“Mommy, tell me a story”

“Okay sweetie, I think this time I will tell you the story of Princess Liliana. It may be a bit sad but its a story that a good friend of mine told me a long time ago”

“You mean aunty?”

“Yeah, it was her. Now listen closely, okay?”

“Yes!”

“This story begins in a faraway land where a beautiful kingdom flourished. The king had a loving family with his wife and five kids. Liliana was the fifth princess of this kingdom and was the most loved of her siblings due to her kind heart. As time passed the first prince grew jealous of her and even feared she would take his right as the heir. Because of this when Liliana had her sixteenth birthday his plan was set in action.

The prince had contacted an evil magician to curse his sister and transform her into a monster. However, for this plan to be effective the princes had to drink the blood of a family member during a full moon. It so happens that during her birthday a party would be conducted at night bellow a full moon.

The prince asked his sister to take a walk with him during the party through the garden where the evil mage waited. He had filled a glass with his own blood in preparation for the ritual. As the moon reached the highest point in the sky he offered the glass with blood to his sister. Due to the darkness, she couldn’t discern the contents of the glass, however, her brother would never harm her, right?

As she drank the contents the mage walked out his hiding spot and chanted the curse. The moon high in the sky grew red in colour resembling blood as the princes held her throat. The prince, on the other hand, began bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

[What did you do to me!]

The prince screamed in anger at the mage as he continued to bleed uncontrollably. The pain he was feeling was unbearable not to mention the dizziness from blood loss. The princess’s eyes turned red and her hair changed from a golden blonde to a silver-white. The blood of the prince flowed inside Liliana’s mouth and down her throat despite attempts at resistance.

[You asked me to turn your sister into a monster. That is what I am doing, I will turn her into the worst monster this world has ever seen. She will destroy this kingdom and my vengeance will be complete!]

The evil mage laughed maniacally as he looked at his handiwork. Soon enough the prince died of blood loss and became an empty carcase. The princess, on the other hand, had grown cold as her heart felt the pain of betrayal. She looked at the mage with anger and hunger. She had changed, she had become a monster. One that feeds from blood,

[You, my greatest creation. I shall call you: vampire, the queen of bloodshed!]

As the mage rejoiced his throat was cut. Princess Liliana killed him with her bare hands and drank his blood. She couldn’t stop herself, the curse demanded blood. After that, she massacred the people she once loved including her family. Some rose from the dead as mindless minions under her command.

In time she learned to control her thirst and made a new kingdom. One where only the dead walked the streets. One day, a kind man changed her heart and she fell in love. However, the man was killed later on as he was deemed a heretic by other humans. In her anguish and pain, Liliana declared war on humanity. She fought to her last breath and a hero took her life.

Aunty said back then that despite this story being a sad one there was a lot to learn from it. First, evil will only bring evil. Jealousy, envy, greed among others are poison to the soul and will only bring ruin. Second, no matter how many crimes someone has committed they can still be saved. Just how that gentleman changed Liliana for good even if only for a moment. That is why you should never hold a grudge. This doesn’t mean you should forget about the wrongs others do to you. But at least you should be willing to forgive them”

“If that man wasn’t killed could Liliana become human once more?”

“I don’t think so. However, she might have become a good and kind person again”

“Mommy, do you think aunty would forgive you?”

“I am not sure but I would like to think so. Well, it’s growing late so go to sleep”

“But I want to hear another story!”

“Tomorrow my sweet Lilith. After all, mommy won’t go anywhere you know?”

“Fine”

Lilith closed her eyes and went to sleep as her mother tucked her in bed and kissed her cheek. Outside the room, Lilith’s father was drinking some tea while waiting for his beloved wife. Not long after the woman took a seat with a cup of tea in hand.

“Is she asleep”

“Yeah, our sweet angel is sleeping peacefully”

“I think we will have to move again soon”

“It has only been two weeks, have they found us already?”

“Lizz, you know we can’t stay anywhere for long. Even if they don’t find us it’s better this way. We don’t know when we will be attacked again”

“I know Dan, it’s just that. She is just ten, she hasn’t been able to make friends and the constant travelling has caused her to have a weak body”

“I know honey. I worry about her health too but we have to worry about her safety even more”

“Yea, I know”

The room became quiet as both of them looked at the cup in their hands. The had been on the run for over twelve years now. The consequence of forbidden love. A demon and a human were never meant to be together and as such, they have been hunted for a long time. Suddenly they heard loud marching from outside their little hut and then a booming voice resounded through the place.

“Daniel O'Brien, for your betrayal to humanity and the alliance as well as the sin of conceiving a monster child with a demon us the Fifth division of the Thamieul bandguard come to deliver your sentence which is death!”

In an instant, Dan took his shield and sword while shouting for his wife to scape alongside his beloved daughter. This was a plan the both had devised a long time ago. If they ever to be caught Dan would buy time for the two of them to escape. Without a second thought, Lizz took her giant axe and dashed inside her daughter’s room waking her up while opening the window. The sight drained all hope from her heart as she saw more than fifty armoured men outside waiting for them as the clashing of swords could be heard in the adjacent room.

Knowing that there was no way for scape she chose to go for plan B. With practised moves she took out a scroll from her clothes that had a weird inscription on it. She quickly handed it to Lilith while saying.

“Honey listen, there is no time. Use the scroll to scape, the chant is: By the magic inscribed in this scroll I beg of thy to bring me to a safe place”

“Mommy, where's daddy? what is happening?”

“There is no time to listen to me and use the scroll!”

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to separate from mommy!”

Suddenly the door to the room broke open, A large man walked in with a menacing grin on his face. Looking past him many armoured men lay dead on the floor, however, one of them was Dan. With heartache, Lizz prepared to buy enough time for her daughter to scape.

“Lilith there is no time! Do as mom says! Please I beg you!”

“Mommy! I-I am sorry! By the magic inscribed in this scroll, I beg of thy to bring me to a safe place”

A bright flash of light illuminated the room for a brief moment before dying down. Where once stood alone child there was nothing more than empty space. Her mother sighed in relief as she prepared herself for combat with a smile on her face. The fight was brutal as she continued to kill despite the injuries that continued to appear on her body. Finally, she died after bringing twenty soldiers along with her. Her smile never left her face as her beloved daughter had managed to scape.

Somewhere deep inside a dark forest, the red and blue moon shone with light as a child appeared out of nowhere. beautiful face stained with tears as her brown hair fluttered on the chilly breeze. She continued to cry begging for her mommy and daddy to come back. Begging to whatever god may be out there for the safety of her family. As she remembered all the beautiful memories she had built over her short life with her parents. Her heart ached with an indescribable pain she had never felt before.

She missed the warmth of her mother’s hugs. She missed the excitement of being carried by her father on his shoulders. She missed, their warm smiles and even their scolding when she was bad. She missed them so much even though they hadn’t been apart for more than a few minutes. Despite being a child she understood, she understood she would never be able to live moments like those ever again. The pain in her heart was driving her crazy as she didn’t know what to do but cry. She cried and cried until her little body couldn’t handle the stress and pain any more.

“Mommy, daddy, please, please, come back, please don’t leave me. Mommy, daddy, I am scared, I promise I will be good so please. I am sorry, I am sorry”

She soon fell asleep while begging for her parents to come back. Despite knowing they would never be able to.