(This chapter is just kind of a filler? It'll basically just have more of Emelia's story and stuff that her and Henry talked about in the last chapter! Enjoy!)
Emelia sat on her bed, Henry sat on his, "So how did you get into all this, if I can ask now?" Henry asked politely. "What, you want my origin story?" Emelia asked, "Something of sorts like that, yes. If we're going to be working together for a while now, I would like to know more about you, and what topics I should avoid." Henry said plainly. Emelia took a deep breath, she hadn't talked about this in years, since she met her priest friend.
"Alright, I was six-teen when it happened. Me and my parents lived on a small farm in Maine, my parents were against slavery, so we never had any slaves, we worked the fields and tended the animals ourselves. Although I'm a girl, my father allowed me to work outside with him, my mother wasn't so sure about it, she was always afraid I would get hurt by one of the cattle or some nonsense like that, but...even then I wasn't afraid of anything, aside from losing my parents.." She began, "We always had money issues, but we could always stay afloat it was never a huge issue. It was a few days after I had turned six-teen, the day had been normal until a man came to the door~
*Emelia's POV memory
A knock came at the door on a fine, summer's evening. My father answered while I helped my mother prepare dinner. I looked to the door when it opened, and there stood an odd looking man, he was dressed in fancy clothing, he wore sunglasses, and seemed pale as a ghost, something about him wasn't quite right. I could feel it. I overheard him say something about his wagon being broken down a couple miles from our home, and I heard my father offer his assistance after dinner was eaten, so he invited the man inside our home, and he sat at the table and plastered on a fake smile, I could tell that it was fake, I just knew. I barely spoke, aside when spoken to. After dinner I excused myself to the bathroom, which was an outhouse behind a small shed, and I had just closed the door when I heard my mother scream and my father yell.
I rushed to the house and whipped the door open, only to find my mother and father mutilated by the man, but he wasn't a man anymore. His eyes were black, and he had fangs protruding from his gums, and his fingers were like knives. He looked at me, he tried to kill me but I ran to the woodshed, I grabbed my father's ax and hurled it into his chest, he stumbled back, but he took it out and laughed. He laughed about it. I stumbled back, but my hands felt a cool piece of metal, it was some kind of old blade. I held it out in front of me, and that...monster came at me, tripped and the blade went through his neck, slitting his throat, and severing his spinal cord. His head fell beside me, and his lifeless body fell atop me.
I pushed it off me, and observed what I had done. I had heard stories of vampires from my father, but I thought he was just trying to scare me, and when I killed that vampire, I didn't feel anything. Nothing, I felt...cold. I ran back to the house, my mother and father lay lifeless of the kitchen floor. I sat there and cried for hours, that's what it seemed like, when I finally got the courage, I got up and dragged their bodies out back, and buried them, tears still falling. I sat beside their graves for a while, I apologized over and over, I blamed myself for their death, if I hadn't gone outside and left them there alone, maybe I could have reacted to the vampire before he would have killed them.
I blamed myself, and in a way, I still do. From that day, I vowed to kill every vampire I could, even if I died trying to save someone else, I didn't care. I still don't. With my family gone, I have nothing left to live for, so I live recklessly, kill vampires for a living, and if i die, oh well."
**
Henry sat in disbelief at Emelia's story. The fact she said she didn't care if she died, that she had nothing to live for, it hurt him on the inside, but he didn't understand why, he just met this woman and yet he felt bad, and like it was his duty to be there for her. "I'm so sorry Emelia, I'm sorry you had to go through that at such a young age, and I'm sorry you had to go through most of life alone." Henry told her sincerely, Emelia wiped away a single tear, "It's alright, it wasn't your fault, it was mine, and I can live with that." Emelia replied with a small smile, "What did you do after?" Henry asked, "I worked on farms to help get some extra money, and began my work. I bought whatever I could for weapons, stole the rest, and trained myself to kill more vampires. I knew what they looked like, and in time I studied their characteristics so I could tell more easily who was a vampire and who wasn't. And then I began traveling." She replied.
