Chapter Text
1991, 10:30 PM
The chair Lenore sits in gets increasingly more uncomfortable as the minutes tick by so slowly. The hard wood seating makes her fidget in her place. She stares at the man who sits and stares right in front of her, her dear friend. Duke.
The one window in the room shines in the dark moonlight. Its dark blue radiance is one of the only things that keeps the room from being completely dark.
He fidgets with the tape recorder a bit. He hasn't quite figured it out yet. Maybe in his busy moments Lenore can escape through one of the windows. Not like she was tied up to the chair or anything, the meeting was quite mutual.
There's no point in hiding it, she was a vampire. She had been for a while, and one stupid mistake led to another and now Duke had figured it out. Good thing all he wanted was general information rather than selling her out.
After a few more agonizing minutes, Duke finally gets the tape recorder to work and pulls out his Notebook.
“I am Duke, I am here with Lenore Vandernacht. This is for my own private research…uhh… that's it!” He says to the recorder
He flips through the pages of his Notebook, which was a very worn out one. The front cover looked as if it would break off at any given moment
“How old are you?” Duke asks
Lenore contemplates the question, she's been saying she was various different ages for the past 100 years. She at times almost forgets her real age.
“122, I think anyway” She says to him
He nods then writes something down on the page.
“Do you mind telling me how it all… began?” He does jazz hands when he says began.
That's a more long winded question, Lenroe herself is unsure when it all fully began. She could say it was the day she turned, but lots of things had happened prior to that event that are relevant to her curse.
Suppose she would have to begin even earlier than that…
1899
It had been countless days in the attic, she had lost track after the first month. The only people who come in are the Doctor and a couple maid who dress her then sit her at the window for hours on end.
Lenore had felt long dead before she was ever turned, she had despised the sun's heat before she needed to hide from it. She felt more safe and calm in the night, at least then no one would be up to bother her.
The doctor says she will never fully heal, but she doesn't believe him. No one gives her a chance to prove herself anyway, so as the days and night pass by slowly… she starts to believe she will never be herself again.
If she wasn't mad before, the loneliness, and the stress will have turned her mad anyway. Her nails feel too long, her hair feels too heavy on her head. She can feel everything and nothing at the same time.
Just as she was about to break, and do something she would truly regret. That's when she came into her life, the mysterious, enchanting and uncanny. Annabel Lee Whitlock
The first meetings with Annabel are blurred to Lenore. The years and the combined fact that she was on an ungodly amount of other medications would do that to someone's memory.
She does remember the hair, her smile, and her eyes. An odd color for someone to have, a beautiful rose colored pink.
They played games, everyday. Annabel won each time, but Lenore still remained persistent in it. She didn't play to win, she played just to talk to someone.. to make any connections.
After a while she started to notice strange things Annabel did, showing up at night when the sun had been long gone. Drinking a special tea with a deep red color. In hindsight it should've been obvious, but Whitlock had hid it well.
Lenore didn't trust her brain, everyone else had seemed to find Annabel completely normal, and anyway if Lenore were to say something. She would probably be sent back to the attic and not believed.
“Isn't it a lovely evening, pet?” Annabel says, taking a sip of her tea. Even if it's night, she insists on having a cup.
“There's no moon out, I prefer it when I can see.” Lenore jokes
“Why don't we go out on a nice stroll in the garden?” Annabel asks
Lenore stares at her in confusion
“It's nearly midnight, you have to leave soon don't you?”
Annabel laughs
“It's healthy to get some fresh air, and no one's around anyway.” Annabel rationalizes
How could Lenore deny her? The lady who has finally brought light and joy into her sorrow filled life. Seeing the garden at night wouldn't be horrible.
Lenore still sometimes wonders what would've happened if she didn't go out that night, what life she could've lived. Then she remembers there was nothing but misery ahead of her anyway. So she doesn't blame Annabel for what she did.
