Counting Stars at Dawn

2: The Elf And The Vampire

When nightfall finally arrived, soft plumes of snow began to glide gently on the air. The moon illuminated the ground with its weak shine, but still managed to make the snow glow.

Artemis left the comfort of his palace when Dia retreated for the day. He descended the tower through a hidden spiral staircase within the walls, and stepped out into the crisp night. He wasn't running away, he simply needed to head into the Dark Forest to find snow flake flowers. 

Artemis was gifted in potion making. Princes of Sapphire were usually excelling at performing magical charms and enchantments, most discovered this ability at the age of four. However, Artemis was well into his twentieth year, and he still couldn't master many of the spells.

Despite the elders' of the kingdom advice, Artemis refused to pursue magical practice and focused on his virtues.

The prince was planning on experimenting with a modified version of a potion he created. He had everything he needed, except buds of snow flake flower.

As he ventured into the forest, the atmosphere gradually shifted to be more eerie and ominous. Not even the moonlight could penetrate the tall pine trees and soon, Artemis was walking blindly in pitch darkness. He panted and squinted, trying to find the blue and white flowers.

Because he kept his eyes trained on the ground before him, Artemis failed to notice a pair of glowing red irises staring at him in curiosity from the height of the trees.

The mysterious figure floated around with the stealth of a shadow, following the prince. It laid on its stomach on a thick branch as it looked down at the prince who stopped walking.

"Where are they? They should have been there a few meters back." Artemis mumbled as he tried reading his writing on his journal.

He was holding the book pretty much at his nose and he still couldn't even see the page. The darkness felt suffocating. Artemis crouched to the ground and tried feeling his way around the moist soil. He patted the snow and dirt, trying to find the flowers, but to no avail.

"What are you doing in my forest?" A deep, velvety voice demanded from the black, making Artemis fall back on his rear.

"What?" Artemis whispered in fear.

He couldn't hear or see anything, making him start to panic. Amidst the dark, he heard rustling branches and was finally able to see a pair of red glowing lights approaching him fast. He backed away in fear, but soon the figure was towering over him.

"I said, what are you doing in my forest?" The figure repeated.

Artemis trembled and didn't reply. Was this a forest spirit? A demon? A hallucination? A vision? He watched the red lights roll back and it dawned on him that these were eyes.

No longer afraid, Artemis stood up to his full height and tried his hardest to make out the remaining features.
The moonlight shone briefly and the figure was transformed into a tall man. The glow of the moonlight faintly illuminated his features and Artemis was astounded.

The man was at least six feet tall, he had a toned torso and arms, and had sharply accentuated facial features. His long black hair extended to his shoulders and it fell over most of his left eye. He had thick black eyebrows and lavish eyelashes that sharpened the devilish blood colored irises he had. Artemis finally took in the man's entire appearance and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw him open his mouth and revealed teeth with sharp white fangs.

This vampire was dressed in dark, tight pants, a black shirt that hugged his chest, and a long sleeved red/black flannel shirt. His boots were black and there were spiked piercings running up his right ear with a black upside down cross hanging from his ear lobe.