Post by Widow on Jan 19, 2006 17:29:36 GMT -6
Chapter 1: A Meeting of Fate
It was another windy night in London. The streets were empty, for all the night clubs were filled with people. Big Ben struck twelve as Ashrah made her way down the street to her home. She just came back from hunting in her usual and favorite place: The graveyard. It was quiet and serene. Plus she knew that it would be easy for her to find someone to feed on without getting caught. Many people don’t like the idea of hanging out at a graveyard.
Her jet black trench coat covered her entirely, making her look like a spy of the night. Her long blue-black, curly hair flew in the wind as it whipped about this way and that. Her face looked serious as her lively, yet cold grey eyes looked straight ahead. A vagrant walked up to her asking for loose change so he could buy himself a slice of bread from the restaurant near by. Ashrah stopped walking and looked at the man.
“Please, miss. I would really like to eat tonight. Food hasn’t touched my lips for many a night.” the impoverished nomad stated. Ashrah stared at him coldly. Many people do that to tell a person such as the poor soul standing in front of her to get lost. Ashrah was just analyzing him. She could see he wasn’t old, nor too young either. “I understand miss…” the beggar whispered as he started to turn so as to walk away. Ashrah relaxed her face so she wouldn’t look so mean. She reached out to the man and touched his shoulder. “How would you like to have a full dinner on me?” she asked with a smile on her face. The tramp nodded his head excitedly in approval.
Ashrah flagged a cab down, hoping it wouldn’t pass her being that it was speeding. Lucky her, it slowed to a halt. She and the beggar climbed into the car. “Can you take me to the finest restaurant in town?” Ashrah asked giving the cab driver such an amount of money that the vagabond gasped. They rode in silence as they headed very far from where they at one time stood. Finally, the cab pulled to a stop in front of a restaurant that had large, clear windows in the front. Over the door sat a large gargoyle carving that seemed to eye who ever entered the restaurant.
Ashrah and the man got out of the cab and walked toward the door of the lovely dinner house. She opened the door only to hear another gasp escape from the beggar’s mouth, for he saw the beautiful chandeliers on the ceiling that lit the large room. It had a lovely pale rose color to it on its walls and marble floor. They stood in the waiting area for service from one of the head waiters. One came over, but wasn’t sure if Ashrah was being accompanied by the beggar. “He’s with me. Now, are you going to take our coats or not?” Ashrah harshly said.
She unbuttoned her trench coat and slipped out of it. Underneath it, she had on black leather pants that covered a large proportion of her feet; on which were black leather pumps. Tucked into her pants was a white shirt that was buttoned up excluding the three buttons at the top. She turned around to face the itinerant so she could hand the waiter his shabby brown trench coat. She looked into his face with a small grin. That’s when the vagrant noticed that she had small red highlights surrounding her pupils. Her eyes amazed him as well as her beauty. Ashrah knew this. She knew she had this ageless beauty that made her look twenty forever. In all time’s reality, she was 215 years old.
The man stopped staring at her when he realized that she was reaching for his coat. He handed it to her only to end up admiring her caramel skin tone. He noticed that her skin was a lovely color, but somewhat pale. When the waiter finally put their coats up, he showed them to a table in a corner that was in the back of the room. Then Ashrah and the beggar took their seats opposite of each other. “Your finest wine please.” Ashrah ordered. The waiter walked off toward the wine cellar.
“Well, what’s your name?” Ashrah questioned. The man who hadn’t really said much to her until now answered, “Jacques, my name is Jacques. I’m not French, my father is.” Ashrah started to blush slightly as she blinked back tears at the mention of the name. “Jacques? Oh, Jacques, you turned me into something such as yourself, then left me. Oh, father where have you gone and why did you leave me alone?” A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Are you okay, miss? Did I say something wrong?” Jacques was asking. Ashrah shook her head no. She, now staring at him, realized that he couldn’t have been much older than thirty-three. This was the first real good look she got of him. He was tanned from the sun and his hair was a messy, long, blonde mop that sat atop his head. His eyes were a piercing ice blue. His clothes were worn and torn at the knees and elbows. Everything about his appearance was dirty, as so for a beggar Ashrah realized.
