The Castle's throne room was situated at the very top of the building. Throughout the years hunters and their kin had tried to kill the castle's master, but none had ever gotten close to reaching it because it was far out of reach. The castle itself made sure of that, as did the monsters that inhabited its many rooms and halls.
Luckily for Chiya and Laura they had a rather quick way of getting there. Using glass globes that appeared at certain areas they were able to use interdimensional pathways that took them right to the chamber they needed to go to. This was put in place by one of the former dark priests that had served the previous master of the castle to prevent unwelcome detours.
The throne room was a long corridor leading to a single ornate chair on a landing. Red carpet covered the floors, and by expert craftsmanship the stone pillars were made in the shape of naked women in a state of bliss. In the center of the corridor was a large stone cauldron directly underneath a large golden chandelier. On either side of the stone pot were dark robed beings praying in a dead ancient language with their arms raised high.
They didn't even acknowledge the two women walking past them, but that didn't bother them, as they knew their task was all consuming for them. They went on their way towards the throne. At the base of the stairs leading to the chair stood a woman. Tall with slender limbs, dressed in an elegant deep red and black dress of medieval style, her silver-white hair straight and going down to her feet. The sharp tips of a golden crown went up past the top of her head. She appeared to be looking up towards the area behind the throne. It was there that a massive portrait of a devilishly handsome but powerful man peered down at her with crimson eyes.
Both Chiya and Laura stopped a few feet from the woman and fell on their knees in reverence. In unison they spoke, almost in a dream like tone, "Mother."
The woman turned slowly, her red eyes shining like a beacon of death in the dimly lit room. The whites of her eyes were entirely black, making her eyes stick out more, and her pale white skin contrasting greatly with the smooth but crude golden crown upon her head, signifying her position as Master of the castle. Her bright red lips turned to a proud but at the same time loving smile upon seeing her daughters.
"My darling daughters..."
She strode over to them, smoothly going along the floor without moving her legs int he slightest and came to a stop before her kneeling daughters. She offered one of her heavily jeweled hands to each of them. They took the hands offered to them and kissed the soft skin. A sign of reverence to whom they owned their lives to was to be expected, but it was also an act of love on the girls' part.
They stood up once again, and it was only now that Laura spoke. "Mother, we have come to see you. How goes the ritual?"
"As you can see it is far from ready. My servants had to go across the world to find the four bloods needed for it. Turns out it was harder than expected. No matter, it will be ready in time for the blood moon to rise." Carmilla was of course talking about the men in the dark robes in the center of the room. Not just humans that worshipped her as a queen, but also devout followers of the dark they did her bidding and rarely failed. Good reason for that is she wouldn't tolerate failure from them. The same couldn't be said of her daughters, though on a less punishing scale.
"I heard there are some pests int he castle. Is this true, Laura?"
The eldest daughter nodded once, "Yes. I engaged them but they didn't stand a chance against me. As expected." She followed up that statement with an arrogant chuckle.
Carmilla didn't seem to share int he amusement. Her tone was filled with worry. "I wish you would let the servants handle them. You girls are too precious to me to be throwing yourselves at mere hunters."
"If they wish to do you harm mother it wouldn't make us good daughters to just let them even attempt to stake you." This came from Chiya, who wanted her presence to be equally acknowledged by her mother. Though she had slight resemblance to her, Chiya had her mother's ferocity to make up for it.
This time Carmilla chuckled, "Do not fret, for those low level cretins will never kill me." That wasn't just a statement but a bonafide promise. Carmilla had been able to live almost six hundred years because she had been able to back up what she proclaimed. She wasn't feared and respected in the vampire world for simply boasting.
Chiya smiled, always been one to respect her mother's confidence. Then, her nose picked up something sweet. The distinct scent of blood. Not just one, but four varying flavors. "Is that what I think it is?"
No doubt Carmilla and Laura caught the scent at the same time as her and turned their red eyes towards the cauldron. Four people in black robes poured the contents of four glass jars into it. After they finished this, others did a chant, and a distinct red flame began to rise from within it.
"Ah, it seems the four bloods were able to light the Flame of Night."
"Four bloods?" Asked Chiya.
Laura answered, knowing she was more informed of the blood moon ritual than her sister. "The bloods of the world: pureblood, tainted, clean, and half-blood. They were needed and it was tough to find them, especially the last one. Vile dhampirs, were it not for the sake of the ritual I would like to see them wiped from the face of the earth."
