THE VAMPIRE ALPHA

SOPHIA was chasing her dreams, literally chasing. She was running through a maze in a castle, dressed in a ballgown with a very tight corset that felt suffocating. She was fighting the urge to remove the ribbon of her gown and the rest of her clothing in order to run more freely and lightly in the grass maze. She could see the castle looming in front of her but every step towards it made it impossible to get closer. It was as if every step forward pushed her three steps backwards. When she couldn’t endure the feeling of helplessness, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her scream sounded like the alarm on her phone and then it shifted to a loud bass sound. She woke up with a start. Upon opening her eyes, she realized that it was indeed another of her exhausting dreams. This time, she didn’t see the man she was trying so hard to see. The man she saw riding a horse toward the castle that, when she tried to chase, the path she was walking on turned into a maze. She sat up and looked at her phone, which was still ringing loudly. Before she answered the call, she groaned. Her brother, Dale, was calling her. “Sis, come with me to a party.” Without any good morning greetings, he went straight to the point and asked her what he wanted to ask. She stood up and went to her closet and opened it to prepare her working clothes for the day. “No,” she said when she saw the short-sleeved dress with very thin fabric. If she wore that in the freezing climate, she would freeze to death. She heard her brother sigh and after a few seconds, he began his explanation. “Soph, you remember the Malcolm family that I told you about? The ones who spend thousands of dollars on one event? They had several charity balls here in Vancouver and I hosted all of those events. Now they wanted to have one, a maiden themed ball in Winnipeg, and they commissioned my company to be the event’s organizer! Isn’t it great?!” She nodded her head while holding the phone in her ear and the other hand holding the closet door. She was still rummaging through her closet with her clothes that only had one hue, black, white and grey. She hated clothes with striking and colorful patterns. All of her clothes were either plain or with a ton of lace. “Since you’re very unresponsive, to cut the story short, I’ll be in Mannitoba next week to host that event, but my team will be travelling earlier than me. Can I stay at your place when I’m there? It would save up on hotel costs.” “No.” She saw a horrendous looking bright yellow dress that she wore once for their museum cocktail night. Because she was forced to wear the party’s motif, she had no choice but to wear that dress. She took it and placed it at the farthest end of the closet where she would unlikely see it again. “Why are you being so mean, dear sister?” She realized that she had said no to him twice without really meaning it. She was actually talking about her wardrobe. But teasing her younger brother would make her day extra special, so she started ranting. “You have your own business; you won the lottery here in Canada when you went to visit our parent’s graves and then you bought an events company with that money. You’re only 24 years old and yet you have everything you’ve ever dreamed of but you can’t book a hotel?” She was smiling throughout her rant. She was just riling him up. She missed bickering with him even though they would be laughing it off soon after. “What? What’s wrong with being successful at such a young age? I just want to stay with you because I miss my big sister. Please? Let me stay and come join me at the party?” She finally saw a dark grey and black plaid skirt and long-sleeved blouse that would suit her curator's mood. After taking out her thermal innerwear to help her protect herself from the cold, she placed all of her outfits on top of her bed. “Can you make me a Bloody Mary when you come?” she asked. Her brother makes the best cocktail drinks and her favorite is the Bloody Mary. “How many times do I have to tell you that your fascination with vampires and bloody Mary doesn’t match? Bloody Mary is made of vodka, tomatoes, spices and not even a drop of blood!” She had to laugh at his exasperated reaction. She could imagine her brother raising his hands in frustration and then scratching his head as if that would make her realize her craziness. “I know! It’s just that I love the red color and how the liquid feels in my mouth.” “You love red in your drinks but not in your clothes. Fine. I’ll make them for my only sister whom I love the most in this world and the one who will join me at a masquerade party event for my richest client.” “Fine, I’ll come to your damn party. Just make sure to serve bloody bloody bloody Mary, okay?” I teased him with the word bloody because my brother cannot stand seeing real blood. He panics and closes his eyes. “I’ll call you next week when I arrive. Pick me up at the airport, will you?” “Is that a question or an order? Because my answer will depend on—” “Bye, Soph! See you at the airport!” The call was cut and she had to smile at her brother’s sassiness. Sophia looked around her beige room and white furniture. Her whole room looks like an old-fashioned bedroom fit for the royals during the 18th century when electricity was not yet prevalent. All of her furniture were antiques that she had to restore to its grandeur and beauty. The lamps, music boxes, vases and figurines that were displayed in her huge room all have their own histories behind them. Everything she owned had its own story and riddle which she would gladly research and decipher. The wooden four-poster bed with real 24 carat gold trimmings, soft white lacy curtains hanging from Sophia loves old things. The floor was made of white and grey marble. She loved to walk on the marbled floor with bare feet so she could feel the coldness of the stone beneath her feet. Her ceiling was the darkest part of her room. She personally designed the black canvass with tiny pin lights that looked like little stars twinkling in the night. Even in the daytime, her ceiling looked like a vividly dark starry night sky. Her walls were painted beige with visible lines of gold whenever light would strike on the walls. Her cornices and baseboards were all shades of gold. When she was growing up, she had a particular fascination with everything golden and hated everything silver. Sophia smiled as she walked towards her bathroom, which also looked like a scene from an old medieval castle’s bathroom.