Crying Blood Tears

She was nobody, an orphan. He was the king of the damned. So what could he possibly want her for?

Gone Out For A Walk

"Areyah!" the high-pitched screech ripped through the young girls dream like a deadly knife and she awoke rubbing her eyes and yawning. She worked in the tavern, or perhaps slaved would be more appropriate, as a way of keeping a roof over her head and food and drink on the table. It was rather ironic really saying it kept a roof over her head because it couldn't have been more true, she slept under the slate tiles, in the attic on an old broken down bed with a poor mattress and feather bedspread that issued little warmth. She clambered off the creaking mattress and quickly switched her nightgown for her work dress, a simple beige frock that tucked in at the waist, with a white apron over the top and a white collar. It was neither pretty, nor comfortable but it did the job it was supposed to. Areyah pulled her long black curls into bun at the back of her head and quickly splashed cold water on her face, promising herself a proper bath later.

"Areyah Tempest!" The screech came again and adding her last name meant that the owner of the voice was getting impatient. Quickly pulling on her boots, Areyah hurried down the fourteen steps from the attic and the twenty steps form the first floor into the backroom of the already busy inn. She stood before a fierce looking woman, with a hooked nose, narrowed green eyes and, furiously red hair scraped back under a cap. As frightening as she looked, Helen Fresco was not really harsh.

"Areyah! Finally you appear! Dormir tarde!" Areyah smiled slightly as Helen slipped back into Portuguese but knew better than to laugh.

"You are wanted in the kitchen, go!" Helen pushed her and turned and ran back into the bar and was called over by yet another customer.

"Bread!" Came a shout as Areyah walked into the kitchens and automatically she pulled out the flour and eggs and yeast and began to mix them furiously. Pouring the gooey mix into baking tins she almost threw them in the oven and called over to Bethany, another girl in the kitchens, to watch it for her.

Walking out of the kitchens she waltzed straight through the tavern and out of the door, pulling her hair out of it's bun as she did so, the heat of the kitchens was always too much for her, and she often escaped out into the cold air just to breathe the cold into her lungs, It was bright and sunny, with a few clouds in the sky. She walked over to the well in the centre of the village square and looked down into the black depths, her reflection shimmering back at her, she shivered and looked up.

"Holy Hell…" she muttered as she looked at the sun or rather the lack of it, one of the larger black clouds had crossed its path and the sky darkened. Already she could hear doors slamming and windows locking as people. Terror slowly gripped Areyah's heart as she sprinted back towards the tavern and cursed herself for not checking the clouds movements more closely. Her mind on her thoughts she forget to watch where she was going and tripped over a paving slab hitting the floor and grazing her hands. She heard the flap of wings and leapt to her feet and turned around. Three white bat women landed in front of her and changed before her eyes into three beautiful vampires. The closest had long straight black hair and was dressed in mint green silk and muslin. The second had long curly auburn hair and had a revealing pink gown on and the third had blonde curly hair and was wearing a yellow dress and all three wore evil smiles their elongated canine's glinting.

"Aww look at the little village girl, so frightened, so lonely, so lost." The auburn haired one cooed.

"Now, now Aleera, it's not nice to make fun of food…" came a slight rebuke from the vampire with black hair.

"But Verona, look at her, she doesn't know anything about herself!" Aleera mocked and Areyah looked at her with disdain.

"Aleera, Verona and Marishka, fly back to hell where you belong!" Areyah snarled the comments about her angering her.

"Look at her, she'd make a perfect little bride, with that temper, I bet her blood is boiling hot with rage…" Marishka laughed, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. Areyah knelt down slowly and pulled a silver stake from her boot and stood up gripping it in her fist.

"Don't come near me, you hell whore's!" Areyah commanded viciously, pulling another stake from her belt. She aimed one and threw it at Aleera, hitting her in the arm making the vampire hiss in pain and drop back a little.

"Don't ever mock me, when you coo over that monster you are brides for!" She stated.

"How dare you try and hurt us!" Verona growled.

"Your name! What is your name?" Marishka asked.

"My name is Areyah Tempest, and I am not any petty village girl, so do not treat me like one!" came the quick reply.