The waiter came back and placed a bucket of ice on the table. He opened the bottle of chardonnay and placed it in the bucket. “I’ll be back with two wine glasses.” the waiter said. “Now with the waiter gone, I must ask: What happened to you? You look like the type of person that would be in good hands.” Ashrah asked Jacques, slightly embarrassed by the fact that she wanted to know so much about him. “Well”, Jacques started to answer, “I was in good hands, that was until my mother married a man she met at my father’s funeral. Not only did he take her heart, he took control of her life and money. He had two sons and a daughter of his own when he and my mother met. He never liked me because I was protective of my mother. One day, while I was gone, I believe he killed her. He says that she had a heart attack. I don’t believe him. He’s dead now, but he made sure not to include me in his will or my mother’s as a matter of fact. This act of his left me penniless and homeless. Don’t feel bad for me though, I think that I’m surviving pretty well on my own.” Ashrah had listened and absorbed every word he let come out of his mouth. She knew he was harmless and a possible good friend. “Okay, I promise, I won’t feel bad for you. But I will admit I don’t like the way you look right about now. After this, you’re going home with me to get a shower and a nice place to sleep. Tomorrow, you can go shopping for clothes.” Ashrah said with a friendly voice.
The waiter returned with two menus and two wine glasses. Ashrah and Jacques scanned the menus while the waiter poured the wine into their glasses. He was going to turn and leave after, but realized that the two dining customers were ready to order simply by the look on their face. “I’ll have the London broiled steak with rice and carrots”, Ashrah said. “I’ll have the same thing as her”, Jacques followed. Ashrah knew that she wasn’t going to eat the food she just ordered. As a vampire, there wasn’t need to. What she was going to do was have it put into a doggy-bag so Jacques could have it. She turned to him and stared only to have him notice and smile at her. “You’re beautiful, miss.”, Jacques blurted out. “Uh, I never got your name.” Ashrah snapped out of her daze so she could answer. “I’m Ashrah Lenton.”. Her voice was calm and soft like. She didn’t want to say thank you for Jacques’ compliment on her beauty. She didn’t think she was beautiful simply for the reasons that she had to live with it forever and she knew that a monster lived underneath it all. But she wasn’t going to let Jacques know that she was a vampire. “What I don’t understand is why you would do something so nice for me?” Jacques wondered aloud. Ashrah just gave a shrug and said, “I’m not selfish and believe those less fortunate than me deserve a helping hand, no matter what they did.”
Jacques sighed and looked around the room loving everything he saw, knowing he may never see it again. His human beauty caught Ashrah by the heart. She missed being human, to have that natural beauty that would age over time. She was almost jealous of his life. Jacques noticed Ashrah staring at him and decided to stare back. They sat like that, staring at each other. They looked as if they were trying to read each other’s face. They looked deeply into the pools of each other’s eyes for minutes at hand. That was until the waiter interrupted them by placing, well more or less slamming, the plates of food onto the table in front of their faces.
The waiter walked off with a hint of an attitude. “Someone’s quite rude!”, Ashrah stated. She knew the waiter wasn’t too happy serving someone such as Jacques. He knew it too, but ignored him. He picked up a fork and started to eat. “For a homeless person, he eats in a mannerly way. This is great; I think I might be able to get him back up on his feet.” Ashrah picked up the fork near her and started to play with the food in front of her. “Is something wrong?” Jacques asked before he loaded his mouth with another forkful of food. “No, I’m not really all that hungry.” Ashrah answered. She started to analyze him. She picked up the fact that she definitely liked his personality. “Do you want desert?” she asked him knowing that he would say yes. “Wow that sure seems nice. I think I would like that. How about a chocalate-mint ice cream sundae?” he answered after he took a sip of the wine. Ashrah waved her hand in the air as to signal for a waiter to come over. A female came over and took Ashrah’s order for a doggy-bag, a chocolate-mint ice cream sundae, and the check.
