Chapter 18:

Her father stared at Amelie in shock, so stunned that he didn't even register what was occurring between his troops and Amelie's friends. "What did you say?" he repeated, his voice unsteady for the first time that Amelie could remember.

She smiled slightly, reaching behind her into the pocket of her dress and clasping the handle of the knife enclosed within it as she did so. "I said that you are going to die, Father," she said, taking another step closer to him. "I don't want to live in a world where you are the ruler and everyone is your sub-ordinate; I want to take control. I will not live with you as my sole authority figure!"

Bishop snarled as Amelie took another pace towards him, slipping into a defensive position once more. "And how do you propose you will do that alone?" he sneered. "Your little friends are not behind you; you are alone against me, your father, the oldest vampire in the world…and yet you suppose to think that you can defeat me?"

Amelie didn't react as he spoke, didn't cower away as she knew he wanted; instead, she merely took another step closer to her father. "And you are weak, Father," she told him. "You have just fought a battle—you are not ready to face another. Yet I am strong, with the will and determination to defeat the man I have despised since I was a child. I am ready to do this. Prepare for death, Father."

Before Bishop could even consider moving to attack Amelie, she had moved, twirling around and jumping high into the air in order to land on the other side of a disorientated Bishop, who took a fraction of a second too long to turn around and face his daughter. This lack of timing caused Amelie to launch herself at her father, pushing him down from the raised area and onto the grass below.

They rolled in silence, grappling with one another in order to try and gain the upper hand, something which Amelie retained for the majority of the time. One time her father gained the upper hand teased a growl from her lips, but other than that, the only sound was of the material of their clothes rolling upon the ground, the attempts to damage the other's skin causing no noise whatsoever.

And then finally, Amelie had the chance to make her move against her father, to destroy Bishop once and for all.

On the other side of the field, Myrnin and Oliver were, as far as Amelie could see, holding their own against Bishop's vampires, destroying more than she had perhaps considered them capable of. They were not her concern now; that was reserved for the man who was on the ground beneath her knee, the one who was attempting to rip her leg from her body in his attempt to escape her grasp.

"What's the matter, Father?" Amelie said, her eyes glistening as she reached for the knife in her pocket. "Do you not like to be beaten by your daughter? Does it not bode particularly well for your attempts to dominate the world?"

Bishop didn't speak, instead focusing his energy on growling and snarling at the same time as trying to get his grip on Amelie firm enough for her to lose her position of power over him.

All these attempts, however, were thwarted when Amelie swung her arm and drove the knife in her hand down into Bishop's chest, effectively stilling his body save for his facial expressions. His grabbing hands fell to the ground, and Amelie took an entire second to look at the situation before her and to understand that if she were to leave the knife in place, her father would die—it would be slow, but he would die.

However, Amelie couldn't chance that she left him and one of his followers would remove the knife before he died; that would be dangerous to her in the future, there was no doubting that. She had to ensure that he died—and she knew only one method which would ensure that.

Draining.

Slowly, hesitantly, Amelie removed the blade from Bishop's chest and lifted him up so that he was no longer lying down, he was supported in his daughter's arms. "The wound could heal, if I desired it to," she told him honestly, knowing that she had to act quickly. "But I don't want it to; I want you to die. So you shall die, Father, and the world will be a happier place without you."

With that, Amelie's fangs fell the extra half a centimetre she wanted, and with the arching of her father's back, they pierced the membrane of his neck, allowing the blood to fill her mouth.

It wasn't pleasant; she particularly despised vampire blood, even more so her father's, and so she took blood with an unwillingness for it to fill her insides. Yet take it she did, and with every swallow, she felt her father grow more and more still, until the slight signs of life a vampire showed were gone.

He was dead.

As she threw him back to the ground, a book bounced out of his breast-pocket, intriguing Amelie. She had had interest in this for a long time, and now that she had the chance to discover what her father had…it was invigorating, to say the least. Whilst she wanted to read it there and then, she could not manage it; she had to ensure that she was acknowledged as the rightful Elder of the vampires, and that her rulings were immediately put into effect.

She had to ensure that she was the queen, effectively.

Standing slowly, Amelie remained over her father's body, waiting for the vampires on the other side of the field to notice the struggle was over, and that she was the one left standing, not her father. It took only minutes for this to happen, with Myrnin and Oliver leading the others across the field towards Amelie and the dead vampire on the ground at her feet.

"My father is dead," she told them simply, watching as the vampires, who had been Bishop's, shifted uncomfortably. "I am now your ruler. You have the chance to join me, in a world where your activities are your own business and I am merely your ruler, or you can die with my father, here, tonight. I would prefer the former; there has been enough bloodshed this evening, after all." She was firm, yet kind with her tone, looking each and every one of the vampires in the eyes, and that was what she felt swayed them.

They all fell to their knees, bowing their heads before their new ruler, and Amelie smiled, unable to contain her glee, even if she had wanted to.

Myrnin and Oliver took steps towards her, then hesitated, evidently due to her new position. Amelie merely inclined her head and they were moving towards her, a harrowed look on their faces.

"We must move the body to the grave we have prepared," Oliver said gravely, and Amelie nodded once more.

"I shall do it," she said softly, moving swiftly across the grass to pick up one of the cloaks that had been abandoned by the Elders when the others attacked.

Gingerly, Amelie wrapped it around her father, surreptitiously slipping the book into her pocket; she was certain that only Myrnin and Oliver had noticed, both of their eyebrows raised at her doing this, but she didn't make a comment on it for fear that the others would listen.

"Return to your normal lives, all of you," she called as those who were now her subjects rose to their feet once more. "If you have an issue, come to me. I shall be building an army, becoming the queen that you know I rightfully am. Come to me, and your problems will be aided…if possible."

With these words, the entire congregation left. Amelie was certain that there were many in their midst which were not yet loyal to her…but she would find them all. She would create her army and attack, ensuring that all vampires in the world were loyal to her. This was her goal for the end of the century, and she wasn't sure if it was entirely feasible—but it was best to have a plan, she felt.

"Show me this grave," she said quietly, lifting her father into her arms with a look of disgust on her face.

The trio of vampires moved through the field slowly, heading towards a shallow, evidently hastily dug grave on the edge of the forest.

"Good riddance," Amelie muttered as she rolled her father into the grave, no final words or anything…nothing more than a sigh of relief that this was over—and so quickly! She had expected hours of fighting…but no. She was the ruler, and it had taken a very short period of time.

"Where do we go now?" Myrnin asked as they three made their way in the direction of their home, leaving many dozens of vampires on the field. They would be destroyed by the sun, burnt into piles of ash by morning, and Amelie made the sign of the cross as they passed the fallen, to ensure that they made it into whatever happened beyond the world of the living.

"For now, we rest," Amelie said with a smile. "We experiment, we read, we fight…we do what we want. In a month's time, we can begin the building of my army.

"In a months' time, we can build my Empire."

For the first time in her life, Amelie felt that all was working well.

Bishop's POV:

He was weak. He was barely alive—but he was. In this barely dug grave, he could sense the atmosphere above him, yet he did not have the energy to dig himself out.

He was reliant on his loyal servants coming to rescue him…he could only hope that they would.

So this is the end of the road for this story! We're finally there!

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