Blueblood: A Dark Southern Aristocracy - 7. Gabby's Sunrise

It had been a long day and then I had been up all night as well. Colin had been up as long, too. I was tired and Colin was with Gabriella. Going to Colin’s car that we’d parked in the shade of the trees was really the only comfortable place to rest at all. It was still hot, but Colin’s car was comfortable and clean. It didn’t take long for me to drift off. I was awakened by the feeling of someone kissing the corner of my mouth gently making me remember what had happened and quickly fully awake.

“Is everything okay?” I asked quickly worried there might be a problem.

Colin looked tired but happy. He smiled as he nodded. “She’s asleep again. That will happen these next few days. Her body is coming back to life.” I watched as he propped on his elbow looking at me. His emerald green eyes held something I could see as happy contentment and something else as he looked at me. Was that love? “This is just one more thing you’ve done with me to make it more impossible NOT to fall in love with you, Devon.” He sighed. “You give willingly and easily. No thought of what you can get. I owe you so much.”

I laughed lightly touching his face and it was a handsome face. “I wish I was that generous. I was trying to get something from you. You.”

Colin raised his eyes as he chuckled. “Okay, so maybe there is something you get from this.” He smiled as his hand touched my face and jaw. “I’m not a man. Not really.” He looked back at me. “I am a vampire. The fangs won’t come out on me. I don’t feed on blood now, but I’m still a vampire. A relationship with me will be…different.”

“I’m not really sure what you mean, but I haven’t left. I won’t.” I said quietly.

Colin pressed his forehead against mine. “I want to be clear about it. I can love, but I haven’t in almost two hundred years. I’ve liked some and thought I might be able to, but they would leave me.”

I shook my head. “I don’t see why. You’re a good being. I’m not leaving. When I saw Gabriella, that was scary. That was you before the serum, wasn’t it?”

He nodded. “It was, but unlike her, I did bathe.” He chuckled. “The life of a vampire is one of simply surviving. You wake up and all you can think about it where to find blood. You focus on that and where you can get it. You look for prey and feed. In Gabriella’s case, plumbing stopped and she couldn’t bathe.” He smiled. “I did love and after feedings when I had time afterward.” He shrugged. “New York was perfect for life at night. I was always afraid when I did love, I wasn’t sure that what I’d give the other person would be dangerous. I was a full vampire and my…seed…what you refer to as cum...was the cum of a vampire. Would it be harmful to another person? In my mind, it was almost like having AIDS. I couldn’t die, but was it dangerous for my partner? I don’t want to hurt you.”

I frowned. “You never have…” realizing what he meant by loving. It wasn’t the emotion he was talking about, but the physical action. “You’ve never had sex in over a hundred years!?”

He shook his head. “Not without a condom. Whether it be orally or if we loved, I always wore a condom.”

“I want you, Colin,” I said quietly. “If there are limits to that, I’ll deal with it.”

He grimaced. “That’s the problem, I don’t want limits now. Not with you.” He looked at me. “If I give myself to you, I want it to be completely. I haven’t given myself to anyone since Josiah.”

“Is there no way to find out if what you give me is dangerous?”

“Dr. Holm said there wasn’t. He said he gave his seed to others and they were fine. I just wasn’t sure.” Colin swallowed. “When I’m ready, we’ll find out.”

I nodded. “I understand.” I looked at the sky. It was mid-afternoon. “You said we’d stay here again tonight. That we’d move her then. Is that still the plan?”

He nodded. “I’ll call the hotel. We need another room, suite or something.”

I gave a nodding shrug. “I’ll find you a place. A house probably. Is there a limit to what I look for? It might be expensive.”

He shook his head. “I’ll have it.” He opened his phone and frowned. “I need power for my phone. I’ve only got ten percent power remaining.”

“You have a USB port in this car, you know?”

