Dark Secrets


      Author: aria


      Rated: R



      Well, here's the latest chapter. I've JUST finished it and gave it a quick 
      run through since I've made you all wait so long. Let me know if you find 
      any mistakes ok?
      
      Chapter 8

      Darien sat and watched Serena sleep. She looked so content and perfectly 
      at home cuddled up in his arms. But he wasn’t happy.
      He was hungry.
      It started with a burning sensation in his stomach. Then an icy numbness 
      trickling into his fingers. His vision was blurring and his head started 
      to throb. His senses heightened to the point where her scent began to 
      tantalize him; the pulsing he could see at her neck was tormenting him, 
      beckoning him to feed. Darien knew that if he waited any longer the woman 
      in his arms would become his next meal. As much as he hated to, he had to 
      leave.
      Now.
      Gritting his teeth, Darien moved out from under her and gently as he 
      could. She was light enough for him to pick up and move over to the other 
      side of the bed. But it seemed Serena was determined to stay with him 
      because when he did manage move her, she rolled right back to him and 
      wound her arms around his chest, mumbling incoherently.
      Sighing and fighting the pressing urge to feed, he moved her back again, 
      this time swinging himself off the bed in the same movement. He was home 
      free. Or so he thought. Unfortunately, his ring caught her hair and Serena 
      woke with a start. Her eyes opened and widened when they fixed on him.
      He would never forget the look of terror in her eyes when she looked up at 
      him or the sound of her blood-curdling scream. Moving as fast as he could, 
      Darien ran to the window and leapt out.
      Serena must have regained enough of her senses to realize what had 
      happened because he could hear her cries coming from the window. “Darien!” 
      it grew fainter as he hurried away. “Darien! Come back!”
      Darien charged through the forest. The look of sheer terror was burned 
      into his memory as he fled through the trees. He didn’t even bother 
      dodging the branches and left a clear trail in his wake, letting the cruel 
      branches whip him, punish him. By the time he stopped at a small pond, his 
      clothing was torn almost to shreds and he had long cuts across his torso, 
      arms, legs and face.
      Darien knelt down and looked at his reflection. The reflection of a 
      monster. He growled at the ugly image and sat down, not bothering to treat 
      his wounds. What did he care? Serena could never love him. He couldn't let 
      her love him. Look at him. She took one look at him in this form and 
      raised holy hell. He could feel wetness on his cheeks and wiped the tears 
      away leaving a bloody streak on his face. It wasn't fair for her to be 
      stuck with a creature like him. She deserved someone she could lead a 
      normal life with.
      Darien lay on the grassy ground and looked up at the sky, thinking about 
      how futile this whole thing was. How many times had he met her now? At 
      least twenty, and not once did they get the happily ever after ending he 
      so craved. He closed his eyes. As a matter of fact, each time they even 
      came close something horrible would happen to her. Leaving him a complete 
      mess until he found the next Serena.
      Maybe this time things would be different. Maybe he would just leave her 
      alone to live her life the way that she wanted. Let her live.
      Darien closed his eyes, ignoring his body’s growing aggravation at not 
      being fed and the terrible pain lancing through is entire being. This was 
      it. He was throwing in the proverbial towel. As of now, Darien 
      Hollingsworth would be no more.
      “Darien!”
      Serena searched frantically from the window, then slapped her forehead. 
      “Don’t be stupid. He’d be halfway to the city by now.”
      Taking one last look, she pulled on a coat and ran out. She’d seen the 
      look on his face when she screamed. There was no trace of Darien there, 
      just a shamed, melancholy expression that had her heart breaking. She had 
      to explain. Had to make him understand that it wasn’t him that she was 
      reacting to, but a dream.
      Serena shuddered to think about the fearsome creatures that lurked in her 
      mind. It seemed that her memories from another past were coming to light 
      now. Now she was dreaming she was being chased by some invisible evil that 
      frightened her more than anything. If only she could see what it was.
      Serena shook her head, clearing away the remnants of fear. There was no 
      time to dwell on that. She had to find Darien and let him know she was 
      remembering more.
      She grabbed a flashlight in the kitchen and rushed outside looking for any 
      trace of where he could have gone. She flickered the flashlight around 
      looking for anything, a footprint, a scrap of clothing…she looked at a 
      tree and noticed a broken branch.
