The first thing to do was make sure there would be no immediate complications. I had wished for no one to
notice Colette enter the woods, but that was no longer sufficient. Now I wished that no one would be
concerned she was missing. I notice her backpack laying on the ground. I wished that it would be in her room
in her house where it would normally be.
Once it disappeared I picked up Colette and held her in my arms. She felt remarkably light, as if I had
greatly increased strength. I just looked at her for a moment. She was still out of it. I doubt she
realized that I was holding her. She continued to babble as well. I was able to make out her saying, “Chris…
vampire…called me…had to.” I didn’t want her to suffer any permanent damage so I had to move fast. I wished
that we would be transported to the bedroom chamber in the castle and that it would already be fully lit.
I blinked my eyes as I completed my wish and by the time they were open again we were in the castle. We were
right next to the bed. I gently placed Colette down on the bed. Her body stopped shaking and her muttering
stopped as well. Her breathing returned to a normal rate and I sensed that her heartbeat normalized as well.
Her eyes remained wide open and continued to look straight ahead. They looked like they were glassed over.
I had to snap her out of her trance. “Colette,” I said to her.
Her head turned to look at me. She blinked her eyes a few times. She looked around the room in an attempt to
gather her surroundings. “Chris, wh—where am I?” she asked.
“You are in my castle,” I answered.
“Castle?” she asked. She appeared confused. Her hands felt at her neck. They found the marks that were left
by my fangs. “You’re a vampire? How is that—“
“Shh, shh,” I said. “It is not important ‘how.’ Only the ‘why’ is important. And the ‘why’ is because I can
and because I want to.”
“What do you want with me?” she asked.
I smiled at her. “I thought that was obvious,” I said. “I want you to be with me. As my bride.”
“Your bride?” she asked. “You mean…you want me to…be a vampire too?”
I nodded. “To be with me always,” I said.
“What if I don’t want to be a vampire?” asked Colette.
“Tell me,” I said. “Why did you come to the woods? Because you heard a voice in your head?”
“Yes,” she answered. “Because it was you.”
“But you did not know it was my voice when you came,” I reminded her. “It could have been anyone. You must
have had a better reason.”
She looked at me with pained, moistening eyes. “Because I wanted to,” she said. “I thought…there had to be a
reason. I had to know what it was.”
“And once you saw it was me?” I asked.
“I…I don’t know,” she answered.
“Did you feel safe?” I asked.
She answered, “I guess so.”
“Why did you plead with me to not hurt you then?” I asked.
“I…” She couldn’t answer me right away. “I got scared,” she finally replied.
“Of me?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “You seemed…different. Dangerous. You looked frightening.”
“Do you find me dangerous now?” I asked. My goal was to break down her reasoning and also to make her realize
that she had nothing to fear.
She reached up to the marks on her neck. “No,” she said. “I don’t. Why don’t I? Shouldn’t I be terrified
of you?”
“Only you can answer that,” I said.
“I’m not,” she said resolutely. “I feel…drawn to you. Are you doing that? Are you influencing me?”
I wasn’t really sure. I’d given myself these supposedly persuasive abilities, but I didn’t know if I had to
summon them or if they exuded from me naturally. “I honestly don’t know,” I said. I decided to show
vulnerability for the first time. “I should be highly persuasive but…with you…I would rather not influence
you.” That was my honest feeling. I wanted her, of course, but I wanted her willingly. With any other
person it would probably be a different story.
“Then…I’m meant to be here,” said Colette. “Deep down, I must have known that voice was you. And I wanted to
find you.” She felt my bite marks on her neck. “It doesn’t hurt. Huh.” She smiled slightly at this
discovery. She stopped feeling her neck and looked at me again. “Your bride. Does that mean I’ll be your
slave?”
“Never,” I said. “We would be equals.”
She asked, “But what about everything else? School and family and--“
“You do not have to worry about them,” I interrupted her. “I have that ability.” She pondered for a few
moments. I felt confident that she would talk herself into agreement. But eventually I grew impatient and
asked her, “Have you decided?”