Eternal Hearts Ch. 04

"Fancy a sit?" Kylie said, gesturing to the seat. Dannii didn't reply, just smiling and letting Kylie ease her to the carved log, her long dress blowing slightly in the breeze as she sat down, Kylie parking herself closely next to her, resting her head on her shoulder immediately as they looked over the water of the steadily flowing river as it wound its course through the world, the reeds overhanging from the banks to almost touch the surface. The sky was clear except for a few sporadic clouds, the blue sky all around them, the sun high to their left as they just enjoyed the sound of nature, the peace and quiet of it all. Resting comfortably, their hands interlocked as they listened to the calls of wild birds and watched the few clouds, taking pleasure in the rare sighting of a wild British otter bobbing past on the river before Kylie replaced her head on Dannii's bare shoulder.

"Do you still love me?" Kylie suddenly asked, not lifting her head. She could feel Dannii tense up, the heavily loaded question just dropped on her. Kylie just had to know. She knew what she'd done to Dannii was bad and Dannii's trust in her wasn't just shaken, it was shattered. Their morning had been a nice lazy fuck and playful bath, everything seeming rosy, but Kylie knew it wasn't, and she had a long way to go with Dannii before she would trust her in the same way again. And right now, that had Kylie wondering if it didn't go further than just that. Dannii hesitated, unsure how best to answer her. She still loved Kylie, it wasn't something you could just turn off, but she felt so deeply betrayed by Kylie through her behaviour that it made her view her somewhat differently right now, and she needed some kind of closure on the matter. Kylie sucking up to her was lovely but the fact was it didn't heal the wounds in her heart, and whilst she'd become a vampire and a new life awaited them together, it was still on her mind.

"Yes," Dannii whispered, since it was the truth that Kylie had asked for.

"But?" Kylie asked, her voice almost cracking as she felt she might cry, Dannii seeming less than convinced by herself that she still loved her.

"You can't expect me to just forget all about it in two days Kylie," she said firmly, trying to keep it controlled since it was a rather volatile conversation topic.

"I know, I know, I don't expect you to ever forget it. I just hope one day you can forgive me," Kylie whispered, sighing and casting her eyes down, which ironically meant she looked straight down Dannii's dress at her firm, unsupported breasts.

"It's hard, especially since you just decided I'd be better off as a vampire and made me into a meal for the indulgence of your own whims," Dannii growled, the memory of being forced into her turning after having unwittingly opened the door for Kylie to do so still burning hot inside her. Kylie had nothing to say to that. It was true, and wrong, and she couldn't defend the decision, so just kept her mouth shut.

"So I need some time to get back on my feet, in this relationship, in myself. I can't just pretend it never happened," Dannii finished, feeling she'd made herself clear.

"Ok, I love you," murmured Kylie, feeling she should make it clear she offered her own affections completely.

"I love you too," Dannii said quietly, again confirming the basis of their relationship as solid, just not the current situation. It was still a little tense as they sat a few minutes longer at the river before Dannii wordlessly got up and led Kylie on to continue their walk, turning to walk along the side of the river, the grass deep and lush round them, walking along the side of the forest on another semi-worn trail which was beginning to overgrow. Clearly nobody had been here in many months, making Kylie recall the attitude of the estate agent to the castle and it's mysterious inhabitants when she'd first arrived several days earlier. They paused to attempt to skim a few stones on the surface of the water, but continued to walk, getting past the edge of the forest, the trees thinning out, a huge dead stump that rose some forty feet into the air, craggy branches and hollows defining its presence, marking the edge of the forest. From here, they could look back across the fields to the castle itself, bathed in a mixture of sunlight and shade, a perfect painters view, something ideal to commit to canvas.

