Dante's Rose

To preface this chapter: It contains blood as well as suggestive themes.

Happy Reading.

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I regretted leaving my fiance at dinner. Unfortunately I would have to get to know her better the next evening as Renlf called me away to deal with an issue in the wine cellars of the estate. Luckily the cellar wasn't far from the dining room as it was located right next to the kitchens.

"My Lord Dante, it appears as though this maid encountered something in the cellars.," Renlf said and gestured to a trembling maid.

At the time I was a little irritated that I was forced to leave dinner with my family despite the fact that I couldn't enjoy the meal myself. I was hoping to get to know my future wife and she hadn't disappointed me in the least. If it wasn't for the fact that I had some unknown condition I would've been overjoyed with the arrangement.

"Speak maid, what is the issue!," I said with some slight venom. It wasn't intentional, and I wasn't in the habit of reprimanding my servants as usually servants of the household were unproblematic. The other servants didn't even flinch at my words as they knew that it could've been perceived as an insult to leave a guest unattended when they first arrived.

"Ye..Yes my lord, I..I was fetching the wine from the cellar and suddenly I saw them.. Tho..those red eyes. They seemed as though they would devour me and I ran out as soon as they spotted me and informed the closest person I could find. I..I didn't think that they would call for you my lord, I'm very so..sorry.," the maid stuttered and shivered as she recalled the events.

Upon hearing her words my eyes narrowed and I sighed, "I'm sorry for being so harsh with you. All of the other servants are dismissed, and Renlf you will wait for me to return after I've checked the cellar."

"My lord we can send a guard down there is no need for you to go personally," Renlf tried to protest. However I had an idea of what might be in the cellar and if I was correct then the implications alone would be troublesome.

"No! I will go alone. I'm sure it was just some rat." I said with authority.

I borrowed a sword from one of the nearby guards, and made my way down before there could be any more protest. The cellar itself was cold and damp. Wine bottles on racks and kegs of beer could be seen as I felt my eyes adjust to the darkness. Surprisingly due to my new heightened senses, despite the darkness, the cellar was perfectly visible. I kept the sword that I had borrowed ready and I made my way through the maze of racks containing wine bottles. As with most noble children I had learned to wield a sword from an early age and could fend off most attackers. Slowly as I crept through the maze keeping my sword ready. I could hear the sounds of heavy breathing as I rounded the corner. As if to confirm my worst fears I saw her. She still had that same golden blonde hair that I remembered. Though her skin was pale as candle wax, and her maid outfit dirtied I recognized her as the woman who had woken me up from that dark tomb. Something was very different however, as her eyes seemed to have replaced that deep blue with a glowing red hunger. It was at this moment that I knew that she was like me and that her hunger, her thirst, had taken over. I could see that she was attempting to hold herself back. Walking closer into her view she said through parted breath, "Ma..Master, I..I..NEED IT!"

I knew what she wanted and how I could not, and so I walked over to her. It was a slow walk as some small part of me still felt fear. However that part seemed to almost disappear as I could feel some sort of connection to her. It felt as though for the first time I was no longer alone and I could tell that she felt the same way through this connection. I could also feel her hunger and desperation. When I was close enough to her; I grabbed her quickly into my embrace and could feel her hot panting breath against my neck.

"Go ahead and feed.," I said as the words seemed to come naturally. It was at these words that I felt a slight pain as she buried her fangs into my neck as she began to suck the blood from my body. With each gulp of blood that she drank I could feel our connection get even stronger. It was through that connection that I felt my own hunger rise. No longer being able to hold myself back I in turn bit into her neck with force. I felt a moan escape her lips for a few seconds as blood from my body began to spill before she went right back to feeding. As we both fed from each other I felt our connection become solid and tangible. The memories that she had as a child, when her parents died, when she moved into our estate, even the moments after she encountered me in my tomb. Everything that was her immediately entered my mind, and in turn everything that was me entered into hers. The maid's name was Rose and she was MY Rose from that moment on. I felt an obsession with her rise in me the longer we drank from each other and that obsession began to turn into lust. Still from sheer willpower I was able to remove myself from her.

"Rose, MY Rose, that is enough sleep…sleep.," I said and with those words Rose started to close her eyes and hung onto my body limply. I didn't know what power I used, or if Rose had simply been in such a tightly would state that my words brought relief. Whatever the case she was asleep in my arms.

Shifting her weight I noticed that the marks that my fangs left on her collar bone began to fade. Picking up her legs I moved her into a princess carry and started to make my way out of the cellar. I realized that I had left the sword that I had borrowed from the soldier behind, but I didn't really care. The only thing that I cared about was the Rose that was laying in my arms.

When I had made my way out and back to Renlf I could see the apparent shock on his face. Paying it no mind I said, "It looks like we've found your missing granddaughter. Prepare a separate room for her and I will carry her there. I want to see her first thing in the morning."

