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Another cold night had settled in. A sign that autumn had finally arrived. Thank goodness for that! Anna Marie hated the heat. Unfortunately, the chill of the season came with its own misfortune: her mother would lock her indoors to stay warm, convinced the crisp air would only worsen her health.
It was a shame as she always found comfort in the cooling breath of autumn, the way it soothed her bones far better than the swelter of summer ever could. Many would have found her odd for believing in such an idea. But she did not care for their opinions. What good does that ever do?
The young woman sighed, slumping in her chair by the open fire. The flames kept her warm and illuminated her bedroom, but not even its glow could chase away her restlessness. She had grown weary of her confinement that even the books she adores had lost their charm in this present moment. It also didn’t help that there was the crueler truth: she was blind. After all, what could a sickly blind young woman do when shut away from the world?
Where was her Angel of Darkness when she needed him?
Oh! Her lips curved faintly at the thought. Speaking of her Dark Angel, there was at least one simple thing she could do.
Rising from her seat with measured care, Anna Marie moved toward her nightstand. Her fingers brushed across the polished wood until she found the drawer’s edge. Inside rested the precious gift her dark beloved had placed in her keep not so long ago. As he had asked of her, she took care of it diligently, cherishing it was though it were a fragment of him left behind.
Carefully pulling it out, her fingers gently traced over the details of her music box, mapping the delicate carvings she could only imagine in her mind’s eye. The music box was her window into beauty she could not see. Then, she wound the key until it would turn no more, then lifted the lid. The gentle notes filled her little room with melody.
A smile blossomed across her lips. Setting the box on the nightstand, she let the music guide her. Slowly at first, then the freer steps, Anna Marie began to dance. Her movements swayed in time with tune as if her Angel of Darkness himself were leading her across the floor.
She could almost see it in her mind’s eye: the grand ballroom unfolding before her, chandeliers glittering high above, their light shining into a thousand jeweled stars. The hush of a waiting world surrounded her, broken only by the swell of violins and cellos tuning for a waltz.
She was no longer in her nightgown but adorned in her finest gown, the fabric swaying with each step. And standing across the polished floor was no one else but what she imagined was her Dark Angel. He reached for her hand, his touch both commanding and tender, and together they tuned, swayed, and glided, the music box’s melody transforming into a full orchestra within her heart.
Her sweet Angel had no face. Not in her world of darkness. Yet she pieced him together from memory, from the stories Erik had told her of his own features and from the careful tracing of her fingertips across his face. She could not summon the whole of him, not truly. But there was one thing she could imagine with ease: his blue eyes. Clear as the summer sky, fierce as the ocean’s depths, and gentle enough to make her believe in safety.
Anna Marie allowed herself to be swept away in her daydream. She twirled with grace, her nightgown brushing against her legs, her lips parting in a soft hum that rose to meet the melody of the music box. She was lost in her imagined waltz that she never noticed the shift in the air, the faint creak of the floorboards, or the shadow lingering just beyond the flicker of the firelight. She was not alone in the bedroom.
The shadowy figure lingered in the shadows. His eyes followed her every movement, unblinking and intent. He was drawn to the way she spun and swayed in time with the delicate tune. There was a reverence in his silence, fearing of shattering the fragile beauty of the scene before him.
Anna Marie hummed softly, oblivious, her laughter no more than a breath as she twirled once more, her blind eyes brightened with joy. To him, she looked less like a sickly, sheltered girl and more like a vision, his vision, caught between dream and reality.
“How long have you been standing there?” The young woman asked, still twirling lightly across the bedroom floor. There was no fear in her voice, only the soft breathlessness of her dreamlike state, as if she had always known her Angel of Darkness would be there watching over her.
A low chuckle broke the hush of the room as Erik stepped out from the shadows, the light from the fireplace illuminating his sharp features of his face, his hands clasped behind his back as he calmly and surely strolled towards his Angel of the Night.
“Longer than you’d like.” He murmured, amusement in his tone as he drew nearer to his fair beauty. His hand rose towards her hair and his fingers gently slipped through the loose curls of her auburn hair. The softness of her curls curled against his touch, and he let them linger there, savoring the simple closeness. A faint smile tugged at his lips when he caught her scent, both warm and familiar. A sign she was alive despite her current condition. It was a fragrance he had come to crave just as unmistakable to him as the sound of her voice.
