Faustine’s Eve (A Vampire Story) - Chapter 13

The steam from the tub filled the bathroom like a light fog. She inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly. Wishing that the steam could purify her soul she sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin rested on them. How could this happen? Would it happen again? She asked herself. Unconsciously she clenched her jaw. The muscles squeezed and felt tight like the way a leather glove would feel against the hand when the fist was clenched. What to do? She asked herself. Was it really feeding him that caused her to bite that man or was it because she loved Faust and was attaching herself to him as Giselle previously explained? She wasn’t sure.

She splashed warm water over her face and let it run over her head through her cupped hands in a mock ritual to cleanse herself. If only it were possible she thought. If this is what I am becoming then is there really any salvation for me? Now that she thought about it, what happened to the man who kidnapped her? Was he dead? Did Faust kill him? The hot water began to make her feel a little dizzy as she thought about these things.

There was so much blood on the floor in the building and she was ashamed that she didn’t it notice at the time. When Faust showed up that man was already coughing up blood and sputtering provoking words at him. In the state she was in she didn’t even notice how deep she must have bitten. She leaned back in the porcelain tub and her hair stuck to her hot skin the way her thoughts did to her mind. Was he going to die anyway? Was that why Faust killed him? She asked herself.

Closing her eyes she muttered, "Did I kill him?" She didn’t know if she wanted to scream, cry, be angry, or be sad. She felt as if she shouldn’t feel bad considering that he tried to hurt her more than just once. But there was a part of her that didn’t want to hurt anyone unless she had to. What would have happened if I didn’t bite him? She thought. Would he of killed me? Would he of locked away and forced me to live out a worthless existence in his insanity and obsession? With these thoughts rushing through her mind she opened her eyes and looked down into the tub and there she saw small clouds of blood in the water that had trickled down her face.

What a great time to get a nosebleed she thought as she quickly sat up, pinched her nose, and tilted her head back. The blood made a small path down the side of her lip that she didn’t even notice. The thought of tasting the blood at the corner of her mouth crossed her mind and abhorrently she wiped it away. It was obviously time to get out of the tub she thought.

After getting dressed she peaked out into the living room and there she saw Faust mulling over some papers and making phone calls. He kept his voice low and she wondered if it had anything to do with that man. After a few moments he put the phone down and turned around to look at Eve.

"Are you ok? I smelled blood." He asked. Of course he could smell the tiniest drop of blood in a bathtub full of water, she said in her head. Such a thought was reminiscent of a shark to her. But couldn’t his kind be considered sharks in some way? She wondered.

"The bath was too hot and I got a nosebleed." She wiggled her nose a little which made it obvious that there was tissue paper folded inside to stop the bleeding. He walked over to her and his hand on the side of her face and she instinctively closed her eyes and melted into his hand.

"Are you really ok?" He asked her again and she knew that this time he wasn’t talking about the nosebleed. Opening her eyes she looked off to the side solemnly before directing her eyes at him.

"Is he dead?" She asked in a low voice. Faust took a deep breath and looked away from her eyes. She put her hand against his, that rested on her cheek.

"Did I kill him?" She managed to ask.

"No, it wasn’t your Fault. After you left… I did."

"There was so much blood. I did it." She said.

"You did what you had to do. That could have been you with your throat gouged out. He had no right to live anymore. I’ve seen so many people in my lifetime that you need to trust me when I say that he didn’t need to be alive anymore." He explained. She had never seen him ever talk about death being a fitting punishment for anymore. She felt that she ultimately killed him and what Faust did was to save her from self-blame. Was it difficult for him? She wondered. He was a doctor after all and killing a person intentionally went against medical ethics.

A few days passed and everything remained quiet. The feeling she got from blaming herself slowly began to subside as she realized that it could have been her dead in that abandoned building. She felt the guilt she experienced was from stress but now it was over. And when Faust mentioned going to Marcello and Giselle’s place for dinner she knew that she had to go. She needed to speak with Giselle.