The shocked Renlf could only nod his head and started to lead me away from the kitchens to one of the rooms on the lower floor. My new obsession with her wants me to pick somewhere closer to my own quarters, but from Renlf's reaction I could tell that there must've been some blood that had spilled onto my clothes. Soon we came to a room and Renlf opened the door to reveal one of the more sparsely decorated rooms in the estate. Taking Rose I laid her down onto the bed as gently as possible and then turned to see Renlf with a questioning look.

"Renlf I want you to meet me in the office right after I change clothes. Make sure that no one enters this room until Rose wakes up.," I said, exercising my authority for the second time tonight.

"Ye..Yes, my lord.," was the only response that Renlf could give.

I made my way up to the second floor; I tried to avoid the attention of any of the servants because of the blood on my clothes. When I finally made it back to my room I let out a sigh of relief as my heart that had been pounding in my chest slowly calmed down. I quickly threw open the wardrobe in my room and retrieved a set of clothes to replace the ones covered in blood. After getting dressed I started to head to the office where I would wait for Renlf. When I got there I began pacing back and forth thinking about what I was going to tell the man. Sure, Renlf had been a loyal servant to my family for a lifetime. Though it was impossible to say if that would still be the case when he learned that his lord had been replaced by a monster. Thinking about the state of his granddaughter and the fact that Rose was now in the exact same situation as me. That fact alone brought me a little hope that the man was understanding of the situation. If Renlf couldn't handle the situation, then…, I would probably have to kill him. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case. I had decided that I would tell the man the truth, however I knew that it would be a risk.

I came out of my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door and after giving permission to enter the open door revealed the old servant. He had brought a candle into the darkened room with him.

It seemed as though I had completely become unaware of the darkness by this point.

"Renlf, please sit.," I offered him the sofa that was usually reserved for guests.

Without saying a word the man sat across from me and laid the candle down on the table that separated us.

"I understand that you have some questions. Questions that I might not even have the answers to myself. Though I will do my best to answer them.," I told Renlf with as much warmth as I could offer.

"Yes, my lord, I don't really know where to begin. I saw the blood on you and my granddaughter, Rose. Upon looking at you both it seemed as if you weren't injured. Rose herself was behaving strangely. I've never seen her like that in all my years. However what really drew my attention was your eyes, my lord. They glowed red and I had thought about what the maid said before you left. At that moment I couldn't help but be a little shaken.," Renlf expressed his concerns.

"When I went into the cellar I knew that there was a possibility that your granddaughter was down there…," I began to tell him of the events that transpired when I woke in the tomb, "... When I found her down there I felt some sort of connection to her and then realized that she was under the same condition.," I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders when I told Renlf what had been weighing on me.

"I am not entirely sure what happened to me except that it has something to do with my 'accident' at the border and the energies involved. I spoke with Alistair in order to get a better understanding of what was going on.," I continued.

"Does Alistair know?," Renlf asked, though at this point I could see that the man was shaken to his core.

"No, I decided it was best to keep this to myself until I could be sure of what was going on. I didn't know who to trust and I didn't know that my condition could be passed on. For the moment I'm also not sure what the 'conditions' are to pass this on.," I said while trying to remain diplomatic.

Renlf pondered for a moment and then seemed to come to a decision. I felt my heartbeat rapidly increase, as I waited for his reply.

"That was probably a wise decision my lord, though we will eventually need to find an expert in the dimensional rift. I am willing to see if I can't get more information from Alastair on the Underworld and the Abyss. The creature's that have been cropping up on the edge of the territory have been reported to share similar...proclivities.," Renlf said.

When I heard the words coming out of Renlf's mouth I was ecstatic! Though I didn't show it on my face. I knew that I had finally found an ally in this craziness.

"Thank you Renlf, I am already planning on using my power as regent to gather the council. Maybe if we could capture some of the creatures then we could get more information. If you can get Alistair to compile what he already knows about the dimensions that the dimensional connects to it would go a long way.," I made this request now knowing that I wouldn't be betrayed by my most loyal servant.

"I will do as you say lord," Renlf said as I dismissed him.

There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that he would tell anyone of my condition. That's just how loyal the man was. After clearing my mind of worries I started to make my way back to my room to prepare for the coming day. Renlf and I had talked late into the night and the entire estate seemed to be engulfed in silence as I returned. I still needed to decide what to do with my bloodied clothes. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I would entrust them to Rose in the morning after we had spoken. I had made the decision to make Rose my personal maid. It would certainly spread rumors, but there wasn't much that I could do about that. I needed someone who was familiar with my condition, not to mention that we could feed off of one another. Then it was less likely that we would lose control and attack the other servants or my family. I decided that tomorrow's problems would be solved tomorrow and drifted off to sleep.