The Vampire Queen's Resurrection

CHAPTER ONE: WHAT ON EARTH

It was a dream, Aaliyah told herself rationally. Werewolves and vampires were non-existent. Although she’d read about their mythical existence from novels or whatever her subconscious seemed to have stored, there was no way that they could have appeared in front of her.

Was she turning crazy? Hallucinations were a sure sign of insanity.

Almost afraid to open her eyes in case the same scenario washed over her again, she pressed her eyes shut in recalcitrant rebellion. Would the four figures still loom over her? In an almost comical attempt, she tentatively pried one eye open and was immensely relieved to find the room empty.

Jerking up in a sitting position, she observed her surroundings warily, her heart thundering against her chest. Would they come back to attack her? Why were they after her?

The room she was being kept in seemed comfortable enough, but the castle was an abandoned one which looked terribly unkept. It looked like one of those dangerous serial killer lairs where the murder trophies would be kept.

Shock went through her. Were the four who’d capture her serial killers? Were they feeding her an absurd story to divert her mind so that she would not be able to defend herself when they would strike?

There was no way she would trust the ludicrous story they’d fed her. To think that she was the queen of the accursed was almost laughable. Aaliyah wasn’t sure whether they were her friends anymore, she could hardly be pals with such strange creatures. Henceforth, her duty was to find out who they were and what were they after.

In absolute horror, she recalled that one of them had called her Mother. He was no older than herself, so how on earth could she have a son that old? However, if they were actually vampires, there was a thin possibility that it could be true.

Oh My God, Aaliyah. Are you listening to yourself? You sound crazy to your own ears.

There was a discrete knock and the door opened to allow the pretty girl inside. There was no sign of the three men. For some reason, Aaliyah felt relieved as she would feel less intimidated being cornered by the girl.

“Who are you?” she asked imperially as soon as she closed the door behind her. “What do you want from me?”

“You’re awake,” she commented casually. “That’s good.” She came near her bed to pull back the curtains, ignoring her question like Aaliyah had never spoken. That infuriated her beyond measure.

“Who are you?” she repeated forcefully, thrusting away the bedcover to get down from the bed. They could hardly retain her against her will, could they? She would go to the nearest hospital, consult a doctor, and make sure those spooky guys hadn’t transferred her organs.

“Where are you going?” the blonde girl seemed to realize her intentions and moving forward to block her exit.

“I am not staying here with you,” Aaliyah infused hotly.

“Aaliyah, I think you should rest. We don’t know the outcome of your awakening yet. Besides, there would be more powerful enemies looking out for you. This is why we have to keep you hidden here until we figure out what to do with you.”

A mirthless laughter escaped her lips at the irony of the situation. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t know what to do with me?! Great! Just great! Have you kidnapped me?”

The girl blinked at her wearing an incredulous expression like she’d lost her mind. Had she? Was she the insane one here? “Are you out of your mind? You forgot already that we woke you from the dead?”

Aaliyah scoffed derisively. “Oh, come off it. We all know that was a huge prank. Well, it’s not funny anymore. I want to go home,” she announced boldly, but faltered when she realized that she had no idea where that was.

Who was she? All she had was a name, which meant nothing to her. All she could sense though was that she was no supernatural creature like the others. She was a normal girl who wanted to run away from them. The expectations they had for her, especially the one with topaz eyes, seemed too much.

“Where is home?” the other girl asked defiantly. “Do you have a place to go?”

Aaliyah huffed in frustration, walking towards the window to stare enviously out of the streets. They were in a city which she couldn’t place, but the busy pace of humans beneath them showed no sign of supernatural. What she wouldn’t give to be part of that world again. She sighed.

“Alright, let’s agree that I am the Queen of the accursed and that I have been awoken from the dead,” she capitulated, finding no other way than to play their games. If she did, maybe there would be a way of finding out more about their mysterious identities or agendas. “Plus, you don’t know what to do with me. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that we were not expecting to awake without powers. Are you sure you cannot feel anything?”

“Listen, this is ridiculous. I am a normal girl just like you are.”

She was shaking her head before the sentence was complete. “I am not a normal girl. I am The Healer. From the werewolf community. My name is Arella Chesterfield, and my wolf is called Selene. Would you like to meet her?”

Aaliyah was stunned speechless for a long moment Would she? Without stopping to think, she just nodded certain that she would catch any side-effects that time.

“Don’t be scared, okay? I won’t hurt you. I just want to show you that I have powers so that you’d believe in all this. You were not supposed to wake as a normal person. I mean we were so anxious when you fainted. Just don’t run, okay?”

