He smoothed Lorelle's hair away from her face as she spoke. Her voice was so soft, like petals falling or butterfly wings. Her already fair complexion so pale from the illness that had dug its claws into her.

He shushed her gently, caressing his thumb over her arm as he held her to his chest. "No," he said softly, and then more firmly. "No. I can get you medicine. Take you to a doctor." He could feel the strain inside and knew he didn't have time for any of those things. No matter how many times it happened, he always felt torn. But he had promised Lorelle he would be here for her. And here he had been gone and almost hadn't even been here when she... No. He looked up to the door of the bedroom. "You can't leave them alone with me now," he chided, caught between frustration and wanting to be reassuring.

Of course there was another answer. It wasn't as if he had never turned another. But it wasn't his choice to make. If Lorelle wasn't able to fight this disease, if she was simply going to give in, then he couldn't imagine she would be able to weather the storm that was learning to tame a hunger for blood and then living through the deaths of almost everyone she knew. If this was debilitating mentally, then anything he might do would be impossible. Of course, he hoped that wasn't the case.

Arturo held her close another moment and then sighed. "I showed you I could heal...did you know my blood can heal others too?" It would work. It had to. But...perhaps it was too late for that? Still, he would try. "Give me a moment," he said, setting her back down on the bed and then moved to the door, ensuring it was locked. He pulled a dagger from his belt and took the mostly empty cup of water from beside her bed, cutting his hand deeply with a wince and letting the blood trickle into the cup. As the blood began to lessen, he unclenched his fist, licking the wound that was slowly closing and returned to Lorelle. "You need to drink," he ordered, helping her upright once more and bringing the cup to her lips.

No, he said, but Lorelle knew she couldn't fight it much longer. Finding a doctor and hoping they knew how to treat her would take too long. Hearing him say she couldn't leave him with her siblings now felt like a knife to the heart. "I don't want to... Leave them", she breathed, desperation in her voice.

She wasn't thinking about asking him to turn her. She didn't feel like it was her place to ask, and she didn't even know if he'd be willing to do it. Over the span of the last couple of months she had realised that while it was a big think for a mortal to turn into a vampire, it was also a big decision for a vampire to turn someone. Not everyone was as reckless, or determined to build an army like Arturo's sire was. But in that moment, she did think about immortality, and whatever that meant for a vampire. It would guarantee that she'd be alive to watch over her siblings. Only certain things would be able to kill her then.

It sounded distant, although he was right next to her, when Arturo talked about his blood. Lore blinked but didn't respond. She was placed down on the mattress again. Her eyes followed Arturo as he went over to the door. She frowned slightly when she noticed he pulled out a dagger. "N-", No, she had wanted to say, but she didn't. His blood might be her only chance at feeling better. He helped her upright, and she propped herself up on her hands a bit so she could stay upright without support. He ordered her to drink and brought the cup up to her lips.

She took the cup and her hands trembled a bit. She looked at him over the rim of the glass and hesitated. Then she drank. It didn't taste good. It tasted metallic and thick. Lorelle coughed and paused her drinking, moving the glass away from her mouth. She made an 'urgh' sound before continuing. When she was done, she leaned back and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. She felt even more nauseous now.

It did work, though. She wasn't completely better yet, but breathing became easier, and she felt more energetic. Her skin felt a little better, but still odd. "Thank you, thank you", the woman said, looking up at Arturo with tears in her eyes. She couldn't feel it, but her blood was purified now too. The toxins in her blood went down.

Then she started to cry. "I can't do this anymore, Arturo", she sobbed. "I can't die. I can't leave you, and I can't leave you with my siblings." She was unconsolable. Being so close to death made her realise how short life was, and how easily everything could go wrong. There was still some illness left in her, which could come back up in the next few days if she didn't rest properly. "What do I have to do to stay with them?" It was a rhetorical question, but she wished there was something she could do.

