Ebonys life

[Culmir]

Nothing, not even the slightest flutter of images of any kind when she thought back about her childhood, and a small part of her adult life.
She tried to remember, tried to find out how old she had been when the pain started, where it all had happened but not once was her memory willing to give her the information she wanted.
It wasn’t amnesia she was sure of it, after all she remembered her name, her first name anyway.
Ebony, yes, that’s how she was called, her last name however remained a mystery but she was positive she could figure it out somehow.
Ebony woke up and had found herself lying in an alley, she didn’t remember how she got there or why she would venture that way, it somehow just felt wrong to her to be in a place like that.
When she was about to get up and get her bearings the pain started, a heat spread through her limbs as if they were on fire, instinctively she had tried to roll around to douse the flames, the heat intensified, spreading rapidly like liquid fire being poured onto her body.
Writhing in agony Ebony had screamed, her body convulsed and twisted as the pain grew worse and worse, locking her jaws Ebony groaned in pain as her body spasmed uncontrollably.
After what appeared to Ebony for weeks the agonizing pain seemed to subside in her limbs but grew worse around her heart, clawing at her chest Ebony dug her nails into her flesh trying to rip out the source of the pain.
Her heart thumped frantically as it tried to keep the blood flowing through Ebony’s slowly cooling body.
The fire blazed inside her chest and her heart stuttered at the ferocity of it, Ebony howled in pain as the liquid heat reached her heart; it seemed to burn forever when in reality it was closer to a minute. Thud thud….thud thud……thud…....thud…….
Silence…

Ebony moved her eyes, black, everywhere she looked it was black, dark, nothingness, was this the afterlife? Wasn’t it supposed to be bright and light? Surrounded by all those who had passed before you?
Tentatively Ebony stretched out her hand that was on her stomach, she could feel it, she couldn’t stretch very far, about 20 cm and she hit something smooth.
It felt like silk, soft, inhaling she smelled the fabric, it seemed to be all around her, moving her hand she followed the silk it curved to the left and then down, she followed it as well as she could without unnecessarily moving around.
The silk was all around her, she was laying on it, it was 20 cm to her left, 20 cm up and 20 cm to her right, Ebony made a face, knowing no one could see it in the pitch black, she wondered where she was.
Apparently she had been put in a confined space that was lined with silk, probably for her comfort she would guess, was it a new medical treatment? Did the silk inhabit some healing quality? How did they got her heart beating again?
Her heart…
Laying there in silence Ebony closed her eyes, even though completely unnecessary in the pitch black it felt more comfortable, listening….nothing….not the familiar soft thumping of her heart or the soft rushing sound of her blood…nothing….
Ebony snapped her eyes open, her mouth had gone dry and she longed for a drink as she swallowed hard trying to clear the lump in her throat, this only seemed to spark a small flame residing in Ebony’s throat.
Uncomfortable and unnerved by her discovery Ebony tried to sit up, only to hit her head against the top of the box she was in, her head spinned as her hand found its way to where her heart used to be.
Silence….

Ebony thrashed, kicked, screamed her lungs out, her nails clawing at the silk as she fought against what restrained her, her sharp nails cutting easily through the silk, her fingertips gingerly feeling the unfamiliar pattern of wood under her delicate touch.
Infuriated Ebony dug her nails into the wood, which appeared to be soft as it gave away, clawing and scratching Ebony tried to clear a hole so she could see where she was, she desperately wanted the light of the sun in her eyes, to be able to orientate.
After a couple of minutes Ebony had successfully clawed a hole into the wood, she took a sharp breath as something soft landed on her through the hole, it smelled like sand.
Who would put sand on a box? Ebony wondered shortly before she began to pull the sand into her small space so she could move from there, it seemed like a good trade, the sand would go in the box and Ebony would be in the sands place until she was outside.
Digging Ebony manoeuvred herself in such a way she thought impossible but she managed to get into the hole, pushing the sand down as she dug upwards.
No longer feeling resistance Ebony glanced up at her hand, there was light up ahead where she had been digging, kicking her legs Ebony crawled through her narrow tunnel towards the light as she widened the hole to freedom with her hands.
Ebony sucked in a deep breath as she emerged from her tunnel, it was night but it didn’t matter, she could see everything clearly in the moonlight, lying down on her back Ebony enjoyed the feeling of freedom.
She stared up at the sky, thankful for the moons light when she noticed it was clouded, the moon and stars were barely visible through the clouds yet everything seemed so intensely bright to her.
Frowning Ebony sat up, too confused to enjoy her freedom any longer and her attention pulled back to more urgent business, for one where had she been and why.
Turning Ebony gazed at her hole and then around her for the first time, she was at a cemetery, there were headstones all around her, crawling on hands and feet Ebony made her way over to her hole, peeking at the small plaque that was in there until the headstone could be placed.
Ebony S. nr 382 it read.
Gasping Ebony backed away quickly, too upset to notice the inhuman speed she moved with “I can’t be dead” she whispered to herself, oblivious to her new wind chime voice, she sat there shaking her head “it’s not possible, I’m right here, I’m still alive” she muttered again.
Hugging her knees to her chest Ebony stared at her own grave, unable to comprehend how they could of buried her, didn’t they check her pulse? Her life signs? She was still breathing after all…right?
Ebony was so engrossed in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed the form coming towards her until it was too late “Hey kid” a soft voice spoke, Ebony startled as she looked up at whomever the voice belonged to “you must be one of the distant cousins” the man said, when Ebony didn’t reply he leaned on the shovel he was carrying “They told me some of ya might drop by at night because of the distance ya had to cross” he stared at Ebony’s grave “shame really what happened to her, found her in an alley, nasty wound on her shoulder, prolly attacked by some animal y’know, poor thing bled to death” his gaze turned back on Ebony who was horror-struck.
The man mistook her expression and hastily picked up his shovel again “sorry miss” he apologized “shouldn’t of told ya that, I ought to get going again, ya prolly should drop by the Sicil house, I’m sure the kids parents would like to see ya” he said as he nodded at Ebony who remained silent.
Ebony released her breath slowly, only now noticing she had been holding it, vaguely in the back of her head Ebony noted how ridiculous that was, no one could hold their breath for that long.
She sat there for a while absolutely dumbstruck at the idea that her parents had buried her, her parents..What were their names…racking her brain Ebony couldn’t get herself to remember, every memory drew her back to the burning agony she had been in.
It wasn’t until the smell of something extremely sweet caught Ebony’s attention that she noticed she was famished, pushing herself off the ground Ebony stood up with grace that she didn’t know she possessed; her eyes scanned her surroundings slowly for the source of the succulent scent.
Her feet moved involuntary towards the street, Ebony wasn’t sure she could show herself in this town, obviously the old man she had encountered before hadn’t recognised her but someone else might and Ebony wouldn’t even know because she couldn’t remember anything.
Wary, Ebony slipped through the cemetery gates, her footsteps light on the stones, the streetlights were lit and shone their yellowy glow as she saw the candles brightly shining behind the glass in the lanterns.
Moving as quick as she could Ebony followed her nose, she never realised how well developed her sense of smell was until now, maybe it had to do with the extreme hunger she was feeling, though she wasn’t entirely sure hunger was the best word to describe it with.
The smell came from an alley, Ebony shuddered subconsciously, she was found in an alley like this, but she was so hungry she couldn’t care less, something in her mind clicked and took over once Ebony slipped into the alley.
The luscious scent came from a woman standing at a lantern at the other side of the alley, Ebony could clearly make out the woman, she was obviously waiting for her date, which, judging by the annoyance radiating from the woman, was late.
Not aware of what she was doing Ebony crouched herself into a stance as she stealthily made her way to the woman, Ebony figured she would lunge for the woman’s purse and then run for it, a cowardly thing to do but without some form of payment food was hard to come by.
It surprised Ebony severely when she found herself drawn closer to the woman and lunged at her, not the purse, the animal inside her growled as the woman screamed.
The screaming turned into a gurgling sound as Ebony sank her sharpened teeth into the woman’s neck, slightly repulsed by herself Ebony wanted to drop the woman and run away from the murder she had committed, if it hadn’t been for the blood smelling so unbelievably sweet she would have.
She inhaled slowly, letting the sweet scent saturate her lungs completely before she exhaled, she stared at the two little insignificant holes in the woman’s neck, so small and yet the blood was flowing rapidly from it.
It seemed like such a waste to just leave it….
Pressing her lips against the woman’s neck Ebony took a careful taste of the blood that smelled so appealing to her, the taste was incredible, it tasted just like the woman had smelled, sweet, succulent with a slight bitter aftertaste.
Ebony sighed softly when the blood was drained completely from the woman, she let the limp body slip from her grasp slowly and let it fall to the ground, she licked her lips searching for a crimson drop that might of lingered there.
Realisation hit Ebony harder than she had expected, had she really just drunk a woman’s blood? How was that possible? Her teeth could not of possibly made those holes in the females neck, there should be more teeth marks.
Leaning over the corpse Ebony stared at the two puncture holes in the neck, the corpse was already cooling rapidly and was extremely pale from the lack of blood in the body; Ebony’s mind was racing as she considered the possibilities.
Her heart wasn’t beating, her movements were suddenly less clumsy than she had been used to, and she drank blood?
Ebony shuddered involuntarily as her head spinned, black spots appearing in front of her eyes as she lunged away from the corpse, running as fast as her feet could carry her, images blurring by in front of her eyes as well as in her mind.

