TWENTY

"Oh no, babe, that's my glass..." Ruby stopped my hand putting her fingers around my wrist gently and took the glass full of blood that I was about to lean on my lips, leaving it on the chequered tablecloth carefully before handing me my own glass that was full of wine.

"I'm sorry, love, thank you..." The beautiful vampire shook her head, smiling amused, and kissed my cheek before turning around to grab another chunk of cheese and bread. I sipped my wine absentmindedly, happy because I'd saved myself the embarrassment of my life spitting blood in front of everybody, while Terra was smoking a cigarette relaxed next to me, sat on the sand. The sun was setting on the horizon and there was still light in the sky but the powerful vampires around me didn't seem bothered by it as long as they wore sunglasses and some clothes even if it was a light cotton shirt, my girls never walked around wearing bikinis the way Vera and I did although I didn't care since Terra used to spend half of the day with her shirt unbuttoned and I saw her gorgeous and perky breasts whenever I wanted.

Antonella had prepared a banquet for us that she put in several picnic baskets and Marcus picked out a quiet corner to have dinner on the beach, protected from view by some rocks since it wasn't a private beach despite the villa had direct access. But humans were nowhere to be seen at that time of day because it was still too soon, the end of March, for tourists to go there en masse and vampires were able to manipulate their victims' minds anyway forcing them to go away and forget they'd seen them. Aren and Vera were playing near the shore, the tall Viking was taking his girlfriend in his arms and pretended he was throwing her to the water but he always caught her at the last second even before her butt grazed the cold sea and she punched his shoulder with her closed fist. They looked like two kids having fun but I couldn't help smiling, I'd never seen Vera so happy and relaxed before and that was the thing that mattered to me.

"This vacation was a great idea..." I whispered while Aren chased his girl pretending to be too slow to catch her. Terra put out her cigarette on an empty plate, drank the last sip of blood from her glass and lied down on the sand leaning her head on my lap, closing her eyes.

"I agree with you," she mumbled and sighed satisfied when I stroked her dark locks of hair, brushing them away from her forehead, while her sister picked out a ripe, juicy and absolutely perfect strawberry for me and she ate the ones that didn't meet her rigorous quality standards. I chewed winking at her and looked at my father-in-law who was sat on the other side of the tablecloth.

"Are you still angry at me, Marcus?" I asked with sarcasm.

"No, because you've baked a delicious cheesecake for me but I can't believe you despise Phidias..." The attractive vampire answered frowning while pouring more wine for his partner, who was chuckling.

"I never said that, I've said I prefer Lysippos among Greek classic sculptors, his statues are more stylized..."

"I thought you'd prefer Praxiteles" Dario winked at me and Terra chuckled from my lap although she never moved from her comfortable position. I tickled her nose and she took my hand at vampire speed, putting it on her chest carefully.

"Of course, the first artist who dared to sculpt a completely naked woman as a goddess and it was the cause of an epic scandal in Athens... He was brave, I'm not denying it." I released my hand from my girl's fingers and slid it up till rubbing her jaw with my thumb. "And what do you prefer, Dario?" The blond vampire looked at the sky where the first stars were shining, lost in his thought, before shrugging.

"I prefer Roman sculptors, actually, those realistic and expressive portraits that allow you to watch the soul and personality of those patricians..."

"You know what? You aren't the first archaeologist telling me that, you're all obsessed with finding a window to the soul of the inhabitants of the old world... It's an irony that you ended up living with one of those Romans that sat for a sculpted portrait looking very serious wearing a toga or legionary armour like Marcus, for example. Was he what you expected?"

"Marcus is less solemn, those guys in the Senate seemed to have a stick up their asses and walked all stiff looking down on the plebeians..." My father-in-law nodded, confirming that Roman high classes were unbearable snobbish assholes. "But he looks good wearing the army short tunic..." Dario winked and Marcus smirked mischievously.

"I have gorgeous legs," the old Roman man raised his glass to us and grabbed the last piece of cheesecake although he shared a small bite with his partner.

The truth is that they were a sweet couple: the old soldier coming from a Roman patrician family and the youngest child of a French aristocratic family who made his name as a historian, archaeologist and author during the reign of Napoleon. Dario's family didn't survive the purges of the French Revolution despite they lived in a small village in Normandy, far from the capital, and they never were rich. His father and grandparents managed to keep the old family manor and some farmland that allowed them to earn a living thanks to the tenants' rents, but they knew their names and used to have a beer with them in the village's taverns, they never behaved like arrogant courtiers... And yet, that didn't save them from the Reign of Terror and the guillotine.