      Shining the flashlight beyond the branch, she could see more leading into 
      the forest. It was the place she found him feeding last time, but why 
      would the branched be broken? It wasn’t like Darien at all. She shuddered 
      to think of the damage he had done to himself when he ran through. What 
      was he thinking?
      There was something definitely not right about this.
      Shaking off the thought, Serena firmly pointed the light in front of her 
      and ran into the trees.
      It didn’t take her long to reach the small pond. Where could he have gone 
      from there? She whirled around in a circle looking for more damage to the 
      trees but could see none. Heart sinking, she could feel herself start to 
      panic. What if he was hurt? What if something found him and he couldn’t 
      defend himself? To hell with being quiet, Serena closed her eyes and 
      shrieked his name.
      Silence.
      Tears sliding freely down her face, Serena rounded the pond whipping the 
      light from side to side, sinking into the soft edges. “Darien, where are 
      you?” she whispered. She snorted when she could have sworn she heard a 
      response. Serena continued to walk around the water when she tripped. 
      Feeling like an idiot, she shone the light into the water.
      A stick.
      She backed away from it and tripped on something else, landing her none 
      too delicately on her backside. Groaning and rubbing her sore bottom, 
      Serena reached for the flashlight again.
      There was a sudden flash of brilliance. Serena stopped. What was that? She 
      whipped it around and it happened again. Cautiously she moved the light 
      back to the spot where she saw the flash.
      There was a hand with Darien’s ring on it.
      “Darien!” she ran to his prone body and struggled to roll him over. “What 
      happened? Are you ok?” She managed to pull his limp form into her lap as 
      she cradled his head. Serena shone the light on him and immediately wished 
      she hadn’t.
      He was covered in fresh cuts that were bleeding freely. She didn’t know 
      about vampires, but she knew a normal person couldn’t survive losing that 
      much blood. Serena balled up her coat and tried to cover up as many wounds 
      as she could in one go. “Darien, talk to me.”
      His icy eyes fluttered open slightly and his lips formed her name. Darien 
      tried to shove her away.
      She only held on tighter. “Stop moving, you’re going to upset you wounds.” 
      She looked down and saw that none of them were even hinting at clotting. 
      “Tell me what to do.” Fresh tears were falling now. This couldn’t be 
      happening. Not now. They were so close to coming up with clues on how to 
      cure his condition.
      “Go.” his voice was barely a whisper.
      “N--no.” she started rocking back and forth trying to comfort them both 
      with the movement. “Tell me what to do.”
      “I…m-monster…”
      Serena could barely hear him, but his words stopped the rocking. Did he do 
      this to himself?
      “Y-yessss.”
      She cradled his face with one hand. “Why? Why would you do this?” Serena 
      already knew the answer though. It was her reaction in the bedroom that 
      did it. She closed her eyes. It was her fault. Everything; him being a 
      vampire, him lying here dying; it was all her fault.
      “N…no…”
      He was growing heavier in her arms and her sobs were getting louder. She 
      looked up at the sky and screamed, “You are not taking him away from me! 
      I‘m not letting you! We’ve been through too much to be together to have it 
      all taken away now!”
      She looked around helplessly. There was no one around for miles and even 
      if there was who could help him? Serena read during her research of 
      Darien’s notes that he noticed a surge in energy after he fed. That was 
      it! She torn the neck of her t-shirt away and exposed her neck, lifting 
      him to her. “Darien. Drink.”
      He turned his head away, even though his instincts demanded he slack his 
      thirst. “No.”
      Serena pushed him harder against the skin throbbing at the base of her 
      neck. She’d also read that once the ‘thirst’ had him he had no choice but 
      to drink from whatever crossed his path first. He had no choice. “Drink!”
      The sweet smell of her skin taunted him. The sound of her vein throbbing 
      under her creamy skin was calling to him. When she jerked his head against 
      her, his teeth nicked her, producing a drop of the sweetest blood he had 
      ever tasted. He had to have more.
      Feeding instinct took over and he brought his arms up to clamp her to his 
      mouth as he drained the life from her.
