The soldiers drew closer to us; we attacked them before they could do anything. We managed to kill a few before they regained themselves. The fight was on. Both sides were fast and good. The soldiers have clearly been trained well, maybe starting when they were little. As the battles went on, their numbers dwindled and ours too. Most of the Vilanin turned to ashes leaving the green grass grey with dust. I saw some of them die before my eyes; my close cousin Tanya was slashed into two in front of me. My father's sister Clare was struck in the heart with a silver spear, screaming as she burst into flames. Sometimes I would have a glimpse of father fighting for his life; mother trying to kill as many people as she can, even in her big gown she moved swiftly and smoothly. I saw Carmilla was almost shot in the head with a knife. That almost took up all my attention; one man saw his opportunity and raised his club to smash my head. I saw him in the corner of my eye. I quickly ran behind him and holding his head, I twisted it to the side till I heard a crack. I let his body drop to the floor getting my hands on another one.

The battle seems to go to their favour. Only a number of us were left. Father was already dust

lying somewhere around the ground. Mother was still standing up, her dress in ruins; one of her hand was lost but her other wounds were rapidly healing. Carmilla stood her ground. It was the first time I saw such madness in her eyes. It was like burning fire. I wanted to go and fetch uncle right now but if I do leave they would all die. I don't have much time either looking for him.

In all the chaos, I accidentally tripped on a dead body of a man wearing his armour but the helmet was gone along with the head. A soldier saw me on the ground; he raised his sword right above his head about to deliver my death. I couldn't move from my spot because his foot was crashing my ribs. I didn't have the urge to fight anymore either. I just wanted to end this quickly. There was no reason to fight anymore. We were quickly losing. I closed my eyes shut waiting for the sharp blade to pierce my soft skin. When almost a minute has passed and I didn't feel the pain, I opened up my eyes. The soldier had his sword down holding it with one hand; the other hand was just underneath the helmet. I was confused; he wasn't trying to kill me. He lifted his helmet up revealing his face.

I gasped when I saw his face. It was the face that I would never forget. Though he was taller, more mature and lost all his baby fat and the face did not look exactly like the one I was used to seeing. His face showed his cheekbones, it was skinnier, his lips were broad, his hair was lighter than before. But his eyes never changed; it still stayed the same. My favourite set of eyes; always had mischief and playfulness behind them and a twinkle in the corner. Right now the eyes showed surprise and curiosity and sadness?

My own expression mirrored his. Maybe we were thinking the same thing. He took off his heavy foot that weighed more by the metal boot. He held out a hand to me helping me up. No one seemed to notice us. They were all busy fighting. I could not make a sound. I could not put words together to make a sentence. I could see he was also struggling to say something. We stood there gazing at each other for a whole minute.

He came into his senses first. "Come," his voice was also different now. It was not like the one I used to tease him about. "we cannot stand here in the middle of a war."

He grabbed my hand before I could even say anything. We dodged every attack and weapons. Sometimes he shielded us with his shield from a flying knife. Luckily, all the way through no one noticed us. The last horrific battle that I saw was Carmilla being surrounded by huge soldiers. She looked helpless in the centre, growling at them. We all know who won the battle today and the ones who lost. I was also sure that my uncle and I are the only members left of the Vilanin family.

We didn't stop until we reached the mouth of the forest. He didn't let go of my hand. He pulled me into his chest giving me a tight hug. If I was still a human I sure would be crashed.

"Skye" he murmured into my hair. It was the first in a decade that someone called me by that name.

"Tristyn" I said hugging him back smiling. He still remembered me. After all these years he still kept his promise. It was a real comforter.

"Oh Skye" he whispered letting go and looking at me from an arm's length.

I was really embarrassed by my look. My hair was sticking out of its place. Blood stained my gown and ashes darkened it.

His eyes settled on the necklace. He smiled gently. "You still have it."

I looked down on my necklace too. "I never took it off." I put my hand around the pendant rubbing it with my thumb. "It kept me whole throughout my life."

He looked at my face placing a hand on my cheek. His thumb caressed my face.

It all suddenly felt like a déjà vu. I felt like a little girl again playing my favourite game, princess, castles, and dragons. Right in front of me was my knight in shining armour. He would defeat all the bad monsters that kept me in the castle and rescue me. But this wasn't any child's game anymore. This was real. We're not playing our game.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring butter biscuits." I suddenly blurted out. My mind was still in the past.