"Do you remember anything from when you were human?" Emelia asked, "No, not really. I forced myself to remember Edava's face, I remember being on Roanoke island, and being turned by a Doctor Crowley, he wiped out the entire island of settlers. But everything before that, is kind of a blur." He told her. "Your medal, the necklace you wear, where did you get it?" Henry asked, "From a friend, he's a priest, he blessed it for me and told me to wear it at all times and it will help keep me safe, he told me God will always be watching over me." Emelia replied with a smile, "Do you go to Church often?" asked Henry, "Whenever I'm in the area of the Church he's at, yes. It's usually once a month, and I go to confession then as well, I confess everything I'd done, drink, swear...kill. And the funny thing is, I keep doing all of those things.." She said with a somber expression.
"Old habits die hard, as they say." Henry replied and raised his pint of beer to her, Emelia returned the gesture. "How painful is it?" "What?" asked Henry, "To become Immortal, and...isn't it lonely?" Emelia asked, "It's extremely painful, you have nightmares until you wake a week later, then you're starving and the sun hurts, you're forced to kill someone just to stay alive. It's horrible, but Immortality isn't all that bad. It can be lonely, but it has a couple perks I suppose, pain isn't nearly as bad, I'm faster than a normal man, and a hundred times stronger, heightened senses, and when you get hurt, like a scratch or even a broken limb, it heals unnervingly fast. It is actually quite gross." Replied the vampire.
"Hold on..." Henry began, "You said you tell your Priest friend that you kill!? He knows about vampires?" He asked quickly, "Yes, he knows about them, he encountered a few, and killed them, and that's actually how we met, I saved his life, and he saved my faith." Emelia explained. Henry nodded and sipped his beer once again, "Your an odd woman, Emelia Kyle." Henry said, "Tell me something I don't know, Sturges." She replied with a chuckle. "No woman I have ever met, would do the things you do, and not many women would have worked in the fields with their fathers, unless they were raised like you. I feel that if given the chance you would voluntarily jump into a puddle of mud and not even worry about it." Henry said with a laugh.
That was the first time she'd heard him laugh, and certainly not the last. "I have jumped into a puddle of mud before!" She replied and joined him in laughter. It felt good to be happy, Emelia hadn't felt this way in a long time. Her life had been filled with grief and sorrow and doubt, but to laugh, with a vampire, the thing she had vowed to kill, it felt good. She hoped the feeling would last. "Henry, how long are you going to be following me on my hunts?" She asked out of curiosity, "Are you trying to be rid of me Emelia?" Henry asked in a joking matter, "No, I actually don't mind having a little company I guess, I was just curious." She replied, "A couple weeks I suppose, until I have to meet up with a friend on important business matters." He said with a shrug.
Emelia smiled and nodded, having Henry around for a while would be nice, and he promised to only help if she absolutely needed it, which was good, if Emelia hated anything more then vampires, it was when someone got in the way of her job. Henry pulled his pocket watch out, "We should get some rest, it is already two in the morning." He suggested. Emelia nodded, and got off her bed to change behind the folding screen, Henry tried to look away from the screen, but he saw Emelia's silhouette and he couldn't look away. He watched as her bloody and dirty clothes were thrown over the top, and she stopped, "Uh, Henry, my sleeping gown is in the bag below my bed, could you be a gentleman and grab it for me?" Emelia asked politely, but awkwardly.
Henry grabbed it for her, and handed it to her front the front of the screen, "Thanks.." She mumbled and Henry could feel his face heat up the slightest, he coughed and sat back down on his bed. Emelia stepped out from behind the screen, and her bare feet padded to her bed, and she lay down, and covered up. Henry took off his coats, and his suspenders, leaving him in his high-waisted pants and a white button-up shirt. They both lay in their separate beds, and Henry spoke up, "Working with a partner isn't so bad after all, is it?" "Don't flatter yourself Sturges" Emelia laughed, "But I guess you're right, you still annoy me, but you're not all that bad." She replied with a smile. "Good night Emelia." "Good night Henry."
*****To Be Continued***
A/N: Like I said in the beginning, this is mostly just a filler chapter, and I didn't really get a chance to explain how Emelia got into vampire hunting, so I thought this chapter would be a good idea! I hope you all enjoy this cute Emelia/Henry bonding time, because I do! Well, enjoy this chapter! And as always, I will see you...in the next chapter! BUH-BYE!! ~Emilypeej
Henry is so perfect if almost hurts.