The Vampire Chronicles -- Endless

Ch. 9: Where It All Began

"I don't mean to be rude, I find you interesting is all. I'm memorizing your patterns to heart." He explained.

"Why are you memorizing my patterns?" I questioned with a stifled expression.

"You are my lover. I must dedicate myself to know every little detail about you. I hope you'll do the same with me. You never know, one day knowing each other so well may save one of our lives. You should think about that." He recommended, smiling serene. 

He brushed my hair with his hand and then my cheek. Every nerve ending in my body jolted and was automatically responding to his touch. My heart was pounding frantically as it always did when Salem touched me.

"I can't say you're wrong about that. I want to get to know you more. I..." I trailed off my sentence. 

My thoughts brought up Corvenus and Trinity's relationship. They were so in love, it radiated all over them. An ancient love that dated back to God knows when. I wonder if I would have that with Salem. He then leaned my way, gently tracing his nose across my cheek and then his lips giving me a soft, chilling kiss.

"It'll come true." He promised. 

I froze in place. I had forgotten yet again that Salem had access to my thoughts when he chose to glimpse in my mind. He chuckled lightly and gave me another cool kiss on the same cheek. I would never grow used to his frosty kisses. They, ironically, set me on fire.

"Would you like to know about their history?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, I'd like that a lot." I responded eagerly. 

I placed the silverware down and rose from my seat, stretching. I felt Salem's cold arms wrap around my waist, resting his head upon my stomach. My arms folded around him instinctively, I began rubbing through his silk ebony hair. This must have put him in a state of great ease, he made a sound of relief and his grip became tighter, not uncomfortable in the least. 

"Note to self, Salem loves having his hair stroked." I giggled to myself and was joined in laughter by Salem.

"You're learning," He said proudly. "We'll be on our way to Corvenus and Trinity. They can tell you the story of their lives better than I could."

"What about all this food that was prepared for me? I feel it may be rude if I left it unfinished." I complained.

"It was prepared to make it easier for you to have variety. It's already been taken care of." He motioned his head towards the table, as I turned, the table was as it was when I first saw it. 

Everything was in its natural order. All of the assorted food was gone, spotless. I turned to Salem for an explanation.

"My family is very large. We are royalty, and each member has their responsibilities. We have cooks for special human occasions such as yourself. Cooking takes time of course, but cleaning is the easiest. You enjoyed the meal and satisfied your hunger. That's all that matters. When we have more time, I'll introduce you to the rest of the family."

"There's more?" I whimpered. Salem laughed hysterically.

"I mentioned royal family, remember? You'll hear the rest from Corvenus." He assured.

Now taking my hand, we walked out of the dining room. He guided me through the kitchen which was decorated in neon silver marble, having an array of kitchenware and a platinum refrigerator which I was sure none of the family members bothered to go through, all except little Amyria. The Valhahn's household was truly magnificent and very human. We passed through a double sided doorway and had entered another set of the house that must have been Amyria's playground. An entire living room dedicated to her. Countless toys, a mini playground with a swing set and slide, and monkey bars. This living room was enormous. I wondered if there were more children like Amyria or if she played with vampire relatives of her child-like age. Afterwards, we turned into a corridor that led to a single door. Salem halted immediately, staring at the door intently.