Vincent Explain’s

Asha eye’d the young girl warily, something was most certainly not right. Yet everyone in the room acted as though they’d been expected Alice’s sudden turn.

Asha watched as Alice got progressively more fidgety and after a while it seemed as though Vincent was almost holding her still his arm’s wrapped tightly around her no longer comfortingly, becoming more protective and firm as she struggled beneath.

“How did you save me?” she asked.

“Ask a different question” Vincent replied seeming unconcerned about Alice’s condition, while Faulk and Maud stood nervously by watching anxiously obviously concerned..

“What’s wrong with that question?” she asked nervously.

“I don’t want to lie to you” he replied “but any response I would give you to that question would end in a lie”

“Why not simply tell the truth?”

“I can’t… it’s complicated..”

“But it was you who saved me?” Asha asked nervously.

“I guess so” Vincent smiled

“Why?”

“It was the right thing to do” Vincent answered simply, “Even witches do not deserve to be burned alive”

“Im not a witch” Asha responded, suddenly wondering if Vincent knew of her gift or did he simply save a girl he presumed innocent.

“Perhaps not” he replied knowingly “But you’re not quite normal either are you?”

Asha felt her heart suddenly racing in her chest as he answered her fear’s.

“Don’t worry” he smiled “None of us here are ‘quite’ normal either”

“Your gifted?” She asked, watching as Alice now clutched painfully at Vincent’s leg, digging her nail’s in she seemed in pain. However despite the fact that she could see she’d broken the skin and blood oozed from the wound Vincent seemed unconcerned and didn’t even so much as acknowledge the pain.   

“Not exactly” he replied noticing the wound, he gently pried Alice’s finger’s away, looking at her she shook his head at Alice. Somewhat like a parent might do to warn a naughty child that if they continued their current action’s they would be in trouble.

“What then? Werewolf’s?”

Vincent chuckled “You know a lot for such a young girl”

“I’ve met a couple before” Asha replied.

Vincent smiled “I didn’t realise Lar’s and Wolf got around so much”

“You know them?” She stammered, as Maud dropped a dish with a clatter and obviously paled.

“Yes sort of”

“But you’re not friends?” Asha noted by the anger now drawn on Faulk’s face.

“No not friends” Vincent admitted.

“So what are you then? Mages, Vampires?” Asha asked nervously unsure if she really wanted the answer.

“This is a place for all people, here we leave the war’s outside” he explained “Faulk, Maud are both Human… Alice here it seems has a little wolf in her”

“Is that’s what wrong with her?” Asha asked.

Vincent nodded “The first change is difficult it seems”

“Don’t tell me, you’re a vampire?!” Asha guessed.

“I didn’t tell you that” Vincent smiled.

“Lar’s told me that you where all evil killer’s”

“Lar’s hasn’t got a ‘god damn’ clue what he’s talking about” Maud suddenly snapped.

“Ma calm down” Faulk urged embracing his mother protectively.

“We and the werewolves have many differences of opinion” Vincent admitted “But i don’t want to talk of supernatural politics’ here, this is a place to forget such things”

“So what exactly is this, some sort of refuge?”

“Yes, sort of… this is my little haven, the place I go to feel… well normal I guess”

“But you’re not normal” Asha retorted.

“True, but neither are you. Aren’t there times when you would like to feel normal?”

Asha strained to remember what Lar’s had told him, something about there been two groups of vampires and someone called Siren?! “I was told there are two group’s of vampires, do you belong to one or are you an outsider”

“I belong to one”

“What do you want?”

“Me or my group?”

“Both I guess” Asha replied.

“Me I want to live in safety here with my family” he answered motioning to the others “My group as grander idea’s though I suspect they are far less nefarious than anything Lar’s may have told you”

“Why don’t you tell me then?”

“I can’t” he replied “i’d get in trouble or should I say even more trouble”

“You’re already in trouble?”

“I will be” Vincent nodded, “When my maker realises I saved you”

“Why not, simply not tell them”

“You can’t keep secret’s from Siren” Vincent smiled.

“Siren, I’ve heard that name from Lar’s… he doesn’t like her much”

“I’m not surprised” he nodded “They have a long history… still don’t believe everything Lar’s tells you, I understand his hatred for us… my kind in general but we aren’t as black and white as he thinks.

“Are you evil?”

“I suppose so” Vincent replied “My kind where damned by god… so I guess that makes us all evil”

 “Nonsense!” Maud protested “don’t you be listening to him… he’s the kindest soul I ever did meet”

“Thank you” Vincent chuckled looking up lovingly at Maud. “It’s complicated… but I’ll try and explain.  All Vampires’s where human once, being turned doesn’t change you but the power in the blood can corrupt”

“Corrupt you how?”

“Well essentially you’re giving humans the power to be gods… as it where… can you imagine what would happen if you gave that power to the wrong person”

“I guess”

“Also living as we do it does take a toll, I mean no matter how ‘good’ the person it can be hard to keep your humanity when you need to drink the blood of human’s to survive. Siren my maker for example is very old, she’s had human’s over the years she’s cared for, but every time one dies and she has to say goodbye. It takes a little part of her making her slightly less human. These day’s Siren prefere’s to remain in the company of her own kind.  Some evil vampires … by evil i mean those that deem human’s no better than cattle, tend to turn like minded human’s, into vampires… choosing the dreg’s of society to give the power of immortality.  While we ‘ones like me‘believe we can co-exist tend to choose their children more carefully, we also try not to kill those we feed from… over the years that has caused us as a race to split into 2 group’s”

“Good and Evil?” Asha asked.

“We are damned by god remember… so I guess you should call it. Evil and worse!” Vincent chuckled “But these two groups are bitter enemy’s we hate each other even more than we hate the wolves”

“Why don’t you ally with the wolves then?”

“I fear I’ve talked more about politics’ than I care to already” Vincent chuckled “I guess the wolf’s deem us unholy blight’s on the earth. War has been raging between our kinds, so long I dare say no-one really remembers why they are fighting anymore”

“So what happens to me now?” Asha asked nervously “Is that why you bought me here to turn me into one of you?”

Vincent chuckled “Goodness no child, honestly I didn’t think about it much beyond grabbing you out of the flames. It’s really up to you, I wouldn’t suggest returning back to your father the villager’s would soon beat down your door again, but I will take you where-ever you want to go”

“Or your welcome to stay here” Faulk added.

Vincent nodded “Yes or you can stay here”

~ by katherine on October 23, 2009.