The Vampire King's Bride

Chapter 12

Landing hard on my back, I lay still for a moment processing what I had just witnessed. If that little girl was me, did that mean the parents were my parents?

Filled with determination, I got to my feet ready to go back in, but the middle door had vanished and only two doors remained.

Walking forward, I stood in front of the door on the left. I didn’t know what was behind this one, but I hoped for an explanation to what I saw in the previous door.

Swinging the door open, I was immediately pulled into a whirlwind of water. My clothes soaked completely through as I was tossed around like a washing machine tosses around clothes.

I washed up on the grass beside a river. It seemed to be the same river as before but different, maybe further upstream to the cottage. It was hard to say. There was a giant mansion resting atop a cliff a few yards in front of me. Looking around, my eyes landed on some stairs that zigzagged all the way up the cliff. That was my way to the top.

As I reached the top, I saw a pool in the middle of the yard. That same little girl was standing by the edge of the pool. As she waved her hand over the pool, the water responded following her hand in waves.

Her father appeared from the back door, rushing over to her.

‘Cordelia!’ he called, grabbing hold of her hands.

That little girl was me; this was my past. Maybe it would reveal what happened.

‘You know you can’t do that when we aren’t at home,’ he said, pulling her into a hug.

‘I’m sorry daddy,’ she muttered.

‘That’s alright, just try not to do it again.’

He grabbed hold of her hand and walked back inside the house. The way the younger version of me moved the water without touching it was not something I had ever seen before. I didn’t even know that I could do that to begin with.

Glancing up at the window, I saw a man standing in it just staring down at where the water in the pool still rippled slightly. I recognised that man. He looked younger here though. He even looked thinner, not as pudgy, and he had hair. That was Mr Akuma. What were my parents doing at his house?

The house faded away right before my eyes and the cottage reappeared again. Walking through the doorway, I could hear my parents fighting quietly amongst themselves. My younger self was sleeping away in her cot as they whispered.

‘He wants her,’ my mum said.

‘I’m sure he thinks of her as a niece.’

‘Are you sure he didn’t see her?’

‘I’m positive I got to her in time.’

‘He just seemed off when we left.’

‘Come, the sun will be coming up soon,’ my father gestured towards their bed.

Right before they moved, the front door crashed in, causing wooden splinters to fly everywhere. A loud noise followed as men stormed into the house wielding swords. They were vampires, you could tell by the way all their eyes were glowing red.

‘What’s going on?!’ yelled my father as they held a sword to him.

‘On your knees!’ the man growled, pushing my mother and father to the ground.

‘I’m sorry to barge in like this, but we have a pressing matter we must discuss.’

My five-year-old self was being held by a man and she struggled to get away.

Mr Akuma approached her, rested his hand over her eyes and whispered sleep. Straight away she went to sleep, her body going limp.

‘Don’t you dare hurt her!’ yelled my mother.

‘I don’t want to hurt her. She’s more valuable to me alive.’

‘What?’

‘You see I know what she can do. I know she is the chosen one.’

“What are you talking about?’ my mother stammered.

‘Play dumb all you want, but I saw her today. She is the one chosen to have the ability to manipulate the element water.’

My mother and father went quiet, trying to figure out what to say.

‘She’s a very valuable little girl. You know how many people would pay millions to get their hands on her?’

‘Our daughter isn’t for sale!’

‘I’m not asking for permission,’ he waved his hand and the man with the sword swung down, completely decapitating my father.

I froze in place; Mr Akuma was the one responsible for killing my parents.

‘Please, just let me stay with her,’ my mother begged.

Mr Akuma waved his hand again and my mother’s life was cut short. He walked over to my parents, now lying on the floor.

‘Pity, two such purebred vampires and they went to waste.’

I wanted to strangle him, but as hard as I tried, my hands kept going right through him. This man found out what I could do and killed my parents to take me away.

‘What are you going to do with her now, boss?’ the man holding my five-year-old self asked.

‘Keep her.’

Everyone went silent at the answer, probably all assuming he was originally going to bargain and find someone that wanted me for a high price.

‘Why?’

‘She will make a beautiful bride one day for me. Having her by my side and I could kill the king if I wanted to.’

He was planning on using me. All along he used me every single day for everything, and he was always going to continue.

‘But for now we will make her forget.’

He rested his hand over my eyes once again and whispered.

‘No more memories of her parents aside from one or two. No memory of what occurred here tonight. No memory of what she can do. This lock will stay in place until the day when she is turned into a vampire. Then I will permit these memories to return.’

He released his hand and smiled up at the roof while his hair started to fall out.

‘Burn it.’

The scene faded, leaving me in the dark before I was thrown out of the door and landed heavily on the floor once again.