Chapter 3 – First Night

Raziel carried the child to the chamber beside his own, where she was to sleep. He opened the door and entered, ignoring the girl's gasps as he did so. The room was obviously on a grand scale but to a child that small, it was twice as intimidating, especially considering she had never seen such a fine chamber before.

At his request, Lonni had already laid clothes for the child on the bed. Mioko jumped out of the vampire's arms and marvelled at the extravagance of the clothes that were obviously meant for her. When Mioko had changed, she climbed into the bed and chuckled, merrily to herself. The double bed was huge in comparison to what she was used to and she sat against the pillow, hardly taking up any room at all. Raziel smirked and sat on the edge of the bed as she wormed her way beneath the sheets and popped her head up every so often, giggling.

"Mioko," he said, surprising himself at how stern his voice sounded, "Bed." To his surprise Mioko obediently stopped playing and snuggled down into the silken sheets. She looked down the bed at him, "Story," she said, happily. Raziel was taken aback, this was the first time the child had spoken to him since her arrival in Razielim. "Excuse me?" he asked, realizing what she had actually asked. Mioko giggled, "Story," she repeated. Raziel rose and walked towards the door, "I don't think so," he muttered.

"No!" she cried, so shrilly Raziel turned to see her climb over the bed towards him. She pulled his claw back, "Story!" she shouted. Raziel watched in interest as she continued her futile attempts to pull him back to the bed. "No!" Raziel snapped, wrenching his claws from her grasp. She fell backwards against the bed and looked up at the vampire, her bottom lip trembling and quivering rapidly, "Oh no," Raziel begged, recognising what she was about to do, "Please no." Ignoring his pleas, a wail escaped her lips and tears streamed down her face. "Alright!" Raziel submitted as her cries became louder, "I'll tell you a story!"

She stopped crying abruptly and clambered back into the bed. Raziel sat beside her and thought of what he could tell her. After a long silence, Mioko became impatient, "Story!" she repeated loudly. 'Azrael?' Raziel used the gift of the whisper to speak to his first-born.

'My lord?' came the swift reply.

'How do I tell a story to a child?' There was a hesitation before an answer came,

'You are not serious?'

'I'm very serious,' Raziel muttered back, ignoring Mioko who had now taken to jumping on the bed, shouting, "Story!" repeatedly.

'I don't know,' Azrael declared, 'tell her how we conquered Razielim or something?'

'I can't tell a child that!' Raziel protested, but as Mioko's screams became more desperate and deafening Raziel shouted over her, "Once there was a vampire!" Mioko gave a squeal of excitement and rushed back into bed as Raziel continued, "his name was Kain. Kain decided to create more vampires and so he made his first born, Raziel." Mioko giggled,

"Your name's Raziel, is Kain your daddy?" Raziel chuckled and shook his head,

"No, Kain isn't my...daddy."

"But you said..."

"Alright!" Raziel sighed, "Kain is my daddy!" As Mioko settled with a contented look on her face, Raziel continued, "then he made more vampires, Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon and Melchiah."

"They're your brothers!" Mioko cried. Raziel, who was surprised at how irritated he had become at her interruption, nodded, "Yes." Before he continued she interrupted again,

"Are they my uncles?" she asked. Raziel shook his head, "Is your daddy Kain my grandpa?" she inquired innocently. "What?!" Raziel, cried in disbelief, "No!" She opened her mouth to ask another question as her face contorted with confusion, Raziel decided it would be a good idea to cut the story short, before she could pester him some more, "anyway, Kain sent all the vampires away to get their own territories and off they went. Raziel found the city closest to Kain and took over the city, then he made vampires and they made more vampires and they all lived in luxury, enslaving the humans." There was a long pause as Raziel, rose, panting for breath. Mioko had a large smile on her face which soon turned to confusion. "Why did grandpa Kain send you away? Doesn't he love you?" she asked. Raziel moaned loudly,

"Good night, Mioko," he said firmly, sweeping out the door as she continued to bombard him with questions. Raziel returned to his room and collapsed into a chair, exhausted and appreciative of how much hard work a child could be.

That night, Raziel slipped into a sleep almost as soon as he slid into his own bed. The journey from Turelim, initial clan business and Mioko all took its toll and he fell into a pleasant slumber. His sleep was a deep one, so deep that it took him a while to realize someone was shaking him back to reality. He reluctantly opened his eyes and could just make out the shape of a child beside him. "What do you want?" he croaked.

"Can't sleep," Mioko sighed. Raziel rolled over,

"Go to bed," he moaned, pulling his sheets tighter around him, "No!" he protested as the child climbed into bed beside him. "Mioko! No!" but he gave up as he realized she wasn't going anywhere. She snuggled into his chest and he pulled the covers over her, "Go to sleep," he ordered, slipping back into his own slumber.

"Alright...daddy," she whispered, peacefully falling to sleep.

TBC