It was an impossible ask. But not one he had never granted. Still, it felt selfish of him, to turn someone for his own gains. For his own pleasure or companionship. Even he, who had been around so long, couldn't begin to explain what being ‘immortal’ did to a person. He was convinced it had driven his sire some brand of insane. He had killed another vampire, or e that had been abandoned by their sire and got feral with the need for blood for a long time. He himself wasn't immune to the shifting sands of time and how many people he outlived.

Having her drink his blood was a different sort of ritual. The miracle kind. Way back when, it would require a trio of virgins, a pe tag ram, and infinite melting candles and chanting monks for her to see a few drops. At least so the stories went. Arturo had traded some of his blood a few times, usually for a temporary companion that he turned loose in the next village. But rumors were wild in the 1300s. Now, he simply helped support her, received she could at least hold the cup and even more glad she finished it, rubbing his hand over Lorelle's back. He knew that couldn't have been pleasant.

Some of the effects worked quickly. But it would take time to combat the infection in his blood and he wasn't certain it would remove all of it. This wasn't an ability he used often, but that was even more true with diseases. With a gash of the like, he was more familiar. “I admit, I don't know how well it works with disease,” he said. He wanted to tell her the worst was over but he wouldn't lie to her. He pulled her close again, lifting the hand she had wiped her lips with and licking away the smear of blood. His blood. The blood of his latest meal that had now become his. He held her while she sobbed, knowing she needed to get it out. Especially because he knew where this was going. Perhaps she wouldn't ask, no directly. But…her rhetorical question had an answer.

“You know what you have to do,” he said, mentally nudging her. “What you have to ask.” Returning to Lorelle like this…months had flown by. Perhaps that was another price to pay for being a vampire. He forgot how long half a year could be for a mortal. Forgot how fragile they were. How much he needed her. But he set aside his selfish feelings. Focused on Lorelle's.

This was something he could do. For her. Not for himself. “What you have to ask me.”He repeated.

Disease was certainly different than sounds, so while it worked in some aspects, neither of them were sure how much it would cure her. She at least felt a little better. The cup was empty, and Arturo pulled her close, licking the blood of her hand. She laid her head against him and started sobbing.

To her words and her question, he responded that she knew what to do. But could she ask? Wasn't it selfish to do so? "Would you?" she asked, drying her eyes and turning her head towards Arturo.

She tried to imagine what it would be like. She'd live, for a long time. Lorelle would be able to look after her siblings, make sure they lived through the war, to see independence. She would be able to travel the world afterwards. But something gnawed at her. Would Arturo stay? Would he still want her, if she wasn't mortal anymore? No matter how much fun they had, he had known that eventually she'd die, and he would be free of her again. She didn't think he felt like that, but everything would change if she was suddenly like him.

That doubt couldn't be the reason she didn't ask, she decided. She needed to make sure she outlived her siblings. She needed to keep her promise to her mother.

"If you would, then please", Lorelle then said. "Please turn me."

Arturo didn't reply at first. While he had discussed the topic with her, some of the details, much of the pain, he had never suggested to her what her life would be like if he did this. And so too, she had never directly asked him. But just as she had moments ago, she had suggested her desire for immortality. For “life.” And all its consequences.

Was it selfish to ask and selfish to grant? Yes. But the vampire would grant Lorelle's wish in a heartbeat. Despite all its consequences.

“Of course.” He tilted her face to his, ancient eyes boring into her soul. “You understand what you are asking,” he began. “To see your siblings live. To see them die. To see their children’s children die. To never have children of your own. To be a slave to your hunger for blood. To hurt and potentially kill. To watch everything you know washed away like sand on a beach. To find a pearl and watch it shine only to lose it. To know that you are adrift on the waves of time.” Arturo cupped her cheek affectionately and kissed her lips softly. “You understand the connection we will forge, a bond of souls neither of us can break. That you will feel more than whatever affection you now have for me.”

As much as it sounded like he had prepared for this, had done this before, Arturo never had sat down and planned the words. It was his way of quickly trying to ensure Lorelle understood what she was asking for. To keep a promise to her mother, she would abandon her old life.

