Authors: Zachary Stone
She placed a straw in the bowl, and I began to drink it. While I ate the soup, she began to change the bandage on my stump; I tried not to look.
“I can see it starting to heal in a few places,” she said. “Just give it time, and I’m sure it’ll grow back.”
I stopped drinking the soup for a moment.
“Sarah, would you hold the bowl to my mouth,” I asked. “I just want to swallow it down.”
“Sure,” she said.
She picked up the bowl, placed it near my mouth, and I swallowed the entire contents in a few moments. By the time she set the bowl down, the nurse was almost finished putting the new bandage on my hand.
“I need to look at the bullet wound now,” she said.
The nurse looked at my shoulder and took off the dressing.
“It's healing up a little too,” she said. “Let me put a new bandage on it.”
I sat and closed my eyes as she placed a new bandage on the wound.
“You’ll be better soon,” she said. “I’ll be back with some more soup.”
She walked out of the room with her cart.
“I want to see Cathy,” I said to Sarah.
“She’ll be in here soon,” she said. “She’s resting.”
“No,” I said. “Go get her, now.”
“Cathy gave a dozen units of blood for you only hours ago,” she said. “They had to give her a constant IV of nutrients so her body would replenish the blood fast enough. Let her rest a little longer.”
The thought of Cathy donating so much blood for me made me want to cry. Lizzie noticed it.
“It's alright,” Lizzie said. “Cathy is going to be fine.”
“How about you take a short nap,” Sarah said. “We will stay right here with you.”
“Alright,” I said.
I leaned back in the bed, and I could feel Lizzie's hand take mine.
“I'm staying right here,” she said.
I squeezed her hand, and I shut my eyes. A few moments later, I was asleep.
“It's me, Cathy,” I heard a voice say.
I opened my eyes, and I saw Cathy's beautiful face. Immediately, I tried to embrace her. However, she told me to relax, and she snuggled up beside me in the bed.
“I love you so much,” she said.
I looked around the room, and I saw that Lizzie and Sarah were still sitting in chairs beside my bed.
“I love you too,” I said.
She kissed me on the lips, and squeezed me again.
“You saved Sarah and me,” she said. “You’re my hero.”
I felt her power level increase; she was directing her aura towards me.
“I'm so sorry about your hand,” she said. “I promise you, it’ll grow back.”
I shut my eyes; it felt wonderful being so close to Cathy. I wanted to savor the moment.
The red headed doctor then walked in the room.
“Hello,” she said. “I'm Dr. Ellen, your physician.”
She looked at a chart and then looked back at me.
“I have some good news for you,” she said. “Your cell cultures show that your regenerative abilities are coming back.”
“What's the bad news?” I asked.
“They’re coming up more slowly than I’ve ever seen,” she said. “That sigil really messed up your cellular functions. Your enzyme levels are way off, and your gene expression is erratic.”
“Well, I'm not a pure vampire,” I said.
“Yes, but there are certain genes that should be expressing themselves more fully by now,” she said. “I'm a little concerned.”
“So what do you want me to do?” I asked.
She walked towards me and placed her hand on my arm.
“I want you to stay in bed, keep taking your meds, and eat as much as you can. It would probably be good for Cathy to stay as close to you as possible. She told me that you two were already symbiotic,” she said.
Cathy pulled me closer.
“So how long will it be until I'm back to normal?” I asked.
Dr. Ellen looked frustrated.
“I don't know,” she said. “Maybe days, maybe longer.”
“I'll be back to check on you in a few hours,” she said and left the room.
“I'm going to find you another bowl of soup,” Sarah said.
“I'll go with you,” Lizzie said.
They both walked out of the room, leaving Cathy and myself alone together.
“Finally, I get you in bed,” she said. “And it's doctor's orders.”
I turned my head and kissed her.
“I want to thank you for all the blood you donated,” I said.
“It was the least I could do – and you’ve done the same for me,” she replied.
“A dozen units is a lot,” I said.
“I’d give you every drop of my blood if you needed it,” she said.
I started to cry. I felt more loved than I’d ever felt in my entire life.
“What's wrong,” she asked.
“You make me feel loved,” I said. “You make me feel like you really, deeply, and sincerely love me.”
She began to cry too.
“I want to be with you for the rest of my life,” I said. “Even if it's a million years.”
Cathy pulled me closer, and I could feel the power inside of me start to grow.
“I want to be with you forever,” she said.
Sarah and Lizzie walked in, each carrying a large bowl of hot soup.
“You have to keep eating,” Lizzie said. She held the bowl up to my mouth, and I gulped down the soup. Sarah did the same with her bowl.
I then realized I hadn’t heard about what happened to my kidnappers.
“Did anyone manage to kill Henry?” I asked.
“No, he escaped,” Sarah said.
“What about Demetrius and the demon girl?” I asked.
“They escaped too,” Sarah said, “We don’t know where any of them are.”
I leaned back on the bed and Cathy snuggled beside me. A few minutes later, the nurse came back in the room and gave me another injection of amino acids and another cup full of pills. She also brought a large glass of what looked like a milk shake.
“Drink this,” she said. “It has lots of protein.”
I drank the thick cold shake which tasted like Queen Teresa's recipe.
After she walked out of the room, I felt my stump start to tingle. I unrolled the bandage, and I could see what looked like a protrusion jutting out of it.
