She looked back at him with a slightly furrowed brow, not really sure what to make of what he was saying. It was definitely not helping her feel at ease with her decision. Would she become as lonely as this house? She turned her attention to the candles, in hopes of distracting herself of the thoughts. She didn't want to change her mind. She would get sick again, and die. "Hmm", she responded, nothing more. She wasn't happy with this side of Arturo, but she understood it wasn't easy for him either.

She then lit the candles while Arturo went to the bedroom with the pillows and blankets. She didn't notice that he had returned until Lore heard him speak. The dark-haired woman looked at him and smiled, recognising the words he recited. She was very worried that God would abandon her, but she didn't want to share these thoughts. Arturo wasn't as religious as her, and she didn't want him to use her fear against her to make her second-guess her decision.

Instead they embraced each other. Lorelle asked him what the plan was. The vampire took the time to propose a few ways they could go about it. The joke about the candles and the virgins made her laugh. A smile remained on her face after she had stopped laughing, while she thought about how she would want it to happen. She kissed him back, closing her eyes. When they broke the kiss, she spoke: "Profess your love to me. One last good time as a mortal, and then let's get over with." On one hand, she wanted him to turn him right away so it was done, but on the other hand she wanted to feel one last time.

Lorelle kissed him again, softly biting his lower lip. When she pulled away, she would take hold of his hand to guide him towards the bedroom, looking over her shoulder with a flirty look.

Although firmly in the camp that there had been no God to abandon him in the first place, Arturo had dealt with his fair share of religious persecution. Even now, he faced fear and derision and hatred for what he was and his belief in science and technology. In the past, he had even been on the other side, belittling others for their senseless faith. He knew now that had largely stemmed from his own broken faith. The good Catholic young man who had lost his family and then been denied the loss of his own life to become something he thought akin to a devil. He'd learned otherwise, but his crisis of faith led him many places before he came to terms with what he believed enough to accept the beliefs of others without feeling defensive. He wouldn't judge her. She would fight her own struggle.

Lorelle's laugh earned a smile. She was so much more confident when she laughed, even with the slightest chuckle. This was the woman he adored. The determined, caring, and seductive. She still had such a gentle air about her, even since their first moment of shared bliss together. It was soothing to share a kiss now, to remind himself why he wanted this just as much as she did, if for different reasons. He raised an eyebrow as she made her choice. His gaze softened. There was still so much he had to teach her and she would learn. "Of course. Though I assure you, my love, sex feels just as fulfilling," he said. "Well, speaking for myself. I am merely a man," he added. From what he understood, beyond the infertility, the carnal act itself didn't lose any of its pleasure.

Arturo readily accepted the feel of her lips and her teeth. He hummed a soft sound of need for her. Her affection, her body, her love. The vampire let her lead him to the bedroom. There was a frame on the floor with an old mattress, hardly comfortable. He had instead laid the blankets and pillows out on a sturdy part of the floor, which was mildly more comfortable, surprisingly. the candles in the far room cast just enough flickering light for her to find her way in the dark. Arturo, on the other hand, could easily admit her in the fire light. "I like when you lead way, Lore," he rumbled, quickly catching up to her. He took her wrist gently and would attempt to pull her around and press her against the wall just inside the door. There was no need to close it, being as they were alone. He pressed his body against hers, letting his hands roam over her clothes even as he shrugged out of his own coat and cast it aside. He took her chin in one hand and pulled her lips to his for a brief kiss, breathing her in. "I long to taste you, mi pequeña flor de mayo..."

She didn't know why he raised his eyebrow, but thought that if it was because of something serious, he would have said so. "What a relief", she responded, chuckling again. She had only been with one man in her life (thus far) and couldn't compare notes, but sex with Arturo was something she really enjoyed, so she was glad to hear it would still be enjoyable after her turn. A vampire's existence must have really sucked if it wasn't.

