.:Chapter 2:.

:. The Meeting.:

The beautiful tiger exited the dark building. Its shiny yellow eyes were set in the far desert which it could see from where it was. Every step the tiger took, fog around it started to increase until it was covered completely. Within seconds, a large eagle took off towards the sky from within the fog, flying in high speed towards the desert. As the fog disappeared, nothing else remained.

In the desert

"That's right…It's my choice so I cannot give up and turn back now! I have to be determined and make my own choice this time round...!" thought the girl on a horse's back.

The girl was wearing a cloak as she rode on her white horse. Deep in thoughts, she did not realize where she was leading the horse to. The only thing she knew was to be away from her home as far as possible.

"Father always makes decisions for me without asking my opinions…even this time, he made arrangements for me to marry someone else whom I have never even met before…I've had enough…!" the girl thought as the anger and rebellious feelings in her increased.

The sudden stop of her horse brought her attention back to her current situation and location. It was then the girl noticed where she had arrived, The Lasoun Town, which was located in the Levith Desert. The sun was setting soon and the girl knew she could not continue to travel anymore in the night, when most dangerous creatures become active. Having no choice, she rode her horse into the town, looking for an inn for her to stay over for a night. However, as she rode deeper and deeper into the town, she began to have an unpleasant feeling about the weird town.

"This is…very strange…There don't seem to have anyone living in this town…Some of the houses were neat yet some of the houses seemed to be ransacked and large scratch marks were around…" the girl observed and got slightly frightened at the sights of some dried blood stains on a few doors of the houses she went past.

A shadow flew across her and gave her a slight shock. The girl looked up and saw an eagle flying beautifully above her. She was not sure if the eagle was harmful or not but its stunning posture in the sky attracted her. Somehow, she wanted to make friends with the eagle, just like how she was able to make friends with other harmless animals back at her home.

"Hello eagle~!" the girl called for the bird happily, feeling as though she had another companion on her journey.

The flying eagle heard and saw the girl clearly with its sharp senses. It glided in the air and landed at the horse's croup, behind the girl. The girl was excited and turned around in hope to be closer to it, before realizing the eagle screeched right in front of her face and pecked hardly at the horse's croup. The girl's excitement turned into shock immediately when her stallion neighed in pain and started charging forward as the eagle returned to the sky up high. The horse finally calmed down and stopped dashing forward when it braked in time before running into the walls of a rundown inn in the middle of the town. The girl did not have such a rough ride for a long time and decided to alight from her horse to catch a breath. Her hunger and hope to attain some food also brought her into the inn in front of her. The furniture in the inn were badly damaged and blood and fighting marks were all around the inn, but the sight no longer scare the hungry girl anymore as she concentrated on looking for some food.

"Hmm…This place does not seem to be deserted until recently so there must be at least something for me to eat…" the girl thought as she searched the place carefully when she jumped in shock after hearing some strange noises from above her.

"C-Could it be someone who stayed and did not move away!?" the girl thought in excitement and went up the stairs slowly without making loud sounds, hoping not to scare the person or thing that was creating the noises up there.

When she reached the second floor, the girl saw the back view of a messy-haired man dressed in torn clothing. Blood were spreading across the floor as the man seemed to be engaged in something in front of him. Taking a few steps closer to have a better look, the girl saw what lies in the arms of the groaning man. A bloody young female corpse that had big pieces of flesh torn out of it. It was a horrible sight. A sight too horrible for the pure girl, making her gasped in horror. The man noticed her presence then. He turned his head and smiled widely at the frightened girl, revealing his large sharp teeth and his glowing red eyes that were seemed to be rid of any humanity. The girl was so afraid and shock that she could not even let out a scream.

"A…A Vampire…!" The girl knew what the man was clearly. It was what she was taught to keep away from since young. The girl shivered and her trembling foot took a step backwards, ready to make a dash for it to escape from the horrendous vampire.

However, as soon as her leg moved, the vampire sprung up on his four limbs just like a carnivorous animal. He pushed himself off the ground before dashing towards the scared girl in a fast speed, his claws-like hands stretching out to grab his next meal. The girl shut her eyes in fear of looking at the creature any longer.

"I am going to die!...Eh…?" was what going through in the girl's mind before she realized that nothing happened. She opened her eyes slowly and put her arms that were covering her face down before noticing what was happening in front of her.

The vampire was then at the other corner of the room, with one of his eyes scratched and bleeding. He had an annoyed expression and a ready-to-attack pose, glaring at what stopped him from getting his meal. The girl looked downwards and saw the eagle she met earlier right in front of her, its claw filled with the vampire's blood. The eagle flapped its wings and flew in the air as fog appeared, covering it. In a blink of eyes, the fog started to disperse and a man's silhouette were seen to emerge from it. The figure and the vampire dashed towards each other and exchanged attacks in lightning speeds. The fight was amazing, yet scary at the same time. The girl managed to recover from her fear and move a little away from where the fight was, hiding behind the pillars to continue looking. Finally, a large groan was heard as the fight came to an end. A figure walked out from the shadows with a bleeding head in its hand. As the figure walked past the window, the sunlight revealed its appearance. It was not the vampire that tried to kill the girl, but the 'eagle' which saved her! The man's emerald eyes shone a little under the sun. Even though it was her saviour who won the fight, the girl felt a fear even greater than before from him as he walked towards her with the vampire's head in his hand. Her 'saviour' stopped in front of her as he raised his other hand, which was holding a sharp knife.

"If you had run away and not stayed here just now, you would have been able to live...It can't be helped now that you have seen my real form…" were what the girl could hear before her eyes saw the man swinging the knife in his hand down towards her…