A Vampire's Love Is Eternal 1

Chapter 1
 
 
 “The dawn is not distant, nor is the night starless; love is eternal.”
-Henry W. Longfellow
 
 
Raindrops pelted at her face, gluing her jet-black hair to her pale face.
“Lily,” a hoarse male voice sounded in the rain, “Where are you Lily?”
The girl simply wipes her face with the back of her hands, freeing her long lashes the clear, heavy droplet of liquid crystals, mixed with both her salty tears drops and pure raindrops.
“Erick,” she whispered, never leaving her eyes from the dark abyss of the night.
“Lily! You are going to catch a cold!” called a familiar voice.
“Your father and mother are going berserk about you! Call out Miss Lily! Call out so I can take you home!”
Come on Erick. You will be too late.
The girl did not respond, instead, she kept on staring, and staring, and staring, waiting, and waiting, and waiting.
In the background, from her unconscious mind, she heard many voices calling her name. She searched frantically for the right one. The deep and heart warming whisper that always make her heart skip a beat. But it wasn’t there.
Her hand felt frozen. She tried to move it, but it was in vain.
Where are you Erick?
Whoosh! Whoosh! A gush of cold wind whirled around her.
Erick? Don’t you love me? You promised you would come to get me.
Splat, Splat. Raindrops pelted her face like bullets. The cold. It was unbearable.
She was so frozen in place that she could not even shiver. Her breath was raspy, coming in thick gasps and clouds of mist.
The voice was coming closer, closer. She could hear her heart thumping, racing.
She commanded her legs to run. But it could not even budge.
Come on! She urged herself. Come on, stupid legs!
In a jolt of energy, she shoved herself up, but the moment she was on two legs, she fell forward. She attempted to roll over, but her body was no longer connected to her brain. She laid there, soaked in filth.
Erick, dear, please, please! You promised...

She reached far, trying to grab on to the root of the magnolia tree so she could heave herself up.
Come on, she urged herself, just a bit closer…
The footsteps are louder. She could hear the familiar deep voice sounding in her ears.
“Lily?” It was James. She raised her head to see his familiar face, but everything began to darken as his freckled face peered at her own in distress.
 
