Chapter Text
After a day at the beach, Bella walks back to her room through the crowded streets of Rio. The setting sun warms her back, drying her wet T-shirt from her bathing suit. Many of the local men turn to look at her, as do some of the women. Some try to talk to her, giving out their best smile, but Bella passes them by, now she wants to take off her wet swimsuit and wash the salt off her body. So, the young woman moves through the crowd of people like a river skirting the rocks along the way, paying no attention to anyone. She is used to attention, though she can disappear into the crowd if she wants to.
For the past couple months, Bella had been enjoying the sun, the ocean, and the peace. No, she wasn't necessarily alone all the time, but she preferred to be alone with herself most of the time. At night, that's a whole different matter. Nighttime can be chilly and lonely. Traveling through South America, Bella visits new places and sometimes forgotten old landmarks that she hasn't seen in a long time. Cities are expanding, ruins are increasingly crumbling. History begins and ends, but that is not the case for everyone on this earth.
When she entered the room, Bella threw off her beach backpack and went straight to the shower, throwing off her wet T-shirt and shorts on the way. She takes off her bikini in the shower, wanting to squeeze the sea water out of it. The warm water runs over her naked body, which has been perfect for centuries. Except for the crescent-shaped scars scattered here and there. They are almost invisible to the human eye, but if a vampire sees them, for example, he will be able to draw a few conclusions about this young woman. And possibly save his life with that knowledge.
Stepping out of the shower ten minutes later, Bella, wrapped in a towel, sits down in front of her laptop. She browses through the news and weather until she reaches her e-mail. Among the miscellaneous spam and discount coupons, she finds an email from a familiar post. After reading it, the young woman leans back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. Her pensive gaze slides over the tiles until finally a final decision is made.
“And I was just starting to relax here...,” Bella pondered. “But since you have to, you have to. Although... It'll be a waste to spend the night on an airplane. Gotta get what I can out of Rio in time.”
With those thoughts, a satisfied smirk appeared on Bella's lips. She rose from her seat and threw off her wet towel and began to pick out her outfit for the evening. “Hmm, underwear will hardly be necessary. It'll be quicker this way.” Bella can get almost anyone into her room in any outfit, but tonight she wants to look really good.
“Somebody's gonna get lucky today.”
*
A couple of days later, Bella comes to the villa, the address of which was given in the very letter. To get here, she had to fly to Portugal and then come to France by car. Bella was generally not stressed by this trip. She took a car and drove through a couple of countries, looking at the world around her through the windows of the car, sometimes stopping for a tasty meal of local cuisine.
Once inside the spacious hallway of the two-story villa, the smell of an old house hits her nose. Really not as old as the smell of the two vampires in here somewhere. Literally, as the front door closes behind the guest, a hand from behind Bella's back rushes to her neck. Simultaneously dropping her bag from her shoulder, the young woman ducks to the left to avoid the vampire's grasp.
The attacker does not stop there, and changing the angle of attack, continues to try to capture Bella. But the guest, who has come from Rio, does not give up so easily. Turning toward her attacker, she sees a familiar face flashing in front of her at an incredible speed. Bella allows herself a smile as she continues to block or dodge the speedy attacks of the vampire in front of her.
The vampire tries to get behind her, then Bella gets tired of it all, crouching down sharply and throwing her left leg back, makes a slash for the vampire behind her. He manages to react in time to this move, but Bella was expecting something like this too, so she quickly turns around and grabs her attacker by his clothes, rolls him to the ground and then sits on top of him. She studies the man beneath her with mild interest, until finally a playful smirk formed on her plump lips.
“Demetri,” Bella greets an old acquaintance. “And aren't you ashamed to attack me from behind, knowing full well the outcome of such a thing?”
Demetri in turn studies the young woman sitting on top of him. “She hasn't changed a bit, still just as strong and agile.” The vampire tries another move, but Bella holds him firmly, with an annoying smirk on her face. “Should have seized the moment while she was practicing with me. Now I can't even give her a slap on the wrist.”
“I should get lucky sometime,” the vampire replies with an annoyed smirk in return.
“You should get me pretty drunk for that,” Bella says, getting off the vampire and giving him a hand to help.
“Then it wouldn't be fair,” Demetri replies, taking Bella's hand and rising to his feet. “And not as interesting.”
“So, attacking from the back is now considered fair?”, Bella wondered, raising one of her eyebrows.
“Come on, you knew I was there from the start,” the vampire crosses his arms over his chest.
“I was hoping for something original, but it turned out to be ordinary as usual,” the young woman complains. Demetri doesn't respond this time, continuing to stare at his guest. Bella spreads her arms, inviting the vampire to embrace her, which he promptly takes advantage of, after a brief pause.
“It's good to see you again, sis,” Demetri says in Bella's ear, pulling her close to him. With his hug, he conveys to her all the separation feelings he's been feeling all this time without her. So, the embrace drags on, no one wanting to pull away first. Even though they are not related by blood, they are very close to each other.
“Likewise, brother,” Bella replies, patting the hard back. When she pulls away, she looks at the vampire curiously. “I hope that's not why you called me here? For a two-minute sparring session?”
