A Vampire's Tale

Here's chapter 3.  It's a little happier than chapter 2 and it's the beginning to the real story.  Oh well, let's hope it gets a little more interesting!  Oh, and I do not own Final Fantasy VII.

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Chapter 3

            Aeris stopped and looked down.

            "Wow", Darius said, "please, go on".  She looked up.

            "You still want me to continue?" she asked, "You're not bored yet?"

            He laughed.  "Of course not!"  She started to laugh too.

            "Okay", she said as she continued.

            "We continued our journey and eventually we got to the Nibel Mountains.  We settled in a small town called Nibelheim and we rented a tiny house.  We paid for it by selling flowers from our garden.  Around that time, I met a boy named Vincent.  He was about a year older than me and we quickly became best friends.  My life turned happy again.  But the infection from the wound in my mother's shoulder got worse.  By the time I turned thirteen, my mother was too sick to even walk.  Vincent and I cared for her and did all the work for her.  Vincent even lent me some money to pay for the house.  He was poor too but he couldn't stand to see us thrown out of our house. 

            No matter what we did, a year later my mother died.  I used up what was left of the money to try and pay for the house.  But I would never sell my father's dove pendant.  I wore it everyday just like he did.  My emotional state was horrible and I kept telling myself that it was all my fault that my family died.

            Vincent helped me so much then.  He got me out of my bad moods and he even let me stay at his house after my money ran out.  He decided to help me find a job so he took me to Nibelheim Castle in the valley.

            It was about five miles away from the town and it was in a beautiful sunny meadow surrounded by mountains.  Vincent worked there as a part time servant for the royal family and he got me a job working as a caretaker of the royal family's chocobos and other animals in the stable.  I was even a chocobo trainer.  I was allowed to stay in the stable so I did.  It was much bigger than Vincent's house and it was also quite beautiful.  It was perfect for me because I loved animals and I lived in a pretty valley surrounded by nature.  And yet again my life seemed perfect."

            Aeris paused for a moment.

            "So…umm…did you and Vincent ever go out on a date?" Darius asked.

            "No, we never did.  I guess we both didn't want to risk ruining our friendship.  He was also a little too much like a brother to me", she replied.

            "Oh, okay", he said.

            Aeris continued her story.

            "Vincent visited me everyday at the barn and brought me things whenever I needed them, like extra candles and blankets for the cold winters.  He never stopped wondering why I chose to live in the barn instead of his place.  He always argued with me and said, "But Aeris, you sleep on a pile of hay!"  After each argument, we broke down laughing.  Strangely, those were some of the best times of my life.

            My life was pretty predictable by then.  But a few weeks after I turned seventeen, right before I fell asleep, I saw a figure in a long black cloak silently walk into the barn.  He took one of the chocobos out of its stall and rode off with it.  Something told me not to worry and that the chocobo would be back in the morning.  I trusted that feeling and went back to sleep.  The next morning I got up and I saw that the chocobo was back in its usual place.  I checked it to see if it was hurt and it was perfectly fine. 

"That's strange", I whispered to myself.  I decided not to tell Vincent about it because I didn't want him to worry about me.  But the next night at the same time, the man came back again and did the same thing.  I checked the chocobo in the morning and there still wasn't anything wrong with it.  It happened each night for about a week.  The man did the same thing and he always took my favourite chocobo.  But then finally, I got tired of it.

            The next night I waited outside the barn and I made sure I was hidden.  He came at the exact time I thought he would but it surprised me to see that he came from the castle.  He took the chocobo out of the barn and rode away with it.  I started running as fast as I could towards them.  I almost tripped over my dress a few times but I finally caught up with him.  I grabbed his cloak and pulled with all my strength.  He fell off the chocobo and I tripped over him.  I landed on my arm and I yelled out.  Pain shot through my arm as I held it to my chest.  The man crawled over to me.

            "Are you okay?" he asked.

            I nodded but the pain was getting worse.

            "Let me help you", he said as he gently held my arm.  "Cure 3", he whispered as the air around us started to glow green.  A few seconds later, I felt so much better.

            "Thank you", I said to him.

            "You're welcome", he replied as he pulled back the hood that covered his face.  It revealed blonde, spiky hair and two of the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.  They seemed to glow in the moonlight.

            I gasped.  "P-Prince Cloud!"

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Ok, how was that chapter?  I hope it's getting a little more interesting.  Any comments or suggestions are still welcome!!

Yunalesca Strife ^_^