The cold, metallic clang of prison doors echoed through the dim corridor, announcing our arrival at the Bloodguard Prison. The air was heavy with the scent of despair, and the dim, flickering lights cast ominous shadows on the cold, stone walls. There were distant voices all around, the clatter of metal here and there. I looked at Kaizer, and he seemed unfazed.
A stern-faced Bloodguard officer led us through a labyrinth of narrow corridors, each step echoing in the silence. The clinking of our chains served as a haunting reminder of our loss of freedom.
Iris spat on the ground, her fiery gaze fixed on the officer. "You think these chains will hold us forever?"
The officer remained stoic, ignoring her defiance. The prison cells loomed ahead, and as the heavy doors creaked open, we were thrust into a cold, metallic chamber. The officer's voice echoed through the halls. "Welcome to Bloodguard Prison. Your new home."
The cell door clanged shut, and the metallic resonance seemed to seal our fate. The narrow cell barely allowed room for all of us to stand. Bars made of a strong, metallic material impervious to Vampire strength separated us from the corridor, a stark reminder of the captivity that now surrounded us.
Zachary paced restlessly, his eyes filled with frustration. "This is not the end. We'll find a way out of this."
Iris, with her usual defiance, approached the bars. "You can't keep us locked up forever!"
The officer's laughter echoed down the corridor. "Good luck with that. This cell that you're in prevents any and all use of magic — in fact, it actually saps all Vampires' magical energy out the moment they enter. No one escapes."
I looked at Kaizer, his usual spark extinguished in the suffocating darkness. "We'll find a way, Kaizer. We always do."
He offered a weary smile, a glimmer of hope in his obsidian eyes. "Yeah, Darcia. We'll find a way."
I embraced Kaizer. Holding him tightly, I listened to Isyra's tears, and Iris's frustration as she yelled at the guards. Zachary and Kira, side by side, sat on the floor in silence.
"At least we're together again," I whispered through my mask, the words hauntingly faint.
Kaizer managed a small smile. "Yeah, that's something. I missed you."
Suddenly, a sharp pang gripped my stomach, and I shrieked in pain, the sensation multiplying across my body.
"Darcia! What's happening?" Kaizer stammered, catching me as I nearly fainted.
Blurriness enveloped my vision, tinged with a red cloud. My heartbeat echoed in my ears, slowing like a distant drum. Kaizer's voice became a muffled echo, and Isyra's urgent tone cut through.
"It's her Curse! She hasn't fed!"
"What?" Kaizer turned to Isyra, then back to me, fear and confusion in his eyes.
"This mask is a Curse?" he exclaimed. "Who cursed her?"
"It's a similar situation to Alessia's," Isyra explained as she too came into my vision. She looked down at me with worried slits. "At least, that's what we think."
Kaizer held me close, determination in his eyes. "I'm not going to let you die, you hear me? Just hang on, Darcia."
I smiled, sinking into the warmth of his arms. As darkness claimed my senses, I watched his starry eyes fade away.
In my dream, I was a little girl again, sharing a book with my mother, Queen Hundred. It was one of the rare occasions when my mother and I actually enjoyed our time together, as mother and daughter.
"Look, Mother, look! This book is sooo good! It talks about Vampire warriors and dragons and—"
"Oh, really, dragons? I've always liked dragons, let's take a look, shall we?" Queen Hundred laughed.
Excitement filled me as I climbed into her lap. We took turns reading paragraphs, exploring the story of a young Vampire maiden on a quest to find her missing daughter. The tale unfolded with friends from different races and cultures, bringing both my mother and me to tears by the end. It was a beautiful moment, etched in the fragments of my dream.
When we finished reading, I said, "May I play outside, Mother?"
My mother smiled warmly at me. "Go on."
I ran outside, giggling. My mother's chamber usually lead to a long hallway, but I actually stepped out into the courtyard outside the palace somehow. As I stepped out, a dart made of blood flew right past my face, lodging itself in a tree. A little boy with raven-black hair leaped out from the bushes with two blood-constructed butcher knives.
"Taking cheap shots today? My mother was right; you truly are a peasant," I said, smirking.
The boy scoffed and laughed. "A peasant that can beat you in a duel. What's that about then, huh? Care to explain that?"
I bared tiny fangs and hissed. "You're 3 years older than me."
The boy laughed, his crimson eyes shining. "Before you know it, I'll probably become a member of The Cauldron… most likely even before you."
"Oh, shut up!" I spat. "My mother already told me that I'll be in The Cauldron by the time I'm 18!"
The boy smirked, twirling a blood butterfly knife. "A lot can change in 8 years, Lysandra."
I narrowed my eyes. "Whatever, Leon."
Leon leaped into the air, landing on an elongating tree branch. He grinned, materializing bloody gauntlets and slamming his fists together.
"So? We sparring or what? I wouldn't want too much of your time to be wasted on a peasant like me."
My eyes met with my rival. "As you wish."
Leon descended from the tree branch with swift determination, his right arm poised for a punch. I sidestepped his initial attack, but a spinning roundhouse kick swiftly followed, connecting with my side and sending me tumbling across the courtyard. As I rose to my feet, Leon's laughter echoed in the night.
