[Three days later][Dennis]I woke up at four in the afternoon with Franny in my bed, as usual. What wasn’t usual was that this was a guest room and not my bedroom. Sybil was resting in my bed. She deserved the comfort after what I had done to her. Tyler left to stay with Silence while I slept today. He’d been my servant for over thirty years, so it was strange to wake up knowing he would be gone for the next month. It would lead to some issues, but he would always be a phone call away if needed. Silence made certain my refrigerator was fully stocked with more blood than I could ever need. She said Drew and Tyler would come to restock it twice a week, while we slept until Sybil was in control of herself. According to the books Master Nightshade gave me, it would only take a month to teach Sybil to control her bloodlust. I never had that feeling, but it was normal for bitten vampires, so I would have to learn what to do. After dressing, I went to serve some wet food to Franny. It was her favorite and I was always the one to give it to her. It was one of the only rules about her that was strictly an ‘only me’ job. Though she would be lonely during the days, I didn’t want to have Franny go with anyone else or to a kennel while Tyler was gone. She was my only comfort in the quiet nights while I studied the materials Master Nightshade gave me. Animals were generally safe from young vampires because they craved human blood. No other blood was going to give them what they needed. I went to my office to look over my notes again. Sybil would rise tonight and there were a lot of variables I needed to be ready for. In the case of violent deaths, some vampires rose violently with a powerful bloodlust and a lot of anger. I didn’t know if this would count as a violent death. No matter what, she would be hungry and Master Nightshade told me the best option for a first feeding was the sire of the other vampire. It was especially important if we were over four hundred years old because the power in our blood would counter the amount of blood they needed. As I felt the pull of the sun setting, I sat in a chair next to the bed where Sybil was resting. She would wake soon. I turned on the heated blanket and waited for signs she was back. After a while, she began to stir. I sat up in the chair and uncrossed my legs, preparing to get up if she tried to run out in search of blood. Catching her before she reached the front door was imperative. She started moving more and snuggled into the bed more. It was as if she was waking normally. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and started looking around the room slowly. When she finally got to me, I could see her beautiful deep blue eyes had changed to the same aquamarine as mine. It suited her and I couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of pride that her eyes were like mine. She smiled softly at me. “Sybil,” I whispered. As quickly as I could, I went to her on the bed and pulled her against me. Wrapping my arms around her, I closed my eyes. For a few moments, she wasn’t different. She wasn’t some vampire version of the woman I loved. She was still my Sybil. She sniffed delicately and sighed, then rested her head on my shoulder and let me hold her. The anxiety and concern I felt for her over the last few days dissipated. She was calm. “I’m hungry,” she murmured softly. “Feed on me, darling,” I replied, baring my neck to her. I tensed, waiting for an unprepared bite, but Sybil started licking over my neck. I was so surprised that I wasn’t prepared for her strike. The area had only been lightly numbed, but it was entirely bearable. As she drank, I rubbed her back and whispered reassurances to her. Sybil gripped my shirt, holding me to her as she drank her fill. It was lucky that I was loading up on blood earlier, or I might not have had enough in me to take care of her. When she was finished, without instruction from me, Sybil closed the wounds. She was always surprising me and had been since the moment I met her. Only my Sybil could be the perfect first vampire childe. Even though her meal was done, I couldn’t let her go yet. For a little while longer, she was my Sybil, but a little different. She wrapped her arms around me and held me back. Her hug wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been before she died, but it was the same in almost every other way. I breathed in deeply, taking in her new scent. It was a mix of her old scent, my scent, and the magic that created the undead. I enjoyed the mingling of our scents. It made me think of her as mine even more than before. “How are you feeling, Sybil?” I asked. “I feel fine, Master,” she replied. Her calling me ‘Master’ stabbed through me like a knife. I pulled away from her and caressed her face. This is what I had done to her. I made her see me as her master, the person she was to obey and revere. I blinked back a few tears. “Call me Dennis, Sybil,” I whispered. “I’m Dennis to you. Do you understand?”