Posted: June 2004
Title: The Dark Heart
Author: Estella Greenleaf

*****

‘Life is pain' that was what his half sister Camilla told him as she tortured the poor hapless mortals who had stumbled upon her lair, ‘the only thing for us to decide is to give it or to receive it'. He never believed it then; now, millennia later, having loved and lost, he had to admit the Countess was wiser than he.

For Karl, he would welcome a pain that no creature should ever have to endure; for Karl, he would die a monster, without a single soul to mourn his passing, with no one ever knowing the depth of his love. It was the fate he had chosen, a cruel destiny he thought was his and his alone.

Yet, as his lips touched the knight's, as his ears registered the calm steady beats of the mortal's heart, he knew; in this man was a suffering that mirrored his own. Acceptance, resignation, sadness, that was all he saw in the smoky gray-blue eyes; the knight knew, from the start, how things would end. Death by his hands, that was the mortal's choice; for love, the knight would bereave his Prince of his champion; with his blood, the man would path the way for Karl to become his successor.

He had a role to play; he was prepared to follow his path to the end. But to let this charade claim another soul so deeply and hopelessly in love, to accept the knight's sacrifice on the Prince's behalf, he simply could not find the heart. Instead, he took the knight and delivered his threat. He knew it would be enough to bring his beloved Hunter to him; no other would dare hunt him now.

What to do with the brave knight was the dilemma upon his mind. He could leave things be, play his part as he had planned. But a life without love was no life at all; for the knight, watching the Prince in the arms of another would be a fate crueler than death. Such was not his intent when he spared the mortal.

Yet, to help ease the man's pain, he risked ruining his entire charade. It was written in the Prince's tender gaze and gentle caresses; the sweet beauty loved his protector dearly. Would the youth forsake his immortal lover if the knight were to declare his love?

He feared the answer, but he must know. He loved Karl too much to see him with a treacherous mortal whose heart belonged to another. He closed his eyes and murmured a silent prayer; he could only hope the Prince would pass his test. David knew not what he would do if the young mortal failed.

*****

Day broke; the rhythmic steps of a galloping horse reverberated in the stillness of the forest. The world came to live; birds chirped joyously in cacophony with the thundering hooves of the great black steed, a dissonance that reflected the inner turmoil within the rider's mind.

Worry for his beloved's safety, gratitude for a chance to prove his worth in the human world, these feelings Karl had expected. What he did not plan for was his reluctance to take the head of the beast that took his sweet beloved. Of all the vampires in the world, why did it have to be the one who saved him centuries ago, the one who offered him solace in the bitter watches of the night?

Tried as he might, the Vampire Hunter could never forget his former lover's sweet embrace. With soft loving kisses, gentle worshipping touches, David had made him feel cherished, brought meaning and warmth to his lonely existence. In his savior's arms, he had felt whole, like nothing else mattered as long as they were together.

But all good dreams end; David turned out to be the very thing Karl had vowed to hunt until his last breath. He had no choice then; he had to walk away; it was what his honor demanded. He could justify sparing his vampire lover once; after all, David had saved his life. But the next time they meet, the Hunter would remain true to his calling; he would show no mercy. That was why Karl had always hoped he would never see David again. Even if he could not return the vampire's affections, he did not wish to be the one to end the immortal's life.

To strengthen his resolve to do what the King had asked, the Vampire Hunter reminded himself of what his vampire had done. The David he knew would never slaughter a band of merchants, nor would he take an innocent youth from his family for sport. The centuries had turned his former lover into a monster he no longer knew, a beast that must be destroyed to protect the world of men.

Yet, such thoughts offered Karl no reprieve. He knew his former lover was a recluse when they first met; it was not in David's nature then to take a life without cause. It was his leaving that broke the vampire's heart; he was the one who changed his gentle savior into a ruthless child of the night. He was as accountable as the vampire was for the slaughtered men.

Pained him as it did, the Vampire Hunter pushed aside his guilt and regret. It was his duty to set things right, once and for all. He knew what he must do; he would hold true to his quest; he would kill the beast his former lover had become.

This kill Karl would not be making only for himself or for a future with sweet Orlando; he would be doing this for David. Perhaps in the next world, his former lover would find peace and love again; perhaps, among the stars where noble souls resided, David could find a place to belong.

*****

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