It was like looking through clouds, hazy images of an older lady sitting in a rocking chair, the rocking was slow but then sped up so much that it blurred, the surroundings were unclear but it felt familiar to Ebony as she ran, unaware of where she was heading.
She tried to focus on her thoughts, wondering if it were flashes of her memory that she was seeing or just her mind playing tricks on her.
Her head wheeled as another image hit her, the same old woman only now cradling a pile of papers in her hands, sheets of music it would appear, Ebony noticed she could read the notes and form the melody in her head.
Who was that woman? Why did she seem so familiar to Ebony? The image changed swiftly the sheets of music replaced by an old and tattered book, the gold writing on the side read ‘bedtime stories’ the book fell and opened on the old and yellowed pages, the title of a new story stood out blood red against the aging paper ‘vampires’
Ebony shook her head as sentences from the book sprang out at her as the pages were being turned in her mind ‘drink blood’ Ebony read in the large calligraphy letters on the pages ‘inhuman strength’ ‘immortal’ ‘unnatural beauty’ ‘fanged demons’ more words and phrases were being launched at Ebony as her steps faltered, slowing into a walk.
Confused Ebony looked around, not sure where she was anymore because she hadn’t paid attention while she was being attacked with violent memories from a childhood story.
Ebony figured she must know the elder woman, perhaps it was her mother, or possibly her grandmother who had told her the bedtime story, it seemed strange to tell a child about monsters before bed but usually they were synonyms for people who did bad things in their life.
It seemed awfully strange that out of all the things that could come back to her the one thing that she remembers was a bedtime story read to her from an old book.
Glancing around Ebony tried to orientate herself, none of the houses seemed familiar yet somehow in a weird way, they did, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Ebony slowed down even more, sauntering through the dark street slowly, reading the name signs that were on name slates next to the doors, her eyes lingering on a white one bearing black script letters that spelled ‘Sicil’ the man at the graveyard had mentioned her maybe stopping by the house there.
Could it possibly be her house she was standing in front of now? She didn’t remember her last name so there was no way to be sure but to see if there was proof that she had actually lived in this house.
Once she knew that Ebony was sure she could find out what had happened, what she had turned into…the words that had sprung at her from the book did apply to her now, the drinking blood part did, she wasn’t entirely sure about the other things.
Slipping closer Ebony looked through the dirt stained windows, she was looking right into the living room, her eyes raked over the furniture, it was a simple house, the only thing that was probably really expensive was the elaborate black piano that dominated most of the living rooms space.
Ebony felt a strange urge to caress the keys, to make the sound erupt from them like a flowing melody, could she play piano? Ebony wasn’t sure.
Her eyes continued to wander through the living room until they came to rest on the fireplace, it was framed by a marble mantelpiece it was relatively plain but the thing that caught her attention was the painting that was standing on it, dead centre.
The face looked so familiar, long black hair, green eyes, slightly tanned but pale enough to be viewed as pretty, strange how Ebony could remember what was considered beautiful in this age she lived in but not her own features.
What did she look like? Ebony glanced down at herself, she wasn’t very tall, not in comparison to the woman she had killed earlier, her hands were slender, not callused so she wasn’t someone who had to work very hard to stay alive.
She was still wearing whatever it was that she was buried in, something pale yellow and frilly, it felt uncomfortable to wear it, shuddering Ebony resisted the urge to rip it off her, she would have to find a more suiting attire later.
Ebony turned her attention back to the painting on the mantelpiece, looking for something that she could recognise herself by, her eyes scanned the picture intently, she tried to remember the face as well as she could and found it surprisingly easy to recall the exact same picture seconds later.
Her gaze then locked onto what appeared to be a small necklace wrapped delicately around the woman’s neck, it was white, almost lace like, at the tip of the white lace like band there was a small silver crest, it looked like a family crest that was embossed onto the silver oval.
Ebony felt her hopes rising as her hand moved towards her neck, tentatively feeling if there possibly was a rim of silk around her neck that resembled the one on the painting in the living room she was staring into.
Her fingertips traced over the high neck of the dress, pushing it aside and then brushing over the skin until it hit something soft, following it Ebony noticed how it was shaped the same as the necklace that was on the pictures.
Her fingers then encountered something cold and oval shaped, dragging her fingertips lightly over it Ebony felt the embossing on the silver pendant, from what she could tell it was the same as on the painting but she could never be quite sure unless she got a closer look at the painting on the fireplace.
Ebony contemplated breaking into the house and snoop around to see if there was possibly something else that would jolt her memory like the necklace, she was pretty sure she was the woman on the painting but she could only be sure if she could find a mirror.
Her eyes slowly went through the living room again when she heard a cough behind her, spinning around Ebony found the source of the sound quickly, a tall man, quite handsome even with his shocked expression “E…Ebony” he stuttered as he took a careful step forward, Ebony growled, a low feral sound that she hadn’t known she could produce.
The man seemed slightly taken aback “Perhaps I was mistaken” he muttered as he stepped back slowly “are you related to Ebony then?” he asked, Ebony frowned, stepping back into the shadows, glad it was still night so there was plenty of darkness she could slip into.
She didn’t know this man, but he apparently seemed to know her, Ebony’s mind raced as she stared at the man who was waiting for an answer, she nodded slowly “yes, family” she muttered, the man nodded as well “of course, you don’t sound like her, though you have familiar traits” he spoke, his voice clear and even as he smiled at Ebony “Did you go to the funeral this afternoon?” he asked when Ebony remained silent and standing in the shadows. Ebony shook her head, no, of course she didn’t attend her own funeral, she was the one being buried there!
She shivered involuntarily when she remembered how she had clawed her way out of her grave, she wondered how people would react to the chaos she left behind in the graveyard in the morning.
It should prove for a weird sight, a fresh grave dug open, an empty coffin that would appear to be damaged from the inside….would people know what she had become? Would they hunt her?
Ebony’s head spinned as the man still stared at her, seemingly shocked by the resemblance of the woman to the Ebony he knew, if it weren’t for the subtle differences and the wind chime voice he would swear on his mothers grave that the woman standing before him was Ebony come back to life.
“so…” the man started, capturing Ebony’s attention quite effectively as she looked up at him “You’re one of the Sicils then, would you like to come inside the house?” he asked politely, he kept his face carefully composed to hide the true reason, he really just wanted to admire this lost relative of Ebony in a better light than the moon.
Ebony’s eyes widened ever so slightly, this was her opportunity to get a better look at the painting and possibly get her hands on a mirror, she nodded eagerly, moving out of the shadow towards the door.
The man smiled at her, shocked by the radiating beauty that stepped out of the shadows, the woman’s long black hair seemed to glow a blue-ish hue in the moonlight, her skin was creamy white and looked invitingly soft, the man resisted the urge to reach out and see if it really was as soft as it looked.
Ebony kept her eyes on the ground though she could tell the man was desperately seeking her gaze, she vaguely wondered why he was so interested in her, she didn’t remember being attractive to men.
Opening the door the smell of salt and something resembling musk hit Ebony as she stepped inside, the musk seemed to be coming off the furniture inside and the salt smell was fading already, tears Ebony concluded.
Walking on Ebony stepped into the living room she had been watching from the window, her gaze immediately flickered to the painting on the fireplace, the man followed behind closely “yeah that’s her” he said, as Ebony turned her eyes on him slowly.
The man sucked in a sharp breath as he noticed Ebony’s eyes were a deep crimson “I uh…” he stuttered as he glanced around for a quick escape “I’ll uh…go make us some tea” he finished as his eyes found the doorway to the adjacent kitchen.
Ebony nodded slowly, unsure of where the mans sudden distress came from so she nodded, she was feeling rather thirsty again, and tea did seem like a vast improvement compared to the atrocity she had committed earlier.
Her thoughts flickering back to the woman whose body she had completely drained from the blood and the strange puncture marks she had left on the neck, moving swiftly across the room Ebony lifted the painting easily off the fireplace, she turned to face the kitchen “could you tell me where the washroom is?” she called out in her wind chime voice.
Ebony heard the shaking china in the mans hands when he heard her voice as well as the frantic thud his heart made when he realised he might have to show her where it was, which ultimately meant going back into the room.
“uh..” he called back, his voice shaking “back into the hall, second door to the right” he spoke after a brief pause, apparently he had to think about where it was.
Ebony tilted her head slightly as she shrugged maybe he had recognised her and figured he was seeing ghosts.
Slipping out of the room Ebony made her way back to the hallway and quickly located the door to the washroom; she stepped into it and stared at herself in the mirror that was above the ornate sink.
She stared at her reflection in a mixture of awe and shock, her eyes were a shocking crimson which appalled her the most, but apart from the strange hue of her eyes she was an exceptional beauty.
Her hair was long and glowing black, a sort of blue weaved through her silk like tresses, her face was heart shaped and pixie like with a small nose and perfect red lips, her brow was slightly wrinkled because of the frown that was dominating her face.
She turned her head from side to side slowly as she examined herself in the mirror, her eyes then flicked to the painting she was still holding in her hands, she stared back and forth between the picture and the reflection in the mirror for a while.
She traced the necklace on the painting carefully remembering every single detail of the crest that was dangling from it before she carefully pulled back the frilly collar that covered up her neck.
Her fingertips grazed over the necklace around her neck again; pulling the collar away more Ebony stared in the mirror with her new clearer eyesight and immediately noticed that the necklace was one and the same as the one on the painting.
Ebony traced the silky fabric of the necklace slowly, how could she possibly be this woman, sure there were some resemblances but the woman in the painting was simple, most likely highborn but still simple, where as her reflection now was more of a marble statue come to life.
Ebony stared at the painting and herself in the mirror back and forth for a bit longer before she came to the conclusion that she was in fact, this woman portrayed on the painting.
She actually was Ebony Sicil, and she was dead….
Ebony shook her head slowly as she stared at herself in the mirror, she was dead, that much was sure, they wouldn’t of buried her without thoroughly making sure that there was no chance of saving her.
Frowning Ebony turned her head to the left as the words of the graveyard keeper flooded back with crystal clarity, a wound on her shoulder.
With trembling hands Ebony unbuttoned the small ivory buttons on her high necked dress, pulling the dress open so she could see the damage herself.
Two small puncture holes adorned Ebony’s otherwise unblemished skin, they were just beneath her collarbone and barely noticeable.
Ebony traced it gingerly with her fingertips; she couldn’t remember what had attacked her that night, or why she had ventured out into the alley to begin with.
Rubbing her forehead with her hand gently Ebony tried to concentrate on what had happened, but all she could remember was that excruciating pain that wracked her body.
Shivering Ebony glanced back into the mirror, biting onto her lower lip until she noticed her canines…
Stopping Ebony leaned forward so much that she was but an inch removed from the mirrors surface, she opened her mouth slightly, clearly showing off a pair of sharpened teeth, made for ripping open flesh and veins.
Backing away Ebony rushed out of the washroom, memories of her attacking the woman flooding back into her mind as clear as day.
She had at that point been acting on instinct…how could she of consciously attacked the woman and sunk her teeth into her skin? It didn’t make sense, how did this happen? Who could of possibly turned her into this monster? Forced to live off other human beings?
Ebony was running over all sorts of possibilities when she smelled a delicious scent wafting in from the living room, turning her crimson eyes onto the entrance to the living room Ebony’s feet slowly made her way into the room, where a frightened young man was standing.
Trembling while holding a platter with cups and a bowl of cookies, the china clattering together as Ebony stared at the man, repulsed with herself when she realised the smell wasn’t from the tea or the cookies, but the sweet smell of the mans blood and fear.
Balling her hands Ebony held her breath and spoke “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t of come here, I have to go” turning on her heel she rushed out of the house and away from the tempting smells.
Fleeing the house Ebony rushed down the streets, vaguely noting the impending sunlight creeping over the houses.
It wasn’t until an unfamiliar pain made her look down at herself, her skin began to crack and burn, peeling away to reveal blood, tendons and muscle, suddenly she realized she wasn’t ever going to see the sun again without being burnt to a crisp.
Crimson eyes searched frantically for a place to hide, her eyes locked onto a nearby church, surely they would give her sanctuary?
Running over to the stone steps leading up to the church Ebony felt the scorching sun on her exposed skin, her eyes watering as the pain reminded her of the burning that she had felt before she died.
Making it to the large double doors of the church Ebony placed her hand onto the doorknob only to jerk her hand back with a scream of pain.
Frowning she stared at her hand, a fading cross burning into her palm, her gaze flitting over to the doorknob to the church itself, the brass cross embossed onto the knob clearly resembling the fading one on her palm.
Groaning Ebony glanced over her shoulder, the sun is already rising higher into the sky, soon it would spill over the houses and onto the church in full glory, something Ebony is sure she won’t enjoy.
Gritting her teeth together Ebony grasps the doorknob, her knees buckling from the pain but she persists and twists it open.
Grabbing her hand with her free hand Ebony rips it off the doorknob that was melting slowly onto her skin, smoke wafting off her blistered hand as she pushes the door open with her shoulder.
Slipping in Ebony relishes in the cool darkness of the church, shoving the door closed with her shoulder again Ebony cradles her injured hand close to her chest, tears cascading slowly down her cheeks as she for the first time glances around in the church.
The church was shaped like a cross; large pillars supporting the high domed area, various statues of saints dominated the many niches in the long walls.
On both sides there were stained glass windows depicting all sorts of scenes, mostly it was robed men helping other people that were in need.
Benches were lined up to face the grand ornate altar that was at the very end of the church.
Ebony stepped softly further into the church, her eyes scanning her surroundings carefully in case a priest might show up and ask her what exactly she was doing there.
Her footsteps were barely audible as she walked on, her crimson gaze slowly drifting over the interior of the large church.
The loud footsteps was what gave it away first, then the sweet cloying smell that accompanied humans reached Ebony as well, frozen in place in the middle of the aisle towards the alter, still clutching her hand to her chest.
Listening intently Ebony stepped to the side, behind a nearby pillar, her ears picked up the heavy footsteps that seemed to be coming closer, holding her breath Ebony waited, listening.
The footsteps came closer, but then stopped just outside of the main aisle, Ebony could hear the person panting, the breathing deep and unhealthy.
Ebony jumped up slightly when she heard the bell beginning to toll loudly, cringing Ebony placed her hands over her ears, it was so loud!
Counting the tolls Ebony figured it was 7 in the morning, absently she wondered if people would be coming to church at 7, or would they?
Putting her hands back down she noted the pain was gone in her hand and she stared down at her injured hand, nothing was left of the cross, not a single blister or mark was on her smooth skin.
Frowning Ebony rested her back against the stone pillar, leaning her head back against it as well as she sighed softly, however was she going to find out and deal with what she had become.
In the back of her mind Ebony heard the heavy footfalls of the priest leading away from her, probably to go back to sleep until the 9 am sermon.
She couldn’t stay here, not when people would be coming into the church, delicious smelling humans, so frail and breakable, so easy for the taking…
Cringing Ebony shied away from those thoughts, no, humans weren’t food, they couldn’t be, she was human once, how could she possibly take another humans life so easily like she had done earlier.
Glancing around Ebony walked back towards the door when another entirely different scent hit her sensitive sense of smell.
It smelled, sweet, alluring, yet different than the humans she had smelled before, it smelled, timeless, old almost and yet strong and dominant.
Her head turned automatically towards the left, the gates down to the family tombs directly in her gaze, she took a deep breath again, yes, that’s where it was coming from.
Slipping over to the black ornate gates Ebony saw there was no lock on it, why should there be, no one was stupid enough to rob a church let alone tombs.
Pushing open the gate Ebony made it through quietly, closing them behind her silently before her crimson eyes locked onto the stairs that lead down underground where all the mausoleums were.
Moving down the steps like a ghost Ebony made it down to the cellar, beneath the church, it spread out farther than the church, mostly because of the many crypts and graves there were.
Following her sense of smell Ebony located the small insignificant mausoleum where it seemed to be wafting from; cautiously she approached it from all sides, circling it like a vulture.
“Who are you?” a voice called, soft, silky, it seemed to be coming from within the mausoleum.
Ebony startled and stopped in front of the sealed doors that lead into the mausoleum “Ebony” she replied staring intently at the doors.
“Why are you here?” The voice came again, this time, from behind.
Spinning on her heel Ebony turned around, her surroundings blurring momentarily as she found herself staring at a young man, dressed in a black suit, his brown hair spiking in all directions.
The thing that drew her attention were his eyes, a stunning shade of red similar to her own.
Raising her chin Ebony stared at the man “what are you” she demanded “are you the one that did this” she said, indicating herself, her gaze never wavering from his.
A soft chuckle escaped from the man as he tilted his head slowly, his lips twisting up into a slight grin, revealing a pair of sharp teeth “no” he answered.
Ebony growled, a low sound that scared her more than it did the man “what are you” she hissed.
Laughing now the man shook his head, his brown hair waving slightly “I am like you, though…” he paused “older” he finished.
Clenching her jaw tightly Ebony glowered at the man “and what exactly are we then” she asked, ready to rip this mans heart out if he didn’t come with any straight answers.
Confusion spread over the mans face as he stared at Ebony “you mean you don’t know” he said more than he asked.
“Obviously” Ebony replied, seething now.
Laughing again the man shook his head once more “amazing” he said “whomever changed you probably wasn’t interested in not breaking the rules” he continued, moving away from Ebony now.
“Come with me” he said as he started to manoeuvre his way through the mazelike mausoleums.
Ebony opened her mouth to protest but he turned his head before she could speak “I’m Ezechiel by the way, don’t even think about saying anything about the name, apparently my parents thought it was humorous to name me after an angel” he spoke quickly.
Ebony snickered softly at the mention of his name, which he heard “sure laugh” he called back as he kept walking, Ebony trailing behind “like Ebony is a name to be proud of, named after a colour” he muttered, clearly Ebony wasn’t meant to hear.
The walk didn’t seem to take that long to Ebony but when she glanced back she noticed just exactly how far she was from the stairs that led back up to the church.
It was unsettling to know she’d actually walked this far so fast, she couldn’t remember if she had ever walked so fast before.
Ezechiel stopped before a large bronze gate that led to a private mausoleum, owned by one of the largest families in town.
He turned around and faced Ebony “home sweet home” he grinned as he pushed open the gates and walked onto the steps leading to the marble mausoleum “don’t mind the mess” he said as he pushed open the heavy marble doors.
Stepping into the mausoleum the first thing that Ebony noticed was the smell of sweet succulent blood, her crimson eyes locking immediately onto the limp figure in the corner that was breathing shallowly.
Ezechiel grinned as he walked over to the figure, kicking it roughly he whispered, his voice velvet and smooth “why don’t you say hi to our guest”
Ebony backed away slowly, meaning to put as much distance between her and the bleeding figure so as not to be tempted to commit the atrocity she had earlier that night.
Crimson eyes looked at her curiously “oh right, you have no clue” Ezechiel said with a little too much enthusiasm Ebony noted.
Chuckling Ezechiel sank down to the floor next to the limp figure, grabbing him by his hair Ezechiel lifted the mans face to look at Ebony “now say hi” he said.
Cracked lips parted slowly and a soft “hi” was uttered before Ezechiel let go of the mans hair letting him fall limp to the floor once more.
He shrugged apologetically “don’t mind him, he’s just a snack” he flashed Ebony his fangs in a grin.
Ebony’s expression was horror-struck as she stared at Ezechiel from across the room, she opened her mouth to say something about it but no words came out.
“So, I guess you want to know what you are, and what the rules are” Ezechiel said casually as he remained seated on the floor “better sit down for this” he suggested, staring pointedly at Ebony and then at the open space across from him.
Moving slowly Ebony moved to the space, sinking to the floor gracefully, breathing shallowly so not to smell the blood to strongly.
Smiling Ezechiel stared at Ebony, running a hand through his brown locks “where to begin” he sighed “well, we’re vampires” he stated, eyeing Ebony for her reaction before he continued.
Ebony remained sitting still, determined to let nothing faze her so she could hear everything about what she had become and what she should do about it.
Seeming satisfied Ezechiel flashed Ebony another toothy grin “we need to drink blood to survive, human blood to be more precise” he paused, his crimson eyes sparkling “I’m 379 years old” he then said, his eyes glistening with pleasure as Ebony flinched infinitesimally at the number.
“There are of course older ones than me” Ezechiel added casually, once more running his hand through his hair “sun isn’t good for us by the way” he added as an afterthought “but I’m sure you’ve figured that out” he stated.
Ebony nodded slowly, staring down at the marble tiles on the floor of the mausoleum.
“uhm…” Ezechiel uttered, making him sound like a teenager who isn’t sure what to say “I don’t really know how we die…” he started as Ebony’s head snapped up “ah, so that’s what you’re interested in” he chuckled.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t know, I’ve never seen it happen, and I preferably won’t either” he said calmly.
Ebony stared at him in surprise “in your 300 something years, you have never seen…one of us…die?” she asked incredulously.
Shaking his head Ezechiel spoke “no, I’ve met others of our kind of course, some I spoke to have seen it, but they didn’t want to share the information” he shrugged “makes sense when you think about it” he started, shrugging again “why would you want to know how you die, when you’re virtually indestructible and immortal as well” he smiled.
If it was possible Ebony would of gone more pale than she already was “I-Immortal” she stuttered.
Ezechiel nodded “well yes, you can’t die, you can’t starve yourself to death either, your instincts kick in and you kill whatever is closest” he said casually.
Ebony’s head was spinning as she tried to process all of this new information “what else” she asked softly.
Ezechiel smiled and obliged happily “From what I know we are the most beautiful creatures alive, that’s how we attract our prey” he grinned, inclining his head towards the limp figure at his feet “also we’re venomous, we incapacitate our victims when we feed, so that they can’t run away, also our smell attracts them and our teeth pierce right down to the arteries” he smiled.
Ebony felt sick as she listened to what was being said to her “so there’s no way of not…” she swallowed the lump in her throat “killing humans to survive” she finished in a timid voice.
Ezechiel raised his eyebrows slowly “no, why would you want to do that in the first place?” he asked incredulously, absently pulling his snack closer.
Ebony thought about that for a second “well, you were human once, would you of wanted to be used as food?” she asked in return as she watched Ezechiel pull the unconscious form of the man closer to him.
Tilting his head Ezechiel stared at Ebony “Probably not, but we’re superior beings than humans, we’re stronger, smarter, faster and not to mention infinitely more attractive” he chuckled as his hand moved the shaggy hair from his victim so his neck was exposed.
Inhaling shallowly Ebony was struck by the sweet pulsating smell coming from the man, her crimson eyes finding the two small punctures made in his greenish skin.
She licked her lips slowly as she inched a little closer to Ezechiel and his snack, her eyes never straying from the dried blood on the mans neck.
Chuckling Ezechiel pushed the man towards Ebony “go ahead” he whispered, his voice velvet and soft, tempting Ebony to take a bite “it will make you feel better” he whispered again, his eyes locked onto Ebony’s features.
His crimson orbs drinking in the apparent hunger displayed on Ebony’s delicate features, how her glowing black hair slipped forward as a shroud to cover her face as she leaned in towards his victim.
He smiled as she sank her teeth slowly into the skin, her expression shifting from disgust to one of ultimate pleasure as scarlet blood trickled down the mans neck.
Ezechiel stroked Ebony’s black hair softly as she drank “that’s a good girl” he muttered, still looking down at her “that wasn’t so hard was it” he said when Ebony pulled away, licking the stray drops of blood from the corner of her mouth.
Shaking her head Ebony stared at Ezechiel “not as much as I would of expected” she said quietly, her eyes glowing a brilliant crimson now that she was satiated.
Grinning Ezechiel stood up, his movement graciously as he extended a hand to Ebony “my lady” he said courteously, his head tilted slightly as he waited for Ebony to grab his hand.
Raising an eyebrow slightly Ebony placed her hand into Ezechiels and allowed him to help her up from the marble floor.
“Hmmm” Ezechiel uttered, his slightly blackened eyes scanning over Ebony’s pixie-like figure “that simply won’t do” he said as he pursed his lips.
Confused Ebony stared down at herself only to realise with horror that she was still wearing that god-awful burial gown “ew” she said loudly.
Laughing Ezechiel tugged on her hand “no worries, we can fix that easily” he said with an impish grin.
Smiling Ebony felt elated, somehow more aware of things than she had ever been before, the smells, the sounds, the sights!

[Culmir]

