The Vampyre Troubles

Chapter 2

- Chapter 2

The Captain stared long and hard at the finely dressed young man, he wanted to grab him by the throat and quickly strangle all essence of life right out of him. How dare the bastard mention my wife and my son he thought as his mind filled with rage, hurt and sorrow. If he had his pistol, he would surely have used it on the stranger without a second thought! Such was the condition of his state of mind and his firm desire to not discuss the tragic topic. He wanted to kill him and he would have done, had it none been for the General’s intervention.

“CAPTAIN! This is King Henry IX and this, is his sister Princess Victoria. They are the last of the British Royal family and I’m sorry we could not tell you sooner but we had good reason to keep it secret. We want to trust you, not chastise you. The King meant no offence for your loss. He only seeks to know if you want revenge. Which is something that he, we, believe we can offer you. Just hear us out, I beg you!” Said the General, pointing to the young man and woman, much to the shock of the Captain.

How could this be? Thought the Captain. The whole Royal family was wiped out and massacred by the vampires over twenty years ago! Everyone knows that. They could not be! He could not believe it. If they were, what other lies had been told over the years. The captain walked towards them and looked at their young fresh faces and tried to picture them – They look Royal all right he thought! But what the hell do they want with me? He pondered.

“Well if you’re expecting me to bow and courtesy, you can think again! My days of bowing to the likes you, happily ended just over twenty years ago! Right now – you are just two young snobs in fancy dress. Nothing more and thankfully Vampyres don’t distinguish between classes – so you’re fucked just like the rest of us.” Declared the Captain. His words spouted out with full venom, each one like the bite of a snake. He didn’t hold back, he didn’t care to. He was suicidal and what was left of society was moments away from collapse. What had he to fear? What had he to bow to?

“I do like you Captain.” Said the young king, becoming more himself now that the Captain knew who he was.

“Isn’t he just marvellous?” He continued, addressing it the others in the room, as if the captain was some sort of puppy or caged animal that was there just to be admired at and gawked at by humans.

“Exactly the type of person we need!” Finished the King, as the others looked on uncertain.

“What the hell are you talking about you pompous Prince?” Asked the Captain. His mind racing to try and figure out what this was all about and what they needed him for. His dislike for the King growing every second.

“Let’s be clear with each other Captain. No more lies, no more games. I am sure by now you are aware; we did not bring you here for your royalist views. So no bowing is necessary. Each of us in this room knows you hate us. And that’s fine. Some of us are indeed - hateful little cunts! But we both know that there is someone you hate more than all of us cunts put together. And that something is the Vampyre creature – you despise them and you hunt and kill them, quite well I must say. But there is one Vampyre in particular – you hate so much that you would probably kill a thousand innocent people just to watch him die. You have tried many times to find him. Each time a failure and each time you come back – you lose a little piece of your heart which by now is almost gone entirely.” Said the young King, seemingly knowing far more about the Captain and his life then he realised. Which made the Captain uneasy but he was intrigued to hear what else the King had to say and so he listened carefully.

The others in the room looked on, some smiling some gasping at the words of the King but all of them silent. They had the faces of desperate people. People who knew their time was up and that in actual fact no matter how much fancy clothes they wore or how big a house they had nor how much gold and jewels they had or indeed power – none of it actually mattered. They would soon die and bleed as much as the common man and woman and the very thought of it must have been giving them nightmares. However the thought of such things – by such people made the Captain very pleased. For the first time in his life they needed him and although he did not yet know why or for what, he did know that he liked the idea of it, that for once he was more powerful than they.