The Sacrifice (Legends Of Transylvania) (7 page)

“Jaguars are not so large.” Alexander said.

“I know that many are living in these woods are their territory as Transylvania is mine. But do not worry, soon all this land will be mine. But I have far more important things to do than to discuss some black cats which do not trouble me at all” And with that he strode to the door and was gone.

As Ariana sat on a chair and took up her artist’s brush, she began to move her hands slowly, and without thinking about it she began to paint a tall man with troubled eyes, dark hair and white skin, which was surrounded by many black roses. It was obviously Alexander. The sky got cloudy as she finished her painting and went to hang it on the wall above her bed, like a divine icon. But when Clara entered the room and noticed the painting she became worried and questioned Ariana.

“Where did you get the idea for such a strange painting, with black roses, and what are the red drops on that man's hand?”

“It is blood Aunt Clara.” The artist replied. Her response shocked Clara and she stepped back. “Oh my God girl, why have you painted such a weird thing?”

“It's nothing important. Just something I saw in a dream.”

Alexander was out walking when he arrived upon a row of old derelict and uninhabited houses. He climbed onto a wall to look back over the city where he used to meet
Ariana, when a voice broke his beautiful thoughts.

“Horrible city you have moved to, Alexander.” A female voice remarked, and on looking around he saw a woman standing in the doorway of one the old houses. “We can live here together for eternity if you so desire, now we are both vampires. You are handsome and virile.” Her voice was smooth and deep, but Alexander detected a lack of sincerity in her. She came closer, moving her body sensuously as she flirted with him without care.

“I may be a vampire but I still have a human heart that belongs to another.” Alexander said. “Don’t waste your time on me.”

“Nobody can resist the charms of Clarissa.”

The vampire hissed angrily and continued with her amorous behavior. “If I want you I will have you any way I please, and you fill me with passion like nobody before, so tonight you are mine. Your weak side makes me want to devour every inch of your body.”

She reached out and stroked Alexander’s hair, but he remained strong-willed and pushed her away coldly, and said:

“Don’t you dare lay another finger on me? All your kind
are murderers.”

Clarissa’s eyes became radiant with rage and she showed her dreadful long teeth.

“Nobody resists me – whether they want to or not.” She began to snarl, and Alexander realized he was in great danger.

As Ariana stared longingly at the new painting she began to have feelings of dread and a vision of Alexander appeared in her mind's eye which made her realize that something bad is about to happen to him. As she looked again at the picture she noticed that the rose in the man’s hand started to bleed and she knew something was terribly wrong. She at once ran from the house to look for her precious Alexander.

Clarissa moved around Alexander taunting him for daring to reject her advances. She swiftly thrust her arm forward towards him and scratched him several times with her long red and sharp nails and drew blood from him. Alexander tried to retaliate and pushed her against a wall but it had no effect on her and she scratched his face. Alexander was about to strike her when another arm thrust across him and blocked him. That was Efrat, and laughing with a cry of evil he held Alexander’s arms so he could no longer defend himself and invited Clarissa to do what she wanted with him.

Just then a great creature with shining black hair stormed out of the darkness, showing its long sharp teeth as it growled a warning to the two attackers. Alexander looked into the creature’s eyes and saw something familiar again. This vicious jaguar was his lovely Ariana! She threw Alexander to one side and away from danger and stood before him to protect him. Then she sprang over the vampires and with awesome power she caught Clarissa by the neck and she slumped to the ground in death. Efrat came behind her and threw his arm around her neck trying to strangle her, but Alexander attacked him with great power and with one deep bite into his neck, the evil vampire’s eyes closed – never to open again, and he slumped to the floor.

With the two vampires dealt with, the creature of the night turned towards Alexander and their eyes met. A quick moment of recognition and a look of mutual love were broken by her maddening growl. Then she turned and ran off into the darkness as swiftly as it had appeared, leaving just three words spoken softly from Alexander’s lips: “Thank you, Ariana!”

