On a horse, Richard rode with Jessica behind him. Straight to a hidden city once known as Grape's Valley, but after the invasion of vampires, it was now known as Boneyard, meaning burial place. When vampires flooded the town, the humans that survived fled. Some formed small villages high up in the mountains.
Richard stormed the city gate at Boneyard. There were several vampires and top security.
Jessica was amazed by how many vampires like her existed. Some looked like guards to her, and some were just women and children. But the older men were dressed up in armors.
The gatekeeper that opened the city's gate bowed his head to Richard. Jessica watched how the vampires were respectful to Richard. When their horse rode by, the vampires they came across would stand still and bow.
"Are you their King? Or a prince?" She screamed so he could hear her cause of the wind.
Richard scoffed at her words.
She was hoping for a response, but he didn't say a word. She kept feeding her eyes. She wondered when they would arrive home, as he called it. But it seemed that the mansion he talked about was far from the city walls. When the horse slowed down, Jessica thought they had arrived at their destination, but then he squeezed his calves and his heels on the horse while applying pressure on the stride, and the horse ran faster than earlier.
"Where exactly are we going?" She asked.
"Crimson mansion."
...
As they approached the crimson mansion, home to the first vampires ever, known as the crimson family, Richard was the second. The villa which painted with red paint mixed with blood. It had its gate, which separated it from other houses in the city. As they passed through the gate, the estate was farther inside; Richard rode his horse and tied it outside. It was heavily guarded.
Leaving Jessica to wait outside, Richard opened the door to the mansion and walked in.
"How many years has it been" Marcus stood on the second floor, looking down at Richard.
"Fifty-six years and few months." Richard smiled at him and spread his hands apart to embrace Marcus.
Marcus scoffed. He walked down the stairs and hugged Richard.
"It will be a lie if I say that I did not miss you," Marcus exclaimed.
"As well I, brother. It's so good to see you." Richard's gaze drifted towards the far right corner of the magnificent living room. He saw Peter and Eunice approaching.
"I see you made it here on time. I arrived not until three days ago." Peter bowed at Richard.
"Peter said you found the chosen," Eunice asked after giving him a warm hug.
"I did. She was a human when I met her. I needed to gain her trust, but unfortunately, she doesn't remember anything." Richard walked towards the kitchen side. It was a transparent wall. They stood there, staring at Jessica standing by the horse outside.
"How come she doesn't remember a thing." Marcus was surprised.
"I'm not sure either. Peter told me what the witch said." Richard sighed heavily. His gaze kept drifting between them.
"She will have to fight a lot of battles on her own. The witch left out the details; we must revisit her." Marcus walked closer to the wall, staring at Jessica's necklace. "Isn't that mother's neck chain ?" He looked at Richard.
Richard nodded.
"Wasn't it silver? Why is it now purple?" Marcus was shocked. He looked at Richard with his brows raised, but Richard didn't have the answers he was looking for.
"Eunice, you must notify the witch. We will be with her in an hour." Then he looked at Richard
"Invite her in." He ordered.
Jessica walked into the mansion as instructed. Her eyes kept drifting around. The inside of the estate was elegant and not to compare to the outside appearance.
"There you are. Our savior and destroyer." Peter exclaimed.
Jessica's gaze instantly traveled to him; she thought Peter pertained to Richard, so she didn't bother asking what he meant. She bowed the way she saw the villagers did to Richard earlier. Jessica slowly raised her head to look at their faces. They looked strange, just like everything else she had come across. She hoped to recall a thing, but no, she was hitting rock bottom.
"I hear you lost your memories. Don't be afraid; we can fix that." Marcus said to her.
Jessica instantly furrowed her brows and looked at Richard, shocked at what Marcus said
She hoped Marcus meant what he said.
"Can you?" She asked with a frail voice.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Richard widened his eyes at Marcus, signaling him he shouldn't help out.
But Marcus being the eldest and unaware of what Jessica has been through ignored Richard. Richard was frustrated
He didn't want her to recall her memories.
"We are ready," Eunice said, distracting Richard, who wanted to plead to Marcus not to help regain her memories.
"Shall we, Miss?" Marcus' brows raised at Jessica, waiting to hear her name.
"Jessica."
"Jessica. What a pleasant name." Marcus grinned.
They walked to the back of the mountain, straight to the garden. There was an underground stairway, which they took down to a secret chamber, where the witch resides.
As they entered the witch's presence, Richard held Jessica's hands and whispered in her ears.
"Don't be afraid, and do not look at her face. Lower your head; if not, she will take your face."
Jessica started to tremble. She immediately knelt and lowered her head. Suddenly she felt someone touching her. Beads of sweat started forming over her body out of fear. She placed her hands on her thighs and curled them into fists, trying not to scream and run away.
"What is it that you want cursed one?" The witch started laughing.
She was laughing so loud that Jessica was unable to think. But the only thing she wanted was her memory. She couldn't speak up out of fear.
"Her memories. Her memories were erased. She wants it back. And I want you to tell me how to defeat Kendrick, now that we have the chosen." Marcus said in a loud voice.
"The cursed one indeed will help you defeat Kendrick, but that will be in the future. Kendrick will not disturb your clan for now; he knows you have found the chosen." The witch smiled waggishly.
Jessica didn't have an idea of what they were discussing. Calling her the cursed one and chosen. She became agitated, wondering what Marcus met by, 'now they have found the chosen.'
"What are you people up to?" She stood on her feet, looking at the vampires. She faced them, backing the witch.
"Jessica, on your knees and bow your head," Richard screamed at her.
"No. Not until you tell me what's your deal. Do you know me?" She screamed at them as tears rolled down her eyes.
Suddenly the witch disappeared. They could only hear the witch's laughter. A sudden wind blew across the room, and the lighted candles blew out.
With immerse speed, the witch approached Jessica. Richard kept screaming, begging her to kneel. But Jessica's eyes were widely opened. And the sudden darkness in the room gripped her heart with fear.
Her feet slowly lifted from the ground, and around her neck felt like the witch was choking her.
Richard quickly ran to her and dragged her legs downwards with utmost force. She fell on his arms, and he bent her head to the ground as well as his.
"You vampires are always so fast." The witch's voice echoed around the room, and the candles lit up.
"Only you can get back your memories."
"And the curse?" Richard asked.
"For every good, there is a price. Unlike other vampires, you cannot live more than a century without human blood." The witched giggled.
"And not just any blood. You must look for the one whose eyes turn purple in your presence. Only the child's blood will save you from withering away."
"Why am I cursed. Why me? How did this happen?" Jessica erupted into tears.
"The answers lie in your memory, but you have chosen to forget. I cannot help you regain what you chose to forget. But with time, it will come back to you; when the time is right, when you meet the one whose fate is linked together with yours. Only then will you recover your lost memories and break the curse. But be careful; Kendrick is after you." The witch turned to look at Marcus. "When the day of reckoning comes, you must protect her from Kendrick; if not, he will not only kill her but use her to defeat Boneyard."
Richard and the others were shocked. For centuries they have been planning on saving the humans from vampires, trying to bend the vampires to drink animal blood, as they needed the humans for evolution. It has been quite a hassle, and now they were preparing to go to war, to bend every vampire to the laws of Boneyard. But with Jessica's curse, they might need to turn the rule to keep her, which could cause them a great misfortune if the other vampires under their laws find out. It will be treason.