and they would appear. It was also said that many though on the face of the earth actually walked above it and never touched the ground. Eventually they became known as the Moonshowers because of having to eventually practice their gifts at night due to persecution, but that was thousands of your years later.” He stopped for a moment.
Rissy was sipping her wine, listening intently. “So that’s how my family received their name. A girl has always wondered such. But Johann you are an angel now. How were you transformed?”
“I am going to tell you my dear. Where was I? Ah yes. Sera taught me many things about her people and I met and loved them all. They accepted me as one of their own. One day I was introduced to a fair maiden of the tribe. It had been discussed in their meeting of the elders that I should be wed to this girl. She was the kindest and loveliest woman I had ever laid eyes upon. I fell in love with her right off. She was shy and it took some time for her to be comfortable around me. The wedding was planned and she was happy as was I, but she kept having dreams of me dying and being taken away by heavenly creatures. The whole tribe tried to console her, but nothing worked. The day before the wedding she came to me as I was out in the forest gathering herbs and wood for our fire. She told me that she wanted to make love to me now before I died. I told her that I would love to but that we needed to wait until we were wed as was the Moonshower custom at the time and you will learn now why they encourage the clan to be free in expressing their love physically as well as emotionally.” He stopped and took another sip of the wine and then poured another flute full and downed it quickly.
Rissy saw the look on his face and rose to go to him. She took his hand and held it tight. “We made love then didn’t we?” Johann nodded affirmatively. “I could see it as you were talking. I can’t believe that I was that passionate or bold then.” She smiled at him. “But a girl can remember one thing about that encounter very well and as you told the story a girl felt a tingling between her thighs. You left right after, but why? Was a girl not satisfactory?” “Rissy it had nothing to do with your lovemaking skills. You were and always have been an excellent lover unless something has changed that I am not aware of.” Rissy blushed. “A girl is glad to know this.”
Johann paced for a few moments and then spoke again. “As you have said it was you and there was nothing at all wrong with your rape of me.” He chuckled as he said this and Rissy began to protest but did not believe that she could win that debate, especially noticing how aroused she had become. She simply smiled and waited for him to continue forth.
“I had heard Sera screaming and ran to her. It was quite late as we finished our lovemaking. She was being attacked by a female vampire who had come under the guise of needing help and acting quite human. I rushed in. Sera was bleeding profusely and as I turned to look at her this bitch attacked me. She bit at me and tried to stab me with one of the hot pokers that Sera had in the fire. It seems that the fight lasted for hours. She had me pinned and came at me with her fangs and told me that she was going to make me into one of her kind. Somehow she bit me and did the draining and fed me. She laughed the whole time as I fought back the urge to drink. I don’t really know what happened then. It’s like a haze. I broke free and apparently took the poker and stabbed her through the heart. I was weakened and badly craving blood but still had not completely changed. I went to Sera and it was then that angels seemed to appear from nowhere and lift us up. They took me immediately to Freya and Sera died on the way but not before kissing me and blessing me.” Tears were streaming down his cheeks and this time he did not bother to turn away. “She was my mother after all and it hurt me deeply that I had not been there to protect her.”
Rissy pulled him to her and sobbed with him. She wrapped her arms around him as though she were protecting him. “If you hadn’t been with this girl then maybe you could have saved her. I’m sorry Johann.” “There is no reason for you to be sorry my lovely little witch. It’s just one of those things that happened.”
“Let me finish Rissy. We are almost done for the day. Freya came to me and changed me back into an angel but I was too infected with the vampire’s blood to not have some lasting effects. I do not need to feed, but will at times and since I have found how feeding on women gave them pleasure without killing them. Sorry Rissy, but I cannot lie to you about such things. Freya assigned me to a new task and that was to be the angel of death for those of great sins. When someone cannot comprehend why someone died, then my dear, it is me who has come to suck the life out of them and deliver them to Hel where she keeps them in the stench of her lair. I have also guarded gentle souls and taken them to heaven.”
They continued their embrace and as they did so Rissy felt something on his back. Something she had never paid attention to before. “Take off your shirt Johann. Take it off please.” He was confused by her outburst. “Rissy there is nothing that you can do. Those happened long before you.” She pulled back and stared into his green eyes with hers of hazel. “But if you had not suffered for love, then you would not have them, and yet because of them, we ended up together. I want to see.” In all of the times that they had been together in the past, through thousands of years she had never noticed until now. He tried to pull away from her grasp and finally did so, but not without his shirt ripping off of him. Rissy screamed loudly and then spoke softly and gently “Oh Johann, I’m so sorry.” He just stopped and bowed his head. “Rissy, you had absolutely nothing to do with it.” Rissy began kissing the scars as though she were trying to heal them. Her tears ran down his back as she did so. She glued herself to him. “I never noticed them before. It must have been horrible for you.” She tapped into his memories and saw the whole thing unfold before her eyes driving her almost to her knees. She was able to see how the chains were cutting his flesh and the blood run down his back. It amazed her how the chains seemed to fall apart and crash to the ground like shattered glass. She could see the violence being done to the woman involved and it made her vomit. “You must have loved her a great deal and yet I have the feeling that I made you choose between the two of us at one point. If your love for her was that strong, I can see how much you love this girl. This wretched little girl here with you.” He spun around and stared at her. “I will hear no talk of you being wretched. You are my love and soon to be my wife. My choice was meant to be and it was mine alone. I could have walked away from you, but I wanted to be with you. You have never made me do anything.” “A girl meant no disrespect. She truly didn’t.” He softened. “Rissy I know you didn’t.”
They went into the house and ate. That night while lying in bed with him it dawned on her. “He never slept with me because of fear of losing someone he loved. That’s why with me, he has always been patient and waited. It must also be why I have gone against my desire so many times with him and yet in this life, I was able to give freely of myself, though it was not actually what I truly wanted.” All night she held him to her and lay naked against him. She was hoping that he would try to take her. She would have given herself freely to him, but he never tried. She would wake from time to time and kiss his scars hoping that she would be able to comfort him. He slept soundly for the first time in thousands of years. The next morning Johann woke early and found one of the servants and had them bring up coffee and breakfast rolls, and fruit. He then went to wake Rissy who did not want to get out of the bed. She had not slept much due to worrying about him and continuously dreaming of the pain he had gone through. She finally clambered out of the bed and joined Johann on the balcony. As Rissy was drinking her coffee and thinking about the previous day and then how she wanted to just spend all day in bed with him, Johann spoke. “Rissy, remember we are going for a ride.” She finally removed herself from the table after drinking at least six cups of coffee and went in and dressed. She decided to wear pants and a smart pink blouse. When she went to meet Johann outside, she gasped. There he was on a black stud and beside him was a stable boy with a dapple gray mare. There was an English hunt seat upon the back of the horse meant for her. She looked over at Johann who was riding bareback and told the stable boy to remove the saddle because she was riding bareback as well, something she regretted as soon as they started down the path., but she found herself enjoying the ride.
The Lake
