FOUR

"Sorry," Aren kept laughing like my question was the funniest joke he'd ever heard in his life and answered gasping for air, trying to catch his breath. "Vampires are pretty discreet and not keen on giving explanations but we absolutely love to tell the story about how we started our new life. It's the milestone of our existence, the moment we all remember. It's not a secret, actually, although the girls will like to tell you their stories themselves, probably, but long story short..."

This is how I found out that Aren was in fact a Viking who was born in Denmark back in the 9th century, the kind of Viking who planted the crop in his farm and then went to loot Europe and Greenland with his ship. The date made my head spinning but I got excited soon because I loved medieval art and history: he promised to answer all my questions one evening calmly. Terra was Spanish, like I am, and was born in Castilla by the middle of the 10th century. Oh my god, it was amazing, it meant she was a contemporary of the Count Fernán González. There aren't words to explain how I felt, something made of equal parts of excitement, shock and a tiny bit of disappointment. It was pretty obvious she didn't like me and I didn't hold out much hope that she'd tell me details about her childhood which was a pity because I knew well the leading figures of those days and was dying of curiosity to learn more. Finally, Ruby was born the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Venice in the 13th century, the period of maximum splendour of the city. I smiled dreamily thinking of silks and very expensive spices that arrived to Venice through the trade routes, I could picture Ruby wearing fancy velvet dresses and riding a gondola through the canals of the city.

I think that was the moment when I decided that I was going to accept the job, living with a group of moody vampires till the last consequences, not because of the money and a long and healthy life, but because of knowledge. That was my weakness: my eagerness to know more about subjects I loved. If I earned their trust and they answered my questions, I'd never read a book of history in my entire life. What for? History was alive in front of me... well, alive... in a manner of speaking. I'd work hard to make them happy and, in exchange, I'd spend wonderful and long evenings listening to their stories, not only about their childhood, but about the subsequent centuries when they travelled around the world.

I was over the moon when Aren told me he'd drive me home to pick up my stuff from my old apartment in a big van with tinted windows, all my bags would fit there. We walked back down the short corridor to the kitchen and I didn't think again about the fridge in the cellar. Ruby was sitting on the marble counter of the island nibbling at the last cookie I left untouched on the plate, swinging her legs while focusing on her thoughts. Terra was leaning an elbow next to her and stared at her sister frowning.

"We're going to collect Iselen's stuff," their brother let out excited, taking some keys from a drawer.

Ruby nodded quietly but her eyes were fixed on me all the time while I smiled and followed Aren who was walking to the door that led to the garden. Terra was standing in front of me before I could even reach it, she moved with vampire speed blocking my way and scaring the hell out of me. I looked right into her eyes, not knowing what to expect, feeling anxious despite the artificial calm that Aren was forcing in my mind. She tilted her head to look at Ruby like they were talking silently before sighing in resignation and turning her face to me. Slowly, she extended her arm and offered me her hand.

"Welcome to the family..." she whispered.

I shook her hand because didn't want to be rude, although cautiously. Once again, that weird electric current flowed between our bare skins with the same intensity it did with her sister. I didn't know what the hell was happening, was it normal to feel that warm power every time you greeted a vampire? But I didn't feel the same when touching Aren. Terra let my hand go when I shook it slightly before walking out of the door: her eyes and clenched jaw were the last thing I saw, she wasn't staring at me with hostility anymore but I wasn't able to identify the weird emotion her eyes showed.

*****

I needed a couple of days to put my stuff in drawers and rearrange things according to my taste in my bedroom. In addition to that, I organized a work plan with the cleaning and laundry companies: which days and what times were the best to come and what things needed to be done every day. My vampires didn't look happy the first morning they came in order to do an in-depth cleaning very early and I learnt that, since they're nocturnal creatures, they preferred to sleep in the morning and start their activities after lunch time, which was the equivalent to our breakfast for them. I explained the guys from the cleaning company that they must come in the evening and resigned myself to share their lifestyle. Actually, I'm a very nocturnal creature too and I've always hated getting up early in the mornings so I didn't see it as a problem but as an advantage of my new job.

I prepared a questionnaire with simple questions about what kind of food they preferred, flowers, colours, perfumes and all I could think of in order to find out about their taste. It'd be easier for me to adjust my menus this way and they'll be happier. Aren completed his questionnaire smiling like it was the funniest thing ever, Ruby thought it was a practical idea while Terra rolled her eyes hard and filled out the papers with apathy, although the level of hostility and coldness towards me had dropped significantly. This way, I got three tables that I always had at hand pinned on the fridge door with some magnets and checked them frequently in order to avoid mistakes:

Aren liked lamb and beef and he preferred tender bites like ribs and sirloin. That surprised me a bit, giving his background I was expecting Ruby to be the picky one but no, Aren was the sybarite. Vampires have low tolerance to alcohol, usually, so no mead for the Viking... maybe a glass of wine from time to time. He could eat a whole cheese if you left him alone and didn't turn fish down but veggies? No, thank you, and only basic fruit like apples or pears, nothing exotic. He was in love with his dark grey and black T-shirts, he had several dozens, so I warned the guys from the laundry company to be careful because he was worried about them losing their colour. Flowers and perfumes? What kind of question was that? The kind of question that would allow me to know what type of air freshener he'd prefer or what perfume to buy the right cleaning products. Something fresh... Pine? Yes, that was great.