      Serena gasp when she felt his teeth pierce her skin. She could feel his 
      shock mingled with hers. He instantly recovered and began to suck, pulling 
      rhythmically against her skin, draining blood each time. Feeling herself 
      weaken a bit more every time, Serena let herself sink into his arms. She 
      didn’t care what happened to her as long as he was ok.
      Sensing her thoughts, Darien immediately stopped himself and bent his head 
      to her neck. “What have you made me do, Serena?” He tenderly kissed her 
      wounds and stood up, cradling her in his arms.
      It took him seconds to get back to the house and even less to get her back 
      into bed. He took off his torn shirt and trousers, leaving only his 
      boxers, and settled in next to her to warm her up. He reclined slightly 
      and rested her halfway on his chest stroking her hair. Darien looked over 
      her peaceful form, lamenting over what he had just done. He was no better 
      than an animal. Why couldn’t she have just left him there to die? His 
      fingers found themselves in her hair and stroked the silken tendrils and 
      he sighed. He should have known that she would find him. It was the same 
      as it would have been for him. If anything had happened to her he would 
      have found her and done anything that was necessary to revive her.
      He looked out at the moon hanging in the inky sky. Would things ever get 
      easier for them?
      He held her against him, this time things would end in their favour. He 
      would make sure of it.
      Serena woke up the next morning feeling groggy and disoriented. She 
      couldn’t remember anything about the night before. She tried to sit up but 
      a heavy arm wound around her waist impeded her progress. Serena fell back 
      and closed her eyes. She was too tired to even move it off of her.
      Darien woke when he felt movement and looked at her pained expression. 
      "Serena? Are you ok?" He started checking her over. "Are you in any pain?"
      She shook her head then watched the room spin when she stopped. "Just 
      really tired."
      Darien nodded sagely. "That's understandable. I'll have Marta bring up 
      breakfast. It will help you regain your strength."
      She slumped into his arms and sighed. "Can we just sit here like this for 
      a moment?"
      "Of course. Whatever you wish." he settled back against the mound of 
      pillows and brought his arm back around her protectively. "Thank you, 
      Serena."
      "Huh?" she looked up him questioningly.
      He closed his eyes. "You don't remember."
      She shrugged weakly and snuggled up against him. "Not really."
      He sat her up and made sure she was looking him straight in the eyes when 
      he spoke. "You did something I never want you to do again. You forced me 
      to feed from you."
      Her eyes came into focus then and widened when the memories came back to 
      her. "I'm so sorry!"
      He shook his head. "As I said, it must never happen again."
      She shook her head. "Not that. I meant the scream. I had a dream. It...it 
      was horrible and I screamed because of it. Not you." Serena remembered how 
      he looked lying helpless at the pond. "You tried to kill yourself."
      His shoulders slumped.
      "Why? You know I don't have a problem with you being...you."
      His entire body tensed. "You can't even bring yourself to say the word."
      Serena jumped out of his arms and glared at him. "What? Vampire? That 
      you're a vampire? That I'm in love with a vampire?"
      Darien caught her by the shoulders. "Say that again."
      "What? Vampire?"
      He dragged her against him and kissed her gently. "No the part where you 
      tell me you love me."
      Serena hadn't even realized what she'd said. But as she thought about it, 
      she realized that it was true. She was in love with Darien. It had nothing 
      to do with their past or the memories. It was just him.
      She loved him.
      "I love you, Darien."
      "I’m glad you've finally come to your senses." he brushed his lips against 
      her again and moved back to smile at her. "Let's get some breakfast in 
      you." not waiting for an answer, he picked her up in his arms and carried 
      her down for the breakfast he mentioned.
      Marta either didn't notice their newfound intimacy or simply chose not to 
      say anything, and kept to the business of making and serving the food. 
      Darien sat right next to her and helped her since she was so weak. He 
      patiently fed her bits of fruit and toast until she couldn't eat another 
      bite. Then he took her back up stairs and sat at her side reading from his 
      diary about their past.
      Serena drifted in and out of consciousness as she listened to the timbre 
      of his voice. She could see the images of what he was speaking about as 
      clearly as she heard the words. Visions of them in different times drifted 
      through her mind, flashing from one to the other. The one thing that 
      remained constant throughout was the sense of wholeness, belonging. 
      Whenever she saw them together it was there.