He supposed he hadn't mentioned the desire for blood. How strong it would be in the beginning. But he would be there for her. To ensure she didn't become a monster and could see her goals through. Because he loved her. As for his own consequences...he would handle them.

His eyes on her softened and he took a deep breath of her scent. Of her blood. Could hear her pulse pounding more from worry than strength. He longed to taste her again. “I'll need to find your first meal,” he said. “Otherwise, you might feed on your brother,” he chuckled, but he meant it. A newly turned vampire didn't have the self-control or knowledge to know how much blood their victim had to spare before death. Which would be the opposite of her keeping her promise.

At first, when Arturo had first told her about his true nature, the only thing she had been able to focus on was this almost immortal life of his. It was only after a while, and by having talked about it more often, that she had also come to understand the drawbacks of being a vampire. Every mortal you ever got close to, would eventually die. For that reason, she felt selfish to ask him to turn her. She could have, or perhaps should have, been just another mortal in his life as well. Before this disease, Lorelle had dropped the topic. She had never literally expressed a desire to become a vampire. She had just mentioned, from time to time, that the guarantee if outliving her siblings was attractive.

But now, in this moment of weakness and illness, she had asked Arturo to turn her. Lore wasn't ready yet to leave him, New England and her siblings behind. It was too soon. And if the choice was between dying at 25, or forever being 25, she knew what she'd choose.

The man moved her face so it was facing him, his eyes staring into hers. Lorelle nodded along when he summed up all the things she needed to understand. She already had a plan. Not a very thought out plan, but a plan. She would stay to see her siblings reach adulthood, from a distance for the youngest ones, otherwise they'd question why she still looked so young. Then, she would leave and disappear. If she was certain that they were safe in their twenties, she would leave and never come back. That way she wouldn't know when one of them died, but at least she would know she had been there to help them through their childhood and adolescence. And she would only feed on people who deserved it. A promise she wouldn't, but she didn't know that back then yet.

She kissed him back, knowing this was perhaps her last kiss as a human. Again she nodded slightly. "I'm aware", she said. "But out of everyone, I'd rather have that connection with you." Because she trusted him. Because she couldn't imagine he would treat her the way his sire had treated him. They already had an affectionate bond, and while she understood that it would be different, she thought and believed she would be ready for it.

"I understand all of it." She sounded determined. "Yet I still want it. To take care of them. To be with you. To live longer than any human I will ever meet. I choose to live, like you."

Lorelle had no idea how intense the thirst for blood would be. Arturo had always been good at masking it around her. And she hadn't known him back when he was freshly turned. The young woman thought she was ready, but there was a lot she would have to learn from the older vampire.

She frowned slightly while he chuckled. "Should we go away from the house?" she asked. "I don't want to hurt them in the process. That would... Defeat the whole purpose." It sounded bizarre and the thought of feeding on her brother made her feel nauseous, but she couldn't help but chuckle for a moment. Imagine if she would turn into a vampire to take care of her siblings, only to end up hurting them. She would never forgive herself. "I've told you before that you're a great master. I don't want to burden you with having to teach me your ways, but if you are sure that you're okay with turning me... I'll be the best student, or spawn, I suppose. I promise."

Lorelle was his world. No matter how long that world was to last. But hers was a different reality than the one he lived in. In a way, that was beautiful. The story of two ships passing in the night, sharing a colorful feast and festival before parting ways, their wake still rocking the other vessel. He could never ask her to turn her vessel from whatever path she was headed down. It wasn't his place, no matter how much he might want to.

Of course, he couldn't stop her from doing so of her own accord. As much as he wanted her to understand the sacrifices there were gifts to what he had too.

Whatever her plan, whatever she wanted to do with her life, they would always be together. Most sires and spawn were close, especially for the first so many years.

