Chapter 2: At First Sight

Sidia spent the next few days in a hazy state of mind. She went through the motions of her daily life, but she refused to look at her home any differently. Part of her wanted to memorize every detail. She wanted to watch a little more closely as Rosa brought her breakfast, the old woman opening the door with the same greeting she had used for as long as Sidia could remember. Sidia wanted to find all the things she took for granted about her home and fully appreciate them. No matter how hard she tried to pull herself out of her fear and dark thoughts about the night to come, she just couldn't.

On the morning of her birthday, her mother replaced Rosa, silently carrying the silver platter. She placed the tray down on the small table by the window and set out the coffee. She poured herself a small cup and sipped it quietly while standing, looking out at the ocean with a distant look in her golden eyes.

"I have dreaded this day for so long, my love." Sophia put down her coffee and finally looked at her daughter. "You deserve so much better. If I had known when I married your father that my firstborn daughter would be sacrificed like this…" Her voice caught at the end of her statement. "I didn't know the family secret until I had you, until we received that letter. It's why I never gave your father another child."

"I wish you had told me sooner," Sidia mumbled. "Maybe it would feel different."

"No, I don't think so. You had a good childhood, my love. You have lived without burden or fear. I would never take that away from you." Sophia looked away again, folding her hands in front of her. She bit her lip, clearly trying to say something more. As much as Sidia wanted to push her, she held her tongue and waited. Luckily, she didn't have to wait much longer.

"If you do not want to do this, I can help you disappear. You can actually live the life I know you want to have. I have arranged everything. All you would have to do is wait for Rosa. She will come to fetch you at sunset." Sophia picked at her fingers as she spoke.

"You've arranged everything?" Sidia asked quietly. Her mother had prepared another person for this sacrifice? She planned on offering up some unsuspecting girl in Sidia's place? No, how could she do such a thing to another person? She could never let someone take her place for this. Never. "Does that mean you found someone to take my place? I assume that's what you mean." Her mother nodded.

"How could they tell the difference if it's you or not? The vampires have never met you. It would work." Sophia didn't sound too confident in her own words.

"I think we both know it wouldn't, Mother." Sidia sighed before getting out of bed.

Sophia gasped as she fought to hold back a mournful sigh. She turned away from Sidia, unable to be so vulnerable. "I just don't want to lose you like this."

The women stood there for a long while. As the morning passed, the sounds of the house waking up danced through the window. For the first time in days, Sidia took a moment to be fully present. She closed her eyes and smiled at the sound of Rosa loudly ordering about some of the other maids in the garden just below her room. The clatters of the house staff opening and closing doors made a rhythm like a heartbeat, the life force of her home.

An uneasy peace settled in Sidia's bones, blanketing her with numb acceptance. She opened her eyes and jumped slightly as she noticed her mother was staring right at her. Composing herself, she offered her first genuine smile in days.

"My blood is not gold, and even if it were, it would not be enough to pay the price of their health and tranquility." Sidia took a deep breath as she gestured out the window towards the village. "Tell them I stole away in the night to sail across the sea. Everyone knows I could never lose sight of the water and live happily. Make me a pirate. Make me a legend. Can you do that for me, Mother?"

Sophia nodded and headed towards the bedroom door. "I don't think I can see you again before you leave. A good mother would go with you to the end, but I don't have the strength."

"It's all right. I forgive you." Sidia truly meant that.

Sophia nodded again and left, softly closing the door behind her. Alone with her thoughts once more, Sidia settled back into bed and hugged her pillows until the daylight disappeared from her room. When twilight kissed the air, her bedroom door slowly pushed open, and her father stood with hat in hand.

Without a word, Sidia stood up and slipped behind her dressing screen and put on her favorite leather breeches and linen shirt. She hated shoes, and since her life seemed to be ending, she didn't plan on wearing any to her death. She stepped out and followed her father through the house until they reached the stables. A single horse stood saddled and waiting. Her father mounted quickly and reached down to pull her up behind him. He urged the horse into a trot, and they left the estate, climbing the crests of the foothills onto the main road that cut through the mountains to the rest of Italy.

As they came over one of the higher hills, Sidia looked back and saw the village blazing with light. So many torches and bonfires dotted the land, and she realized they must be celebrating her birthday. She turned back to face the path ahead, her father now pushing the horse to gallop. They raced into the mountains, the forest growing thicker above them. They rode for some time, the full moon bathing everything in eerie light.

Finally, they came to a stop near a grove of hemlock trees. Enzo pulled on the reins and the horse neighed in protest at the quick stop. Sidia dismounted first, her bare feet landing on the hard-packed dirt of the mountain road. She looked up at her father, but he did not make a move to dismount. Instead, he handed her a long scrap of cloth and cleared his throat.

"Through the hemlocks to the east, there is a slight path that will take you two miles away. You'll hear the waterfall before you see it. Sit at the edge of the water and wrap this around your eyes. They will come for you." He turned the horse around and made to leave, but Sidia quickly reached up for the bridle to stop him.