 
In her dream, she played the happy memories of summer in her head. He was there, with his arms around her slight body.
“Remember our first meeting Lily?”
“How could I forget,” she smiled at him, “You tried to kill me! You put a dandelion in my bouquet that you were supposed to present to me, knowing that I was deathly allergic to it.”
“But here we are now…together and happy.”
“That’s what you like to think…”
“I had no doubt that you would fall hopelessly in love with me, like everyone else,” he grinned at her pretended sour expression.
“You remind me of Mr. Darcy, always so proud and arrogant…”
“But really is just humble, loving, handsome, gentle and misunderstood.”
“Minus the humble part, maybe,” she smiled.
“But what about you? You are no Elizabeth.”
“That’s for sure, I’m not highly independent and feministic, I’m not the queen of sarcasm and I’m definitely not prejudiced…”
“You are like Jane, so beautiful, good, too good for anyone…”
“But we are not supposed be together, Jane and Mr. Darcy, I mean.”
He laughed, “In the story or in Austen’s world, maybe, but here, right now, I believe Jane and Darcy are the perfect match created by heaven.”
They shared another passionate kiss.
“Lily,” he cried excitedly, even though he was three years older than she is, he was not a grim grown up, but an energetic, happy, handsome young man, “look! There’s a Gypsy in town.”
“And what looks like the whole town in her tent,” she started down at the tent packed with curious people.
He bent down to pick her up.
She screamed with delight, “Put me down, put me down!” she laughed, “Oh, what do you think you are doing? Put me down!” her laughter rang on.
“I think it’s time for us to hear about our future,” he said, running toward the tent.
“Our?”
“Yes, our,” he smiled down at her and kissed her lightly on her flushed cheeks, “You are blushing.”
She felt her cheeks with her hand and made a face at him. He laughed.
The tent was hot and smelled heavily of exotic essence burning.
The wizen woman with large dark eyes and saggy brown skin peered through her large round glasses at them both. Her wispy gray hair was tucked tightly into a brilliant red rug. Lily could not help but stare at all the strange and slightly frightening objects hanging around her neck and wrist. She though that there was a human eyeball in the bottle secured near her bosoms. She did not speak, and her eyes darted from Lily to Erick, then to Lily, then back again.
Erick felt the intensity of the atmosphere and frowned.
Lily, feeling the tension in Erick’s arms, grasped his tightened arm; he smelt slightly of pine needles, she could not help but noticing.
“Interesting,” the old gypsy said in her strange nasal accent, “interesting indeed…”
Her eyes were arrested on us. Her clear black eyes were suddenly covered with mist as she felt Erick’s hand. Lily could feel his quick breathing and rapid heartbeats.
“Relax young man,” the old gypsy said calmly, in a hoarse and somewhat hollow voice.
After several moments of silence, the fog left gypsy’s eyes. She stared at them both and declared incredulously in her normal voice, “I have never seen this before…A saw two pale figures, a god and a goddess, one blond and one dark entwined together for eternity.”
Lily laughed as she burst through the tent flap. Then she stopped in mid giggle when she realized that Erick was not laughing. Instead he was frowning slightly and thinking hard.
“Don’t tell me you believe in superstition!”
Erick did not respond. Lily looked worried; she stopped him with a slight touch of his arm.
“You have something on your mind,” she stated simply, “you know you can tell me, and ask me anything.”
“You heard that old lady…”
“About the eternity part…”
“Yes.”
“Are you scared about that?”
“No,” he looked up at her face, his eyes full of emotions that she had never seen before.
“Then what is it?” Her voice was gentle, her eyes were pleading.
“I’m going to war tomorrow,” his voice was heavy with regrets.
“I know,” she said quietly, her voice betrayed her anxiety, fear, hopelessness, and sadness.
“I have to ask you something,” he said, running his hands through his golden curls nervously, “I…”
Lily grabbed his face and leaned toward him. The sweet and faint scent of cereus blended perfectly with his crushed pine smell. Her lips landed on his face first, her lips curled into a smile as she moved closer slowly toward his lips.
Impatiently he grabbed her head and kissed her lips. His kiss was full of impatience, worry, anxiety, fear, all that she was feeling, but for different reason. Her lips melted into his, she could hear their hearts racing with one another, their blood pumping in unison. Finally he broke away.
“I want to see you, I want to be tied eternally to you like she said…but I’m a afraid, I don’t want to never see you again…I’m afraid to see you crying over my dead body. I wish I was strong enough to lie to you…tell you I don’t love you anymore so in case I die, you would not cry…” his voice was hoarse with sudden burst of passion as he gazed at her clear green eyes.
She held her finger to his lips, “Shh, don’t say that. I would cry even if you tell me that would don’t love me.” A single tear rolled down her eyes, “You cannot stop me. You can never lie to me,” she said, and he could not disagree, “and I would never believe such an outrageous thing as that. You will not die…you will live,” her smile was radiant as she ran her hand through his silky golden hair, “and when you come back, I will be waiting for you by our favorite magnolia tree in the forest.”
He felt slightly comforted. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in his eyes.
“Let’s get married Lily.”
What? She looked at him with a puzzled expression in her eyes. She was shocked. Of all things, this was the last she expected. But he wasn’t joking around. His eyes were serious, as he sought hers. A slow smile spread across her face.
“Let’s get married,” he repeated, “I can’t bear going away tomorrow not knowing that I have secured your hand before some damm Mr. Bingley beat me to it. I’m Darcy, remember, I’m proud and determined.”
He suddenly smiled.
“Humm,” Lily put on a mockingly thoughtful look, “I have never seen you jealous before…I think it would be fun…”
“You wouldn’t dare!” he laughed, as she glided past him, fleeing.
He chased after her for a while. In a swift movement, he swung her into his arms, “Now I have you. I shall never let you escape.”
She gripped him even tighter. With a fire blazing in her emerald green eyes, she whispered passionately, “and I shall never want to.”
She looked puzzled at the strange expression in his eyes, but all confusion disappeared as his lips molded into hers once again.
I love you too. She whispered back to his heart.
 