Ashrah noticed that while the female waiter had been over at their table, Jacques hadn’t looked at her. He hadn’t looked at any females that were in the restaurant, actually. He only looked at her, and she looked only at him. Jacques finished up his meal waiting for desert to arrive. Taking a sip of wine, he commented Ashrah, “Your hospitality skills are amazing. Any one who meets you in the street better run off if they’re related to Ebenezer Scrooge!”, and started to laugh heartily. Ashrah smiled and couldn’t help but to laugh, too.
The female came back with the desert, a bag that held what was supposed to be Ashrah’s dinner, and the check. She walked away. Before Jacques could start on his desert, Ashrah thanked him. “For what?”
“For letting me take you in like this and letting me get to know you.”
“Well, let me thank you for showing me that there are still kind people in this world. Also for letting me sit here and admire your beauty and kindness tonight. They are a wonderful combination.” Ashrah nodded her head in approval of his words. Ashrah put the money for the check on the table with a very large tip. Jacques sat there in silence eating the sundae, but looked up occasionally to gaze into Ashrah’s eyes. He finished and went to the restroom. Ashrah went outside to wait for him. While she was out there, she flagged another cab down to take them to her house. Jacques came outside in the same shabby brown trench coat he had on before, but this time had a look of contentment on his face.
He got into the cab and inhaled deeply, then let out a large sigh. Ashrah was happy to hear that, she knew that he was full and happy. She was even happier to know that Jacques wasn’t the type to not let something go. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of him finding out that she was a vampire or that she knew how to use magic. As they rode along to her house, Jacques started to hold Ashrah’s hand and she didn’t pull back from him.
The cab pulled up in front of Ashrah’s Victorian house. It was black with shutters and a black wooden door that had a lovely knocker on it. As with the last cabby, Ashrah paid him a large amount of money. She and Jacques got out of the taxi and stepped onto the sidewalk. It was now three thirty in the morning and the night clubs would be emptying out soon. She didn’t want to get caught in the noise of people emptying out onto the street to go home from their long night of partying.
The two made their way up the porch steps and to the door. Ashrah took out her keys and unlocked the door. They walked into her living room from the hallway area. “Excuse me for the mess…” she said with a hint of tiredness in her voice. “I don’t mind”, Jacques said, helping her out of her trench coat. He took his off as well and hung them on the coat rack behind him. As for the living room mess, it was just clothes all over her couch and love seat. The floor was clean and the coffee table just had magazines sprawled all over it. Jacques went and sat in the arm chair in the corner of the room. He saw that all her curtains were black and drawn closed. The chandelier light illuminating from the ceiling was dim. He figured that she liked for her house to be a little dark.
Ashrah went to her linen closet and got him a wash cloth and towel; came back in the living room and handed them to him. Ashrah then showed him to the bathroom, turned the shower on for him, and left him alone in the room. Ashrah headed to the kitchen, picking the food up on the way and put it in her somewhat empty refrigerator. Then she walked to the master bedroom on the second floor. She went up the spiral steps and down the hall from the three guest bedrooms. She opened her door and turned the light on.
Ashrah went in and opened the curtains of her canopy bed. Then she sat down and took her shoes off. Ashrah stood up and looked around her room that hid all her money in the night stand on the right side of her bed. She unzipped her pants and let them slip off her hips onto the floor. She unbuttoned her shirt, but kept it on. She then headed to the bathroom that was built into the master bedroom. The tile floor was cold, but it didn’t disturb her.
She turned on her shower and finished undressing. She stepped in and let the warm water caress her body. She washed with a sponge and rose petal soap. Then she washed her hair. Her hair straightened itself out when the water touched it. The length was amazing as it touched the very top of her thighs. The dirt ran from her hair as the water cascaded through it. All the remnants of the graveyard were once again being erased from her body.
Ashrah turned the shower off and stepped out of it. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body, then walked to the sink and looked into the mirror above it. She saw what Jacques saw, but didn’t think it was beautiful. Ashrah saw this eternal beauty as a façade for the monster that lived behind it. She knew that if Jacques knew what she was, he’d run away from her. There was no point in scaring him off if she was just helping him out. She dried off after staring at her face for an amount of time. She put on her silk robe and walked back into her bedroom. She dried her hair of most of the water so it wouldn’t drip all over the place. Then she went into her closet and put on a silk pajama set of shorts and a nightgown that extended to the tops of her knees.
