Chapter Thirteen

Graceona

The wedding dress in front of the tall mirror caught my eye, my mind on the young man sleeping in the bed, transitioning from life to death. I sighed, thinking of Leonard's disease and his mother's passing. I remember the lonely week Leonard locked himself up in his condo; everyone was concerned about the young, bubbly human and his explanations of locking himself away from the living or away from people who cared for him; none of us could be called living, but once it came to the two humans that dwell in our colony, a majority of us felt more human than we had in ages- including me; for years I had almost forgotten what it was like to be human, looking the part, differed from being the part. The sound of the covers ruffling caused me to see Leonard stir before opening his eyes, raising as he looked at me. I turned towards the mirror; as Leonard wore a smile, happier about this curse than I ever was, I sighed, laying the dress on the back of the chair, making my way to the bed, and sitting down. "Grace? What's wrong?" The young man looked at me, placing an icy hand on my wrist, causing me to look at him, a constant reminder that the young man was now no longer human but a bloodsucker; it sickened me, boiling my blood even, as I sighed. I looked at him with a forced smile.

"Nothing is wrong, Leonard. Why do you ask?" The lie was no more convincing to him than it was to me as he raised a brow.

"Grace, you're lying; let's be honest with each other, human or vampire; I'm still the same person you fell in love with. Can we not start this marriage off on a poor foot? Let the marriage start before the deception starts," he sighed as I looked at him.

"You expect me to be happy with you as a vampire, Leonard? I had fought for years to keep this time from coming, and now look at you; you're no different from the rest of us. How can I find joy in this change when all the things I had worked so hard to guard you against now stare me in the face? What more is there, Leonard? How else am I supposed to take this?"

He looked at me. "You regret turning me? I'm confused. Did you want me to die? If you did, why did you come after me when I walked away? Why did you change your mind and choose this for me if it would upset you?"

"I don't regret turning you, Leonard. I don't regret the choice to make you a vampire, but the thought that bothers me is you could still seek help. You weren't at Heaven's door like I was. I could have helped you. I blame my shotgun decision-making for not trying the other route to help you. Do you think this is what your mother would have wanted for you to be a vampire, separated from her in life and death? There is no hopeful ending for us, Leonard. Surely you knew this before you requested me to change you. You and your mother are now on separate paths from one another in death because of my rash choice."

"Your rash decision? Grace, if you remember, I was the one who came to you and made the request; you didn't agree to it, and you found out about the illness; if it were not as serious, would you have let the thought of changing me come about in a conversation? I doubt it; until you heard of the outcome, you even stated the choice wasn't up for debate. You did what you saw needed to be done, as you always do. Would you have even changed me if not for the promise you made a month ago that I wouldn't suffer death for long?"

I sighed. "Leonard, you would still be human until you brought this unknown disease up. Under the sun, there would be no way I would change you if there were another way around it, not even if you begged for the change. That would have been one request. I would have told you no."

He grinned. "One request means you had set some silent rules. Do share what was on the table for us with me being human. I want to know; maybe I will agree with them."

His tone made me laugh. "Rather, you agreed or not. It wouldn't matter, Leonard. Once it comes to your safety, I never change my mind. This was the first time I changed my mind about your safety, and this decision affected your safety; what may I ask, made you think you had a shred of control once it came to me and protecting you? Tell me, and I will share my silent rules with you."

He looked at me. "Grace, it's me; you always came around. I think even vampires can grow annoyed with the same questions and issues being brought to them. You know, I was as annoying as I was bubbly. When I wanted something. I went after it, so I was prepared to run you crazy to get whatever I wanted in a friendly way. Calming you down was always something that I thought was fun; it was entertaining; it always gave me something to do and look forward to; now tell me this list of silent rules; I'm sure you have a sheet a mile long."

I looked at him. "A mile-long. I had two main ones that I wouldn't let slide, and that was turning you. And in your human state, the romance would not get too intimate."

"So, you were against the idea of sharing sheets when I was human, hm, interesting, and look at me now. What is stopping you now?"

"Nice try. That's for next week after the wedding. Try to control yourself until then; I know it is difficult for you, since both of us know that self-control isn't something you possess. Do at least try to behave." The sarcastic look of disappointment spread across his face from ear to ear, causing me to laugh.