“I think it's starting to grow back,” Cathy said.
For the rest of the day I rested in the bed. Cathy never left my side, and we spent a great deal of time talking together. Sarah and Lizzie were in the room most of the time.
By Tuesday night, I was regaining my strength. I was out of the bed and walking around. The nurses and Cathy asked me to take things slowly, but I was determined to get back to normal. We’d been invited to eat with the empress and I felt well enough to join her tonight.
“At this rate, you might be able to dance with me Thursday night,” Cathy teased, as we walked towards the dining room. “
“Oh, the dance,” I said.
“If you’re well enough, I hope we will be able to go,” she said. “Of course if you don't feel like it, I can just stay with you.”
“I think I'll be better by then,” I said, as we walked along the red carpet that stretched down the corridor.
Finally, we reached the dining room. A maid opened the door, and everyone at the table stood up.
“Welcome,” the empress said. “I'm so glad you feel well enough to dine with us tonight.”
The table before me was large and ornate and was covered with an intricately embroidered tablecloth, and set with exquisite china. About two dozen vampires sat around the table, and I was ushered to a chair beside Sarah. Cathy sat on the other side of me.
“I want to say that I'm honored to have such a brave and loyal subject at my table,” the empress said. “This dinner is in honor of you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I'm honored to be invited to your table.”
The empress made a hand motion, and her servants began to bring huge platters of food to the table. I could see platters of roast beef, ham, pork, and turkey. On one large dish, I saw what looked like a large beef liver.
“Please, begin,” the empress said.
Everyone began to fill their plates with food. Looking around the table, I realized that I didn't recognize most of the vampires. Other than the empress and Dr. Ellen, I didn’t know any of them.
Before I could reach with my good hand to put food on my plate, Cathy was already filling it with various meats. With my left hand – my right hand was still forming – I took the fork and began to eat; the food was all delicious.
I barely finished my first plate full of food before Sarah put additional servings before me.
“Eat up,” she said. “Remember, it's doctor's orders.”
“Sarah,” the empress said in a serious tone. “I have some news for you.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I have received a telephone call,” she said. “Your grandmother will be attending the dance this Thursday night.”
Sarah's eyes widened, and she looked shocked.
“Don't worry,” the empress said. “She told me that she was looking forward to seeing you.”
Sarah put down her fork.
“Did she say anything else?” Sarah asked.
“No, just said that she was looking forward to talking with you,” she said.
“May I be excused?” Sarah asked.
“Certainly,” the empress stated.
Sarah quickly walked out of the room. Cathy followed her.
“I hope you’ll stay a little longer, Eli,” the empress stated.
I looked at the empress and noticed her green eyes were almost glowing.
“Can I ask you a frank question,” I asked.
“Certainly,” she said.
“Sarah killed her grandmother's daughter and granddaughter. Don’t you think she’s going to be seeking revenge?” I asked.
“All I can say is that she didn’t seem angry on the telephone,” she said. “And I won’t let any violence take place under my roof.”
I looked directly into the eyes of the empress.
“I just want everything to go smoothly this week and for everyone to get along,” I said. “I've been fighting ever since I was bitten, and I'm sick of it. All I want in this new life of mine is to marry Cathy, be loyal to my new family, and live peacefully as one of your subjects,” I said.
The empress stood up, walked behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.
“I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure all of that happens. I want everything to go well for the three of you,” she said.
She walked back to her chair.
“May I be excused,” I asked. I wanted to join Sarah and Cathy.
“Would you stay just a little longer?” she asked. “I’d like for you to try some dessert.”
Her servants came up and began to take our plates. They replaced them with large bowls of what looked like chocolate pudding.
I lifted my spoon and took a bite; it was delicious – like protein enhanced chocolate.
“How do you like it?” the empress said.
“It’s great,” I said. “It tastes both sweet and protein filled at the same time.”
“It's my own recipe,” she said.
I finished eating and asked what the ingredients were. She mentioned several: hemp, soy, whey, along with the chocolate.
After I’d finished my dessert the queen dismissed the diners, and everyone began to leave.
“May I talk to you, Eli,” the empress asked as I was getting out of my chair.
“Of course,” I said.
She motioned for me to walk with her. We left the dining room and I followed her to a large balcony that overlooked her huge estate. When she sat on a long bench, I did the same.
“Do you have any plans for your future?” she asked.
“Right now, I just want to finish healing, get through this week, and marry Cathy,” I said.
“What about after that,” she said, looking directly into my eyes. The wind was blowing in her light blond hair.
“Probably, Cathy and I’ll get a home somewhere,” I said. “I hope it can be close to my human mother, Sarah, and Cathy's family.”
“Do you have any plans for the future?” I asked.
She laughed.
“I've done just about everything under the sun,” she said. “I've traveled the globe, learned eight languages, mastered five musical instruments, and been married six times.”
I looked at her seriously.
“There must be something you haven't done,” I said.
“I'm sure there are a few things I haven’t tried,” she said. “But when you get my age the world doesn’t seem quite as exciting.”
“But let’s get back on topic,” she said. “What are your plans?”
“To be honest, Cathy is the love of my life, and I want to spend a great deal of time with her,” I said.
“You know,” she said. “If you decided to do so, you and Cathy could spend some time here on my estate. You’d be my esteemed guest.”