The Vampire Pirate's Daughter (22 page)

I say distracted, “Actually, I feel like
steak. We have only had pasta the last few nights and I feel
carnivores.”

Jumping with fright, I hear Edward laugh
when he walks into the kitchen. “We just can’t get the vampire out
of you.”

I look back over my shoulder toward him,
straight into Callum’s eyes. Quickly I glance toward Amanda
accusingly and then I take a pot of yoghurt from the fridge.

Sitting down next to William, I ask him,
“Have you decided what you want yet, William?”

He looks up at Amanda. “Manda is making me
waffles.”

I smile down at him. “Lucky boy. We could get
used to this, can’t we?”

He smiles sweetly, while he waits
patiently.

From the corner of my eye, I see Callum lean
against the wall across from me and sadly, I think he is trying to
avoid being too close to me. Self-consciously I put the spoon
ladled with yoghurt into my mouth. I feel Callum’s gaze burn into
me. Herman says something to Callum and Herman has to repeat
himself, before Callum turns toward him and says, “Sorry, were you
talking to me?”

I eat in silence. Callum is making me feel
uncomfortable and it feels as if the yoghurt lodges itself in my
throat.

I wait for William to finish his waffles and
we leave the house together. We get onto the wagon and then while
Claude drives the wagon, William and I sit on the back, our legs
hanging over the edge of the cart.

The day passes as any other day. I work my
section, while William runs circles around me. He chases
butterflies and eats grapes. Whenever I look up, I see Callum
looking at either William or me pensively where he is picking
grapes in the next row.

That evening I get the steaks from the
freezer. I defrost them in the microwave and then I fry them. These
days I cannot stand the rich iron taste that lingers in my mouth
when I eat my meat raw. I have tried medium-rare, but have settled
for well done.

When the char-grilled steak is ready, I put
them on two plates and then I quickly toss a green salad. I drink
glass after glass of wine to swallow the meat down. The wine does
make me feel warm and oozy, so I laugh at everything everybody has
to say. I see Herman look at me troubled.

When William and I are finished eating,
everybody leaves the kitchen as always. Amanda takes William with
her, while I stay behind to wash the dishes. When Callum walks out
of the room, it feels as if my stomach unclenches and it is the
first time since we started eating that I feel I can breathe.

I take my time washing the dishes.

When I walk into the lounge, the fire is
blazing in the hearth
.

Callum
is sitting with William on the floor and they are playing a
game of checkers.

Hurriedly I walk over to them and I lift
William up off the ground, while I say quickly, “Come William, bath
time.”

William complains and I see Callum stand up.
He looks at me annoyed and then he says softly, “Let him finish the
game.” He laughs ironically. “I won’t eat him.”

I gasp and with a protesting William
wriggling in my arms, I leave the living room.

Amanda say angrily, “That was not funny,
Callum.”

To placate William,
I promise him that we would watch his
animated movies late into the night and that we would sleep in the
lounge. He always enjoys doing this, because it feels like
camping.

After I dry William and dress him in his
pajamas, I organize the den. I throw a blanket on the floor and I
bring bowls of popcorn, crisps and chewy sweets from the
kitchen.

We lie down on the blanket on the
carpeting on our stomachs. I put my chin in my palms, while I stare
into the fire and the warmth is immediate. Soon William is immersed
in his movie.

He falls asleep the same time as every other
night.

Turning onto my side, I stare into his
angelic face, while I brush the hair from his brow. I lay like this
until I fall asleep.

I half wake up and I feel cold.
Automatically I move into William and instinctively he puts his
little arm over me. I snuggle into the warmth of him and then I
notice a shadow in the room. Immediately I open my eyes fully and I
see Callum looking at me intently. When he sees me looking up at
him, he stands up quietly from the chair and he silently leaves the
room.

William and I have eaten and I have washed
the dishes. Everybody has already left the château, except Justin
and us.

