Saving Faith... by Stephanie M. Colon (classic novels for teens .txt) 📕

From that day forward Constantine had lived in his house under his protection. 

After five years of being in his castle and realizing he never aged she asked why. He first tried to dismiss her and send her back to her family. After being employed with him for so long Sebastian finally started to get to know Constantine. She explained that she had no family and therefore no one to go back to. She expressed how badly she wished to stay living in the castle as it was the only place she felt truly safe. After many more years he finally confided in her what his true nature was. Even though she knew the truth about him she never thought to leave him. He had saved her life and she owed him everything.

As she aged she requested help in the castle, and he had no problem to grant her that wish. He would find women who needed the work. He made sure they knew they were to work for him for only five years. During that time he would send the money to their families and make sure everyone was taken care of. They were to live at the castle and tend to the animals in the small farm he had created for Constantine. After their time at the castle was up they were sent back to their families and they would never have to work again. At the moment he employed two women to help Constantine. Sebastian found her sitting at the table with the other two women. At the age of 65 Constantine had grey hair in which she kept in a very long braid and piercing dark grey eyes that never missed a detail. Emily at age 30 had radiant red hair that fell past her shoulders with eyes as green as the sea. Cara, the youngest, at age 17 with eyes that reminded him of the sky, hair mixed with dark brown, platinum blond, and honey colored hair.

As he looked at them all sitting, Sebastian knew he would soon have to let Emily go back to her family soon. He didn’t know what would come of Cara in the years to come. He found Cara on the edge of the lake that lined the east side of his land. He knew she had to be an orphan when he found her. She was 5 years old and terrified when he found her. After he brought her to Constantine and they began to care for her. Weeks passed when they finally found out that she had been left in the woods by her father. Alone and left for dead just because she looked just like her mother, who had left him for another man. Cara was the only other person who knew his secret, but she learned early on how to keep it to herself very well. He saw her as the daughter he never had the chance to have. He didn’t want her to leave but he also wanted her to have the chance at a family of her own. Sebastian would do anything to keep her safe and happy but he knew she would never be completely happy living in the castle tending to him her entire life. He knew she craved freedom and a family of her own even though she would never admit it.

Sebastian mentally shook the thought aside and cleared his throat to get the attention he required. When they all turned to look at him he began giving his orders. “Constantine, I will need you to go to my room when you are finished and I will need you to stay there all day.” He looked at Cara lovingly and said “Before you get back to work please get Constantine all the medical supplies and leave them outside my door. Knock to let her know you have left the supplies and get back to what you had planned for the rest of the day. Emily, prepare to go into town for some clothes shopping. I would like for you to get several days worth of sweatpants, t-shirts, and underwear. Constantine will give you the sizes for it all later in the day.” Sebastian instructed Emily. 

Then to both Emily and Cara he said “Do not go into my room, either of you. If you need Constantine throughout the day use the intercom, but do not scream if you do please. I need peace and quiet in this place for the next day or so. I have a special guest and I want everyone to be prepared because I might require you to stop whatever it is you are doing to see to the needs of my guest. If my guest requests anything at all I want you to get to it quickly. You will all get rewarded greatly if you follow my instructions.” He then thanked them all and walked back to his library to open the hidden cellar door.

Sebastian never had a need for that room for over 30 years. The last time he used it was the day he told Constantine that he was a vampire. He knew she would never turn on him so he let himself be comfortable in a regular bedroom. He had saved her life and she protected him with her own since that day no matter the situation. He walked into the cellar and took off the white sheet from the small bed. He then went back to his room to get ready for his slumber. It was already an hour past sunrise and he was slowly getting tired. He felt the weight of the sun rising pushing his body closer to sleep. He decided to get a large t-shirt he rarely used and put it on the woman he saved. He didn’t want her to feel too vulnerable when she woke.

As he stepped into his sweatpants he heard a knock at the door. Constantine was waiting outside his door with her yarn and needles and a book all inside her favorite tote, the one he gave her for her 36th birthday.

