England
1416
Lilith woke up slowly. She looked around the dim room and noticed there was a strange man beside her bed. She spied the door at the end of the room and bolted. In less than a second he was in front of her, blocking her escape. Fighting with him, Lilith tried to claw pass him. Eventually she slumped to the ground and cried. She didn't want to be there. All this was just a nightmare and she'd wake up to her baby boy sleeping beside her.
William bent down and lifted his hand to place on her head. Afraid that he was about to hit her, Lilith cowered away. But he held her, whispering comforting things into her ear. His body was so cold and Lilith shivered against him. His hypnotic voice lulled her back to sleep and the next time she woke up, she didn't have the urge to run away again. Honestly...she couldn't remember what happened.
"Whaur am I?" Lilith croaked.
Jolting up in his seat beside her bed, William woke up at the sound of her voice. "Good morning." William paused before pouring her some water. "Well I expect it's more like noon, but down here no one really knows." He offered her a smile and Lilith looked away shyly.
"Why am I 'ere? And whaur is 'ere?" She whispered from behind the sheet she held in front of her face.
William thought about how much to tell her. He had her memories sealed, but he wasn't sure if his powers were strong enough to seal everything and he knew that he wasn't strong enough to keep her memories sealed forever. Tapping his foot impatiently, William fought with himself.
"When I found you, you were in need of help and we're underground. There is a war above, so it's best we stay here." He watched as Lilith nodded her head slowly, seemingly understanding.
"'ow long 'ave I been 'ere?" Lilith put down the sheet she hid behind and graciously took the cup of water.
As she sipped at it, William replied. "You should rest more. It's not good for you to be up and about so soon." He tucked Lilith back in bed and she blushed from his attentions. "I'll tell you more when you get your strength back." Lilith nodded again and wiggled to find a comfortable position. She looked at William and thanked him before falling asleep. Oddly she trusted that he wouldn't harm her.
Eventually she got better, but she missed outdoors and sunlight. William kept her locked up in a dim room all the time. Her food and baths were brought in by servants who didn't speak to her. She began to crave company. And the only company she got was William's. At first she despised him for keeping her locked up and never telling her anything, but then over time she began to notice a change. He was always polite if somewhat distant. But she enjoyed his company and even began to anticipate the next visit.
William was sitting across of Lilith watching her eat. She swallowed her food and looked at him.
"Aren't ye gonna eat?" She spoke up. Lilith asked the same question day after day. And his answer was always either 'I've already eaten' or 'I've no appetite'. Lilith wondered which one he would use this time.
"I already had supper." He explained.
Lilith sighed and pushed her plate away from her. She suddenly wasn't hungry.
"Aren't you going to eat?" William parroted her earlier words. Lilith shrugged and got up from the table.
William wished he could have supper with her, but his body didn't digest food properly. He'd end up with an upset stomach. If he did eat solids, it would have to be such a small amount that it would be insignificant and more so a waste of time.
Lilith sat down at her vanity table and picked up her brush. Coming up from behind her, William took the brush from her hands and began to brush her hair. She sat there, letting him cater to her like he always did. Then he leaned down to whisper in her ear and Lilith watched her reflection as her eyes widened. She was speechless.
William stood and walked to the door. He turned towards Lilith. "I'll wait for your answer." With that, he knocked twice on the door for it to be unlocked from the other side.
What would her reply be? Did Lilith love him?
He took good care of her and even though he kept her lock inside that one room, she was safe. Lilith wanted to make him happy. The more she thought about his confession of love, the greater the ache in her chest. Did that mean she felt the same? Is that what love felt like? It must be, Lilith told herself. Sleeping on her decision, Lilith waited until William would see her again. It seemed like an eternity passed before he visited.
There was a knock on the door and William on the other side asking if he could enter. Lilith ran to the mirror to pinch her cheeks and run the brush through her hair a couple times before calling out.
"Aye." She answered as the door creaked open. She gave him a big smile as he entered with his gaze downcast. When they made eye contact, her smile widened and William slowly smiled back.
