The Love of a Vampire

Chapter 1

It was dark and silent in the forbidden forest; the light of the moon barely passed through its darkness. Every step she took was careful and cautious yet aimless. She did not know her destination or where her legs were taking her, but she knew one thing; she was far from home. Later, her ears caught the sound of twigs snapping and the rustling of dried leaves beneath her feet. She turned around and saw nothing but darkness. Her sixth sense is telling her that behind the darkness something evil is lurking. She tried to summon her power within, but nothing came, and it had her wondering when she had ever got the power, as she did not possess the power of destruction, instead, she was born with the power of healing.

She gasped when she saw a shadowy figure behind a tree. She wanted to believe that it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, but then she heard the sound again, the sound of rustling leaves and dangerous whispers of the wind. There was a moment of silence, then she heard it again, but now it was behind her.

"Who's there? Show yourself and don’t even think for one second that I am afraid of you because I’m not.” she shouted into the darkness. She did not expect the bravery in her voice, yet it didn’t mask her uncertainty.

She froze on the spot when she heard soft laughter behind her; it was the voice of a man. He chuckled in his deep, manly, almost hypnotizing voice that made all her senses shiver with delight. She blinked her eyes and shook her head at the absurdity of her thoughts towards a total stranger who might be a serial killer or a rebel.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely realized what had happened; the only thing she knew, was someone suddenly appeared in front of her.

~~~

Micah fluttered her eyes open to see a yellow ceiling. She looked around and realized that she was in the comfort of her room. She felt that sense of relief that it was all just a weird dream.

“Damn, that wasn’t normal.” Micah muttered to herself. Her heart is still pounding in her chest, and she finds herself out of breath like she was being chased.

She sat up on her bed and ran her fingers through her long wavy hair with so much frustration; not knowing where the frustration was coming from. Glancing at the side of her bed, her eyes landed on the book she was reading last night. Reaching for the book, she opened it to the page where she left it, mentally blaming it for the strange dream she had. The imagination she had when her eyes were on the pages of the book was brought to her subconscious.

“Last day of school, midget.” Micah sighed heavily at the sound of her brother’s voice. He casually barged into the room like he owned it and it wasn’t so surprising anymore. He’s been doing the exact same thing their entire life.

Sighing, she ignored his presence and focused her attention on the book instead. She felt the side of the bed shift and heard him sigh, snatching the book away from her hand.

Micah glared. “You’re reading these things again. You know how our parents feel about vampires, Micah, especially our grandfather. If they find out, you were reading these again----“

“I don’t care if they’re enemies of vampires or dragons. I don’t want to get involved in a grudge I know nothing about. My feelings are my own.” Her brother stared at her, and she stared back, not slightly backing down. Her brother looked away defeated, making her smirk. She snatched the book back from him and stood from the bed.

“Last day of school, right? So, if you please get out so I can prepare.” Micha’s brother gave her that look again. He was staring at her like a puzzle he wanted to figure out, but he just couldn’t. No one ever can. Looking at her brother, she could almost see the words at the tip of his tongue, but none of them dared to come out.

Turning around, he walked out of the room quietly, shutting the door as he did. Micah glanced at the book in her hand and slipped it onto the bookshelf. Like her brother said, it’s the last day of school. Better not be late.

School. Just like humans, creatures like wolves, lycans, witches, elves, sorcerers, and healers go to a school called Moon Academy. The academy is known all throughout the world but only among nonhuman entities, called mythic. Four years ago, the High Prince and Princess of the Six Kingdoms of the Moon built a school for mythic. Building the school was a way to form unity and peace among the Six Kingdoms of the Moon: drawing its subjects together. The six kingdoms of the Moon are made up of different mythic: lycan, vampire, witch and warlock, sorcerer and healer, werewolf, and elf. Among the six mythic races, there are only five races enrolled in the academy. The school doesn’t accept humans unless one of their parents is mythic. Micah was part of the second batch from their kingdom to enroll and the second batch to graduate. Her brother, Michael, was part of the first group to graduate last year and now it’s her turn.

Micah enrolled in the hopes of meeting a vampire in order to learn more about them; not just by hearing rumors of how ruthless they can get. But to her dismay, not even a single vampire was enrolled. She asked the headmistress of their school, the High Princess of the six kingdoms, and she told her that vampires were anti-social. The way the headmistress said it was filled with humor, but Micah knew a part of it was true.

The school library was filled with books both known and unknown to humankind. Micah spent most of her time in the library reading about vampires, but the only thing she found was King Dracula being the first vampire king and that before he decided to go to eternal sleep, he made a promise and left a memento to the vampire kingdom; something that would change the fate of the entire kingdom of vampires.

Micah searched for more, to the point that her best friends thought she was getting obsessed, and admittedly, she knew that she was. Vampires are a mystery for her; a mystery that she wanted so badly to uncover.

Sighing, she turned off the shower and wore her school uniform. Micah stared at her reflection in the mirror. Usually, she would put makeup on for school, but for some reason she’s not feeling it right now. Even if she doesn’t put heavy makeup on, she still makes time for it, but right now------“I wanna go bare.”

