Forever Young The Beginning (12 page)

“
I’ve sent for a woman I
know. She’ll arrive this night, Ian. During your time of
imprinting
, you must make
love. If you don’t do so, you’ll lose that ability for eternity mon
ami. This is a thing which affects male vampires only.”

He locked his eyes with hers, and she
could feel the force of his will merely by that gaze. “I…..I love
another, Marie.”

“
I know mon ami. You called
the name of ‘Alandra’ twice last night. Ian, she is lost to you.
She’s a fragile human and it’s dangerous for a mature vampire to
make love to a human. It is possible, but dangerous. You must think
now about what you would be asking her to give up by being with
you.

“
Ah Marie.” he sighed then,
hesitating as he paced a bit….”How can I ask Alandra to become a
monster like I am?”

“
Ian, you’re not a monster,
nor are we!”

“
I meant no offense,
Marie……it is just that………….I canna ask such a thing to a girl of
seventeen years. I brought this on myself, whereas she’s done
nothing to……deserve this……….happening to her. She should have the
opportunity to be married and have her own children.”

He fastened his eyes upon
Maries’ and said “Truth to tell, I don’t know if I could bear to
see how she would look at me, knowing what I’ve become.” Again,
Marie felt the power of Ian’s frosty blue eyes. It appeared to her
that the man could peer into her very soul.
No wonder Cosette followed him!

“
Eat, Ian. Your human food
will be cold. You’ve had a good first day.”

As he ate, she went over the things he
would have to master while imprinting once again, and as he took
his last bite of fruit she said “Now that you’re finished; brush
your teeth again for me.” So that ritual was repeated, and the
ground cloves consumed last as before.

Ian spoke then, “You say that only
male vampires can lose their ability to make love, to
feel….?”

“
Yes. That doesn’t happen to
women who
imprint
.
We keep our libido, and that can be a problem being that there is
always a shortage of males among our kind with their libido intact.
It is due to ignorance among some of us, not knowing to take care
of that during the time of a male’s
imprinting.”

“
You mean that can cause the
women of your kind to seek male companionship among
humans?”

“
Don’t you mean ‘of our
kind’ Ian?”

“
Och! Of course I
do.”

“
Yes it’s as dangerous for a
human male to make love with one of us as it is for a human female.
Human men are killed this way sometimes.” Ian sat and contemplated
this revelation.

“
It’s nearly dusk mon ami.
Let’s see how well you do in the dark. Come.” She led him out the
kitchen door to the rear veranda and down the steps into the
twilight. Going out the door, Ian felt so weak that he collapsed in
the doorway. Acute pain shot through his shoulders and chest. Marie
was there instantly with her flask of fresh blood. Soon he began to
feel better.

“
My bones ache, Marie, and I
feel fiery pains in my shoulders.”

“
This will happen, but will
be mostly less and less crippling each time. This was a good one
for someone at such an early stage. Not severe at all. Let’s go
outside now.”

Presently they were out back in the
gathering dusk. “What do you see, Ian?”

“
I can make out the barn and
the outbuildings quite well. Look, there is a deer standing at the
tree line beyond the barn.”

Marie turned to look towards that
direction, saying “Hah, you’re right! There is no way you could
have seen that before this evening is there?”

Ian pondered that, then “No, Marie, I
wouldn’t have seen that. I can tell a difference.”

“
There is something about
our eyes that you should know. Emotions can make our eyes to appear
to glow. It can be quite noticeable in conditions of low light and
must be guarded against. Like adjusting our hearing, we
Adepts
must learn to
suppress this trait when in the company of humans. Your eyes and
Cosette’s are both pale and in darkness they can be easily noticed
if not controlled. Look and see for yourself.”

She faced Ian and he saw her
eyes begin to glow a blue-violet color. As quickly as it appeared,
it vanished. She then said “We’ll work on that as you
imprint
.”

“
So much to
learn….”

“
Not to worry, Ian. We’ll
teach you what you need to know. Come. Let’s chase the deer, but
not to kill. You are recovered now, no?” She grabbed his hand and
pulled him to run with her, slowly at first, then faster. She had
changed into loose fitting riding pants and a loose fitting blouse
earlier that day.

Ian felt the power surge to his legs
and he easily kept up for a good space. Marie kept increasing her
speed across the meadow until Ian began to fall behind. She
adjusted her speed to his and they approached a stream about twenty
five feet wide. Marie simply seemed to flow across it being that
her stride was easily more than the width of it. Ian made to leap
it and rose to a height of some fifteen feet, hitting a large
branch of a tree growing on the bank. He was spun backwards and
crashed upside down in the stream.

Marie quickly pulled him upright and
dragged him out of the stream to sit on the bank. She was laughing,
then said “I’m sorry Ian, but it looked so comical….let’s go to the
house. You’re wet and need dry clothing, mon ami.” They stood up
and Ian said “I took a hard knock on my head.”

“
We’ll look at that inside.”
She assisted him…. “Come now.”

Back in the house, Marie looked at his
forehead, and exclaimed “Ian, I can barely see the injury! Your
healing power has already taken hold! This is a good
thing!”

“
Ah, Marie………..if this is
good, I fear to see the bad.” He said as he sat holding his head
with both hands. At this Marie laughed, and then she became serious
and said “Your stride is already greater than the span of that
stream. You shouldn’t have jumped. That was your human instincts
overriding your vampire strength. That is mostly good Ian. Your
human intellect must nearly always control your vampire strength.
However there are times like just now, when you need to rely on
your new strength…..at other times, even to unleash it if
needed.”

“
So many
details….”

“
It’s an important part of
your training, but is not a necessary part of
imprinting
. It is a continual
learning and refining process. You must control emotions when in
the presence of humans and never allow your anger or emotion to
override your control of your vampire powers. This is how we blend
in with society and keep from revealing our existence. And equally
important it’s how we keep from harming humans.”

