Chapter Text
ETERNITY
CHAPTER 1
Many years ago I was happy because I had her, she was full of life and light. We met as children and as we grew our love did too. We knew we were destined, that we were soul mates; there was no one like her. She had beautiful reddishcurly hair, porcelain-colored skin, and wonderful blue eyes.
When she became of age, I asked for her hand in marriage; our families supported us, they had waited for that moment as much as we did and they accompanied us in our happiness. My engagement gift to her was a heart-shaped cameo and a butterfly with a single word inscribed inside it: Eternity.
My love for her was so deep that I could never set my gaze on another woman, not even famous beauties like Miss Cowper, who was rumored to come from another city and everyone had been delighted with her. I treated her on various occasions with the cordiality that she deserved, but nothing more, my heart was already busy.
The day we finally got married, we had a wonderful wedding and our life together at the beginning of our marriage could not be better. We dreamed of having our own family and, while that was happening, we enjoyed our alone time, an intimacy and affinity that few have the privilege of experiencing. But one day, suddenly everything changed.
She became ill and her health deteriorated little by little, no doctor could say exactly what she had, they only knew that she was slowly wasting away. She tried to not show how bad she felt, she would smile and joke at me, but the dark circles and the paleness of her skin showed how sick she was. I did what I could, I brought before her every doctor I met and even an old witch known to the whole world.
-Her blood is poisoned, I can't do anything anymore - she told me - she won't last long.
It was as if a condemnation had been pronounced, because days later, with me next to her holding her hand, hers her heart stopped beating and her life left her body with one last breath, taking mine with her. The pain of losing her was unbearable, I closed myself in, I didn't allow anyone to see me; alcohol was my only companion, it anesthetized me and took me away from my bitter reality.
One night, totally drunk, I went for a walk in the garden of what was our home. She walked aimlessly, humming the tune of our waltz, tears ran down my cheeks, whispering her name to the sky, cursing my luck for losing her. In my state, I never saw what was stalking me; a shadow that followed me closely, waiting for the right moment.
I got to the edge of a clearing, I stopped to see the sky and I cursed the God who had taken the love of my life from me, I cried, I screamed until I couldn't take it anymore. After a few hours and a little more sober, as I walked back, the darkness betrayed me and I found myself falling nonstop down a ditch, where I was knocked unconscious. Lying in the middle of the night with the pain of what seemed like broken bones, I appreciated having the opportunity to meet her, in that moment death was the best thing that could happen to me.
Suddenly, what had been following me came out of the darkness like an animal on the prowl in search of its prey, covered by the shadows of the night. I remember that she approached and in my delirium I thought she was some wild creature; But a human shadow covered me with the light of the moon, he crouched next to my wounded body, I tried to say something to her, but the words did not come out, and then I felt her hands, cold as marble, touching my face.
"You'll be fine," she whispered. "I'll take care of you."
And suddenly I felt a stabbing pain in my neck, as if a knife had been stuck in me, and a sensation of burning heat ran through my veins, I begged her to stop, but she did not flinch.
"It'll be over soon," she whispered in my ear.
I began to hear voices in the distance and footsteps approaching, the shadow again caressed my cheek and left. After a short while they found me, people carried me and took me back to my house, put me to bed and sent for the doctor. The pain that ran through my body was too intense, nothing stopped it, it was as if a painful fever twisted each of my muscles, like boiling lava running through me.
I lost track of time, I only know that when the pain stopped, my heart stopped beating and I fell into the deepest darkness.
My ears picked up several sounds at once; the air between the trees, the birds chirping and whispers of voices unknown to me. When I regained consciousness, I noticedthe pain was gone and that my body felt different, in addition to having a need much like being Thirsty? But it was not just any thirst, it was a thirst that could only be quenched in one way that I did not yet know.
"You shouldn't have done it," a male voice spoke. "You know it's dangerous and if someone realizes it's not there, we'll have problems."
“I doubt it, I have been very discreet” answered a second voice, a woman “Besides, I want a partner, it is only fair that I have one.”
“This is not the way, you don’t know if he will correspond to you. From what I know he was deeply in love with his wife, I doubt that will change with the transformation.”
“He will!” She yelled annoyed- I am much superior than her.
“You shouldn't keep fooling yourself, my dear” replied a third voice, that of a woman “If after so many centuries you haven't managed to make one stay with you, I don't think this is the exception.”
“You're a…”
“Shut up!” The male voice yelled “He's awake.”
I opened my eyes slowly, everything was bright, mysenses seemed to have sharpened, because I perceived everything differently. I had changed, I didn't feel like myself. Starting with thirst, my body, the emotions rising inside me in the wildest way; no matter what had happened, there was only one person to blame.
“You!” I said as I got out of bed at a speed at which I had never moved, an instinct that I had never had led me to my victim “You did this to me!”
I took her by the neck and smashed her against the wall, I wanted to tear her to death, whatever she had done to me, I was sure that she had only brought me misfortune. Two pairs of arms were trying to pull me away from her, but my anger was out of control.
“You must calm down! Let her go!” they told me “We will try to explain it to you the best we can.”
To my right I could see the face of a man, his calm face, but at the same time determined it reminded me the one my father used to put when he was worried about me, the thought made me let go of it and I started to walk away, the man's hands on my shoulders.
"Cressida, get out of here," the man ordered without letting go of me.
-But…
-Nothing, go now.
His commanding voice made the woman leave without protest, and once she was gone, he released me from his grip and I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to understand what had happened, why my body felt different and different. What a way to quench this strange thirst.
-What happened? Who are you? Why did I wake up here?
