Reincarnated Vampire (On-going)

Chapter 3: The meeting

The rocks surrounding the lair were creating illumination, weirdly providing light to only one area. Bats still creeping on the ceiling, gnats on the wall, and rats on the floor that all seemed to be awaiting orders as the two red-eye, two gold-colored eyes, and three gray-eyed vampires continued their staring battle in the middle of it. How did it come to this? Put the blame on a man named Sun for leaving two different lineages in one room without saying a word.

“Speak now,” Lily didn't break her gaze on the woman sitting on the couch before her nor did she. If only eyes could kill, nobody would have survived the intensity of those stares they were giving one another. “... or I’ll make sure you forever hold your silence.”

The woman smiled. “Feisty as ever..”

Those words perked up Lily's curiosity more than ever since she had no recollection of meeting her or the other two. “Who are you?”

“I am--”

“Wait! Can we really trust them?” One of the ladies asked, always genuinely worried about trusting vampires, and the four high-ranked vampires were no exception.

The tall slender beauty caught Anna's interest but she shrugged it off. “We should be asking you that question.” The seriousness on her face was mesmerizing. If she wasn't controlling her power so well, surely, everyone would be on their knees— begging.

The other one took a deep breath. “Sally, I know you have trust issues but I think we should at least try.” She looked at her with reassurance.

“She’s right... I apologize for any misunderstanding between us. I am Zaldy and I was assigned as the temporary chief of what’s left of us until things get sorted out...” None of them reacted so she went on, “I am not your enemy. In fact, I helped the queen give birth to you and took care of you until you learned how to crawl that’s why I know you...” She looked at her so lovingly like she was her long-lost daughter. “I’m glad you grew up tough and healthy.”

Lily was trying to remember even just the mention of her name but nothing came to mind. ‘Is it a lie?’ She thought.

“S-she’s not lying.” Sharon let out, not that she could hear thoughts... It was just her impulse. With Sharon's lie detection power, she can undoubtedly distinguish who's lying and who's not. And right now, all she knew was that every single word uttered by everyone was nothing but the truth.

“Are you sure? Hundred percent?” Anna questioned, even though she knew her sister Anna questioned, even though she knew her sister could never be wrong. Still, no harm in wanting absolute certainty.

Sharon nodded, “Yes.”

“Thank you. Anyway, this is Sally,” pointing to her left side. “And this is Jessie. She’s the daughter of our clan’s leader.” She introduced the lady on her right side. “We are here seeking sanctuary, hiding from the death that is after us... You see, just two days ago, we were attacked by Valiant--”

“VALIANT?! AS IN VAN DE VALIANT?!”
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*flashback*

"Before we all part ways, I will take this opportunity to announce that I have decided to give the next in line for this throne, Princess Lily, a test for us to see if she is worthy of the crown... Everyone, tomorrow, she will embark on a quest to apprehend the leader of the most notorious vampires. May it be dead or alive."

It made an uproar. Everyone started cheering so loud it was deafening to the point it would be a marvel if the queen was alright. Trials had been a tradition that happens only once in every generation for everyone believed that no weak leader must be crowned and praised that's why everyone's thrilled.

"Father," Rosie bowed so low she almost gave the floor a smooch. She knew that the trial was inevitable and no matter what happened, her sister couldn't say no. But, she can't just let her younger sibling go on a suicide mission and do nothing. "Please grant me permission to depart with her. Please father."

Everyone fell silent, waiting for the King's response as this kind of trial should be faced unaccompanied.

"Will he be biased?" "That's against the rules!"

The queen held his hand. "Please hear your daughter's explanation before nullifying her plea."

"Why should I allow you to join a quest that will supposedly determine the worth of the next queen?" The king gritted his teeth as the action of his eldest daughter disturbed the happy celebration and it may tarnish his reputation.

"I-- We have lost so many brave and powerful vampires for decades attempting to capture Valiant. I am not saying that my sister, I mean, the princess is not strong because we all know that she is... What I'm trying to say is that we don't know what dirty tricks Valiant will do and how many underlings will help him flee again so I want to offer assistance to minimize his chance of escaping." She lifted her head, staring at her father with pleading eyes.

"Excuse my rudeness, Uncle King. I, too, want to be part of this mission because I believe that the more, the merrier." Anna raised her hand. "I pledge that the princess will do all the dirty work. We will just be there as support if anything goes wrong. And if we break this promise, Rosie shall be punished!"

*end of flashback*
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“Yes. He attacked us killing our patriarch, Jessie’s father. The three of us, and a very few vampires, managed to escape... I-I believe that finding the King's letter during our escape is not a coincidence. So, I ordered Sun to make sure you will get here safe.” Zaldy removed the blanket that was covering the lower part of her body making it visible that she was missing a leg then she stood up using a wooden cane to support her weight. “Please help us... We don’t need our land back... Just please save our next matriarch... She’s the only hope we have left...” She burst into tears.