The smell of Marcello and Giselle’s was comforting to her. The scent of wine and chocolate made her feel at ease. Of course after arriving she and Faust went through the normal greetings. To Eve, there was a ritual every time they would come by. After a few minutes Giselle always managed to steal Eve away to some far off room she had never been in before. But she truly liked Giselle and felt as if she could trust her. Again, she found herself in a small room of many with a roaring and hissing fire accompanied by a bottle of wine and Giselle’s curious and mysterious obsidian eyes.

"How did the party go?" She grinned as she opened the bottle of wine. Mentioning the party again made Eve momentarily forget all about the incident.

"It was perfect." She admitted. Giselle crossed her legs and sunk back a little in her red velvet chair. Everything about Giselle had a seductive quality to it. No wonder she knew exactly how to alter that dress.

"How was the dress? Is it still in one piece?" She teased. Eve nodded feeling embarrassed.

"Of course it is. Things didn’t go that far." She told her.
"But something did happen am I right? I know the look in your eyes. I know it because I used to have it too." Giselle revealed. Eve never ceased to be amazed by Giselle’s perception.

"Well in any case, I’m glad to see things moving forward." The familiar sound of Giselle’s lighter clicked in the air as she lit a cigarette appropriately at the end of her sentence.

"Kanon was there." Eve’s eyes looked directly at Giselle and her cigarette dangled slightly from her lip.

"Kanon? You saw her? Hmm?" With that question Giselle took a long and slow drag of her cigarette. Eve said nothing because she had nothing to say about her other than the obvious fact that she didn’t like her.

"I wasn’t crazy about her." Eve admitted.

"Of course you wouldn’t. She’s your lover’s old lover." With those words Giselle let her eyes wander around the room in thought. Not particularly wanting to talk about Kanon Eve brought up what she had wanted to speak to Giselle about for days.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else too. I want to ask you about Renfield’s Syndrome again." Just mentioning the psychosis made Giselle quickly glance at her then put out her cigarette.

"What do you want to know?" Giselle’s attention immediately became selective as she focused on Eve.

"The other day…" Eve trailed off as she was interrupted.
"I know what happened because I have the connections that got rid of the body." Giselle told her. And with that Eve knew for sure that not only was he truly dead but, whoever Faust was talking to on the phone to when she got out of the bath was the mentioned connection.

"I don’t know how to explain it. He had me cornered and I was terrified. But then I wasn’t afraid anymore. I felt as if I could move heaven and earth in that moment. And when he moved close to me, I actually bit him. There was so much blood. I don’t know if I did it because it was the only way I could get away or if it was something else." She looked up at Giselle only to be looked back at with concern and fear. Immediately Giselle rose from her chair and walked over to Eve and began looking at her closely. Eve wondered what she was looking for.

"You have to stop Fiorella. You have to stop feeding him." She said with the utmost urgency and concern.

"But how do I know if it’s really that? Couldn’t there be a psychological explanation why I attacked him? Isn’t it possible that I was just scared? You know, the fight or flight reflex." She tried to reason.

Giselle shook her head adamantly and cupped Eve’s face in her hands and said, "How many times have you fed him?"

"Probably about three times. He doesn’t seem to need that much from me that often." She explained. Giselle looked away for a moment as if she was trying to decide what to tell Eve. She looked back to her and told her, "That’s because he has other donors." What she said was met by shock from Eve. He’s had other donors all along? Eve thought. She wasn’t sure if she should be upset or not.

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Sorry for the delay again. School has been hectic.Thank you again everyone for reading this story. There will always be a next chapter one way or another. Also, there is a side story coming up in a few days as well. Enjoy.

"It’s not like that Fiorella. We all have multiple donors. Those of us who at least have some compassion towards humanity do. Feeding frequently from only one donor will send them spiraling into Renfield’s Syndrome quickly. And honestly, many of our kind do not care because sometimes one donor is more convenient. I’m sure that’s the reason why he’s hesitant to feed from you too often. Please do not think of multiple donors as lovers. To us, feeding from someone does not mean that we care for them in that way. I know that because you love him that you see the experience as something close and private and I’m sure to him with you it is. But he knows that if he feeds from you too often then, you will go mad. It’s not too late. You are just experiencing the beginning of the syndrome. This stage lasts for a while but it is reversible. If you stop feeding him then the side effects will go away, but if you continue to feed him too often then there is nothing you can do." Giselle’s detailed explanation left Eve speechless as she thought about her words carefully.

