My life used to be far different from what it is now. I used to enjoy the little things. Running, dancing, singing, playing. Even just the light of day would put a spring in my step. I had everything a girl of my age could want. A loving father; a warm home; a beautiful face; long, red hair. Even the daily chores don�t seem so bad in retrospect. However, all good things must come to an end, and all things in time must die.

     Let me start at the beginning. My birth name was Katherine Thatcher. I was born into a poor peasant home in 16th century England. I do not even remember the exact year. It was far too long ago. I was the youngest of five children, yet my father wanted only the best lives for all of us. I grew up doing my daily chores, what exactly, I cannot recall. As time goes by, I remember less and less about my mild life before.

     When I had reached the age of, I believe, 10, my mother got very sick. I was so young; I did not realize what was happening, and what was going to happen.

     �When is mum going to be better?� I used to ask my father, tugging at his shirt so he would notice his youngest daughter at his feet.

     �I don�t know, little dear.� Was all he could say, as he bent down to be at my level. I could tell, with the tears in his eyes, he didn�t have much hope for her. He knew she was suffering and her suffering would end soon. When that happened, she would be leaving us. He didn�t want to face that harsh reality, and he didn�t want me to have to know the truth.

     She got progressively worse as days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Finally, one cruel winter morning, a priest was visiting our home, for my mother could not leave the house. My father took the priest into the bedroom where my mother was sleeping so he could perform his weekly blessings upon her. They shut the door behind themselves. I stood, staring at the large wooden door, waiting to see the priest leave the room, as he did every week, to pat me on the head and assure me she was going to be just fine. A few moments later, my siblings and I could hear low sobs, and slight reassurances from behind the door. After what seemed like hours to my child mind, the door swung slowly open. The priest walked out of the dark room, hands held in front of him, and head hung solemnly. He walked right past me, not even to stop and acknowledge that I was there. I took the candle from the table and walked into the room. My father was kneeling at the bedside, holding my mother�s hand, softly sobbing. When he realized I had entered the room, he let go of my mother�s hand, which fell limply at her side, and pulled me into his chest, trembling.

     �She�s gone, Princess. She�s gone.� He said, as if not saying it to me, but saying it to somehow reassure himself that she was better off gone. He felt colder than normal, and very distant, as if he were not even in the same plane of existence as the rest of us. I feel that he let himself slip away that night. If my mother hadn�t died, maybe I wouldn�t be here now. I would be able to be with my family in our afterlife. I would be able to see them all once again.

     After about two years of mourning, things seemed to go back to normal. Except my father never seemed to be fully with us anymore. He always seemed to be in a distant world. Far from the one all of us lived in. He tried to act normal, but I could tell he was still mourning and every year, on the anniversary of my mother�s death, my father would go for a long walk. He would sometimes be gone for two or three nights, then would wander in smelling strongly of ale, go straight to bed, and the next morning, act as if the night before hadn�t happened. Ten years after my mother died, he left for one of these walks. By the time he had been gone for three days, I expected him back anytime, yet he did not return. All of my older siblings had married and left. I was still there to take care of him, so when he did not return after a week�s time, I went in search of him. If I had known where my siblings were residing, I would have told them what had happened, but I hadn�t heard from any of them in months.

     I found by asking around that my father always went to the tavern before and after these walks. To forget everything, I was sure. To drown out the memories of my mother�s passing. I managed to find out where he walked after leaving the tavern. I followed this trail for a night and through the next day when I finally found him. I found him in the way I had expected, but had hoped against. He was lying in an alley, cold, eyes wide open. It felt like he had been gone for a few days. I noticed some deep puncture wounds on his neck, as though something had bitten him. They had gotten infected, but there was no blood anywhere near him. It seemed that the animal that bit him must have also licked his neck and the surrounding area clean. I looked around where he was lying. It had started to get dark, so all I found in the dirt around him was an empty liqueur bottle, but nothing out of the ordinary. I just took it for what it was; he had drunk himself to death and some animal had bitten him. I collapsed to the ground. How could he have done something like this to me? How could he have just left me like this? Just like my mother. He didn�t think of me at all. He just wanted to drown out his bad memories. What about my bad memories? They will never be washed away. Now, there were more of them to taunt my dreams and keep me awake at night. I laid my head in my hands and sobbed. I had only been there for a few minutes when I heard some shuffling behind me. I stood quickly and turned around, wiping tears from my eyes so I could see better; but still could not make anything out of the shadows. The sun had gone completely down, hindering my vision even further.

     �I have a weapon!� I yelled into the darkness, pulling my makeshift cloak closer around me to aid my bluff. My eyes darted left, right, back again. Nothing but the darkness. I saw something move quickly to my right. I whipped around to see a cat jumping from a garbage can. I sighed a long breath of relief, and turned slowly, keeping my eyes on the cat until the last second. I turned my head, shakily from the dark shadows, and almost fell over backward when I saw someone standing directly in front of me. I took a step back and looked him up and down merely to know who I was looking at. He was very nicely dressed. Looked to be one of the nobles. He just stared at me with a sort of crooked, yet somehow entrancing, grin. He had very thin lips; a long, narrow nose; defined cheekbones; long, dark black hair, as dark as the night sky itself; and the deepest brown eyes I had ever seen. Simply gazing into his eyes put me in a sort of trance. I couldn�t move. I didn�t know whether to scream or smile. Before I had the chance to decide, he spoke to me.

     �Good evening, my child.� He had such a calming voice; it was all I could do to stay alert. The voice did not match the face at all. �And what is a fine woman such as yourself doing out this late� alone?�

     For a moment, I did not know what to say. I was transfixed, staring into his eyes. I realized what I was doing, and took my eyes away from his to slightly bow my head in respect.

     �Nothing, my Lord. I was simply on my way home.� I said quickly, and started to walk past him, until, just as I got right beside him, he placed his arm in my path, stopping me. Just the thought of his arm against my chest made me lose my breath for a moment. My eyes rolled back into my head, then I caught myself gazing up at him again, and threw my head back into a bow.

     �How far do live?� He asked me, in that wonderfully soothing voice.

