Chapter 21: 21. Strange dream

How did I end up here?!  Julia wondered, as she stared at the ceiling above the bed, even though it was late at night and the bed she lay on was more than comfortable, she couldn’t sleep. And the reason was...

"mmm…. Warm…"

How could she fall asleep so quickly? Julia thought with puzzlement and annoyance on her face as she watched the young vampire girl snuggling up to her. The girl snuggling up to her, surprisingly, wasn’t Loriam but Nemi.

"Be careful, you will catch a cold."

Can vampires actually get sick? Julia questioned herself as she put the blanket back on Nemi for the umpteenth time. What a strange day. She thought. First, she was forced to attend a birthday party of a noble she hadn’t even seen yet. Then she makes a new friend and get her accepted by her family. And now she is having a sleepover with said friend in her room.

The fact that it was actually organized by Nemi’s father in collaboration with Loriam was the strangest aspect of it all to Julia. After all, so far, Loriam has glued herself to Julia at any given opportunity, for her to suddenly suggest this sleepover is abnormal.

Julia sighed and closed her eyes; vampiric birthdays are two days long, so she would need the energy. She can’t waste it by trying to make sense of Loriam’s actions. Or overthinking whether or not the present situation counts as cheating.

After several painstaking minutes later, Julia finally managed to shut her brain down, and relax, and slowly drift into slumberland.

…

As far as the eye could see, spreads the city of stone. The city that could, by its sheer vastness, be called the capital of the world. But instead of the lively sound of everyday life, the only sound audible was the clashing of swords and the occasional explosion.

Even the city itself was ablaze, turned into a sea of flames. That didn’t seem to bother those who were in the streets, though. A group of soldiers, 4 women and 6 men dressed in dark clothes, were standing side by side in a street that seemed to be the main one. Despite the fact that the city was burning all around them, they didn’t waver. Even from a distance, one could make out their expressions that were filled with fanatical determination.

What would confuse most observers, though, was the fact that they were all from different races. Vampires, elves, beastmen, and succubae. Fighting side by side within the burning city.

"Attero Dominatus."

A bell-like singing voice echoed through the city, but no one paid attention to it. The owner of the voice, a vampire girl with long blonde-silver hair, whose doll-like appearance was only ruined by scars on her neck and shoulders. was standing on a balcony of the ruined palace. Likewise, as the soldiers fought desperately against an onslaught of enemies, she too didn’t seem to mind the destruction she was witnessing.

"Berlin steht in Flammen."

But that was only an appearance. The cracks in her voice could have been heard by those who were paying attention to her strange song.

"Denique Interimo."

The soldiers were overwhelmed by the enemy. Once they killed the last woman from the group of soldiers, they began paying attention to the song. They thought that the song had been some kind of invocation for a powerful spell, and so they attempted to silence the girl with arrows and spells of their own.

"Das Reich ist gefallen..."

The girl didn't mind the arrows and spells that only narrowly missed her. Instead, she seemed to be more captured by watching a red banner falling from its pole in flames, causing her to shed a tear.

"I messed up... a big time."

She mumbled to herself as she wiped a few tears from her eyes. At this point, the sound of struggle was audible from within the palace. She only threw a glance at the door that was barricaded by furniture and, with a shaky hand, grabbed a goblet filled with crimson liquid.

"I am sorry, I truly am."

The few drops of tears falling down her cheeks turned into a waterfall. Her entire body shaking in fear, she slowly put the goblet to her cherry lips and began drinking the crimson liquid.

She didn’t let the angry shouting and pounding on her door interrupt her, as she drowned the content of the goblet entirely.

"… failed you all. Please forgive me."

She mumbled in a trembling voice, just as the improvised barricade at the door was removed by the soldiers on the other side of the door. The soldiers showed a wicked smile as they spotted her. God knows what they intended to do to her. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of doing it.

 "…I am tired of this unjust game."

The glass goblet shattered as it fell out of her hand onto the ground. The soldiers noticed something amiss with her, but before they could fully react, she collapsed straight into the sea of flames below.