Lorelle then kissed him and bit his lip before guiding him towards the bedroom. The blankets and pillows were on the floor, but Lorelle preferred that, actually. Using a mattress that had been laying in the house for God knows how long wasn't particularly inviting. She was not used to leading yet, but she tried every so often, because she knew Arturo liked it, and because it helped her confidence. The young woman wouldn't be leading for long though, because soon after they stepped foot into the room, the vampire pressed her against the wall. As his hands slid up and down her body, she let hers wander over his shoulders and neck. Lorelle really loved it when he made her look at him by holding her chin. It was intimate and dominant in a way that she liked. And combined with Spanish... It did things to her. "Then do", she breathed, wrapping one of her legs around his and leaning against him. "You know I'm all yours."

Arturo chuckled at her simple response. If nothing else, he knew it was nice to know that some things still felt 'normal.' Not in a boring, regular sort of way, but as a comfort. That the world wasn't going to end, despite all his implications that things would be different and terrifying. the vampire was well aware Lorelle had only ever been with him. While that was thrilling, even were she to remain a mortal human, he would not have begrudged her the desire to have other experiences, should she want them. With or without him. though that was not something he had spoken to with her yet, he imagined there would come a time for that.

If nothing else, he was pleased to leave her with something much more comforting and hopeful. To taste her one last time and let her fall asleep in his arms. If everything went according to design, she'd awake in them too, though he doubted she would be able to keep still for long. He smiled, the feel of her teeth always a fantastic one. To be followed up by her hands and how even with him taking control, she was loathe to give up her own agency, with her hands on his shoulders and how she snaked her leg around his. So possessive in her own right.

The vampire grinned a toothy grin. Oh, she was certainly all his. He was looking forward to the connection they would share for the rest of their long lives. He reached up to take the bangs that frame her soft features, running her hair through his fingers and admiring her. Of course, Lorelle was her own person, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy making her belong to him in moments like this. Her angled eyebrows and that stern cast to her eyes. Her small nose and that slight upward turn at the corner of her full lips. That expression that made it clear she would not back down. "You're perfect, my love," he said, stealing another kiss from her lips. His hands moved with more intention now, moving aside fabric, finding the ties of her dress and beginning to remove what he could to expose her body to his eager touch and sight.

As he loosened her dress, it would begin to slide from her shoulders and he encouraged it to, licking her neck teasingly as he began to admire her bare figure with his hands and mouth.

Lorelle loved to bring out that grin of his, the one that told her that he knew that she was his. That confirmed it for her, too, that he wanted her to be his. To be touched and loved by this man was all she wanted, and she would be lying if the thought of being his forever wasn't something that sounded like something she wanted. The woman hummed against his lips at the compliment, still not having grown tired of them. Any and all compliments he gave her, were things she cherished.

The intimate dance was starting, clothes were being shed and skin was being admired by teeth and tongues. They would soon find themselves on the blankets and pillows, on the floor.

[FADE OUT AND BACK IN]

As her pulse quickened, and she (or they?) were reaching the high point of the deed, Lorelle felt the now familiar feeling of Arturo's teeth sinking into her skin. Her fingernails dug into his back, and her muscles tensed. This time, the feeling would be different. Arturo had tasted her blood before during sex, but now it would be much more than tasting it. He would be drinking it, draining it. The young woman closed her eyes and relaxed her fingers a little so they wouldn't dig as deep into his skin, but as he removed more of her blood, they would dig deep again, for a moment, before she was getting too weak to put so much strength into them. "I love you", she said breathily, wanting to have said it in case something went wrong, in case this would be the end, and not the beginning of something new.