     �About a day�s walk south of here.� I replied, minding where I was looking. My head kept wanting to look up at him again. He wasn�t much taller than me, so it was rather difficult to keep my eyes down to the ground.

     He eyed me for a moment or two. I could feel his eyes burning into me, studying me, yet I was not afraid. I hadn�t been more comfortable in the presence of another person since before my mother had passed away. �That�s quite a distance,� he finally said, �Why don�t I take you? I have a carriage waiting for me just around the corner, and I�m headed that direction myself.�

     I took his offer, for I wasn�t sure I could make the trip back on foot. I hadn�t brought any food or anything with me for the journey. We walked around the corner and got into his carriage. I was careful to keep my eyes averted from him, while also trying to keep my eyes away from the body of my father. I was quiet most of the way home; however I did ask him one question.

     �Back in the alley,� I started, eyes fixed on my fidgeting hands, �you called me child, yet, if it�s not too bold to say, you do not seem to be far older than I.�

     He chuckled and I couldn�t help but look up at him. How was this remark amusing? I caught myself and looked back down. �I am much older than I appear� was all he said.

     All I could do was look back down at my lap. I could not question him any further than this, or it would be disrespectful, yet I did not understand his remark. How could he be far older than me? His face was so full of youth, his hair so healthy, it was impossible for him to be any older than he seemed.

     We made it to my house, and he asked me if he could come and visit me again sometime. I was a little surprised by this. Why was a noble interested in someone like me? I was just a peasant girl, with no more than one horse and a tiny shack for a house. I was nothing important; no one important. I was just me. Katherine Thatcher. Out of respect, however, I told him that would be fine. I didn�t actually expect him to come at any time, although I would welcome it. I went inside the house, and immediately tried to forget about the mysterious man that had brought me home, whose name I never caught. This should make him easier to forget, however mysterious or handsome he may be.

     I was wrong. Two nights later, I was sweeping just outside my front door, and there he was. No carriage this time. I was quite startled because I hadn�t even seen him coming. I bowed in reverence, and kept my head down. He said, �You do not need to bow to me, young one. I am no one of great importance,� and he placed a finger under my chin to pull my eyes to his.

     I raised my head, and said, �Then why do you dress as a noble, and ride in a carriage?�

     �I have money. That is all. It makes me no more important than you.� He said, in that mesmerizing voice that always seemed to put me into a trance. I could have been perfectly content to stand there all day, listening to him speak, and staring into his gazing eyes.

     I learned this night that he went by the name of Voldair. He did not give me a last name. Just that. We talked for hours. He mostly just asked me questions about myself and my life here; asked me if I had family; talked to me about my siblings; and the death of my mother. He seemed deeply intrigued by my simple life. Yet, when I would ask him something about his life, he would only give me short answers, and move onto me again. This struck me as odd, but as I had not had anyone to really talk to since my closest sibling left, I welcomed the opportunity to share my thoughts on everything.

     Just before sunrise, he said he had to be off. He gave a short bow to me, kissed me hand, and walked into the shadows; disappearing almost as quickly as he had appeared. The intrigue of this man only grew with this meeting. I could not forget his face, his voice, the way he made me feel when he was around. I had never felt anything like this before. Could it be love; after only two meetings? I had no way of knowing. I had never been in love before. I hoped and prayed he would come again, for I longed to be lost in his eyes again.

     My prayers were answered the next night; and the night after. He continued to come to my home every night for the next two weeks. After those two weeks, I still knew almost nothing about him, and he knew everything about me. He would only come at night. I assumed he had very busy days and the only time he had was at night. I didn�t mind. I loved the way his hair shimmered in the moonlight as we would talk all night. These night talks meant more to me than anything I could remember in all my life. I could just escape when he arrived and be one with someone. He made me feel as an equal, not as the peasant girl I was. I could never imagine he even knew what his presence meant to me; until one night, during one of our talks. We went for a walk through the woods just outside my house. He picked a flower off the trail and placed it in my long red hair, smiling at me as if he had just seen the most beautiful thing in the world. There was a long pause as if he had run out of things to talk about, until he finally stopped walking, took me by the hand, faced me toward him, and spoke.

     �Katherine. The past two weeks have been the greatest I can remember.� He played with a strand of my hair as he spoke, and ran on hand down my cheek, making me forget for a moment where I was and what was happening. �I never knew someone could mean as much to me as you do.�

     I was stunned. I didn�t know what to think. The words penetrated my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

     �Why are you crying?� He asked, wiping the tear from my cheek.

     �What you are saying, these words, they go so deep. How can someone like you feel this way about me?� I could not stop crying as I spoke directly into his eyes.

     �Don�t cry, my dear Katherine. Only know I do feel this way. I have fallen in love. For the first time in my life, I care for someone more than life itself. This is not something to be sad about. I love you. I have loved you since the day I met you. That day, I knew I had to talk to you; to know more about you. I had to be around you. Now, I wish to be with you forever. Will you be mine; forever?� He did not move his hand from my cheek for one moment as he proclaimed his feelings to me. I didn�t know what to think. My heart would not stop jumping. I could hear nothing beyond the beating in my chest.

     �Voldair, how can you know this after knowing me only these two short weeks? Do you know me as well as you think?� It was too hard for me to believe someone like him could be in love with me, although I felt the same for him. I only wanted to be with him for the rest of eternity.

     �Yes, I can. I feel as though I have known you a lifetime or more. I have connected with you on such a level; I wish to never be separated from you again. I cannot live without you, Katherine, you must be able to feel this when you touch me,� he placed my hand on his chest, above his pounding heart, �You are my world.� He moved in closer and kissed me. I could not hold back. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him deeper than I ever thought possible. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime, and when it was finished, I tried to speak through my tears.