“Yes, M–… Dennis,” Sybil answered. Damn it. It was like a response to an order. I tried to keep the pain out of my face and smiled at her before holding her again. She couldn’t know I was disappointed in that response. It wasn’t her fault it was mine. Holding her kept me from having to deal with the other differences. She wasn’t the same woman I fell in love with, but she was. I couldn’t seem to let her old self go, as much as I wanted to. After a while, I stood up and held my hand out to her. I couldn’t hide from it any longer. We needed to face the world. Sybil took my hand and I helped her from the bed. Her skin had paled and the scars from her previous werewolf attack stood out on her pale skin. I never thought the scars were anything other than a part of my partner that she had a hard time accepting. In all of the dreams we shared, I showed her how they didn’t matter to me. I loved all of her. I led her to the master bathroom and brought her inside. It was already prepared for her. I silently thanked Tyler for thinking ahead before I showed her where everything was. “I want you to take a shower and brush your teeth. There will be clothing laid out on the bed when you’re done. I have to go call Master Nightshade,” I told her. She nodded and I left her to her business. I pulled out an outfit for her. Again, that was because of my diligent human servant. He took her measurements while she slept and went shopping for her, getting everything she would need when she woke. He deserved a reward for his hard work. Once I was done, I pulled out my phone and messaged Master Nightshade. He replied quickly that he was on his way. The drive to my home shouldn’t be any more than ten minutes, so I knew I had time. But it was time without anything to fill it. Franny followed me as I paced. She didn’t like seeing me so upset, but I didn’t know how else to express myself. I had never done this to another person and only ever knew dhampyrs before they started their second life, never a human. There was a knock at the door shortly after and I went to invite Master Nightshade in. He smiled at me tightly as he came into my house. It wasn’t his first visit, but he wasn’t exactly a regular guest. “How is she doing?” he asked. “She’s calm. I have her showering and dressing now. She’s different.” He nodded. “It will be like that. I’m glad she’s calm. It was a fairly shocking death.” “I appreciate you making time in your night for this, Master Nightshade,” I told him, remembering my manners.“Dennis. This is important. Billie is your first childe, correct?” He slightly winced when he realized he used the wrong name. “Yes. I’m still learning everything I need to know. The books you lent me helped. I was prepared for her waking hungry. I knew she would be too hungry to prepare the bite properly. I was able to keep calm and not upset her,” I answered. “You did the right thing, Dennis. There was no way the human medics would have been able to save her. Master Marius said she’d make a good vampire. I know she will.” “Now I just have to worry about her finding her Solus Amor one day and leaving me. I think I’m destined to be alone,” I replied softly. The thought had occurred to me several times over the last three days. I knew not all vampires had Solus Amors, like Master Marius who had never found his. That could just mean that they didn’t exist yet. One day, my Sybil would find her Solus Amor and I would have to be happy for her, even though I’d be alone again. I would never wish for her not to find him, though. I loved her enough to want to see her happy. Before I even registered that she was in the room, Sybil was wrapping her arms around me and holding me tightly. She must have heard me. I cursed myself for saying something like that when she could be lurking about. I didn’t want her to think she was a burden in any way. “I’ll never leave you, Master Dennis. I swear. I’ll be with you forever.” “Just Dennis, Sybil. I only want you to call me Dennis,” I murmured to her. “Dennis. It’s going to be hard for her to drop the ‘master’ for the first couple years. I know it was different for you when you turned, but she’s just like a normal young vampire,” Master Nightshade said. I sighed. She wasn’t, though. He had to see that she was different. Or was I just not understanding things correctly? Perhaps this was normal. “Sybil, this is Master Nightshade,” I told her. “He’s the Master of the territory. You need to remember to obey any commands he gives you and you need to swear your loyalty to him as a vampire in his territory.” For vampires, swearing loyalty wasn’t as simple as a vow. They had to form a blood bond with the Master of the territory in order to be commanded by them as they were commanded by their sire. I had formed a blood bond with Master Nightshade and it was now Sybil’s turn.  