Chapter 3:
Vancha and I have been traveling for some time now. We must be getting close to the mountain. I'm checking my bag to see what all I have left of what I brought before I started traveling with the prince. I still have all my clothes and valuables and my bar of soap. Food is looking okay. I've mostly been eating the same as Vancha, except I cook my meat over a fire-the thought of it raw just grosses me out. My pocket knife is a little dull; I'll have to find a good rock to sharpen it on.
We stop early every couple of days for a bit of training before we catch some shut-eye. Vancha has been training me to fight without weapons so that I'm even more prepared for whatever might come our way. He told me that, if I am made a vampire I will have to undergo some trials to prove that I'm worthy.
If there's one thing I have to say about Vancha, it's that he's a pretty great guy. He's a real people person…err…vampire, I guess I should say. It's been getting cold pretty fast. I've even spotted a couple snowflakes. When we stop at day Vancha always makes sure I'm warm enough. If I'm a bit cold, he lays next to me and shares his cloak. I have my quiet nights when I think more than I talk. Those are the nights he spends making me laugh and forget about my mother. I like those nights. Vancha doesn't seem to have too many of his own worries. If he does he doesn't say anything about them. He's more someone who wants to make other people smile.
I look across the fire at Vancha. He's sitting silent, staring at me, chewing on a deer bone that he's had for a while now. I smile at him, questioningly. "Are you alright, Terri? You seem quiet."
I grin. "Is that your way of telling me I'm loud?"
"No. You just seem quieter than usual is all."
"I'm fine. Just a tad tired." He nods and turns his attention to a beetle crawling next to him. I say a silent prayer that he's not going to pick it up and eat it. He doesn't. Phew. Instead he uses his thumb and forefinger and flicks it into the fire.
Snap.
Vancha looks at me. "Was that you?" I shake my head.
Snap.
It's coming from the woods. Vancha lays his bone on the ground and stands up silently. He beckons me over to him. When I'm next to his side, he whispers, "Go to the East side of the clearing and take cover back in the forest a ways. I'll come get you when the coast is clear." I nod and follow his orders. I watch and listen from my post in the forest. I hear nothing but I see Vancha slip into the bush.
SNAP!
Behind me! I whirl around to see what's behind me. Now I'm wishing I hadn't. Standing on it's hind legs is the most enormous bear I've ever seen. Bears don't normally attack people unless they're crazy or really hungry. This one seems to be fairly close to starving. It's no wonder. It seems to be dawning on an early winter and most of the animals have high-tailed it for somewhere to hibernate. I open my mouth to scream for Vancha as the bear drops on all fours. I take a few steps back, unsure of whether to run or hold my ground. I gaze into it's furious eyes. That was probably the wrong thing to do. The bear grunts and lets out a low growl. It lowers it's body slightly, readying itself for the attack.
There's a shout from somewhere to my close left that distracts the bear and I'm suddenly thrown back. I hit the back of my head on a tree, but not hard enough for me to worry about. I rub the sore spot and look up with widened eyes. A tall, blonde man stand in front of me facing the bear. He holds a hunting knife in each hand, waiting for the bear to make the first move. The bear starts to heave itself up on it's hind legs again, and the man throws one of the knives. The knife embeds itself in the beasts throat and it instantly falls to the ground, lifeless, creating a loud 'thunk'. The man walks over to the dead animal and calmly retrieves his knife. To my right, Vancha runs in from the clearing-just in the nick of time-followed by a man of medium height with mousey brown hair and soft brown eyes.
He looks from me to the bear, then to the blonde man and hurries to my side. "Are you alright?" he ask as he grips my arms and hoists me to my feet, inspecting me for injuries.
"I'm fine."
"You're not hurt?" I shake my head and look over his shoulder to the man behind him and the blonde that made his way over to the other. I raise my eyebrow at Vancha and he immediately gets the idea. "Terri," he says turning around and pointing to each man in turn. "This is Gavner Purl," the brown haired man smiles and gives a friendly wave. "And this is Kurda Smahlt," the blonde steps forward and shakes my hand. "Guys, this is Terri Curtis. Terri, Gavner and Kurda are fellow vampires of mine. We haven't seen each other in…how long has it been? Eight years?"
"About that," Gavner confirms.
We gather around the fire. I sit closer to Vancha, still not sure of what to make of the new strangers. Kurda and Gavner sit on the other side of the blaze. "So you all know each other?" I ask Vancha.
He nods. "Yes. Gavner and Kurda are both vampire generals. Kurda's on his way to becoming a prince. He's barely one hundred ten in human years, that means he's going to be the youngest prince in the history of the vampires." I look over at Kurda who is beaming proudly as well as blushing slightly.
"Congratulations to you, then."
"Well thank you." I sit quietly as the three vampires speak about the past, telling jokes and asking about people I don't know. Then, as they get up closer to the present, Gavner asks Vancha about me.
"I knew the question would come sooner or later," he grins. "I found Terri sleeping in the woods almost two months ago. She's looking to join our ranks."
"But you're so young," Kurda comments. "Surely you miss your family and friends."
I shake my head. "Dad probably hasn't even noticed that I left, and I didn't have any real friends anyways. I miss Mum, but she's been dead for ten years."
"So you're a runaway," Gavner notes. I nod. "What made you want to become a vampire?"
"I just thought I'd be better off that way. I dunno, maybe it was all supposed to happen and I was meant to become a vampire, to help. It's like my mother was intended to be killed by a vampaneze to point me in the direction of the vampires."
"You're mother was killed by a vampaneze?" Gavner asks.
"That's what I just said. But Vancha has to clear my vampirism with the other princes first."
"If you do become a vampire, do you plan on finding and killing the vampaneze that killed your mother?" Kurda inquires.
"No. I used to hunt for them, but I knew I'd never find the true killer. I've grown up a lot since I caught one lying to me and trying to tell me that you're the bad guys. I'll never know who it was that killed my Mum and even if I did, killing them wouldn't change anything. Killing them won't bring Mum back, so I don't see the need to commit any unnecessary murders. If I did that, then I'd be no better than them."
Vancha smiles and squeezes my shoulder comfortingly. "She's a smart one, I'll give her that." Gavner and Kurda are also smiling. I guess they agree with what I said.
"You'll make a fine vampire," Gavner says. I smile. Gavner seems to be a kind-hearted person. As does Kurda. I like them.
The sun's out now. It feels as though it's getting closer to midday. I yawn and lay back, closing my eyes. I feel Vancha drape his cloak over me and push my bangs back off my forehead. "Sleep well, tiny brat," he says. His voice is smiling. I smile and allow myself to fall into sweet siesta.