NOW
DRAGONS-I think about them all the time. Is there something wrong with that? In my visions they are black and red and gold. All have one, well maybe 2 similar characteristics-wings, and red eyes. There's nothing special about that, it just always came out that way.
In my fantasies I fly them over a world of complete flame. A red (rock) castle sits atop a similar looking mountain of red. It seemed as if rubies covered the windows, but as I flew closer I could make out the red stained glass. The gate opened showing the sharp spines on the bottom. The ruby red gown dragged on the floor as I walked towards the grand staircase, a surprising white against the red clay-like walls. As I open the door to my bedroom, a chill unlike what most feel sweeps past my face, blowing my raven hair and equally black headdress. As the wooden doors completely open I am faced with a handsome young man of about 16, my own age. He was where that spine- tingling chill came from, for he is as inhuman as I am.
His short, spiked, and raven hair, along with jet black eyes sent another chill. It seems those eyes could make mountains tremble with as much as a glance. He is sitting at my vanity; the mirror surrounded by candles lit show no more of him but a pale mist. I have known him for years yet he has never paid a "personal" visit to me before. I greet him with a sly and childish smile despite my want to slit his throat. "What do you want Christopher?" I say with relish as well as anguish. "What? Can't a pay my favorite fledging a visit?" "No." I reply. He knows the sheath on my back as well as the one under my wrist holds a knife. But that does not stop him from standing and advancing towards me, it never does. Graceful as any predator, he reaches for my hand as to kiss it in that oh so elegant stature.
I yanked it away with disgust and stared into his cold, lifeless eyes. "Someone is a little testy this evening, Alycia." he says, each word filled with venom. "Call me that again Christopher and I swear one of my daggers will be twisted slowly into your no longer beating heart," I reply. "My name is now and shall remain Rasika." He knows the seriousness in my tone is part of my deep hatred for him. "Oh, you are testy today aren't you? I came to warn you Rasika, of the danger that awaits you, even in this realm of yours. But, I'm afraid your tone has offended me, and I do not still feel the need to inform you of these dangers." He smiles a wicked grin and wave's good-bye, ready to leave. "Wait!" I yell. He puts his hand down and stairs longingly at me. "Do not look at me like that Christopher." He continues despite my request. "Please tell me of the 'dangers' you speak of." Seeming satisfied with my tone of apology, he sits on my bed. He glances towards the red velvet bed in a motion to sit. Gliding towards the bed I am aware of his eyes following me with what I could only guess was want, desire, and frightening curiosity.

Looking directly at me he said something I did not expect. "Would you ever consider coming back to New Mayhem?" "Why?" was my simple answer. Despite my eagerness for him to hurry and tell me of what he had implied, it was almost comfortable sitting there looking in those eyes, suddenly full of warmth and concern. As I swiftly look away he began talking of the dangers he had proposed before, ignoring the question still un-answered. "Aubrey has come to me concerned for you." I jerk my sight equal to his as he says the name. "It seems vampires left and right have been disappearing rapidly. Most believe it to be the work of a coven of vampire hunters, but few, including me know the truth. Andrella is alive." "What! I thought I took care of her years ago," my voice shaking with just the thought. "I am sorry to say it Rasika, but many have spotted her hunting," he said sadly. "How can this be?" I ask with a voice that unwillingly shows my emotion to the subject. His only answer was "I do not know."

1789
Andrella was once a very good friend of mine, she and I were inseparable. We were like sisters. Near the countryside where she and I were raised there was a cave. It was as normal as you could think on the outside as any cave. But, on the inside were the most beautiful drawings I had ever seen. We spent almost all our childhood there. There were drawings of animals, people, angels, landscapes, and what I know now as vampires. They were drawn as people with dragon's wings breathing fire. There were also drawings of dragons. Those were my favorites over all the others. Andrella didn't understand why I liked them so much, but neither did I. She thought the pictures of bunnies were the best. We were both so young and innocent then. Playing hide-and-seek with some other kids from the village and so on. How I wish things could be as simple as they were then!
One day when I was sixteen, as we sat in the cave on wooden chairs we had made I thought I heard a gasp of pain coming from the back of the cave and quickly asked Andrella if she had heard the same. She hadn't heard anything so, I figured it to be my imagination. But soon after, I heard a similar painful moan. I told Andrella I had to go see if anyone was back there and that I was sure I had heard someone at the end of the cave. She wasn't one of the bravest girls I knew so I understood when she said she'd go get someone. She begged me to come but, I wasn't one who could ignore my curiosity. I lied and said I would stay outside the cave and wait for her to return. After she was out of sight I slowly walked through the candle- lit tunnel. As I approached the back of the cave I heard more gasps and moans and a hideous yelp of pain leaving my attempt at being calm far behind. "I'm coming!" I yelled as I ran the remaining length of the cave.
