It Must Be You

As Virginia stood between her father and the man who would soon come to take possession of her, she couldn't understand how she came to be in this situation. How could her life equal less than any amount of money or any old wooden cross? Did she mean so little?

It pained Virginia to be forsaken by her own father. It was true that Virginia and her father had never really been close, but that shouldn't matter when she was still his child, right?

That didn't seem to be the case. Richard Downing had simply said, "Take her." like his daughter was nothing but the last sick kitten in a stray litter. She didn't know he could be so cold.

Richard wasn't close to anyone, really, but he'd never been so outright cruel. Sure, he kept up his appearance as an influential socialite in Meridian Valley, shaking hands, attending parties, and being friendly to the other important people, but ever since his wife, Christine, died suddenly a few years before, he'd grown unsympathetic towards his own family.

Instead of consoling his children after the sudden death of their mother, he became truly obsessed with every aspect of death.

He was always reading and researching. He always carried with him books about vampires and their lifestyles. When there wasn't a dinner or party to attend, it was rare for him to be out of his study. When he was roaming about the mansion, he was almost always referring to some map or some book about vampires.

It was known across the world that vampires existed, but very few people allowed themselves to accept this fact.

Virginia herself had grown up hearing all sorts of rumors floating around about what vampires looked like, how they acted, and how to kill them. She'd heard that some vampires were civil and humane, while others were bloodthirsty and wild. But Virginia didn't know what rumors to believe.

She'd never seen a vampire before, and, if it hadn't been for her father's constant fixation on vampires, Virginia might have forgotten that they existed at all.

For the longest time, Virginia wasn't sure what to make of her father's vampire and death obsessions, which bordered on mania.

But Virginia was lucky enough to have an older sister to keep her company and console her, helping her understand her father's behavior. Otherwise, she would have been alone in a giant mansion with a ghost for a father.

Her sister always humanized their father, telling her that he was just hurting, that he was wracked with misery.

While Virginia grew to understand depression and grief and the things it could cause someone to do, her father always felt like a bit of a ghost to her. Even when he came down for supper, he would have his nose stuck in a book about how to become a vampire. He would rarely ask either of his daughters how their studies were going or how they were dealing with the loss of their mother.

Instead of holding his grief against him, Virginia did her best to stay strong for her father, to become and remain independent.

With the help of Janice, Virginia did just that. Several years later, at the age of twenty-one, Virginia was a young brave, strong, and confident woman.

She wondered sometimes why her father seemed so interested in vampires after her mother died. Perhaps he was researching ways in which he could have saved her.

Vampires were nearly invincible, after all. But apparently, it was difficult for vampires to turn humans without killing them, so Virginia wasn't sure if she believed her suspicions about her father's intentions with all the reading. From what she'd heard, her mother died quickly, so there probably wouldn't have been any real chance of saving her by turning her anyway.

As much as Virginia ached for her mother, she was also deeply saddened to think that her father, after several years, was still trying to figure out how he could have saved her.

What a torturous state he must have been in all that time.

Even though she felt sympathy for her father, she couldn't help but feel betrayed by him now. How could he sell out his own flesh and blood just so he could keep some old wooden cross?

Virginia's eyes began to burn as she tried to fight the tears back. She clenched her jaw, and her fingernails dug deeply into her palms as she squeezed them. How could her father even suggest she go with this stranger? What would happen to her? Where would she even be going? Did her father even know? Did he even care?

"Father." was all Virginia could say. She looked at him with pleading eyes, but he only looked down at the cross. He hardly seemed pained, just desperate to keep hold of that old piece of wood.

"There's no sense, Virginia!" her father yelled. "You must go."

Virginia felt a hot tear stream down her face.

Moments later, her sister, Janice, came darting down the stairs. She was two years older than Virginia, and though they had different characteristics, when the two stood together it was obvious they were related. They shared the same kind of brown hair, their mother's hair, but Janice had their mother's green eyes, while Virginia had their father's blue eyes. Janice stood a bit taller than Virginia.

"What's all this yelling?" she asked. And seeing Virginia with tears in her eyes, she rushed over to comfort her. Janice wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders and glared at the stranger standing in the doorway.

The strange man stood there silently, not making any expression, not taking any action of any kind. He could have passed for a marble statue had he not blinked a few times every minute.

"Your sister is going away," Richard said.

"What?" Janice gasped. "Going where? Why?"

"Your father owes me," the stranger spoke slowly. "I will be taking Virginia."

Janice squeezed her sister tighter, tears welling up in her eyes. "No! Father! You can't let him take her!"

"He can and he will," the man spoke. "He is the one who suggested her as payment after all."

A pang of shame and disbelief shot through Virginia at the reminder. She cried harder.

Janice cradled her sister's head against her neck, much like a mother would soothe her distraught child. Her breaths developed a shallow shake as she held onto her sister.

Virginia was happy to have Janice there to hold her at that moment. She hoped that somehow her sister would be able to solve this.

"She can't go. I." Janice said weakly.

Virginia thought that her sister was about to say that she would go in her place. She could tell that her sister was frightened. She kept shooting quick glances at the man at the door like she thought he would pounce on her at any moment.

Virginia could hear her sister's heart beating quickly. Though her sister never finished her next sentence, Virginia sucked in a breath and said, "No." She lifted her head and wiped her cheeks.

She couldn't let her sister go in her place.

Their father spoke again, "It has to be Virginia."

Janice looked down at her little sister with tears welling up in her eyes. She looked so afraid.

"Sister," Virginia began, taking Janice's hands in hers, "You're getting married soon. You have a life planned out for you."

"I know, I know. But how will l ever do it without you?" she pressed her hands into Virginia's flushed face.

The strange man continued to watch silently. His face was placid.

"I don't think I have a choice," Virginia said, doing her best to make her voice sound strong. She felt everything but strong.

What was it the man had just said? "Anyone who cares for his daughter so little doesn't deserve her anyway." If her father was so willing to let her go with this weird stranger, then perhaps she should. As much she hated to admit it, perhaps the pale man had a point.

She loved her father, but her sister was Virginia's real light, and once she was married, which was to happen soon, Virginia would be alone. Her father would be haunting the halls of the house, muttering with his nose stuck in a book. Or he would be out attending parties and social events, and Virginia would have to go it alone.

Right then, it seemed like either way she'd be alone, and Virginia would rather be sold to this pale stranger than let her sister take her place.

"Virginia, I can." her sister started. She looked desperately into her sister's eyes, trying to send some sort of wordless message. She hesitated and stopped again, gripping Virginia's fingers tightly.

Virginia wondered why Janice couldn't say the words, but she didn't begrudge her. She was afraid just as Virginia was afraid.

"Janice, let her go. You will stay and be married, as planned," Richard said.

"Well," the stranger said finally, "I have no interest in taking a woman already belonging to another man anyway. Virginia will come with me at once."