Vampire Queen

Chapter four

It's the year 1846.

I go to visit my human friend every night after sunset.

Father did not know about her. He knows that I go out among people, but he doesn't know that I found a friend among them. He wouldn't like it.

We are ghosts of the night. We feed on human blood. We don't get old. That's why everyone who knows us must die. Because only if they die can we remain the monsters from the fairy tales.

Joceline somehow knew it from the first look at me. Her family was slaughtered by vampires. She was fully aware of our existence. She wasn't afraid of me and she didn't even think of me as a monster. After all my kind did to her, we became friends.

Joceline was a harlot. I came to her usual place, where she was hunting a drunken man, but did not find her there. It was strange. She was always on time. And I was late. It was unusual for her to be out of place.

The night was quiet. Strangers were passing through the street. A strange silence reigned over the country. I thought I would wait for her when out of nowhere I heard a scream. It came from a side alley plunged into thick darkness. I recognized her voice immediately.

I ran there. I saw a tall man, hidden under the cloak, pushing her against the wall. Not a man, a vampire. He bit her into the throat. I couldn't see the blood in the darkness, but I could clearly smell it.

"Jo!" I shouted in shock.

The vampire let her go. He fixed his predatory gaze on me. Joceline fell to the ground. She wasn't dead yet. I could hear her heart still beating in her chest.

The vampire looked from Joceline to me. He had obviously never been in a similar situation before. He was in shock just like me. It was seen as he was thinking. Will he let me go or kill me? He was wasting time because Jo could transform at any moment. Her body writhed in those post-mortem convulsions that I could vividly feel even after so long time.

"Leave her alone!" I ordered the stranger.

The corners of his mouth lifted into a mischievous smile. He bared his fangs. "Force me!" he said lightly.

I pulled out my dagger and charged towards him. He dodged my every blow. He was fast. He grabbed my wrist, twisted the dagger out of my hand and pushed me against the wall. He put my own dagger to my neck.

"You are too weak. Still very young," he said in a captivating voice. "You can't beat me."

I tried to pull away from him, but his grip only got stronger. He was too strong. I've never met someone as strong as him. He must have been ancient. I felt the blade digging into my throat. But not too much to cut the skin. He was just letting me know that if I moved, he would slit my throat.

He tore the hood of my cloak from my head, which was covering my face.

"I know you." he looked at me inquisitively. "You are Dragomira Ivanovna."

"Do you have a problem with that?" I retorted.

"No." he gave a short laugh. "I'm just surprised that the famous Dragomira Ivanovna is protecting people now."

"I have changed."

"No one changes. You may feel guilty for their lost lives. You can pretend to be like them, but you can't stop the hunger for their blood. Sooner or later you will kill again, because in the corner of your soul you like the life that their death fills you with."

I used to be like that. Used to. I know that the ghost of my past will walk in my shadow forever, but I don't know if I can ever be who I was again. I wish I could get my carefree me back. Without being haunted by nightmares even when I'm awake.