The Lady of the House of Love

In a traditionally Gothic castle, somewhere in the depths of rural Romania, bears setting to the convergence of two characters: the Queen of the vampires and an innocent, virgin Englishman on bicycle. The Queen of the vampires laments her vampirism, but is compelled by necessity - and with the aid of her mute crone - to seduce young men to her boudoir and suck their blood (amongst other things). The young Englishman is destined for a life of trenches, but for now, is traveling through Europe; he embodies virtue and wholesomeness.

Prior to their collision, the vampire reads her Tarot cards and predicts love, instead of death, which she considers unorthodox. Upon meeting, the Englishman is well fed and watered by the mute crone, but does not regard the vampires attempts at seduction as particularly sexy. He mistakes her supernatural talons and pallid hue for sickness and poor hygiene, and contemplates helping her to a doctor. His genuine concern and lack of lust makes him inadvertently impervious to her advances. She drops her glasses (that shield her eyes from the harsh sun) and cuts her finger on a shard. He attempts to stem the flow of blood by kissing her finger, and in doing so, returns her to humanity. Unfortunately, she dies.

When the Englishman is posted out to France, he finds one of her morbidly turgid roses in his breast pocket, and places it in a vase. When he returns from the mess, the overpowering aroma of red roses catches his attention, symbolising her immortality through love, or some soppy shit like that.