A Love Soaked In Blood

chapter 5

Elias and I are waiting in the vast clearing in front of the castle for my father, the sky is pitch black short of the moon. I imagine that while I was sleeping father told the vampires about his plan, that would explain what seems to be thirty pairs of eyes staring at me, waiting as well for father's arrival, taking a seat on the hard ground.
"Looks like we will have an audience" Elias says, counting our guests.
"Looks like it" I reply, clutching my dress. I must keep my proper image as the heiress of the lord, reminding the vampires who they are bowing for.
I will ace whatever father throws at me.
He finally arrives, stepping out the front gate to where we are gathered. He stops in the center so I walk to him, he hands me a fancy wooden box and nods at me to open it so I do.
"Five knives and a hairpin, what do you think?" He asks as I look with awe at them.
"Beautiful" I say truthfully, the black color is really a pleasing sight especially for knives. I weigh each of them in my hand, they are in perfect size to fit their sheaths, a bit heavy but can be thrown with enough force, my sword was heavier anyway but I'll have to carry these five on my body all the time. I check the small hole in the blade where blood will flow in for charging, excellent.
"Why do you want that small one though? It can slice but not that much" my father asks, looking at the hairpin, it's exactly as I requested.
"Just in case I find myself in a situation where I have no access to the others" it blends perfectly with my hair accessories as I place it next to them, careful not to scratch my scalp. Then I sheathe the other five on my thighs, sleeves and the hem of my dress. All are concealed.
Father smiles and claps once "let's get started" my eyes follow him as he joins the audience and sits on a cushioned chair I don't know when or where did it come from.
Elias takes out his sword, facing me from a distance.
"What--"
"The best way to learn is to jump directly to action no?" Father grins.
"Yes but--" I move my sight between him and Elias.
"I'm not your opponent Sylvia"
"What do you mean you're not my opponent?" I shout, I've had enough of his riddles.
"At noon, your servant returned to the castle alone, he told me you were sleeping in the forest" he laughs before going on "I decided to test his skills, so I sparred with him and I admit he is quite good and has great power. I can imagine just how much destruction he can cause when he transforms"
I can see Elias smirks in the peripheral of my vision and a I feel myself heat, anger is building up.
"I dueled him without channeling blood and won" I retort
"You did but" he pauses for a moment "Sylvia, back then he was worn out after fighting dozens of vampires and still managed to give you a difficult time before you had him disarmed"
I tense, he is right I just didn't want to admit it but having him say it in front of thirty vampires is humiliating.
"You can go for death blows but don't actually take it, I just want to see if you can have it" father says from his seat.
I spin and face Elias who is still smirking.
Damn him.
I pull a knife from my sleeve and throw it at Elias, he deflects it with his sword like a bat and the knife falls on the ground. He strides to me in incredible speed. I pull out the two at my thighs quickly and make X shape with them as he lifts his sword aiming at my face, the metals clash with a loud noise ringing through the night. He pushes himself harder and leans forward, our faces only separated by the weapons.
He is much faster and stronger than he was months ago, I can't fool myself.
The vampires are cheering and clapping but I can't tell if it's for me or Elias.
He grins, clearly making fun of my struggle to hold my ground still "your people are watching you fail" he sneers.
And that's when I lose it, anger taking over.
I kick his knee hard enough to make him stop pushing in and I immediately take the chance to slice his forearm before backing away fast. He looks at me with an expression I can't read as he heals his wound.
Not enough.
I scratch my palms with my knives then lower them for a moment so the blood flows down, the black knives start shimmering in red within seconds.
"Sylvia! Don't use your bloo--" my father barks but I ignore him and charge at Elias.
Vampires can channel their own blood, it's just that they might collapse depending on how much blood they lose. That's why they prefer to channel after they drink.
But I'm too angry to think about the risks.
I jump and aim the knives at his shoulders but he kicks my ribs with huge force that I feel something crack there, the impact sends me flying backward till my back hits a tree.
I scream from pain, my ribs hurt so much and a I feel a warm liquid dripping from the back of my head.
I don't have the time to catch my breath when Elias rushes to me, his sword held high but I side step at the last moment causing him to have his sword stabbed in the trunk of the tree, I quickly spin around him as he pulls his sword out and slice his back fiercely now that my knives are charged, he winces then whirls, ready to strike but I block it with the same X movement, it's easier now for my knives but more difficult for me because my ribs scream at every move, I manage to deflect his sword to the left but he recovers fast and slices my shoulder. It takes all my strength to not give up to the pain and drop the knives. He strikes again, his eyes are on the side of my neck, I block it with one knife and lift the other aiming at his throat but he releases one of his hands that's gripping his sword's hilt and catches my wrist, pinning it above my head, his hard grip causes me to loosen my hold on the knife's hilt and before it falls to the ground he lets go and bends to catch it so I seize the opportunity and slam my knee in his face. He trembles so I break free and push myself against him and we both fall on the ground but I quickly set myself above him, he glares and we both raise our weapons at each other. My knife at his throat and his sword at my heart.
We stay like this for seconds I don't count but my vision is becoming a blur, everyone's voices seem to fade and my hands start to shake. Elias seems to notice it because he immediately lowers his sword.
Then I sway backward
And everything goes black.