Blood Roses

They call us evil, bloodthirsty, inhuman. But then, they have always feared what they cannot understand. We never asked to be created. We never asked to be made so dependent on humans. We hide in the shadows, never able to venture out into the light, and we have kept ourselves secret by not being what they call us. If we were evil bloodthirsty creatures, we would be found and destroyed. Humans cannot accept other creatures on what they call "their" world. We have been here as long as they have. This world is ours just as much as it is theirs. But they do not like to admit that there are things they cannot explain, so they make us into legends and fairy-tales.
And we survive. We destroy any of our kind who act as they do in the humans' storybooks, killing wantonly, and leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. It would only take one vampire to be found, one to be captured, and shown to the humans as hard, undeniable proof, and our existence would be doomed. Just one. So we destroy those who do not care for the rest of our race, do not care if they are discovered. We are stubborn; we vampires, and we will do whatever it takes to survive. But we are not the cold, unfeeling creatures of myth. We were human once, and we still retain part of our human nature. We feel, we care, we have passions and desires. We are not apathetic, coldhearted beings who live only for blood. The bloodlust controls us, but it does not consume us.
I have loved before. Love is strange for vampires. Whatever we do, we do with an almost fanatical drive, we are obsessive. Thus, I loved, not wisely, but too well.

She first appeared at a concert in the city of Chicago. My mother, Aulanira, noticed something strange about her during the intermission, and ordered my brothers and I to observe her. She sent me to find myself in the seat next to her, and to see if I could find out more about her. I did not know what my mother thought so intriguing about her until she came and sat beside me, smiling slightly as I watched her. When she took her seat, and her shoulder brushed mine, I had to steel myself to keep from fleeing. Within her was an energy that burned me, but left no mark. It was power unlike any I have ever felt before. It was like the flow of life that ebbs in human veins, but so much more. What exactly it is, I am still unsure, but I knew that it could destroy me in a moment.
She smiled at me, rather innocently, and I took some comfort in that she was seemingly unaware of the apprehension I felt being near her. I started a conversation with her, introducing myself as Roland DeShane, the name I had in life. She seemed very eager to talk and laugh with me about the concert, remarking that I was much more fun than the man who had been previously sitting near her. Her name was Althariel, a name I thought reminiscent of the first light of dawn, light I have not seen for over a century. She had dark skin and an exotic beauty to her, one that was unlike that which makes women beautiful, yet surpassing it somehow. I used my best gift, my silver tongue, to set her at ease and flatter her into thinking me harmless. It seemed to be working, and intermission ended soon. The next performer took the stage, and all was quiet. He was a strange looking man, and he held only a violin. He had no accompaniment, just him, and this violin that struck me as strange somehow. He put the violin to his shoulder, and the bow to the violin. He struck one note, and the entire audience was transfixed. Then, as he began to play, I felt this energy wash over me. It was the very soul of music, which danced gently over my own before immersing me in its beauty and serenity. Music such as I have never heard it, before or after. I felt as if my soul would break under the strain of this wonderful sound. I could feel those around me as they too came under the influence of the music. Many cried, unable to withstand the emotion awoken in them. But alone out of the crowd was Althariel untouched. She looked about at the rest of the crowd, seeming to be unable to understand their emotion. And yet, I could sense she heard the music's splendor as well, and somewhere she took the music into her spirit, but it was stronger than any other's here, and could withstand that beauty. She noticed my hands clutching the arms of my seat, and smiled at me, seeming to be amused by my reaction. I could not speak, for I felt as if my heart would overflow with the passion of the music.
The violinist ended his song, and the entire audience sat stunned, for nearly five minutes. Then, slowly, they started to clap, and the theater ran with the thunderous applause this man invoked. He left the stage, ignoring calls for an encore, and when I turned to Althariel, she was leaving as well, making her way up the center aisle, out of the theater.
I followed her, but she had eluded me, and I could not find her anywhere near the theater. I stood on the steps, cursing myself for losing sight of her, when who should walk out of the theater, but my mother, with both Althariel, and the strange man who had played such stirring music. Althariel smiled at me rather shyly, seeming to apologize for wandering off. After hearing that music, everything that was beautiful had seemed to pale in remembrance, but Althariel still looked as she did before, with an exotic beauty unlike any I had seen. Aulanira told my brothers and I to make our way home, that she had invited both Althariel, and the man, who was named Shardak, to dinner. I wanted to protest, to go with and learn more of this enigmatic woman, but among vampires, an elder's word is law. I left, and made my way to our home, to wait.
Later that night, I was surprised to hear that my mother had returned, and brought both Althariel and Shardak with her. They were to spend the night in our manor, as they had both accepted Aulanira's invitation to stay and converse with her more. While they were being shown to their rooms, she told me that there was something very peculiar about both of them. They seemed to know each other, and it was obvious to her that they were both hiding something. She told me to wait and listen outside the drawing room to their conversation.
