Court of Ivy and Desire

The Awakening Aftermath

Maya

Even in the year of 2045, I knew the war was far from over. Only a year had passed, and yet I could still smell the blood from every human I've killed. To be fair, it was all in self defense. As I prowled through the desolate streets of the post apocalyptic Ivy Court, I've noticed that the realm that was once the most beautiful place has been ravaged by war and chaos. This war started by humans, left only remnants of civilization behind.  These humans were defeated after successfully believing that they killed all of the vampires. Killing them wasn't my intention until I suffered a loss I'm not sure I'll ever recover from. It was hard for me but I had no choice. I'll never forget my first kill but the more I did it, the easier it became. It didn't mean that I didn't have a conscience, I was just fighting to survive and for justice. As I continued to wander with the thought of finding something to feed off of, I vaguely remember how peaceful Ivy Court was. This was my home and now it was almost unrecognizable. I wasn't the typical vampire. As the princess of Ivy Court, it was duty to protect my clan. I failed and the thought of it haunted me every night since the war. Although I can survive off of food, feeding off of animals or humans gave me more energy and strength. When I thought my luck had run out, my keen senses caught a faint heartbeat, amidst the eerie silence of the night. A human. I quickly ran towards the fainting sound, the smell of this human blood increasing my thirst. I finally reached the old tavern from outside and it looked terrible. A broken glass window with large stones and sandstone pillars makes up the majority of what's left of it. Darkness from inside makes it difficult to see, but I knew that there was a human inside I needed to be prepared. I shifted and felt a slight pain as my fangs appeared before I pushed the door open.

Inside the tavern, to my surprise, there was a small lamp that was lit on the bar. As I observed the building, it looked almost abandoned. I felt an uncomfortable shift, but I still moved further inside. I stepped over broken glass as the smell of wet wood consumed me. The walls were completely empty, only covered in a layer of fatty grime. Tables were flipped over and chairs were everywhere. In some spots there were traces of blood—human blood. Not enough for me to drink. I accidentally bumped a table and knocked over a bottle of clear beverage. The sound of the glass pierced my ears, and whoever was inside, now knew that I was here.

Suddenly a man appeared pointing a shotgun at me. I almost wanted to laugh at the poor man, but there was something different about him. As I moved closer to him, he cocked the gun back and aimed at me again.

"Don't come any closer or I'll blow your head off," he spat.

"Go ahead, I'm not a zombie so it won't kill me." I could sense his hesitation. Any other human wouldn't attempt to even try, but this human man looked determined. He had balls, I had to give him credit.

To my surprise, he let off a warning shot and when I didn't flinch, he took a few steps before turning on his heels. Using my speed to my advantage, I ended up right in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise— or maybe fear. I couldn't tell. It will be too easy to kill him, but for some reason I had a different agenda in mind. My intuition was telling me that he's here for a reason, and I attended to find out why the humans started this war in the first place.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm not telling you a damn thing," his deep voice rumbled.

"I don't want to hurt you," I tried to reassure him, but I knew it would be hard to gain his trust. "I just want to know your name."

He scoffed. "That's all you vampires are good for. Hurting and killing humans." Maybe if I shifted back, then he would see a more human side of me. I examined him and noticed the scar above right brow. His strong jaw covered by his stubble. The camouflage jacket was enriched with dark green, tan, and brown colors. Despite his ruggish appearance, he was attractive. I was bold enough to admit that.