Regression

Yolie:
*Standing atop the cliff, the hooded woman watched the bloody scene unfolding just below. The two armies fought fiercely.
Her long black hair billowed in the wind. Her greyish tunic and cape camouflaged her with the rugged landscape. She spread her hands over the warring warriors, facing each other to death in the valley, reading the future of invader's army’s leader.
Another victory, she thought. At this rate the Macedonian warrior will dominate the entire known world in less than a year. The way he leads his army into battle is extraordinary, and that horse of his, what a temper!
Admirable. All this power in the hands of one man. A mocking smile crossed her lips. Perhaps I should watch the Hegemon of Greece more closely.
*
000

I wake up dazed and thirsty. I wet my dry lips with my tongue, opening my eyes. I sit up slowly and look around me. The bedding is all messed up, I'm completely naked and... I swiftly pat my neck in fright.
Nothing.
I look at the pillow expecting to find it stained with blood but no, the cover is still as bright blue as it was last night.
I run for the bathroom. Critically and thoroughly inspecting the skin on my neck in the bathroom mirror. Absolutely nothing. Not even the tiniest of bruises.
Brilliant! Just what I need, now it seems like I'm going to start having hallucinations.
I take a quick shower, grinning. I have little experience in all things related to sex, the idiot with whom I lost my virginity told his friends he had done it out of pity. Grrrrr, I don't want to remember that unfortunate scene.
On the other hand, I suspected Alex was an expert in this, but Wow! Let's see ... How many women can boast of having experienced an orgasm so intense that it caused them to faint?
I dry myself off, wrapping myself in the towel. I take just a few steps out the bathroom and stop short.
He’s is right there. Sitting on the edge of my bed, dressed completely in white and barefoot. He’s so fucking handsome! I bite my lip to avoid drooling like an idiot.
—I have brought you breakfast- announces pointing to the tray that rests on the bedside table.
—I'm not hungry. - I retort grumpily.

He smiles cynically, looking at me from head to toe slowly and seductively.
—I can always force you to eat. - He purrs.
Well ... last night he didn't forced me. Not exactly.
—I'll eat, okay? Now get out of here, I want to get dressed.
—Why the sudden attack of modesty? There's nothing I haven't seen, already. -He mockes.
I scowl at him, crossing my arms over my chest.
—Alright. - He laughs. - Eat it all. Mhm?
He comes over to me, giving me a chaste kiss on the forehead, and heading for the door.
I roll my eyes, sticking my tongue at his retreating form.

Alex:
I shouldn't have tasted her blood last night, but I couldn't help it. She was so tempting, so sensual... Her internal muscles were squeezing me, her wetness and warmth all around me. Zeus! It is going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to resist the desire to drink from her again. I must be careful. I have managed to gain an iota of her trust and it wouldn't be a good thing if everything fell apart because of my recklessness.
She was unconscious for an hour last night. Last night I dreamed for the very first time in two millennia. Disjointed and incoherent images came to me through our mental link.

Finally, my little witch has started making the transition.

