Edited and Completed Chapter 1: Moonlight Sonata

Chapter 1: Moonlight Sonata

“It is love, not reason, that is stronger than death.”

~Thomas Mann

The clop, clop, clop of horse hooves and the turning of carriage wheels echoed around him as he continued to his destination. Into a high, Gothic building, he walked. A young man with glowing golden eyes looked up from the podium where he stood.

“A table for two please; my friend will be joining me soon,” the older man said in a smooth tone.

“Right this way please, Sir,” the host replied as he lead him to a table after taking his coat.

He looked at all the candlelit tables around him. The old stained glass windows spilled their colors in various splotches around the room from the light of the gas lamps outside. Had it not been for the single candle on every table or the colored patches on the floor, the old church would have been completely pitch black. Still, it was much dimmer than what mortal eyes could bear. Yet, his night eyes could see the old murals of saints, angels, and demons that lined the walls as well as the great crucifix still standing at what would have been the old altar. A perfect spot for all of us vampires, he bemused. Humans will never know that those old wives-tales of crosses and hallowed grounds will never really be true. That only works on the young ones...

“Forgive me for making you wait, brother,” her cool voice said.

A woman who appeared to be a couple of years younger than he walked up to the table. The host stored her cloak away. Despite the cold, her ashen face, that was framed by side-swept bangs and curls, showed no signs of wear from the harsh winter weather. Her up-do looked slightly mussed from the wind.

“Pay it no mind, sister,” the man replied.

As all gentlemen do, he stood and pulled out her chair for her. Sitting, she adjusted the rich blue fabrics of her skirts and her position to accommodate the bustle underneath her clothing that puffed out behind her. Her brother sat across from her and signaled for something to be brought out to them. His normally dark eyes began to glow bright green as the smell of something enticing began wafting through the dining room.

“They must've found something good for tonight haven't they, Blair?” she smirked as her own brown eyes began to glow a bright blue.

As her lips continued to spread outward for a smile, long canine fangs began to glimmer in the candlelight. Though pale, in comparison to the others in the room, they were definitely not native to this western part of the world. Their eyes told stories of the Orient that only orientals would know and understand.

“It seems they have, my dear Lily,” he replied, his own fangs growing as he spoke.

As the smell continued to waft through the room, feline-like eyes began glowing around them. Holding two glasses, a waiter walked up to them with a decanter of a dark red liquid.

“Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy your meal,” he said rather polite, filling the two glasses before walking away.

They toasted and placed the glasses to their lips. As the warm blood seeped down into their throat, thoughts and memories of the young girl they were drinking filled their heads. A touching life, but not worth a second thought. Such a poor girl... but life is “survival of the fittest” as someone once said... Lily thought, wryly smiling, as she placed her empty glass on the table. As the prompt waiter refilled their glasses, she looked up into her brother's face. The coal black hair like her own fell gracefully around his neck and shoulders.

“What's troubling you?” she asked, bluntly and suddenly.

Blair watched the waiter top off his glass. As the blood of the girl flowed through his veins, color and warmth came back into his lackluster cheeks. Taking advantage of the pause, he looked at his sister, watching the warmth rising in her skin. Even in the dim candlelight of the dining room, he could see the light tan color flushing his own and his sister's skin.

“You always did know how to read me so well,” he began.

“You forget how many eras we have lived, brother,” she retorted.

... And how many eras we have been running...

He let out a long sigh.

“You also forget how peaceful it is here... I feel as though there is something missing, Lily.”

“Feeling lonely now that I am out of the family house?”

With a smirk on both their faces, he took his sister's hand and laid a kiss on it.

“As much as I worry about my younger sister out in the world on her own, I know how to get by in that department.”

“Then what is it?”

“I only wish I knew...”

Blair turned to his glass and looked at the last drops inside it. I only wish I knew. They continued drinking in silence.

As the waiter poured the last, warm drops in the decanter into their glasses, Lily looked up at her brother once more. Perhaps he should take on a lover, she thought. After all, as much as we have our art, our music, they only satisfy so much...

“Your thoughts do have a point, Lily,” he suddenly said. “But you know you can always just tell me how you feel. There's no need for only thoughts, my dear sister.”

“Forgive me, brother. I was just considering all the best options before I said something.”

“Speaking of lovers, what of that boy you've taken a liking to at the university? Aren't you ever going to introduce me to him?”

“You won't scare him away like you have all the other ones will you, brother?”

She chuckled as she took a sip.

“I only have your best interests at heart my dear sister.”

They shared a quiet laugh as they finished off the last drops of their meal.

