"Mother…"
Raven's legs gave out. She sat down. The sword fell from her hand. Her body was covered in wounds that were strangely taking a long time to heal.
"Mother!" Raven shook the body of the middle-aged woman lying stiff in front of her. The body didn't move. Her mother was dead. But she knew she would rise again. Soon, yes, soon. Just wait—
Srukk!
A sword stabbed straight through her mother's chest. Her mother turned to dust, then flew away with the wind, disappearing. Ravenna looked up in surprise. A familiar man grinned at her.
"Now it's your turn, princess," he said. He raised his sword. But suddenly, his body fell. Another man knocked him down and slashed his throat. The man turned and looked at Raven.
"We have to go." The man stood up and took Raven's hand. Raven nodded, took her sword, and went with him. They passed several people fighting and flames everywhere. Overnight, the palace had been destroyed. Raven stopped in her tracks.
"My father? Immanuel? Elara?" she asked the man who had pulled her. The man remained silent, then pulled Raven's hand back and left.
"No! I'm not leaving without them!" Raven pulled her hand away, but the man held it tightly. They walked down a strange hallway Raven had never seen before. They stopped in front of a small, hidden door. The man put his hand on Raven's shoulder.
"Listen to me. Everything is vanished. Our kind is nearly vanished. Someone must survive from all of this."
Raven shook her head quickly. "No, I'm not leaving without them. I have to save them." Raven slapped the man's hand away and turned around.
"Ravenna Darkhart!" The scream was enough to stop her in her tracks. "You'll listen to me. You have to survive. You understand me? You have to survive!"
Raven shed tears and turned around. "Y-you…" She saw blood pouring from the man's body.
"I'll be fine. It'll heal, you know that. I'll save them. But if no one survives tonight, you have to stay alive. Do you hear me? Promise me, Raven."
"Leon… Come with me. We'll go together," Raven pleaded.
Leon shook his head. "I can't. I have to protect this castle. I'm a general, remember?" Leon sighed and gently touched Raven's cheek. "Hang in there, Raven. You have to live."
Raven hugged Leon. "I really don't want to leave you."
Leon released the hug. He bent down slightly so his eyes were level with hers. He gently stroked her hair. "I love you, Ravenna, with all my heart." Leon kissed Raven's lips softly for a moment, then released them. He looked down at their engagement ring, perched prettily on her finger. "Now go. Go to the place where we usually meet. I'll meet you there after I save your family."
"But we can save them together."
"No! You have to survive first, or it will all be in vain."
Leon's words brought a frown to Raven's face. What did he mean?
"And now go." Leon released Raven's hand.
"Promise me you'll come," Raven pleaded.
"I—"
Several people approached them. Leon readied his sword.
"GO! NOW!"
Raven immediately went through the door. Through the gap, she saw Leon fighting with the people. Raven returned to the dark hallway. The more she ran, the darker and slipperier it became. She had no idea where she would exit. She relied solely on her instincts and her vampire senses.
After a while, she saw a small light. Raven ran as fast as she could towards it. Soon, she emerged from a cave. She looked around. No one was there. Raven ran again, heading for the place she and Leon had agreed on, but before she could reach it, she was stopped by several people.
"Well well well... Look who we found." One of the people grinned. "Going somewhere?"
Raven didn't answer. She stared warily at the people. They all laughed at her. Raven bared her fangs.
"Oh, was that supposed to scare me?" a man pointed at Raven's fangs. "Oh… So cute. I admit I was scared, a little. I almost peed my pants." He mocked. The others laughed loudly. "Don't worry, princess. I'll do it quickly. You won't feel any pain."
Suddenly, a sword pierced the man. Raven stabbed him and then removed the sword from his body. Everyone was shocked and then attacked Raven. At first, Raven dominated the fight. She had already knocked out several men. But strangely, she felt they were more… Strong?
A sword pierced Raven's stomach. Raven held her stomach, which was oozing out quite a bit. Suddenly, someone slashed her arm with a sword. Raven groaned. Raven fought back. She tore at their throats... Stabbed them with her sword. When she had the chance, she ran away from them.
Raven limped through the darkness of the night in the middle of the forest. Occasionally, she winced. One hand held a large wound on her left abdomen, the other tightly gripped a sword that was already covered in blood. The blood hadn't even dried yet. Strangely, the wound wasn't healing as usual.
Tears continued to stream down Raven's cheeks. In the darkness, her pale skin was clearly visible. Her long, curly black hair, which she usually wore in a high bun, was now loose and disheveled, and her black dress were in tatters. Despite the tears, her eyes remained alert. She had to reach at the promised place. All the clans were against hers, meaning there was no place for her. But she was sure Leon would find her.
