continued from
Part 4
Learning
by:Rebecca Carefoot
Drusilla smothered a peal of laughter as she hurried throughout the house.
Her eyes darted left and right, searching for a place to hide. She could
hear Jake's raised voice as he counted slowly.
"eighteen, nineteen, twenty...ready or not here I come." Time was up. Drusilla
slipped inside the library, as she heard Jake's feet running towards her.
She ducked under the desk, wrapping her arms around her bent legs to make
herself as small as possible. She rested her head on her knees and waited.
Soon she heard the door creak open. She held her breath as her ears strained
to catch any movement toward her hiding spot. But Jake was in a hurry. He
had a huge amount of house to search, even though they had made the upstairs
off limits.
Dusilla heard the door swing shut and let the breath she had been holding
out slowly. She waited another moment before cautiously lifting her head
out from under the desk. A quick scan of the room revealed that Jake was
gone. She emerged from underneath the desk, trying to determine what to do
next. She could sneak out along the hall and find a new hiding place. She
decided to stay where she was. He had already checked this room, so he was
unlikely to come back for a while.
She lowered her body into the high backed chair that stood in back of the
desk. With a small sigh she glanced around the room, bored now that the initial
adrenaline rush of imminent discovery was over.
The whole family had been cooped up inside for three days due to the incessant
rain that pounded the countryside. She had been wracking her brain to come
up with games to keep Julianne and Jake entertained. Today it was hide and
seek. It wasn't that she didn't love spending time with the younger kids.
She adored them both and did not begrudge a moment of the time she spent
with them.
*But it would be nice to see people my own age once in a while,* she admitted
to herself. She had barely had time to say good bye to any of her friends
back home. And she had not seen any of them since the move. She wasn't even
sure if she wanted to see any of them. All they thought about were clothes
and balls and getting married. To Drusilla all of those things seemed distant.
They were not part of her life. The death of her parents had separated her
from the concerns that used to dominate her world.
Things like balls did not seem to matter anymore.
Still, sometimes she felt the loneliness would crush her. Her aunt and uncle
had offered to organize a small dinner which would help her meet some new
friends. However, despite the fact that she missed having friends her own
age, the thought of hours of polite conversation seemed like a horrible torture
she did not want to endure.
With a sigh, Drusilla dismissed the thoughts. She had her family. That was
enough. It had to be. Slowly she walked along the length of one of the
bookshelves. Her eyes scanned the titles of the leatherbound volumes.
One book caught her eye. It was smaller than the others, bound in dark brown
leather. The title was spelled out in gold lettering, 'Vampires.' Curiousity
piqued Drusilla pulled the book off the shelf. She had heard of vampires.
They were a horror story told to frighten children into being good. *If you
aren't good, the bad vampire will come and kill you.* In her mind, she repeated
the threat used by parents.
Quickly she flipped through the first few pages of the book. She flipped
past a picture, and quickly turned the pages back to find it. As her eyes
fell on the drawing and the book slipped from nerveless fingers, she sat
down heavily on the floor. The book stayed open to the picture, and she found
herself unable to look away. From the pages of the book stared a monster.
THE monster.
With morbid fascination she stared into the ink drawn eyes of her mother's
killer. The ridged eyebrows, the deep set eyes glittering with evil intent,
the fangs jutting from a mouth open in hunger. Drusilla moved forward quickly
to shut the book, then scooted backwards until her back hit the wall, as
if the picture that was no longer visible would somehow come to life to kill
her.
When she felt the hardness of the wall behind her,she sat still huddled with
her legs drawn up to her chest. A loud clacking noise invaded her ears. She
turned her head left and right to discover the source of the noise. With
a start she realized that her teeth were chattering as her body shook
uncontrollably. She forced herself to breathe, to fight against the fear
and the tears that were spilling out onto her cheeks. Slowly she dragged
herself to her feet.
"It's just a book," she muttered to herself. Bending down she retrieved the
book and gripped it tightly in her hand for a moment. She did not want to
read it. She did not want to remember. But if this really was the creature
that killed her parents she needed to know. She needed to learn as much as
she could. *But it would be so easy to let it go,* she thought regretfully.
*I want to just let the memories fade, not dredge them up again.*
With careful deliberation she opened the book. It fell open to the picture
and she forced herself to look at it. *Just a picture. Just a piece of paper,*
she assured herself. *It can't hurt me.* But it did hurt her. The murders,
the demon. Living here with a loving family, she had begun to forget. The
book brought it all back.
Drusilla flipped to the beginning of the book and returned to her seat in
the chair behind the desk. Having seated herself she began to read.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She had only read a few pages when Jake found her. He ran to her side, and
she put the book down.
"I found you Dru!" he exulted. "Now you have to count."
"Did you find Julianne?" Drusilla questioned.
"No," Jake answered, pouting.
"Well let's find her and then I'll count.." Drusilla suggested.
"All right," Jake agreed. He grabbed his cousin's hand and led her out of
the library. She looked back at the book sitting on the desk once. Then turned
her attention to the game.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
That night Drusilla sat in her bed reading by candlelight. The book had occupied
her thoughts all day. She could think of nothing else. If her mother's killer
really was a vampire, she wanted to learn as much as she could about them.