 
Lily struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelids are heavy like lead. She pushed herself against her bed, but a firm hand forced her down again.
“Erick!” she gasped.
A burst of light met her eyes. She squinted trying to adjust to the sudden brightness that seemed to clash painfully with her emotions.
But it was not Erick that greeted her eyes. She found herself looking into the boyish face of his good friend James. He was wearing his crooked grin as usual, but his dark eyebrows knitted tightly together once he saw the expression in her eyes.
“Are you alright, Lily?” He asked, his voice quiet and reserved.
Lily let herself close her eyes and signed.
“You know, you are under too much strain…” He murmured, choosing his words with incredible care, “You should…let it rest a bit…”
Silence greeted him. It was a strain for the usually cheerful James, he struggled with it, and then as if he could not control himself, he muttered, “For goodness sake, Lily…he will not come back!”
“Yes, he will.” Lily murmured, stroking her pillows softly as if stroking his hair…a faint smiled curved her ashen lips that were once as lively as a young blooming rose.
“It has been a month, Lily,” he said, “when will you start to believe?”
“He promised,” she whispered. Suddenly, a burst of wild light entered her eyes. She suddenly looked alive once again, “Wait! I must go to the woods and wait for him!”
In her excitement, she pushed herself out of bed and sprinted toward the mirror, her black hair swinging wildly behind her.
Her smile was wide; her pearly white teeth gleamed in the sunlight.
She bounced to her mirror.
“This won’t do, I looked like a mess,” a silly grin appeared on her lips as she sat down and began to brush her hair with a comb, “My Erick shan’t see me like this!”
She giggled uncontrollably as her mother and father stood by the door.
“Good morning,” she laughed at their bewildered face, “Oh! Mom, pa! I’m to be married soon…Erick promised to take me away to United States! Far away so we could be married. Isn’t that exciting?” Her giggles filled the room as her mother and father exchanged look of horror.
“I can’t wait ‘til we are married, pa…you shall have a dashing grandson, I promise. And mother, I shall bore you a lovely grand daughter!”
She danced around the room.
She skipped around ‘til she stood in from of James.
“Oh James! You shall be our best man…”
“Lily! Wake up! Erick is not coming back!”
Lily’s fevered face froze. The grin was gone as she stood in from of him, staring.
“Yes he is,” she frowned, touching her flushed face, “Of course he is. He wrote to me to tell me that he wants to marry me…I know Erick, he would never lie to me, never.”
“Yes, yes, I wish that is true as well, but Erick is dead! DEAD!” he said loudly.
“No he isn’t!” Lily looked at him with loathing, fury burning in her eyes like emerald fire, “How dare you bore him such ill will? He is at the battle now…but he will come back to me!”
“No he will not,” his voice was quiet but clear, “He died in battle, three days ago.” He held out a cut out newspaper, “There, it says, Captain Erick Fitzgerald Dawes died October 4^th, 2004.”
Lily crumbled to the floor.
“Call the doctor! Quickly,” Mrs. Rayne screamed as she heaved her daughter’s limp body up.
“My goodness,” she cried, as she felt her daughter’s hand, “she is burning up! QUICKLY! Phone doctor Zenith!”
“Oh, what is wrong with the child?” Mr. Rayne looked at his daughter’s feverish face and signed loudly, “That child…Aye. Shouldn’t let her fall in love with a soldier…”
“Too late for that!” she snapped, “Who was the one bringing him over to the house last winter!”
Mr. Rayne shook his head at his wife and left the room, “Bring a cup of water, George, will you?”
The doctor, an ancient man marked with layers of heavy wrinkle walked quietly into the room. He felt her pulse quickly and shook his head. 
“This doesn’t look too good.”
“What is it, doctor?” Mrs. Rayne asked anxiously, “What is going on with my daughter?”
“Brain fever, combination of the stress of the brain and physical damage,” the doctor said gravely, “I’d say that she had been very traumatized lately.”
“Her fiancé just died,” Mrs. Rayne said quietly, as she stared at her daughter’s serene face, “Tell me, what is going to happen to her?”
“If it is serious,” he said his eyes heavy with regret, “she will die.”
Mrs. Rayne flinched at the sound of that word, and her husband turned away quickly.
“But, if she is lucky,” he said, “she will only suffer some minor brain damage.”
“What kind of brain damage?” It was Mr. Rayne who spoke this time.
“If she is lucky,” the doctor said even more gravely this time, “she will suffer only a light loss of memory. Unfortunately,” the doctor’s eyes were sad as he looked at the beautiful young creature lying on the bed, “most are not so lucky.”
 
 
“Ahh!” Erick groaned loudly, as he leveled himself up from a large and spacious bed. The image of the loud screaming of his comrades echoed in his head along with the loud explosions ringing all around him. He could not help but wrench at his hair as memories of the horrors became more and more vivid while someone beautiful; someone’s sweet and gentle voice fleeted across his mind and vanished. He howled in confusion.
“Careful!” Sang a beautiful melodic voice. He looked up to see a tall and well-built man sitting standing facing the wall of his room.
Erick touched a crescent shaped mark on his arm. It burned ever so slightly. Though that part of his body is frigid cold, he felt other parts of him. Cold. He touched the place where he was wounded, but there was no mark. His chest, it was stone cold. Suddenly, he clenched his fist in alarm. There was no heartbeat. None at all. He listened longer. Silence.
The man standing by him turned around to face him. Erick was suddenly taken aback by how beautiful the man was, if beautiful could actually be used to describe a man. He didn’t look like an ordinary man. Erick had no doubt that angels could not look lovelier, or more unreal.
“Hello Erick,” the man smiled at his, flashing his even white teeth that gleamed despite the darkness enveloping them.
Erick examined the man carefully. He was tall, with milky skin that seems almost transparent. His eyes are liquid gold, shimmering. He too was gazing at him intently. His features are flawless, a straight and tall nose, high cheekbones, strong jaw, and prominent forehead. His face looks as if sculpted by an artist out of pure, white marble—smooth and perfect. His dark hair fell into his eyes with natural grace.
He looked about mid twenties, but the way he held himself, polite, smiling, and tall, he seemed as if he is in his forties.
“My name is Cornelius,” he studied his face in silence for a while.
“What is going on? What has happen to me?” Erick seized the silence and blurted out, suddenly mesmerized by his own angelic voice.
“You were dying in the battlefield Erick,” his voice was suddenly sad as he continued to study his face, as if he could read his thoughts, “You were muttering, pleading that you have to go back, there was someone waiting…I’m sorry Erick. This is the only way…”
Erick stood up in swift agility that he never thought he had and stared at his reflection.
Just like the man, his face was smooth and flawless. His golden hair curled softly and handsomely around his perfectly chiseled face. His skin is hard as marble and as pale as new snow. His eyes…he stared back at his reflection with a cry of horror caught in his throat…they glistened like blood ruby.
Cornelius looked thoughtful for a second then calmly said in his rich and beautiful voice, “you are a vampire now.”



Please RATE and MESSAGE! This is my first vampire story, and I would really appreciate some suggestions and comments, good or bad.