     �Voldair, since the night I met you, I have been so intrigued by you. When you came to my home that second night, I fell in love. I could not help it. It was as if, you were meant for me; and I for you. It seemed as though we had been together in a previous life, for all eternity, and we were meant to be together again in this life. I did not know it was love until this moment, as you were describing how you felt toward me. Everything you said, everything you feel, and I feel the same. Now I know that it is love.�

     We embraced each other for what seemed like hours; we fit together; there was virtually no open space between our bodies. He pulled back, looked at me, and said, �Come with me; to my home. I will make it our home. We can be together for the rest of eternity; as destiny has willed.�

     All I could do was nod and smile at his warm, inviting face. We went back to my house, packed up my few possessions, and we left. I looked back into the empty space I once called my home. I would never return, and I was more comfortable with this notion than I ever though possible. We walked through the woods, talking the entire way, when we approached a large, white mansion; with large, covered windows, and a beautiful carriage in front that I remembered from the first night I met him. I stopped and just stared up in awe. He smiled and led me by the hand inside, and it was more beautiful inside than it was outside; the tapestries, the beautiful carpets, the gorgeous drapes hanging from the tops of the windows. Everything was perfect; more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. The mansion was more than clean, it was immaculate. I could not believe that anyone with a house such as this could ever fall in love with a lowly peasant girl.

     As I looked around the mansion, a woman; probably a servant, but still dressed better than I; took my bags, and led me up the stairs to what she said would be my room. I walked into the bedroom, and immediately had to stop in my tracks, and take in all of the sights. I walked, touching everything in sight; from the intricately carved doors, to the large wooden dresser, to the beautiful canopy bed. Everything was more perfect than anything in my wildest dreams. I couldn�t believe my eyes. How wonderful to have met someone like Voldair! On the bed, was a dark red flowing evening gown and gloves to match. I looked at the woman that had brought me into the room. �Are these� for me?�

     She simply nodded, bowed, and left the room, closing the large, wooden doors behind her. I looked back at the dress and gloves. It was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in my entire life, let alone anything that I had ever worn. I reached done and ran my fingers along the fine stitching, all the way up the bodice to the intricately beaded neckline, back down the side to the flowing skirt. It was by far the most beautiful thing I had ever seen or felt in my entire life.

     I looked around the room once more and saw a door leading into another room. I walked in, and saw a washbasin and some soap. I cleaned myself up, and just as I was finishing, Voldair came into the room.

     �Are you finding everything to your liking?� He said, smiling.

     �It�s all so wonderful!� Was all I could say. I wanted to say more, but I did not know how to word the feelings I had at that moment in time. I felt as if I was in a dream and I would wake up if I thought about it too much.

     �I�m glad.� He said, smiling still. �Here, put this on.� He picked up the dress and handed it to me. �We are going to be having a wonderful feast in the dining room tonight, to celebrate our union.� He then bowed, and walked out of the room, shutting the doors behind him, much like the woman servant had done not an hour before.

     I got dressed, and went down the stairs. I saw the woman when I reached the bottom of the stairs. �May I ask where the dining room is?� I asked her, feeling rather silly.

     �Yes, M�lady,� she said, bowing, then led me into the dining room, which was only one room away. The room was larger than any of the other room I had seen yet. The table was longer than my entire house, and Voldair was at one end of it. He had a place set right next to him. I walked to the side of Voldair, trying so carefully not to fall in the fancy shoes I had been given. I had never worn anything like them before, and I was having a hard time staying balanced. As I sat next to him, he could see that I was slightly uncomfortable, and asked me, �Katherine? Are you all right? Is this too much for you?�

     �No, I�m fine.� I assured him, smiling and touching his hand. At the touch, he moved his hand slightly, enough to take mine in his. We just stayed like that until our food was brought out. After we had finished eating, he led me into another large room with a fireplace big enough for a fully grown man to stand in, and still have plenty of room. We sat in front of the fireplace, and he put his arms around me.

     He said, �You want to be with me forever, don�t you?�

     �Of course I do. I love you. This is the way it should be,� reaching up to kiss him. Everything seemed so perfect now.

     �Good. This, I am glad to hear, for I wish to be with you forever as well. I�m so very glad I met you, Katherine. Before you, my life was empty; meaningless.� He looked me in the eye and smiled that entrancing smile of his.

     With that, he moved me just slightly, and started kissing my neck. I started to relax in his arms until I felt a piercing feeling on my neck. I winced and tried to move free, but his grip was too much. Why would he tell me these things and bring me here, only to hurt me like this? Tears started streaming down my cheeks, not only from the pain, but also from fear. I did not know what was going on. I couldn�t understand what he would be trying to do to me. I kept trying to struggle free, but after a few minutes, I started feeling faint, and could no longer move. The next thing I knew, the room was going dark. I looked around the room, hoping one of he servants would have heard me trying to break free from his grasp and would come to help me. The wound from my neck was throbbing, and I could still feel him on me. It felt as though he was drinking the blood from the wound. Before I knew it, I could no longer feel my legs. The next thing, I could no longer feel arms, and last, was the wound in my neck. It was throbbing until the very last moment.

     With the little sight I had left, I saw Voldair piercing his wrist, and placing it in my mouth. The warmth from the blood felt as if it could bring the life back in me, so I drank. The more I drank, the more alive I felt. The color was coming back to the room. I could move again. Then, as quickly and mysteriously as it had come; that feeling of being so alive left again. My arms, where I was grasping his arm for my life, went limp. I released Voldair�s arm from my grasp and from my mouth. I could feel the blood running down my face. The room went dark again. The pain left my body, and I was completely numb. I felt my eyes roll back into my head. Then, it was all gone. Everything. Life, light, anything that would make me still feel as though I were alive at all. I was gone.

     Finally, I got the blood cleaned up from my mouth. When would this stop bleeding? How hard had he really hit me? I never imagined a simple man could hit that hard and be so strong. The only way for me to walk from that fight without being killed was to smash his head against the wall hard enough that it would at least knock him out, if not kill him. That thought again; the thought of him dead in the alley. I never wanted to kill him. I never like the thought of death. I don�t like to kill. But it is part of who I am now. That is something I still hadn�t accepted. I couldn�t stand the thought that I had to kill people in order to stay alive.

