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Mystery

Long ago back in 1873 there was a very dapper young gentleman. Whom every young woman fell in love with. His name was Sir William Edger Archambeault. He was a tall and slender gentleman with silk like black hair. 

Sir William was a very strange and mysterious person. He was adored by many and hated by few. women fought over him day and night. However, his sights were set on one fair maiden. Her name was Anna Beth, daughter of a lowly baker. 

To him she was the most beautiful maiden to ever walk the earth. He began to plan a way to grab her attention and to marry her. He would stop at nothing to get her. In that moment he no longer saw a woman, delicate and graceful. He only saw a prize to behold. 

~1 Week Later~

After days of careful planning he knew just what he had to do. He must take her to a special place on the mountain top. There he will get her to be his bride. 

No woman can resist the star lit sky. He must wait for the perfect moment. At midnight he will go to her home above the bakery and ask her to accompany him to the mountains. Surely she will say yes. After all who could refuse such a man? 

~Later At The Mountain Top~

The stars are twinkling and the moon is bright. Sir William and Anna Beth were finally alone. 

"What a beauty is the night?" Sir William said joyously.

"This is certainly a wondrous sight Sir William" Anna Beth smiled at the dapper young gentleman standing beside her.

"However, this night is nothing in comparison to the beauty that is standing in front of me this evening. " Sir William kissed Anna Beth's hand lightly and smiled.

Anna Beth's face turned bright like fire and her heart beat began to grow faster and faster as Sir William continued to grin at her. He had to make his move quickly if he intended to keep her all to himself.

"Anna Beth I must ask you something." He took her by the hand and smiled nervously.

"Yes, Sure William, you can tell me anything." She said softly as she grinned at him.

"I must confess Anna Beth that I have loved you since I first saw you a few months ago when you moved into the village and I have been trying to find the right time to ask you this." He paused nervous to continue as he gets down on one knee. "Will you marry me Anna Beth? I have already talked to your father and he was joyous."

"Sir William I would be a foil not to accept your proposal and I as certain that any lady could have you. For that I am flattered that you chose me. However, I am afraid that you will not love me if you knew what I was."

"My dear, I will always love you no matter what."

"Even if I was... a monster." Anna Beth looks to the ground with tears in her eyes.

He takes her by the hands and smiles. "Even then my love."

"Then yes. I would be honored to be your wife."

Sir William kissed her passionately and then something happened.

Anna Beth bit him and watched as his life drained from his body. She loved him. However, she needed to survive more than she needed love.

~Two Centuries Later~

It is now 2073 and Anna Beth has changed her name and moved yet again. She has gone from a humble village girl to an esteemed CEO named Alexia Baker. Once a blood crazed new vamp in 1873 to a self controlled vampire who only drinks blood in a bag.

She is running a very successful blood donation business where people willingly give there blood so that vampires can feast without harming an actual living breathing human.

She is not only CEO but the creator of the business (under a different name of course). She had this idea shortly after killing her one and only love, Sir William. After that night she swore to never harm another person. She stuck by that promise for a long time however, after a hundred years or so she grew weak and needed to feed.

That is where she met a gentle man named Jayden Winters. He volunteered to give her blood. This put her idea into motion. In 1973 she created "Anna's Vampire Blood Bank" where willing humans could donate blood to keep vampires from hurting anyone.

By 1990 everyone knew about her business and where eager to join. Now two hundred years later it is a multi million dollar industry and no one is worried about vampires harming living being. Vampires are free to go out and be around humans without anyone being terrified of being harmed.

This may seem as if it is the perfect paradise, humans and vampires living together, but there is always going to be that one bad apple that will ruin it all.

Though Jayden and Alexia grew close over the time that they were together he was only mortal and eventually he grew weak and passed away. This broke her heart and eventually she swore off relationships and just about anything else that could lead to her getting to close to someone else. She knew her heart, though not beating, could not handle any more pain and heart ache.

So now she is CEO and she keeps herself busy with work as to not think about her past loves, Sir William and Jayden. It is better this way. Her business is making millions and she is helping the vampires and humans become friends and build an unbreakable bond. Everything is perfect.

