When Darkness Meets Light

Drustan (King of the Dragon’s) The sun rose early over the Kingdom of Dragon's. I came out to see the sunrise. It’s warmth doing nothing to help the chill that I had been feeling. My own people are dying off more and more by the day.. They used to be a people of air, land, and Sea, but that was before the war. A war that was started when a Vampire King murdered my Grandfather. Both Kings have been friends and comrades. Until that day… Not long after, war came and the King of the Vampires was killed as well. Now we have no contact with each other. Except when a Dragon is found on land. They don’t control the seas completely. So that ended up being our saving grace. Most of what we live off of comes from the ocean and anything that we can grow here, but it’s barely enough. Now my people are crammed into their capital, which by magic, stays suspended in air. We survive, yes. We’re resilient…but is surviving living? I go into my room and started to prepare for my day. I catch myself in the mirror. My own face looks tired. My skin is a dark tan and my hair is lightened by the sun. So much time outside and on my dragon being the source of that. I am my father’s son with eyes as blue as the ocean that we use to survive. Our similar appearance is the only thing that I have left of him. He died when I was barely a teen. Our last raid in an attempt to secure some land for ourselves. The Vampire King at the time did not budge. My Kingdom lost another King and I grew up without a father. Now I hear that they want to open a line of communication with us. An elegant letter came last week addressed to me. I should have burned it…but something stopped me. They’ve had a change in rulers. I hear that they have a queen. A Vampire Princess turned queen. She was their first born and favored by her people over her brothers. Her wit and her kindness have even reached my own ears. Today I have a meeting with her. She is the first matriarch of a generation that has reached out to have a meeting. War costs. Both money and lives. Dragons may be proud, but I value my people. I hear a knock at my door and heard who it was. My third in command, Castellan. We trained together in school and he has proved himself to be faithful, cunning, and has saved my life more than once. He is also called my third as he flays to my left as we fly into batle. I went to the door and opened it. “My King, are you prepared for this? What if an attempt is made on your life?” We began to walk to the outside area where our dragons are kept. “If they wanted to kill me, then they would have found another way to kill me. They know that we would burn more of their land to the ground if they tried that.” “That might be so, my King… but..” I put up my hand to stop him. “The letter said to bring as many men as I need to feel comfortable. They also gave me a way to invade their capital, but I’m choosing not to…we might be proud, but this survival has to end.” My third merely nodded. We headed outside to our dragon’s. Mine is golden, a sign of royal blood. I see my second in command, Luke, is here...better late than never. He’s looking a little worse for wear. He’s drinking something that smells like strong coffee. Probably spent the night out partying. I have one that keeps me alive and one that forces me to have fun and gives great consuel. Both are needed. I don’t have a Queen yet. So, I share the burden of ruling with them. We all take off and head toward land. The bright colors of the landscape come into view. I can see both humans and vampires moving about their day. I saw the looks of fear on their faces as they saw us approaching. We’ve burned their villages. I don’t blame them for their fear. We land in their front courtyard and I expect them to want to take our weapons right away. Instead, a young, male vampire puts his hands up for us to stop. “You can keep your weapons.” I look to my second and he gives me a perplexed look. “I am Gavin, third Prince… I’ve been instructed to bring you to my sister. Our queen.” “I am..” He simply gave me a small smile. “I know who you are. Please come this way. We want to keep you in the safety of our castle. The open air…it’s” “Safety, right..” says my third, giving the Vampire a look of disgust. “Hold your tongue…we’re guests here.” I said, stopping a fight before one started. Both sides have lost many friends and family. The hate for each other runs deep in most, but this boy is quite young. He might not have been entirely infected with that just yet. Which is probably why the queen sent him to greet us. He takes us inside and I see the vampire castle on the inside for the first time. I’ve dreamt of the outside many times. In most of those dreams, I burn it to the ground for all of the lives lost and strife caused by these blood suckers. Everywhere I look, there is light and beauty. Art on every wall. Sculptures and large windows. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the previous queen was human. She surely brought life into this place. It doesn’t look how I would imagine a vampire castle would. He takes me into a library and I have to try hard not to laugh. “My sister will be right with you.” He says before giving us a half bow and leaving. I walked in and admired the size. Most of our libraries are small. The space is used for other purposes. I enjoyed reading as a boy, but I had to put away such pleasures with my father’s early death. I walk further in and I see a few library keepers putting books back. In the center, there is a woman with a book of golden color. Even with her head down, I can see that she is stunning. What do they feed the women that dwell on the land here? This woman looks like something from a painting… Her skin is pale, but not vampire pale. So she’s human then. Her eyes are a rich brown color with specs of gold. Her hair is black and curled, half of it being up. She has high cheekbones and full pink lips. Her expression is one of concentration as she continues to read. “Do all the women here look like models from a painting, or is that just you?” Asks my second, Luke. Of course, he wouldn’t pass up the chance of hitting on a woman. Even though he’s still hung over from last night. The woman looks up and smiles and she looks like she’s trying to hold back a laugh. “…well… after you hear what I have to offer,, you’ll have to go down to land and find out…” What I have to offer…. Oh s**t, this is the Queen!… And my second in command just hit on her. Where are her guards, or her announcers? This feels too casual. Not formal enough for a vampire. All three of us are shocked into silence and she sees our expression and I believe she knows exactly what she’s doing. “Come this way please.” She gets up, moving with grace, as she lifts up the book. She walked ahead of us. Her body is curvy and that of a woman…her hips slightly away as she walks and I have to force my brain not to focus on her body. I notice now that she is in a simple gown of deep red. No real jewels or show of wealth. Who is this queen? She leads us into a parlour where food and drinks have been set up. There are servants nearby as well. “Please take a seat and make yourselves comfortable.” There are fruits, vegetables, and meats of every kind. Meat is something that we rarely get and it’s not this fresh when we do. “Do you think that you can simply bribe us with good food?” Spits out my third. I go to correct him. Whether he likes it or not, he is speaking to a queen and he could lose his head for speaking like that to her. She raises a hand to stop me. “Not bribery, but a show of what should be shared and what I hope will be shared.” My third looks stunned by this. Not what any of us were expecting. Warmth. From a Vampire Queen. “I apologize for the informal introduction, but I was hoping that less of a show would accomplish more…my name is Queen Aimee and I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance.” She said this and made a half bow. A full bow is one of respect and honor. A half bow is done between equals and friends as greetings. To assume friendship is arrogant, but I don’t expect anything less from this Vampire Queen. “I am King Drustan and this is my second, Luke, and my third, Castellan”. I followed her lead and answered her half bow. “Your highness, my comments earlier…I..was unaware of your status…” my second goes to apologize and she stops him. “No harm was done.” She said with a small smile. “…and as for your comment earlier,” she said while turning towards Castellan, “I appreciate your honesty. Even if it’s brutal. I’ve rid this place of as many snakes as I could find. I don’t plan on adding anymore.” Castellan looks shocked before saying, “Thank you, your Highness.” “Shall we sit?” She asks before gesturing towards the chairs.