She needed to be ready. Just in case. *In case there is a next time.*
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Drusilla collapsed gracefully into a chair in the sitting room. Her uncle
sat in the adjacent chair, reading the mail by firelight. Dru glanced at
him, then at her hands, then at the flickering images forming in the orange
glow of the fire. After staring a moment, Drusilla was able to work up the
courage to ask her question.
"Uncle?" she began, getting Robert's attention.
"Yes, Dru," he asnswered, still absorbed in the recently delivered letters.
Dru sat, quietly twisting her hands in her lap.
"Do you believe in vampires?" she finally blurted out.
"What?" Robert asked, putting down the pile of envelopes. She now had his
full attention, and he studied her with interest.
*And suspicion?* she thought to herself with paranoia. "Vampires," she said
again. "Are they real?
"Of course they aren't," Robert said dismissively. "That's just a story."
"But I found a book in the library.." Drusilla began.
"It's just a legend," Robert reiterated.
"But my mother's killer.." she began again.
"Drusilla," her uncle interrupted. "Your mother was not killed by a
vampire."
"But I saw it," Drusilla protested. "It looked like the picture in the book."
She continued stubbornly despite her uncle's naked disbelief. "And that explains
why it didn't come after me. It wasn't invited into the house." Robert shook
his head, opening his mouth to deny; but Drusilla cut him off. "And..." she
continued. "And it explains why it had blood on its lips. It bit her neck
and drank her blood."
"Dru," Robert interjected gently. "Your mother's throat was cut. There were
no bite marks."
"Well then maybe he cut her throat after he killed her. He bit her, then
he cut.."
"Stop this," Robert commanded. "I know that it would be easier to think that
a monster killed your mother than to admit that it was a human being. But
that is the truth. It was a person. People have the capacity for evil."
*Easier,* Drusilla thought. *Easier to think it's a monster. How is that
easier? The possibilty that all the creatures that haunt my dreams or hide
under the bed are real. I don't want to realize that possibility. It is NOT
easier.*
"You're probably right," was all she said out loud. She knew she could never
convince her uncle and the harder she tried the more insane she sounded.
"Good girl," Robert said with a smile, as he turned his attention back to
the mail.
Drusilla did not acknowledge his words. Instead she stared intently at the
fire. *Why doesn't anyone believe me?* she thought angrily. *I'm not crazy...I
know what I saw. It many not have been a vampire but it was NOT human.* The
more she considered, the more sure she was. Everything fit. It had to be
a vampire. There was no other explanation that made sense. But she would
keep her ideas to herself. She had seen the reactions every time she brought
this up, and she was tired of seeing the pity. She was tired of watching
people evaluate her sanity. With a sigh she pushed herself up out of the
chair.
"Good night Uncle," she said quietly, as she walked toward the door.
"Good night," Robert replied, then he called to her again as she exited the
room. "Do you remember that O'Riley fellow?" Drusilla felt her heart plunge
into her stomach, as nervousness twisted her in knots. His handsome face
raising her hand to his lips flashed through her mind, and she blushed
involuntarily. Trying to appear nonchalant she returned to the room to stand
near her uncle.
"He was the gentleman that walked with me when it became dark," she said,
wondering why her uncle had brought him up.
"How would you feel about him joining us for dinner?" Robert asked Dru.
*How would I feel?* she asked herself. His image filled her mind again, and
a tiny smile touched her lips. *I think I would like nothing better in the
world,* she thought.
"I would not mind," she answered aloud. "It would be nice to spend some time
with someone my own age."
"I assumed as much," he uncle answered. "He writes that he will be here for
at least another week before he must return to business in London. And he
asks for the pleasure of a visit. Shall we invite him?" Drusilla nodded,
hoping she did not appear too eager. "I will speak to your Aunt about it,"
Uncle Robert promised. Drusilla pressed a grateful kiss to his cheek and
scurried away.
*Angelus..* the name echoed in her mind as she ran up the staris to her room.
*I had not thought to see him again.* She smiled to herself. *But I had hoped...*
Humming softly she entered her room. She grabbed the brush off her dresser
and pulled the pins out of her hair, running the brush through the long dark
strands.
*Vampires don't cast refections.* The thought came out of nowhere. It was
a piece of knowledge she had picked up while reading. She stubbornly refused
to acknowledge the thought and continued brushing her hair. A light knock
at her door turned her attention from the thoughts she was refusing to
think.
"Who is it?" she called.
"It's me," her sister's voice called out. Drusilla pulled open the door letting
her sister in.
She put down the brush and gave her sister a questioning look.
"I had a dream..." Julianne began, her lower lip beginning to jut into a
pout. "I'm frightened Dru. It was a scary dream with monsters."
"Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Drusilla asked.
"May I?" Her sister asked, her eyes lighting up.
"Of course," Drusilla answered, giving Julie a comforting hug. In a few moments
she was ready for bed. She slipped underneath the bedclothes and her sister
snuggled nearer, putting her golden haired head on Dru's shoulder. Drusilla
gave her a kiss and the younger girl had soon drifted off to sleep. But
Drusilla's eyes stayed open in the night. Her sister had dreamed of monster.
But Dru's monsters were real. In the dark, she looked to where the book lay
on her end table. She would finish it tomorrow. Just in case.
CONTINUES