CHAPTER FOURTEEN -SIXTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Count Samsidion sat very still as the carriage made its way through the thicket of abundant forest. Gabrelle could only hear her own heartbeat stamp across her ragged breathing. Was she afraid to be seated in such a close proximity from the blood sucking Count? Absolutely not. Her instincts had spoken in volumes to her about this man and she trusted him wholly. She had seen the sincerity that was being evoked from within him and his passionate pleas had told her that he did not relish this lifestyle that had been coerced upon him. Gabrelle did not love the silence but there was nothing a peasant girl would have to converse about with an aristocratic. They would sit like this for an hour before the Count realized that this journey was becoming tediously boring.
"This place that you come from." It was a smooth start and Gabrelle looked up. She was instantly relieved, and she gave him a slight smile hopeful for some good conversation. "Are there many in your family?" It was not what she would have liked to talk about but sometimes pain was unavoidable.
She shook her head sadly; thankful that tears were no longer a persistent player that used to well up whenever she thought about her family. "It is just me." Her response piqued his curiosity and he stared at her.
"Your family?" It was a half-hearted enquiry because he knew that a hard luck story would come, opening deep and seeping wounds. The last thing that the Count wanted was to inflict pain and open up old and sutured wounds. If she did not respond he would not be too destroyed. Curiosity and idle gossip were not the foundation that he used to build a bond with someone.
"My family was taken away from me in one swoop." She answered, lightly abrupt but out of an obligation that she thought that was owed to him. There was no need for her to furnish any gory details neither was he eager to know more. He had enough of his own intolerant pain and who better than him to know the repercussions of delving and rooting out the unnecessary.
Gabrelle felt a coldness pass between them, and she felt bad that she had created a somber atmosphere. It was time to clear the air and invoke content that would make this journey go quickly. She smiled at him as he searched her face, and she felt the gratefulness in her soar as he returned her smile. A niggle crossed her mind, and she wondered if he would give her the time of day had he not needed her, but it would be best to put all these unnecessary and frivolous thoughts to rest.
"Would you like to talk about your story and your journey to this point?" Her offer was expedient, and she needed to know her purpose in helping.
He just nodded, "It was a summer that was the harshest weather that we had ever faced. My father, my brother and I had gone hunting because the one that hunted for us had fallen ill." She knew that he did not have to think about his story because it was etched in his brain. "It was during that time that we had made contact with the swamps when my father had fell in and both Thaneus and I had to go in to get him. The mosquitos were just horrendous, and we were attacked by them. For a few days we were fine until my father started getting the chills and his fever was spiking." Gabrelle blinked her misperception.
"Spiking?" She was unsure of the meaning of the word.
"It went up with no intention of plunging." He grinned even though it was a topic of discernment, he was reminded of an old friend. "A friend from England that I had studied abroad with had taught me these words." He needed to explain to her as he did not want her to feel that he was bragging about his superiority in intellect that was derived from the privileges of his station as an aristocrat. Gabrelle just nodded.
"Please do carry on." Her invitation simply told him that she did not see him in the light of snobbery.
"Papa had gone like a snuff of a light while Thaneus and I fought the battle in days until the doctor had given up." He took a pause and Gabrelle felt a thirst punch her throat. "I recall that the fever had made me a mad man. I saw monsters crowding me and all I wanted was to make them go away." There was a pinch in his expression. "I even prayed and wished for death." He whispered, almost afraid to speak it out aloud. "I pleaded with the doctor to make it stop and in a matter of speaking he did. It was the most tearing pain that I had ever had to deal with." He shook his shoulders, shuddering at the thought of the pain. Gabrelle was not sure that she wanted to hear anymore but it was essential that she knew about what she was dealing with before embarking upon helping him.
"The doctor was the undead." It was a rhetorical observation and he nodded, nevertheless.
"After he was done with me, he did the same with my brother. We were in a limp state for many days until we awoke to a body that we did not understand." He was riddled with sadness and Gabrelle felt the ache in her chest. "Hunger for food had died. We could no longer breathe like a normal man would and the only thing that we lusted for was fresh blood that was being pumped by a human heart." Gabrelle swallowed and for a moment it was like someone had walked over her grave. She shook her head. It was impossible. He would never indulge in his fantasies to eat her up. She was the only person on the moving earth that had a chance to save him and his brother. Well, she would not be able to make them alive again, but she would try to help them survive.
