Mysterious Girl

And so began your life together. There was a little bit of awkwardness when you ran out of vampire-themed questions, but you managed; always asking how her night had been when she returned, and she always answered honestly. In turn, she would ask about the books you read, even if you were sure she must have read them herself, but it was enjoyable to discuss.

When the snow had thawed, Natalia took you on walks around the castle grounds. You learnt it was surrounded by woods on all sides, to the point where it could barely be seen. You walked slowly with her to the nearby towns as well, letting you get your bearings and not need to rely on her superspeed.

On one occasion she had overestimated your speed, taking you a distance far greater than she could slowly walk to and from in one night. She’d had to leave you so that she could get back before dawn. You teased her endlessly about that, after the initial grumble of having to find your way back by yourself without even a proper night’s sleep.

She taught you how to cook rich meals for yourself; more than just the oats and soup you had known before. Even if she didn’t eat, she’d sit and accompany you as you did, as well as cooking with you on special occasions.

At one point, in the early days, you talked to her about marriage prospects. It was how you’d been raised; find a man, marry, live with him and serve him, have kids. It was the way to improve your family’s name and reputation. She just shrugged, “I can take you to balls if you want to find a man. But it doesn’t have to be your life now. You aim to marry because there is no place in society for a woman without a man to take care of her. You aren’t in society anymore, and if you remain here and single until you are old and grey, I will still be here looking after you.”

You had smiled at her, pleased by her words, because truly you didn’t want things to change. No marriage would ever be able to top the life you had already.

Despite that, Natasha did accompany you to many balls. You would giggle together as you picked out the fanciest dresses, applying each other’s makeup and styling her hair to your liking.

Then she would walk you into the ball, watching as you went off to dance and flirt with potential suitors, but it never led anywhere. You always returned home with her, recounting tales of your evening.

Occasionally, Natalia would bring people back from her night hunts. Mortals she had found injured and near death, just as you had been. You felt a twinge of jealously the first time it happened, but you knew it was unjustified, she was helping people, not replacing you. They never stayed though, they all had families to return to once they’d been treated or after recovery. You helped out when they were around; you didn’t have Natalia’s medical expertise, but you would cook an extra meal for them so Nat could stay by their side. And when she had to hunt, you were ready to make sure they were ok.

Not all of them survived. Some of them were too gravely injured and their saviour came too late. It wasn’t her fault, but Natalia would take it hard every time one of them died. She would refuse to go out for days, despite needing to hunt. You would sit with her for however long it took, filling it with menial chat, mixed with reassurances that she did her best. That there was no more that could be done. That death was inevitable for them.

You helped pull her out of her moods, although the both of you knew there was one more thing she could have done. But she hadn’t lied, she would rather watch someone die, and then make herself suffer for it, than convert them into a vampire.

You noticed the relationship changed with time. She was definitely the closest friend you’d ever had, which you supposed was natural, given that you were living together. But you began to notice how beautiful she was, how kind she was with everyone (especially when she’d take care of you). When you’d cuddle together, not exactly for warmth because she didn’t have any, but for comfort, it just felt natural to you. She was the most perfect person you could imagine. It confused you. You didn’t realise you could feel this strongly for anyone. You wondered if this was the love your friends had talked about. It felt like it, but it couldn’t be. Women didn’t fall in love with women, she was a great friend, but nothing more. You pushed the thoughts away.

You began to tease her in time, calling her Tsarevna despite her obvious dislike for her past. She’d been annoyed by it at first, but you continued, and she came to like it, if only when it came from your mouth. She didn’t admit it to you, but if she had blood, she knew she’d be blushing every time you called her that.

It was what prompted her to finally share her past with you one day.

“What’s wrong Tsarevna?” you had asked, finding her curled up in her room one day, looking at her reflection. Or lack thereof.

“I didn’t get to make the choice” she answered, not looking up at you, “to be like this”. You sat down next to her, saying nothing and letting her continue. “I was very ill for years, no doctor could tell what was wrong with me, and I was just getting worse”. She flicked her eyes to you briefly before they settled on her lap again. “I wouldn’t say my father cared for me, but he was the Tsar, he was rich, and my mother did at least. She asked him to help me, and he sent me off to Bulgaria. The family medic said there was an experimental treatment that could help me.”

This was more than she’d ever shared before, and you schooled your features, not wanting the wrong expression to scare her off.

“They had an even older vampire than me there. He had been born in Roman times. He bit me, drained me of blood, then turned me into this.”

There were tears in her eyes and you moved closer, sitting on her lap so that you could hold her and comfort her.