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she had been down into the catacombs under the church but she had faith in Ezechiel, since apparently he had been around for much longer than her and he was accustomed to living this way.
“By the way” Ezechiel started “I forgot to tell you the most important rule of all” he smiled sheepishly at Ebony as she glared at him with crimson eyes “we’re not suppose to let anyone know what or who we are” he said slowly, staring back at Ebony as he stopped to make sure that she got exactly what he was saying to her.
Ebony raised an eyebrow “what do you mean?” she asked slightly confused.
“Well” he started “technically you’re dead and buried…” he paused, letting that sink in before he continued “if anyone would recognise you there would be so much trouble” he said as he leaned casually on a tombstone.
Ebony flinched at that thought “I think there will already be trouble anyway” she said softly, her eyes downcast onto the floor as she shuffled the dirt around with her shoes.
“What do you mean?” Ezechiel asked bewildered.
Still staring down at the dust on the floor Ebony muttered “Well, I kind of crawled out of my grave, and then went to visit my old house, where I ran into someone I probably should of recognised”
Ezechiels eyes glowed in the dark of the catacombs as he glared at Ebony “say what” he hissed “they have actually buried you, you had to claw your way out of your casket and through 6 feet of sand to get out, you’re lucky the sun wasn’t shining, you would of died” he said, grabbing Ebony roughly by her shoulders shaking her “Do you understand what you have done when you went to your home, we have to get you to Abel right now” he said, still shaking Ebony “we have to fix what you’ve done before they find out and send someone after us” he said through gritted teeth.
Ebony was dazed, shaking her head slowly as she tried to break free of Ezechiels iron grasp on her shoulders “I don’t get it, what have I done wrong, apart from feeding on that woman, and possibly scaring some guy I don’t recognise I don’t see the problem” she said.
Red eyes wide Ezechiel stared at Ebony in shock “You fed, on a woman, that early in the night?” he demanded “it’s worse than I imagined” he spoke quietly as he let go of Ebony’s shoulders and stalked off faster towards the stairs leading up into the church.
Ebony followed behind silently, she didn’t understand what she had done wrong, wasn’t this how it was suppose to be, they were the superior beings after all, Ezechiel had said so, so why should she have to be careful about showing themselves for what they are.
Glancing around carefully now Ebony noticed her scenery for the first time, tombs were spread out like a maze in the underground catacombs, the only light came from the sporadically placed torches, some were attached to the far walls and others to the higher mausoleums.
The ground was covered in a soft grey dust, Ebony figured it was dead skin and pulverised bone that she was walking on, strangely enough this didn’t seem to bother her that much, there were a few flowers on graves, some withered and dead others still vibrant and colourful, only recently placed.
Ebony’s mind backtracked to the man she had drained in Ezechiels little hideout, was he a visitor? Simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was snatched from the streets? How exactly did vampires hunt their prey? Could they blend in, pretend to be human and lure someone away with their stunning looks and enthralling smell?
It wasn’t until she heard the sound of her footsteps changing from walking on soft dust to the hard clicking of marble that she realised that she was halfway up the stairs and into the dark church.
Ebony could see Ezechiels form up ahead in the archway that lead to the gate back into the church; he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Ebony was still following close behind.
For a minute Ebony thought she heard him mutter something along the lines of “stupid newborn” but she wasn’t entirely sure.
Ebony stepped back onto the marble floors of the church, the sound of her small heeled shoes eerily loud in her ears as she stepped back into the cross shaped area, her eyes locked onto Ezechiels back as she followed him slowly.
Much to her surprise he wasn’t heading for the door but seemed to be going to the main altar at the back of the church, her curiosity taking over from her Ebony followed swiftly, only to yelp and stagger back as she tried to walk down the centre aisle.
Rubbing her arm Ebony noticed the blisters and scorched flesh that ran all the way from her hand to her shoulder.
“Sunlight remember” Ezechiel said quietly as he stood off to the left side of the altar “avoid the rays coming through the stained glass windows and you’ll be fine” he said as he turned and walked into the left niche of the church.
Scolding herself for being so careless Ebony silently made her way across the centre aisle swiftly and without much pain from the sunlight streaming in through the high windows.
When she turned into the left niche where Ezechiel had slipped into she saw him standing by a large yet barely noticeable door behind a large marble statue, tilting her head slightly Ebony watched how Ezechiel pushed the door open soundlessly and slipped through into the darkness.
Following quickly Ebony found herself standing in a well lit long hallway that sloped downwards gently, turning when she heard the door being closed behind her she saw Ezechiel standing there, frowning slightly at his stealth when she herself seemed to be making so much noise.
Chuckling Ezechiel passed Ebony and started to walk down the hallway “Come on” he said impatiently when Ebony made no move at all.
Slowly Ebony started to follow him down the long corridor, her crimson eyes glowing slightly in the hallway as she continued on, gaze locked onto Ezechiel.
“Careful now” Ezechiel said as he glanced over his shoulder before he vanished from view, Ebony stared dumbfound at the spot where he had been before, her eyes then finding the small grate on the floor that was slid off a hole that led deeper underground.
Walking over to the edge she noted the hole wasn’t very big, probably lots of obstacles in the way that she could get caught on, great.
Gritting her teeth Ebony jumped into the hole, surprised when it was smooth and curving away slightly until it ended into a small slope and into a large room.
Ezechiel was already standing at the opposite end of the room, near a large iron door that was held secure by a thick wooden beam.
Absently Ebony noted that it seemed a little ridiculous to lock a room that no one could possibly find, but then it dawned on her that it might not be to keep people from getting into the adjacent room, but to keep them from getting out entirely.
She stared in amazement when Ezechiel lifted the beam easily from its iron resting place and dropping it loudly to the floor, he swung the doors open with as much ease and surprisingly quiet.
Ebony would of figured that the hinges would squeak from the humidity that seemed to linger in the room, before she stepped through the door she threw a quick glance back, shuddering when she only then noticed the piles of bones next to the slide she had come out of, as well as the dark bronze stains that dominated the walls.
Turning her attention back to Ezechiel who was already further down the hall than she had expected she followed quickly, catching up to him without any problems at all as she looked around carefully, there were many side corridors.
Some were lit by torches that hung on the walls, others were utterly and completely black, Ebony suppressed another shudder as she followed Ezechiel who seemed to know exactly where he was going.
Unaware of how long they had been walking in silence Ebony startled slightly when she heard faint voices coming from deeper down the corridor they were currently walking in.
Put on edge Ebony slipped into her defensive mode without her being aware of it, her footfalls were now completely silent, her breathing shallow enough to the point that you couldn’t hear the oxygen being pulled from the surrounding air.
Not even the rustle of her burial gown as she walked, complete silence as she stalked down the hallway, still following Ezechiel who didn’t seem to be worried about the company they would soon encounter.
Laughter drifted down the corridor where Ebony and Ezechiel walked, slightly further down the hall the floor began to slope upwards slightly until it was a steeper climb leading to another set of doors.
Light emanated from under the doors as well as the laughter and other sounds Ebony couldn’t quite place, the soft sloshing of a liquid?
“Don’t be afraid” Ezechiel said softly “they know we’re coming, they’ll leave momentarily” he said as he looked almost apologetically at Ebony.
Ebony opened her mouth to say that she wasn’t afraid when the doors up ahead slowly opened up, a silhouette in the doorframe that beckoned Ezechiel and Ebony forward as the sounds of people slowly began to filter out of the room until there was only silence.
Ezechiel seemed to be relieved that they were allowed inside, Ebony wondered why that was.
As Ebony stepped through the door, the scene unfurled in front of her prefect eyesight, a tall blonde man was standing near a large oak table, 12 high backed chairs were at the table that was set for dinner it would seem.
Candles dominated the room mostly, as well as a blazing fire in the dark marble fireplace on the far left wall; the walls were a copper-brown colour with tapestries depicting various emblems and patterns.
The floors were pitch black, it was almost as if Ebony had stepped into the abyss and could no longer see the floor of this bottomless pit she stepped into voluntarily.
Ezechiel had swiftly left Ebony’s side, sitting down in one of the chairs with his feet propped on the table surface as he grinned at the blonde man who was still staring at Ebony.
Ebony smiled, unsure of what she was supposed to do now.
“Aw come on Abel” Ezechiel muttered from his chair “It’s not her fault really; no one told her what she couldn’t do, what did you expect from her”
The blonde man turned his gaze to Ezechiel slowly, her posture never changing as he spoke “the mistakes have still been made, we have to be careful now and see what the consequences are” his voice was silk, smooth but his words were cold, emotionless.
“Please sit” Abel said to Ebony now, his eyes a pitch black against his pale skin as he stared at her, there was something in his eyes that Ebony couldn’t quite place, loathing perhaps?
Moving quietly through the room Ebony took a seat in the chair next to Ezechiel who responded by removing his feet from the table.
Ebonys eyes remained locked onto Abel as he moved through the room, he seemed to be floating above the floor rather than walking over it, he sank gracefully into a chair of his own, opposite of Ebony as he stared at her with his black eyes “please, tell me what has happened to you” he said, smiling encouragingly.
Ebony bit her lower lip nervously as she fidgeted, picking at her long sharp nails absently as she stared at the intricate table top, seeing every detail of the wood grain as she started to speak softly in her wind chime voice.
“I don’t remember much” she started, her black hair shifting in front of her face as she kept staring down at the table “I remember pain, intense pain, like I was burning on the inside, I tried to stop the fire but nothing helped” she shuddered as she remembered the pain.
“I must have blacked out or something, next thing I remember is waking up in a box and…and…” Ebony trailed off, her breathing quickening as she remembered vividly how she had found out her heart had stopped beating.
A soft chuckling pulled her out of her reverie “let me guess” Abel said, his fingers laced together as he leaned his elbows on the table “you clawed your way out of your casket and then dug your way out to the surface” he said calmly.
Ebony nodded slowly as she stared at Abel from across the table, he smiled at her and nodded slightly as if to encourage her to continue her story.
Turning her eyes back down to the table Ebony frowned “I remember thinking that it was impossible, I couldn’t be dead, I’m only…” her frown deepened as she tried to remember her age.
“You’re 32 Ebony” Abel sighed, almost as if he was bored having to fill in the blanks for her.
Ebonys lifted her head once more, staring at Abel intently as she pushed her long black hair back behind her ear “how do you know that, and how do you know my name? I don’t remember having mentioned it” she asked, confused.
Abel chuckled again, a dark and unnerving sound as he stared back at Ebony “years of experience” he spoke clearly “I’ve found some ability to…acquire certain information if I want it” he said darkly.
Ebony shivered “well, why should I tell you what happened if you already know it so well?” she demanded as she leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed.
Ezechiel laughed lightly at that “she’s feisty isn’t she” he said to Abel, his crimson eyes sparkling deviously.
Tilting his head slightly Abel looked at Ebony once more “because..” he paused “I like hearing how you experienced it, it’s easy enough to pick it out of your brain but it lacks the…elegance of your descriptions, and your trivial human reactions” he smiled.
Shaking her head slowly Ebony glared at Abel “well tough luck then” she said defiantly earning a nudge in the ribs from Ezechiel who was sitting next to her “be nice Ebony, he can help you, just, humour him” he said pleadingly.
Ebony stared at Ezechiel for a few seconds before she threw her hands up “fine” she gave in “I just crawled out of my grave at the apparent age of 32” she stared pointedly at Abel at this point “I wasn’t quite sure of my last name so I was happy enough when the caretaker told me about my relatives”
Hearing the sharp intake of breath beside her Ebony glanced at Ezechiel who was rigid in his chair “you actually managed to talk to someone, so early after being reborn?” he asked in disbelief, his red eyes wide as he stared openly at Ebony.
Nodding Ebony looked back and forth between Ezechiel and Abel “yes, was that wrong?” she asked timidly.
Abel shook his head slowly “no, just surprising, did you hold your breath?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“I-I don’t remember, I might of” Ebony said as she thought back about the encounter.
Abel nodded slowly “please continue” he smiled as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes scrutinizing Ebony’s every move as she played with her frilly dress absently.
“Hunger… I remember being hungry..Because there was such a delightful smell in the air, I felt famished and when I followed the scent it led me to that woman” she said softly, her eyes darting to Ezechiel, scared of their next reaction.
“I-I killed her, I thought I was going to steal her purse…” she trailed off, shaking her head slightly as if to try and shake the memories out of her mind.
Ebony glanced up when no one said anything, Ezechiel simply smiled and Abel was still impassive in his chair “I can still taste her” Ebony said, her eyes shifting between Abel and Ezechiel “she tasted so good, but that’s impossible, blood isn’t suppose to taste good, it’s suppose to taste like copper and smell even worse” she spoke quickly, her sentence almost turning into one word.
Chuckling Abel shook his head “you really are a newborn” he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his full blood red lips “blood tastes good to you now, it’s because you’re changed, you’ll get used to it” he paused “as for this woman you killed, we’ll have to send someone out to follow your scent to the scene of the crime and hope we can still make it look like an ordinary mugging” he said thoughtfully.
Confusion spread on Ebonys pixie-like face as she brushed her long hair out of her face “why would we have to do that? Aren’t we supposed to be the superior race now? Why all this secrecy?” she asked.
Raising an eyebrow slowly Abel looked at Ebony “I hear Ezechiel has been telling you wild stories” he said, glaring at Ezechiel who cringed in his chair “We’re superior yes, but no one must know we exist, it’s easier to feed that way” he paused “I’m sure you’ll understand that if word comes out that vampires are real, not a single human being is going to be outdoors at night, the only time we can actually hunt our natural prey.
Vampire elders can however, though not indefinitely, it all has to do with age from what I understand, the older you get, the more resistant you are to sunlight, I’ve only once met such a creature, he was capable of walking in broad daylight for half a day, any longer and he would incinerate like the rest of us” Abel paused, seeming to think about what to say next.
His long fingers unfolding slowly as he rested them lightly on the tabletop “also there are people out there that..” he paused again, seeking for the right words “as a profession I guess, hunt us, we call them, very plainly hunters, the humans however have several other names for them, vampire slayers, demon killers, bringers of justice” Abel chuckled.
“We’ve never had one in this town because we are few and we remain inconspicuous, this is why we must keep ourselves hidden and secret” he finished.
Ebony was chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully as she processed all of that “so you’re saying that if they have already found the corpse they will examine it and contact one of these…slayers?” she asked “and then one of these men..”
“Or women” Ezechiel threw in from his seat.
“Or women” Ebony added as she glanced sideways at Ezechiel “will hunt us...and what exactly will happen then?” she asked softly.
Abel frowned slightly “the stories go that the hunter will examine the body, determine whether or not it was an actual vampire that killed the victim, quite easily to distinguish because of the trademark puncture marks we leave as well as the complete lack of blood, then he….or she” he said, throwing a murderous glance at Ezechiel when he opened his mouth to add the she part “will track down the vampire or vampires responsible for the murders, they are then disposed of in whatever fashion the hunter prefers” he stated calmly.
Ebony shifted uncomfortably in her chair “and how exactly will this slayer dispose of vampires?” she asked earning a glare from Ezechiel which she pointedly ignored.
Laughing lightly Abel shrugged, a very casual thing Ebony had not expected from the vampire “no one knows really” he said honestly “I’ve never seen it happen, and those who have don’t like sharing the information, I have found out that holy water doesn’t really work, crosses are tricky but I guess you found that out when you stumbled over Ezechiel in his beloved church” he said quietly.
“What did you do after you killed your first victim Ebony” Abel asked coolly.
Slightly taken aback by the bluntness of the question Ebony blurted “I went home”
Abel stared intently at Ebony as he spoke his words carefully “you went home, what home, and what happened?” he asked very calmly.
Ebony started to chew her lip again but stopped when she felt her sharp teeth “well after I..fed..I was sort of repulsed by what I had done and ran away from the scene of the crime, and somehow I ended up in front of my own house”
“Wait, wait, wait how do you know it was your house?” Ezechiel asked.
“The caretaker of the graveyard told me I should stop by the Sicil house, that’s my last name, the same as the nametag next to the door read” she said, staring at Ezechiel confusedly.
“Ugh” Ezechiel muttered “I can’t believe you didn’t kill that man when you saw him, you shouldn’t have been able to control yourself like that” he said as he stared at Abel who simply shrugged.
“Anyway” Ebony started “that’s how I got home, and some guy asked me inside, because I was staring through their window…at a picture of myself, when I was human”
“I went inside and the man went to make tea and I stole the painting to take a better look at it, I think I left it in the hallway of the house where I dropped it when I ran out” Ebony spoke mechanically now, wanting to tell the story without further ado.
“I ran out, the sun was rising and it was starting to burn so I ran for the one place I knew would never turn down someone in seek of refugee, the church, which is where I found Ezechiel” she finished.
Abel nodded slowly “I see” he said thoughtfully, getting up from his chair in a gracious movement, he crossed the room to the large fireplace before turning “I will send someone here shortly to get familiar with your scent so we can trace it to where you have been and who has been in contact with you, we will also repair your grave so no one knows you’ve resurrected”
“I’m going to have to ask you to remain here, until we are certain the problem has been solved without incident, I’m sure you can understand, we will provide you with a room and food until we say you can leave” Abel said calmly before he opened a door hidden behind a tapestry that hung next to the fireplace.
“Well that was interesting” Ezechiel grinned “you’re lucky though, Abel seems to like you, he doesn’t usually wait for the first hand story with his peculiar ability to just steal it from your mind” he chuckled.
“I guess” Ebony replied as she leaned back in her chair “you don’t suppose they’ll have a set of different clothes for me as well?” she asked as she picked at the faded yellow dress she was still wearing.
“Oh no worried, they’ll probably set you up in one of Katherine’s rooms, she’s Abels mate, she has lots of rooms and you’re about the same size so you could probably get some of her clothes if you asked her” Ezechiel said with a smile as he got up from his chair too.
Ebony looked up at him from her chair and started to get up as well “no” Ezechiel stopped her, putting his hand on hers on the arm of the chair “I should get out of here before Demetri shows up, so not to mix scents you see” he explained with a lopsided grin.
Nodding Ebony sank back into the chair looking rather afraid, Ezechiel laughed lightly, his eyes glistening playfully “Don’t worry, Demetri won’t eat you I promise, he’s a tracker you see, his skill is basically to find people, I’m sure everything will be fine, you’re not the first newborn that has been left uneducated” he said as he moved to the same door Abel had disappeared through.
“Just sit tight, I’m sure Demetri will show up soon, probably along with Katherine” Ezechiel smiled again as he opened the door and slipped out, leaving Ebony alone.