Micah slipped into her uniform and stood before the mirror. Each mythic race wears a different color for their uniform. For Micah, as she is what they call a healer, they wear a green pleated skirt that falls about two inches above the knee with a white collared polo and a green tie. Lycans wore royal blue, elves wore silver, witches wore nude or brown, and werewolves wore purple. Micah always imagined vampires wearing red or black for their school uniform as it would perfectly suit them.

Instead of heels, she decided to wear flats before going downstairs where her family was waiting at the breakfast table.

“Join us, Micah.” Micah’s grandfather said before taking a sip of his coffee. “Congratulations Micah. Graduating as top of the class---I expected no less from my granddaughter.”

“Thank you, grandpa.” she simply replied as she took a seat beside her brother. Micah blinked her eyes and sighed as she felt as if the house was getting smaller; tighter.

Usually, it was only her and her brother on their breakfast table, since their mother works at a hospital in a city found in the middle of the Six Kingdoms with no terrestrial claims. They call it the City of the Moon. The city was occupied by the citizens of the six kingdoms who wished to build a business and other establishments approved by the High Kingdom.

Micah’s father is a member of the High Council, so he’s usually in the council tower. Her grandfather’s retirement as a high council member didn’t stop him from securing a position in the Kingdom of Magic. Right now, he is one of the Kingdom of Magic’s prime ministers.

“Did you not tell your grandfather yet, Micah?”

“Oh boy, here we go.” Micah thought. She intentionally did not tell her grandfather because she didn’t want to talk about it, because it would only get into his head as it did to her parents.

“What is it?” her grandfather asked, raising an eyebrow of curiosity.

“Micah received a letter from Queen Amara asking her to come to the castle right after graduation to become the royal representative.” Micah’s father spilled the beans. They weren’t supposed to know about the letter, but when it arrived, her father happened to be there, and he was the one to open it, so much for privacy.

Micah sighed mentally, before taking a sip of her coffee. The letter from the Queen wasn’t much of a big deal for her, but for her family, where honor and image come first, it was the most honorable news they’d ever received. Micah’s brother was working under the council, hoping to follow in their grandfather and father’s footsteps.

“I’ve never been so proud of you, Micah.” Says her grandfather. Micah forced a smile. Hearing those words used to make her feel good till one time when she was thirteen, she lost a sword duel. For an entire week all she heard from her family was:

“You could’ve done better.”

“Why didn’t you practice more?”

“You lost to a ‘nobody’. How does that make you?”

“You are the top student and I expect no less from you?”

“You’re nothing but a woman, after all.”

Micah grew tired of hearing those words so she thought of running away; she did run away but only ended up in a worse situation. She was grounded; everywhere she went there were bodyguards following her. It made her wonder how they could afford to hire bodyguards for her.

The best way for her to get her family off of her back is to stay at the top, but it was never easy; at least she didn’t play dirty to stay where she was right now. They stopped sending bodyguards when she turned eighteen and it was the best day of her life.

While her family was having a fun conversation, she hurried to finish her breakfast. In the corner of her eyes, Micah saw their housekeeper. She raised her hand to get her attention and walked over to her.

“Yes, Miss Micah?” she asked, leaning over to Micah.

“Can you call Arci’s house and tell her I’ll come over in ten minutes?” The use of a cellphone during mealtime is forbidden; that is one of their house rules, which is why she asked their housekeeper to call her best friend via the telephone.

“Of course, Miss Micah.” The housekeeper slightly bowed her head and walked away. Micah was also getting ready to leave while her family talked about her brother’s marriage with his soulmate.

Soulmate. Micah hoped for the same thing. When she finds her soulmate, she’ll be done playing robot; when that time comes, she will decide for her own, even if it means leaving her family for good.

“When are you going to introduce her to us?” asked their mother, her voice sounding enthusiastic.

“Soon Mom, soon.”

“Oh, I hope you get yourself a boyfriend soon, Micah.” Her mother added, turning her head to her looking hopeful.

“I’m not planning to have one, Mom.” Micah replied, not wanting to prolong the conversation about boyfriends.

“You should start thinking about it now, Micah. I heard the youngest of the Velasco likes you.” sighing, Micah bit her tongue and stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She knew that one way or another, her family would interfere with her relationship as well.

“If you’re talking about Vincent, then I’m not interested. I’d rather be with a cold-bloodied vampire than be with-----“

“MICAH!!!” her grandfather slammed his palm on the table. Micah snapped her head in her grandfather’s direction; his eyes were burning with anger. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, and you know we don’t associate with any of that kind.”

Micah raised an eyebrow. “Well, isn’t that surprising? Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have a graduation rehearsal today.”

Micah stood from her seat, intentionally dragging the chair back to make noise, she grabbed her bag and left. She walked to her best friend’s house where she was going to have a free ride to school. Usually, Micah would ride with her brother to school, but she couldn’t stay a second longer in that house. She was on the verge of losing control and if she didn't leave, she might’ve said something that would make matters worse. Biting her tongue was a way for her to stop the words from coming out and she might’ve cut her tongue if she stayed longer.

The Moon Academy is located in a deserted place surrounded by water. At the far end of the Kingdom of Magic is a portal that leads them to school, the same as the rest of the kingdom except the Kingdom of Dracula. The portal to the academy opens and closes at a scheduled time and if missed, they have to travel by sea, which would take months, and by the time they arrive, the final exams are over.

