The wind blew and a tiny bottle rolled towards Vivian's still hand. There were droplets of blue liquid stuck against the glass. Underneath this tiny container was a tape holding a minuscule paper that read, 'healing potion'.
Vivian's hand twitched and she gasped for air, now aware that she had lost consciousness at the most unfavorable time. She sat up slowly, feeling as if her body was one gigantic bruise. "You're in my way!" someone purposely bumped onto her back and Vivian huffed in frustration. Her glare sent chills down the middle-aged man's spine and she was about ready to eat anybody alive.
Vivian grabbed her healing potion and tottered away from the scene. People filled the Main road and chattered among themselves as if nothing happened. She really needed to fill her metallic balls again. Aside from burnt marks, Vivian's body healed up all the cuts and wounds she received the day before.
She recalled Hunter's voice instructing her to swallow the liquid in her throat. If it wasn't for him, she had probably long died due to blood loss. Yet because of her, he was taken. She scratched the dried up blood on her trembling lip. Vivian took a deep breath. 'I know where they are. I know where to find him.' Hopefully that would calm her emotions.
She didn't know what to tell Helen. Her precious son had been abducted. Her only lead was that they might be at Yang Nation. Vivian knew Helen wouldn't blame her for Hunter's kidnapping, but she still blamed herself. What trash. If she only devoted more of herself to developing anti-vampire weapons.
As Vivian limped to get back home, she recognized a concrete building permeated with soot and scraps of wood left of what used to be a door. [Vivian!] She heard Helen's voice calling her name. Vivian scurried towards their house with her heart sinking heavier and heavier each step. "Helen?" she called even before she stepped into the house.
"Helen! Where are you?" the inside resembled chaos brought by a whirlwind of fire. There were smudges of soot everywhere and virtually no item still functioned perfectly. Vivian hopped across the scraps and searched for Hunter's mother.
"Helen, if you hear me, say something!" Vivian noticed Helen's door in a similar state to their front door. She moved quicker towards the room and she saw a body, lying down cold. Helen's lips turned purple and all signs of life long left her vessel. Her stiff, charred hands balled over her chest, as if she was trying to pull something out before her last breath.
Vivian slapped herself, hoping that she would wake up to this brutish nightmare.
Nothing.
Blood gushed down from her already bruised lip, followed by the burst of water rolling down her cheeks. Helen's body turned into a blob of mess. Vivian's consciousness seemed to have left her as she stood at Helen's bedroom door, completely paralyzed.
All the years they have spent in this house wiped in a few days.
All the mornings they spent talking, supporting each other from anyone else, gone.
Vivian mechanically moved closer towards Helen's corpse, and parted the hair that covered her face.
She wanted Helen to see times change and show that people finally acknowledge Hunter as the best hero from the tribe. Vivian wanted to show herself invent something that would help them fight against the noble vampires.
She wanted to see Helen proud of herself for raising Vivian and Hunter despite how everyone else treated her.
Vivian wept silently for hours.
*
Piles of stones covered the soil in an area and a cross was placed on top with Helen's name and date of death. The birds chirped in the middle of silence, perched on the trees of the forest.
Lee stood right next to Vivian, his hand on her shoulder, consoling her. He was careful not to touch anywhere near the bandage on her arm, even though he knew she wore them to hide her burnt marks- proof that she was a human and did not heal quickly.
'I swear I'll bring Hunter back,' Vivian thought to herself. She swore she'll avenge Helen while she's at it. And of course, her mother. Even if she dies in the process.
Lee noticed her tremble and he couldn't help but be worried, "are you sure you'll be fine? Two weeks ago you told me it will take you at least two years to get ready to walk into Yang Nation?"
"I'll be okay," her gaze did not leave Helen's grave. "I can't sit still knowing they're doing Dragons-know-what to Hunter." She'd rather die trying to save him than wait awhile only to figure out that he's long gone. He's her only family left. She couldn't lose him too.
Around the edge of this forest was a river connected to the entryway towards Yang Nation. Vivian remembered being at that continent once, when she was eight years old, and she snuck onto the sea dragon that her mom used to get there.
That same day was when that Ruby Vampire murdered her mom. Vivian didn't know how she survived after the incident. When she regained her consciousness, she was back at Tähti- the human tribe- and Lee was taking care of her. Lee told her that someone knocked on his door and set her down on his porch.
As she learned more about vampires over the years, she understood that the two main continents of Lüna: Yin Dynasty and Yang Nation, did not get along, and both have entryway barriers to deter the other vampire race from setting foot on their land.
