The Vampire Marquis

“Fast! Fast!” In the 12th century France, Jiska was riding his horse in a hurry, all the way along the valley towards the city of Toulouse. “Marquis, wait for us!” Xue'er, who was following closely behind, was urging her horse with a small whip, while glaring at the steward Konde who was driving the horse behind her with the corner of her eye, “Why did you tell the Marquis her whereabouts?” “You know the Marquis has been looking for her for twenty years.” Konde, with his gray hair and gray eyes, answered Xue'er's question while staring at Jiska who was galloping in the wind ahead. “So what if it’s been twenty years? Didn’t you say she’s going to die?” “So the Marquis wants to see her one last time even more.” “No, that’s not the last time at all. When she dies, she will enter the cycle of reincarnation and rebirth. By then, the Marquis will still continue to look for her. He has been chasing her and seeing her for hundreds of years!” Xue'er, with her golden hair and blue eyes, looked only eleven years old, but those blue eyes were flashing with the resentment of a jealous woman. “The Marquis loves her.” “Shut up!” She glared back at him fiercely, this was the sentence she hated to hear the most. Konde’s old face showed a hint of helplessness. Seeing Jiska rushing into the Roman rectangular hall in Saint-Séning, he also hurriedly got off his horse, turned around and carried Xue'er to the ground, and the old and the young rushed in. Jiska went straight to a small room in the hall. When he saw Catherine, who seemed to be asleep on the white bed, he walked up to the bedside with an excited look. He sat down by the bed, staring at the sixty-year-old old woman in front of him, his handsome face full of reluctance and affection. She had aged, just as she was shocked when she learned the truth, knowing that she was getting older day by day, but he was always young. She ran away from him, so as not to let him see her balding and tooth-shaking old state… His eyes were slightly red, his deep black eyes were shining with tears, and his hand was trembling, holding her wrinkled little hand. Catherine’s body trembled slightly, she opened those eyes that once shone like the stars in the sky, but now they were also dim, covered by most of the blue eyes by the slack eyelids, and slowly turned to him. Her presbyopic eyes, waiting for death to come, had long been blurred. However, in order to see clearly the friend who seemed to be rushing to send her the last journey of her life, she blinked and tried hard to focus. After seeing the handsome face that was so familiar that it could not be more familiar, she was shocked, and the hoarse voice of the old woman exclaimed, “Jiska?!” Jiska’s throat was sour, and he choked, “Yes, it’s me, I finally found you!” Catherine looked at the man she loved with tears like rain. When she met him at the age of twelve, he was so young and handsome. Now, she is sixty years old, but his appearance is still the same as before. Her loving gaze stared at his handsome features… She was about to be called by the Lord, should she deeply imprint this face in her mind? In the next life, will she meet him again? She closed her eyes full of tears. “Catherine, talk to me, don’t leave me so quickly, I have been looking for you for twenty years…” Jiska choked and held her already cold hands tightly. She shook her head and tried her best to withdraw her hand. He was stunned for a moment, noticing that her blue eyes, which were opened again, were flashing with two clusters of anger, “Catherine?” She took a deep breath and said in a tense tone: “I hate you!” “Catherine…” His face turned pale. She glared at him with gritted teeth, “I hate you, if twenty years ago, you were willing to let me become a vampire, I wouldn’t have to run away from you, and I wouldn’t have to fear the passage of time, youth and old age have become this chicken skin crane hair look!” Jiska’s expression was sad, “I can’t, once you become a vampire, you will blame me, then you will understand the fear and helplessness of a person who wants to die but can’t die.” Her presbyopic eyes, waiting for death to come, had long been blurred. However, in order to see clearly the friend who seemed to be rushing to send her the last journey of her life, she blinked and tried hard to focus. After seeing the handsome face that was so familiar that it could not be more familiar, she was shocked, and the hoarse voice of the old woman exclaimed, “Jiska?!” Jiska’s throat was sour, and he choked, “Yes, it’s me, I finally found you!” Catherine looked at the man she loved with tears like rain. When she met him at the age of twelve, he was so young and handsome. Now, she is sixty years old, but his appearance is still the same as before. Her loving gaze stared at his handsome features… She was about to be called by the Lord, should she deeply imprint this face in her mind? In the next life, will she meet him again? She closed her eyes full of tears. “Catherine, talk to me, don’t leave me so quickly, I have been looking for you for twenty years…” Jiska choked and held her already cold hands tightly. She shook her head and tried her best to withdraw her hand. He was stunned for a moment, noticing that her blue eyes, which were opened again, were flashing with two clusters of anger, “Catherine?” She took a deep breath and said in a tense tone: “I hate you!” “Catherine…” His face turned pale. She glared at him with gritted teeth, “I hate you, if twenty years ago, you were willing to let me become a vampire, I wouldn’t have to run away from you, and I wouldn’t have to fear the passage of time, youth and old age have become this chicken skin crane hair look!” Jiska’s expression was sad, “I can’t, once you become a vampire, you will blame me, then you will understand the fear and helplessness of a person who wants to die but can’t die.” Her tears flowed down again, “I’m going to die now, because I’m old, my heart is beating slower and slower, so I don’t have any fear or helplessness?!” “You will be reincarnated, you will grow up again.” “Experience the hardships of birth, old age, sickness and death again?” Her eyes were blurred with tears, she could hardly see his face, “If that’s the case, can I ask you not to come looking for me again? Don’t tell a little girl how much she loved you in her previous life and the life before that, let the seed of love in her heart sprout, let her fall in love with you hopelessly?” Jiska’s jaw tightened, “I can’t, I can’t control myself.” Catherine gave a desolate smile, “You are so selfish, have you ever thought about my feelings?” He was speechless. “When that little girl grows up year by year, gradually indulges in your love and passion, even marries you, she suddenly finds that she is slowly getting old, but her husband is still as handsome and upright as when she first met him at the age of twelve, without any signs of old age…” She sobbed, “Do you know what she thinks? She is so scared, so terrified.” “Catherine…” He wanted to hold her in his arms with sadness. Her body immediately stiffened, “Don’t touch me! I hate you, I hate you!” “Don’t hate me, I beg you, I love you deeply, Catherine.” He looked at her with a sob, he loved her, he couldn’t bear her words of hatred… She could feel her heartbeat getting slower and slower, and her vision getting blurrier and blurrier. “If there really is a next life, I absolutely don’t want to meet you, don’t want to fall in love with you, because, I don’t want to suffer the pain of this world again, I would rather… rather be with a… with a normal person… love… love…” Catherine murmured, her consciousness was already scattered. “No, no!” Jiska watched her close her eyes with a broken heart, in an instant, he felt as if he was in an ice cellar, his whole body was pierced with holes by the bone-chilling cold.