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To be loved is to be changed.
Nancy Wheeler repeated the phrase like a mantra in her mind as she threw her head back and exposed her neck to her girlfriend. She anticipated the sting and subsequent lightheadedness that would follow. She loved the pool of heat that pooled in her belly and the tingle in her veins. After every feed she felt like she was wrapped in a warm blanket. Robin always held her close and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
This time would be different.
This time she would join Robin in undeath.
They had talked about it in depth. Robin had outlined the dangers of being turned and all the ways it could go wrong. She made sure to drive home the fact that Nancy couldn’t go back to how things were. Once she was a vampire there was no going back. She would be eternally tied to Robin. Even if they fell out of love a century from now, Nancy would always be inexplicably and irrevocably intertwined with the one who turned her. Nancy had accepted without hesitation.
“I can’t stand the thought of growing old without you,” Nancy had said. “You’ll remain like you are right now, and I’ll be gray and wrinkled in a nursing home. People will think you’re my granddaughter.”
“I would love you regardless,” Robin said. “Though an eternity with you by my side is hard to decline.”
Robin didn’t disclose the details of the transformation process on purpose. Nancy didn’t want to know. She was afraid that if she knew every detail that she’d change her mind. It was like surgery - she couldn’t think about what a doctor was really doing when they opened her up or she’d never let them put her under. So, she presented her neck to Robin just like it was another feeding.
To be loved is to be changed.
Robin sank her fangs into the soft flesh of Nancy’s neck. Nancy closed her eyes and flared her nostrils at the pain. It was quickly replaced by an electric
thrum deep in her veins. She felt like she was floating on a cloud. Slowly, she felt her consciousness fade. Her sense of self slipped into darkness. All there was was void and warmth and Robin’s soft voice by her ear whispering I love you.
When Nancy opened her eyes all she could see was darkness. She was almost convinced she was still in the other place - passed out, or dead, or in between. There was something heavy pressing down around her. She opened her mouth and was greeted with the gritty taste of dirt. She was underground. In a brief moment of panic she screamed, her voice muffled by the soil, then remembered the circumstances that led her here.
Robin wouldn’t put her in any danger. If she was underground, then this was part of the process. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed. She didn’t feel sore. In fact, she didn’t feel anything at all. She clawed at the dirt above her, easily hefting aside large handfuls. She didn’t break a sweat, despite hundreds of pounds of it pressing down on her.
Her hand broke through to the surface. She felt someone else’s hand grab her own. The person above helped her emerge from the dirt. Her head came through next, her hair in mats around her face and smears of mud on her cheeks. She looked up and was greeted with Robin’s concerned frown.
“Robin,” Nancy said. “You stayed. How long…?”
“About a week,” Robin said. She pulled Nancy up from the hole in the ground. “I thought you didn’t make it. I thought the transformation failed. After I dug this hole and placed you in it, I was worried I’d just dug your grave.”
“So it’s done?” Nancy asked. She looked at her hands. Her nails were caked with dirt. They didn’t look any different. Maybe a little more pale, but Nancy had always been fair skinned. She felt a quiet power in her muscles, like a coiled spring. She realized she hadn’t taken a breath since she opened her eyes.
“Yes,” Robin said. She reached up and cupped Nancy’s cheeks with her hands. Nancy smiled and leaned into the touch. “You’ll need to feed soon. It will solidify the transformation. If you don’t, you could go feral.”
“Wh-who am I going to feed on?” Nancy asked. She ran her tongue along her teeth, feeling the sharp points of fangs. “You always fed on me, but now…”
“Steve was always a willing donor,” Robin said. “As long as Eddie is willing to share him.”
Nancy wrinkled her nose at the thought of feeding on Steve Harrington, but she nodded. If it would keep her from going crazy, she would do it. She looked up at Robin. Robin was already staring at her, a look of pure love in her eyes. She leaned down and kissed Nancy, running her thumb gently across her cheek.
“I love you, Nancy,” Robin said.
“I love you, too,” Nancy said. “To be loved is to be changed.”