Raven stopped and leaned against a tree. She wanted to rest for a moment. She could barely use her vampire speed. Suddenly, a growl was heard. At first, it was low, barely audible. But it grew louder and closer. Raven knew exactly what it was, especially the pungent smell of fur wafting into her nose. Raven turned, and several wolves had surrounded her. The wolves were large, larger than humans. Their fur was thick. Raven was nervous, she was too weak to fight these wolves, especially since her vampire powers were barely functioning due to her weakness. Raven held her sword with both hands. She swallowed hard. She was nervous. Her eyes were constantly alert to the wolves' movements.
A lunge was headed her way. Raven's vampire instincts were still strong, and she reflexively swung her sword upward.
Sreekk!
The sword scratched the wolves that charged her. One by one, the wolves attacked. With her remaining strength, she fought back.
"Surrender, princess. We promise to kill you quickly, so you won't feel any pain," said a shirtless man among the wolves. The same words, uttered by a different man. Raven stared at the man, her breath ragged.
"You wish." Those were the only words Raven could utter. The man sighed.
"Kill her."
The wolves attacked again. Raven defended herself with her sword. One wolf bit her arm. Raven screamed loudly. The sword slipped from her hand. Raven stabbed her other hand into the chest of the wolf that bit her and ripped out its heart. The wolf instantly became human and lay frozen. The wolves grew even angrier. They attacked Raven brutally. Raven tried to fight back. Occasionally she was bitten and knocked down. But each time she was knocked down, she would immediately stand up, as if nothing had happened. Earlier, it had been humans fighting her. This time, werewolves. They were strong and fast, like her kind. Furthermore, she was badly injured. But Raven would never give up.
After a while, the fighting stopped. The wolves lay frozen on the ground. Raven sat on her feet, holding her wound. Blood was pouring from her mouth. She was trying to endure the excruciating pain. Raven might be a vampire, but her opponent was a werewolf. A werewolf bite is poisonous to vampires. While some people can recover, it usually takes a long time. So now Raven could only sit and stare at the man in front of her. She knew the wolf venom had begun to spread within her body. She had been bitten several times by the wolf.
The man walked closer. His impassive expression indicated he would show no mercy to the dying Raven. The man transformed into a wolf right in front of Raven, his yellow eyes shining brightly in the darkness of the night.
"Goodbye, princess."
The wolf jumped high and opened its mouth to bite Raven's neck, but...
Srukk!
Raven grabbed a nearby sword and stabbed the wolf in the chest while it was in midair. The wolf collapsed weakly to the ground. Blood spurted from its mouth. With the sword in hand, Raven tried to stand. Once, twice, she failed. But she didn't give up. Finally, she managed to stand. She quickly left. She didn't want his pack or the others to find her there.
Slowly but surely, Raven continued walking through the forest. Blood continued to flow from her body, dripping everywhere she went. She knew she would be followed because of the dripping blood. But she kept walking. She didn't want to stop even for a single step.
Raven's vision grew blurry. She was starting to lose her sight. The poison had spread throughout her body. The wounds she had sustained weren't healing either. Her body, which had never been cold, shivered. This was the first time she had felt shivers since she became a vampire. But Raven didn't stop walking, even though she was limping. She didn't realize she had entered the backyard of a human house. She could barely see anymore. Suddenly, her body fell to the ground. She was so weak, exhausted, and in pain. She couldn't walk anymore. Her eyes stared up at the sky. Even though the moon wasn't shining tonight, the stars still wanted to keep her company. Raven knew she would die tonight.
"I'm sorry, Leon. I can't hold on..."
Raven's eyes slowly closed, and she fell unconscious.
Not long after, a man suddenly dropped some objects in his hand. He was shocked to find someone unconscious in his backyard. Carrying a torch, he approached the unconscious person. To his surprise, it was a woman. Without thinking, the man carried Raven into the house. He didn't even notice the torch falling to the ground. The wet ground from the afternoon rain would surely extinguish its flame, he thought. The man carried Raven to one of the rooms in his house. He lit several candles in the room for light.
The man rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He sat on the edge of Raven's bed, right in the light. He took Raven's hand and checked her pulse. He was shocked to hold Raven's hand. It was really cold, very cold. The man checked Raven's forehead and cheeks. Very cold.
"This is weird," the man muttered.
The man paused for a moment and examined Raven's body. He found traces of blood on Raven's stomach and several bite marks on Raven's hands.
"What exactly happened to her?"
The man cut Raven's dress, which had been ripped open at her stomach. She was shocked once again. Not only were there sharp cuts, but there were also claw marks. The man stared at Raven with shock on his face. He noticed the wounds on her stomach and waist, but seconds later, he stood up. He took a few steps back. His expression turned angry. His hands were clenched into tight fists. His breathing was rapid.
"She's a vampire."