Arturo was an old-fashioned sort when it came to the ritual of turning someone. While it was necessary only to drain blood until they passed out and went into the beginnings of shock, he preferred to achieve this via drinking their blood. Of course, even on an empty stomach, that was far more blood than he typically consumed. It was partly about getting the full use of Lorelle's blood while he could, enjoying the veritable feast that was her mortal body's "Last Supper." But he found it was also much more comfortable. At least, as comfortable as the feeling of slowly bleeding to death could be, rather than cutting her somewhere else to facilitate the loss of blood. He would rather she fade away in his arms and beneath his fangs. Especially after the intimacy and connection they had shared, it made him feel powerful, made him feel a bond with her as his spawn, perhaps not in the same way as she would feel with him as her sire, but it was a closeness nonetheless.

Perhaps too part of it had to do with his own turning and what his sire had done then. Arturo wanted this to be personal, for both parties. Despite the unpleasantness of it, he had emptied his stomach earlier, having only fed the day before. All the more reason he had asked her for some time to prepare.

Lorelle's taste was one he would sorely miss. Even with the vestiges of the illness lingering, it could do little to sully her blood. That light, yet full bodied taste to her. The iron and heat and passion she had for her family, for life, for him. That taste made this moment for him. And he would enjoy the young woman to her fullest, slowly drinking and enjoying the flavor of her warmth gliding over his tongue and down his throat. He closed his eyes, humming softly, holding her close and caressing her side, as comforting as he could. Her grip on him made him want to smile. His own grip on her tightened as she resisted on involuntary instinct. That flicker of fight only endearing her to him further.

The vampire only pulled away once, carefully, blood coating his fangs, to kiss her lips softly. "Always, my Lorelle," he confirmed, before fitting his fangs into the marks he had already made on the side of her neck. He understood her worry. But he had made a promise and there was no going back now. Just because her body and mind might panic in these final moments, did not mean he would swerve from his path. And then, she passed out in his arms. Keeping a careful note of her weak pulse and fading heartbeat, he took a few more swallows, letting her drift further and further away. Arturo released his fangs, licking her pale neck and holding Lorelle's limp form in his arms. He brushed her hair from her face, admiring her youth and figure. This would be how she spent eternity, a perfect figure, with his arms around her anytime she wished.

He extracted himself from the blankets, settling her as comfortably as possible on the makeshift bed on the floor near the wall. He stretched and found his boots and the knife there before moving back to Lorelle's peaceful figure, her chest barely rising and falling. Arturo sat down and pulled her into his lap once again before using the knife to slice open his wrist. He cradled her in his lap and slowly fed her his own blood, pausing to allow her to swallow, encouraging her as he had to since she couldn't on her own. "There you go, my love. Just a bit more," he said, mumbling other soft encouragements to her despite knowing she couldn't hear him. "I can't wait to meet you on the other side."

That side wasn't simply when she awoke again, but as she learned who and what she was and could be. It would take time. But first, her first feeding finished and himself tired from the expenditure of his own blood, he pulled the knife away, allowing the wound to heal. Arturo wiped a few drops of blood from Lorelle's lips and then leaned down to kiss her head and hold her against him. He was never certain how long it would be until she woke again. It would be a few hours, at least, but sometimes more. He dozed during that time, himself leaning against the wall, Lorelle against his chest. It had been a long time since he slept, and while the loss of blood was tiring, it wasn't quite enough to need to rest. So instead, he waited, speaking softly of his time in Rome and listening to Lorelle's soft breaths.

The life was slowly but surely seeping out of her. She had imagined her death quite often, wondering whether she would see a white light, or simply darkness. But laying there in Arturo's arms, his fangs providing him access to her blood, she didn't even have the mental capacity to be conscious enough to think about these things. There was no energy to focus on what she was seeing. Her life did flash before her eyes, but that was something she would only realise and recall once she was turned, in the following days. She saw her mother and father sitting at the dinner table. She saw the spinning bees, the clothes she had embroidered for her siblings, the pants she had patched up for Arturo, the church and her fellow church-goers. Lorelle's eyes were closed, and her skin was turning pale the more blood Arturo drank. She barely felt the pain anymore. There wasn't enough left in her to be aware of it. It felt like an odd kind of sleep, similar to when you were so tired you simply couldn't keep your eyes open anymore. And she had to embrace it.

