Larienne

One look at me and you would probably guess that my age is of nineteen or twenty. That's about right... if the year was 1421. You look shocked. I know you have no idea of how that is possible. Allow me to help you understand how I became ageless and immortal.

My family and I lived in a small town outside Paris. The small farmhouse was near the fields where my father tended the crops. I had two older sisters, both of who were already married, and one brother. I was the youngest of the household. My mother passed away shortly after giving birth to me, so I never really knew her. My father was very kind and hard working. He did what he had to do to care for us.

My jet-black hair will forever remain at the middle of my back. My piercing, deep violet eyes hold countless secrets and can cause a considerable amount of damage to anyone. Tall for the time I was born in, I stand at five feet eight inches. The sun's harmful rays have bronzed my delicate skin. My beautiful figure will remain thin throughout eternity.

One summer day, I went into town to purchase some candles and other necessary staples. By the time my shopping was finished, dusk had settled. As I was walking along the road back to the house, I passed a young woman who had tripped and spilled her basket of flowers and bread. I paused to help and introduced myself.

"Good evening. My name is Larienne." I said as I helped to gather the flowers.

"Nice to meet you Larienne. Thank you for stopping to help." She replied, "My name is Madeleine."

Madeleine had shoulder-length, auburn hair. Her eyes were a beautiful, yet piercing, sky blue that could easily swallow someone. She was shorter than I was and very attractive. She seemed to be one of those people who were constantly pleased. The purposeful strides she took as she walked made her appear in command of everything around her.

We became good friends and often saw each other in town. When my father died that winter, I decided to live with her. Her house was on the hill at the edge of town. It was a little larger than mine and kept very simple. It had a cedar-board shingle roof and was built of fieldstone. A fence made of the same stone surrounded the small, enclosed yard.

After living there for a short while, I realized that there was something a little strange about Madeleine's habits. While she gave me a nice, warm bedroom with an eastward window, she slept in the damp, cold cellar. She never seemed to be around during the daylight hours, even if the sky was completely hidden by clouds. Several times I saw her emerge form the cellar at dusk, just after the sun had disappeared over the horizon. Eventually my curiosity got the best of me.

Waiting by the cellar doors one evening as the sun began to dip over the horizon, I planned how I would confront her. As she came out, I faced her.

"Madeleine," I said quietly, "would you mind if I asked you something?"

"Go ahead." She replied casually

"Well..." I began, "I was wondering why I never see you during the day, yet at dusk, just after the sun has set I see you come from the cellar. You seem to sleep all day. Are you ill?"

"If you'd really like to know..." She said with a sly smile.

As she smiled I noticed two tiny fangs and began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. Before I could react to what was happening, Madeleine lunged towards me and pinned me against the wall with incredible speed and strength.

"It seems as though I haven't far to go to feed tonight." She whispered softly into my ear.

"What... what are you?" I barely managed to say as I struggled to free myself from her grasp.

"What I am is something you would think to only be a dream or terrible nightmare." She said calmly.

I began to panic as Madeleine gently tilted my head back, exposing the bare flesh of my neck. I fought hard to break free, but she was unbelievably strong. She held me until I stopped fighting.

"I hope you realize that you're making this more difficult than it needs to be." She said into my ear just before she bent her head down and I felt the sharp prick of her dagger-like fangs as they pierced the delicate skin of my neck.

Life was being drained from my helpless body, but there was nothing I could do to stop her. My heart began to pound and my veins constricted as the blood was drawn away. "Is this how I am to die?" I thought to myself as my body began to tense.

"Do not let go of life. Concentrate on living. You must not stop fighting." Madeleine whispered as she released her hold on me. I was too weak to go against her wishes.

Feeling quite faint, I saw here tear her wrist with a fang and bring it towards me. She pressed the dripping wound to my mouth, forcing me to drink. I was barely aware of anything as the think, warm blood began to pass down my throat and fill every thirsting vein in my body.

Thirst overwhelmed me as I welcomed this dark liquid, the substance I was to live on for all eternity. I sucked harder on Madeleine's wrist, trying to make the blood flow more. She pulled her wrist from my grasp as I fainted. I'm not sure exactly what happened after I passed out, but when I awoke I was in the cellar. As consciousness set in, it was then that I knew. I had become a vampire. I would never die, but in order for me to exist many would perish.

Madeleine was coming down the stairs carrying a dazed young male with her.

"Here," She said as she set him before me, "I know you're hungry."