…

"Uwah"

What was that a dream? Julia sat on the bed covered in sweat. Her sudden scream woke Nemi up. who gave Julia a worried look.

"Is something wrong?"

Nemi’s question caused Julia to remember where she was, making her relax a bit.

"It’s nothing, really. Just a strange dream, that’s all."

A really odd one. Julia thought. Nemi looked revied by her answer thought a bit doubtful. Deciding to not press Julia any further, Nemi sat up and started changing her clothes.

"Good morning, your highness, Lady Nemi."

Mirei and the young maid that became Nemi’s personal maid yesterday entered the room. When they saw Julia and Nemi awake, they bowed and both began assisting their respective mistresses.

Nemi felt awkward letting the maid assist her with clothes; she wasn’t treated as a noble till now, after all. Which confused her more. Why was her father suddenly so nice to her? She just couldn’t understand why.

Julia, meanwhile, had an indifferent expression, which wasn’t caused by Julia being used to the princess lifestyle but by Julia being lost in thoughts. Just what was that dream? She wondered about the city in the dream; she was sure she had never seen it before, yet it felt nostalgic somehow.

And that girl... Just who was she? Why did she look similar to me? Julia had a feeling that she had seen that girl before, but she wasn’t sure where. She was a vampire for sure, based on her crimson eyes and slightly pointy ears and the almost pure silver hair that looked exactly like Julia’s she appeared like a vampire royalty but then why was she covered in scars?

As far as Julia knew, there was no way that a vampire would look like a member of the royal family without actually being one. Let alone that she was extremely similar to Julia, the vampire princess. It should be impossible to have scars for such a vampire thanks to the powerful regeneration of the royal family.

It was also possible that she was just overthinking her dream, just a strange dream featuring her different version. But then what was she singing…. What language was that? No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t identify it, much less decipher it.

"Is it not to your liking, your highness?"

Julia blinked when her mind returned to the ground. The first thing she saw was Mirei asking her. The second thing Julia noticed was that she was seated at the table with a plate of food in front of her. Next to her sat Loriam, with a worried expression.

"You're not looking too good. Are you sick?"

"If your highness isn’t feeling well, then maybe I should have my personal physician called?"

Loriam placed her hand on Julia’s forehead to check her temperature, while the red-haired teenage-looking girl sitting opposite Julia offered to call the physician with a fake worry in her voice.

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"No, that won’t be necessary, but thank you for your concern, lady, Malfen. I was just lost in thoughts, that is all."

Julia refused with the most polite smile she could muster, while Lady Malden shot her an annoyed glance before returning to her meal. Julia didn’t really blame her. In a sense, Julia almost ruined her birthday. Plus, if it weren’t for Loriam’s overprotectiveness, all of the nobles would be paying extra attention to Julia. Luckily, Loriam instructed Mirei, not so discreetly, to write down the names of all the nobles trying to approach Julia, so she could "deal with them".

"Is that so… but if you feel even a bit sick, tell me, okay?"

Loriam didn’t seem entirely convinced by Julia’s words, she almost looked like she had just been told that her child was dying. Julia wishes she could climb into a hole and die of embarrassment. Why is this happening to me?

…

Julia opted to stay with Nemi for the rest of the day in order to avoid Loriam, who luckily left them alone. In the evening, Julia as well as the other nobles gathered in a ballroom at Marquis Amir’s request. It seemed that the birthday party was nearing its end.

"…since that day, I have been in charge of the duchy of Malfarhem as per the law dictated by our great ancestors."

Marquise Amir was now saying with the wine glass in his hand how he had taken upon himself management of his brother-in-law’s domain after his demise at the hands of a vile human during the Liden forest battle. Julia wondered how he would react if he knew that the "vile human" was presently heir to the vampiric throne? Julia suppressed a chuckle as she saw Loriam griping her wine glass tightly in suppressed anger. It seems like she wants to let him know.

"Just as the law states, I also took in his daughter until she comes of age. And that is the reason we have all gathered here."

Marquise Amir took a sword wrapped in a banner from a servant and approached Loriam. Who in turn dragged Julia into the center of the ballroom, all eyes focused on them.