  As the situation got more serious each day, and having become tired of running in the forests during the night, Ariana decided it was time to have a sincere talk with Alexander and decide what has to be done. As she got close to an abandoned shack deep in the forest she recognized a sound of music which was coming from within. It was “The Eternal Memories” song which had brought them back to each other. She didn't knock at the door as it was open already, and she stood at the doorway looking at him and thinking how and where to start the conversation.

However, as his fingers moved along the strings of the instrument his calm and deep voice whispered:

“I know you are here
Ariana, I can smell and feel you. I knew you were about to arrive here because I heard your fragile steps walking through the forest.”

“I know your senses are enhanced Alexander,”
Ariana murmured sensually, “and that you can smell and feel me. Unusual for a human I think?”

“That's not what I meant. I just wanted to say...”

“It doesn't matter anymore does it?” Ariana interrupted and got closer to him.

“I think I have to explain something to you,
Ariana.” Alexander continued. “When our parents died I went to the cemetery, and...”

“..And you found two black roses on the graves.”

“Yes, and they are…” Alexander began to explain when he was interrupted again.

“Cursed.”

“Yes that's right. How do you know?”

“And now you are a vampire who is cold as ice and strong like a rock with troubled eyes and big teeth...”

Alexander just stared at her in surprise.

“Look right into my eyes Alexander and tell me what you see.”

As he raised his eyes to look into hers he saw the same look the creature had when she was looking into his eyes when she was lying on him on the ground and the same look when she saved his life. He was in no doubt that the black jaguar and his most loved person standing before him is one and the same. Ariana realized that he knew her secret and admitted, “Yes, it was me. I saw all your past torments in your eyes. Your grief and loneliness, and I saw how you blamed my father and hated me after our parents died. I saw the times when you were starving because you had nobody to give you a piece of bread, and the times you got beaten up when you were singing in the bars to try to earn money for some food. I saw it all!” she cried, with tears in her eyes. ''I saw the tears in your eyes when you read my letters, and I know how much you love me as nobody did before. Now answer me this. How can a vampire who is as cold like ice have a heart that beats so loud and true and have so much love to give?”

Alexander was lying on the floor looking up at her without blinking, without crying, without even moving. After few moments of silence he stood up so quickly that he startled
Ariana for a moment, and said:

“I'm a vampire for sure, but you aren't a human anymore. So either I kill you and I get back to normal, which is not going to happen, or I leave you forever and let you live. I may be a vampire but I have loved you since the day I first saw you, and that's something that no curse is going to break …ever.”

Ariana grabbed his shirt and declared, “You have to kill me, for what makes me better than you? I'm a worse monster than you. If I defended you last night that doesn't mean I'm a saint. We are both equal.”

“No you aren't a monster! But I am!” Alexander cried out in a tormented tone. “I have evil blood flowing through my veins. The same kind of blood which runs through the body of the evil monster who killed our parents! So what does that make me?”

Ariana took a few steps backwards and fell down onto her knees, shocked at Alexander's words.

“I just found you again after I lost you for a long time, and I will not lose you again. Either we kill ourselves or...”

“...Or we kill each other?” Alexander cried out in desperation. “That's how we gonna end if you won’t go away from here forever. Please leave Ariana, for both our sakes.”

She turned around and walked out of the door trembling and crying with her heart in pieces. However, she had not gone far when her desire for her loved one grew too strong to resist and she decided to return. On arriving back at the house the desire was so strong that she  rushed in the door and after a couple of steps forward she saw Alexander standing with his back to her looking out of the opposite window.

“Why did you come back?” He asked, knowing who it is without turning around.

“I came back because my heart is in pieces.” She answered. “And I am trembling with cold.”

“Well, I can’t warm you,” he declared sadly, with his eyes peering down at the floor, “I’m as cold as ice.”

“Please light the logs in the fireplace.”
Ariana begged, “I want to talk with you.”

