Demetrius

Chapter 32

"Gardening is an active participation in the deepest mysteries of the universe."

Discussion of the wedding arrangements began. Apparently, not much was required of Demetri; other than taking his place beside his bride. It never occurred to him what he'd wear, or if it mattered. For all he knew, he could wear a swimsuit and foot-thongs.

"Please, let me do your hair," Katrina begged Alexis. Alexis patted Katrina's hand in appreciation and acceptance of her offer.

"Come -- I want to show you the dress I wore when Adrian and I were married. Maybe you'll find it suitable for you too. We have others to call -- inviting them to attend. You and the girls can help," Anastasia said looking at each of them in turn.

Constance and Isabella accompanied them to the house. Constance slowed her pace -- pausing to look back at Demetri. She demurely looked over her shoulder at him, seductively in her desire to have sex with him -- to fuck him.

"She wants to do it with you. I guess you know as much," Katrina said seeing his smile.

Katrina wanted to show Demetri the grounds; her garden. Thinking their time alone was an opportunity for them to get to know one another better. She took him by the arm as they strolled leisurely -- feeling each others realities intuitively. He felt closer to her than he imagined his feeling -- like he really was her brother. His interaction with her made him think of Kitty again; thinking the two of them would've hit it off splendidly.

He wasn't prepared for what she said next:

"You look like father -- when he was younger, of course."

"What do you mean? My father's in Romania now," he said not understanding her, feeling his core body temperature dropping a few more degrees.

"Oh, you mean mother hasn't told you -- now I'm really in trouble. I shouldn't have said anything. I thought you knew -- about their past and how our mother was impregnated by Adrian when she was still human. I better not say anymore, it's best she tells you."

"Wait a minute," he said incongruously not willing or able to comprehend.

"Adrian was a vampire and my mother was human. How could he impregnate her," he asked not believing for a moment Adrian could be his father. Yet a part of him knew it was the truth, in spite of his denial and inability to accept what she was telling him.

"Well, if you promise not to tell Anastasia, I'll try to explain it the best I can -- promise?"

"Yes, of course I promise," he said anxious to hear what she had to say.

"You know how you began to change from ingesting Alexis's bodily substance and how her vampire cells and molecules began to infiltrate and take over your human cells -- in only one month, right? Well, our mother and father had an ongoing affair for almost a year. Our mother became enough of a vampire from performing oral sex on father frequently -- drinking his sperm. The more she did it, the more addictive it became for her. She told me she used to get the shakes if she went too long without doing it to him. Eventually it caused her womb and ovaries to become receptive to vampire sperm -- allowing for impregnation and your conception.

"When she gave birth to you, she saw you were human and not vampire. The man in Romania, who you refer to as your father; chased our mother from the house when he discovered she'd been unfaithful to him and worse yet -- she was becoming a vampire.

"She didn't know what to do and didn't want to give you up but Adrian encouraged her to do so. He wanted you to live as a human, believing the day would come when you'd discover the truth. He didn't know what they'd do with a human baby anyway. He wanted you to decide what you wanted in life -- when the time was right. He convinced mother they'd be acting selfishly to raise a human as though it was a vampire. Finally she agreed, thinking giving you up would be a loving sacrifice -- one a human would make. She kept tabs on you, watching out for you when she could, without your knowing, of course."

He dropped to the ground, holding his knees together at his chest, burying his head in his arms. It was too much for him to assimilate, along with all the other changes he was experiencing. Somehow he knew it was possible. Yet he remained unconvinced, thinking it might not be true. Perhaps he was living a dream, or he laid in some hospital somewhere, in a coma. The whole idea, as strange as it might be, turned his past and life inside out -- upside down.

He recalled bits and pieces of his childhood, when things happened strangely and without explanation. He always felt he was different from others as a youngster but it never occurred to him it was due to the fact he was -- what was he -- a half-breed.

She sat beside him, feeling the revelation of what she said, troubling him. She didn't understand it, thinking he'd be happy in knowing the truth. Certainly there was no shame in being vampire -- was there?

"You're not disappointed are you? It's hard for me to think you'd be unhappy in hearing the good news. It's something you should feel good about, not a cause for you to become sullen."

She poked him in the ribs adding, "You've finally come home to us. It's where you belong -- where you've always belonged," she said standing to pull him to his feet.

"Come, I want to show you our garden. It's where I had many thoughts of you growing up and what you were like -- wishing you were here with us."

He felt better, thinking there was a chance she and everyone else were wrong. Where was the medical proof of what she told him?

They were in the garden when she said,

"There are some beehives, with particularly aggressive bees. I've researched them, discovering they're African bees. I've seen them attack all sorts of critters -- those daring to venture too close to their hives. They're very territorial you know -- driving off snakes and even birds with their relentless and well coordinated attacks."

He was fascinated and impressed by how much she was able to learn from nature, through observation and research. They gathered up some flowers for bouquets when he began to feel tired -- yawning. He thought of the

Wizard of Oz

, when Dorothy and friends were in the field -- overcome with the need for sleep.

Katrina gave him a brief tour of the house, noting he was still yawning. She took him to his bedroom saying,

"This will be your bedroom," she said smiling. When he saw the bed; he again yawned, feeling tired. He wanted to know if it was all right to take a nap.

"Oh, sure -- Adrian takes naps during the day too."

He lay down, closing his eyes as Katrina drew the drapes. He felt himself being drawn into a deep, mysterious sleep -- brought on due to the physical and mental changes taking place. As he began to doze off, he found himself communicating with Alexis -- carrying on a private conversation with her mentally until he fell asleep.

While sleeping, he remembered her coming to check on him -- giving him something to drink. He didn't know what she gave him but it made him feel better, as though his body needed whatever it was. She undressed him, getting him under the covers and onto the silk sheets.

It occurred to him why it was so easy for him to welcome her into his life -- how and why he was able to love her unconditionally. He thought it was because she appealed to him as only a vampire could. And then he thought of how natural it was for him to lick her. Where did he learn it was the same as kissing, unless it was instinctual for him to express affection in such a way? Shortly thereafter he had the following short dream -- a revelation suggesting what Katrina revealed to him was the truth:

He was alone, walking around the house, discovering new and different rooms, dotting the long hallway. He walked into what appeared to be the den. When he looked above the fireplace, he saw the painting -- dropping into one of the chairs.

He held the arms of the antique chair tightly in his powerful gnarled fists -- staring at the painting of Adrian, when he was younger -- their likeness, more than apparent.

The dream, like most dreams was accompanied by a feeling -- a feeling in discovering the truth about someone or something, as it's revealed to us intuitively, subconsciously. It left behind an awareness of who and what he was. In doing so, he felt as though he'd been set free -- free to move on into a continuing state of change, growth and self-awareness.