"You're not going to walk with me?"

"No. I cannot bear it." Enzo's voice betrayed no emotion, though. If anything, he seemed detached from everything. He treated Sidia as if she were a stranger. There was no warmth or love in his eyes.

"This is how you choose to say goodbye to me? Your only daughter?"

"I cannot convince anyone you're alive if I grieve you. You ran off in the night to be a vagabond, a buccaneer. Isn't that what you told your mother?" Enzo responded coldly.

"There is no one here for you to convince. It's just us." Sidia choked on her words, tears threatening to spill. "Can't you just be my father before I die?"

A twitch revealed a flash of sorrow on Enzo's face. He coughed and looked away, relying on the dim light to hide any other slip. "If I grieve you now, I will never stop." He yanked the horse's head away from Sidia's reach and kicked, spurring the horse into a fast gallop. He rode off into the night, and Sidia stood for a moment in utter shock. Her father had never been extremely affectionate, but this kind of dispassionate farewell struck hard. How could he do this to her?

Shaking, Sidia stepped off the road and pushed through the large branches of the hemlocks. It was too dark in the thick of the trees to see much, but the ground dipped slightly, and tall grass brushed her ankles. A path had revealed itself, and she carefully followed. The forest grew thicker, and she had no way to tell the time or know how far she had walked. The path never forked or turned much to the right or left, and she trusted the instructions. The waterfall would signal when the journey was almost over.

Before long, a distant roar graced her ears, and she paused to take a deep breath. The end was near. She gathered all her strength, forcing herself to continue walking. Even with all the books she had consumed, none had thoroughly described vampires. She had no idea what to expect when they descended on her. Would they look like demons? Or humans? Would they say anything or just eat her? If she was blindfolded, would she even know the moment of her death?

Sidia tripped on a stone in the path and tumbled through a patch of tall bushes. She landed hard on her hands and knees, sucking in a deep breath from the stinging pain. Slowly, she pushed herself off the ground and knelt, rocking back on her heels and looking around. A wide clearing swept out from the forest, bordered on one side by a towering cliff. The waterfall dropped over the edge and plummeted into a large pool that narrowed into a river, curving away through the trees and presumably towards the coast. Slabs of rock jutted over the banks, perfect shelves for sitting over the water to dip one's feet. The night sky was clear and perfect, the full moon shining on what would otherwise be a scene from a fairy tale.

The momentary awe at the natural beauty before her evaporated as she gripped the cloth her father had given her. Tears threatened to pour again, but she fought against them. She refused to die a whimpering victim. No matter how much fear chewed at her insides, no matter how much terror clutched at her heart, and no matter how much the urge to run chimed in her mind, she would not lose her dignity and grace.

She stood to move closer to the water's edge, sitting back down on one of the rocks overlooking the rushing water. She was at the perfect height to plunge her feet into the current, and the cool water washed away the dirt and aches from walking barefoot for two miles. She wasted no time wrapping the cloth around her eyes, tying a tight knot. She could no longer see anything around her, the fabric thick and impervious. She tried to slow her breathing and racing heart, but not even the waterfall could completely drown out the sound of panicked panting.

For a split second, Sidia couldn't help but let out an unnatural laugh. The absurdity of her situation struck her unexpectedly. A desperate part of her hoped this was just a ridiculous prank. Her parents would come barreling through the trees, and they would all have a good laugh at how easy it was to trick Sidia into thinking they were sacrificing her to vampires. This intrusive fantasy encouraged another giggle, and her head spun from all the emotions still coursing through her.

"Can't say any of them have found this amusing before."

A deep voice slipped like silk from behind Sidia. She yelped and hastily fumbled to her feet. She fought the urge to rip off the blindfold, still dutifully aware of the instructions to leave it on. Before she could respond, two cold hands fell on her shoulders, and suddenly she was no longer touching the ground. Sound melted away and the air whipped around her in a frenzy. She cried out, stomach turning at the strange sensations around her.

It felt as if her body was moving faster than anything she had ever experienced. This lasted for a few minutes, and just when she thought she could stand it no longer, everything halted. The hands on her shoulders let go and she fell forward, coughing and sobbing. She didn't have a chance to process or feel around her surroundings. The blindfold was ripped off, and Sidia froze.

Nothing she had imagined over the past few days could have prepared her for this. It never crossed her mind that she would come face-to-face with what she could only assume to be a vampire and find herself breathless in such a wonderful way. Oblivious to anything else, she stared at the dark eyes in front of her, watching her intently.

Some new emotion, something she had never felt before, sparked in her chest as she locked eyes with him, whoever he was, the vampire. She never knew brown had so many shades or that it could be such a beautiful color when flecked with green and gold. For whatever strange reason, her fear dissipated, and she knew without a doubt this man would never harm her. She couldn't explain it. It was something she just knew.

He opened his mouth, and the words sounded incredible as they were formed by his tone and accent. "Hello, Sidia. Welcome home."