The Offering
Upon returning to her huge, elegant mansion in the dismal and gloomy Dark forest, Vana was greeted by her most trusted of servants, who also served as a sort of general when needed; her name was Arlene, and she was coming up to her 150th vampiric birthday. She waited for Vana on the steps leading up to the large weather worn doors, which had once been a rich brown.
Vana dismounted her mighty steed and marched towards her home with the sole intent of changing her dress once more and finding an attractive healthy youth for Raziel.
"Good evening my lady." Said Arlene holding open one of the heavy doors for Vana who walked swiftly past her into the entrance hall and straight up the stairs.
"Good morning." She called behind her, and it was true, she had killed the man in the village at about half past eleven, and if you add the time onto getting to the sanctuary of the clans, having the meeting and returning home it was already nearly two in the morning, and she had rode back at full speed.
"Arlene, go into the dungeons and find me a handsome, fit young man, I am leaving for Raziels fortress shortly, and I shall be taking him with me, and I will be returning tomorrow sometime." Called Vana as she dissappeared through a door.
"Yes my lady." With that, both women set out to do seperate things, only to meet back in the entrance hall only minutes later. Vana wore a large ebony coloured velvet cloak, with her hair tied tighty back in a high ponytail, wearing dark crimson lipstick and a little dark makeup.
"You look grand my lady." Said Arlene once again bowing her head in the presence of her mistress.
"Thank you Arlene." Said Vana observing the youth that Arlene had found in the dungeons. He was probably in his late teens, wore dull swamp green rags and had dirty blonde hair that hung about his face limply.
Vana stepped towards hm, and he flinched expecting to feel the back of her hand thrust into his face as punishment for been so pathetic, or for perhaps just breathing. But Vana merely used the tip of one of her delicate fingers to move a little hair that clung to his face. Using the same finger on her other hand she gently pushed the hair away from his face and wiped a dark smudge of dirt off his left brow
"Very good Arlene, he is a handsome young man isn't he? Now, when I return tomorrow I would like you to have prepared a suitable collection of female hunters garments, as I will be needing them for when I visit my father. Also, see if you can beat any information out of the hunters in the dungeons about another entrance to the city, or a large meeting that is to be held there." Arlene nodded, and with that, Vana left with the youth.
After they fetched a horse for the young man to ride on they set off at a fast canter down the narrow dirt road that served as the only road in the whole of the forest, anything else was merely a dirt track, of faint footpath, that was only good for getting you lost. Vana has often seen mortals stumble out of the forest onto the road that leads up to her mansion, overjoyed that they had found a sort of refuge, with a rich, kindhearted host...she made most of them wish that their mothers had never given birth to them
Vana thought it strange though, why, if she was half human, did she so like to torture them? In her mind, she was a vampire, she was a born killer, unlike the rest of her race that are no longer born, but 'changed' into what they are. She thought it was probably because of her fathers influence, she remembered that, as a child she watched him kill someone, a man in fact, she could still see it all clearly in her mind.
She was eight, her mother was ill, and had asked her father to take care of her for a little while, which he did to the best of his ability. She knew that he was a vampire, she had overheard her mother talking to Kain about it, but she had never seen him feed.
They had been travelling through the forset, at night, in order to reach a small house that he stayed in when he took care of her.
The moon was high in the sky, and she held onto his hand tighty, in fear of any monsters that would jump out, but she felt safe with him, father was strong, he wouldn't let anything or anyone hurt her. This theory was proved when two brigands blocked their way across an old stone bridge. One held a club of some sort, the other had his bloodstained sword drawn.
"You can pass, when you hand over all you money and valubles..." As he said this his eyes drifted down to Vana, and he eyed her pervertedly, the other now taking his baton from where it was resting on his shoulder and began letting it thud into the palm of his other hand threateningly. Vana looked up to her father who eyed their weapons calmly, pulling her behind him a little with his left hand and drawing his own sword. He said nothing, he just looked on, leaning forward on the hilt of his sword. The men looked to each other, confusion written all over their faces, when suddenly Vana felt two hands grab her shoulders and yank her away from her father. She let out a cry startling Kain, who in turn spun round when he realised that they had been surrounded, and his now calm face was contorted with anger.
"Release my daughter." He growled taking a step towards the man who now had Vana locked in front of him with one powerful arm. She struggled helplessly, her eyes beginning to fill up with tears now in the belief that she was going to die.
Suddenly Kain dissapeared, and she felt the mans arm losen from around her neck, she turned only to see a flash of her fathers silver sword and the bandit fall to the floor. The others stepped forward, then realised that they couldn't see their enemy, one by one two of the men fall, one to his knees, the other slumped forward, followed by his head which dropped to the ground beside him a second later and rolled a few feet in the dirt.
The last one standing, the one with the sword looked around him turning to try and find his allies killer, but Kain moved so fast that he was merely a blur, and that was only if your eyes were fast enough to follow. The mans eyes were wide from terror, and they darted about the area like the eyes of someone who is overly paranoid.