"I doona ken what love is, but e'ery time I think about ye my 'eart aches. I doona know if that is what love is suppose tae feel like. O'er time I think I can come tae love ye, but I just canna say the words at this moment. Will ye wait for me?"
William rushed to Lilith and held her in his arms, whispering in her hair that he would wait forever if he had to, as long as there was a chance. Then she was let out of her room. Lilith was still never allowed outside during the day. William would take her out at night, but refused to let her see the sunlight. He didn't like her going anywhere without him and it was becoming suffocating.
The first time William kissed her, they had been outside in the fields. There was a full moon so the flowers were beautifully illuminated under the moon's glow. Since it was nippy out, Lilith had brought a quilt along and was wrapped up warmly. They both were just staring up at the moon when Lilith shivered. With a laugh, William pulled her closer, not that it would have made her warmer. The fact that he was a vampire and his body was dead meant he could not emanate any heat. Not that Lilith knew any of that. However, she found gesture sweet and snuggled closer. She looked up to smile at him and that was when he leaned down slightly and their lips touched.
At first she was shocked that his lips were so cold, but the slight tingle urged her to kiss him back. So she did. Lilith pressed her lips against his and William groaned at her enthusiasm. Soon his tongue was invading the warmth of her mouth and in the back of her mind, Lilith thought it felt different...but different from what? As far as she knew, that was her first kiss. While she expected the kiss to be warm, his tongue was cold as it expertly played with hers, coaxing Lilith to open her mouth wider. Eventually they ended up on the ground with Lilith's arms wrapped around his neck. William broke away from their kiss and buried his face in her neck, inhaling. When he caught scent of her mating mark, he growled low in his throat and Lilith jumped.
"Whit's wrong?" She breathed, her hands loosening from around his neck.
"Nothing's wrong." William replied as he began to suck and nibble on her neck. He was so tempted to bite, but he held himself back.
Lilith felt a moan build in the back of her throat as she arched her body against William. Her soft curves made contact with his hard body and again William had to resist rubbing himself against her. Pretty soon he wouldn't be able to be gentle with her and he might hurt her. The last thing William wanted was to hurt Lilith. So he pulled back, forcing himself to stop. Lilith's eyes flickered open and there was a look of disappointment on her face.
Smoothing back the worried look on Lilith's face, William kissed her, saying they should take it slow. From then on, they went out on their nightly walks which always ended up in William having to stop himself before he lost control. Lilith began to grow worried, not knowing why William seemed to distance himself. He always gave the excuse that she wasn't ready for what he wanted to do her. And Lilith was curious, but William never explained in depth. So one day, she decided to ask Megan, the servant girl.
"Megan, whit happens between a man and a woman?"
Stumbling over herself, Megan felt a blush creeping on her cheeks. True, she wasn't innocent and hadn't been for awhile, but discussing such a topic was something else entirely. Before Megan had been taken from her village to serve these 'masters' underground, she had been married to her long time sweetheart. Megan was near Lilith's age and she knew quite a lot about what happened between a man and a woman. Lilith gave Megan an expectant look and Megan cleared her throat before beginning.
"Well...women are different from men..." Megan began. She explained vaguely to Lilith about the pleasures to be found in sharing another's bed and by the end, Lilith was extremely curious.
So she asked Megan how she could better attract William's attention. Megan gave Lilith a smile and told her that Lilith didn't have to try hard. But if Lilith really wanted to get his attention, maybe she could try greeting him naked the next time he came to see her. That caused Lilith to blush profusely and hide her head in her pillow. But if that would get William's attention, she would give it a try.
William stood in front of Lilith's door, afraid to knock. Over the past month, it was getting harder and harder for him not to tear off her clothes and take her. The only way he could make himself weak as to not hurt her, would be to not feed. But not feeding would make him desperate to bite her. The more William thought about it, he decided he wouldn't starve himself because that could harm her more than if they were to have sex.
He knocked twice on the door and listened intently as there was shuffling on the other side. Lilith told him to wait a moment and he heard something fall over and Lilith cursing. That caused him to smile a bit and he relaxed, waiting until she said it was alright for him to enter. When she said she was ready, William opened the door and scanned the room, not seeing Lilith anywhere.
