NIGEL

CHAPTER 3: RECOVERED(?)

As it turns out, the racket that had driven James away was the sound of a few people in the village who heard the noise coming from our house. They burst in and were unsurprisingly shocked to find my mother dead on the floor, and her son nowhere to be found. They could see just as well as any, that this was the work of a vampire. Back in those days, the vampires were less organized then they are now. Oh, I suppose I should explain a few things for you shouldn't I? Well here it goes:

Only about a hundred years before I was born the continent of Drancaria was one kingdom with each region having a diplomat and representative. Severno is in the North, and that's where I'm originally from. Andella is in the East, Ibhan is the desert region in the south, and lastly Laitharia is in the West. The Glowing City known as Sanctuary stood on the border of Laitharia and Severno. This city was the King's city and the last king to live there was known as Alcome who did a brilliant job of destroying the whole kingdom with his sheer hubris and stupidity. (what else is new?) Well, anyway during and before Alcome's reign the world flourished. It was full of beautiful cities and each city or town had its own Lord or highborn in charge who wielded to the laws of the King, but there were differences in specified laws and culture as there so often is when a Kingdom as large as Drancaria exists.
Magic was all around, and those who had magical abilities were trained as enchantresses and wizards who were quite abundant before Sanctuary fell. The roads were safe and the enchanted creatures that lurked in the forests were kept in check. The dragons resided on their own island which we called Fire Isle, and rarely flew over Drancaria. There were giants and elves and a quite civilized society.
However, you my dear reader probably know better than to think something could stay so perfect for very long. Alcome became drunk with power and requested the presence of all the wizards and enchantresses in the Kingdom. He also bargained with the fairies to forge him a necklace where he trapped the souls of all the powerful magic users and part of the dragon goddess Ignis herself. At least that's how the legend goes. It gets so muddled and hazy over the years with many people making up their own variations of the tale. Really, that's the most basic version. Of course what happened was that Alcome couldn't handle that kind of power and the city eventually fell, taking the monarchy with it. Now all the regions have become their own Kingdoms with their own kings who serve practically no purpose. The real power is with the Lords that look after individual towns within one kingdom. Its basically a regional dictatorship but nobody would ever admit to it.
When I was born, the world was still a very dark place. It hadn't been that long since Sanctuary fell and Drancaria was plunged into darkness. The forests were overrun with various creatures; Alcome had killed off the Giants and forced the elves he didn't slaughter into hiding. It was every town for themselves. The only magic left were with mages who were, and are, low level magic users who can only conjure magic to a small degree in comparison to that of the wizards and enchantresses. But, the vampires were always a possible threat. They would sneak into towns and drink their victims to death. By the time I was born it was becoming less frequent because people were prepared. It was more dangerous for a lone vampire to enter into a human village or town than it was for a town to encounter a vampire. However, there were vampire occurrences every now and then.

Anyway, back to me. Well, as you can imagine, I was completely traumatized. The men in my town, which was known as "Holly Bush," who worked for the Lord took my mother away to be given a proper burial. They searched for me but seeing as I was still in such shock, I refused to speak or move from my hiding spot. I was in that hole under the floor for two days before anyone realized where I was. They were searching the house when one of the men heard me sniffling. They had to force me out where I was brought to the Lord to figure out what to do with me. As far as anyone knew I was now an orphan and too young to survive on my own.
I was sent to work for the Lord as a kitchen servant. Over the years I taught myself how to read with the help of some of the other more educated servants and I became quite the good cook; not that I ate much of the food I made. The head of the kitchen staff was called Tobias Pine and he was the closest thing to a father I had, but that didn't mean he was always nice to me. Tobias was a proud man and though I could see that he felt responsible for me in some ways, he was not the kind of individual to express any affection. Tobias had five of his own sons, one of whom was named Lionel. Lionel and I were quite close over the years.
I remember distinctly when I was about thirteen or twelve, Lionel and I were rough housing out back, one thing led to another and eventually he kissed me. I was so taken aback by this. I always thought that Lionel was incredibly handsome, but I didn't know how to react. I think I just ran away and ignored him for a couple of weeks because I felt weird when I was around him. I could tell he regretted it and missed our friendship, but I was a stupid child and for some reason couldn't get over what happened between us. I think why I was so uncomfortable was because I actually liked it, but I thought I was just confused. I, to this day, still feel terrible for what happened between Lionel and I because not too long after everything, he fell off his horse and snapped his neck. Because I felt so guilty about what happened with Lionel, that was the moment I decided I wouldn't get close to someone like that again and I didn't for a while.
My short time in Holly Bush is often lost to my memory unless I actively think about it. I don't like to reminisce about that place because I often felt so lonely there. Nobody wanted to be around me because I was strange and I closed myself off from other people. Besides, I was keeping a terrible secret about what kind of horrible half breed creature I was, which was quite trying on my mental health. As I grew older I realized based on my nightmare of a memory, that this "James Mallory" as my mother had called him, who murdered her in cold blood, was a vampire and was my father. I seethed when I thought about him. One thing I wanted more than anything else was to kill him, and I told myself one day I would go out and look for him to get my revenge.
But for now I just catered to the whims of the Lord of Holly Bush, a man by the name of Lord Powell Granite. Lord Granite was a suspicious man and I avoided him as much as I was capable. I kept myself in the kitchen and made myself a slave to the lowly chores that didn't require contact with the Lord or any of his family.
"Nigel?" said one of the scullery maids, Tabitha, to me one afternoon. After my time with Lionel, Tabitha was the only person I really associated with, and even then I kept my distance. She and I would bond over our fantasies of the simply gorgeous clothes we would wear if we were rich and had our own servants. Tabitha was an orphan like me, so she was another one who was adopted into servicing Lord Granite.
"Yes darling?" I answered, trying to seem in a good mood.
"Where would you go if you could be anywhere else?" she asked, wiping her hands with a dish rag.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure my dear. But, I do know that I would gladly be most places other than here. Why?"
Tabitha sighed. "I dunno. I just feel so trapped here sometimes. I know I'll die an old maid. Who would want to marry a lowly servant girl?"
"Oh come now darling, you and your charm could easily woe anyone," I said to her reassuringly.
She laughed. "Ah. Would you marry me Nigel?"
"Oh I would marry you in a heartbeat! Unfortunately I think that Edmund has his eyes on you already and I would never do such a horrible thing as to steal away a woman as beautiful as yourself to a man as honorable as Edmund Blackburn." I kissed her hand with a bow.
She squealed. "Oh I knew you knew something about Edmund! He must know how I feel about him!"
Tabitha and I chatted away, finishing up our chores. I listened to her talk about her future life with Edmund and I acted as happy for her as I could. I wasn't interested in Tabitha but I was acutely aware of how lonely I would be once she took a husband. Then I really didn't have anyone. Often I thought about how alone I was in regards to romantic partners, but I always assumed I would end up alone because of my 'condition' so to speak. I just wanted to get out of Holly Bush for good. But I should've known to be careful what I wished for because I could very well get it.