Lilly and Tabitha tiptoed away once they'd delivered Rose to her destination, leaving the two women to grieve together.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
An attempted antidote had been concocted using a sample of Frank's blood. The new-born vampire had been eager to please, eager to help once he'd heard about what had happened. Frank was slowly getting used to the Elders and he was beginning to feel like he belonged, although his thirst for blood was incapacitating, leaving him unable to spend much time out of the confines of his temporary cell.
He knew once he had conquered the thirst, he would continue to live with this bizarre group of people and creatures, but he was pleased about that. Frank had been a loner for so long that he no longer felt like he belonged in Powell River. He carried such guilt for the death he had caused, the death of the bear that had, in fact, been an innocent man.
Rose sat beside her long lost husband while the concoction was injected directly into his neck. Although she was warned that it may have an adverse effect and cause Walter to wake with such a thirst that he may reach for the nearest source of blood, she had been adamant. She would not leave his side.
And so, the strongest vampires were standing by should he need restraining.
After ten minutes, there was no change. Twenty minutes, nothing. An hour went by and Walter lay there unmoving.
Rose had just about begun to lose all hope of speaking to him again when suddenly, Walter bolted upright, taking a deep breath and then falling on his back, his eyes closed. It was as if he'd been given an electric shock and then fallen unconscious again.
Rose took his hand in hers again and began to talk to him. She told him all about her life and the life of their family, how much she loved him.
"I never stopped loving you, even though I'm an old lady now and you're still a young man," she chuckled. "You look exactly the same as when we were married all those years ago..." and she continued talking to him for hours.
Carmelo decided there was no longer any threat. He was certain the antidote was ineffective and so he dismissed the vampires and the rest of the family returned upstairs to leave Rose alone with her husband.
It was only once everybody had gone that something happened.
Rose felt Walter's hand twitch in hers, before he gripped it tightly.
"Walter?" she whispered as another tear fell out of the corner of her eye.
"Walter?" she asked again.
"Rose?" responded the voice.
"Walter!" she gasped and leaned forward to watch as he slowly opened his eyes and turned to face her.
"Why Rose... you look even more beautiful now than..."
She shook her head, laughing, "You always were a pretty poor liar, Walter."
He slowly sat himself up and stroked her face gently, "I'm not lying, Rose. Oh, how I've missed you. I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry too... we've lost so many years..." she said, sobbing.
"But we're together now, that's all that matters."
"But you're still a young man, Walter. Look at me... I'm an old lady."
"I might look like a young man, my love, but I'm older than you," he laughed, wincing and holding his stomach.
"Walter! Are you all right?" she asked anxiously.
"I... I think so, just some strange sensations I've not felt before. I'm rather hungry though."
"If you can walk, we can help each other upstairs where we can get you some... food," she said as she stood up and offered her shoulder.
"Oh, my love, I can see that you are injured. I'll be fine. Let me carry you," and before she could say anything, Walter had hopped off the bed and whisked her up in his arms as he walked out of the room, following her directions to join the rest of the family.
As the two emerged from the steps and entered the main hall, a roar suddenly erupted from the room where everyone had been sitting quietly waiting for Walter to pass into the next world. Nobody expected to be seeing him alive and well and when they did, they cheered loudly.
"This man is feeling a little peckish, can we organise some... food for him please?" said Rose, above the sounds of the voices as they fussed over them. He gently put Rose down on the wheelchair that had been found for her, and placed the blanket over her weakened legs.
As Walter was taken away to feed, Meredith approached Rose. She was looking better than she had that morning, their shared moment of grief had helped enormously. She hugged Rose, "I'm so happy for you, my dear Rose."
Looking deep into her eyes, Rose said, "I wish I could say the same for you, Meredith."
"I've had many, many happy years, and wonderful memories with John, Rose. You've had nothing like that with Walter. You deserve some happiness now."
Rose looked unsure all of a sudden, looking down at her feet and squeezing her hands together nervously, "I don't think so, Meredith. Look at him. He's young. I am old. We can't possibly be together now."
"Why ever not? Technically, you are a similar age. Besides, what's wrong with a boy toy?" she replied, smiling. "Rose, you deserve to be together," she said as she gently pushed her towards Walter who had finished feeding and was heading back in her direction looking fit and healthy. Well, as healthy as a vampire can look.
That evening, surrounded by candles, Walter and Rose sat cuddled in a cosy little room in a far corner of the caves. They had needed some privacy. They had a lot to catch up on.
Sunk deep into an old soft sofa, they were wrapped in a warm blanket as Rose told her new found husband of her life in Powell River. How she had come to accept that she would probably never see him again and had just about managed to move on.
Walter placed his hand gently on her cheek and turned her face so he could look into her pale blue eyes.
"When I managed to break free from Vivian's hold, I wanted so much to return to you but I just couldn't," he said slowly. "You see, my only escape came in the form of a vampire. I didn't know he was a vampire, of course. I thought he was just there to set me free. I had no idea that he had other plans for me."
