Chapter 6: Chapter 6 – Never Trust a Vampire

Gardenia's body ached. Her face stung from her master's slap. Her right leg hadn't recovered from her last beating.

Still, with shaky limbs, she stood up and faced Shawn.

Being stabbed would hurt, but unless she were pierced through the heart by tools blessed by the church, she would not die.

She took a deep breath and braced herself for the incoming pain.

"Isn't this strange, Nia?" Shawn asked.

She slowly opened her eyes and was taken aback by the tears flowing freely from his eyes.

"Tell me that this is a dream. Tell me that you're still that sweet girl my sister loves."

Gardenia opened her mouth, ready to plead to him that she had never meant for this to happen. However, she stopped before she could utter a single word.

What was the point in telling him this when her master had already decided on their fate?

Shawn laughed.

It tasted bitter and clawed at her heart.

"Was it fun tricking me? Tricking all of us?"

She vehemently shook her head.

"I'm... I'm going to stab you. B-because you're a vampire, and you're a monster." Shawn raised his sword; the tip wavered.

Her words tumbled out before she could reel them back in. "I'm sorry, Shawn."

His eyes widened. "Sorry?" He puffed out a breath. "You won't trick me anymore, you m-monster! DIE!" Despite his loud declaration, Shawn stood still. Tears stained his breeches, and the sword was held loosely in his grasp.

"MAN!" Cristo appeared in a flash between Gardenia and Shawn. "What's the holdup?" His seaweed-like hair dangled in front of his face as he tilted his head. His eyes widened, then he burst into laughter. "Don't tell me, kekeke." He placed a hand on Gardenia's head and rocked her head.

Her stomach seized up from his touch.

"Hey, is that human your side-mate?" Cristo laughed loudly. "My king, it seems we have a bitch in heat."

Gardenia's ears burned from his vulgar statement. She was angry, but her fear of being tortured by him greatly outweighed all other feelings. She stayed silent.

Silence gave her a chance to escape Cristo and his sadistic tendencies.

"Enough. I tire of this." Her master said. "Kill them."

"M-My lord!" Shawn shouted. "I-I'll stab her. I'll stab her, so please spare us!"

"Oh, did I say that?" Her master grinned. "Didn't your parents teach you never to trust a vampire?"

Cristo giggled, and his nails grew to a sharp point.

Cristo flashed towards Shawn in a blink and impaled his hand through Shawn's chest.

"KYAAAAAAAAA!!!! SHAWN! SHAWN! NOOO!" A female voice let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Blood poured out from Shawn's chest.

Gardenia's head was in a bubble. The sounds were muffled save for her heavy breathing. She took a step back and fell to the floor.

SPLAT.

Something warm touched her leg.

She looked to the source, and it was a still heart.

"A-ah...ah..."

"My gift to you, my queen." Cristo cackled.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

She looked away from the heart.

Shawn was laying on the floor.

Shawn was the strongest and the most diligent worker in the village.

She never saw Shawn on the ground like this.

They would joke that he never sleeps because of how much of a workaholic he was.

Yet, there he laid.

Lifeless.

The old couple, Agnes and Joe, had their bodies shredded to ribbons. The memory of Joe gifting her a delicate wooden comb surfaced.

Her consciousness was receding to the back of her mind. Her sight dimmed.

Maybe, this was a nightmare.

It had to be.

Just the other day, she shared the first harvest of apples with the villagers.

This couldn't be real; this was all-

"NIA!"

The familiar scream snapped her attention back to reality.

Tilly.

Tilly ran up to Gardenia and grabbed her wrist. Her pigtails were a mess, and her overalls were stained with blood.

"T-Tilly, I-I-" Gardenia stuttered.

"Now's not the time. I believe you, Nia. I know that you wouldn't sell us out like this."

How could three words bring such a tremendous wave of relief?

"I would never, Tilly, I would never ever!" Gardenia babbled.

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Tilly smiled. "I know."

Her smile reminded Gardenia of the first time they had met.

Gardenia had wandered in the forest, and Tilly greeted her with that smile.

Gardenia had known back then that she should've run away. Nothing good came from interacting with humans. Her master made sure of that.

Yet, she was selfish.