I turn to Justin. “What are you going to do
today?”

He sulks. “I have to work in the cellar
today.”

“Have fun. Wish me luck though, I am going to
look for Amanda and discuss a trip I have been contemplating.”

Justin looks at me questioningly. “A trip,
this is unexpected.”

“Very impulsive for me, isn’t it?” I laugh
nervously.

He says while he walks toward the cellar,
“Good luck, I doubt Amanda will let you go.”

I take William by the hand and we walk to the
vineyard in search of Amanda. I know it will take some convincing,
because even though I am practically an adult now, after two
hundred plus years, Amanda still treats me like a child. I do not
have to ask her permission, but years and years of habits are hard
to break.

She is talking to Callum and I hesitate for a
moment, before I walk toward them.

William runs to Edward and then I hear him
shriek loudly, when Edward swings him high into the air.

Amanda and Callum stop talking when they see
me and I say, “Amanda, can I speak with you.”

Callum looks over his shoulder toward Edward
and William and then back at me thoughtfully.

I turn away from him and follow
Amanda.
I ask her, “What
were you discussing? Callum looks more upset than
usual.”

“It was nothing important,” she says
dismissively.

I sense though that it involved me, so I
insist, “Tell me, Amanda!”

She sighs exasperated. “I was trying to
convince him not to do something he might regret.”

“
Like what?”

“He wanted to know what happened to you, how
it happened and I explained it to him. Now he wants to go after
them.”

I gasp shocked. “He is so upset that I am
human? Does it really bother him that much?” I feel sad, I want to
go to him, run to him, and implore that he not be foolish, but he
hates me.

Amanda asks, “Why did you want to talk to
me?”

I remember. “I want to take William on a trip
- a trip around the world.”

She frowns. “When?”

“I want to leave next week.”

“But it is almost Christmas?”

“So?”

“No, you cannot go next week. We always enjoy
Christmas with William and I wanted to have a ball this year for
New Years.” She pinches her lips together for a moment and then she
says agreeable, “I could agree that you go on this trip, but…”

I groan.

She continues unperturbed, “We will first
have Christmas and New Years and then after that you and William
can go on your round the world trip. You do not stay away for
years, Amanda, I’ll miss William.” She looks toward Edward who is
chasing William playfully and she adds, “We will all miss
William.”

Although I will not be leaving next week
as I planned, she still agreed, so I laugh happily. “I won’t stay
away, because I’ll miss you too much as well. Besides, William will
need to start school soon enough.”

“Whose silly idea was this?”

“Mine. Why?”

“You have been around the world hundred times
over.”

I smile. “Yes, but never as a human. The
experience will be different.”

“It will still look the same, girl.”

“But it will feel different.”

She sighs, but she smiles thoughtfully. “I am
serious, Susie, not for long.”

“I promise.” I smile and jump up and down
gleefully. I lean into her and say, “Thank you. Thank you.”

When I let her go, she says, “Now run
along, Callum needs help with those baskets. Maybe you can convince
him not to be foolish.”

My heart sinks into my shoes and I sulk,
“Must I?”

“Yes, you must.”

I walk away from her toward Callum. With each
step closer to him, my heart beats slower and I can hear the ‘doof’
every time my foot touches the ground. I reach him and I say
softly, “Amanda says I have to help you.”

He looks toward me and then over my shoulder
at Amanda reproachfully. He says, “It's okay, I’ll manage.”

I am suddenly maddeningly angry. “Do I stink
Callum, now that I am human? I just want to help you!” I turn
hurriedly to walk away from him and he grasps me by the elbow.

He leans down to me and he hisses close to my
face, “What do you expect? I leave and I complete a compulsory
service for my community, so that we can continue living in your
blissful ignorance. So that the humans you love to integrate with
do not find out the truth about you. When I get back, you are a
human and you have a child. I feel like a fool now for suggesting
we do not go all the way, for telling you that I want to marry
you.”