Althariel and this man named Shardak both came downstairs, seemingly unworried about being here. I wondered what they were both hiding. After a few minor pleasantries, I excused myself. Before I left, I took Althariel's hand and kissed it, a gesture she seemed unused to, but as my lips touched her fingers, they burned. Again, I was made keenly aware of the energy inside this mysterious woman that seemed to be made of Life itself. I hurried away, my lips still aflame.
Once out of the room, I looked in a mirror to see if I truly had been burned. Again, there was no mark upon me, and the pain had faded, but I could still feel it, as if I had been kissed too hard by an exuberant lover. Slowly the feeling faded completely, and I moved to sit near the door to the drawing room, to listen to the conversation within.
As usual, Aulanira got straight to the point. She knew that Shardak had used some sort of magic to enthrall the crowd so, and she wished to know exactly what he was. I think she thought him one of the Illuminati, powerful magi who had come from another world, and once tried to enslave this one. No one knew who they were, or indeed, anything about them, except that they were both evil and powerful. Eventually, she became satisfied that neither of them were Illuminati, and wished to know what they were. Althariel seemed rather nervous and unsure during the entire conversation, but finally they both disclosed who they were. They were from another world, like the Illuminati, but they were something that the Illuminati were not. They were not human. They were of an ancient and magical race that was near immortal, and they wielded magic unlike any here on Earth. I could not see what they were doing, of course, but they must have showed Aulanira some type of proof, for I knew that if she did not believe them, she would have become enraged and thrown them out of her home. My mother will not tolerate those who tell falsehoods.
They talked long into the night, telling of their home, and of who and what they were. After they had finally retired, I waited until I was sure Althariel was asleep, and slipped into her room. I didn't know exactly why, for I had no intent of harming her in the least. I stood and watched her as she slept. After a long while, I was shaken from my thoughts by shouts downstairs. I left her room, and ran to see what was happening.
It was as I feared. A clan of rival vampires had chosen this night, of all nights, to attempt to attack us in our home. We drove the first few out, and as soon as I could, I hurried to Althariel's room to warn her. She was awake, and I begged her to stay in her room, lest she be harmed. She agreed, or so it seemed. As I made my way back downstairs, I was attacked by one of the loathsome traitors who had been sent to assassinate us. As I fought him, the strange mage, Shardak appeared, and casted some type of magic that tore great wounds in the other vampire. He told that vampire to run, and take all his vile friends with him, before he found himself a pile of dust. He did, and Shardak followed him down to the front foyer, where Aulanira, my brothers, and others of my clan were fighting. As I watched, Shardak destroyed one of our enemies with a great rent of lighting that tore through him, and the wall behind him. As the battle stopped, most in fear of the power this man wielded, everyone saw another of the enemy suddenly writhe, and then crumble to dust, and then another. Those remaining fled out the door, to where their companions were still fighting outside with those of my clan.
We heard Althariel's voice ordering us all to get into the house. She sounded much more sure of herself than she had the night before. As we obeyed, she appeared, floating in the air above the courtyard, and the other enemy vampires. She was holding a golden sword too bright to look at. She swung it in a circle around her head, and it started to glow brighter. Suddenly, a great shaft of sunlight shone out of the sword, falling upon those of the traitorous clan that were left, and turning them to dust as surely as if the sun had risen. Afterward, there was nothing but silence.
A moment later, Shardak ordered everyone off to go and do something constructive. Aulanira echoed his words, and we all left the room. I went to my room, to ponder on what I had just seen. Shardak had wielded magic more powerful than I had ever seen. And it was possible that the effects of his music had been magic as well. I was slightly disappointed at that last thought, for I had hoped that I could replicate just an inkling of that awe and wonder in some art that I was skilled in. I had been a playwright when I was still human, and I still wrote plays sometimes, always searching for that perfect story, and perfect combination of words. I wanted, just once, to have created something that would move an audience to tears, like that ethereal music had.
Dawn was coming, and I went to the window at the end of the long entrance hallway. It faced east, toward the rising sun. I pulled the heavy curtains back, and watched as the dark sky grew lighter. I stepped to the side, just moments before the first ray of sunlight fell through the window. I looked down the hallway, and saw Althariel standing behind me.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
I turned to her and smiled wryly. "This is the only part of the day I am ever able to see. I have not missed watching it in many years."
She looked out the window for a moment, and then nodded in understanding. "It must be hard to never be able to see the sun again." She moved in front of the window, the thin ray of sunlight flashing across her face, and closed the heavy curtains.
"I am sorry that I could not tell you what we were sooner. I did not wish to lie to you." I said.
She chuckled softly and looked at me. Her eyes held mine as she said softly, "Roland, I knew what you were the moment I saw you."
I blinked in surprise, then sighed and smiled. "I suppose I should not be surprised, with the other powers I have seen you wield. But what are you? You are not human."
