The Fire Within

Prologue

There is no moonlight shining down upon the empty valley, though my sight is not hindered by this matter. I can see perfectly clear the slope of the valley, how perfectly bow shaped it is. I can see the wild summer flowers that litter the valley and the man squatting in the mild of it, his scavenged meal coming from places that I did not want to begin to think about.



The man is filthy, his beady eyes scan the area around him in search of me although I could guarantee that he would not be able to see me until I was right there before him.



Now that I could see whom this man was clearly, in his tattered clothing, I regretted what I had done. Who was to say that this kingdom - much similar to the ancient Babylon - would be bettered ruled under the hand of this man to the one that I had just slaughtered in cold blood. I could still taste the old kings blood upon my lips, the royal blood tasting no better than that of a commoner; or even that of a street rat similar to the one squatting in the field.



The village I had just passed through is filled with bars and gentleman’s entertainment. These kinds of entertainment were made to be hidden in the night, for they tainted the soul in ways one could not begin to understand. Talking of souls, I think back to the fallen immortal hidden within my castle walls, about the power that he had - unwillingly - placed within me.



My attention turns back to the squatting man as I approach him. He looks as if he has been living in the gutters for a long time. It is disgusting, how low this man has settled with his life. Of course all human lives held no difference to me, of course they had different skins and different upbringings but what little differences there was between them did not compare to the differences of the people of the Underworld. Their differences did not compare.



There are so many like this man in that village, all of them rotting away, like living corpses. The physical filth is not the only thing that is making them rot, however it is also the mental and emotional turmoil of living in a city like Babylon that is truly making them rot at the core.



I am now towering above the man. His beady eyes look up to me, his face covered in dirt and filth. He smiles, that of a man who has not hope but confidence in his future. He knows that I would not have failed on my end of the bargain but now it is my time to collect on what his half of the bargain.



“It has been done. The King and Queen are dead and the kingdom has forgotten their reign. You are now able to step up and take the throne that you long for.” I sneer, uninterested in what this beady, filthy man could want from his King’s and Queen’s death. What loyalty he has to ask for someone like me - a Vampire - to kill the royalty that he should humbly serve. “Within your castle awaits the treasure that I promised you, a wife also awaits. She is ready to serve and please you in anyway that she can.”



The filthy man rises to his feet, standing up to his full height. His height does not surpass mine, I am just tall enough to look down upon him, my eyes tightening as I register how close he is standing to me.



“Now that you have what you want; I have come to collect what I want.” At my words the filthy man steps back his arms up in the air. He is trembling at the thought.



“Please, don’t do this. You do not need to do this, I’ve give you whatever you want just please!” The filthy man pleads. It’s disgusting really, that he fails to even keep his word, the very last thing he owns in this state.



“You cannot begin to understand what I need and want.” I can hear the whimsical, longing note in my own tone. There is no way that this man, or anyone for that matter, could begin to understand what I wanted. I wanted my parents back but I needed someone who’ll love me always and never leave me. I needed a wife, whether it takes a day or a decade.



I cannot allow the man to escape so I get down upon him and pin him to the ground using my own weight. His beady eyes are watching me and I look down into them. This is part of what the immortal told me must be done. The immortal said that the eyes are windows to the soul and for a soul transfusion that eye contact must be constant during the process. With our eyes connected, I can feel the tearing of my soul. Only a single slither is to be passed onto the man pin underneath me but no matter how small the slither, the tearing of the soul is the most painful thing that one could ever feel.



“With my end of the bargain kept, yours is now about to be done. My soul does not belong to thee, but your first daughter it will live in she. Until her sixteenth year, she’ll be kept within the castle. On her sixteenth birthday when you must choose a suitor for her, your choice will be me. Your daughter belongs to me mortal, if you place her in the wrong man’s hands, everything you build up to that moment will be destroyed and you will be returned to this state. This is what I promise you and I pray to God you keep to this truth, for I shall not spare you.” I say and when I stop I know that it has been done. I feel as if a piece of me is missing and this, I realize, must be how it feels to have a piece of your soul missing. I get to my feet and I begin to walk away, continuing in the opposite way of which I had come.



“Wait, you’re leaving?” The man says still crouching on the ground in disbelief. I stop for a moment and turn my head just slightly so that he can see my face now that the moon has reappeared.



“Yes, but I will be back one day Rupert, to claim what is rightfully mine.” I say and I continue to walk on. There is no place for me here but home is where I belong and home is where I will go. The Underworld is the only place for me, where I will be welcomed back with the regal celebrations that is only meant for a King of my standard. My thoughts as I make my way home, is not what had just happened or what was done by my hand earlier that night but the daughter that is to be born to that man. I pray to whatever god that would listen to a Vampire that she would not only be beautiful but noble and kind of heart. God, I hope these years go by fast.





Four Years Later



The nursemaids rushed about my wife whom laid upon the bed, exhausted from the physical exertion of labor. She looked beautiful, her wild curls tangling around her head which was covered in sweat. I could hear the cry of a child. This was the moment of truth, if it was a boy we were safe, if it was a girl then we’d start to play the waiting game. Waiting for what exactly? The return of the Vampire.



The nursemaids brought the child into the room, it was wrapped in a thin linen cloth. They smiled down upon my wife, whom held out her arms waiting patiently to hold her child. “It’s a girl,” Was the head nursemaids words. These words were my child - nay daughters - own condemnation, these words were the very thing that stirred terror within my soul. They pass the baby onto my wife and I go to sit beside her, so that I may look at my daughter.



She was beautiful without a doubt, with ebony black hair and snow white skin. Her eyes were the colour of emeralds and her lips were red as blood. I could see within her eyes the soul of that vampire. She only had sixteen years of peace before he came for her. We only had sixteen years of peace before our world was torn apart.



“What should we name her?” My wife - Darleen - whispers. My wifes soft brown eyes are looking at me, searching for my own eyes.



“We’ll name her Annabelle, for there is no-one as beautiful as she.” I say and Darleen smiles at this. Her smile and the joy of having our first child makes me forget my fears about the vampire. Alas I know that my fears will only be temporarily soothed and that they will return. However for now I will simply enjoy having my two girls by my side, for I know it won't always be like this.