“He let me free without training and I- I killed- I killed-”. She devolved into sobs and you stayed quiet, letting her use your shoulder as a headrest. “The guards that brought me, whole villages nearby, children Y/N! Even my other had come with me and I… she just wanted me to live.” You stroked through her hair, soothing her tears, it made sense why she didn’t like to talk about it. But you knew she wasn’t to blame. “It’s what killed my father too, knowing what I did to my own mother”

“You’ve told me before that-” you muttered to her in comfort, “-newborn vampires can’t control themselves. It’s not your fault Nat”

“But I still did it. It’s the red in my ledger I can never wipe out. Even now I barely feel remorse for killing people. I just- the elder vampire, the one who turned me. He seemed so eager when I returned, so pleased at what I’d done. I don’t want to become him.”

“And you won’t” you soothed, still cradling her, “the ones you say you kill without remorse, it’s for a good reason. You take down criminals and cheats and people who only intend to cause more pain by being alive. If you were to truly become like him, you wouldn’t spend days mourning after you fail to save a person someone else has already doomed to die.”

Her body began to shake less in your arms as your words sunk in. “I killed him too,” she said firmly, speaking at last. You leant back to give her a questioning look, “the other vampire. I let him train me, teach me to use my powers, he’s how I know they’ll change with age. Then I killed him.”

“Good” was all you replied as you took her back into your arms. You knew Nat could never become like that, but you were glad he wasn’t around to still manipulate her, or do the same to others

A cake was set in front of you, and you grinned. Nat smiled back as she held it out, a ‘26′ spelled out with berries on the top. She had done it every year for your birthday, and you had begun to do the same for her, although it took a few years to learn when her birthday actually was.

“So… is your birthday still exciting to you?” she asked and you nodded eagerly, “of course. I could never forget when you put so much effort in. From now until next year I will instantly remember I’m 26″

“So how old are you?”

“I’m 26, 27 next May”

She laughed, the tradition to recite your birthday still going strong almost a decade later. “And how old are you?” you replied through laughs.

“Hmm” she teased, “I’ll have to work it out”

“Don’t do that, come on, you know it”

“I’m 172, 173 in November” she relented.

You beamed again, “I knew that cake wasn’t a waste”

“It was. It tasted of nothing”

You gasped in mock offence, “it tasted beautiful. I can’t help it that you, a vampire, can’t appreciate good food,” you grumbled.

“Oh yeah? If it was just my taste then why did you only eat half a slice before tossing it?”

“Some errors were made” you admitted, “namely, that you weren’t supposed to notice I did that”

“What can I say?” she smirked proudly, “I notice lots of things. I’d be a great spy”

You hummed, “meh, mediocre at best. I heard a 16-year-old managed to shoot you.”

She raised an eyebrow and smirked, leaning across the counter towards you, “sounds like an annoying 16-year-old. Making up pure lies like that”

Before you could retaliate, Natasha’s face morphed into one of concern, and you mimicked it, wondering what had caused it. Her head shot up and looked around, as if she heard something.

“What’s wrong Tsarevna?”

“There’s someone outside”

You frowned. That was a surprise, in the nine and a half years you’d lived there, no-one had ever found the castle without being brought in.
Natalia disappeared and you stood up, heading to the now open front door. A troop of men marched in, guns already pointed at you.

It was pointless to think you’d win against 8 armed men, so you held your hands up and waited. Natalia’s powers had been changing recently, emotional telepathy occasionally breaking through to a whole thought; you tried to use it to call for her, but it was patchy, it didn’t work all the time yet.

“Arrest her”, the man in charge stated, causing a couple of soldiers to tie your hands behind your back with a rope. “Where’s the other one?”

“What other one?” you bluffed. If Nat couldn’t save you, you could at least give her the opportunity to escape without being hunted. “I live alone” you finished, and he grinned, eyes flicking to red and fangs extending. Uh oh.

“Now that… is a lie.”

Natalia reappeared behind him. She motioned for you to take a step back. Once the men released you, you threw yourself backwards onto the ground, and she attacked. Natalia threw soldiers to the side as she came for the vampire in charge.
But he noticed, without looking he reached out and grabbed her by the neck.

The two moved as a blur together, faster than you could make out. Until you heard her scream.

“Nat!” you yelled as they slowed, the sight revealing itself to you. The man still held her by the neck, but she was limp. Her hands were clutched on her stomach and you looked closer. A wooden stake had been plunged straight through her.

“Natalia!” you continued to scream, mixed with sobs, as the recovering soldiers and vampire dragged you away. But it was worthless. She never so much as stirred. She was gone.