Threw the dim light I saw a figure barely leaning on the wall. I can still remember when I first saw him, lying half dead on the cave floor. My instincts instantly brought myself to his side. I saw the blade in his ribcage and gave a soft gasp. He seemed to think nothing of my presence as though the pain in him unabled him to see straight. Then he saw me and gave a faint whimper as if afraid and unable to yell for help. "Shhh. It's Ok. I won't hurt you. I want to help. Shhh. Lie still. Help is coming." I whispered. He gave a frightened gasp and tried to speak. "No. they can't-find-me. They'll-kill me." He gave another painful gasp and closed his eyes. When he opened them again I noticed they were black. They perfectly matched his raven hair. "Oh my." I whispered. "No-one will hurt you now, I will protect you, I promise not long from now, you will be better and no-one will harm you while I am here." He closes his eyes and I can tell from his subsided shivers he is unconscious. I take the opportunity and pull out the dagger and hold a piece of cloth from my shirt on his open wound.
When Andrella returned with both our fathers I told them of whom I had found. They brought him from in the cave to my house and laid him in our spare bed where I got my first good look at him. I remember thinking how beautiful he was. He was perfect from every view. From that moment I loved him.
Andrella was furious with me for going in the cave and kept telling me "It could have been a murderer or some crazy beggar! He could have killed you on the spot! What were you thinking?" "I had to!" I replied. "And I'm glad I did!" She didn't talk to me all the rest of the day. But, I didn't care as I usually would have. I just cared for the young man in the spare bed in the room next to mine. I would visit him every morning and night and sit at his bedside waiting for him to finally wake-up. My mother had wrapped his wound which left his chest bare. His slender but firm muscles were beautiful in their own. Sometimes I would fall asleep there and dream of him waking until, not more than almost three days later, while I sat, gently staring at him, near nightfall he opened his eyes.
"Ahhh!" he screamed. "Where am I?!" "Shhh. It's me, remember?" I asked. He seemed to realize the pain in his side and shivered with a sharp pain. "Why am I here?" he breathed. "You are a guest in my house to recover and shall remain until I believe you are well enough to leave...Now, I need to know some things about you. What is your name and where are you from?" A few seconds passed as if he had almost forgotten. "My name-is Christopher, and I was born and raised in a small part-of Massachusetts." "I am Alycia Sofia Rassa." I answered. "Wait, now I remember you, you're the girl from the cave, right?" he softly asked. "Yes."
From that moment on he trusted me. He told me he had come to the cave suddenly when grabbed from behind in Massachusetts and then just suddenly appearing in the cave with the dagger in his side. I told him all about myself and he told me the same for himself. I did everything I could to help him grow stronger, I could not stand to see a pained expression on his face, and every moment I was with him I loved him more. When he was strong enough to go outside we would walk through the fields to a hill. It was strange that he always preferred to go after sunset, but it never bothered me.
I hadn't had as much time for Andrella as usual but, I had fallen back into her good graces and I spoke to her once in a while, usually during the time Christopher slept during the day. Sometimes he would vanish from his room in the middle of the night and come back a little before sunrise. Every time I would ask him where he had gone he would say he was out for a night-time walk. On one of our walks up the hill he seemed really quiet. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Nothing, I was just thinking."
We both lay on the top of the hill, side -by-side, looking at the stars. "So,-he started-do you think I'm well enough to leave?" "Do you really want to?" I asked. "That's the problem, I don't, I should miss my home, and my parents, but I don't. I can't think of being anywhere else but here and with anyone else but you... What I'm trying to...?" "What?" I asked. "I love you," he said. I felt my cheeks flush. It was all that I had wished to hear him say that. He looked even more handsome in the shaded darkness. "I've wanted, for a while to tell you that." he added. "And I... I love you too." was all I could think to say.
That night while my parents slept we snuck into the cave where we first met, lit the candles, laid down our blankets, and experienced love more wonderful than I had ever imagined. He was graceful in every way and I loved waking to his face near mine, sleeping soundly. It was at first awkward. You could tell I was his first as he was mine, but oooh it was perfect! After that we were inseparable.
A few nights later he and I met near the cave. He said nothing but began kissing me and slowly working towards my neck. I didn't mind because he had often done so and it felt pleasant enough for me to not think about it. At the base of my neck I felt something sharp pierce my skin.
