The Vampire and The Traveler Ch. 01

Author's note: just wanted to say that I spend a little more time setting things up with this one, so the sexy bits don't start until Chapter 2. While my previous stuff had sex as the main focus, I wanted to spend a bit more time with the plot/romantic elements this time around. Just thought I'd give a heads up.

The old mansion loomed above him as he trudged down the dirt road. He was breathing heavily as sweat formed on his brow. The choir of bugs and frogs only seemed to grow louder as he trekked deeper into the swampy wilderness.

"I finally made it." He thought, seeing the gothic manor before him. "I think I underestimated how much of a walk this would actually be." The sun was already beginning to set on the horizon. Looking back, he slumped his shoulders, realizing that it would be night long before he got home. That wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that this would mean hiking in the dark. "Damn it, I knew I started this too late. I gotta start waking up earlier." Releasing a sigh, he looked back to the building. "Well, no turning back now. Might as well check the place out."

He had heard rumors of vampires residing in an old mansion a little ways outside of town. The town's older generation seemed particularly convinced of the structure's supernatural properties. He'd always been one to keep an open mind when it came to supernatural stuff, so he decided to check the place out for himself. He had secretly hoped that a vampire had actually resided there and that he'd encounter one, simply because it was more interesting that way.

He walked up on the front porch, the wood creaking beneath his feet as he approached the entrance. He went to open the door, only to realize that it was locked. "That's strange." He thought. "Why would it be locked? Does someone live here? Was it locked up by the previous owner?" Regardless of the reason, he wasn't ready to give up. He had walked at least a mile to get here, so he was determined to get something out of this trip. He decided to use the door knockers just to see if anybody would answer. It seemed unlikely, in fact, as soon as he started knocking he questioned why he was even bothering.

He was just about to turn around and find another way in when, to his surprise, the doors opened. Standing in the entrance was a short, pale woman in a black suit. She looked just a bit surprised to see him, and the feeling was mutual. He thought the place looked well-kept for an old mansion, but someone actually answering the door was a bit shocking.

"Who are you?" She asked. "Are you here for the job offer?"

"Job offer? There was a job offer?" He shook his head, not wanting to dwell on that point. That would have to be a question for later. "Never mind. No, I'm not here for that. But to answer your first question, I'm Alex. I just heard some rumors that a vampire resided here and I wanted to check it out just because I was bored. But uh..." he scratched his head. He felt a bit awkward about the whole thing, this was not going how he'd expected. "I didn't realize people actually lived here. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"A vampire, you say?" She tilted her head. "If that's what you're here for, then I believe Madam Maravalle is the one you're looking for."

"Madam Maravalle?" He had only been there for a minute, and he already had so many questions.

"She is the owner of this mansion, and is currently the only vampire in the house. I am human, as are the rest of her servants."

"Servants?" Between the use of 'madam' and 'servant' this all felt kinda archaic, but he decided to roll with it. Evidently he'd found himself in strange territory, but he wasn't backing down now. He'd walked all this way damn it, and he was never one to give up so easily!

He gave her a polite smile. "Well then, can I request an audience with your Madam Maravalle?"

"We can, with the proper precautions of course. Even then, there is no guarantee that she will accept the request." She widened the door and invited him in. "Please, come this way."

He entered the mansion to see a clean, neatly kept foyer. A large wooden staircase in the center of the room led up to the second floor. At the end of the stairs, was a large portrait of a woman in a fancy dress holding a sword.

The door shut behind him with a loud clang, and the servant walked in front of him. "Before we continue, I need to check to make sure you do not have any weapons." She gave him a pat down and checked his pockets. After confirming he was unarmed, she gestured to a door on the right side of the room. "Follow me into the waiting area."

The new room she led him to had a black-and-white checkered floor and dark wooden walls. It was fully decorated with old paintings covering the walls, along with an old globe, lion statues, and a grandfather clock. Yet again, everything had a very old feel to it.

"Please take a seat while you wait."

He plopped down on the purple couch and looked around the room. He felt like he could spend the whole waiting time just looking at the walls, they were so heavily decorated. Paintings of landscapes and the sea, portraits of people he didn't recognize, and there were even some swords and shields on display. "I'm not sure how I expected this to go," he thought "but it was not this way."

He waited for several minutes, with the ticking of the clock being the only sound in the room. In that time, he noticed one odd detail that he hadn't before: there were no windows in that room. All the lighting came from a chandelier and candles scattered throughout the room. There was no natural sunlight coming into that room, and without the clock, there was no way of telling what time of day it was. "Maybe there's a vampire in here after all." He thought to himself, almost jokingly.

Just as he was beginning to have second thoughts about going there, the door opened again. The lady he saw from before walked in. "Madam Maravalle has arrived." She said politely.

Walking in behind her was a tall, dark woman in a black dress. He was just a bit taken aback by her height; she was one of the tallest women he'd ever seen, looking to be well over 6 feet.

She looked to him with her piercing red eyes. "Well, what do we have here?" She observed, seemingly amused by her guest. "A human requesting an audience with a vampire, now that's something I do not see very often." She took a seat across from him, then looked to her servant. "Leave us."

"Yes, ma'am. Would you like any tea?"

"Tea would be wonderful, thank you."