     I walked into the kitchen, hoping this time the blood wouldn�t start again. I took the milk out of the refrigerator, along with the powdered chocolate from the pantry. For some reason, after a good fight, all I wanted was chocolate. Maybe it�s the sight of blood. That�s how I�ve kept myself from killing nearly as much as I could. Chocolate has been my savior in this part of my life.

     I still could not get my mind off my attacker. Maybe someone had sent him. Someone after Voldair and his followers; perhaps. I couldn�t imagine anyone even knowing where I was, or how I had any kind of connection with Voldair at all. Thoughts of him brought back the memories of when I had first awakened as a vampire, and the shock it had brought to me. The shock of what Voldair had done to me. What he had made me.

     I opened my eyes, wondering how I could. I knew I had died. I knew what it had felt like to be dead. I felt all life leaving my body, and yet, I was able to open my eyes yet again. Maybe it had all been a dream, and this was reality. I looked around the room. It was still Voldair�s mansion. It hadn�t been a dream. However, everything seemed different. The room felt very warm, yet my skin was cold to the touch. I looked at the mantle across the room. There was a fly landing on it. I could look closer without even moving and see each separate wing movement of the fly, as if I was able to slow time itself. I looked up and saw Voldair sitting where he had been sitting when everything had happened. I quickly tried to move away from him, suddenly fearing for my life. What had he done? What had he made me? As I tried to move, I realized how weak I really was at that moment. I could barely lift my arms. I just looked up at him, terrified.

     �Do not fear, Katherine. You are alive, once again. And now you shall live with me for all eternity.� He said this as though it were a normal part of life.

     I looked around the room again, still noticing how different everything seemed. It looked lighter, as if more candles had been lit, but as I glanced around, I could see no other candles. I looked at him again and managed to choke out the questions, �What did you do? What am I?� The wound from my neck no longer hurt, but it felt as if I hadn�t spoken for ages. I was having a hard time simply forming the sounds with my mouth.

     He smiled, stood up, walked over to me, rubbed my check, and said, �Lie still. You should not move for several hours. You need your rest. You have been through a lot this night.�

     I pulled away from his hand and said once again, hoping this time to actually get an answer, �What have you done?�

     He sat next to me, smiled faded, and said, �You are a vampire. I have drained you of your blood, and fed you mine. Your mortal life is over, yet your immortal life is just beginning. You have been dead for about an hour. Now, your life has returned, but you are different now. You are one of us. You are just like me. There are things you must understand now that you have been made.�

     �Been made? You say this as if you are my creator. Is that what you have done? You are a monster that has created a monster?� I couldn�t believe the way he was talking to me. As if he were God and I were his creation.

     He was still just as calm as he has ever been. He said, �We are not monsters. We are unique. We feed on life and strive on death. You are far more powerful than you ever have been or ever would have been in life. This will take you some time to come to grips with, so I will take you to your room to rest. We will talk more later when you have more energy.�

     He then picked me up off the floor and carried me to my room. I couldn�t struggle. I hardly had enough energy to move, let alone try to break free from his grip, which had proved to be considerable. He laid me on the bed, and walked out of the room, saying �We will talk later,� just before he shut the doors. I immediately fell asleep.

     What I thought was a few hours later, I got out of the bed. Even the few candles in this room that would make it seem very dim to anyone else was too bright to me. I blew out all of the candles, and the room still seemed very well lit. If I had done this a few hours ago, before everything had happened, the room would have been pitch black. I would not have been able to see anything. I knew something had changed in me. At this point, I didn�t know if this was a good change, or a change for the worst. I went downstairs, into the room where it all happened, and saw Voldair still sitting in front of the fire.

     He heard me walk in the room, stood up, and faced me. �Ah, good; you�re awake. And you look very well rested. Now we can talk about the changes you have undergone.� He motioned for me to sit next to him. I sat in a chair across from where he was motioning. He closed his eyes, slightly bowed his head, and sat back down.

     �First tell me. Why did you do this?� I wanted to know why he would have made a monster out of someone he said he was in love with.

     �We wanted to be together for all eternity. With you as a mortal, this would not have been possible. I had to change you. I had to change you into what I am. That is the only way we could be together.� He looked at me, as if waiting for a response. I didn�t know what to say, so I just looked back at him. He continued, �I love you. I cannot live my life without you. It would have ripped my heart right out of my chest to see you age and die and I stay the way I am; the way I have been for over two hundred years. I would not be able to handle that. I have never felt this way about a mortal before. I have never �made� another. You, however, I had to be with you. I had to change you. I had to �make� you. I had to be with you forever. This is what you wanted. You wanted to be with me; did you not?�

     I was stunned. He had said he wanted to be with me forever, but this was not what I had expected. �Yes, but; this is not what I thought you meant. I love you, Voldair, but this might be more than I can handle.�

     �I understand your confusion at this crossroads, and I hope, with a little help from me, you can get used to it, and learn to love this way of life.� His eyes seemed to brighten every time he said the word �life�. This life seemed to be so important to him. �There are many things I must teach you. There are reasons for everything that I have done up to this point. Reasons I didn�t come to see you during the day. Reasons you will not find a single mirror in my home. Reasons for all of this. I hope that you will be able to understand these reasons, and be able to live with them. We can be together, Katherine. Don�t you see? This is what we wanted. This is our perfect life together!� He said, emphatically gesturing around the room.

     The next few nights were a challenge. I stayed in my quarters most of the time. I could not stand to look at him. I did not know him like I thought I did. He was someone completely different than the man I knew and loved. The only time I really saw him was when he would bring me a glass of blood, which I couldn�t stand to drink. It made my stomach churn thinking of what I was putting into my body. I was growing weak from malnutrition.

     �Katherine, you must drink,� Voldair said, coming into my room. �You�re energy is waning. Soon, you will not be able to even move. You must drink something.� He tried to hand me a glass. I grimaced and pushed it away. �Please, my dear. I beg of you. You may not like this life yet, but you must drink something or you will wither away. You cannot die this way, but you will wish you could. Please; drink.�

     I just looked at him and looked away. He set the glass on the bedside table, stood for a moment, hoping that I would say something. He took in a breath as if wanted to say one thing more, then lowered his eyes to the floor and walked out. I stared at the ceiling for a moment, and finally, being able to smell the blood from the goblet, I rolled over on the bed, picked up the glass, and drank. It felt so warm running down my throat into my stomach. It tasted so much better than I could ever have imagined. I finished the glass, and licking my lips, left my room for more.

