The Vampire Princess

Chapter 1 : Strange Encounters

Marc made his way through the thick forest, his flashlight flickering with each step. The sounds of the forest made him slightly uneasy. He whipped around when a branch snapped behind him.

Hidden by the shadows, a young women stood, half of her face covered by her cloak. She had her arms crossed in front of her face, trying to shield the light away from her eyes. She wore a dress that stopped about her knees and the dress itself had a corset design to it. Brown hair was barely visible as it peaked out from the sides of her hood. 

Marc slowly pointed his flashlight toward the ground. He watched as she brought her arms down to rest at her sides. Even though he couldn't see her eyes he could feel her gaze running over him. He practically jumped when she spoke. 

"Who are you?" She had a gentle voice filled with confidence. 

"My name is Marc." He gave a small smile before continuing, "May I ask who you are as well?" He noted that she seemed slightly hesitant to answer him. 

"I'm Elizabeth." She gave the smallest bow possible. "It's nice to meet you. Why did you come here?" He was surprised by her question and a little embarrassed. 

"Well, I was told fascinating stories as a child about a young girl who lived alone in these woods. I wished to find out if any the stories had truth behind them or if they were just stories to entertain children." He scanned the trees a moment before letting his gaze rest on Elizabeth once again. 

She turned her head so she was looking up toward his eyes, as she did so, more of her face became visible. Her light blue eyes were full to the brim with confidence. "The stories are true, all of them." She turned to walk back in the direction she had come from. 

"How do you know?" He reached out to grab her arm but pulled his hand back before he touched her.

"I've met the young girl you speak of, and she's perfectly happy." There was an edge to her voice as she glanced back at him before walking away. The darkness of the night seemed to welcome Elizabeth, for she disappeared with ease into the shadows. 

Marc stood there a moment before finally deciding to head back home for the night. As he calmly made his way back through the forest, he sighed heavily when the dim lights of the town that glowed eerily in the silent night came into view. His house was tucked away in the far corner of town. 

As he passed the houses on his street he noticed that some of the townspeople looked at him as if he had grown a pair of wings. Marc shook his head to clear it as he unlocked his front door and stepped inside. 

He ran his finger over the smooth wall, searching for the light switch. Once his fingers brushed against it he flipped it on, instantly flooding the room with light. He slowly closed the door behind him and set his flashlight on a small table that sat next to the door. 

His eyelids began to feel heavy as he walked down the hall to his room, nudging the door open with his foot and walking over to his bed. As he sat on the edge of the bed he kicked his shoes off and laid back, not bothering to change his clothes. 'I must find out more about Elizabeth tomorrow, even if I have to search the whole forest for her,' he thought as sleep took hold of him.

Elizabeth mentally groaned as she opened the door to her house and walked inside. 

"You were out longer than usual." Elizabeth turned to look at the young woman sitting on her couch. 

"Samantha why must you enter my home while I'm gone?" Elizabeth took off her cloak, setting it on a chair in the corner of the room. Samantha let out a chain of giggles. 

"I like it here. Anyhow, what took you so long?" Elizabeth sat on the other end of the couch, closing her eyes. 

"I met a human that was roaming the forest." Samantha looked over at her sharply. 

"What did they want?" Elizabeth opened one eye to look at her. What an annoying girl, she asks these questions every time something happens. 

"He was just trying to put some of his curiosity at bay. He spoke about a little girl who lived in these woods." Samantha gave a small nod before looking at the ground.   

"Why can't humans just believe that they're only fictional stories and leave it at that?" She was talking to herself more than Elizabeth, who just shook her head in return. They sat there in silence until Elizabeth spoke. 

"By the way, how's Sophie been doing?" Samantha smiled and looked over at her. 

"She's doing just fine, mom's been taking good care of her when I'm not home." Elizabeth looked over at the small clock on the wall. 

"Don't you think that you should be heading home?" Samantha glanced up at the clock and gasped. 

"I hadn't realized it had gotten this early!" She jumped off the couch, slipping her shoes on quickly. "See you tomorrow!" She practically flew out the door and into the trees. 

Elizabeth softly giggled as she shut the door behind her frantic 'friend'. She looked around a moment and sighed. Her house seemed so empty without the energetic girl. She made her way to her room and flopped down on her bed. She felt the silence of the dawn lulling her to sleep as she slipped into unconsciousness.