It didn’t take long for the door to open again, a dark cloaked figure slipped through and glanced around the room with dark red eyes, rimmed with black.
Ebony had gotten out of her chair after Ezechiel had left, feeling uncomfortable sitting by herself in the large room, she had been wandering around the room, admiring the tapestries when she heard the door close.
She turned and found herself looking at a dark haired man; his hair was cropped short in a military fashion, his eyes glowing red against his pale white skin, a scar ran from his forehead down over his left eye and onto his cheek, leaving a slightly paler stripe marking his otherwise smooth skin.
He was wearing a cloak that fell down to the floor, but when he moved towards Ebony she saw that under the cloak he was wearing a white blouse with black pants and shiny black shoes.
He extended his hand to Ebony, his head tilted slightly as he eyed Ebony curiously, he opened his mouth revealing his sharp teeth before he spoke, his voice deep and slippery almost, not like Ezechiels or Abel whose voice were both smooth, warm, silky.
“You must be Ebony” Demetri spoke as Ebony placed her hand lightly into Demetris outstretched one, she watched in horror as he raised her pale hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her marble skin.
He didn’t let go of her hand after that even when Ebony tried to pull it back from his he simply grabbed it in his hand firmly and kept hold of it in an iron grasp.
A low snarl ripped from Ebony’s body as she tried to retrieve her hand once more, pulling it back with all her might as she heard Demetri snicker, a dark and sinister sound.
“Let go” Ebony hissed as she struggled to get her hand back, Demetri let go of her hand immediately after she spoke, causing Ebony to stumble back slightly before regaining her balance quickly.
“You simply had to ask” Demetri spoke quietly as he smirked at her.
Ebony was about to lunge at the man when the door opened once more and a woman slipped inside the room silently, her dress creamy white and dragging over the floor; her shoulders were left bare and her red curls cascaded down her back and her front like a waterfall.
Her skin looked like veined marble; the only two marks that convinced Ebony that she was not staring at a statue of Michelangelo come to life were the two puncture marks that had scarred on the womans pale neck.
She crossed the room in silence, stopping in front of Ebony who was eyeing the woman with care, wondering if she was going to grab onto her as well and not let go like Demetri.
“I see” she said, her voice soft, and yet chime like, it lacked emotion though.
She turned and faced Demetri “Are you done?” she asked, her tone condescending “I don’t have all day to wait around for you to get your fill of a new scent” she added coldly as she glared at Demetri.
Demetri chuckled “Yeah I’m done, I know her scent I’ll leave immediately to clean up after her ma’am” he said, surprisingly there was a slight humorous tone in his voice as he turned away from the woman and headed to the doors that Ebony and Ezechiel had entered the room through.
The redhead remained standing with her back to Ebony until the doors closed behind Demetri and he was out of hearing distance, she then turned on her heels, her eyes a softer shade of red than Ebony had seen before.
“I’m Katherine” she said, her lips curving up into a smile as she looked at Ebony expectantly.
Ebony had to blink a couple of times to stop herself from staring at this gorgeous creature, whose eyes seemed to be a liquid fire and captivated Ebony quite effectively “I’m Ebony” she stuttered.
Katherine smiled still as she grabbed Ebony’s hand gently and began to guide her away from the table and to the door behind the tapestry “don’t mind Demetri, he likes to play the bad guy when newborns get brought here” she explained as she pushed aside the tapestry once more, opening the door silently.
Ebony nodded absently as she followed Katherine down a long but wide corridor that was lit by large chandeliers hanging from the surprisingly high ceiling.
There was a soft rug on the floor and paintings of every decade on the wall in ornate frames “I’ll show you your room first and then we’ll see what we can do for clothes” Katherine said as she still pulled Ebony through the corridors, turning into an adjacent one every now and then, making it difficult for Ebony to remember where she had gone.
“Unless you like to keep wearing what you have on right now?” Katherine asked tentatively.
It took Ebony a second to register what she had asked “Uh..No something else would be nice” she said as she looked around her, being led around by Katherine.
“Oh good” Katherine sighed, almost relieved “I was worried that you wanted to continue wearing that, I mean darling, pale yellow is so not your colour” she said as she shook her head slightly, her red curls waving slightly on her back.
Ebony felt slightly more at ease as she was being led further down another corridor, they stopped before a plain wooden door “I’m setting you up in the blue room, blue seems very much your colour” Katherine said, her eyes smoldering as she smiled at Ebony.
For the first time since she had set foot into Abels house Ebony smiled, an actual sincere smile.
“Go ahead” Katherine encouraged Ebony as she stepped aside to let Ebony get closer to the door, placing her hand lightly onto the doorknob Ebony twisted it and pushed it open.
Stepping into the surprisingly large room the first thing Ebony noticed were indeed the colours, blue everywhere along with some silver ornaments but blue seemed to be the dominant colours of the room.
The carpet on the floor was a cerulean blue and muffled Ebony’s steps as she walked into the room slowly, her red eyes drinking in every detail and every single variation of blue tinges.
Smiling Ebony let her eyes wander over the cosy room despite its cool colours it still seemed to make her feel warm and comfortably at home.
The walls were a light blue that reminded Ebony of the sky on a sunny day, the paintings on the walls were mostly sea views, with subtle waves that seemed to roll off the painting and into the room.
The bed was ironically made of ebony with aquamarine draperies and a sea-blue comforter and pillow, the large closet and cabinets in the room were also made of ebony.
The dresser with a small stool was pine but stained almost black so that it would blend in with the ebony and blue interior.
Turning on her heel Ebony beamed at Katherine who was looking rather smug as she waited by the doorway “it’s perfect” Ebony said.
Katherine smiled, dimples forming in her cheeks as she did so “thank you, I thought you would like it, ironically though that you seem to fit to this room so good with all the ebony elements in it” she said jokingly, her red eyes a liquid fire as they sparkled with glee.
Ebony laughed her wind chime laugh as she turned into the room once more, only now noting there aren’t any windows anywhere but the room still seemed as if daylight was streaming in from somewhere.
She glanced around curiously, stepping further into the room as she tried to pinpoint where the light was coming from.
Ebony hadn’t heard Katherine step into the room so she flinched infinitesimally when she heard the womans soft sultry voice close behind her “mirrors” she said “the light is brought into the room by mirrors leading from the roof all the way down to the here” she explained, pointing them out to Ebony.
“All the rooms down here are lit that way, the rays are harmless because they are filtered through the mirrors that have been designed specifically for this, and it’s a good way of knowing when it’s daytime or night” Katherine continued as she strode through the room.
Ebony was impressed she was still staring at the inconspicuous little mirror on the left top corner of a bookshelf that was in her room, you could hardly tell the mirror was there.
Katherine sighed drawing Ebony’s attention effectively back to her figure as she stood in front of the large closet, the doors were already drawn open and Ebony gawked at the large quantity of clothes in the closet, all of them were blue, black or silver.
Noticing Ebony staring Katherine snickered “I colour code” she explained with a casual shrug “if I want to wear something blue I come to this room, I have a room for every colour, you’re more than welcome to visit them if you feel the need for a different attire, I have lots and I can’t wear them all at once” she said as she absently moved some clothes aside.
Ebony’s jaw dropped at Katherines casually spoken words “you have a room for every colour?” she asked in disbelief, sitting down on the large bed, quite shocked.
Nodding Katherine pulled a blue cocktail dress out of the closet, glancing at Ebony who wrinkled her nose “yes, I have a red room, a blue room, a green room, a yellow room, a white room and-so-forth, and-so-forth” she said absently as she put the cocktail dress back into the closet and pulling out a more plain attire, a blue blouse and a black skirt that fell down to the ankles with flowers embroided on it with silver thread and small pearls.
Ebony seemed more at easy with that choice of clothes than the cocktail dress and she nodded approvingly, making Katherine smile and walk over to the bed, dropping the clothes next to Ebony.
“You change, I’m going to look for some different shoes” she said as she stared at Ebony’s beige dress shoes “they didn’t really take your complexion or your hair into account when they put you in those clothes did they?” Katherine asked sympathetically.
Ebony shook her head slowly as she ran her hand slowly over the embroided flowers “I guess not” she muttered, Katherine heaved a sigh once more “well” she said as she folded her hands together in front of her, smiling kindly at Ebony “I’ll make sure you look appropriate when you meet the rest of the family later this evening” she said.
Startled Ebony looked up at Katherine “the rest of the family?” she asked confusedly.
Katherine nodded, standing in front of Ebony as she sank down to the floor, pulling Ebonys shoes carefully from her feet and sliding another pair of blue heels onto them gently “well yes, I mean, you already met Ezechiel, Abel and Demetri but not the rest, don’t worry they’ll love you” she said as she stood back up.
“Stand up and tell me how those feel for your feet?” Katherine asked as her smile returned to her angelic face, the dimples in her cheeks showing as she tossed her red curls over her shoulders.
Ebony stood up carefully, finding her feet in a pleasant heel, it was lined with something soft on the inside of the shoe so that her feet wouldn’t start hurting, the heel was just enough to give her some more height and bring her closer to Katherines impressive height of 5’10”.
“They’re fabulous” Ebony said as she showed the shoes to Katherine who simply smiled “I knew they would be” Katherine said “I’ve had decades of practise” she said simply.
Getting up from the floor Katherine stood back up “I’m just going to run down to the kitchen and let them know we’ll be having one more mouth to feed from now on, and of course telling my little family to look their best tonight at dinner” she smiled, the dimples in her cheeks showing “you should probably get changed, I’m sure you’re dying to get out of those clothes” she said as she turned around and glided out of the room, closing the ebony door behind her.
Tracing the silver embroidery on the skirt again Ebony sighed never would she of thought that there was a complete vampire family living in her own little village and for quite some time as well.
Still sitting on the bed Ebony pulled the blue shoes off her feet carefully, setting them down next to the bed as she stood up, her feet feeling the soft blue fabric of the carpet as she stood.
Automatically Ebony’s slender hands moved to the ivory buttons on the front of her dress, undoing them swiftly and with ease, in the back of her head Ebony realised she’d never been able to get those tiny annoying buttons undone so fast, slipping the dress down Ebony let it fall around her feet onto the floor.
The colours were clashing on the cerulean blue carpet Ebony wrinkled her small nose slightly as she stared at the creation around her feet, picking it up where she had dropped it, she put it onto the bed, the sea-blue colour of the comforter wasn’t such a bad combination with the pale yellow dress, much easier on the eye.
Ebony’s red eyes shifted from her burial gown to the black ankle length skirt with the silver details, it was silk and glossy black, slipping into it she pulled it up over her hips and securing it by pulling on the lacing on the side.
She tied the black ribbon together in a bow with a double knot so if the loop got caught on anything it wouldn’t come undone and fall down, with Ebony’s luck that was going to happen on the most inconvenient times.
Slipping into the blouse Ebony buttoned it up, leaving the top button open so she wouldn’t obscure the choker like necklace with her family crest, the only thing that reminded her that she had once had a human family and once she was normal.
Sitting back down onto the bed Ebony slipped her feet into the blue shoes, standing up, taking a few steps cautiously in her new shoes, from what she could recall she wasn’t used to walking on heeled shoes, she stared at the discarded beige shoes that were still on the floor, those heels were purely for the customary clicking womens shoes were suppose to make.
Purely decorative, smirking Ebony walked towards the dresser and took a deep breath before staring into the mirror, it was as if the wind got knocked out of Ebonys lungs as she stared at her reflection.
She was expecting to see a corpse, a hideous ugly corpse whose eyes were sunk into their sockets with teeth rotting and falling out of her mouth.
In stead she found herself staring at a black haired goddess, her skin was like marble, pure white unblemished marble, better than Katherines veined marble skin.
Her hair was long and silky black lined with blue strands depending on how the light reflected off it, her face was angelic, framed by the straight black tresses, her eyes were almond shaped and framed by long black eyelashes, her eyes the most startling shade of crimson that shone brightly and stood out because of the blue colours around her.
Her small nose was delicate and her lips a healthy shade of dark pink, her eyebrows arched elegantly over her eyes which were wide with shock.
Ebony raised her hand to touch her face, but froze when she saw the woman in the mirror mimicking her movements; there was no way that this magnificent creature was she.
Ebony was still staring at herself in the mirror that she didn’t hear the door open; it wasn’t until she saw Katherine behind her in the mirror that she noticed the womans entrance.
Neither spoke as Ebony sank down in front of the mirror onto the stool that was in front of the dresser, Katherine was pulling her sharp nails through Ebony’s dark black hair, a contented smile on her face.
Ebonys crimson eyes were searching her face for something familiar in the mirror, her memory flashed back to the painting that she had left in the house, the painting was clearly of her but not as beautiful as she was now, her fingers reached up tentatively as she touched her own cheek, feeling the smooth surface of her skin, like her face seemed to be sculpted out of diamond so smooth did it feel beneath her fingers.
Katherine smiled as she pulled Ebonys hair back so she could see her face more clearly in the mirror, Ebony saw Katherine’s scarlet eyes fall onto the necklace around her delicate neck.
Head tilted slightly to the left Katherine traced the ribbon of the necklace to the family crest on Ebony’s neck, smiling at Ebony “don’t worry, you won’t forget your family” she said as she read the loss in Ebonys crimson eyes.
The two of them sat there for a while, none of them spoke, Katherine still played absently with Ebonys black straight hair, every now and then she’d sigh and touch her own flame red curls, almost wishing that they were more like Ebonys.
Ebony simply stared at herself in the mirror, no matter how long she looked she would still find new things, the way her eyes seemed to glow, how her eyebrows arched slightly when Katherine sighed, how her breathing moved her body and shoulders slightly.
It wasn’t until the light in the room had started to diminish that Katherine got up herself, not even stiff from sitting in the same position for a couple of hours, one of the perks of being like a marble statue Ebony figured silently as she followed Katherine’s movements and got up herself.
“We should be heading to the dining area soon” Katherine said as she smoothed her cream coloured dress slightly.
Nodding Ebony slid away from the mirror, not looking back as she headed for the door, she opened it silently and let Katherine exit first as Ebony had no idea which direction she had to go into.
Katherine didn’t wait for Ebony and headed down into the left hallway, turning into the first right corridor, Ebony followed silently, trying to remember where they were going.
Following Katherine was like trying to catch a ghost, the redhead moved so fast that Ebony had to increase her pace while Katherine seemed to glide over the wooden floors.
The last turn they took lead to two large doors, light was coming from under the doors, it flickered slightly as a shadow passed the door on the other side, candles Ebony figured.
Katherine moved towards the double doors and pulled them open dramatically, her slender figure silhouetted for a minute as Ebonys eyes adjusted to the light, she found herself staring into a cream coloured room, the floor was mahogany and the walls were a light beige tinge with mahogany panelling, candles were everywhere in the room.
But the most dominant feature of the room was the large oak table with 20 seats, set with silver plates and wine goblets; there were two candelabras with white candles that were burning on the table as well as large silver serving platters with the dome lids still over them.
Ebony stepped into the room carefully, she found herself scanning the room until her eyes found a familiar pair of eyes staring back at her, Ezechiel and Abel were standing on the other side near a large bookcase, they both nodded at her before resuming their conversation.
Katherine moved from Ebonys side and made her way over to a pair she hadn’t seen before, she spoke to them in hushed tones before she gently pushed them towards Ebony who remained frozen in place.
The man that approached her couldn’t of been older than 18, his face was boyish but friendly the way he held onto the waist of his companion a taller blonde showed Ebony that they were paired “Hello” the man spoke, her eyes were coal black “I’m Daemon” he said “and this is Charlotte” he continued as the blonde by his side barely acknowledged Ebony, her orange eyes appraising Ebony as if she was looking at a bug that needed to be squashed before it could spread itself in the house.
Ebony smiled slightly “I’m Ebony” she said, watching how Charlottes eyes narrowed slightly when she heard Ebonys new wind chime voice “I see” Charlotte said, her voice high almost childlike, her orange eyes flaming as she turned and pulled Daemon away from Ebony leaving her alone once more.
Ebony caught fragments of whispered words that Charlotte was hissing at Daemon, mostly it were threats and warnings that if he would ever stare at the newborn like that she would gladly rip him apart into little pieces and set him on fire.
Ebony shuddered and moved away so she didn’t have to hear more of the conversation; she turned around to see more of the room and in stead found herself staring at a child with bright milky white eyes.
“Who is there?” the child called out softly, her hands reaching out in front of her, Ebony immediately felt protective of the blind girl, she gently put her hands into the smaller ones of the girl “I’m Ebony” she said as she sank down to the girls level “and who are you?”
Small lips curled into a smile, showing a set of sharp teeth “I’m Chelsea” she speaks quietly as she removes her hands out of Ebonys and places them gently onto Ebony face, feeling the shape with her fingertips “you’re very pretty” Chelsea comments, letting her small hands fall from Ebonys face.
Ebony smiled “not nearly as pretty as you” she says softly, brushing the girls short brown hair making her giggle softly.
“I see you’ve met everyone now” a familiar voice speaks from behind Ebony, turning she looks up at Katherine standing next to Abel, her arm curled around his waist and his around hers.
“Time for dinner” Katherine smiled as she stretched her arms out towards Chelsea who leaps into them willingly, never hesitating.
Abel smiled apologetically to Ebony before he turned and walked over to the two chairs at the top of the large table.
Sitting down next to Katherine who had already placed Chelsea into the chair on her right, Charlotte and Daemon sat down on Abels left side and Ezechiel sat next to them.
Ebony wasn’t sure where she would be sitting, she didn’t want to take Demetris seat by accident, she shuddered when she remembered the dark vampire, the tracker, where was he?
Katherine smiled expectantly at Ebony as she hovered around, unsure of where to go “you can sit next to Chelsea for now, Demetri won’t mind I’m sure” she smiled at Ebony.
Chelsea bounced up and down in her chair from excitement as Ebony sank down into the chair next to the small girl “Demetri would never do anything that would upset me” she spoke in a clear voice, her blind eyes turning to Ebony.
Nodding Ebony stared at the strange set of people she had encountered, who would of thought that she would be feeling so welcome and so at home in such a strange community.
“Let’s eat” Katherine said, her red eyes smoldering as she lifted the covers from the serving plates, there were large silver jugs under the covers which Katherine placed onto everyone’s plate carefully.
Ebony watched curiously as Chelsea eagerly reached for hers on her plate as well as the large goblet standing to the left of her plate, she poured the dark red liquid carefully into the glass, raising it to her lips drinking it eagerly.
Ebony reached for her own jug and poured the liquid into her glass, taking a careful sip from it unsure of what to expect, the taste hitting her tongue was unlike any other, it was sweet, warm and so incredibly delicious, better than the woman and much better than Ezechiel snack she had drained.
She sighed happily when she finished her glass, her eyes closed as she savoured the flavour before she poured another glass and drank it just as quickly.
It was then that she noticed 6 pairs of eyes on her, swallowing the last of her glass she set her glass down onto the table, unsure of why everyone was looking at her like that.
“Do you like it?” Katherine asked softly, Ebony nodded “yes it’s wonderful” she replied, smiling politely as she saw the look of relief crossing Katherines face, she exchanged a meaningful glance with Abel who shrugged “we had to check love” he said simply as he raised his own glass “welcome to the family Ebony” he said simply.

[Culmir]

Everything went to hell from that point on, right after Abel had welcomed Ebony into the family, everyone had been relieved, the tension draining from the room quickly as everyone resumed their dinner, chatting to each other about the day, they all were very excited to have a new member added to the family when a stumbling sound came from outside the double doors.
Abel, Ezechiel and Daemon were quick on their feet, standing protectively in front of the women who all crowded close to Ebony who had no idea where all the commotion was coming from.
Chelsea clutched to Ebony frightened burying her face into Ebonys shoulder as she stood up from her chair, preparing to run away if she had to.
The sound was coming closer now and everyone’s eyes were locked onto the double doors which suddenly burst open, revealing a dishevelled Demetri.
His face was covered in blood, his nose appeared to be broken and he was bleeding from shot wounds that covered most of his chest.
Blood trickled from his mouth as he tried to speak, he stumbled further into the room reaching for Abel before he collapsed onto the wooden floor, blood pooling from under his body.
Abel and Daemon were quick on their knees, sitting next to Demetri as they turned him over, examining his wounds as Ezechiel reached for the last jug on the serving platter, the one for Demetri.
Katherine was ripping her dress apart for makeshift bandages as Abel pressed down on the largest of the shot wounds.
Charlotte snarled a feral sound and ripped Chelsea from Ebonys arms who was staring in shock, absently keeping Chelsea from turning her head and look at the bleeding figure of Demetri who she obviously cared so much for “this is your fault” Charlotte hissed as she stormed out of the room carrying Chelsea.
Ebony inched closer slowly, sinking down to her knees beside Katherine who was just setting Demetris nose with a crack, stuffing a balled up piece of her dress under his nose to stop the bleeding as a vein popped inside his nose and blood oozed out.
Abel and Daemon were both unbuttoning Demetris black shirt, pulling it carefully off his chest to reveal 8 holes that were bleeding profusely.
“What is this” Ezechiel hissed as he stared at the wounds on Demetri “We heal, we’re not suppose to bleed this long, how did this happen?” he demanded as he supported Demetris head trying to coax him to drink some blood from the jug.
“I don’t know” Abel said as he glanced up at Daemon “hold him down, I’m going to try and remove the bullets, maybe they will clear things up”
Daemon nodded and pinned Demetris arms down to the floor in case he would wake from the pain Abel was about to inflict.
Rolling up his white sleeves Abel carefully placed his index finger into one of the wounds, Demetri groaned in pain and protested weakly, his eyelids fluttering as he tried to regain consciousness.
Katherine placed her cool hand onto his forehead softly as she whispered into his ear “stay still Demetri, we’re trying to stop the bleeding, I know it hurts darling but we have to do something, stay still please” she kept repeating the same thing over and over, her voice thick with tears that were streaming down her pale face.
Ebony felt useless as she wiped away dried blood from Demetris nose, at least that had stopped bleeding and you couldn’t even tell it had been broken.
Turning her attention to his other wounds Ebony tried to keep them all from bleeding too much by keeping pressure on the wounds, it was difficult with so many to attend to and everyone preoccupied with other things.
She was grateful when Ezechiel stopped trying to convince Demetri to drink some blood and picked up a shredded piece of dress and helped Ebony with pressuring the wounds.
Demetri continued to groan but his movements were limited by Daemons iron grasp as Abel tried to find the culprit that had caused so much irreparable damage.
“C-chel-chelsea” Demetri moaned as his body went rigid from pain, his teeth clenched together as he locked his jaw, his back arching slightly but Daemons strong arms kept him pinned.
Abel pulled his fingers away from Demetris body, blood clinging to his pale fingers creating a rather morbid scene as his dark red eyes searched for Katherines who was crying and whispering encouragements to Demetri “I need a knife, a sharp one” Abel spoke clearly.
Katherines head snapped up, her eyes wide as she gave a single nod, getting up from the floor in a blur and sprinting down the double doors and into the hallways.
Abel’s hands were shaking as he stared down at his family “tell us what to do” Daemon said through clenched teeth as he locked his arms into a steel grip, keeping Demetri from trashing as he moaned in pain.
“I don’t know” Abel said as he stared at his own hands, red with blood, Ezechiel glanced up at Abel “you have to get the bullets out” he said “they’re killing him Abel!” he yelled now.
Katherine skittered back into the dining room, in her hands she had a meat knife, and it glistened sharply in the candle light making Ebony flinch slightly when she saw it.
Turning her attention back onto her hands Ebony held her breath, Katherine sank down next to Ebony her hands trembling like Abels as she started to wipe futilely at the blood seeping from the wounds Ebony couldn’t keep pressure on.
Desperation shone clearly in Katherines eyes as hers an Ebonys gaze met shortly before they both looked back down to the body laying on the floor.
Abels hand was closed tightly around the knife that Katherine had thrusted into his hand, he watched the blade glisten as he brought it down to one of his children.
Demetri had been the first that wanted to stay with Abel when they met, he was like a son to Abel, and he’d stuck through every hardship that came at them.
He had been patient with Abel when he had attempted to change his beloved Katherine, and had praised him when he had succeeded, Katherine had naturally warmed up to him like a mother, like she had to all of Abels additions.
Ezechiel had been next, when Abel had found the young man he was bleeding on the streets after being ambushed by some bad friends he owed money to.
Charlotte and Daemon were the last Abel had meant to add to his family, they were both so incredibly young when their house had caught on fire and Abel had rushed in to save them from a excruciating death but the flames had already destroyed most of their flesh and the only way Abel knew how to save them was to change them and watch the vampire traits to heal save them.
Chelsea was a completely different story, she was the oldest of the vampires, and having existed for over 974 years before she had encountered Abel with his peculiar family, the old vampire in the body of a 10 year old small child had taken an interest in Demetri before her eyes had started to turn milky white.

Abel shook his head slowly, he owed his son this much, he would try and save him even if that meant cutting him open and turning him inside out to find out what was preventing him from healing naturally.
Lowering the knife to the wound he had been prying in earlier he made a swift cut down, lengthening the wound as more blood pooled out of it, already Abel saw the cut that he had made with the knife was beginning to heal so he’d have to work quickly.
Wiping away the oozing blood he pulled the wound open “hold it open” he said to Katherine who was staring at him in horror, her hands trembled as she pulled the flesh apart.
Ebony was unable to tear her gaze off Abels fingers as they slid into the opened wound, she could hear the squishing of flesh and blood.
Ezechiel nudged Ebony with his elbow to distract her when he noticed she was staring in disgust at what Abel was doing, he himself was having a hard time concentrating on keeping pressure on the wounds.
Daemon had shifted, sitting on Demetris legs pinning them to the floor as he had kicked and flailed when Abel had cut into him, Ebonys eyes were drawn to the splatters of blood on Daemons white shirt, they seemed so terribly out of place.
Demetri’s futile attempts to sit back up were quickly and effectively stopped by the brute force of Daemons firm grasp on the man.
Abel could heard the groaning noise that came from Demetri as his head lolled back and forth on the floor, his fingers digging further into the wound until he hit something unexpected.
“I think I got it” he said softly, sweat rolling off his forehead as he tried to grab the unknown object that seemed lodged between two ribs, Abel was surprised the lungs weren’t punctured.
Katherine sobbed softly as she tried to keep the flesh apart so that it wouldn’t close around Abels hand as he began to pull his hand out of Demetris chest, with him came a rather obscene object.
It was a bullet, a wooden bullet, examining it in the light Abel wiped the blood off, there was an initial carved into the wooden surface it was an intricate H.
Katherine stared at it unblinking as she let go of the edges of flesh, watching them heal cleanly now, not even leaving a mark on his flesh, grabbing the bullet from Abels fingers she put it on one of the silver platters on the table, they would be looking at it later but right now Demetri was still bleeding from at least 6 other wounds similar to the one that had just closed.
Abel stared at Ezechiel and nodded almost imperceptibly, something passing between the two of them as Ezechiel got up from the floor and darted out of the room following Charlottes and Chelsea’s path.
Katherine handed Abel the knife once more as they set to work, Ebony stopping the bleeding where she could as Katherine was forced to hold open the gaping holes that Abel cut into Demetris chest.
Daemons muscles were locked in place as Demetri struggled, weaker than he had before, his eyes were closed, and his face drenched in sweat as he tossed and turned but didn’t put up much of a fight anymore as his blood still flowed from his body.
Abel worked as fast as he could, it was hard for him without any medical education to determine the trajectory of the bullet and where it would most likely be.
There were 5 bullets on the plate and 2 were still in Demetri’s body when Chelsea made her way into the room, her face sad as her blind eyes scanned the room, Ebony figured it was out of habit as she got up from the floor beside Demetri and hurried over to the 10 year old girl.
“Where is he” she sniffed as Ebonys hands found Chelseas leading the girl to Demetri who appeared to be unconscious on the floor.
Daemon had moved to the side when he had noticed he no longer needed to restrain Demetri anymore, he had stopped flailing after the 3rd bullet was removed, his breathing was even and his face was no longer contorted in pain.
Abel was silently working on removing the 6th bullet as Ebony lead Chelsea closer to Demetri, stopping a few feet away as Chelseas small face wrinkled up as she smelled the blood “it’s bad isn’t it” she asked in her high soprano voice.
Squeezing her hand lightly Ebony sat down in front of the girl “he’s been shot 7 times” she said softly “Abel is removing the bullets right now, he’s almost done and then we’re going to see if Demetri will wake up, he’s unconscious right now” she explained.
Chelsea’s face turned ice cold as Ebony spoke, nothing in her expression betrayed her feelings as she stared blindly in front of her, her white eyes not moving as she sniffed the air.
Pulling her hands out of Ebonys Chelsea crossed the room swiftly, her movements blurring as she moved faster than Ebony could see, first she seemed to be standing next to Abel who had just finished pulling the very last bullet out of Demetri’s unmoving body, next thing she was standing next to Katherine, it looked as if the small child was comforting Katherine rather than vice versa.
Blinking Ebony tried to follow Chelseas fast movements as she crossed to Daemon, she hovered by his ear for what seemed like less than a second before he stood and walked out of the room, not saying anything.
In the next blink Ebony made Chelsea was standing by the table, directly in front of the platter with the 7 bullets on it, her small hand reaching out and picking up one of the bullets, she brought it to her lips and put it in her mouth.
It all seemed to weird for Ebony who moved closer to Chelsea when she realised the girl was cleaning the bullet the only effective way she knew how, pulling the bullet out of her mouth Chelsea ran her fingers over the smooth surface.
Her entire body going rigid and her blind eyes widening in shock, her mouth opened as she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear “we have to leave, now!” she growled the last word.
Abel looked up from the floor where he was pouring blood into Demetris mouth as Katherine supported his head so that the liquid would slide down easier “what do you mean” he asked as he frowned “we’re safe here, nothing can happen” confusion spread over his face as he stared at Chelsea.
Speaking through clenched teeth Chelsea said “you don’t understand, I know who did this and we have to leave right now, leave everything behind and run”
As Chelsea spoke Charlotte and Daemon slipped back into the room, both of them were wearing black cloaks with the hoods not yet pulled over their face, Charlotte clutched a small bag to herself and Daemon was carrying a duffel bag, his red eyes locked onto Abel “you have to listen to her” he stated.
Katherine stared at Chelsea confused as she shook her head “what is it Chelsea darling please explain?” she begged.
Ebony slowly sank down into one of the chairs, her mind going over what Abel had so casually spoke about earlier, could it be that they were already here? So fast?
Chelsea sighed exasperated as she crossed her arms stubbornly “we don’t have time for this” she hissed, her face turning to Daemon as she stared at him with blind eyes “you should know better than to linger” she growled at him.
Daemon couldn’t hold his glare as he looked at the old vampire “please Chelsea they don’t understand?” his voice was soft and Charlotte stared at her mate with orange eyes.
“You should all sit down for this” Chelsea said with a sigh as she herself sat down onto one of the chairs as well, her white eyes down to the floor where Demetri lay “he’ll be up in a couple of minutes” she said to Katherine who nodded.
Ebony locked her crimson eyes onto Demetris still form, he seemed to be breathing evenly and the wounds on his chest had sealed and were barely noticeable on his pale skin.
Chelseas estimate proved correct as Demetris eyes fluttered open after a couple of minutes, everyone was sitting at the table except Katherine and Abel who didn’t want to leave Demetris side just yet.
Demetri sat up slowly, his dark red eyes moving over his surroundings as suddenly he recalled where he was and how he got there, he glanced down at his chest, sighing in relief when he saw that he was no longer bleeding “thank you” he said to Abel who smiled back at him in response.
The three of them got up from the floor, Demetri the quickest of them all as he reached for the jug that had been put back onto the table when it had became clear that he was going to survive.
He drank eagerly from it, gulping it all down fast as he took a seat next to Chelsea, his eyes never leaving her delicate face as he drank his blood.
Chelsea waited until everyone was seated before she picked up one of the 7 wooden bullets from the silver platter, some of them were still caked with Demetris dried blood.
“I know whose these belong to” Chelsea said softly as she reached out to Demetri and stroked the side of his face lovingly, her white eyes sad as she stared in his direction.
Demetri smiled as he tenderly placed his hand on top of Chelseas “will you tell us?” he asked softly, Ebony repressed a shudder, Demetri was scary enough as he was, but even more when he was being nice.
Chelsea turned her head and stared at Ebony “all of you know my story as it is, Ebony has never heard it so I will be telling it for her benefit, adding how I know the Howell family for your convenience, other than that I want no interruptions“ she stated clearly in her high soprano.
Ebony looked surprised at how Chelsea seemed to demand something so lightly from the other vampires, Ebony was even more surprised when everyone nodded and remained silent.
Chelsea smiled as she placed her hands lightly on the table in front of her, Demetri putting his hands on top of hers soothingly.

