Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Ingrid’s stomach grumbled in front of the sandwich Rohit held for her. “I’ve never had this before, but it smells delicious!” She gratefully accepted it and sniffed the exotic aroma emanating from the sandwich, while unwrapping it. It was a cluster of rich scents she recognized to originally hail from a country within the Erobean continent, but acclimated to the standards of the Independent Union.

“Thanks,” she continued, but noticed Rohit’s frowning expression. “What’s wrong?”

He opened his mouth and was about to speak, but the words didn’t form until he cleared his throat. “Uh… it might have garlic…” he finally spoke.

Ingrid tilted her head to the side, as he continued to explain the dilemma.

“It didn’t dawn on me at first, but I don’t think you should eat that…” His voice trailed off, suddenly sounding disappointed in himself.

Ingrid smiled and placed her hand near his clavicle again. “It’s okay,” she reassured, “garlic isn’t my favorite, but that’s because of the thick aroma it emits. I’ll still eat it if I have to.” She brought the sandwich close to her face and took a whiff. “But it doesn’t seem to overpower the other seasonings used, and they’re just as strong as garlic.” The vampire heiress continued explaining the stigma of garlics and vampires, where most of the claims against it were because of the smell.

With vampires having a high acuity to this sense, it deters them from wanting to consume garlic.

In Ingrid’s case, she was able to control her instincts at will, which further allowed her to blend into the fabric of society so easily.

“I see,” Rohit replied, feeling better after knowing that. He took a seat on the edge of his bed to eat, while Ingrid joined him. “There’s definitely a lot I have to unlearn and relearn after seeing what the movies and books had to say about vampires.”

She nodded and clarified, “But I’m also a special case, so you have to take that into consideration as well,” before taking a bite of her food.

The two ate quietly for a bit, occasionally having to use napkins to wipe their hands and face, but casually dined like nothing.

Rohit looked towards the mirror after taking a swig of water from one of the few bottles he had clustered by his computer desk, and still saw Ingrid visible, so he inquired about that stereotype as well.

Ingrid giggled, while holding a napkin to her mouth and wiping around her lips, before explaining the situation about that. “… So they pretty much don’t use silver to line the backs of mirrors anymore,” she concluded.

“Makes sense,” Rohit casually replied, and then asked how her food was tasting, as he almost forgot he doused it with plenty of red ingredients, with additional cups of them inside the bag.

“That’ll do,” she kindly replied, taking one of the cups out and holding it towards Rohit, who thought she was offering it to him, so when he reached for it, she drew back and shook her head.

“Oh!” He realized, and clinked it with his water bottle before drinking it.

“Quite refreshing,” Ingrid commented after silently slurping what she could of the marinara sauce before using her finger to gather the remains so it wouldn’t go to waste. “I apologize in advance,” she continued, using a napkin to wipe her finger and around her mouth. “I have to make due with—”

Rohit held up his hand and smiled warmly. “I understand. No need to tell me, Ingrid.”

She grinned and nodded.

They continued eating their food, and once they finished, just laid back on the bed, staring at the plain ceiling.

Rohit couldn’t fall asleep right away—at least for another hour—so he made use of this time to talk over the situation he was in with Ingrid. He had plenty of questions about what she was getting him into, and what he should expect.

Knowing was half the battle, and he couldn’t simply ignore the irrefutable fact that his stagnant life was going to drastically change. “So what do you want from me exactly?” he bluntly asked. “How am I connected in all this?”

Ingrid was quiet at first, while continuing to look up at the ceiling.

She then took a deep breath and briefly explained, “There’s this… power I believe you have within you that’ll help me in my quest.”

“And what is your quest?”

She pursed her lips. “I… I don’t wanna live this way anymore.”

He glanced right. “As a vampire?”

She quietly nodded.

This came as a shock to Rohit, because he never thought such a belief to have was even possible. Before the young man responded, he took into consideration how this must be affecting the vampire heiress.

To renounce her own species and not continue her immortal life as a vampire was sure to raise a lot of concerns from Ingrid’s people if they ever found out.

Or perhaps they already did.

Rohit swallowed. “And how exactly can I help…?” he asked skeptically and genuinely curious about the seemingly impossible endeavor. He’s known people to alter their identities in name, like if they wanted to be called something else or if they were fulfilling a role, but never to completely change their entire being, right down to its metaphysical core.

To him at least, that’s what he implied Ingrid meant. Until he found out the full story and actually undergoing the task, he wouldn’t know what would truly occur thereafter.

“Like I said before,” Ingrid answered, “you just have this special power dwelling within you that I know will be imperative to my cause.”

Rohit speculated that the young woman didn’t have much knowledge of the semantics behind her situation, which was why he decided not to press further. He perceived this from her vague response, but also considered that she was intentionally informing him in segments so he could fully empathize with the situation in time, instead of all at once.

Ingrid understood the young man’s silence, knowing that it was better this way until she could fully grasp her surroundings. The Independent Union was a country she never visited before, but she never had reason to do so.

At least if she stuck by Rohit, he’d be able to show her around, and they could build their bond so that when the time was right, she could disclose more to him. It wouldn’t be right to drop everything on his shoulders and expect him to instinctively know what to do, despite him appearing to want to help however he could and being equipped with a strong sense of commitment. So Ingrid thought she would draw out the process for as long as it took, sparing him from continuing to get involved in her endeavor.

Little did she know, however, Rohit’s destiny was sealed and so was hers.