"I'll tell you the whole story of how the two of us met," he said while crossing his legs.

I turned my whole body in his direction and crossed my legs into an x shape. His face looked serious again. Even though she talked about him, she never mentioned how they met. I nodded twice to let him know he could begin speaking.

He put the drink on the table and looked into my eyes. "It was a gloomy, chaotic evening. I've had enough of my father, who constantly reminded me that I did not bring a human home even once. In our family, it is a tradition to bring at least one human to your family as a meal. I, of course, was in love with a human girl that I met in the human world I was supposed to bring home as a food," he explained, struggling to say the last few words.

"I fell deeply in love with her. All I could think about was her. Until one day, I was reading a book and saw her from my room upstairs walking in the garden with a vampire next to her. They must have found out what I was doing in the human world and brought her to my place. I quickly ran outside and tried to rescue her. I luckily did; I don't know how, but I did. The other vampires who saw me fight back alarmed my parents. They both took us directly to them. I confessed my undying love to her, hoping they would spare her-" He stopped for a moment, staring into the fireplace.

"My mother looked at the guard that was holding her and then nodded at him. In front of my eyes, he sucked the life out of her. I never felt more rage in my entire life. I tried so hard to pull away from the guards that were holding me, pulling my arms behind me, but I was too weak. When they let go of me, it was already too late to save her," he almost whispered the whole time.

"We have a rule to never have such feelings towards a human being. And I broke it instead of feeding on her." He added.

I don't know what got into me, but I stretched my whole body towards him and gently touched his hand that rested on his leg. I gave him a quick smile and took a seat next to him. The pain I felt when he was telling me this was unbearable.

He cleaned his throat and continued. "So, I ran as far as I could out of our castle and bumped into a girl that was running at an insane speed on the same path as me, wearing a wedding dress. We were both intensely crying, so I took her by the hand and told her she could stay with me if she wanted to. At first, she didn't like my idea, but she realized she could not stay on her own outside in the wild forest.

After a few minutes of thinking, she agreed, and on our way out of our world, we both told each other why we ran off. We were just two strangers who were deeply traumatized," he confessed, taking his drink back to his hand and finishing it.

I've always thought so little of him. I was sure he wasn't someone who was capable of love. My heart felt completely shattered for him. A vampire who fell in love with a human girl. What a twisted and unfortunate fate.

My point of view on him changed. The way he was talking about her made me realize how deeply this man loved her. Is it possible for a vampire to love a human girl more than blood? Were all those scary stories untrue, and do vampires have romantic feelings too?

"Why did you tell me all of this? Aren't I your enemy?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. He looked at me confused, crossing his arms.

"No, you're not my enemy, Talia." he softly said with the corner of his mouth lifted. I thought that an ordinary human like me shouldn't know about their vampire world. I was scared the hell out of him only a day ago, and now I'm worthy of knowing his secret. It somehow felt wrong to know all these things that didn't belong in my memory.

"You're quite extraordinary, I must admit. You survived living with the most dangerous creature. Darcia's lust for blood should've killed you, but somehow you're still here," he declared.

I've never thought about it. Vampires mostly care about blood. They don't care what will happen to the human they're feeding at. So, why am I still here after all this time? Why didn't she suck all the blood out of my system and let me die? I feel even more confused than I already was.

"You are the only one who can-" Nicoli tried to tell me, but something made him go quiet, and because I don't have super hearing, I simply looked over my shoulder and saw Darcia walking towards us. She somehow looked different, like something changed in her within the hour.

She walked around the couch and sat down next to Nicoli. She quickly looked at me and returned her eyes to Nicoli. Her cold behavior reminded me of my first days here. Almost like we went back to the beginning.

"There you are! How was your time outside?" Nicoli asked Darcia in an almost sarcastic tone. She just rolled her eyes at his question and poured herself a drink.

Nicoli laughed, and after a few seconds, his eyes looked more focused. His nostrils got bigger as he started sniffing Darcia. Then he chuckled and poured himself another drink. Darcia turned toward him with furrowed eyebrows. "What is so funny to you?" she wondered.

"Later, darling," he replied. Darcia, with anger, put the drink on the wooden table and stood up. Nicoli immediately followed. They were just looking into each other's eyes. Almost like they were fighting through eye contact. Nicoli sighed after several seconds, and in a blink of an eye, he disappeared like he always does.

Darcia sat down again, supporting her head with her hand on her forehead. I stayed quiet because I knew if I said something, she would get even angrier.

I looked out the window, but I couldn't see anything because the outside was already dark. Everything just felt cold and wrong.

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I got up, but Darcia didn't even glance at me. I walked around the couch and was ready to go back to my room. Well, not my room technically. I was in the middle of the hall when I heard a beautiful melody coming out of the living room. I slowly turned to walk back into the living room. Darcia sat behind the piano, pressing the keys so lightly. I've never heard her play before. She was lost in each note, playing with her eyes closed. This was the first time I saw her face with so many emotions in those few seconds. The melody sounded painful. When you're hurting and you have that stabbing pain in your heart, that's how her playing sounded like.

