A Vampire Fairy Tale (Ronnie Radke)

Vampires Will Never Hurt You

The next morning, Annalise jerked awake and was surprised to see Ronnie still beside her. What surprised her even more was the odd comfort she felt at the realization that his arms were still tightly around her. She laid beside him and studied every inch of his face. Even if she had no idea who he really was, she couldn't deny a strange trust in him. Somehow, she knew that she was safe with him, even if she still thought he was totally insane.

Ronnie slowly opened his eyes and smiled down at her gently. He looked like he was thinking for a second before carefully leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

"Good morning, Anna. How did you sleep?" Ronnie propped himself up with his left hand, keeping his right arm draped lazily over her waist.

"Surprisingly well, actually. For the first time since my grandma died, no less," Annalise looked over at the window nervously and frowned, "Should we close that? Doesn't the sun like... kill you?"

"No. No, the sun is something we adapt to with age. For the first few months, even looking at an open window during day light is a bad idea. But as you get older, your tolerance builds up. Nowadays, I just have to wear sunscreen or I get gnarly sunburns fast. Any more questions for me?" Ronnie looked intently down at Annalise, hoping to see the recognition register on her face.

"Well," Annalise sighed as she let her eyes go from his chest and up to his eyes, "You seem to know everything about me. I don't even know your name."

"Ronald Joseph Radke," he smiled at her again and then added, "Call me Ronnie. Everyone else does."

"Ok...Ronnie. Where are we going today? You said you were taking me somewhere today. To someone who can help me?"

"Well," Ronnie started as he got out of the bed and started digging in his suitcase, "That would be my father and the higher ups of our order. I'm not sure how it's done exactly, but I've been assured you won't be harmed."

"I'm not going to get like...bitten...am I?" Annalise sat up and grabbed at her neck subconsciously.

"No, darling," Ronnie sighed as he handed her a T-shirt to change into, "That's my job. It's a way of showing ownership," he stopped when he saw the look on Anna's face, "Or partnership. It's just a way of binding the two souls together because I take your blood and you take mine."

Annalise nodded and nervously played with the crucifix around her neck. She gasped when Ronnie sat beside her and took it in his own hands with a smile on his face.

"That doesn't hurt you?" she asked as she watched him run his fingers over the cross gently.

"Nope," Ronnie shook his head as he carefully placed the pendant back on her chest, just below her collar bone, "Only those blessed, and even then, a tolerance can be built. I remember the day I gave that to you. To you, me giving you a cross I hand forged was more important than any ring. You told me-"

"It's not the jewelry, but the thought that goes behind it. True love is commitment, not money wasted," Annalise finished, a smile crossing her face as she remembered the story her grandmother had told her when she put the necklace around her neck ten years prior, "My grandma told me that this necklace had been an engagement memento for her great aunt, and that the women in our family line passed down the story as well as the love that went into crafting the cross."

"Did she tell you anything else?" Ronnie asked as he carefully pulled her into his lap and rested his head on hers.

"That this cross wasn't ordinary. It protected her, and my mother until she died having me. She told me that she had a feeling it would guide me where I was supposed to be at the right time," Annalise's voice broke as she said that last part, and Ronnie pulled her into his chest.

"You know it did, right? It protected your family until you came around, and then it brought you back to me," Ronnie whispered into her hair, smiling when he realized that still had the same effect as it always had when he felt Annalise relax in his arms.

"I suppose it did, didn't it? I won't lie to you, Ronnie," Annalise spoke into his chest as she listened for a heartbeat she knew wouldn't be there, "I don't know what it is. But it feels like I'm supposed to be here."

Just as the vampire prince was about to respond, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked it, half expecting it to be Ryan asking why he wasn't loaded up. When he saw that it was his father, he stood abruptly and exited the room, leaving Annalise on the bed confused.

He came back from the bathroom a second later and frowned over at Annalise, "We have to get you out of here now. We have enemies within our ranks that are looking for you, and they've found your scent. I'm taking you to my father. Once your memory is restored, he'll bring you back to me. Hang on tight Annalise, everything you thought you knew is about to be proven wrong."

Ronnie pulled his long lost love close to him again and folded into reality, praying to a god he didn't quite trust that the truths she was about to learn wouldn't break her before she could be saved.