A Bloodline Of Hope

~Klaus~

   A week with Lenerd had been the most I had ever felt alive since I was a child. I didn't think too much about how vampires were humans at one point.  Until he told me his name. It made me curious about what his life was like before he evolved into what he was now. Was it great? Was it awful? Why should I care at all? I assumed being with him would bring me a bad reputation but all he had done was show me places I had never seen before. Abandoned churches, villages and stunning regions where I could paint. He revealed to me the best areas to climb and the best places to hunt for food and pelts. He taught me how to use my bow and arrow efficiently in ways that will slow down monsters like him. I hated to even ponder about this, but Lenerd was somewhat alike to me if this wasn't all an act. I cannot let my guard down so easily.  We were sitting by a fire Lenerd put together so I didn't perish from the cold. I gazed into the flames in stillness taking in the warmth. I wondered if Lenerd was like fire; warm on the outside yet hazardous if touched too close. I reached my hand toward the flame and played around with the orange hue quickly, waving my fingers in and out. Lenerd raised his eyebrow at me but ignored it and stretched his arms back. The

fire gave his skin warmness; he looked somewhat like a human being.

"Still not talking to me yet? I thought we had such a fun week." He drew with a stick on the floor, creating patterns with the soil. I shrugged "You're just trying to get me to like you before you eat me." He laughed with that same sensual tone in his voice before abruptly ceasing and sitting upright. I peered at him and tilted my head as my eyes narrowed "What?" he hastily stomped out the fire while darting around in alert. "Can you play dead for me little butterfly?" "Wh-" he shoved me onto the floor and raised my head. He grazed his sharp teeth to my neck. My breath hitched. He mumbled. "Stop breathing so heavily. That vampire who is walking right this way will eat you for real." I held my breath. Lenerd's teeth were so close to my skin that if he moved any deeper, I would bleed. My face heated but quickly went pale as I heard footsteps move through our camp. He held me closer. After a while, he released my body and grinned smugly. "Vampires can't hear a human's heartbeat against our own. You seemed to like that a little too much." I Moved away quickly. He sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to be one? Not all vampires are bad. Would cause me much less trouble while I take you to Eternity's Gate."  I shook my head fast. "I am already a monster without any name to it. Being shunned from every village would be way worse." He chuckled. "You notice how this week I haven't tried to change who you see yourself as?" my eyes furrowed. "Your point?" "So many people in your life want you to be better. When I know that you've changed, and you cannot be that little child Amelia wants you to be. I want you to see that there's a world where you can just be yourself without anyone caring." He glimpsed at me almost softly, I had to double-take. "You have monsters in your mentality. You're not physically like one. Unless you want to be of course. But you can choose what person you wish to be as a vampire. Plus, some villages allow us." When I didn't respond to him, he spread his body down and gazed at the sky. "I didn't have a choice to be a vampire. Unlike you. Like most people. I didn't have anyone to show me some were good, so I compelled myself to be someone nasty and evil because that's who I was. That was my mentality." He held in a breath. "My Mother shunned me before I was even born. She tossed me out when I was old enough to do things on my own. When I was 8." I didn't know how to react to him. If he was putting together this story or if he was telling the truth, I couldn't tell. I felt sympathy I wished I didn't have. I muttered, "I am sorry." I swear he smiled at me. "Meh, that was so many years ago anyway. You should sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow." I scoffed. "You mean walking?" he indicated toward a box I hadn't noticed. "Painting too" My ebony eyes lightened, and I tried to hold back my excitement.  "When did you buy that?" all his reply was "You're welcome" until we fell into a profound silence.

                                                               *

Our long walk today was much more fun than usual. Every hour we would have a moment to find a spot to sit down and paint. I opened the box to find brushes and paints of all different varieties. There were so many primary and secondary colours to choose from. So many I could mix. There was even a pallet specifically for that reason. This was a perfect excuse not to talk to Lenerd anymore especially since he told me about his backstory last night. It's been awkward. Usually, an hour of silence because I didn't want to talk to this man, yet my brain was itching to ask stupid human questions about what being a vampire was like or how old he was. I assumed he knew because he could read my mind. We were at another abandoned church with ancient graves nearby. I began to paint without too much knowledge of how to draw buildings. Lenerd eyed me from afar before he took my brush and guided my hand. "You want to start with the shapes and the loose sketch before trying to render it and make it pretty." I scanned the paper and how Lenerd used his delicate hands so effortlessly on the canvas. He was behind me— his lengthy brown hair draped over my shoulders. My heart raced and I knew he could feel my emotions, but he never mentioned anything: thank the lord. I despised how nervous he made me when he was up close, I could never focus my breathing.  I never understood why vampires had to be so unnervingly beautiful like it was a criterion.

Everyday was a day closer for me to see my parents inside Eternity's gate. As well as another day where I detested Lenerd less.