As they stood to leave, Lily smoothed out the ruffles in her skirts while the host helped Blair into his coat. With her cloak wrapped around her shoulders and linking one arm through his, out they walked back into the night.

“Don't think of it too much, brother,” Lily began as they waited for her carriage to pull up. “You'll find something that will ease your loneliness soon.”

Blair nodded as the footman helped her into her carriage. A white gloved hand waved to him as she rode away.

Taking in the surroundings, her large almond shaped eyes looked out of the carriage windows. Occasionally, they glowed bright blue as she peered out into the crowds. She sensed one of her own and feared for something else that blended in with the humans around them. Have they really not found us here yet? Even though we look so different than these Westerners? She wondered. Her lightly colored arms would never be the same was when she was human. … Though, I suppose we do pass for Oriental half-breeds... Even if we aren't...

“To the university, Madame?” the carriage driver suddenly called out, seeing two roads in the distance.

“Yes. Please.”

The horse continued forward. White puffs of breath escaped its nose and mouth with every low grunt and neigh. As she could feel herself growing anxious, Lily took a rare moment to try and lose herself in the sounds around her. The gentle click, click, click of encouragement from the driver. The low “ha-ah” of young men blowing into their hands in the winter's night. The sound of women walking as fast as they could to warm destinations. The clop, clop, clop of horses. The rattling of carriage wheels. As hard as she tried to drown herself in her surroundings, the nagging fears and worries that nagged at what was left of her heart would not become quiet. Her hands dug into her seat. Her nails threatened to rip through her gloves and rip the carriage chairs to shreds.

Reaching the university, glowing eyes looked out into the darkened grounds, anxiously searching. A young boy soon walked out, pulling his coat around him to help with the cold. Glowing blue eyes changed back to their brown color just before the young boy spotted her. The cold wind blew the stray locks from ribbon-tied back hair, that tried to imitate the style of western men. Despite his western dress, Oriental eyes that matched her own looked up with a smile as he made his way to the carriage. He sat himself down on the seat across from her and let out a tired sigh. With another neigh from the horse, back to her chateau they went.

“Good work today, Satoru,” she greeted in an eastern language that they understood.

“Thank you, Lily” Satoru replied.

The handsome boy pushed back the bangs that framed his face, and Lily's eyes drank in what she saw. Such a handsome boy, she thought, idly. But human life is so fleeting.

“What are you thinking of my dear?” he questioned as he leaned toward her.

He noticed her frigid looking hands, took them in his, and began to blow his warm breath on them, unaware of how futile warming her hands would be. A small smile graced her lips as she felt her worries temporarily go away.

“Nothing,” she smiled, leaning forward and touching his forehead with her own. “Just admiring that's all.”

Sitting by the window in a private sitting room at his chateau, Blair continued to look out onto the night streets. He ignored the book in his lap. The wind howled and roared outside. A second roaring gust brought with it the first flakes of snow. A clock chimed. Once. Twice. Three times. And on. And on. At the twelfth chime, Blair stood and walked to a calendar. Already November 1868 is it? How the time flies... We've been hiding for this long? He thought. Monotonous and lonely as it may have been, he savored the peace that had come into his life and wished that the days would continue on. I suppose this is better than it was 1,000 years ago...

Blair leaned against the wall and looked around the room with his dark eyes. Bookshelves lined the walls all the way up to the high vaulted ceilings. Ornate chairs and loveseats surrounded a mahogany coffee table. His piano sat next to the roaring fire place, which provided the only light in the room. Outside of the grand, arched windows, the wind began to quiet, leaving the falling snowflakes to their midnight waltz to a winter sonata. Lily and I have worked so hard for this peace and tranquility. All that running... all that running.

He stepped out into the hall and began meandering through the chateau. Endless halls were lined with bedrooms, sitting rooms, libraries, music rooms, and drawing rooms, all decked in Victorian decadence. The clock began to chime again. Bong... Silence. In the darkness of the hallways, his mind began to wander back to a different time, to a different place, where halls were eerily alive with the other members of their coven. In his ears, he could hear all the voices of his family. Now... they're all gone. Spread out like petals in the midnight wind, he thought, trying to amuse himself with poetic thinking. A wry smile spread on his face. Though only wearing his ruffled shirt, his burgundy vest, and his trousers, he could not feel the chilled air in the chateau. The chateau was silent. Though, a few rats scuttled about in the kitchen.

Wandering into the ballroom, he leaned on the doorway and looked out into the wide, empty expanse of the oak floor and the high white walls, with his glowing eyes. He could almost hear the room's desperate lonely cry. Where are those lovely bygone days? The walls seemed to ask. The empty shell of his heart desperately cried out for the old comforts he sought but would never find. As much as you wish that things were as they used to be, such things will not happen now. It's far too different. It's far more complicated than what it once was.

