Heart of a Vampire

Chapter VII

The girl cocked her head, confused. Complicated?
"And," said the man, putting a hand on the container holding the heart. "That's where this comes in.
"When a vampire is severely, even mortally wounded, there are a few ways he can save himself. Some are just fine and normal, and others are more of a last resort. But there's one method that should only be used in the most dire situations, purely because of how much it can damage a vampire's body. And that method," he said, pointing to the heart, "is to remove the heart from the body."
The girl stared at him in shock. Her mouth moved as if to make words, but no sound came. Eventually, she managed to speak.
"You...you had to remove...your heart...?"
The man nodded.
"I did. It's a very dangerous thing to have to do. Once the heart is removed, the vampire's life is no longer in jeopardy due to any injuries sustained up to that point, but now, he is vulnerable. When inside the body, the heart can regenerate if badly wounded. But, the moment the heart is removed, it can no longer regenerate. Now, if the heart is destroyed, the vampire will die."
The girl blinked. "Well, now I can see why you were so worried when I threw it away...."
"Yeah," the man said. "Not only that, the vampire's​ power is, initially, severely decreased. For a while after removing the heart, the vampire will be weak, almost powerless. Eventually, strength does come back to him, but it takes a lot longer."
"So right now, you're...."
"In that weak state? Yeah...."
The girl sat staring at the ground for a while, thinking. "Um, about how long will it take for you to fully recover?"
The man shrugged. "I don't know. It could be a few months before I get my strength back, but it could also be a few years."
"Well then...you could stay here until you get your strength back..."
"Are you sure? I mean, it could be as much as a few years before I'm completely healed...."
The girl looked at him. "It's fine. You just need somewhere to stay while you heal, probably somewhere that that noble vampire who went bad won't find you. A human girl's house is probably the last place someone would expect to find a vampire lord," she said matter-of-factly.
The man blinked. "I...I guess I probably should lay low for a while...."
She's a lot smarter than I gave her credit for...
The girl got up. "Okay. If that's settled, I'll go and pick up those things I knocked over in the kitchen."
She still hasn't picked those up?
As she got to the door, she jumped and turned back to him.
"I just realized something!"
The man looked up at her. "Hm?"
"I..." She looked at the floor. "I know all this about you, but...I don't know your name...."
The man laughed. "And I don't know yours." He smiled. "It's Alexandru. Yours?"
She smiled. "Seira."