1 Seedling of Fear

"Mom, will you ever not leave me?" A pair of round blue eyes looked at the back figure of her mother. A young girl at the age of seven should not ask such a question.

The mother turned around; two eye-catching red eyes looked back at her precious daughter. She gave a sweet smile which revealed two fangs.

"You watched the human's movie again. You lacked trust in your parents Serafina..." Her mother gently grabbed her hand and spoke seriously, "We will never leave you."

A memory flashed in Serafina's mind as he heard again the elder's sinister words, "Are you sure this is your daughter? She didn't possess our bloodline, but she had already aged this much. She had wasted our fifteen years' worth of resources!"

Serafina felt her heart being ripped apart. This is the first time someone spoke like this to her. She got the feeling that she was not a person but a tool for this respected Elder.

She looked at her parents who she revered turned silent before this old man. The Elder continued, "Either she's your daughter or not, I don't want her presence in this clan anymore."

The old man left the scene; others who just gathered to witness the scenario unfold also left.

This was Blood Baptism, a yearly event for all vampire clans, the awakening of the fifteen-year-old youths with their vampiric bloodlines. Supposedly, it was a joyous event, but everyone didn't expect someone to not awaken their bloodline. It was the first of such a case to happen; the faces of her parents were grim.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry..." Although she has no idea about everything, she felt she needed to apologize.

"No, it's not your fault Serafina." Her mother pulled her into her embrace, and she could feel her warmth. The sensation was entirely different from the coldness of the Elder, she could relax. However, she could hear her mother crying and realized her shoulders had gotten wet by her mother's sobs.

"I should be the one to say sorry. I'm sorry. I'm very sorry..." She could her mother say this.

"Let's go home for now." The word "home" her father uttered struck her heart. It now rang quite differently after this Blood Baptism.

She could only nod while her mother grabbed her wrist. They started to head back home. The atmosphere was cold.

"Is she sleeping?" A man's voice echoed out.

A woman walking down from upstairs of the room replied, "Yes, she is."

These two were Serafina's parents, and those words were the last thing she heard before falling asleep on a fluffy pillow and a comfy bed.

She woke up, hearing the cries of the vulture hovering in the sky above her, air of heat and dust covered her face. She rose over the sand and found out she was somewhere in an unknown desert.

What she saw made her remember the time when she first embarked to school alone. Without her parents, she walked beside the road and heard the vehicle's noises. It was both foreign and familiar.

Right now, what she felt was the same.

"Mom? Dad?" Subconsciously, these were the first words that came out of her mouth. She ran around the desert, searching for her parents or someone to ask for help, but she found no one. All she could see were the vultures under the sunny sky and a green land far east from where she stood.

"An Oasis..." She knew the word. She had watched her favorite movie, the Secrets of Life, to pass her time since she was a child. The protagonist had ventured to many places, and an oasis was one of them.

She felt her body trembling in fear, her hands shaking. But a part within her insisted to go on. With a pale face, she headed towards the place, and for some reason, she got the sensation she was back walking towards her school, alone and helpless mixed with faith.

After a short hour, she stopped because she could now clearly see the Oasis--there were only a bunch of trees and no living being. The unpleasant cries of the vulture could still be heard behind her, it looked hopeless.

She continued to walk and then suddenly, her worldview instantly changed. There were no longer the vulture's cries but voices of people resounding in her head. She immediately covered her ears.

"One Canon left."

"Rifles for 700 bucks only!"

"Blood samples of werewolves and vampires here! They're real, believe me!"

She could not believe what she just experienced. She looked behind and there was the desert, appearing empty and desolate! Thinking back to the movie, she somehow felt she was the protagonist traveling the world. She sensed a wave of excitement in her heart.

"Hey kid, move aside!" A soldier shouted up ahead riding a tank which in her shock, stepped beside immediately.

She maneuvered with such dexterity; the soldier was awed. In her school, the teachers taught them students with a Lightness Technique, and she worked hard to become a top student. It was a footwork adapted to the national treasure, Wind Leaf Technique. Armed with such a technique at her disposal, it's only natural the soldier was greatly surprised.

Once the tank's caterpillar tread stepped on the sand, it disappeared, making Serafina in turn be the one surprised again.

She remembered the soldier's reaction and she giggled before she proceeded to embark on her first adventure. She was expecting great things to befall her. The thought about her parents and her home was put to the back of her mind.

There were all sorts of merchants or vendors scattered in this Medieval Town, adorned in colorful veiled clothes, and selling all sorts of items and equipment she never knew of -- a mind-boggling event for a fifteen-year-old youth like her, lost in a magnificent place.