Lorelle was barely conscious when Arturo stopped to kiss her. The natural fight had turned into nothing. Nothingness in every direction. She was drifting away, leaving this place, with very little blood left in her body. The dying girl didn't feel him put her down, didn't notice him getting up. It was almost as if she was in a coma. Alive, but not moving, not conscious, not anything. She was still breathing when he pulled her into his lap, soft, weak breaths. The man sliced open his wrist and pressed it against her mouth. At first, she wasn't drinking it. It was seeping down her throat. When there was enough blood in her stomach to regain some energy, she couched, choking on the liquid in her mouth. Then she drank more, on auto-pilot. It was her body and mind trying to survive, not a decision made by Lore herself. Instincts had taken over as she continued to drink Arturo's blood. She couldn't hear him, didn't see anything. When the bleeding stopped, or Lorelle had drank enough, she would fall into something similar to sleep, but not quite that.

Arturo took care of her, wiping the blood from her lips and kissing her while the vampire-in-process was breathing slowly, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Now all there was was that darkness Lorelle had dreaded, but it was comforting. It felt like a warm embrace. Finally, there was peace and quiet. Little did she know how much different that would be once she woke up again. But for now, silence and slow breaths was all that came from the sleeping vampire. It would last hours. For hours, her body was still, but she was visibly alive. Arturo's blood had saved her from death, and was turning her, unbeknown to the unconscious woman. The blood in her veins was no longer human blood. Her body was filling up with blood that had healing properties. The warmth left her body, and her skin was now pale and cool to the touch.

Hours went by, in the dead of night. The candle wax dripped down, forming patterns on the table and the floor. The flickering of the flame turned objects into elongated shadows. The house was cold, but it didn't matter to them. The pillows and blankets were almost like a cradle, in which Lorelle would be reborn. Then, an hour or so before sunrise, her eyes opened suddenly. She gasped loudly and sat upright, with fast movement that resembled the way someone sat up after their heart started beating again, after it had stopped. Her mouth was dry, her movements frantic and uncoordinated. She felt sick, hungry, almost manic. She needed to drink more blood. She needed to quench her thirst. She was now a newborn vampire. She had woken up on the other side.

She turned around in Arturo's lap, and her wide eyes found his. It was obvious that she recognised him, but that something had changed within her. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, pressing herself against him. Lore kissed the side of his face, his ear, his neck, his lips, then pulled back so she could look at him. "I'm starving", she said. The thirst was so intense that she couldn't think of anything else to say first, although she wanted to thank him and tell him she loved him. Her eyes moved from left to right while still facing him, as if she hoped someone or something would approach, which she could sink her teeth into.

Arturo spent the long nigjt with Lorelle in his arms, moving only once to stretch and collect her clothes nearer the nest of blankets and pull on his pants. And then he pulled her close again, her body already missing that familiar warmth, never to feel it again. Even still, he draped part of one blanket over her.

He was awake when Lorelle rested herself from his arms and sat up with a gasp. There was the briefest moment of relief. Turning someone was no exact science, after all. Just as in the application if medicine, one could weight and measure and estimate all they wanted, but people were all different. He smiled at her back, admiring her bare skin and sharp shoulders and lovely neck.

Her sudden affection almost reminded him of a puppy. He knew it was genuine, if magnified by their new bond. “Good morning, my love,” he said softly with a chuckle. There was always the temptation to use the term ‘child.’ Not because he wanted to set them apart in authority but in an affectionate way. He had birthed her anew ro this life. There was pride and possessiveness and deep affection for her.

