The Vampire King

Vampyrus Supremus

     1245 BC, Valeriu Dragos was running through a vast forest as fast as he could trying to outrun a two dozen of royal soldiers whom were after him on horses wielding spears, bows and swords. He looked over a shoulder as he ran wondering how the royal soldiers even tracked him down so easily. He has been cautiously trying to leave Bucharest for good since the tragic execution of his family. He panted as he ran through the gigantic forest apparently exhausted. On the spur of the moment, he got overwhelmed by grief, guilt and terror after recalling how his whole family were brutally murdered in the name of treason.
     The royal soldiers managed to corner Valeriu in a very tight spot forcing him to stop in his tracks panting. They began to laugh at him as they all jumped off their horses swinging their weapons around. They cursed and mocked his family that used to be the most wealthiest and most respected noble houses in the realm.
     "Traitor!", one of the royal soldiers said, in disgust, in Romanian accent.
     "You've nowhere else to go now", another royal soldier said, angrily, in Romanian accent.
     "Royal dogs!", Valeriu said, in Romanian accent.
     Valeriu picked up a thick stick to defend himself against the enraged royal soldiers advancing toward him. He managed to knock down one of the soldiers but the rest began to thrash him up severely without any mercy as he struggled to fight back to no avail. He fell on the ground trying to block the soldiers' vicious punches and unbearable kicks.
     On the spur of the moment, all the royal soldiers fell on theirs knees shrieking in an unbearable pain as they all grabbed their heads losing the grip of their weapons in the process. After shrieking for a while, they all collapsed on the ground apparently dead.
     Valeriu lay there too weak to get up or to even move a muscle. He stared at the trees, trying to move as he heard footsteps moving around him in a circle. He felt an overwhelming dread consumed him after recalling his deceased mother telling him the stories of werewolves and sorcerers he always considered nothing but fairy tales that were meant to scare little children. But what happened right now to the royal soldiers is so peculiar and terrifying. Suddenly, a group of seven young women in black, wearing a long head veil and suman (a coat worn during autumn) and amongst them is Aurelia.
     Aurelia and her fellow witches named Maria, Daniela, Carla, Alexandra, Cristina and Sorina stood over the Valeriu who kept staring at them apparently wondering if they have the intention to help him not to mention, they had just saved his life. They looked at the dead royal soldiers for a moment before they fixed a look on Valeriu who dressed nobly. They quickly realized he is from a noble family but wondered why the royal troops were trying to kill him.
     "El este drâgut, nu-i asa? (He's cute, isn't he?)", Maria asked, in Romanian, with a chortle.
     "Taci, Maria (shut up, Maria)", Daniela said, in Romanian, sternly.
     "De ce the încadrezi mereu pentru bârbati frumosi, Maria? (why do always fall for handsome men, Maria?) ", Carla asked, in Romanian.
     "Because I don't want to die a virgin!", Maria said, in a stern voice.
     Aurelia and the other ladies swung a disgusting look at Maria whose obsession to get herself deflowered is really getting out of control. They returned their attention to Valeriu who is in need of help or he won't live to see sunset. They thought about knowing who he is and why he was chased by the royal troops before they could help him.
     "Cum te numesti? (What is your name)?", Cristina asked, in Romanian, staring at Valeriu.
     "Valeriu Dragos", Valeriu said, in a weak tone.
     Cristina and the other ladies exchanged a nervous and surprised look, obviously they have heard of House Dragos as the most powerful and wealthiest noble family in the whole of Romania. They have also heard of the so-called treason they were deemed to have committed which brought the downfall of the noble family. They wondered how he had managed to survive for this long but before they could ask him he has already passed out.
     That night, Valeriu woke up with a start half naked only to found himself in a hovel that is situated in the vast forest, together with Aurelia and Maria whom have been cleaning him up with water and a piece of cloth. He quickly sat upright looking around the place and to his surprise he felt completely rejuvenated. He stared at the two witches, apparently not sure what they did to him.
     "You've healed completely", Aurelia said, with a grin.
     "How?", Valeriu asked, curiously.
     "Even if I tell you, you won't believe me", Aurelia said, with a sigh.
     "Why wouldn't I?", Valeriu asked, curiously.
     "Because you don't believe in magic", Maria said, grinning.
     Valeriu sat there looking at both Maria and Aurelia as a part of him kept telling him that they are sorcerers and that they have used magic to heal his wounds, but the other part of that didn't believe in the supernatural at all kept denying it. He suddenly reminded himself how the royal troops after him all ended up, and at that moment he realized that their demise has something to do with sorcery. He also reminded himself that sorcery is forbidden and a lot of sorcerers were incinerated.
