The Voyage of Galilea

Three months passed.

As strong as I was, as determined as I felt to leave my past behind me, it didn’t work.

Silly me!

Each day that passed my nostalgia tore another piece of my heart. I forgot how to smile. At the end of the day, I would go back home empty handed, and I cried more tears than I wished I had cried.

On the other hand, my colleagues had secretly nominated me for a very prestigious science award. Surprisingly, I won. I was not among the favorite candidates, but I won. That gave me back confidence in my career, and, also, a scholarship to pursue a PhD.

I was going to go for Mathematics. It was my passion. Mathematics and Calculus were my forte. I would just immerse myself in my books and my research. At the end, I would just teach advanced courses at the University.

It was a life. I knew I would not be happy, but I could not aspire to happiness…My happiness lay someplace far away…Happiness had forsaken me.

I hired a professional moving company to pack my books and my lab instruments. I had a few books set aside to donate to some local libraries and community colleges. I donated a sum of money to the school where I was teaching. They were devastated to see me go. My fellow teachers were too.

Since I quit my job, I’d spend my days at home, packing or fooling around with my computer. I was running on empty. I was so tired. My sadness was like a cancer. Damn! My love was like a cancer, growing inside, more and more. I was cursed.

I hardly ate and I lost weight. It didn’t sit me. My hair didn’t shine as usual. The circles underneath my eyes were darker. I was afraid to sleep, for, almost every night, Vladislaus would come to me in my dreams. He would take me and make love to me, and I would wake up crying or screaming with pleasure…I didn’t or wouldn’t help myself.

Days would go by…and nights would go by….

Three months passed. Three moons….

The full moon of the third month was completely different…No, it was not the blue moon...there was something strange about her. Living in the city, it’s always hard to appreciate the beauty of the skies…The constellations would get lost in the smog, or it was too cloudy…Only once before, the night sky was so open and so welcoming, and the moon so entrancing, but I didn’t want to think about that.

It was late that night, very late….

I looked through the window, without my telescope. I looked at the stars titillating and the moon shining brighter than any light. The moonbeams built a highway over the city.

I had met the gaze of the full moon. She looked dreamy. She was glowing candidly. She looked at me. The moon was smiling at me, inquisitively…I wondered if I was dreaming. The moon was shining upon my face…and she smiled…

For the first time in months I smiled back. My heart smiled back…I felt peace.

I closed my window and got undressed. I would take a shower before going to bed. I seldom did that…I felt this urge to pampering myself…Had the moon given me back some light…some strange hope? I would be parting soon, leaving so much of my life in the city…my memories of it….

I cleansed my body with fragrant lavender soap. The steam of the shower intensified the smell and I just let my body plunge into the aroma. I finished taking my shower and perfumed my skin with lavender oil…It would help me relax…

As I was brushing my hair, I was startled. I stopped doing what I was doing. I heard a straining noise outside my room! My windows had been smashed!

My apartment! Somebody broke into my apartment. Whoever it was probably thought I was sleeping. My heart was beating wild with fear. I put on my robe. I didn’t hear any more noises. Whoever had broken into my place would pay dearly for it. I had no fire arm. So I grabbed the tank top of my toilet. It was darn heavy. But I would crush the bastard’s brains with it….

I only had to open the door.

I only had to open the door and jumped at him.

He was in my room.

God, give me courage to open the door.

I did. I swung the door open.

My legs failed underneath me, I let go of what I held in my hand and it crashed on the floor. My vision got blurry and I had to hold on to the wall not to faint.

Count Vladislaus himself stood in front of me.

I broke into tears. I had to put my hand to my mouth to block off my own screams. I fell on my knees! I had gone mad. I had gone mad.

Immediately he came to me and held me close. I fought him. It was a vision. I had fallen inside the tub and I had lost consciousness. Please Stop! I was dead!

