A Vampireís Memories
Hi. My name is Storm and, well, Iím a vampire. But I wasnít always like this. This is my story. It all started about ten years ago in Kerning, the city of thieves. Two men had a boy cornered in an alley. ìHand over the money if you know whatís good for you.î, one man said, holding a knife to the boyís neck. The boy replied boldly,î I donít have any money and even if I did why would I give it to you?î Then the other man said, ìJust give us the money, little boy.î Suddenly, a voice rang through the air, ìHold it right there!î The two men turned to the sound of the voice. Then they started laughing. For, standing at the end of the alley, was a teenage girl dressed in black robes. She looked like your average, everyday goth. The only thing that said otherwise was that in the girlís hand was a spear shaped like the crescent moon that cast erie shadows across her face. But the most unnerving about her were her piercing blood-red eyes. ìLeave him alone.î, the girl said, her voice steely calm. ìWho are you, his girlfriend?î, the men jibed. She rolled her eyes. ìNo.î, she replied. Then, with inhuman speed, the girl struck one of the men and he fell, his lifeblood pouring from his neck. She turned and sprang at the other man. ìYouíre next!î, she cried. After it was all over the boy stared at the girl, barely older than he, who took down two grown men down single-handedly and hadnít even broken a sweat. ìT-thanks, I guess.î, he stammered. She turned to him, then replied, ìItís really no trouble at all.î She waved her hand and her spear vanished. Then she walked calmly over to him. He felt a sharp, sudden pain on his neck. The girl smiled to herself as he fell. Just as she was turning to leave she heard the boy groan. ìYouíre still alive?î, she exclaimed in disbelief. ìThat was awesome,î the boy exclaimed, ìCan you do that again?î The pain returned, but this time, not as intense as before. A few minutes after the boy collapsed, the girl concluded, ìOkay, I think heís dead.î Then the air around the boyís body began to glow with a harsh white light. The girl shielded her eyes from the blinding light. ìWhat in the world is going on here?î, she cried. When the light faded, she saw that the boyís appearance had changed. His t-shirt and jeans had been replaced by a thiefís shirt, a black jacket, black cargo pants, and a black skull bandana. His black hair was now a shade of bright red. He opened his eyes which had gone from a light baby blue to a deep blood-red. The boy sat up, looking a bit dazed, but otherwise no more worse for wear. ìWhat just happened?î, the boy asked sleepily. ìI think you became a vampire.î, the girl replied slowly. Then, the sleepy look melted off his face and was replaced by a look of joyful excitement. ìAwesome!î,he exclaimed happily. In his excitement, the boy tackled the girl with a hug. ìGet off!î, she growled. Then, pushing the boy away, she stalked down the dark alley into the shadows, scowling the entire time. The boy scrambled to his feet and ran after his new friend. Early the next morning, the girl entered a house near the cityís eastern border. She walked into the living room. Sitting on the sofa,reading,was a young man, in his late twenties, early thirties. ìYuki, Iím home.î, the girl called. The man ,Yuki, turned at the call of his name. At the sight of the girl, a smile lit his face. ìWelcome home Storm.î, he replied warmly. ìYuki, I have news. I turned someone into a vampire.î, Storm said. Just then the boy walked into the room. He went up to Yuki and said, ìHi. I was wondering if youíd allow me to date your daughter.î Storm rolled her eyes at him. ìShut up.î, she remarked. ìStormís home?î, a voice called out. A brown striped cat walked into the room. ìHi Fire!î, Storm exclaimed happily as the cat leapt into her arms. Then the three of them sat down to discuss the boyís earlier request. ìSo can I?î, the boy asked pleadingly. Storm got up and said, ìIím going to leave this between you two.î With that she left with Fire trailing behind her. In her room she turned to her pet. ìFire. What do you do at times like this?î, she asked. The cat simply replied, ìI take a shower.î Storm thought over that idea. ìOk...î, she said. After she was done Fire remarked, ìSee? Donít you feel better now?î She nodded and then they returned to the living room. ìWhere were you?î, the boy inquired. ìShe took a shower.î, Fire piped up. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the boy asked, ìWhy does that thing talk?î Then Fire said, ìThing? THING?î , the cat was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared the cat had changed into a blue dragon, which shrieked, ìIíM NOT A THING!î Then Storm left again with Fire clinging to her shoulder, a cat once more. The next morning, Storm woke up and tumbled out of bed, only to trip on something laying on her floor. ìWhat the-î, she cried falling to the floor. She turned to see what had tripped her and she growled at what she saw. Storm grabbed the figure by the ankles and flung him across the room. Then she stormed over to him and seized his collar. ìWHAT ARE YOU DOING SLEEPING IN MY ROOM?î, she shouted at him. ìI...came...in...through the window.î, he managed. ìOkay, just donít go sneaking in my room anymore, understand?î, Storm growled menacingly. He nodded vigorously and replied, ìI understand.î Storm simply dropped him. Then she saw him just sitting there with an idiotic grin on his face. ëIím never going to understand that guy.í, she thought to herself. Later that day Storm and Fire were sitting in the living room. Then suddenly Stormís phone began ringing. ìHello.î, Storm answered cautiously. A female voice replied, ìHello, is Yuki there?î Storm was a bit unsure if she could trust her. She responded, ìYes he is but may I ask whoís speaking please?î The woman shouted, ìJUST GIVE HIM THE PHONE!î Storm brought the phone back to her ear. ìOkay, okay, sheesh. No need to get so touchy.î, She remarked. Just then Yuki walked in to see what was going on. ìItís for you.î, Storm said, handing him the phone. Yuki talked for a while, then hung up. A few minutes later a woman walked in and started chatting with Yuki. Storm asked Fire, ìDo you know whatís goin on here?î Fire replied, ìNo idea!î Then Storm overheard the lady saying, ìWell we have big news. Our leader of the vampires has passed away. And my son is next in line. We were wondering if Storm could teach him more about the way of the vampire.î They turned to Storm, waiting for her response. At first she just sat there with a shocked expression on her face. Then she seemed to realize what she had been told. Her jaw dropped and the first thing she said was, ìWait, WHAT!î Then the boy, who had introduced himself as James, walked into the room. ìGood afternoon everyone.î he said cheerfully. ìGreat, just when I thought this day was bad enough.î , groaned Storm, who was clearly annoyed enough as it was.
