CHARM

I should have run away but I stayed.

I stayed half out of curiosity and half worry.

I had to check whether this person was okay or not. They were simply lying there with no response when I called and tried to elicit any verbal reply. When that didn't work I ambled over to him.

Gingerly, I walked closer until I was right above him. I found a long stick and I poked the body for any response but there was none.

I started to breathe faster, wondering if I had just come across a dead body. What if vampires attacked this person and drained them, before leaving them there for the animals? What if they were still nearby, seeing as the blood from that leaf seemed quite fresh, still running thick.

And then I realized something that stopped me dead in my tracks.

The blood from the leaf. It was not the man's blood.

It belonged to a dead snake, split open completely. It looked like someone tore it in half with their bare hands. I almost had not noticed the snake, it camouflaged so well with the forest floor. Recoiling, I scooted away from the snake's body.

I stood by the man's body, wondering if I should stay or go. It was getting late, and I would miss supper, something I almost never did.

"You should definitely leave." The voice came from the ground.

I was so caught up in trying to decide what to do that I didn't see the man coming back to consciousness. With hands pressed against the ground, the man rose from his lying position, turning to face me abruptly.

I stumbled back, tripping over a twig and losing my grip on the long stick.

The man reached forward, pulling me into his chest to break my fall. With my neck against his chest, and my cheek pressed to where his heart should be, we froze in an almost comical moment, as if we were dancing and someone told us something shocking.

There was no heartbeat.

I leaned back as he let go of my arms, dropping his hands and allowing me to really see.

This man was a vampire, sworn enemy to humanity. I had never met a vampire in my whole life, so this was something entirely new.

I was supposed to report such sightings. I learned that much from school before I dropped out to be a library apprentice and earn more money.

"Valerie. What do we do when we see a vampire?"

"Report them to an adult and then the Council will handle it."

I remembered the classes where they would grill us and make sure we knew the right responses. My father was proud of my academic skills and when I quit school, we argued and fought back and forth for quite a while.

The vampire stared at me, as if waiting for my next move. A predator gazing upon its prey, waiting to pounce and snap at their prey's neck.

And what did I do upon realizing this shocking piece of news that this was a vampire before me?

I closed my eyes and I let him lean in and sniff me. His lips pressed close to my neck and his nose inhaled deeply.

"You smell…like chocolate." He murmured in wonder, his eyes mesmerizing and dark, bored into mine.

"You smell like…dead snake and dry leaves." I replied.

He paused, and I almost thought he would laugh. Instead he asked me a question at the same time when I opened my mouth. The way he was gazing at my mouth made me think I had some stain on them.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"What are you doing in the dark woods?" He countered.

"Answer my question first." I demanded.

"Hunting." He answered briefly.

"Hunting what?" I tried to ask further.

Vampires needed to feed on blood, but not snake blood. So I wanted to know what he was doing all alone in the dark woods with a snake carcass next to him.

I watched him as he looked at me as if he knew everything about me, as if he could see my soul. The pale face stared at mine, so pale he almost looked frail if not for those muscles rippling on his arms, and the strong visible veins on his face as wrists.

His short dark brown hair was pulled back, and he was taller than me by a head. I considered myself tall already, around 175 cm tall. In that moment, I wanted to know what he was thinking. He opened his mouth and I saw the flash of his fangs.

"Now answer my question."

"I was looking for flowers." I explained.

"Flowers?" He looked baffled at my words.

I wondered if he could read my thoughts.

On one hand, I thought he was insanely attractive and on the other hand, a deadly threat.

I knew the outcome if I brought him and handed him over to my father and the Council. Knowing my father, he would try to kill this vampire on first sighting. There was no way I could overpower him anyways, but I found that I didn't even want to catch him, kill him, burn him, boil him. I didn't want to do any of those things.

Instead, I'd rather sit down and sketch the strong lines of his face, or just keep looking at his ghostly beauty. I wanted to know if he was going to kill me or let me go. I wanted to know if he felt the same spark of attraction when our hands met. And so, doing what nobody else in my shoes would or should do, I did a simple thing.

A simple thing that could be my undoing.

"What is your name?" I asked.

He took a step back, as if preparing to charge. I almost fell on my butt right there and then. Was he going in for the kill? Would I be dead within the next few seconds? But when he opened his mouth to speak I was struck into silence again.

"I am Avalon Quentin Klingborn, second prince to the royal throne of the vampire kingdom."