The Pale Elf

Emerald Grove

Shadowheart is asleep across the room, but I don't dare check if she is actually asleep. I don't dare to take my eyes off his. Even in the moonlight, I can see how red they are. A light scarlet, like fresh blood just spilling from an open wound. He is nervous, and maybe a little scared, but he is hard to read as he straightens, correcting himself as if he had never let himself slip in the first place. "Shit," he says bashfully. "It's not what it looks like, I swear." 

"It looks like you were about to take a bite out of my neck." I peer at him, not quite sure how to react. A flood of memory comes back to me, tales of vampires, perhaps stories I heard as a child. Feasting on blood to survive, on animals or people, but...the sun. How is he able to walk in the sun? 

"I wasn't going to hurt you, I just needed...well, blood." He says with an ache twisted on his face. Something inside me flutters, and in that moment, I almost feel bad for him. "I usually feed on animals, but animals only give me so much energy." he explains. When I don't answer he adds, "I've never killed anyone. At least not for food. If that's what you're worried about. I just need a little, enough to think clearer, fight better. I'll be strong enough to protect you." his smile is a desperate one. 

"You mean protect yourself?" I sneer. A smile, a real smile spreads across his face, casting those red eyes glowing in the darkness. I can see the hunger in them, the tiredness across his face and down his slack limbs. He looks as if he has had no sleep, possibly for several days. I search his face, try to see if I can find any sort of deception, but I can see none. 

"If I am going to trust you, I need you to trust me and answer some questions." I say sternly. He throws up his hands in mock compliance. 

"Whatever you need my dear. I will happily answer." he says smoothly, effortlessly. 

"Why didn't you tell us before?" I ask, observing him closely for any changes in his demeanor. 

"Well, I don't know." He almost shrugs. "At best I thought you would say no, at worst I figured you would put a stake between my ribs." He regards me just as I him. "I need you to trust me." He says finally, pleading. "You can trust me." he says and through the tadpole I can feel his need, his want, his thirst. I can feel how badly he not only wants this but needs it. I set my jaw and hold out my chin. His face is like marble in the illuminous glow of the night. I nod curtly and he breathes out a long breath. "Thank you." he says, as if fear for his life was a real problem. It makes me wonder what out there a vampire has to fear. "Do you think," he shifts and peaks up at me through thick dark eyelashes despite the white of his hair "you could trust me a little farther?" He cocks his head to the side and a wide Cheshire Cat smile appears on his face, showing the points of his teeth. "I only need a taste, I swear." 

I chew on my lip and roll my eyes. "Fine, but only a little. Not a single drop more than you need." I point my finger at him and whisper as loudly as I can without disturbing Shadowheart. "What about her." I look past him at her, back is facing us, and she is facing the wall, her breathing steady. 

"I will tell her in the morning. To be honest, out of the two of you-" he starts but I don't need to hear what he is going to say out loud. 

"Please, don't. I get it." I look at Shadowheart, knowing full well she is probably not even asleep. She is smart, and she is guarded. I know I should take after her more readily. Instead, here I am offering myself up to a vampire. I take a deep breath and start to pull my long silver hair to one side, revealing my neck. He looks at me as if ravishing me with his eyes. 

"Let's make ourselves comfortable, shall we?" he says taking a step forward, almost predatory. He reaches his hand out to me, and I take it apprehensively. Pulling me into him, he slowly dips me back onto the pile of dirty blankets. Holding his weight on one knee, he leans over as I lay flat beneath him. He looks carnivorous as he meets my gaze. "Cozy?" there is a bit of play in that look, his tongue runs over his bottom lip, across his sharp canines. A sense of thrill shoots through me as I grasp at his forearms on either side of my shoulders, the moon visible through the open ceiling. I prepare myself for...what? I don't know.