"You do not take any worry dear Gabrelle." He took Gabrelle by a wave of disbelief. It was the first time he had made use of her name and rolling of his tongue made her cheeks stain with eat. Seeing her go beet red, he gave a light laugh but as his eyes danced, she knew that it was flirtatious and compacted with genuine humor. "I will not make you, my meal." Gabrelle lowered her gaze for she had nothing bring to this part of the conversation. While she knew that he would not partake in her blood, she was fully aware that when he was thirsty someone would be a victim of his gluttony. By lowering her gaze, the Count knew that he had robbed her of encouragement, and it was a reminder that he was no longer a man.
"I do not wish to inflict pain upon the innocent." She heard his words loudly and clearly, despite him drowning it within the wells of his anguish. She looked up with a renewed attitude. It was a show of solidarity that she gave him a look of empathy. Gabrelle knew that if she did not open her mind to his feelings then she would never find the path that would lead her to save him and his brother.
"I can never judge you." She allowed for admittance. "Because I have never walked on your path and never shouldered your burden." She spoke in neutral tones, and she focused on keeping her personal feelings tucked away. "Being committed to drawing blood from human beings is a matter of survival for your kind."
He nodded. "Let us not forget that the sun prevents us from going outside. That is why we are so pale."
Gabrelle just nodded because all this was new to her. It was only the skinny rumors that she had heard gave her a slight insight. At the time she had heard the tale she had taught it to be just a myth and now the reality was sitting right from across of her.
"I cannot promise that I can help you beat this dilemma that plagues you." She spoke softly, hoping that in her gentleness she would be able to reach him in comfort. "But I will try to look for the book that my grandmother had left to my mother and see if she had recorded any information that might help us." Even as she spoke with confidence, Gabrelle was afraid to say the word that is loosely used to describe the Count and his younger brother. It was a refreshing turn of events as he broadened his smile and she saw that his mirth was etched with genuine obedience. She was humble; while she an ordinary peasant girl, perhaps she would make a difference for the two Counts.
He swallowed and while Gabrelle knew that the undead had no saliva glands, she understood that he had to practice this to conform and adapt to society. Now it became habitual to him. "I appreciate your effort, Lady Gabrelle." He paused watching the dismay fall upon her face. Before he could continue, she interjected in quiet tones.
"You make me ashamed Count Samsidion." His response was the raise of his eyebrow in enquiry. She was bright enough to understand his unvoiced question. "I am not with the blood of an aristocrat. Neither am I with means of indulgence. I am but a mere servant that leads a life of simplicity. I am no lady." The silence that followed was heavy and the Count knew the pain flirting over her eyes was not of regret because she held no riches. She was in pain because of the loss that she had suffered. She did not deserve to feel this wound.
"When humanity takes a stance for trying a hand at being helpful then you are nothing short of being a Lady." He asserted a form of dominancy. Gabrelle found so much of his character from hearing just those sweet words. He was a man that exuded kindness and her heart squeezed with a renounced pain, trying to imagine what he could have accomplished had he not been dead alive. It was as though he had read her mind when he spoke next.
"I never imagined my life to be this detached from civilization." He sighed, surrendering to the reality of his plight. "My father had ensured that my education came from abroad so that I could have harmonized and restructured Nottingham to move with the times of the world." His good mood turned foul, and he sneered with a vehement indolence that told Gabrelle that he was at expiration point. "This existence makes for a lonely place. I can never have a castle full of my offspring. A family is the definition of a man." Gabrelle shook her head sadly. In a nutshell he told her that money was nothing without having someone to love and feel modes of joy with. He fell into a heavy but dull inaudibility and Gabrelle had not stored-up advice that would make him feel warm. There was no pun intended because he was reduced now to a non-melting block of ice. He was just preserved like a pickle that could last for as long as the brine covered it. She felt so sorry for him, and her mind did circles of intensive thought. If she could grow the intuition of healing the sick then surely, she would be able to help Count Samsidion in one way or the other. She would just have to be patient and apply herself. There was nothing that no one could never accomplish if they did not have a disciplined mindset. Her stomach growled, complaining necessarily of the starvation that she was enduring. This was a new occurrence for her, and she attributed this to the good food that she had consumed at the castle. Count Samsidion had heart the knots try to untie in her stomach, and he reached underneath his seat to produce a laden basket. Gabrelle was stunned as he handed it to her with a weak smile, leaned forward and tapped the roof above her head. The horseman slowed down the pace, eventually bringing the carriage to a halt.
