PRINCESS OF THE UNDERWORLD: BLOOD AND MOON

CHAPTER 3

ALINA STUART

“You must be very confused and afraid of all this, but you will get the answers you need, Alina.”

“How do you know my name?”

She turns her face and smiles at me, showing her sharp fangs.

“We know everything about you, Alina. Your birth, your family, your childhood in the orphanages, everything...”

I blink when she mentions my past and my family. I’ve always tried to find out who my parents are, but I never could.

“My name is Vanessa. I am a member of the council and the Order. I am here to take you to Marcos.”

“Who is he?”

She laughs as if my question is very funny to her.

“You will find out who he is, all in due time, Alina. I am here to guide you.”

We walk together down a hallway full of closed doors, and she opens one before inviting me to enter.

The mansion's walls are an almost black hue, matching the house’s aura of mystery and horror.

I hesitate. She looks at me with a serious expression before approaching me.

“Come in, Alina. Marcos will be here soon.”

“No. I want to go back to my home.”

She blinks as if trying to control her patience with me.

“Come in now. Don’t act like a child, Alina. We won’t hurt you yet, but I suggest you obey our orders, or the situation will become very painful for you.”, she whispers, pushing me into the room.

I blink, almost losing my balance from the force she used on me. She made just a simple movement, but she wanted to show the difference and power she holds.

She smiles at me before closing the door.

“I hope you enjoy your stay with us, Alina.”

I rush to the door as she closes it, and I widen my eyes when I hear her locking it.

“Open the door! Open the door! Someone help me!”, I shout, hitting the wood in front of me with all my strength.

I feel my hands hurting, but I don’t stop, and no one comes to help.

I put my hand on my pants and saw that the vampires had taken my phone, so I couldn’t call for help.

I close my eyes, pressing my forehead against the cold door, listening to the silence.

I don’t know Marcos, but something tells me he’s part of the Order of Vampires, some kind of stronger creature who wants me.

I open my eyes, looking around the room. The black curtains are closed, and I run to the window before pulling aside the heavy fabric to look down.

The height is very high, and I would easily die if I jumped to escape.

I can’t stay here. I feel tears wetting my face as I sit on the old-fashioned bed. The whole mansion seems to be thousands of years old.

I close my eyes, waiting, and nothing happens.

I feel my body aching, and I touch my forehead, seeing the dried blood against my skin.

I cry, hugging myself and feeling alone once again. Being here reminds me of the four orphanages I was in during my childhood and everything I endured.

“Don’t be afraid, princess...”, a voice whispers, and I lift my head, feeling a shiver run down my body as I see a shadow in the corner of the room.

It’s dark, but I can see the ghost of a man sitting on the floor, looking at me.

It’s happening again.

“Who are you?”, I ask, my voice weak as I dry my eyes.

I never had friends or family, but ghosts have always been with me.

The man blinks, and I notice he’s wearing black clothes, old-fashioned attire from the past. I furrow my brow, seeing a mark on his neck.

There is blood on his hands, and he smiles at me, but it’s a sad smile, as if he’s remembering what happened to him.

“I am nobody. My life is lost, and it no longer matters. But you are different. You are still alive and can fight.”

“What are you talking about?”

Anyone would think I’m crazy for talking to someone dead, but only I can see them.

He raises his hand and points to my arm. I’m confused before pulling on my jacket and looking at the mark I’ve had on my skin forever.

“You are not alone. They did this to me, but you must not let the same thing happen to you, princess.”

Princess.

I never understood why everyone called me that.

The man stands and bows to me with royal reverence.

“Why is this happening to me? Why am I not normal?”, I ask, crying, and he moves closer before kneeling in front of me.

I blink, feeling his hand on my arm. I sigh, feeling the cold skin, and he turns his head. I widen my eyes when I realize the mark on his neck is a deep bite.

Vampire.

They did this to him in this place.

“You are special and different. They want your power. They want the one thing you’ve always had...”, he whispers, and I lower my head, looking at the mark on my arm.

Something that has never happened before is happening right now.

I remain still, watching the black mark on my arm start to burn my skin. I groan in pain as the dark lines deepen against my skin.

I moan louder, trying to make the pain stop, but I can’t. I fall to the ground, biting my lips hard as the pain takes over my body.

I roll my eyes, feeling the mark grow darker as if it’s moving.

“What’s happening to me?”, I ask, crying, and the ghost smiles at me as if he’s proud of something.

I moan more, feeling my skin burning as if I’m inside a fire. Lying on the ground, I feel tears blurring my vision, and I blink, touching the mark.

“Make it stop, make it stop...”, I beg, crying, and the man shakes his head.

“Burn it all, princess. The world needs the fire within you. Let everything burn...”, he whispers, and I writhe on the floor.

The pain increases, and I scream. Everything hurts; I can’t control it.

The mark on my arm is becoming a symbol I’ve never seen before. I scream more, hearing footsteps coming from the hallway.

The ghost disappears, and I continue lying on the floor, screaming louder and louder. I tremble, my eyes fixed on the room’s ceiling, and for a moment, I think I’m going to die.

The door opens, and someone runs toward me.

I feel a cold hand touching my arm, and I scream again.

“It’s happening. Call Marcos now! Immediately!”, I can hear Vanessa’s voice.

“What’s happening to me?”, I ask, crying, looking at the vampire woman beside me.

