Live

Prologue

He peered through the hallway as he ascended the stairs. No guards, he thought. Strange, so very often do they have guards to protect the Empress' daughter outside of her quarters. He honestly felt bad for not stealing items from the young woman's room, but from the Empress herself, however, the local village claimed that the Empress had stole from them countless times, and it has reduced their growth in crops greatly. He assumes it's understandable since they couldn't have sold their items and used it to buy food, or seeds to grow their own vegetables or wheat. He was a type of thief who did not steal as a hobby or a passion, but instead, stole for the poor, as he knows that the rich wallow too much in gold and stolen treasures from local villages and kingdoms.
He paced himself, crouching, hoping not to make a sound, not even a creak from the wood that is the floor. When he arrived at the girl's door, he began pushing it only for it to not even move an inch. He pulled, and pushed again, but it wouldn't budge.
Probably bolted shut.
No problem, he thought, I'll just use Smoke Phase and go right through it.
And so, he used an ability passed down from his ancestors, allowing him to phase straight through the door as a cloud of purple smoke with no harm done. Once he was in the room, and back to physical form, he then gazed around the room, and gawked at all the antiques around it. He's definitely seen better than this, but then he questioned how a local village acquired this much, better yet, how they ended up retrieving these artifacts in the first place.
By the gods, he thought as he looked at the daughter of the Empress.
He admired her beauty even though she was a vampire, but he thought that her complexion was just simply amazing. No, not simple. She was beauty in all shapes and forms. Her smooth, snow white skin, her curves, and shape, and her hair was the color of the white, bright, shining stars sitting in the night sky. He may not believe in the existence of the gods, but to be known as a vampire lover would most likely end up in death, and that can happen in multiple, painful, and slow ways.
He shivered a bit, and retrieved a list from his leather rogue coat pocket. As he read the first object listed on it, he began his usual terms of business.
Golden Candle.
He spotted the candle on a dresser right next to the bed, and snatched it up swiftly without making a sound.
Golden Candle, check, he thought as he put a check mark next to the name. He peered at the list again.
Emerald Flower Pot.
He gazed at a glass table just from the front of the bed that contained the green jewel vase. Bad news was this though.
The flower pot was in the glass table.
So, he had two options at this point. He could either carve it out, which would make a lot of noise, or, he could smash the glass table, take the flower pot, and run like hell. If he decided to go with option one, he would most likely only wake the woman up. Option two would alert any nearby guards in other rooms and in the halls. Plus, he would not be able to outrun a vampire, more than stand a chance with no holy water, or garlic.
Hell, there might be more than just her.
He swiftly rotated his head towards the Empress' daughter, and saw that she was fast asleep. She was shuffling around a lot though for being asleep. Most likely a nightmare, he thought. Then again, he wondered if vampires can dream. When he thought about it for a while, his conclusion proved otherwise because they don't have a soul. It's basically a demon that thirsts for mortal blood in which cases, in order to dream, your soul needs to be in this mortal realm.
Unless she is half vampire, of course.
If that was the case, then she would be able to dream, and another fact would be that when she does bite her victims, they will not turn. Only pure vampires have the ability to do that. He's heard of this story many years ago, along with his father's stories of how he was close friends with a legendary hero who slayed Vlad, the original Dracula. He doesn't recall the full story, but past is past, and he assumed that is where it should stay.
"Help...," the vampire whispered while sleeping.
He raised an eyebrow at her, and wondered what she meant. Maybe it is a vision, or flashback she is having rather than a dream.
Ok then, he thought, puzzled.
He snapped out of his thoughts, and began returning his attention towards his objective. He took his knife out, and proceeded to slowly carve the flower pot out of the glass table. It made a soft squeaking sound, but he was still able to get the flower pot out with no problem at all.
Until he stood up.
The glass table broke in half, and fell onto the carpet floor, and although it didn't shatter, it made a pretty efficient thump noise, and as all of this is happening, he hears mumbling from the Empress' daughter. She is waking up.
Ah son of a dragon biscuits, he thought as he swiftly turned around and saw the vampire rose from her slumber.
"Hello," she asked, "Who art thou, and please show yourself."
A bead of sweat rolled off of his forehead as he attempted to not look at her beauty, while also trying to save his own life.
