-8-
Giselle jolted upright. Was she in Heaven? She took a quick glance at her surroundings. She was in her bedroom at Gorgot's castle. Not Heaven… Giselle had landed in Hell instead. Giselle began crying softly. Her body shook and became coated in a layer of sweat. Was it the disappointment she was feeling? She expected to find herself greeting God and Jesus at the gleaming gates to Heaven. Instead, she was back in this perpetual Hell. Was she even dead? Had he managed to save her somehow?
A new fear suddenly rang in Giselle's chest. Her eye was gone. She ran a hand across her face and felt a huge cavity where her eyeball should be. Her eye was GONE!
"My eye! M-My eye!!" Giselle screamed at the top of her lungs. She relinquished all control of her body and collapsed to the floor. Giselle raked her fingernails down her cheeks, leaving long red streaks in her perfect, porcelain skin. The door opened and footsteps rushed into the room.
"Please stop crying, love," said Gorgot's voice. Gorgot walked over to the foot of her bed and sat down in a wooden chair.
"B-B-Bastard… took… my e-eye!!" Giselle blubbered.
"I'm very sorry Giselle, but that was the appropriate punishment for your crime against me. An eye for… well… running away."
"A-Am… am… a-am…"
"Please gather yourself before continuing."
Giselle took in a few deep breaths and crawled up in her bed. "Am I alive?" Giselle asked with newfound composition.
"Yes, yes. You most certainly are. You were close to dying from the poison in that blade… but I took measures to keep you alive."
"What… type of measures?"
Gorgot stared down at the floor.
"What have you done to me?"
"I…" He stopped himself.
"What have you done to me?!"
"The exact thing you've been fearing and dreading since the moment you met me."
Giselle stared at him in wide-eyed terror. Making clumsy movements, she stuck a hand in her mouth. She dug around and felt two pointed incisors. One cut into her finger. She ripped the finger out of her mouth, looking at the small cut on her finger. Blood slowly trickled out of the cut and down her finger.
"No… no… no…"
"Giselle… it will be…"
"It won't be all right!" she screeched. "You've damned me to Hell, Gorgot!"
"It had to be done."
Giselle was in hysterics. She curled into a ball near the headboard of her bed while she cried uncontrollably.
"Compose yourself!" Gorgot barked, suddenly enraged. Giselle ignored his command and continued to weep. "If you continue to sob, I can go fetch my cello bow and I can slit your neck again and again until you have something to truly cry about. It won't kill you, you know."
"Please… n-no…" she whimpered. Without warning, pain ripped through Giselle's stomach. She crumpled to the bed, gasping. She felt compelled to rip into Gorgot's flesh with her newly acquired fangs. It was a wild, primal hunger. She craved blood… no… she needed it.
"What is it, Giselle?" Gorgot paused to lick his lips. "Hungry?" Smiling, he gently ran a finger over her lips. She bit down on his finger with all the force she could muster. Instantly, she recoiled from the bitter taste of the blood. "The blood of vampires has a disgusting flavor to it. I promise you the blood of humans is much more tasty… sweet almost."
Giselle growled, unsatisfied. "You… you have to have some around in this d-damned castle!"
"That wouldn't be any fun, now would it?"
"I need… it… I need blood!" Another sharp pain tore through Giselle.
"Hmm…" Gorgot paused to think. "Let's go to the opera!"
"This… is not a time for music… and entertainment!"
"It's always time for those, Giselle!" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the room, presumably to get ready for their outing. She decided to go along with this; she would do anything for the blood that she desired.
Gorgot and Giselle were in a room that, yet again, Giselle had never seen before. She guessed that it was a dressing room for Gorgot, although he had women's clothes in the room as well. He rummaged around in a wardrobe and pulled out an extremely fancy and perhaps expensive dress. It was a light tan color and was decorated with sparkling little jewels. "Put this on," Gorgot commanded. He walked away and Giselle began to change into the dress. She had never worn such classy clothing before. Giselle fiddled with the buttons for a while, unable to fasten all of them. A pale hand appeared, fastening the top button for her.
"Oh!" she cried as she jumped forward. She spun around to see Gorgot standing, dressed elegantly in a black coat. Giselle looked down at herself and frowned. Her skin looked ugly against the tan color of the dress. This dress was meant for a queen, not a vampire.
"Shall we go?" he asked. Giselle nodded in reply.
Gorgot ran through the stone alleyways of the town. He dragged an unenthusiastic Giselle by her arm. These alleys were surprisingly empty. In fact, the whole town seemed to be indoors. Giselle wondered why this was so. Everything looked abandoned. There were overturned wheelbarrows in the streets and various vegetables littering the streets.
Finally, Giselle's curiosity caused her to speak up. "What happened here?"