Once she and Alex were served their tea, Maravalle turned her attention to the new guest. "Forgive me, I do not believe I was ever told your name. What was it?"

"Oh, my name is Alex." He bowed his head. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"You specifically requested to see me and you're polite about it? This is getting more interesting by the minute." She put some sugar into her tea and stirred it. "I must say though, you look roughed up." She observed, noticing how dirty his clothes were. "What happened to you?"

"Well, the bus only went to the nearest town and your manor is about two miles from there." He sighed. "This place is so far from civilization!"

"Walked the whole distance through the swamp, did you?" She took a sip of her tea. "You must be desperate to have come all this way. Were you even certain that I was here?"

"Not completely, but I thought it was worth checking out at least. I'm going to be honest, I told myself that I came here out of curiosity, but I was kind of secretly hoping you'd be here. If I wound up being bitten by a vampire, I wouldn't complain."

"So I see." She ran a hand through her black hair, an intrigued look on her face. "You just walked all the way here out of curiosity and boredom? Isn't that interesting?" She took another sip. "But on that last thing you said: why do you want to become a vampire?"

"Well, to be honest my life isn't going very well. I'm stuck in a job I don't care for and college is too expensive, so I just wanted to get away from it all and start a new life. Then, I heard a rumor that a vampire lived in this castle far out in the swamps. So, since I had the day off anyway, I figured I'd head out and see what it was about. Even if the rumors turned out to be wrong, it would at least mean getting out of the house for a little while."

"I must say, you amuse me. I don't get many human visitors and those that I do get usually just run away in terror. I do recall my cousin saying that he was once approached by someone who made a similar offer, though. Frankly I thought he was just telling stories; I didn't expect that it'd happen to me." She chuckled. "But to answer your question, I think I'll give you the opportunity."

"So you'll turn me into a vampire?"

"Perhaps. But first I need to clear some things up, because I think you're a little confused. If I were to just bite you right now and send you on your way, you'd simply go back to your normal life. Only then, you'd be working night shifts and be saddled with surviving off whatever blood you could find. But you specifically said you wanted to start a new life, correct?"

He nodded.

"If it's a new life you seek, then I shall present you with the opportunity. You see, I represent a noble vampiric house, and I'll give you the chance to join this house. Emphasis on the word 'chance' however, we can't let just any rugged traveler like yourself in. No, you'll have to begin as a servant to the house. I will personally oversee your progress, and if I deem you worthy, I'll allow you to join." She chuckled. "Who knows, if I take a particular liking to you, I might just marry you into the house."

His face turned red at the proposition. "Wait, marry me into the house?! Really?!"

"Don't get any ideas human, I was joking."

"Oh, I see." He slumped his shoulders, rather upset that she'd toy with his heart by making such a joke.

"You will help with the cooking, cleaning, and all the other things to help me keep this place up and running. In return, you'll be provided free food and a room to sleep in. What do you think?"

He had to think about that offer for just a moment. His current job sucked and he wasn't exactly excited to go back to it on Monday. Her offer did seem pretty good, but a part of him was skeptical. Was this a trap? Was she trying to trick him? Maybe, but he knew he'd regret just going back to his house with nothing to show for it. No, that wouldn't sit right with him at all.

"Well, this seems like a pretty big decision to make on the spot." He finally answered. "So what if I just spent a night or two here, then decided?"

"I see no problem with that." She said with a fanged smile. "You won't regret taking this opportunity, I assure you."

"Just out of curiosity, why are you so eager to take me on? I mean, we just met. How do you know I'm not...I don't know, like a vampire hunter or something?"

She leaned back and crossed her legs. "Well, are you?"

"I'm not saying I am, I'm just saying-"

"I know what you mean." She smirked. "The answer is simple: if you were actually out to get me, I could very easily dispose of you. Have you ever seen a vampire in combat? Our swiftness, our strength? If I decided that you were a threat, I could kill you right this very moment. But because I do not sense any danger from you, I won't. And to answer the other part of your question: you amuse me."

"I...what?"

"Most humans would simply flee in terror, but you? You showed up at my doorstep and specifically requested an audience with me. No stakes, no weapons. Just a cute face and the clothes on your back."

"C-cute?!" The comment caught him off guard, especially since it felt like she was way out of his league.

She chuckled. "Yes, you are very cute. With your fluffy blond hair and that innocent look, I can hardly turn you down. But enough of that." She stood up and came his way.

He stood up as she approached but found that his head only came up to her shoulders.

She used her finger to lift his head up, and his eyes met with hers. "How about you get a shower and a good meal? We'll continue our discussion afterwards."

His knees felt weak. He had only just met this woman, yet already felt almost in love with her. It felt shallow to fall for someone so easily, but she had made such a strong impression that he couldn't help it. At the same time, he felt as though he'd dove head-first into something he shouldn't have. Or perhaps his life had just changed for the better. He really couldn't be sure at that point.

Still, he had to wonder if he could really trust her. He had to consider the possibility that she had ulterior motives; be it to drink his blood or something else entirely. He had a gut feeling that this wasn't the case, but he had to take it into account just out of self-preservation. He promised to himself right then: if things got too dangerous for his comfort, he'd run for the hills.