Valerian Empire

Year 1834

The round golden moon emitted light as clouds passed by, a few of them trying to hide the moon but only to be blown away by the wind.

It was like any other night for the villagers who lived in between Valeria, the West empire and Mythweald, the South Empire, near a bank of a river. Each empire had their own villages and towns, however, it was yet to be decided as to which empire this specific piece of land would belong to.

Lamps and lanterns were lit around their small houses while the forest they were surrounded by had turned dark after dusk. In one of the houses, a little girl of age six lived with her parents, who was now petting her newfound rabbit which she had received from her father. She had often seen the little fur of animals hopping in the forest but had never got the chance to pet it so closely. She was running her little hand across its white fur when she heard her mother call for her.

“Katie!” her mother called for her, panic in her voice.

The little girl got up from where she sat, picking up the rabbit in her arms and walking out of the little room to meet her mother. Her mother looked scared as she kept looking behind at the door.

“Honey,” her mother said bending down to meet the little girl’s eye, “I want you to stay in here, close the door and do not open it until your papa or I come to get you.”

“Where are you going?” she asked looking at her mother, her brown eyes questioning.

At the same moment, the shrill cry of a woman echoed outside, making both the mother and the daughter look towards the window. The worried mother held her daughter’s face in both her hands to gain her attention.

“Katie, my sweetheart,” she whispered softly to her little daughter, “Remember papa and mama will always love you. Take care, my child,” she said as a pool of tears formed in her eyes, placing a kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

She knew she had no time to explain, and even if she did, would her little one understand? Katie had grown up with so much tenderness and love. She was at an age when the young bud was meant to blossom into a beautiful flower, but fate was inevitable. What she didn’t know was that something more dangerous was heading their way. Someone banged at the door loudly while the area filled with screams of women and men.

“Hide!” the woman cried and the little girl scrambled to hide under the bed.

The little girl knew something was wrong and wanted to know what was going on but her mother had told her to hide. The cries outside the house and the loud banging at the door frightened her as she brought the animal closer to her chest. She then heard the sound of the room’s door crash which was followed by a numbing silence. Katie got out of her hiding, to peek at the hall but was confused to see a man holding her mother, who had his teeth sunk into her neck. A small trail of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he drank he fed her blood.

“M-mama?” she called out for her mom who looked lifeless. There was no smile on her face and her eyes looked empty. Her mother was long gone and was just a piece of flesh now.

Hearing her speak, the man who was feeding on the woman snapped his gaze at the little girl standing at the door. Licking his lips, he threw the woman he had in his arms on the ground as he stalked the girl in front of him with a crazed smile. His bright red eyes shining with excitement while thinking about the fresh prey that stood in front of him now.

“A little girl as a treat for a vampire,” the man said seeing her bolt towards another room but he was faster, “A small helpless human under a vampire’s pity. It wouldn’t be so if your kind had listened to us but look what they have brought on themselves. I’m going to enjoy drinking your sweet blood.”

Katie didn’t say anything but backed away slowly as her hands trembled with fear. She was cornered and had nowhere else to go now. When the man in front of her lunged for her, she squeezed her eyes shut waiting to be hurt but nothing happened except for the sound of a snap in the air and a thud sound on the ground. Opening her eyes slowly she saw that the man was lying on the ground. Moving her gaze upwards, she found herself staring at a pair of dark red eyes unlike the eyes of the one lying on the ground.

Both of them stared at each other, one with a scared expression while the other out of curiosity, eyeing the animal in her hand. When the tall man took one step forward, the little girl spoke,

“Please don’t kill it,” she whispered holding the rabbit close to her chest.