CHAPTER 2
2002 Words
CLAIRE FRASER
I push the wooden door open, and as soon as I enter, I realize that my father has already arrived.
He is sitting near the table, his calloused hands gripping a piece of bread.
His rigid and worried gaze quickly fixes on me.
“God, where have you been?”
My body trembles, and when I open my mouth to say what happened, I feel the tears wetting my face again.
“Dad...”
“Claire...”
I see him get up and approach me, gently touching my face.
“What were you doing near the vampires after curfew? Do you know how dangerous that is...?”
I don’t want to cry. I don’t want to show weakness, but the pressure of the whole night weighs on me.
“Dear...”
“I... I hate the vampires, Dad. I wish for a world without them.”
My father furrows his brow, his gaze softening a little.
“What did they do to you?”
I can feel the anger in his voice.
“Claire, tell me what they did to you...”
I shake my head, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Nothing... because a werewolf saved me. But he must be dead now.”
My father sighs, running one of his hands through his gray hair.
He never liked werewolves, but he never saw them as the monsters the vampires want everyone to believe they are.
“God must be taking care of his soul now...”, he whispers, and I nod my head.
“Are you okay now?”, he asks finally, and I just nod, still holding back the tears.
But then I notice something strange.
He’s paler than usual, and there’s sweat on his forehead.
His face is tense, as if he’s holding back some deep pain.
“Dad...? What happened?”
He forces a weak smile.
“Nothing, dear. Just the usual hard work. Now go rest; you had a rough day.”
I don’t believe him, but I know insisting now won’t help.
My father is stubborn, and when he decides something, it’s impossible to make him change his mind.
So, reluctantly, I walk to my small room and remove my clothes before putting on my nightgown.
It takes a long time before I manage to fall asleep, but I sleep still thinking about everything that happened and the man who saved me.
I groan, turning my head on the bed, when I hear the sound of glass breaking inside the cabin.
I open my eyes before sitting up in bed and looking around, seeing that it’s still night.
“Dad?”
I get out of bed, and then I hear my father’s groans of pain.
I run out of the room, barefoot, my cold feet against the wooden floor.
The sound comes from the living room, near the fireplace.
“Dad?”
When I reach the living room, I see my father bent on the floor, gripping his shoulder tightly.
By the firelight, I can see his face marked by pain.
“Dad!”
I scream, running to him and kneeling beside him.
“What’s happening?!”
Then I see it.
My heart stops, and I can’t breathe for a second when I see the bite mark on his shoulder.
A vampire’s bite.
“No... no, no, no...”, I whisper, feeling the tears in my eyes again.
My father lets out a scream of pain, his veins beginning to darken.
“You were bitten...”
He grows paler with his hand on his chest, and I don’t know what to do.
“Dad, tell me how I can help you...”
“Claire... run.”
My eyes fill with tears.
I know what’s happening. He’s transforming.
“No!”
“Dad, please, resist!”
He contorts once more, his nails growing into sharp claws, his eyes gaining a red glow.
He growls louder, and I see the sharp teeth growing in his mouth.
“Claire... please... run...”
He forces the words out, his voice almost inhuman.
But I can’t. I can’t just abandon him.
“I won’t leave you!”
I cry, holding his face, feeling his feverish skin under my fingers.
He lets out a wild roar and lunges at me.
I dodge at the last second, falling backward, my hands scraping along the wooden floor.
My father — or what he is becoming — turns to me, his expression filled with a murderous instinct.
“Dad...”, my voice is just a broken whisper.
He lunges again, and this time I can’t dodge completely.
His claws tear at my clothes, lightly cutting my skin. I scream, tears streaming down my face.
“Please...”, I beg.
For a moment, I see hesitation in his red eyes. Something inside him is still there. He’s still my dad.
He lets out an agonizing groan, bringing his hands to his head, as if trying to control himself. Then he speaks, his voice filled with pain.
“Claire... kill me.”
I keep shaking my head frantically.
“No! I can’t, I won’t!”
“You have to... before I hurt you.”
My hands find the dagger on his belt, but my body refuses to move. I can’t. I can’t do it.
“Please... forgive me...”, my father murmurs.
And then, before I can react, he grabs my hand and plunges the dagger deep into his own chest.
The scream that comes from my throat is soul-shattering.
“No! No!”
My father falls to the floor, his red eyes returning to the same eyes I’ve always known. He looks at me one last time, a small, weak smile on his lips.
“I love you, Claire...”
