#esmanda

Amanda dropped the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and turned to her girlfriend excitedly. Esmeralda was scrutinizing her from the other side of the room with frown brows, a fond smile betraying her fake exasperated look. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to ask Fieldren to make food for us instead?”

The new-yorker sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. “Come on Esme, this is gonna be fun!” At the lack of reaction from the vampire, Amanda reached her and softly cupped her face. “You trust me, right?”

Esmeralda’s hands instinctively fell on her partner’s waist as she melted at the feeling of Amanda’s warm hands against her cold skin. She chuckled shyly. “That’s not fair. You know I do, darling.” 

The taller woman chuckled back and pecked her lips quickly before taking her hand and leading her to the worktop. She started to get the ingredients out of the bag, rambling happily about her dad’s family recipe. Esmeralda took a bottle full of red liquid to analyse it curiously when her girlfriend froze next to her.

“Um… Esme? You know the thing we say about vampires… about uh- about garlic?”

There was a few seconds of silence before Esmeralda started to cackle, covering her mouth with her hand. Amanda immediately opened her mouth into a shocked expression, failing to hide her own amusement.

“Don’t laugh at me! I was being thoughtful here!!”

The vampire caught her breath, resting her forehead on the other’s shoulder as support. “I know darling, sorry it’s just-” She lifted her head to look her lover in the eyes. “Garlic? Really?”

Amanda shrugged, a pout not leaving her face. “Well I don’t know, the sun and the mirror things are true so why not? Plus if I can die from eating a peanut, I don’t see why garlic would be so surprising.”

Esmeralda paused to consider. “Well I guess you’re right about that.”

After some more explanation on what’s the difference between a pepper and a tomato and why yes you need to put the pizza in the oven before you eat it, the girls got to work. Amanda gave the vampire some vegetables to cut while she spread the tomato sauce on the dough but quickly decided to switch roles when she started to mercilessly stab a poor mushroom. Then, despite Esmeralda repeatedly stating that it was a bad idea, Amanda decided to share the disposition of the topping so one would do the right part and the other the left one. The smaller woman spied quizzically her partner’s movement as she methodically put grated cheese on her side of the circle.

“Hey, you’re cheating!” Amanda took the first cooking book she found to hide herself from her lover’s eyes, giggling as Esmeralda protested that the task wasn’t as easy as it seemed for her.

Half an hour later, Esmeralda was seated at their table, waiting for Amanda to bring the dish. She quickly walked from the kitchen, smiling like sunshine as she placed it in front of her girlfriend and revealed the tasty-looking plate. Esmeralda couldn’t help but smile at how enthusiastic she was about her cooking - their cooking.

“Your side didn’t turn out so bad.” She teased, cutting clean slices from the pizza.

The vampire wasn’t used to human food yet, it always left a bitter taste in her mouth that she usually urged to chase with fresh blood. But right now, as the woman she was deeply in love with stared at her expectantly, she could only think that this homemade pizza was the best food she had ever eaten in her life. 

“So? What do you think?” 

Ethel, as she's somehow made it all the way through to the endgame: God has let me live another day and I'm going to make it everyone's problem.

-

John: Sorry I’m late, everyone! I broke down on the way.

Tarquin: Oh no! Is your car okay?

John: …what car?

-

Helter: Good morning!

Amanda: Bold statement.

-

Amanda, sweating: Esmeralda, there’s something I need to ask you-

Esmeralda: Finally! You’re proposing!

Amanda: How’d you know?

Esmeralda: Amanda, you’ve dropped the ring five times during dinner.

Esmeralda: I even picked it up once.

-

Esmeralda: I’m the sexiest bitch in this therapy waiting room.

-

Rumpled: But we’re friends! I was building up to calling you a nickname soon!

Margaery: That’ll never happen! In fact, you just lost “Margaery” privileges. From now on, you can call me by my last name or ‘Hey, you.’.

Rumpled: Come on, Margaery.

Margaery: *glares*

Rumpled: Come on, Hey you.”

-

Juliet: I'm feeling it! What am I feeling? Death, probably.

-

Poppy: I'm feeling it! What am I feeling? Death, probably.

-

Tarquin: I'm feeling it! What am I feeling? Death, probably.

-

Amanda: I'm feeling it! What am I feeling? Death, probably.

-

Esmeralda: I'm feeling it! What am I feeling? Death, probably.

-

Tracey: I'm feeling it! What am I feeling? Death, probably.

-

She was fine with that, definitely. It was a genuine mistake, and she wouldn't have to travel alone on the flight back; they had triple checked and they were all definitely on the same flight.

Clarissa and Mark would hopefully get here in the next two hours, so, for that time, she had the airbnb to herself. She got first dibs on bedroom - and she was definitely getting the biggest room.

Amanda cheered for no-one but herself when she finally reached the top of the stairs. She wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead, and looked up at where she would be staying.

The listing didn't lie - it was for sure a fortress. 

The key had been left on a hook beside the door, which Amanda thought wasn't the safest place. She took it, and unlocked the door. It opened with a loud creek.

The place was made of stone - it looked like it was plucked straight out of a history textbook that focused on the medieval era. She checked each room as she walked down the corridor; a kitchen, a dining room, a main living area. Every single room seemed to have a different purpose.

But Amanda wanted the bedrooms, which she assumed would be upstairs. She groaned at the thought of going up more stairs, unsure if her legs could do it. She approached the grand staircase, sucked in her breath, and ascended.

By the time she reached the top, she thought she might collapse. She held onto the rail, trying to regain her breath. After a moment or two, she continued.

The corridor was long, a red rug gave some colour to the grey floors. She opened the first door she saw, still panting from the stairs, and had to take a moment to register the sight.

