LUKA TERPENDAM

Dracula Castle, Romania.

"My decision is final. I am not accepting my vampire life."

The whole room is silent as Erin declares her final decision in front of the six vampire clans' leaders who have been eagerly looking at her for a while now. They are speechless at her sudden declaration. Well...they didn't expect her to say this after such a big war. They thought that she would surely aim something high.

A girl who fought with her own father when her father was debating with his soul to choose between power and family, Raphael and Zion were sure that Erin would go for the 'Count Lady' position. Because she showed no mercy to her own father. What was the real purpose of the war?! Now that's a wonder!

Well.....for Erin, it was a war between life and death...

A war to establish a person's existence...

A war for peace...

But for some people, it was a war for power and position, a war for authority.

However, for Erin, this war meant nothing. Even now when she looks outside the window of the castle, she can only see a vast land covered in blood. Dead bodies lying all over the place. The bodies of vampires. Vultures are feasting on those bodies by circling over them. As if they are carrying out their own rituals before devouring the left bodies.

Among them, some were Erin's friends, some were her enemies. Some vampires just joined the war for their own motives. And some gave up on their lives just for their beloved masters ...haha ...masters!

Are they even worthy to be called Lords and masters?

The very masters who only think about themselves. They are selfish, vicious, ruthless, bloodthirsty and all together....they are nothing but disgusting monsters!

A devilish and ignorant smile appears on Erin's face seeing those ungrateful three masters who are sitting among others and saying their wants and their demands selfishly. They don't give a damn to those vampires who have died for them in vain.

Though, not all of them fall in that category. Some are good, but their number is so few that it's better not to mention. Because people forget them very easily. They are like those passers-by in our life who help you when they see you in danger. But do we keep them alive in our memories? We forget about them as time goes by.

These good and selfless vampires are also like those passers-by. So people forget them over time and since humans are the creators of histories and myths, they kept the bloodthirsty and ruthless vampires alive in our heart. As these bloodthirsty vampires were successful in installing fear among us...

The outside view of the castle is living proof that it's the famous castle of Count Dracula who killed thousands of people to protect his religion before he became a vampire and after when he just lived for his wife, spreading the Undead Curse among humans.

He is nothing but a sign of brutality to Erin.....

It's a very fascinating story among people even now. But is it really that admiring? Erin agrees that the story opened our eyes disclosing a secret hidden in the earth. But killing a lot of people for religion and just for getting a girl back isn't admirable at all. In the end...he caused only bloodshed but nothing.

Even now...vampires are walking on his path. Drinking blood for living longer, having everlasting youth and becoming more powerful is common among them. They are fighting for his left position, a position that was evaluated by his followers. A mere position that has no value over life. Still, they are killing each other for it.

Outside the castle, burned bodies are letting out a disgusting smell and the smoke is covering the sky. It's morning now but somehow looks like it's afternoon already.

The wind has stopped blowing. Birds aren't flying. The forest at far is lost among the dead bodies. Somehow the whole world seems dead to Erin. She didn't want a war. Her wish was simple...to live peacefully as a normal person. But now? Now that she is looking at those dead vampires, she is cursing her existence for their death.

What if she had never been born, maybe then nothing would have happened. She wouldn't have met Edward and someone wouldn't have caused havoc for her. Her father wouldn't be fighting against death. And last...these people wouldn't have died.

Erin touches herself while looking outside...Those vampires died because of HER!! Only because she was born. 

Tears fall down from Erin's eyes looking at those dead body's. It's not like she hasn't seen any dead bodies before or hasn't seen any war scene. She saw them in books and TV shows and in real life too. But a lot of dead bodies and blood....it's her first time. It's shocking.

It's very painful to look at. She moves her face away from the scene and keeps crying. This is so unbearable...

Painful and it hurts a lot...

Edward embraces Erin from behind who was sitting among the six Lords. Erin's small body turns her face to his chest and hugs him tightly and bursts out in cry.

"Shhh! It's not your fault."

Erin doesn't reply but keeps crying silently. She doesn't want others to hear her crying. Cause they will just laugh at her. They will just think of her as a delicate girl...a weak one...like people usually think.

Let only one person hear it. The only person who she wants beside her side now...

"Pfft! See? I warned you. She isn't worthy of becoming the Vampire Lady!" Uriel laughs out.

Though some are agreeing with him in their mind, still they give him a stare to shut up his damn mouth. Nothing would have happened if he hadn't done anything stupid. His own thirst for power made them crazy and they are facing the consequences now. So....definitely others are angry.

