Prologue: chapter 1
In a dark forest, two men, their skin pale and their eyes red, moved quietly, at unbelievable speeds, their forms hidden by the darkness, the one behind had a bag over his shoulder, an oddly human-shaped bag.
the bag's occupant squirmed, struggling against the fabric.
"will you shut her up already?" the one in front asked with annoyance.
"nope, you heard his majesty" the one holding the bag said "he wants her unharmed"
"oh please, we both know that his highness" the pale-skinned man in front spat that word out with venom. "the prince will break her before by next week"
"Nevertheless, she is still valuable, and the king wants her" the rear vampire said, before he suddenly stopped, landing on a tree branch.
"what is it?" his friend asked.
"hey, is it me...or did the crickets just go silent?" the one holding the girl said.
his friend, raising an eyebrow, suddenly realized how quiet the forest had gotten.
"yeah, that's weird, probably a bear or something, Solario's full of them" he shrugged.
"maybe" the bag-holder said, looking around, feeling as if the shadows were moving. "I should really cut down on the wine"
"now don't start talking crazy" his friend said, and they both laughed.
Not a moment later, the shadows became darker, and the silence grew heavier.
"no, something's definatly wrong, Fredrick, we need to mo- Fredrick?" the bag holder said, noticing his partner's sudden absence. "that god-damn asshole, leaving me behind" he muttered angrily, before moving forward, trying to catch up to his partner.
For minutes, he cleared almost half of the forest, but Fredrick was not there, as if the darkness had swallowed him.
"Fredrick! Fredrick! where are you?" the bag holder said, stopping under a nearby tree. "by the blood, we're losing night hours here, sun's gonna be up any minute, and I'd rather not have to deal with that" the pale-skinned man said, not noticing the shadows which creeped ever so closer.
Suddenly, without warning, something rustled in the bushes.
Quickly bringing out his dagger, the vampire prepared for combat...only for a raven to jump out of the bush.
"a raven?" he asked himself "that's weird, you guys aren't native to this area" he scratched the back of his head.
out of nowhere, a spike came out of the shadows, intent on stabbing the man, the vampire only being saved by his superhuman reflexes. "come out!" he shouted "whatever you are, I'll kill you!"
Suddenly, something dropped on top of him, wet and hard, he kicked it off, noticing a lot of what appeared to be blood, which his nose instantly picked.
"blood?" he muttered "wait" he smelled the blood, and his eyes widened "Fredrick..." he said, and looked at the object he kicked off himself, his eyes widening in horror.
There, in front of him, was Fredrick's corpse, having been disembowled, and his chest ripped open, several holes littered his body, as if multiple sharp knives went through him.
he wanted to puke, but he was too afraid, tightly gripping the bag, not wanting to let the prize go...when he felt it.
An emotion no vampire had felt before.
he was afraid of the shadows.
the darkness that his kind reveled in...was now his source of terror.
the woods, silent and peaceful, only served to mess with him more, not knowing where the enemy was hiding.
suddenly, out of nowhere, he got the random urge to look up, and he gave in.
his blood red orbs widened, as he gazed up, seeing two, glowing purple eyes, and before he could scream, his mouth was covered by the shadows, as dark hands ripped him apart, painfully, brutally, violently, his guts hanging out of his stomach, as he desperately tried to scream, but the shadows kept his mouth covered, as he was torn from limb-to-limb.
Once the vampire was dead, the owner of the purple eyes looked at the bag, and slowly opened it.
Inside the bag, a tuft of blonde hair could be seen, and when he opened it furhter, two golden eyes stared at him, with tears in them. There, in the bag, lay a young woman, possibly 16 years of age, her hair long, golden, and silky, wearing a embroidered white and gold robe, denoting her status as a member of the royal family.
She was a beauty most men would kill for.
the purple eyes stared at her, as she cried, the princess quietly trembling as she saw the thing that murdered and gutted her kidnappers in such a brutal manner.
he reached out a hand, and she recoiled, scared for her life, but when nothing happened, she opened her eyes, and saw that he was simply offering her a hand to help her stand up. Slowly reaching for the offered hand, the princess hesitantly taking it, before letting him help her up.
"thank you" she quietly whispered, her voice small and meek, laced with innocence and softness, the purple-eyed boy not replying as he walked away, with her right behind him, having no choice but to follow him, having never been so far away from the castle before.
they walked together for about an hour, before they heard shouting.
"your highness!"
"she must be here! find her before something happens or we are all dead!"
in the distance, a squad of knights, all wearing insignias depicting the sun on their shoulders, their chest plated painted with white and golden colors.
"That's my way back" she muttered, and the purple-eyed boy gave her a nudge, before leaving, his hood still hiding his face, before he felt a warm, gentle hand grab his. "please, come with me, I know my father will reward you for saving me, I can't just let you walk away after what you did, and not give you something in return" she whispered to him, her golden eyes staring into his purple ones.
He looked down, seemingly thinking for a moment.
"name" was the only thing he said, his voice weak and quiet, as if he hadn't used it in a long time. The princess tilted her head "name? like a title? I think he can do that" she wondered "no, name" he said, pointing to her.
"you want my name?" she whispered quietly, receiving a nod as a reply.
She smiled, before letting go of his hand.
"Soleil, Soleil Darkano, crown princess of the sun kingdom" she stated, doing a small curtsy to him "and you? may I please know the name of my savior?" she whispered, holding her hand in front of her chest.
The boy looked down once more, and thought for a few moments, before looking back at her.
"Cassius" he stated, Soleil tilting her head "may I know your family name, Sir Cassius?" she asked "no family name" he stated, and before she could pursue more answers, the guards shouted for her.
"Princess Soleil!" one shouted
"Your highness!" another one yelled, shining his lamp at her. "your father's been worried sick, are you hurt?" he asked with worry.
"no, sir knight, don't worry yourself, I was just talking to..." she trailed off, seeing that Cassius was gone, but still feeling his eyes on her.
"nevermind, let us go back" she stated, letting the knight help her up his horse.
In the darkness, Cassius watched her go, hiding behind a tree, his left eye peeking from behind the log.
"Sol...eil" he struggled "Sole..il"
"Soleil" he whispered, finally prounouncing the name correctly, a small smile gracing his lips, something which he hadn't done in so long, before he sunk into the shadows, fading into the darkness.