     "Are you not going to thank us for saving your life?", Maria asked, with a grin.
     "So you girls are witches, right?", Valeriu asked, unbelievable.
     "We prefer to be called sorcerers", Aurelia said, in a stern voice.
     "Thank you very much", Valeriu said, tenderly.
     "That won't pay off", Maria said, boldly.
     "What?", Aurelia asked, looking at her best friend.
     "A time will come for payback and it's not today. So don't forget to always expect the unexpected!", Maria said, with a grin.
     Aurelia gazed at her best friend apparently not sure about what she is up to. She thought about her obsession to find a handsome man who will deflower her because she doesn't want to die a virgin. She hoped her friend is not planning to make the handsome fugitive to give her what she always wanted ever since they were cast out of their coven for practicing necromancy.
     On the spur of the moment, Sorina, Daniela, Carla, Alexandra and Cristina came into hut, already decided to send away Valeriu for their own safety. They have been hiding in the forest for a very long time now and didn't plan on ruining everything they were building as a coven of dark sorcerers even though dark sorcery is considered an aberration of nature by most covens in Romania for a very good reason.
     "You would be leaving here at first light", Sorina said, sternly.
     "What?", Maria asked, apparently against the idea.
     "Those bastards wanted him dead for treason!", Sorina said, a loud.
     "Keeping him here will jeopardize everything we stood for!", Cristina said, boldly.
     "You can't do that to him, especially when you know that his family was set up for their wealth and power", Maria said, in disgust.
     "His presence here is not right, Maria. He must go for our own safety", Sorina said, in a stern voice.
     "No, sending him away like this, is not right!", Aurelia said, standing up for her best friend.
     "It's fine. I will leave. My presence here has endangered all of you", Valeriu said, softly.
     Maria and Aurelia wanted to say something but Valeriu gestured them not to say a word because their coven mates have already decided he should leave in order to protect the coven. They watched him as he slowly got up and then leave the hut to have some fresh air. They stared at Sorina and the rest whom had made a decision without their consent.
     Alexandra stood there thinking about the decision their coven had made to send Valeriu away for their own safety, not considering the fact that his family was condemned to death for the crime it didn't committed. She felt very unhappy about it and thought of a way to convince the others to allow Valeriu to stay with them even though he is human.
     "This is wrong!", Alexandra said, with a sigh.
     Sorina, Carla, Daniela and Cristina fixed a look on Alexandra who had agreed to the coven's decision to send Valeriu away for their own good, but going against the decision as well like Maria and Aurelia. They wondered if something has gotten into her head all of a sudden or if Valeriu's charm has affected her as well.
     "I thought you were on our side", Daniela said, looking at Alexandra.
     "I was on your side before I realized what we're about to do is wrong", Alexandra said, in a serious tone, looking at Sorina.
     "What's wrong with your heads?", Carla asked, looking at Alexandra, Maria and Aurelia.
     "Let me just guess, they all want to get laid by one handsome man", Cristina said, laughing heartily.
     "I have an idea", Alexandra said, in a serious tone, as she suddenly came up with a plan to keep Valeriu.
     "To get laid?", Daniela asked, with a chuckle.
     "No, bitch. Use your head and think. We need someone for the immortality ritual, right? And here is Valeriu", Alexandra said, with a smirk.
     Aurelia and all the others stood there processing Alexandra's idea to use Valeriu to test their immortality ritual spells which according to their former regent coven had killed uncountable of people whom tried to use the ancient spells. They all came to the same conclusion but feared Valeriu might not survive the ritual.
     "What if it kills him? We would become murderers", Aurelia said, feeling nervous.
     "Which is very likely", Maria said, seriously.
     "Just look at him, he has nothing to lose", Sorina said, with a sigh.
     On the spur of the moment, Valeriu came into the hut and fixed a look on Sorina, apparently he has overheard their conversation to use him as a guinea pig for their immortality ritual spells which can kill him in the process. He thought about what Sorina had said that he got nothing to lose because he has lost his family. He realized she was right even if he died in the ritual it is not a big deal because he has no one left to mourn for him. On the other hand, he would want to avenge his family and he would be needing power to do it.
     "Count me in", Valeriu said, with a sigh.
     "What?", Maria and Aurelia asked, in unison.
     "I'll do it", Valeriu said, boldly.
     "No one has ever survived the ritual before. In fact, rumour has it that the dark sorcerer that created the ritual spells did it to get rid of greedy sorcerers whom always wanted more power", Aurelia said, seriously.