“I am 974 years old” Chelsea started, a smile tugging on the corners of her lips as Ebony gawked at her “I don’t remember much of my human life as it was short to begin with, my parents weren’t rich and our house was little more than a shack just outside of the towns borders. I’m not sure how I got sick, it could have been the lack of good food, the thin clothes that I had to wear or the harsh winter that had just set in. My parents had put me into their bed as it was softer than mine and their blanket was larger so it could be wrapped around me twice to try and keep me warm” Chelsea paused as her forehead creased, staring at the table surface “it is difficult for me to remember things from before I was changed” she said apologetically.
Demetri squeezed Chelseas hand reassuringly as he slid closer to her, he didn’t speak and Ebony felt herself drawn into Chelseas story as she continued, visualising it in her mind.
“I remember my parents leaving through the snow that was piled so high it reached our windows and seeped into the house through the many cracks in the wooden walls, they said they were going to get me a doctor and that they would be right back.
I don’t know how long they were gone for I wasn’t lucid enough to keep track of time what felt like days to me was closer to a couple of hours, my body was exhausted from fighting this illness I had so I kept falling asleep often.
When they did return they seemed to be torn, they told me the doctor wouldn’t come to our house for a lot of reasons, since technically we didn’t live in the town he didn’t feel compelled to help us, and he didn’t want to risk venturing out into the blizzard just to come visit a sick girl who was probably going to die anyway because of the living situation, and the doctor knew my parents had little money and they wouldn’t of been able to pay the bills.
I remember them arguing, it was all very hushed and very quickly, I couldn’t hear a word they were saying but from the tones they were talking on I could make out it was something important and about me.
They came into my room and like every time they did I realised my parents were beautiful people, they didn’t tan because of our local climate, it was mostly clouded in our town and being pale was the current fashion, anyone that had even a slight tan was considered low class so my parents tried their best to stay pale.
It wasn’t until they told me what they were that I understood how they actually managed to stay so pale, my dad worked as a jack of all trade, taking any job that had to be done, most of the times he was trying to fix the house from the inside during the day, he kept claiming that the outside wasn’t worth fixing and that it would fall apart anyway and that the best thing to do was to work from the inside, so he spend his days inside, while my mother and I hurried to town before daybreak every morning to clean some of the manors there.
We didn’t go home until the sun was down, which confused me sometimes because we were long finished before that but my mother told me we had to wait till the lady of the house said so and she didn’t return till dinner time from her sowing and tea group.” Chelsea stopped, a smile playing on her small lips as she turned her white eyes onto Ebony.
“I am getting sidetracked, I’m sorry” she said softly “as I said I was sick and my parents were arguing over me in the other room, it wasn’t much of a room it was separated from my parents’ bedroom by a small piece of wood and some pieces of cloth that were draped over the holes the termites had chewed into the wooden panels.
I heard them coming into my room and I pretended to be asleep so that I didn’t have to admit that I had been eavesdropping, my mother shook me gently to wake me as she sat next to me on the bed, she had beautiful blonde curls, every woman in town envied my mothers golden hair but of course they were all too stuck up to admit it.
My father sat down on the other side next to me, he’s the one I owe my brown locks to, even though I have my mothers curls, I remember their faces, even when they looked so serious they always radiated beauty and their skin always seemed to soft to me, they were cold though most of the time but I in my naivety blamed that on the winter period.
They told me that the doctor wouldn’t come and that I was most likely going to die, I was actually quite shocked by that and by the bluntness of how they told me, they also said that they could save me, but that it would change me forever.
When they told their story I knew that I couldn’t of remembered I was 3 months old when it had happened, my parents were working in town and I was alone in our little house when a strange man had walked in and found me alone in my crib, he was afraid that something had happened to my parents and he decided to take me with him.
As he was walking out of our house with me sleeping in his arms my parents returned and explained the situation to him, he was a very friendly gentleman and he even gave my parents some money to buy me some new clothes and food.
He left and my parents were extremely happy that he had stumbled upon our house, he came back later that night, knowing that there would be nobody else around having talked to my parents and compelled them to spill all the details about their life.
He was a vampire, my parents didn’t remember his name and they never tried to find him to thank him, they were quite happy with their new lifestyle, he bit my father first, while they were sleeping and my mother next, he knew the transformation was painful and in order to alleviate the pain he let them drink from his blood, which was like a sedative.
They were newborn vampires within 2 hours, he stuck around and told them that he couldn’t change me, not while I was so young, because you see, when you transition everything stops, you stop aging, you stop growing up, everything stops.
The idea of having created a 3 month year old vampire even seemed repulsive to him and my parents agreed and they decided that when the time was right they would tell me what they were and what my options were, if I chose to stay with them that meant changing into what they were or I could leave and live my life and grow old, get a family and eventually die.
You have to understand my parents were loving people, they never saw me as a potential food source they mainly fed on stray travellers and bad people, rapists, thieves whatever kind of bad person they could find.
When they finished explaining what exactly they were pieces of the puzzle just seemed to click together in my mind, my father never left the house during the day, my mother and me always left before sunrise and came back after sundown.
They told me some things that the vampire who had changed them had told them about how immunity to sunlight came with years, stakes paralysed, crosses burned and of course the diet consisted of blood.
I’d seen my parents eat, not much as they gave me most of it, but they still ate some, I asked them about that and they told me you could eat normal food, but it wouldn’t sustain the transformed body and in the end it was better to not eat at all, apart from blood of course.
Any question I came up with they answered, until in the end I couldn’t ask anything else because I was caught in a coughing fit so bad I almost choked on it and when it did pass I noticed the small scarlet drops that came from my cough and landed on my white covers.
I still remember the look my parents exchanged when they saw exactly how sick I was, they asked me again if I wanted to live, though changed or rather die and stay human.
I made the decision then, by own choice and free will to let my parents change me and turn me into what I am to this very day 900 or more years later.
My parents had decided that my mother would be the one to bite me and my father would stand watch over her to make sure she didn’t drain me completely and left enough in me to die from blood loss.
She sat down on the corner of my bed, shuffling closer to me as she pulled my hair back, she’d always told me my curls were pretty, short as they were.
She felt cold as she pulled me closer, it made me shiver, I remember closing my eyes when she brought her face down to my neck, I could feel her cool breath on my skin before her teeth pierced my flesh, at first there was pain and an unpleasant tugging sensation in my neck which soon passed as the blood was drained from me slowly.
Black spots appeared in front of my eyes and I was feeling lightheaded, I faintly noted the ripping growl that sounded from beside me and at once the tugging feeling stopped.
My head lolled back as I fell back into my pillows, I managed to keep my eyes open as I stared at my mother who was wiping her mouth swiftly to hide the small crimson drops at the corners of her mouth, my father was holding her tightly, his tendons standing out on his muscular arms as my mothers eyes burned with a ferocity I had never witnessed.
My hand moved to my neck where she had bit me, my fingers pulled back sticky and covered in blood, my mouth opened as I stared at it mesmerised, it looked so red in contrast to my pale hand and white covers.
“Hunny” my father said softly as he still held my mother back “control it, she’s our daughter” he whispered as I noticeably saw my mothers eyes cool back to their natural colour, dark brown.
“I’m sorry” she muttered as she sat back down on the bed, my fathers hands still secure on her arms “I’m okay now really” she said as she patted my fathers hand reassuringly, when she looked back at me something fizzed in her eyes and I noticed them turning a vibrant vermillion red.
My eyes widened in shock as a small flame began to erupt in my neck where my mother had bitten me, my father noticed my distress and looked at my mother “Oh the eyes” he said apologetically “We’ve been wearing coloured contacts, our eyes are red, they dissolve after a while due to the toxins in our body, we’re venomous to incapacitate our prey, apparently it’s in the eyes too” he explained.
I wasn’t listening anymore however, my body went rigid as the pain began to flare and expand, it seared through my veins and I locked my jaw tightly so not to alarm my parents of my distress.
Under their scrutinising gaze however every tremble my small body gave didn’t go unnoticed, they looked at each other “do you think it’s time?” my father asked my mother, keeping an eye on me as I convulsed involuntarily.
Jumping to her feet my mother rushed over to the other side of the bed “I would assume so” she spoke calmly to my father but the shaking of her voice betrayed her concern, she wasn’t sure she had done it right after all.
My mother tore her teeth over her wrist, drawing a deep gash in her flesh and offered me her arm, I stared at her half maddened by the pain as she tried to coax me into drinking her blood.
“Please hunny, it will help” she pleaded as she pushed her dripping wrist more towards me, my eyes were wide and I felt my body quaking as the pain spread, my small heart thudding frantically to keep up with my panting breath.
“Damnit Chelsea do it” my father yelled at me as he pinned my small body down on the bed to stop it from convulsing so much.
Somehow I managed to grab hold of my mothers wrist, I could feel myself slipping as the blood dripped from my neck much the same as how my mothers blood dripped from her slowly.
I’m not sure if I was even in my body anymore when I brought my mothers torn open wrist to my lips and drank, I was expecting the copper flavour so typical of blood, in stead it was sweet, much like drinking lemonade only thicker and coloured differently.
I drank from it eagerly and I felt the pain subsiding within me, I relished the warm feeling of my mothers blood as it went down my throat, my father actually let go of me when he noticed I had stopped trashing violently.
When I was full and sedated by the warm vampire blood I let go of my mothers wrist and sank down into my pillows, my eyelids grew heavy as I looked at my parents who were hovering over me, I knew that they’d be there for me when I woke up again, reborn.”

Chelseas white eyes scanned the room slowly as she paused in telling her story, everyone was sitting at the very edges of their seats, mesmerised by Chelseas story.
Ebony was staring at the brunette girl open mouthed, her hands folded on the table as she listened in awe of the rich history Chelsea had.
Never would she of thought that this small child was in fact the oldest of the group she was sharing the table with, it seemed so surreal that out of all the people around her the one least likely to be the oldest actually was.
“uhm” Chelsea started as her eyes locked onto Katherine sitting right beside Abel “do you think the kitchen staff would be so kind as to get me something to drink?” she asked quietly “all this talking is making me thirsty” she explained sheepishly.
Katherine smiled as she got up from her chair “I’ll go ask” she said as she swiftly left the room, her white dress dragging over the floor and her red curls bouncing on her back as she hurried.
It didn’t take long for her to return with a large silver platter, there were several jugs on top of it and she put it down onto the table swiftly and handed one over to everyone, the largest two went to Demetri and Chelsea, everyone understood why.
Chelseas face lit up when she inhaled the smell of warm blood wafting from the jug standing in front of her, on instinct she reached for her goblet that was still on the table from their disastrous dinner party.
Pouring it into the jug Ebony watched how she managed to pour it all in without spilling anything “How do you do that” she asked.
Chelsea smiled “I’ll get to that part later Ebony, patience is a virtue” she said as she winked at the black haired woman who smiled sheepishly.
Taking a couple of large sips from her glass Chelsea sighed “Much better” she said as she smiled, everyone else was also sipping their drinks, eager for the small child to continue her story.

“Everything went wrong the moment I closed my eyes and awaited my death” Chelsea started “my parents had been worrying about the day that they would actually have to change me into one of them, they had hoped it wouldn’t be so soon but in case it did they decided to take precautions and feed regularly rather than sparsely so not to attract unwanted attention to themselves.
Because they were worried they’d have to change me soon they felt the need to be less hungry should the time arrive that I required a permanent change, it was safer to not be hungry when trying to change someone because once you taste blood it’s hard to stop.
When you no longer have that initial thirst, it’s easier to stop and pull away, I had noticed a couple of people had gone missing, but they were always thieves, people no one would actually miss but were afraid to say it out loud.
Unfortunately some travellers had just arrived in our small town and seemed to have taken an interest in the disappearance of so many people in such short notice.
My parents were unaware that they were being watched, monitored and notes were being taken on them specifically.
I was lying in my soft bed, euphoric because of the vampire blood and completely numbed, I felt happy, elated that I wasn’t going to die and that I was able to spend forever and longer with my parents when I died and was reborn.
As I was lying there, blood oozing out of my neck as the vampire blood in me kept me sedated, 3 shadows were stalking our little house in the snow.
They slipped in unnoticed and were already upon my parents when it was too late for them to realise what was happening.
My parents were…cut up right before my eyes and I simply kept smiling because of the complete numbness in my limbs.
I know I was horrified by what was happening and I couldn’t seem to take that grin off my face as much as I wanted to as well as not having to bear witness to my parents being torn to shreds by 3 black cloaked men.
It wasn’t until they set the remains on fire that they noticed me lying in the bed, at first I was afraid that I would be next and that they would rip me to shreds as well, but they simply stared at me.
They were talking quietly to each other as the transition began to kick in, my hearing improved immensely and I could hear every whispered word.
“Do you think she’s their daughter?” the taller one asked “No that’s impossible, they couldn’t have a child, and it wouldn’t of survived living with these demons” someone replied, I noticed he had a crooked nose, it probably had been broken a couple of times.
“No, she’s probably a local child, kidnapped, maybe recently that’s why we haven’t heard” the last one said.
I couldn’t understand that they were discussing this so openly when I realised that they had been whispering, they stared at me and I continued to smile.
“Poor thing is probably sedated, you did see the female one visit the doctors” the taller one said “They’ve been feeding on her, not sure how long she’s going to survive, she’s awfully pale” the crooked nose spoke.
“You think we should put her out of her misery and bury her?” the smaller and last of the three asked.
The taller one seemed to be the leader as both men looked at him, he nodded, albeit reluctantly and I saw him glance at me from the corner of his eye.
“Might as well, no point letting her suffer like this” he said, it sounded to me like he was justifying it to himself more than he was explaining to the other two who were already advancing upon me.
The taller one sat down on the bed, he didn’t smell very nice, it made me cringe away “It’s okay” he had whispered “we’re here to help” a pause “my name is Howell, Alistair Howell, and these are my friends, you don’t have to be afraid anymore, you’re safe now” he extended his hand towards me and I noticed him grabbing one of my mothers decorative pillows, as she called them, they were actually little more than hay bags with feathers from the birds dad shot sometimes.
I glared at this man that had murdered my family so easily and I swore that I would take revenge on them someday, when the time was right.
He pushed the pillow down onto my face and pinned me down against the bed, I didn’t even bother to struggle, the faster I would become a vampire, the faster I could hunt down this cruel animal that slaughtered my family so brutally in front of me.
And he didn’t even care if I had or had not been their daughter or someone else’s, for him I was a liability, someone that could tell about what had happened in my house, with my parents.
Someone who could and would point the finger into their direction and no one would question a child’s word on her parent’s death.
I couldn’t breathe properly through the pillow so I held my breath and embraced the blackness that settled over me with pride and a thirst for revenge.
When I opened my eyes again I found myself confined within a box, a crude box, roughly shaped and hastily made, probably the crooked nosed man that had felt bad putting me into the ground without a casket.
It was pitch black of course but I knew what to expect, I wasn’t expecting the box, it was a minor inconvenience, I clawed my way out of there, similar to Ebony, but my box was less difficult to escape from and buried shallowly.” Chelsea paused.

Her white eyes turned to Ebony as she smiled “so you see, we have more in common than you think, little sister” she teased as Ebony remained staring at her, mouth open.
“You have to understand what Ebony has been through is extremely difficult, for me I knew that I was going to die, I welcomed it and wanted to be born into my new life, Ebony didn’t know what was happening to her and what was going to happen” Chelsea said as she reached out over the table and put her hand onto Ebonys gently.
Ebony smiled and squeezed Chelseas hand softly “thanks Chelsea” she said, her wind chime voice sounding awkward and low after hearing so much of Chelseas high soprano.
Chelsea smiled and patted Ebonys hand lightly much like a grandma would to soothe her grandchild’s worries, the gesture seemed too weird to Ebony coming from a 900 year old vampire trapped in a girls body.

