Part 3 -1812
“Wakey wakey”
The room was still dark as you squinted your eyes open, but Natalia’s figure stood at the end of your bed.
“Natalia?” you groaned, still half-asleep
“Hello Y/N. It’s morning and I’m bored so you’re getting up and walking.”
You sat up, muscles still aching but there was less pain. It was the kind of soreness that came from lying down rather than, say, having recently been shot. Natalia watched you curiously and you realised you’d ben clothed. No longer in the undergarments the highwayman had left you in, but a proper nightgown. You looked back up from it and raised an eyebrow at you host, who was looking everywhere but you.
“Lead the way then” you relented, and she grinned, disappearing for a few seconds before returning. “I hope that wasn’t the tour because I think I missed a bit” you joked with your own grin.
“That was me lighting the castle. Thought it might be beneficial for you to be able to see.”
“Oh that does sound useful. Thank you”
“Of course”. She led you around now at a much more regular pace, the place was massive and very… castle-y. She showed you three floors, and indicated at a cellar, though she asked you to avoid it. You were curious about it, but when a vampire tells one to avoid a place, it’s probably for a good reason. There was a large kitchen, a dining hall that could sit perhaps 20 people, entertainment rooms, parlours, even servants’ quarters. It was beyond anywhere you could ever imagine yourself living.
One thought lingered on your mind during the tour, so you brought it up once Natalia was done. “So you said you were 163?”
“Around that”
“You have the same name as the Tsar’s missing daughter, who would actually be 163 this year. And you live in a massive castle built for royalty-”
“You can do maths and history. Watch you don’t get burned at the stake” she warned, but you continued through it,
“You are the Tsarevna, aren’t you?”
She sighed slowly, taking her time to answer, “I was”
“So what happened?”
She pursed her lips and stared at you. “I think that’s enough talking for one day.” You took the hint and nodded, letting her lead you back to your room in silence. You hadn’t meant to offend her, and hoped she wouldn’t send you straight back to your family.
“I didn’t take offense” she stated suddenly, almost as if she could read minds. Wait? Could she? You weren’t sure what actual vampire powers were.
“How did you-? Did you know I was thinking of that?”
“A vampire gift” she began, “I am no mind reader but I can sense what you’re feeling.”
“Oh”
“You felt guilt. Shame. I could make the connection”
“Can you do that for everyone?”
“When they are close enough, yes. Both times we met I knew that you feared me”
“I don’t think you need telepathy to know that” you retorted
“Perhaps not”
After that, the two of you fell into a comfortable silence. You were caught between wanting to know more and not wanting to push Natalia too far. You would be here for a couple of weeks, she had said. There would be time later.
And there was. Although the two weeks passed surprisingly quickly, it was long enough for you to fall into a rhythm. During the day you would converse with Natalia, asking her all the questions you could think of; “what powers do you have?”, “does sunlight hurt?”, “why do you need blood?”.
You refrained from asking about her past again, but she seemed more than happy to answer general vampire trivia. Apparently she had supernatural strength, speed, durability, stamina, and agility. Plus the telepathy she had already mentioned. She said she would burn in the sun, but with age she would grow resistant and her powers would grow stronger. It was why the eldest vampires were the most deadly.
At night, she would leave to feed while you slept. She gave you access to her library too, with some fascinating books. But you ended up spending most of your waking time with her.
The conversations never seemed to run out and, despite the short time, the jokes shared between you two were the jokes of lifelong friends, not an acquaintance of two weeks. She seemed truly eager to hear your stories of regular life in the village, your family, your friends. Even if to you it seemed like the couldn’t compare to her life of vampirism, her expressions made it look as though it did.
Which meant you were unexpectedly sad when your two weeks ran out. When Natalia removed the bandage one last time and all that was left was a scar.
“So it seems tonight is our last night” she stated slowly, although her face broke into a smile as she met your eye. You supposed she was glad to have her house to herself once again. So you mimicked the expression,
“it appears that it is…” you trailed off, then remembered the appearance you were trying to keep. “Thank you for the care. When, uh, when will you be taking me back?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but you cut her off with a stammer, “uh, only if- if you’re taking me back. I’m sure I can walk if you just want me to go”
She gave you a small smirk and waited for you to be done. “Have you looked outside? There’s about three feet of snow, you’re not walking anywhere. Plus you don’t even know where we are”
“My house is… that way?” you pointed, getting a chuckle from the vampire. She grabbed your wrist and gently turned it the opposite direction.
“That way”
“I’d have worked it out”
“You wouldn’t. But it’s fine because you don’t have to. The snow’s not a bother to me so I’ll run you home before you can get cold.”