"Lovely place this, so calm, tranquil," Dannii murmured, looking round over the river to the fields and hills beyond, then back to the forest they'd just passed, over the fields towards the castle, where something was protruding from the undergrowth. It looked like a large fountain, or a statue perhaps, standing beyond the lawn area in the wilds quite a distance from the castle itself. Turning away to her right, to the south edge of the estate, she could see the crumbled remains of a building, an old castle outpost standing on the banks of the river that'd long since fallen into disrepair centuries before, now derelict and overgrown, a relic to a bygone era of conflict. They walked on, Dannii leading the way towards the outpost, which was a fair distance away but they had plenty of time since it was only early afternoon, taking a while to walk to it through the grass and vegetation. Reaching it revealed it to be larger and far more spectacular than an idle glance had suggested, the coarse, weather-beaten stones telling a story of its history, still unconsumed by the natural world, which attempted to reclaim its land.

"This place is just so rich with history," Dannii murmured, finding fascination in it. Kylie mumbled an agreement and they carefully ventured inside, through an archway where perhaps a door had once hung, taking care to make sure it was safe as they went in, looking up to see no beams or roof to fall on them, long since rotted away in the weather. It was just an outpost, advanced warning and placed to watch the river, with arrow slots and cannon apertures in the walls, and a stone staircase leading up the side wall to what would've been the top floor. Carefully picking their way through the stones and other debris, they made their way tentatively up the stairs to the remnants of the look out area, the beams and floor long gone, but a stone lip still existing at the top of the stairs, large enough for them to both stand on, which they did, stopping to look out over the estate from a better vantage point now, both back towards the castle and also out to the fringes of their estate beyond the river, where changes in the landscape hinted at possible intriguing locations for another day. In the fields towards the castle, it certainly looked like a statue rising from amongst the plants and vegetation, something they both felt compelled to explore.

"Don't get a view like this very often," Kylie said, referring to their busy city lives.

"Nope, this place is a lovely get away," Dannii said, standing with her sibling in the warm sun, idly adjusting her day walker ring thoughtfully as they did, before they carefully descended once more and made their way out and back to the fields. Walking back directly towards the enigmatic ornament, they strolled hand in hand through the long grasses, some of it almost as tall as themselves in places having not been cut in years, before stumbling onto a random stepping stone type path, leading towards their destination. A few minutes walking later led them to it, revealing it to be a large fountain, a statue of an angel bending down as if to offer a drink of water from its hands to them, standing atop the pool where once water had flowed and gathered in abundance, down over the Lilly shaped pads into the smooth basic below. Now the only water there was the remaining puddles of some rain water, visible through the tangled, overgrowing plants that pulled and climbed over the fountain.

"Such a waste, wonder who put it here?" mused Kylie, stepping round it a little where she could to view it, the quite intricate carvings and shapes still visible in places, weathered and eroded in others.

"We'll get it cleaned up or something if you want," Dannii offered, since it was a nice fountain. Something would have to be done about some of this overgrowth to prevent it consuming everything, though they wanted to preserve it for the wildlife that'd made their homes in the absence of human activity.

"Yeah maybe, maybe," Kylie trailed off, eyeing it a moment before she and Dannii turned away, linking arms, and heading back towards the magnificent castle, battling through the undergrowth for a long while before making it to the more controlled lawn that stretched for a significant distance behind the building, pausing to sit on the springy grass with their firm rears, stretching aching legs from tramping through their countryside estate. After a few minutes of talk about their surroundings, and a light kiss or two, they got up and headed casually back to the house up the grass, noting details on the grand, ancient building that marked the labour of thousands of men in a different time. Once they got moving again, heading up the huge lawn, they opted to walk around the castle itself to the front door to take in the splendour completely, since they'd arrived in darkness late the previous night. Walking round the south side of the huge building, they looked up the tall brightly sunlit building and towers, reflecting off the smooth stone as they walked round to the front, now cast in the heavy shadow of the building. Ivy climbed up the bottom of the building from amongst the bushes, a pair of swallows swooping low overhead and peeling apart like a Red Arrows display team as they made their way to the front door.

"Lovely walk," Dannii said as they let themselves in, the heavy oak door swinging back to let their diminutive figures in. Kylie closed it behind them as they paused, Dannii looking down at her white linen dress, now streaked with green from their little trek.