The insult feels like a slap through my face.
The surprise is so devastating that I can only glare at him
defiantly. Thoughts are racing through my mind looking for
something to say in retaliation. I open my mouth to tell him to be
quiet, because I cannot think of anything witty to say. His lips
cover mine unexpectedly and I feel my legs buckle under the
emotional wave that washes through me. His arms fold around me and
he buries his hand in my hair, pulling my head closer to his. I
feel warmth spread through my stomach. He lets me go abruptly and
looking into my eyes, he grimaces. He turns from me and he walks
away.

I stay standing there staring after him. The
love I feel for him is undisputable, even to me. I turn and I run
home. Storming into the house, I run up the stairs two at a time. I
run into my room, sweeping the door closed behind me. I fall onto
my bed and I stare up at the canopy over my four-poster bed. Soon
William and I will leave and I will not come back as long as he is
here.

*

Amanda and I start to decorate the house
for Christmas. When William sees what we are doing excitement
starts to ripple through the château. Since William’s second
Christmas, everybody has a renewed interest in the festive season
and I even notice Peter getting excited. Irritated I notice Callum
spending more and more time with William and at night when I lie
with him in bed, William cannot stop talking about Callum. I decide
to talk to Callum, to tell him to stay away from William. However,
since that day in the vineyards we have not spoken to each other at
all. I do however notice that he stares at me absorbedly whenever
we are in the same room. I observe the way he smiles when I spend
time with William and we share a joke. I convince myself that I
loathe Callum with a passion bordering on hatred.

At Christmas, William races through the stack
of presents and I love watching his little face light up with each
new present he opens. Although there are so many, he is truly happy
about each and every one. The rest of the day, he spends playing
with his new toys in the den and I curl up on the couch with a
book. The fire is blazing brightly and I hear Amanda, Edward,
Justin, Peter, Herman and Claude in the living room. They are
arguing loudly, but jovial, about the new name for the vintage. Our
best vintage since we started wine production. Edward is happy,
because at last, we can rival Francois and he wants it to give
homage to William, my father, and he wants the name to reflect
this. The rest of them do not agree with him and they call his
rivalry petty, which aggravates Edward even more.

I sense the moment Callum enters the den and
I feel annoyed, but William jumps up from the carpet and runs
excitedly to him. Frowning, I look up at Callum and I notice him
smiling down at William. He ruffles William’s hair and then he
picks him up. He lets William sit comfortably in the crook of his
arm and then he says softly, while looking at me, “I want to talk
to your mom. Why don’t you run along and go see Amanda
quickly?”

I want to stop William, but as soon as Callum
puts him down, his little legs run him off toward the living
room.

I stand up from the couch and I look at
Callum reproachfully. “Why did you do that? I don’t like the way
you are spending time with him.”

He walks toward me and he says, ignoring what
I said completely, “Amanda says that you are taking William after
New Years and you are leaving?”

Turning away from him, I sit down on the
couch again, pulling my legs up and I open my book.

He says harshly, “Susanna, I am talking to
you.”

I look up angrily. “Don’t you Susanna me. It
has nothing to do with you.”

Hurt flashes across his face, but I do not
care.

He walks toward me and then he sits down
on the edge of the couch next to my pulled up legs. His body is
turned toward me and he takes the book from my hands, while I look
at him boldly. He puts his hand on the other side of my waist,
literally trapping me. Softly he says, “Tell me that you are not
leaving.”

I close my eyes and I take a deep breath. I
take a few deep breaths, because I can feel that irritating burning
sensation behind my eyes. The only thing I hate about being human
is that it is so difficult to hide my emotions.

Without opening my eyes, I say, “I have to
leave.” I bring my hands up and I put the palms of my hands over my
eyes, pushing hard, in an attempt to force back the tears.

“If you are leaving, because I am here, I
would rather leave. Please don’t do this because of me.”