“Of course not,” comes a rich voice from the second floor. Bella's head immediately turns in that direction, and her face reflects calm and confidence. “Come upstairs, my dear.”
“I won't keep you,” Demetri winks at her, taking a couple steps back. “But we'll talk again,” the vampire raises an index finger upward, as if giving a warning.
“Of course,” Bella answers him, starting up the curved staircase. Her hand slides along the marble railing, feeling the coldness and smoothness of the material. “It really does remind me of vampire skin.” At that thought, the corners of the young woman's lips lift upward.
Bella walks into a living room with a large and bright balcony, which is royally furnished, and sees a vampire with hair as black as pitch. He is standing in front of the fireplace, over which several paintings hang. The long-haired vampire studies them with a gaze that may seem aloof or even lifeless to some, but it is actually not so.
When he turns to look at Bella who has come up to him in the living room, there is definitely a glint of life in his eyes. “It's good to see you alive and well,” the vampire greets Bella with a kind smile.
“Likewise, Uncle Marcus,” Bella replies to him, coming closer and standing next to the villa owner. They stand like this for a few minutes. Bella looks at the landscape paintings as well. “Pretty ones, but I've seen better.”
The vampire's hand slides down to her shoulder and squeezes it gently. Bella lifts her gaze to meet blood red eyes that have seen a lot in this life. “How are you?”
Bella knows you can't get away with the usual “okay”, so after thinking it over for a few seconds, she replies. “It's not bad, I was on vacation for a couple of months in South America, which is where your invitation found me.”
“It's so off-putting when Demetri can't track someone,” Marcus pondered aloud, shifting his gaze back to the paintings. “Having to use these new technologies,” it's hard to tell from his tone if he's excited by human progress, or more puzzled. Bella thinks a little of both.
“Well, I'm fine with him not being able to show up on my doorstep anytime he wants,” Bella expresses her thoughts, to which she receives an immediate response from downstairs.
“I can actually hear everything,” Demetri expresses his dissatisfaction, but you can hear a friendly note in his tone.
“And I don't actually care,” Bella parried. “So, what did you call me in for? Probably to stump me with some new problem.”
“Oh, those young people,” Marcus complains feignedly, running a hand through his long hair. “Always in a hurry to get somewhere...”
“Enough with the nagging,” Bella asks, almost rolling her eyes. “Get to the point please.”
After another long moment of silence, Marcus finally voices his request. “I want you to look after my heirs.”
“Uh... Do you have them? Because, this is the first I'm hearing about it,” Bella replies with surprise, scrutinizing Marcus' face.
“Yes, I need your help, so I decided to initiate you into this knowledge,” Marcus explains embarrassed.
“Oh, I'm so flattered by your trust,” Bella picturesquely clutches at her heart, flapping her eyelashes like a naive girl.
“Stop it, you do realize that such knowledge carries responsibility and danger.”
“I've never encountered either the former or the latter before,” Bella replies, scratching her chin thoughtfully. Seeing that Marcus isn't impressed, she sighs. “Okay, spill it. Are they human?”
“Yes, their branch is the only one to my family tree I've been able to find. I've been following their lineage for generations, helping out as much as I can. Now there are three sisters left, their parents died relatively recently and now the eldest sister Tanya heads an international company, the middle sister Kate runs one of the lines from the business, and the youngest sister Irina who is at university,” Marcus tells her.
“Wow, a lot of girls in your heiresses,” Bella grinned.
“Yeah, and all blondes. And each one can compete with the other for the title of the most beautiful,” as if Marcus were complaining about his family.
“Really? And not a single brunette like yourself?”, Bella wondered, examining the vampire's hair.
“No. They have Slavic-European roots, so the hair color comes with it,” Marcus doesn't hold back a smile.
“I take it they're not in the know about... about anything?”, Bella clarifies.
“It is true,” the vampire confirms.
“Do you plan to change that?”
“Only in a desperate situation or other serious reason. But condemning them to our existence I wouldn't want to,” Marcus answers honestly, staring again at the painting of the meadow of flowers. It's as if that image calms him.
“So, in what way do I keep an eye on them?”, Bella continues to question.
“The colors have been thickening around them and their company lately. There was an assassination attempt on Tanya, business failures and so on. I'd like to understand if this is a series of coincidences or if someone specific is behind all this,” Marcus states his concerns.
“Are you thinking on one of the kings?”
“It's hard to say, in theory they shouldn't know about the sisters. Maybe it's someone from the human world who just holds a grudge or wants more power. I don't have to explain human nature to you, after all, you spend a lot more time among them than I do,” Marcus says.
“Like our nature is much different than theirs,” Bella snorted.
“You're right, but our species has a very different effect on the world. We live much longer and increasingly rule from the shadows.”
After a brief pause that allows the words to settle, Bella finally returns to the original topic. “So, what would you want from me?”
“For you to be there for them, to protect them if necessary. To see the situation from the inside, so to speak. I can't put a vampire on them, it's obvious to anyone who knows what to look for that this is not an ordinary company, and it's not led by ordinary sisters,” Marcus explained, anticipating possible questions from Bella.
“And in what capacity will I be there to stand by them and protect them?”, Bella wondered, crossing her arms over her chest.
“As a bodyguard.”