Humanity's War on the Dead

III-Crime & Punishment

Ravenswood Castle

Alexis

Once again, the Prince woke me up with a kick to my ribs. After I fed him, I expected him to leave as usual, but he stayed for a while. His yellow eyes looked me over from head to toe and back up.

"You know Alexis, I really don't like the way you have your hair." he said, almost cynically. "Think that it's time for a change."

Now, I was worried. The last time he said that he wanted a change, he tore the left strap to my dress off. What was he going to do now? This time it wasn't my dress, it was my hair. I always kept it up like the other women did. Did he want to cut it off or was he going to rip it out of my head? He walked behind me and I started shaking. I wasn't sure if it was from the cold of night or the Prince's threatening presence. I closed my eyes and waited for whatever it was he was going to do.

To my surprise, he undid the bun I set my hair in and gently pulled it down to it's full length. He ran his fingers through it to smooth it out and pulled me up to face him.

"There now, that should make you stand out from the other women. Besides, your collar makes your hair glow. However, I must say that your legs have become quite prickly. Go to the baths now and shave them, as well as the apex of your legs. I'm sure that has become quite prickly as well."

"Yes, my lord." I said, heading for the door.

"And Alexis," he added, as I turned to him. "Wash your hair too. I want to see it shine in the moonlight tonight."

"Of course." I said, before walking out the door.

I knew what tonight was. It was for the trail of a Human that had been captured outside Ravenswood. This trial was meant for all Humans, but it had two very different circumstances. One was if the Human was to be outcast or remain in Ravenswood. The other was for Humans that were found outside Ravenswood. They were called Ferals and I could see why. They fought back against the Vampires that brought them to Ravenswood, but they didn't seem happy about it. They were saved from the outside world and were given a place to stay and a purpose, away from the creatures outside. Many Ferals acted out of anger and hatred. Many were too wild and savage to keep, but they were always given a choice: Be given a purpose by the King as he saw fit or be thrown back outside of Ravenswood. Many chose the latter. What confused me is how someone was cast out. The main gate was barricaded and there was no other way out unless someone had wings. No one, Human or Vampire, as far as I knew, had wings. We were all set on the ground inside Ravenswood. However we did have catapults. Were the outcast thrown over the wall by catapults? No. The fall would have killed them if they were thrown by catapults. What else could there have been to throw someone out of Ravenswood?

As I reached the baths, I was greeted by the freezing cold air. My body tensed and little bumps formed on my arms. I made sure the door was closed before I reached behind myself to untie my dress. It fell in a little ring of cloth around my ankles and more little bumps formed on my body. After hanging it on a peg, I approached one of the baths and felt the water. It was as cold as the air, but maybe a little more cold than the air above the water. I had no doubt that I would be freezing once I was finished with what the Prince ordered me to do. I took off my cloth slippers and set them under my dress, before I braved the cold waters. I let out a small yelp as the water touched my bare feet. Icy pin needles poked into my legs as I ventured further into the bath.

Couldn't the Vampires at least make the water a little warm? Just a bit? No. Out of the five elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Ice, Fire was the most dangerous to Vampires as they burned up almost immediately after catching fire. I remember the one time that I saw fire kill a Vampire. The King was sentencing a Vampire that had drained a human completely of blood and showed no remorse. The King decided that casting him out would be too easy. So instead the king threw a torch at the Vampire and watched with the entire kingdom of Ravenswood as he burned up and crumbled into ash. That was the first time I ever saw a Vampire die. Perhaps they were not as powerful as they claimed to be. Fire and sunlight killed them, but the sun was half hidden  most of the time. Fire was almost nonexistent with Vampire being cold already, expect the need for torchlight so that Humans could see as Vampires could see in the dark.