**Ch 342: Golden Sand

After taking a small break to eat, I tranced into my time-gap whenever I touched the golden sand inside this jar. It didn't take long for me to find myself in an area that was sprinkled with golden sand. Not too far away in the distance, there was this gorgeous Golden Kingdom City.

"HELP!" a small girl yelled, which veered my attention from behind me to see a man dragging her toward this small empty cage on a wagon that two brown horses were hauling. Next to the empty cage was another cage, which had another little girl locked inside it. One man sat on the two-seated coach while his head was turned back to watch the other man wrestling with this little girl. Both girls were dressed in sackcloths, and they appeared to be seven years old. The girl in the cage had ultralight blonde hair, and her face was adorably round like the moon. Then her almond-shaped eyes were a sea-green color like Alejandro's eyes.

"This is Morbius's mate." I declared.

"She is," Kai confirmed as my eyes veered to the other girl, who was now biting the man's forearm.

"Ouch!" he wailed and roughly hurled her on the golden sand. "How dare you try to free yourself and your new friend! Now you have the gall to bite me!" the man angrily gnashed his teeth as he pointed his finger at her.

The poor girl rubbed her sore knees from the fall. Her diamond-shaped face was crusty with mud, and sand stuck to the moisture on her cheeks. As her small nose sniffled, her hooded shape agate color eyes stared up at the angry man that she had bitten, and I couldn't deny not recognizing her eye color.

"Kill her. She's too ugly to be a courtesan for the king. We'll take the pretty blonde to the king. Let the birds eat the ugly girl's flesh in the sand," said the other man, then he hopped off the wagon.

"She was supposed to be an enslaved maid for the king, but death is what she deserves!" the man she had bitten agreed, and then he unsheathed his long silvery sword as the metal blade flickered a blinding reflection from the sun. The girl went to run, but the other man shoved her on the sand with his sandal.

"Somebody help!" she cried as the man crushed his foot into her small chest. The girl in the cage closed her eyes, for she couldn't stomach the sight of death. Whistling winds blew in as the angry man swung his sword down with such might to her thin neck, but then the man was firmly riveted by Vlad. And Morbius grabbed the man that stood on the girl's chest. Without a second to blink, Vlad ripped into the man's neck with his fangs. With a tearing sound, he severed the man's head clean off from his neck before it plopped into the sand and splattered an imprint into it.

Once Morbius was done feeding from the other man, he heaved his body away before he bolted to the cage that kept the blonde-haired girl snared inside it. He broke the metal bar door off with a clang, and then he took the girl in his arms.

"Don't worry, you're safe with me," Morbius soothed her since he saw she was scared. Without giving her much time to comprehend anything, he disappeared with her because he knew he needed to get her out of there. Which left Vlad alone with the girl who was said to be ugly, but I couldn't agree with that opinion.

The small girl stayed on her hands and knees as she gawked at the giantly tall vampire. Not saying a word, she wiped her teardrops away before she felt how matted her auburn hair was. Rat nests entangled her hair so badly that you couldn't tell if her hair length was long or short. By looking at the mud on her sackcloth and on her exposed arms and legs, it was obvious she hadn't had a proper bath in weeks, whereas the blonde-haired girl looked like she had been properly bathed.

As her nose still sniffled, she stood to her bare feet, and not once did her eyes stray from Vlad. "Are you going to kill me because I'm ugly?" she asked, and Vlad smiled warm-heartedly.

"I'm here to take you home," he immersed, lovingly at her.

"Aren't I too ugly?" she questioned as tears threatened to swell in her mesmerizing eyes that you would marvel over.

"To me, you're a rare majestic beauty." Vlad dotted on her as hearts appeared to glow in his eyes. "Do you have a name, my dear?"

Still not really talking, she shook her head no to answer him.

"Well then, I shall call you Serena. I will treasure you forever, and you will be the Queen of our Coven," he declared, smiling like a bright star at her.

"What's a Coven? And what are you? I know you can't be human," Serena finally spoke as questions spilled from her mouth.

"I am a Predatory Vampire species. The first Generation Headmaster to rise from this planet," Vlad proudly announced, and you couldn't miss that gloat in his voice as he did.

Serena giggled. "You don't make any sense, Mr. Vampire."

I couldn't help but laugh at this scene. "Your grandma is adorable. How old is she?"

"I think she was eight years old when Vlad found her," Kai answered. "Before she was kidnapped into slavery, she only lived as an orphan on the streets, while Morbius's mate was being raised in a girls' home to be sold as courtesans to the higher class or Royalty."

"That's awful." I frowned. "Vlad's mate was a born survivor."

"As you get older, I'll explain everything," Vlad smiled at her, then he tried to take her hand, but she backed away.

"I'm not going with you, Mr. Vampire. Unless you pinky promise not to bite me." Serena put her foot down, and it was the cutest thing I had ever seen a child do. By the soft expression on Vlad's face, you could tell he was awestruck by how spirited his little mate was.

"You're too little to bite, my dear. As a vampire, I promise not to bite you until you wish," Vlad chuckled at her cute stern dirty face, and then he outstretched his pinky toward her.

Her tiny pinky hooked with his as she said, shaking it. "You better keep your promise."

"I will, my dear." Vlad smiled warm-heartedly. "Shall we go home?"

"Do you have dolls I can play with?" she asked innocently.

"No, but if my little Queen wants dolls. Then you shall have as many as you like. Then once you get older, I'll buy you diamonds." Vlad declared, and she only looked at him perplexed. Serena didn't understand the concept of love just yet while Vlad was swimming in love to have found his mate. To watch him disappear with her was a heartwarming sight for me.