Snow White Queen [NaNoWriMo 2018]

Chapter Eight

Neva sat in her secret room, reading one of the books she had stolen.

The main character was talking about how sunlight felt on their skin, and how warm and happy it made them feel. Neva tried to imagine it, but she had no memory of being in direct sunlight. Not pleasant ones, anyway. Just one more thing she couldn't have because she wasn't human.

She had no idea what it was like to live as a human. She'd become a vampire when she was two years old, far too young to have any real life experience. Vampirism was all she knew.

She told herself that she was holding on to her humanity, that she could blend in and pretend to be human. She hoped to someday do it so convincingly that no one would even guess that she was a vampire. That she herself could forget that she was a vampire, at least for a little bit.

She did forget sometimes, though it wasn't long before she was reminded of reality. Moments like these, where her attention was occupied by something: reading, or talking to Dorian or Lilia. The way Dorian and Lilia talked to her, like she was their equal and not some vile creature, sometimes made her forget that she wasn't like them. Not like most people looked at her.

Dorian didn't know that she was a vampire, so it made sense that he wouldn't treat her like one. Lilia must know, though. Neva had no idea why Lilia was so nice to her, but she was grateful for it.

Neva passed as human pretty well most of the time. She felt like she had successfully convinced a number of guests who didn't know what she was.

Other times, however, she scared herself. Like the night she killed her mother. Something would awaken inside her, something that definitely wasn't human, and it would try to turn her into something like it. In those moments, she felt like the monster everyone thought she was. In those moments, all she wanted was blood.

Most of the time, she could get it under control, at least enough that she could lock herself in her room until the feeling passed. Sometimes, unfortunately, those feelings took over, and she did things that she would never have done if she had been in control.

Her mother wasn't the only thing she'd killed. Sometimes she'd wake up covered in the blood of small animals that she had no memory of killing. How she knew what the blood belonged to, she didn't want to know.

Neva could only hope that as she aged, she'd be able to control her vampiric side better.

~~~

The vampire watched the castle from afar. The royal family had tried so hard to hide what the princess truly was from the public. It gave them credit for that, and besides they were mostly successful. From the information the vampire had gathered, the humans of the country had no idea that the heir to the throne wasn't one of them.

Not the vampires. Like called to like, and no matter how hard they tried to hide it, or how much the princess tried to run from it, she was still a vampire, and vampires tended to call to one another, in one way or another.

The princess was a perfect asset for the vampires. If taught correctly, she could be the one to bring vampires to power. The question was, how would she do it - through peace and negotiation, or through force and fear?

The vampire had no intention of letting the princess be peaceful. It was about time for a revolution.

~~~

Tamela Melancon was escorted through the castle. As per her request, she was going to be meeting with the princess alone. After she spoke face to face with the king and queen, of course. But Tamela didn't have any worried about getting past them.

Aldaren and the commoner queen questioned her very thoroughly. Well, it was mostly the king asking the questions. The commoner queen seemed to be more interested in listening.

"You say you're a vampire?" Aldaren asked.

"Correct," Tamela answered.

"What is it that you want with Neva?"

"To teach her."

"What does she have to learn from the likes of you?"

"I know she's a vampire."

The royal couple seemed taken aback by this.

"You've done a very good job of hiding it from the public. Most of the humans have no idea. But, we vampires have been able to see through your facade. I also know she was the one that killed the queen."

"How-"

"Again, you can't hide these things from a vampire." She paused for effect. "Not without the help of another vampire." She smiled sweetly. "Look at me. I've lived this long, and most people I meet have no idea what I actually am. If you want to keep your charade going long enough for your daughter to get to the throne, you need the help of someone who actually knows what it's like to be a vampire. And that's where I come in."

"What do you get out of this?" It was the commoner queen, speaking for the first time.

"What, I can't help you out of the goodness of my heart?"

They seemed skeptical of the truthfulness of her statement, though too afraid to say it.

"Let me just say that Neva living long enough to get to the throne is something that I and many like me would be very happy to see. Both for what it means for Neva and for the vampire community as a whole."

The king and queen exchanged a glance. "What's the harm?" The queen said timidly.

"Many things."

"Neva can handle herself. And it's not like we'll be far away."

Aldaren sighed and turned back to Tamela. "You can see her. But if you hurt her..."

Tamela smiled again, this time in a much more menacing way. "Why would I ever hurt one of my own?"

~~~

Neva Erythrodis was a small girl, both in actual size and the way she held herself. She stood as though she was trying to take up as little space as possible. Not the way a noble would, but the way a vampire who was hiding their identity would. At first glance, she did appear human, though if one looked at her long enough they'd be able to see the telltale signs, which was probably why she acted as though she was trying to stay out of sight as much as possible.

Tamela smiled softly at the girl, trying to make herself seem as unintimdating as possible. "Hi," she said sweetly. "I'm Tamela."

"I'm Neva." Even her voice was tiny.

There really was no gentle way to approach the topic, at least not one Tamela could think of, so she just said it bluntly. "Do you like being a vampire?"

The girl was still for a moment, then shook her head slowly, almost as if she was afraid to admit it.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. Most people are afraid when they first get turned. It's a scary thing." Tamela dropped her voice to a whisper. "Especially the voices that tell you to do things you don't want to." She paused. "You've heard them, right?"

Neva's eyes were wide, and she nodded her head enthusiastically.

"With enough practice, you can control yourself and the voices. I don't hear them anymore, but it took a lot of practice, and I had to do it all on my own. You're kind of lucky. If you want, I can teach you and help you learn to control it all."

Neva didn't hesitate. "Yes, please."

"Looks like we have an arrangement."

Day Eight
Words written: 657
Total: 10858

Day Nine
Words written: 834
Total: 11692