She knew Jacques was going to need something to wear. “Well, he isn’t in this room, so he can’t see this. What harm could a little magic do?” Ashrah thought. She took another set of her pajamas and laid the two pieces of the set on the bed. The pants were long and the shirt was a short sleeved button-up. She thought really hard and said a chant so as to make the clothes fit a man of Jacques’ stature. The pajamas were no longer womanly, but were meant for a man. She grabbed the pajamas and went downstairs.
She found Jacques standing up by the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was clean now and smelled of roses just like Ashrah did. His hair was a lovely bleach blonde and his skin was fair now that all the dirt was off of it. Now that his hair was washed, he was able to comb it back, out of the way of his eyes. It was as if he could stare holes into anyone with them. He backed up off the wall and walked toward her. He stepped closer and Ashrah could see that he obviously tried to stay in good shape, even if it meant he looked foolish in public. His arms weren’t limp and his stomach wasn’t round or poor looking. He stopped walking when he was so close to Ashrah that they were able to tell that they washed with the same brand soap. He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you. I don’t know how my life would’ve went if I hadn’t met you, but this is better than getting one-hundred dollars from a stranger in the street.”, Jacques explained. Then he took the pajamas and went back in the bathroom to change. Ashrah didn’t move, she was astonished that he even said that. Had she been in his place, she probably would’ve thought that a person such as herself was crazy. She finally shook her head of the thought and started toward the couch as to put her clothes away.
She was picking up the last article of clothing when Jacques stepped out of the bathroom. She stood up straight to take a look at him. He turned a full circle to model the pajamas. In doing so, Ashrah saw that his hair reached the middle of his back. She approved and felt she did a great job on making them. “Follow me, the guest bedrooms are upstairs.” she said as she walked to the steps. Jacques walked at such a speed as to catch up with her. He stopped her after the first step and took half of her load. They walked up the large staircase side by side. When they reached the landing, Ashrah pointed down the hall and said, “Follow me.” They walked to her bedroom and put the clothes on her bed when they got there. Then they walked back out and down the hall toward the guest bedrooms. “Pick any room; you get to sleep in the one of your choice”.
Jacques picked the room in the middle of the other two. Ashrah opened the door and turned on the light. She stepped in with Jacques following her. He saw a canopy bed quite similar to Ashrah’s. The only difference was that it didn’t have curtains. The room had dark red carpet and dark red velvet curtains on the two windows. In one corner was an arm chair. On the side of the bed opposite of that corner was a night stand that had a lamp on it. He obviously was happy with what he was seeing, the biggest grin that he had all night was on his face now. He turned and faced Ashrah and this time took hold of her hands. Jacques hugged her then planted another soft warm kiss on her forehead. “Once again, thank you! This will be the first time in five years that I sleep in a bed that was warm. I’m truly thankful that I ran into you tonight.” He couldn’t help but express his gratitude through words. “Well, your welcome. I really didn’t mind helping you. It felt good to do so.”, Ashrah explained. They hugged once more and Ashrah stepped out of the room closing the door behind her. She heard the light switch click off in the guest bedroom and knew Jacques was going to sleep.
She headed toward her bedroom, not sure of what she was going to do tomorrow. She stepped into the large room and cut the lights off in her bathroom and bedroom. Ashrah walked toward the oval window on the far side of the room and opened one of the curtains. She raised the window so a breeze could be let in. Ashrah stared at the pale moonlight for a while before she let out a large yawn. She walked to her bed and got in. She closed the black, sheer curtains of her canopy bed; then she lied down and thought to herself, “I did a good thing tonight, I just hope he understands what follows tomorrow is for the good of him…” Then Ashrah stopped, remembering something Jacques said earlier. “My father was French…his funeral…” She wondered if Jacques’ father was Jacques the vampire, the very one who had been her fatherly figure. “In due time, I guess you’ll find out…”, Ashrah thought. Then she fell into a light slumber.