I scream in pain, holding his lifeless body, feeling all the warmth drain from him.
The tears fall uncontrollably, and an overwhelming emptiness takes over me.
My father is gone. Forever.
And now, more than ever, the hatred I feel for the vampires grows inside me.
“I will avenge you, Dad...”, I whisper, kissing his face as the tears continue to wet my face.
“I swear...”
I don’t know how long I stay on the floor holding my father’s body, but it’s still dark when I hear the sound of horses outside.
I furrow my brow, getting up and looking through the cabin’s window.
My eyes widen when I see many royal guards on horseback coming toward the cabin, holding torches of fire.
I look at my father’s body, remembering what happened in the village.
They’re here for me.
I dry my eyes, and then I see when a black horse appears among the others, and on top of it is a man with black hair and pale skin, wearing red attire.
But it’s the crown on his head that catches my attention.
The king.
He’s here.
“Find the girl! I want her alive!”
I step away from the window, not knowing what to do.
I run to the room where I find the sword my father made a few months ago.
I lock the cabin door, watching as the guards begin to knock forcefully.
“We know you’re in there, girl!”
I grip the sword tightly in my hands, and it doesn’t take long before the door is destroyed.
The guards enter, and I scream as they approach, trying to fight, but I can’t. They’re stronger.
“Let me go!”, I scream, being dragged out of the cabin.
The king dismounts from his horse, and I tremble as I feel his red gaze on me.
I’ve never seen him in person.
My father always said he was the cruelest vampire of all.
The guards hold me while I glare at him, feeling the tears on my face.
He’s much taller, and I see the ruby crown shining on his head.
“What do you want?”, I ask angrily, and a cruel smile grows on his lips.
“I knew I would find you...”, he whispers, looking at me with a strange kind of admiration.
“What are you going to do? Kill me?”, I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Not yet; I need you first.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!”, I shout, breaking free from the guard’s arms and hitting the king’s chest with all my strength.
Anyone else would be dead for doing that.
“You and they took everything from me! You ruined my life! I hate you!”, I scream, crying, remembering the death of my parents.
He grabs my wrists, pushing me against a tree with force, and I sob, feeling his hands holding me tightly.
“Little brave one, I knew that. Your hatred for me and the vampires won’t save you, human...”, he whispers very close to my face.
“Should we make her respect you, Your Majesty?”, one of the guards asks, and he shakes his head.
“She will learn to respect me, and I will teach her that...”
I shake my head, seeing how the other guard approaches holding shackles.
They’re going to take me.
“Your blood is more tempting than I imagined...”, he whispers, smelling my neck.
I can’t fight them.
“Take her now...”
I cry as I feel the chains being placed around my wrists.
“You’re mine now.”
“Not all the punishments in the world will make me bow before you!”, I shout, crying, and he just looks at me with a cynical gaze.
“Burn the cabin!”
“No! No!”
But it’s too late. I’m placed on a horse, watching as the guards begin to set fire to my house along with my father’s body.
The tears keep falling from my face without stopping as they take me toward the village.
I know what they will do to me.
The night is fading, and I know that vampires don’t walk in daylight.
I need to find a way to escape.
We’re still riding down the dirt road when my eyes fix on a cliff.
An idea comes to my mind, and I look at the surrounding guards.
One of them is on the same horse as me.
The king is ahead.
I feel my heart beating faster when I throw myself off the horse, hitting the ground hard.
I groan, feeling the pain in my head, and then I get up and start running.
“Catch the prisoner now!”
I cry, running faster with the shackles around my wrists.
I hear them running after me, and I try to run faster toward the sun.
I scream when I feel arrows flying in my direction, and one of them cuts my shoulder hard.
“I want the girl alive!”
I keep running, and the sun will be my ally.
They’re too close, and then my only way out is the cliff.
I scream as I throw myself toward the cliff.
I fall down, knowing I might die.
I try to hold on to something, but I close my eyes when I feel the impact of my body against the cold water, and everything goes dark around me.
I can’t open my eyes, and I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m sinking deeper, and I can’t get to the surface.
I’m dying. I don’t know if I’m delirious, but I can open my eyes, and then I see something swimming toward me.
Or someone.
It’s dark, and I feel my body giving up, but then I see a pair of golden eyes approaching.
My vision becomes blurry, and when I’m closing my eyes again, I feel a hand reaching for me.
Save me.
The only thing I feel is my body being pulled, and then everything goes dark again.
- Writer
