Moonlight Dance: A Vampire's Tale

Chapter 4

He had never expected Ilsa's house to be in a place like this. Isn't this just a cave? Tom thought in confusion as he followed behind Ilsa. I guess this vampire palace isn't all that impressive, huh?

Like many others, Tom had always believed vampires to be nothing more than creatures of myth. In the tales spun by storytellers, these mysterious beings had terrifying faces, living in castles atop steep cliffs, rarely seen by others, and every outing was said to end in a bloodbath. Maybe that's just literary invention, Tom thought sullenly as Ilsa cleared away the dead branches blocking the cave entrance. At least the vampire I met is a girl, and she's even more beautiful than most humans!

"This is my home," Ilsa said proudly after lighting a candle, inviting Tom inside. In reality, it was just a small cave at the bottom of a slope, a cramped space only a few meters wide and filled with the scent of wild beasts. After laying down a mattress, there wasn't much room left to move around. However, Tom noticed that Ilsa had tidied it up quite neatly, with clothes and books stacked in categories, making the place seem surprisingly orderly. "You really seem to enjoy... reading?"

"Everyone has their boring moments," Ilsa replied, already lying on the mattress with her legs crossed, her skirt sliding up to her thighs. "Now that you're here to keep me company, I can read a little less." She stuck out her tongue playfully.

Tom carefully sat down next to her, doing his best to avoid looking at her legs. "I thought you lived with your family."

"I do have family, but they don't live here." The vampire girl rested her hands behind her head. "I made a mistake and got kicked out. Since then, I've had to rely on myself. Just think of me as an orphan."

Orphan... The word struck a chord in Tom. "What did you do?" he asked tentatively. "Isn't it illegal to just throw your child out like that?"

"Tell that to the lord of Cazarburgh." Ilsa sneered. "All I did was get a little too close to a boy. Did that really warrant such a fuss?"

"Close?" Tom's mind raced. "Wait, Ilsa, you didn't...?"

"Of course not! Who do you think I am?" Scaring Tom was one of Ilsa's greatest joys. "I just held his hand and gave him a kiss." She reached out and grabbed Tom's wrist, pulling him onto her. The move took Tom by surprise, and he had to brace himself against the mattress to avoid collapsing on top of her. Their noses were almost touching.

The fire was warm.

"Ilsa... you..." Tom stammered.

"He was younger than you and nowhere near as strong..." Somehow, Ilsa's hands had already found their way to Tom's waist, feeling the muscles along his sides. Among his peers, Tom's physique was exceptional; years of physical labor had made him muscular, and his face carried a rugged charm that wasn't lost on the village girls. "Hey, handsome." Ilsa leaned in closer, her lips brushing against the stubble on his cheek. "You must have had plenty of girls chasing after you, right?"

"Ilsa..." His face flushed, and his breathing became labored. "Can we... just talk?"

"I knew it. Lots of girls must've been after you." Ilsa ignored his plea, her hand moving toward his groin. "At least," she whispered in his ear, "two of them are in the forest right now, following you."

In that moment, Tom nearly stopped breathing. His head buzzed. "Two people... who?!"

He instinctively tried to pull away from Ilsa, but found himself pinned down by the seemingly fragile girl, unable to move. "The two chasing you—a skinny one and a fat one—they've already entered the forest, and they're not far from here." Tom's pupils dilated in shock; he hadn't expected those two to have the audacity to follow him into the Blood-Deserve Forest. "Who are they?"