“Thank you Natalia”
“Of course. Now I left some clothes on your bed, might keep you warm while we run”
You gave her a sad smile and made your way upstairs for the last time. She had left a green gown similar to what you had been wearing before you had been shot, along with a large fur coat. You changed slowly, not wanting to rush your departure, then met her back in the main hall in your outfit.
“It looks good on you” she praised
“Thank you”
“You ready to go?”. You couldn’t bring yourself to speak, only nodding in response. She indicated for you to jump on her back, and she supported you effortlessly. Opening the front door you saw what she was talking about. She had to jump just to get atop the snow mound. Then she took off running. You shut your eyes, not able to see much more than a blur anyway, and rested your head on Natalia’s, clinging around her neck with as much force as you could muster to not be thrown off.
In no time at all you were back in the village, a dim glow of candlelight illuminating your house, and it was time for you to let go of her.
“Goodbye Natalia” you smiled, “thank you for everything”
She returned the expression, “Goodbye Y/N. Try to stay out of trouble this time”
Before you could get another word in, or even have to go through the effort of turning away from her, she disappeared.
You sighed, wondering why her friendship meant so much to you when you had plenty of friends to return to now.
You knocked on your own door, hearing shouting from indoors before your father opened the door, shotgun in hand.
“Y/N?” he faltered, and you heard your mother gasp behind him,
“Father I am very sorry but I was hurt badly and I couldn’t come home. But I’ve healed now” you stammered quickly, now facing both of your parents.
“Let her in” your mother offered, her tone surprisingly gentle. And in another surprise, your father agreed.
Despite the coat, you were shivering, and you couldn’t help but sigh at the relief of seeing a lit fire.
“Take your coat off and warm up by the fire. Tell us what happened”. You did as your mother asked, recounting the highwayman, being shot, being saved, Natalia nursing you back to health; though you did omit the key detail of Natalia being a vampire.
“And do you still have the necklace?” your mother asked, taking it from you when you pulled it out and returning it to its safe box.
You turned to your father, it was unlike him to be silent for so long. “You’re lying” he growled, “your friends told us the same tale, only they told the truth, that you were rescued by someone impossibly fast. An undead”. You flinched at the accusatory tone, trying to prepare an excuse. “You should be dead, and an undead rescued you. You know they can spread their curse onto the living. And they’ve got you.”
He was stalking towards you now, gun aimed at your head, you wouldn’t be recovering from that. You looked at your mother for aid, but she just watched, the sympathetic gaze gone from her eyes. “Get out now, before I shoot you”. You didn’t doubt he would, so you continued to back up, keeping an eye on your parents until you hit the door. Spinning, you opened it and ran out into the snow. You held back tears, knowing they would freeze to your face in the current temperature. You stumbled as far away from your house as you could manage before curling up on a bare patch of ground, trying to retain as much heat as possible.
“Well that didn’t last long,” a mocking tone said, and you shot your head up, seeing your favourite redhead lazing in a tree. You couldn’t help but smile.
“Natalia!”
“Y/N”
“What are you doing outside of my house?”
“Checking on you. You have a bad habit of almost dying every time I leave you”
“Aww, and you care about me?” you teased,
“Not you. I’m just not letting my good work saving you go to waste” she jibed back, hopping down next to you. “Come on, let’s warm you up”
Who were you to argue with that? So for the second time that night, you were racing through the snow, coming to a stop at her castle. She lit up a fire in one of the smaller rooms and sat you by it. “I see you even lost the coat”.
You nodded, tone apologetic but not surprised, you’d had a realisation in your moment to think. “That was my parents’ plan I suppose. Expensive coat, expensive jewellery, strip me of it before leaving me out to die again.”
“They sound like really kind people” she acknowledges sarcastically,
“Sure, if you’re Lucifer.”
“Vampires are the devil’s spawn”
“Maybe even Lucifer looks down on them then.”
Natalia was quiet for a moment, and you wondered what she was thinking. Her head was dipped down, and all her limbs seemed to be fidgeting, her hands wringing themselves. Even when she began to speak, it was with more hesitation than she’d even shown. “Well, since you don’t have a home anymore” she began, “do you want to live here?”
“Permanently?”
“As long as you want” she shrugged, “and only if you want to”
“I don’t want to cause too much trouble for you” you muttered, going against every urge in your body to instantly accept the offer.
“I promise you won’t, these last two weeks have been more fun than I’ve had in a while. Perhaps I was lonely.”
You broke into a smile at her confession, “Well, I could say the same. I wished it wouldn’t end, and I don’t have a home now so…”
“So that’s a yes?”
“That’s a yes”
She beamed, “great. Let me know if you need anything, otherwise… welcome home”