It was pretty much empty, the lights were set to the lowest setting, and the middle of the room were two chairs, one empty and the other had somebody slumped on it.

Amanda suddenly felt a little bashful, she didn't know she would be sharing the airbnb with anyone but Clarissa and Mark, "oh, uh, sorry.. I didn't-"

She cut herself on when the figure didn't move an inch. Possibilities started to run through her mind; were they asleep? Did they just have earphones in and couldn't hear her? Were they dead?

And that one startled her, so she tentatively creeped towards the figure, and nudged their elbow slightly. When they didn't react, Amanda was in panic mode.

She walked around the chair so she could see the figure properly, and when she could finally see them, "oh my god."

The body - a woman of indeterminable age, her skin a pale white, her dress as red as the reddest ruby which went nicely with her necklace, the prettiest emerald Amanda had ever laid eyes on - had a piece of wood directly through her chest, in exactly where her heart should be.

"Oh, fuck," Amanda breathed, the woman wasn't bleeding under the wood. Amanda didn't know if that was a good thing or not, she wasn't a doctor.

A doctor! She should ring for an ambulance, she dialled 911 into her phone but stopped herself before she pressed the ring button.

She didn't know Romania's emergency number. Shit. She went onto her phone to search it up, but she had no internet. Shit. The signal here was terrible, which was really not the best for her situation.

She guessed she would have to take this into her own hands.

It was a shame her hands had no idea what they were doing. She was totally lost and out of her depth, but it was worth a try, right?

Amanda just hoped the woman wasn't dead.

She needed to get the wood out of the woman, but she needed to figure out how to keep the blood in. She had read somewhere to keep pressure on an open wound, so she needed some sort of cloth to press onto it.

Fortunately, she was wearing an over-shirt. Unfortunately, it was her favourite green one. She sighed deeply and took it off, her white vest solely covered her torso now.

She tucked the shirt under her armpit, and wrapped both hands around the wooden piece, wincing when she felt a splinter, and pulled.

She fell backwards from the force she had used, and had to push herself off the stone flooring with haste - the woman was probably bleeding out and was now more dead than she already was.

Amanda kneeled in front of the woman with speed she didn't even know she could go at, about to place the shirt onto the gaping wound, but she noticed it.

It wasn't a 'gaping wound' anymore. She watched as the hole stitched itself together, muscle connecting like opposite ends of two magnets. She stared at it, fixated, a strange mixture of horror and fascination warped her feelings.

The woman's eyes snapped open, she looked around without blinking once, she looked confused to be alive, but her eyes stopped on Amanda.

She blinked, but after a moment she quickly stood up from her chair, "what- who are you?"

Amanda was stunned at her defensive demeanour, "I, uh, I'm Amanda," she should probably provide more information, "I rented this place out for the week.. uh-"

"It's autumn? Me and Ybbob rent our home out in the autumn.." the woman looked lost in thought.

"Yeah, it's fall, what season did you think it was?"

"Spring," she said without thought, but before Amanda could question it, "your accent.. it's American." That was less of a question, more of a statement, really.

Amanda hummed, "and yours is Romanian, I'm guessing."

"You'd be correct," there was an awkward silence for a few moments, "you saved me?"

"I think I did? Your body just.. stitched itself back together, I didn't really do anything," Amanda shrugged.

"You did do something, you removed the stake," she pulled at where her dress now had a hole in it, "you saved my life, Amanda," she paused, "Esmeralda."

"That's your name?"

The woman reached her hand out, "its an anagram, but it's fine, you don't have to figure it out, you won't anyway."

Amanda took the hand, and it was so soft, she thought some things that she probably shouldn't think ever, and blushed. She blurted, "it's very nice to meet you, Esmeralda," she tried to retract her hand, but Esmeralda brought it up to her lips to kiss it.

Amanda would be impressed at herself if she wasn't as red as Esmeralda's dress.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Amanda," Esmeralda smiled, her teeth looked sharper than the usual person's, "and thank you."

"Don't mention it," Amanda needed to say something else, and she said the first thing that came to mind, "did you know that Esmeralda means emerald?"

The woman laughed, the sound rang beautifully in Amanda's ears, "I did," she reached up to feel her necklace, "that's why I wear this, my mamă gave it to me."

Esmeralda stared at the stone with a fondness that only somebody holding a lot of sorrow could hold, but Amanda thought it best not to ask.

"You like etymology?" Esmeralda asked, finally tearing her eyes away from her necklace.

Amanda felt herself blush again, this time out of bashfulness, "uh, just the etymology of names.. some names. I got bored one day and-"

"Do you know what Amanda means? I'm assuming it was the first one you looked up."

"Ah, uh, no," Amanda pinched her pants, slightly embarrassed, "the first one was Clarissa, which means bright, by the way. But, uh, Amanda means 'worthy of love'.. which I don't entirely think I am."

Esmeralda's face flashed shock, just for a moment, before it became determination, "you are worthy of a lot of things, Amanda, including- no, especially love."

Amanda didn't say anything to her, but when Esmeralda's hands came to envelope her own, she let out a surprised gasp.

"Amanda, darling, you are worthy of love, I may have just met you a couple minutes ago, but you saved my life! I was a stranger to you-"

"I was just doing what anyone would do.." Amanda bit her lip, refusing to make eye contact with Esmeralda.

"Trust me, dear, most people would ignore me, or kill me as the last girl I talked to did," her smile wavered slightly, "but you took one look at me and decided to help me."

Amanda finally had the courage to look her in the eye, "I just did the right thing."

"And doing the right thing means that you are worthy of love, okay?"

Amanda felt her chest loosen up, "okay."

"I want to hear you say you're worthy of love."

She felt like a child, "I am worthy of love."

"Good," Esmeralda kissed her cheek, "you are definitely worthy of love, including mine."