Anna Marie hummed softly when she felt him touch her hair. His touch drew her back from her dreamlike haze, yet she welcomed it with all her heart. However simple, however fleeting, it was enough for her. The young woman gently smiled as she closed her eyes to savor this quiet moment between them. The warmth of his presence, the brush of his fingers, the nearness of him. It quite honestly was more vivid than any vision her imagination could claim. The music box continued to play its sweet tune, each note echoing through the room like a lullaby meant just for them.
“Erik...” She breathlessly called to him, his name falling from her lips like a prayer. She turned fully toward him, her movements instinctive despite her lack of vision.
Raising her hands in search of him, she found their place his chest. Slowly and respectfully, her fingers traced the fine fabric of his frock coat until they grazed the smooth edge of his cravat. She lingered there briefly, memorizing the texture until she furthered wandered. At last, her touch met his face. His skin cool against her warm fingertips. She shivered not from chill, but from the contrast itself. His cold skin did not drive her away. It soothed her as if the very essence of him tempered the fever of her restless spirit.
Erik drew in a slow breath the moment her hands began to explore him, a sigh escaping from his lips than he intended. Oh, but he could not resist the touch of her. It was warm, deliberate, and so unafraid. The knowledge of that sent ripples through the composure he wore like an armor. For so long, decades, likely centuries, had he thought himself to be untouchable, unreachable. Cold as an iceberg.
And yet, here she was. This fragile, penetrable woman, his undoing, tracing the lines of his coat, the knot of his cravat, and finally the chill of his skin, as though each detail mattered. His hands rose, covering hers where they cupped his cheeks. He closed his eyes at the contact, savoring the warmth that seeped from her touch. To him, it was unlike any other sensation. The sun’s heat had always felt like shards of glass tearing at his flesh. But her warmth? Her warmth was balm. It reached past his cold exterior and soothed what little remained of his soul... and of his humanity.
“You undo me with nothing more than your touch.” He whispered, his tone low and worshipful. His lips curved faintly, as though he dared not to smile widely or else the spell would break.
The man lifted a hand to his lips, pressing kisses into her palm, gentle and loving. Then, with a tenderness few would believe him capable of, his arms slid around her, drawing her close until she was enveloped in his embrace and his cape. Erik lowered his cheek against her auburn crown, nuzzling her hair affectionately, protectively, and desperately, as if anchoring himself to her presence. His voice, muffled against her, trembled with a devotion he could not hide. “My Angel of the Night...”
Anna Marie melted against him, her smile softening as she nestled into his chest. The steady rhythm of his heart beneath her ear soothed her more than any lullaby. For a long moment, she simply breathed him in, letting the warmth of his embrace drown out the rest of the world.
“My Dark Angel…” She whispered at last, her voice trembling with quiet affection, her fingers curled gently into the fabric of his coat as she nuzzled securely against his chest. “If Ah truly undo you, then know you patch me in ways Ah never thought was possible. You’ve given me more than you could imagine.”
Erik chuckled softly, nuzzling his cheek against the crown of her head with the easy affection of a cat curling into warmth. Unable to resist, he lavished the woman he loved with the quiet, tender devotion. His lips traced hers in a series of soft, deliberate kisses, each one slow, gentle, and sweet. All of which were a silent confession of everything he could not simply put into words. And when at last their lips met fully, Erik had found heaven itself on her lips, a fleeting paradise in the taste of her.
Anna Marie giggled softly beneath his affection, surrendering herself to the cascade of his kisses. She let him have his way with her, each brush of his lips sending shivers down her spine with every touch engrained in the depth of his love.
And when their lips touched in a true kiss, her heart soared higher than heaven itself. Her hands clutched at his back with desperate devotion as if he were the only thing tying her to life. Truthfully, he was despite his nature.
A deep throaty growl escaped from the man, vibrating against her lips like a confession he could not contain. The sound was low and primal that came from a yearning that words could never satisfy. His arms tightened around her, pulling her against him as if she might vanish from him had she not held her close enough. The kiss deepened, slow yet carrying all the hunger and devotion he buried beneath his controlled exterior.
