THE BLIGHTED CITY

PROLOGUE

There was something about the smell of flowers that made Lucas happy.

It reminded him of purity, of love, of family. He had always associated that smell with happiness and plesasure.

The little boy roamed around the garden, following the scent of the freshly cut flowers, feeling the dew in his bare feet. He walked in circles, brushing the plants with his fingertips, trying to be as careful as possible as not to break them. He stopped by to watch a few bugs on top of a tiny purple flower with yellowy tips. He watched them curiously before picking up his stride across the garden.

His light blonde hair flowed away from his face and his light aquamarine eyes sparkled at the sight of the colorful flowers.

Lucas had always loved spring. It was his favourtire season, not too cold but not to hot either. He also liked it because his parents didn't work as much in this time of the year, meaning he could spend more time with them.

Lucas loved his parents. The little boy always got excited when they came home early from work, or when they helped him with his prayers and offerings. His parents had raised him well, and were always supportive of him and his dream of becoming a priest. They were a very religious family, they had all grown up with the same believes and same ideologies, from centuries back, that's just how everything had been, not only for his family, but for the whole town too.

"Lucas! Come here sweetheart!" his mother called "we got a surprise for you!"

Lucas turned to go back inside the house, leaving the garden and its flowers behind as he excitedly entered the small living room.

The room was tiny but cozy, with a beautiful fireplace where the family could get warm on winter. The room was full of decorations, from ones with religious meaning, to others with just simple decorative purposes. The floor had a big sage green rug that symbolized good fortune and good luck. The shelves were full with books of all types of genres. They had history books, romance books, even books that had been passed down on generations and that were more than 100 years old.

As Lucas came inside, he spotted his mother sitting on the couch next to his father.

His mom smiled upon seeing him and signaled him to sit on her lap. The little boy skipped his way into his mothers side and sat down on her legs, excitedly waiting for the surprise they had told him about.

"Lucas, darling." his mother began "we have decided to give you a little gift as you're becoming closer to having the age to study to become a priest, as you have always wanted to do."

Lucas eyes sparkled at his mothers words. It was true, young boys who wanted to become priests could start studying at the age of 11, and they would go to chucrh and to a special school made for them alongside other forming priests and vampire hunters.

His mom smiled at him and gave him a tiny box. "Here, " she began "open it."

Lucas took the box carefully in his hands and began to open it. Inside, there was a necklace made out of silver that had a beautiful cross as an ornament, which had a red stone in the middle. The little kid stared at it in amazement and his eyes sparkled even more.

"This necklace will protect you on times that you most need it, " his father began "it will remind you of your strength and your faith, as well as our love for you. You know we will always be here for you, as we will be by your side this whole journey."

His father smiled and gave him a proud look as his mother hugged him.

Lucas was happy. He put the necklace around his neck and smiled brightly. "Thank you, mama, papa!" he smiled "I will never take it off, I will always have it by my side!" The little boy laughed and ran outside to show the necklace to the flowers and the two bugs.

He got to the garden and started showing his necklace to the nature. He felt the wind blow on his face and tickle his ears, he felt the scent of the flowers becoming more and more powerful as he laughed and ran around the garden.

The little boy stayed in the garden all afternoon, running around, playing with sticks and practicing how he would speak once he became a priest. The hours went by and Lucas continued to play under the bright sun of that beautiful day of spring. He sat down under a tree, taking cover in the shadows as his mind drifted off to a beautiful dream where he was a famous priest around the country and his family was by his side.

He began to fall asleep, holding the cross tightly in his hands, unaware of the bugs and insects that were around him.

Unaware of the sun beginning to set.

He fell asleep under the big old oak tree as the flowers swifted gracefully in the chilly wind of the night, unaware of the deep red colour that was getting stained in the sage green rug from his living room, unaware of the strong scent that was coming from it.

There was something about the smell of flowers that made Lucas happy.

As he slept peacefully, that same aroma coming from the flowers prevented him from smelling the horrible scent of death coming from his house.

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A/N: TADAAAAAA I KNOW IT WAS PROBABLY TOO SHORT AND I DIDN'T REALLY EXPLAIN ANYTHING BUT IM TERRIBLE AT THAT UHH SORRY? ALSO I KINDA JUST DIDN'T EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE THE HOUSE, BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE LOL.