One Life: Episode 7 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT (last page)

[babyblue1387]

I’ll never forget the sound I heard then. It was a crash and a scream, seeming impossibly loud to my heightened hearing. There was another voice, my mother’s, calling my name desperately, before she rushed in the kitchen door.

“It’s Aiden, Dahlia, come quick!”

My mind was numb, and if my heart were still beating, it’d be racing now, in this moment, when my worst fears were to be confirmed. I couldn’t help feeling outside myself. I looked to my left, and Inamorta was calm beside me. No doubt, her short lifetime of human emotions were outweighed by the centuries she’d spent, unfeeling. For me, the memories of life as a mortal were all to fresh, and the feelings came rushing, again, to the surface.

It was weird for me to think that, only moments ago, Inamorta and I had been sitting at the table, talking calmly. Life changes so quickly, and yet, time seems to move so slowly, when we want it to hurry. Whoever said time is a vampire’s to command, surely did not know of those moments! I pushed on with all of my might, but I felt like I was running through sludge, sinking ever deeper into a dark hole. It was Inamorta who pulled me back into myself. We were at the garage where Aiden had set up his work station.

It was a mess. There were broken glass tubes, and his workstation was dirty. He was covered in blood, but I couldn’t tell if it belonged to him or not. I went to his side, thankful for the warmth that feeding earlier that night brought me. His body was so cold, and he looked so old and tired, laying there in my arms. He reached a hand to my face, and I closed my eyes, praying to anyone to hear me, praying that somewhere, there is a divine being who can grant wishes.

“Oh, love, don’t cry…You know how sad that makes me.”

His voice was soft and tender, just as I’d always remember it. I held him tighter, and was vaguely aware of mom and Inamorta leaving us alone.

“I’m tired, love. I’m really very tired now, and I just want to rest.”

“You pushed yourself too hard! You shouldn’t—“

“We don’t have time for shouldn’t right now. I’m just tired, and I’m going to sleep. But I want to look into your beautiful eyes, just in case I don’t wake up.”

“You’re not going to die! Look at you, you’re strong, your young, your healthy!”

“No! I’m not young anymore, I haven’t been young for a long time! You…you’re the one who’s young, and I know you’d give everything you own to change that. That’s what I was working on.”

I didn’t understand. My mind was filled with pain and anguish. Oh, it was a feeling like nothing I’d ever felt before, and what I wouldn’t give to never feel it again! He was dieing! I could feel his heart slowing, and his breaths became pained. The strength was leaking out of his body, and I had to support him. Still, he made every effort to smile at me, and this is what I’ve chosen to remember all these years. His last smile, so sweet and caring, and full of the warmth of love that I had come to know and adore.

“You wanted to be human again. You wanted to feel your own heart beat, to walk in sunlight forever if you so desired. Sure you may walk now, but only for short periods of time. This is what I was working for. A cure. Something to make this horrible nightmare go away.”

I was floored. All those nights he’d spent awake, those hours where he’d wake up only to scribble note furiously! All this for a cure, for me! And he died for it. I could feel the last of him slipping away and never for a minute did it cross my mind to turn him. Never for a minute did I even entertain the thought. Sure, maybe we could have worked together then, fighting for a cure from this darkness, but it wouldn’t be what he wanted. He wanted to save me from this fate, not fall into it himself. And I don’t blame him for it. I can’t blame him for the unending love he showed me. I can’t blame him for dieing happy, doing his life’s work. I can’t blame him and I won’t.

My mother and Inamorta came in. My mother took Aiden, and Inamorta led me into the house. Mostly over the next few months I slept. My children came home for the funeral, and it did cheer me to see them. Bartholomew, he looks so much like his father, and it pained my heart to look at him too long. Mira was at my side once again, just as she had been before she left for college. We were all in a somber mood, Inamorta’s hair the only vibrant thing among us. I focused all I could on her hair, flaming in the night.

Mira offered to stay with me after the funeral, but I wouldn’t let her. She should go back to college, finish her degree. I’d still be waiting for her, just as I was. It was important to Aiden that his children continue with their education. He valued knowledge, and all four of our kids got that, too.

I tried to continue life. Inamorta and my mother went back to England, and I attempted to continue Aiden’s work. I knew he’d want it finished, but my heart wasn’t in it. I couldn’t find the passion for anything anymore. I don’t know why, but I went upstairs to the attic, and took the cloth off the picture that Asilda had painted of me all those years ago. I stared into my own reflection, for a long time, wondering why I hadn’t had the courage to face myself. Something inside me shifted, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to become cold and unfeeling, but I knew that’s what was happening. I couldn’t allow myself to grieve like this forever. Inamorta was right.

The year after my husband died, Bartholomew graduated from college.


Three years after my husband died, my girls graduated.