She was more than right. My chest was on fire and the scent of his blood was beginning to drive me crazy. Acting upon instinct, I lunged for this throat. My fangs were not yet fully formed so I had to tear at his throat where Madeleine had first fed. I drank deeply until his heart stopped beating.

Madeleine pulled me from the now lifeless body and shook her head slightly.

"You mustn't continue to drink after the heart has ceased. It could be very dangerous, especially for one as young as you are." She reprimanded.

"All right. I'll remember that." I replied amazed at how my voice had changed.

It was more defined, a little deeper and had a slightly resounding tone in it. I quickly realized that all my senses had been enhanced. I heard a rat scamper across the wall opposite me, a sound no mortal could possibly have heard. My head began to spin from the sensory overload. I sat on the floor until I got myself together.

"Tomorrow, I'll teach you to hunt for yourself and to use your new abilities. Then you'll be on your own." Madeleine told me.

"What!? Alone! I don't want to be alone. Why?" I cried.

"I must teach you to survive without me if you are to make it in this world. You cannot depend on me for everything. I'm sorry to do this, but I have to. Get some rest. Dawn is nearly here." She replied with her usual calmness.

I slowly headed to the corner opposite Madeleine and lay down. Sleep came quickly. I did not dream. When I awoke the next evening, I noticed that Madeleine had already gone out.

I climbed the steps and slipped into the shadows of the night. Madeleine was waiting as I emerged. I blinked a couple times and gazed at my "new world" with a new appreciation for everything around me. Every minute detail was visible, including a small ant climbing up a nearby tree.

"Come on." She said sternly as she started towards town. It was almost an hour after sunset and she didn't seem pleased.

I watched in awe as she made a quick meal of a drunken man. She bit her tongue and licked the wound on his neck. In an instant they had disappeared. Madeleine watched as another stumbled from the tavern.

"Listen carefully and do exactly as I say." She whispered.

"All right." I replied with a nod.

"Sneak up behind him and grab him. Be sure to hold him so he can't move and cover his mouth so there he will not attract unwanted attention. Your instincts will take over and you'll know what to do afterward." She quietly instructed.

I did as I was told and made my first successful kill. My head swam with the warm, fresh blood as I meandered back to where Madeleine stood. She silently pointed out that I forgot to hide the wounds. I quickly ran over to the body and fixed my error.

"Not bad for your first kill, Larienne." Madeleine said.

"Thank you." I replied

"Come; let's practice your new skills." She told me.

We first practiced my acute sense of hearing to detect any creature or human that was near. Madeleine taught me to listen for a heartbeat or the sound of breathing. She then showed me how to use my speed. The speed and hearing were combined in simple exercises.

Madeleine had me listen for an animal, then use my speed to catch it and bring it back before it realized what happened. I found it very simple and soon became bored. I'd catch several animals at a time and bring them back. Now and then I would catch a bird and place it on her head. She wasn't very amused when I did that.

She then taught me to use my jumping skills. We went into town to practice. I found it very simple and effortless as I jumped to the rooftops of buildings of varying height. Madeleine then taught me to change direction mid-flight. It was difficult at first, but after several tries I was able to do it. She had me jump towards her and try to turn away just before the impact. I did end up hitting her a few times, nearly knocking her down.

The new skills I learned were fun to play with. Madeleine watched for a short while as I played tricks on a few drunken men hanging around the tavern. She then informed me that dawn was near. Somehow I knew it was before she told me. I sped back to the house as she started walking. Ten minutes passed before she arrived.

"I have taught you everything you need to know in order to survive. You will not see me tomorrow night." She said "Don't let me find you here when dawn comes. If I do you'll end up stranded in the sunlight and destroyed. Is that clear?"

The words were stuck in my head. I couldn't speak.

"Let me suggest that you purchase a small dagger or knife for defense in case you're attacked." She advised

Slowly, I headed to a dark corner in the cellar and lay down. Sleep came quickly as the sun rose. When I awoke, Madeleine was nowhere to be found.

I slipped into the shadows of the trees and headed to my old home. There was an old, underground tunnel that I knew of to stay in. It was never used so I would be safe from harm. I remained there for several months until I found someplace better.

During that time, I bought a fine dagger and became skilled with it. As time progressed I became stronger and discovered other abilities that Madeleine had not taught me nor mentioned. Thought reading was one I found very useful. The power of flight developed much later but also became quite useful.

That's pretty much it on how I came to be. The rest of my life story will have to wait for some other time. I will tell it someday, just not now. Until then, I bid you farewell.