He smiled. “And I with you.” It was a much better attachment than the one he had with his own sire. As she said she understood all of it, his expression grew a bit more somber. She couldn't understand, not really. Not yet. But she would. Arturo disagreed that she choice was the same as his, but at this point, he understood how to end his own life and he had not. So what did it matter now?

Her suggestion earned a thoughtful hum as he recalled when he was turned. “The first few days are blurry. I only remember being hungry. Feeding.” Santiago had raised him through the infancy of his turning like a caring father, gentle and careful and firm, almost never leaving his side. It had been a strange moment that turned into a year, where Arturo realized what he was. What the vampire had made of him. “You should be isolated for a week,” he agreed, though where was the harder part. “I’ll take care of these two. We can say I took you into town to the doctor.” Then her recovery make more sense as well as serving the dual purpose of removing the danger from her siblings.

“It is not a burden. If this is something you want, Lorelle, then I want to do it. My interest isn't in you becoming some feral beast,” he laughed, kissing her. He got up from the bed and stretched, pacing slowly as he thought of where they could go. “Spawn,” he confirmed, flexing his now healed hand. “Ah, daylight is not your friend,” he added, having forgotten that. It wouldn't kill, but the glare and heat of sunlight weren't comforting to vampires like they were to humans. “Share the day with your siblings. I'll find a place for you to stay. We'll leave in the evening," he decided. This was not the first time he had turned another. But each time required a different sort of plan.

Unbeknownst to her, no matter how much she thought she understood, she wouldn't really understand until after she was turned. Now,she couldn't imagine the hunger Arturo spoke of. She couldn't imagine quite how attached she would get to Arturo once he was her sire. She thought she did, because she just wanted to get over this sickness and be capable of taking care of her siblings long enough to see them succeed at life.

Lorelle asked if they should go somewhere else. The man had a good excuse, a doctor wouldn't raise suspicions. The neighbour woman would be able to take care of the siblings, while they were away. She listened to him explain how long she should be isolated, and how hunger would consume her. Of course she was nervous, because hunger meant she would have to drink blood, and she had no idea whose.

She wanted to make sure she wouldn't be a burden. He reassured her that she wouldn't be, but that didn't take away all of her worries. She wouldn't voice those, though. She didn't want Arturo to second guess his decision. And apparently daylight wouldn't be her friend. She didn't care much about that, but would probably only notice how much she missed the sun once she couldn't be in it anymore.

"Okay", she said softly. She would spend the day with them, and inform them that Arturo would be taking her to a doctor. She also made sure to ask the neighbour to look after the kids for a bit while she was away.

---
[That evening]

Lorelle had enjoyed her day together with her siblings. They had played outside and she had cooked them a grand meal, which made them question what the occasion was. She had just joined that the neighbours couldn't cook as good, but she knew it was their last meal together, hence why she had out so much effort into it. The woman had also prepared a bag, in case she needed anything while they were away, but she really wasn't sure what she would need.

Once the dishes were washed, Lore sat alone at the dinner table, waiting for Arturo to get back home. He had been out looking for a place to stay. It wasn't the children's bedtime yet, but she had put them to bed anyway. She had told them a bedtime story that their Mother used to tell them, and after kissing everyone goodnight, she had taken a seat at the table. A glass of wine was sitting in front of her, half finished. Her fingers rested on the foot of the glass as she stared at the red liquid. Soon she'd be drinking other red liquid. The taste of Arturo's blood still lingered in her mouth.

When the door opened, she looked up.

The vampire returned as the sunset, grimacing. He disliked being out this time of day, forced to keep to the tree line and long shadows because the glare was irritating. But he had made the necessary arrangements, locating a place to stay and fresh food. He wiped his boots on the doormat and leaned the rifle against the wall. Arturo grinned up at Lorelle. “Ah, my pale, regal queen,” he offered with an earnest mock bow. “Your humble servant has returned, seeking your hand in accompanying him to our temporary home. In the hopes you will be the image of health after.”

