2 CHAPTER 2

News of the Mad's King death reached the Western Kingdom. The scouts say the bodies of the soldiers and the late king had already decomposed and all that is left were bones clad in armor. The king's daughter, Emirys succeeded him and became the reigning queen of the west. Reports also say that they saw a figure came out of the forest camp but they are not sure who or what it is.

Emirys crumpled the parchment and ordered the scouts to find the one who was responsible. The scouts stood up and left quickly. The loss of her father dealt a great blow to her, he was her inspiration, her mentor and the one who she aspires to be.

She entered the dungeon to quell the rage and anger that was inside her, the guards took out a captive from one of the cells and brought it to her. The captive was a lowly bandit that they arrested a few days ago. Clear signs of bruises and cuts were visible on his body and seemed to be fresh as well. Emirys looked at the captive in disgust and ordered the captive to lick her shoe. He quickly did as he was told but she was still not satisfied with this and kicked his face. The captive fell down on his back and groaned in pain.

She began to stomp on his chest repeatedly, cursing under her breath. The captive writhe in pain as blood came gushing from his chest. He pleaded for her to stop but it fell onto deaf ears. Emirys came to a halt when the captive stopped moving. She calmed down after seeing him curl into a ball, coughing out blood and groaning.

"You still live after all that? My, my what a resilient thing you are" she lampooned while brushing her long red hair aside "What's your name, slave?"

"M-my name is Argol, your highness" he said, clutching his chest

Emirys ordered the guards to bring him to the apothecary and once he's healed, bring him to her quarters. The guards agreed, dragging Argol away.

Two weeks have passed and Argol was brought to the queen's personal chambers. He stood there wearing only a loincloth and his hands shackled behind his back, looking down on the ground. Emirys was enjoying the sight that was in-front of her. She took a sip of her tea and watched as Argol cowered in terror.

"Slave, look at me"

He raised his head up and saw that she was naked except for the crown and shoes that she wore. He looked down to the ground immediately "I'm so sorry your highness. I am not worthy to look at your divine beauty"

She spilled the tea on the ground and ordered for him to lick it clean. Argol began to lick and his head stomped on to the ground by her, shoving his head on to the liquid. She picked him by his hair and wiped his face with a cloth.

"There, there. All clean" She cooed and pushed him away by releasing her grip on his hair "As a token of my apology. I grant you permission to love me"

Emirys cupped his chin and moving his face closer to hers "You wont?"

"I-I love y-you, your highness" He stammered, his eyes not meeting her eyes not with hers. A loud slap landed on his cheek. Emirys told him that she felt his love was not sincere and asked him to do it again. He looked her in the eyes and did it again.

She sneered at his confession and planted a soft kiss on his lips and said "Very good"

Reinhardt walked along the halls of the castle, it has been a week since Princess Annaliese was resurrected and the woman who gave him his power was now living as her twin sister called Eliese. He entered the throne room and approached the King who has summoned for him. Both Eliese and Annaliese was present, so as his father, Knight Commander Lucius and the Queen Isabella.

He knelt down in front of the king, facing down on the ground and spoke "I answer to your summon, my liege"

The King stood up and handed a report to him. Reinhardt opened the report and it said that the Mad King was found brutally murdered on the forests nearby the village of Osram and a mysterious creature was seen coming in and out of the camp.

"I want you to investigate this mysterious creature, Knight Captain. While it was surely fortunate that the Mad King was slain but I fear that whoever has slain them will be a threat to the safety of the Kingdom as well" The King stated with a hint of concern in his voice.

"It will be done, my liege" Reinhardt said as he stood up and left the throne room. He began to wander in thought while walking. Rage had consumed on that fateful day, the mysterious creature on the report was him but he couldn't muster any courage to confess the truth about to his King.

He entered his quarters, closing the door behind and was shocked to see Eliese sitting on the edge of his bed. She had a sly grin on her face as she looked at him.

"That was interesting. Father has caught wind of your activities, darling" she cooed

"Do not call King Brewster, father. You witch" He spat as he loosened the buttons of the collar and cuffs of his shirt

"Why not? I am the Twin sister of Annaliese and his second daughter. You should know that after you agreed on our little deal. I've made some adjustments too. If you knew how lonely I was back then. Having to spend centuries dealing with petty mortals but all that changed when you came along"

"I have not forgotten that, Eliese" he said, pouring himself a drink and taking a long gulp on his goblet.

"You should be treat your wife more kindly, dear husband. Have I not been good to you?" She disappeared and materialized, sitting on the chair beside him and picked up the apple "If the Kingdom knew that you are the mysterious creature on the report. What will you do?"

What will I do? The thought crossed his mind, he hadn't formed a plan or anything if that were to happen. He took another long gulp and suddenly found a solution.

"If that day comes, I will do what I must" he said with a grim look on his face

She grinned once again as she took a bite from the apple and thought that the coming events will be more exciting than usual.

As the night came, Reinhardt awoke to find himself under Eliese. He remembered that they had sex before resting at her request. He had this lingering feeling that his secret would be exposed. What would Princess Annaliese say, what would his father say if they knew that he was the one who murdered the Mad King.

He thought about the day, he met the princess on the Academy. She was helping her father with his speech. Her smile was as bright as the sun. Eliese awoke and looked at him with tired looking eyes "Good morning, darling"

Reinhardt snapped out of his daydreaming and looked at Eliese "Oh, good morning"

Reinhardt seemed to have controlled his urge to drink blood after the resurrection of Princess Annaliese. He took a sip from his goblet as he looked at the reports that needed his attention. Eliese came to his study with a familiar face. He stopped reviewing as he saw the young maid appeared before him, the maid had the same skin color as him and Eliese. Her eyes were glowing crimson red and a fang sticking out from her mouth.

"Meet Amelia, your child" She said as if introducing a long lost child to a parent

Amelia curtsied in front of him and spoke in a polite tone "It's a pleasure to meet you, father"

"You slew her in your thirst a few weeks ago. I saw her digging fresh graves in search of blood. She reminds me of you in some way" Eliese stated as she stroked Amelia's long blond hair with her palm

Reinhardt stood up and approached the two. He picked up Amelia's wrist and tried to feel her warmth but there was no none. She was cold as ice and pale as a ghost. No pulse and no life came out of her.

He released her hand and looked at Eliese with a confused look "What's the meaning of this?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you this? If you suck your target dry. Chances are they will turn into a creature like you or they will be reborn with no control over themselves, craving only blood and nothing else"

"Did anyone see you come with her? The Kingdom knows she's already dead"

"Relax. I used a little bit of my magic to alter time. She's no longer the young maid that you slew. She's our daughter now" Eliese explained and leaned down to Amelia's ear "Say goodbye to your father for now and we'll resume this talk over lunch later"

"Goodbye, father" Amelia said and curtsied once more before leaving. Eliese closed the door behind her and looked at Reinhardt with a playful look "Our child is a lovely girl, is she not?"

Reinhardt looked at his palm and clenched it into a ball "This power you have given me has turned me into this. What am I exactly?"

She placed her hand on her chin and her other hand on her elbow "You are a creature of the night, a supernatural being that feeds on blood and an immortal cursed to live forever. In simpler words, a vampire"

"Am I the only one?"

"Technically in this era, you are the first vampire here but there are others like you"

He felt heavyhearted at what he had learned. He had doomed that young maid to a life of suffering and despair. If only he had controlled his hunger that night, this would have never happened. The young maid could've lived a happier life without being subjected to their urge on drinking blood from unsuspecting mortals but alas, what's done is done and all that he could do was to accept it.