Her direction was towards the Tower, the most eye-catching place she ever saw once she stepped here. Behind it was a gigantic tree that towered into the clouds, it seemed to give a regal presence that seemed to hold the heavens. She felt a pull as she headed towards there steady and slow.

"Hey! You thief!" A voice of an elderly shouted out in the crowd. Veiled in brown clothes, he had a hunkered back and glared angrily at a young kid veiled in dark clothes, jumping, climbing, and running away with a bag of items.

'Thief?' Serafina thought. In her hometown, there never had been an incident about stealing any items, nor any intention to do so. People would not even think of committing a sin. She started to realize everything was different.

Looking at the people around him; they had indifferent faces. Wearing a frown on her beautiful face, she might be smart to know such an incident may be a normal occasion for the people around here but she's unable to believe it, or she doesn't want to. People should care for each other.

"I'll bring your items back." Serafina spoke anxiously as she immediately chased towards the thief, leaving the elderly surprised. Her figure moved rapidly around the area as she was versatile with the Lightness technique. She quickly caught up with the thief.

One thing she understood about this strange place was that it was occupied with humans. She had heard many stories that although they had brilliant minds, they were weak in strength and slow in speed. But she got the feeling that the thief already knew her presence. Nevertheless, she managed to catch the thief off guard and expose the face.

Serafina was surprised. The thief's face revealed a boy's face who has eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn water. Because he has the same age as him, it gripped her heartstrings and she started to resent him and herself for starting to like a thief.

"You can't have this." She managed to grab the bag of items. She had many experiences with boys who were interested in her but too timid to show it, and it was her first time to be met with a ferocious and piercing gaze; she looked away, but she stood and hold the ground. She waited for him to speak in order to listen to him speak because she yearns for an answer or a reason why he committed the act of stealing.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. Instead of knowing more about him, the attention was diverted back to her. Feeling the pressure of his probing gaze, she hurriedly left, went back towards where the elderly were. She no longer minded the boy and for some reason, he didn't chase her.

Carrying the bag of items, Serafina felt glee for acting like a heroine. Returning to the elderly, she approached and, in the mood, to surprise him from behind, "Hello Elder, I've returned your items."

Instead of gratitude, Serafina didn't expect to see the elderly's face plastered with fear. "I'm sorry esteemed person, I should not have burdened you of the task of helping me."

She didn't understand why he had that sort of reaction and felt strange and embarrassed. He even labeled her with such an eminent name. She noticed that he wanted to acquire the bag but was holding back, so she hurriedly thrust the items back to him. "Please, get your items back."

Thinking that her straight-forwarded manner had managed to pierce through with him, she watched him receive the bag of items back. Then he raised his voice when Serafina attempted to leave out of uneasiness. "Esteemed person, where are you headed?"

Serafina raised her guard since the elderly tried to seek rapport with her even though they barely knew each other, but still, she responded politely, "I'm going there."

She pointed at the tower and the elder was shocked. "Please let me follow you. I'm also going there."

Then she saw his face reminiscent of her suitors trying to curry her favor and it repelled her. However, her long eyelashes blinked twice to forget such sinful thoughts, and she allowed him by giving a simple nod.

At this moment, a carriage abruptly arrived with a woman holding the reins and a young boy who looked to be seven years old who hastily jumped down after it halted. He ran and hugged the elderly. "Grandpa, I missed you."

For some reason, Serafina remembered the days when she was seven years old. Although her father was gone for the day for work, every time he came home, she would rush ahead and jump into his embrace, speaking the same words.

Unfortunately, the memory in the back of her mind popped out and she felt her emotions aroused as she missed her family, her eyes welled up in tears. It had been six hours since she woke up in this foreign place and she wondered how she would fare up.

While the woman also jumped down to approach the two, Serafina looked away to wipe her tears. The woman noticed and asked a question, "Who's this young woman? Is she your customer?"

Finding out that she was being asked out of sincere curiosity, she felt obliged to answer, so she turned around only to see the elderly being startled and hurriedly approached the woman and spoke something to her ears.

The situation was odd for her. People in her hometown would never hide something from each other. She felt something was wrong with these people in this place.

After hearing what the elderly said, the woman felt shocked and turned towards her with fear on her face. Bowing down, she immediately apologized, "I'm sorry esteemed one, I should not have said those words earlier."

'Earlier words?' Serafina started to ponder as she felt everything become far-out. She didn't know why and how her words made her apologize. She was also thinking about the bizarre actions the elderly had towards her recently. Suddenly, she had an insight, and everything seemed clear.

'Lightness Technique?'