Clearing her throat Chelsea resumed her story “After I was reborn I went back to my little house that had been burned to the ground, I saw everything so extremely clearly and it was an amazing sight looking at the ashes as they blew away in the wind.
I buried what was left of my parents, much of their ashes had already scattered in the winds that were harsh during this time of year but I found some marble specks of my mothers fair skin and some strands of hair from my father.
I wasn’t quite sure what I should do next, after all the men who had torn my parents away from me were already long gone, on to find the next little town where they expected vampires to lurk.
I found one of my mothers bags she put her cleaning things in there when she went to clean houses in the town and it was scorched a little but it was still solid and able to contain some things, along with that I found some clothes that had survived, probably picked up by the wind after our house collapsed from the fire and carried away.
After I had everything I could find stuffed into the little bag I set out towards the village, surely the people would recognise me and offer me a place to stay.
I assumed wrong, it was still night and sun was slowly creeping over the hills so I knew I had to get out of it soon or else I’d be burnt to a crisp which wasn’t exactly my goal after being reborn.
No one would let me into their house as I walked down the main street of the little town, everyone shut their windows and shutters as I walked by, perhaps they had heard of what had happened and thought I was a ghost seeking revenge on the villagers who had pointed out the location of our little house in the fields.
Luckily for me the sewers were easily accessible and mostly underground I spend my first day there, listening to the city’s life bustling overhead.
The children playing on the streets as mothers chatted to each other, the main topic of the day was the fire that had ravaged my little house, no one seemed to be able to stop talking about it and it was a good way for me to gather some useful information.
I found that if I hid under the main square of the town in the large sewer pipes running underneath I could hear every conversation that was being held there.
And seeing as it was the largest and busiest spot in the village I heard some interesting things, people whispering softly to each other about my family.
How they pitied me for having parents that couldn’t take care of me properly, how the doctor had refused to come see me because he had already come to the conclusion I wasn’t going to make the winter.
It was infuriating to hear them chat about my parents so carelessly, some said they were happy the bodies had been burned because they didn’t want to pay for the funeral as was a rule in the town when there was no next of kin to pay the bills the townsfolk had to pile together the money to pay for the burial ceremony.
The only thing that they all did feel bad about was that I had died, I growled at the children telling their mothers that they didn’t like me because I was always sick or getting there and they thought maybe I was contagious.
What surprised me most was that the mayor himself had actually send word out to the Howell family, he was openly boasting about it to the high society gathered in the towns square, he claimed that he always suspected something was wrong with my little family even though my mother cleaned his house several years.
It was this conversation that I tuned into, blocking out all other conversations to focus solely on the words spoken by the mayor to his supporters.
“I told you a while ago already that something was wrong with that family, they didn’t want to live in town and they never once invited anyone over to their house…if you can call that a house” a fat woman spoke, I recognised her as the bakers wife.
The mayor chuckled softly as he fiddled with the heavy chain around his neck that marked him as the mayor “I never did trust that woman” he spoke softly “there was something creepy about her, it wasn’t until I heard the stories from the other townsfolk who passed here a couple of weeks ago that I started to question their family myself”
“What did you hear?” a nasal voice spoke and I shuddered, she was the teacher from the small school in town, no one liked her because she was rather keen on punishing children when they got the answer wrong.
I could almost see the mayor glance around conspiratorially and leaning closer to the people involved in the conversation as he spoke quietly “well, there was word on the disappearing of some people under suspicious circumstances in the closest town over, they found some of the bodies, there were buried all together in the basement of an empty house, when the doctor examined those bodies he discovered none of them had but a single drop of blood left in their bodies” he paused “a couple of days ago we found a body too, the doc came to the same conclusion as the other doctor had, it was completely drained of blood. I contacted the mayor of the other village and asked them what exactly they did when they encountered this anomaly, he told me they had contacted a very old family the Howells, they seemed to be the experts on this area” the mayor took a deep breath and exhaled slowly “I never knew what they’d do, I contacted them and notified them of our bloodless body and they agreed to come immediately, they showed up the day before yesterday and told me that they’d take care of the business and that I shouldn’t worry about anything, so I let them go, I never knew what they were planning on doing until they came in last night reporting that it was done” I heard the mayor swallow loudly “they told me, that they had killed and burnt the culprits I didn’t know that they had actually killed those people, they have been living with us for a long while and I don’t think any of us would of suspected them to be murders so I asked them why they thought it had been them when they told me that they were vampires” he whispered the last word “naturally I asked them to leave this town immediately and take their nonsense with them, I spent most of my night in the church asking god for my forgiveness for inflicting this on these poor people” he said.
“So you don’t think that they were actually…vampires did you say?” the nasal teacher asked.
“No, that’s impossible, vampires are myth, they’re not real, they couldn’t have possibly lived with us for that long without any of us noticing anything” the bakers wife spoke.
“Either way” the mayor started “It’s done now and there’s nothing we can do but to hush it up as quick as possible, we don’t want to scare the other people or the children, I didn’t ask what they did to the little girl but…yes let’s just not talk about anymore, find something else to gossip about and keep this off the streets” he said, strain clear in his tone.
I wasn’t sure how to react to the fact that the mayor had been responsible but actually felt remorse, if only he knew that vampires were indeed real and very much a threat.
My first intentions had been to eradicate whoever had been responsible for the deaths of my beloved parents but after hearing the clear regret in the mayors voice I decided against it, let them sort it out themselves when they found out that my parents had in fact been protecting the village from robbers and all sorts of other scum.
I waited patiently for nightfall to come and allow me to leave this village once and for all, I didn’t think I’d ever wanted to return to the town where I had lost the two people dearest to my heart.
I spend the next couple of weeks travelling by night and hiding during the day, luckily for me there were plenty of people travelling in between towns and villages for me to feed on, I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t need that much blood at first.
It was easy for me to silently sneak into their set up camps for the night and let my senses guide me to whomever smelled the nicest and feed on him or her, they’d wake up the next day with a headache and extremely tired but they were alive, and they wouldn’t turn into a vampire, I made sure I didn’t pump any of the vamp virus in them as I fed.
It was tiring to continue with the same routine every day, it was becoming harder and harder for me to find a suitable place to hide from the daylight as the surrounding area became more like a desert the further I walked.
I actually had to resort to digging myself in a few times which was an unpleasant experience, technically we don’t need to breathe but it’s nice to know what’s around you if you can smell it.
I had been wandering around for a while when I came across a camp of gypsies, I’d never seen anything like them, they had wagons that they used as their homes, I’d seen wagons used for transport several times but never one that was outfitted to serve as a mobile home.
They seemed to travel sometime into the night which presented me with the perfect plan to coax them into accepting me into their little community.
It took me a while to set it up properly but after trailing them the third night I ran ahead of them and set myself next to my carefully laid out massacre scene.
The night before there had been a robbery right on the path that the gypsies were following, it had been a woman and a man, not old but old enough for me to pose as their daughter and sole survivor of the robbery.
I settled myself amidst the debris of the wagon they had been using to cart off their belongings, probably heading for a new town to settle down in, pity they never made it.
The woman had still been alive when I had found her, she had provided me with enough blood to last me a week at the very least so I didn’t have to kill any of the gypsies as it was my full intent to travel with them for some time.
And should my bloodlust rise again I would simply find suitable blood to curb my appetite for a while.
I had used a rock to slice open my palms and dabbed the blood on my clothes as I tore them, I also smeared dirt on myself to make me seem poor and, as my parents had told me, less attractive.
I didn’t want to make these people suspicious of me, gypsies after all are very superstitious of a lot of things, black cats, breaking mirrors, they do dabble in some magic though as I found out later.
I waited patiently, practising my wailing cry as I sobbed over the corpse of the female posing as my mother, it didn’t take long for them to reach me and pry me away from the dead body that I had been clinging onto.
They argued about what they should do with me as I was being cleaned with water by some of the women, they all seemed stunned when my features re-appeared from beneath the dirt.
They gave me a new dress and combed through my hair, and after a moments of deliberation of the gypsy elders they decided they would offer me a place to stay for the time being.
I was placed in the care of a dark middle aged woman named Maria she had another daughter who looked just like her mother, I don’t remember her name but she didn’t like me much.
Every time she would look at me I could see the fear in her eyes, maybe it was because I scared her as much as I could, during the night I would sneak up on her and scare her somehow with whatever I could get my hands on.
The main reason I did this was because I didn’t want to share my new home with some other girl that obviously was more interested in one of the other boys travelling with the large family.
I saw her sneak off some nights, probably for a little midnight meet up with the boy, I asked Maria about that once and she told me Paulo was actually a distant cousin of her daughter so them being together was strictly prohibited due to inbreeding.
I stopped asking questions once she explained to me that everyone in their little travelling family was related to each other somehow.
Maria also let slip a couple of times that I was of a suitable age to be wed by their standards and that she had been asked for my hand a couple of times by elder men, she had declined thinking I would want to choose my spouse myself.
I was glad she had, though I didn’t understand at first why they didn’t ask me to begin with when one of the gypsy elders told me it was customary to ask for the parent’s permission first and Maria was apparently my assigned foster mother.
Not everyone was fooled by my innocent appearance, when I had stayed with the gypsy family for about a week my thirst came back up, after having fed so lavishly on the woman by the road I was more than a little surprised it had taken me so long to go through all the blood I had drained from her.
I spend my next couple of nights sneaking around the camp they set up at night, sipping from necks here and there, occasionally feeding on animals but they didn’t sustain me properly.
Maybe it was because I felt like I had some claim on her but I fed most on Maria, I know I shouldn’t of done that as she spend most of her days in the cart feeling sick and tired.
The elders seemed suspicious of me but they never voiced their concerns to the others, I know because I made it my business to know what they discussed when they retreated into their own little wagon.
Mostly because I was afraid that they would figure out what I was and that they would try and kill me like my parents had been killed.
But luckily they thought Maria was sick because of me, but not because I was feeding on her at night but because they thought I was a traumatised child by the brutal murder of my replacement parents.

[Culmir]

I had been travelling with the gypsies for several weeks now, none of them really seemed puzzled by my stinted growth or how I never seemed to get a day older, other girls my age were seen growing taller and develop curves, where as I remained the same.
No one had even remarked about my strange eye colour I had tried to keep my eyes averted for the most part and when I had to make eye contact I would make sure no one could actually see the red hue they possessed
No one suspected anything; I kept up appearances, though hiding during the day in the trailer under the pretence of doing homework Maria had set for me as my tutor or cleaning the interior, or simply playing with the porcelain dolls.
I kept my vigorous watch on the gypsy elders who seemed to convene more and more as of late and I was growing suspicious of them but every time I set myself to listening in on the conversations they were merely discussing the weather.
It seemed so trivial a thing to discuss but apparently they were all eagerly awaiting an upcoming storm, I asked Maria about it and she explained to me one evening that rain was considered a good omen for gypsy magic.
She implored me not to seek more into it and put me to bed, I obediently pretended to be asleep before I prowled out of the wagon in search for blood.
I could have easily fed on Maria but she was starting to pale more and I feared draining her completely, I settled for Pietro, one of my alleged suitors.
He was a gangly boy, big front teeth and slimy skin, he wasn’t very appetising but when one is hungry one will eat anything they can get their hands on.
I spend the next day holed up in the wagon, learning to read and write Italian as Maria had told me it was one of the preferred languages of the gypsies that roamed around the lands here.
Several times people would walk into the wagon and bring me something to snack on, knowing that Maria was going to be busy all day as she had been summoned to the gypsy elders in another wagon.
I wished that I could have been able to go out and check up on their secretive little congregation, but the sun wouldn’t permit me to leave the wagon I had grown to call home.
So I sat by and waited for Maria to come back and tell me what had been keeping her so busy all day, when she did return however she was withdrawn and wouldn’t even look at me.
I wondered why she was so but I knew that I shouldn’t pry lest she become angry and kick me out of the wagon in broad daylight.
Again I waited, she said nothing to me for the remainder of the day and I chose to leave immediately once the sun was down, not willing to stay in the wagon any longer as the woman closed off entirely.
I found myself wandering around aimlessly when the three riders showed up, they were hooded and cloaked but I could see them clearly in the dark.
They approached the camp from the south and I made sure I stayed hidden from view, something about these three visitors didn’t seem right, and no one would approach the gypsies so conspicuously.
Any people that sought out the council of the gypsy elders usually showed up on foot and in the middle of the night not at nightfall.
I lurked around to see if I could find out whom these strangers were but somehow they always knew what angle I was coming at them from and would face the other way, effectively hiding their faces from me with their hoods.
They were led to the council elders and I was quickly pulled away from them by an overly attentive matron, her name was Aileen and she had always resented the fact that Maria had gotten custody over me.
Smothering me with hugs she pulled me away from the council and the three men, I snarled lowly and she jumped, glancing around nervously “must be some creatures around here” she giggled nervously.
Exasperated I wormed my way out of her choking embrace and tried to circumvent my way back to the small circle where the elders convened.
When I got there I found out that they had already moved inside of the wagon, growling I tried to stalk my way over close enough so I could find out what was going on inside, again I was roughly being pulled back, this time by Pietro.
“Ciao bella” he whispered as he wormed his arms around my waist, holding me tightly pressed against his lanky form “where do you think you’re going” he whispered again as I went rigid from his touch.
I suppressed the urge to break the mans arms as easy as I would with a twig “none of your business” I snarled at him as I broke out of his grasp easily, glaring at him menacingly.
Pietro smirked “aw don’t be like that precious, you know I was just joking” he smiled at me showing me yellow uneven teeth, I shuddered and withdrew myself further from him.
How everyone else in our small family thought that he was the right match for me out of all my suitors remained a mystery to me as I flipped my short hair back, my eyes darting over to the wagon of the elders.
Following my gaze Pietro smiled at me again and I felt another shudder slip down my spine, even I wouldn’t feed on something like him again, I regretted having to resort to food like him, and he was disgusting in every way possible.
“You want to know who they are don’t you?” he asked as he wiped his nose, snorting, I tried very hard not to rip the mans head off when he turned back to me and gave me what the other girls had described to me as his flirtatious look.
It required some very tight control of emotions on my part not to start laughing at his weak display of flirting; he had his hip cocked slight and managed somehow to flip a lock of his greasy black hair in front of his face.
His next words triggered a reaction from me “I can get you into the elder wagon” he whispered.
My eyes narrowed “why would you do that?“ I demanded from him as he tried to lean casually against the nearby tree “because I can, and because I haven’t told you what I want in return yet” he smiled slyly.
Tilting my head slightly I stared the older man down until he stopped leaning against the wall and lost most of his composure “I uh…” he stuttered and I rolled my eyes at his clumsiness.
“Oh just get it over with Pietro” I snapped at him, anxious to get to the elders wagon and find out more about our visitors, I watched Pietros head snap up as he looked at me “I want you to be my wife Chelsea” he said almost angrily.
I snorted “that’s preposterous, you know you need Maria’s permission to ask me this” I remarked with a smile, confident the man would now hold up to his end of the deal and bring me to the wagon.
The smile curving onto his out of proportioned lips took me aback slightly “there’s the thing” he started as his lanky body resumed his earlier casual position “I have permission from Maria” he finished.
I laughed at that part “you really think that I believe that Maria gave you, out of all people, you, permission to propose to me?” I asked incredulously.
A small nod issued from Pietro as I raised my eyebrow sceptically “well that’s a surprise” I muttered as I stared at the boy, a plan forming in my head as I smiled at him.
“Well fine then” I sighed with feigned exasperation “if that’s how the council wants it, then I will concede” I uttered as I watched disbelief spread on Pietros ugly face.
“S-so you’re saying yes?” he stuttered, rolling my eyes I nodded “but, not until after my birthday in a few months” I said “and only if you hold up to your end of the bargain, by taking me to the elders wagon, unseen and unheard so that I can find out who these people are” I spoke clearly.
Pietros eyes narrowed as he listened to what I was saying, running a hand through his greasy hair he nodded “sounds like a fair trade” he said, smiling in victory.
Little did he know that I certainly wasn’t planning on staying long enough for these people to celebrate my birthday and I was most definitely not going to marry Pietro, he’d befall an accident or something, I’d think of something but it didn’t even come to that.
Pietro, true to his word led me around the camp and through a series of thick bushes that tried to claw at my skin, I merely thought they tickled and once we arrived on the other side Pietro was covered with red bleeding gashes where as I remained unblemished like marble.
He stared at me as if asking me how it was possible that there wasn’t a scratch on me when he decided he would ask me that later for which I was grateful.
I had already come up with a convincing lie that I was smaller and much more manoeuvrable than him as well as the fact he had cleared a lot of the thorns before I came through
In the distance I would see the small wagon that was used by the elders, distinguishable by its vibrant blue and yellow colours, I winched at Pietros many missteps cracking branches as we advanced.
Due to my being a vampire I was naturally stealthy and proceeded without a sound through the bushes until I was able to step onto the small steps that led up to the rear entrance to the wagon.
Pietro remained hidden in the bushes as I gazed through the window into the wagon I could see the 4 elder gypsies sitting opposite of the 3 visitors, they still kept theirs hoods up which struck me as strange.
Even with my improved hearing I could barely make out some of the words that were spoken I caught shards of the conversation going on inside as I strained to hear “….found the girl…..dead…..robbery…..covered in dir……took her in…….beautiful girl…….marriage proposals….”
I figured that they were recounting the story of when they found me sobbing over my meal some time ago, what worried me was why they were sharing this story with these strangers.
Pressing closer to the window I placed my head against the cool glass only to catch the last bit of the conversation “we’d like to meet this girl” I stepped back and leaped off the steps, I had recognised the voice.
It belonged to the very same man that had murdered me, Alistair Howell, the very man that had in cold blood decided to kill my parents and then later me only to bury me in a shallow grave.
I snarled ferociously startling Pietro who was still crouched in the bushes, baring my teeth at him his eyes widened in shock as I advanced upon him.
These people, these traitorous human beings, this means of survival for me a superior being had tried to get rid of me by bringing these murderous bastards into their camp, thinking I wouldn’t know about it, they would pay for it, they would pay dearly.
Closing my hand around Pietros neck I lifted him off his knees from out of the bushes, my reflection staring back at me as I gazed into his eyes.
I was beautiful and deadly, my fangs bared as saliva dripped from the tips, my lips bloodred to mimic the vibrant colour of my blazing eyes.
“They were right about you” Pietro choked as I snarled at him “what do you mean?” I hissed at him as I squeezed his throat shut, coughing he tried to speak.
Annoyed I tossed him aside into the bushes “tell me right now?” I demanded, towering over him as he rolled around in the thorns his eyes wide and bloodshot as his eyes darted around “they said you were different, we all got the notes” he said “Maria was warned about you from day one and she didn’t listen, we’ve known about you all along, but we never knew what you were” he spoke breathlessly.
I snarled again, baring my fangs as I reached out to the man who brought up an arm as if that would hold me off “wait…wait!” he pleaded with me “we thought you were something else, something different, not a..not a….you’re a stroganov…a…a vampire” he said as tears streamed down his face.
Staring down upon him I tilted my head slightly “your point being?” I asked as I remained poised to rip the life out of this shameful thing grovelling at my feet.
“The men in the wagon, they’re told you’re a woman in white, a damsel in distress, a ghost” Pietro screamed at me “they don’t know what you really are, you can get away, they’re going to perform a ritual, just pretend to die!” he yelled at me.
Leaning back on my heels I stared down at Pietro, I knew he wouldn’t lie at this point, not when the truth could potentially save his life “very well” I said as I extended my hand to the shaking man.
Pietro stared at my hand as if it were a venomous snake but in the end he accepted it, which was his final mistake, with a firm tug I pulled him towards me, his head caught in my hands as I violently snapped his head around, breaking his neck.
No loose ends on my part that could possibly ruin my escape, Pietros confession had sounded true enough for me to attempt to escape by feigning death, which shouldn’t be hard considering I don’t have to breathe and I have no pulse.
I dropped Pietros body in the middle of the thorny bush, confident no one would venture that deep into it because of the prickly thorns so he wouldn’t be found soon, not until they would leave and check if all member were present.
But with the impending exorcism of myself I wouldn’t put it past the gypsies that they’d want to get out of the clearing as soon as possible after this.
Thankful for the cloudy night I slipped my way silently through the village without running into anyone, I figured if I wanted to pull off a convincing ghost I would have to dress to the part, making my way into the wagon I shared with Maria I found the dress she had been working on.
In light of the recent revelations of my approved betrothal I recognised the white dress for what it was, a wedding gown and it would suit me well this dark night.
Dressing into the frilly white dress I made my way to the centre of the village, I have to add mother nature did a lot to aid in special effects for me that night.
It was quite windy so the loose strands of white lace of my dress were blowing in the wind, my pale skin translucent in the firelight of the many campfires.
I knew that to any bystander I probably looked exactly what they all suspected me to be, a ghost.
Maria was the first one to spot me and she gasped, her eyes wide as her hand flew to her throat in shock of my appearance as the wind whipped my clothes around me and my short hair into my face.
As I approached the gathered crowd around the campfire I made out the many other familiar faces I had grown accustomed too, every one of them had betrayed me, they were afraid, and they had every reason to be afraid.
Composing myself I stepped into the clearing, taking my usual seat as if I were oblivious to all the stares in my direction and at the three strangers that sat across from me beside the elders.
I turned my attention to the floor, through my eyelashes I watched the elders lean towards the taller man, Alistair and mumble something, it was hard to make out over the crackling of the fire but I heard it nonetheless ”that’s her”
Three pairs of eyes latched onto me as I raised my head slowly, staring directly across the fire at the three men who didn’t seem to recognise me, fortunately.
Apparently none of the men had considered that I was a vampire, holding their gaze I stared the three men down one by one until all three of them rose and moved away from the campfire, the elders following suit shortly after.
I noticed Maria’s approach long before she arrived, her scent had become so familiar to me I could smell her from a long distance; I stared at her as she sat down beside me.
“Chelsea” she started as I clenched my jaw, knowing this woman out of all had betrayed me the most, pretending she accepted me, while knowing from the start that I was something else, pretending to care for me while at the same time plotting to get me killed.
“The visitors would like to meet you” she continued, unaware of my brooding “now?” I ask her impassively, watching her nod slowly “yes dear, now” she smiled.
“Okay” I say, my voice cheerful as I get up from the log I was sitting on “where are they?” I asked with feigned innocence as I glance around, catching every ones eye as they all stare at me.
“Oh, they’re by the elder wagon, they’re leaving soon” Maria explains as she places her hand lightly against my back to lead me there “why do they want to see me?” I ask her, dreading the answer.
“They’re simply curious about you Chelsea, they’ve heard your tragic story and they want to meet such a brave girl that survived such a brutal robbery” Maria explains as she smiles encouragingly at me.
The lie is apparent in her tone and I steel myself from the torrent of emotions that wash over me all at once, I got the jest of the story, they want to kill me.
I know that before this night comes to an end I will have to do some things that I would regret for the rest of my immortal life.
As I approach the elder wagon I feel Marias hand slipping from my back as she takes her distance from me, it makes me wonder if possibly she does not believe that I am what I am, a monster.
Staring at the three men memories wash over me from my parents, my loving parents who had changed me to save me from death, and my dead parents who had never harmed anyone that didn’t deserve it, my burned parents who had to be avenged.
“Hello” Alistair says, his voice silky like the night he had discussed my murder, I shiver but stand my ground, unwilling to show my fear for these hunters.
“Buonasera” Maria utters behind me and Alistair smiles warmly at her “good evening” I translate for Maria, unsure of their knowledge of Italian and not willing to offend my supposed saviours.
Three pairs of eyes lock onto me again “You must be Chelsea” Alistair says as he extends his hand to me, I eye the hand and smile a thin lipped smile at him as I bow “yes sir” I answer.
The left side of Alistair’s lips tug up slightly in a bit of a smirk as he drops his hand to his side as if I have confirmed something to him by not shaking his hand, he probably thought I wasn’t corporeal.
“My name is Alistair” he says as he indicates himself “this is Marco and that is Thomas” he points at his companions, giving me names to add to the faces, the smallest was Marco and the middle one with the crooked nose was Thomas.
“Nice to meet you” I manage to choke out as my body goes rigid, it would have been so easy to leap across the small distance separating us and kill these three murderers but I knew this wasn’t the time nor the place.
I would bide my time and plan this moment very well so that I could enjoy every minute of it.
“Would you like some tea?” one of the elders ask me, my eyes slip to him momentarily giving Alistair the distraction he needed as he threw some dust at me, inhaling it I cough, immediately I stop breathing, not wanting to ruin their supposed moment of victory, going limp I fall to the ground.
It was unnerving to go without smell but the look of superiority on Alistairs face as he walked over to me as I keep myself lifeless, he grabbed my wrist and checked for a pulse, next he held a small compact mirror in front of my nose to see if it would fog up.
I was half tempted to roll my eyes at this display but I kept my gaze unfocussed at the night’s sky, apparently satisfied Alistair stands back up “she’s liberated now” he said with a final nod.
Maria breaks down into sobs as she clings to Thomas “oh thank you dear sirs, I was so worried for the poor girls soul, I’m so glad she has finally been granted absolution and has passed on” she sobbed, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.
Thomas patted Maria on the back lightly “that’s quite alright ma’am we do this sort of thing all the time, you’re lucky we were in the neighbourhood, we’ve recently dealt with something far more dangerous around here, you’re lucky to only have an earthbound spirit” he smiles at Maria.
“Come now Thomas, these people don’t need to know about that” Marco chides him as Alistair picks me up from the ground “would you like to bury her?” he asks Maria.
A new series of sobs issue from the woman as she nods slowly “yes I would like that very much” she says through her tears “alright” Alistair says reluctantly “I must say, it’s more practical if you’d cremate the body” he says softly.
Sucking in a breath Maria stares at Alistair “and condemn her soul further?” she demands on a shrill tone “no sir I will do no such thing” she states adamantly.
I feel a smile tugging on the corner of my lips as I find myself staring at Maria as my head lolls back from being carried by Alistair.
“She looks peaceful now” Maria comments “we’ll bury her now, arrangements have been made” she says with a final nod.
The elders lead the way followed by Maria and then the three hunters, Alistair being the one still carrying my limp body.
I cringe as I find my body being angled towards yet another coffin, somehow I seem doomed to always end up in boxes, and my cringe fortunately goes unnoticed as Alistair trips over some rocks at the same time, jostling me.
Placing me into the coffin Maria bends over me as she arranges my hair around me before placing her hand onto my eyelids, closing them I’m momentarily cut off from all my senses besides touch and sound.
The familiar rustle of fabric fills my ears and the clanking of coins soon follows, I hear Maria coming back to my coffin as I then feel 2 cool coins placed on my closed eyelids.
“For the ferryman“ Maria whispers softly making me wonder if she had been speaking to me or to the other men.
I hear the lid of the casket being pulled from the ground and placed onto the coffin, when the first of the nails is being slammed into the wood I dare to open my eyes and breathe again.
Grabbing the coins out of my hair as they had slid off my eyes I stare at them in the darkness, silver and unmarked but for the small crosses on the side that had been facing up.
Running my thumb over the engraved crosses small swirls of smoke come from my thumb, huffing I realise I had been lucky they hadn’t been placed with the cross facing down or it would of revealed my true nature.