Chapter 2: Old friends, New loves
The next day Storm and Fire stood at the harbor with the lady from the other day, now identified as Raina. Yuki said, ìStorm. I want you to keep trying your best and help out, okay?î She gave him a small smile and replied, ìOkay Yuki.î Raina smiled at the scene. ìDonít worry Yuki, weíll take care of Storm.î, she promised. ìAnd Iíll never leave her side.î, Fire assured him. ìIím gonna miss you Yuki.î, Storm said, tears forming in her eyes, unable to hold them in. ìIím gonna miss you too Storm.î, Yuki said pulling her into a hug, stroking her hair as she buried her face in his jacket to hide the tears. After a few hours, Storm walked through the door of a large mansion. ìWelcome to your new home for now.î, Raina said, ìMake yourself at home.î Storm took in the splendor of the room. There were many pictures on the walls. The chairs and sofas all matched the red wallpaper. The carpet was a dull red like the color of dried blood. She walked across the room and sat down on the staircase. ìThis place is huge!î, Fire commented. ìIt sure is.î, Storm readily agreed. Then she saw a dagger speeding right at her. ìWHAT THE!î, she yelped. Her training was what saved her. She sprung from the step, spun in mid-leap, and landed neatly on her feet. Then a boy walked up to her with a sheepish look on his face. ìSorry about that,î he said, ìI was training.î Storm straightened out of her crouch. ìOkay..î, she began. But before she could finish he grabbed her hand saying, ìHere, Iíll make it up to you.î As he passed Raina he said, ìMom, Iím gonna show her around.î She replied, ìOkay, but be home soon Iím gonna start making dinner.î Then he led Storm, half-draging, half-walking, to an outdoor pavilion with a breathtaking view of the city below. She got her first good look at the young man now that he wasnít dragging her behind him like a rag doll. He looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. His pale-red hair was tucked into a black and white bandana. He wore a black thief outfit trimmed with red. His features were like that of any other vampire, elegant and defined. His mouth was curved into a smile. The only aspect of his otherwise perfect face that caught Stormís eye was the scar that ran down the right side of his face. Later that night, Storm had fallen asleep and was dreaming peacefully. The boy walked quietly up to her bedside and smiled. ëSheís really cute when sheís sleeping.í, he thought to himself. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. Then he leaned in close and pecked her lightly on the cheek. The next morning Storm woke to the sunlight streaming into her window and started to get dressed. Five minutes later, the boy from the day before, whoís name was Rukai, walked in. He was dressed in red sweatpants, a white shirt, and a red jacket. His hair was covered by a tan hat turned sideways on his head. ìWhatcha doin?î, he asked. She answered, ìPutting my hair up.î He smiled and said, ìIíll help with that.î Storm felt his hands, strong yet gentle, wrap the ponytail holder around her hair, once, twice, three times, just the way she liked it. ìThanks.î, she said, smiling warmly. Then she put on the green wool hat. She turned to Rukai. ìYou look pretty.î, he commented. ìThank you.î, Storm responded. Meanwhile back at Stormís home, Yuki was wandering around when he saw a stuffed teddy bear on Stormís bed. She had always carried that bear around when she was little. Yuki felt tears falling down his cheeks as he remembered. Elsewhere, Storm and Rukai were walking in the park near the house. Storm kept looking around as if she was searching for something or someone. Suddenly her gaze met with a girl sitting by the edge of the frozen pond. The two girls met each other in the middle of the square. They both squealed at the same time, ìOMG! You made it!î Storm turned to Rukai. ìThis is my friend from my original home town.î, she said, gesturing to the girl. She turned to the girl saying, ìSarah this is Rukai, Iím staying at his house for now.î When the trio got back to the house they saw Raina talking to a mysterious man and a familiar young man. The young man saw Storm and bounded over to her. ìHey there. Long time, no see.î, he exclaimed, obviously happy to see her. She just growled and when he hugged her she shoved him off. As she turned to face the strange man she felt her blood turn to ice and shivers raced down her spine. The newcomer looked like he was in his late teens, early twenties. His hair was a bright, almost neon, red. He wore a stern expression on his face and a cold look in his dark red eyes. ìI am Aaron Redsword.î, he said in a deep, bitter voice. After they introduced themselves in turn, the man looked at Storm. She could almost swear that he was studying her. Storm thought to herself, ìThis is getting interestingî