     I found Voldair in the dining room, head down and buried in his hands. At the sound of me entering the room, he raised his head, and walked over to me. His eyes and cheeks were reddened. He had been crying.

     �Are you all right?� I asked him as he approached me.

     �I�ll be fine. Are you all right?� He put one hand on either of my arms, and looked me in the eyes, seeming genuinely concerned. My knees weakened beneath me. I knew this is what I needed, and after my first glass, I was willing to accept it. I looked up at him and said, �I want more.� As if the words were too much, I felt dizzy and fell to the ground. Voldair caught me, and yelled to the kitchen, �Bring me a pint!�

     A few moments later, the cook brought out another glass of blood. This time the glass was a lot larger than the last. Still in the dining room, sitting on the floor now, I took the glass and drank every last drop. Immediately I started to feel better.

     �The color is returning to your face, my love.� Voldair started to cry once again, and brushed my cheek.

     I looked up him, wiped the tear, and said �Why are you crying?� Much like the first time he had seen me cry.

     This made him cry more. He said, �I am so happy to see you doing so much better. I was worried for you. I was worried you hated me; hated me for making you like this. I wouldn�t have been able to live with myself if what I had done had made you hate me. I haven�t slept since your health started waning. I haven�t been able to. I�m crying because you are smiling at me, and stroking my cheek again. This touch means everything to me.�

     Once I could stand again, we went into the room with the large fireplace and sat in front of it, just as we had the night it all had happened. We had some things we needed to discuss.

     �Let me start with the most important things.� He walked over to the window. �You cannot die by starvation, this is true. But other things can kill you. A wooden stake through the heart; beheading; fire; and sunlight. A crucifix will not kill you, but it is dangerous to be around. They burn as a hot coal would burn a mortal. Also, one thing you must get used to is blood. We need this to survive. This does not mean all of the blood from a single person. This just means that we need some blood to keep us alive. Some vampires drink all of the blood out of a single person and only do this three times a week, and they are able to stay alive this way. Some of us, such as myself, do not like to do this because it takes away the life of an innocent.�

     �And what do you call what you did to me? Was that not taking away the life of an innocent? Now I must live for all eternity in this form, drinking the life from others to keep myself alive. I do not call this a life.� I was still very angry that he had done this to me without my consent. I still did not know how I felt about it, but I wished he had gotten my permission before taking my life and turning me into whatever I was now.

     �I was giving you our life together. That is was you said you had wanted.�

     �Not like this!� I could feel my anger rising, and with only having a little to drink since I had been changed, I had to stop for a moment to calm myself down before I passed out from the energy exertion.

     His soft look faded, and with a much firmer look than I had ever seen on him, he said, �I am sorry you are not happy with the way things are. You are what you are now, whether you like it or not. I did this for us! I did this for you! I wanted us to be together forever. This was the only way! Now, whether you want to accept it or not, this is who you are. You are going to have to accept that, and there is nothing I can do or say to help you in dealing with this.� He stormed out of the room, leaving me quite dumbfounded. He had never acted like that before. I felt as though it were my fault. I should have been calmer about the way I had approached things. But still, I was angry. I went to my room, and stayed there for a few more nights.

     Three times every day, the servant girl would bring me a tall glass of blood. I would drink it to stay healthy, and send the glass back down with her. I never left my room. I didn�t want to run into him again until we had both had the proper amount of time to cool down. We had both gotten far more upset than we should have, and we were both too stubborn to admit it.

     After it had been a week since I had seen Voldair, I went downstairs into the dining room to see if I could find him. He was not there. I wandered all throughout the house looking for him. He was no where. I asked the girl if she had seen him.

     �He left two days ago on a ride with his horse, M�lady. He won�t be back for another few days. He does this often, when he has a lot on his mind. Don�t worry, Miss. He�ll be back.� She assured me, and continued with her daily chores.

     For the next couple of days, I wandered more around the house, seeing what else I could see that I hadn�t seen before. There were so many rooms in this mansion; I was surprised I had not gotten lost, wandering as much as I had. I started to get very lonely. He had been gone for over a week. I hadn�t seen him for nearly a week before that point, and we had parted on very bad terms. I missed him more than I thought I would, being as angry as I was with him. I needed to talk to him. I needed his help getting used to this new me, as it were.

     I felt as though I had gotten to know the entire mansion inside and out by the time he got back from his ride. When he arrived home, he went straight to his room. He did not see me standing in the dining room, watching him come in. I followed him to his room. The doors were closed. I knocked on the doors, and waited for him to answer.

     He came to the door, looking very ragged indeed. He looked as though he hadn�t stopped once to rest for his entire ride. �Have you not had anything to drink? Have you not rested?� I asked him, helping him to his bed.

     �No. I have been thinking. I have lost my appetite these last few days.� I laid him down on his bed, carefully making sure he was comfortable.

     �I�m going to get you something to drink. You have lost a lot of health. I will return.� I said, kissing his forehead, and walked out the giant double doors. I walked down into the kitchen and got a glass of blood. I brought it back up to him, and saw him standing in front of his open window.

     �What are you doing?� I asked him, placing the glass down, and rushing over. �You are nearly out of energy, and the sun is about to rise!� I took him by the arm and led him back to his bed. I helped him lie down, then walked over and shut the drapes.

     �Why should I live?� He said, seeming very melancholy.

     �What?� I asked. How could he say such things? What had happened on this ride he took?

     �I have turned you into a monster like me. You don�t know the terrible things I have done. I do not want you to do the same. I should not have put you through this. It was my own selfish desires that made you what you are. I wanted to be with you forever; without care of what it would do to you; to your life. My love,� he rolled over and took my hands in his. �I am sorry.�

     �I am learning to be okay with what I am now, Voldair. With your help, I will be fine. I will learn to survive without killing others. I will be okay.� I tried to reassure him, but he just shook his head.