The bite? It was sudden, and Lenore froze at the feeling. She realized why Annabel picked this night, where no one could see them. If anything there was a sense of relief at the loss of blood. Better to die now then die suffering after years.
“I'm helping you Lenore… let it happen.” Annabel murmured in the distance, but with the loss of blood it was getting harder for Lenore to properly process what Annabel was saying
The world before her became less clear, colors blended into each other. Things multiplied before her. It felt like she could hear things she couldn't hear before, and she knew death was knocking on the front door, and she was eager to answer.
The memories ran through her head, what she loved, what she lost, what she would never experience. She had been ready for death for a long time, and now that it had come to claim her. She was almost happy. Then everything went dark.
Then the worst had happened, she didn't die.
She woke up the next morning in severe pain everywhere. It felt like acid was running through her veins and that her blood was on fire. She had screamed for hours begging for the pain to cease. No one could help her.
There was a specific itching at her neck that no matter how hard she scratched, it wouldn't leave her.
After hours and hours and hours, once the night came the pain stopped. She almost cried from joy but that's when the second stage happened.
Pure inability to do anything. She felt paralyzed to her sheets, she couldn't lift any of her limbs up and her facial expressions stayed the same. Just like a still statue. She had wondered that day where Annabel went, why did she curse her like this? Why did she leave her to rot?
The next day she was able to move freely again. Things seemingly went back to normal, but Lenore could no longer stomach food properly, she had a specific craving for something unique but she didn't know what it was.
The sun bothered her more than it ever had before, all of a sudden it burns and leaves red marks on her skin. So she stays inside away from the windows, and starves ever so slowly…Like the withering trees in winter. Her body drifts away into her room once again, into the shadows away from the sun and it's deathly light that rages over.
However when the sun departed and the moon arrived she felt effortless, healthy, immortal. Yet her body craved a meal, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, so she pondered away hoping for a revelation on what could satisfy her everlasting hunger.
Meat, raw meat. Is what she thought she desired, feasting on the rare, metallic, taste of the cows blood on the beef temporarily calmed her hunger. She assumed it was due to the fact that she lacked proper protein, her escapade away from the sun could have taken a large toll on her ability to intake meals.
As the next few days ticked by ever so slowly, she would eat some raw meat in the night then retreat to her room to hide away from the servers and light. When everyone went to sleep and the night had been awoken she would get her nocturnal energy to allow her to eat various bloody meats.
This was her new found routine, and in comparison to her life prior. It was something she could get used to, because of her actions during the day, less force was used against her. The servants had convinced themselves that Lenore had found a “passive” way to spend the rest of her spinster days locked away.
Just as she was getting used to things, just as she was making plans for her night routine… Annabel had made her entrance back to the estate…
Lenore doesn't fully remember why she left in the first place. In fact she can't even recall, she was probably recovering after that one evening when Annabel had made her premature departure away.
Lenore didn't want to play her card games, she didn't desire to have another cup of tea with her. She wanted answers on her condition, on why her body feels new yet so very old. At night she feels like heaven has reached her, yet in the day she feels like death will be coming to claim her any minute now.
Yet there they both were, having a warm cup of tea in the evening. Typically at this time Lenore would be enjoying her night time freedom, but this time it's being disturbed by her Majesty's new found entertainment of Lenore's maddening behavior.
“I must say Lenore, since the last time I saw you, you've seemed to grow quite pale have you not?” Annabel says in a way that presents itself as an innocent and caring gesture, but Lenore knows what lies under those sweet affectionate words.
Lenore makes eye contact with her, not daring to make a face that could reveal cracks in her persona. Something that Annabel would take pleasure in figured out on her own anyway.
“What is happening to me?” Lenore questions in a serious, demanding way.
Annabel takes a sip of her tea, and carefully places it back down on the tea plate.
“Whatever do you mean, Lenore?” Her face shows concern but her eyes show her true intentions. She is trying to make Lenore look like an ignorant fool.