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It was another windy night in London. The streets were empty, for all the night clubs were filled with people. Big Ben struck twelve as Ashrah made her way down the street to her home. She just came back from hunting in her usual and favorite place: The graveyard. It was quiet and serene. Plus she knew that it would be easy for her to find someone to feed on without getting caught. Many people don’t like the idea of hanging out at a graveyard.
Her jet black trench coat covered her entirely, making her look like a spy of the night. Her long blue-black, curly hair flew in the wind as it whipped about this way and that. Her face looked serious as her lively, yet cold grey eyes looked straight ahead. A vagrant walked up to her asking for loose change so he could buy himself a slice of bread from the restaurant near by. Ashrah stopped walking and looked at the man.
“Please, miss. I would really like to eat tonight. Food hasn’t touched my lips for many a night.” the impoverished nomad stated. Ashrah stared at him coldly. Many people do that to tell a person such as the poor soul standing in front of her to get lost. Ashrah was just analyzing him. She could see he wasn’t old, nor too young either. “I understand miss…” the beggar whispered as he started to turn so as to walk away. Ashrah relaxed her face so she wouldn’t look so mean. She reached out to the man and touched his shoulder. “How would you like to have a full dinner on me?” she asked with a smile on her face. The tramp nodded his head excitedly in approval.
Ashrah flagged a cab down, hoping it wouldn’t pass her being that it was speeding. Lucky her, it slowed to a halt. She and the beggar climbed into the car. “Can you take me to the finest restaurant in town?” Ashrah asked giving the cab driver such an amount of money that the vagabond gasped. They rode in silence as they headed very far from where they at one time stood. Finally, the cab pulled to a stop in front of a restaurant that had large, clear windows in the front. Over the door sat a large gargoyle carving that seemed to eye who ever entered the restaurant.
Ashrah and the man got out of the cab and walked toward the door of the lovely dinner house. She opened the door only to hear another gasp escape from the beggar’s mouth, for he saw the beautiful chandeliers on the ceiling that lit the large room. It had a lovely pale rose color to it on its walls and marble floor. They stood in the waiting area for service from one of the head waiters. One came over, but wasn’t sure if Ashrah was being accompanied by the beggar. “He’s with me. Now, are you going to take our coats or not?” Ashrah harshly said.
She unbuttoned her trench coat and slipped out of it. Underneath it, she had on black leather pants that covered a large proportion of her feet; on which were black leather pumps. Tucked into her pants was a white shirt that was buttoned up excluding the three buttons at the top. She turned around to face the itinerant so she could hand the waiter his shabby brown trench coat. She looked into his face with a small grin. That’s when the vagrant noticed that she had small red highlights surrounding her pupils. Her eyes amazed him as well as her beauty. Ashrah knew this. She knew she had this ageless beauty that made her look twenty forever. In all time’s reality, she was 215 years old.
The man stopped staring at her when he realized that she was reaching for his coat. He handed it to her only to end up admiring her caramel skin tone. He noticed that her skin was a lovely color, but somewhat pale. When the waiter finally put their coats up, he showed them to a table in a corner that was in the back of the room. Then Ashrah and the beggar took their seats opposite of each other. “Your finest wine please.” Ashrah ordered. The waiter walked off toward the wine cellar.
“Well, what’s your name?” Ashrah questioned. The man who hadn’t really said much to her until now answered, “Jacques, my name is Jacques. I’m not French, my father is.” Ashrah started to blush slightly as she blinked back tears at the mention of the name. “Jacques? Oh, Jacques, you turned me into something such as yourself, then left me. Oh, father where have you gone and why did you leave me alone?” A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Are you okay, miss? Did I say something wrong?” Jacques was asking. Ashrah shook her head no. She, now staring at him, realized that he couldn’t have been much older than thirty-three. This was the first real good look she got of him. He was tanned from the sun and his hair was a messy, long, blonde mop that sat atop his head. His eyes were a piercing ice blue. His clothes were worn and torn at the knees and elbows. Everything about his appearance was dirty, as so for a beggar Ashrah realized.
