I am Altered

She was being summoned, she knew what that implied. She had wished it would never come but duty calls. It was either her or Thana but at least she would do it with empathy.

Walking up the stairs towards the throne room, she remembered the last time she was here. It wasn't so long ago, ten months to be precise, at that time she hoped she wouldn't have to come back here but fates decided otherwise. Callidora knocked thrice then she heard a cough.

"Enter." a scratchy voice said. She knew who the voice belonged to, she'd heard it too often not to know it. Taking a deep breath she stepped into the throne room. It was dark except for the night light from the opened window, it took her eyes almost a full minute to adjust. 

The room was almost empty except for the ghastly throne and a few pieces of furniture. The fireplace looked like it hadn't been used or cleaned in weeks. There were dust and dirt everywhere even the black drapes found a way to show they were dirty. It wasn't like this the last time she was here. Then the rumors are probably true, the old Sage doesn't let anyone in the throne room cause he doesn't want to be seen sick and not just sick, it was probably death. 

"Callidora Massimo, granddaughter of Umfredo." He chuckled. He was sitting on a chair facing the opened window, the drapes partially drawn. It looked like he was staring at the stars but she couldn't tell. He had his back to the entrance of the room making sure to be very close to the window that unless you were directly in front of him, you wouldn't see his face.

As custom demands respect was to be given to the Sage and that means the praises. Rolling her eyes Callidora got on her knees and began "Asmodeus son of Umfre..." 

"Spare me the praises" he interrupted.

"It has been birthed." She wasn't surprised, she'd sensed so. If she had thought she sensed wrong, her summoning changed that. These days she didn't have any business in the old manor.

"I sensed so." She replied. 

"Oh yes of course." He snickered. "The power of parenthood."

It's vampires' strongest connection power, it connects the parents to a child. They always know where their child is or children are and can find them irrespective of distance and the bond stays until the child in question reaches a certain age.

It feels like a heart within her heart, she can hear and feel it beat. It sounds like it's beating from outside and at the same time feels like it's beating from within. Usually, the connection is restricted to parents but on very rare occasions there is an exception, it might include an aunt or an uncle. On this such occasion, Callidora detested the exception. 

"You know what to do". Asmodeus continued in the old tongue. "As custom demands, only royalty can kill royalty. If you are too chicken to do it, Thana would do it but we'll still need you to find it." 

His usage of 'it' to classify a newborn was beginning to anger her and she couldn't decide whether he spoke the old tongue to piss her off because of her inability to speak it or because he didn't want to say the word 'chicken' in human tongue.

"We've already been through this Sa..."

"Silence! Other than being your uncle, I am your Sage! Therefore you will speak to me with respect." He interrupted.

She couldn't figure out how a man who wanted her to end a life could still think about respect. 

"I'm sorry Sage. Please forgive my lack of respect. I will do it and I don't need Thana's help." She hated him so much that at that moment she made up her mind if she had the chance she'll kill him. He was sick at the moment but she knew Asmodeus, he could still live for a hundred years more. Smelling her rage and hatred he laughed.

"You brought this on yourself, Dora. Ten months ago you said there was no need to do anything hasty that the pregnancy wouldn't last. All you had to do was slip a couple of pills in her drink and we wouldn't be here."

"I know what to do Sage." 

"I'm sure. You're dismissed." 

Her heart beating, she asked for the reason she wasn't a rogue vampire. "Can I see him before I go?" 

"Dora." he paused. 

Teeth gritting, she hated when he called her that. Once was manageable but twice in a conversation was nauseating.

"You're royalty." She could hear the amusement in his voice. "You can see whatever prisoner you want to. Now out." 

"Thank you. Your Grace!" Callidora murmured while leaving the room. Trying as much as possible not to slam the door, she hastily walked towards the dungeons.

"Prisoner!" Callidora thought to herself. "That's what he's called now her brother. This was her fault if only she had not..."