"And so we will not," Areyah spun round and without thinking rammed the stake through the heart of the man behind her. She gasped and backed away a little, watching as he pulled it free and threw it into the ground. He grabbed her wrists and looked at her in the face and defiantly she glared back.

"Count Vladislaus Dracula." She stated the look of disgust plain on her face.

"Areyah Tempest, or should I say, Areyah Valerious?" he asked and the brides gasped.

"What? Are you losing your mind, Count? I am no Valerious!" She laughed bitterly.

"No? But look at you, so similar looking to your Mother Anna, apart from your hair is darker than hers, same feisty temper, she left you in the hands of the baker and told him to look after you well, giving you the last name of Tempest, so you would never be found by Dracula." He laughed, as the cold look of disbelief faltered on Areyah's face.

"You lie! You murdered my Mother and the baker found me by the roadside! He gave me the last name tempest because there was a storm brewing at the time!" Areyah's voice was almost desperate.

"You were then vanquished by Van Helsing along with your bride's on the day of my sixth birthday, you then returned seven years after on my thirteenth birthday, destroying the baker's household, but by lucky chance I had been out that day as they prepared for my birthday!" Dracula looked at her amused.

"Indeed your facts are right but what do all these facts lead up to?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"That Anna Valerious could not be my Mother; she died on the same night of your destruction at the age of twenty two. That would mean she was sixteen when she gave birth to me! The Valerious family would not allow that as I would have been born out of wedlock!" A triumphant look passed over her face but flittered away as Dracula shook his head.

"My dear child, Anna was sixteen when she became your Mother. She was terrified and, though she loved you dearly, she was too proud to ruin the Valerious family name, so she wrapped you up and left you on the doorstep of the Bakers house with a note saying that you were in grave danger because your Mother was wanted by Count Dracula, which was all true." He smiled and Areyah tried to pull away.

"Then who was my father if you know all this, then surely you know his name?" Areyah snarled at him.

"Oh yes, I know quite a lot of your Father, in fact, everything there is to know about him, because, my child, your Father is I." Areyah's mouth dropped open and she tried to pull away from him as his grip tightened around her wrists. He wrapped his arm securely around her waist and he and his bride's turned into their bat forms and headed for Dracula's home. Areyah struggled constantly as she was carried, more willing to be dropped than find out the awful truth about her new found "Father". She looked down and realized they had flown almost above the clouds, gasping at the sheer height that they were at.

Suddenly she realised that she must be half-vampire if Dracula was her Father and she settled down, in pretence of sleep, if she could get him to relax than she could break free from his grasp and become one of those winged beasts, or at least try. After a while the arm around her grew relaxed and she opened her eyes, breathing in deeply she kicked away from Dracula and fell through the air.

"Wings, Grow Wings!" she cursed and suddenly she felt herself lifted and heard the flap of the wings on her back. She glanced down at her hands, almost unwilling to see the white skin and claws she was certain she would have. As she sneaked a glance at her fingers she gasped to see them pink with normal healthy human nails. Shocked her wings froze in mid-flap and she tumbled down towards the Earth, screeching she tried to fly again but her wings made little difference and only slowed her speedy descent.

Tears coursed down her wind stung cheeks and desperate she called for the only person she had,

"Dracula!" she yelped and he appeared beside her, the horrible winged beast and she screamed in fright.

"You called my dear, but I only answer one word from you..." he snarled laughing cruelly.

"Never!" the harsh reply came and Areyah flapped her large wings desperately but to little avail.

"Well, I suppose I shall have to let you die, one less Valerious…" he laughed and made to fly off. Areyah was torn by the agony of not wanting to die and acknowledging Dracula as her Father, the latter won.

"Father, please!" she begged and he swept her up in his arms, her wings shrinking and disappearing.

"Thank you Areyah." Dracula whispered gently in her ear but Areyah winced and tried to ignore the terrible feeling inside and the malicious voice in her head calling her a coward, she crunched up as small as she could and slowly, as exhaustion finally claimed her she slipped into a fitful sleep.

"Yes, little one, sleep for a long journey of discovery awaits you…" Dracula smiled, running his claws through Areyah's long black locks.

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