Every so often, she would be reborn into this world, placed like a beacon among the darkness that filled his otherwise dull world. He'd lived for centuries before he saw her that first time, already bored with the idea of his own immortality. Her simple existence changed everything for him, in ways that nobody could fully understand, not even he himself. In ways that would eventually impact the entire world.

If only he'd just kept going when he heard her laugh. Maybe then, things could have gone differently. But then again, if given the chance, he wouldn't have been able to change anything at all. After all, by the time he truly knew what he would need to change, he'd become quite addicted to her. To everything about her.

If the rest of the world must suffer so that he could have her at his side, then so be it. He'd already paid his fair share of agony and then some. It was time for him to claim the happiness he was owed, even if he must tear the world apart to have it.

--------

The day he first saw her, her honey-brown eyes were shining under the moonlight, her dark-brown hair whipping around when she spun about as she laughed happily, dancing with the other villagers in celebration of the upcoming harvest.

It had been that very laughter that caused him to turn in her direction as he passed by the open fields, the simple joy that filled her voice ringing brightly through the cool night air. At first he'd thought it was simply the idea of alleviating his own boredom that made him seek her out, slipping through the crowd unnoticed until he stood before her, holding out an unnaturally pale hand as he asked her for a dance.

The sound of her soft voice as she'd agreed, an innocent smile on her face as she looked at him, had caused a warmth to appear within his chest that he'd never thought to feel again when he'd left his mortality behind. For a moment, he swore he could feel his heart beat again, the tugging of her hand on his as she led him into the crowd of dancing peasants pulling him from his wayward thoughts.

He'd spent the next few hours with her, going back and forth between dancing and talking, having spun her a story about being a simple traveler and listening to her talk about her own life. He'd enjoyed having her attention upon him, the sole recipient of her smiles and laughter for the rest of the night as the young men simply glared at him for keeping her attention for so long. He couldn't have cared less, basking in her warmth like a reptile finding the sun again after a long, cold winter.

He'd stayed around the area for weeks before he finally gave into his thirst and draining her of the sweet blood that had run through her veins. Years later, he could still clearly hear the words she'd whispered before passing on, haunting him as much as the memory of her tear-filled eyes before they'd gone dark and dull that night.

"I forgive you."

--------

Nearly five decades later, he ran into another girl, one that somehow reminded him of the first. The fact that her eyes were pale grey and her hair a deep red did nothing to alter the feeling of warmth in his chest when he saw her standing in front of a nearby church. It was the way her face lit up in a smile that had him freezing in place as he watched her talking to the pastor before he waved her along and entered the church once more, leaving her to turn back down the stairs and head off.

He swore he felt his heart beat once more when she saw him standing down the street and gave him a shy smile before rushing the other way and entering a small building. When he walked up to it, he read the words carved into the stone, finding it to be an orphanage.

Over the next few weeks, he watched her come and go between the orphanage and several other buildings, spending most of her time helping to take care of the younger orphans. He was confused why she seemed to pull him close to her without even knowing it, the feeling of familiarity striking him with every move she made, every word she spoke.

Each day, he wished more and more desperately for her to speak to him as well, each evening watching her through the window as she slept and wishing that he'd taken the chance to walk across the street and introduce himself. Deep inside, he could feel his thirst grow, memories of a sweet flavor from long ago filling his mind.

--------

It was another forty years before he saw her once again, her now dark blue eyes painting memories of a blood-splashed bedroom across his mind, a quietly whispered "I've missed you" having left him confused and regretful for several years before he'd forced the thoughts from his mind.

Watching as the sun shined against her black hair, hints of colors brought out like a raven's wings as the wind blew it about, he wondered for a moment if it would be just as soft as red hair before he shook the thought from his head. It's not like any of these girls had anything in common, other than that soft warmth he always felt in his chest when he spotted them.

It didn't stop him from spending the next month following her about, especially after she had turned around and seen him, waving at him in a familiar fashion before racing past him to head home for lunch. The feeling of her hand brushing against his as she passed by would have left him breathless if he'd had the need to breathe in the first place.

Weeks had gone by as he watched her, his heart seeming to give a small shuddering thump every time she seemed to seek him out and send him a smile before turning back to whatever she had been doing. He was falling deeper and deeper into his growing obsession with her, with every glance and laugh she gave him.

It had to stop. He had to stop this before he was too far gone.

--------

It was another one hundred years before he would find her again, haunted the whole time by the last words he heard her say before she died in his arms. The words that made him realize the truth of what was happening, why he was drawn to her over and over again. It made him wonder what she looked like the first time she saw him, back before he ever knew she even existed.

"I've loved you since the first time I saw you, so many lifetimes ago."