Dario was only four years old and was hidden by a stable boy; later, he was adopted by the woman who helped his mother when she gave birth and the former tutor of his brothers, who had married the baker's daughter, gave him an education matching his social status. No one doubted that the young boy, smart and handsome, would make his way on his own merits till getting back his father's house and barony... And he succeed, what's more, Napoleon made him a count later, but he was 30 years old back then and grabbed the attention of the Emperor because of his good manners and his extensive knowledge on Roman history. The city of Pompeii had been discovered in the mid-18th century but the King of Naples only wanted to loot the treasures, Dario and the expedition he led in 1807 was the first one conducted with scientific criteria in the city buried by the lava of the Vesuvius.... The same volcano I saw standing tall in the distance from my bedroom window and that made me feel a bit anxious.

Dario caught the eye of another person from the imperial court, a vampire who got charmed by his blond hair, blue eyes and naughty smirk, and she rushed to turn him not realizing that he played for the other team. I guess she mistook his exquisite manners for a subtle way of flirting but the lady accepted her defeat graciously and they were still friends, apparently. Even if she neglected her duties as a "blood mother" and left the vampire to live on his own soon till Marcus found it shortly after and taught him some basic rules: how to get his blood without grabbing unwanted attention and the importance of having cash, forged papers and safe houses at hand always. Ironically, one of those old Romans that fascinated Dario became his lover and teacher and corrected his grammatical mistakes in Latin. But Terra was right, they weren't connected the way I was to my vampires but the relationship worked for them.

"A praetorian guard, the Roman military elite..." I whispered looking at Marcus out the corner of my eye and he snorted amused.

"Damn right, we were arrogant assholes, all of us... But we knew how to have fun. The best taverns were scattered around our headquarters."

"And the best brothels too," Terra mumbled sleepy and Ruby chuckled, pouring me another glass of wine. Vera and Aren were getting closer walking on the beach slowly but too focused on each other's eyes to care about our conversation.

"You were a centurion in the army before..." my father-in-law nodded and smiled, realizing that I wouldn't drop the subject till knowing it all about it. The truth is that I felt fascinated by his story, by all the stories of the vampires to be honest, and they didn't seem to care about my questions.

"Yes, I was born in a patrician family, a cadet branch of the gens Valeria." I opened my eyes in shock and he laughed again. "I know, I had lot of cousins and some members of my family were consuls, generals, emperors, senators, authors, famous lawyers... A bit of everything over the centuries. We were doing well when I was born but my family wasn't the most important of the clan."

"Marcus Valerius..." I said his two names in old Latin waiting for him to say the third one, the nickname by which he was known centuries ago, only his family and close friends would have the right to call him Marcus.

"Marcus Valerius Martialis... like the famous poet who was my great uncle."

"Marcus from the gens Valeria, known as 'the soldier.' It makes sense, I guess..."

"Yes, I was the youngest kid and my older brothers had already spent my father's money to make a name in the Senate and highest administrative posts in the imperial palace, so I had to go to the army and was lucky enough to serve in different German cities under the command of a general who was born in a patrician family too and, in addition to that, he was Emperor Trajan's nephew-in-law... And when that man became Emperor Adriano, he remembered his old friends who had served him well."

"Adriano loved the old Greek culture and art and also loved handsome young boys..."

"That's what they say..." Marcus took a sip from his glass to hide his grin while Dario looked at him raising an eyebrow. "I was a bit old when we met for the first time, he liked boys aged between 15 and 20, so no... it's not what you think. I became the prefect of the Praetorian Guard because I was a good soldier and, above all, a good manager and firm with discipline, which was what those praetorian soldiers with an inflated ego needed. Adrian trusted me... that was crucial since the guard was famous for killing emperors to put their favourite on the throne."

"I'm pretty sure you were a great boss... And how did you become a vampire, if I may ask?"

"My vampire father made a mistake..."

"Do vampires make mistakes?" I ask shocked and Terra chuckled on my lap while Dario stared at me in disbelief and waved his hand trying to grab my attention. "I mean, I guess they can put a foot wrong like Dario's mother when she believed he was straight, but I thought that the conversion was an important step and you weighted it for a long time before giving the gift to a human..."

"He was exhausted," Marcus whispered pensively. "Immortality was heavy on his shoulders, I guess. He didn't say that much, to be honest, but judging by his physical complexion and accent I knew he came from Egypt, he was a couple of thousands years old probably and had seen his brilliant civilization collapsing and his country occupied by foreigners and couldn't stand it anymore..." An awkward silence fell over the beach while Aren and Vera sat down next to us and grabbed their glasses of wine. The topic of civilizations falling apart and foreigners occupying a country was very delicate given that Marcus saw his wonderful Rome ruined and, once again, I understood why John's idea of an orderly world, prosperous and immutable, was something to hold on to while suffering a difficult time that brought many changes to Europe. "He mistook me for someone else, in fact."

"Sorry, what?" I blinked confused.

