Bloodcrest

Episode 1

I sat up in my bed and looked at my calendar before leaping out of bed with glee. Today was my 18th birthday! I ran down the stairs of our simple farmhouse and excitedly entered the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen, my father and mother were already standing there with huge smiles on their faces as they both exclaimed in unison, “Happy birthday, Lucifera!” I couldn’t help but smile as I rushed into their arms feeling as happy as anyone could be. My mother, Lucilla Bloodcrest, was the first to break the embrace by saying, “Alright, you two. Let’s eat!” I turned around to look at the table and saw all of my favorite foods. My mouth instantly started watering when I caught sight of the french toast with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I instantly sat down, said my thanks for the wonderful food, and enjoyed the meal with my family. After some time, my father, Grantianus, stood up and exited the room. When he came back, he had a large gift box in his hands. I gasped in surprise at how large it was and could barely contain my excitement. After he set it down in front of me, he went and stood beside my mom who was sitting in a chair. With a nod of encouragement from both of them, I opened the box and gasped. Inside the box was a lovely black dress with dark red embroidery as well as a built-in corset and a black choker with a big dark red gemstone in the middle. I couldn’t help but smile. I stood up and gave them both a hug and said, “Thank you both! I love you so much!” They happily returned the hug and replied, “You’re very welcome, dear. We love you too!” We stayed like that until they encouraged me to go put them on. I went straight up to my room to put them on and once I did, I couldn’t help looking at myself in the mirror. My waist-length black hair fell perfectly into place, my fair skin had no blemishes to be seen and my eyes were a beautiful red. Finally, I put on my black high heels to match my dress and dark red lipstick to match my eyes. I returned to the kitchen to show my parents, who smiled in approval. I danced around the kitchen before asking my parents, “May I go to town?” They froze and looked at each other with wide eyes before saying, “No, honey. It’s not safe.” I stopped in my tracks and stared at them before asking, “Why not? I’m eighteen years old now. I’m not a little kid anymore.” My father put on a stern face and said, “We said no and that’s final.” My mother touched his arm and said kindly, “Maybe she can go for a little bit with Rufus.” Rufus was my guard and one of my father’s friends. My father looked at my mother before relaxing his shoulders and saying, “Very well. Rufus!” Rufus was in the kitchen faster than I could say “mice” and was already standing at attention waiting for my father’s order. My father said sternly, “ I want you to take my daughter into town and keep your eyes on her at all times, am I clear?” After he said that and I could have sworn I saw his eyes flash into a bright, ice blue with a slit where there should have been a circular pupil before it returned to normal. I shrugged the thought off, thinking I was just seeing things. Rufus stared into my father’s eyes before nodding and saying, “Crystal.” I hugged both my parents with glee and said, “Thank you!” My parents smiled at me and said, “ You’re welcome. Now be safe and stay near Rufus at all times.” I smiled back and said, “Yes, mother and father. We’ll be back before you know it.” After that, I was helped into the wagon by Rufus and we were heading towards the town. I was so excited about going to the town that I could barely sit still in the wagon. By the time it slowly came into view, I could hardly contain my excitement.

The town is called Moonbright and it is known for its Moonlit Ale. It’s said that if you drink the Moonlit Ale on the night of a full moon you will gain magical powers. Other than that, I don’t know much about the town. As Rufus turned down the main street where all the stores were, I couldn’t help looking into them because of all the items that were on display and I was so focused that I didn’t notice that Rufus had stopped the wagon and had his hand held out to me waiting for me to get down. Rufus cleared his throat loudly, which brought my attention back to what we were doing. I took his hand and gracefully climbed out of the wagon before smiling gratefully at Rufus. Afterward, I looked up at the store he had stopped in front of and noticed it was a cafe. The name looked to say Midnight Break and was written in such fancy, yet beautiful font that I almost couldn’t make it out. I looked at Rufus and asked, “Is it alright if we go in and take a look?” Rufus looked down at his watch before checking to make sure the money that my parents gave him was still there and replied, “Of course, we can, but keep in mind that we should head back before sundown.” I smiled and excitedly entered the cafe. The cafe’s theme seemed to be a starry night. The tables were decorated with midnight blue tablecloths with stars all over, in the center were candles with a cover that had stars cut into them as well, and the chairs matched well with the moon on the cushions. The room was dimly lit due to the candles being the only source of light in the entire room. The walls were painted black, aside from a mural of the night sky on a wall near the windows, and you could see it no matter where you stood in the room. After admiring the room for a few minutes, we sat down at one of the tables nearest to the mural. Not long after we sat down, a waitress with a friendly smile, short blonde hair, and green eyes came to our table. She started after handing us the menu, “Hello, my name is Nora and I’ll be serving you today. Let’s start with your drinks. What would you like to drink, Madam?” I smiled back and said, “I’ll drink the Frozen Stardust.” Nora smiled and replied, “Very good choice, Madam! What would you like to drink, Sir?” Nora turned to Rufus, waiting for a reply. Rufus was silent for a bit before saying, “I’m just here to keep her company for her father’s sake. I pouted before saying, “Rufus, you are a friend to my father as well as a friend to me. I would like it if you’d order a drink and relax with me before we have to go back home.” Rufus stared at me silently for a moment before looking at the menu and saying, “I’ll have the Silent Whisper.” Nora smiled and said, “Very well. I’ll have your drinks out as soon as possible.” She took the menu and disappeared into the back. I couldn’t stop admiring the cafe because of how unique and lovely it was. After about five minutes, Nora came with a tray that held our drinks. She said, “Here’s your Frozen Stardust, Madam, and your Silent Whisper, Sir.” We thanked her and she went away again after saying, “ Let me know if you need anything.” My drink was ice blue with star-shaped ice cubes and what looked like little flakes of gold. Rufus’s drink was a dark purple with swirls of white inside of it as well as froth at the top. I decided to take a sip of my drink and was surprised by how refreshing my drink was. It tasted like berries and it felt very cool on my tongue. Sadly, we finished our drinks and had to leave. I smiled and waved to Nora before we walked away from the cafe. I looked at the sky before sighing, knowing that we had to return home now. Rufus helped me up into the wagon before climbing upfront and turning us around to head home. I was so distracted from looking around that I didn’t notice anything until Rufus pulled hard on the reins and the wagon jerked hard. After that, I looked up to see what was going on, but Rufus pushed my head down and whispered, “Stay down.” I felt the wagon sway as Rufus got down and then heard a lot of yelling. Rufus’s voice came out emotionless and calm as he tried to soothe the situation. I heard more shouting, what sounded like fighting, and then silence. The wagon swayed again, which caused me to look up and I was grateful to see that Rufus was standing there. I smiled to assure him I was fine, then he turned around, flicked the reins and we were back on the road to go home. As we started moving away, I looked down and saw four thugs lying motionless on the road. From what I could see, it looked like they weren’t alive anymore. I quickly snapped my head away from the sight and stared down at my hands.