Yolie:
When I left my room, Alex was waiting for me at the end of the hall. He silently offered me his hand and I took it.
—Come. It's time for me to show you my treasures.
We walk in silence hand in hand. A delicious tickle runs through my palm and spreads throughout my body. I look at our clasped hands and then at him.
— I can feel it too, precious. - He smiles. - This is another of the many things I haven't yet explained to you.
He's really enigmatic this morning.
We arrive at the door of the mysterious room, the one that is kept closed and to which only he can enter. He pulls the crucifix over the collar of his shirt and I notice that the lower end of the cross is shaped like a key. He inserts it in the lock and turns it.
We enter. He flips a switch on the wall and the thick curtains that cover the huge windows begin to draw. In minutes the spacious room lights up and I'm flabbergasted. My jaw has dropped to the ground and rolled away, lost among the thousands upon thousands of valuable items.
Gleaming gilded pharaonic statues, Greek vases in an unbeatable state of preservation, open chests in which all kinds of jewels gleam, Persian rugs everywhere, gigantic elephant tusks ... These are some of the priceless objects that I manage to recognize.
—It's incredible. - I whisper stunned.
—This' just a handful of what I have accumulated over the centuries.- he says without a hint of self-sufficiency, as if he were talking about something very ordinary, like collecting stamps or something.
Wait, did he say he has accumulated all this over the centuries? Does he think he is immortal?
The sensation of his fangs piercing my vein comes back to my mind, I let go of his hand. My hand brushes my neck convulsively.
A hallucination, it was a hallucination without a doubt.
—Were your ancestors pirates or tomb raiders? - I ask.
He frowns at me. I've offended him.
—My ancestors were kings, they did not need to steal anything in their lives! - He answers between his clenched teeth, angrily.
Oh, another one of his fantasies. Later he will tell me he is the emperor of Persia.
I roll my eyes and walk among the incredible treasures scattered here and there. A bust catches my attention and I look at it with interest. The face carved in the marble is unmistakable, it is Alex's face.
—The artist was talented, the resemblance is incredible. - I comment.
—I know. - He answers sharply.
Oops, he is still offended.
I walk a little further between the jeweled sabers, the cups, plates and glasses of pure gold, the extremely colorful carpets, until I spy an object out of the corner of my
eye and drift toward it. It really doesn't fit among the other displays of inordinate opulence.
The painting is quite large. Its wooden frame is polished, the canvas shows the image of a beautiful blonde standing on a shell, with her very long hair covering the secrets between her legs, her posture is modest, despite being completely naked. I have seen this image before, somewhere. Oh, yes! It is Venus coming out of the sea, I think.
—She is very beautiful. - I comment.
—Yes. She really was.
The tone of Alex’s voice denotes sincerity, it’s like He knew her. But that's impossible. I don't know exactly when, but I am sure this painting was done in some century before Christ. That means ... it means...
— It means that I really am immortal, little witch. - He whispers.
I screech in fright.
—How did you do that?
—I was able to hear your thoughts from the moment I had you under my roof.- he responds seriously.
Oh no. Oh no, the amount of nonsense I’ve...
I cover my mouth with both hands.
—Listen to me. - He pleads softly. - You don't have to be ashamed of anything.
Separates my hands from my mouth. Carrying each one in one of his and positioning them behind my back. He has me trapped, his chest brushes mine, my head at the height of his neck.
—I really enjoy listening to your thoughts. You are very funny and naughty.
I make a face at him.
— It makes no sense. How could you be immortal? - My mind runs in a thousand directions at one,all kinds of images swirl behind my eyes. He and Patrick the night of my accident, his face deformed by fury that time he yelled at me, his blue eyes turning completely black on the beach, his mouth glued to my neck sucking ... I swallow hard.
Vampires don't exist! Do they?
I look at him biting my lip, on the verge of a fit of hysteria. I pull out of his arms and back away, taking cautious steps back.
—Yes. We do exist, little witch. I am the first and oldest of them all. - He whispers, his voice has become hoarse and unnatural. His beautiful face is dislocated, he shows me that mask of absolute evil that scared me so much the other time. His eyes shine, red as rubies, his mouth widens, and a pair of extremely white, extremely sharp and dangerous- looking fangs protrude from his upper gum.
My mind is seized by an idea. RUN! And I shoot away.

He laughs cynically behind my back. I haven’t managed to get two meters away from him and I already know I’m lost. He catches up with me, tumbling me down on a bundle of Persian rugs from God knows what century.
His body presses me against the rugs. His face has returned to be the one I like so much, nut I'm already irrational with fear. I kick, I scratch and even try to bite his hands off me. He looks at me in surprise and wide-eyed.
I have no way to defend myself so I do the first thing that comes to mind, I scream.
I scream so loud that I'm convinced a banshee would hear me and die of fear. Alex leans back in surprise, then he shuts me up in the only way he can.
Kissing me, sticking his tongue down my throat. I scream against his mouth and kick at him some more, attempting to pull him off me.
—Oh, I love it, little witch. This exercise of yours of trying to flee is becoming a habit, it makes the predator within me come back to life.-he smiles maliciously.
I scream and he kisses me again. I push him by the shoulders, hit his chest and he doesn't even seem to realize it.
His kisses begin to suffocate me, I am short of breath, and my head is spinning.
—Enough, please.- he whispers against my swollen lips.-My immortal ears could not bear another one of your infernal howls. - He growls.
—You're a vampire! - I squeal in a thin voice, absolutely frozen with panic.-What am I doing here? Are you going to kill me? - I ask in an almost imperceptible voice.
He makes a face and moves off me, sitting by my side.
—I'm not going to hurt you, precious, I've already told you. I need you.
—You need me. What do you need me for? - I whisper, crawling as far away from him as possible.
—Isn't it obvious? - He asks, giving me that lustful look that had deceived me so.
The faces of the hundreds of women with whom he has been photographed in magazines and tabloids and who made up the bizarre collage on the wall of Eleni's room fleetingly pass through my mind, my eyes search for the huge square portrait of the sensual and stunning blonde and my brain draws the only possible conclusion
—It's my blood, right? There's something special in my blood and that's why you say you need me.
— Amazing! –He claps enthusiastically. – You are not just a delicious little doll, you are also incredibly smart.
— I became a doctor, Alex. No one can finish a career like that by being less than intelligent.