No!!! Enough of such craziness!

Erin turns to Uriel and stares at him as if she is shooting daggers at him.

"Do you have a wish to die?" she asks!

Nobody says a word against her. This stupid vampire!! No wonder why he was left by his own parents!

The atmosphere is again getting out of hand...

"I respect your decision. And I have no problem with it." Ian says breaking the silence in the room.

" I don't have a problem either." Ario joins Ian.

"I am with them," Edward replies too, he is still hugging Erin who is giving a dead look to Uriel. He keeps turning her head to his chest whenever she tries to look outside.

"This girl! She doesn't know when to give up, does she?" He keeps thinking.

Megan was observing Edward and Erin for a while and now she can't stop herself. She rushes to separate them from each other when Edward stops her showing his hand in front of her face. His eyes...they are burning in rage!

"Don't even dare!" Edward's strong and hoarse voice echoes in the room. He hugs Erin even tighter than before.

Megan stops right at her spot. She frowns her eyes and looks at Erin who is kept hidden in Edward's embrace. Then she looks at Edward. He is serious about her! Then...then? What about Megan?!

Megan turns her face away from them and then dashes out from the room.

But her existence and actions leave no importance in the room as the Lords start the conversation again, ignoring her roughness Just now.

"It's fifty-fifty voted. We don't agree with her decision! We want her to lead us. A strong vampire like her needs to be someone who will lead the community." Raphael says, ignoring others furious reactions.

"Yes! I agree too. Her father just went against the vampire community and misused his authority." Zion hits the table and sings along to Raphael.

You can say that Erin is burning in rage.....

It's well said that vampires don't have hearts, otherwise they wouldn't have said such shameless demands to her.

Uriel is just keeping his mouth shut now. Cause it's the best option if he wants to live.

But it seems that the other two, Raphael and Zion, are not going to let Erin go until she changes her decision. They keep pushing her to the end of the world and she is already on the verge of bursting out. She turns to them with a threatening look and is about to do something, before...

The door of the room opens and a beautiful lady enters without permission, laughing gracefully. Everyone's attention goes in her direction as she walks through that door.

She has a tall, sceptical figure and a fair complexion. Her wavy blonde hair is reaching her back since she let them down as soon as she enters the hidden room. She has nude makeup on her face and looks a little bit tired when she lets out a sigh.

Edward's eyes are wide opened, but Erin can't guess who that woman is. She has never seen this lady in her life before.

The lady looks around the room a little bit where others are also staring at her like they have seen a ghost. A vampire seeing a ghost...very funny!!

The lady chuckles and says, "It's not fifty-fifty! I also agree with Ms Erin."

Everyone's mind is like..."What is happening here? And who the hell is this woman?"

They look at each other in wonder. But Erin and that woman's eyes are joined, they keep staring at one another, observing themselves carefully.

The woman smiles sweetly and moves her lips a little bit.....

But surprisingly... Erin can hear her perfectly....."Thank you."

That lady just moves her lips and the distance between Erin and that lady is about a meter. It's impossible to hear what she said. Somehow, Erin's ears heard her words perfectly when others are still in their own world thinking about what's going on.

They aren't harsh words. Only a Thank You. But somehow Erin is scared since the person who said them has a devilish and ugly look on her face. Very ugly...

That lady isn't laughing, but somehow Erin can hear laughter from her heart. Erin never knew that she could even hear people's inner sounds. But it's not a hallucination. She can hear that woman's laugh.

What's happening to her?

"I will take it from here." That lady whispers again! And Erin hears her words this time too.

Can't anybody else hear what she's whispering?

Erin doesn't know who this lady is and why she is even here. But she can guess pretty easily that her presence isn't a good sign. A war has just ended. But her very presence is declaring the beginning of a new war!

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"Haah! Haah! What...what was.. that just now?!"

Diana is huffing and sweating a lot. After such a long time, she has had a vision and that too a perfect one!! What kind of catastrophe is coming?

She touched herself and tried to feel her chest. "I could feel her pain, agony and...that...FEAR!! Is that woman coming back?"

She looks at the picture hanging on the wall. A girl with wavy blond hair and a sweet smile on her face looking at Diana. Eyes are pure as an angel's and yet sadness lingering in them. Diana hasn't forgotten about her. She hasn't forgotten anything, although she prays every day for them to vanish!!

But it seems God hates Diana. Yet she begged Him! Just one wish!! Whatever happens, don't bring her back!