The royal city of Port Cressida has a new King.
Casper Ashe.
After spending years chained to the floor of a dungeon, haunted by visions of a beautiful woman, Casper is finally free. As Port Cressida's new King, he has two priorities: restore peace t...
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Sally and Sophie's Apartment
Sophie Reese
Air was struggling to pass in and out of my lungs. It was like someone had put a corset on me and was slowly tightening the strings with every breath. I fought back against the panic, just like I did every time - but it was different tonight. It was more intense than it had ever been before.
I put on an old record and made myself comfortable on Sally's bed. I forced myself to focus on the music, desperately trying to my attention away from the escalating panic inside me. It was hard, but I kept quietly telling myself, "It will soon pass. It will soon pass."
Since mom died, I'd developed anxiety issues surrounding blood. My own blood didn't bother me, but the sight of someone else's was enough to trigger a full-blown panic attack.
I lay on the bed and stared up at the patches of mound on the ceiling.
Breath in, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10.
Breathe out, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
It was a simple and powerful exercise that helped me to regain control of my fear. I was taught it as a child during my grief counselling sessions to help me deal with the sudden and violent passing of my mother.
The panic soon subsided and my breathing eased up.
The relief was welcomed and sadly short lived. My stomach growled and soon worrying thoughts started to crowd my mind about how the hell I was going to cope as a vampire with a blood phobia. I was so hungry, but I had no way to feed myself without falling to pieces.
A gentle knock on the door disturbed me.
Casper open the door an inch and asked, "Can I come in?"
"I really want to be alone right now," I replied.
"I understand, but could you hear me out? I think I've got a solution to your - erm - problem."
I heaved a sigh, "Alright then, you have thirty seconds."
He pushed the door wide enough for him to slip into the room and quickly closed the door behind him. With one hand behind his back, he approached the bed.
"What's behind your back?" I asked suspiciously.
"Please, don't freak out. I have an idea that will help you to feed."
I scooted up the bed into a sitting position and growled, "You better not have brought any blood into this room."
Even the thought of it was enough to make my throat feel like it was closing up again.
Casper could see the effect it was having on me, so he carefully revealed what he was holding behind his back with soft gentle movements. I watched carefully as he produced a tall bright purple travel mug with a black straw. I knew it had blood in it, but I was completely distracted by the giant sparkly unicorn face that was printed across the front of the mug.
