Mysterious Girl

It had been weeks since the incident in the woods, and you were doing everything to get it off of your mind. You weren’t making the mistake of going out alone again. Now you were in a carriage, shared with the other girls your age from the village. You’d been given a fine green dress to wear, with a matching pair of gloves and your hair and make up all done. There was to be a ball in one of the larger towns nearby. Whereabouts, you didn’t know, your parents had secured a spot on the carriage last minute. A town field trip to the ball in the hopes of securing a wealthy suitor, or at least mixing with the right crowds.

You talked with the other four girls, all excited about the prospect of a ball. Only a couple of you had ever left the village, and those two had only journeyed to the local markets, nothing as fancy as this. These were the people you’d grown up with, age groups had a tendency to stick together, especially since there was no economic hierarchy in the village. So you conversed and shared joked and giggled. Ivanka stood up, demonstrating the correct dance pose and posture with a laugh, before a bump on the road sent her flying back down into her seat. Every attempt from your group to scold your faces into serious dance expressions only resulted in more hysterics.

This was all cut short when a shot rang out. You tried to muffle your scream, though there was no point when four other screams went unmuffled. A masked man appeared at the window, “your money, ladies”

“I- we- none of us have any money on us” another girl spoke up, Yelena.

“Then out of the carriage, I’m sure those dresses and accessories alone must be worth a fortune.”

You obeyed, not wanting to be shot by the pistol he was waving around. You watched as your friends stripped to their undergarments in tears, trying to look away to preserve their modesty as the carriage was reloaded with clothes and their jewellery. You stripped off your own dress, but hesitated when it came to your necklace. It had been in your family for generations, the only fortune you had. The red gemstone in the centre was supposedly the key to attracting a partner, and the only thing that hid your poor economic fortune.

“In the carriage” the highway man spoke, indicating at you with the gun.

“Sir, you don’t understand” you begged, “my mother will kill me for losing it once I am home”

“All I’m hearing is you’ll be dead either way, and either way I’m getting that jewel to make me rich”

“Please, no-”

A shot. The noise of the bang reaching you before the pain in your chest.

“Y/N” some of your friends gasped, but a pointed gun prevented them from running towards you. You blinked and the man disappeared. If it weren’t for the looks on your friends’ faces, you’d have chalked it down to blood loss induced delirium.

“Where did-”

A woosh of air forced you to close your eyes, and when you reopened them, her familiar face was above you. Perhaps she was your saviour after all.

“He won’t be coming back. I would advise getting back in your transport and carrying on” she spoke, before pursing her lips and looking down to meet your gaze. Her eyes were green now, no longer the almost luminescent red you had previously seen. Perhaps it had just been a trick of the light, there had been a lot of blood. “This one, unfortunately, will not make it if you take her. She will come with me.”

“How do we know we can trust you?” a friend threatened and she chuckled,

“You’re all so similar. I stopped the man who was holding you at gunpoint and I’m letting you all continue onwards.”

“But what about Y/N? We stick together, you can’t take her”

“Y/N” she tested, “is bleeding out, surely you can see. Now your option is to let her die with you, or let me save her. I can only carry one person and if you want her to live I would recommend you let us go soon.”

“I’ll be okay” you choked, “you guys go ahead”

They looked nervous, but you nodded at the lady you’d shot only weeks before and let her carry you off, putting your life in her hands. Given that you’d shot her, and seen her brutally murder a horde of soldiers, maybe trusting her wasn’t your best idea. Maybe she planned to kill you slowly for revenge, or she just came to finish the job, there were many ways this situation could go south.

For some reason though, you trusted her, she hadn’t laid a finger on you last time, nor did she chase you. And you couldn’t argue with her here, you probably were going to bleed out anyway. So you let her pick you up, wincing slightly at the movement.

Then you were gone. Her face remained stationary while the background blurred. You’d really lost way too much blood. Your eyes were heavy and you gave in, letting them shut and drifting off.

The room was silent when you woke. You blinked your eyes open, not remembering a single dream… or anything before that. You were in a bed, a comfy one at that. Wait… your bed wasn’t this comfy, it definitely wasn’t this big, didn’t have as thick a blanket, and didn’t have two pillows. And you most definitely wouldn’t wake up to silence.