Oh, but to Anna Marie the growl was not frightening at all. Instead, it was thrilling. It spoke of how deeply she stirred him and how completely he belonged to her. Despite their differences, nothing kept them apart. She, a fragile mortal woman, and he, a creature of shadow and eternity. This fact, this truth, did not push them apart. For if love could bridge two unique beings like them, then surely it was stronger than anything else in heaven or on earth.
“You’re needier than usual.” She teased him and giggled, lifting her hand to entangle onto his long, snowy hair. Her fingers brushed through the soft strands with love.
“Hmm. Our time together are always brief.” His low hum rumbled against her, content and unashamed. He pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead that was tender yet possessive and he held her in his arms. “I only want to treasure what we share in these quiet moments.”
“Ah wish they weren’t so brief.” She sighed, nestling her head against his chest, and shutting her eyes. “Ah always grow so eager when nighttime approaches. ‘Cause it means you’ll be here. Keeping me company away from my loneliness.”
Erik's embrace tightened at her confession, the weight of her words sinking deep into him. To her, he was no monster nor a creature of darkness. Instead, she saw him only as a relief in her endless confinement. And to Erik, she was no fragile mortal to be pitied, but the reason he longed for the night.
He drew back just enough to look upon her face. His sharp fingers combed lightly through her auburn hair and his voice came low and steady, carrying the weight of an oath. “You will never face your nights alone, Anna Marie. As long as I walk the earth, I will come to you. Each dusk, each shadowed hour, I will always be by your side.” He lowered his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, as though sealing the promise with his very breath. “Loneliness will never touch you so long as you call me yours.”
Anna Marie grinned, touched by his words, and she began to feel the heavy weight in her heart lifting. Lifting her head up, opening her eyes once more, she moved her hand and caressed his cheek. “You are mine, my Angel of Darkness.”
Erik purred the instant her warm hand came to rest against his cold cheek, the contrast sending a shiver of pleasure through him. He leaned into her touch, savoring it. A low groan rumbled from his chest as he caught her wrist. With intended care, he trailed soft, lingering kisses along her skin, each one a worshipful mark. His lips wandered from her palm to the curve of her wrist before drifting upward. At last, his lips found her neckline and it was where he paused, breathing her in as if her scent nourished him.
The older man, once more, growled as he kissed her, even licked her neckline. His action was enough to send shivers down her spine, not of fear but thrill of where this could lead them to. And quite frankly, Anna Marie showed no signs of hesitation. If anything, nights like these were the reasons she wished to forget about her secluded, ill-fated life.
She tilted her head to the side, allowing more room for him, gripping on to Erik as if he were her life source. How ironic how the creature of the night, of the dead, made her feel more alive than amongst the living.
“My Angel of the Night…” He breathed his words heavy against on her neck as his tongue gently traced a path along her warm flesh. It was both worship and temptation, a mark of how deep he craved her.
“You have bewitched me.” He confessed, his voice trembling with respect. “I have no soul, no heart to call my own... and yet, in your presence, you give me both.” His lips lingered against her skin, feeling as if she alone had the power to make him whole again. It was a sign of how centuries of loneliness had overcome him.
Until he found her.
Anna Marie chuckled as she teasingly squeezed his back, leaning closer into the embrace of the man she had fallen in love with. “Little ol’ me? Now you’re just bein’ a tease there, sugah.”
Erik’s lips curved into a rare yet amusing smile at her playful retort, despite the fact the hunger in his blue eyes betrayed him. “A tease? No, my Anna Marie. I speak only the truth. You, with your laughter and warmth, undo me far more easily than sunlight ever could.”
His fangs grazed over her throat, not piercing, but lingering like a promise, a torment. One hand slid up her back, pressing her tighter against him, while the other cradled her cheek with adore. “You call yourself little. Yet, you make a monster fall to his knees.”
“Glad to be of service.” She giggled up until she gasped the moment when Erik found a vein on her neckline and he could not contain himself from simply licking and sucking on it. Oh, it was enough to make Anna Marie go weak in the knees.
Erik's chest rumbled with a deep, husky purr at the sound of her gasp. His lips hovered just above the delicate line of her vein, savoring the frantic flutter of her pulse. His tongue traced over it ever so lightly until he began to suck on it. Of course, he was mindful of his fangs as he had no desire of piercing her delicate skin at all.