Four years after my husband died, Bartholomew got married and had a child



Six years after my husband died, Asilda got married.


Seven years after my husband died, Morrigan got pregnant.


Eight years after my husband died, I decided to take Inamorta up on that vacation.

[Pandora Moon]

I had a feeling that he was working on a cure to make her human again. You did a good job in writing this as you always do.

See ya.

[babyblue1387]

Thanks so much! You put a smile on my face:D. I thought that it was really sweet of him to do for someone he loved so much;). And believe it or not, he's a townie!

[Sam the T-man]

Oh I know not all townies are bad Great story, thought that's what he was doing

[babyblue1387]

Great to see  you stopped by, Sadie!

[babyblue1387]

I'll try to get an update in today. I've been busy with school, and I really haven't played my game at all. I did get Bon Voyage, so that was a distraction for a bit *insert shifty eyes here*. On the up side, I've been writing out the story while I'm at school, and boy, are there going to be some twists!

EDIT: and by today, I mean tomorrow.

[Sam the T-man]

LOL Well.. you know, always pays to familiarise yourself with the new EP so you can use it as an extra storytelling device... *cough*

Yep, that's my excuse for getting it and I'm sticking to it :lol: Haven't got it yet though, sadly

[babyblue1387]

:lol: I think I'll use that from now on, Sadie! Great thinking!

[babyblue1387]

I knew there were things I’d have to do to prepare myself mentally for the move. Everything would have to be packed and shipped, but I found myself wondering if I even wanted to keep these remnants of my old life. Aiden meant the world to me, but now he’s gone. My world was gone, and I’d spent the past eight years mourning my husband. How much longer could I spend? He would have wanted h is work to be continued, and I tried to do that for a while. His notes were extensive, and extremely detailed. Anyone would be able to see his thought process and the steps he used to get from point A to point B. My heart wasn’t in it. So I sold everything to someone I knew would be able to continue his work. The sale got me millions, but I wasn’t interested in the money. I gave it to my children.

I still procrastinated. I wanted to get away, but still wanted to be near everything that I’d known. Finally, my mother called me. She told me that in order to move forward with my life, I had to stop living in the past. I continued to trap myself between two worlds. She said it wasn’t healthy for me. I’m convinced that she got Mira to call me as well. She knew I wouldn’t ignore Mira’s pleadings, and she was right. I had everything packed up and shipped to Inamorta’s castle. I couldn’t help being curious, though. Many times, people questioned whether or not I’d been given the correct address. After checking with my mother, I could confirm that I had, indeed, been given the correct address.

Everything went smoothly until it was time for the attic to be shipped out. I’d just stepped back inside the house when I noticed the movers handling a large package. I instantly recognized it as the picture Asilda painted of me. They had lifted the sheet covering the painting and were commenting about it.

“I’ve never seen anything look so real.”

“Yeah. And look at those eyes. It’s almost…surreal. Geez, it’s creeping me out!”

“She’s pretty. Is this the lady that owns the house?”

“I think so. I heard she made some kind of sale that got her millions of dollars. Then she bought that abandoned castle in England.”

“Dude, she’s looking at me.”

“It’s a painting. Paintings can’t look at people.”

“But it moved! I swear it did.”

“It CAN’T move.”

I couldn’t help feeling captivated by their conversation. From where I stood, I could clearly see the picture for the first time, and I did have the impression that she was looking at me. It was a face I’d come to miss, yet it hadn’t changed in so many years. It was a weird feeling. Her eyes were bright and vibrant, and they recalled within me the exact moment my daughter had painted it. She stared at me, accusing me of never fully taking ownership of this new life that I have. I didn’t like her all-knowing eyes; couldn’t take her stare anymore.

“Please cover that up.”

The movers jumped, and gladly obliged. She would come with me. She would always be with me, no matter what I did. They finished loading my stuff, and I prepared to board my flight.

[babyblue1387]

My flight was long, but uneventful. I arrived at the airport at night, but was disappointed when I didn’t see that familiar head of red hair. I didn’t see my mother either, and for a moment, I wondered if I hadn’t arrived at the wrong airport. A young woman walked over to me. Her face was stone, and I couldn’t help the shudder that went through me.

“You are Dahlia?”

I nodded nervously.

“I am Basura. Inamorta and Bellatrix had a few errands to run so they asked me to pick you up.”

I was relieved, but at the same time, I felt a little alone. There was still no familiar face, still nothing I could hold on to. Basura smiled at me, and put a hand on my arm.

“You’ll get used to things quickly. Before we return, we, ourselves, must make some stops.”

As Basura talked, I could see her fangs. Looking out the window of the car, the sky was still dark, but the clock told me the sun would rise soon. I figured that Basura knew all of this, and we would return before the sun came up. We went to a local hospital, picked up several packets of blood, bought some clothes, roses, ordered furniture, and headed back.