Ruby preferred poultry and wasn't afraid of trying new dishes with lot of spices and chili, which made sense because she was born in a city that was famous due to its spices market. She didn't care about eating fish but hated veggies and loved berries. Coffee and tea were her favourite beverages and her huge collection of sneakers was her most prized possession: Ruby was good at modern technology and had perfected the art of buying online. I showed her she could do the grocery shopping too and Aren almost died of joy knowing that he wouldn't need to set foot on one of those supermarkets again. Flowers and perfumes? Something fresh too, vampires have a highly developed sense of smell and strong perfumes can be overwhelming. No jasmine, lavender or gardenia: if I wanted to make a flower arrangement for the table in the entrance hall, it'd be made of green branches.

Terra was succinct and clear in her answers, exactly what I expected. It' was like reading a telegram: lamb and beef, no fish or veggies. She liked beer and didn't care about the rest of the menu. She didn't have favourite clothes, didn't like one special perfume or flowers... well, maybe cinnamon. The only direct command I got was taking good care of her books and music albums, the library was her personal den and she used to spend a lot of time alone there but, when she was about leaving the kitchen, she hesitated for a second and turned around before asking me:

"Do you know how to make rosquillas de anís? (*Spanish Anise Doughnuts) I blinked shocked, it never occurred to me that vampires could have a favourite treat but, among all the traditional desserts from my country, that was the last one I'd choose for Terra.

"Of course, it's my great grandmother's recipe... it's at least 100 years old..." I answered proudly although a century meant nothing for her, probably.

She nodded quietly and left. I made the rosquillas that evening and the smell of the fried dough drifted through the house drawing the attention of the inhabitants. I gave Terra one of the coldest ones and she nibbled at the treat carefully, enjoying the taste, while her siblings wolfed down theirs in two bites. That was the first time the vampire smiled at me with true happiness and my heart did a triple somersault inside my chest... maybe a pissed off Terra was better for me, otherwise I'd die from cardiac arrest.

Everything worked perfectly a couple of weeks later: the house was clean, the garden well maintained, pantry and fridge full of food and the vampires happy with the menus I cooked. I had a daily routine that I followed strictly and allowed me to have several free evenings every week to go grocery shopping, run errands and visit Mia before she went to her job. The most difficult task I faced was the wardrobe... The girls shared a big bedroom and used as smaller one as a walk-in-closet, garments and more garments were piled up on every surface available: mountains of dresses on the mattress, jackets on tables, scarves hanging from lamps. It was a mess and the only organized stuff was Ruby's sneakers on shelves in a closet. I needed two days just to break through and started sorting garments... and I realized...

They were clothes they accumulated through centuries: embroidered vest s from the 18th century, corsets and dresses with bustles from the end of the 19th century, fur stoles from the Belle Époque and designer clothes by the top figures of the 20th century: Chanel, Lucille, Madame Grès, Balmain, Dior, Ives Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Givenchy, Schiaparelli or Balenciaga. Some of that stuff must be in a museum. I didn't know which garments belonged to which sister but I could picture Ruby wearing the peplum dress by Fortuny and Terra with a male tuxedo from the 30s. I ended up sorting clothes based on the condition, moths had feasted on some garments, and if they were wearable or not; I mean, having a Worth is amazing but, who the hell wears a crinoline nowadays? When I had things ready I asked them what I was supposed to do with all that.

They decided to get rid everything that was in bad condition, torn or stained. The oldest garments and fanciest dresses that were incompatible with the 21st century fashion would be donated to several museums across the country anonymously, not all the stuff at the same time in order to be discreet. They let me pick out whatever I wanted from the huge amount of garments left: I'm taller and need one size bigger but I could take some beautiful shirts and vintage stuff. The rest was hung in the wardrobe or kept in drawers and shelves neatly, the room looked great instead of a mess after the explosion of a bomb and I managed to hear some stories about their lives, like for example when and where they wore those dresses for the first time. Ruby discovered some clothes that used to be their favourites but she'd forgotten and Terra relaxed around me, talking and smiling happily. It seemed to me that I was good at my new job, after all.

Aren helped me to put the boxes in the van that would take the clothes to the museums while we chatted lively several days later. Working under the dim light of the sunset, without a shirt, the guy was quite a show of toned muscles. I could picture him jumping from a longship to a beach in the middle of a battle brandishing an axe and my curiosity was running wild so I asked without a second thought:

"How did you turn into a vampire?" Aren smiled shyly before telling me the story while keeping carrying boxes to the van.