Micah loved going to school as it was her escape from getting drowned in their family drama, but she can no longer use school as an escape route because their graduation is tomorrow. Neither of her parents were coming; they had already told her beforehand that they’d be busy that day, which was not a surprise to her anymore.

“Micah!!! MICAH!!!”

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not hear a voice calling her from behind. Micah blinked her eyes when she finally noticed it. Looking back, she saw her best friend, Arci, standing at a far distance with her hands on her waist.

Micah frowned. She took her phone out of her bag and dialed Arci’s number.

Arci stared at her phone frowning, and she had that pissed look on her face as she answered it. “What are you standing there for?” Micah asked the moment Arci answered the call.

“Seriously Micah? Are you high or are you just simply being the ‘usual you’ today? ….and why are you calling? You could just walk over to me.” Arci retorted, making Micah frown.

Turning her head from left to right, Micah realized that she had already walked past Arci’s house. Sighing, she replied, “I don’t need to walk a fifty-meter distance just to talk to you. Cellphones, gadgets, and other technologies were invented for this matter.”

Arci narrowed her eyes at her, then she replied, “Right, fair point Ms. Top-of-the-class, but then again, aren’t you going to ride with me to school?”

Sighing, Micah dropped the call and walked to where Arci was standing. Shaking her head as soon as Micah neared, Arci said, “You’re lucky I saw you passing by. Let me guess, family drama?”

Micah shrugged her shoulders. “You know it. I wouldn’t be on this side of the street to your house otherwise.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, smarty, let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~

DARK, cold, and quiet. Despite the loud music from that famous bar, a mimicry of human leisure that vampires were fond of. The entire kingdom is a replica of human civilization. The only difference is vampires and the centuries-old castle that stood on top of the hill, looking down at the community that they had created over the centuries.

On those cold nights, he watches them from a distance. He watches them lure humans in; it was an act that goes against the laws of the kingdom. Some nights he stops them, some nights he lets them be. Vampires are creatures of the night. They feed on human blood but are forbidden to kill humans for it.

The pleasure of drinking from a human’s pulsing vein is what makes vampires what they are; it makes them stronger. The way the heat from a human’s fresh blood enters their cold skin made them feel alive, more than ever.

He sits by the window in the west tower of the castle and watches as some vampires calling themselves “human traders” drag blindfolded humans into the backdoor of a bar leading them to the basement where the VIPs are waiting. He can hear their anticipation, excitement, and hunger for fresh human blood. On the other hand, he hears nothing but fear from humans.

Unfortunately, he is not motivated to work tonight. If it were some other night, he would’ve arrested them, but right now, he doesn’t want to move from his spot; the comfort of solitude and the feel of the cold night’s air is exactly how he wants it to be.

“Are you just going to watch them? You are part of the night patrol, aren’t you?” the sound of her voice used to be a melody in his ear, but now, it is but a distant memory; a memory of the love he was meant to have for her before she chose to become someone else’s beloved.

“I’m on a night off and not even the future queen can change that.” His voice sounded dismissing and disrespectful, but he is not a man of pretense; he says what’s on his mind.

“Adam, are you still---“

Glancing at her with utter disgust, Adam jumped off the window; he hated the thoughts he heard from her. I will have you both just wait for a little while, Adam.

Hearing her inner thoughts only made him question why the Moon Goddess chose her to be his destined mate. As tempting as it sounded, he is not one to share. He landed on the ground and looked around. He followed the thoughts of a vampire with killing intent. These kinds of thoughts are only from that of a phantom vampire, but a question is stuck in his mind; how did a phantom vampire get into the kingdom? How did it get past the kingdom walls?

The familiar scent of vampire blood was caught in the air, and it led Adam to a phantom, sucking the blood of a fellow vampire in the dark corner of the street. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. The vampire is as good as dead. Once a phantom sunk its teeth on its prey, they would either suck him dry (literally) or die from phantom venom.

Adam did not do anything. His hands are in his pockets watching as the phantom sucks her victim dry, but she doesn’t. Hearing her devious thoughts, the female phantom is planning to frame him.

She tossed the dead body in Adam’s direction, expecting him to catch it, but Adam was less than interested in doing that. He dodged the vampire’s dead body and went after the phantom as she tried to escape. Adam caught her arm and twisted it effortlessly. The phantom woman cried in pain. For a moment, Adam’s eyes glowed red before ripping the phantom woman’s heart out.

Adam tossed her heart to the side and placed his hand back into his pocket. “Amanda!!!”

A woman cried and rushed to the phantom woman’s dead body. Adam walked away as if nothing happened. He walked around the streets of the city of Dracula, aimlessly.

Vampires don’t sleep at night, which is why the nights in the City of Dracula are busy and, during the day, it looks like an abandoned estate. Adam can still hear the thoughts of the vampires around him. Closing his eyes, he closed an imaginary door in his mind, blocking the voices out.

Every night, if he was not watching the streets from the west tower of the castle, or if he was motivated to work as part of the night patrol, Adam would take a stroll around the city until-----“Hey, handsome. Would you like to stay for the night? I could keep you company. We could keep you company.”

Turning back, he smirked.

