Chapter Text
‘no… please I don’t want to….’
I just layed there, not able to move anymore.
‘I don’t want to die…’
The wind was howling around me, the moon shone like it did every night. Once it would have comforted me, however now, it just seemed to be mocking me.
‘I….I don’t wanna die….’
'I can't die…'
'I still want to enjoy the beauties of life. I want to draw again, I want to see a child smile again, I want to see the rain again, I want…'
“Do you want to live?”
A voice was heard among the chaos that was forming in my head, it sounded clear, like it was specifically meant for me.
“Huh?”
“I can grant you a taste of immortality. In exchange, you will lose your humanity and become a vampire.”
“Immortality?.. Does that mean I can live?”
“Yes, I will make you a vampire, you will be in my care. All I need is your word.
Do you want to live?”
.
.
.
“Yes, I don’t care what it takes… I don’t wanna die.”
_____________________________
I opened my eyes, where am I?
“Oh- you’re awake. Good Morning.” A man sat next to me, he had golden eyes and golden hair.
‘The voice’, I thought. I recognized the voice, however the face that was attached was unfamiliar.
“Hello?” I was unsure of what to do, who was he, where am I?
“Ah, I see you’re finally able to respond, you had me worried there for a minute.” the voice let out a slight shuckle. He sounded warm, unlike how I felt just before, I was- cold
“I died…” I realized the situation I was in, I died. I know I did, I remember feeling so cold and alone. “Is this the afterlife?”
“Haha, not quite ma chérie. Do you remember what happened? You made a deal with me.”
A deal? Oh
“A taste of immortality.” I repeated the words that sounded so clear a moment ago.
“Indeed, I gave you life once more. You’re now a vampire and in my care.” the man made a slight bow, perhaps to make me more comfortable. He looked at me with pity. He seems to be aware that being in the presence of a complete stranger is kind of unsettling.
“My name is le comte de Saint-Germain, but everyone calls me ‘Comte’ to keep it simple, you are in 19 century France.”
I replied in silence, a thoughtful look on my face, seemingly taking all this information in.
The man that introduced himself as Comte seemed to understand the situation I was in and kept quiet, possibly so I could try to grasp the reality of what he just threw at me.
“So..” I started, “I’m not dead?”
“No my dear”
“I’m a vampire now?"
"Indeed"
"Like, the I'm gonna burn in sunlight and feed on humans kind?" I looked at him with a look of curiosity and worry.
"No," he shuckles once more, "the way vampires are portrayed in media is not completely correct. You won't burn in sunlight, I can assure you that."
I pause.. "And the drinking blood thing?"
"That is correct, however you won't need to feed on humans, we have a supply of blood ready in the mansion. If you are ready I'm willing to explain it all to you."
_____________________________
.
.
.
"Is everything clear to you?" Comte asked me with a gentle voice, he is trying to make sure I stay calm. He seems like a nice man. My current predicament surely is a strange one, however everything he said seems to be the truth. Even if he was lying I wouldn't be able to do anything about it, so I'll go along with him.
"Yes, I understand sir Comte." I replied. Doesn't comte mean count, is he that influential?
"Oh no, you don't have to be so formal with me. You can just call me comte."
"And you don't have to use sir with me either." The other man answered, he showed up in the middle of our conversation to bring the rouge and blanc. “Just call me Sebastian.”
“Alright, Comte and Sebastian, thank you for explaining everything to me.” I replied with a smile on my face, they both seem like respectable and kind men, it might not be so bad here.
“It should be about time for dinner, if you desire to, you are able to join us. All the residents have different schedules, however some of us like to eat together.” Comte stood up from the side of the bed where he had been sitting next to me. “Wait, I thought you just said that vampires don’t need to eat.” I noticed. Comte replied: “We in fact do not require food to survive, no. But it helps create a routine and on top of that we can still enjoy the food for the taste. And I can assure you that our chef is amazing in the kitchen.” The man still standing in front of us gave Comte a small bow: “Thank you for the compliment. On that note, please excuse me. I'll continue to prepare dinner, it will be ready in about 20 minutes.” Sebastian excused himself once more and left the room.
Comte stood up and held his hand out to me, he seemed to be so grand and mighty, like a God who just blessed his creation with the gift of life. “Shall we depart, ma chérie?” I took his hand and stood up beside him: “Alright, let’s go meet the other residents.”
