Sitting barefoot on the edge of the stream, the girl no older than 18 or so held a rose in her delicate hands. All alone, her long, waist-length, blonde hair gently wisped in the breeze. Her dark green eyes glittered, but her gaze was dull and far away from the place she sat. Uncaring about the dirt that would be getting on her hunter green dress, chosen the night before to match her eyes, she looked the rose over from all angles. It wasn't a romantic red rose. Nor was it an innocent white one. It wasn't even a coral or yellow one. She was holding the rarest species of rose on the planet. A beautiful black rose. Really though, it wasn't black, but the darkest shade of violet that Mother Nature herself could muster.

Without actually looking at the frail flower, she dreamt of the love of her life. The most wonderfully handsome man she had ever seen. Even this rose seemed to pale in his presence. He was a wonderful man, and he treated her better than she could ever hope. The only problem was that with the way each of them was, they couldn't have an easy life together. She was still a fair mortal human. He was not. He never would be.

The unimaginably divine man she so frequently wanted to be with was a vampire. He was a type of man unwelcome by some and sought out with open arms by others. Still, there were even a few who hunted their kind, but men and women willing to destroy the creatures at the risk of their own lives was so few and far between that the vampires themselves had little concern for their personal safety. However, it was still a horrifying experience in any village to find someone turned into one of their kind. Anyone who was changed was immediately stoned, burned, or staked.

This girl didn't care. She was in love, and that was what mattered the most. Her vampire was more than a lowly bloodsucker. He was a Prince. When he was mortal, he was a man of great respect and awe. While that time had passed centuries ago, there would always remain a memory and legend of him among the locals. He harbored terror and fear as his weapons. This girl was unafraid because not only was she very taken with her vampire-love, but he was madly in love with her.

The girl finally stood and walked back to her home. As she walked, she hurriedly hid the rose in a small bag she had been carrying. She didn't dare bring home her present in the open and have people question her. Already if they knew of the bloodlust that had occurred the previous night, then she would be condemned. Though her vampire Prince did not want her changed over, she still offered him a taste of her blood. Knowing that the neck would be a suspicious place, he had bitten her on the soft inside of her wrist. It was easily covered by a wide bracelet and no had asked any questions yet. Within a week the marks would heal enough to become nothing more than scabby scars. The fangs had hardly been driven into the surface leaving only two tiny little holes, not much larger than the end of a pin's head.

Looking at the fangmarks, she remembered how much she had enjoyed the feels of his warm breath, the sensation of his hand holding her around the waist, but mostly the feeling of waking up in the morning knowing that he had kissed her goodnight only shortly before.

Before she had left, he held her close and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his cape. Emphatically, she held him closer and tighter. Though the undead have no heartbeat, she distinctly thought she could hear a steady rhythm in his chest. He leaned in toward her partially exposed neck, she tensed, but no bite came. Instead he whispered into her ear, "You are everything I have ever wanted in a woman. It seems as though you are gifted. It is the gift of breathlessness. When I hear or see you I am taken back and awe struck at everything you are. Your presence consumes me like fire, and I am overwhelmed in the passion of our love. For me that fire grows and builds until it reaches the point of pure bliss. I love you, my dear."

Quietly, she had presented her wrist to him. He took her hand and kissed the palm. "I dare not mar the skin of an angel," he replied to her eager face.

"Please, taste it. I know you've been starved of blood for so long. Just satisfy your hunger before I leave," she begged.

Kissing her on the wrist, he looked up at her with gorgeous blue eyes that burned with desire. His blonde hair fell gently around his face and shoulders. He turned her arm over, kissed the back of her hand, then he let go and turned away.

"If I taste such succulent honey once, I fear I may want to taste it again and again. What then, my love?"

"I am willing to surrender the power to walk in the sun to be able to spend all eternity with you."

Her darling prince sighed. He turned back and unexpectedly grabbed her around the waist drawing her intensely close to himself. She began to fall as she was pulled in, and he flipped her into a deep dip. "Is that what you want?" he questioned.

"You're all that matters." She raised her wrist to him and he quickly sank his fangs in, but not deep enough to cause excruciating pain. Her back arched with surprise as she lost all feeling in her body. It felt as though her life was being sucked out through her freshly made love-bite.

Though the prince drew back after a minute, she immediately pulled him back toward her for a kiss.

"My sweet," she cooed woozily, "I love you more than words can bear." Watching the room spin, she lethargically caressed his face. Then there was darkness and she awoke in her bed in her own room.

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Sitting patiently on the end of the bed, she tucked the rose behind her ear. She wore a strapless dark blue dress, which fell only to her knees. Her long blonde hair fell about her, down to her waist as she lay back on the bed, closing her eyes.

Suddenly, next to her she felt someone's presence. Opening her eyes, she saw the prince standing over the bed looking down on her. His eyes scanned her up and down, but his mouth only smirked. Without saying a word, he scooped her into his arms. She placed her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. Behind him, the door to the balcony slid open. A tall white man stood outside. The princes's coachman beckoned to them. Walking to the edge, the prince jumped down, still holding his beloved in his arms. Setting her down, he stepped aside to let the coachman open the door. Assisting the girl inside, the prince stepped in behind her. Soon they were on their way to the place they would remain together for all eternity.

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Lustily, the prince ran his right hand down her side to her leg. With his other hand, he pulled her in close. His right hand traced back up her thigh to her hip. Their faces were pressed together in a heated, passionate kiss. Finally, the prince stepped back from her.

"What's the matter?" she barely managed to breath.

"I want one last look at you before you take your last mortal breath." He watched her chest rise and fall. He saw her eyes glitter in the faint moonlight. He noticed her lips parted slightly, still gasping for air. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She stepped forward and put her face close to his.

Grabbing her around the waist, he used one hand to tilt her head to one side. He breathed on her neck for a second, drew back his lips to show his pearly, white, glimmering fangs, then sank them into her throat. He heard her gasp once more for breath. Holding her tightly and hungering for more and more, he drank deeply. She fell limp in his arms.

Upon waking, she saw darkness. Realizing she had been sleeping on her stomach, she yawned. A strong hand caressed her hair. She realized she was not sleeping on a pillow, but instead the muscular chest of her dearly beloved. Smiling, she wiggled her way up his body until she was face to face with him. After kissing him, she lay back down. Here in this coffin, she was with the one and only man she loved. This was the eternity she had desired all along.