     �No. No. I�m not saying I�m sorry for that alone. I know you will do fine. You are learning. I can see that. I am sorry for what I have done.� He sat up in bed, let go of my hands, and covered his face.

     I pulled back slightly, my heart sinking. �What have you done, Voldair? What are talking about?�

     He looked back up at me with tears welling in his eyes. �I am the monster�I�m the one that killed your father.� I gasped, and stepped back, shaking my head and covering my mouth, unable to believe what I was hearing. I couldn�t even breath. �That night you found him, I was back to the alley to pick up the mess I had left and I found you. I couldn�t tell you that I was the reason you were an orphan. I couldn�t do such a thing to such a beautiful young girl.�

     �No,� I said, shaking my head in disbelief, �It can�t be true. Voldair, please�tell me it�s not true. Tell me you didn�t�� I started to cry as he just covered his face again. The images of my father in the alley came back to my mind. I remembered the puncture wounds in his neck. I remembered how I had not found a single drop of blood near him. I remembered right after, running into Voldair. I broke down. I couldn�t handle it. How could the one man I have ever loved have done such a thing and kept it from me? I knelt on the floor, sobbing, not able to move.

     �Katherine, please. I�m sorry�� I could feel Voldair putting his hand on my shoulder. I shoved him away.

     �Get away from me.� I said, looking up at him through my tears. �How could you keep something like that from me? I don�t even know you anymore.� I stood up, tears streaming down my face, and ran out the doors; leaving Voldair alone in his room, standing where I was crouched on the floor, tears now running down his face as well. I looked back after leaving the room and saw him collapse on the floor, much the way I had. I watched for a moment, watched his chest trembling through the sobs. I had to get out. I had to leave.

     I ran out of the mansion, trying to see through my tears, and ran all the way back to my house. I ran inside and slammed the door. I fell onto my old, rickety bed and cried until I couldn�t cry anymore. I must have cried myself to sleep because I don�t remember stopping. I had trusted him, and he had betrayed that trust. But I still loved him so.

     The sound of an emergency announcement broke into my thoughts. There was a news bulletin about a murder in an alley way not far from where I was. I listened closely. They weren�t talking about what I had done, so what else was there?

     I walked into the living room and watched the news woman telling what was left of the story, �the murderer is still on the loose. Police have no leads, but we will keep you posted on any information we can get. Please be advised the police are in this area and do not want any one in the vicinity until more information can be obtained. Back to you, Jill.�

     �Thanks, Anne. The body was found in an alley just south of the Crossroads Mall in downtown Salt Lake City. The victim was found with two puncture wounds on the right side of the neck, and was completely drained of his blood. It seemed as though he was an employee of a local restaurant just taking out the trash, and was caught by surprise. His attacker left nothing for police to use as evidence, not even a single drop of blood. We�ll keep you posted when we hear anything about this brutal murder. Tune in to the ten o�clock news for more information. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program. �

     With that, the television went back to the show it was on to begin with.

     �Great.� I thought to myself. �Another vampire.� I had to find out who this vampire was, and what they were doing in my town. I had been the only one in Salt Lake since I had come in 1986. Other vampires knew of my reputation, and left this place alone. What was this vampire thinking, coming into my territory? First, the man that was trying to kill me; now this. What else can go wrong?

     I thought too soon. Just as I was thinking things could not be worse, there was a knock on the door.

     I heard from the other side, a man yelling, �I know it was you, Donnie! I�ll find you out! Just you wait! Donnie! Answer this door! Donnie! I�m warning you! I�ll get the cops over here to bust the door down!�

     I walked over to the door, rolling my eyes, �Go away, Melvin!� Melvin was the man from next door. If I hadn�t sworn off killing innocent people a few years ago, he wouldn�t have stood a chance. I opened the door to see him; the fat, balding man, wearing a dirty wife beater and horrid lounge pants. The same thing he wore everyday. Sure, he never left his house, aside from the time he spent bothering me on a daily basis.

     �Donnie, I know it was you. One of these days, they�ll find you out! I swear it!� He was shaking his finger at me, while stuffing his face with a drumstick with his free hand. It really was disgusting watching him. Often, I would think of maybe making an exception and just offing him. Not drain him of course, too fatty. Just kill him to rid myself of the annoyance.

     I wiped a piece of chicken that had flown onto my face from his spattering, and said, �When did they say on the news this happened, Melvin?� He stopped for a minute to think. I answered my own question before he could. �Less than an hour ago. Does it look like I�ve been anywhere in the past hour?� I pointed out, gesturing at my t-shirt, baggy shorts, robe and slippers. He just looked at me in disgust.

     �One of these days, Donnie. Just you wait.� And he walked away.

     I yelled down the hall after him, �Okay Melvin. But if they come after me, I�m telling them you were my sex slave and you were in on it all along!� I laughed and closed the door, listening to him mumbling the whole way back to his apartment.

     I turned the television off and sat back down on the sofa. I had plenty of things going through my head to get my mind off the man that attacked me in the alley. I didn�t need the television. I laid back, relaxed and let the thoughts of my past slip back into my mind.

     I woke up in my own home after crying myself to sleep. I realized it was very bright, and then I realized why I had woken up. My foot was on fire! It had been sitting in the sunlight! I jumped out of the bed, threw the bedding on my foot to put out the fire, and carefully, but quickly shut the drapes. They were tattered and torn, and this was something I was going to have to fix if I was going to stay here for any amount of time.

     I looked around my humble abode. Things were definitely homely compared to how I was living at Voldair�s mansion. The drapes were moth-eaten and falling apart; there was no furniture aside from the bed I was laying on to sleep; I wasn�t even sure if the stove was trust-worthy at all, not that it really mattered much after what had happened to me. I looked into the room where my mother had died. The memories flooded my mind like a city in a valley when a damn is destroyed. I could think of nothing but my family. I collapsed to the floor and sobbed.