Arturo's lips found hers and then he pulled away and smiled. “I prepared breakfast yesterday,” he assured her. Yet another reason for the time. Should she let him, he would turn her around and pull her back against his chest. Her new found senses and strength were there, but not as developed as his own. She was still a newborn, after all. He would cover her eyes with his hand. “Relax. Take a deep breath through your nose. Smell the dust. The candle wick in the next room. The dew on the grass outside. Listen to the sound of my heart. Of the wind through the drafty chimney. Of the sound of another heart beat.”

He paused, careful to keep a hand on her at first but then he would relinquish his hold. “Go on,” he encouraged.

On the other end of the house, in the small closed pantry, he had kidnapped and tied up a young man from the back of one of the fighting clubs he frequented. The vampire had only spent enough time to learn that while the man had a family (everyone did) he had no one dependant upon him, having spent any and all of his money on gambling. Was he a bad person? Arturo didn't care. His blood smelled appealing enough and his Lorelle needed to eat.

The contrast between the two vampires was almost funny. Arturo seemed calm and collected, greeting her with a chuckle, while Lorelle's eyes were wide as if she was a crazy dog, out for blood, or an angry bull. She allowed him to turn her around and pull her against him, but it felt like being restrained, and almost physically hurt. Sitting still was uncomfortable. Her muscles were so tensed that she almost vibrated against him, but she sat as still as she could, closing her eyes behind his hand. Her sire told her to relax, which she tried. Lorelle breathed in deeply, holding the air in her lungs to taste everything in the air. Her chest was full of air and the smells of everything he had just described. She could hear amazingly well, too. She heard his heart, she heard small animals and critters outside, but also an unfamiliar heart.

She smelled human blood, and she started salivating. Arturo's hand on her was the only thing keeping her back. Without it, she would have ran out of the room the second she smelled him. Then he let her go, and even encouraged her. That was all she needed. Like a whirlwind, the newborn got up and ran out of the room, grabbing her underdress on the way out and pulling it over her head while running towards the pantry with superspeed, which she couldn't yet control well at all. She ran straight into the wall, unable to come to a proper stop because she wasn't used to this speed or strength yet. She groaned, almost animalistic, and swung open the doors of the pantry.

Lorelle grabbed him by his collar and pulled him up, backing away from the pantry and dragging him along. She wouldn't make it back to the bedroom with the man before the thirst took over, but she did make it to the dining table, where the remainder of the candle was fighting against the wax that was starting to drown the wick. "No, please", the man begged, but Lorelle paid it no mind. She let go of his collar and grabbed his arm, breaking the bone beneath her hand by squeezing it too strongly. The man screamed, and the scream intensified when she sunk her teeth into the soft space on his neck. She breathed out deeply through her nose while drinking the blood. Arturo had made sure this man wouldn't be missed, but Lorelle didn't know that, and also didn't think about that, so she drank and drank, with no regard for how much blood someone could lose before passing out, or dying.

She would be a handful. Arturo would have quite some work with this young vampire, who didn't know the limits of her strength yet, nor how to control her thirst for blood. The red liquid dripped down her chin, down her throat, and stained the collar of her underdress. She could feel Arturo's presence near her, but didn't look up to see if he was still in the bedroom or if he had joined them in the dining room. She would continue to drink until either Arturo stopped her, or the man was sucked dry.

Having over four centuries of experience with his abilities, having consumed vast amounts of blood to expand them, Arturo was quite experienced. Would he call himself adept at power and control? Yes. Would he suggest he had every facet of raising a new vampire perfectly figured out? Definitely not. But he wasn't a first time parent.

Still, he followed her wild charge with a amused smile, pushing himself up from the floor and walking after her. Lorelle had dragged the man kicking and screaming to the main room, the gag having come loose in her haste. This image of the newborn vampire twisting her victim's arm and ignoring his desperate screams as she plunged her fangs into his neck was a beautiful one. It was also precisely why he had wanted to remove her from her siblings. Love them though she might, the first experience of True Hunger overrode everything.

