In a flash of Fangs

Vampiric Royalty

Vlads POV --

Cold, not in the sense of temperature but in mind, body and soul.

Wicked unwelcome entity, sinister and full of malice, fear monger, a force of nature unlike any I've felt before. The feeling of being watched and the hair on my arms prickling at any sound or a slight breeze. This is what I had become. A monster that crept around in the shadows, darkness following my every move.

The night had become my cloak, my savior, my curse. I had no home to speak of and time had not been on my side for many years now. I could only watch on the sidelines as the world progressed with the times, and I a lonely traveler could only watch in the shadows as life passed me by. I had tried a few times to mingle but it never ended well for anyone, mostly because I couldn't control the thirst long enough to know anyone. Territories expanded, wars were waged and the chaotic lifecycle of the human was forever hanging in the balance.

For years I had watched my family from the shadows with pride knowing Ingres had been a great ruler. Then his sons followed the same path and yet I had to remain hidden from them and the world itself. The price I gladly paid to save my kingdom and family from the Turks and what could have been the end of Romania. My name was a mere legend now, a name told in stories to strike fear into children that stayed out late into the night. A slave to the thirst for blood became my only means of survival, it wasn't one I enjoyed but I did it to keep an eye on the world. My creator had told me there would be a day that he would call upon me and I was living in hopes of that day. It would be the day that I kill what would be the last bit of my sanity before I too would be released into the vast darkness that devil had created.

Now in modern society, things had changed and I won't say for the better, it made me sick to think people wanted to live like I have. Innocents and fools all of them, but again they only thought it was a story and not a reality. They only wanted to fit in and to do so, one must sink below the calls of humanity and dive into the absurd reality of fiction. I became this monster to right the wrongs in my time, how could I possibly speak ill of these people who might feel just as I did that day.

I was the reason there was a worldwide Vampire craze thanks to Bram Stoker and Anne Rice. Not to say that the stories made weren't good ones I even had a fondness for The Vampire Lestat. Bram however, he made me famous with only my name and the thoughts of releasing his own history into the world of the written word. I was a phantom, a monster cursed to walk the night sucking dry any victim that crossed my path and yet I felt a sense of calm as I watched the world accept the meaning of Vampire or bloodsucker. It meant that I no longer had to hide as I once did, but could openly walk the street without second glances or whispers of being a foreigner, I could simply walk the streets and enjoy the night in its pale moonlight.

Tonight, wasn't unlike any other night and to be honest it was boring. The sound of screams and laughter from bars wafted down the road and I made it a mission to steer clear of those areas, the blood never tasted good from those people anyway. I decided that I would take a break from city life and go into the wilds for a bit of me time. Ironic, but humans were always in a rush and it made even me feel out of alignment watching. It had been a few days on the outskirts of Tulcea when I caught wind of a Vampire Guild and well I was curious and dropped by pretending to be a human looking for his rightful place in the world. The leader took me in and saw the immediate potential and asked about my bloodline, I couldn't lie, so I said it went back to Ingres and the days after the Turkish war. The leader was impressed and the lineage was supposedly very powerful almost making me a royal on spot. 

It was in no time at all that I became a well-respected member of Tulcea Lupeni, most looked up to me simply because I was a descendant of Vlad the Impaler. Little did they know I really was that man in the flesh walking among them, but I now had a sense of purpose within my extended time on this earth.

There was a hum within the last meeting, a new member was to be joining the ranks and it would be a big one. A girl was turning 18 and her parents were finally willing to dedicate their daughter's life to the Lupeni after arranging her marriage to another family's son, both were of a higher rank and the guild was more than ready to initiate the consummation of the two. I was indifferent to the whole thing but couldn't help but wonder if the girl even knew that her life was being taken from her. I may have been well-respected in this group but I was far from ever being given a chance like this boy had with her. I was old, not that anyone knew my real age but I know I wasn't as young as Sorin her soon to be husband. I had seen him a few times in meetings and was revolted by his actions but his parents kept him in such high praise no one paid much attention to it. He wanted to be a war hero and all I could see was an arrogant child seeking affections where ever he could find it. It sickened me and reminded me of the Turks with their demands of child tributes, I had lost my humanity to save my people from that fate and this boy brought back many dreadful memories. I could only think of one thing to do and that was to save this girl from him and try to win her over with my charms, but how could I do this if she was already promised to this childish young man. I knew I had to start somewhere and so I decided to try my hand at her party that was fast approaching. 

Sorry, it was so long but I felt like i needed to show Vlad's side of things before continuing on. Gotta give me a little pat on the back with this one though. Made some changes Sorry to all that had read it before I changed some of it.