"Leonard, this issue is serious. Can't you pretend to be serious for once in our conversations?"

"I am being serious; you said I lack self-control; I've had times I had a lot of self-control," he said, leaning against the bed frame, placing his hands behind his head, still wearing the goofy look on his face.

"Oh, this is something that I want to hear. When have you, Leonard Shepherd, ever had self-control or even practiced it? Enlighten me; I need the entertainment."

He looked at me and then looked around at the surroundings. "Is that a new mirror? Why do you even have a mirror? Vampires don't have reflections; why would you have a mirror?" I looked at him.

"And self-control, I feel, has left the chat. But, no, Leonard, we don't have reflections; it's not a crime for a woman to have a mirror. I admit it is pointless for a woman with no reflection to own a mirror, but I still enjoy the finer things in life. This mirror was beautiful, plus I needed something to place in the corner. It was a little bare. Its main purpose is for looks more than use. Once again, having a lovely room or cozy living space isn't a crime."

Leonard looked at me, then at the large king-sized bed. "And I suppose this bed is the same; vampires don't sleep; I've watched movies."

"Leonard, we've all watched movies about old and moderate vampires; we've seen vampires burn and some sparkle. We've seen and experienced it. But, no, we don't need sleep, the bed, the mirror. Everything you see in this room is because I want something to come to after the craziness of my days. I want to appear as human as possible. There is nothing wrong with wanting a life you can no longer have. Even the craziest of us have dreams of what could be."

Leonard looked back at me. "And baseball?"

"Baseball is not our favorite pastime, unlike most vampires. It's just Darin's favorite past-time, and that is because some inaccurate portrayal of vampires got to him before we could; as long as he's not hurting anyone, I assume false favorite past times are alright, compared to what else he could have got from that series, I've had very few vampires go rogue and slaughter humankind. But I'm not saying it's never happened."

"What about the sun? You walk in the sun?"

"You also know, Leonard, I am over 200 years old. The older the vampire, the more tolerant they are of the sun's rays, and you, being a newborn, have powers that are still locked. Your immunity to the sun is non-existent. You step in the sun, you'll suffer, you stay in it for too long, you burn, and there is no bringing you back after that."

"You can eat human food. Can I still enjoy my double-chocolate mint ice cream?" His words stopped as I shook my head and sighed.

"Human food will make you ill now for at least the first six months to a year in this life. It depends on how long the body takes to adjust. It's not one diet that fits all. Different bodies react differently." He let out another sigh as I chuckled. "We, however, can label you as a one-man army. For your body in this phase is impossible to cause massive destruction. The carnage you can create should you go rogue, but you would gain the gifts of control and strength when trained. I'm going to share with you what my creator shared with me. I see a great and mighty warrior in you, lying dormant, waiting to be awoken. You could be stronger than me. With my training, you could become a ruler of your colony of warriors."

He looked at me. "Me? A ruler of people, stronger than you?" With each word spoken by him, he became more enthused. The sadness that once reigned wiped away faster than it had appeared. "So, I can't eat anything at the party tonight, not even the Oreos, the Ho-ho dogs, or the cakes."

"Not yet, but I will tell you, the longer you go without human food, the stronger you will become. If I ate better, I could be more powerful, but you can become a great vampire with the right diet and training. There wouldn't be much limit to what and who you could fight. Not much different from a human diet and exercise. You get what you put into it. You eat healthy as a human and exercise, and you get stronger. Once you think about it, training for your powers is the same."

"The only good thing I've heard about this is being a leader. I can't eat anything. I have to work to get the shot of being this leader. How did you manage?"

I looked at him with a sigh. "I never said this life was easy or fun. Since my creation, I've clarified that I wasn't happy about it. I detested it then, and even 200 years later, it's not getting any easier; Hollywood is a company built on lies. These stories of lovers who desire to be vampires, we're dead, soulless creatures, man. How does that hope to make a woman or man walk away and say, Man, being an undead, soulless, and empty monster is on my bucket list? I must do it to find true happiness. No sane individual outside Hollywood's web of lies has said that with a straight face. The only thing that kept me going was the hope of happiness. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it for two days."