Kain appeared behind him, still with a composed expression, and after sheathing his sword silently he raised his upper lip bearing his murderous fangs and grabbed the man by his knotted, dark hair and yanked him back, biting into his neck viciously and draining him of his life blood. The man screamed, even clawed at Kains face, but it was too late, once Kain had you, he never let go until he was satisfied that he had swallowed every last drop of blood.
Vana stared at him in disbelief, and he looked back at her realisng what he had just done. He had shown his eight year old daughter the corrupt vampire that could kill wthout a flicker of remorse. What if he had scared her? What if she was too terrified to be with him?
"Vana..." He tried to explain but he couldn't find the words that were needed. Then, something odd happened, Vanas once confused and shocked expression changed to that of awe, her 'O' shaped mouth became a wide grin, and she pranced up to him and took his hand once more. Her daddy was a vampire, and he would always protect her, he had passed this marvelous dark gift onto her, and one day, she would be able to protect herself...
She thought of herself as unique, better than humans, but equal to the vampires, she looked down at humans, they were so weak, so pathetic and disgusting. Their short lives were meaningless, they had no goals in life, so why should their deaths even be acknolodged? That's just one less to worry about, one less to feed and one less to protect.
She was intrigued by their low pain tolerance, but she still loved to watch them bleed. She would toy with them the way a cat toys with a mouse, letting them think that they can escape, or that she couldn't be bothered torturing them today... Yet she could not hurt children, and she would never stand by and watch a fledge inflict pain on a helpless child, at least the adults could fight back.
But sometimes, she got that awful irritating feeling, the one that makes your stomach turn and your head light; guilt. Afterall, she was half human, how would she feel if a vampire had done that to her mother? Or her child? She had mentioned this to her father, and to Raziel, and their responses were similar. "If a mortal knew what you were, they would kill you on sight without a flicker of doubt. Don't ever show them mercy, you would recieve none in their place." So that was how she thought if ever she felt that feeling creeping back.
It was now coming back as she rode side by side with this young man, who sat upon his horse silently, knowing his apparent fate. She knotted her eyebrows at the thought, imagine knowing you were moments away from your death, and you knew how you would die, you would be bled dry, just so that your master could have a decent excuse to visit her lover.
"What is your name?" Asked Vana, slowing down to a trot as they came out of the dark forest and out into the pale moonlight. He looked down to the horses back, his lips dry, his hair hanging down hiding most of his face and his hands holding the reins limply.
"Dorian." he replied plainly.
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen and a half."
Vana nodded and looked both ways as they came to a fork in the road. They turned right and rode over a wide stone bridge, she glanced down into the fast flowing ice cold river below, that led to the infamous abyss.
"You know where we are going?" She asked as they trotted on and the path faded. They came into a long wide gorge with little grass or vegetation, they were to travel down here now for quite a while.
"To Lord Raziels fortress." He said looking up down the gorge path.
"You know why we are going?" Asked Vana, feeling pity for the boy now.
"I am to be offered to him."
She nodded again, in awe that this boy had seemed to accept his fate, and was not even going to attempt to escape.
"Does that not scare you?" She said slowing down a little.
"No." Dorian straightened his back and Vana noticed that through his baggy shirt she could discern a rather well toned chest.
"Were you a hunter?" She asked randomly.
"In training. My father was a hunter, and my grandfather was a sarafan." He looked proud, then his face changed, knowing he would never carry on their legacy.
"I see. And yet you do not fight me, nor try to escape, why?" Vana looked at him, her head tilted to the right a little waiting for his reply.
"What's the point? Nosgoth is filled with vampires if I escaped you here, I would surely be killed by another before I reached the nearest town. Besides, only a coward would run from his fate."
Vana stopped her horse suddenly, and Dorian turned, his eyebrows knotted in confusion.
"Is something wrong my lady?" He asked, bringing his horse around in a half circle. Vanas head was bowed, her face was stern and as Dorian came closer she spoke.
"Go." She muttered.
"What?" He asked now in complete shock, and at first he believed he had heard her wrong.
"Go, I will let you escape."
"I said that I would not run from my fate..." Before he could finish Vana interupted him, she had come to her conclusion and her mind would not be changed.
"This is not a debate. Count yourself lucky, you only get this sort of chance once." Dorian attempted to speak again, but Vana continued. "It is an order, if you do not leave now, we will simply carry on. Do you not wish to become a hunter like your father before you? Or do you wish to be a light snack for a vampire? What would your father think?"
Dorian smiled, and nodded, and kicked his horse gently in the sides. As he trotted past her he stopped and looked her in the eyes.
"Thank you, if ever I do become a vampire hunter, I shall not harm you." With that he left Vana to think up an excuse for Raziel, as to why she hadn't brought him an offering for killing a mortal of his...She would have to apologise another way...