Caitlin’s heart beat with excitement, as she wondered, as she hoped to dream, that this could be Caleb’s place. Somehow, she felt that it was.
“Yes,” he called out, over the wind, reading her mind, as always. “This is it.”
Caitlin’s heart pounded with delight. She was so excited, and felt so strong, she was ready to fly by herself.
She suddenly jumped off of Caleb’s back, and went flying through the air. For a moment, she was terrified, wondering if her wings would sprout. A moment later, they did, supporting her in the air.
As the air ran through them, she loved the feeling. It felt great to have them again, to be independent. She rose and dove, swooping up, close to Caleb, who smiled back. They dove down together, then up, swerving in and out of each other’s flight paths, the tips of their wings sometimes touching.
As one, they dove down, closer to the castle. It looked ancient; it felt worn in, but not in a bad way. For Caitlin, it already felt like home.
As she took it all in, looked at the landscape, the rolling hills, the distant ocean, for the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt a sense of peace. She felt, finally, like she was home. She saw her life together with Caleb here, living together, even starting a family together again, if that was possible. She would be happy to live out her days here with him – and finally, at long last, she didn’t see anything that stood in their way.
* * *
Caitlin and Caleb landed together in front of his castle, and he took her hand and led her to the front door. The oak door was covered in a thick layer of dust and sea salt, and clearly hadn’t been opened in years. He tried the knob. It was locked.
“It’s been hundreds of years,” he said. “I’m pleasantly surprised to find that it’s still here, that it hasn’t been vandalized – that it’s even still locked. There used to be a key…”
He reached up, way above the door frame, and felt the crevice behind the stone arch. He ran his fingers up and down it, and finally stopped, extracting a long, silver skeleton key.
He slipped into the lock, and it fit perfectly. He turned it with a click.
He turned and smiled at her, stepping aside. “You do the honors,” he said.
Caitlin pushed the heavy, medieval door, and it opened slowly, creaking, encrusted salt falling off in clumps as it did.
They walked in together. The entry room was dim, and covered in cobwebs. The air was still and dank, and it felt like it hadn’t been entered in centuries. She looked up at the high, arched stone walls, the stone floors. There were layers of dust on everything, including the glass windows, which blocked a lot of the light, making it seem darker than it was.
“This way,” Caleb said.
He took her hand and led her down a narrow corridor, and it opened up into a grand hall, with high, arched windows on both sides. It was much lighter in here, even with the dust. There was some furniture left over in here, too: a long, medieval oak table, surrounded by ornate, wooded chairs. At its center sat a huge, marble mantel, one of the largest fireplaces Caitlin had ever seen. It was incredible. Caitlin felt as if she had walked right back into the Cloisters.
“I had it built in the 12th century,” he said, looking around himself. “Back then, this was the style.”
“You lived here?” Caitlin asked.
He nodded.
“For how long?”
He thought. “Not more than a century,” he said. “Maybe two.”
Caitlin marveled, once again, at the huge increments of time in the vampire world.
Suddenly, though, she got worried, as she thought of something else: had he lived here with another woman?
She was afraid to ask.
He suddenly turned and looked at her.
“No, I did not,” he said. “I lived here alone. I assure you. You’re the first woman I’ve ever taken here.”
Caitlin felt relieved, though embarrassed at his reading her mind.
“Come on,” he said. “This way.”
He led her up a spiral stone staircase, and it twisted and turned, and let them out on the second floor. This floor was much brighter, with large, arched windows facing every direction, sunlight pouring in, reflecting the distant sea. The rooms were smaller here, more intimate. There were more marble fireplaces, and as Caitlin wandered from room to room, she saw a huge four-poster bed dominating one of them. Chaise lounges and overstuffed velvet chairs, were spread throughout the other rooms. There were no rugs, just a bare stone floor. It was very stark. But beautiful.
He led her across the room, to a set of huge, glass doors. They’d been covered in so much dust, she hadn’t even known they were there. He stepped up and tugged hard at the locks and knobs, and finally, with a bang and a cloud of dust, they opened.
He stepped outside, and Caitlin followed.
They stepped out onto a huge, stone terrace, framed by an ornate limestone, column railing. They walked together up to the edge, and looked out.
From here, they had a commanding view of the entire countryside, of the ocean. Caitlin could hear the crashing of the waves, and smell the sea heavy in the air on the rolling breezes. She felt like she were in heaven.
If Caitlin had ever imagined a dream house, this would definitely be it. It was dusty, and it needed a woman’s touch, but Caitlin knew that they could fix it up, could get it to the state that it once was. She felt that this was truly a place they could call home together.
“I was thinking about what you said,” he said, “the entire flight here. About our building a life together. I would like that very much.”
He put an arm around her.
“I would like for you to live here with me. For us to start our life over again. Right here. It’s quiet here, and safe, and protected. No one knows about this place. No one will ever find us here. I see no reason why we can’t live out our lives safely, as regular people,” he said. “Of course, it will need a lot of work to fix it up. But I’m game, if you are.”
He turned and smiled at her.
She smiled back. She had never been more game in her life.
More than that, she felt deeply touched that he’d invited her to live with him. Nothing had ever meant more to her. The truth was, she would have lived with them anywhere, even if it was just a hut in the woods.
“I’d love to,” she answered. “I just want to be with you.”
Her heart pounded as they came together in a kiss, the sound of the waves in the background, the ocean breezes rolling over them.
Finally, everything was perfect in her world again.
* * *
Caitlin had never been so happy as she ambled through the house, going room to room, carrying a washcloth. Caleb had left, had gone out hunting, excited to bring them both home dinner. She was thrilled, because it gave her some time alone to walk through the house, to take it all in, by herself, and to look at it, with a woman’s eye, for how she could fix it up and make it a home for them both.
She walked through the rooms, opening windows, letting in the ocean air. She’d found a pail and rag and had gone down to the stream she’d seen running through the backyard, and had returned with an overflowing pail full of water. She’d run the rag through the stream until it was as clean as could be. She’d found a large crate to stand on, and as she opened each of the huge, medieval windows, she stood up on the crate, and wiped each pane. There were a few windows which were simply too high for her to reach, and for these, she activated her wings, fluttering high in the air, and hovering before the windows as she cleaned them.
She was shocked at the immediate difference it made. The room transformed from being dark to being completely flooded with light. There must’ve been hundreds of years of caked dirt and salt on both sides of the pane. Indeed, just opening each window was a feat in itself, taking all her might to yank them free of rust and debris.
Caitlin looked carefully and was in awe at the craftsmanship of each window. Each window pane was several inches thick, and had the most beautiful design. Some of the glass was stained, some was clear, and some had the slightest tint of color. As she wiped each one down, she could almost feel the house’s gratitude, as it slowly, inch by inch, came back to life.