It was dark. I could hardly recognize his features. He whispered a few words in Romanian…And so the moon came to me…The moon shone on his face and soothed by anguish. I sat down on the floor, and I calmed down enough to look at him in the eyes. It was him. He had aged…I had aged…

He helped me up and my legs were still trembling. There was glass all over my room and I had to watch where I stood. Even so, I stepped on a piece of broken glass. I gasped in pain and soon my foot started to bleed…

Instantly, my visitor sat me on the edge of the bed and licked the blood off my foot. I didn’t move…couldn’t move….He wiped the blood of his lips with his sleeve. He was wearing his black suit with the beautiful cape…He stood by the window. The light from outside reflected on his face…He still looked impossibly beautiful. He had a couple of extra bangs down his forehead, and his pony tale was a bit loose, and he still looked regal and I still longed for his touch….I cursed myself at that instant for admitting that so…

-“Why have you come, Count?

He stood silent looking outside. He changed the subject.

-“It’s quite a fascinating city out there, Galilea…Dangerous, but equally fascinating…”

Like you, I thought.

He looked at me and smiled.

Shit. I had forgotten.

-“Answer my question, Vladislaus…No more games. I am over you…Why did you come here?”

He didn’t answer.

Carefully I walked up to him and I repeated the question to his face.

-“Answer me, you son of a bitch!”

-“Aleera has not eaten in three months…She is losing her hair…she said she would let herself die…She doesn’t care to be beautiful if she cannot be beautiful for you…”

My rage was pacified with my own thoughts of Aleera….

“You may tell her, Count, that her feelings are surely reciprocated. I miss her dreadfully…Is that all? Anything else, you want to tell me?”

There was irony in my voice.

He swallowed hard. Without looking at me he responded.

-“I…I couldn’t…I couldn’t bear the thought of you having to hunt for blood…I don’t think you realize the extent of sadness and loneliness immortals are subject to…Condemned to have eternal life…living with this emptiness inside of you…unable to feel…No…I couldn’t do that to you….”

I stayed quiet for a moment. I always knew that was the reason behind his attitude, but I still didn’t excuse him. He had to listen to me, once and for all.

-“Vladislaus….You are wrong…I told you once and I will tell you again…You’ve gone mad with rage…You have lived your existence without a real purpose…You fought an insane war against humanity and you failed…Accept it. Embrace it. Pride isn’t getting you very far…You are still and will always be a legend, but it’s different now. The Devil-and God too, is teaching you a lesson. Don’t you get it? You have been put to a test…You have survived so you can reflect on your miserable past. What I promised you was companionship, it was love, Count…You have been made to believe…or perhaps…you chose to believe that you have no capability to love…That’s a fucking lie!”

Looking up to the moon I continued…

“Aleera has always lived afraid, Count, that one day you would abandon her…I, on the other hand, have always heard she was your favorite…which one is it?”

He whispered.

“She was…always has been my favorite…My Queen was killed…Marishka was killed…I mourned for them…But if Aleera had been killed…I would have killed myself….”

-“You see?”

I had tears falling freely…Tears of sorrow and compassion….

-“Count, I think you have forgotten to see inside yourself. True. You don’t have a heart, but you feel a lot more deeply than you could possibly imagine…I knew that when…when….well, that night in Istanbul…You love Aleera…You love me too…You do…But you have loved yourself more!”

I sighed and I turned around to walk away.

Hastily, the Count grasped by waist and held me close to his body. He was boiling with desire…Seeing his arms wrapped around me was a gift from the gods and I just let myself suck the pleasure out the moment. Despite of myself, I put my hands around his and wept.

He wept too.

I was his weakness. Love was his weakness. His Achilles Heel. God, how much was he hurting! I slowly turned around as he seized me closer.

We wiped each other’s tears.

-“It’s not too late, Vladislaus…Go back to your lovely bride and try to live a fulfilling existence…If anything is missing, it’s within you….”

I tried to walk away and he pulled me back…

-“Galilea….”

The moon shone brightly in his eyes…I could see a river of pain flowing smoothly….I would have given my life at that moment to ease the pain.

-“Galilea….I….I…I Love you….”

Uncontrollably, he started to shake and sobbing like a child he went down on his knees…

-“Forgive me, Galilea….”

He held me close to him…I held his head softly in my hands and slowly came down to his eye level.