"I understand but, why is this happening of I’ve only fed him three times."

"Maybe it’s because you care for him. Whether you know it or not you are in some way striving to be his equal, because you want to remain with him. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way. In fact, if you didn’t then I would wonder. But, you need to be careful."

"Can he sense it happening to me?" With her very honest question, Giselle gave her an honest answer.

"I could not sense it myself. It is too soon for it to be obvious. But that is a good thing." Giselle replied.

"What about your donors?" Eve asked. Her question was met by a sad and forlorn look in Giselle’s beautiful dark eyes and Eve felt bad for asking. Although it must have been a sensitive subject for Giselle, she walked towards the door and motioned for Eve to follow her.

Eve never did recognize the endless corridors in the home. Finding her own way around would have been like a mouse trapped in a labyrinth. Passing what she recognized as Giselle’s lounge, where they spoke for the first time, she knew the room down the dim hallway led to where her pair of donors were. Remembering the first time she met them made her recall being cornered by them before Giselle ordered them back. She wondered if she would ever become like that. What would Faust do? Would he get rid of her? Put her out of her misery? She wasn’t sure.

Stopping at the door Giselle coiled her fingers around the door knob and her well manicured nails clicked against its gold finish. Hesitating for a moment she opened the door and allowed Eve to enter before her. The first thing Eve noticed was the scent of blood electrifying the room’s atmosphere. Looking from left to right she didn’t see either Justin or Adrian. Giselle walked passed her and to a corner of the room consumed by shadows. Turning on a small lamp Eve looked down and there they were.

Their hands were stained with blood and their lips matched. They held one another as if they would break if they were torn apart. They were two beautiful men in such a fragile and pitiful state. Was this the cold and hard truth about Renfield’s Syndrome? Was there really nothing Giselle could do for them other than end their misery herself? With such thoughts in her head Giselle turned to her and said, "There is nothing that I can do for them now." Eve felt as if she could read her thoughts.

"I know they became this way because of me. When I found them they had nowhere to go and they had this glazed over and drugged out look in their eyes. I immediately knew that they led a doomed existence. But, I thought that I could at least give them a better alternative even though they were dead either way." From Giselle’s words rang of an air of wisdom that could only come from seeing the rise and fall of civilizations.

Huddled together in the corner they fed from one another in what appeared to be an intimate yet terrifying embrace. Was it the allure of such love and devotion or was there a biological reason, why she was sensitive to the psychosis Eve wondered. Glancing to Giselle next to her, she thought that she must have had countless donors in her expansive lifetime, but what was touching was the way she seemed especially attached to these two poor souls.

Giselle crouched down and stretched her hand out to them, who in return touched her affectionately. The two had resolved to auto vampirism to feed their psychosis.

"I haven’t fed from them for weeks now. But when I stopped they began to feed from themselves and one another. This is the final stage of Renfield’s Sydrome." Giselle spoke as she pulled her hand away from between the two. Upon withdrawing her arm there were marks on her skin that left the dull and flat impressions of human teeth with blood beginning to well up inside the wounds.

As Giselle looked lovingly at the two she said, "This is all I can do to comfort them now."

Seeing the blood on their mouths and on Giselle’s arm made the warm, and newly familiar, sensation of her jaw tensing and aching overcome her. Immediately she covered her mouth with her hand and backed away into the shadows from the three of them. Was it just the sight of the blood or two others enjoying it that caused her to react this way? When she thought about it she wasn’t sure. Both Justin and Adrian looked at her with curious and kindred eyes. She wondered if they could sense her own succumbing to Renfield’s Syndrome. Is this what I will become? She thought. The vacant look in their eyes haunted her for days to come.