ANAIRA was shocked to her core when blood splattered on her clothes that came from the kid who just died in front of her.
A few moments ago the boy was screaming and pleading that he won’t do it again. That he will never steal an apple again because his masters were cruel enough to let him and his mother starve as they do extraneous work.
The boy’s pleads fell into deaf ears as a guy, her fellow vampire forced him to lie into the guillotine for his crime. The boy’s head was separated from his body and he could scream no more. All it took was a soft swish of the guillotine to end the boy’s life.
Anaira gulped, feeling sticky and feeling gross not because of the blood on her clothes that is now sticking on her body, but because she’s disgusted by her fellow vampires for killing a boy who committed a petty crime.
Anaira is the Princess of the Vampires, the next in line on the throne. She has no siblings, no other family and she only lives with her father and their slaves in the huge castle they own.
“Princess, we should go back so you can change,” my personal servant told me in a whisper.
Violet is a mortal, my closest friend and my confidante. Others refer to her as my personal slave.
I nodded, holding my cloak closer to my body so no one will recognize me. I just came out of the castle for a walk to see what people are into nowadays. I was just a few minutes out and this had already happened.
I feel sick, knowing that today it’s this boy’s turn and tomorrow it will be a different child with a different story lying on the guillotine. This is just the tip of an iceberg. Somewhere, right now, minute by minute a lot of mortals suffer under the hand of their vampire masters.
I hated this. The slavery, unnecessary killings and suffering of the innocent. The mortals weren’t suppose to be living with us. They have their own land and they should be living there in peace. They had nothing to do with our war to the werewolves that they were all caught up with.
I opened my mouth, about to answer her when the boy’s head rolled towards my feet, it’s lifeless eyes staring at me with its mouth wide open. Suddenly, his lips moved and its eyes locked to mine. “This is your father’s fault.” A sound escaped its lips.
“Princess! Princess!” I jumped back to reality when Violet shook my shoulders. She blocked me from the head’s sight using her body.
It was a horrifying sight, for a moment I thought the boy is still alive. This isn’t the first time a dead mortal had haunted me, but it doesn’t make it less horrifying.
“You’re right, we should go back,” I told her with a forced smile.
We walked back to the castle with Violet tailing behind me. I usually scold her when she does that. She’s my friend and she should be walking right beside me after all the sins me and my other fellow vampires had caused her people, but she never listens.
I was in no mood to scold her still, my mind is clouded with the unjust experiences that mortals suffer from my people.
Today, I’m going directly to my father to talk him again against his decision of making mortals as vampire’s slaves out of their will. I hope that the blood on my dress will finally change his mind.
I knocked at his door and at the third knock, he finally opened. “My dear, what happened to you?” Father was worried when he saw the blood on my outfit, but I was more worried about him. I was always worried about him ever since the war began.
He still looked young, his crown resting on his head even though he’s alone in his office. I never saw him remove the crown on top of his head. I wonder if he removes it before he sleeps.
“This isn’t my blood,” I told him, noticing his face is still coated with worry.
“Yes, I just smelled it now. Tell me what happened and tell me where is your slave when this happened,” he commanded.
I ignored his “slave” comment and explained what happened. “I went out for a walk and saw a little boy guillotined in front of me. His blood splattered on my clothes,” I told him gloomly.
“I’m sure he deserved it.”
“The boy was beheaded for stealing an apple. He was barely ten!” I yelled at him, immediately regretting it. “Please, remove the law! These people shouldn’t be working and suffering. They are innocent,” I said the same words I always tell him everyday.
Father and I are very close. He loves me so much because I’m his only child and treasures me since I’m the only family he has left.
Father sighed, just like what he does every time that I bring up this topic. “Come in, Anaira,” he told me, opening his door wider for me to enter.
I maintained my calm expression even though I was shocked at his response. He used to give me a definitive no, and reasoning out that we need to enslave mortals in order to gain an upper hand in winning the war, but now he looks like he’s considering it.
I sat on the chair across his table and waited for him to sit on his. “What is it father?” I asked him, not liking the suspense.
“I’m leaving for a few days.”
“Where? Why?” I asked, confused that he’s suddenly leaving. He never leaves, not even for a vacation or a political trip. Maybe he is finally accepting my advice to take a rest somewhere and let me handle his duties for a while.
“I’m leaving to lead a battle.” My breath hitched at his words. He’s not even asking me if he can leave. He’s telling me that he is leaving.
“We have people for that.”
“I normally call my people for that, but I had to be there.”
“This is a trap. The werewolves are trying to lure you out of here to kill you.”
Father shook his head no. “No, I’m leading a battle against the mortals.” I stared at him in confusion. “Their king sent me a good deal, a battle to settle this.” He waved his right hand. “If we win, the mortals will admit total surrender to us. If we lose, we let go of their people and leave them alone.”
“You’ll to finish them off in the battlefield,” I breathed out.
“No, I’ll be there because their King wants me in the battlefield leading my own people to battle just like 20 years ago.” My eyes shot up to him as he said those words.
“You shouldn’t go to battle. Just let their people go,” I advised him.
“Is it because I might be walking on a trap or because you’re afraid that they will suffer many losses?” My father asked me, searching my face for the truth.
“Father, you shouldn’t have done what you’ve done 20 years ago!” I snarled at him.
I remember that day when he acted out of greed. The day when I thought I finally lost my father. What happened twenty years ago was too gruesome. Even I felt responsible for it.
“I did it to strengthen us, to strengthen our forces,” he told me, trying to make me understand him.
“This is greediness! Remember our real enemy. We should be focusing on them. This battle will only cause us unnecessary losses and waste of time that you could have used against the werewolves.”
“This will be the last battle against them, sweetie. The battle will settle everything.”
“No, father. Things will only get worst because you will win.”
Father smiled at my answer even though I was fuming in anger. “The King has a plan, sweetie. He wouldn’t challenge us if he thinks he will lose.”
“It will take more than ten men to kill one vampire,” I commented. Honestly, I don’t know if their king has finally given up or if he was just a fool to think that he can win against us. If I was him, I will use all the resources I have to build a new beginning than engaging a battle for revenge.
“That’s why I’m only bringing one hundred warriors with me.”
“Pardon?” I asked again, thinking that I misheard him.
“This battle settles everything, so I must fight them fair and square.”
“You’ll be in the battle father, they will kill you if you lose.”
“Relax, we will win,” he smiled and kissed me on top of my forehead.
Now I know the real reason why. He’s only bringing one hundred vampires with him because he is arrogant enough to think that he can always win against the mortals, not because he wants to fight fair.
“You should change,” father interrupted my thoughts and stared at the blood on my clothes with disgust.
You see, my father and I are vampires, but we don’t drink blood. We are strong enough to sustain ourselves, but the other vampires are not. Some vampires rely on blood, others don’t but they still drink them. We on the other hand just don’t want to indulge ourselves on blood because blood can be a vampire’s weakness too because it’s addictive to us.
“Omnes una manet nox,” I reminded him. It meant ‘One night is awaiting us all’ where the night symbolizes death.
I want to remind him that even vampires die even how long they can live and how immortal they seem. It’s how the world works, death prevails and he has brought too much death.
He ignored me and turned his back from me.
I bowed my head. “Goodbye father.”
