A Haunting [Don]

[elizabeth]

Elizabeth watched from the rooftops, kneeling with water seeping into the knees of her jeans and bare finger burned red from the frost. She leaned forward into the darkness, slender fingers hooked onto the drain pipe and face hidden by the night. If Don had looked up into the sky, he might have thought he saw a cat climbing across the wall. Her mind went blank gazing down at the stranger.
He seemed like a stranger, now - wearing those clothes, speaking to those women, putting his hand around that woman’s waist. Oddly, Elizabeth did not feel upset. An unsettling calm smoothed the lines of her face, like a guard dog watching an undeclared threat. She only wanted to watch for now. There was only one thing that brought her back home, to the safe memories of their life together – the fact that time had stopped for both of them. Everything around them had changed, but their hearts were still beating. Hypothetically of course. She smiled to herself.
Whatever he had with these women would stop. For her. Those things that he used to say (“There is no other woman who could suit me”) seemed eternal to her. Not even a lifetime’s space between those happy moments and this one. She was cold and tired of her search, but she had finally found him. And theirs had been a special love. She would remind him of that.

[bloodsuckergirl]

Adélaïde froze, and sniffed the air carefully. Her already sensitive sense of smell as a human had become extremely powerful afterher transformation. She could smell the faintest hint of vampire. Her eyes scanned the streets, but they were empty. A sudden slight movement on one of the rooftops caught her eye, and she stared at the place. She could make out the faint outline of a body, crouched down. She sensed that this person did not want to be seen by someone in the small group Adélaïde was a part of, so she held her tongue. Perhaps in a little while it would be time to announce the other vampire's presence, both silently in agreement not to tell.

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[Giselle Audley]

Giselle's expression darkened at Adélaïde's comments, oh no, this vampire didn't deserve her fangs. One thing was for certain, Adélaïde was not a vampire to be taken seriously. She turned away from Adélaïde and chose to answer Don first, at least he was in a good mood. She enjoyed his company. He was entertaining to her. Don was old but he hasn't forgotten the nature of vampires.

"No occasion, darling. Unless you count hunting an occasion then yes. You two were in my alley. It's fine for a true vampire like yourself to hunt there, Don. But I will not tolerate a vampire who has failed to remember what they are there. There’s no use fearing what you are, if you do you might as well go into the fire," she said calmly. She let Don talk before she commented on Adélaïde.

"Adélaïde, your kind is much more weak. You can't say that you’re the stronger breed because you drink animal blood. It is the vampires who drink human blood that grow stronger, rats can only appeal for so long. To become a strong vampire you must drink the blood from mortals, it’s what we were created for. There are far too many mortals in the world," she said matter of factly.

"And it's the younger vampires who remind vampires as old as yourself what you kind are made for. It's the young vampires that lead the elders in this time. You can't be dressing as you are now without a young vampire from this time to aid you. You'd still be wearing a corset and a dress that couldn't fit through a door frame. You've forgotten your diet, it's time a vampire from this age show you what it is," she said icily.

Up on the rooftops another vampire watched the trio argue. Adélaïde seemed to smell her. Giselle couldn't have been certain that it was a vampire, she was young and she wasn’t able to smell as good as Elizabeth. Giselle froze and listened for movements, if there were any they were cat-like and hard to detect.

"So you know she's there, too? But why aren't you saying anything, Adélaïde? Don, do you know this person?" Giselle whispered. "I almost couldn't detect her but Adélaïde just proved her existence," she added. She looked at Don and waited for him to comment on this new presence.

[don]

Don watched the argument with mild amusement, smiling at Giselle’s passion. He did not like walking into fights, but he enjoyed watching them. He admired vampires like Giselle, who never held back what she thought. The fight seeped away, but the tension did not. He could feel the demand in the beautiful female’s voice and the hostility in the way she looked at Adelaide. It thrilled him, and he could not deny he anticipated a fight. Maybe it came with the territory, to love the violence. Then again, he thought, looking Adelaide over with a smirk, perhaps his theories about the vampire nature were only excuses.