Some of it was for her, some for his own amusement, and some because he didn't trust the children to be properly in bed. He stepped in and leaned both hands on the table. “Wine still tastes quite lovely.” Though regular food wasn't ever something he yearned for anymore. Things still had taste even if he would never crave them again.

“We'll want pillows and blankets.” Not that they would be sleeping, but for comfort. “And perhaps your embroidery.” For an attempt at distraction, though he had other suggestions there as well. “I fear accommodations are not particularly grand, but we'll make due and be back all the sooner.” He explained vaguely with a reassuring smile as he rounded the table and rested his hand on the fingers strumming the base of the wine glass. There was a focused cast to his expression as he studied her. That perhaps he had very intentionally given her the evening to be with her siblings and think things through. But he could sense that determination he always loved about her. That fire that flickered but never went out.

“Are you ready, Lore?”

Arturo's overly polite and jokingly behaviour earned him a chuckle. She smiled at him as he bowed and spoke, feeling love for him in her heart. There were still butterflies when she looked at him. "Let us pray for a speedy recovery", she responded with a smile that indicated that she was playing along, and not being serious.

"Want a sip?" Lore asked him when he mentioned that wine still tasted lovely. She didn't mind sharing the glass. Perhaps it was best she didn't finish it by herself. She didn't drink often, and didn't want to be tipsy and/or woozy.

After that, Arturo explained what else they would need. It made her feel seen that he mentioned her embroidery. And it was a good idea, too. She had been looking at the wineglass, but returned her gaze to him when he put his hand on her fingers. She had been lost in thought for a moment. And she was nervous. But she knew this was what she wanted.

"I will get the things you mentioned, and them in ready", Lorelle told him before getting up from her chair. She would tiptoe en press a kiss on his lips. "I will be right back." The young woman made her way over to her bedroom and grabbed the bag she had prepared, as well as a second bag to put pillows and blankets in, together with her latest embroidery project. Then she looked around her room and sighed softly. She would be back, but it would be different. She walked over to the window, beneath which her old dolls were propped up against the wall, and brushed one of them's hair out of their face. Then she picked it up because she had decided that she wanted to bring it, to have something her mother had given her with her.

Lorelle stopped at her siblings' room on the way back to Arturo and looked at the sleeping children. She smiled at the darkness, allowing their soft snores to calm her nerves. After a minute, she continued down the hallway until she was standing next to the table again, where she had left Arturo.

"I'm ready."

"With my whole heart," Arturo agreed, tone betraying a bit of sarcasm. Although he had never gone into much detail, the man had never prayed in all the time he had stayed with Lorelle. Before bed or over supper nor even the one time he attended Sunday church. It had been a large part of his life once. But not any longer. Though he more than understood the desire mortals had to believe in something above themselves.

The man smiled. "I would rather drink you." Indeed, he moved the glass and her hand toward her in encouragement. Normally, he preferred whoever his drank from to have as little drugs in their system as possible (as easy as it was to pin down a drunk, too much blood alcohol content was too much), but knowing what to expect made that easier.

Her warm lips on his always felt good, and he met them with a smile, watching her move to the room. He took the chair she had vacated, leaning back and quietly drumming his own fingers on the table. If Lorelle hadn't finished the glass of wine, he relented and finished it for her. Better that than waste it, even if it wasn't very good. Arturo stood when she returned, two bags in her slender arms. He pushed in the chair and stepped to her side, offering his hand to take both bags. "Allow me."

He led her outside, pausing a moment to let her lock the small home while he attached her bags to the horse's saddle and helped her mount. He was much more at ease in the growing darkness of the evening. Even in the waning light, he had no trouble seeing and in fact, didn't consider she might want a torch. Of course, he would have preferred to move faster than the horse, he wanted her to be comfortable. Especially considering where they were going. Along the way, he did his best to explain what was involved of him turning her. "I will drain your blood. Nearly all of it. And it may hurt." Some he would drink himself, but not all of it. He would be lying if he said he wasn't salivating merely thinking about it. Despite having fed in the past few days, having had the day to think it over, he was eager. Excited. "The process will very nearly kill you. You will pass out." A person could lose a pint or two with little effects. A few more and pass out and feel sluggish but recover. More...and without a transfusion, which he would not do, she would die. "And then while you are unconscious, I will feed you my blood." Completely helpless and at the mercy of a vampire.

