Arranging Fate

I woke up to my first surprise. Zion wasn’t in the room but there was a rose and a note on his pillow. I sat up and read the note.

Once you’ve woken and had something to eat, come see me in my office.

I didn’t really want to go in there but did as he said. I skipped breakfast as always, though, and knocked timidly on the door.

“Come in,” he said and I walked in.

I looked around, shocked. The room didn’t look like it did last time. The floor was still bare wood but the runes were gone as were the symbols on the walls. The fire was going and everything felt bright. He smiled nervously at me and sat down on the couch, motioning for me to do the same. He held the book he had been reading in bed and I sat beside him.

“What language is that?” I asked.

“An ancient tongue,” he said. “Its name has been lost over time. My father has learned it and taught us, though. It is the language used to catalogue everything about vampires.”

“Why this book?”

“It’s the history of my family,” he said and handed it to me.

“I can’t read it,” I said, lifting a brow at him.

He laughed. “I know you can’t. You will, though, once I turn you. I want you to keep it so that you will be able to read when you want.”

“How will I know how to read it?”

“When one vampire turns another, they impart some of their knowledge, their wisdom, to the one being turned. The same will happen to you.”

“Does it hurt?” I whispered and he hesitantly took my hand.

I wanted to hold it back but couldn’t bring it in me to do it.

“Yes,” he said. “But I will do all I can to make it as painless as possible.”

I sighed heavily. “Zion, I don’t want to be a vampire,” I murmured. “Isn’t there some other way?”

“No.”

Heavy silence fell in the office and I looked around sadly.

“It looks different,” I said, breaking the silence and saw him nod.

“It only looks like that when I’m doing work,” he said.

“What do you mean by work?” I asked, getting more comfortable and he did the same.

“Do you remember how I told you the paintings are enchanted?” he asked, gesturing at the one of a landscape across from us. I nodded. “Like that, I have magic that enables me to transport from one place to another. I can aid fellow vampires if they’re in trouble. Uther was coming back to my father from a mission. I had to deliver his report for him. Anyway, I pass along messages and I’ve been keeping my father informed of other aspects of our relationship.”

He didn’t go into detail so I didn’t ask him to.

“Can we not talk about vampires for a while?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said immediately. “What would you like to talk about?”

“You,” I said. “I don’t know a thing about you.”

He laughed a little. “In order to tell you about myself, we have to talk about vampires,” he said and I narrowed my eyes.

“Well, yes but not as much as-.”

“I’m teasing you,” he interrupted. “Well, I was born a vampire as was Heather. I have another brother that will stay to run Felden. He’s… not very kind which is why he didn’t come here. It was Heather who convinced me to come with her. She didn’t want to come on her own, you see.”

“Because she’s a woman?” I asked and he nodded. “Why don’t you like that she’s in a relationship with Kassandra?”

“I’m not,” he said. “That was a lie to keep you from finding out before I wanted you to. I was the one who suggested that Kassandra come with us.”

“Who were all those men at our wedding?”

“Our court,” he answered. “They came to make sure I followed through with the wedding. That’s why I was so angry; they didn’t trust me or my father. It was a major insult. What is it?” he asked.
I was tugging at my hair and feeling embarrassed.

“Do you really- Never mind,” I said quickly.

“No, tell me,” he said but I shook my head.

“Later,” I muttered.

He didn’t seem to like the idea but nodded anyway.

“What else do you want to know? I can tell you about my military experience or-.”

“Not that stuff,” I said and he looked confused. “I mean, I’m sure it’s interesting and I’d like to hear it sometime but right now I want to know about you.”

“I don’t understand,” he said with a frown.

“What’s your favorite dish? Your favorite color? Do you like to write? Can you paint? Do you like music?”

“Oh!” he said and thought for a few minutes.

He hadn’t let go of my hand and I realized I was holding it back. It felt nice.

“No one’s wanted to know about me before,” he admitted. “Let’s see, my favorite dish would have to be duck with potatoes and corn. My favorite color is blue. I’m not a very good writer, to be frank. I do paint. All the paintings in the house are mine. And I love music; particularly the violin.”

“Really?” I asked and he smiled at me.

“Who do you think got you the violin?” he asked and it took me a minute.

“It was you?” I asked and he smiled, nodding. “I thought it was Heather or Kassandra!”

“No. Last year I heard you playing the violin. Goodness; it’s a beautiful sound. I knew that you’d have to have a good violin so I made sure you had the best.”

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely surprised.

“Of course.”

We stared at each other for a while. Black eyes that were once cold now seemed warm. His hair had grown and the bangs would fall into his eyes no matter how many times he brushed them out of the way. The longer we sat in silence, staring at each other, the more entranced I felt. Before I could really comprehend how it happened, his lips were on mine.

This time it was much different. It was warm, gentle, and almost loving. I felt a strange warmth as his stubble rubbed against my face. He let go of my hand to take my face in his cold hands. I was drowning but then I remembered how terrifying he was the last time I was in here and broke away.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, turning my face away.

“Don’t be,” he whispered back, taking my hands. “I know it will take some time. Just so you know, if I could go back, I would change it. I would have told you from the start. I was just afraid.”

I looked at him and smiled a bit. “It’s hard to imagine you afraid.”

He swiped at his hair irritably. “You have no afraid how scared I was when you were attacked by that wolf,” he said, shaking his head then sighing as his hair got in his face again. “This is annoying.”

“I like it,” I said with a shrug. “Here, let me help.”

I changed the part in his hair so that it would be more natural and looked into his eyes again.

“What would you like to do this afternoon?” he asked after some more silence.

I thought. “Will you paint while I play the violin?”

He beamed. “I’d love to.”

~-~

This side of Zion was strange. Heather told me that he was always like this; that his behavior these last four months was forced. But it felt the exact opposite to me. I did my best to keep my memories of his cruelty in the back of my mind as we spent the afternoon together. I didn’t know what he was painting but he promised to show me later.

I composed my own song, something I hadn’t done in many years. He was swaying to it as he painted and I thought that, if this is what it would be like for the rest of eternity, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.