Nightshade: A SimLit | Chapter 33: Forever

All was quiet in the early morning. Slowly, Amelia began to wake from her peaceful slumber, although she had no intentions of moving when the memories of yesterday flooded back into her mind and she found herself wrapped in Onyx's arms. No, she could stay like this forever, why bother ever leaving bed again?

'Forever...' The word echoed and chilled her to the bone. There was no forever for her. Only uncertainty, only the perpetual thought that someday, she will die, and leave Onyx behind. And this morning, that thought was followed by feelings, a deep sadness that filled her heart with remorse and fear. Fear of the neverending? Fear of ending? That she did not know.

Amelia furrowed her eyebrows and rolled over, still not managing to pry herself from his grip. Deep thoughts raced through her tired mind. 'Can I really leave Onyx alone? He loves me... he loves me enough that he married me, even knowing someday he'll lose me. He's willing to put himself through that pain just so he can be with me for a little while...'

She shifted a little more and heard a deep groan from beside her. Onyx was still sound asleep, but the mumbled words that came from his lips brought tears to her eyes.

"Don't leave me..."

His grip around her tightened as the tears began to run down her cheeks. 

Don't leave me.

In that moment, she knew she wouldn't. "I'm right here," she whispered, and pressed herself closer against him, "and I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Onyx's lips curled into a smile and she felt him relax against her. She lost track of time after that, the decision she had made sinking in. 'I'll ask him to turn me into a vampire. I can't leave him... I can't.'

Just then, Onyx began to stir, finally waking up. Amelia wiped her tears and turned to face him.

Propping herself on her elbow, she placed her hand on his chest and smiled down at him. "Good morning, husband." 

Onyx's eyes were still sleepy, but they fluttered open and he smiled. "Good morning, wife. How are you?"

"I've never been better, Onyx." Her smile widened. "How about you?"

He replied with a slight chuckle. "I'm feeling the same... what a coincidence. Guess we're already that in tune, right?"

Amelia laughed lightly. "We are, aren't we?"

There was a moment of silence, although it wasn't awkward. Their eyes met and Amelia felt her heart flutter when she was reminded that he was hers, all hers, forever.

"Was yesterday everything you dreamed of?" 

Amelia smiled. "Of course it was. All I ever really dreamed of is being able to spend the rest of... forever with you."

Onyx felt the sting of the word. Forever didn't exist. Not for her, not for them... "Right." He smiled wider anyway. "I'm glad it was." Suddenly, he felt like he was going to lose control of his emotions. Tears threatened to sting his eyes as he gazed at her, imagining that one day, he wouldn't wake up beside her anymore. "W-We should get dressed and head downstairs." He got up quickly, noticing that his voice was beginning to tremble.

Amelia noticed, but she already knew the reason why. "Yeah. I hope my mom doesn't give us a hard time," she said as she stood up and turned the lamp on. She headed to the wardrobe, beginning to change into some clothes. Onyx followed closely behind her, and she sat down on the bed after she was dressed, staring off at nothing.

Amelia sighed. 'When do I ask him? Now? I know he's hurting, thinking about losing me,' she thought. 'I won't let him keep hurting. Now's the time... even if it's scary to me, I have nothing to be afraid of. Not with Onyx...'

Onyx was unusually silent and he glanced over at her, frowning when he noticed how distant she was. "Amelia? Are you alright?"

"I'm... fine," she replied and stood up. "But I need to talk to you about something really important."

He nodded and turned toward her as she approached him. "Of course. What is it?"

Without warning, Amelia wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Onyx... when we exchanged our vows yesterday, and... he said until death do us part," she began, feeling tears forming, "I realized that I don't want that. I can't leave you, Onyx. I love you... I love you so much..."

Onyx's eyes widened a little. "Amelia--"

She interrupted, silencing him as she reached up to run a hand through his hair. "I want to be with you eternally. I... I want you to turn me into a vampire."

Tears were forming in Onyx's eyes, too. For years, he had thought only about losing her. "Amelia, are you sure? Do you really want to live forever? Do you really want to be with me... forever?"

Amelia smiled, her hand softly stroking his hair. "Do you promise to love me forever?"

He smiled. "I promise."

 "Then I'm sure. Please..." she begged. "I can't go a single day more knowing that I'll die."

Onyx nodded, and took a step back, transforming into his dark form. Amelia watched in just as much awe as she had the first time she saw it. 

"Are you ready?" He asked, coming closer. 

Amelia took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Onyx wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close into an embrace, resting his head on her shoulder. "As you probably already know... this will hurt. I'm sorry."