"I'm assuming it was Duran that did this to you?" she asked, still looking into his eyes.
Walter nodded and sighed. "If I had known my fate, I would have stayed with Vivian, I would have continued to give her my blood if it meant I would have stayed a man. At least then there was always that chance that I could have escaped and returned to you, my love. You were all that I thought of these passed years."
"But you could have returned to me a vampire, my dear. I wouldn't have cared. I loved you, it didn't matter what you were. Look at me, I am a changeling and it never stopped you from loving me, did it?" she cried.
"Oh, Rose. It's not the same. I would have put you in danger. I couldn't do that. That's why I fled from our daughter too. I could not endanger her. It took me a few years to control my thirst. I needed to get far away from you both in order to keep you safe."
Rose turned her face from him, and took his hand in hers, gently stroking it, "where did you go?"
"The one place that reminded me of you, Portugal. I fled to a little town called Sintra in the hills near Lisbon. It was there that I eventually managed to control that awful thirst, it had such a hold over me for so long. There were a few other good vampires in hiding over there. I was lucky that they took me in and they helped me. It was a good place for me to be. I often sat in the little bars in Sintra, and later, in the city, and listened to that fado music that you used to be so fond of. It made me feel like I was close to you, my darling."
Smiling, Rose rested her head against his shoulder as he told her all about that beautiful place he called home for a while. He told her tales about the nights he spent looking out at the stars outside the pretty old Seteais Palace, nights he would count every star in the night sky and wonder if Rose would do the same. He had broken into the Lisbon zoo during the hours of darkness, to sit beside the lions and tigers, just to feel close to her. And he had even travelled to the south of the country when he had heard about the opening of a centre fo
r the breeding of Iberian Lynx. Again, he had waited until nightfall and had broken in, doing nothing but sitting beside the animals and watching them.
"Oh my Walter, my dear, dear, Walter, if I had known you felt this way, I would have flown to Portugal to be with you. You would never have harmed me. I know that."
Walter smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so sorry. We've lost so many years because of my stupidity."
But Rose merely shook her head, "No, not stupidity, darling. I understand why. You did it because you thought you were protecting me," she smiled.
The couple continued talking long into the night until Rose began to feel far too drowsy to continue and she slowly fell asleep as she leaned against the young man, her husband.
Rose dreamed of the life they could finally have, living together in their little cottage in Powell River. She knew there would be gossip about this attractive young man who had moved in. Some would comment on the similarity to her long lost husband and so she would have to make up some story about him being a nephew or some such nonsense. But it didn't matter, he had finally found her and they could spend the rest of their days together.
But the next morning when she awoke, she was shocked at what she found.
Overnight, Walter had aged about ten years.
#
"It appears to be the reaction between the disease and the anti-bodies. It seems that there is little we can do, other than wait, and hope, that the ageing process will stop once he reaches his actual age."
"You mean, he is dying," Rose said to Carmelo as they sat quietly in a small room just around the corner from the so-called hospital wing where Walter was having some more tests done.
"It's difficult for us to say, Rose. We've not seen this disease for many, many years. We thought it had been totally wiped out. All we can do now is hope that Walter will pull through this."
"But tomorrow, he will probably have aged another ten years, and the next day, yet more years. If it continues, he will be dead within the week," she sobbed, "I've only just got him back."
Carmelo stood and walked over to her chair where he knelt down, placing his hand gently on hers, "I know, Rose. I'm so sorry. We just don't know what will happen. You must enjoy the next few days with Walter. You must live them, they could be his last. And you don't want them to be spent grieving. Go to him now, Rose."
Standing with the help of a temporary walking stick, and with wobbly knees, Rose nodded and hugged her old friend before she stood tall and walked out into the dimly lit hall before turning towards Walter's new quarters.
As she entered, Walter was sitting alone on the edge of the bed, deep in thought. The faint new lines on his face crinkled when he smiled as he stood and took her in his arms.
"It's been a long time since I was faced with my own mortality like this," he said, stroking her head gently.
"Let's leave here, Walter. Let's go and spend the next few days back in Powell River where I can cook for you and we can live as husband and wife. The way it should have been all those years ago. Are you strong enough to travel?" she asked, looking up into his dark eyes.
"Rose, I feel fine, and yes, let's. I would love nothing more than to spend my final days with you at home."
"Oh please don't say that. We don't know if you're... if you're...."
"Dying, Rose?"
She swallowed and nodded, before resting her head against his chest, half expecting the sound of his heartbeat, before remembering there wasn't one.
#
It had been a tearful goodbye for all of the family who were remaining with the Elders at least for a little while longer.
Walter held his only grandchild close to his chest and told her how proud he was of her, how much he loved her mother and her, even though he had never really got the chance to know them both.
Tabitha sobbed into his shoulder as he said his goodbyes, hoping that it was just temporary. Hoping that the disease would stop once he reached his actual age and that she would see him again, but she knew Rose needed to be alone with him. She had lost so many years and a few days was so little, yet so precious for her.