     After what seemed like hours, I went into one of the rooms in my old run-down home. There was a mirror on the wall. I knew I did not have a reflection, but I looked at it all the same. Nothing there. That�s how my life felt now. Voldair had raped me out of my entire life; out of everything that meant anything to me. He had killed my father. And he had kept it from me. He knew what he had done, yet he continued to see me and allow me to fall in love with him. He told me what he had done, and it was as if he had taken my heart from my chest and stomped on it. I never wanted to see him again. I hoped he had reopened the curtain that I had closed when he got home and let himself be burned alive by the light. But then, at the same time, I hoped he hadn�t. I hoped I could see him again and work all of this out. I hoped we could make it work once more. I was in love with him. He had made me. We had a very strong connection because of that. I would be linked to him for all eternity. I could feel him. I knew he hadn�t been burned alive. I could feel his desire for me. I could feel his desire to make things right. He knew what he had done, and he wished he could change it. I could feel that. I could feel him. I didn�t want to. I wanted to make the connection stop. I never wanted to feel him again. But there it was; forever. Just like he had wanted it. It would never go away. I got so angry with him again, I smashed the mirror with my fist, throwing glass everywhere and slicing my hand open. As a natural instinct, I put my bleeding hand into my mouth. This reminded me how hungry I was. I couldn�t go out yet, but I would when it got dark.

     When the sun went down, I went out in search of something to eat; or drink, rather. I knew I needed something, and I refused to drain the life out of someone, as good as it may feel and as good as it would taste. I refused to be like him. To take away someone�s father; or mother, sister, brother, friend. It didn�t matter. Everyone has someone. And everyone is someone to someone else. I refused to take that away from anyone. I didn�t have the right. No one did. Not even Voldair, even if he thought he did. I knew still in the depths of my soul that he really didn�t think he had the right. He must have been hungry, and my father seemed like a drunk with no family or friends. But I wouldn�t allow myself to justify it for him. He still should have at least told me. That, I feared, I would never forgive him for.

     I lived for many years after that off the blood of rats, mice, stray cats and dogs. It wasn�t until the early 1900�s in New York City when I finally had my first taste of human blood.

     I was at a bar one night. A man came up to me and tried picking up on me. I needed something to drink, so I cooperated. We went for a walk in central park. He started getting fresh with me and lead me to his apartment. I started kissing his neck. As I was kissing him, I bit. I couldn�t help it. His vein was there, throbbing, tempting me. With my vampire senses, I could see the blood pulsing, I could hear it through the skin, it was calling to me. I drank his essence. I remembered something Voldair told me. We need this to survive. This does not mean all of the blood from a single person. This just means that we need some blood to keep us alive. I decided I would just have some of him. Not all. The taste was so wonderful, draining down my throat into my stomach, filling me with such warmth. I felt so powerful. He tried pushing free from my grasp, and I didn�t even have to try very hard to hold him still. I was so strong. I had a human life in my hands. I finished him off. I drank every last drop of his life. I had never had blood straight from a human before. I could feel it bringing the life back into me. I didn�t mean to drain him completely, but now that I had, I wanted more. I was finished with the rats and street animals. I wanted rich, life-giving, human blood. And I wanted as much as I could get.

     I didn�t care who they were. I didn�t care what family they had. Once they were in my clutches, they were mine, and no one else�s. No one else existed at that point. Life was meaningless to me. I drained between three to seven mortals a week. I couldn�t get enough. I couldn�t stop. I didn�t want to stop. They usually begged for life before I was finished. I got a sort of high off this. It made me feel more powerful when they knew I had complete control over their life. It got so far that I loved torturing them. I wanted to hear them beg for death. I would drain them almost completely, to the point of no return. They were in death�s clutch. They could feel it. I would drop them with only enough blood to survive a couple of hours. They would beg me to kill them as I walked away, leaving them to death�s design.

     I don't really remember any of my victims. They were all nameless, faceless victims. All except one. One man in particular etched himself into my memory. To this day, his face is burnt into my mind.

     The year was 1967. My usual victims were the homeless hippies with no family or friends. No one to even notice they were gone. They were just the easiest. I was wondering through Central Park one night and saw one such man. About 45 years old; long, messy hair and beard; over-sized tie-died t-shirt; too-long pants; and bare feet; smoking a joint. I took a look around, making sure there was no one around to see him die. There was a couple in the park. I would have to wait for them to leave. He was sitting on a bench, so I walked up and sat next to him.

     "Nice night, don't you think?" He said, looking to the sky, which ironically enough, looked like a storm was coming in.

     "Yes. Nice night." I said, semi-rolling my eyes at his spaced-out state. I was really tired of the hippie era. All the new-agers thinking the world should be peaceful. Everyone should hold hands and sing all across the globe. Never going to happen.

     He took a puff from his joint, and looked at me while holding the breath in his lungs. His eyes were deeply sunken from the years of protesting. The look in his deep blue eyes said that he himself was tired of the whole scene.

     "How long you been around?" He asked me after getting his fill from the smoke in his lungs.

     "What do you mean? Around New York?" I questioned, very confused.

     "No. I mean, around. You have a very old soul. I can see it. You're sick of life. Or is it, you're sick of death?" He raised an eyebrow at me, as if doing so would allow him to see into my soul.

     I wasn't sure what to say. What could he have been getting at? I just stared at him, with a quizzical look on my face.

     "I know what you are. I've seen your kind before. He was... sadder than you, however. Quite a bit sadder. He was going to feed on me, but my wife came in the room before he could. He looked at the fear in her eyes and couldn't do it. He started to cry," speaking of such things brought tears to the old man's eyes, "he looked back at me, 'Take care of her,' he told me, 'or one day, she may be gone forever,' then he left. I haven�t seen any of your kind since." He turned and looked back to the sky.

     "Where is your wife now?" I asked, not really sure why I was so intrigued.

     "She passed away about two years ago; cancer." His eyes left the sky and pointed straight to the ground below. I could see he was trying to cover the fact that he was crying.

     "I'm sorry to hear that." I looked away from him for the first time since I had sat down. I knew the meaning of loss. I knew how it felt.

