10
Chapter 1
Minneapolis. 1984. A motorcycle roars down First Avenue. It was just past dusk on a crisp, autumn's night. The sky was all purple, his favorite color. His curly black hair and purple leather jacket blew in the breeze. His bright hazel eyes looked hungry. Hungry for fame, attention, and even what he described as a "pleasurable and delightful experience for both him and the women involved". He knew that he had to meet with his band, The Revolution at First Avenue, but then again, he had something to do first.
After a few moments of riding at a low speed, he found the right one. She was a beautiful blonde with a goddess-like figure. She wore a black mini-skirt and a red low-cut blouse.
'She's basically asking for it,' a voice in his head spoke.
Without hesitation, he clicked the ignition off, and he began to follow her. They wandered into a dark alley where she finally noticed that a stranger was following her like a shadow. She opened her mouth to let out a shrill scream, but something about his aura and charm captured her in his soulful and intense gaze. They both stared at each other for a long moment until he spoke in his timid voice.
"Hello there. My name is Prince. What is your name?" he gently spoke.
"Jennifer," she replied, forgetting the fact that she was just being stalked by this mysterious stranger.
"What a lovely name, Jennifer," Prince acknowledged. Her beauty was striking. He knew that he made the right choice to take delight in her. "Are you from around here?" he asked.
"Why do you ask? Are you?" Jennifer interrogated Prince as she twirled her finger in her hair.
"I asked you first," he answered quickly. 'This is not going to be as easy as I thought,' one voice in Prince's head informed him.
'Just keep staring at her, then it will work,' the other voice assured him. Prince was a Gemini. Two personalities. Two voices. One sweet and kind. The other cold and blunt. Due to the way Prince was, it was more apparent in him than other ordinary Geminis. Prince ran his fingers through his ravenous hair. He smirked and flirted, hoping that his charm would be enough to woo her.
Jennifer giggled back. "You're quite the flirt Prince. What's your secret?" she questioned him.
"It's my intuition. Lucky guess? Maybe it's because I'm also a singer," he revealed.
"Really? Do you also play any instruments?"
Prince nodded. 'Now we are getting somewhere,' the blunt voice spoke to him. "Yes, mainly guitar," Prince replied as he pulled his ruffled white sleeves from his shirt underneath his jacket out.
"I always wanted to learn how to play guitar," she said as she smiled at him.
'Oh boy…here we go!' the blunt voice called out to him again. Anxiousness and hunger were taking over Prince. He could not wait any longer. The other members of The Revolution were waiting for him, he knew it. They needed to rehearse before the show that they were going to put on that night.
"Think you can give me a lesson?" Jennifer asked as she snuggled closer to him, trying to get warm. Prince would not be of much help of that, and he knew that.
"Maybe. One day," he replied quickly without hesitation. Prince ran one soft finger across her face and stroked her lips. He knew he had to do this now or he would miss out on this fine and attractive opportunity. "Oh Jennifer," Prince serenaded the girl as he began to prepare himself. Prince's body began to feel warm with eagerness and excitement. He felt her passion grow with each kiss.
"You know, for a small man with a funny name, you really know what you are doing, Prince," Jennifer said in between kisses.
Prince groaned. He knew that he was short. He was only five feet and two inches tall. He wore heels to help make him taller so that the women in his life would not tower over him. That and he thought was sexy to wear heels. As far as his name was concerned. He got his name from his father. He actually was called "Skipper" by his mother in his youth. Prince actually liked his name, and he could not stand it when people poked fun at him for it.
"I complimented you for your name," Prince defended his ego. "Besides, I was always told to take pride in your name."
"I'm sorry," Jennifer pleaded for forgiveness while looking Prince over again. Once again, she got caught in his intense gaze. Every moment that she stared at him, Prince felt his blood gurgle. He grabbed Jennifer into his arms and began to embrace her. He caressed her cheek, and he started to kiss her slowly. His urges flared up again. He was starving. The more he kisses and nestled against her, the hungrier he'd get. Prince latched her closely in his strong arms as it began to rain.
"Oh…" both Prince and Jennifer said as Prince held out his hand. Prince lifted Jennifer up and he took her under an awning. There was a flash of lightning and Prince's eyes twinkled as he saw it. Thunder clapped, but then again, Prince could not tell if it truly was thunder or his heart pounding.
"Are you okay?" Jennifer questioned.
Prince nodded slowly. "Kiss me," he whispered.
They resumed as they were without the weather interrupting them. The storm was intensifying as well as the passion between them. It was almost like if the storm was in sync with that passion. In between kisses, Prince opened his eyes and wondered when would be the right moment. His eyes were growing darker and darker with each minute, getting ready to go.
