Hundreds of years ago.
"My Queen, a herd of vampires has invaded our village."
Selena gritted her teeth. Her horse neighed, standing scared on two legs as if it felt the thrill wafting through the village.
The man who gave her the information lowered her head. Pale face and trembling body, he was lucky not to lose blood.
Selena glanced at the sight behind the man. The surviving citizens stood together. Their bodies were dirty and covered in wounds. There were no more than twenty of them, and most of them were children.
The remnants of the fire were still burning faintly at some point. They must have used the fire to ward off vampires, but it scorched several houses.
Lifeless bodies were still lying in several places. Those who were still alive were too weak to gather the corpses together.
"Bury all the victims in the most humane way." Selena gave an order to Frank, the knight who was also her right hand.
Frank and the other soldiers immediately carried out the order. Selena tied her horse to a tree, making sure her best friend didn't run away. She then approached the villagers.
The youngest of them was no more than four years old. A little boy who looked down languidly, didn't even have the strength to salute Selena.
Selena crouched down in front of the little boy. "What's your name, Gentleman?"
That little boy lifted his face with teary eyes. "Stuart," he answered quietly.
Selena stroked Stuart's hair and said, "You're a very strong boy. One day, my soldiers will definitely need you."
"I'm not strong, Your Majesty." Stuart shook his head with his lips curled down. "I can't protect Mommy."
Selena's eyes looked at the body of a woman who lay not far from them. The body was pale and drained of blood. Since earlier, Stuart had been staring at that woman.
"You managed to save yourself. That means you are quite strong. Your mother must be very proud of you."
Selena wasn't completely honest, of course because vampires didn't usually eat children. They prefer adults who have enough blood. These children were deliberately left to be hunted again when they were adults. Those vampires were cunning and cruel predators.
After making sure the kids got warm blankets, Selena started walking around the crumbling village.
No bloodstains, the slaughter done cleanly. The houses collapsed and burned because of the panic of the residents. The vampires would immediately attack without bothering to destroy their homes.
"Frank, stay alert. Alchary must still be around here."
Frank, who accompanied Selena around, was surprised as he looked around. The place looked very quiet because all the residents had gathered in front. All the bodies have also begun to be buried.
"Are you sure Alchary participated in this attack, Your Majesty?"
Serena was very sure. Alchary always waited for the soldiers to come to help the village which was being attacked by his subordinates. Then when everyone was off guard, he would attack and get a lot of food for himself.
Several years ago Selena saw him with her own eyes The figure of a pale-faced man with bright purple eyes. His grey hair shone in the moonlight streaming in through the window.
Selena was eight years old when she first met him. That man was sitting on his father's throne, biting the neck of her mother who lay helplessly on his lap. Beside them, her father was no longer alive.
That man then introduced himself as Alchary, the leader of the vampires who had since started attacking the kingdom.
At that time, she might be still a child. But once her father died, the title of Queen immediately fell on her. She was the Queen, and how a Queen should be, Selena swore to kill Alchary and all of his kind.
A dozen years passed, but Selena still couldn't catch Alchary. At least, she managed to kill some of his men.
Selena stopped at the village border. There was a forest there. The land was covered with snow, with no human or animal footprints.
"I think we should head back soon, Your Majesty." Frank looked uncomfortable.
Cold air and a deadly aura wafted around them. Frank continued to hold the nape of the neck, while the other hand prepared to take the sword.
"They're coming," Selena whispered.
Frank stared at her silently. Then the sound of the wind blowing loudly sounded. Frank took his sword. They knew it wasn't a thunderstorm.
Dozens of vampires flew out of the forest. Very fast like bats out of a cave, but they didn't need wings. They just flew away without a flap of wings or a cloak. The sound of laughter and the wind they carried was loud. Selena let them, there were already hundreds of trained soldiers ready to protect the citizens.
Selena and Frank were still standing at the front of the forest, letting those vampires fly past them. There was someone else they were waiting for. Someone who couldn't possibly be defeated by even her best warrior.
"Am I late to greet you, Your Majesty?" The deep voice finally emerged from behind the trees.
Not long after, Alchary finally appeared. He came from the dark forest. With an upright body, his body seemed to be floating in the air.
He stopped in front of Selena, landing his two feet very gracefully. Frank immediately stood in front of Selena to protect her but Selena immediately shifted him. She must kill Alchary with her hands.
"You look more and more beautiful as you grow up."
Alchary stepped closer to Selena. He didn't need a sword or dagger, the only thing he needed was his fangs.
Selena took out her sword. Alchary's face was still the same as the last time they met. Not getting old one bit.
Selena had heard of it. Human blood made vampires survive longer. The more humans they eat, the longer they could live. At that point, Selena believed that Alchary could not possibly die of old age. She must exterminate him.
Alchary licked his lips with a wide grin. Without saying much more, he flew towards Selena. Frank tried to hold him back but in vain because Alchary could push him with one finger.
Selena has already prepared herself. She slashed him with a sword and he was able to get out of the way easily. They started fighting, Selena with her sword and Alchary could quickly dodge with his flying skill.
Selena tried to target his liver. After years of fighting vampires, she learnt of their weaknesses. It wasn't their heart because the vampire's heart never beat. Vampires live with the liver because that was the source of their life.
However, Alchary was smart enough to dodge. None of Selena's swords hit him.
"I will kill you!" Selena screamed to gather her strength again. She was getting tired. She could kill hundreds of vampires on her own, but killing Alchary was almost impossible.
One more attack and Selena managed to hit his arm. Blood, that was clear like water, flowed from behind his clothes. Selena smiled with satisfaction, she managed to hurt him.
But the wound suddenly closed itself. So fast that Selena didn't have time to give her next attack.
Alchary was angry. His grin disappeared and he growled. Quickly—too fast for Selena to see— he flew behind her. He strangled her from behind.
His five fingers gripped Selena's neck tightly. She could feel sharp nails stabbing into her skin. But that wasn't something she should be concerned about because she couldn't breathe.
Alchary's other hand held Selena's hand from resisting. She couldn't move, stuck in his power.
Alchary pulled out his fangs, before Selena could fight back, he stuck the fangs into Selena's neck.
"N-no..." Selena bit her lip, holding back a scream from the sudden pain.
Selena could feel the suction on her skin as her blood ran toward her neck. She could also feel her strength slowly disappearing.
[I can't die here, my people need me.]
In such a dying condition, the first thing that popped into Selena's mind was the cries of frightened children. The screams and fears of her people would haunt her forever.
Selena tried to move again, but she couldn't. Even Alchary didn't bother to hold her hand anymore. She couldn't move at all.
Serena's vision blurred. It should be her end, but she refused to die.
"I... will kill you... I w-will ki-kill y-you—"
Selena used her last breath to curse at Alchary. Her eyes closed slowly, losing the radiance of life that usually radiated from there. Selena fell into the depths of eternal darkness.
But the Queen still refused to die.