"You would have ended your life. You were that unhappy?" I sighed, looking at the bed. "Couldn't you have told your creator you wanted to die? Is he the reason you hate your kind: he took away something you wanted and gave you something you would rather end yourself than live this life? Was he that cruel? Didn't he ask if what he wanted was what you wanted? Didn't he give you the freedom of choice?"

"My opinion wasn't worth any merit, Leonard. Women had no opinions. We cooked, cleaned, and bore children. Even if I were to say no, it was law; no woman could refuse those higher than her. Men called the shots. If a woman were to stand up against her husband, he could have shut her up, and no one would have asked, nor would they have cared about the outcome of this woman. They always taught us to shut up, listen, and obey, so Michael didn't have to listen, even if I could speak and refuse. My turning is a blur. The world around me was vanishing. Completely devoid of energy or vitality. I couldn't feel anything. I would have been gone in a matter of moments."

I felt as he stroked my hair, kissing my forehead, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm glad those who have done this to you are gone. If they weren't, I would erase them to eliminate this hurt, let you live, make children, and watch them grow. The only death that could take you was at an old woman, not like your death. This life wouldn't be something you would have lived, and never for this long. But we're together now. Everything is going to be fine. I'll do everything I can to see you happy. Try to relax."

Looking at him. "I am calm. I've had time to get over that. It's just upsetting to me that this is the life you would have chosen for yourself; none of us would have chosen this road if we had the chance to choose. Still, you, Leonard, you had the choice. You wasted it, choosing this curse when you could have been together with your mother at the end of this journey, and now you don't even have that pleasure. You'll be like this forever, watching those you love disappear. You remain sure you'll have fortune and fame amongst your colony, with only memories remaining. That is a real torment in its way. An eternity of misery and sadness; why would you want that for yourself when you could have had the easy way out?"

He looked at me. "You don't know my mother as clearly as you think. The two of us hadn't spoken in years. Yeah, I mourned for her. She was my mother. But the two of us never had an actual relationship. This may be a curse to you, and I respect your reason, but being with someone I love forever seems like that is the real luxury." I sighed.

"Only you would say something like that, Leonard, but you're wrong. This isn't something to be looked at as an award. This is a curse. You will have a different opinion when you put your toes in the water of this. As a human, I had kept you safe from this world, and now that you're a part of it," I sighed as he laughed. Causing me to look at him.

"I get it now, Grace. You didn't want me to become a vampire because you wanted, for some odd reason, to continue to protect this frail human being. You're doing the same thing. You criticized Darin for playing bodyguard to someone who doesn't need it. What makes it okay for you, Grace? I don't need protection. I want to fight my own battles. Did you realize you were doing the same thing you criticized Darin for?"

"The thought never crossed my mind."

"It may not have crossed your mind, but you are doing the same thing by me as Darin did to you. You treated me like this frail, weak human so that you could protect me. You never once asked me if this was what I wanted or if being protected was something I wanted. Just assumed that it was." He looked at me with a sigh. "Grace, this isn't a male pride coming from me, but men like to fight their battles. This has nothing to do with a gender thing. Not everyone enjoys being guarded."

I looked at him. "It sounds like a pride thing to me, Leonard. However, I can see where you're coming from. I suppose I was doing the same thing that Darin was guilty of. I apologize."

He looked at me. "Just like that, no protest?"

"Did you want me to protest? Leonard, I will admit when I am wrong and apologize for any wrong I have done, whether or not it was intended. Keeping you human was probably because of something deep inside of me that enjoyed having you as a human, and you are correct. I had assumed that what I had wanted was something you wanted, and I apologize as well."

Leonard continued to look at me, his brow raised. "It's alright, Grace. At least you are aware of what you were doing. I can forgive it." I looked around the room as Leonard sighed, causing me to look back at him. "The wedding is next week. We've not decided about a living arrangement. We've hardly made plans for the future. Do we extend our family, or do we stay like this, the two of us, for eternity? We've planned a wedding and left it at that. Shouldn't we prepare for the future?"

"Do you want to extend the family?"

"I've thought about it a lot lately. Take this time to see how compatible we are, get my powers in check, and get my new walk in order before deciding to add on."

"Sounds fine to me," I said as Leonard smiled.