Blue Castle

Total darkness; that is what met the gaze of Vayne as her eyes abruptly shot open, her body filled with an electric pulse, shaking her very core. It took a moment for Vayne to get her bearings, and for the impulse of energy to pass, but then Vayne knew exactly where she was: the family crypt of Castle Blue. The only problem is-when was she?

Vayne was also confused as to why she was not greeted my the Vampire Elders of her family, awakening her as it was her turn to walk into the world again, and for her brother Keith to rest. Mustering what strength she could, her bones and muscles all but atrophied, and pushed the top of her coffin off, allowing what little light filled the crypt to spill into her casket.

She was disgusted by what she saw. Castle Blue, once a majestic structure lavishly adorned and bustling with her family had become a hollow of its former self. Lanterns around the room were long since burned out, candle wax grotesquely formed at the bottom. Dust covered almost everything in the room, a veil of filth over the treasures her family kept so dear. Vayne stopped surveying her surroundings so she could pull herself up and out of her coffin, her entire body feeling like lead. That was when the real sensation hit her: she was thirsty.

Her throat was on fire and she felt extremely weak. Vayne needed a source of blood soon before she decrepified where she stoof. Vayne hated this feeling more than anything, it turned her into a monster as opposed to her symbol of regality she tried to hard to emulate. At this time, it couldn't be helped. She quickly ran to the servant's quarters, hoping someone would still be around taking care of the castle. Vayne thought this was only a fair punishment for their lack of service to Castle Blue.

Alas, when the doors were torn open she found nothing but empty beds and no signs of life for decades. Angered and still wildly famished Vayne ran directly at the window at the end of the quarters and smashed through, and willed herself to become a bat and fly through the night.

Vayne was surprised when the normal uncomfortable feeling of morphing was metreplaced with a splitting headache that caused her to cry out and a sickening crack when she fell to the ground on her ankle, shattering the weakened bones completely.

A wave of sadness and despair crossed over Vayne. She was alone, her family was gone, dead, or sleeping, she had no idea what woke her or what year it was, and now she was thirsty , crippled, and bait for the wolves that roamed this forest. It was only a matter of time before they smelled the profuse blood gushing from her ankle.

It was then that a small inkling of hope registered in Vayne's mind. She heard two distinct heartbeats coming towards Castle Blue. One was closer to the castle and moving quickly, the heartbeat was steady despite the speed at which Vayne felt it move. The other heartbeat was much more erratic, beating feverishly. It was circling behind the other one, as if it was following the first. It was the second that Vayne wanted, it was beating so loudly it was like a symphony crashing in Vayne's ears.

Vayne waited patiently until she could hear the creak of Castle Blue's doors open and then shut. With the thud of the doors, Vayne smiled wickedly; now she and her heart can have an intimate encounter. “Help, someone please help me! Help, please, I don't want to die here!” Vayne knew her false cries were successful whem she heard the footsteps move away from the front of the Castle towards her.

“Oh no, what happened miss?” Before Vayne was a gypsy man. He was in his forties or fifties, old for a gypsy. He was wearing tattered clothing and a traveling cloak. He had tanned olive skin and green eyes. He wore many gold rings and jewelry, indicating he was probably of some importance to the gypsy families that rode on his caravan. Or at least, that's what Vayne was hoping, she hated feeding on the meek, it presented no challenge and why should they have the priveledge to provide her sustenance?

“I was walking home through the forest path with my father when wolves attacked us. We ran in opposite direction, my father drawing them to him. But I tripped on a tree root and broke my ankle. Please, help.”

The man walked forward hesitantly, probably weary of trusting someone as was the gypsy way. Once he came into her reach though, it was over. Vayne grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him to the ground, and Vayne hissed and sunk her teeth directly into his jugular. The man thrashed about but to no avail, the life quickly draining from his body. Vayne could feel her strength returning, her black hair to its lush beatuy, her skin glowed with new revitalization, her lips a deep red, and her eyes changed from a lifeless black to a brilliant gold. Vayne pushed the corpse off of her and got to her feet, her would completely healed thanks to her new friend.

Vayne was still confused as to her awakening and decided that the only way was to investigate, and what better place to start than her old home. Vayne strode up to the entrance to let herself in, when she heard something coming fast, the first heartbeat slammed open the great doors, knocking Vayne to the ground, and she looked up into a pair of wild green eyes.

Not wanting to spend another moment alone in the eerie castle, Emilian pushed on the large wooden door that led outside - and felt his heart sink when his force was met with resistance. A loud bang followed by a duller thump. The gypsy caught sight of something through the crack in the door.

'A woman?'

Stepping futher outside, his gaze was immediately drawn to the crumpled form at his feet. Gold eyes filled with rage stared up at him. Without fully comprehending the matter at hand, Emilian's mouth was already moving.

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?"

His hands instinctively clenched the canvas bag tighter. Emilian did not notice this.

She was beautiful. Dressed in black from head to toe, with matching hair that reminded the young man of a polished piece of onyx one of his elders wore around his neck. The woman's skin was pale, giving off an unearthly glow in the bright moonlight. Contrasting this even more strongly were her painted lips. Red if Emilian had ever truly seen the color before. What else caught his eye were the trace of a few red droplets on the woman's chin. Blood? Probably from when he'd hit her with the door.

The door.

That's right! She was probably connected to the castle! Just his luck! He needed to escape. He needed to get away. Lose her in the forest and then get back to the caravan. The elders would scold him again for getting caught. They would have to leave sooner now because of this. Somehow lost in thought at a time like this, Emilian snapped back to reality in an instant. That was all in the near future...hopefully. For now, time was up. He needed to get himself out of here.

The gypsy was beginning to feel his heart race with the first few bittersweet tastes of adrenaline. His eyes narrowed and flashed with an almost animalistic instinct. Hoisting the canvas bag high up on his shoulder, Emilian turned to run.