      When she finally opened her eyes, she felt that she knew everything about 
      them. Then she remembered what had happened the other night and touched 
      her throat. She looked over and Darien, "Are you ok?"
      He touched her cheek. "I'm fine. You look better."
      She felt the scars on her neck. "Will I...?"
      He shook his head. "No. Since you did not receive any blood from me, 
      there's no chance of you changing."
      She felt relief mingled with a tinge of sadness. There would always be a 
      part of him that she could never connect with. Things that she could never 
      understand or be a part of.
      He shook his head and helped her up. "So what would you like to do today?"
      "First I want to take a bath." she chuckled and she looked down at 
      herself. "Then I want to get back to work again."
      "Wouldn't you rather relax for a little while longer? Regain your 
      strength?"
      She shook her head and let it fall back when he picked her up. "So do you 
      intend to carry me around forever?"
      He grinned down at her. "If that's what you want. I will carry you around 
      forever and a day."
      Serena lifted her head up and nestled it under his chin. "I think I could 
      get used to this."
      He chuckled and brought her into the bathroom. Somehow he managed to get 
      the water running and fill the tub with a mass of bubbles without putting 
      her down. Darien reluctantly set her down and smiled gently. As many times 
      as he had seen her naked, it just didn't seem right to stay in here with 
      her at that moment. "I’ll be setting up in the lab." he kissed her on the 
      cheek and walked out of the room.
      Serena was a little baffled that he didn't seem to want to be in the room 
      with her while she was naked. It was quite a blow to her ego actually. But 
      the moment she submerged her self in the delicately scented water she 
      forgot all about it.
      She luxuriated in the warmth of the water until she felt her skin go 
      pruney. After one last dunk, Serena climbed out of the tub and grabbed an 
      enormous fluffy towel off of a pile next to the vanity. Leaning over she 
      caught a glimpse at her throat and stopped to take a closer look.
      Twisting slightly, Serena could see two tiny red holes at the base of her 
      neck. They were already healing themselves and given another day or so she 
      didn't think that anyone would notice them at all.
      Impressed, she quickly towel dried her hair, dressed in a baby t-shirt and 
      jeans and ran down to find Darien.
      He had already set up the samples and was flipping through one of his 
      journals. He looked up as she rounded the corner. "Hi. Back to your usual 
      self?" he walked over and touched her tousled hair.
      She nodded and grinned. "Unfortunately." winking at him, she walked up to 
      one of the microscopes and took a look. "So what should we try tonight?"
      "I just found an interesting tidbit." he handed her the book he had been 
      reading. "Your notes there," he pointed out the passage, "Are insightful."
      Curious at what one of her former selves had written, Serena eagerly took 
      the book and read the beautiful handwriting.
      Darien and I spent the day concentrating on treating his illness; though I 
      would much rather spend our time in other ways. But I digress. We have 
      found that a blood transfusion could work for a short while. But seeing as 
      we could not divest him of all his original plasma, it simply took over 
      the new blood and by morning we were back to square one.
      Serena looked up at Darien and gaped. "You're not suggesting that we give 
      you a transfusion."
      "Among other things."
      Serena was shaking her head. "No. No. No. I’m not giving you a 
      transfusion. We don't know what will happen even if we do manage to get 
      rid of every last drop of your blood." she stopped speaking and looked at 
      him. "What other things?" that definitely got Serena’s imagination going. 
      Most of her memories had returned, but none offered any revelation to 
      their intimate lives other than the initial dreams she had. It wasn't fair 
      that he could remember everything and she didn't.
      Darien knew what she was thinking. He stepped up behind her and leaned 
      down so he could smell her hair. The scent from the bath oils still 
      lingered there and he inhaled deeply. "You know what?" he whispered into 
      her hair. "I think we can relax for tonight."
      "But--" she looked at the books and microscopes. They had so much work to 
      do still.
      He touched her lips with his. "It'll be ok." Darien took her hand and led 
      her out of the lab and out to the back yard, only stopping in the library 
      for a moment to retrieve a blanket off of one of the couches.
      They silently made their way out onto the soft grass where he laid the 
      blanket down and waited for her to sit before joining her. Darien laid 
      back and looked up at the twinkling sky.
      Serena made herself comfortable at his side, laying her head on his chest
      "So now what?"
      "We look up at the sky and talk about whatever comes to mind."