"I think I'll go change," Dannii said, turning and heading up the stairs into the castle itself, Kylie eyeing her nice bum through the dress momentarily before she walked herself back into the castle, heading into the main lounge room, figuring she'd stick the news on or something to get a quick idea of what was going on in the world. Firstly though they could have some lunch and Kylie headed for the kitchen, putting the kettle on to boil and pondering what to make for them to snack on. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a loud knocking, taking her a startled moment to realise it was from the front door. She raised an eyebrow as she wondered who it could possibly be, since nobody knew she was here except her driver and there was no reason for him to come, oh and Lucretia, who'd left and wouldn't bother to knock either if she returned.

She swung the large oak door back to see who was there, taken by surprise as her one-night-stand from the bar staggered heavily in past her, covered in blood, his clothes clinging wetly to him with it, holding a mauled arm as he stumbled and slumped to the floor in her lobby.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell happened?!" Kylie almost shouted, shoving the door shut and dropping down to help him, assisting him in rolling over a bit and sitting up, breathing heavily, trying not to get his blood on herself and trying to quiet the little part of her that was being turned on and tempted by the smell of the fresh blood.

"I was attacked, by a wolf, real big one, just out of nowhere," he breathed, his chest heaving as Kylie carefully plucked the soaked cloth of his sleeve from his deep wounds, peeling it back to reveal the damage, feeling a little surge at the sight and smell of warm, fresh blood, quickly chiding herself and remaining controlled. The injuries were pretty severe just to his arm, and the blood on the rest of him suggested it was much worse than that.

"Just attacked you for no reason?" Kylie said, looking up into his eyes, which locked on her, despite the fact he knew what she could do with her gaze, though she was hardly likely to proposition him right now.

"Yeah, I was just out looking at the night sky, star gazing and then there it was before I even knew it," he said, taking a deep breath, seeming a little calmer now, though Kylie couldn't work out how he was even alive.

"Stargazing? This happened last night?" Kylie asked, glancing up to the tall mahogany grandfather clock in the entrance hall that showed it to be nearly two thirty in the afternoon.

"Yeah..." he said, not thinking it strange it seemed.

"So why didn't you go to a hospital? How are you even still alive?" Kylie asked, searchingly looking over his body as if it would yield some form of answer.

"Well that's just it, that'swhyI came here," he said, clearly having some kind of point, though Kylie cut him off.

"You know, my girlfriend's right upstairs, if she comes down and finds you here..." she said, feeling she didn't need to complete her sentence to make her point.

"I know I know, I don't mean to drop you in it, just I think you're the only person that can help, or at least listen, being...what you are..." he said, looking into her eyes once more.

Kylie went to speak but it was too late, as there was the sound of Dannii's feet coming down the hall towards the stairs and them, having heard voices. Looking up to the banister overlooking the entrance hall, Dannii stopped at them, dress in simple jeans and a top, looking over to see their mauled visitor, eyeing him a moment and giving a definite sniff, her eyes narrowing a little as she started onto the right hand set of stairs, not taking her eyes off him as she walked down the red carpeted stairs, Kylie staying silent. Stepping down the stairs, slowly reaching the bottom, she sniffed again, using her enhanced sense of smell now to identify something, and Kylie got the feeling it wouldn't be good, since whilst Dannii had never met her little one-night-stand, she'd smelt him on her, and after their conversation just a little while earlier this didn't promise to be good.

"What ishedoing here?" Dannii hissed, pointing at him, eyes narrowing, having identified him by the smell of his aftershave, the scent of betrayal as far as she was concerned, looking now to Kylie with anger in her eyes. Even though Dannii was half his size he felt uncomfortable, the way she continued to sniff the air, making him attempt to cover his wounds with what was left of his clothes, even if they were blood soaked.

"He's been hurt pretty bad Dan, bitten by a wolf, this is no joke," Kylie said in quite a serious tone, since this was no laughing matter, he was badly mauled and she was almost afraid to peel back the remains of the rest of his shirt to examine the damage.

"I just want a seat, that'd be good," he said, giving a slight grimace. Dannii cocked her head a little, still eyeing him unsurely, not trusting him at all, which was fair enough really. She took another lungful of air, smelling it,tastingit. She'd initially smelt the aftershave and been infuriated because she knew who it was, but then the new, intriguing smell of blood, fresh blood, had filled her nose, making her feel a little rush run through her, as if trying to urge her fangs from her gums at the new, strangely arousing scent.

