As the Vampire Realm prepares for battle against a mysterious enemy, the city's captiol is thrown into mayhem once the lost Princess returns to reclaim her throne. There's just one small problem, the Princess is human.
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The morning air bites me with a cool crisp kiss, as stars fade in the rising sun. The sky is a pastel violet with streaks of blue.
Josie leads the way up to the deck, with Vye, and I behind her. Her stance is one that's ready for anything. She wears the binding she broke free from, like a bracelet around her wrist. As she grips the metal fragment in her hand like a weapon, with the sharp end pointing out.
Leila's rounding the corner of the deck, with a masked fighter chasing behind her. Josie springs into action, not thinking twice about it.
Leila is finally faced with someone her size to battle with. The spiked blonde's eyes widen in surprise, as Josie blocks Leila's path to abandon ship.
Vye grabs my hand and makes sure I'm not in the middle of the skirmish that's about to ensue. She pulls me behind her as we move to the edge of the boat.
Josie's body moves with the precision of a seasoned warrior. It's beautiful even, how elegant every step of her shifts are, to avoid the punches Leila's throwing her way. Josie's eyes are solely locked on Leila, anticipating her every move.
Leila is lethal as well, facing two fighters at the same time. Josie at her front, and a masked opponent at her back. I don't know where Horace is, but Leila, seems to be handling herself fine. She alternates from attacking Josie, to defending her back from the masked fighter behind her.
The art of battle is not lost on me as I watch. Against the backdrop of purple sky and crystal clear water, they look like a deadly dance, a triple tango that soon changes gears.
Josie switches from defending herself to counterattacking Leila. Delivering heavy punches and swift strikes.
Now it's Leila, who defends herself from both sides. An effective method, for Josie because no matter how experienced Leila is in fighting, she won't be able to keep up with both sides.
Leila's leg kicks out to block a strike from Josie's end, who fortunately has seen this coming, Josie slides down so she's kneeling by Leila's side. She wraps Leila's ankle with her own binding, tripping the spiky haired vampire, who falls flat to her face, lunging at Josie with a clawed hand.
But the masked fighter quickly cuffs Leila's arms behind her back, before she can do any damage. A look of rage drowns her vicious eyes at the realisation, she's lost.
"Pathetic bastards!" She screams out in vain.
The mysterious fighter pulls her up and drags her back the way they have come. Josie follows, gesturing to Vye it's ok for us to come.
Vye turns to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, silently asking if I'm okay. As of now, nothing can disturb me more then Octavius and his dead eye. So, I reassure her I'm quite alright before she walks after the others. I'm a couple steps behind her, when I see what's happening on the other end of the boat.
Horace is slung over another cloaked fighter's shoulder, being walked over to a pole. His hands have been bound by rope, and he looks around with panic as he tries to reason with us. He's dropped with his back against the rod.
"I'm not even in charge! Y-you see she is," he cries as Leila is tossed at him. Horace gasps as her elbows dig into his stomach. "Get off me you miserable hippo!"
Leila decides to prolong his misery as she slide's away, pinching his skin with her claws. Horace screams as he thrashes beneath her, quickly silenced as the person who threw him down stoops in front of his face.
From the distance, I can't tell what's happening, why Horace has quieted so suddenly. I can only imagine the fighter beneath the mask must be intimidating.
Josie brings rope to secure both of the vampires to the pole. She makes sure the bonds are tight enough, rigidly straining into their bodies.
The cloaked fighter turns to look at Leila and her wild eyes glaze over before they roll back in her head. Both of the thieves lost to sleep, hostage on their own boat.
I take a step forward.
The spine of the fighter goes tense. In a flash he's up and around, his face concealed with black fabric, but his presence hones in on me. Ignoring Vye's words he strides past the others, heading straight for where I stand. The way he's walking like a predator, confirms he's not coming to introduce himself. His hand moves to unsheathe a dagger from his waistband, and my jaw drops, is he going to stab me?
I'm ambling back on shaky feet, not fast enough as he cuts through the distance. His hand wraps around my arm, as he presses the dagger to my throat. Pinning my body firmly against the wall of the staircase.
Vye's screaming at him, "Comrade! What are you doing? Stop! She's been cleared, she's just a fledgling."
Comrade, the name of my assassin is odd.
He doesn't listen to her though, oblivious to her words. Josie walks forward ready to break me away from his vicelike grip.
"Don't." It's a dark command he throws at his baffled companions. He doesn't take his focus off me.
I'm trying to see past the shadows concealing his face, contributed by the fabric he's hiding behind. My heart drums wildly in my chest as the blade digs deeper into my skin, burning my throat.
He's going to kill me. I close my eyes.
"Open," his voice is a tormented mixture of anger and fear.
I open my eyes just as he lets go of my arm, still keeping the blade pressed at my throat. He reaches for the fabric obscuring his face and light shines over his eyes, just his eyes.
Deja-vu washes over me as I look at him, the eerie feeling that I've met him before. Which is impossible, right?
I'm unable to tear my gaze from his, his eyes remind me of the island. They are the color of the turquoise sea foam, that would roll up on the beach during the early morning hours. However, there's a layer of grey over his irises.
His pupils dilate as I feel his probing stare searching into my soul. I'm not sure how long we stay like that, but I feel as though eternity has passes. Finally, he moves away. And only one thought comes to my mind, as he drops the blade back to his side.
Like the house of a ghost, his eyes are like a haunted graveyard. With skeletons by the many, the bones seem to cascade out of the turquoise depths. Threatening to pull me in.
He steps further away, like he can't bear to be near me. Then he pulls the fabric back in place, marching off the boat. Josie follows after him with shouts of anger. Vye comes to me, her hands tilting my head up to make sure I'm not injured.
My energy seems to be thoroughly depleted, although, I wasn't the one engaged in combat. Vye leads me off the ship with the other masked fighter a few steps behind us. I give Horace and Leila a final glance, their bodies slumped over, eyes closed peacefully. I can't help but wonder if they are dead.
Whatever they are, he's responsible for it. The boy with the haunted eyes.
