With water skin and jack-o-lantern in hand, you cast your spell and wrap Ell in a ward. Unfortunately, the magical armor is a sheen of water swirling around Ell. The drag of the water slows your vampire's movements while offering no additional barrier against their opponent.
"Remove the ward!" they demand.
You don't even hesitate. Anyone with any sense in their head can tell Ell has no chance of winning in their current state. With a few quick words you retract the ward and it only takes a second for the duke and his drones to shake away their befuddlement and start their assault anew. Ell, however, dodges their initial pounce and darts over to your side of the hallway. They snag you from around the waist and keeps running without looking back.
Leaner and longer than the duke, even with you as a burden, Ell outpaces him with ease. They whip open a back door and you step out into an alley, where a grand carriage awaits. They chuck you inside, before diving in themself and the horses rear and whinny before charging down the cobblestone.
That night the wolves are slaughtered and the duke's grip upon the town tightens. What little freedom the people had was stripped from them out of fear of another uprising. Ell does what they can to brighten your life, but you can't find it in you to forgive yourself. Despite their continued attempts to reclaim the tenacious human that claimed their heart, you know that person died along with everyone else that tragic night.
You never leave Ell nor do they ever give up on you. You both made a promise and you are both too stubborn to break it. Eventually you accept immortality from them. They believe that joining vampire society will take your mind off things, but for you it is a punishment. Now you must spend eternity carrying the weight of your sister's death and your neighbors' oppression.
Death would only grant you a peace you don't deserve.
***
You've found one of the unsuccessful endings for this branch of the story... Why not go back and see what might make for a better ward?
YOU ARE READING
The Vampire's Harvest
FantasyIn your town, humans are born and raised for the Harvest Ball, an annual event where adult townsfolk dress in their finest clothes in hopes of earning themselves a vampire's mask. With it, you are claimed by the vampire and promised a life of luxur...
