twisted in what seemed like an endless spiral. The trip was so confusing that I stopped looking at what surrounded us, and just walked along with everyone else. It was also cold— these people felt frigid hatred toward me, and I could plainly feel it. From what the man said in our room, I assumed that creating new vampires was in some form, illegal. But still, why would they all hate me? This, whatever this is, isn’t exactly my fault.

An uncomfortably loud squealing brought me to attention. My eyes snapped forward, in time for me to see a section of the wall in front of us open, bringing a cloud of dust up around our small group. As everyone shuffled in, I realized Zane was also here with me. He stood at my side, reaching for my hand to lead me in behind the others. Still somewhat dazed, I took his hand and followed behind.

As the hidden door shut behind us, candles were lit, illuminating the bare walls around us. In my stunned mindset, I hadn’t noticed who was down there with us. There were only eight of us all together. Two of which were elders, one being the woman who looked at us strangely during the meeting.

After realizing Annesty wasn’t with us, I looked around the room; it wasn’t exactly bare. There were a few benches places here and there, and an old wooden table pushed against one wall, with three chairs surrounding it. Zane pulled me to a bench in one corner, sat down and then motioned for me to join him. As I did, I whispered, “What’s going on? Why are they here?”

“Hunters are looking for the two of us. Feeding in the area we were in that night is forbidden… let alone changing someone. There must have been a hunter there, and when you didn’t show up, wherever you were supposed to go the next day, they got suspicious.” What may have been remorse darkened his face. “I’m sorry…”

“Now we have to hide down here in this shit hole, while Alexander’s mother explains that we are all just out hunting in another part of the county. I don’t understand why we don’t just turn you two over to them. We had no part in this!” I looked up to see that same woman standing in front of us.

“Emilie,” Zane’s voice was stern. “You know very well that even if you did that, they’d kill the rest of you, too. They won’t spare anybody. In their eyes, you’re all as much to blame as I am.”

“Then we should just take care of her while we’re down here. It couldn’t be that difficult.”

I froze as Zane jumped up and blocked me from Emilie’s view. “If you lay one hand on her, I will rip you to shreds. You may not like it, but some day you will be taking orders from the both of us.” Then his attention turned to everyone in the small room, his voice raising. “While there are a few of us here, I may as well say it now. We need change, badly. We’re all still stuck in the old ways of living. The only things that have changed since I became a newborn, was where we could hunt. Things are different now. We may be an old breed, but that doesn’t mean our traditions have to stay the same and grow as old as our kind. I went out to find someone who could bring something fresh into this coven, and risked everything to bring her here. We need a new perspective on everything and with Charlotte, we have that.”

Again, it was Emilie who spoke. “Change? Change! Nothing needs to change! There isn’t anything wrong with our ways; we’ve lived this way for centuries! How do you think our kind has survived for so long? Huh? Anything new will only ruin us!”

“Very soon, you will only be able to give opinions. Final decisions will be ours to make.” He glanced back at me, his voice softer than only a moment before.
With that Emilie retreated to the opposite corner of the room. She had known he was right, and wouldn’t fight him any longer.

As she walked away, he stood, waiting for someone else to speak. When nobody did, he sat back down, facing me. “Come here…” He pulled me close to him allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder.

“What could I possibly do to change things here?” I tilted my head up to meet his gaze.

“That’s something we will probably have to discuss later on. We won’t be able to review the current traditions and make decisions until after my mother gives up her power to us. So right now, we can just try to relax.” He kissed my forehead.

I looked down to see that our fingers had somehow entangled without me noticing. “Why do I already feel so comfortable like this?”

I could sense a smile in his voice. “It’s the bond that we created when I changed you. We feel close to each other now.” He squeezed my hand lightly, kissing the top of my head.

Drifting into a sleepy state, a loud yawn escaped from my mouth. I barely felt him shift and pull me into his lap. “Mm… hmm…” Nuzzling his chest, I shut my eyes tightly. When he wrapped his arms around me protectively, my body relaxed, allowing another, smaller yawn to escape.

As I drifted off, I heard him whisper, “ Sleep now, dear Charlotte.”