The waiter came back and placed a bucket of ice on the table. He opened the bottle of chardonnay and placed it in the bucket. “I’ll be back with two wine glasses.” the waiter said. “Now with the waiter gone, I must ask: What happened to you? You look like the type of person that would be in good hands.” Ashrah asked Jacques, slightly embarrassed by the fact that she wanted to know so much about him. “Well”, Jacques started to answer, “I was in good hands, that was until my mother married a man she met at my father’s funeral. Not only did he take her heart, he took control of her life and money. He had two sons and a daughter of his own when he and my mother met. He never liked me because I was protective of my mother. One day, while I was gone, I believe he killed her. He says that she had a heart attack. I don’t believe him. He’s dead now, but he made sure not to include me in his will or my mother’s as a matter of fact. This act of his left me penniless and homeless. Don’t feel bad for me though, I think that I’m surviving pretty well on my own.” Ashrah had listened and absorbed every word he let come out of his mouth. She knew he was harmless and a possible good friend. “Okay, I promise, I won’t feel bad for you. But I will admit I don’t like the way you look right about now. After this, you’re going home with me to get a shower and a nice place to sleep. Tomorrow, you can go shopping for clothes.” Ashrah said with a friendly voice.
The waiter returned with two menus and two wine glasses. Ashrah and Jacques scanned the menus while the waiter poured the wine into their glasses. He was going to turn and leave after, but realized that the two dining customers were ready to order simply by the look on their face. “I’ll have the London broiled steak with rice and carrots”, Ashrah said. “I’ll have the same thing as her”, Jacques followed. Ashrah knew that she wasn’t going to eat the food she just ordered. As a vampire, there wasn’t need to. What she was going to do was have it put into a doggy-bag so Jacques could have it. She turned to him and stared only to have him notice and smile at her. “You’re beautiful, miss.”, Jacques blurted out. “Uh, I never got your name.” Ashrah snapped out of her daze so she could answer. “I’m Ashrah Lenton.”. Her voice was calm and soft like. She didn’t want to say thank you for Jacques’ compliment on her beauty. She didn’t think she was beautiful simply for the reasons that she had to live with it forever and she knew that a monster lived underneath it all. But she wasn’t going to let Jacques know that she was a vampire. “What I don’t understand is why you would do something so nice for me?” Jacques wondered aloud. Ashrah just gave a shrug and said, “I’m not selfish and believe those less fortunate than me deserve a helping hand, no matter what they did.”
Jacques sighed and looked around the room loving everything he saw, knowing he may never see it again. His human beauty caught Ashrah by the heart. She missed being human, to have that natural beauty that would age over time. She was almost jealous of his life. Jacques noticed Ashrah staring at him and decided to stare back. They sat like that, staring at each other. They looked as if they were trying to read each other’s face. They looked deeply into the pools of each other’s eyes for minutes at hand. That was until the waiter interrupted them by placing, well more or less slamming, the plates of food onto the table in front of their faces.
The waiter walked off with a hint of an attitude. “Someone’s quite rude!”, Ashrah stated. She knew the waiter wasn’t too happy serving someone such as Jacques. He knew it too, but ignored him. He picked up a fork and started to eat. “For a homeless person, he eats in a mannerly way. This is great; I think I might be able to get him back up on his feet.” Ashrah picked up the fork near her and started to play with the food in front of her. “Is something wrong?” Jacques asked before he loaded his mouth with another forkful of food. “No, I’m not really all that hungry.” Ashrah answered. She started to analyze him. She picked up the fact that she definitely liked his personality. “Do you want desert?” she asked him knowing that he would say yes. “Wow that sure seems nice. I think I would like that. How about a chocalate-mint ice cream sundae?” he answered after he took a sip of the wine. Ashrah waved her hand in the air as to signal for a waiter to come over. A female came over and took Ashrah’s order for a doggy-bag, a chocolate-mint ice cream sundae, and the check.