'Just a little bit more,' the sensitive voice in his head whispered to him.
'I'm hungry now! Go for it!' the cold voice fought back.
"Quiet! The both of you!" Prince growled to himself, praying that Jennifer did not hear that. His voices would only speak to him, but then again, he worried if other people could hear them.
"What? What's going on?" Jennifer questioned, paused and looked at him funny. She swooped him into her arms. Despite being a petite woman, her lust was enormous. Prince began to realize this. After a few more moments of intense passion, Prince felt Jennifer's body go numb. He caught her and supported her against his chest. He felt her heartbeat and her heavy breathing. The space around them grew into what seemed to be their own world. Prince also sensed that Jennifer was losing her inhibitions due to his swooning nature. Slowly, he began to lick her neck softly at first and then faster and faster, intensifying each lick.
"Oh, Prince. You are quite the charmer. You really know what you are doing," Jennifer whispered softly into his ear while Prince kept licking her neck.
"It will not be long now honey," Prince stroked her hair back. He gazed at her neck, and what he saw captured him. He saw her pulse through her neck. Her heartrate was going a mile a minute. His lustrous charm was working on her like he cast a spell on her.
"Take me now! Take me away Prince!" Jennifer exclaimed and pleaded with him while he closed his eyes to resume the passion that they were sharing.
Just then, Prince's eyes jerked open, but then he knew he had to keep going with caressing and charming her otherwise the tension between them was going to die.
"Slow down a little sweetie. All in good time. You know what they say. Good things come to those who wait," Prince whispered as he slowly put his hand on her chest to get her back to into his trance. She grabbed his hair to sniff it. It smelled like lavender, one of his favorite flowers. The smell of it raced up her nostrils and embellished her. She snatched him and pushed him against the wall of the building.
Prince felt his heart pounding his chest like a fish out of water, but then again, he could not tell the difference between his heartrate and the sound of the thunder from the storm. Now he knew it was time. Jennifer was all his—for now. In between their kissing and groping, Prince quickly paused to examine the situation.
"Keep your eyes closed, Jennifer, please," Prince pleaded as he slowly took off his purple leather jacket off to prepare himself. He quickly caught his jacket before it hit the wet pavement at his feet. He put it around Jennifer, who never stopped to ponder what exactly it was that Prince was doing. He knew that he was finally ready.
Prince gently tilted her neck back. Just like before, he saw her blood coursing through her veins, going a mile a minute. The very sight of this turned him on even more. He knew the time was right. He know he had to do this.
Prince ran this tongue across his teeth slowly but surely. He was confident in himself. His canine teeth began to grow at a steady rate into razor sharp blades. They transformed into fangs! Once again, he slid is tongue across his newly transformed teeth. He embraced this change as he grew used to it each and every time since he was this way for about one hundred years now.
He paused for a second to look for the right place. He had to make sure that it was right so he would not cause her any real and significant harm. He rolled his tongue across the left side of her neck to dampen it because he liked it better this way.
"I like that. Keep going," Jennifer managed to moan as Prince squeezed her tightly, close to him.
"Okay…here…I go," Prince stammered into a whisper as began to draw to her neck like he was getting hypnotized by it. Slowly, he sunk his fangs into her neck.
Prince felt sheer bliss. Fresh blood was like his wine, and he was getting the equivalent of what mortals would call intoxicated. With every drop of blood touching his lips, he was getting deeper and deeper into his trance. He opened his eyes to make sure that Jennifer was alright. She was. She barely noticed what was happening to her. Prince made sure that every girl was experiencing "Heaven on Earth" as he liked to put it.
Jennifer moaned with delight. She was completely oblivious to what exactly Prince was doing to her. Her delicately shaped body was pressed against him while he supported her. It was the least he could do since she was his feast for the night.
Prince slowly opened his eyes to check on Jennifer, and what he saw startled him. He felt her heartrate slowing down from going a mile a minute back to its resting heartrate. He had to stop feeding on her, and he know that. If he would not stop, he could cause Jennifer a great deal of harm. Slowly and regrettably, he began to pull his fangs out of her neck. He was satisfied with his late dinner thought. Prince gently opened his eyes, and they were returning to their usual shade of hazel. His fangs resumed to his normally shaped, human teeth. He examined Jennifer's neck. There were two small, puncture wounds not too far from her jugular vein. He stared at it for what seemed like an eternity to him.
Jennifer sighed and looked disappointed, "What's the matter, Prince? Why did you stop?" she asked while he crossed her arms.
Prince was not taken aback by this at all. He knew that this was exactly the reaction he wanted.
