Seen

“You should know already how ‘different’ I am.” Eric glared at her smirking face.

“Anyway…that was when we started to ask more questions about us. He never told me much and Nate wasn’t that interested. He was thankful with what we had. But sometimes there needed to be a woman in the house and when dad told us about his date we got curious.”

“Did you meet one of your father’s ladies?” Stella started to laugh.

“Yes. All of them. Sometimes dad and Nate would talk about girls and what they like in one, or how their perfect match would look like. Nate’s stereotype never changed. He had a lot of girlfriends, girls were like bees and he was the honey.” Eric looked incredulously amused by her words. “But he never found a good one. Just messed around.”

“And that’s how he got in jail and hospital?” Stella chocked on her ice cream and had a fit.

“No! He loved parties and girls and sex.” Eric rolled his eyes. Stella looked down at Gracie to see her playing with her fingers. “Gracie, do you want to go play in the park over there?” The kid nodded. Eric flashed her to the park and told her not to talk with strangers or go with them and to stay close. The girl nodded and went to the swings. “We should go closer. I don’t want her harmed…” Stella started again when Eric flashed back. He shook his head.

“It’s alright. Firehole is a nice place and no one will harm her. She’s human, she’s safe.” Stella rolled her eyes.

“Alex is around too, isn’t he?” Eric chuckled but nodded. “Ok. So, Nate never found his perfect girl because he never met a vampire girl. That’s what he actually wanted. And…” Eric interrupted her.

“He wanted someone kind of like Beatrice, right?” Stella nodded. She did learn that Beatrice was her mother’s name. “That’s almost impossible to find these days. That woman had so much class, she was beautiful and smart and you are the only one with that superior attitude, but in a good way.” Stella rolled her eyes.

“You should shut up now.” He nodded. “So, back to the original story. Nate was flirty like any other vampire, and of course he had that gift to lure girls into wanting more. But some girls had boyfriends and brothers…who were playing football or some sport and were pretty damn fit. Nate isn’t very…big.” Eric started to chuckle. “He didn’t master his power too good and sometimes at all. So when he beat the crap out of someone he would get in jail and when he would lose, in hospital.” Eric was stunned. That Nate sounds so different than the one he met. “But one day, dad came home with a woman he really liked. Her name was Alice. They married and that’s when hell started. For the first few months we were genuinely happy. But Alice didn’t know what we are or what’s dad‘s job. He would leave for days and come back tired and stressed. We never commented but she started to. One day, Nate got mad because for some unknown reason she didn’t let him go out with friends. He growled and pushed her, hard. She flew into the wall and his eyes changed. I thought it’s normal for some reason, and it was. His powers were reviving. She got scared and mad and stressed dad with it. He told her the truth and surprisingly, she took it pretty well.”

“And what went wrong?”

“Dad had to travel around for his job. Vampires were moving and he had to chase them. We traveled with him. It seems Alice didn’t get used to it or the idea that her ‘children’ are older than she is and much hotter.” Eric scoffed at the proud vampire. “She didn’t get through her thick human head that we were under control. That night with the fight, dad also heard from some vampire about me and remembered what his master told him. He told Alice and she didn’t like it one bit. They started the fight and she chose to leave. They got a divorce and I didn’t understand why but in time…I realized the reason. Coming to Firehole was the best idea ever. I met you, I started reviving my past and my old self.”

“Do you think reviving your old self is good?” Stella nodded.

“That’s ME. Of course I want to. I want to remember, I want to be free and choose what’s good and bad. I don’t want to stay like this forever. I’m afraid I will kill everyone and I will lose control of my rage. I want to but I can’t. For me it’s a good thing because I finally know who I am.” Eric stood there, watching Stella. She was right, they were all against her and her wishes. They wanted the best for the city, for the world but mostly for themselves. Having Stella Blanche back alive would cause a disaster through the simple fact that she’s superior over all of them and she has power. She could rule the vampire world if she wants to. In the end it all depends on her and they can’t do anything. If she will lose control, that’s it. They have just to keep her there, in Firehole.

“Do you think you will regain control over yourself?” Stella turned her head and watched outside, at the calm city.

“I don’t know. Maybe, eventually with some help I will. But you have to be careful, Eric. When I will fully lose control, you’ll be the first I’ll come to.” Her eyes traveled back to his stoic ones.

“I know and I will be ready. I’ve prepared myself for a while.” Stella nodded and smiled, hoping that time when she’ll fight Eric won’t come in the near future.

“Anything else you want to know about little old me?” Eric chuckled and shook his head. “Alright, then.” She glanced at the park where Gracie was. At first she was alone, smiling over Stella. The two girls waved to each other smiley. After a big truck drove between the two, Gracie wasn’t alone anymore. Behind her was a teenage boy smirking evilly. Stella’s smile was erased in a second and turned her head fast. She didn’t want the vampire to take a closer look, but it was already too late. When Eric trailed his eyes on the window at whatever Stella saw outside, he didn’t see anyone behind Gracie. But he did see Alex with the same surprised face as her.

In just a few moments, Alex got into the shop, a tight grip on Gracie’s hand. Stella was still perplexed and scared while Eric stood dumbfounded. When he saw the vampire and the kid walking in, he raised and signed over. Gracie took her place next to Stella while Alex sat next to Eric.

“He saw you.” That was the first and worst line. Stella took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. “We have to keep the guard up.” He glanced at Eric. The older vampire figured what happened but was speechless.

“He will tell the others. They will come after me.”

“No.” Eric interrupted. “They won’t hurt you right away.” Alex glanced between Eric and Stella and nodded.

“True. You’re something different. You’re Stella Blanche. They won’t want you dead…yet. They’ll just…want you.” Stella raised an eyebrow and looked at Eric.

“What does he mean?” Eric took his hand through his black hair.

“They will stare, even stalk you. They will be in the shadows, they will be your shadows. For a while that’s what will happen. After that, they will gain enough courage to come closer. They can be anyone and they start a conversation from anything. They will want to hear your voice, to see what changed and what not. And in the end…” Stella’s eyes were wider than ever before. She was completely freaked out.

“In the end…?” Alex took it upon himself to finish the line.

“They will either want you to become what you were or kill you. But don’t be afraid about the second choice. It won’t happen anyway. Do you really think inferior vampires could even touch a noble? That’s in your blood. Even if you lost control or not, you will still have the power.” That was a complete different thing for Stella. She sighed in relief.