My Dark Prince [EDITING]

Chapter One (Rewritten)

Chapter One

A slight breeze blows in the night and I shiver as I make my way down the dark, cobblestone street. My bare legs tremble slightly beneath my tattered dress as they struggle to keep me upright. My stomach growls in protest as it begs for the food it hasn't been fed in days. This week hasn't been kind to me or my family as I've failed to bring home food 3 days in a row. Moments like these I often wonder if I'll make it to tomorrow. My bones are easy to notice under my skin and my dark brown hair is so limp and thin it looks as if I'm balding.

I try to quicken my pace as the night grows darker and the street lamps begin to turn on. The sun sets in the distance just behind the lumber factory. The factory where my father worked for many years before being laid off to bring in younger employees. That was two years ago now and I still hate that factory for the hell it's putting my family through now. The three of us nearly starving to death and barely able to keep a roof over our heads. My mother's cancer slowly killing her and not having the money to get her treatment. Despite the numerous available jobs here in town, they all have an age limit of 35 or younger with males being the primary target. My 40 year old father and I do not qualify.

I jump at the sound of metal trashcans crashing to the ground in the distance. I slow my pace and squint my eyes as I search the darkness. Unfortunately now that I've crossed into the poorer part of town, the streetlights have dwindled down to two per block with usually only one barely working. This part of town is the perfect place for our night dwellers to find a meal.

Morsallia, our beautiful thriving kingdom, is crawling with vampires. There are the lower class vampires that wander the streets at night looking for an innocent victim to steal their dinner from. There's a poor victim in the paper everyday from their nightly attacks. Then there is the middle class vampires who do well enough for themselves to buy the blood packs offered in certain stores. Thankfully, they typically keep to themselves and go about their lives after dark as we humans sleep. Next is the upper class, also know as the royal family. Not many have had the opportunity to see them, mainly because they never seem to leave the palace. And why would they when they have everything they need in their mysterious castle in the mountains. The few that have laid eyes on them though only exalt how beautiful they are.

When the night grows silent again I continue on my way home. As I turn onto Arescet Lane, my eyes set on my small withering house. It sits on one side of the street alone, fenced in around dirt that was once a beautiful green lawn. As I get closer I see the holes that we tried patching up with mud and sticks are now open, exposing my parents inside to the cold. The greenish cracked and peeling paint on the exterior walls is nearly nonexistent and the house seems to lean slightly to the left.

I jiggle the front door to unlock it and lift it to keep it from scraping against the floor as it opens. I slide in through the smallest opening I could make and close the door behind me quickly to keep as much cold air out as possible. My mother lays in her bed against the back wall with her face turned away. Just about every blanket we own covers her and a cap is placed on her head. She's always cold now and the wind coming inside from the exposed holes in the wall don't help.

My father stands from his position on the ripped couch and places the daily newspaper on the coffee table in front of him. He turns and greets me with a smile, crinkles forming at the corners of his deep brown eyes. He approaches me slowly, his steps hesitant and tired. His shirt seems to fit him even looser than when I left this morning, and a new hole has appeared in his left pant leg. I notice the new grey strands taking residence in his hair and long beard. Tears prick at my eyes seeing my father this way, but I hold them back knowing my father would scold me for crying over something that can't be helped.