“Must we ponder such a conversation about your health? Or shall I escort you somewhere where you can feel much more relaxed?” Annabel suggested
Lenore took a deep breath, either Annabel would do something drastic like the last and have Lenore be half dead in a forest, or she would explain something vital. She needed answers quickly, and Annabel could be the only person who could give her what she wanted. So she shut her mouth, grabbed her cane and followed Annabel mindlessly like she had done once before, and will probably do it again.
Annabel grabbed Lenore's arm and walked her out into the night. The stars brought a nice calming tone to the stress that Lenore was feeling,and yet her hunger had still not sufficed. They walked to the place where Lenore had been bitten, a sense of doom had laid its unwelcome nest in Lenore's gut.
“Are you going to just stand there or are you going to explain what you've done to me?” Lenore demands an explanation, she's sick and tired of playing these ridiculous games with Annabel. And yet that's exactly what Annabel is like, a playful girl with nothing but games on her mind constantly.
“You are sick, Pet.” As all Annabel says, she doesn't bother to make eye contact with Lenore. Instead looking out into the dark night. In the distance is the waterfront, and sometimes you would be able to see some boats on the water. That night wasn't tonight, it's almost as if this evening was perfectly calculated by Annabel and that she intentionally chose a time where no one would be out. How could she possibly know that?
“Is that all you have to say to me? After all these weeks you've come here to tell me that I am simply sick!?” Lenore is angry now, no longer does she feel sad or weak. She feels anger, she desperately needs an explanation or assistance.
“Don't get mad at me Lenore. All I mean is that you are barely surviving with your current palette.” Annabel turns around
“You need blood, real blood.” She says with a grin. Yet Lenore stares at her confused, whatever does she mean by real blood?
Annabel walks up to Lenore, she stares up at her eyes with a gleam. Without hesitation she answers Lenore's confusion.
“Human blood, pet”
1991
“I must say at the time the idea of consuming human blood was something I couldn't contemplate. Now I can't fully remember the taste of the last real meal I've eaten, it seems so foreign to me.” Says Lenore to Duke
“That must suck” Says Duke before taking a bite into his sandwich, carefully chewing each piece before swallowing.
“Thank you for that lovely demonstration, Duke” Lenore says sarcastically
“No problem, anyway I have to ask about this Annabel Lee. Is she still alive?” Duke asks
Lenore contemplates the question for a moment, it's hard to answer any big questions about Annabel nowadays. Her presence is unknown to most, but it hurts for Lenore to think about her.
“I don't know.” Is all Lenore can muster up to Duke.
“She had left me spontaneously without any notice, just up and ran away.” Lenore admits
She remembers that night so clearly, Long Island 1969. A piece of Lenore hopes that Annabel returns, but without any closure she remains in a state of wonder.
“I thought it would be relevant to give this now I suppose. I read it a week after she had departed.” Lenore reaches into her bag that she brought and pulls out a journal. Annabel Lee’s journal to be in fact. It wasn't full, there had been plenty of things that were crossed out by both Annabel and Lenore at various points. And yet there were endless memories.
Duke takes the book into his hands and admires the leather, increased into the center of the journal is Annabel's name.
“We can get into this later, I still have to hear the rest of your journey.” Duke says
“We ran away from my father's estate right after. I was desperate to find a cure, but mostly I was desperate to find an escape.”
1899
The incredible taste of red crimson takes Lenore by surprise. Sinking her teeth into human flesh was something she didn't know would be so easy.
Annabel had taken Lenore to the local town, hiding behind alleys and waiting for the perfect victim. Soon enough a drunk man had passed by and with a slight shove on Annabel's part had sent Lenore on her first kill.
“Take as much as you can before they die, pet. Never drink a human's blood once they die, understand?” Annabel
“Mhm…” Lenore responded but she was too distracted by her first real meal that she had in weeks. She thought blood could never taste so incredibly nice yet here she was. She was also too distracted to actually process what Annabel had said. Which then leads to the sweet blood to eventually turn cold and bitter.
