The vampire's rose

Gracie was 13. 13 when it all happened, the castle, the vampire, the roses. Even as she lay in black silk lined coffin she remembered, even when she died and floated away she remembered. It was April 26th 1888, around 11:30 p.m. The night seemed to swallow the world, but Gracie wasn't afraid. She loved the dark, she felt as though it whispered secrets into her ears and wrapped her in a warm cloak of safety. Tonight was the night that the vampire chose to come out. He had no name, or at least not one that Gracie remembered. All she remembered were those icy blue eyes that glittered in the night like two jewels she wanted to hold tightly in her hand. He walked up to her, cloak billowing in an unfelt wind and took her hand. The hand that was to warm his cold heart soon. They walked silently into the night, Gracie wondering where they were going, the vampire planning.It was only when the girl was seated across from the vampire dressed in a simple black dress that he found himself thinking of her. A beautiful black rose he called her. Her raven black hair became blue than back to black as the firelight danced over it with tiny incoherent steps.Night came to a close and the vampire sat in the garden, surrounded by his black death roses.It was than that he felt a a tiny tug on his sleeve. He looked down into the purple eyes of the child he had taken home that night. Wordlessly she climbed onto his lap and tucked her head under his chin. Involuntarily, his arms came around her and held her close. Blood tears fell from his eyes, and the girl looked up at him, her own eyes filled with pain. His pain. Now he knew more than ever he had to kill her. A human, let alone a child could not bear the burden of a vampire's pain. Leaning in slowly, he kissed her gently on the lips and sank his teeth into her neck. She did not struggle, just lay still in his arms, her own salty tears making tracks down her pale cheeks. As she died, images flowed into her brain. One stuck out and she clung to it like the vampire clung to the darkness. This was love. The pain, the tears, and the sacrifices. This was love. And so ends the story of the vampire's rose.