But perhaps that was the cruel truth of his nature. Beneath every soft word, every tender kiss, lurked hunger that was dark, unyielding, and ancient. As much as Erik adored Anna Marie, as much as he vowed to protect her from all dangers, he could never escape the fact that he himself was the danger.
The man who appeared so dignified in his finely tailored frock coat, whose voice could melt into velvet and whose touch was reverent, was a predator. His hair slicked neatly back, his posture noble and commanding are betrayed by his instincts. The twitch of his jaw, the narrowing of his eyes, the way her pulsed called to him... all revealed the animal just beneath the surface.
His pupils dilated when he glanced at her pulsing vein, his vision seeing right through and noticing how quickly the blood was swimming through her vein so easily. The sight of blood caused his pupils to darken in red. His impulse, his hunger, were consuming him as he drew close to her neckline. A low hiss escaped between his teeth as his fangs lengthened, sharp and gleaming in the dim firelight. Her scent filled his senses and it drove him nearly mad. Erik's breath grew heavy against her skin, his lips brushing her pulse as though pulled by a magnetic force.
Yet, even as hunger clawed through him, another voice spoke louder. Her voice. The sound of her laughter echoed in his mind, the feel of her gentle hand upon his cheek still warmed his icy flesh. He shuddered, torn between the beast gnawing within and the love she inspired in him.
With a ragged breath and tremendous restraint, Erik tore himself away. The muscles in his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. He turned his head aside, shadowing his crimson gaze as though the very sight of her soft throat would undo the fragile leash he’d restrained around his hunger. His chest rose and fell with unsteady restraint, a predator itself back from the edge of the kill.
Shame burned hotter than any thirst. For centuries, Erik had accepted his condition with cold pride. He was a vampire, eternal and unrepentant. But now? Now he quivered before a mortal slip of a woman, terrified that one reckless moment of weakness would rip her from him forever. He feared of killing her. That will be his undoing.
“Erik?” Anna Marie blinked when she sensed something was not right. She could feel how tense the man was, how hesitant and shaky he was when holding her.
Erik froze, her name on his lips though he could not bring himself to speak of it. His grip trembled on her and he swallowed hard, his fangs still sharp in his mouth. And he dared not move closer. Her touch was an anchor and a torment all at once.
“Damn me...” He muttered low, his voice breaking with loathing as he ran a hand back through his snowy hair. “I cannot even touch you without fearing I will destroy you.”
“You won’t destroy me, Erik. Not for one second do Ah believe you could ever do such a thing to me.” She assured him, firm in her tone as she tightened her grip on his arms. Though she was blind, she saw more than most ever could.
This was not the first time his hunger has crept dangerously close to consuming him. More than once, she had offered herself to ease his torment, but always Erik refused her, choosing restraint over risk.
Erik's eyes closed, a shudder biting at his form as the echo of his hunger still throbbed in his veins. He shook his head and he could feel how tight his throat was before he could speak, a sign his pain was not physical. “Anna Marie... you do not know how close I come most nights... how the beast in me whispers for your blood.”
Her fingers squeezed tighter, grounding him, and defying his fears. Each rejection was agony, but he bore it, for her.
And still, she remained. Still, she offered. Her heart so gentle, so pure, for a monster like him. He truly did not deserve her.
“And how often have Ah offered some of mine?” She asked, her hands leaving his arms to cup his cheeks, forcing him to meet her gaze. “You know Ah can’t bear seeing you starve yourself like this. Ah know you don’t want to hurt me... but do you really think Ah like seein’ you suffer?”
“One slip... just one misstep and that’s all it would take for me to lose control. It’s a risk I will never take if it means keeping you by my side, safe and unharmed.” His was voice low, firm, and rung with a quiet desperation. “I gave you my word and I intend to honor that, no matter the cost.”
He gently took the hand she had placed against his cold cheeks. Bringing her fingers to his lips, he pressed a soft, apologetic kiss to them. Anna Marie knew he was trying to end the conversation and it was moments like these she could not stand. The tenderness, the silence, the way he always pulled away when things got too real. What she appreciated even less, however, was the return of her horrid cough. Right on cue, it clawed its way up her throat, ripping through the quiet like a cruel reminder.
