"You're mad," I choked out as I stared at him.
"No, my dear, I saved you. You owe me." His face was starting to get a little menacing as he said, "Besides, I've already had you. You're mine now."
Feeling to need to speak of something else besides the fact that I had just been raped, I said, "What do you mean by immortality?"
"You're a vampire now," he whispered as his eyes turned to a bright blue and his fangs began to come out of his gums. I glared in astonishment and wondered if I was dreaming.
"Impossible," I said as I felt my own fangs come out and my eyes developed that blue film again.
"You need to rest for a little while and then I'll take you to the court yard tonight to train."
I pretended to not care as I allowed him to lead me back to the bedchamber, where I was reminded once again of the incident that had just occurred not half an hour earlier. I watched as he laid on the bed and motioned for me to follow. Instead of lying next to him as he wanted, I sat as far away as possible.
"Very well, princess," he chimed, "I'll let you sleep comfortably today, but tomorrow you will sleep by my side."
I tried not to vomit as I watched him chuckle smugly and turn on his side to sleep. Within ten minutes, I could hear his breath even out, so I knew he must be asleep. At least, I had to take that chance.
I got up as slowly and quietly as possible and slipped through the door. I had nowhere to go, and I realized with a sad heart that I could not go outside because of the sun, so I merely went and sat beside the doors that I tried to escape from earlier, looking at the rays of sunshine with envy. Twice I put my hand in front of the rays with caution, allowing the skin to burn for just a second before moving it and watching in awe as it healed.
"Everyone does that in the beginning," I heard a soft voice say from the shadows. I jumped a little with surprise before I saw a young woman walk up, dressed in armor like any man would be. I tried not to stare at her as I took in her features and thought that she sort of favored myself - long dark hair, dark eyes, feminine facial features.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Sonja," she said, "You must be Kraven's latest interest. What's your name?"
"I'm Ava."
"When did he turn you?" she asked, "I haven't seen you around here."
"He...turned me..." I nearly choked on the words, "about an hour ago." This all sounded so absurd. Just last night I would have laughed at anyone who said vampires lurked in the shadows, but not I was one. There was no denying it. I could feel the changes still happening throughout my body.
"I heard it's strange at first, but you will get used to it," she said kindly.
"You heard? Are you not one?" I asked, not wanting to say the word vampire.
"No, I was born one. My father Viktor was the first vampire ever."
"Is he the man that was sitting on the throne?" I asked.
"Yes, he rules over us," she said with pride radiating through her eyes. That must be why the older vampire looked at me with pity. He probably saw a scared version of his daughter. I looked down at my shattered night gown with shame, knowing she probably thought I looked ridiculous.
"Come, let's get you dressed," she said noticing my expression.
"Thank you," I mumbled. She simply smiled as she helped me back up to my feet and led me down the corridor to another room that I took to be her bedchamber. In a large closet, I saw mostly different sorts of armor much like the one she was already wearing, which frightened me a bit because I couldn't imagine myself wearing something like that. But I had imagined it before, what it would be like to be a man...
To my surprise, she pulled out a long black gown that looked as if the best seamstress in the world made with intricate gold patterns on the top. I stared at it in awe as she handed it to me. Even I, the daughter of a noble, felt scared to even touch the precious fabric.
"Take it," she offered, "My father had it made for me but I've never worn it. It suits you."
"I can't possibly wear that, I'll ruin it," I said, suddenly feeling like the armor would be a better choice.
"Don't worry, I'm sure there will be dozens more just like it taking up space in here soon."
I carefully took the dress and she turned as I took off my night gown and put it on. As I predicted, it fit perfectly; she and I were built very similarly.
"Perfect," she said with a slight smile.
"Thank you Sonja," I beamed.
"You need to rest," she said, "You can sleep on my bed if you'd like. I'm going to a council meeting." She didn't wait for my response as she walked out the door, shutting it behind her. I eyed her big bed as I realized that anything was better than sleeping next to that monster Kraven. Carefully, as not to ruin the dress, I laid down on the feathery cushion and went to sleep.
Several hours later, I awoke with a start as I heard Kraven screaming outside.
"What do you mean you didn't see her?" he hissed. I assumed he was talking to another guard.
"Sir, she wasn't here when I got here," I heard a voice say. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. There was a loud knocking at the door as I got to my feet.
"Sonja, have you seen a young girl wondering around?" Kraven asked, "She couldn't possibly have escaped. The sun just set and she's turned."
I went up and opened the door, and he gazed at me in surprise. When he took in the dress, he smiled.
"My, my, you look stunning," he said, "Where is Sonja?"
"I don't know," I said bluntly.
"Well it's time for you to train. Come along darling." He grabbed my arm and shuffled me outside to a large court yard, where it was already dark. Several young men were already gathered there, and I saw Sonja off to the side, chatting with a couple of them.
"Kahn, get me some armor for her. Everyone, this is Ava, the newest Death Dealer."