"My blood father gave me a handful of instructions and told me a few things before vanishing forever, I guess he committed suicide some weeks later, I don't know. He told me about having a safe blood supply, about finding safe places to live and sleep, how to manipulate weak humans' minds at my convenience and asked me not to visit my mom in Alexandria anymore... but my mom was in Rome back then." Marcus shrugged. "The conversion process is a bit uncomfortable and you feel confused during the first days, that guy, I never knew his name, left me alone... It was difficult to adjust to the new situation."

"It must've been a hell, you had a job, a family, responsibilities, a house full of slaves serving you and they knew everything about your routine, a life... And suddenly you were a vampire who couldn't go out in the daylight and must feed discreetly... How didn't you get caught?" I asked surprised.

"They almost did more than once but luckily I'm good at manipulating minds and learnt how to do it instinctively. At first, my head was a whirlwind of thoughts, everything was confusing and my world turned upside down but later, well, I'm a good soldier and a fighter: I decided to survive, drew up a plan and tried to follow it. I was old enough to retire from the army with honours and had some money saved up, I bought a country house in the south of Spain and told my family I was leaving, it wasn't weird for a soldier to retire in a foreign country so they thought it was okay. I wrote a few letters and faked my own death years later. Actually, adjusting to a vampire life is easier than it seems if you get good advice from someone who guides you... I swore to myself that my blood children would never go through the hell I experienced." Ruby leant forward and took Marcus' hand, squeezing it gently while he smiled in response.

"You've been a great father for a self-taught vampire..." My girl raised her glass at him and Terra nodded on my lap.

"Did you ever know why the Egyptian chose you?"

"Yes, I found out before I left Rome. My vampire father lived with an old rich lady in Alexandria, actually, he was manipulating her mind to make her believe they were friends and she let him stay at her home and eat for free. The woman didn't know her guest's true nature. She had a son in Rome and adored him, talking about him nonstop, and the vampire was more and more depressed... He decided to end it all but before he thought about leaving a last legacy and turn that virtuous, hard worker, smart and honourable man... He was the head of the urban cohorts..."

"You're kidding me..." Marcus shook his head looking at me amused. "He mistook the head of the imperial guard for the head of Rome police department?"

"Yes, I found out few months before leaving the city when I read his mind involuntarily: her mother had sent him a letter explaining that an Egyptian friend would travel to Rome with a special present but he never arrived, apparently."

"I think is quite funny given that urban cohorts hated praetorians with passion and vice versa, they fought for centuries..."

"You know what's ironic? The guy was an idiot." We all stared at him in disbelief, even Terra raised her head from my lap frowning. "Seriously, he was useless, he managed to promote taking advantage of other people's work and only slept and drank in his office. I know mothers always say good things about their children and I'm guilty of that crime, everybody knows that my kids are the smartest, most beautiful and well-educated vampires in the whole world... Absolutely perfect in every way." Aren nodded solemnly and winked at Vera who burst into laughing. "But that poor woman lived a lie, seriously, his son was stupid..."

"Okay, enough with grandpa's war stories. It's time to leave..." Dario got up ignoring the offended look his partner shot at him. "I have something very special for our two lovely humans tonight: a private visit to the ruins of Pompeii under the moon light with an exceptional guide, handsome and funny, who will tell them all the interesting information... I mean, moi." He pointed at his chest and we all got up laughing, the vampires took the tablecloth and remains of our dinner and we all walked to the villa, climbing up the stairs and walking across the gardens.

"Are you worried?" I whispered getting closer to my father-in-law who walked behind us carrying a basket. Marcus looked at me confused and I understood he was respecting my privacy and avoided reading my thoughts. "It's been almost 2,000 years since your conversion, you've also seen your civilization falling apart, your city ruined, your country occupied... Many countries and civilizations, actually... Are you concerned that you could feel like the Egyptian, so depressed that you'd want to end your immortal life?

"You're very smart, Iselen." My father-in-law smiled and nodded reluctantly. "I do sometimes but I'm also aware of the fact that my life is completely different... I've seen things he never dreamt to witness like a man stepping on the moon, for example, and I have a lovely family that loves me a supports me, I'm still interested in traveling and buying works of art, I've adjusted well to this modern world you were born in and Dario has helped me too: he's a fan of modern technology and I've learnt a lot from him... I think you call him... a hacker?"

"Seriously? Wow... the Napoleonic courtier knows how to work with a smartphone, who would've thought that?" I whispered shocked walking into the house through the pool yard.

"I know, we're both fascinated by humans and what they can do. Terra loves studying, Ruby and Aren love traveling, shopping and learning new things too... And now they have Vera and you. Everything is new and wonderful again, and adventure starting... I don't want to leave now and besides, I have responsibilities... The fact that I'm one of the elderly vampires. You know, there's no Vampire Council to rule over the race but the oldest ones watch in shifts and we're supposed to judge cases if one of our people goes too far... I'm a judge for the next 200 years and I still have to try lot of cheesecakes."

"You're a busy man, no doubt."