She dared to bask in the friendship, and the natural warmth humans seemed to exude.

Before she could think, she lifted Tilly and ran.

'Just one. Please lord, please let me at least save Tilly.' Regardless of the price, she would pay it. She would pay it all, be it her own life or centuries more of torture.

"You are a glutton for punishment, my queen." The tall vampire with long pale blue hair blocked Gardenia's path.

"S-Sir S-Solomon." Gardenia hugged Tilly tighter.

"Is that human truly worth raising Master Nikolai's ire?" Solomon spoke in an even cadence. Not a flicker of emotion appeared on his blank face.

The air cooled, and she could see her breath.

"Ngh!" She flinched as her bare feet and legs were slowly icing over. She struggled to break free, but she knew that it was pointless.

Solomon took a step closer. "I see you care the most about this human. But, unfortunately, Master Nikolai does not allow pets in his domain."

"H-h-humans are n-not pets!" Gardenia shivered.

"N-Nia..." Tilly trembled in her arms.

Gardenia searched and searched her mind on how she could let Tilly escape. But her family was fast and powerful. They could kill Tilly within a second.

Solomon took another step and another until he was right in front of Gardenia. He loomed over her, and she could no longer feel her legs from the knee down.

"I will take pity on you, my Queen," Solomon whispered. He grabbed Tilly's pigtails and yanked.

"Gah-" Tilly's scream was cut short.

"Ah." Gardenia's body stilled. "T-Tilly?"

He held Tilly's severed head by her pigtails.

"T-Tilly?" Gardenia called out again.

The smile that greeted her every day faded. The green eyes that reminded her of the expansive pastures wilted.

"Rather than your favourite human freezing to death slowly, I have ended her life painlessly." Solomon gave a curt bow and walked towards the dining table.

The ice encasing her legs melted from his retreat.

"Tilly?" Gardenia stared at Tilly's limp body. Blood pooled under them.

The scent of the human's blood hit Gardenia's nose. Its sick cloying scent strangled her. Tilly's lifeless body rolled out of her arms.

Gardenia grabbed her throat and gagged. She was going to puke.

"Ugh...ugh..." She hacked and coughed. Bile erupted from her stomach and spilled over to the floor, mingling with the fresh blood.

She cradled her head as her body seized from the thick scent of blood eroding the oxygen in the air.

"Hah...hah...hah..." Not enough oxygen. She was going to suffocate. She was going to die. She shut her eyes, focusing on expanding her lungs to take in as much air as possible. It burned. "Hah...Hah...Hah..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The next time she opened her eyes, she was trapped in her room. Her master shackled her neck, wrists and ankles to the wall. There was some slack on the chains for her to walk around her tiny room.

She couldn't sense any of her 'family' near her either.

Her shoulders jumped when a crack echoed down her room.

A few seconds later, another loud crack echoed.

She inched closer to the wall. She waited with bated breath for the noises to subside.

BOOM!

Fine dust billowed out from the collapse of the stairway.

"Ugh..." A deep groan followed after.

Once the dust settled, a humanoid figure was on the ground.

Gardenia did not sense the prickly feeling that all vampires exuded when near her presence. Perhaps, this being was a human?

Curiosity getting the better of her, she inched closer to the stranger. The metal chains clicked together, and she stopped. Hoping the sounds didn't scare the newcomer.

"Who's there?" A deep voice asked.

Gardenia panicked. Should she introduce herself? Should she stay quiet? "U-uhm, I'm... h-h-here." She wanted to smack herself. How foolish was she? She didn't even answer his question properly.

The man groaned again and struggled to get up.

Her hands raised in a sign of mock surrender. "A-are you okay, sir?"

The light from the moon seeped through the new hole.

A man with hair that resembled the sun and eyes as grey as the stormy sky stared at her. His eyes widened, and he turned his face away from her.

Confused, she crawled a bit closer to him. "S-sir? Are you alright?" She asked again.

He finally turned to face her, and his eyes turned cold as steel with one look at her face. He brandished a wooden stake and pressed the weapon against her chest. His smooth features warped as he glared at her and curled his lips in disgust.

"What are you doing here, vampire?" He said with a spat. "You better answer my question unless you want to die."

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