"Give me a hand can you?" Kylie asked, getting her shoulders under his messy arm. Dannii gave a grumble and grudgingly went to help, clearly very annoyed at having to even look at let alone touch the man that had touched her girlfriend and sister, her temper bubbling dangerously. Kylie knew the danger signs of Dannii's temper, and intended to get her out the way as soon as possible, but right now she needed her to help haul her well-built mistake up the stairs. Helping to hold him up along the corridor, they got to the edge of the open lounge area near the French doors to the patio and helped him into a wooden chair standing at the table which was near the walkway, a casual dining area on the edge of it. He slumped down gratefully with a sigh, Dannii quickly distancing herself from him but not Kylie, carefully manoeuvring herself between him and Kylie to direct them apart, which Kylie noticed. She just kept her distance though, standing back with Dannii to make sure her younger sibling knew this wasn't some little plan or something.

"Thanks," he said with a grateful sigh, just sitting down and resting a moment, looking up to find Dannii's eyes piercing him, locked on him intently, never wavering. He found it more than a little unnerving, and all he could do was look back as Kylie looked between them a moment before he managed to speak, still not looking away from Dannii, smart enough to realise she was far too dangerous to turn your back on.

"Um...is it ok to, you know, talk in front of her?" he said to Kylie, immediately realising that if it wasn't he'd just dropped Kylie in it anyway.

"Yeah it's ok," she replied, glancing to Dannii, who still stared intensely.

"So she knows you're a vampire?" he asked tentatively, still finding it a hard thing to say and actually believe it, though he knew first hand it was true after his night with her.

"Yes..." Kylie said, pausing and looking sideways to Dannii, "She's a vampire as well," she finished, looking back to him, who finally took his gaze from Dannii and put them on Kylie at the revelation. The tension was palpable as they both knew what he was going to ask.

"Um, when did that...take place exactly?" he asked carefully, since he'd known Kylie was new, after all he was her first proper feed, so Dannii must have been turned in the last couple of days by Kylie, which was quite a big deal.

"The night before last, she's very new," Kylie said, glancing to Dannii, who glared back at her angrily, almost a spark of hate to her eyes as she recalled being forced into it by Kylie, pinning her down and sinking her teeth in as she writhed under her begging her to stop.

"Ok, well, I don't think this is any ordinary bite," he started, Dannii looking back to him, her pretty blue eyes narrowing as she looked frostily at him, her arms crossed underneath her large breasts, pushing them up a little.

"I'm pretty sure it's a werewolf," he said, looking between them, waiting for an apprehensive expression, which never came, since they were vampires.

"Werewolf? Why?" Kylie asked, eyeing him.

"Because I'd be dead by now if it wasn't something special, and this..." he said, lifting his shirt to reveal a healed stomach wound, now just marks across his near six-pack.

"Wow, that's incredible," Kylie murmured, stepping forward. Sure she healed but hadn't sustained any serious injury like that, well...apart from the deep bite to her neck for her turning but that was different, that was deliberately done to induce bleeding after all. Even Dannii was craning curiously towards his healed wound, trying to peek at him through his ragged, blood-stained shirt.

"Well I guess that settles it, you'll be alright then, back to your old tricks soon enough I'm sure," Kylie said quite nonchalantly, not realising the effect comments like that had on Dannii. She gave a quiet growl, her eyes locked on his, which flitted quickly down the rest of her, taking in the younger Minogue sister, seeing the tension of her slender body, looking back up to her eyes in time to see them finish looking him up and down, sizing him up, clearly fixing for a fight rather shortly, her temper bubbling. Dannii could feel herself building up to a sudden outburst of aggression, unable to hold it back much longer. She was feeling a little hungry and the smell of fresh blood in the air was aggravating her, intensifying her rampant emotions and making her far more primal than she'd been before.

"Well, we'll see, probably best I don't get up to anything, might get attention..." he said, his eyes locked on Dannii's, seeing her nostrils flare a little, teeth clenched, ample chest rising as she breathed, clearly to keep herself calm.