Instinctively, Erik swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. His movements were careful as he gently settled beside her, keeping her close while she struggled to suppress the fit of coughing. But there was no hiding it. The sound was worse than before. It was harsher and deeper. No matter the antidote, they had tried, and nothing was stopping the progression of her illness. It was only getting worse and Erik feared of where that road was leading her to.
Anna Marie let out a raspy sigh, her body aching from the persistent coughing. Drained and hurting, she rested her head against his chest and she nuzzled closer to him, finding safety and peace in his arms.
“Ah know you said you wouldn’t, but Ah’m sayin’ you should.” She murmured, her voice hoarse but steady. “In case somethin’ happens to me--”
“Nothing is going to happen to you.” Erik said by cutting her off, his tone firm yet fierce and desperate. He knew exactly what she was asking of him and it terrified him more than he can bear.
Anna Marie was dying and because of that simple, heartbreaking fact, he understood what she meant, what she wanted. When the time came, she wanted him to turn her.
That was what chilled him to his core. Erik knew all too well what becoming a vampire meant. Immortality was not a gift. It was a sentence. She would outlive everyone she had ever loved. Family. Friends. A world that would keep turning long after their faces had faded from memory.
She would become ageless. Timeless. And eventually, if she wasn’t careful... madness. The hunger would gnaw at her, night after night. The thirst for blood, the temptation to kill would all become second nature. It was a curse, not a cure. And Erik, burdened by centuries of that existence, wished to spare her soul of that misery.
“But we both know somethin’ will happen, Erik.” She pushed momentarily, stroking his arm in quiet attempts to soothe the man she loved. Anna Marie could feel the tension in him, the way this conversation, this truth, unsettled him. “Whether you like it or not, that time will come. Eventually. And Ah am tellin’ you that when it does, Ah am askin’ you to be the one to do it.”
Erik shook his head, pain flashing in his eyes. How could he make her understand? “You have no idea what you’re asking, mein Engel der Nacht. What you’ll have to endure by turning you.”
“You told me that you will always be by my side. That loneliness will never touch me. And Ah believe you, Erik. Ah don’t want to be lonely. Not in life, and not after.” Her voice wavered just slightly. “Life has already tried to break me.... don’t let death finish the job.” Her hand found his, fingers tightening with a quiet desperation. “Don’t let death win, my Dark Angel.”
Erik nearly collapsed at the sound of her voice so full of quiet desperation and raw with her plea. It pierced him more than a wooden stake at his dead heart ever could. Then came the cough, so sharp, so dry, and so cruel. He held her tighter as if she were to slip away from him. But the signs were already there. If not in the rasp of her breath, then in her body. She'd grown thinner, her skin paler with each passing day. The vibrant luster of her hair had dulled, its once-bouncy curl now limp and tired. The illness, relentless and merciless, was consuming her. And no remedy, whether from mortal science or his own immortal world, had managed to help her. Such cruelty, indeed.
The vampire stroked her back gently with trembling fingers as he tried to soothe her. Slowly, her breathing began to settle, though each breath still sounded labored, heavy with exhaustion. Anna Marie let out a soft groan, her body worn and her lungs tight. Her eyes drifted toward the corner of the room, catching the silence where there once was music. The music box had stopped playing.
Noticing her gaze, Erik followed it, and he reached for the delicate box on the nightstand. He turned the key until it wound tight and the lively melody filled the room once again, bright and bittersweet. He saw his angel smiling and to see the sweetness still radiating from her despite of her deathly illness, it warmed him to the point of embracing her.
“When the time comes...” He said quietly, his voice heavy with melancholy.
“When the time comes...” She echoed softly, nuzzling against the man she loved. Looking up at him, Anna Marie gave him a faint smile and then she kissed him with unspoken promises, welcoming whatever affection her dark angel was willing to give in return.
The couple embraced one another in the dim glow of the fire, the delicate notes of the music box drifting like a lullaby spun just for them. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they lingered in the silence, savoring the fragile peace of the moment. There was no shame here, no shadows dimming their bond. Only love was binding them closer with every beat of their hearts, simple, unspoken, and profound.