I lay waiting until I could hear nothing but the small insects crawling around in the earth all around me, I clawed my way out of my coffin again and through the loose dirt into the dark night, it was close to dawn when I arose and I found myself alone in the clearing where the camp had been.
With little to no time left I set off after the gypsies, my dead blood rushing through my veins as venom pooled in my mouth dripping from my fangs.
I found them not far from their original place, apparently they had meant to leave but figured because of the dark night they wouldn’t get very far, but away from the scene of my redemption didn’t necessarily had to be really far after all.
Stealthily I slipped into the village, slipping into every wagon I would pass to kill the inhabitant, some I drank of before snapping their necks, I figured I might as well gorge myself in my vengeance than starve when looking for new accommodation.
I saved the elders as one of my last victims, my very last would be Maria.
As I wandered through the village to their wagon I laughed in elation, I had never felt so alive before, I knew I must have looked like a wraith in my white, dirt and blood stained dress, with blood dripping down my hands and mouth.
I felt powerful and nothing could stop me from punishing these people for how they had deceived me from the very beginning.
Slamming the door down I entered the elders wagon where all 4 of them slept together, with a jolt they woke, their screams cutting through the night as I dug into their flesh with nails and teeth, ripping them to shreds.
Looking upon my carnage I was satisfied, knowing these people had been punished enough for what they had done.
My footsteps then led me towards Maria’s wagon, having dealt with her daughter earlier along with Paulo while they were sneaking off together I knew the woman was alone.
When I entered her wagon I found myself face to face with the wide eyed woman “H-h-how” she stuttered as she stared at me in fear, clutching her cross.
“I am not what you thought I was” I said, taking some pleasure in scaring this woman after she had so easily disposed of me, sure she had cried but really what did she care about me if she was willing to part with me so easily.
“W-w-what are you?” she asked timidly as she backed away in her wagon, holding her cross clutched to her chest as she stared at me, taking in the blood and dirt with fear written on her features.
“Stroganov” I said using the word Pietro had given me “vampire” I repeated for clarity.
Eyes widening Maria muttered a swift Italian prayer, as I stepped towards her she began to whimper “please don’t hurt me” she pleaded.
I frowned “you hurt me, so why shouldn’t I you” I said more than I asked.
Sobbing now Maria climbed onto her bed, backing as far away from me as she could, whimpering as she cried holding her cross out in front of her as if it were a weapon.
Snorting I swatted the cross aside, grabbed the woman by her ankles and pulled her towards me as she screamed; I put my hand over her mouth as I stared into her petrified eyes.
“this might hurt” I whispered to her as I bared my fangs at her before sinking to her neck, sliding my teeth smoothly into her skin as I began to drink from her until she was almost empty.
Releasing her I stared into the dying womans eyes with grim satisfaction when she uttered the one phrase that I would never forget.
“Sei un bambino congelato, e che altro esiste in un cuore gelato? tranne il pensiero di un assasinio molto silenzioso? sii maledetto, si vedrà il vero amore una sola volta e poi più nulla”

Chelsea paused in her story as she stared up at her family “she cursed me” she said softly as she reached for the glass of blood, drinking it slowly as Katherine patted her on the back comfortingly.
Charlotte cast a worried glance at Daemon who stared back at her lovingly as he grasped her hand over the table.
Ebony frowned, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say to Chelseas revelation of being cursed because her Italian wasn’t that good, all that she knew were some words that were in her Italian opera songs that her piano teacher had made her play and even that was sketchy.
Ezechiel chuckled lowly as he stared at Ebony who was gathering her resolve to ask Chelsea to explain what had happened and ask her to please continue her story.
The chuckle startled Chelsea who jumped slightly in her chair, her white eyes locking onto Ezechiel as she narrowed them somewhat “what’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing” Ezechiel smirked “though no one gets how you were cursed as you repeated said curse in Italian dear sister” he mocked.
Chelsea snorted “Ah, I see why there’s silence then” she said as she glanced around with blind eyes.
“Would you like me to tell them what it means so you can continue the story?” Ezechiel asked, his voice surprisingly soft and full of worry.
A smile tugged at the corners of Chelseas lips as she looked at Ezechiel once more “if you would please, it falls hard on me even after all these years” she said softly as she cradled her cup of blood.
Ezechiel glanced around the room, making eye contact with everyone briefly before he spoke “the woman was gypsy, try to remember that Italian is their chosen and preferred language and they are magical in their own ways, what Maria said to our dear Chelsea before she died was ‘You are a frozen child, and does something else exist in a frozen heart? except the thought of a very silent murder? you are cursed, you will see true love only once and then nothing’ it’s probably one of the most powerful curses you can cast upon someone” Ezechiel finished.
Demetri wrapped his arms around Chelseas small form as she cringed away from Ezechiels words “I went blind the moment I saw Demetri” she said softly.
“That’s awful” Ebony said, sitting back in her chair as she tossed her black hair back over her shoulder, her pixie like face scrunched up in dismay as she stared openly at Chelsea.
Suddenly aware everyone was staring at her Ebony shrunk back into her seat, she could barely comprehend that she had woken up as a vampire a day and a half ago and was actually sitting at the table with 7 other vampires listening to a 974 year old vampire girl tell about her life and how it had been nothing but betrayal and sorrow.
“So twice you have been betrayed and twice the Howell family was involved” Abel summarised as he leaned back in his high backed chair.
Chelsea nodded slowly her short hair bobbing in synchronisation with the movement as she turned her white eyes to Abel “that’s not the last encounter I had with them either” she said softly.
Katherine slunk out of her chair towards Chelsea, her long red curls falling sultry down her back as she patted the seemingly young vampire on her small head comfortingly.
Chelsea’s face lit up as she stared up at Katherine, her hands still clutching onto Demetris as she turned her gaze onto the candles that were in the centre of the table.
Even though she could not see the yellow and orange flames she could sense they were there, smell their warmth and feel the smooth caress of their oxygen use to keep burning.
“I left the continent after what had transpired with the gypsies, I didn’t put much faith into Maria’s cursed words at first since I doubted their magic” Chelsea started.
“I wasn’t quite sure of where I was and honestly I was fine with that, I had taken up the routine of travelling during the night and digging myself in during the day, even though there was lots of dense forest where I was I couldn’t trust the people that might wander into the forest during the day.
Obviously with the Howell family already dealing so much damage to my newfound life I couldn’t take the risk of exposing myself to a traveller that wanted a short cut through the woods.
I have no remorse for what I did to the gypsy clan, I never did find out if they were found or if there were survivors, if there were any they were vampires, I wasn’t exactly holding anything back when I was murdering them.
Feeding became an issue after several weeks on the run, having lavished myself onto the gypsies I was hoping I’d be filled till I could find better accommodations.
In the end I helped myself to two travellers on the road, they were sleeping and I was famished.
The woman had the most delightful blood I had ever tasted in my life, the man however left much of a bitter aftertaste, I suspected the woman’s taste came from the laudanum she had been dosing her tea with and the mans probably from his over fondness of cigars.
Amazing what you can find out about people when you pilfer their personal belongings.
The woman and the man were on their way to visit their aunt and new cousin, or so that’s what the invitation said, I wasn’t sure if that was the case but I couldn’t ask them anymore.
One of the upsides was that the woman had a large doll collection all crammed up into one of those large trunks, apparently porcelain figurines were quite the must have back then.
Luckily for me, some of them were roughly the same size so I helped myself to their clothes, not wanting to walk around in the marriage annex burial shroud Maria had made for me.
I found a doll that resembled me, though obviously I was more beautiful than the porcelain could ever be, but we all are, beautiful vampires that is.
Because I wanted to get around fast, for the lack of food, I decided to deploy a little trap, much like I had done to coax the gypsies into taking me in, however this time it wouldn’t be a bloody tragedy.
Since I had killed the two people a little out of ways from the main road their carriage with their belongings was left unharmed, the horses were unnerved by me but I found out that when I talked to them and remained in their eyesight constantly they seemed less prone to run away.
I disposed of the bodies easily enough, buried them nicely together in a hole somewhere in that forest.
Next thing I had to do took some meticulous planning, considering the proximity of the town and the likeliness that I could waltz up to the doors and them letting me in graciously was one in a million.
I had devised a plan that couldn’t fail me, I knew the path was regularly patrolled and I certainly wouldn’t survive an encounter with the royal patrols, or I would but I’d have to fake my death again and I was growing weary of such acts.
I knew somewhere out there, still sitting in the forest, was the driver of the carriage.
Sorry, I forgot to mention this was one of those fancy black carriages in which people of noble stature used to sit and be driven everywhere back in those days.” Chelsea shrugged casually as everyone chuckled.

“Anyway, back to my story” she continued “remember this is all set in one day” she said as her eyes sparkled mischievously.
“I put all the belongings of the people back into the carriage, and set two dolls into the seats of the man and woman, they didn’t even look like the actual people at all, but knowing these kind of people they were probably snobs and feeling high and mighty so I doubted the driver had actually seen them.
Probably also the reason why said driver was sleeping far away from the couple, they had demanded their privacy and as was custom the driver complied, being paid to obey their orders.
After cleaning up all my mess, I nestled myself cosily in between all the other dolls that I had set out inside the carriage as well, each and everyone properly labelled and named and wearing the perfect attire.
I had even thought ahead and conjured up a letter apologising for the absence of the two that had served as my food and hoping their dear aunt would be so kind as to please deliver all the dolls to their new cousin, a girl, Persephone.
The dolls were meant as an apologetic gesture of good will and I hoped my slimy letter would convey that meaning to whatever aunt might await me further down the road.
Dawn came and I had drawn the carriage curtains shut to block out any sunlight, the soft footsteps over fallen leafs warned me of what I hoped was the driver of the carriage.
My assessment proved correct as the carriage tipped slightly to the right as the driver mounted the drivers seat some ways alleviated over the carriage.
“Ready then” a deep resonating voice echoed down to me, I grunted in response and hoped that it would suffice and not tempt the driver to climb down and check.
“Well hear who is in a sour mood” the driver muttered, unaware of my above average hearing, I had to suppress a chuckle at his continued litany of complaints about his ‘cargo’ as he had so lovingly dubbed the two humans.
It took us the larger part of a day to reach the city which I was grateful for, I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted had we arrived with the sun still blazing in the sky.
Lady luck had finally turned a bright eye on me as it would seem, favouring me with a mild sunset as we reached the tall gates set in the stone wall surrounding the town.
I heard the exchange of words between the guards and my driver, the latter imploring the guards not to bother his passengers as they were the grumpy sort and apparently with high ties in the royal court.
Some papers were checked and we were sent on our merry way, no one had even dared to ask anything to me, and I was happy that I didn’t have to resort into faking voices, after all I had little to go on except for their gurgling screams as I had fed upon the two.
By the time we reached the two stories manor sun had set behind the hills and my driver had graciously parked the carriage in front of the door from which a black and heavy set man hurried down from as soon as he spotted my ride.
“Are they alright?” the black man asked, I took to him immediately, he gave me a sort of matron like feeling, a busybody that had to have his nose stuck in positively everything.
“They haven’t spoken a word” my driver said and I silently held my breath hoping he wouldn’t blab anything that would ruin my little switch of passengers.
Luckily the man stilled his tongue after that one sentence, the wagon tilting to the right once more as my driver dismounted “I’m going to the pub” he said “pretty sure you want some privacy for this” he said, and I could hear the humour in his tone.
He probably figured the man was going to be lashed at by the woman for having to endure such a stressful ride and whatever else a woman of her stature could complain about.
As the footsteps of my driver echoed away on the gravel that littered the driveway up to the manor I heard the black man place his white gloved hand onto the door handle of the carriage.
Rearranging the labels of the dolls beside me as well as the label that I had tagged to the clothes of the doll I had stolen them off I set the letter into my hand, holding it loosely before taking my last breath of air and stared of into the distance.
From my peripheral view I saw how the door swung open and the surprised expression of the black servant was quickly replaced by a smile, reaching over her extracted the letter from my hand and shut the door again.
It took him only moments to return, accompanied by a wiry elder woman with her grey hairs pulled up tightly into a bun and small spectacles on the edge of her nose, the black man opened the carriage again and allowed the woman to peek inside.
“Well she sure knows how to make up for not being here doesn’t she Justify” she said, addressing the black man and providing me with his unusual name.
“Yes ma’am” Justify responded, his hands folded behind his back as the woman leaned further into the carriage.
“Hrm” the woman uttered “Some of these dolls are quite unseemly for Persephone, take them all inside and we’ll have her pick her 5 favourites, burn the rest” she finished as she pulled out of the carriage.
“Yes ma’am” Justify answered once more, scooping up several of the smaller dolls in his large gloved hands and carrying them inside after the woman had left.
He came back and started carrying the larger dolls one at a time, when he picked me up he grunted “Deceivingly heavy this one” he spoke to himself as he carried me indoors “probably one of the more expensive ones, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you” he said as he smiled fondly down upon me.
It took some willpower not to respond to the man and keep my body in the same sitting position until he would try and move me to a different pose.
As we entered the house I tried to take a glance at my surroundings, the walls were a pleasant shade of beige with mahogany wainscoting all around in the large hallway.
To the left of me a large white staircase curved up towards the second floor of the house, some green plants I couldn’t identify added some more colour and life to the room.
Swiftly I was carried out of the hallway and into a larger room, most of the other dolls were already arranged on the various chairs and sofa’s that dotted the large sitting room.
Justify placed me between two other dolls that were slightly smaller than mine, he probably did it on purpose to make me stand out more to the girl that would decide on which to keep and which to burn.
When Justify left the room to pick up the remaining dolls I stretched, rubbing at a kink in my neck from holding still for so long, glancing around I took more notice of the sitting room.
The one thing that caught most attention in the room was the large fireplace that took up most of the wall, it was ornate in its dark marble with several pictures standing on top of it, along with an old clock ticking away merrily.
There wasn’t a fire burning in it yet, but I suspected that if it would the whole room would be pleasantly warm from just this one fireplace.
The wainscoting from the hallway continued in this room only the paint was different, much unlike the fresh beige in the hall the sitting room was a dark blue, giving the room a cooler appearance.
Tiles covered the floor of the sitting room they were white and black and formed a sort of maze on the floor.
Before I could continue my further assessment of the room Justify returned, carrying the last 2 dolls that had been in the carriage.
He set them down onto the floor for lack of space as me and the other dolls took up all the sitting space in the large living room.
I had hastily returned to my original position and hoped nothing was out of place from my examining of the room, with a satisfied smile on his face Justify admired his handiwork.
“Don’t run away now” he smiled as he clapped his hands together “miss Persephone will be here shortly and she won’t let me live it down if any of you fell on the floor” he said as he glanced over his shoulder to the hallway.
Soft footsteps were echoing down from the marble stairs “Really nona?” a high voice called out “did she really buy me something pretty?” the voice came closer.
Skipping around the corner into the living room was a small child, I was surprised by her age as the letter that I had read through from the couple had almost made it sound like it was a newborn girl not a girl roughly my age.
She skidded to a halt in front of the sitting area, her large blue eyes wide as she drank in all the dolls arranged on the couch her eyes lingering on some longer than others, especially me she scrutinised intently.
“Ohhh” she clapped her hands together excitedly as she lunged herself at the nearest doll that had taken her interest, she was shaking it around roughly and I suppressed a shudder when I thought of what she would do to the fragile porcelain dolls once she got her claws on them alone.
“Are they all mine nona?” she asked, turning around to her grandmother that glared over her small spectacles at all the dolls.
“No, you can choose 5 of them, I will not tolerate this many dolls in my house cluttering up all the space and collecting dust, surely you understand you can’t play with all of them at the same time and 5 dolls will suffice, Justify will burn the rest” she spoke, unfazed by the quivering lower lip Persephone was giving her.
“6 dolls” she countered “when my friends come over we’ll all have one to play with then, else someone will have to bring their own, and surely grandma you wouldn’t want those filthy things cluttering up your precious space” she spoke rapidly, her chin jutting out as if she dared the old woman to contradict her.
I had to stop the smile from tugging at my lips at the utter look of shock that crossed the older womans face momentarily before she nodded crisply “Fine, 6, not one more, and Justify will burn the rest, so choose wisely because you can’t change your mind afterwards” she said before turning around and striding out of the room.
A devious smile spread over Persephones face as she turned her eyes onto Justify “You wouldn’t burn these dolls would you?” she asked as she stalked over to the taller and broader servant “you want to keep them hidden so that you can give some of them to your daughter don’t you?” she stood on her tip toes as she locked her eyes with his “You will hide them in the shed away from nonas eyes and I will play with them as I deem fit do you understand?” she asked, her voice like ice.
Justify nodded docilely “yes ma’am” he muttered as he wrung his gloved hands together.
Her eyes never leaving him she nodded “good, now you will go into the kitchen and ask Cecile if she has slaughtered the chicken yet because I’m starving” she snarled “and bring two glasses in stead of one, it seems I have a guest to entertain today”
Turning around Persephone stared right at me “You can move you know, I know what you are” she hissed as she shoved all the other dolls of the couch and sat down beside me “you’re still relatively young so I will forgive you your trespassing onto my property if you tell me what brings you here”
I didn’t know how to respond so I stared at her “You’re a vampire” was the first thing I dared to utter just as Justify returned, followed by another black woman carrying a tray with two goblets.
“Ah thanks Cecile” Persephone said as she grabbed both goblets, handing one to me before drinking hers rapidly.
I stared at the red liquid in the glass “chicken blood?” I asked slightly repulsed as she nodded in answer “keeps me from ripping out the servants throats” she explained as she pushed the glass to my lips “Cecile’s a witch, she suppresses my urges to feed on humans, don’t know how she does it, and I won’t ask as long as it works and keeps my secret just that, a secret” Persephone explained as I stared at Cecile.
“Enough about me” Persephone smiled ”tell me all about you and why you are here and how I can help you?” she smiled again.
I told her my story quickly and quietly, all the while Cecile never took her eyes from me as she just stood there, waiting to be dismissed.
Persephone laughed, a tinkling bell like sound when I was finished, she clapped her small hands together “that’s so absolutely tragic” she laughed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sadder story than yours” she continued as she stared at Cecile, only just noticing her “why are you still here?” she asked, her one eyebrow rose slightly.
“It’s her ma’am” she said, her voice shaking “she’s cursed, didn’t you hear her tell what the gypsy woman said to her she’s…” Persephone snarled, cutting the woman off mid sentence “I don’t care” she said icily, blue eyes boring into the black woman.
Staring down at the ground Cecile nodded “Yes ma’am” she muttered “You can go now, prepare a room for my newfound friend” she said.