Don caught the sent last, and did not recognize it. He listened to Giselle speak, but he did not focus on her words, but rather her lips as they moved. He mind racked the memories of senses and feelings from a long time ago, and it was inevitable that it would all end with Elizabeth. Of course Elizabeth. But this wasn’t the smell that he grew so familiar with after marrying her. The heavy musk of spice and scent of vampire, but only a fraction of the mortal woman he obsessed about.

It began to rain the droplets landed on his upraised face as he gazed into the darkness. It was a while before he could make out that faint shape, black on black. Not such a strong moon out after all because it looked as if she were in shadow even though she had none to hide under. He felt like calling out her name, but the urge stuck in his throat and lodged there. Eyes serious, and lips set into a firm line, he gazed up at the shadow and could not convince himself that was her.

It could not be. His Elizabeth loved day and making fun of her terrible drawing. She didn’t follow her vampire husband through alleyways. She was dead, as was he, so were they married (I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity) or were they separated by death?

[elizabeth]

Elizabeth looked down on them and smiled to herself. So they had finally noticed. She could almost sense Don’s apprehension. Her lovable, charming Don, as handsome as he had always been, was afraid of her? Or was he just nervous that her smell was an illusion? She launched off the ground and off the edge of the building, flying for a moment in the air then plummeting to the ground, landing with her finger tips pressed to the ground and her lace up boots digging into cobblestone. She straightened up, ignoring the two women, and met the eyes of her loved one.

“Oh Don,” she said with a light laugh, reaching out and fingering a lock of black, wet hair, “I always loved your hair. I know I told you to cut it, but I love it more than ever.”
She allowed her hands to tangle in the black mane and stepped forward, pressing her lips to his.

[bloodsuckergirl]

Adélaïde's sharp retort to Giselle's ignorant arguements was cut short as the woman from the roof came up and kissed Don. She watched the scene with slight interest, but got bored. Giselle was too young and stuid to understand anything. Ah well. She decided there was nothing left for her to do, unless she wanted to fight Giselle. Fights were, well, pointless. Even if she did fight (which she wouldn't- she didn't believe in violence), and even if she won, Giselle's wassn't going to change her mind. Let her believe whatever she wants to, no matter how uneducated or ignorant she was. Adélaïde didn't waste her time on hopeless cases like her. She sighed, then slipped silently away from the action, heels clacking along on the pavement as she headed back into the foggy stillness of the night.

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[Giselle Audley]

Giselle stared at Don, although he appeared to be listening and enjoying the argument between her and Adelaide, he seemed distant. She noticed that about him, there were times that Don didn’t seem connected with the world, like he was in his own fantasy or thoughts. She wouldn’t pursue him and force and explanation, it was his business. If it didn’t have something to do with her, she should “but out”.

Giselle stiffened as she sensed the approach of the vampire from the roof. She followed the silhouette’s descend down and watched as the new woman completely ignored the other two vampires and focused on Don. Unbelievable, this vampire had issues. She was obviously madly in love with Don seeing as he was the only thing she looked at. Giselle took a step back and let the two engage.

So, this woman was the vampire who Don endlessly thought about. Surprisingly, Giselle felt pangs of jealousy. At one time they must have been a happy couple, but then either Don left her or she left Don. Giselle retreated to the shadows and watched the mystery woman play with Don’s hair. Giselle took no notice of Adelaide’s leave, for she had her full attention on the lady vampire.

[don]

