The Beast

7 - Marianne

The streets of Manchester were quiet for once. Even the factory workers had a day off, which rarely happened. But today was some sort of British holiday that I had never heard of, but I was French so I didn't care. I enjoyed the peace and quiet. Not even the rain dripping from my shoulder-length hair onto my wool coat bothered me. I was used to the bad weather here, and the advantage of being a vampire was the fact that I was never too cold or too hot.

"Mr. Clocksworth," a man greeted, lowering his head as I passed the crowded pub.

I gave him a nod of greeting, he obviously knew me. Maybe he even worked for me. I had no idea, because honestly I didn't care. As long as they were doing their job, I let them be. My feet kept walking along the streets, there was no real reason for my walk. I had nothing planned, I was just outside to walk off my worries.

Luis had gone back to France, alone. And something told me that was a bad idea. The nobles over there hated us, and that's why we left the country in the first place. The brothers had made too big a name for themselves and the other vampire clans had decided to get rid of the competition. We could have beaten them all. Anthony knew it too, but he was tired of everything and when the time came for us to move, he didn't even bother to ask us. I liked it here. The people here were simple folk, easy to read and easy to convince. I treated them fairly and they worked hard.

My feet turned a corner and I decided to take the long way back to our apartment. I didn't feel like spending too much time with Anthony, his sour mood told me that he also worried about his brother, but he didn't want to admit it. He would never show himself so weak.

As I walked through the dark, narrow alley, I suddenly heard the distinct sound of a vampire drinking from its prey. I immediately stopped in my tracks and focused my hearing on the creature. It was clearly one of those weaker monstrous ones, and even though I knew I could take it down without much effort, I still shuddered.

Low sobs reached my eardrums and I cursed myself for being too sentimental when my feet had decided to walk towards the sound. I was prepared to face a monster, but the alley was empty except for a blonde girl lying on the ground, covered in dirt and her own blood. I looked at the body and tilted my head to the side. Should I end her suffering or just let her die in peace? For some reason, I couldn't turn away. Maybe it was because of how lonely I felt without Luis, or maybe it was because she had the same hair color as my daughter. Something made me take another step forward. That's when I noticed the twitching of her body, the paleness of her skin and the growing fangs in her mouth. The monster had transformed her. I sighed and took a few steps closer. I knew it was one of the sewer creatures that had bitten her, I was sure of it. So what would become of her?

I shook my head at my own stupidity as I bent down and picked up the weak body in my arms and walked out of the alley. In my mind, the thought that I should leave her persisted. I had no idea what she would turn into and that knowledge alone made me nervous. Any doubts disappeared as those skinny arms moved up to rest around my neck, a feeling that was all too familiar to me. Memories of a life that had been taken from me washed over me and as she hid her face from the rain and buried her head in my jacket, my paternal instincts took over and I decided that I would protect her. At any cost.

The walk home didn't take long, and the surprised greeting I received from Lumiere was nothing compared to the furious face of my brother-in-law.

"What were you thinking!" He almost screamed as I placed the female body in one of the spare bedrooms.

"She needs my help," I said calmly as I asked one of the maids to get some hot water and some bandages.

"So, suddenly you turn our home into a shelter for homeless newborns? Is that what you're doing?" He muttered, glaring irritably at the young woman in the bed. "Do you miss the touch of a woman? Is that it?" He looked at me, obviously trying to understand what was going on in my head. "I'm sure Luis wouldn't mind if you took a trip to the brothel."