Basura told me we were about 20 miles away from the castle. I knew we weren’t going to make it before the sun came up. Already, the sky was lightening. I could see the yellows and blues and purples in the sky, but she was in no hurry. I wanted to catch her eye; to see if she sensed the change in the day, but she wouldn’t look my way. Her eyes remained glued to the quickly passing scenery. I tried to follow her and loose myself in the countryside, but I couldn’t. I kept coming back to the sunrise.

“We are more alike than you know.”

Her accent was thick, and I almost missed her words. Basura wasn’t from England; wasn’t from Europe even. I was sure of that, even though she didn’t tell me anything about herlsef. I watched her as she looked out the window, and I couldn’t help feeling she was old. Not as old as Inamorta, but still very old. I could see a large castle coming into view in the distance, and Basura nodded to my unspoken question. This massive building was Inamorta’s castle.

When the taxi finally pulled up in front of the bridge, I couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed. Everything seemed so much larger, so much more comforting, so much more timeless.

“It is the little lady’s pride and joy. She calls her Chadeau du Noir Majestique. Castle of the majestic Night. Many things in this castle will have French names. She acquired it during the decades she studied French culture.”

Basura shoved open the massive doors just as the sun’s first rays made their debut. When she closed the doors behind us, I knew that I’d begun a new era of my life. Things would be different now. For better or worse, things would be different. Basura flipped a switch and the room was instantly flooded with light.

I felt like I’d been transported to a magical kingdom. Everything seemed so perfect, so…romantic, so timeless. Timeless. I began to understand just how time related to a vampire. I was in a place that would move at the same speed I was moving at. The castle had to be old. Ancient, in fact. Yet there were no signs of decay. There was no dust, no spiderwebs. There were no clocks, no newspapers. There was nothing to indicate the passage of time. I fell in love. Here I could live out my life and pretend that nothing had changed. Here, I could live in peace and calm and quiet, and create my own world to dwell in.

“A room has been set up for you. When your things arrive, you are free to arrange things as you wish.”

My room was massive. There was a sitting room, and beyond that, a bedchamber. I had my own private  bath, and a library. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the concept that all this was mine. I was no longer in the present because, for vampires, there is no present. There is only time in its entirety. I walked into the bedroom and noticed a double bed and a coffin. On one wall, there was a set of curtains. I opened them, but there was no window.

“Inamorta saw fit to remove the windows. In here, in this castle, there is no day and no night. You will notice that there are no clocks. This is because we need no time. Time is ours to command. A chime will sound twice each day. It signals sunrise and sunset. Inamorta and your mother can have a choice here. They don’t have to go to their coffins every night since the night never ends here.”

“And you?”

Basura smiled at me. She knew something, was keeping some secret from me.

“I will do as I have always done.”

A silence passed between us, and I excitedly took in my surroundings. I felt jittery, like I was on the verge of a great discovery. On top of the table in my sitting room, Basura left a bag of blood.

“There is a refrigerator in the corner of the bedroom. IT looks like an end table. Inamorta and I updated this entire castle to include electrical wiring.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. The castle could have close to 200 rooms, all rigged with electricity.

“When you have forever, you can do anything. Know that this place is unlike any other in the world. There are three things that you will NEVER see anywhere else.”

“What are they?”

”you must be tired. Try to get some rest.”

[Sam the T-man]

Hm, interesting.. the castle's beautiful, is it one you downloaded or made yourself?

[babyblue1387]

It's Castle Dracule by (I think) Cokebuilder at MTS2. I've had it for a long time, and just never played with it. I only wish I could build that nice! It's this massive place with a center courtyard and a bunch of rooms. It's even got accommodations for vampires!

[Pandora Moon]

Hi. I like the castle very nice. and good job on this update. I wonder what's gonna happen next to thesse vampires?.

[babyblue1387]

Well, you won't have to wait long because there'll be an update today! It's a lot easier when I've got the story already written out:)

[babyblue1387]

Look at me! I'm updating everyday!
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When I awoke the next night, I couldn’t wait to see my mother. I was eagerly awaiting a familiar face, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was greeted with a familiar face, but not the one I was hoping for.

How I loathed the sight of that man. His was not the first face I planned on seeing. He stared at me, a smile making its way to his face. I wanted so much to punch him out.

“The mistress of the castle requests your presence.”

Oh the sarcasm abounds.

“Get out. I’ve had enough of your foolishness. I’ll send for you when I need you.”

I hardly saw Inamorta standing behind this idiot. I saw his face flash with anger. He resented being ordered around, especially by someone so “young.” He didn’t want to admit that Inamorta is older than he could ever dream to be. I couldn’t help wandering if he even knew how old she was.

“Yes master. As you wish.”