Turning her head she said, “A carriage
approaches, two horses I think.”

Ian heard nothing, and then he heard
it too.

“
Quickly! Upstairs and
change into some dry clothing.” Then adding; “After all, you’ve had
a bath already, mon ami.” At this she laughed heartily at her own
joke. Ian finally began to laugh with her as he went to the stairs.
He went to take the steps two at a time and took six instead.
Stopping, he repeated it, and then curbed his strength until he
appeared to only be hurrying up the stairs like any young
man.
I can do this
he thought as he hurriedly changed.

Although in his room with
the door closed, Ian heard Marie greeting a guest at the front
door.
I can hear things that I could never
have heard before
he thought.

Coming downstairs Ian heard the two
women speaking in the parlor. He entered and fastened his eyes on
the newcomer, raising his eyebrows slightly and smiling a little.
She was a beautiful petite brunette with large blue eyes, gazing
intently at him, smiling sweetly while waiting for Marie to
introduce them. Marie spoke in French and Ian who had been learning
French while the tailor worked that afternoon, responded “Enchante’
Mademoiselle Alyssa.” Marie had introduced him as Adam
MacRae.

“
I am so pleased to meet you
Adam. Where have you been keeping this one Madame
Lafayette?”

“
Adam is a close friend who
is staying with us for a while. He has been traveling. May I get
either of you some wine?”

“
Yes, thank you Marie” said
Ian as Alyssa nodded in agreement. The wine being poured, Marie
said “I’m going to bed. I have a headache. I bumped my head this
evening” she said, with a wink towards Ian. “Ian, help me upstairs
please, lest I fall.”

On the way upstairs, Marie whispered
“Ian your strength is greater than I had anticipated already. You
must curb that strength and be human this night. I don’t want
anything bad to befall Alyssa. She is a dear friend, impulsive
really; a single girl who I’ve known for three years. She likes
you. I can easily tell that already, so if you think you can’t do
this, you must feign illness or something. Even send Alyssa to
fetch me to make it more believable. Remember, the human controls
the vampire in these circumstances. Above all, be
passive.”

“
I…will do as you say,
Marie. Good night and don’t worry.”

Back in the parlor, Ian asked if
Alyssa would like to take a walk. She demurely agreed and the two
set out in the bright moonlight.

“
Madame Marie tells me that
you’ve been to China, Adam. Do please tell me about it.” Ian told
her about what he had seen while there, and that he had been a
sailor on a merchants’ vessel. He told her about how he met Li
Hong, of their becoming friends, and that Li had taught him to
speak Mandarin Chinese. Alyssa wanted to know more about the orient
and other places he had seen. They strolled about the pathways that
criss-crossed the properties, arm in arm. She asked about his home
and family. Ian gave a bit of sketchy family history with some real
experiences and told her of Scotland and of his love of sailing. He
spoke of seeing Africa and India as well as some experiences there,
carefully omitting any references to subjects involving
Elsie’s Cloud
or her
crew.

She leaned her head on his upper arm
as they walked and Ian had to admit that it was pleasant. They
strolled about for some two hours just talking and getting to know
each other. She sometimes held his hand and intertwined her fingers
with his. Ian really liked her, and appreciated her finer qualities
as well as her more obvious ones. She had a delightful laugh and an
effervescent personality.

They made their way back toward the
house and on the front veranda, sat on a wrought iron settee. It
was part of a finely crafted assortment of wrought iron furniture
that occupied the broad covered veranda. She leaned her head on his
upper arm once more and told him of her childhood.

It was a sad story, one of poverty and
want. She had been orphaned, and then forced into a brothel at the
age of seventeen. By chance or God’s grace, a friend of Marie heard
of it and money changed hands that very day. She was given a nice
apartment in Marseille and did all manner of sewing in the shop
below her apartment.

Alyssa was happy with her new life,
and hoped to one day design clothing to be seen and sold in Paris
itself. She had regarded Marie as her mother ever since and would
do anything for her. Ian knew from what she’d told him that Alyssa
was impulsive with men. She had boyfriends whom she was intimate
with from time to time, so when Marie had summoned her to meet Ian,
she had simply closed her shop and returned with the carriage sent
for her.

Ian had slipped his arm over Alyssa’s
shoulder while they talked on the veranda. It was a peaceful and
beautiful night with cicadas and crickets singing. The scent of
jasmine hung in the air. He reached and turned her face to his and
gently kissed her lips. Parting then, Ian looked at her pretty
features in the reflected moonlight. She reached and put an arm
around his neck and pulled him to her. He gently kissed both of her
eyelids, then continuing to kiss her cheek and around her jaw and
neck. She turned and pressed into him more, responding with growing
passion, even as she parted her lips. Their tongues met, each
gently caressing the other. After only a few minutes she whispered
to him “Adam, I’m on fire, mmmm……but I am so weak. Take me
upstairs, cheri.”

He rose and scooped her gently up in
his arms and carried her inside and up the stairs. Coming to his
bed, he gently stood her next to it. She eagerly undressed him, so
he likewise undressed her. He gently kissed her shoulders, neck and
lips. They sank to the bed and each was lost in the wonder of the
other. She was eager and quite energetic so that his passivity was
no problem.

During the night as she lay sleeping,
her head was resting on his chest. He lay thinking of all the
things that had happened to him recently, his thoughts drifting
from Alandra to Cosette, and then toward his family. Although
melancholy a bit he reflected on the evening with Allyssa and the
wonderful care he’d received at the hands of Cosette and Marie,
realizing how fortunate he was. Resolving that he would forever
forget Alandra for her sake he also resolved to make the best of
this strange new life.