     "I'll never forget the man's eyes. So deep. So full of emotion. As the tears welled up, the brown just seemed to go deeper and deeper." Brown eyes? Deep brown eyes? My heart was clenching in my chest. Could it be? Voldair? "He must have lost someone very dear to him. He looked so worn. I know the look. I was there two years ago when I lost my wife. His long black hair so ratted. May not have been washed for a few days." He sat and thought for a moment, then looked back at me. I looked at him with tears in my eyes now. It had to be Voldair he was speaking of.

     The old man looked deep into my eyes. He squinted slightly and said, "It's you,� as if reaching an epiphany. "He lost you... So many years ago." I couldn't take any more of these words. I looked around. The couple was gone.

     �Look, old man. I have no idea what you�re talking about.� Then, I bit. I don't think I even thought about the warm fluid seeping into my stomach. My mind was on Voldair. Could it be? Could he still be alive? Could he be in New York? How could this have been possible? I drained the man completely without even flinching. He didn't fight. I could only assume he was tired of life itself. Tired of living. He was ready to face death. To face the inevitable. I needed to do the same. I needed to face the man that made me what I am. I had to find Voldair.

     What this old man told me should have stopped me from my feeding frenzy, but I was still hooked. I couldn't stop. I went in search of Voldair, feeding on my way. I didn't even know where to start. I didn't even know how long ago the man was speaking of. I knew it had to have been at least two years ago, but when? I wasn�t even sure he was talking about New York, but I had to start somewhere.

     My search had turned nothing up after a few weeks. I could find nothing out about Voldair. No one had even seen him since that man encountered him at least two years ago. However, I kept up my search. I had to find him, if he was still around

     One fateful night during my searches, I was wondering down an alley way, looking for someone to drain. I was craving something young, so I was near a McDonald's close to where I was living at the time. I saw many families going in and out of the restaurant. Large families with a mother, father, two to three children; small families with only one parent and a child; even some single adults; all walks of life.

     One family in particular caught my attention. There was a middle-aged mother, what looked to be a younger boyfriend or husband, and a teenage son. The younger adult looked to be only a few years older than the teenage boy, so couldn't possibly have been his father. The woman looked to be in her early 40's and very worn down. She looked like she had seen her share of life and death. The son looked like any other teenage kid would look. But it was the younger adult that caught my eye. As they entered the restaurant, he glanced around; over his shoulder, behind them, everywhere; as if looking out for something...or someone.

     I decided to follow them in and keep an eye on the young man. He moved as if anxious about something; as if wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. Despite his attempts at leaving, they purchased their meals to stay and sat down. Interestingly, he didn't purchase anything, and he was still watching over his shoulder. I ordered some fries and sat down. Fries were not my favorite food, but I had to get something to look less conspicuous. I sat behind them and to the side so I could keep my eye on him. The entire time they were sitting, the young man's leg was jumping and his eyes were darting around the restaurant and outside

     They finished their food and walked out the door. He walked between the mother and son with his arms around each of their waists to hurry them. I threw the remainder of my fries away and followed them out into the alley. I looked around the corner I had seen them turn down. Not there. I walked down the alley and heard just what I was hoping for. Screaming coming from the mother. I followed the sounds to find the younger man feeding on the son. He dropped the boy once he was fully drained, and lunged after the mother who was now running down the alley right toward me. I remember thinking how fun this could be. I had never fought another vampire before. I threw my arm out in front of her and said, "Hold it. You'll wanna stay for this part," smiled, and shoved her to the ground. Then glared directly to the young man. My smile faded, and I cocked my head to the side. "You new?" I asked, walking toward him.

     He stepped back a little, kind of thrown off by my stepping into his dance. "What?" he asked, eyes darting around for an escape; all to no avail.

     I walked closer to him, "You're jittery. You don't look like you really know what you're doing." I was speaking with such confidence, I was sure I was making him terribly uncomfortable, which was exactly my plan. "So I just want to know. Are you new? When were you...made?"

     "Doesn't matter. I know what I'm doing," his eyes were still darting, but he seemed like he was trying to look more intimidating.

     "Really?" I chuckled, and walked slightly faster toward him. I stopped moving a few feet from where he was standing. My smile faded. "Prove it," I said, and attacked.

     I grabbed him by his shoulders and before he could react, I threw him into the wall to my left, then kind of circled around him, taunting him. He regained his composure and came at me. It seemed his technique was to tackle me like we were playing football, but I dodged out of his grasp.

     "I thought you knew what you were doing? Come on, Sparky! Prove it!" I called him on, hoping he would give me some kind of a workout.

     He came at me once again, and this time I let him grapple me, just so I could see what he could do. He tackled me to the ground and tried slugging me a couple of times. I was far too fast for him. Every time he slugged, I dodged out of the way, so he kept hitting the ground so hard that he was breaking the concrete below us. After he had thrown a few punches, I pulled my legs up to my chest and slammed my feet against him, throwing him high into the air. I threw myself up and walked to the area he would be landing in, and when he got about three feet above the ground, I spun around, kicking him as hard as I could, causing him to fly into the garbage in the alley. As he was trying to get up, I noticed a broken wooden chair next to him. He must have seen me look at it, because he looked at me and his eyes darted directly to his left, right at the chair. He jumped up, grabbed a leg of the chair and broke it off. His back was turned toward me long enough for me to get right behind him. The instant he turned around, I grabbed him by the throat with my left hand and lifted him into the air. He was caught very much by surprise, and grabbed my left hand with his right. His left hand was still holding the leg of the chair. I reached with my right hand and took it from him.

     "Too bad you have to leave so soon. I was beginning to have fun," I said, smiling. I then let the smile fade as I shoved the leg of the chair straight into his heart. "Goodbye, Sparky." With that, he dusted in my hands. What a rush! I had never killed my own kind before, and I loved it! However, it did make me rather hungry. I stood there for a moment, letting the rush fill my veins. I shook my head, as if being a wet dog trying to get the water off, then shook my shoulders. I smiled widely and turned slowly toward the woman. I walked over to where she was laying in the rubbish, throwing the piece of wood to the ground on my way.

     She stood up, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She said with tears in her eyes. She came right over to me and threw her arms around me in a thankful hug.