Your Vampire

Princess Klara Valentina was sleeping in her bedroom on the highest tower of the imperial castle of Freevania when the vampire descended through her window. She was a heavy sleeper, and as a result, failed to hear the soft thud of the vampire landing from the window. Princess Klara was 17 at the time; a brash, snotty youngster at the prime of her youth. She lay there, naked on the bed as the vampire approached her. She didn't flinch when he stroked her exposed shoulder with his slender silk-gloved hand. The vampire snickered.

"What wonderful skin, makes me jealous."

Suddenly, the Princess was jolted awake by a sharp pain in her shoulder. She sat up in a frenzied panic, scanning with her eyes across the large tapestried chamber she rested in. The window was wide open, with moonlight streaming through, illuminating an empty room filled only with the running thoughts of the Princess.

The state of Freevania lay on the west bay of the Known World; a large mountainous valley overlooking the deadly currents of Blood Ocean, which got its infamous name owing to the deaths of thousands of sailors during the Human-Vampire war some hundreds of years ago. Talk of the sailor's souls seeking vengeance for the horrors committed in the ocean during the war was still a frequent topic of interest in the small tribal villages surrounding the bay. Due to this, the bay was wooded and sparsely populated, much to the benefit of the tribals who didn't want pesky outsiders meddling in their livelihood.

A few miles past the bay lay the imperial castle, a sprawling Victorian marvel which sat on the top of Freedom Hill, the spot marked as the Hero's Mount, which got its name back in the Human-Vampire war, where a legendary unnamed warrior killed hundreds of vampire legions with just 10 men. They had surrounded the hill and chipped away at the enemy forces using cannons with mortars made from granite sourced from the Hill. The warrior was celebrated as a hero and named a legend in the war.

Princess Klara stood in the window overlooking the Hero's Mount, still reminiscing over the events of the night before. In the morning, she had noticed a circular cut made on her shoulder; a light cut made with either a fingernail or a very sharp knife, as pointed out by her maid, Alicia. The Princess thought out loud.

"A fingernail, huh? I wonder what their goal was. They had an easy chance to kill me... Could they be sending some sort of message? Trying to scare us in some way? But wait... How is this even possible? Even if someone were to somehow scale the huge stone walls on this tower, would they do so for just a simple goal of invoking fear? That's just absurd, any way you think about it..."

She looked down the 40-foot wall. It was impossible to scale it, for normal humans at least. Suddenly, she became alert. Her senses had picked up something. Something vile. The evening breeze wafted through the window, carrying an unmistakable fragrance. The smell of human blood. She looked towards the horizon. There was a storm brewing far away in the ocean. A storm with blood-red clouds.

Princess Klara's brother Prince Kilian was unfazed about the incident when she recounted it to him. They were conversing in a large throne room, adorned with portraits of past kings.

"You probably just had a bad dream and scratched yourself as a result," he retorted.

"But Onii-chan, ever since last night, bad omens have been appearing. Like that blood storm on the ocean. We've not had those since the vampire war, haven't we?"

"Klara, stop this nonsense talk. A blood storm is just a result of an iron buildup on a rough patch of the ocean. It's a natural phenomenon and not an omen or anything."

"But-" Klara shut up. She knew better than to talk back to her brother. The last thing she wanted was for him to hate her. She was secretly in love with him after all.

"I guess you're right, Onii-chan."

"Good girl. Now go get ready in your ceremonial attire. There's a peace party with the officials of the neighboring kingdom tonight, remember? You gotta woo their prince too, don't forget. Freevania needs Dijklandese connections in order to become a superpower."

'But Onii-chan, I don't wanna marry anyone except you,' is what Klara was thinking and wanted to say, but she held her words in. She quietly nodded and walked toward her chambers.

Kilian sighed, watching his sister leave. He was aware of her love for him, but incest was a social taboo in Freevania. He looked out the large window behind the throne. The sun was coming out from behind the clouds. He took a blindfold out of his pocket and tied it around his eyes.