Don pulled away, wincing at the sudden invasion of her scent. He looked into her eyes and failed to see Elizabeth. The uninhibited joy burned black in the darkness of her smile, and he did not see his wife. Don looked around him for his vampire companion.
“Giselle?” he called, just as he spotted her in the shadows. He found some comfort in recognizing her. Oddly enough, Giselle had more familiarity to him than Elizabeth in this form. Don hated to think of Elizabeth in that way, as if she was simply another meat eater. But it suddenly dawned on him that the thing he loved the most had changed, and so had he. Maybe love did die over time. And by appearing to him, Elizabeth had ruined his memory of her. Were they married, Don wondered, staring into the face of his lost beloved, or had death truly broke the bounds of their vows? Feeling his hair stand up on end, he backed away and walked to stand with Giselle.
“Why don’t you stop hiding? As if the entry of my dead wife means your exit,” Don said, smiling slightly, embarrassed. Elizabeth’s sudden embrace made it seem as if nothing had changed, but in that moment, his heart had. There was none of the happiness he would have expected as seeing Elizabeth again. He felt a great gap of disappointment and horror in his stomach, as if seeing her in front of him equaled the desecration of her grave and body. Elizabeth should have been dead. At peace with the world. Not alive in death, like they both were.
“Elizabeth,” he said to his late-wife, “This is Giselle.” He glanced at the woman beside him.
“I have told you about Elizabeth, haven’t I?”
He couldn’t remember. Everything seemed to have disappeared in his mind.

[elizabeth]

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. She hated the way Don reached out to that vampire. As if he needed to, when his wife was nearby. Don and Elizabeth were married, weren’t they? She felt suddenly possessed by a strong hate for this woman. Had Don been cheating on her, even without knowing it? Not cheated in body, but in heart? The thought angered her so that her eyes darkened and the happiness went from her heart. This is not how she had imagined it. She used to envision their reunion as full of joy, involving two lonely creatures that found love once again. No where in that picture had a voluptuous red-head been in that picture, watching like a sick stalker. Elizabeth’s faithful insecurities gratefully turned into anger before they could hit home. The English woman’s strong accent bit off her tounge, eyes narrowing at the female beside her husband.
“Have you been seducing married men, my dear?” she said, tight lips curving into a nasty smile. Her eyes wandered critically over the vampire’s body.
“You look the type.”

[Giselle Audley]

Giselle looked up when Don called for her. She smiled at him and appreciated his concern. She loved it even more when Elizabeth made a face at her. Elizabeth was jealous, it seemed. As Don came toward her, Giselle marveled at the way he walked and the sound of his voice -- no, she didn't like how he walked or talked, she couldn't have another relationship with a vampire. She wouldn't go through that again.

Giselle raised an eyebrow at Don, "I'm not hiding, merely giving you two room," she said icily. Giselle acknowledged the vampire when Don introduced her. "You might have mentioned her," Giselle said in response. Don was acting weird again, like he didn't care about Elizabeth and that he was nervous about something. If this woman did anything to him she would have to answer to Giselle. She liked Don a lot and didn't want some witch doing him in.

When Elizabeth insulted her, Giselle didn't say anything at first. Married man. Don was still married to her? The words came from her mouth but they didn't seem true. Giselle would have thought Don wanted nothing to do with this woman. Was Elizabeth making him stay with her? That was possible, maybe. If Don didn't want her anymore then why would she still stick around? After this conversation, Giselle decided to force Don to come home with her and demand an explanation. For now, she had to deal with Elizabeth.

"I can honestly say I have not touched your dear 'husband'. But if he is in fact married to you why doesn't he seem happy to see you and why is he showing more concern for me?" Giselle asked curtly.

[don]

After obsessing over Elizabeth for so many years, Don felt out of his element. Maybe the shock of seeing Elizabeth again was playing with his mind. Five minutes ago she has just entered his life again, and already he had condemned her. Don stared at the slender figure of his wife, still young and vibrant. Maybe she had not changed after all. But then again, if he had changed the way he lived, why shouldn’t she have?
Maybe he wasn’t giving her a chance. Maybe he shouldn’t.
With his steps towards Giselle, a conflict seemed to have developed between the two female vampires. He felt like he was territory, and it made him feel weak. Anger developed like a hard knot in his throat, with words trying to struggle past.
“Please Giselle,” he said. He held his hand up for silence. “There is no need for you to speak for me.” Don faced his wife’s accusing pride.
“And you,” he said, fighting to keep the frustration from his voice, “Don’t suddenly throw yourself at me as if there is no difference from then and now. I’ve changed, Elizabeth. Maybe the woman I am in love with isn’t who you are anymore.” He realized that the volume of his voice had heightened, and he averted his gaze. Damn vampire. Why did she have to act as if his only choice was to come back to her?
“If you are still my wife,” he continued recklessly, “Then I’ve committed adultery too many times for it to be valid in my mind. It is not the utter end that I should have to choose between you.”
He let the silence collect in the alleyway. Don looked from one woman to the other, the chord in his jaw flexing.
“I don’t want to be owned again.”

