This is also another good stopping point if you find yourself unable to keep reading these for whatever reason. I stayed up until 1:30 EST writing this. I hope you enjoy it!
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Studying Abroad, Part 9
By: The Orange Mask
Twice I fell for Claudia’s charms. She was starting to distract me from my research, keeping me for being able to focus. I was going to end our little relationship as soon as I woke up. But then I looked at her sweet face and irresistible body, still asleep, just laying there in bed. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I just couldn’t.
So I sat up, got dressed, and headed downstairs for a cup of ale. I sat there for hours, just staring at the wall and drinking ale. It was just about sunset, and Claudia still hadn’t gotten up. Damn it, not even ale could get my mind off of her! I slammed my cup down on the table, startling much of the evening crowd. I paid for my drink and silently went upstairs to go back to sleep for the night.
I had a restful, dreamless sleep that night. I don’t know why I wasn’t dreaming about Claudia, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I was both disappointed and relieved at the same time. I find it ironic; most men spend their whole lives looking for a woman like her, and one drops into my lap and I just want to be rid of her. Yet, at the same time, I wanted her more than anything else in the world. I couldn’t tell if it was love or not, but it certainly wasn’t hate.
I woke up in a much better mood. That is, until I realized I was in a cage in a rather verdant cave. I was confused for quite a while, and had no one to ask questions to. The silence was maddening. Eventually I rattled the cage out of frustration and called for help, and who else would come to my rescue other than Claudia.
“Claudia? What are you doing here?” A myriad of emotions flooded into my head, but I didn’t bother trying to comprehend them all.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want for it to be this way.”Claudia broke down crying, something that disturbed me greatly.
“What are you talking-“ I stopped myself. It all made sense now.
Claudia was tired the morning after I met her. I figured it was just because of our staying up late, but she seemed tired and irritable all day. Her headache got worse in the sun, but I don’t recall her drinking that much, and her headache should’ve been gone before we walked out of the Jarl’s palace. She said she wasn’t hungry at breakfast even though I hadn’t seen her eat anything the night before, and when we had lunch she barely touched her food. She would’ve been starving by yesterday evening and would have woken up. Last night was the only time she could’ve been taking me here, and she would’ve needed superhuman strength to do so.
My eyes widened and I immediately began to check myself for bite marks.
“You’re fine; I didn’t bite you,” Claudia said between sobs. “I fed off someone else late last night.”
“But why did you bring me here, Claudia? Why me?” I was truly stupefied by this point. The many emotions I had by this point had boiled down to anger and confusion. I had only one thought, though; my newfound romance was a vampire.
Claudia sighed.
“I guess I should start at the beginning…” she said, standing up and wiping away her tears. I felt sorry for her still. “I was turned into a vampire willingly 50 years ago. There were many of us, all living together in a huge cave system not far from Whiterun. We were preying on the farmers in the hold just enough to keep us from being in pain. You see, vampirism is a disease. It can’t be cured, though, like a lot of diseases. It can only be hindered. That is why vampires drink blood. Some take joy in it, but I don’t, nor did my family. We went on like that for a while, taking just enough blood to survive, usually leaving the victims alive and unhurt.”
“But people eventually began to notice; a body here, a neck mark there. A group of farmers and guardsmen tracked us down to our den one night. They attacked, and burnt the whole place to the ground. Most of us died trying to protect the den, but a few of us got out and ran off to the northern part of the hold. That’s where we are now.”
My heart was heavy with sadness after hearing the tale, but I couldn’t be sure she was telling the truth. She had, after all lied to me about everything so far. Then Claudia started to sob again, and walked over to the cage. At first I backed away, not knowing what she was going to do. She approached the cage very slowly, still sobbing.
She stuck a key in the lock and unlocked the cage, then stepped out of the way. She looked me in the eyes, and I into hers. Her eyes were red from crying, but I could still tell her big, brown eyes looked different. She looked nervous, almost scared. Then I knew she was telling the truth.
“You’re free to go if you want, but I want you to hear me out first.” My logical mind wanted me to get out of there right that second, but something inside of me yearned to listen to Claudia. Something inside of me still cared for her, even though I knew she was a vampire. I almost made a move to grab my things, but I stopped myself and listened.
“I know that you don’t trust me anymore, but believe me; the love I have for you is real. I didn’t use any spells, or put some potion in your ale. Any love you have for me is real, too. I truly love you, and I want you to stay with me, for as long as possible.” I was scared at this point. Her big brown eyes, usually so soft, had gone stony, and I could tell she was completely serious.
“Claudia, you want me to- to become a vampire? I’m sorry, Claudia, but-“
“Just think about it!” she said, somehow bringing back her inexhaustible cheeriness. “We can love each other forever! Imagine the power you’ll have! You’ll be able to do things with magic you couldn’t dream of now!”
“Claudia, I just can’t-“
“Please! If you won’t do it for you, do it for me! Do it for us! I love you!” Claudia was getting desperate now, her voice was starting to waver. She broke down a few seconds later, crying. I walked up to her and held her tight, feeling so torn between my logical self and my emotional self. We stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other.
“Claudia, before I go, let me see your face. I want to see you one last time.” At this point, I was about to burst into tears.
Claudia lifted her head off of my shoulder and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She still looked absolutely stunning, even in the torchlight of the cave. I stared into her endless brown eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Once again I lost myself in them. Suddenly I found myself in a very tight embrace.
“I won’t let you go.” Claudia said, still sobbing.
“You know that if you force me into this, I’ll never be able to forgive you.”
“I know.”
“Then it’s time for me to go.” I pulled myself out of the embrace, nearly in tears. There was the woman of my dreams, yet I couldn’t stay with her.
“I’ll always think about you, Claudia.” Claudia looked up at me and smiled that cheerful smile I had seen her wearing the night before. Her eyes told a different story, though. I turned away and packed up my things, slinging my satchel and pack over my shoulder. I walked out of the cave without ever looking her in the eye. I stood at the edge of the cave for a moment, pretending to let my eyes adjust to the light.
“I love you…” Claudia said. A tear rolled down the side of my face as I walked out of the cave. The sun was just peeking out from between two mountains and shining on Whiterun. It was a new day; perhaps starting over was in order.
To be continued…
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