Ashrah noticed that while the female waiter had been over at their table, Jacques hadn’t looked at her. He hadn’t looked at any females that were in the restaurant, actually. He only looked at her, and she looked only at him. Jacques finished up his meal waiting for desert to arrive. Taking a sip of wine, he commented Ashrah, “Your hospitality skills are amazing. Any one who meets you in the street better run off if they’re related to Ebenezer Scrooge!”, and started to laugh heartily. Ashrah smiled and couldn’t help but to laugh, too.
The female came back with the desert, a bag that held what was supposed to be Ashrah’s dinner, and the check. She walked away. Before Jacques could start on his desert, Ashrah thanked him. “For what?”
“For letting me take you in like this and letting me get to know you.”
“Well, let me thank you for showing me that there are still kind people in this world. Also for letting me sit here and admire your beauty and kindness tonight. They are a wonderful combination.” Ashrah nodded her head in approval of his words. Ashrah put the money for the check on the table with a very large tip. Jacques sat there in silence eating the sundae, but looked up occasionally to gaze into Ashrah’s eyes. He finished and went to the restroom. Ashrah went outside to wait for him. While she was out there, she flagged another cab down to take them to her house. Jacques came outside in the same shabby brown trench coat he had on before, but this time had a look of contentment on his face.
He got into the cab and inhaled deeply, then let out a large sigh. Ashrah was happy to hear that, she knew that he was full and happy. She was even happier to know that Jacques wasn’t the type to not let something go. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of him finding out that she was a vampire or that she knew how to use magic. As they rode along to her house, Jacques started to hold Ashrah’s hand and she didn’t pull back from him.
The cab pulled up in front of Ashrah’s Victorian house. It was black with shutters and a black wooden door that had a lovely knocker on it. As with the last cabby, Ashrah paid him a large amount of money. She and Jacques got out of the taxi and stepped onto the sidewalk. It was now three thirty in the morning and the night clubs would be emptying out soon. She didn’t want to get caught in the noise of people emptying out onto the street to go home from their long night of partying.
The two made their way up the porch steps and to the door. Ashrah took out her keys and unlocked the door. They walked into her living room from the hallway area. “Excuse me for the mess…” she said with a hint of tiredness in her voice. “I don’t mind”, Jacques said, helping her out of her trench coat. He took his off as well and hung them on the coat rack behind him. As for the living room mess, it was just clothes all over her couch and love seat. The floor was clean and the coffee table just had magazines sprawled all over it. Jacques went and sat in the arm chair in the corner of the room. He saw that all her curtains were black and drawn closed. The chandelier light illuminating from the ceiling was dim. He figured that she liked for her house to be a little dark.
Ashrah went to her linen closet and got him a wash cloth and towel; came back in the living room and handed them to him. Ashrah then showed him to the bathroom, turned the shower on for him, and left him alone in the room. Ashrah headed to the kitchen, picking the food up on the way and put it in her somewhat empty refrigerator. Then she walked to the master bedroom on the second floor. She went up the spiral steps and down the hall from the three guest bedrooms. She opened her door and turned the light on.
Ashrah went in and opened the curtains of her canopy bed. Then she sat down and took her shoes off. Ashrah stood up and looked around her room that hid all her money in the night stand on the right side of her bed. She unzipped her pants and let them slip off her hips onto the floor. She unbuttoned her shirt, but kept it on. She then headed to the bathroom that was built into the master bedroom. The tile floor was cold, but it didn’t disturb her.
She turned on her shower and finished undressing. She stepped in and let the warm water caress her body. She washed with a sponge and rose petal soap. Then she washed her hair. Her hair straightened itself out when the water touched it. The length was amazing as it touched the very top of her thighs. The dirt ran from her hair as the water cascaded through it. All the remnants of the graveyard were once again being erased from her body.
Ashrah turned the shower off and stepped out of it. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body, then walked to the sink and looked into the mirror above it. She saw what Jacques saw, but didn’t think it was beautiful. Ashrah saw this eternal beauty as a façade for the monster that lived behind it. She knew that if Jacques knew what she was, he’d run away from her. There was no point in scaring him off if she was just helping him out. She dried off after staring at her face for an amount of time. She put on her silk robe and walked back into her bedroom. She dried her hair of most of the water so it wouldn’t drip all over the place. Then she went into her closet and put on a silk pajama set of shorts and a nightgown that extended to the tops of her knees.
