…Anastasia POV…

I should know by now that with every step we chose to make, that there shall always be some sort of consequences. Now it would be foolish to think that these consequences are in any way something that shall be welcomed. Well, let me think of it this way, is it such a bad thing to be a human? Only when the love of your life is a Vampire. Then take being dead; that is one which will rather be irreversible. But with that, another thought comes to mind, though, that is just completely absurd.

But decision time has arrived for the full moon is starting to rise in the sky. Do I wish to end my legacy? Or stay this ungodly creature forever? My decision is as final as this spell.

"Please let us go ahead with this."

Then Sebastian, with absolute horror on his face, turns to me as to plead the last time.

"My beloved, are you certain of this?"

"Please, Sebastian, let me do this. If I die, then you can get a spell to raise me from the dead."

"That does sound like an option, but I am afraid you shall smell like rotten flesh. With that, I do need to disagree, for I do not wish to have a dead corpse bride. You know that there is that story…"

"Sebastian."

"Yes."

"Focus! You always think of the most inappropriate thing at the wrong time."

"So I guess it is out of the question to send Elloise away for a few minutes before she turns you into a frog?"

"Sebastian!"

"Fair, I guess it is better than you being with our pesky Vampire Hunter. Then let us get on with this."

I know that with every moving bone in his body that he wishes that I would not go ahead with is. But my mind is made up. I shall go ahead with this.

…Elloise POV…

I have known Sebastian for many years but never has he once come to me with such a ridiculous and a rather dangerous request. There is no record whatsoever that this has ever been done, for there is no Ancient that would wish for his power to be taken away. I do understand that Anastasia wishes to keep her beauty, but there are so many other medical ways that are proven to work that she can explore. For me to have her death on my hands is not a burden I wish to be.

But Sebastian is the Vampire Master, and all in his rule shall do as he asks for if he should even have to dare disobey his command, then you shall have hell to pay. And hell, I am going to pay when he finds out the true result of the spell as it comes to its end. I think I might just find myself come to my end today.

…Sebastian POV…

I am not happy to give into my beloved's request to go ahead with this spell even now that we know what the consequences are. Do I truly wish to raise a body from the dead? I do love Anastasia, but that could be the most horrific experience. She shall not only smell rotten when we are having sex, but she shall have the urge to eat my flesh. Well, that I do not wish to experience.

As with being human again, well, I truly have not ever given that much thought again. Yes, I do have the ability to change into one myself, but do we truly wish to die one day? I know that on many occasions, I have said that I would rather die than spend my life without her. The thing is, we have the opportunity now to live as forever as we can. Why do we want to go change things in such a way? To risk everything that we have built together?

But she is my beloved, and I shall give her anything that she desires, no matter what the risk. There is always a way out of a situation.

…Anastasia POV…

I am ready to take this risk; there is nothing that can go wrong. I have full faith in Elloise that she can pull this off completely flawless.

So I am made to stand in a clearing where my body is enveloped in the light of the moon. I watch as light shines and glitters on all the beautiful pink flowers that surround me in a perfect patch of green grass.

I am then handed a big ancient cup, which is filled with the juices and spices of the ingredients she had gathered earlier on. It tastes sweet to the tongue and most definitely the only fluid I have had in my body for since I was turned. It is quite awkward to feel something fill your stomach that has absolutely no use to you.

Then she starts chanting her spell. By the way, she is circling me; I do wonder if the purpose is to knock me out dizzy for another act to come. But as the dizziness does come, I start to fear if something else might be happening to me. I can feel very obvious twists in turns moving about in the inner side of my body. Something is indeed happening.

In the far corner, I can see Sebastian, and he, too, has sensed that something is happening to my body. Though by the look in his eyes, I cannot place is he is nervous or looking forward to the good outcome.

So as Elloise keeps chanting, she hands me a second cup of god knows what to drink, for this one is bitter to the taste. She could have easily gone and mixed all the nasty weeds she shall find in the forest and handed to me to drink. Once I am finally able to let it float down in the hollows of my stomach, she once again goes to walks in circles around me, saying the same three words over and over again.

And that is when I feel it. First, it feels as if someone has kicked me hard in the gut. Then a feeling and ten daggers piercing through my heart. Finally, the feeling of someone placing a single bullet in my forehead. And as I start to topple over into darkness, I can see Sebastian coming running up to me.

Then it goes black.

…Sebastian POV…

I have watched my beloved fall too many times to let it go by as just a simple dizzy spell. Yes, she just had a spell cast on her, and she does perhaps just got dizzy from it, but it still not stops the feeling of horror and helplessness settle over you.

But as I observe that calmness of Elloise, then I feel the need to be relieved settle over me, for this must clearly be part of the spell. Does this give me the hope that the spell was performed with a preferable outcome? No. For we have been through too much and too many disappointments to let our hearts lay in faith. The only faith created is a certainty, and certainty does not come without being disappointed in the first instance. But strong and resilient, now that is things that we can say is for certain.

And for certain all that I know is that my beloved needs to be in my arms until such time that she wakes. So I pick her from the soft patch of grass that she is lying and carry her up to where Elloise is waiting for us. The only three words I wish to ask her right now are burning on my mind until I get to her.

"Did it work?"

"I am afraid we shall have to wait for the full moon to have passed. You are welcome to take her in the back to the open bed there, or you can remain here in front."

So I carry my dear Anastasia to the back and lay her body gently down onto the blanket, and softly place her head down on my lap. With these old Vampire hands, I run my fingertips over her porcelain skin. Twirling her hair between my fingers, I move them from her face and place them behind her ears.

But what strikes me is that her skin is not cold, so does this mean that she is not dead? How long does this damn moon take to make its way across the night sky? Much to my frustration, through hours and hours, I lay with Anastasia on my lap. The closer the night becomes to being over, the more my excitement grows, though I know I should not count my blessings before they have been hatched.

Then finally, as the last hour comes, I can now for the first time hear that she is breathing. I can safely say that dead people do not breathe. But we are yet to learn if she is human or Vampire. Only a few minutes and then we see the sunrise start to tickle the horizon.

I can see her eyes starting to flicker open; it is the most beautiful thing that I have seen since a few hours ago. She smiles at me and looks at me from underneath those thick eyelashes.

"Sebastian, did it work?"

"My beloved, I am not sure. Elloise said we must wait for a while before we try to make you turn into an Ancient."

"But can we go home now?"

"Yes, let us go."

As we make our way out to the front where Elloise is sitting, I watch her face turn into horror as I whisper the words of warning into her ear.

With that, I take the Book of Spells and make our way out of the forest; the drive home is rather excited as Anastasia believes that she feels that the spell has worked.

…Anastasia POV…

My entire being is filled with excitement, but I am not too sure if I am excited about the thing that I should be excited about. For there is something wrong, Sebastian has it written all over his face, or is it just what he spoke to Elloise about that has got him so upset. He told her that she is going to wish she was dead if this spell did not work out.

And then I feel it, "Sebastian?"