Slowly, the memories came as you tried to shake yourself awake. Thankfully the curtains in the room were shut and you were in total darkness, so you at least didn’t have to adjust to the light. You’d been shot, that was right, and the pale lady had rescued you, carried you off to… wherever this was you guessed.

Pain shot through your side as you tried to sit up. Hmm, yeah, healing gunshot wound and all that. Deciding against the idea you had no other option but to lie back down, staring at the intricate ceiling, flower patterns carved into the stone.

That got boring quickly, and you didn’t fancy lingering in your own mind, so you continued down the line of stupidity you had been carving for yourself in recent weeks. “Hello?” you called, although it came out as more of a croak, “scary red haired lady?”

Another rush of wind and she was by your side. You couldn’t help but jump and let out a yelp. She smirked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re really fast” you muttered, knotting your eyebrows.

“I am really fast” she confirmed, the smirk still on her face, “and you” she continued, “seem to have a talent for getting into trouble”

You nodded, “only twice, you just happened to witness both”

“And a good thing I did”

“uh huh, yes, thank you”

“You are welcome”

“You never answered my questions” you said after a pause. She tilted her head. “When we first met. Who are you? Wh-”. You almost continued, and you wanted the answer, ‘what are you?’. But basic decency and manners won out however, when a guest in the house of one who saved you, best not to ask rude questions.

“My name is Natalia Romanov”

“Like the Tsar’s missing daughter? Tsar Alexei Romanov” you interrupted and she gave you a knowing smile.

“Exactly like that. Someone knows their history”

You blushed, tilting your head down, compliments were hard to come by. “I- uh, had to pass the time somehow”

She hummed, waiting a moment before she spoke again, “and as for your other query, the one you are too polite to repeat…”, her eyes were on you as you looked back up, holding eye contact, but her smile had faded. You gulped, the look making your skin crawl the same way it did that night. “What I am, is a vampire”

Fear overtook you, freezing you in place once again. You had heard of vampires, of course you had, but they were passed off as urban legends, rumours to keep children inside at night. Not that it had stopped you, but maybe it should have.

The next words slipped out, even if you didn’t truly believe them anymore, “vampires don’t exist”. But you’d seen her that night, blood soaked face and hands. You’d experienced the speed at which she ran. You’d seen her eyes burn red and her nails become claws. You knew she was being honest.

“Well then I suppose you are talking to nothing, perhaps you are in a ruin, hallucinating because of that blood loss as you slowly die” she bit back, “or perhaps this is happening because I. Am. Very. Real.” Each word was punctuated with a widening grin, exposing a fang on either side of her mouth, each twice as long as a regular tooth should be, and far sharper.

“So how old are you?” you asked, removing any trace of fear from your voice. She took a step back, her face making it evident that she hadn’t expected that to be the next question.

She masked it quickly with a smirk, tilting her head as she asked you, “don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman her age?”

“I didn’t know that applied to immortal beings too” you countered, before grinning, “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours”

“Very well” she nodded, looking lost for a moment in thought, hesitating with her mouth open just before speaking, “about 163″

“You had to calculate your age?”

“You are too young to know, birthdays become less exciting with time. It’s not easy to remember your own age, especially when you are eternally in the body of a 27 year old” she finished. “But I’m sure you know yours instantly?”

“I’m 16, I’ll be 17 in May”

She looked away to hide a sly smile, but you noticed it. “That’s in 5 months time. Surely you had no reason to tell me your date of birth too”

“What can I say, I’m excited. I’m not old li-”, her words sunk in and you paused mid-sentence, grin turning into a frown. “Did you say five months?”

Your thought was all but confirmed when her smile dropped and she stood up, pacing to the foot of the bed. “You were injured… very badly”. She wouldn’t meet your eyes, her gaze falling to the wooden floor.

“I remember the date though. November. 6 months from my birthday…”

“…it’s been two weeks. We’re in December now. I’m sorry”

“You mean I- my family, what about- how- how am I even alive?”

“I presume your carriage friends told your family. Now that you are awake though I could return you to their care? Let them look after you?”

You scoffed, “as if they’d do that”. When she furrowed her eyebrows in a questioning look, you continued, “doing chores is a requirement for being allowed to stay in the house. And I can barely sit up right now.”