"Sorry. I just have to go soon," Prince pulled her close and carefully tilted neck back again. He caressed it, and licked his lips to moisten them. "Thank you, for everything," he whispered as he slowly licked the wound shut to heal it. Magically, the wound closed as if nothing happened. His tongue had special healing powers whenever he would bite. He would not cause any harm and make sure that the women he feasted on would forget about anything that happened to them.
Prince was a different kind of vampire. He did not like turning mortals into vampires just like how he was. He was turned at the young age of 26 a hundred years ago. If he wanted to turn someone, he could, but it would have to be by his own desire and volition. In all these years, he never turned a woman. He could not bring himself to do it. He valued women and cared for their well-being, even if it would mean putting himself at risk for them.
Prince slowly pulled Jennifer away from his embrace, and it hurt him to do that. He actually began to care a little bit about her. "I'm so sorry beautiful, but I have to go," he sadly whispered. He had to get to First Avenue without any real haste. The other members of The Revolution were waiting for him in order to perform the show that they were to do that night. Just like that, the torrential downpour that was around them stopped.
"What do you mean? Why? What's the rush?" Jennifer questioned. She was not quite done with him. She tried to drag Prince back into her arms.
Prince looked over his shoulder and began to ignore her with regret as he picked up his jacket from the cold, wet cement. He shook it dry. One thing he could not stand was wet leather, especially when it was on his favorite jacket. He sighed heavily. "It's not you, it's me," he softly whispered as he shuffled to his motorcycle. Prince looked back at Jennifer, who looked devastated in between her tears.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean? I do not understand," Jennifer stammered in between sobs. Prince put his key into the ignition and fired up the engine.
'Why do you always do this?' The sensitive voice chimed in his head. Prince agreed with him, silently.
"I do not like to talk about it. Please try and understand. It is so complicated," Prince tried and plead with her. These are the lines he tries to say every time this happens. Some girls cooperate, other girls would want to slap him. Prince took a deep breath and held it. He prepared himself for what could happen, but also prayed that she would respect his wish.
"I guess I get it. You were a man of mystery, but I liked you," Jennifer opened her arms for a hug while Prince flashed a smile. Gently, he put his arms around her, and took one last breath to catch her scent before climbing onto his bike, and riding off into the darkness.
Prince flew down First Avenue. His jacket blew in the breeze like it was a cape and he was a superhero. All the buildings and the landscape was a blur around him. In the distance, he could see the crowds building and anxiously waiting for him outside First Avenue nightclub—Minneapolis's hottest spot. Prince and The Revolution were a local band, but a big hit. So close to hitting the top. His star was rising higher and higher, and it did not look like it was going to stop anytime soon.
"Look! There he is!" a girl shouted hysterically when she caught sight of his motorcycle.
"We love you, Prince!" another shouted while Prince smirked as he approached the screaming crowd.
'Do not faint on me!' the blunt voice in his head whispered in his ear.
Prince slowed his motorcycle to a roll as he approached the alleyway next to First Avenue. On the corner of his eye, he saw all the silver stars of the bands who played at First Avenue and made something of themselves. He saw one star that looked more silver than the others since it was brand new. It glinted like gold, and it was just a sweet sight to see. The star read, "Prince and The Revolution". It looked like his dream was coming true. It was so bittersweet to him because the hard part was to make sure that the crowds would not know his secret.
"Billy…thank you," Prince whispered while holding back tears. He pressed his hands against the new star and began to daydream. In his head, he heard the crowds, he saw the lights, he tasted fame in his mouth, and it tasted sweet. He slowly snapped back to reality and managed to find the strength to get off his bike and to click the ignition off. He lifted his seat, and pulled out a purple chain and padlock and locked his bike to a pipe that was attached to the building.
"You're late! Again!" a voice roared in the distance. It caused Prince to jump a little. He looked behind him and saw his Protector towering over him. This man was six feet, eight inches tall, a foot and a half taller than him.
"Chick! My God! Please don't do that! Look, I'm sorry man. You know how it is, remember?" Prince tried to reason with his Protector.
"Kid, I know, but what am I here for? I trained you to be who you are today. I protect you. I give my life for you. You have to be more careful man," Chick patted Prince on his back.
"Chick, please relax man," Prince begged with him. Unfortunately, he was not the easiest man to reason with. He was Prince's protector ever since that fateful day a hundred years ago.
"Look man, I'm warning you," Chick scolded Prince like a father would to his son. "Especially when you have crowds of people waiting for you. It's not fair for them, and it is too risky for you. We can't afford to have people know about us."
Prince glared at him. "Thank you for telling me something I already know man," he waved as he walked towards his dressing room.