Pureblood. Tainted blood. Clean blood. Half-blood. Needed for the ritual were the four bloods known to the vampires.
The first was obvious: purebloods were the vampires who had not a drop of human in their lineage and were the most powerful. Carmilla had used her own blood for this, naturally.
Tainted blood was the blood of a human turned into a vampire. Though more common than purebloods, they still had their purposes.
Clean blood was the more fanciful name given to the blood of a human.
The last was, as noted before, the blood of a half-human half-vampire hybrid known as a dhampir.
Carmilla took a deep breath. "Now that the blood has been offered, we must wait for the last piece of the puzzle to be brought to the table." She looked up towards the ceiling, separating the castle air from the cold outside by a thick wall of glass. Outside, high in the sky like a pearl amongst the stars, the full moon shined a white innocent light upon the world.
Soon, it would be a more fitting color in Carmilla's eyes. "Only a few hours remain. Then..." She had spoken low enough to where her daughters almost didn't hear her. "I am going to go and rest in my chamber. Preparing for the ritual has drained me. Laura, make sure the preparations stay on schedule. Chiya...please stay out of trouble while I rest."
Both daughters nodded at the same time, giving in to their mother's orders. Though Chiya felt singled out she complied. Her mother's word was law, after all. She'd have to just sit in her room for the rest of the night until her mother was ready for the ritual-
A grin formed on the girl's lips, pearly white fangs poking out the edges. Who was she kidding? She wasn't entirely subservient to her mother's word. She had something of a hidden rebellious side that Laura knew little about. Not only that, but as she left her mother's chamber intending to go to her own at first, she instead waited near the door. Her curiosity from earlier, where Laura had told her one of the hunters had a similar look to her own, got the better of her own judgment. Though it could have just been a coincidence, Chiya couldn't sit with such a thought.
'Good thing I sent my knight to investigate.'
As if her mere thoughts had been a signal for him, the man clad in black armor appeared kneeling before his mistress. "Lady Chiya."
"You took a bit longer than I wanted."
"My apologies. I have seen the intruders Lady Laura spoke of."
"And?"
"It is as she says: there are two of them. A man and a woman. The latter of which has a disturbing resemblance to you, my lady."
Twice she had heard that description. Twice from two different people. Now Chiya was feeling rather unsettled. Like an itch she needed scratched, she needed to deal with her anxiety before it ate away at her.
"If that's the case, I must see this woman for myself. Where are they now?"
"They killed the giant bat in the castle entrance. Then I saw them proceeding down into the aqueducts, towards the Dark Palace."
"Oh? That's...ugh. I hate that place."
The Dark Palace, short for Dark Palace Hidden in the Waterfalls, was a place in the subterranean depths of the castle. A series of rooms that served as a dungeon as well as a storage for the castle. It was always wet and damp down there, and the smell was worse than anything Chiya wanted to get involved with. And this was from a woman who had fought in hand-to-hand combat most of her life and bathed in the blood of countless warriors. Not only did the smell get to her, but the monsters did too. All sorts of creatures lived in the Palace, mostly of the aquatic variety. Fish folk that lived in the water, slimes that could devour humans whole, bats, and even spirits of the dead. It wasn't a place a lady like Chiya ever wanted to go willingly. Still, she felt uneasy. She wanted to get the conclusion to this mystery woman, but she'd rather not go to the castle depths.
So she made up her mind in a compromise. "I want you to keep a closer eye on them. If they could survive the entrance and kill the giant bat, then they might end up making it to the exit...and if they do-" Her smile returned to her face. "Then I will take a look for myself."
"Lady Chiya, if they get to the exit, they will have to go through its guardian first."
That made her pause for a moment. Not out of hesitation, but because she had forgotten who or what was the guardian of the Palace. She didn't have to think too hard before she got an answer. "You mean Scylla. That monster has gotten lazy since no one has ever reached it in my lifetime."
Scylla, much like the monster of myth, was something men and beast alike feared. A woman spurred the gods and turned into a monster that was more monster than human. Even if the outside world didn't know of the vampire's castle and what was hidden within it, those who heard of Scylla's name shivered in fear.
Yet Chiya had never seen the monster herself, because of her abhorrence to going in the sewers.
Taking a big breath, Chiya was further convinced of her next actions. "I want you to continue watching them discreetly. Should they make it past Scylla, immediately find me in my chamber."
"Yes, Lady Chiya." With his words the knight vanished into the shadows to carry out the request.
The woman remained for a moment before she took of walking towards her chamber.