Annabel rushes up to Lenore and yanks her back by the collar ever so quickly. Lenore wipes the blood from her mouth and stares up at Annabel with puppy dog eyes.
“He is dead, I told you not to drink blood from the dead!” Annabel yells in worry.
“But I'm still hungry! I haven't eaten in so long!” Lenore pleaded with Annabel
Annabel bends down next to Lenore and takes out a handkerchief and wipes the rest of the blood off of Lenore's face.
“I'll find you someone else, but try not to over indulge yourself. You have to have discipline.” Annabel says while wiping bits off blood off
“I've been told of discipline my entire life, I have just been granted freedom for the first time in years. Let me indulge a bit!” Lenore says
“You are quite the stubborn Lady.” And with that Annabel gets up to look for another meal for Lenore
Lenore gets up and follows her, carefully observing her footsteps in the dark. Now that Lenore has turned, she seems to be much more aware of the things around her. Her senses had been amazingly enhanced. Truly, it didn't even seem like it was fully night for her. She and Annabel easily maneuvered through the once dark alley ways.
Eventually Annabel found a suitable victim for Lenore to feed upon. They came across a pub near the outskirts of the town, and she had instructed Lenore to remain outside and wait patiently. Annabel would then go inside the pub and bring someone to her. Lenore found it surprising how easy Annabel was able to convince some poor fool that her dear friend was in desperate need of help. And in just a few minutes, they would end up drained and dead.
Maybe it was how starved Lenore had been for years. But she found blood a much tastier and satisfying meal than anything she ever had in the attic. Even if there was no competition on that front. She spent her days thriving off her new found freedom, that's what being a creature of the night truly meant to her. It was to be free from the shackles for which she was once contained.
And her past life? Well to put it simply her disappearance was something that was almost desired of her father. Lenore didn't hear a single thing about her old life. Her old self was dead; it had been dead long before Annabel was alive. She was a walking corpse waiting to be freed from limbo.
Lenore didn't know what Annabel was to her, yes she was her maker and did bestow her the gift of immortal life. But their relationship seemed much more deep than to simply regard them as friends.
However Annabel wasn't confused at all. She found it delightful how curious Lenore was at all times about her new world. While she didn't have all the answers, she had enough to satisfy Lenore's increasing hunger for knowledge.
While on their hunts, Lenore would catch Annabel gazing upon her for far too long then what was necessary. She would insist that Lenore would attempt to not get her beautiful outfits stained by blood. It all came so easy to Annabel, she was a mastermind.
“Just because you're a vampire doesn't mean you shouldn't try to be clean, pet. You get awfully messy” Annabel would say
At home Annabel would beg Lenore if she could brush and comb her hair. Lenore was very sensitive about the topic, with how the maids of her father's estate would push and pull and force her head into uncomfortable positions just to get the ‘perfect’ style for her hair. But alas she eventually allowed Annabel to do so.
Lenore was oblivious to the hints and the remarks of Annabel.
1991
“So she was flirting with you?” Says Duke abruptly
Lenore makes eye contact with Duke and takes a deep sigh.
“Now to look back at it, yes she very much was. Even before she had turned me she was interested in her conversations.” Lenore replied
“Obviously at the time, and in my previous situation I didn't have a full concept that a woman could have romantic feelings for another woman. I thought she was being condescending actually.”
“Classic miscommunication, a tale as old as time.” Duke says
Lenore smirks at that
“I thought her affection for me was more of a pitiful thing really, but after she turned me I didn't know what to think fully. She made me feel special in such unique ways I can't explain. But I knew it, I would observe the way she would treat other people and she didn't give a single care of the world to them. Infact she despised when they would touch her and grab her, but when she was with me, she always had a hand on me” Lenore reminisces of Annabel and her affection. What she would give if she had the chance to return the affection in full.
But vampires are complicated creatures, and Annabel was no exception.