"You may take your meal now and then we can be on our way." He invited her and she removed the white cloth to unveil a feast of cheese, cream, bread, black currant preserves, a little cake and some dried meat. This meal would see her many miles and it was on the tip of her tongue to ask the dashing Count about his meal until reality dawned upon her and she bit her tongue hard.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After the wonderful meal that she had, Gabrelle had opted to snooze away the rest of the journey. Count Samsidion did not forge any more conversation and when she had got out of the carriage to stretch her legs, he remained inside even though the forage of the forest held a canopy over the opulent sun. The sun rays had not diminished but it had diluted by the time the carriage came to a halt in front of her tiny abode. Count Samsidion informed her rather brusquely that he would wait for the pittance of an enraging dark strength of a beguiling night. Gabrelle had to smile at that adjective, and she loved the way he spun his words to make the conversation more stimulating. She got into her home and after a once sweep over, she got to work looking for the book. It was not an easy task as it got darker, and the glow of the lamp was way too soft for her to keep the search going. When the night deepened to a strength of blackening might, only then her a trifling door push open to Count Samsidion strolling in garbed in a black, red lined coat causing a swish of wind as he got in. Gabrelle looked up and motioned him with the wave of her hand to sit on the available chair.
"It was futile." She admitted. The light is gone, and I cannot find the book." She shrugged and continued. "I will begin my search at first light."
He nodded. "I will take refuge in the forest tonight." Gabrelle cringed, afraid that a stray and unsuspecting traveler would be the Count`s next meal.
"It does not happen in that manner." He assured her abruptly and the daunting gaze that he gave her claimed volumes of irritation.
Gabrelle blinked, stunned and for a milli second, she had thought she had misheard him. Then the blanket over her eyes flew away as she was struck by the dawning that the Count could read her thoughts.
She hung her head, "You can read my head." She was bumbling like a bee that had just lost it`s beautiful wing.
She saw his stare through the dim glow of the lamp. He was contemplating a reply, but she knew that he would not deliver insincere lies. That was not just who he was.
"Ai, I can but not all your thoughts only the one that is relevant to me." She felt a warmth of shame burn her skin. She thought of the time when she reveled in his charming and handsome looks. It was too late now to suppress that. "I don't drink the blood of a person for a sport like archery."
She bit her lip hard, wary and lucky that she did not draw any blood. "Yes, I know," she interpolated rather sharply but he was already shaking his head. "It is for you to survive at the expense of the innocent." The moment those words were out she bitterly regretted it. She did not have a need nor a want to insult the Count. He was still shaking his head.
"My brother and I are selective of who we feed on." Gabrelle stomach churned; that thought gave her a feeling of chills spreading and freezing her over. "We don't thirst often and once we do we choose a person that is not fit to exist in this society." Gabrelle did not know if she was swallowing his explanation with the right digestion. Surely two wrongs could not make a right. He gave her a sudden grin. The perfect teeth of white pearls could melt stone and transform it to skin. She shivered not for cold, but an excitement brewed inside of her. Truly he was an epitome of perfection. It was a pity. She shut her eyes tight. It truly was a misfortune that both he and his brother were doomed to a life of nothing. She looked at him and he did not seem to mind that she was thinking about this. She had to renege on the deal that she had made with herself. That was not to get invested in his life, but curiosity was aching her bones and before they crumble, she decided to ask.
"Are you going to hunt your meal tonight?"
Instead of becoming upset he laughed out heartily. "You ask such a question with so much brevity, yet you maintain a decorum of innocence." She blinked her astonishment. Was he teasing her? "You are quite the delight dear Gabrelle." He walked towards her and her breathing staggered as he reached and cupped her chin with his cold hands. His touch was not brazening, and she did not flinch. It felt good and she remembered the talk that she had with her mother about the female body coming alive in adulthood. Perhaps this was what she had meant. "You are so young, and your beauty is a timeless vision of what fairy tales are made off." Gabrelle was entranced by his depiction, and she was caught in a net that made her inwardly bleed for this man. She had nothing to respond to his compliments. Instead, her face became flushed by her own blood, and she was glad that it was dark. She also realized that he could smell her blood percolating, but he said and did nothing. He removed his hand from her chin and went with a tone saturated with a need to explain. "The answer is no dear Gabrelle. I have no need to feed off anyone tonight. I worry about your reputation, and it would also feel good to give my legs a chance to run through the trees with a freedom of not being hunted myself." She had received his message with an intense clarity. He was telling her indirectly that while he was deemed as a monster, he was also a victim that was constantly being chased. She was beginning to be ploughed by guilt.
