The Vampire Pirate's Daughter (21 page)

I look down at Andrew and he is laying in
exactly the same position as he was the last time I looked up at
him. His dark lashes are fanned across his cheeks. He did not move
since Edward and Amanda left mere minutes ago.

Amanda returns with Edward. He sits down next
to Andrew on the couch, and then he looks up at Amanda
miserably.

I walk closer to them and I ask shrill,
“What’s wrong with him? Why is he so pale?”

Amanda walks toward me and softly she takes
me into her arms. She pulls me closer into her and then I know. I
just know that Andrew is dead. I predicted long ago spitefully that
he was too weak to survive a turning and now I proved myself right.
I sink into Amanda and she holds onto me tightly.

I cry for days, refusing to eat, until
Amanda reprimands me and reminds me about my unborn
baby.

Between the day Andrew died and the moment
my baby was born, I do not remember a lot. I do remember though the
excruciating pain of childbirth and wondering why women did it so
willingly.

I lie next to him, he is a little over a
month old, and I look down at his face lovingly. Although I thought
I loved Andrew completely, now when I look down into the sweet,
beautiful face of my child, I understand the concept of
unconditional love fully. I have found it.

I hear the door to my room open softly and
then from the corner of my eye I see Edward walking tentatively
into the room toward my bed. He stands over me and then he looks
down at William in my arms.

I decided to name my son William Francois.
When I told all the doting men that surround me on a daily basis
now, they were ecstatically happy that I chose the name William.
Edward was not so happy about Francois being connected to the name
as well though, but I insisted and after all, it was my choice.

Edward whispers softly, “Do you want anything
to eat?”

I have them cooking for me now, although I do
not think this particular novelty will last.

He says amazed, “I cannot believe how much he
resembles William.”

I look down again and smile. His hair is
white blonde, his eyes sparkling blue. He has that brooding look of
Andrew and Andrew’s long eyelashes. He is just absolutely
beautiful. I feel my heart overflow with love for him.

I look up at Edward again and softly I reply,
“I’ll come down now. He is about to fall asleep.”

Edward nods his head and then softly he
leaves the room.

I remain lying next to William for a little
while longer, smelling the sweet smell of him.

Who would ever have thought that I would take
to motherhood so naturally? I wonder if it is a natural instinct
built into each girl. I cannot say that I was glad I was attacked
and that my life changed in a second. I went from being immortal to
being mortal in the blink of an eye, but how could I regret that
awful moment when now I am here holding my purpose in life in my
arms. Always have I searched for this, this feeling that will bind
me, no matter what, to another living being and I found it in a
place where I was not even looking for it.

When my stomach growls hungrily, I get up
from the bed gently. I lift William softly and I cradle him in my
arms, before I place him carefully in the crib.

Amanda bought me every single baby accessory
ever invented, so now I push the button on the baby monitor and
attach its partner to my hip.

I leave the room softly and then I join
everybody in the kitchen. The smell of food welcomes me before they
do.

William comes running toward me, his white,
blonde hair bouncing around his tanned face. His light blue eyes
sparkle with excitement. He is helping me pick grapes in my section
and he eats more than he picks.

We celebrated his sixth birthday the week
before and still it astounds me how much I love him.

I celebrated by twenty-third birthday
seven months ago and never have I contemplated how great it would
be to grow into my body, until I felt comfortable in my skin. For
two hundred and a few odd years, I was sixteen and although I felt
old at times, it was a different kind of old. It was a tired, bored
feeling, where now I enjoyed being me. I loved the way my body
filled out. My bronze skin looked beautiful, my red hair was
sun-kissed and I felt the sun on my shoulders while I worked. No
longer was it just a warm, pinprick sensation, but it was as if I
could feel the warmth sink into me. I realized that I did not have
to perform death-defying acts to live in the moment and to
appreciate everything. I lived in the moment every day.

William screams excited, he is always loud
and exuberant and he ruled our little family with a firm small
fist. “Mommy, Mommy, look quickly.”

I am not alarmed, because the tone of his
voice is inquisitive. I look up at him smiling and see him chase a
white butterfly through the vines. I smile and then the smile fades
from my face.

Without thinking, I pull the bright scarf
tied around my hair off my head and I hold it in my hands
nervously. I see a dark silhouette in the low sun walking toward me
and my breath catches in my throat. I feel fear in my legs and I
want to start running. I want to scoop William up and run away as
fast as I can and never stop - never.

The shadow walks closer to me and then I
look up into his dark blue eyes. He is so memorable. It is as if I
only saw him the day before. It feels as if my world stops. He
smiles widely and tears burn inexplicably behind my eyes. I stand
frozen in place, unable to move.

His eyes laugh when he says, “You look
different. I have kept you in my memory so protectively, yet
somehow you have grown more beautiful.”

I notice everybody walk closer to us.
Everybody is laughing and happy to see him, but I look up at him
bewildered.

Before everyone reaches us, he asks
uncertainly, “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

I find my voice and I say softly, accusingly,
reluctant to let anybody hear me, “You said you would not be gone
long!”

He laughs and the sound punches the wind out
of my lungs, “Relatively, if you consider my lifespan, it wasn’t
long.”

William notices everybody converging around
me and he runs toward me hurriedly. He grabs onto my leg and then
he looks up at Callum curiously.

I notice Callum look down intrigued when
he sees William clutch onto my leg.

Amanda, Edward, Herman, Claude, Justin and
Peter greet Callum exuberantly.

While I let my hand drop down onto William’s
head and I ruffle his hair reassuringly, I see Edward grab Callum
around the waist and lift him. They laugh boisterously.

I bent down and I pick William up off the
ground. Lately I do not pick him up anymore, because he is too
heavy for me to carry, but now I have apprehension propelling me
away from Callum.