Amelia shivered at the sensation of his breath on her bare skin, and nodded a little. "It's okay. Go ahead."

As she felt his face move closer to her neck, she tensed, but he began to place soft kisses instead of the bite she expected and she relaxed underneath his touch. Slowly, he bit down, trying not to hurt her more than he had to. When her taste hit his tongue it became harder to control himself, but he heard her whimper softly and it snapped him back into focus. As quickly as it began, it was over, and he carefully withdrew his fangs and straightened up.

Still holding her close, his hand went to her cheek. "Are you alright?"

Amelia nodded. "I'm alright." She smiled as he ran his thumb along her cheek, and their eyes met. She felt herself drawing closer to him, and their lips met in a tender kiss. 

As they parted, Onyx rested his forehead against hers and smiled. "Amelia... thank you for doing this. I was so afraid of losing you. I couldn't bear the thought..."

"I know," she said softly. "I won't leave you, Onyx. I'm yours... forever."

---

A few days had passed, and Amelia hadn't yet turned into a vampire. As she stared down at the plate of food in front of her, she felt completely repulsed. 'Disgusting...' she thought, and shook her head. 'It should be any time now that I turn, according to Onyx. And... apparently it's normal to feel sick. I can't even imagine eating this...'

Feeling a sudden urge to puke, she knew she had to escape dinner. Alexander looked over at her with a concerned expression when he saw her hand go to her mouth. 'She's been acting so strange the last few days...' he thought. "You okay, sis?"

"I'm fine. I'm just feeling a bit... nauseated... I'm going to excuse myself from dinner and go lie down." Amelia said with a frown, nervously tugging the neck of her shirt up higher. She stood, hurriedly heading out of the dining room and upstairs.

Alexander raised an eyebrow as he watched her leave. 'Hmm... I wonder...'

---

Amelia closed the door quietly behind her and approached Onyx, who was reading at their desk. She felt bad for interrupting, but... "Onyx?"

He looked up from his book, about to reply when he frowned. "You don't look so good..."

"Wow, thanks," she laughed dryly, but sighed. "I don't feel so good, either. It's getting worse. I can't even look at food without wanting to puke. And I feel so... weak..."

Onyx frowned. He had never seen the turning process himself, so he didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry. Maybe you should lie down and rest for a while?" He stood up from the chair and pushed it back under the desk. "Here, come on..."

She followed him as he lead her over to the bed and, as instructed, she lay down, her eyes fluttering closed as she realized how exhausted she was. 

Onyx climbed in next to her and ran his hand along her arm comfortingly. "Get some sleep. Maybe you'll feel better when you wake up." He smiled a little and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she murmured, and drifted to sleep.

_____

Amelia woke up to a dark room. She had no idea how long she slept, but Onyx was sound asleep beside of her. 'What time is it?' she wondered as she sat up. 'I think... I feel a little better...'

Cautiously, she stood up and took a few steps forward.

Her legs gave out underneath her as pain wracked through her body. She fell to her knees with a scream, grasping at her stomach as pain wracked through her abdomen before spreading to her entire body. 

"Amelia?" She heard Onyx call behind her, followed by shuffling. Her vision was blurring at the edges, the room was spinning...

She felt his hands on her, her pounding heartbeat as she helplessly cried. "O-Onyx!" she managed to choke out, but could barely hear herself, any noise sounding faint.

She heard his panicked voice, and felt his hand running through her hair soothingly...

A dark mist enveloped her and she cried out as the miserable sensations intensified. 'Am I turning? Am I dying? I don't know anymore...'

Her cries turned to hisses, and hisses to growls as her dark form manifested. Her skin had grayed, her eyes were glowing bright yellow, and she had sprouted a pair of fangs. Suddenly, it was over, and she was left gasping for air with tears in her eyes.

"Amelia!" Onyx's voice suddenly sounded clear. "You're a vampire!"

"A vampire." She repeated, regaining her senses. "I turned?" She looked up at him and smiled. "You didn't tell me it would be that scary..."

"I didn't know..." Onyx sighed. "I was worried to death!"

Amelia shakily stood up as her dark form faded away to reveal her normal self, and Onyx immediately pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay. It's over now..." Onyx reassured her as he felt her trembling in his arms. "It was worth it, right? We can be together... forever..."

Amelia relaxed at his words. "You're right. It was worth it..." She lifted her head from his shoulder and met his gaze, giving him a toothy grin, her fangs visible. "Oh, and Onyx?"

He returned her smile. "Yeah?"

"I promise to love you forever, too."