“Surely they must understand if you’ve been shot. Children cannot help being ill”

“Before the age of 10 they showed pity, allowed sickly children a day off to recover.” You paused, “I know many children die young anyway, but I had an older sister. Anastasia.” You stared up at Natalia, who watched you carefully, “she caught a fever one year, could hardly get out of bed. They kicked her out and she died. Not from the illness, but from the freezing cold. She- she might have recovered otherwise.” Natalia’s eyes softened the next time you looked up, “they didn’t even care when she was found.”

Against your best wishes, a tear fell from your eye, tracing down your face. You cared. The two of you had always stuck up for each other.

“Stay here until you recover” Natalia replied kindly, “you need not do anything else but rest”

You smiled thankfully up at her, just as your stomach growled. “Oh yes, I’ll bring some food up” she offered before speeding off once more.

You took a deep breath and set your head back down. Two weeks. It made your heart race, how had you survived two weeks? Surely you couldn’t eat or drink as you slept, so two weeks shouldn’t be possible, should it?

That thought was cut off by Natalia walking back into the room with a tray. She set it down on the bedside table and your eyes widened, mouth watering. A roast chicken sat plump in the centre, breads and cheeses and fruits circling it. She leant over and helped move you to a seated position. You muttered a thank you but never took your eyes off of the food. It was a display you only usually saw at Christmas, and even then you would have to fight for a meagre serving. Here she was presenting it to you like it was nothing, on what was just a random day.

She laughed, and the sound tore your eyes away. “I take it you’re hungry then?”. Swiftly, she moved the tray onto your lap for you, before sitting on the end of the bed.

“Very much so”, you picked at the chicken, tearing sections off and throwing them into your mouth. The red head was looking around the room, not wishing to disturb you by watching you eat. “Did you make this?” you asked, bringing her attention back. She gave a curt nod. “It’s delicious. Do you not want any?”

She laughed, “vampire life. I don’t need it and I wouldn’t taste it even if I did eat”

“Interesting” you murmured, pausing to take another bite, “so I was wondering… have I not eaten in two weeks?”

She hesitated as she watched you, “not exactly. I was able to provide the food and water you needed in fluid form”

Your eyes widened, “wait. Did you give me blood? Did you-”

“Not blood” she cut off, “and I didn’t turn you into a vampire”. You pursed your lips, you hadn’t even asked that question yet. “I would rather watch you die than let you become one of me-”

“Thanks for doing neither”

“-I have studied medicine in some of my many years alive, and I’m fairly good with… injections. I know how to keep people alive while they sleep”

You nodded, not all that interested in digging deeper. Just saying ‘thank you’ then refocusing on the plate in front of you. “So… are there other vampires here, or do you live alone?”

“It’s just me”

“Seems lonely”

“Well, not many people are fond of the whole ‘vampire’ thing. They might do something rash when they find out…” she trailed off, a smirk gracing her face as she retained eye contact with you, “like shoot me”

“Uh- um-” you had to look away as heat ran to paint your cheeks red, “yes, I’m, uh, very sorry about that. I- I just, you know-”

“Hush” she interrupted, “I am very aware as to why you did it. I did not leave a pleasant sight for you”

“Sorry still”

“It was more of an inconvenience to have been shot than a pain. Unlike you I do not bleed out, and…” she pulled up her shirt in a very immodest manner to reveal smooth pale skin over her stomach, no evidence of a wound ever being there, “as you can see, it’s already healed.”

“That’s impressive”

You looked back at her questioningly, “couldn’t you have just… run out of the way of the bullet?”

“Yes. Probably. However, I still think at the same speed as you, I just act faster. So the bullet still flew quicker than I could react, I hadn’t expected you to fire it.”

You hummed, “so how long until I heal?”

“Are you that eager to leave me?” she teased, “you should be up and moving soon. Fully healed in two or three weeks. You’ll always have the scar though.”

You nodded slowly but didn’t talk again until your dinner had been finished. Come to think of it, was it even dinner? You didn’t know the time.

“I can take you on a tour tomorrow if you’d like. You’ll feel less stiff by then”

“That would be nice, thank you Natalia.”

She smiled, picking up your empty plate. “I’ll be back in a few hours. I know you just woke up, but now is the time you should be sleeping. Try”

So it was night, you thought sleepily. You didn’t expect to be able to sleep, but her words made you realise just how drowsy you were, and you were out in an instant.