      That sounded simple enough. Serena relaxed and looked up at the sky. The 
      inky darkness twinkled with pinpoints of light. She let herself meld 
      against him and closed her eyes, letting the night envelope them both. The 
      only thing breaking the comfortable silence was the intermittent cricket 
      chirps and the whisper of a breeze floating over them. The smells of the 
      night mingled in with the smell of Darien and the cologne that he always 
      wore. Serena sighed happily. She couldn’t be any more contented if she 
      tried.
      Serena rolled so she faced him and curled her legs up. Darien smiled into 
      her hair and wrapped his arms around her. He looked up at the sky that had 
      changed so many times during his lifetime and sighed. “It never ceases to 
      amaze me when I look up at the night sky.”
      “What doesn’t?” she looked up as well now and just stared into the vast 
      depths.
      “How huge everything is. Just think of how many stars there are out there. 
      How many planetary systems there could be out there. How many beings could 
      be doing the very same thing we’re doing now.” He paused and seemed to 
      ponder the thought. “Some nights, when I can’t stand being what I am, I 
      sit and look up and realize that there is so much more out there than my 
      little problems.”
      “You’re problems are hardly little, Darien.”
      He chuckled. “I know but they hardly seem like anything when I compare 
      myself to the myths that go with the constellations.” He looked around for 
      a moment. “Ah, take that one for example.” He pointed up and traced a ‘W’ 
      shape. “That is Cassiopeia, Queen of Ethiopia. She was said to have been 
      so vain that she dared anger the gods by saying that she was more 
      beautiful than the daughters of Poseidon. In his anger, the sea-god hung 
      her up the in the night sky forever doomed to spend eternity in the sky 
      and half the time she was forced to suffer the indignity of being 
      suspended upside down.”
      “She had some serious issues.” Serena laughed. She looked up and pointed 
      at the one constellation that she recognized. “How about The Big Dipper? 
      What’s the story behind that one?”
      Darien laughed. “It’s part of a larger constellation called Ursa Major, 
      The Big Bear. But she wasn’t always a bear. She was once a princess named 
      Callisto and the king of the gods, Zeus, pursued her. This made his wife 
      jealous, so she turned her into a bear, which was in turn killed by 
      Artemis, another goddess. Zeus was so upset he hung her in the stars.”
      Serena shook her head. “Aren’t there any nice stories to go with the 
      stars?”
      “Um, how about that one?” he pointed at yet another cluster of bright 
      stars. “That is Corona Borealis, the crown. It was the crown given to 
      Ariadne by her husband Dionysus on their wedding day and he hung it up in 
      the sky as a symbol of their love so that everyone could see.”
      She sighed in response to the story. “That’s so romantic.” Her smile grew 
      a little sad. Serena knew she shouldn’t dwell on it, but she couldn’t help 
      but think that she was forgetting some of the best parts of their past. 
      “Can you tell me more about us?”
      “What would you like to know?” he smoothed the silken strands of her hair 
      between his fingers.
      She was too embarrassed to ask if he had ever done anything that romantic 
      for her and tried to think of something to ask him instead.
      He chuckled, “Well, I once took you to see the Hanging Gardens.”
      “Hanging Gardens?” Serena sat puzzled for a moment, and then her mouth 
      dropped open. “We’ve been to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?”
      He nodded. “It was for your birthday. Your face when you saw it…well your 
      face looked like it does now,” he laughed at her astounded expression.
      “Oh wow!” The thought of having seen one of the Seven Wonders of the World 
      with her own eyes was awe-inspiring.
      “And then was the time I serenaded you under your window and was chased 
      away by your father,” he winced, “and his dogs.”
      “Really?” she giggled.
      “And then was the time I decided to show you how well I could handle a 
      gondola. I was doing quite well and you were very impressed until we 
      nearly drowned under the Bridge of Sighs.”
      Serena flipped over and laughed again as she imagined them floundering 
      around in the canals of Venice. She swatted him in the chest. “Ok, ok. 
      Enough. You are the most romantic man on the planet.”
      He grinned and fell back onto the grass. “I’m glad you finally noticed.”
      “Ok, here’s a question for you.”
      “I’m all ears.”
      “Out of all the me’s that you have met, which one do you like the best?”