The man tried to fight back, but his movements flagged quickly as Lorelle gave all of her focus to feeding. She made quite a mess of it and from the screams she was quite literally reversing the flow of his blood with each powerful swallow. Arturo shook his head and sighed. He stepped forward as the man stopped screaming and began to fade.

He put a gentle hand to her cheek, admiring the flecks of blood there amd the streaks down her chin. “Lorelle,” he called softly, though he doubted that would get much of her attention. It was about stages. The first meal was difficult. Even he could taste the fresh blood in the air and yearned for it. “You drink that much, you'll get sick.” Not to mention he would need to track down another meal if she drained him only to make herself sick. His hand would move to her chin, squeezing gently and then more firmly until he could pull her away and force her to look at him, even if it hurt her. And he would hurt her if need be. Go so far as to wrap an arm around her waist and squeeze hard over her stomach to force her to release the man, if he had to.

Once the separation if her fangs was achieved, Arturo would make her look at him. “That is enough, mi pequeña de mayo.” His words soft but firm and dangerously low. If anything, he was a stern father who did not allow for nonsense. “Let him go.” He would put himself between Lorelle and her meal, still with a firm hold of her, demand a kiss. Or lacking that, he would kiss her cheek and neck. “Even should you deign to take a life, they have a few good meals in them. No need to be wasteful. He's not going anywhere.”

She swatted at the hand on her cheek, as if it was an annoying fly bothering her in the night while she was asleep. Lorelle heard her name, yet didn't respond to it. The blood was the only thing on her mind, but she mentally hesitated when Arturo said she would get sick. However, her body didn't listen, and she continued to drink. But not for long. Arturo's fingers found her chin, and Lore growled slightly like a kitten that was getting removed from its bottle. It was only when he moved her head towards him more firmly that she released the man. There would be no need to physically drag her away. Although she was upset for being stopped, she was an obedient one.

The dark-haired woman looked at the Spanish vampire, a twinkle in her eyes and blood on her chin. The stern tone of his voice was sexy, and she didn't mind that it made her feel disciplined/reprimanded. She let go of her meal's arm when Arturo told her to, and instead moved her hands to his arms, with slow movement in order not to break him the way she had broken the other man's arm. She wasn't as thirsty anymore, but she still wanted more blood. But Arturo had said no, and that was that. She felt the need to listen and obey. She kissed him, like he demanded, and focused her eyes on him, so she wouldn't be tempted to look at her prey.

Now she had drank, she felt a bit calmer, or as calm as a newly turned vampire could feel. "I made it", she said, a smile appearing on her face. She would embrace Arturo, pressing her face against his chest, feeling snug and safe there. "I don't feel sick anymore, just... just different."

Just like children and puppies, every new vampire was different. Right away, especially with that sweet little growl, he got the feeling that Lorelle was going to be a handful and require much more force, be that physical or relying on her connection to him as his spawn to obey him. It wasn't he preference, but at least until she learned to control her abilities, tap into her senses, and not be dominated by her hunger, it was better than Lorelle running off to try sating her desire to feed.

The man dropped heavily to the floor, unconscious from blood loss. Arturo spared him a brief glance for the moment and then looked back to his Lorelle, her pale features sharply accentuated by the blood on her lips and chin. He smiled into her kiss, licking blood from his own lips. "Indeed. I knew you would," he said, voice heavy with affection. Having someone he cared deeply for share in his life like this meant more than he could explain to the young woman. Perhaps one day she would understand and know why he had been so seemingly reluctant. It had not been to push her away or question her, but to be sure she wanted this. Still, he worried she might not be prepared to handle the consequences.