She shook her head and laughed. "Me? Human? Oh no, of course not. I am a descendant of the Fey Folk, what is known as an elf, in some places." She smiled a bit impishly and brushed her hair back behind her ears. I was surprised to see that they were delicately pointed. Suddenly, I knew what it was about her features that was so exotic looking. Her face was very finely structured, so that it would look angular on a human, but there was something different in it that made it fit together, and be even more beautiful.
"An elf?" I asked, somewhat disbelievingly.
"Yes. An elf." She grinned at me again. I noticed the golden sword was hanging at her side now, no longer shedding light. She looked down at it, then back up at me.
"Oh, don't worry about that. It can't harm you unless someone is wielding it. You don't have anything to fear."
I looked back at her again, still aware of the life energy that flowed through her. "I think that I have much to fear. You are possessed of an energy that I feel could destroy me just as that sword could. Are you a vampire hunter?"
She shook her head. "No. No vampire has ever done anything to me yet. In fact, you and your mother Aulanira are the first I have really spoken to at length."
"Are there vampires where you are from?"
She nodded. "They are not like the ones here, however. They have no society of their own, and if any of the stories are to be believed, they are quite mad."
'We don't kill humans," I said, suddenly wishing her to know that we were not what the humans legends portrayed us to be. "Very few ever do, and I never have. We need humans to survive, but we can take part of their blood and not kill them."
Althariel nodded again. "I know. If you were to leave dead bodies all over the place, I think the humans would actually open their eyes and take a good look around them." She smiled. "I know a lot about undead, all different kinds, that is. I'm no expert, but I certainly know more than most people do. I'm not sure if vampires where I am from can eat elves though. Lots of other things do, there are some really nasty things in my world, but I don't ever remember any elves having trouble with vampires. It's usually ogres and giants."
"We do not "eat" humans, we merely take some of their blood."
She chuckled at me "Oh, I know that. Feed upon, is that better?"
I smiled, "Never mind then, I just wanted to make sure you understood."
"Of course I do. I just tend to lump things together under one category. Ogres and giants eat elves, and vampires feed on humans, but essentially, it's all the same thing. We elves might taste terrible to vampires." She grinned at me again, and wandered down the hallway, looking at the various portraits hanging on the walls. I followed closely.
She stopped before one painting, studying it, and I stood just behind her, my keen senses feeling both the exhilaration, and the danger of being so close to her. The energy within her was as strong as before, but I no longer feared that it would be turned upon me at any second. She smelled of sunlight and of plants growing. It reminded me of when I was alive, and could enjoy walking through a garden on a sunny day.
"I wonder if elves really do taste terrible." I mused, only half aloud. She stiffened, and looked over her shoulder at me. "You would be a pile of dust before you could move," she said, her voice harsh.
I stepped back, and shook my head. "No, no. I didn't mean that. I'm appalled that I even said it." I cursed inwardly, for being such an idiot as to insult her like that. I hadn't meant to even say it out loud, and the though of feeding from her had never crossed my mind.
She looked at me for a long moment, studying me, then smiled. "All right, I see you really didn't mean it that way. Now tell me, what are the vampires here like?"
We stood and talked for nearly three hours about vampires, and other undead. There are legends of other kinds of undead beings here on Earth, but none have ever been proven. Apparently, an entire list of what are called undead exists on the world Althariel is from.
She did not seem at all concerned by the fact that I was supposed to be an evil bloodthirsty monster. She said she strove not to make any assumptions about different types of beings before she had actually talked to at least one of them. She told me of other beings who were nothing like she had been told to expect in stories.  We talked of many things, of vampires, of this world and the things wrong with it, of science and the things it thinks it knows. She was very easy to talk to, almost nothing I said surprised her. I soon found myself telling her of how I became a vampire, and of the things I had done before that. She listened, and told me of herself, and the things she had done. Almost too soon, her friend Shardak came wandering down the hallway.
"We had better leave, Althariel," he said. "There are things we have to do today."
Althariel nodded regretfully. "I know." She turned to me and smiled. "I wish I could stay all day and talk to you. There are so few reasonable and intelligent people on this world."
I nodded. "I understand how that is. I hope you will return and visit again?"
"Of course. I look forward to it." She smiled and reached out and drew her fingers across my cheek.
I winced and drew back as her touch burned across my jaw line.
"What's wrong?" She looked rather worried.
I smiled and touched the place where it felt like it burned. "My lady, I don't wish to insult you, but your touch burns my skin. I fear that if you held on to me too long, I might be set aflame."
"Oh dear. I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know that it hurt you." She looked at my cheek closely. "Well, I didn't leave a mark. I am sorry though, I didn't mean to harm you."
I shook my head. "No harm done. Go do what you need to do, and come and visit me again."
She smiled. "Well, I won't do that anymore. I don't wish to see you harmed. You take care of yourself." She followed Shardak through the front door, turning to wave as she left.
I stood in the darkened hallway after she was gone, engulfed in my thoughts. I sighed to myself and shook my head. "Ahh, but I think I would suffer a thousand flames to feel your caress." I turned and made my way to the basement of our manor and slept, with her voice still haunting my thoughts.

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