_____________________________
Comte and I walked through the halls of his mansion, it seemed really big. ‘I hope I don’t get lost, I thought.’ Comte responded, seemingly understanding my statement from my body language. “If you want to, I can give you a tour of the mansion. It is quite big, you might get lost if I don’t.” “That would be really helpful, Comte.” I responded. As I looked out the window, the sun shone. I figured it to be noon.
The doors of the dining room flew open and light from inside the room came spilling out. Inside there were already 3 people sitting. There was a man with glasses and a smug look on his face. He was talking to one of the other men, who had an annoyed look on his face. “Come on Newt, I recall that I already won the previous sixteen bets! Just admit that the nickname Newt suits you, no need for a rematch.” “You know I despise it! Just call me by my name!” The man with pink eyes was almost yelling, he really seemed to be worked up about this nickname, I suppose. As Comte and I walked in the room the third person noticed us. He sat a little straighter and spoke to the two sitting next to him, still quarreling. “Arthur, Isaac, behave yourself, it seems we have a guest.” The others now also looked up. Even though I don’t have a big problem with speaking to strangers, it was a bit unsettling to have them staring at me. “Oh, well, good day little girl, it’s an odd occurrence to have such a young guest at this place.” The man with the glasses who I figured to be Arthur stood up to greet me. He held out his hand to shake mine. I took his gloved hand and politely shook it. He gave me a shuckle: “It’s very nice to meet you miss, as you might have guessed from my friend, my name is Arthur, Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He smiled and his eyes sparkled with curiosity. He seems like a child trying to figure out a mystery. ‘But …. Did I hear him right? Conan Doyle?’ I thought, however it appears that my thoughts were perceived by the man in front of me. His small smile turned bigger at me recognizing his name. “Oh dear, can I deduce from that look in your eyes that you’ve heard of me?” I wasn’t sure of how to respond. ‘No, way right? … Is he the real Arthur Conan Doyle!?’ I managed to mutter out a “I suppose” before Comte jumped in: “Arthur perhaps calm yourself and take a seat, she has just arrived at the mansion so I can imagine that everything must be very overwhelming.” Comte guided me to an empty seat near the man with white highlights. 'He is like a mother scolding their child.' I thought.
I sat down and my neighbor spoke to me: “Bonjour madame, I take it from that introduction Comte gave that he just brought you to the mansion?” “Yes, I woke up a little bit ago.” I answered him. This man acted way calmer than his friend, which was greatly appreciated due to me still coming to terms with my situation. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my name is Napoleon Bonaparte, I’m a French soldier from the early 19th century.” ‘Oh yeah, I know who you are.’ Is what I wanted to respond, however that seemed kinda inappropriate to respond with, so I settled with an introduction about myself: “The pleasure is all mine, sir. I-” “No need to call me sir.” I was interrupted by my companion. “You may call me Napoleon.” “Oh, right, sorry. It’s nice to meet you, Napoleon.” I quickly corrected myself, it feels weird to call a previous emperor by his first name, but if he wants me to I’ll call him that. “My name is Luka,” I continued, “Luka Klein. I’m a student in Belgium from the 21st century. Or rather, I was.” I gave him a friendly smile. It’s so weird to have to add a century to my introduction, however I was told that when I became a vampire and was reïncarnated, I had also traveled to late 19th century France. Really this was the strangest, but also the most interesting situation I’ve found myself in.
“Alright Newt you’re next!” Arthur proclaimed. ‘Newt’ looked like he wanted to sink into the ground and .. same my man.. After adjusting himself he finally spoke: “I’m Isaac, Newton. I’m a physicist.” He started fidgeting with the tablecloth, social interaction doesn’t seem to be his strong suit. ‘But haha, NEWTON?! Honestly, what am I doing here? I’m nothing compared to these men!’ Luckily this time my thoughts remained to me alone as two other people walked in. They were in a conversation as they entered the room.