I hear Amanda call, “Susie, wait for me.” I
do not wait and I hear her run toward me.

When she reaches me, she grabs onto my arm
gently. “What’s wrong, Susie?”

I say adamantly, “Nothing. Please Amanda I
just want be alone for a while.”

She lets me go and I feel sorry for leaving
her without any explanation, but if I stayed and I explained I
would start crying. These days I cry for nothing and Justin says
its hormones.

It is almost time for William’s afternoon nap
anyway, so when I get up to my room and after closing the door
behind me, I lay down on the bed with him. Stroking his back softly
I tell him a story from my history. I leave out the blood and
violence, but I share with him my first hand experience of a
romantic era long gone.

When I hear his soft gentle breathing and I
feel him relax in my arms, I bury my face in the pillow and I feel
the sobs shudder through my body.

I fall asleep emotionally exhausted. The
years or Andrew did not change the way I felt about Callum.

Later William and I go to the kitchen to have
dinner. I notice thankfully that there is a new moon and I realize
relieved that they have all gone out early. I have stopped long ago
to follow the cycles of the moon.

After dinner, William and I play a game of
snakes and ladders and then we watch an animated movie
together.

It is late when I eventually get to bed and
although I had an afternoon nap, I fall asleep quickly, most
probably because I force all and any thoughts from my mind.

William sleeps in his own room adjacent to
mine, but I always leave the connecting door open.

I wake up with a start and I sit up against
the headboard of my four-poster bed. All the lights are off and I
am unable to see in the dark – those days are long gone.

I feel my bed sink as someone sits down on
the edge of my bed and then I hear his voice. He sounds irritated,
“There is a weird noise in this room. It resonates against the
walls.”

I remain silent, pretending that if I cannot
see him, he cannot see me.

“I am sorry I was gone so long, I have a good
reason.”

I cannot help myself and I say adamantly, “I
don’t care.”

I feel his hand on my arm. “But I care. I
care that you are upset.”

I pull my arm away from his hand. The tears
run silently down my cheeks again and I feel the bed move when he
stands up. He is leaving and it is okay, good riddance.

I breathe in deeply when he lies down on the
bed next to me and abruptly I move away from him, while I hiss
annoyed, “What do you think you are doing?”

He laughs softly, while he pushes his arm
in under my head. He pulls me closer to him. “My red-haired girl,
how I have missed you.”

I feel him suddenly pull away from me. I feel
his hand press against my chest softly and I move away swiftly.

He says shocked, “It’s you. It’s your heart.”
He shifts away from me and he asks, “How did this happen?”

“This is what happens when you leave and
think everything will still be here waiting for you!”

“Is this why that boy was hanging onto
you?”

I laugh sarcastically. “What is it to
you?”

He says loudly, in an angry tone, “It has
everything to do with me!”

“No. When you stayed away year after year, it
became less and less your business.”

He explains hesitantly, “Just after I left
here, I was approached by the Four Judges and they made me a
proposition.” His tone becomes scornful, when he adds, “A
proposition, I could not refuse.”

I knew a proposition by the Four Judges could
not be refused - that was one of the laws of our society.

Callum continues, “All this time I had to
do their dirty work for them.” He laughs bitter. “I have had a
quick education into the so-called civilized world of vampires
today.” He stands up from the bed and then I hear the door open and
close behind him.

The persistent, irritating, importune tears
run down my cheeks. I feel desperately sad, words cannot explain
the total despair I feel.

The next morning,
I am too afraid to go down to breakfast. I
did not want him to look at me accusingly, while I shoveled
soft-boiled eggs and toast into my mouth. When William wakes up, he
runs into my room and for a moment, I forget my sorrow.

Soon after Amanda comes into my room and I
sigh exasperated when I look up from the picture I am drawing with
William.

I ask annoyed, “Is there absolutely no
privacy in this house? Everybody thinks they can walk in and out of
my room as they please.”

Amanda looks at me apologetically. “I am
sorry. I thought I would let you know that Callum left with Peter.
Peter is eager to show him the vineyards.”

“I don’t care.”

She sits down next to me. “I know you
do.”

I look at her forlornly. “Amanda, what am I
going to do?”

She smiles. “Just keep breathing, Susie. Keep
breathing and believing.”

“Believe in what?”

“Believe in love, my dear.”

She smiles and pulls me up by the hand.
“Come on, it is a lovely day and you cannot stay here all day.
Besides William needs his breakfast.” She leans over to William.
She tickles him in his sides and she laughs loudly, when he squeals
with delight.

I sigh exaggerated. “And then how do I
explain William? I told Callum when he left I would wait for him, I
even agreed to marry him.”

“He actually asked you to marry him?”

“
Yes. He was gone so long. Ten years, and
so much has happened to me. I am so different from the girl he left
behind.”

“Just carry on everyday as if Callum was not
here.”

“He was so shocked when he learned I was
human,” I complain.

“Just like the rest of us, he will get used
to the idea.”

“I cannot go out there. It is too
complicated.”

She insists, “Nonsense, you are going with me
now.

She picks William up from the ground easily,
then she pulls me gently by the arm and reluctantly I follow her
out of the room.

When we reach the kitchen, she puts William
in his chair and leaning down to him, she asks, “What do you feel
like eating today?”

While he decides, Amanda tells me, “Today I
will finish your section.”

I stand looking in the fridge, trying to find
something easy to make and I say, “I cannot let you do that.
Besides, I think I should just face it head on, there is no use in
avoiding the inevitable.”

She smiles encouragingly. “That’s my
girl.”

I laugh, without wanting to. “You are only
three years older than me now, so you can stop mothering me, you
know.”

“I know, but how do you stop an entrenched
habit. I think even if you grew to be fifty years older than me, I
would still feel the urge to protect you.”