Aaliyah nodded reluctantly, and to her surprise, she watched as Arella stripped naked right in front of her. When Aaliyah was about to protest, the girl in front of her went on her fours and a huge wolf of grey fur appeared in the room.

Aaliyah let out a loud gasp of surprise and stood frozen for a long time. The wolf thankfully, didn’t move like it was sensing her fear. There was no way this could have occurred with special effects – she’d been kidding herself. There was no trace of foul play here.

Then, in front of her eyes, Arella appeared again, and she dressed quickly, making Aaliyah realize why she had peeled her dress in the first place. Werewolves? A werewolf? Vampires? Really? Damn, ow she craved for French fries right now.

“Are you satisfied now?” Arella asked in a calm voice.

Aaliyah was traumatized to be honest. She seemed to be involved in a world she had no idea of. “What does The Healer mean? You heal people?”

“I do. I cure the sufferings of those in pain. Now, it seems that I can also revive people from the dead,” she added cynically, the sarcasm directed at herself more than anything else.

Aaliyah c****d her eyebrows at the revelation. “I’m your first?”

Arella let out a dry laugh. “My first and last. Your case was only to repay a debt. I am not interested in playing the Goddess. Whoever is dead will remain so from now. I am only going to make sure that there are no sufferings in this world. I think we’ve had enough of pain to last us a lifetime.”

“You seem angry with me. I fail to see the reason behind your resentment,” Aaliyah asked curiously.

“Well, if you have to know. Today is my wedding day. It was the most beautiful day of my life until that vampire gatecrashed and asked us to revie you.”

As far as Aaliyah could remember, two among the three men had been vampires, and there was only one who could have wanted alive again. The handsome one.

“You wedding day? You got married with the other werewolf?” she made an educated guess and Arella nodded succinctly.

“The King Alpha Samael Darhk. We were supposed to be on our honeymoon right now, so I’m sure you can excuse my resentment. If it weren’t for Emir Royal, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Emir. That was his name. What a pretty and unique name, Aaliyah thought to herself. But aloud, she asked. “Why did he want to resurrect me? What does he intend to do with me?”

Arella shrugged somewhat sheepishly. “Nothing. He doesn’t seem to want you around now that you’ve no powers. He’s so mad at me right now. He wanted the vampire queen back not some normal human. Our pack cannot take you on since you’re not a werewolf. And Ezekiel hates the very sight of you.”

Ezekiel. That name sounded somewhat familiar. But Aaliyah couldn’t place where she’d heard the name before.

“Why? We’re talking about my supposed son, aren’t we?”

Arella grimaced guiltily. “Look, I know it all looks weird. But since you were a vampire, you were considered immortal and didn’t age. If I remember correctly, you were almost three centuries old.”

Aaliyah couldn’t help the sharp breath intake at the latest discovery. Three hundred years old? And counting? Dear God! Was she even a believer in God? Uggggggh! So many things she couldn’t remember made her so insecure and she hated the fact that she had to rely on them to give her information.

For all she knew, they were on the enemy side.

“But..,” Arella went on with pursed lips. “..to answer your question. Yes. Ezekiel is your son, although you’re both practically the same age.”

Talk about complicated. Aaliyah thrust a hand over her long black hair which fell back on her scalp as she assessed her situation. Two werewolves and two vampires were with her, but now they didn’t know what to do with her.

“Listen, if you have no idea what to do with me, why don’t you let me go?” she asked hopefully, although deep inside she knew she might as well be wishing for the moon. There was no harm in asking though.

“Impossible,” a sexy voice whirred behind her, and she turned around to come face-t-face with the vampire who had pure honeyed eyes, which gleamed under the sunlight in an ethereal manner.

Her heart skipped a beat as she lost herself into those two hypnotic pools. They seemed to beckon her towards him in a queer way.

It took her a moment to recover from the shock of admitting that she was still attracted to him. His straight long hair stretched to his broad shoulders, which should have looked ridiculous in such a masculine man. However, it gave him a dangerous veneer, and the arrogant and determined expression in his eyes were unmistakable.

“Who are you?” she croaked huskily, using her tongue to moisten her sudden parched lips. A deep fear instilled inside her heart as she felt something huge about to crash over her.

“Emir Royal at your service, my Queen. I am the Vampire King.”

Aaliyah gasped in shock. “If I’m the Queen and you’re the King, does that make us…?”

“Husband and wife, yes.”