She knew Jacques was going to need something to wear. “Well, he isn’t in this room, so he can’t see this. What harm could a little magic do?” Ashrah thought. She took another set of her pajamas and laid the two pieces of the set on the bed. The pants were long and the shirt was a short sleeved button-up. She thought really hard and said a chant so as to make the clothes fit a man of Jacques’ stature. The pajamas were no longer womanly, but were meant for a man. She grabbed the pajamas and went downstairs.
She found Jacques standing up by the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was clean now and smelled of roses just like Ashrah did. His hair was a lovely bleach blonde and his skin was fair now that all the dirt was off of it. Now that his hair was washed, he was able to comb it back, out of the way of his eyes. It was as if he could stare holes into anyone with them. He backed up off the wall and walked toward her. He stepped closer and Ashrah could see that he obviously tried to stay in good shape, even if it meant he looked foolish in public. His arms weren’t limp and his stomach wasn’t round or poor looking. He stopped walking when he was so close to Ashrah that they were able to tell that they washed with the same brand soap. He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you. I don’t know how my life would’ve went if I hadn’t met you, but this is better than getting one-hundred dollars from a stranger in the street.”, Jacques explained. Then he took the pajamas and went back in the bathroom to change. Ashrah didn’t move, she was astonished that he even said that. Had she been in his place, she probably would’ve thought that a person such as herself was crazy. She finally shook her head of the thought and started toward the couch as to put her clothes away.
She was picking up the last article of clothing when Jacques stepped out of the bathroom. She stood up straight to take a look at him. He turned a full circle to model the pajamas. In doing so, Ashrah saw that his hair reached the middle of his back. She approved and felt she did a great job on making them. “Follow me, the guest bedrooms are upstairs.” she said as she walked to the steps. Jacques walked at such a speed as to catch up with her. He stopped her after the first step and took half of her load. They walked up the large staircase side by side. When they reached the landing, Ashrah pointed down the hall and said, “Follow me.” They walked to her bedroom and put the clothes on her bed when they got there. Then they walked back out and down the hall toward the guest bedrooms. “Pick any room; you get to sleep in the one of your choice”.
Jacques picked the room in the middle of the other two. Ashrah opened the door and turned on the light. She stepped in with Jacques following her. He saw a canopy bed quite similar to Ashrah’s. The only difference was that it didn’t have curtains. The room had dark red carpet and dark red velvet curtains on the two windows. In one corner was an arm chair. On the side of the bed opposite of that corner was a night stand that had a lamp on it. He obviously was happy with what he was seeing, the biggest grin that he had all night was on his face now. He turned and faced Ashrah and this time took hold of her hands. Jacques hugged her then planted another soft warm kiss on her forehead. “Once again, thank you! This will be the first time in five years that I sleep in a bed that was warm. I’m truly thankful that I ran into you tonight.” He couldn’t help but express his gratitude through words. “Well, your welcome. I really didn’t mind helping you. It felt good to do so.”, Ashrah explained. They hugged once more and Ashrah stepped out of the room closing the door behind her. She heard the light switch click off in the guest bedroom and knew Jacques was going to sleep.
She headed toward her bedroom, not sure of what she was going to do tomorrow. She stepped into the large room and cut the lights off in her bathroom and bedroom. Ashrah walked toward the oval window on the far side of the room and opened one of the curtains. She raised the window so a breeze could be let in. Ashrah stared at the pale moonlight for a while before she let out a large yawn. She walked to her bed and got in. She closed the black, sheer curtains of her canopy bed; then she lied down and thought to herself, “I did a good thing tonight, I just hope he understands what follows tomorrow is for the good of him…” Then Ashrah stopped, remembering something Jacques said earlier. “My father was French…his funeral…” She wondered if Jacques’ father was Jacques the vampire, the very one who had been her fatherly figure. “In due time, I guess you’ll find out…”, Ashrah thought. Then she fell into a light slumber.
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