“Your mother condemned you to hell, and we are the only ones who can help you, Alina.”

What?

“Prepare the other room. We don’t have much time, and we need her blood now!”, she shouts to someone, and I widen my eyes.

They’re going to kill me.

I grunt with pain again as someone tries to lift me and take me out of the room. The pain in my arm continues to dominate me, and I blink before screaming once more.

I feel something is happening to me.

The vampire holds me, preventing my body from falling to the ground, and I turn my head, seeing the same ghost looking at me from the corner of the room.

“Call them, princess. Call them...”, he whispers, and I try to resist as the vampire pulls me out.

“Call the Twilight Protectors, call the Night Watchers, call the Knights of the Night...”, he whispers, referring to something I don’t know.

I lose my balance, and I feel the vampire holding me tightly before taking me to the hallway and pushing through another door.

But it’s not a room.

It’s a dark place with many torture instruments. I blink, feeling the pain ease a little, and I sigh, blinking my eyes.

There’s a kind of chair with many wires connected, and I realize what’s going to happen. I have no other choice.

“Knights of the Night...”, I whisper, tears filling my eyes as I’m forced to sit in the chair.

Vanessa looks at me with superiority, ordering the vampires to bind me.

I close my eyes tightly, feeling my heart pound in my chest.

“Knights of the Night, Knights of the Night, come to me...”, I continue whispering, feeling my hands and legs being tied.

“Marcos should be arriving soon, and we need to start the plan to extract her blood now.”

I pull at my wrists, and I see a vampire approaching with a needle filled with white liquid.

“Stop! Stop! No!”, I scream as the thin needle penetrates my arm vein.

It doesn’t take long before I feel very dizzy and weak. I keep struggling against the leather straps around my wrists, but I’m trapped.

Everything seems to spin around me, but before I faint, I can hear Vanessa’s voice.

“Her blood is our only chance against them. The world will finally be ours. We have the princess under our control...”

“Knights of the Night...”, I whisper one last time.

15 YEARS AGO

I turn my face as the first slap hits my cheek hard with the impact of Jenny's hand.

I feel tears in my eyes, and I bring my hand to the bruised part of my face. It hurts, but I know this won’t be the worst part.

This was just the first slap.

“Come on, Alina! Confess that you broke the window glass for Mrs. Peterson. She’ll love that...”, Jenny says with a cruel smile, and I shake my head.

“I didn’t do it. I didn’t do anything...”, I whisper, and she moves closer to me, while the other children laugh harder at me.

I hug my body, feeling cold as they torment me for something I didn’t do. Jenny broke the window in Mrs. Peterson’s room while playing with a ball.

I saw it, but no one would ever believe me.

“Of course you did! Everything is always your fault, Alina! You’re the weird girl who talks to the dead!”, she shouts, pushing me to the ground hard.

I groan as I hit my back against the ground. I try to get up, but Alina’s friend approaches before hitting my face.

I cover my face with my hands, trying to protect myself as they continue laughing at me, and I cry on the floor.

“I didn’t do anything... stop... please...”

“Look at you. See how weak and ugly you are. No one will want to adopt a girl like you.”, her words hurt me more than her hands.

“Now get up and go tell Mrs. Peterson what you did! Come on, Alina!”, she screams, pulling me roughly.

“No! No! She’ll put me on the silent wall again, Jenny. I didn’t do anything!”

She moves closer to me with a smile, and I cry more, feeling the pain on my face.

“That’s your place—the place where weird people like you should stay forever, Alina. You will be alone forever.”

I shake my head, feeling my heartache as the other children enjoy my suffering.

I cry, hearing the sound of heels, and I widen my eyes, hearing Mrs. Peterson approaching everyone.

I turn, seeing the irritated expression on her face.

“What’s going on here this time?”, she screams, looking at me angrily, and I touch my face.

“Alina broke the window in your room, Mrs. Peterson.”, a child says, and I shake my head, screaming as I feel her hand grabbing my arm.

“I didn’t do anything... I didn’t do anything...”

“What am I supposed to do with you, Alina? I can’t stand this anymore! I want everyone in the room now!”

She takes me to the place I hate most in the world. I explain what happened, but she doesn’t believe me, and I scream as she leaves me trapped behind the Silent Wall.

“Please! I didn’t do anything! Please!”, I shout, banging my hands against the wall.

I cry, hugging my body, waiting for the hours to pass quickly so I can get out, but something catches my attention.

There’s a shadow sitting in the dark. I blink, seeing that it doesn’t look like a ghost this time. It’s the shadow of a person.

A man.

He lifts his head and looks at me. I can’t see his face, but I can see his blue eyes watching me.

“Don’t worry, princess. They will all pay a very high price for hurting you...”, he whispers in a mysterious voice, and I wipe my eyes.

“Who are you?”

“Your protector.”

“Then why don’t you do anything when they do this to me? Why do you let this happen?”, I cry, and he just looks at me.

“Because you are much stronger than you think, princess. I will always be here with you. I will teach you everything you need to know so you never suffer again...”

I blink, seeing a shiny ring on the man’s finger, and he keeps touching it.

“Do you promise to never leave me?”

“I promise, princess.”

“Why do they all call me princess?”

The man smiles at me with a toothless smile and continues hiding his face in the shadows, but I can see his black hair falling over his blue eyes.

“Because that’s what you are. A princess.”, he whispers, and I frown, confused by his compliment.