"Count Samsidion." She began what seemed as a very clumsy apology as her mind became a carrier searching for a mechanism that would provide her with adequate words.
He threw his hands in the air with a dramatic flair. "Oh, for goodness sake just call me Samsidion. The Count title is so outdated."
Gabrelle stumbled; perplexed she wondered how could she step into a circle that was totally forbidden to her. She was looked at him in horror. "I could never address you by your given name." Adamance bolted out of her like a shot of lightning. "Why that is totally preposterous."
"Why is it preposterous?" He challenged her with open and passionate fire.
"You are so superior in my eyes and I am just a nobody."
"A nobody that is prepared to challenge her integrity to help a man that is a mere shell."
"A shell?"
He gave a harsh laugh that enabled no humor. "Like an egg that has been sucked of the yellow and the white." He moved into the light for her to have a better look. "You see me." He stabbed his middle finger over and over again on his chest. "I am a shell that has no contests. I exist just because I can and I am able to."
It was an impassionate speech and Gabrelle found herself feeling too tired to adjust and conform. Instead, she just whispered. "It will offend the Countess if I addressed you by your name without your title.
He smiled, wanly dribbling with a diluted waste of no humor. "My mother is not present sweet Gabrelle." He saw her shift uncomfortably in her chair. "You should rest now. Come tomorrow we will start the search of the book."
"Will you still roam the trees and compete with the owls?"
"Ai for only a while." He did not wait for her to reply and he just left her home in a huff of a staggering wind.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Gabrelle`s eyes opened to the crying of the prairie chickens. She had no need to feel tired because she had slept like a baby. When the Count had left, she was almost afraid to go to sleep in the case that he arrived but she no longer feared him feasting upon her. She went outside and splashed some water over her face. Count Samsidion had disappeared and she wondered where he was because the sun was striking furiously. It was better for her to just go about her work because he was accustomed to preparing his day keeping the harsh rays of the sun out of his body. Her home was tiny and there were not many places that things could be hidden. Gabrelle had fine combed her way through the home but she had come out empty. There was only one logical explanation. Her mother had destroyed the book together with grandma`s other belongings. She sat at her battered wooden table, down trodden and left with only despair. After her dream, she was accurately sure that the book would turn up soon enough once she reached home but now her hope was fading faster than a rainbow after a storm. She felt deflated and defeated as she knew that the chance to help Count Samsidion and his brother was hopeless. She gulped down her hot tea, scorching her throat and giving a small yelp. That was all that she needed. She went to her tiny cabinet and opened it. Lucky for her it was salve that she had made with eucalyptus that readily spoke to her. She opened the little wooden container and scooped a finger full, smearing it gently on the wall of her throat. That felt a bit soothing and welcoming. She got back into her chair and the tea had gone cool so she sipped it heartily. She had to jog her memory so that she will be reminded of all the places that her mother had tucked away important items. The day was running quite fast and before she knew it, the sun scorched as midday had returned. Gabrelle went outside and headed straight for the little stream that was a few meters away from her home. Her hair was in dire need of a wash. Conceivably, if she cooled herself down then just maybe she would be able to apply herself and delve into her memory. It was a quiet afternoon and as she sat into the shallow water, the cool splash gave her a little organization in the train of her thoughts. Now was the time for Gabrelle to regret not spending more time with her mother or the least she could do was to have paid more attention. "Think hard, Gabrelle." She spoke to her reflection, hoping for her memory to sprint back and give her an inkling as to where her mother would have kept the book. She expected a miracle that was not about to happen when her reflection did not speak back, she knew that it was time to head back. She was not sure what time frame that they had but the Countess seemed pretty eager for them to arrive back in record time. As Gabrelle walked back to the homestead, she could not help but wonder where the Count was. She counteracted her concern by questioning herself. Was she afraid that by some misfortune the Count was caught out and destroyed or did the Count meets an unfortunate soul and send him to hell. Then again, she had to trust him when he said that he will not feed on anyone. She was not sure about his threshold of withstanding his thirst was. When she got into her home, she changed into one of her mother's old dresses and began inspecting every nook and cranny. Still there was nothing. No hidden crevices and certainly no secret room or concealed drawer with a false bottom. Maybe her dream was one big fat lie and the book only existed in her warped sense of misguided direction. The dream had seemed so real and it convinced Gabrelle to bring back the Count to her home. Night returned all too quickly and once again the Count just swooped in with no prior warning of at least knocking on the door. Gabrelle`s down trodden look was enough for him to know that she had not found the book and she will not be able to unlock a spell for him to return to the world of daylight.