"I was an average Dane, cultivating my lands, and joined my neighbours for a looting expedition every summer in the ship of our jarl, he was the equivalent to an aristocratic duke. I wasn't a rich man but managed well because I'd married my neighbour, a young widow, and we joined our lands so we had enough veggies and animals to live comfortably plus my share of loots."

"Did you have children?"

"I had two but they died young. It' was pretty common, unfortunately, child mortality was high and, even if it was a sad moment for a family, it wasn't a horrible drama. We lived with death every day in a way that's difficult for people nowadays to understand... I didn't love my wife either, I married her because it was the practical thing to do and treated her with respect, she was a good woman who took care of my house while I was exploring foreign lands but never felt anything special for her. Things were very different back then."

"I understand, how old were you?"

"Around 28. We travelled to the north of France in a big expedition and sailed up-river, Seine River to be precise, till we found a big village. I separated from the group heading to a farm that was a bit further and looked good judging by its size, it seemed the right place to find jewels and valuable stuff. When I walked in I thought I'd hit the jackpot, like humans say: it was full of gold plates, silk, fancy furniture and silver vases. Unfortunately, it was Marcus den..."

"Marcus?"

"My father, the vampire who gave me the gift. He was born in Rome under Emperor Hadrian... are you okay?"

"Yes, sorry. I felt out of breath for a second... you're talking about Roman Empire... oh my God... sorry."

"Well, he lived in Normandy back then and tried to... persuade me to leave his house on good terms, I mean, he tried to manipulate my mind forcing me to forget what I saw. But it didn't work, I don't know why, maybe because I'm too stubborn but I'm able to resist mental control from the majority of vampires and he wasn't as powerful centuries ago as he is right now. The point is that he had no other choice but to kill me although didn't like the idea because he thought it'd be a waste to make someone with my skill vanish from the world. So... he turned me into a vampire. It was a shock at first, as you can imagine, but I soon understood the advantages of the situation. Marcus is a good father and he taught me well."

"And why is he in Europe now?"

"He doesn't like it here. We came to the States when the WWI broke but he never felt comfortable, he's a roman and misses the Mediterranean Sea and his villa in Naples, he likes traveling too. Sometimes we visit him... Marcus had a big family when he was young and is always looking for company, he doesn't like to be alone. That's why he rushed to turn me and we found Terra later. We have another brother, older than me, his name is John and was born in Byzantium in the 6th century but he's a lone wolf and it's been a while since the last time I saw him." Our conversation was interrupted at that moment because Ruby and Terra arrived suddenly. I had no idea where they came from but they got out of the car abruptly, without a word and not looking at the other, and they head to different areas of the house: Terra to the library and Ruby to her room. When they slammed the doors the whole structure of the manor shook. Wow, what a temper. Aren sighed wearily next to me. "It's not always like this, you know. When a vampire finds a soulmate they're perfect together and get on well without problems. But something weird is going one between them. They're good in 90% of the situations but the bond doesn't work sometimes."

"Do you know what the problem is?"

"Well, they're both pretty stubborn but Terra is more impatient, she wants things to move faster, and Ruby prefers to take her time in order to make things flow more natural. Maybe it's that..."

That night I went to bed very late and exhausted. When I left the bathroom and fell on the mattress wearing shorts and a tank top my eyes were half closed already. I'd work really hard and had a fascinating conversation with Aren, dates where dancing in my head and I fell asleep dreaming of Vikings and men wearing toga walking through marble floors.

I was half awake hours later, lying on my side, because the blanket had slipped along my body to my feet and I was cold. I fidgeted slightly, feeling uncomfortable but unable to get out of my state of drowsiness, till I feel someone next to me taking it and sliding it up my body again, very slowly, her knuckles grazing my skin while traveling up my naked legs, my hip and ribs till letting the blanket drop on my shoulder. The hand touched my jaw grazing my cheek with the thumb gently. I sighed and let my mind sink deeper in the world of dreams now that I was warm again. I could hear a distant voice even if I was groggy:

"Be careful or she'll wake up."

"I know, Ruby, but I can't help it." The mattress moved behind me and a warm body leaned slightly against mine. A new hand started to stroke my hair slowly and touched my nape sweetly.

"I know, Terra, I can hardly restrain myself sometimes."

"When, Ruby?"

"Soon. She's settling in nicely, Aren only needs to hold her mind sometimes now, she's starting to trust us and enjoying her job. But her life has experienced a major change these past weeks and I fear this is too overwhelming for her. We don't want her to run away scared, do we?" The thumb caressing my cheek stopped... I felt a sweet breath fanning my face and soft lips grazing my earlobe when they whispered:

"Have you heard, babe? Soon."