22: Engagement
"Carl can I talk with you for a moment?" asked a woman coming out of a room in the mansion.
"Yeah, sure. Its Maria isn't it?" asked Carl.
"Yeah," smiled Maria as she blushed. "I just wanted you to be careful with Joy and not make the same mistake I did."
"What's that?" asked Carl.
"I made a seriously rash decision. My lover was a vampire and I thought I really truly loved him, but I rushed it. If I hadn't have done that I wouldn't have found myself in the mess I put myself in," said Maria.
"What happened?" asked Carl.
"Well Marcel was the lord of the manor I worked in as a servant. He took really good care of me after my parents died. One night I found out his secret that he was a vampire. I had to keep quiet about it of course but he didn't know I knew. I got to know him better, but I should have known better then I did though. Servants never socialised with their masters let alone ever have any intimate contact," sighed Maria.
"I really thought that he might have cared for me after he started taking more notice of me. Then he told me he was a vampire. After some more time I really thought he loved me because why else would he tell me his secret. So I asked him to turn me but only a few months after things started going really wrong. It was the worst possible choice I've ever made and I've had to live with it for the last 30 years," said Maria. "Don't let Joy make a rushed or hurried decision when she's clouded by emotion. She might one day regret it."
"Thanks for the advice, Maria. I want everything to be absolutely perfect for her when the time comes," said Carl as Maria beamed a smile at him.
***
"Hey baby, are you ok?" asked Carl quietly while he hugged her.
"I'll be ok eventually, Carl," said Joy softly as she leaned into Carl resting her head against his shoulder.
"I want you to do something for me, Carl," said Joy looking up into his eyes.
"Yeah, what is baby?" asked Carl.
"You're the only important thing in my life, Carl," said Joy with a tear running down her cheek.
"Don't cry baby," said Carl, wiping her tears away.
"I love you so much, Carl. Please turn me baby," begged Joy.
"Woah, Joy.. that's a really big decision to be making," said Carl remembering what Maria said to him earlier. He winced when Joy pulled away from him with a wounded look.
"You don't want to?" asked Joy tearily.
"It's not that I don't want to, but I want you to make this decision with a clear head. Please think more on this Joy," pleaded Carl.
Joy sighed unhappily. "I don't want to force you into it Carl, so I'll wait."
"Thank you, baby," said Carl relived he brushed a kiss past her forehead and left the room.
***
"Adam I just feel so pressured over this whole mess. Joy wants me to turn her, but I don't know if I can do it. I love her but it will feel like inflicting a curse on her if she doesn't wholly accept it. I still can't completely accept it myself and she wants me to turn her. I can't even marry her like I want to," said Carl putting his hand on his forehead in exasperation.
"Things will get better. There has to be light at the end of this really long tunnel. You'll get through it Carl," said Adam.
"I hope so. Sometimes I just feel like screaming. Supposedly I'm going to kill this Vampire Queen and become the King of them all. I just don't see it even Laura could kick my ass," said Carl.
"Well Laura is a special case. Remember she kicked some centuries old guy's ass," Adam said.
"From what Russel told me about him, he was really weak and didn't take too much to overcome him," said Carl.
"Well I have to get going, Carl. Rachel wants me home soon," said Adam.
Carl grinned and said "She rides you really hard doesn't she?"
"Rachel is a taskmaster when she's pissed, so it's better to keep her happy. Meaning, I gotta go," said Adam.
"Ok, see you later then," said Carl.
After leaving the mansion Adam took his phone out and dialed a number.
"Craig here," the voice said from the phone.
"Craig, it's Adam. I need you to do a really, really big favour for me," said Adam.
"What can I do for you then, Adam?" asked Craig.
"I need you to supply some barrier charms," Adam said.
"What for? What's going on there, Adam?" asked Craig.
"My friend Carl really wants to get married to his girlfriend but he got turned into a vampire a little while ago," said Adam.
"Oh hell no Adam, you can't ask me to do that. Katherine would not be pleased with me. She'd grill my arse," said Craig.
"He's a good man. It's not his fault this happened to him," said Adam.
"He may have been a good man Adam, but he still has a demon inside him," said Craig.
"Please Craig, I know that but he doesn't let it control him. He has a much stronger will then you'd think. Please just talk to Katherine. I really want things to work out for him since things are really rough right now," said Adam almost begging.
"You know I don't like this but for a friend I'll do it. I'll talk to Katherine when she gets home," said Craig.
"Thank you so much, Craig," said Adam.
"Well, it's Katherine that has to approve it. I'm still learning everything too," said Craig.
"Thanks buddy. Call me back after you've talked with Katherine," said Adam.
"I will," said Craig.
***
"Thanks for meeting me, Carl," said Adam as Carl sat down next to him.
"No problems. So Rachel finally let you out?" chuckled Carl.
"Yeah. I just think it's that time of the month for her. I do have some good news for you though," said Adam.
"Yeah what is it?" asked Carl intrigued.
"One of the friends that I made during my time over on the west coast is a druid," said Adam.