     "I'm not a sorcerer. I'm just human who never believed in the supernatural until today when I was saved by a coven", Valeriu said, with a sigh, before he left the hut once again.
     "Are you happy now?", Maria asked, glaring at Sorina, before she left the hut as well.
     Valeriu sat beside a fire to get warm as he thought about the injustice and tragedy that have fallen upon his family thanks to the royal family that had condemned them to death without any investigations. He thought about his decision to be the guinea pig of the coven's ritual spells that are likely to end his miserable existence. He also thought about what he could do if he ever possessed supernatural abilities and the ritual is definitely the only way for him. He would surely destroy all his enemies by all means necessary
     Maria sat down beside Valeriu feeling a sort of pity overwhelming her, urging her to convince him not to get involve with their ritual for his own good. A part of her that wished to be amongst the greatest and most powerful sorceress of all time to come, kept urging her not to stop him who might be the last person they could ever cross path with in the gigantic forest. She recalled what their coven regent had said before he cast them out for good, that no matter where they went the coven would surely find them and execute them for choosing the dark side instead of the light.
     "When is the ritual starting?", Valeriu asked, breaking the silence.
     "There will be a lunar eclipse tomorrow", Maria said, with a sigh.
     Valeriu gave Maria a side look after recalling what his mum used to tell him when he used to be a kid, that the night of a full moon is a unique night to draw dark energy by dark sorcerers whom practiced black arts. He once heard a rumour that werewolves and some other shape shifters are bound to the full moon which gives them more strength and aggressiveness while they are under its influence.
     "Good", Valeriu said, with a sigh, apparently fearless.
     Maria locked eyes with Valeriu who seems calm, bold and fearless even when he was trying to get himself killed or worse. She cracked a wide grin obviously admiring his cuteness and boldness. She planned to seduce him to roll in the hay with her before he get himself killed in the blood ritual no one has ever survived.
     Aurelia came out of the hut with a small bowl of rabbit soup which was saved for Valeriu if he wakes up. She sat on the other side beside him after handing him the bowl of rabbit soup to quench down his growing hunger. She glanced at the hut shortly before Sorina and the others all came out and then sat around the fire to get warm as well.
     "Thank you. By the way, what are your names?", Valeriu asked, tenderly.
     "What good will our names bring you when you're dead?", Carla asked, sternly.
     "Clam up, Carla and be nice", Sorina said, sternly, as she fixed a cold stare on Carla.
     "I'm Aurelia, this is Maria, Sorina, Alexandra, Cristina, Carla and Daniela", Aurelia said, nicely.
     "No last names", Valeriu said said, with a chuckle.
     "We don't have them", Cristina said, with a sigh.
     "Why not?", Valeriu asked, sounding curious.
     "Because our parents abandoned us when we needed them the most", Aurelia said, feeling very bad.
     Valeriu decided to keep his mouth shut and enjoy one of his last meals on the land of the living. Now he knew what's like to have no one to take care of you and to be there for you during your difficulties. Suddenly, tears filled his eyes as he recalled how his mother was killed by a royal soldier he would never forget in his life. He felt a primal rage overcoming him, urging him to survive the ritual so he could go after those that wronged his family but what he didn't know is that, would he still be the person he used to be or not?
     "What will happen to me after the ritual?", Valeriu asked, curiously.
     "If you survive the ritual, you will become immortal. Meaning, you will never get sick, age or even die of all old age. You will be an eternal being", Daniela said, with a smirk.
     "You can then go after the king and the royal family and then wipe them all out", Cristina said, viciously.
     "That's going to be a poetic justice, handsome!", Maria said, with a chuckle.
     "Let's hope you survive the ritual, Valeriu Dragos", Aurelia said, with a nervous sigh.
     Valeriu sat there thinking about what Daniela has suggested which was a brilliant idea. He planned to use her idea but with a different pattern. He will slaughter almost every member of the royal family but will spare only a few for the next hundred years. He will be killing most of the members of House Alexandru and spare a few after every hundred years for all eternity, and anyone who tried to stop him would definitely taste the wrath of House Dragos.
     "So what's a lunar eclipse anyway?", Valeriu asked, looking at Maria.
     "It occurs during a full moon, when the moon passes through the earth's umbral shadow. This celestial is a negative one for the shapeshifters whose powers are tied to the moon and it causes them to lose their powers for the duration of time that the moon is obscured by the earth's shadow", Maria said, with a sigh.
     "Shapeshifters as in werewolves?", Valeriu asked, recalling his mother's bed time stories about werewolves and sorcerers.