He grinned. “Which would be great if I remembered to bring the cord.” I pulled my phone free of its cord I had plugged into the car and held the unattached end up to him. Colin chuckled. “Thanks.” Plugging his phone in he nodded. “Here we go.” He grinned at me as he looked at me with the sides of his eyes. “Thanks again.”

Rolling my eyes, I reached out with both hands pulling his head to me and I kissed him deeply. Probing the inside of his mouth as I practically consumed the man. He was responding reluctantly at first, then returned the pressure and I knew he was returning the emotion. “I’ll say this. We are friends. I hope to be more when you’re ready. If we do, we’ll be lovers. One day I would like to be partners…I want a marriage. I’m not asking for you to marry me, that would be too soon.” I smiled as my fingers combed through his hair.

He smiled. “I want that, too…”

“Helping each other is just what friends do. Thanking me is nice, but…” I kissed him again lighter. “…cut it out for now.”

He threw his hands up in futility. “I’m grateful!”

“I know!” I said loudly but smiling.

“Good!” Colin said equally as loud, but he was smiling as he called the hotel.

“Is there another entrance to the basement? We’ll need to get those things to storage. I’ve arranged for a storage unit. It will have to be a big one.”

He thought as he waited for an answer from the hotel. “There was, we’ll have to see if it’s still there.” He made plans to move himself to a larger suite if necessary, one with two bedrooms. The hotel would look into it as was going to move his things for him. He clicked his phone off.

“Are you a top or bottom?” I asked casually while I searched the internet for some real estate.

He looked at me suddenly as his eyebrows rose. “What?” He hadn’t expected the subject.

I grinned but didn’t look back at him as I searched. “Do you prefer to be on top? There are many men that do.”

He chuckled understanding now. “Oh. Yes, there are. There are men that prefer to be on the bottom.” He leaned toward me. “When I make love, I want it all. Top, bottom…whatever and all of it.”

The smile came on my face. “So, do I.”

I texted the man in charge of removing debris and told him the job was back on the next day. I called security firm and arranged a guard for tonight and some other nights until we cleared the basement of its valuables and then I contacted another company that would send a truck and men to begin taking the things from the basement to storage.

“You said you trusted me,” I said to Colin.

He nodded. “I do, why?”

“There’s a house available, but I need to move quickly. I’ve arranged for a showing tomorrow.” I looked at him. “It’s downtown on the Battery. It’s furnished, but with all this stuff we’re taking out of here it may not be needed to be fully furnished.”

He nodded smiling. “You know, I’m sort of busy. Sure, I trust you.”

“I’ll do the best I can. Now, show me the other entrance to the basement.”

The manor was surrounded by the Kudzu and brush. Pulling the debris away from where he remembered where it was before, we saw the wall of what had been the side of the basement. There was a large opening there a crew could come and go with the many items once it was clear. Then opening would let light in and we needed to move Gabriella before we did that.

The sun was setting before Gabriella woke again. Colin offered her something to eat which she hadn’t even considered in the past century. He presented her with some fried chicken he had in the cooler. She sniffed it and her eyes widened. Looking at her father her mouth opened, her face was disbelieving. “The smell! It’s wonderful.” Then she touched her stomach as I heard a sound. “Oh, my God! My stomach just growled!” She grabbed the chicken and bit.

“Take it easy, Gabby,” Colin warned. “Your stomach says it’s ready. It will take a few more days to be ready to fully digest.” He touched her face. “Then we’ll have a wonderful dinner…outside in daylight and you’ll be fine.”

She nodded but bit a little more. “This is so good! It smells wonderful and tastes amazing!” She looked at me. “You made this?”

I shook my head. “It’s KFC.”

“Who?” Gabriella asked.

“Kentucky Fried Chicken,” Colin said smiling.

“It’s from Kentucky!?” Gabriella asked amazed. “That’s so far away!”

Colin gave a sad sigh. “Things have changed in the world, Sweetie. There are things that have happened in the last hundred and fifty years. I know your life has been hunting and consuming when awake. Out here it’s kind of isolated and you said you fed on farm animals near here. Did you never look in windows of houses and see things you didn’t know about? Wonder what they were?”