Tristyn laughed. From all the things that were happening right now he even managed to laugh. He still had his eyes fixed up on me. "I can't believe that you have grown more than I did."

I frowned. "I think you are the one who has grown more. You look so different now."

He chuckled. "That's what you get from all the training for the past ten years."

"Why did you ambush us on my wedding?" I couldn't help but ask.

His face suddenly fell. His hand dropped from my face. "We heard news about a wedding. A lot of vampires were going to be there. We couldn't waste an opportunity like this. So we took our chance." he didn't look at me in the eyes while he said this.

"Did you know that it was my family you were eliminating?" my voice was a bit harsher than intended.

He nodded his head sadly. "The news did not just say about the wedding but also your family." he explained carefully. "The news also included a family member being turned into the very last vampire. We saw this as a chance. We could eliminate the most powerful family and the vampire lord in just one shot. But, I never expected that it was your wedding," he cringed when he said the last word "and I didn't know that you were the last member to be turned into a a... vampire." he choked as he said the creature that I am now.

I didn't know if I should be angry or not. My whole family had died because of them. I saw them as they were destroyed in front of my face; I heard them scream in agony and fear. Their ashes blown onto my stained white gown. How could I not forget about this day? It will haunt until the day I ceased to exist.

"I am really sorry" he apologised "I was deciding to get you out of here before the war started. That was when I didn't know that they turned you. I wasn't expecting that they are doing it earlier than the time that the others were turned."

My whole body was shaking with anger and sadness. If I could cry, I would right now; but my body doesn't depend on water anymore to survive.

Tristyn took a step back recognising the danger. He had one of his hands resting on his sword's handle.

He had every right to be cautious. I don't know what I would do if I lost my temper.

His eyes held pity and sadness. He didn't want to hurt me; I knew what he felt.

I tried to breathe in and out; I accidentally inhaled his sweet scent. It thrilled me. How could he smell so delicious with all the other blood around him? My mouth started to become dry; my throat burned for that hot sweet beverage brewing inside him. I wonder what he tastes like. I can ask him for a drop; only a drop that's all. Just a taste. Would it be like any other?

Control!

I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see the blood pulsating on his veins. I also stopped breathing, rubbing my temples with my fingers. Control. Control. Control. I've already had ten mice as a snack before the wedding and we had a feast last night so I'm not hungry. He was still, a foot apart from me. He was waiting for me to calm down. He has changed so much in these past few years. He's not the little kid that I used to know. What has he been up to now? I thought to myself the questions that I wouldn't be able to say out loud. Has he been betrothed yet?

I quickly cringed from that thought. Tristyn shifted his foot forward; maybe he noticed me cringe. Far in the distance, people in big groups were walking towards the forest. I can hear them calling Tristyn's name. I suddenly opened up my eyes, alert.

"They're looking for you." I said quickly that the words seemed like a mumble.

His eyes were wide with surprise. "Go now before they find you." he turned to face the way to the castle. "Go. I don't want them to find you alive."

Now sadness really over washed me. This again was another goodbye. It may take a long time to see him again. I quickly hugged him tightly but soft enough for him to breathe. "I'll miss you again." I whispered in his shielded chest.

"I'll miss you too, Skye." he kissed my bushy hair before we parted.

I ran in lightning speed through the forest. I have ripped half of my skirt so I could run freely. Behind me, Tristyn lightly cut himself with his sword, as the others came. He explained to them that he was fighting against me, the last of the Vilanin's; he had successfully triumphed with my ashes blown into the grass. When he finished his story the soldiers cheered in victory. Happy that they won the battle.

I kept running distracting myself by counting the trees that passed me. I didn't think about what happened today. I would not remember what happened to my family. Uncle Lorano can sleep in his coffin where ever he is. I will not wake him up to let him know his whole family had died except for me. He would kill everyone who became part of the war, even Tristyn. I didn't want my uncle to die too. If he died all the vampires in the world would become weaker, vulnerable, including me. I would let time pass me.

From now on, I am not to be recognized as Princess Christina Elizabeth Vilanin, the last vampire of the Vilanin clan.