Susan broke out in cold sweat while gasping for air. She was scared. So scared that she didn't know if that was still considered a nightmare or a vision.
It was so clear and vivid. What was it? Had she experienced something of that sort before?
She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember? Or perhaps it had something to do with her lost memories during the time she was kidnapped? She wasn't sure.
That incident was a really unusual one. After being kidnapped for an entire month, she appeared in a playground without a single injury.
There were no signs of the kidnappers nor a savior. If not for the fact that they witnessed her being taken by a group of people wearing black robes, they would've thought she ran away on her own.
But still, how could she appear unscathed? Well, only that her hair turned white. She had to dye her hair black from then on.
Other than the white hair, she was left with a wooden dagger which seemed to be skillfully carved directly from an oak tree.
The wooden dagger and her hair turning white was something no one could explain. Her parents wanted to know exactly what happened but unfortunately, she couldn't recall a single thing.
Who the kidnappers were, how her hair turned white or how she got her hands on the wooden dagger, nothing!
"I need some air!" She got out of the bed and subconsciously opened her door. Her initial plan was to go to the balcony but she found herself walking towards the direction of the lord's room. It was as if she was being called and was following that call closely.
Susan opened the room to find no one in it. It was a really cold room and on top of that, everything was in black.
The walls, chairs, curtains, as well as the bed. Who knew if his bathroom was black as well?
Without thinking, she went straight to his wardrobe. The call was coming from there. She opened it, only to discover a tunnel. She didn't look surprised and just kept walking.
The path in the tunnel seemed to be endless. It was dark, cold and spooky but somehow, she didn't pay attention to these details.
It was as if the call was controlling her movement. She kept walking until she finally saw light. She stopped and blinked.
"What am I even doing?" She asked herself. She seemed to have realized that her actions were being controlled. She saw the light and wanted to return to her room but her curiosity was at it's peak. "I'll just take a look and go back!" She said.
She followed the light and found herself in a cave. The walls glowed with sparkling crystals but the source of the light was still unknown.
At the center of the cave were two crystal coffins. For some reason, they looked just like the coffin she often saw in her nightmares. No, they didn't just look like it, they were it.
Now this gave her enough reason to want to return but that call started again. It was coming from one of the coffins but, she didn't know which one.
"I don't want to defile someone's grave. I better head back!" She turned and started leaving but the call turned into a horrible cry and it kept crying out to her more anxiously.
Susan covered her ears hoping she could silence it but it didn't stop. She turned to the coffins and the call ceased.
She decided to test the theory once more by backing it and confirmed that whatever was calling her, wanted her to look in the coffin.
"I hope I'm not committing a sin." She said as she walked towards the coffins. The first one was just in her reach but she was scared. It was like digging up a person's grave and looking at its bones. What if she saw real bones?
Her hand trembled as she reached for the lid. Strangely enough, it didn't have a lid and was open.
She summoned courage and took a peak, only to see an handsome yet pale young man, lying in a bed of red roses.
"What the...?" His hair was black and amazingly long. He looked so young and fresh that she couldn't bring herself to believe that he was dead so, what was he doing in a coffin? More importantly, who was he?
She reached out to feel his temperature, in other to affirm if he was really dead, when she heard the call once more.
She concluded it was from the second coffin and decided to check it out but her hand accidentally grazed his nose. His eyes immediately shot open.
"That's cold!" Susan, who hadn't realized he was awake, blew on her hand. She looked down and met his eyes. "Eek!" She squealed in fright. His eyes, they were bloody red. "What...? No... How?" She felt confused and scared.
The man, who just woke up, sat up and looked at a frightened Susan. His eyes widened in surprise and he immediately turned to look at the other coffin. He sighed feeling a bit disappointed, yet relived and turned to Susan.
"St... Stay back! I... I... I..." Susan stuttered. Those red eyes! The fact that a person, who was lying in a coffin, suddenly woke up didn't scare her, it was those eyes!
Those bloody red eyes! They were so similar to the ones that chased her in her nightmares.
She watched as he got out of the coffin and she quickly fled but the pressure was too much and she fell.
Before she could touch the ground, he caught her. How was a person, who was about 15 feet away, able to catch her?
More importantly, she was in his arms! What was he? Was he a monster? Would he eat her flesh and drink her blood? She was scared.
"Look at me!" He said. His voice didn't sound like that of a monster so maybe, he wasn't that bad? But she was still scared. "Look at me!" He repeated and she turned her head to look at him. His eyes met hers, they were cold and so was his touch. She felt chills.
"Pl...please don't kill me!" She pleaded. Her entire body quivered.
He looked at her for a while and leaned closer.
"Forget everything you saw and sleep." Just like that, she fell unconscious. Her quivering body finally relaxed. "Its really her!" He concluded after examining her face closely.
He went to his room and placed her on the bed. He looked in the mirror, his appearance was very haggard. His skin seemed paler than usual and his hair, it was annoyingly long.
"Carlson, I'm awake!" He simply said and Carlson appeared out of nowhere.
"My lord, you're finally awake!" Carlson said, sounding relieved.
The man who had been sleeping in that coffin turned out to be the lord of the Esclairs family. The head of all vampires, Derek Esclairs!
"How long was I out for?" He asked and Carlson smiled.
"Fifteen years! Tomorrow is your engagement ceremony with the lady, my lord!" He said and that was when he noticed Susan sleeping on the bed but he pretended not to see.
A professional butler knew exactly when to keep his mouth shut!