She shook her head. “My life has been the same since I was turned.”

Colin gave a shrugging nod. “Well, there are many things out there you won’t understand. Whatever you want to know about, it’s okay to ask me or Devon. First, we’re going to let you eat a little more. Then we have to take you to Charleston.” He frowned. “You’ve seen cars and planes, right?”

Her brows came together as she thought. “Cars.” Then she nodded. “Those strange carriages pulled by something other than horses people are sometimes in? Yes. Planes?”

Colin nodded. “Those are also carriages of a kind. They carry people and freight quicker and easier. In the sky. People fly now.”

She was a little surprised, but she’d been on the outside of the world so long it would be surprising. “People fly?”

“Yes.” Colin nodded. “I’ve flown.”

She marveled at that. “Was it scary?”

Colin chuckled lightly. “It was very exciting the first few times, but I guess a little scary the first time.”

“I’ve seen these things in the air at night and didn’t know.” She sighed but was a little excited about it. “The world moved on and I need to catch up!”

I chuckled. “Wait until you watch TV. That will teach you a lot!”

“TV.” She repeated having no idea what I was talking about.

Colin nodded as he smiled. “You’ll see in a few hours.”

I pulled out my phone and activated the security system I put down here. Gabriella looked at my hand. “What is that?”

“It’s a telephone…kind of.” I explained then remembering the telephone hadn’t even been invented before she was turned. “If I need to speak with someone that isn’t here. I dial a series of numbers that belong to the phone they have and can speak with them. They can be across town or on the other side of the world.” Then I grinned. “It can do other things, too. Since there are dangerous people out there, I put up eyes in here that can keep an eye open to who comes and goes, even see if someone takes something. I can see through these eyes I put in on this.”

Colin tried to figure out how to explain it. “It’s like…a crystal ball. We can see other people, talk to other people and watch them on that.” He pointed to the phone. “I have one, too.”

“I don’t think there are many people that don’t have one now,” I explained further. “It’s how we live, work and play. This means of communicating is key to life now.”

She nodded. “But it’s science even though to me, it’s magic.”

Colin smiled as she was understanding she couldn’t understand and understood she couldn’t yet. “That’s right.”

“Hello!” A voice came from the door that opened upstairs. A male voice I knew was security.

“Well, let’s go,” Colin said standing up. “Tonight, you’ll see a lot. Questions will be asked and I will answer, but not with these men, okay?”

She nodded crossing her heart. “I promise not to seem…odd.”

Colin stroked the side of her face. “You’re never odd.” Then he chuckled. “Last night you were, but not now.” He tilted his face. “You look so much like your mother.”

She smiled but looked at him questioning. “Is that a good thing?”

Colin nodded. “Your mother was a beautiful woman. She was kind and generous. I liked her as a friend and cousin.”

Cousin!? I couldn’t help it as I blurted. “Cousin!? Your wife and you were cousins!?”

Colin chuckled as he looked at me. “Not my mother’s sister’s child or my father’s brother’s child, but she was a third cousin.” He shrugged. “This line had to be somewhat pure. Marrying cousins was a way of doing that.”

I rolled my eyes and turned as I thought. Turning to Colin again. “That makes Gabriella not only your daughter but a fourth cousin?”

“She is.” Colin nodded smiling at the look on my face. “There were others’ DNA in my wife so more diversity in Gabriella.” He shook his head. “It was in the late 1830s! It’s what we did as bluebloods!”

I nodded. “Bluebloods.”

“That’s what the aristocracy…” Colin began.

“I know what a blueblood is. You guys were bred to think you are superior!” I muttered as I shrugged. “I just never liked a cousin enough to…marry.” I waved at him. “You deal with Gabriella and I’ll deal with the rent-a-cops upstairs.”

I heard as I climbed the stairs.