[Culmir]

I was rapidly accepted in the house, Persephone was quite the vampire, and the first one that I had actually met that was the same age when she was turned, her story was less dramatic than mine.
It was a vampire, and he had been hungry, she had been outside after curfew sneaking out to see the birth of a new pony from her favourite mare.
She was rich, she murdered her parents the first night when she had no idea what she had become and she had inherited their money along with everything else.
People said it was a tragic accident that had killed them, a fire had razed their mansion to the ground and Persephone, Justify and Cecile were the only ones to escape and the only ones to know the truth.
The fire was lit by Cecile who knew what Persephone had become and had sought to eradicate it. Persephone in return had used one of Ceciles own spells on her and her husband Justify to tie them forever to herself.
They couldn’t betray her and had to obey all her orders, Cecile’s magic is what allowed Persephone to compel people to taking her in and recognising her as her own.
The woman whose house she was currently in was under the impression that Persephone was her niece, when really the woman didn’t have children of her own so it was technically impossible.
I lived with them for a while, listening to Persephone’s stories about where she had been and what she had seen, she told me about other vampires and where I could find them should the time come that I left.
Ultimately it was my own actions that once again led the Howell family to me.
Apparently he couple that I had used and disposed of had arranged for a sleeping place other than the house of their aunt, which was unexpected and I hadn’t taken into account to cancel their arrangements.
As it was the owner of the establishment was rather peeved that his costumers didn’t show up even though he had kept their rooms aside waiting for their arrival and so missing a large sum of income.
He had reported the crime to the local police and they had set out to find out where the people had gone to and why they had neglected to tell the good man who ran the inn that they wouldn’t be requiring his services any longer.
It had rained a couple of nights in a row and the dampness of the forest along with the added rainwater had caused some mud slides to disrupt the land.
Unfortunately the decomposing bodies of the man and the woman were found, carried away by a small torrent that ran through the woods to bank a few miles out of way from the river.
The lack of blood had roused suspicion among the local police and they had called for the aid of special trackers that were known to solve odd cases that plagued the land.
And just like that I found out by word of Justify that three hooded and cloaked men had entered the nearby village, asking questions about beautiful people and missing persons.
Cecile was hysterical when Justify told us the news, imploring Persephone to tell me to leave, that she could protect her but not me.
It didn’t matter if I left or not, that very night, as it was storming outside they came, barraging through the doors, their entrance momentarily lit by the blinding flash of lightning and enforced by the rolling thunder.
I woke because of the screaming, high pitched and eerie as it rolled through the empty house, I didn’t know where else to go so I hid between the porcelain dolls in the chamber adjacent to mine.
It hadn’t been a moment to soon because just as I settled myself between the largest dolls the rooms to my assigned room blasted open.
A figure outlined by the lightning that momentarily illuminated the hallway outside, I didn’t have to see his face to know it was Alistair, I would recognise that man no matter where he went or what he’d wear.
Currently he was dressed in a long duster with a wide rimmed hat over his longish black hair, his grey eyes piercing the darkness of the room as he glanced around.
His eyes lingering on the dishevelled bed as he stepped further into the room, I held my breath, fixing my eyes onto nothing so they didn’t give away the life in me.
The two others followed shortly after Alistair had entered, the one with the crooked nose called Thomas started to pull open the large closet, all the while keeping a spring loaded crossbow at the ready.
Alistair seemed to be content to simply stand in the middle of the room and look around; clearly someone had informed them that someone else was also staying in the house.
“Did you find anything?” Marco asked, he was the smallest of the trio and apparently the more heavy set of them too “no Marco” Alistair snapped “Do you think that if we found anything else we would still be here?” he asked harshly as he resumed looking around in my room.
I remained perfectly still, the dolls providing me with the perfect cover, I just hoped my attire didn’t give me away, it would seem odd to have a doll dressed in a nightgown in between dolls wearing expensive dresses but I doubted these men had any sense of clothes and probably couldn’t tell the difference.
“Are you sure this is the room she told us about?” Marco dared ask again, Alistair whipped around and stared down at the smaller Marco, one of his eyebrows raised menacingly “Are you saying that I didn’t hear her clearly say upstairs, third room on the left?” he paused waiting for an answer that clearly wasn’t coming as Marco cringed and backed away “I didn’t think so” Alistair spat.
I missed the rest of the conversation as Thomas approached the collection of dolls; it took all my willpower not to run away as my instinct was telling me to do.
I dared not breathe as I kept my eyes vague and not focused, I would have stared at the ground but that might seem suspicious as all the other dolls eyes responded to the position they were in.
Laying down would be the only position I could of closed my eyes, but a laying doll in the middle of all sitting dolls would be too obvious too.
Thomas’s face was inches away from mine, I could feel his breath on my skin and I felt shivers go down my spine, clenching my jaw slightly to not shake or lash out at the man.
“This one looks so much like that ghost girl we got rid of” he muttered.
“What did you say?” Alistair asked, his eyes still angry as he stared at Marco “nothing boss” Thomas quickly responded, afraid of his older brother’s wrath.
“Whoever was here probably heard us coming and tried to get out, probably was more successful than the other one we got” Alistair chuckled darkly.
“Who would of thought that a witch would still exist and even living and forming alliances with vampires” Marco added with a snicker of his own.
“Well we sure showed them all didn’t we?” Thomas said as he moved away from me and the rest of the doll, my thoughts immediately switching to Persephone, Justify and Cecile.
Alistair chuckled still as he sat down onto my bed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he visibly relaxed “I’ve never encountered a vampire that young, it’s eerie” he paused “I’m glad we caught her now before she could do any real damage to the world” he finished.
Marco nodded as he moved to the stool in front of the large dresser, sitting down on it “yeah, she could of caused a lot of trouble, she and that witch together, the man was a pity but he shouldn’t of come for that witch woman and he would of lived” he said sombrely.
“Thomas” Alistair spoke as he saw the man approach the small sofa by the windowsill “go make sure the fire doesn’t die in this wretched rain will you? We don’t want any survivors”
Thomas nodded, his expression twisted into disgust as he stared at the sheeting rain through the window “Don’t suppose you think we ought to spend the night here?, it’s a good as place as any, and no one else is here, we told the old woman to go to the inn, she’s probably already there” he said as he stared greedily at the large plush bed.
Alistair snickered, an eerie sound coming from such a tall man “I suppose we could, it has plenty of rooms to hole up in and maybe we can find some silver to take back home” he said as he eyed the chandeliers thoughtfully.

I was petrified that one of them would realise that I was still in the room, after some argument when Thomas returned with the report that everything had burnt down fine and nothing but ash remained.
They were discussing on whether to each occupy a different room or if they should haul mattresses to one room and stay together in case their missed prey returned to pick up left behind belongings.
In the end it was decided that they would stay together in the same room they were in right now, leaving me feeling miserable and without much chance of escaping.
Unable to move I waited, my muscles cramping up after a while of sitting so rigid and I could smell the blood flowing under their skin, the chicken blood didn’t sustain me as well as it had for Persephone.
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that I dared to move, snoring issued forth from all 3 men, even though they had agreed to take watch in case the vampire would return.
I had watched as Marco had succumbed to the toll that the excitement of the day had taken on his body, he had slowly fallen asleep while staring at the open door, as if any vampire would walk back in through the door.
As quiet as I could I untangled myself from all the dolls surrounding me and stalked slowly towards the open door, having to step over an overturned cabinet that Thomas had knocked over in his quest to find anything hidden in the room.
The floorboards creaked and the sound blasted loud in my ears but I knew it wasn’t nearly as loud as it sounded, it was just my anxiety of getting out of that house that was telling me it was.
I was just about to slip out of the room and into the hallway when Alistair rolled over, mumbling something in his sleep, it kept me frozen on the spot as I glanced over my shoulder carefully.
My eyes scanning over the sleeping men’s face one at a time to see if any of them was showing any signs of waking up, I knew I should be moving and getting out of that blasted room but I couldn’t.
Rooted to the spot as fear locked my limbs, disabling me from making a hasty retreat.
Marco’s eyelids fluttered and that small movement released me from my frozen state, eyes wide I slipped soundlessly around the corner.
If my heart my could still beat I was positive it would be coming out of my chest from anxiety.
I stuck to the shadows in the hallways, keeping a weary eye out for the sun, the sky was already starting to brighten and I knew I didn’t have much time left to get out and get to safety.
I rushed through the house, my mind racing as I picked up the faint sounds of stumbling further down the hall, followed by some muffled voices.
Shards of the conversation filtered down the hall “Wasn’t there a doll in a nightgown?” I heard Thomas ask the others “I don’t know, you checked the room” Marco snapped.
“I could have sworn there was a doll that looked exactly like that ghost girl in between those two bigger ones” Thomas muttered.
I flew down the stairs before I could catch any more of the conversation, I was sure Alistair had noted me sitting in between the dolls too and would surely know that I wasn’t there anymore.
Leaping down the last couple of steps I rounded the corner and slipped into the small kitchen that was adjacent to the hallway.
The blood was everywhere, on the walls, on the floors, the place absolutely stank of decay and I found my eyes transfixed on the pieces of dark flesh scattered everywhere over the kitchen table.
I strained my ears to pick up any sounds as I cautiously made my way through the kitchen, careful not to step into the puddles of blood so I wouldn’t leave any marks.
It didn’t take me long to cross the kitchen, I heard footsteps above me, 3 pairs and they were coming down, sliding open the window I gazed outside.
Not far from the kitchen exit there was a crudely made pyre, I could see the charred remains of Persephone clinging to what had to be Cecile.
Glancing back into the kitchen I took another look around it, spotting what I feared laying on the floor not far from my feet.
Justify’s head, his eyes already turning milky white, but there was still enough left of their colour to stare at me accusingly.
Biting back a sob I clambered through the open window, blindly running past Persephone and Cecile till I reached the shed on the other side of the field.
Slipping into the shed I peeked out through a hole in the wood that had rotted long ago but by some miracle the shed was still standing.
I watched the three men exit through the kitchen door, they seemed unaware of the open window for which I was grateful.
The Howell brothers stopped by the charred bodies of what I had hoped to be my friends “Good job” Alistair commented to Thomas “You were right when you said it was all taken care of last night” he remarked lightly as he picked up a stick and prodded at the blackened corpse of Persephone.
Small black chips fell from her as he continued to prod at her body “She’s old” he frowned as he poked a little harder, punching through the crisp flesh, leaving a hole when he withdrew the stick.
“It’s good we got rid of her, I think that this little town won’t be bothered anymore soon” he commented “As for the mysterious ghost doll, we’ll find her eventually, we always do” he said as he threw the stick aside and turned to face Marco and Thomas.
“First we will go back in and get as much silver as we can to take home, from there we will see what we can find out about that doll collection” Alistair said as he walked back to the house.
“What of the potential vampire girl?” Marco asked as he and Thomas followed.
Alistair chuckled “Sun will be up soon, she couldn’t have gotten far, we’ll find her” he spoke confidently.
I kept quiet as I listened, keeping an eye on the brightening sky in the distance, fear clutched at my still heart, knowing Alistair was right.
It didn’t take them long to go back into the house and it didn’t take me long to move from the shed towards the larger stables located a little out of the way.
They were mercifully sheltered by the trees because by the time I got there, even with my vampire speed, the sun was dangerously close to rising.
I dashed into the stables, slamming the door behind me, startling the large black stallions that were kept there, they pranced nervously as I surveyed my surroundings.
It had seemed Persephone had been around long enough to supply herself with the right means of transportation for someone with her condition.
In the very back of the stables a sleek black carriage stood in waiting, it was supposed to be pulled by the 4 horses that stood in waiting, well groomed and beautiful in the invading sunlight as it streamed through the cracks of the stable.
I approached the first horse tentatively, unsure of their reaction to a vampire, the other ones I had used to get to the mansion had been frightened and had been uncomfortable and on edge when I was out of their line of sight.
These horses however pressed their soft velvet noses invitingly against my open palm, urging me to caress them, they seemed well accustomed to vampires, Persephones doing most likely.
Grateful for the vampires resourcefulness I led the horses one at a time to the waiting carriage, it seemed the horses were familiar with the carriage, as I found out when I tried to lead the second horse to stand beside the first and I was nudged.
A soft huff blasting out of the soft velvet nostrils and caressed my icy skin as the horse nudged me again, staring at it I let go of the reins and watched the large stallion move to stand in front of the other horse.
Apparently they all had their own spots in drawing the carriage, I quickly let the two other horses out of their pens too and watched them take their places solitarily.
It was unnerving how accustomed these creatures were and it made me wonder if they hadn’t been influenced by one of Cecile’s spells.
It didn’t take me long to adjust all the straps and reins on the horses and soon there were 4 fully spanned black stallions ready to pull me and the carriage away from this accursed house.
I climbed into the carriage, taking care to avoid the small rays of sunlight that managed to slip through the cracks in the stable roof.
When I closed the door to the carriage and settled myself into the plush black cushions that lined the benches I noticed the ingenious design of the small cart.
The horses reins were pulled through a small but significant hole in the back which allowed me to lead them from the interior and not having to risk exposure to sunlight.
I could see where I was leading the horses by a strange pair of assembled pieces of mottled silver, they didn’t reflect the sun but they were positioned to reflect the view from outside.
It didn’t occur to me at that time that what I was seeing was impossible and that it had been one of Ceciles spells that enabled the usage of the silver sheets as such.
Right at that moment I didn’t care much, all I wanted was to get away from that house as soon as possible and put as much distance between me and the hunters as possible.
Slapping the reins onto the hides of the magnificent beasts pulling the carriage I lead them out of the stables.

I didn’t think about the possibility that I could be followed by the brothers.
It was that foolish thinking that lead them to me several years later, I had crossed the great ocean and settled myself as a rich orphaned girl in a town.
I was successful and had many friends and admirers, naturally since I was just a child and very wealthy after my parents had died.
The couple that I had posed as my parents were wealthy and with a little help of Ceciles magic book that she conveniently forgot in the carriage I had soon enslaved them to accept me as their daughter.
Unfortunately they proved to be too much of a nuisance to keep alive so I killed them by setting their carriage on fire and me crawling out of it as the only survivor and sole heir to their riches.
My mansion rivalled the one that Persephone had when she was still alive, and many of my friends were either human or vampires, thanks to my knowledge of how to safely transform them.
It was probably my own foolish antics that lead them to me in the end, I was confident that I could get away with everything I tried and I wasn’t afraid to show my vampire side to the people I met, I felt safe across the ocean, thinking they would never get me there.
I was wrong, it was during my birthday party or rather my rebirth party that they crashed through the doors carrying molotov’s and burning my splendorous mansion down to the ground with all my friends still residing inside of it.
It was one of my servants that had an affinity for magic that had warned me to be weary of unexpected company that would crash my party.
At first I didn’t take her warning seriously but then I began to have this eerie feeling myself like something was creeping up on me, trying to catch me unawares.
I barely made it out of the house myself when the doors crashed open and fire rained down on my friends and companions.
Naturally I didn’t stay an watch as my friends were slaughtered, I knew I had to get out of there as fast as I could, fortunately for me I lived close enough to one of my confidants who knew about my unusual abilities and was working on devising a means for me to travel across large distances
With fear for my immortal life I managed to sneak my way over to his workshop, he was a carpenter you see, mostly he made furniture and the occasional coffin when someone deceased, which happened more regularly now that I settled into the town.
It was that exact thing that he was working on for me, a coffin, a special one at that, it had several secret compartments in which I had already concealed some of my more valuable possessions, Ceciles spellbook, some jewels that I had acquired and could be sold off without too much questions asked along with various other objects.
But the most important asset of this special coffin was the fact that my good friend the carpenter had been able to bag blood and secure them inside the lining of the coffin.
It was a little disgusting how it tasted, stale blood, cold and with the distracting taste of the bags laced through it, but the important part was that it would help me survive across a long period of time and hopefully land, without the inconvenience of leaving a trail of blood drained corpses for the brothers Howell to follow me by.
It wasn’t perfect yet but I had run out of time and needed to use it right now, I explained my plight to the carpenter who immediately sent out his help to get a supply carriage with one of his special letters explaining the coffin that had to be transported.
The cover was that a wealthy woman had died, and had to be transported back to her estates so she could be placed into the family tomb along with the rest of her relatives, naturally no one would open the chest and the people I was being sent to were aspiring to be turned so would never betray me.
I settled myself into the coffin with distaste, how many times in my life was I having to go through this ordeal, being buried or confined to a construction made for those who are dead.
The journey itself took me 4 days, by the time I arrived my blood supplies were almost gone but at least I was out of the Howells reach, or so I thought.”