~~~~~~~

There were footsteps outside the room. Adam fluttered his eyes open as they started knocking on the door. With vampire speed, he reached the door in a second. He pushed the door open, destroying its frame as it was supposed to be the other way around.

Three of the castle men calling themselves “knights” are on the floor with the heavy door over them; the rest are standing on the side away from the door. Disturbing his morning slumber is something he cannot forgive.

“Forgive us for disturbing your morning, Prince Adam, but we were sent here under King Bartholomew’s orders.” Adam cannot hear their thoughts or control their minds as they were protected by a ring given by the King.

“This had better be worth ruining my morning or I’ll hunt you to death for it.” he walked past them wearing only the pants he had last night, leaving the vampire w****s on the bed.

Reaching the castle, the doors of the throne room opened, revealing King Bartholomew sitting on the throne; beside him is his favorite son, Robert, with his fiancé, Hannah. On each side of the red-carpeted aisle sits the Coven Masters, three on each side. Among the six of them, there’s one who was never a fan of the second Prince of the Kingdom of Dracula. Master Ferdinand Langdon.

“Adam.” The king’s voice sounded accusing, and the distaste was almost too obvious. “Where were you last night?”

“I think you already know, as you had your men ordered to fetch me.” Adam retorted, his face showing no emotion.

Adam received a look of disapproval from the Coven Masters, especially from that of Master Langdon, who was not pleased by the way Adam spoke to the King. “You will address the KING with respect, Prince Adam. He might be your father, but he is still the king. You and your rebellious actions had gone far enough.”

“I heard you, Master Langdon.” Adam replied, mocking. Master Langdon gritted his teeth with anger.

“Adam, one of our own came here and accused you of murder.” Adam turned his attention to his brother. “She said you killed her daughter. We have summoned you to say something in your defense.”

Adam snorted. “Meaning I am standing here for trial?”

Sighing helplessly, Robert added, “You know this isn’t the first time you were accused of murder, Adam, and every time you said they were phantom but how can a phantom enter the kingdom?”

“Clearly, he broke our laws not just once, but all the deaths were pointed at him.” Master Langdon seconded ever so quickly. He’s making it too obvious to get rid of the second Prince and Adam doesn’t need to hear his thoughts about that because he’s already speaking it.

Adam faced Master Langdon. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Isn’t your job as the gatekeeper to make sure that no phantom gets in, Master Langdon?”

“Are you implying something, Prince Adam?” Master Langdon asked, his voice challenging Adam to speak more.

“Are YOU doing your job RIGHT, Master Langdon? That’s all I’m asking.” Adam smirked as anger started to show on Master Langdon’s face.

“You son---“

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!! You are dismissed, for now, Adam, but we will have your second trial, and…..you will be relieved from your duties as part of the night patrol.” King Bartholomew declared before leaving the room with Robert and Hannah.

Adam scoffed when he felt Master Langdon’s presence behind him. “Enjoy your time here while it lasts, Prince Adam, because I will never let a murderous monster like you roam around the kingdom we spent centuries to protect.”

He turned around to face Master Langdon and tapped his shoulders, smirking, “You talk big for someone who’s half a century younger than I am, but please do try, Master Langdon. Let’s see how far it’ll take you.”