Lilian's heart thundered as she ran and her footsteps echoed down the narrow, dim corridors. She burst into the old study, slamming the door behind her, her trembling hands fumbling with the lock until it finally clicked. Leaning against the wood, she pressed her palm to her chest, trying to calm her frantic breath. But the horror was right behind her eyelids. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw them—the glowing red eyes of the vampire, staring into her soul, its bloodstained mouth frozen in a twisted grin, her friend's lifeless body crumpled on the ground, cold and drained out of the life's sustenance, and then the creature turned to her next.
In that moment, everything had changed. She hadn't hesitated—she couldn't. The blade had found its mark, piercing through the vampire, ending its wretched existence.
Lilian was filled with the nauseating weight in her stomach that only increased in magnitude.
Was she a murderer now? She had taken a life.
Her thoughts spiraled as she stood in the darkness, the oppressive silence of the room only amplifying her confusion. *Murderer.* The word clawed at her.
By definition, murder was unlawful, premeditated killing of a human being. But vampires weren't human—were they? She had ended something evil, something monstrous. But why did it feel like something in her had died, too? The line between right and wrong blurred in her mind, tangling with guilt. She couldn't rationalise her own feelings about that horrible deed, even if it was in self-defence.
The longer she stood there, trying to steady her breath, the room around her slowly began to take shape. The moonlight spilled through the high, dusty windows, casting long shadows over the cobwebbed bookshelves that lined the walls. She could hear her pulse drumming in her ears, but it began to slow. She was safe for now. The red-eyes vampire was not the rogue that attacked them. And Cassius wouldn't let someone hurt his pet. Not while she amused him. And yet… something deeper stirred within her.
Lilian's fingers trailed along the spines of the old books until one caught her eye - its worn cover was of deep navy colour and gold letters were carefully placed. She pulled it from the shelf, the old leather creaking as she opened it. The scent of aged paper hit her, grounding her in the moment. And then she began to read, the ancient words pulling her into a world that felt distant but eerily familiar.
The story unfolded before her eyes, 'Once upon a time, there existed a kingdom that flourished in strength and splendour, its beauty blooming with each passing day. Yet, its rise led to its very ruin. A covetous neighbouring king, driven by envy, waged a ruthless assault, slaughtering the kingdom's people with merciless fury, trying to claim the lands and riches that weren't his.
The kingdom was governed by a benevolent king whose heart beat in tune with his people's welfare. Faced with the bloodshed and unable to muster enough defenders, he implored the ancient forces for aid, pleading for the strength to safeguard his realm. The ancients, however, remained silent, prompting the king to turn to darker powers. In his desperation, he embraced a curse, gaining the might of a thousand men but forsaking his soul and the warmth of life itself. His heart ceased to beat, leaving his form a cold, solitary shadow.' Lilian's hands trembled as she turned the pages. His heart had ceased to beat, just like the vampire she had killed. A king turned into a creature of darkness to save his realm, cursed to hunger for human blood for eternity. 'Though the kingdom was shielded from further harm, it was ensnared by an insatiable hunger for human blood. To protect both humans and the cursed, the kingdom was encircled by a towering wall and enveloped by an ancient forest. Hidden from the world, it became a realm lost to time, shrouded in both its glory and its curse.'
Her breath hitched. She hadn't thought about the origins of vampires. They had always been the enemy, the monsters lurking in the shadows. But now, staring at the pages, she felt a growing unease. What if the line between monsters and men wasn't so clear? What if, once, these creatures had been like her—human, desperate, and willing to do anything to survive?
She closed the book gently, her mind swirling with questions she hadn't dared ask before. The kingdom described in the story felt strangely similar to the one she now wandered. Ironwood—the mysterious vampire kingdom, shrouded in secrecy, where no human could claim to know the way in. She had found herself there by accident.
Tucking the book beneath her skirt, she quietly left the study, her footsteps barely making a sound in the empty hall. The maze of corridors stretched endlessly before her, but her mind was no longer on the path back to her chambers. Instead, her thoughts spiraled around the king from the story, the curse, and the vampires who now ruled these lands. Could Cassius be linked to that ancient king? Was the curse of the kingdom the origin of all vampires? Was it true or a metaphor?
Her steps quickened until a servant appeared out of the shadows, startling her. The woman bowed deeply and, without a word, gestured for Lilian to follow. She led her silently back to her chamber, the tension in Lilian's chest tightening with each step.
She clutched the book tightly as if it held the answers to the storm of questions brewing inside her.
Once back in her room, she slipped the book under her pillow, its weight pressing into her skull as she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The moonlight filtered through the tall windows, casting eerie shadows across the room, but Lilian found no comfort in the dancing shapes. Her mind was racing, too full of thoughts to rest. The vampires, the kingdom, the curse… none of it made sense, and yet she felt as though the pieces were beginning to align in some horrible way.
She had killed a vampire. But what if that creature had once been a man, cursed like the king in the story, doomed to an existence of bloodlust and darkness? What if, in her attempt to survive, she had become part of something much larger, something far older than herself?
Sleep didn't come. Instead, the hours dragged by, her eyes darting between the shadows, her thoughts fixated on the kingdom lost to time and the cursed king. Penelope's knock on the door startled her out of her reverie. Morning had come, though she felt no different than she had in the dead of night. Her body was tired, but her mind buzzed.
Penelope's voice was gentle but firm as she requested Lilian's presence at breakfast. She could delay no longer. Tugging the book from beneath her pillow, Lilian felt the leather one last time before hiding it away. Deep within she knew that the study was not a place she should have been and the book wasn't the one she should have read.