"They're all at the opera," Gorgot answered, continuing to run.
"What… what are we seeing?"
"Die Entführung aus dem Serail," Gorgot answered. They turned into a wide street and an enormous, towering building came into view. This must have been the theater. It loomed over Giselle and made her feel no more than an ant. Gorgot and Giselle made their way around to where the seats were located. The two stepped over the feet of those watching the opera as they made their way to two empty seats. They finally sat down after hours of running and focused their attention on the performance.
Another pain ripped through Giselle's stomach. She curled over in pain. Giselle could smell the blood of the humans around her. She fought the urge to rip open their flesh and drink their blood like wine. Gorgot had brought her here to kill, she was certain of that. He would enjoy more than one show today.
"Are you okay, Miss?" the man sitting next to Giselle asked.
"F-Fine…" Giselle muttered, not looking up at him. The tips of her fingers curled into irregular shapes. She was at her limit. Giving into the most primal urge in the world, Giselle threw her head back. Looking at the cloudy sky above her, she let a piercing screech free from her mouth.
The music, the singing, and the movement on stage stopped completely. Everyone in the theater turned to look at Giselle. Fangs bared, Giselle grabbed for the face of the man sitting next to her. Her fingers tore into his skin, ripping large chunks of it off. Blood flew onto the people behind her. Giselle bit into the cheek of the man and ripped the skin off. She drank the blood as if she hadn't drunk anything in years.
Terror tore through the crowd. Screams of "There's a vampire here!" "She's killing him!" and "Run! Get out of here!" could be heard. A panicked mob ran out of the theater and onto the streets. Some remained in their seats and appeared to be confused as to what was going on.
Giselle continued to lick at her victim's various wounds. The blood was so sweet… much better than the finest wine in the world. The metallic flavor seemed to mix with his last meal – something sweet. The muscles had an interesting flavor and texture also. As much as she wanted to, Giselle could not stop her feeding.
Before long, the theater was completely silent. The screams and panicked shouts of the crowd were nothing but a memory. Giselle and Gorgot were alone. Giselle didn't seem to notice it at first, but Gorgot was clapping. "What a great show!" he exclaimed, chuckling. "May the crowd have an encore, Giselle?" He gestured to the empty seats.
"Gor… got…" Giselle whispered.
"Yes?"
"Would you like… any of this?"
"Have you tried any of the internal organs yet?"
"N-No…"
Gorgot crouched over the body. He stuck a hand into the left side of his abdomen and felt around. Apparently finding what he was looking for, Gorgot pulled a bloody lump out.
"You get half." His mouth lingered next to the organ. "Well? Bite into it." Warily, Giselle took a bite of the organ. Their lips ran over each other's when they sank their teeth into it. Chewing slowly, Giselle looked up to meet Gorgot's gaze. It was strange emotion that Giselle felt in her chest. Was it happiness? Was it thankfulness? Was it… love?
"Excuse me…" a child's voice said. Giselle almost jumped at the sound. Her thoughts were interrupted. A little girl with long blonde hair stood in the aisle. She wore a dirty white dress.
"Girl?" Gorgot asked, surprised, "What are you doing here? Why didn't you run in fear like the rest?"
"The Bible tells me to be kind to everyone. Vampires are part of everyone… right?"
Gorgot smiled. It wasn't a malicious smile. It was a kind and heart-warming smile. "Innocence…" He paused. "Is bliss." With one swift kick, Gorgot sent the young girl flying backwards. A sickening crack rang out.
"Why… why… why why why why?" Giselle repeated. Her voice was shrill.
"You need to feed," Gorgot said. "Go." Giselle looked at her body, then back at him before running over to the small girl's body. She bit into the child's leg, ripping out muscles and skin and devouring it hastily.
"The blood of an innocent child…" she began.
"Yes?" Gorgot asked.
"Is the most delicious."
Gorgot grinned once again. This time, his smile was filled with wickedness. "Everything I do… I do for you, Giselle."
Giselle sat in silence for a moment. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
"You're quite welcome."
"I… I'm… glad I became your pet."
"Giselle, you're no longer my pet. You're my wife."
Giselle smiled for the first time in such a long time. "I suppose I am."
The powers of good cannot always win. These kinds of endings are reserved for children's fairy tales. There is no knight in shining armor to come save you from whatever evil is thrown your way.
Love won't be always what you want. You have to make due with what you have. Even if it isn't exactly what you pictured, it's better than being alone. Your own Prince Charming might be a blacksmith or a… vampire.
In the real world, God will not always triumph over Satan. The war between good and evil will never be one-sided. Humans don't seem to understand this.
And sometimes, life is better on the side of evil.
This is the end of our story.