If a Citrine or any Noble Vampire from the Yin Dynasty attempted to enter Yang Nation, the barrier would serve as a shield and not let that vampire in, and vice versa. Only Jade vampires, humans, and animal creatures could freely move in and out of the barriers because they posed a minimal threat.
With that information, it was highly likely for Scar to be at Yang Nation. At least, she knew of one Ruby vampire that was part of that group. She, of course, had been researching about the tattoo and she wasn't able to find anything relevant to it over the years.
When she saw that Amber vampire with the same tattoo, and that Jade vampire's mention of some group called Scar, Vivian pieced everything together and assumed they were all related. At the very least, it gave her an idea of where to go next.
No time to sit and ponder, Vivian. Take the next step to Yang Nation before fear catches up to you.
*
Splashes of water and the gust of wind blew on her face, and her surroundings blurred in one mesh of colors. She thanked Lee in her mind for insisting on giving her his shoulder bag. With the speed of the sea dragon across the water, it would be easy to drop little items she would have carried. Aside from the bag, he also gave her food and money, filled up her metallic balls, and gave her potions.
Before she knew it, everything around her turned pitch black. The temperature dropped like a switch was flipped to turn everything three times colder, and what she gathered were pink cherry blossoms from her peripheral view, turned white.
There was a sensation of going through a ginormous bubble before the sea dragon stopped and dropped her off. She handed her 15 Yullar to it for the trip fee. It ate her coins before turning back and speeding off.
Sounds of insect filled the chilly, dark atmosphere. Vivian broke into a cold sweat at the thought that this would be her surroundings from now on, until she gained more leads about Hunter's whereabouts. This place full of noble vampires.
This part of Lüna that never touched the sun. Lee gave her night-vision glasses, and it did help her, but everything around her appeared to be an icky green. It added to her fright, as if some creature would pop out and scare her anytime soon.
Vivian took a deep breath as she walked in front of a towering gate- around fifteen meters tall. It was another barrier one must go through to set foot in Yang Nation.
The gateway was made up of marble rock, giving it's smooth and polished look. There were plenty of carvings detailed into it like lotus flowers, yin and yang symbol, and vines. The overall appearance of the masterpiece looked like two rook pieces five meters away from each other, connected by an arch. Vivian felt so little in comparison.
The wind blew and her body felt goosebumps all over. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and whispered, 'I can do this.' She took an extensive step through the gate and felt the sensation of going through a bubble once more.
The area overwhelmed Vivian with stimuli: from the smell of the food on the streets, the buzzing noise of the people chatting in town, and the orbs that flew around and illuminated the streets.
She felt some relief that she would still be able to see around town without her funky glasses. However, it was soon wiped by the image of countless eyes glinting in the dark, ready to pounce at anyone at any time.
Women wore a variety of dresses with laces, ribbons, and frills in dark colors, usually bloody red and musky violet. Most dresses were above the knee, paired with petticoats to shape the bottom of the dresses, but the ladies who wore long dresses with hoopskirts and glamorous flower laced hair accessories seemed like they come from a higher class- all of them had red eyes. A flash of a sinister pair of eyes appeared before her mind.
Their hair, instead of being raven black, fluttered in the wind as platinum blond. Vivian felt immediately out of place. At least the handful of Jade Vampires around have black hairs. Ignore her style of clothing and she could blend into the crowd.
A woman noticed her presence, and what followed was more and more eyes on Vivian, scrutinizing, criticizing her. Their eyes appeared brighter, blinding her, causing flashes of headaches. Images of the Ruby vampire bathing with her mother's blood appeared before her eyes. Immense lump formed inside Vivian's throat and she ran away before she could take more.
Vivian heaved at an alleyway in the middle of two castle-like houses with bricks for walls and window glasses. The orbs illuminated even this hidden place. Vivian, think about Hunter! You're doing this for him. Just stay away from noble vampires and you'll be safe! Everything will be fine.
Laughter echoed around the place.
"Look how helpless it is," Vivian looked up immediately, thinking the voice was referring to her, and noticed that a child wearing a suit- probably around ten years old- stared at the black-furred rabbit on the air, his eyes glowing intensely orange. The Amber girl next to him laughed and clapped her hands together.
"Throw it up higher," the girl suggested and pointed at the sky. Vivian felt the rabbit gaze at her with its violet eyes, as if pleading for help.
There was a whoosh in the air and the bunny was floating at the height of the buildings. Vivian broke out in a cold sweat.
The bunny plunged downwards, but the boy was able to catch it before it crashed into the ground. Vivian sighed in relief. Was this how vampire children played?
Right when the boy catches the bunny, the girl pointed at the air, and a spark formed on her forefinger before it grew into a small fire.
"Should we cook it? I heard bunnies taste good."