"You get used to the cold," he said with a smile as she mentioned feeling 'different.' "The hunger is much harder." So too was the feeling that time and lives meant very different things. Likely it wouldn't be until her siblings grew much older that time passing her by really made an impact. Arturo hadn't really understood what it meant to potentially live forever until friends and family were gone. If it had been his choice, he would have left, but his own sire had traveled very little and demanded his spawn stay close. "The strength and speed as well. Just like normal, it requires effort to be both firm and gentle. You'll learn how to apply both." He could tell she was already more in command of herself after feeding, with how careful she was being. Arturo pulled her close to him, enjoying her body pressed to his and finding it amusing as she perhaps realized how gentle he actually had to be with her, especially that first night. Even in his enthusiasm, there had been control.

The vampire held her close for a moment. It was a strange sort of moment, holding the woman he loved close, knowing there was more of her blood in him than in her. It was a strange sort of intimacy. He turned her in his arms, still holding her close for a moment before pulling his arms away and nudging her toward the back door. "Go clean up," he said gently, gesturing outside and toward the well. "I'll ensure there are leftovers for dinner." He knew she was still ravenous, but overeating would do none of them any good. More than one or two meals a week was a lot, and while for now, she would want to feed constantly to recover herself, she didn't need to drain an entire man in one day and she would have to learn what it meant to feel that hunger and function anyway. Today, she could eat. Tomorrow, she would not. And neither would he, if only in solidarity. His own hunger ached to taste the man, especially at seeing how voracious Lorelle was. But he was the master of his hunger these days, not the other way around.

He would inspect the man on the floor, ensuring he was still alive. Thankfully, while Lorelle's bite had been deep, it had been clean, and the man wasn't bleeding out. Arturo collected the man, carrying him back to the closet and tying his wrists together again. There was a stark contrast in how he treated his meals. Some, like Lorelle, were someone he bonded with. Feeding from her had been a desire, a show of intimacy and trust and he had never put her in danger. Whereas this man was little more than a meal to him.

He returned to the dining room table, looking over the blood stain on the old floor. "A much better color than the dust," he hummed to himself.

Although she was cold, she felt warm inside. She could see the love in Arturo's eyes, and heard it in his voice as well. It made her smile, like most things Arturo did. The taste of blood was left in her mouth, rich and sweet. She was full, and was glad that Arturo had stopped her before she would have drank more.

The cold wasn't why she felt different, but it was part of it. She felt more powerful, not ill anymore, and how odd it may sound, she felt more alive than she ever had. Lorelle's mind, still oblivious to the loss and heartbreak she would experience due to eternal life, was focussing on this feeling. She felt invincible. The hunger was indeed already much harder. It was different from hunger as a human. It wasn't as quiet, it was a heavy feeling. "I hadn't expected the strength and speed. You've always made it look so easy." She now indeed understood why the first time they had been intimate, it had been difficult. She had asked him to slow down, which she now realised must have been a lot to ask of him. It required concentration.

As they stood there, holding each other, she felt like a new chapter in her life had started. Love was always uncertain, break-ups happened every day, but she and Arturo now shared something more than just love. She had a need, a desire to stay close to him, be with him. He was her sire, the one she wanted to protect more than anyone. Before, that had been her siblings.

He nudged her towards the back door and told her to clean up. She smiled and nodded, walking out and towards the well. She lifted the bucket with the rope and placed it on the stones of the well. Lorelle cupped her hands and let them fill with water before bringing it up to her face and washing the blood away. It mixed with the water and dropped down her chin, down to her chest and dress. The dress wouldn't be easy to clean, so she would just put on some new clothes once she was inside again. She repeated the process until she was clean. In her rush, she had only put on the white underdress, which was now a bit see-through, thanks to the water. She could see her skin through it, almost as white as her dress itself.

Lorelle returned to the house and smiled at Arturo when she passed by him, on her way to the bedroom. There, she put on a new dress. It complimented her skintone and dark hair well. Eventually she returned to the dining room. "Thank you", she said softly, leaning against the table with her behind. There was a lot of love in the look she gave her sire. She them noticed the blood on the floor. "Sorry about the mess", she said with a chuckle.