~1 Month Later~

It is the night of the big company celebration. They have hit #1 on the top 10 best world businesses. This is wonderful news for the company and will bring much more business to them. However, Alexia only cares about helping the world not about the money aspect of the business.

There is about an hour before the party and Alexia is still getting ready. She is so nervous about what to wear. After all she is high in the company and cannot look to "cheap" so to speak for this celebration. News reporters will be there and no one wants a bad photo in the paper of in magazines.

She looks in her closest and sees outfits from each life she has created and lived over the years. She kept every single one because she loves and cherishes each life. However, she cannot exactly wear a dress from 1873 now can she.

So as she goes through narrowing down the options at quickly as she can she finds the only real option in her closet. She picks out a glorious red dress. It is a mid thigh length with a sweet heart neckline. Is is a form fitting dress. She is sure to stand out in the crowd which is just what she needs for this event.

~Later At The Celebration~

The music is loud and everyone is having a fabulous time. Alexia is chatting with a few workers and everything is going great. Soon she will be giving a speech on what it is like working for such a large company and for the type of work that it is.

If she does well then this could put her company on the map more than it already is. However, if she messes this up then she could ruin this company beyond repair.

As the night goes on everyone is smiling and laughing. Suddenly the music grows softer and she is aware that it is time for her grand speech. She never has liked talking in front of a large group of people.

"Hello everyone! My name is Alexia Baker and I am the CEO of "Anna's Vampire Blood Bank" and I would like to say a few words. Working for this company is a dream come true because of all my years I never thought that such a business could happen let alone make it to #1 on the top 10 around the world. Now I know that many have wondered why the founder Anna Beth created this and I would like to share with you her reasoning. Anna Beth got this idea when she harmed the man she loved. When she was a newly turned vampire back in 1873 she was unable to control herself and the night the man she loved proposed she bit him and killed him. This tore her to pieces and she nearly starved to death because that night she swore to never hurt another person. Her idea of this place formed in her head and a hundred years later in 1973 it was given life when she met a young man named Jayden. He willingly gave her blood and helped her form this plan. now another one hundred years later in 2073 we are ranked #1. All of this because a vampire loved a human and never wanted to hurt someone again. That my friends is the foundation that we are built on. We are built on love. I will tell you now that working here is the best place that I could work and I love my job. I love being apart of history because that is what we are making. We are making history. Thank you all for your time. Now lets start the music back up."

Everything smiled and cheered. Once the music began to play again Alexia began to exit the stage and walk into the crowd when all of a sudden she hears someone call for her. However, they do not say Alexia they call out her her "Anna Beth!". This name has not been spoken in a life time.

No one knows who she really is. So who could be calling her. She shakes the name out of her head and begins to rush towards the bathroom. She pushes the door open and rushes to the sink.

"Anna Beth, my love"

She splashes some water on her face trying to believe that it is all in her head when suddenly the door flies open. In front of her stands Sir William.

"Sir William, is that really you?" She stands there mortified.

"Yes, however, now I am known as Jackson." He smiles.

"Last I saw you, you were..." She begins to cry.

"I was dead. Well actually almost dead then a man came and saved me. After that I swore to find you." He smirked

Alexia hugs him tightly and kisses him. She cannot believe her eyes. After all this time her one true love was alive. However, Jackson quickly pushed her away.

"I did not come here to be kissed. I came here to ask why. After all you bit me, nearly killed me, and then just left me there."

She turned quickly and tried not to look at him. How could he ever understand what happened.

"I wanted to be with you Sir Wil- I mean Jackson. I was a recently turned vampire. I was unable to control myself. I did not want to hurt you. Then when you asked me to go to the mountain with you I knew I could no longer stay away from you. When we were up there you asked for my hand in marriage and I was so happy. However, my vampire instincts went into full charge and I could not stop myself. I left you there because I went to find help but when I returned your body was gone. I did not know what else to do so I ran. I started on my plan to keep this from happening to any one else."

Jackson sees the tears flooding to the surface or her eyes. She walks way a bit to keep from showing how sad she is. He hugs her tightly and tries to comfort her.

As they exit the restroom they are greeted by a much to familiar face. This could ruin everything for Alexia and Jackson.

July 30, 2020 07:01

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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