"Well, well, well what have we here? If it isn't the ex princess herself." Leaning on the door of her room Thana gave the picture of a saint wearing all white from the top of her head to her toes, even her nails were painted white. 

"Thana would you let me be?" She was so lost in thought that she'd forgotten Thana's room was on the way to the dungeons. "Who lives next to dungeons for goodness sake? Psycho bitch!" Callidora thought to herself.

"Now why would I do that?" she replied, staring at her left fingernails. 

Ignoring her Callidora continued her walk towards the dungeons in the basement. 

"Oh and by the way Dee.." She fled down the stairs but not before hearing Thana's laughter. Even after all these months, it still hurts like it was just yesterday. 

Dario was her ex-lover, her supposed mate, the bastard! As if telling on Ciro and locking him up wasn't enough, he broke up with her saying he could not afford to be with the sister of a traitor and went after her cousin, Thana. She knew it was a lie, she felt the distance ever since he met her cousin after all the next in line to the throne was better than a regular vampire princess. 

Dee used to be her nickname for him and Thana has also taken that like everything else but at least she still had her brother. Guilt and sadness immediately came upon her so suddenly she almost sobbed. 

She did not have the strength to face him but she knew if she did not do so now she might not have such an opportunity anytime soon besides she needed to congratulate him. 

Damn! She hated this spiral staircase, it always seemed to never end. Thank goodness she was a vampire for it was exceedingly dark, the last thing she needed was to miss her step. 

Reaching the end of the stairs, she saw the door unlocked and open. She entered and saw that the prison warden was not there and that brought little relief to her. She would need all the privacy she could get with him. 

"Calli! Thank gosh you're here." 

"Ciro!" Callidora shouted, running towards her brother's cell. Not surprisingly he was the only prisoner. These dungeons were specifically for royalties, not that they have much of that anymore. With the former Sage and queen- her parents -dead, the only royalties left are the present Sage, his daughter Thana, herself, her brother Ciro and not for very long his offspring.

"Oh Calli, I've missed you so much and I'm glad you're okay." 

She held his hands tightly through the prison bars, she would have hugged him if she could.

"I am so sorry Ciro, this is all my fault. If only I hadn't..." She almost broke into a sob as she struggled for the right words.

"No Calli this is not your fault. They were bound to find out sooner than later. Wait why are you here? Don't tell me…" his eyes widened in realization. "My child can be useful Calli, don't let them do this."

She could feel the tears as they ran down the side of her face, the horror on her brother's face was too much to bear. "There's nothing I can do, you know this." It broke her heart to say it but this was the only way she could keep her brother alive.

"I don't care about me Calli, save the child. Leave me here to rot, I deserve it not the innocent child. Please Calli." His face was full of tears, a little mucus kept falling out of his nose no matter how hard he sniffled.

She took one last look at her brother, at the face she saw every time she looked at the mirror. The only difference was that his brows were a little bushier and her hair longer. His slight upturned nose was the exact same shape as hers, his puckered lips and his gray-colored eyes were the same as hers.

Gently she began to withdraw her hand away, she didn't like the choice she had to make but she was willing to do anything to save her brother even if it meant sacrificing his child. Completely free from his touch she turned her back on him.

"Calli, don't do it. Listen to me, you don't have to protect me. Let me go, please let me go."

He was shaking the bars now just as she began walking away but she wasn't listening. All she was listening to was the loud pitter-patter of her shoes as they hit the ground.

"Calliiiiiii!" He called as she climbed the stairs.

Calli didn't give her brother a backward glance as she made her way back up the stairs. She reached the top of the stairs only to be stopped by guards, they were approximately ten in number. All these for an infant that could barely move.

"All this is unnecessary I promise the Sage I would deliver and I intend to." She barked, her eyes blazing fire. This was a disrespect to her person to her title as a vampire princess.

"All you say are mere words Dora, my father do not trust you. I would have followed but he would have it, lucky you." Thana drawled, she leaned on the wall as she spoke.