     "Werewolves aren't the only shapeshifters, Valeriu. There are werejaguars, werecats and werelions out there and many more", Aurelia said, tenderly.
     "The ritual can only be done during the lunar eclipse, but that's not happening without a huge price to pay", Sorina said, sounding very nervous.
     "What huge price?", Valeriu asked, curiously.
     "The grand council of sorcerers would be able to know where the ritual is taking place once it starts. And that's not a good thing, Valeriu", Sorina said, with a nervous sigh.
     Sorina and her fellow sorcerers sat there quietly as they thought about what would eventually happen to them if the grand council ever capture them. They just hoped that Valeriu will survive the ritual as an immortal being who will definitely make them one of the most powerful witches of all time to come. They thought about the extreme punishment they would face if Valeriu failed to make it in one piece. They have heard of dark sorcerers like them and even more powerful than them whom performed the ritual and unfortunately met their downfall.
     Valeriu put the empty bowl down in front of him as the evil part of him he thought to never exist, urged him to make sure that he survive the ritual by all means necessary even if he has to pass through hell to get it done, but the good part of him kept urging him to just accept his fate and rest in perfect peace. He chose to listen to the darkest part of him that want him to last much longer on the planet by all means necessary. 
     King Nikola I was in the throne room roaming around the gigantic room, which is well secured by the royal guards in shining armour. He is obviously worried about what had happened to House Dragos who he had condemned to death for treason he didn't even investigate to know whether they were guilty or not. He is also worried about the troops he had sent after Valeriu who managed to escape execution apparently with the help of someone.
     The duke of Bucharest named Roydon Helmuth came into the throne room with a bad news regarding the troops that were sent after Valeriu Dragos whom were all found dead in the forest. He approached the king who is now sitting on his throne staring right at him apparently waiting impatiently for some good news. 
     "Tell me the troops got him", King Nikola I said, hopefully.
     "I'm sorry to say this, Your Grace. The troops were found dead and the traitor is still at large", Duke Roydon said, as he lowered his head nervously.
     "What? What happened to them? Don't tell me they had fallen at the hands of a skinny young lad!", King Nikola I said, furiously, before he got up.
     "No, it wasn't him, Your Grace", Duke Roydon said, with a sigh.
     "Then who was it that dare to stand in the way?", King Nikola I asked, in a fit of rage.
     "I'm afraid they were killed magically, Your Grace", Duke Roydon said, trying not to sound too odd.
     The king stood there staring at the duke who just declared that his troops were killed magically suggesting that it was the doing of a sorcerer or a coven of them. He walked to the duke in disgust that the supernatural world he despised so much managed to get in his way by helping a traitor escape execution and for killing his own troops. He stopped a feet away from the duke who kept his head down nervously.
     "And what do you plan to do about it?", King Nikola I asked, in a slow voice.
     "I'm sending more troops to the despicable forest, Your Grace", Duke Roydon said, boldly.
     "Bring me the head of the traitor and his confederates before sundown", King Nikola I said, in a command tone, before he walked back to his throne.
     Princess Ruxendra Alexandru was in her well decorated bedchamber reading while sitting upright in her bed. She sighed nervously as the thought of Valeriu crossed her mind who had caught her attention during the royal feast which was hosted by her mother. She wondered how his family were even deemed traitors all of a sudden after everything they had contributed to the realm. She has a feeling that something is not right due to how the members of House Dragos were put to death without any investigation.
     On the spur of the moment, Queen Stefania came into the princess' chamber who is still awake and obviously reading as usual. She stopped at the doorway smiling right at her beautiful daughter. She gracefully walked to the bed and then sat down on the edge as she kept smiling at her daughter.
     "Let me guess, bed check. I'm 17 not 10, mother", Princess Ruxendra said, with a sigh.
     "Come on, my sweet baby girl. What's troubling you, darling?", Queen Stefania asked, studying her daughter's mood.
     "Valeriu and his family did not deserve how they were treated. They were not traitors, mother. You have seen how good and kind he was back then during the royal feast. It was a set up and I'm sure of it, mother", Princess Ruxendra said, in a serious tone.
     "Don't you ever say that again, especially in front of your father. Besides, people can be so complicated. You wouldn't be able to predict what they can do and cannot do sometimes", Queen Stefania said, sagaciously.
     "What if they were wrongly accused? What if someone set them up?", Princess Ruxendra asked, curiously.
     "You should sleep, my sweet baby. Good night", Queen Stefania said, with a heavy sigh, before she left the princess' bedchamber.