      “Ooh. That’s a tough one.” He leaned back and pretended to really think 
      over the question.
      Serena punched him lightly in the stomach. “Hey! It’s not that tough a 
      question!”
      “Ok, ok. The truth is I loved every single one of you that I have ever 
      met.”
      Serena’s heart melted. “Really?”
      He touched her cheek. “Absolutely. There may have been a few differences 
      but your heart has never changed.” Darien looked into her eyes. “Which 
      reminds me. What has happened to your eyes? They have always been a 
      breathtaking blue. But now they are purple?” he shook his head.
      Serena blinked self-consciously, “I wear coloured contacts.”
      “Why? You have the most beautiful eyes.”
      She could feel a blush creep up her cheeks. “I always hated looking at 
      them. They always looked sad and mournful no matter what I did. So I 
      changed the colour.” She shrugged, “I guess I know why now. I was looking 
      for you.”
      “Well, now that you’ve found me, you can get rid of them.” He held his 
      hand out and waited.
      “You want me to give them to you?” she gaped at him when he nodded. “But…”
      “You do not need them anymore.”
      He was right. Serena sighed and took them out, placing them in his waiting 
      hand and then watched as he threw them into the darkness.
      He touched her chin, bringing her head up. “Let me have a look then.”
      She looked back into his eyes and saw his happiness at finally seeing them 
      in their natural state. Then the tone of the look changed. As quick as 
      lightening, the light mood dipped into a dark, sensual one. The air grew 
      thick and the heat oppressing, Serena found herself having difficulty 
      breathing. The moon was playing tricks with the light, adding angles and 
      planes to his face making it look much harsher than she knew it was. But 
      the silvery light played off his eyes in such a way that they almost 
      glowed as they held hers. That was what she couldn’t keep her eyes off of. 
      Their eyes stayed open even when he moved closer and touched his lips to 
      hers. And they didn’t close until he deepened the kiss.
      They fluttered open again on a sigh when he pulled back. Serena touched 
      his cheek and was surprised to find it damp. She didn’t even seem to care 
      that his tears were blood. Tenderly, she wiped them away. “Why are you 
      crying, Darien?”
      He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know.” He shook his head again 
      dismissing what he had just said. “No, I do know. This is the happiest 
      I’ve been…ever. I can honestly say that. I have never felt this close to 
      you or to finding a way of curing me. It actually feels like we will 
      really have a future together this time.” Darien rolled onto his back, 
      chuckling blissfully and taking Serena with him.
      She looked down at his handsome face and kissed him on the tip of his 
      nose. “What do you mean this time? I thought we’ve been together before?”
      Darien was silent for a moment; as if he was trying to decide whether or 
      not he should tell her something. With a heavy sigh, he rolled to his side 
      placing her lightly to the ground again but keeping his hand on her side. 
      “I’m not going to lie to you. We have been together in the past but 
      whenever anything got serious…” he closed his eyes.
      “What?” Fear sent icy chill skittering down her back. “Something happened 
      to me, didn’t it?”
      He nodded grimly. “Never once did we make it to our wedding. Not once.”
      Serena rolled onto her stomach and stared into the grass. “I see.” That 
      definitely changed things. She hadn’t really thought of the future. Well, 
      not anything more than a few days ahead. But in her heart, now that she 
      thought about it, she did believe in the happily ever after ending. She 
      wanted to live the rest of her life out with Darien. But now the rest of 
      her life might not be as long as she thought it would be.
      “Don’t think like that. Things will be different this time. I promise 
      you.” He rolled her to her back and took her hands. “I swear I will not 
      let anything happen to you this time. I couldn’t bear it again.”
      Serena’s heart lightened a little, but anxiety still weighed it down. She 
      vowed to herself, knowing that Darien would know what she was thinking, 
      that they would get through whatever might come their way. And they would 
      get the fairytale ending that they deserved.
      Darien nodded in agreement, sealing their vows with a kiss. He smiled into 
      her lips when she pushed him back and slid onto his stomach. “I hope 
      you’re not trying to take advantage of me.”
      “Me? What ever would make you think that?” she trailed kisses along his 
      jaw line. “I would never.” She worked her way back to his lips and glided 
      over his with her own.
      He cupped her face. “Are you sure?”
      Serena kissed him again. “Absolutely.”