"This had nothing to do with you." Callidora was losing her cool, the encounter with her brother had drained her more than she had expected and now she was faced with the evil princess almost immediately, she couldn't control herself. Thana had as much to blame as her ex Dee- Dario.

"Actually, it has everything to do with me and every vampire. You broke the sacred rule, you of all people." She said with disdain.

Callidora wasn't in the mood for this, certainly not with Thana who cared about no one but herself. She almost laughed, Thana didn't consider her brother to be a separate entity to Thana Callidora and Ciro was the same person.

She matched on, the guards followed swiftly behind her. She grinned, she was about to see her fast they would go. Being a pureblood had its privileges when it came to speed and Callidora was the fastest of the vampires.

The average vampire could run over five hundred miles per hour but on a good day, Callidora's record was almost one thousand, five hundred miles per hour. So, escaping wouldn't have been an issue but they and her brother. 

She slowly walked out of the old mansion, Kira, her brother's mate lived over a one hundred and twenty miles from here. It would take over almost seven minutes to get there considering the state of her mind, normally it would have taken five. However, it would take the guards over two times the amount of time to get there.

She stood in front of the mansion and stretched, her all-black outfit was completely blended with the night, and with a flash, she set off hitting over 300 mph in a second. The guards could barely keep up, she hoped she would be able to buy enough time to do what she had to do before the guards would show up.

She got to Kira's house in six minutes, 30 seconds. She had been counting. Almost immediately, a strong smell of blood washed over her and she staggered. Ripping the door off its hinges, she rushed in without a moment's thought.

Sprawled on the ground was Kira, her head was slightly resting on the wall and blood completely covered her. Callidora could tell that this was all Kira's blood. She managed a weak smile at Callidora while holding a crying child to herself its umbilical cord had been cut. A slight movement from the child and she saw its gender.

"Since it's you and not him, I know what's about to happen. You know it didn't have to be you."

One look and she could tell that this child was a vampire. He had the aura vampire use to tell themselves apart from humans. She turned her head a little to the right and gasped.

"I know, I was shocked too, well not entirely." Kira cough, her hold on the child was getting weaker. "Be fast about it but kill me first, I don't want to see my chi…" At this point she sobbed, the words stuck in her throat.

Callidora approached the dying woman, she was tempted to ask why Kira had not gone to the hospital but she already knew why. Aside from the fact that a thirteen-month pregnancy was a very long time compared to human pregnancy, vampire childbirth was completely different from humans.

She couldn't dare speak, her resolve would be lost. Kira was like a sister to her and now she was about to do the unthinkable to her and her seed. She moved close enough to touch Kira and stopped.

"Don't hesitate, tell Ciro I love him and that he would have been a great father." Kira closed her eyes. 

Water poured down Callidora face, she wiped them away, she needed to do this swiftly and carefully. She didn't want to put Kira in any more pain. Squatting to Kira's level she took her index finger and with as much force as she could muster, Callidora drove her finger into the left side of Kira's skull. She instantly felt the mushiness of the brain.

She got the child just as he rolled out his mother's hand. Kira was dead her only offense was falling in love with a vampire. Callidora staggered for a few but she knew her grief has barely just begun. The child was still inconsolable but he was beautiful. He had the brown curly hair of his mother and his father's gray eyes. It was like looking at a new model of herself.

She blinked the tears away, stalling would only cause more harm.  The child would be a little harder to kill for the only way to go about it was a stake through the heart. His mother was human so destroying the brain had worked. She dropped the crying child and began to search the house, she didn't stop until she found what she was looking for.

It was a pencil, the edge had been sharpened. She took the pencil and carefully pulled out the lead contained in the middle. She moved to the child and placed the tip over his tiny little heart. He was still naked and bloody. With a swift movement, she pushed the pencil deep into his heart and the child screeching instantly stopped.

A loud cry emitted from Callidora, the house echoed and shook with her cries. She sat in the puddle of blood and wept. Two full minutes later the guards show up and she shewed them the dead bodies. Satisfied the guards left her to bury her dead.