Chapter ONE
Blind Battle
Erin watched anxiously as Vlad turned, staring into the deep corners of every room. There were only two people in the room, him and Bertrand. This he knew and he also knew it was a test. The sealed blindfold proved that. He couldn't take it off unless he had permission from Bertrand or the Count. Hearing a slight squeak of a shoe that would never have been picked up by even a normal vampire's ears, Vlad whipped around and sped towards where he assumed Bertrand was. As he collided with something cold, Vlad smiled. It wasn't a smile of joy, it was a smile of confidence. Taking half a step back, Vlad held on tightly to Bertrand; if Bertrand vanished now, there was no telling how long it could take Vlad to find him again. Being blindfolded was starting to seriously affect Vlad, he had never realised how much he took it for granted.
Aiming a swift punch at where he thought Bertrand's stomach must be, Vlad paused as he heard a rustle and felt the slightest breeze that told him where Bertrand was aiming. Ducking instinctively, Vlad continued his punch. As his fist connected with its target, Vlad felt the room freeze. Not through any hypnosis, through sheer shock. Vlad was desperate to pull off his blindfold, but knew that would appear weak to his audience. Instead, he closed his eyes behind the blindfold and let his other senses take control. By feeling the patterns in the air, Vlad could anticipate every move Bertrand made.
Letting out a low growl, Vlad stumbled back slightly as he failed to block one blow. He wasn't completely disheartened though, he had managed to block every other flying foot or fist he had sensed coming in his direction. The ironic thing was, this was all Bertrand and the Count's idea. They had decided Vlad was getting to good (though they hadn't actually said that) and that he needed to learn with a range of disabilities. As his 18th Birthday was coming up, he knew it was also a test in front of his future council, who were seven vampires who would serve under him until they thought he had 'found his feet'. He knew they were in a room just off to the side with the Count, Ingrid and Erin. That was why he hadn't already beaten Bertrand: He didn't know the arena.
Pushing all thoughts of the council's eyes out of his mind, Vlad focussed solely on the task at hand: defeating Bertrand. This fight had already gone on far too long, so he ended it. No one (especially himself) would forgive him if he killed Bertrand, and obviously Bertrand wasn't allowed to kill him, so they had simply agreed on whoever made the other powerless won. As the other rules had also included something about not using any powers other than speed and senses, this basically meant pin them to the floor so they can't get up. With a loud roar, Vlad gave up on parrying every one of Bertrand's blows, and simply jumped on top of him. Vlad was surprised it worked. After a few seconds of struggling, Bertrand realised Vlad wasn't going to get off of him. So he gave up and said clearly, "All right Vlad, you win."
Chapter ONE