“Enough! Giovann, get out! Not just out of this room, but out of this castle! Since I brought you here, you have been nothing but a pest. You have always been that one roach that won’t die.”

Giovann didn’t take lightly to this insult. I saw him visibly flinch when Inamorta called his name. I won’t go into to details about the immense joy I felt at his pain. If Inamorta would let me get away with it, I would have increased it tenfold. Giovann turned on his heels and stormed angrily out of the room. The sound of the thundering castle door told us all that he had, indeed, left the castle.

“He knows he can only push me so far, and he’s been pushing quite a bit lately. He will find out soon enough that he is not immortal.”

I could see the smile on my mother’s face begin to fade. Inamorta noticed it too, because she took my mother’s hand in her tiny one and kissed it before embracing her.

“I know you don’t like to think of me this way, love, but something must be done or he’ll be the death of us all. I will not kill him, but I will give him a scar that will be with him for the rest of his life. He knows now that no matter how old he is, I will always be older. No matter how powerful he gets, I will have more power. No matter what new secrets he finds, I will always have the old ones. Old secretes from the days where vampires struck mortal fear in the hearts of the bravest men. The days when mentioning the possibility of a vampire was enough to make the residents board up their houses, and make the local priests call the Vatican for special help. I know the secrets that would even strike fear in God herself.”

Inamorta smiled and winked at us, pleased by her clever assumption. She took my hand in her other, then led the way to the dining room where we gathered around a tiny corner of the massive table.

“Once upon a time, there were enough vampires here to fill this entire table. The halls were always buzzing with talk and laughter. I’d managed to carve out a nice little existence for us here. The magnificent night. Always eternal. The only reason we had for leaving was food. We were all content here.”

“What happened?”

The room looked as if it had just been built and furnished. There was no sign that this dining room had ever been used before. Had so many vampires just disappeared? Could they just cease to exist? I felt so much like the child that Inamorta was, so in awe of everything around me, and this amused Inamorta.

“In every group, there is always one who is not happy. There is always one who would destroy things for everyone. The group disbanded, everyone went their separate ways. Of their eventual fates, I only know some. Without being able to come here, many had no place to go. Some traveled. Some couldn’t survive on their own. I guess it’s my fault for spoiling them. Mostly they decided that it wasn’t too safe to stay in large groups. Some found out that only here is darkness eternal, and decided they would only live where night is forever. Know that there are only two places like that in or out of this world. And one was closed off to them. They chose the other, death, instead of this eternal half-life.”

We were quiet. I looked at my mother. She had not heard this story before. Her brows were knit in concentration. She stared at this child; a child she’d no doubt come to love. I knew the concern in her eyes, knew it too well because those concerned eyes had been turned on me many times.

“Be sure there is one such person among our own group, and take actions to secure yourself another place to live. Tell no one. Not me, not Dahlia, not Bellatrix, not Basura, not Giovann.”

“Well, you can be sure I won’t be telling Giovann anything!”

“Do not be so quick to judge what you do not know, Dahlia.”

Inamorta looked at me, and I felt overwhelmed with confusion. On one had, she would kick him out of the castle, berate him, treat him like a disobedient child. On the other, she would protect him like she were his mother.

“Though he aggravates me, he is still like a child to me. He will cool off and then he will come back. He’s young. Not as young as your mother in our years, but nearly half your age in their years.”

“He can’t be that young.”

“But he is. Age has a strange way of showing on us. He was only 19 when he was turned. Forgive him his childish ways, for he still is one.”

I felt silly for arguing and fighting with a child.

“Anyway, the night is young, and the castle is yours to explore. I have very few rules here, and I do hope that you don’t find them too much of a bother. Your children may visit if they so desire, but I believe they may find it more pleasing to stay elsewhere. I will respect your privacy, and I ask that you respect mine. You will find that certain places in here are closed off. Please leave them alone.”



Living with Inamorta was a real treat. There was always something to do. There was always something new to learn. Over the next 50 years, I learned what it meant to truly be a vampire. I learned how to control my emotions. I learned how to manipulate those around me. I learned strength, and I learned weakness. Inamorta had a huge library that was always full of new and interesting things to read. She had many books in many different languages, and I learned those languages just to read these books. In a way, I felt that I’d become more myself since staying with Inamorta.

Over time, I’d even come to accept Giovann’s existence in the castle. I didn’t like him, and I never would, but I became cordial with him. I also came to understand just how much of the castle was being used by Inamorta. Entire wings were locked to all except Inamorta, and sometimes Basura. And I found out more about Basura.

“You said there were three things in the house that could never be found anywhere else. I can’t figure out what they are.”

“You already know of two. The third…well I can’t really fault you for not knowing.”

“Well?”

“Inamorta. The only known child vampire, the oldest, and the most powerful vampire. You, Dahlia, a vampire who can walk in sunlight. And me, more of the same.”