I too, had tears, tears of joy…Finding me, he found himself. He lay his head on my shoulder for a moment and he kissed my neck…He went on slowly kissing the skin of my neck and then he kissed my chin…I closed my eyes…My breath accelerating itself and his hands ceased my face…He licked my tears and I his…Our mouths were hungry for each other and found each other in a deep kiss that was devouring and overwhelming…Centuries of repression and torment were released in that kiss. He kissed me strongly. He bit and sucked my lips with relish. My tongue was swallowed by his ravenousness.

Soon his hands lost control and so did mine. He ripped the robe of my body. He yanked the cape off and he got himself undressed hastily. His body was ready for mine and my body wanted him too badly. He cooped both my breasts in his hands and he sucked my nipples carefully, taking extreme pleasure on such task. His hands roamed around my skin…My whole body had blueprints of his touch…My body was made for his…and it showed…He had been my first and only lover…My body remembered his so well. We both lay on the floor slowly…With my own robe we both cleared the floor and still we felt little pieces of glass against our limbs…The pain melted away with our moaning and our wantonness.

The weight of his body between my thighs was a balm…He didn’t waste too much time…He entered my body with fury and I screamed with pleasure…My hips moved with expertise…My fingers buried themselves inside his hair and the pony tail came loose…His beautiful mane came about his face and it, too, aroused me….I begged for more and more and more…He rode me faster…faster…Yet, he knew too well how to postpone the pleasure, which was definitely coming out of me out of control. I wrapped my legs around his body. My body was sweating profusely…He didn’t stop…I didn’t want him to stop…He would slow the pace of his movements, which only made it worse, for I wanted him more…He would smile devilishly…We made love and love made us, and I climaxed with all the intensity my body could possibly bare. They must have heard us in China! Oh, God! Fuck the world entirely…My world was him…My beautiful vampire…My lover…My one and only love…

I lay panting on the floor, still inside of him…Before I could even think, he carried me in his arms and we literally flew and landing on my bed. I hardly noticed what had happened, but I surely loved it!

He rolled over and let me rest my head on his chest. He noticed a little wound on my temple and he used his finger to clean it, licking it afterwards…I let him taste me through my blood…

-“Take me with you, Vladislaus…I will ask you again….I want you to make me one of you so I can share my life with you for all eternity…I have nothing left here…I would end up teaching, feeling miserable…and I swear to God, I’d rather die…”

I moved my body closer and I leaned my face towards him to meet a gentle kiss…

-“You would not be able to have children with me, Galilea…The werewolf venom left me sterile…”

-“It is alright, Count….as much as I love children…If you want, and Aleera approves…We could adopt an orphan vampire….”

We both laughed openly. He held me close to him as he laughed…

-“My child, the things you say….”

-“We could build a time-traveling machine together. It could be a replica of the Orient Express, beautiful and luxurious…We would travel often to faraway places and build a palace for us three on each place we visit…”

He smiled. He looked up the ceiling, he seized his embrace.

-“Time will come and you will get hungry, Galilea…You know that…”

-“We could slay the rapists and the child molesters and those who kill others…I’d do it! Gladly…We would do humanity a big favor!”

He laughed again…He took my face in his hands and kissed me. He kissed me again and again. He was happy with the thought. I was happy with such promising eternity…

He rolled o top of me and spoke softly…His fingers touched my face slightly…

-“I will do as you wish…I shall make you my bride and my new queen…”

-“No, my dear Count…I shall only aspire to be your wife…equal to you…equal to Aleera…No more queens, no more calling you my master…Just you and me and Aleera, just us, always and forever….no one else, my dear…just us….”

As I spoke these words, he got aroused once again and I could feel him knocking on forbidden doors. My doors opened wide to let him again…His eyes shone with incandescent neon, I saw his fangs sliding down his mouth…

-“Take me now, my love, I am ready…..I tilted my head back and I pleaded….”Take me with you and don’t let me fall into sleep…Take me now, my love, and let me fly away with you to my happiness…”

His venom entered my body…Yes, it hurt…Oh! What a blissful pain! I was his…His only…Forevermore….