The Lost Queen Book 1 - Alden

3. The Chosen One

I stare at the pink spot on my hand and feel the warmth of the fire. This is a lot to take in. No wonder why I feel crazy.

The cave man appearing guy watches me for a few minutes, then finally breaks the silence. "Yea, all our vampire powers use vampire energy, we get that from blood. You'll need 4 - 8 ounces of blood a day, to keep from going into blood frenzy."

"Blood frenzy?" I feel like I already know the answer to this one.

"Your body takes over to get the blood it needs. You will wake up in weird places sucking on something that has fresh blood in it." He laughs. "One time, I woke up at the bottom of a lake, sucking on a fish. But yea, do not neglect your blood need. It can really get you in some trouble."

I think about it for a second. "What other powers do we have?"

"Speed, strength, a few others, but you'll learn about those in school." He leans back against a rock and gets comfortable.

"School? A School for vampires? Are you serious?" I honestly believe he's going to tell me at any time that this is a joke.

"Yes, and you have to register for it today. You're currently a criminal, not being registered for school. You will be thrown into the labor camp if you are caught by the king's police." He starts whittling a piece of wood.

"What the f**k? How am I a criminal? I haven't done anything but eat a rabbit. And what are the king's police?" I'm definitely starting to freak out again. I don't want to go to a labor camp.

"The king's police are the ones who enforce the king's laws. If they find you are breaking a law, they will take you and your entire family to the mine. That includes your children, mate, parents, and anyone else they want. And you will all be cut off from outside contact. It's not a good place. No one who goes in ever gets out. You and your entire family will be subject to experiments, rape, torture, beating, electrocuting, and anything else they can think of. No one is given any kind of food. Rats are the only thing you can find to eat. When they need your spot for the next prisoner, you will be killed in the most horrible way they can think of."

I put an eyebrow up. "What the f**k is wrong with these police?"

"They have to do what the king orders, or they will be thrown in the mine with their families." He shrugs. "I'm sure a few enjoy it, but mostly they do their jobs to keep their families safe."

All I can do is take a deep breath, this is a lot to take in. "What the hell kind of king..."

"Law 1. Never speak or act against the king in any way. Do not question the king." He cuts me off before I can even finish my question. I guess he knew what I was going to say.

He takes a deep breath in, "King Fane has been ruling over us for nearly 500 years. His parents were good leaders. His sister was supposed to take the throne from them as she was the oldest. It was what everyone wanted. But King Fane stated the 3 of them were killed on the same night."

"Legend has it, the princess is somewhere, only able to be found by her soul mate." "Many have looked and chased clues but no one has ever found her... Most have lost hope by now." He stares at the ground and shakes his head. Then, like he remembers what is going on. He keeps going with the laws. "Law 2. Pay taxes of $250,000 a year to the kin..."

My turn to cut him off "I don't even make that a year." I'm really freaking out now. "How am I supposed to come up with that kind of money?"

"Well, students are exempt until they graduate, so yea register today."

"Do not turn anyone into a vampire. All new vampires have to be approved either through the kings court or the school. The kings court has to approve someone before they are a vampire, so any vampire applying to the court, is already breaking the law. The school will not deny any vampire, so register immediately and you will get your school credentials. Until you have those, you are an illegal. This is the schools way to undermine the king's throne. As the school will protect new vampires, and the king only wants money, labor, and to torture people. So the school will protect you, but you have to register immediately. The school is only allowed to accept around 10 new students per year, so, apply immediately."

"Ok. Understand that part."

"Law. forgot the number. Do not tell humans you're a vampire. Humans panic and mass chaos will soon follow. It's better for you to stay away from humans for the time being. Do not even take one as a blood pet yet. Just wait until you learn about them and all the laws about them at school. It will be better for everyone that way."

I'm not even going to ask what the hell a blood pet is. I don't think I want to know.

"What am I missing? Oh, you have to report all crimes of any other vampire. If you see or hear another vampire commit or conspire to commit a crime, you must report it to the king's police immediately. Also note, if you are mistaken and they did not commit a crime, you and your family will be the ones taken to the mine for filing a false report to the king's police."

All I can do is stare at him. Pretty sure my mouth is open.

"This last one isn't a law, but you won't want to forget it. Do not have a romantic relationship with another vampire. Every vampire is another vampire's mate. You do not want to mess with that bond. You get one soul mate per life. So when you find her, don't f**k that up."

"Where is she?" The thought of finding my soul mate makes me feel a little better.

"You two will find each other when the time is right. No way to rush it. For some it's really fast, for others it's a thousand years."

"This is a lot to understand and remember."

"Yeah I get that. I'll sum it up for you. Go home. Register with the school and get your credentials. This will make you legal. Do not talk to any humans about what has happened. For now, take a walk in the woods every day and use animals for the 8 ounces of blood. Stay away from feeding on humans because they can be... " he tilts his head "tricky and you would hate to accidently turn someone. But if you do, make sure you guide them to the school. You got all that?"

"Yeah, register for school, avoid people, eat a rabbit a day. I think I can manage that for now." I'm feeling pretty confident, but then more questions pop in my head. "But when will school start? How do I get there? Where is it?" I rattle off questions and I can't seem to stop. "Is it soon?"

"The school will send you everything you need." He hands me a paper. "Here's the school's information. Go home and deal with it now."

"Thank you for explaining all this. Is there anything I can do for you? And what is your name?" I'm trying to be polite at this point. It was nice of him to give me all this information.

"Timan and no, your breakdown was entertainment enough. But I had to stop it before you caught the eye of the king's police and brought them down on both of us." He gives me a smile and hands me a live rabbit. "You need to learn how to eat it..."

"This is going to make me puke." I feel myself start to turn green.

He chuckles. "You'll be fine. Relax. Smell the fresh blood in it, remember how good it tastes. Realize how much you need this. Imagine tasting it again and feeling its warmth."

I can feel my fangs coming out. I really do want this. I need this.

"Bite down, hard. Now drink."

I do what he says and it tastes so good. It is so warm and relaxing. I can feel my strength going up even more. I close my eyes and enjoy it.

When I open my eyes, I'm all alone again. "Well Timan, you are sure one sneaky ninja type." I say to the air.

I stand up and go back towards the road. I'm not near as disorientated now. I find the road quickly and figure out I'm only a couple of miles from my mother's house.

About half way back I see a raccoon. I wonder if different animals taste different. I really want to taste it. I can already feel my fangs lengthening again. I take 2 steps in its direction and suddenly I am on top of it. I reach down and grab it. This must be vampire speed. I bite into it and suck. It tasted different than rabbit. Not better or worse, just different. It has the same effect. I can feel my strength rising even more.

I wonder if I can use this speed thing to get back faster. I take off running as fast as I can. I close my eyes and imagine going super fast. I come to a sudden stop when I face plant a tree. I'm pretty sure I broke my nose but I can feel it healing already.

"Maybe I should try with my eyes open."

I take off running down the center of the road again. I imagine going faster. It's not helping. I'm just running down the road. Maybe super speed is only for food. I give up for now, I'm almost back anyway.

My mother lives on the edge of a small town. So I can see her house as soon as I can make out the town. And something is not right, something smells off.

I speed up and my super speed works. It takes me right to the front yard. There is blood all over the steps. I run to the room I was sleeping in, there's blood on the walls and floor. I had to have attacked someone here while I was in frenzy.

Oh f**k!

My sister, the kids...