“I must look terrible. I don’t know where Mom’s hairbrush is.” Gabriella said.

“Are you kidding, you’re perfect!” He ran fingers through her hair. It was long dark brown, almost black like Colin’s that came below her shoulders. She had finger combed it to get some order. “You’ve got the Queen Guinevere look. There are women now that will pay good money to have what you have naturally.”

It was funny. It was sad what happened to both of them, but they were amusing. Humor was a trait Colin had passed to Gabriella along with his mouth characteristics and hair color, but Gabriella’s eyes were brown now that I could see the color. We had three men posted around the house who would remain all night and day changing shifts as needed. No one was to come in or out of the basement. One at each door and one in the basement. We took the pictures of Colin. If one was found we missed, the men really didn’t see Colin, so what would they know?

Gabriella didn’t say much to the men, but hello when we introduced her. Even I could see the guards were attracted to her. Her color was coming back and she looked very human now. Approaching Colin’s car, she looked a little hesitant at it. I then realized she’d never been in one and probably imagined being in one and not even sure how to get in. I opened the front passenger door for her. She looked surprised as the overhead light came on.

“There are lanterns that light on their own!?” She asked.

“A lot of them all over now.” I motioned for her to sit in the car. Once in I pulled the seat belt around her. “This is security for you.” I looked at Colin who was about to get in himself. “But your father won’t go too fast at first.”

Colin snickered. “I do have a lead foot. I’ll try to control that as I do about being an asshole.”

“Good man.”

Gabriella rubbed her hands over the upholstery. “It’s so soft and comfortable.”

Colin chuckled. “Of course, it is. It’s a Mercedes!”

I didn’t have to see her to imagine her face as we rode in the car. She looked at everything we passed. At first, Colin did what he said and went slow, but once on the highway he went the limit and she was trying not to be startled at the speed we went. Wentworth Manor was off the highway a good few miles. There were farms and houses nearby so she didn’t need to go far and may not have been out this far in decades. Maybe in a century. There were a few bridges and downtown Charleston could be seen.

“It’s like jewels!” Gabriella said in awe. “It’s so pretty!”

Even I would agree with that. Many people thought of Charleston like that. It was an old city. Not like cities in Europe or other countries, but one of the oldest cities in the United States. The modern world was here as well, but at night, the lights we take for granted now was nothing like Gabriella had seen. They lit the sky and reflected on the water from the rivers and harbor. It was a jewel.

“It is very pretty,” I said quietly.

She looked down at herself. “I’ll need more than one dress.” She looked at her father. “There was a dressmaker on King Street…”

“Whose probably out of business as he died a long time ago.” Colin nodded chuckling. “They have other dressmakers now. They’re called department stores.” He ran a finger over her face. “But I’ll take care of it. Tomorrow I’m having a hairdresser and there are stores in the Charleston Place Hotel we can get clothes for you. Don’t worry, honey.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” Gabriella said.

I cleared my throat. “I love that you’re both together again and all, but…Colin, you were turned in 1851. How old were you?”

“I was about to be forty,” Colin replied.

“And Gabriella,” I began. “It’s not polite, but how old were you when you were turned.”

“Thirty-four,” Gabriella said as I saw Colin nod.

“He’s right. A forty-year-old man wouldn’t have a daughter that’s thirty-four.” Colin smiled. “I would have been seven or eight.”

“Now, wait.” I sat forward. “You could have married her mother, an older woman…” I suggested.

Colin looked at Gabriella and both shook their heads. “No.” They both said.

“How about Uncle Colin?” Gabriella asked her father. “I’ll be your niece!”

Colin chuckled. “My niece I will always call Gabby.”

I waved to them. “Hello, you two are cousins, remember? Cousins!”

She smiled. “I know you will.” Her attention went to all the things she’d never seen. I couldn’t imagine them all. Her whole life ended when she was in her thirties. The world had moved on and she had not. Except for her desire to stop the hunger for blood, she apparently hadn’t done much else.