Because she was playing so passionately, she didn't even acknowledge my presence. Something about her playing the piano made the corners of my mouth slightly turn up.

After what Nicoli told me about how they met, I'm more than sure that something terrible must have happened to her. She was running for her life in the wedding dress. Was someone chasing her? Or something happened with her family?

Suddenly, the keys stopped making a melody and Darcia was no longer playing nor sitting behind the piano.

Darcia's pov

After I left the house, I felt much more at ease. I no longer lusted for her sweet blood. My thoughts cleared up, and I saw everything clearly.

Perhaps all I needed to do was go outside and feed on someone else. My search for my next victim lasted around fifteen minutes. Since the sun is setting down a lot sooner, I could feed early.

I almost killed the guy I was feeding at. My lust for blood doesn't have limits. Only a few seconds more, and I'd kill again. I swear to Nicoli, I wouldn't kill often. I broke my promise more than I should have.

I am a monster; monsters don't have mercy for their victims. I let my victim live because I decided he would live. I dragged him to the nearest forest, so everyone would believe some kind of animal attacked him.

On my way home, I wondered what these two were currently talking about. I believe Nicoli is so bored he needs to bother Talia when I'm not there.

When I entered the house, I heard Nicoli talking with Talia. I could see from the distance that they sat close to each other. It was almost like Talia forgot he wanted to feed on her. I don't know why, but the distance between them bothered me.

He noticed me and instantly stopped talking. He must have told her something I shouldn't know about. Darcia turned her head at me, blinking repeatedly. I looked away, walked around the couch, and sat down next to Nicoli.

I knew he wouldn't let go of the thought of where I went. His unnecessary attitude makes me boil. There's nothing I hate more than his arrogant way of talking. We may be friends, but I'm not going to tolerate this behavior.

After he left the room, only the two of us remained. I felt her eyes bore into me, but I didn't return the stare. I cannot do such a thing again with her. I was not in my right mind. After today, I'm going to keep my distance.

I ended up alone in the living room, looking at my beautiful piano. It's been a long time since I last played. I couldn't bring myself to play again. But something today made me get up from the couch and sit behind the piano. I don't know what it was, but a melody went through my mind, and I needed to play it.

This is what my piano tutor once played for me. I still have a vivid image of him in my head. How elegant he looked and how nice he was to me. He was probably the only one who made me feel like a person.

He never made a music sheet for his masterpiece. He often said to me that I needed to feel the keys, not look at the piece of paper, and read every note like a robot. As much as I tried, I could never be on his level - until now. After years and years of practice, I can pick up the melody with my ears.

My playing did not last long. I smelled Talia near the living room. I don't play in front of others. So I stopped and shifted behind her.

After she noticed I wasn't sitting behind the piano, she slowly turned around, looking at me. I tried not to talk to her, but it was time to set things right.

"What happened between us means completely nothing. I don't want to talk about it nor continue doing that. I only adopted you for my needs." I plainly answered, with a dulled face.

"I understand. I am sorry..." Talia mumbled, looking down.

"Go upstairs!" I demanded. She only nodded and went upstairs. Nicoli showed up, entering from the other room in the hall with applause.

"I must say, I had a feeling that something happened between you too. Either way, you would kill her already." He confessed, smiling at me. The last thing I wanted was for him to know that there was something between me and Talia. He'll never let this go.

"Eavesdropping on a conversation that doesn't concern you makes you feel good? You are so fucking lame." I whispered into his ears.

"Why are you hiding from the truth, Darcia? Are you afraid of it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What truth, Nicoli?" I said. He started laughing, like it was time for jokes. I grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him into the wall. His laugh slowly disappeared, and his eyes darkened. He grasped my face with his hand, pulling me closer to him.

"We are so similar, Darcia. Because we both fell in love with a human girl." He whispered into my ear. My eyes widened, looking into his eyes. I suddenly felt enormous anger inside me. I grabbed him by his neck into the air, and threw him against the wall. I felt my eyes burning, almost like they were in flames. How dare he accuse me of such a thing?

He quickly stood up with his super speed, going towards me, grabbing me by my hands, and throwing me on the ground in the living room. I shifted behind the couch, grabbed the whiskey bottle, and threw it at him.

"This is all you can do? Throwing a bottle at me? You shouldn't have wasted such good whiskey, darling." He provoked, coming towards me. I was trying to leave, but he blocked my way, grabbed me by the arms, and pushed me onto the floor.

"You're so weak, Darcia. You always were. You don't have a chance against me." He softly said, with a smile on his face. I quickly snatched him by his hair and pulled him to the ground. I sat on top of him, punching him in the face. All the anger inside me traveled to my hands. I couldn't stop myself; I wanted to beat him as much as I could.

Nicoli captured my hands, pulling them away from his face. "You - fell in love." Nicoli declared. I tried to escape from his hands, but he had other plans for me. He pulled me to the ground, pulling my arms behind me.

"W-What are you two doing?" Talia was standing at the living room entrance, looking at me with a shock on her face. I growled and pushed Nicoli off me with the strength I had left. I ran at super speed, passing her as quickly as I could, kicking the front door, and leaving the house.