"Breakfast might have been a good idea," he teased, prompting me to summon a legion of shadow minions.
With a sly smirk, Leon conjured gauntlets, one made of ice and the other of blood, adorning each hand with formidable weaponry. Leon taunted me with a challenging growl.
"Bring it, you dirty Noble," he sneered.
I unleashed my shadow minions, nimble entities equipped with weapons, swarming Leon in a chaotic frenzy. Shooting back and forth around Leon with the swiftness of lightning, the shadow minions executed a mesmerizing dance, confusing and cornering him simultaneously. In a sudden strike from behind, one of the shadow minions aimed for Leon, but he spun around with impeccable timing, blocking the attack with his gauntlets.
Seizing the opportunity, Leon unleashed a mighty punch with the ice gauntlet, striking the shadow minion. Its body became encased in ice, then shattered into bits and pieces, dissipating into the night. Undeterred, more shadow minions emerged, attacking Leon in synchronized waves.
Leon met their onslaught with a flurry of punches and jabs, a symphony of movements that sent the shadow minions into frenzies of ice or puddles of blood. With each strike, he displayed precision and power, extinguishing the shadowy entities with ease. As I watched, a fierce fire burned in Leon's eyes. A surge of ice and blood enveloped the courtyard as he skillfully dismantled my shadow minions.
Leon, breathing heavily but unfazed, confronted me with a fiery determination. He transformed his ice gauntlet into a pointed blade and sliced his palm open.
He spoke softly. "Vampire Art, Blood Ice: Frigid Thorns."
The ground trembled as red spikes of ice erupted, impaling me through the thigh. In agony, I evaded further attacks, soaring into the air with shadow wings. Determined to retaliate, I cast a substantial Sanguimaran spell, conjuring a giant blood ball aimed at Leon.
"Sanguis Orbeum Ignis!" A surge of crimson energy enveloped my outstretched arm, coalescing into a pulsating sphere of blood-infused magic.
Yet, my effort proved futile as Leon leaped from the ground into the air, and effortlessly shattered through the blood ball with his blood ice gauntlet. Then, a shadowy tendril erupted from Leon's back and seized me, hurtling me to the ground and leaving a small crater in my wake.
Struggling to stand, blood trickling from wounds, I managed to look up at the sky. Bruised and weakened, I observed Leon adopting a unique stance, similar to the stance of praying, readying an unprecedented spell.
"Vampire Art, Blood Ice: Falling Iceberg!" Leon declared.
Above me, a colossal boulder of blood-red ice materialized, hurtling toward my defenseless form. In terror, I shielded myself, expecting the crushing impact. Surprisingly, the boulder halted, then shattered into a cascade of blood ice chunks. Leon, grinning innocently, landed beside me, having proven his dominance in our exhilarating duel.
"Hm. I guess my Blood Ice is still better than your Blood Magic."
"Shut up," I shot, dusting off my clothes as my wounds healed, still sitting on the ground. "What is that, anyway? Vampire Arts? There aren't any Vampire Arts, and I've never even heard of Blood Ice. I thought you could only use Blood Magic if you use Sanguimaran techniques, anyway."
"Well I'm just… special, I guess," Leon said, casually shrugging. "You wouldn't understand, you're too young. And you'd never know what it's like to be a Mix-blood…"
"And you'd definitely never know what it's like to have your entire town wiped off the face of the earth."
"Hey!" I defended. "That has nothing to do with me! Blame my mother!"
"No offense, I mean," Leon said, offering a hand to help me up. He hauled me to my feet. "Good match, Vampire. I'm kinda hungry now, so I'm gonna head to town. See you later?"
He extended his hand to shake, and I shook it, as our routine went.
"Bye, Leon."
"Later, Lysandra. Oh yeah, and, say hi to your mom for me, kay?"
I woke up drenched in sweat. My thoughts raced.
What was that dream all about?
Leon? Why Leon, why him, of all people?
My mom… she… loved me.
But what she did to Leon, it's…
"Darcia?"
I jolted, startled. It was just Zachary, standing above me. I realized I was lying on the floor, and I craned my neck to see Kaizer, who was sleeping next to me. I sat up and looked around the room. Iris was sitting against the wall, staring silently at the opposite end of the room. Kira had fallen asleep in a corner, and Isyra was coiled up next to her, also asleep.
"Oh…" I said, realizing that I had passed out. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Zachary." I gave him a reassuring nod.
Zachary gave a small smile. "I'm glad you made it back alive. And you brought Kaizer back. Even though our situation may be bleak now, I still have hope because Kaizer's here now."
His words touched my heart. It nearly brought me to tears, but I held them back. "I'm keeping hope too."
Hope was all we had. We risked everything to save Kaizer, and we paid the price for going against the law of the Vampire Society. Sure, on the outside, we may look like the bad guys, but no one remembers the full story.
No one but us.
And I have this feeling
With Kaizer sleeping beside me, I know…
This corrupt, cruel, violent Vampire Society will one day fall.