“I know you have many questions, but you should relax...”
“How can I relax?! I lost my wife, the love of my life, and after begging God to take me with her, what I have achieved is to spend days with pain as if hell itself were inside of me to appear here” I responded totally uncontrolled “Who are you and what have you done to me?
-Just to clarify, it was Cressida who did it, we found out until a couple of nights ago- answered a female voice behind me- I'm Eloise, by the way.
-My name is Anthony Bridgerton, and the impertinent lady is my younger sister- said the man as he began to walk around the room- This may be difficult and even impossible to believe, but ... - he turned to look into my eyes- We are immortal , vampires to be exact.
- What? - It must be a joke.
-And Cressida, she has gone against the clan rules by turning you without consent.
"What? Am I a- what?!" I got up and began to wander the room. "This must be a nightmare caused by alcohol," I began to say, more to myself. - This is not happening, I must be dreaming...
-I'm sorry to tell you it's not a dream- Anthony took me by the shoulders again- it's very real.
And at that moment when I looked into his eyes, I could see how they changed to an intense red color, like rubies, showing me at the same time a pair of sharp fangs. I turned to see his sister and she looked the same, I walked back and tripped over the edge of the bed, I sat down and covered my face with my hands.
-I know it is a lot to assimilate, but soon you will understand, first you need to quench your thirst.
-When transforming, you need to feed regularly- I looked up at Eloise's suggestion- I know it is difficult at first, to feed on humans, but we try to do it with those who do evil to the world and we use animal blood as well.
-We try to keep a low profile, at least when it comes to our true nature, and to keep the balance where we live- Anthony continued- Although it may not seem like it, we try to do things the right way.
I watched them carefully, listening to everything they told me, but a part of me refused to believe it, even with all the evidence in front of me. At that moment, someone entered the room, I had not heard a knock on the door.
-Sorry for the interruption, but I thought it wise to bring a drink to help you.
She was a very beautiful woman with brown skin and when she saw her, Anthony's face was filled with admiration; she was carrying a tray with a couple of glasses with a red liquid, the metallic smell reached my nostrils causing my throat to close and burn as anxiety grew inside me.
-Thank you dear, I'm sure Colin needs it- Anthony took one of the glasses in her hand and offered it to me- If you drink this it will help you, I promise that everything will improve.
I watched the glass for a moment before taking it. I emptied the first one in one gulp and then the second.
-Welcome to the family, Colin Bridgerton...
More than a century had passed since the day my life changed, everything I knew was left behind. That night, Anthony welcomed me into her family, and oddly enough, being there helped fill the void I had felt since she left.
My human family suffered greatly because of my death; I watched from afar as they continued their life, dealing with grief, and at some point I became envious of them, because once they passed to the next plane they would stop suffering from their absence, while I, trapped in this new body, went to feel the pain and longing for a long time.
Anthony had decided, after hiding out for a few months, that it was best to move to another city, so we moved to France to start over, as a family just arrived in the city, attending events, holding parties and interacting with the society.
I had to adapt to the changes, learn to measure my strength and control it. Our nature is attractive, we are like magnets for humans, they fall into our hands naturally. We can control certain physical characteristics; such as aging or rejuvenating at our convenience, which is useful to be able to settle in a place for a long time, as well as change the tone of our eyes to prevent the ruby hue from scaring humans and betraying us.
Contrary to popular belief, we can go out into the sunlight, it doesn't kill us, and although we may feel a little weaker, we are still lethal. We do not melt if we are sprinkled with holy water or when we see crucifixes, and we do reflect ourselves in mirrors. There are few things that could really harm us, but none of them are within the reach of an ordinary human.
Before leaving for France, I visited the grave of my beloved, the pain was still in my chest, and I was sure that it would never go away. I missed her so much that I knew I would spend the rest of my life alone, something Cressida was not able to understand. For years she tried to drink from me to become my partner, since that was the way vampires came together, but I could only feel contempt for her, there was no more of her. She could never afford it, she was a despicable being who killed men, women and children alike, selfish and vain.
That and her constant fights with the Bridgerton Clan led her to form a small group and move away from her, leaving us to live with a tranquility, which according to Eloise, they had not had for centuries.
Our clan was made up of a matriarch, named Violet; Anthony and his partner Kate, as well as 6 brothers and sisters each with their respective partners, who came and went from time to time, seeking privacy for seasons, but always returned home. I somehow did too. Once I was able to control my new form, I began to travel encouraged and supported by them, thanks to the money that the family had forged through the centuries I had that opportunity, and that is how I got to know other places and other clans. The Bridgertons were powerful and respected, being a part of them, they treated me the same way.
After several years, and knowing that I was safe from being recognized, I returned to England, to my home; the others had also decided to return and settle in for a while, but before going to our house, he had a place to visit.
Upon arriving at the cemetery, I observed the mausoleum where the body of my beloved rested in peace; for years I paid for her enclosure to be always arranged and with flowers. I could spend hours just staring at the cold marble. Even after all this time, I didn't make sense of the fact that she was there and I couldn't see her again.
I sighed and after a while I finally decided to show up at home, but as I walked I perceived a strange sensation in the air, as if something was about to happen. I put those thoughts out of my mind, it was ridiculous, my existence was simple and there was nothing that could change it substantially.
Arriving in Mayfair, my body felt a call, something I hadn't experienced in a long time; He must be hallucinating, there was no way, it couldn't be. But suddenly I seemed to see a flash of reddish hair before it disappeared into the crowd. I shook my head to concentrate, surely it was only affected by my visit to the cemetery.