     Princess Ruxendra sat there thinking about Valeriu who had managed to head for the hills. She thought to herself that there's a reason why he was the only one who fled, why he kept surviving whatever her father sent after him. She hoped that he would continue to survive by all means necessary so that he could be able to find out who set his family up because of their wealth and power.
     The next day, Duke Roydon arrived at the castle of the count of Bucharest named Benno Melor in a royal carriage with a handful of royal guards, where he is meeting up with the other nobles responsible for the extermination of House Dragos in order to take over everything they owned for themselves. He went into the heavily guarded castle accompanied by his personal guards. He and his guards were escorted by one of the royal maidservants to a large chamber, where Count Benno, Marquess Silvio Sindre and Baron Helge Sindre were waiting while sitting at a long table drinking wine.
     "Sorry I'm late, my good friends", Duke Roydon said, with a sigh, before he took a seat at the long table.
     "What's the good word for today?", Count Benno asked, curiously, recalling what he heard about the troops sent after Valeriu.
     "We're heading toward victory, my good friends", Duke Roydon said, smiling, viciously.
     "But we heard the troops sent after Valeriu never came back to tell the tale", Baron Helge said, nervously.
     "And that can be a problem, duke", Marquess Silvio said, in a serious tone.
     "Everything is under control. I have sent five dozens of soldiers and three dozens of loyal mercenaries after that little rascal. We shall have his head before sundown, my good fellows", Duke Roydon said, with a smirk.
     Count Benno and the other nobles exchanged a look with vicious smirk on their faces. They have been wondering if Duke Roydon was born so cold and relentless or if he somehow developed the abilities overtime. They recalled how he came up with the plan to take over everything House Dragos have by simply framing them.
     "And the sorcerers helping him?", Count Benno asked, mischievously.
     "Sorcery has been forbidden in this realm centuries ago. So they will all be incinerated", Duke Roydon said, wickedly.
     "How? The last time is checked you aren't a witch hunter", Baron Helge said, with a chortle.
     "I have friends everywhere, remember?", Duke Roydon said, cracking a vicious grin.
     Valeriu woke up and found Aurelia sleeping closely next to him in the hut while he can hear Sorina and the rest outside. He sat upright and then stared at the gorgeous witch, especially at her partially exposed bosoms that seemed to be calling out for him. He quickly shook the idea of touching them out of his mind after recalling stories of what really happened to people who were stupid enough to mess with dark sorcerers. He got up and walked out of the hut to find the other witches cooking rabbits.
     "You're awake", Maria said, gladly.
     "Last night was incredible right, Valeriu?", Daniela asked, laughing.
     Valeriu stood there staring at the witches all laughing at him as if something had happened last night he couldn't remember. He gazed into the hut at Aurelia who is still sleeping and then fixed a gaze on Daniela. He hopefully hoped that the witches didn't drugged him or something just to rape him when he is out cold.
     "Please tell me you didn't", Valeriu said, in a serious tone.
     "It was amazing, Valeriu", Maria said, laughing.
     "You were a superhuman last night", Sorina said, laughing.
     "No wonder you survived execution this long", Alexandra said, with a chuckle.
     "We really thought you couldn't take all of us, but you did, Valeriu", Carla said, laughing heartily.
     Valeriu just stood there staring at the witches unable to move or even say a thing. He couldn't believe it that they had ravished him when he was so vulnerable, and somehow wiped out the memory from him. He blamed himself for been so stupid and careless to trust a group of grown women whom haven't seen an actual man for who knows how long. He thought they must have put a sleeping potion in the rabbit soup they had given him.
     "How could you do this to me?", Valeriu asked, unbelievable.
    "They were just playing around with you. Nothing happened last night", Aurelia said, as she came out of the hut.
     "What?", Valeriu asked, feeling dumbfounded.
     "You should've seen your face, Valeriu!", Maria said, laughing.
     "You really got me", Valeriu said, laughing softly.
     "Yeah, we did!", Daniela said, with a chuckle.
     "What's that you're cooking?", Valeriu asked, with a sigh.
     "Rabbit", Alexandra said, grinning.
     "Aren't you ladies tired of eating rabbit?", Valeriu asked, with a heavy sigh.
     Aurelia and the others all fixed a look on Valeriu who has lived in their hut only for a day and is obviously tired of eating rabbit meat. They hoped he knows how to hunt down wildlife since the rabbit meat has started to bore him.
     "You just got here", Aurelia said, with a chuckle.
     "I will go hunting", Valeriu said, smiling widely.
     "Then I'm coming with you", Aurelia said, gladly.
     "Me too", Maria said, with a smirk.