Nightmare

" don't let her escape". I could hear loudly behind me as I added more speed to the pace at which I ran.

The running foot of tonnes of soldiers were coming after me with an obvious rage and desperation even if I couldn't see their faces and I couldn't glance back to see how close they were to me because of the fear of being caught by them if I slow down my pace.

My heart beat ran faster than usual and I even could hear it. My arms kept swinging by my sides and my knees and legs were already running out of strength. I needed to take a break. This was the first time I have ran such a distance and it was wearing me out.

But I can not. The raging soldiers that were after me seemed more faster than I was which made it impossible to stop.

Just as I ran along,

" ouch!". I winced out as I stumbled across a rock and I fell over, hitting my head on another sharp rock with force and I felt that area becoming wet. I was more than sure that that was my blood.

Why was all this happening now, when I'm not fully prepared. I tried to stand up but fell back down and I let out another whimpering tone.

I am Esmeralda Reno, the only daughter to the rulers of the human kingdom.

I'm human but certainly not normal. I don't know why though, my parents never told me the reason why. One reason I knew I wasn't normal was my red hair and white eyes. I found it rare and ugly cause I didn't see anyone who looked like me and I always thought of myself as a witch. My black nails were the most obvious of all. They were darker than a burnt wood and had faint white veins in them. My mother always had me wear gloves so I won't scare people away. I've always tried to change their colours by dipping my fingers into plant dyes, but no matter how hard I try, they can never change. They remain ever black as it is. The white eyes and red hair I had were more than enough to scare them away. But what I found fascinating was that the people still loved and treated me like their kind. They were not scared at all, and I had lots of friends among them. I was not neglected because of my weird characteristics which made me satisfied and happy.

I was told that I have hidden powers which were yet to be manifested, it was just waiting for the right time and place to be awakened and I've been waiting for 21 years now. They are not yet awakened. I was always desperate, waiting for my powers to come out. With that at least, I'll think less of myself as a witch. My expectations grew day by day as I grew older, but still it never came.

Another thing I was also told was that I was wanted by the vampires cause it was prophesied that I was going to destroy the vampires and wipe away all of their species from the surface of the Earth and I needed to run from them, never to fall into their trap.

Ever since I was born, I and my parents including my personal maid, Renee have always being on the chase. My parents also made me queen when we were on the run after they felt it was the right time to.

My fighting skills have being improving as I always had my martial art practice every day. Right now, I felt too weak to fight back. Back in the kingdom, I didn't find it easy to kill the seven vampires that I killed.

My vision became blurry as I pushed myself up to stand. My legs were not steady as I kept lurching. I took my left hand to my head, the place which I was pained and I truly felt it wet.

I took my hand down, and raised my head to the men that have arranged themselves round me, ready to attack if I made any more move to escape. I swirled to have a look at all of them and just with a look, I could tell they were vampires. Their eyes were bloody red.

The exact ones my parents made me believe that they were demons and I must escape from them.

Speaking of my parents, they were still in the kingdom and I don't know what have become of them. They might be dead by now. And my eyes bleared as I thought of them.

I began to feel the urge to run back to the kingdom to rescue them even if I'm pretty sure that it won't be easy with this fierce and alarmed vampires surrounding me.

" just surrender, queen". one of the vampires spoke. He appeared as though he was the leader, his countenance and the way he spoke even his looks, they were different from others. His long black raven hair was packed in a high ponytail with a pin stuck in it while the others had their hairs down on their shoulders.

He was right. I can't fight all these vampires just by myself. They were much more powerful than I am and I only have my fighting skills to rely on.

Moreover, these set of vampires looked more dangerous and powerful than the ones that invaded my kingdom a while ago.

Instead of heeding to what he said, I blurted out without thinking.

" I'm ready to fight till I end up dead. I'm never giving up to beasts like you".

My words held the apparent threat it normally does but the man only chuckled loudly.

" if you think of fighting, then you're a dead meat". His mood changed and he held a serious look in his eyes as he took his hand to his lower belt were he kept his sword and began stepping forward towards me.

Briskly, I stucked my hands into my clothing and brought out a dagger covered in scales of a dragon. The blade was gold and the tip was sharp and pointed.

It was gifted to me by my mother, She once used it in rescuing herself from this very vampires. I didn't know the kind of poison it held, all I knew was that it was going to help me and it's also very dangerous to the vampires.

" don't... don't come any closer!". I warned in a stuttering voice as I pointed the dagger at him. My hands were trembling and I glared at him watching the hand that held the sheath of his sword. Despite my warning, he did not stop coming closer. I saw him take his other hand up on the air, signalling the others to come get me.

I nimbled in a turn and charged towards the vampire that was directly behind me since he looked vulnerable than the others. I noticed him when I turned and he seemed more gentle. His statue was smaller and he looked less of a threat to me. So I decided to attack him first.

His eyes showed that he was not expecting my sudden move and he made an attempt to dodge my attack as I aimed for his lower abdomen but he was not quick enough and I only managed to graze his side. I stumbled a bit because I almost lost balance but I got hold of myself before I could fall.

I turned to see the leader with some kind of amusement in his eyes staring at me. His lips were slightly turned up in a supercilious smirk.

" I'll kill you all if any one comes near me...". I warned again as I moved my trembling hands that held the dagger at every one of them. I was trying so much to muster some courage on how to escape from them.

" get her!". The leader commanded in a husky tone as the vampires leapt towards me in response. I paced backwards in an attempt to turn and run when I suddenly stepped on my dress making me trip and I fell on my butt. This dress, I wanted to rip the tip cause it was too long and difficult for me too run with. Still, it was the most suitable among all my clothes. My dagger was out of my grip, far from where I was on the ground.

The leader leapt to my front and stood in the middle, removing his sword from his sheath raising up the sharp shinny sword in his hands in the air and was about to plunge it into me when......

" milady! get up". Renee flung the door opened and called out to me, running towards my bed side. Her voice sounded terrified and alert.

Suddenly, I jerked up from the bed with beads of sweats clustered on my forehead and my eyelashes were fluttering like the wings of a butterfly and my eyes were wide with shock and unbelief.

Was all that just a dream, no nightmare?.

Hell no! It can't be.

I was still panting and my heart beat was way much faster than the normal.

" milady!". Renee called out again and I turned my head towards her direction where she stood.

Her eyes were not calm and her clothes were stained with blood. Her hair was also untidy. It looked like she had just finished a fight.

Hurriedly, I kicked the quilt off my body and jumped down from bed to approach Renee. " what's wrong, Renee?". I asked with a questionable look on my face as I held her forearms. She looked too scared as though she had seen a beast, moreso, why was her clothes stained with blood?.