Sybil let go of me and bowed to Master Nightshade. I was proud of how well-behaved she was and Master Nightshade seemed surprised at her manners. Surely, he was now seeing how different she was. “I need your hand, Sybil,” Master Nightshade told her.She gave him her hand and he drew a blade over it quickly. He did the same to his own hand and pressed their palms together. Their blood mingled and he watched her eyes carefully. Sybil simply allowed this and waited patiently for their palms to heal. “Your blood and mine have intermingled. You are now one of my people. From this day forward, everything you do will be in the name of the Nightshade rule. Do not shame our people. Listen to your sire. Never bite without express permission. Do not start fights with other species. Do you understand?” he asked.“Yes, Master Nightshade,” Sybil replied. “Good. I need to get going. When she’s a month old, bring her by the house so she can get to know Echo. We have a trip to Europe coming up in November, but we should be here for the first week or so of it. Echo will want you both at Christmas as well.” “Thank you. We’ll make sure to be in attendance.” I told him. “I’m going to take the next month off of work to take care of Sybil and get her ready for the world. If you need to reach me, I’ll be here.” “Of course. Have a good night,” Master Nightshade answered with a slight bow and left. That was it…. Sybil turned to me and smiled. I returned her smile and held out my hand to her. She accepted it and I pulled her into my arms. She seemed happy. “Do you know how much I love you, Sybil?” I murmured in her ear as I held her close. “How much, Dennis?” she asked. “I’d give up eternity just to have the real you by my side again for even a few moments.” That sounded harsh. I added, “I waited over seven hundred years for you. Thirty shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I wonder if you’ll still love me when you wake up from this.” “I will, Dennis. I love you. You made me. You take care of me. You’re the man of my dreams.” Sybil sighed.The man of her dreams? She’d said that to me before. Sometime after the second time I made her dream of me. I was present in all of our shared dreams and she never had another nightmare until the night her life ended. I pulled her away from me and looked into her eyes. “Am I really the man of your dreams?” I asked. “Do you remember dreaming?” “No. I remember you, though.” She smiled at me. “What do you remember?” I chuckled, trying to hide my interest.“I remember you holding me in the dark. I remember feeling safe with you. I remember you saving me.” “I didn’t save you. You’re a vampire because I couldn’t save you.”“Dennis. I want to be a vampire. I knew what you were offering. I love you and I want to be with you forever.” “You don’t remember anything. Everyone knows vampires don’t remember anything until they’re thirty.” I sighed. “It’s a good thing I’m thirty-five then,” Sybil smirked in a way I had seen her smirk a dozen times. “Sybil? You remembered how old you were?”I was shocked. She shouldn’t have remembered anything at all about her past life. Not about her death. Not about anything. I held all those memories and they would be unlocked for her when she turned thirty. How did she know all this?“I don’t remember everything, Dennis. Bits and pieces come in flashes. There are a few things I know for sure. I know my age. I know I love you. I know I understood that you were asking me to be a vampire. And I know you kept me safe in real life and in my dreams. “Everything else is a blur. I may accidentally call you Master or Master Dennis. I may not remember every detail. But I will always remember that the love I have for you was so strong I decided eternal life was better than letting go and dying when I was experiencing the most excruciating pain of my life.” Sybil told me. “Thank the goddess. Even not knowing your past, you sound like you.” I chuckled again, mostly in disbelief. “Will you bear with me while I learn who I am again, Dennis?” “Forever,” I promised. I pulled her back into my arms and kissed her deeply. She melted as she so often did when I used to kiss her. There were so many rules I was breaking by being in love with the vampire I had sired. And, for the second time in my life, I didn’t mind breaking the rules. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t want to answer it and stop this happy reunion. Sybil was mine again and we would nurture whatever it was about her that helped her remember these little things. With luck, I would have her back before she had been dead for thirty years.