The peace party was in full swing when Klara descended the royal staircase leading to the party room. The castle was filled with royalty and ambassadors from the neighboring country of Dijkland, which had been at war with Freevania for a few years now. This ended when Klara's older sister Charlotte was given as a bride to the prince of Dijkland as a peace treaty. Ever since then, the war dulled down and the countries were at peace, although Klara hated it. She despised the idea of her sister being given against her will to the neighboring country whose prince was infamous for his tyrannic rule. Both Charlotte and Klara were powerless because since their parents died, her brother Prince Kilian had removed the powers of the princesses, giving all power to the male members of royalty. He said it was for their own good before he became king. She believed him.

Dijkland's royal minister, Warfish Whimsicott was furious. He was a man of the old ways and was against the idea of a marriage being akin to a peace treaty. He felt repulsed to be partying in a country that was at war with his own just years ago. He looked around the giant party room. It was adorned with precious metals and beautiful red tapestries. He was furious with envy. Dijkland, after all, wasn't in the lap of luxury. His strong emotions were suddenly quelled when he saw the beauty on the staircase. The Princess Klara Valentina. He rushed towards her, taking her hand to kiss it.

"In a room of jewels, you stand out like a diamond. You could light up any space with your radiance. Such is your beauty."

"Thank you, Mister-?"

"My name is Warfish Whimisicott, Royal Minister of Dijkland. Pleased to meet you, Princess."

"Ur, uhm..."

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I'm actually not the princess, I'm the maid, Alicia..."

"..."

Heads turned toward the two. All attention was on them. Warfish turned red with embarrassment. He kissed the maid's arm again and walked out of the room. 'Just to get some air,' he later stated.

'I don't wanna talk. I don't want to live. Please get me out of here. These people, they'll eat me alive. Help me, Father. Please...' Prince Kilian was lying face-down on the floor, naked. There was a knock on the door of his chamber.

"Prince Kilian, the Duke of Dijkland is expecting you!"

The Prince didn't respond. He was in pain.

"Ok, Prince. I'll inform them."

Prince Kilian heard the footsteps get fainter as his attendant walked away. He knew he had to get up, get ready. But he didn't want to. He wanted to end this. He just needed a signal. Any sign would do. He wanted to escape this life.

Duke Ryder of Dijkland got up in the middle of the party, raising his glass and tapping it, signaling a toast. Everyone in the room turned towards him, temporarily halting their conversations. Princess Klara was alerted.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make. On this day of peace, we're enjoying this party as equals. The person next to you is on the same floor and level as you, enabling free, open conversation. But can you say it was the same 4 years ago?"

The crowd grew restless. But they couldn't answer back; it was the Duke of Dijkland after all.

"4 years ago, our men were being tortured in the dungeons under this castle you stand in. But they weren't just being tortured and killed. They were being... You could call it being experimented on."

The crowd went silent.

"Our men were lab rats. They were involved in the worst sort of experiments. Their blood was extracted for several vile processes. It was part of an experiment to make..."

The crowd gasped.

"Artificial vampires."

Princess Klara got up in rage.

"What proof do you have on this? Don't forget where you're standing. You're in the presence of a member of the Valentina Royal Family. Watch your words, Duke."

"Do I? Before you argue against my claims, look where they're coming from. What do you think you are?"

"What do you mean? What is this nonsense you're talking about?"

"Like I thought, you're the same as your sister."

"Sis- What did you do to Charlotte?!"

Klara walked towards him in rage. Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind her.

"Klara, stop."

It was the voice of the Prince. Klara turned around.

"Onii-chan, he-"

"I know, Klara. I know how you feel. But I'm sorry."

"W-why?"

"Our life we were living; it won't be the same anymore."

The Duke laughed. "So you figured it out, didn't you? We put down your guards one by one and replaced them with our own. This castle has been in our control for a while now. Your filthy vampire bloodline will end here!"

Prince Kilian looked at Klara.

"Run away, Klara."

Klara backed away from him. Kilian took the blindfold and tied it around his eyes.

"I have to do this. I have to kill these humans."

"What are you talking about, Onii-chan? We're humans, aren't we?"

"No, Klara. You're not a human. You must accept this fact if you want to live."

"Onii-chan...?"

Prince Kilian growled at the duke, huge fangs growing in his mouth. Salivating, he pounced on the Duke of Dijkland. Before the duke could react, he tore off the duke's jugular and killed him.

Freevania's era of peace had come to an end.