VIVIENNE (On Hold)

PART II: STAR CROSSED LOVERS.

Despite my jacket, I was shivering like a son of a bitch. Jack was walking in front of me, holding his phone up to the sky so he could take a video of the strange bats.
We were too deep in the woods for my own comfort, and more than once I expressed my concern. Jack chose to ignore me.
We got to a clearing in the forest and stopped.
"Perfect, " Jack said in a whisper.
I was starting to get annoyed with him. "Jack, I think you've got enough footage to make a series. Let's go back. "
To my surprise, he agreed. "You know what? You're right. Let's go. "
We turned to leave.
"Something is happening with the vampires, I tell you, " Jack began again. I rolled my eyes.
"Jack... "
Before I could finish my statement, there was a small crashing sound from the clearing we'd just left, and we both turned to look. A duffel bag appeared to have fallen from the sky, and, along with it, a bat.
As we watched, the small bat morphed into a young Dark haired woman.

*                         *                          *                      *
Something had stopped my flight. And not just anything. Witchcraft. They'd already started coming after me. Now that I'd morphed back into a human, I grabbed my duffel bag and stood up, preparing to run.
There was a chuckle. "Not so fast, princess. " Myrddin appeared out of thin air. He flicked his hand lazily, and I was thrown backwards into the air, landing on my back.
He chuckled again. "Where do you think you're going? "
I looked up at him, tears in my eyes. Nursing and Moragh had been my favorite wizards; they had been my family's friends long before I was born.
"Why," I managed to choke. "Why would you do this "
He looked at me icily. "Because, " he said matter-of-factly, "I like your Uncle Marcus. "He shrugged. "And I never much liked your parents. "
"So you helped him kill them? "
He snapped his fingers, and ropes appeared from nowhere and began to encircle me.

*                       *                         *                       *
"Holy fuck! " I swore out loud. And I never swear. Ever.
Jack was too shocked to note this. For all his talk about Vampire royalty, he never really believed in that. Just like me.
Until today.
The vampire-girl was being wrapped in some ropes that appeared to have been conjured from thin air.
"Jack, let's get out of here," I whispered to him.
He didn't appear to have heard. I saw the look on his face and immediately knew what he was thinking.
I shook my head vehemently. "Jack, No. "
"We have to help her, "he said quietly.
"No. "
He looked at me. "That Wizard guy is going to kill her. "
"He'll kill us too, you idiot. Don't try to be a smart ass. "
He still had that stubborn expression on his face.
"Jack! " I said desperately. "Please, let's just get out of here.  Please. "
"No. "

*                      *                        *                         *
There were humans close, I could tell. Two humans. One was afraid. I could smell his fear. The other one...  He wasn't . And they could see what was happening.
I looked up at Myrddin, still muttering spells under his breath, tightening my binds.
He didn't know we were not alone. For all their magic, witches are basically humans. Human instincts, human lifespans, human weaknesses...
I couldn't let him take me. I was a Dracula; the mere mention of that name struck fear into everyone who heard it. I wasn't going to die pathetically at the hands of my uncle and this wizard.
I had to fight.

*                     *                        *                         *
Before I could stop him, Jack stood up, showing himself.
"Hey! " He shouted.

*                        *                         *                        *
Fool. Foolish human. He should have stayed hidden, just like his friend.
Myrddin turned, as I knew he would. He muttered something under his breath.
"Just let her go, OK? I don't want to hurt you. "
Myrddin looked at him, a bemused expression on his face. I took advantage of the distraction and made a run for the woods. The bindings weren't strong enough to hold me down. Had I been an ordinary vampire, I would have been completely helpless against the magic in the ropes. But I was a Dracula. It would take a lot more than some half done spell to bind me.

*                      *                      *                      *
That vampire girl was darn fast. She ran like the wind. Literally. One minute she was there, the next she wasn't.
I blinked. What the hell?  Was I dreaming?
The wizard looked at Jack, his face contorted with fury. Uh oh. Not good.
"Run,  Jack! " I hissed. But I was too late.

A ball of white flames appeared in the wizard's hands, and he threw it at Jack. Jack, as though he finally realized that there was real danger, tried to turn and run in vain. The ball of flames hit him on the back and he fell  on his back to the ground, eyes wide open and unblinking, still as a corpse.
My best friend was dead.

*                         *                         *                       * 
I ran as fast as I could, and that was pretty fast. I couldn't morph into a bat; Myrddin's ropes had taken care of that, but they hadn't hampered me physically. So I ran. And ran. And ran.

*                           *                          *                    *
My heart was thudding so hard I was surprised the wizard couldn't hear it. But maybe he could. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.
Great. Awesome for you, Jack, Mr. Hero. You got yourself killed while vampire girl bolted off to God knows where.
The wizard looked around, gave a frustrated shout of anger, and disappeared with a swish of his robes.

*                         *                          *                       *
I was near a road,  I could see. Far away from Myrddin, I could tell. I needed to contact Moragh; she was my guide, the only person I could trust. I needed her counsel right now.
I sat down under an oak tree and cried. And cried. And cried. My parents, King Nikolas and Queen Rowena, they were dead. Betrayed by the people they had trusted the most in the world.
They had loved me. I was their only child, their little princess. And the worst part?  Only now did I realize that they had been the people I had loved the most in the world.
"I'm sorry, mother, " I sobbed. "Forgive me, father. You meant everything to me. " I stood up with some difficulty; the ropes still bound me tight. "I'm going to avenge your deaths even if it kills me, " I said, anger and grief mixed up in my voice.
"I swear it, " I added quietly.

*                      *                      *                       *
I walked into my room, numbed by shock. I had no idea what I was going to tell the police about Jack. He was murdered by a wizard as he tried to rescue a Vampire girl?  Who would believe that?  I would be cuffed and sent to an asylum faster than I could blink. And maybe they'd even blame me for the murder.
But I couldn't just leave his body out there. I sat on my bed, not thinking, not seeing, not hearing anything.