A dark-skinned man, whom I took to be Kahn, nodded and walked off, obviously following Kraven's order. What on earth was a Death Dealer?
"Kraven, really," Sonja sighed, "how can she be a warrior? She was raised a lady."
"My dear Sonja," he said with a smirk, "don't tell me you're afraid of a little female competition."
"Please," she said with sarcasm, "I just don't want the poor girl to get herself killed. You just turned her, after all."
"Well you'll see; she's fast and has more instincts than most people have skill." I cringed at the way he talked about me - as if I were just some prized posession.
I carefully made a plan in my head. If I could escape and just get to the woods, I would be able to find my way back home. Maybe someone had survived. There I would take shelter from the sun and continue to run at night; I would get as far away from this place as I possibly could.
"Alright everyone, we'll start with one-on-one combat," Sonja said, cutting off her conversation with Kraven, "Kahn, you can try Ava. Remember this is her first time ever in any kind of combat. This is more a teaching experience than a training one."
I watched in horror as the man nodded to me, but I noticed he had kind eyes. As everyone else started pairing up and fighting, Kraven went and sat off to the side.
"I won't hurt you," Kahn said nicely.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. He looked at me with confusion. I didn't give him time to ask why I said it as I quickly grabbed him by the head and threw him to the stone ground, face first. No one had time to respond before I was at the front gate, assaulting the two guards there in a similar manner as I had the ones outside of Kraven's doors.
I ran as quickly as I could through the forest, moving at a speed that both stunned and frightened me. Tree branches felt like cobwebs as I flew through a mile of woods. I knew I was probably ten miles away from my home, which I could run in about half hour if I kept up my pace. I hardly paused to make that note before I heard a loud howl coming from behind me. I stopped and listened, my heart rate speeding up. Something inside me made my eyes blue again and my fangs come out from my gums. I let out a hiss as I turned to face the noise.
I watched in horror as a beast - half man, half wolf - came crashing through the trees in my direction. My eyes widened at the sight, and if I weren't filled with a sudden rage to kill, I would have been extremely frightened. The beast charged at me, his mouth open to reveal large white canines that could easily rip me apart. As he came close and nearly swallowed my head, I grabbed his upper and lower jaw, ripping his head in two.
To my astonishment, the dead beast lying on the ground turned into a human before my eyes, his jaw still deformed and his body completely naked. Only then did I notice the group of vampires that also entered the small clearing. Among them was Viktor, Kraven, Sonja, and a few other Death Dealers.
"Milord," Kraven said anxiously, "I'll deal with her. She didn't know -"
Viktor held up his hand to silence Kraven as he drew nearer to me. I looked into his eyes and saw surprise and maybe a little pride.
"You just killed one of my best guards," he said, his tone going harsh. I looked at the dead man as he pointed at him. I hissed again as yet more beasts appeared; one of them picked up the dead man and retreated again.
"Be still, child," Viktor said to me, "They won't harm you. They're my guards. Kraven, take the girl back to the Coven and keep an eye on her. I need time with the council to decide her punishment for injuring a fellow Death Dealer and killing one of my investments." He turned on his heel and headed back the way he came. I eyed the group of vampires that were obviously there to escort me back.
"You've disappointed me, Ava," Kraven said lightly, "You better hope I can convince him that you don't deserve the death penalty for ruining his property."
"I'd rather die than spend another night there," I said sharply.
"We'll see," he said.
Two of the Death Dealers tried to grab my arms, but I quickly shook them off. "I can walk by myself," I said. I saw Sonja smile in the corner of my eye.
When we got back, I watched as the beasts turned into humans, still carrying the dead man. Kraven and Sonja walked into the castle and Kraven ordered two of the Death Dealers to keep a close watch on me.
"We'll bury him later," one of the werewolves said. He had a gentle face and long brown hair. I suddenly realized with a heavy heart that I just killed someone he knew, someone he was probably close to.
"May I have a word?" I asked him. He stared at me for a second, pain covering his face. He nodded.
"What's your name?" I asked him.
"Lucian," he replied.
"What was his name?"
"Matthew."
"Was he your friend?" I almost dreaded the answer.
"I've known him for a very long time," he replied. My heart dropped as I watched him; I could tell he wanted to scream with agony. I knew that feeling all too well.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered.
He smiled lightly and said gently, "Don't be sorry. Matthew never wanted this life. You freed him."
I had to admire his kindness. "I'm Ava," I said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ava, though I wish it could have been under better circumstances." I forced a smile to him as Kraven walked back out with Sonja close behind. She and Lucian exchanged a glance and I noticed her eyes lit up. Kraven spoke up.
"Ava, Viktor wishes to speak with you. Alone.
Okay so I only caught a few scenes of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, so I'm sorry if the storyline doesn't match up exactly with that movie, but the rest of it should. I hope you guys like it! :)