When we came into the lobby of the hotel she was brave walking through like she’d seen it all before, but she did a turn as we walked. The hotel was a top hotel and it was designed to look like it was. The hotel’s lobby was vast. There was a staircase rising to a second floor and the ceiling in this part was open both floors. There was a marble floor with a circular mosaic design the stairs going up from both sides of the design. High above was a chandelier that sparkled with light, reflected by crystals making everything bright. She turned as we walked up to the wall for the elevators. Colin took her hand after he pressed the button and we waited and the ding surprised her and the door opened.

“We get in and we go to our floor,” Colin explained quietly following me in bringing her with him. After he pressed the number four and the doors closed, Gabriella was very uneasy. “It’s common, Gabby. Millions of people do it all the time and taken as just a part of life no one gives a thought about now. Just relax. I know it’s a lot, but you’ll be fine.”

She nodded but gasped when the elevator moved up. These were unknowns and she was having a natural reaction.

I was startled when we went to the same suite he had before. Inserting a key card, he led us both in.

He pointed to a door on the left side of the suite which was now open. Adjoining rooms did exist and he had gotten the room next to his suite.

Now she just gushed. “This world is so…different! Lanterns all over. Pictures that move! I saw the tavern where they were watching the moving pictures that looked like a game being played! That lobby was like a fairy story. That room that moved to bring us here! That carriage we rode in was so fast and there were so many on the way! I don’t know a thing about any of it.” She said almost in mourning.

Colin nodded. “I know, that’s why I’m making sure I stick with you. I’m not leaving without you ever again. It will be fine. You’re safe. This is the world now. I’ll help you through it.” He sighed as he held her arms. “It’s late now. I’m taking the serum soon and you’ll see it’s not going to be bad all the time.” He chuckled. “Well, it is pretty bad, but it only lasts a few minutes. I’ll give you yours and it won’t be as bad as last night. Your body has begun coming back. You’ve got a pulse, you’re getting warm.” He caressed her face. “You have color and you are beautiful again.”

She nodded. “It’s okay, Daddy.” Then she laughed realizing what she’d said. “I mean, Cousin Colin.”

Colin smiled. “But in the morning.” He pointed to the little balcony. “You will see your first sunrise in a hundred and fifty years.” He let her go. “And then, breakfast!”

I chuckled as I sat on the sofa. “That will be…interesting to watch. He eats a lot. That and his coffee addiction.”

Gabriella laughed. “Just as before he had before he became a vampire. He had a big appetite and he’s always depended on coffee.” She kissed Colin’s cheek. “It’s nice to know some things won’t change.”

I witnessed Colin telling Gabriella some things about how the modern world works in terms she could understand. I had been up a long time and was getting sleepy. The excitement of the past two days was wearing off. I was awakened as I heard Colin groan. He was in a chair again with his eyes squeezed tightly. Gabriella was watching as her father went through this daily torture. I had seen it now many times, but it still hurt me as it hurt Colin. It took five minutes and he opened his eyes and sighed.

“See?” He asked Gabriella. “It’s pretty painful, but it goes away quickly.” He looked at a clock. “We’ve got to do it now for you. I want you having more of the serum in you when you see the sunrise.”

She swallowed and then nodded. “What are we waiting for?” She began opening her dress.

Colin stopped her with a smile lowering her hands gently. “Not that way now. You’re now circulating blood. It will be in your arm now.”

He prepared her and inserted the needle. Once more, she shut her eyes as the serum was going through her body. To me, it was just as intense as the first time as she held agony on her face. And one more time it lasted longer than Colin’s pain. This time it lasted over an hour before she finally sighed and seemed to drift off to sleep. I watched Colin wipe his face of tears that were again coming and now he could wipe them away.

“She’ll sleep a while.” He said smiling as he wiped his face again. Looking at the clock he smiled at me. “You need rest.”

