VIVIENNE (On Hold)

PART I: UNCROWNED PRINCESS.

Copyright ©2016
All Characters and events in this story are fictitious (It's fantasy, duh ).
Imitation might be the best form of flattery, but please don't steal my work. Plagiarism is NOT cool.
I hope you'll enjoy reading this.
Love, Gracia. :-*

* * * *

My name is Vivienne Dracula. And I'm a vampire princess .
Yes, you read that right. I'm a direct descendant of Ivan the terrible, AKA Count Dracula ,AKA the world's first vampire, so that makes me vampire royalty.
My life was pretty much what you'd expect a Vampire Crown Princess's life to be: boring as hell, except for the occasional coup and even more rare murder attempts against me and my extremely powerful family.
Until the day my family was destroyed.

* * * *
I'm Ruben.
A journalism student, aspiring novelist, and waiter at McDonald's.
Probably not at all what you'd expect from a man who would fall in love with a vampire princess.

* * * *
"Princess Vivienne!!!"
The voice was in a whisper; barely audible, but I woke up immediately when I heard it. Being a vampire, and a powerful one at that, my senses were sharp. Very sharp. And right now they all screamed one thing.
Danger.

I sat up and looked around my enormous room. The castle that housed my family, the Draculas, was huge, so huge. The witches, who we allied with, had filled it with protective charms and spells it was basically impregnable, but something was wrong that night. I had never felt this way before. I felt... Vulnerable, no longer safe. And I had never felt that within these castle walls. Never, not once.
Something was wrong, very wrong.

* * * *
"Best way to beat writer's block? " My best friend Jack repeated after me.
"Yes, Jack, " I said, exasperated. "What are you, a parrot? Why are you repeating everything I say? "
We were seated on my bed, drinking beers. A bit too tame for Cambridge Seniors, but that was us. Your typical nice guys.
He sipped his beer, looking thoughtful, then snapped his fingers as though the grandest idea had just occurred to him.
"Masturbation."
I froze with my beer bottle halfway to my mouth. "What?"
"I've heard it really works, man. You just jerk off, and then you stop when you're about to come. "
I burst out laughing . " You're ridiculous, you know that? "
There was a weird noise coming from outside, like the flapping of wings.
I was alert at once. "What's that? "
Jack shrugged. I got up from bed and went to look out the window, then let out an involuntary gasp.
"What's the matter? " Jack asked from the bed.
I turned to look at him, wide eyed. "Bats. "
He got up, not comprehending. "What? "
Slowly, I pulled the curtain aside so he could see. His jaw dropped.
The sky was filled with bats. Thousands of them. They practically blocked out the light from the moon.
"What the fuck!!?" Jack exclaimed. "Do bats do that? Where are they going? "
"I have no idea," I said, unable to take my eyes off the incredible sight.
"The Draculas' castle." Jack whispered loudly, his eyes even bigger than mine.
I turned to look at him, bemused. "Now, now, Jack, there's no need to start making up fanciful stories... "
Jack had always been obsessed with the Draculas, a wealthy family who lived in a castle a short distance from our campus. Everyone said they were vampire royalty, considering their apparent wealth, seclusion, and admittedly strange name, but I thought that was utter poppycock.
They were a notoriously private family, and in today's world where having money meant fame and privacy whoring, a vampire legend had been woven around them. They were hardly ever seen during the day, and a sighting of any member was extremely rare, but that didn't make them vampires. Maybe they just valued their privacy. Lord knows I would be exactly the same if I was that rich.
His eyes remained on the bat filled sky, fascinated. "Something is happening with the vampires."
"Jack, there's no such thing as vampires. "
He turned to look at me, his expression of awe replaced by one of ire. "You know, for someone who calls himself a writer, you're pretty narrow minded."
I walked back to my bed and sat on it, picking my beer up from the bedside table.
"Vampires only exist in movies and fantasy novels. "
He didn't reply. Instead, he picked up his coat and headed for the door.
"Where are you going? " I asked, surprised.
"To find out whatever the fuck is going on" he said, walking out.
"Jack, wait... It's not safe, " I called, but he was already gone.
I had no other choice. Sighing, I grabbed my Jacket and went after him.
* * * *
"Princess Vivienne! " The voice called again. This time I recognized it.
"Moragh ? " I called.
"It is me, child. " Came the voice again. I looked around the room, but I couldn't see anyone. She was speaking to me from far away, through telepathy. My danger sensors started beeping wildly. Moragh never, ever used telepathy to communicate.
"When I do, " she had once said to me, "know there is danger. "
I heard her voice, as clear as though she was there in the room with me. "Listen, Princess. There is not much time. " Her voice was urgent. "You need to leave the castle. Right now."
I got up immediately, grabbed a duffel bag, and started packing some clothes. "Why, what's going on? "
"You have been betrayed. Your parents are dead. "
I froze. Dead? My parents? The King and Queen of all the vampires in the world, were dead. Moragh went on, as though she had not just shattered my world with this news. "Your uncle Marcus has taken over. "
The news that my uncle had just carried out a coup de tat against my family was nothing, nothing compared to the news that my parents, my beloved parents, were dead.
"Moragh? " I called in a small voice.
"Yes, Child? "
"How did they die? "
She kept silent. We both know the only way any member of the Dracula family could die was if he or she was killed by a witch. And they had to be helped by another Dracula.
It was one of the rules we had; after 500 years the reigning vampire monarch would step down, then give himself up to the witches to be killed, and they would need help from another Dracula to complete the deed. Ordinary vampires, on the other hand, were given a 200 year lifespan before surrendering themselves to the witches. If they didn't, they were hunted down and killed in the most painful way; solar exposure.
She sighed. "I am sorry, child, but some of my kind have joined your uncle. And these are some of the most powerful witches in the world. But some of us are for you. We will fight for you. "

I felt wetness on my cheeks and realized I was crying.
"You will have time to weep later, "She said, as though she could See me. "Right now, run, Vivienne. Run for your life. "
I wiped my tears away, took a deep breath, and walked to the window. There were thousands of bats in the sky.
I closed my eyes and willed myself to morph into a bat.
I felt my body shrink until it stopped,then I flew back into the room, picked up the duffel bag, and flew out the window, fleeing for dear life.
Behind me, I could hear shouts. They had gotten into my room. I flew even faster.

* * * *
Back in Vivienne's room which swarmed with vampires and wizards, all the Princess's enemies, Marcus Dracula stared out of the window. He could see Vivienne; a lone bat flying away from the castle clutching a duffel bag as the other bats flew towards the castle to acknowledge him as king. "So Vivienne has been warned, and she's fled the merciful death I would have given her. "
He turned back to Myrddin, the most powerful wizard in the world, and the man who had helped him get this power.
"Find her, " he said coldly. "And have her scorched by the sun until she dies. "
Myrddin nodded and swept out of the room.

* * * *
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
I'm new to writing fantasy, so please forgive me if this story wasn't as good as you might've expected it to be. Let me know your thoughts, ideas and questions in the comments section.
Thanks for reading my Story.
Love, Gracia. :-*