Hours flew by as old memories of happier times danced in his head in time with waltzing snowflakes outside. For a vampire, maniacally hacking away at a person's limbs for the sake of nourishment with his family was comforting. Imagining their victim scream in agony almost made him hungry. It was a rare night to let the concealed emotions come flowing forth.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Suddenly, he snapped out of his reverie. He walked out into the main hall and peered at he door. Cold and groggy, a servant padded for the door before he could move.

“Don't worry about it, Master. I'll get it for you,” she said.

Open wide, she flung the door. Outside in the whirling snow, stood a hunched over old woman. She leaned heavily on a cane, and the worn Chinese robes flew about in the cold wind.

“I have a message for the master,” she rasped in Chinese.

“Pardon me?” the servant replied, clueless.

“Let her in,” Blair chimed, as frigid as the weather. “I'll show her to one of my sitting rooms. Go back to bed, Marie.”

Marie curtsied and padded back to her room. The old woman hobbled in and shut the door quietly behind her. Blair turned and lead her to one of the many sitting rooms in the chateau. Obediently, she sat down in a chair he offered.

“What news do you have for me?” he questioned, pointedly in Chinese.

“The silk is selling as well, My Lord. Though, it will never compare to the days of the Silk Road. Your sister's endeavors in Japan have been going well too. Along with the humans, the fox spirits out that way are a big fan of our designs and fabric, and the silk farming back home and abroad is as productive as always.”

“Have you heard from any of the coven?” he asked with a small trace of worry in his voice.

The old woman looked down at large feet. She shook her head. One of her gnarled hands pushed back a strand of peppered hair behind her ear.

“You know they've been scattered about with what happened all those years ago...” she rasped again. “They'll come back to you if you assert your right to power. The time is almost near, Master.”

Blair nodded slowly in agreement. One thought came to mind. I suppose we'll have to face our fears at some point...

Watching as he slept, she sat at the edge of her bed. Her undone and tousled hair hung in waves over one shoulder. Invisible hands helped to tighten her corset and helped her back into her bright blue gown. Feral blue eyes glimmered as she worked her telekinesis. On a night stand on his side of the bed, a single candle cast a soft glow on his bare back and neck. She could still smell small traces of blood seeping from the bright red scratches on his back. It was temptation. I wonder what would happen if he were to scream in pain rather than in passion... A morbid smile grew on her lips at this thought. No, not yet. She refastened her pearl choker back on her neck and slipped quietly out of the room.

Almost gliding across what would have been cold marble floors, Lily made her way to the kitchen. A pest cat hissed at her presence. Without hesitation, she snatched up the calico cat and pressed her fangs into its neck. It yowled annoyingly in her ears. In vain, its claws scratched at her skin. She could feel no pain. She could feel her cat scratches heal. Still and silent, the cat finally fell limp in her hand. Out the back door, she threw the remains into the snow and wiped the blood off her face. Rancid, but it will do for now, she thought. Blue eyes searched far through the darkness, still trying to find something she feared. A icy breeze lapped at her hair. Bare, unfeeling arms did not flinch at the cold. Her eyes found nothing. Relieved, she turned away and shut the door behind her.

As Blair and the old woman finished their talks, he walked to a bookshelf and pulled a small paper figure from a box adorning the shelf. He threw the paper doll into the fire. From the ashes arose a translucent young woman in Chinese servant robes.

“Zhi Ren, escort Gui Poh back home, and make sure you listen to all that she asks of you,” Blair commanded.

The young girl bowed low and floated over to the old woman's side. She placed one of her translucent hands on her hunch over shoulders.

“Shall we go home?” she asked the old woman politely.

With a nod from the old woman, a blast of cold air shot through the grand house, flying the doors and windows open with a loud ruckus. The fires in the chateau blew out. Only the blueish moonlight reflecting off the snow lit the rooms. Blair could hear the startled cries of his servants. They jumped from their beds and scrambled to shut all the doors and windows. Another clock chime. Once. Twice. Thrice. Four times. Calm, he made his way back to his room ignoring the hustle coming from the other rooms around the manor.

In another part of the city, where the ships docked, a young woman stepped of the gangplank. Well, I guess they're around here somewhere... though they won't last a minute as soon as they meet me...

According to Chinese ghost myths, one can burn a piece of paper in the shape of a person to make them servants of a dead. These dolls are called Zhi Ren. According to other ghost myths, the ghost of an old woman maybe the ghost of a former servant who's come back to continue helping the family. These ghosts are called Gui Poh.