I chuckled. “I’ll be fine, Colin.”

Colin shook his head. “You’ve napped and maybe slept a few hours, but it’s been two very busy days.” He came over putting his arms around me. “Stay here tonight.” He motioned toward his bed. “I’m not ready yet for anything, but we could share if you don’t mind.”

I smiled. “And I’d sort of like when we do…we have more privacy.”

He smiled and then he lifted his arm and sniffed. “I need a shower.” He smiled. “You can shower, too. I’ll put her in her bed as you do that.”

I hadn’t noticed any body odor, but he was a clean man and he always smelled nice. He would know if he did and it would make him more comfortable.

“I have nothing to wear.” I pulled on the clothes I’d worn the past two days.

He nodded. “There’s a bathrobe in the bathroom. I’ll have what you’re wearing clean.” He smiled kissing me. “I’ll even get you something new when I get some things for Gabriella. For now, do what you need to and I’ll be there soon.” He looked at me. “Okay?”

I motioned toward Gabriella. “What about her? She has nothing to sleep in.”

“But I do. A t-shirt and pajama bottoms. She’ll be comfortable.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

I did as he suggested. I couldn’t really enjoy the great bathroom which was a pretty good size. It was a suite and the bathroom had a clear free standing shower and a separate bathtub that was big enough for four people. Two sinks with a huge mirror before bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and soaps sat on the counter waiting to be used. I was draining fast. I barely had enough energy to put the robe on after the shower. I went to Colin’s bed. I was fast asleep in what had to be seconds. It seemed like I had just gotten to sleep when someone was kissing me softly on the neck. I rolled over smiling at Colin’s face. Damn, he was handsome even with his hair messed up from sleep.

“I just wanted to wake you so you could see this,” Colin said getting up. He had come to bed and was bare-chested wearing only pajama bottoms. He went in the other room and came back with Gabriella who wore one of her father’s t-shirts and pajama bottoms. “I know you need more sleep and you’ll get it, but I thought you should see this.” He said to his daughter. Opening the door to the balcony he stepped outside as the horizon was beginning to glow. I saw Gabriella take her father’s hand. For a long time, sunrise was something to fear for her. “It’s okay. You’ll get some tingling a little, but it will get better as the days go on. You don’t need to be in the dark now. You can go back to bed and just rest after you enjoy being able to see this.” He pointed to the Eastern sky.

Getting up I went toward them on the balcony as the horizon grew brighter. Gabriella was still so conditioned to run and hide she was now terrified.

“You won’t burn,” Colin assured. “I told you. There will be a tingling...like when you hit your funny bone, but that’s all. This burning will grow a little, but you will not burn. I’m right here with you.” He said in his daughter’s ear. He looked again at the sky. “It’s okay, but look…” he pointed to the horizon. “It will be beautiful. The most beautiful thing you’ll ever see.”

The first bright sliver of golden yellow began to slowly show and more rose. Colin was smiling at Gabriella as her eyes grew larger. She was watching it! I came up to really look at her. She now had moisture and her eyes were now reflecting light in that moisture as now more moisture came in her eyes. I looked at the sun as it got higher and then looking back at Gabriella I saw tears coming and a look of wonder and pure awe as she was also watching. More of the sun appeared and she looked down at herself, her hands rubbing over her arms I assumed the tingling began, but it didn’t hurt her. More of the sun appeared as now the sun was lighting the sky more. A crescent and then half of the sun was showing.

“It’s beyond beautiful,” Gabriella said in a reverent whisper as she grabbed her father’s arm, pulling him closer to her. He wasn’t protecting her, but she wanted him to know she was indeed moved beyond any words she could express.

It was a few minutes and now the sun was in the sky, round and blazing just above the horizon.

“I never…” Gabriella said softly. “…thought I’d see it again.” She cried now let the beauty of what she saw be expressed on her face. “I forgot what it looked like.” She smiled at Colin. “It is so beautiful.”