"I hereby give up the title of the duke of Malfarhem, given to me by your majesty’s grace."

Marquise Amir kneeled down once he arrived in front of Loriam and presented the sword with the banner to her. Julia wondered why she was there too, as Loriam took the sword from him with a nod.

Once the sword was in Loriam’s hands, Marquise Amir stood up and retreated to the side, young lady Malfen taking up his spot in front of Loriam.

"In the name of the blood clan, I Loriam Kaane Leranpe, the 23rd Queen of the realm by the grace of the heavens, bestow upon you the title of Duchess of Malferhem."

Julia was sure that Loriam wanted to get this done as soon as she could, so she most likely skipped some parts. No one else seemed to be bothered, so Julia didn’t say anything. Lady Malfen took the sword from Loriam and lowered her head.

"I Liliana Zaechy Malfen gracefully accept this blessing and swear to abide by the laws laid down by our ancestors and, in the time of need, raise this sword in your service for the glory of the blood clan."

"Long live her majesty! Eternal Glory to the Blood Clan!"

"Eternal glory to the Blood Clan!"

"Long live the queen!"

Julia got a little spooked when the marquise Amir yelled out and the other nobles joined him, with their clenched fists raised high. The only ones remaining silent were the trio in the center of the room as well as Nemi, who only looked around confused.

Once things began calming down, Loriam didn’t wait much longer, and after instructing Julia to say goodbye to her friend, she left for the carriage.

"Will we meet again?"

Nemi looked sad to be parted from Julia so soon, as the tears began to form in her eyes despite her best effort to suppress them.

"Of course, I don’t know when, but I am sure it will be soon. Until then, I will write to you. "

"Then I will work hard to learn how to."

Nemi’s mood improved slightly when she learned that she would still be in contact with Julia through letters, even though Nemi didn’t know how to write, let alone read.

"Your highness is time."

Mirei said with a respectful bow, Julia nodded in response and turned to face Nemi again to say goodbye to her. But before she could, Nemi threw herself on Julia and hugged her tightly. Julia returned the gesture and slowly separated from Nemi and followed Mirei.

As Julia sat in the carriage opposite Loriam, the carriage began moving. For some reason, it seemed that Loriam was in a hurry to get back to the capital. Julia, noticed that Nemi was waving her goodbye. She decided to return the gesture and waved back at her.

…

Nemi watched as the royal carriage left. She continued to wave at her friend even after the carriage was no longer in sight.

"It is ready, my lady."

Nemi nodded to the maid that approached her, and Nemi followed her. They walked in silence until they arrived at the basement of the manor.

"Nemi! We are sorry. Please forgive us!"

"Please sister, we are sorry for always making fun of you."

When Nemi opened one of the doors, the maid excused herself and left. In the room, Rie and her older sister were tied up, visibly afraid. Nemi looked at them with a grin on her face.

"Oh, don’t worry. I am not a petty girl, so I do not care about that. I have already forgiven you for that."

"Then…"

The girls looked hopefully at Nemi before her smile turned into an emotionless expression.

"But I will not forgive you for bullying Julia."

The girls began sweating nervously, as they watched Nemi approach them. They began to realize that Nemi wasn’t going to let them off the hook.

"Bring it here, Kolen."

The girls were briefly relieved that their youngest sister was alright. But their relief quickly disappeared when they saw the cart that she was pushing. The cart had saws, knives, tongs, and a variety of potions.

Once Kolen got the cart close to her sisters, she gave them a quick apologetic look before running out of the room. Nemi didn’t stop her and, with a grin on her face, approached the terrified tied girls.

"Shall we begin?"

Outside of the room, under the watchful eye of the maid, Kolen sat on the ground crying as she desperately covered her ears. But even then, she could hear Nemi’s laughter and the painful screams of her older sisters, as well as their begging for forgiveness, which was always followed by an extra loud painful scream.

Kolen felt like throwing up as she smelled blood from the room. Her crying intensified as the maid watched her. I am sorry, I am so sorry. Please forgive me, sisters.