Eventually the silence became too heavy for him and he needed to ask. "Is there no discovery off the book?" It was rhetorical because had the book been in her possession, she would have told him the moment he walked in through the almost dilapidating door. "Let me change that. Is there an ounce of hope that this book would be found any time soon?"
Gabrelle felt the beads of pressure lining her forehead that would eventually build steam and explode to an exhausting headache. In her defense, she had tried her best. "I have searched everywhere and there is just no sign that a book like that was in my grandmother`s possession." In the end Gabrelle decided that honesty was the best policy. "I am beginning to think, Count Samsidion that I have failed to keep my promise to you, your mother and your brother." Tears were welling up in her eyes and in a flash of a lightning bolt struck, the Count was squatting in front of her.
"Now, now dear Lass," he patted her hand gently. "One should not lose faith so easily. Tomorrow might bring a day of luck." His baritone was smooth and soothing and Gabrelle felt as though her confidence level would explode. He was correct as haste would make waste. She would delve deep into her inner sanctum of thought before she went to rest. Perhaps her grandmother would return to help her with a virtual light to excavate into the whereabouts of the book.
"Are you going to stay here tonight?" She kept it casual but she was curious as to what his plans for the night before.
He took a moment. "I will be lingering around." She nodded and Count Samsidion knew that she trusted him explicitly. "Did your grandmother live around these parts."
Gabrelle nodded. "Not too far away from here." Her intuition knew in which direction that this conversation was heading so she saved him the bother of asking a fresh bout of question. "But the homestead has long been sold and demolished. A landowner has converted it into stables for his horses."
That was another dead end and while her grandmother had not much acquisition over the years her mother had brought back her paltry belongings. At the time Gabrelle was too young to take notice of what she considered to be insignificant at the time. She yawned noisily covering her mouth as she felt the weight of her eye lids droop. The one thing that Gabrelle appreciated about the Count was his tact and without saying a word he left the room. She changed into her nigh wear and jumped into her tiny cot. Thankfully her built was petite so she fitted in quite well without feeling any discomfort. Despite the fact that her eyes begged for sleep just a few minutes ago as she lay on her bed, she was suddenly wide awake. Gabrelle could not help but shake the feeling that time was slipping away and the two Counts could very well be in a bit of a balmy situation. Count Samsidion was holding back a vital piece of information from here. She felt it in her bones and after she had dreamt of her grandmother, Gabrelle started experiencing strange phenomena. Her intuition had sharpened and she could feel the burden of the Count as though it was her own. She did not understand this metamorphism and questioning it would learn to be a futile waste of time. Her eyes dropped into the deep well of sleep and while she felt at peace there was a knock on her mind`s door. Her dream awakened to the bubbles of a happy visitor. This time it was her mother with a face full of smiles that visited her. Gabrelle was hopeful for anything that she would say to her but she just smiled a thousand smiles. She was happy and Gabrelle heart was breaking that they were not together. Her time was fleetingly shy and before she knew it her mother had vanished from her dream. When Gabrelle awakened from her sleep it was still dark and the tears streamed off her eyes. Count Samsidion watched her from the corner of the room. The girl was in pain and he felt selfish that it would be for his benefit that she would be awakened to her power. From the moment that he had met her, he knew that she was a witch.
Gabrelle lay in her tiny cot and she watched the sun beacon in preparation to evolve the sky. It was wonderful and majestic and then reawakened her dream via her mind. It was glorious and suddenly she knew where the book was.