[elizabeth]

Elizabeth pitied him then, seeing him so human in his turmoil. Poor Don. Maybe he hadn’t changed as much as he believed. She saw the same serious English teacher, but apparently he did not see her as Elizabeth. She tilted her head, sad eyes on his face. She didn’t want to leave him with that bigot, but she didn’t think he could handle it any longer. Maybe she would come to him in a few nights more, when he came to realize that she was still Elizabeth, and that they still belonged together.
She fastened Giselle with a threatening glare as she approached her husband, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll give you enough time to understand this, Don,” she said tenderly, “But just remember that I’m here before you cheat on me again. I’m nearby, and I’m watching.” With this said, she walked away. She spared him the drama, knowing how little he could bear at the moment.

[Giselle Audley]

Giselle, finding more confidence in speaking to this woman, stepped away from the wall and shadows. She knew there wasn’t something wrong with herself, there was something wrong with Elizabeth. Giselle concluded Elizabeth was a mental, ridiculous, insane, woman. She used to have some tie with Don! And now she was in denial? What did it take to get this woman away from him?

Giselle crossed her arms and waited for Don and his “wife” to finish their conversation. When she left, Giselle let a few territorial growls escape her lips. Turning to Don, Giselle said, “I demand an explanation from you. I know you mentioned Elizabeth but here she is now with a claim on you! You say you don’t want anything to do with her anymore yet she wants everything to do with you! Please, since I have known you for this long, I have a right to know,” she said sourly.

[don]

Don watched Elizabeth leave, bemused and tired. He could see the darkness thinning and felt grateful his home was nearby, knowing that a bed waited for him there. Elizabeth had drained him of energy and the will to fight. Giselle seemed very curious to know what was going on, and he did not feel up to challenging her right to find out. He leaned against the wall, settling his languid gaze on her angry face. She looked even more beautiful with spirit in her eyes, but he would not have dared to say that to her. She looked ready to scratch.

“Every vampire seems to have a tragic story to tell. Mine is only terrible because I made it so. If I had simply accepted that Elizabeth was dead the day the vampires killed her, then maybe I would not have been led to this obsession. Then again, she’s not dead, is she? Not quite in that way. I was born in late 1800s, and I taught as a career. I met Elizabeth when she was in my class her graduating year, and a couple of years later, we got married. Our marriage lasted for a long while, until my sister’s boyfriend got us into trouble. He owed something to these vampires, and never repaid them. So, long to short, they turned me into a vampire, and I thought they killed Elizabeth, but apparently they did not.”

He gestured down the alleyway to indicate the place where Elizabeth disappeared. He smiled, lifting his arms in innocent surrender. A weak smile played across his face. He looked genuinely old then. An old man masked by youth, living a masquerade as most vampires did.

“You see, don’t you? She’s my wife, but I thought I was a widower.”

[Giselle Audley]

Giselle was amazed at how open Don was and that he told her what Elizabeth had to do with him without an argument. Most men would be too noble to do such a thing (or so they thought). In a way, Giselle admired Don. He was different, unlike the other boring male vampires she met who only wanted blood and no party.

Giselle listened intently, absorbing every word he said about his ex-wife, or in Elizabeth's case his wife. Don was an old vampire, he had much more experience than Giselle but Giselle, even though she was only nine years old, had much experience since five years ago. She learned quickly how vampires were meant to act. Some vampires took more than fifteen years to find out, they could be so stubborn sometimes.

Giselle was still steaming, but now that Don told her about Elizabeth, she cooled down just a little. She sucked in her breath at the last part. "So then tell me, Don. You didn't know she was alive but now that you do know, do you still love her? Do you want to return to her? She's really something, you know. If you could accept that she is still alive then it's only right to return to her. You are still technically married, in an odd way," she said coldly. No, she was not jelous, not in the least bit! Ok, maybe she was a little.