"Greetings, madam," he introduced, "for I am Sekeg Duskren. Please do not be alarmed, I wish not to harm thee."
Candles lit up the room now, and the beauty of the vampire was revealed.
"Does thou mean the legendary thief!?"
She seemed excited to hear that.
"Yes, my lady," Sekeg replied, relieved to hear excitement, rather than worry.
She hovered over to him, and giggled. He could see her face now. Full lips, red ruby eyes, and a smile that looked friendly rather than creepy, like most vampire smiles are.
"Sir Duskren, my name is Aphrodite Lanavis. Art thy the one that does not steal as a passion, or for you own benefit, but instead to help others?"
She bent over him as her large, and voluptuous breasts were exposed from her night gown. He felt hot all over his body, and his face turned red from embarrassment.
"Of course," he spoke "and I do apologize for intruding on thee's private quarters, but I just only wish to get the last treasure that is needed from the local village not far from here."
She stopped smiling, and looked disappointed.
"I see...well, the last treasure is the small chest under my pillow."
She hovered to her bed, and retrieved from under her pillow a little wooden chest that was painted red, then returned to Sekeg, and gave the small chest to him.
He grasped the chest, and took it from her, then he began to make his way out. Then something happened that made him feel shame.
Aphrodite started sobbing.
He felt bad, and now his shame hanged heavily on him. He walked up to her, and remembered while she was asleep, she whispered help. He put the chest in his pocket along with the emerald Flower Pot, and then he put his hands on her shoulders, and attempted to comfort her.
"My lady, I do apologize, but I have to do my duties as a hero, and if I take thee along, thou will end up getting harmed."
She gazed at him with tears in her eyes.
"But if thou leaves me here, then they shall kill me," she stated.
"The empire will?"
"Yes," she said.
"But why," he asked.
"My mother knows I do not like to do anything to harm anyone. Of course, I'm a vampire, but I just don't want to cause pain. So, therefore, if she finds all the treasure gone from my room, she will think that I willingly gave it to thee, and have me executed."
He glared at her in surprise. He understands the empire has rules, but the fact that the Empress' will execute her own daughter is just disturbing, depressing, and completely inhumane.
It's her own daughter, he thought, is she really crazy enough to do that?
Now he is placed with two options for this rescue. He can either get her as far away from here as possible, and let her live her own life, or he could do something that might either be regretful, or make him change forever.
He could let her tag along with him.
He gazed at her up and down, and it reminded him of her beautiful form. He couldn't resist, even though he is not the type of dark elf to have the desire of participating in sexual activities, whilst most of them are, but he wants to with this specific individual. He wasn't the type of person to treat a woman like an object, so, maybe if he gets her to tag along, he will build a relationship with her, and then see if anything happens. He honestly thought of what would happen if he decided to settle down, have a family, and drink wine with his loved one.
With his mind made up, he sighs, and set his gaze in her eyes.
"Ok, look," he began, "I don't really like people, but I like helping others, and if I can get us both out of here, and as far away as possible, I will make sure thee is not harmed."
Aphrodite began to smile, and hugged him. She then proceeded to jump on the bed, and squealed excitedly. Sekeg attempted to shush her, but it was too late. Two guards busted down the door, and behind them was a vampire woman, who appeared to be more hellish than anything Sekeg has ever seen before.
It was the Empress!
"My, my, Aphrodite, my sweet little peach," she said, "It seems thou were helping the foolish dark elf after all."
Aphrodite screamed as she began to get behind Sekeg.
"Kill them," the Empress ordered as the guards rushed at Sekeg, and Aphrodite.
"Dark Whirlwind," Sekeg yelled as he spun around, becoming a tornado of dark energy, and took out both of the guards by knocking their heads into the wall, knocking them out. He stopped, and took a smoke bomb out, while the Empress yelled for more of her henchmen.
"GUARDS," she screeched, as more poured in, at an attempt to kill them both, but Sekeg grabbed Aphrodite's hand, and pulled the copper pin off of the smoke bomb.
"I got a plan, but it might make thy feel nauseous," he yelled, and before Aphrodite could get a word out, he threw the smoke bomb on the floor, disappearing out of sight from the Empress and her forces with Aphrodite at his side.