Chick ran after Prince and grabbed his arm. "Prince, I know when you are in trouble, and where you will be if such trouble occurs. I'll always know. Quit the flirting when you feed because you do not know who you could possibly dealing with. It could be a trap. Vampires are better off alone. You should just go for the feed, go!"
"You know I cannot do that. At least not anymore. Being a vampire is so lonely. It is so hard. Why did this happen? Why? Do you know?" Prince cried.
"No I do not. She took advantage of you, but this is your life now. You're no longer mortal. It's going to be okay. You know that," Chick hugged Prince. He had to reassure Prince every now and then because even though this happened a hundred years ago, Prince falls into deep despair.
Prince wiggled out of Chick's grip. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a show to get ready for," Prince stated as he slammed the back door behind him. He took a deep breath as he approached his dressing room. He knew what was going to happen next. Slowly, he opened the door, and peeked inside. He saw two of his bandmates, Wendy and Lisa, stare at him as if looks could kill. Wendy was also not the easiest girl to get along with. She had a tough as nails personality, but she was also a great guitarist. Prince would even admit that she was almost as good as a guitarist as him. Almost. After a quick and angry glare to Prince for being late, she went back to strumming her guitar. Lisa had her back to a mirror while smoking a cigarette. Immediately, she saw it.
"Prince?" she began. "You got a little bit of blood on the corner of your mouth."
Prince shot an alert glance at the mirror as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue. "Thank you Lisa," he smiled. "That was close."
Other than Chick, his band knew he was a vampire. At first, they were taken aback that their band leader was practically immortal, could only rehearse at night, and sometimes very quickly before a show starts. The whole idea of "preying on women" did not sit well with Wendy and Lisa, no matter which way Prince did that. However, over time, his band began to understand. Technically, it was not Prince's fault that he was a vampire, it just happened.
Prince grabbed his trusty black and gold guitar. He saved every penny from his early gigs to buy it. His mind was going a mile on minute. During this adventure with Jennifer, he never thought about what songs he was going to perform that night. Frantically, he paced the floor, back and forth, back and forth, trying to figure out what songs felt right.
"Yo! Prince! Five minutes!" Billy's assistant, Alan, called out from the hallway. Immediately, Prince got the deer in the headlights look.
"I have not even rehearsed yet!" Prince yelled back, but Alan was already gone. He just stood there, lost and confused. He looked back, stared at his reflection in the mirror.
"Maybe if you spent less time on the prowl tonight, we could have rehearsed!" Wendy snapped back.
"Wendy!" Prince's keyboard player, Dr. Fink defended his friend. "Don't say it any louder! You don't want Prince to get caught or have his career go down the tubes, do you?"
Wendy bit her lip. Despite her tough demeanor, she truly cared for Prince. She actually felt sorry for him. Being a vampire must be sad, lonely, dangerous, and hard all the same time. She knew that Prince could not tolerate direct sunlight, so rehearsing during the day was out of the question.
"Look man, I'm sorry. I just…" Wendy walked over to Prince and placed her hand out his shoulder. Prince lifted his head to think.
'Does she actually think you wanted this?' the cold voice in his mind snarled at him.
'I don't think she actually understands our condition,' the kind voice interjected.
Prince groaned. "I guess it is okay, but please watch it. My life is not an easy life to lead you know. You try living it," he said to Wendy, trying to please both sides.
"Hey man. Do you know what songs we are going to do?" His bassist, Brown Mark asked.
Prince thought for a minute. During his escapade with Jennifer, he did not give a single thought to what his set list to the sold out crowd was going to be.
"Umm. Let me think for minute," Prince stated. After a minute, Prince knew what he was going to do. "How about this set? The last time we played it, the crowd went nuts!" Prince exclaimed as he pulled out an old set list from his dresser and showed his band members. It included classics such as "Let's Go Crazy" and "Purple Rain".
"I couldn't agree more!" His drummer Bobby Z. said.
"How about you guys? Do you agree?" Prince asked the other members. They all nodded in unison. "Then let's get ready to rock!" he shouted as he blew out a candle by his mirror. He followed his band members out of the small dressing room, down the long hallway towards the stage.
Prince took a deep breath as he set foot on the stage. He heard the thunderous crowd chanting his name.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life…" Prince began to sing the opening lines to "Let's Go Crazy" to the restless crowd at First Avenue's main showroom. Little did he know, someone was watching him with a very close and stern eye.
"I swear that little cricket is getting on my nerves. Something is not right with him. I know it, and I will find out what he's up to!" the voice of the one who was watching him in the crowd said with a turkey like laugh.