“How did you know?” Sebastian asked Constantine with a smile on his face.

“Whatever do you mean, my lord?” She asked innocently as she walked over to the large plump oversized chair and put her bag down.

“You know what I mean. How did you know I would ask you to stay here until I woke?”

“Sebastian I’ve lived here for thirty-five years and not once have you had a guest. And when you said you would need peace and quiet I assumed your guest was probably in bad shape. And from what I can tell she is.” Constantine explained as she walked over to the bed to look at the woman sleeping there. “Is she the one, my lord?”

“Yes, I believe she is. I caught her scent as I left a bar early tonight. I was looking for a meal but instead I smelled her. I followed her scent until I found a house in the country that was surrounded by a small army of men. I found her in the basement where she had been kept for weeks being repeatedly beaten and raped.” He explained. Sebastian decided to keep some details of the story from Constantine. She didn't need to know exactly how crazy he had become. 

“That’s all I need to know Sebastian. I understand now why you want me here all day. Would it be any good to ask you if they fed her at all?” At the look he gave her she assumed that was a no. “Go to bed Sebastian. I will look over her until you rise again. She will be cleaned and bandaged at the very least. I will also do my best to make sure she eats, even just a little.” She finally said as she pushed him toward the door.

Once she knew Sebastian was asleep Constantine called for Cara to bring her two very large bowls, a handful of hand towels, a bottle of Sebastian’s body wash, and the large first aid kit. She spent the next hour carefully cleaning the injured woman of any dirt. She took even more care to clean the countless injuries that she carried. After all was done she left everything outside of the room and used the intercom to call Cara to take care of everything left in the hall quickly. She then sat down in the chair to watch over the fragile woman for the rest of the day.

Faith awoke to a room filled with candles, and the scent of cedar and leather, and something else she couldn’t quite describe. One thing she knew for certain was she wasn’t back in the basement of Owens abandoned building. As Faith lifted her head to look around everything began to spin. She felt like she was in a merry-go-round. She immediately pushed herself towards the side of the bed so she could be sick. After her stomach finally settled she lay back on the bed, heard a woman talking and passed out.

As Constantine watched the young woman become violently ill she ran to the intercom and called for Cara to bring a bucket and cleaning supplies. Constantine took everything from Cara and gave her a reassuring smile. Constantine cleaned everything up and left the bucket next to the bed in case of another accident.

After a couple hours passed by Constantine called for Emily to make broth and bread. When it was finally delivered to Sebastian’s bedroom she also received the clothes Sebastian requested. She finally decided to wake up the young woman so she could get something into her stomach. Though she knew the young woman needed desperately to eat something she could do would wake her. She did the best she could under the circumstances. She lifted the woman as best she could and piled pillows behind her. Next she opened the woman’s mouth and spooned in tiny amounts of broth. It seemed to work so after the broth got cold Constantine put the bowl in the hall and called for one of the women to pick it up.

As the day passed Constantine sat looking at the young woman, hoping that she would be able to recover. She finally concluded it was the longest day of her life after hours of worrying for this young woman who she didn’t know. She had looked after numerous young women that had been ill but never had she been so genuinely concerned. Nore had it ever truly mattered for a woman to recover so much. She did not want to disappoint Sebastian and she did not want to tell him that the woman wouldn’t ever recover. Constantine vowed she would do everything possible to make sure the woman recovered. At that moment she remembered what Sebastian had done to her many years ago.

Decades ago Constantines doctor had informed them that she had cancer and her time in this world was limited. Not willing to give up his closest friend Sebastian gave Constantine a couple vials of his own blood. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with it for a long time but eventually Sebastian told her she would need to drink some of it in order to get better. After she did the cancer had disappeared. Maybe the same could help this woman too.

About an hour before sunset Sebastian finally walked through the bedroom door. Constantine didn’t feel as reassured as she usually was when he woke up. It broke her heart at the look on his face to realize that the young woman was still asleep.

“Sebastian, I need to talk to you. Can you please follow me into