“So the deadline was extended to two weeks from now instead of one.” A tall man entered, with a blond man walking next to him. “I see, I’ll have some more time to finish my paintings then. Thank you for notifying me broer.” The taller one noticed my presence at the table first. “A girl?” The blond man looked up at me and gave me a smile. He seemed like an angel that just descended from heaven. Completely the opposite of the man who noticed me first, who fits the description of a devil better. “What’s a girl doing here?” asked the tall one. The question didn’t seem to be directed to anyone in particular, but Arthur was the one to answer. “Can’t you tell my dear friend! She’s the newest resident, so try to show some kindness. If you’re able to.” He grinned at his last remark. His friend rolled his eyes and the other man spoke up: “Oh! A new resident? It’s nice to meet you.” He walked closer and held out his hand. “My name is Vincent van Gogh, but you may call me Vincent. I’m a Dutch painter” His presence was very comforting. “It’s nice to meet you Vincent, my name is Luka Klein. I was a student from Belgium, from the 21st century.” “Wow!”, he proclaimed, “That means you’re from the same time as Sebastian.” I gave him a curious expression in return: “From my time? I thought he was human?” At that remark a voice announced himself in the room, pushing a card with various dishes on top: “You are indeed correct master Luka, I am human. I happened to meet comte in our time and he gave me the amazing opportunity to travel back to 19 century France, I obviously jumped at the opportunity. I mean, who wouldn’t?” He started placing the different dishes on the table and the residents all returned to their seats to commence their meals. A plate was also placed before me, it was a stack of pancakes just like the plate of the brothers sitting before me. “I wasn’t able to ask what you would prefer your dish to be, so I decided to prepare some pancakes for you, I hope that’s alright.” Sebastian told me this as he gave Theo a bottle of syrup, to my horror he turned the entire bottle upside down on his stack of pancakes. “Um-”, I say still looking at the misdeed that just happened before me, “That’s alright, I love pancakes.” I announce, tearing my eyes away from the man sitting before me and looking at Sebastian. “Thank you very much!” He returned my smile: “You are very welcome.”, and continued serving the dishes.
The residents started eating their meals, the Van Gogh brothers did so in silence, but that didn’t mean that it was a calm moment. I only met them all about 20 minutes ago, however I realized that this was a house where there was always some kind of chaos. A nice and familiar type of chaos. “So, Luka.” Arthur started, “Tell us some more about yourself! What is a young lady like yourself doing in this mansion?” “Mmm? I’m not sure.” I confessed, “I guess I just really didn’t wanna die? Umm..” I thought about it some more and then proclaimed with a small smile: “I guess I just wanted to enjoy the beauties of the world some more.” “Well isn’t that beautiful! I think that is a great reason to live!” Arthur agreed, “Question 2!” he continued, I wondered how many will follow if he has to number them, “It appeared when I introduced myself that you knew my name. If you were living in the 21st century, does that mean that you know all of us?” he asked this with a grin on his smug face. At this query everyone’s head turned towards me, I guess it was an answer they were all curious to hear. “I do, you all are extremely popular. It would surprise me if someone from my time didn’t know you.” I laughed a little, perhaps to hide the awkwardness of his question. “Haha! I suppose that’s true, or so I’ve heard from Sebas. Well to question number thr-” Arthur was interrupted by someone entering the room. “Perhaps, your asking to many questions for her first day Arthur-kun. If you’re not careful she might start avoiding you.” As I looked around to locate the source of the voice, I realized that the voice was coming from a man wearing a kimono. ‘Was he Japanese?’ I pondered. ‘Ha, wait, no, that’s not important right now… IS HE COMING THROUGH THE WINDOW?! How the hell did he climb up here?!’ As I was staring at the man, he hopped from the windowsill. “Ah-” However his kimono got stuck and he had to pull a few times to get free. “There we go. Much better.” He proclaimed. “And who do we have here?” He looked at me and wandered over. “And who might you be Keiko-chan?” He walked to me and took the seat next to me, he had a kind look in his eyes that drew me in. It felt really comforting and I introduced myself once more. “So that’s the situation. Haha, well I look forward to living with you toshiko-chan.” the man responded, before we could continue our introductions he was met with a bowl of miso soup that was placed before him. “Here you go, Dazai-san. Welcome home.” Sebastian greeted him and gave a small bow, then he continued doing whatever butlers need to be doing. “Your name is Dazai?” I questioned him, being given the information by Sebastian. “Indeed Miyuki-chan, my name is Dazai, Dazai Osamu. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” “The pleasure is all mine, Dazai.” I responded. After that brief introduction he turned to his meal and started eating and I too continued my meal.
The rest of the meal continued like you would expect it. The pancakes were delicious, even with the constant flow of questions from Arthur, who didn't take Dazai’s comment to heart.
I smiled and thought to myself: ‘This will be very interesting.’
_____________________________