James observed the vampire for a long time, fascinated and horrified. She didn't move. She offered him time to adjust. But she also studied him back, now he was hers. She had led him to her house. There was nothing noticeable on the outside but, inside, it was the most luxurious home he had ever seen. There were items he could not identify, and most of the decoration seemed foreign to him.

She was sitting in an armchair, with her elegant dress as he was leaning against the wall opposite to her still wearing his bloody and torn clothes.

The smell of blood prevented him to concentrate. He tried to ignore it. Maybe he could just let himself die. And it would be over. There was something in him, though, something that didn't want to give up. And there was this smooth sensation of belonging he felt in his blood when he watched the woman with dark eyes who was sitting in front of him.

"What's your name, love?" She finally said.

He wanted to resist answering her but he couldn't. "James."

"Glad to meet you, James. I'm Isabella."

He couldn't stand the softness of her tone. "You killed me," he said.

She laughed. "The opposite, actually. You were going to die, and I gave you the opportunity to keep on living, to be born again."

He winced in disgust. "You turned me into a monster."

She stood up and walked slowly towards him, before leading him in front of a mirror. The sensation of her hand on his arm was terrifying and comforting at the same time. She showed him his own image in the glass. "Look at you. Your eyes have this spark they didn't have before.  Your body is stronger now and you have this quality of movement that only immortals have."

He didn't want to look, but he did. He froze. It was not him any longer. It was something else, something inhuman. His eyes were dark with fear, anger, and bloodlust, and he could see his fangs. He turned his head away in horror.

"Do you really see a monster in the mirror?" She said, with something sounding like pain in her voice.

"The devil is seductive, but he is evil nonetheless."

"You are not evil."

He walked away from her, and she let him.

"Dawn will be there soon," she said. "You should take some rest. I will be out for part of the day. But stay inside and keep the curtains closed as you would not stand the sunlight in your current state."

"And you can?" He asked without looking at her.

"I'm old enough. The sunlight doesn't bother me any longer."

"So I'm trapped here?"

"You are not a prisoner but I hope you will want to stay. Besides, it is not safe for you to go out now. You wouldn't be able to control yourself."

He lifted his head and stared at her. "And what were you saying? That I am not a monster, right?"

"You are not. You will have decisions to make but you can be whoever you want to be."

He kept on staring at her before walking towards the window without a word. While he looked at the moon partially hidden by clouds in the dark sky of the night, he heard Isabella leaving. He closed the heavy curtains and sat down in the now-empty room.