The Thirteenth Hunt

[thelisan]

16 Hearthmoon, 2E 221

She wasn't your first hunt. She wasn't your most dangerous.

But she's on her knees, the tip of your sword at her throat, and somehow you can't finish the job. She's a vampire, you know that, you can see in her red-streaked eyes with their slit pupils, but there's no malevolence. You've seen vampires before that had feigned pacifism, but she seems different.

Here, in this isolated hut in the darkest depths of the woods, no one would ever know what transpired unless the victor were to tell them. You could end her, find glory in your thirteenth successful hunt. Enjoy the rewards and move on to the next.

Yet still you cannot. As you look upon her face, you feel your resolve faltering, even moreso with her smile. It's not the hungry grin of a predator, this was altogether more human than that. Her wavy white hair loosened in your fight, and now framed her delicate, pale face.

"Why do you hesitate, good hunter?" she asks. You know a rhetorical question when you hear one, of course. "You've bested me. This is the part you were looking forward to, isn't it? Kill the monster, go back to town, celebrate, move on. It's the cycle of your kind." You take a breath to steady yourself, yet still you seem frozen in place. Your mind is torn between competing impulses, but the overriding one seems to be a desire to hear her sweet, melodious voice again. Thankfully, she's happy to oblige. "It could be a welcome end to the loneliness, you know. Ever the outcast, ever the pariah. The only contact I ever get is desperate commoners hoping for salvation, or the hunters they send when I'm not able to provide it."

She looks up to meet your gaze, and the same peaceful smile remains on her lips. "I think you understand. Hunters like yourself, they may be heroes, but do heroes ever know love? You can return to town, enjoy the enthusiastic attention of the local barmaids, but you know they won't linger. Hunters rarely live long once they start their career. Even the tavern wenches know not to get attached." Try as you might, you can't deny the truth in her words. Most hunters don't make it to their second year, and every time you found yourself growing fond of someone, they seemed to be in a hurry for you to move on. After all, they expected you to die. Maybe they wanted you to? The tragic self-sacrifice is always a good story, after all.

Your sword still at her throat, you ask what her point is, what it is that she's getting at.

"We don't have to be alone anymore," she says quietly. "We can be together."

You express your doubts about her sincerity; it's not the first time you've heard a vampire try to con you into letting them kill you.

"I do not lie, good hunter, and I am not a sadistic djinn twisting words to my own ends," she replies, indignant at the accusation. "I just want someone to share forever with. Someone to wake up with every night. Someone, an equal, to talk to, to love. Is that so hard to believe?"

Your sword hand trembles briefly, then you lower your blade. Some part of your mind is screaming at you that this is a trap, but her words resonate with a deep, long-neglected part of your soul. With your hesitation eroding, you ask her what it is she needs you to do.

That enchanting smile returns to her lips and she replies, "Let me turn you. One bite, and all our dreams can come true."

Your well-honed instincts try desperately to pull you away, but she offers something you've needed for a long time: warmth. Not against the chill of winter, but against the chill of loneliness. You nod wordlessly, no longer able to fight off your own desires. She rises to her feet and steps closer to you, softly tracing her fingers along your chest. When she realizes your fear, she drapes her arms around your shoulders and kisses you tenderly. Not with the wanton hunger of past admirers, nor the predatory aspect of other vampires that had attempted to seduce you, no. It's a soft, gentle kiss, sweeter than you had ever dared hope. Soon, entirely too soon, she ends the kiss and nuzzles against your cheek before carefully sinking her fangs into your neck. It's not the first time a vampire has tried to turn you, of course. But her efforts lack the sadism you're used to; most wanted you to suffer for daring to strike them. Her bite is more like a second kiss, and as you feel her tongue lapping at the blood trickling out, warmth and happiness take root in your heart. As you sink into her warm embrace, her arms gently tighten around you and she lets out a contented hum, setting your heart at ease. Without a thought you return her embrace, and your consciousness drifts away.

You know that when you awaken, you will not be alone.

And that's enough. Nothing else matters.
 

Nothing but her.