Meredith was almost all out of tears since the death of her husband, but she still shed a few more as she hugged Rose. She had no words. Words were unnecessary.
December and Lilly were the last to say goodbye to the couple.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am, Walter. You saved my life. You saved all our lives. I'll never forget you," Lilly whispered sadly but Walter shook his head.
"No, Lilly. I believe that you saved mine. And I'm happy knowing that I am ageing like a man now, regardless of how long I have left. I can die a happy man, finally with the woman I love. And I have you to thank for that. You saved me, Lilly. And I will never forget you."
Lilly stepped back and smiled, turning to her aunt, falling into her arms and hugging her tightly.
"Get a message to me if anything happens and I'll be there as fast as my hind legs can take me, okay?"
Rose nodded, a single tear dropped down her cheek and onto her lips, leaving a faint taste of salt.
"Thank you, Walter. Stay safe and well. I'm sure we will see you again," said December cheerily, as she gave Rose a quick peck on the cheek.
"Enjoy your time together and we'll see you both when we come home," she added optimistically.
A huge group of people assembled at the large hidden entrance to the caves to wave goodbye to the couple as they began their descent back home.
When they were out of sight, the bunch of strange looking characters disbanded, everyone going this way and that within the caves, back to their everyday lives.
CHAPTER FORTY
Lilly knew that her life would never be the same again. Not only did she have Oliver back, she no longer had to keep secrets from him or from Ben. Not only that, but December was to be a strong fixture in her life as well.
Had it not been for the sorrow of losing John, the sadness that surrounded Walter's condition and her missing father, Lilly would have been a very happy girl.
That evening, the two girls sat chatting in Gabriel's quarters as her grandfather sat in another room with Meredith sharing stories about the wonderful man they had lost.
A thick heavy brown blanket hung in the air, its corners jumping up and down as if dancing to music. Suddenly it flew across the room and landed on top of the two girls as they giggled uncontrollably.
"Am I interrupting something?" asked a male voice from the doorway.
Lilly pulled down the blanket and Oliver noticed how pretty she looked when she laughed, her eyes glistened in a way he hadn't seen before. What he saw now was the true Lilly Tulugaq, not the girl who had so much to hide from him just a year before.
"No! Come on in," she giggled as the blanket was lifted above them and then flopped down on their laps. "December was just showing me some of her recently discovered skills. It's amazing."
"What's amazing is what she did in that cave."
"Hello?" said another male voice as the three of them turned towards the doorway once again.
"Christoff!" squealed December before she had time to control herself. When she realised, her cheeks flushed pink.
"Come on in, Chris, the girls are just messing about and being silly," said Oliver as Christoff sheepishly walked in and sat down in a chair opposite them.
"Chris? You call him Chris now?" teased Lilly.
"Actually, I prefer it," he smiled.
"Chris it is, then," added December who was still blushing.
"Chris and I have been shooting some pool down in the games room."
"There's a games room here?" Lilly asked confused and Oliver nodded, "Oh yeah, this place has got everything. It's amazing. There's even a load of skiing equipment for when it snows."
"How come I had no idea about any of this?" she answered, shaking her head as she stood up from the sofa next to December and practically threw herself on top of Oliver, making him squeeze over on the smaller seat, and throwing her
arm over his shoulder with a giggle.
He responded by tickling her sides before leaning over and gently placing a soft kiss on her lips.
December and Chris shared an embarrassed look.
"Erm, guys, get a room!" she yelled, sending a cushion over to land on top of their heads.
"December! Are you going to always use your magic to wind us up?!" Lilly exclaimed, laughing.
"Yes, as long as you continue to get all gooey, lovey dovey in front of us, I will!"
"Okay, okay, we get the picture," Lilly replied as the cushion continuously hit them on the tops of their heads.
Chris couldn't stop himself and he giggled at the scene before December finally gave up and let the cushion fly back to her side.
When they'd finally stopped laughing, Lilly turned her attention to the boy with the sad face. She noticed, even when he laughed, the laughter didn't quite reach his green eyes.
"So what happened to you, Chris? How did you end up a... a vampire?" she asked boldly.
His breath caught in his mouth. He hadn't been expecting the question so soon and his eyes looked down towards the floor as he nervously pushed his hair behind his ears wondering what to say.
"Oh, it's okay. If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay," said Lilly feeling a little ashamed for assuming it was a subject she could broach with him.
"No... it's fine. It's just a little... raw, if you know what I mean," he whispered sadly.
"You know, Chris, it's always good to talk. Getting things off your chest helps the healing process," December said quietly as he lifted his head and smiled right at her, nodding.
"Yes, you're right, of course. I guess I need to talk about it, don't I?" and she nodded back, the colour returning to her cheeks, yet again.
"But if you're not ready, that's okay too."
"It was actually quite a while ago but because I was stuck with... with... Duran, I never had the chance to get over it, you know?"