She didn't walk any further into the room as he collected some kindle wood from a bucket and placed it in the fireplace. She remained where she was as he lit the wood and a flame began to flicker and rise, illuminating his white skin and dark eyes.

“Come closer.” He invited her without raising his eyes. She moved towards the fire and put out her palms towards the flames to warm them.

“I have a coat to put down on the floor before the fire if you want to sit and be closer.” He said, but as he slowly placed the coat down she seemed reluctant to sit. “Please sit,
Ariana, I won’t touch you,” Alexander said in a deep soothing tone. “I won’t even look at you so there is no need to be scared!”

“I’m not scared of you!”
Ariana exclaimed in surprise, as she sat down next to him. She was becoming powerless to resist him.

“But you are trembling.”
Said the vampire, noticing her delicate white hands shivering.

“I tremble because I am here with you. You can kill me or you can love me, but please take me in your arms and stop these uncontrollable shivers. I am under your control and it is up to you what you want to do with me.”

Hearing those words Alexander turned towards her and looked into her face for the first time. He placed one hand on her shoulder to comfort her and with the other he took hold of her clasped hands, sensing how much she was trembling. The next moment he drew her gently towards him and wrapping his strong and
firm arms around her he held her carefully at first then tightened his hold. Her smell was driving him crazy but he loved her too much to do her any harm. She put her head on his shoulders, and even though she knew his mood may make him dangerous she began to feel secure. He touched her face with his cold hand and the feeling sent shivers running down her spine, and as she closed her eyes he kissed her tenderly on the forehead. As she opened them again he looked into them with glaring desire and in return he saw a passionate flame and sensed that she was willing to give even her soul to him. As they were face-to-face his cold breath met with her warm breath and it was as ice met fire and her head dropped to one side in submission as he continued to hold her cheek with one hand and caress her long beautiful black hair with the other. She began to pant fast in expectancy as he lay her down on his coat. Slowly opening the buttons of her shirt, he pulled the garment off her shoulders to reveal her enticing pale skin. He moved his strong body slowly onto hers so she could feel his heart beat fast in his manly chest which filled her with excitement and she wanted him so much that she cared not if he is the last thing she ever has. All of her was his and there was nothing she could or wanted to do to stop it. Then he whispered softly into her ear the words she has been longing for him to say: “There are no words in this world I can use to explain how much love I feel for you.”

These desired words overcame her and a tear ran down from her eyes across her cheek and she whispered back to him, “Touch me wherever you want and feel how my heart beats for you and sends the blood of passion pulsating through my veins, my long-awaited love.”

His keen lips touched the soft lips that have just whispered to him, and he moved to kiss her neck. He pulled her shirt from her body to reveal her voluptuous breasts and discarded it as a garment no longer needed, and as he did so he kissed her and licked her body with his moist tongue as one hand was preparing her hips ready for him, and the other was tenderly touching her inner thighs which made her sigh out loud and arch her back in delight. Soon she gave her body to him willingly and he accepted it like a man possessed. A silhouette on the wall created by the light from the flame of the fire showed their naked bodies on fire and caught in the blissful rhythm of passion and even the loud claps of thunder from outside failed to stifle their sighs, and they both tensed together as a flash of lightening revealed their eyes at the last moments of pleasure. Having proved their love for each other Alexander draped a warm blanket over her and held her as she sighed with content and fell asleep in his safe arms. As usual no sleep came to Alexander but this time he didn’t bother because he spent the moments looking at Ariana, and covered up her body each time she moved in her sleep and disturbed the blanket. As the fire began to dwindle he decided to go and get some more wood. He gently kissed Ariana’s closed eyes and went off into the forest. Soon afterwards Ariana woke up and having been there all the day, she realized that her aunt and uncle will be worried so she dressed quickly and after taking a flower from a vase on the window ledge she placed it on the blanket where they had made love as a token of her affection and quickly left for home.