He led the horse along the road, taking a turn down a less traveled side road that led to an old, abandoned home. One rumored to be full of ghosts and bad omens, or so he had been told by the locals. Lorelle would likely know of it and might be able to guess that was their destination as they drew closer, though with the increasing darkness, the path was likely harder for her to determine.

Back then in New England, Puritanism was the state-supported church. Lorelle had grown up with it, and was used to this way of life. Ever since the war, she had started to pray less. The didn't have a lot of faith anymore. She didn't detect Arturo's sarcasm, but she hadn't been too serious about praying for it either.

Lorelle had taken a few more sips of the wine before heading to her room to finish packing, but there would still be some left for Arturo. He would be able to drink her soon. Even more than he ever had.

She handed the bags over to the man upon arriving at the table again. Then she followed him outside and watched as he attached the bags to the horse. But she was mostly watching the house. She wondered what it would be like to be back here in a week or so. Would it feel much different? Lore turned her attention back to him and accepted his help to mount the horse. The journey had officially begun.

The rocking of the horse made her sleepy, but she would be able to stay awake. Arturo explaining what would happen helped with that too. It was scary to think that if he didn't give her his blood, she would actually die, but she didn't doubt his intentions for a moment. "That's okay", she responded, mostly to the part about it possibly hurting, but it was applicable to the rest as well. Everything was just okay. It needed to be done, it needed to happen, and then she'd be free. Free was relative, though. She would have new obligations, a new connection to Arturo, etc. However, Lorelle felt ready. As ready as one could feel for something they had never experienced before.

As they neared the home, she looked around to try and see if they were going where she thought they were going. It was difficult to be sure because her surroundings were dark. "Be with me, and prepare me for all the smiles of prosperity, the frowns of adversity, the losses of substance, the death of friends, the days of darkness, the changes of life, and the last great change of all. May I find Your grace sufficient for all my needs", Lore mumbled under her breath. God would certainly abandon her after this night, she thought, so she felt like a last prayer was in order.

Arturo kept hold of the horse's reins, leading the way as the final rays of sunlight colored the leaves a brillant orange and the sky faded to purple. He always enjoyed the colors of sunset.

Lorelle's simple answer tugged a small smile over the man's lips. He would leave her to her thoughts. It was not an easy thing, but it was something better experienced than explained. At least she seemed to understand some of the weight of what she had asked for. She would feel the rest soon enough.

His enhanced senses easily picked up her mumbled prayer. But that, even more than how she felt about what they were doing, was even less his business. If a God did exist, Arturo believed they had stopped caring about human affairs a long time ago. Did he think of himself as a God? That would require he be worshiped and that he provide mortals with some gift or protection. While his spawn might certainly approach such things, while he might have abilities beyond mortals, while he might be immortal, while he had the power of life or death or others, he was no God. Of course, he knew some vampires, like his sire, thought themselves close.

It was nearly dark when they approached the old house. It sat in a small clearing, a battered well out the back and a collapsed shed nearby. Vines and other plants had begun to reclaim much of the outside of the log building and the back half of the building had begun to sink due to poor foundations. “I admit, it is not ideal. But we needed somewhere the young ones would not intervene.” Nor anyone else, for that matter. And since Lorelle’something he lacked a secure, dark, private place such as a basement or dungeon…here they were. “At least the roof is in tact,” he mused. Clearly he wasn't pleased with his selection.

He would help her from the horse and set down the bags on the front step. “Some of the floorboards might be a bit…unstable,” Arturo advised. He left the horse saddled for now and picked up the bags to lead the way inside the bare house.