CHAPTER 8
1515 Words
IT WAS A LATE NIGHT. The city was under a heavy fog, lampposts flickering, as if haunted. Footsteps reverberate down the tight alleys. The street was bustling even if it was already late at night. It was a night festival in the city, and only in the alleys was it quiet.
Jacob Mendez, a vampire hunter wearing a long black coat, pursues a vampire. His boots pound the stone, crossbow in one hand and silver blade on his side.
Ahead, a red figure slides between the shadows—Danica, a vampire, elegant, with dark hair flowing behind her like a curtain of night, and who has already been living in the human race for centuries. Her fair skin sparkles in the moonlight.
Jacob finds the vampire's figure to be familiar. I think I have seen him somewhere. He just couldn't remember.
Danica, who was running away, kept on sighing as her fangs sparkled in the moonlight. “Damn! This hunter was so fast. He was different from the other hunters I have encountered.”
But what Danica hadn’t expected was that there was a trap ahead. And some hunters were already waiting for her. She grinned playfully. She is a vampire. And a vampire could escape even through the smallest hole.
The hunter was aiming their crossbow at her, but a force from above made her stop. She suddenly couldn’t move. She looked above and saw a spell. It was a barrier. “Witch,” she said.
A witch was helping the hunters.
Danica couldn’t move, and her back was facing Jacob. She didn’t want him to see her face.
“Finally, we caught you, vampire.”
Danica showed her fangs as her red eyes gleamed. But she was worried when she heard the footsteps coming from behind, and smelled the familiar scent of Jacob.
Jacob arrived at the place and sighed in relief when their plan worked and caught the vampire. “Bring her to the dungeon.”
“Yes, Sir.”
But before the hunters could touch Danica, lightning destroyed the barrier that trapped Danica.
Danica took that chance to escape and ended up in the bustling streets of the city.
The hunters were disappointed that the vampire had escaped.
The streets are vibrant with color. Everywhere you look, lanterns gleam in shades of blue, gold, and crimson. The streets were filled with the sound of drums, violins, and laughter. Throughout the square, food and drink stands. Merchants shout over each other as they sell their products, such as sweet wine and roasted chestnuts, as children run while wearing masks. There were also shows. It was a mortal festival.
Danica was walking in the streets bustling with people when she felt a powerful aura. A powerful aura that only the Royal Family has.
“You've nearly got caught,” a cold voice said from behind.
Danica’s eyes widened, and she slowly turned around. She met a man who had a powerful aura but had a cold expression on his face. His face is ageless, strikingly beautiful, but haunting. He wears a long, flowing coat of black velvet embroidered with deep red runes.
His aura is a storm wrapped in silence. He has a seductive yet scary energy. The scent of blood and roses appeared to follow him. He does not speak loudly. He does not need to. His presence is a demand, not a request.
Danica lowered her head. “Your Majesty,” she greeted. “I attacked you at the hospital. I apologized for that.”
The corner of Theo’s lips curled up. “Don’t bow. You’re drawing attention,” he said. He’s not referring to mortals but to the hunters who were lurking around.
“It’s been a long time, General Yale.”
“Your Majesty, I didn’t know that you were here,” said Danica. She smiled. It’s been a long time since she heard the title that she had carried for centuries before she went to the human race.
Theo walked towards a stall, and Danica followed. He bought some roasted chestnuts and gave some to Danica.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Next time, don’t get caught. It’s better if you don’t drink fresh animal blood. You nearly get caught by the Hunters.”
Danica nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Theo sighed. “How are you?” he asked as he ate a chestnut.
Danica was stunned. It’s been a century since she left the Celestial Continent. She knew that the world was changing. Was it possible for a person too? The Vampire King she knew was cold and scary. The Vampire King in front of him now was different from the Vampire King she knew before, but she knew it was him.
“Your Majesty, you've changed?”
Theo shrugged. “I gained some humanity, I guess,” he said. He continued eating roasted chestnuts. “So, how are you?”
“I’m fine, Your Majesty.” She was still surprised by the king in front of her. “Your Majesty, may I ask what you are doing here in the human race? I never thought I would meet you here one day.”
“She’s here.”
Danica frowned. “Who, Your Majesty?”
“Her,” Theo answered as he looked at a certain person at a far distance.
Danica followed her gaze to the person the Vampire King was looking at. “Artemis?”
“She is my mate.”
Danica’s eyes widened in surprise.
Theo smiled, looking at his mate as she enjoyed herself eating.
“Go and talk to her. She’s alone, I think.”
Danica pointed to herself. “I? Your Majesty, shouldn’t you be? Well, this was your chance to get close to Artemis.”
“Her blood was making me crazy, Danica. I’m afraid that I can’t control myself.”
Danica nodded understandingly and walked towards Artemis. But she stopped when she smelled a hunter’s scent. Jacob. She immediately looked around to find Jacob and saw him walking towards Artemis.
Danica was saddened. She knew that Jacob liked Artemis. Artemis is her friend, and she didn’t want to become a bad friend. But it was disappointing to see your friend hanging out with your mate.
“Your mate?”
Danica looked at the Vampire King. “N-no…”
“Then why did you stutter?” Theo asked, his eyebrow raised. “Your expression has already betrayed you, Danica,” he said. He saw the affection that Danica had for Jacob. He knew it because he had already experienced it. Moreover, he had a friend, Ezequiel, who was in love with his wife so much.
“If he were not your mate, I would have killed him,” said Theo in a cold voice while looking at the hunter. He took a deep breath. “You and that hunter were mates. Your bond will pull him to you.”
Danica looked at His Majesty. “Your Majesty?”
“Trust me. But I don’t want to see him hanging out with my mate next time, or else, I will kill him,” he said, threateningly.
MEANWHILE, ARTEMIS FELT a pair of eyes looking at her.
“Artemis, I didn’t know you would come to the festival.”
Artemis smiled at Jacob and nodded her head politely as she was trying to find the pair of eyes looking at her.
The town square is alive with light and laughter. Colorful stalls brim with sweet delicacies and handwoven crafts. The drums beat rhythmically in the distance, and the air smells of roasted corn and fireworks.
She smiled, a candy apple in hand, and ignored the pair of eyes looking at her. She came to the festival to make herself happy.
Fireworks crackle overhead, illuminating the surroundings.
She walked into the crowd with Jacob. And then she stops.
“What’s the matter?” Jacob asked.
Artemis shook her head. Her body tenses ever so slightly.
That feeling again. That pair of eyes was looking at her.
Someone is watching her.
She couldn’t see who that person was, but she felt it.
Not imagined.
Artemis' gaze shifts from faces to shadows beyond the food stalls, and up to the rooftops, where silhouettes shift behind the fabric curtains.
Then, for a brief moment, she sees him. She knew he was a man from the way he stood. He was far away. In between them, there was a wide lake which the people called the city’s esplanade. He was on the other side of the lake, perfectly standing near the edge of the lantern-lit path, his eyes locked onto hers like a thread pulled tight. He was wearing a mask, but his eyes were familiar to her.
Artemis felt a strange feeling inside her. Her heart hammered inside her chest as if she were hoping for something.
A parade float drifts between them before she can move.
When the parade float passes—he’s gone.
But the feeling lingers.
“Who is he?” Artemis asked herself.
Artemis feels a familiarity with the man.
- Writer