* * * * * * * * * * *
I tried to push him away but found I could not move my arms. Then, I realized I could not hold myself and was standing only because Christopher held me at his waist.
I remember the pain subsiding and all I could feel was sleepiness as I started to drift into unconsciousness. He shook me awake; I was on the ground and could blurrily see the blood on his mouth. Everything was spinning as I stared at him. He pulled a blade out from his belt under his shirt. I recognized it as the very one I had found in his side when I first saw him. I thought he was going to kill me so; I tried to yell for help, but, could not find my voice. Then I realized he was drawing towards himself. He cut himself at his neck and pulled me towards him. It seemed I was in a trance and drank the blood willingly. He pulled me away and I saw the wound heal itself in seconds. In my last moments I heard him scream and pull back. I saw Andrella with the dagger in her hand as she stabbed him in the back again. I tried to stop her. I still loved him; even after all he had done to me. But, in that moment, I died and couldn't hear or see anything.
* * * * * * * * *
There are no words in any language that can describe what happened to me as I "slept." It hurt more than I ever knew possible to feel. It was like lightning and glass sweeping through every part of me, filling me with power and weakness put together. All I knew when I first woke-up was that I could no longer hear my heart beating and, I was extremely hungry. Suddenly I could see, I was in my bed, there was blood on my pillow, and Christopher was leaning against the wall close to my bed. "What happened?" I asked in a harsh voice. He replied as if it were the simplest question to ask, or that he had practiced it over and over in his head. "I have taken your blood and given you mine. You and I are now and forever the living and the dead, bonded by blood, and you shall feed on the blood of others and live forever in the night along with me, as my queen."

NOW
I sit here, looking at him now as I remember this; it took me a while to clearly see him even though he sat right next to me on the bed. "How did she come back?" "I have already told you that I do not know Rasika," he replied. :"You have to know something!" I shouted. "I do not. "How could this happen, she was gone, I knew she was gone, I saw it, why?" I screamed. This was extremely unsettling for me. It can't happen again. Or could it? No, no way in hell could this go-on again. I had been through way too much. Pain, misery, anguish. Why ,how. All these questions were swimming around in my head. After a while I guess Chris got scared of the silence because while I was sorting this out in my mind I didn't even notice him get off the bed and resume sitting at my mirror. "I know you've had to deal with her more than most Rasika, which is why I warned you. But, don't worry yourself with it.I will take care of her, don't worry." Easy for him to say. "And how will you do this, when I could not?" I asked in a soft voice. "You did not fail," he replied as he came towards me once more and put a caring arm on my shoulder.
"We know she had powerful magics, and friends with even more. Who knows how many times she cursed herself into eternity. She may die a- thousand deaths and never stop hunting. We don't know, we will probably never know," he told me. "You're right I guess. But, why did this happen? I hate this!" I screamed as I stood up and began pacing. "I hate this." I said again.

THEN
"Where is Andrella?" my voice sounds strange as if it weren't my own. I look at him, into those perfect dark eyes, he is so beautiful, and it is hard to hate someone who looks so hurt in those eyes. Then I wonder why he looks so hurt. He did this to me. "She'll join us soon, don't worry about her," he said. He stood up from the wall and came towards me. I was reluctant to take hold of his hand when he held it out to me. "What happened?" I remember asking, un-sidetracked by his hand in mine. "She almost killed me," was his reply. I didn't understand it, any of it. I just wanted to go back to sleep, even if it meant facing that pain again. It was better than this. The one person I had ever loved did this to me. I didn't understand what this meant, but I was pretty sure it was bad. She almost killed me? "I don't understand," I shouted.
"Shhh, it's okay," he began. He kneeled by my bed and with his other hand began running his fingers through my hair. I recognized this as a sign of affection since he often did this when we slept together. I think then I calmed down. "You know that I love you, don't you Alycia?" he asked. "Of course." I said it, but at this point I was unsure.
It was also at this time I realized I was disturbingly hungry. It felt like I had an extreme craving, but for what I didn't know, yet. "Let me explain," he started, still running his perfect fingers through my hair. "When I took your blood and gave you mine you became what is known as a vampire. We feed on humans' blood. It is how we survive.we do not have to kill them, but it is hard not to. I, like you have a power that you will find soon; this is because a witch was once changed into one of us. After that every vampire that has been made by her or one of her fledgings has been able to produce a power, most are different from one another, some are alike. My power is the one to change." He stared at me and gave a strained and determined look. That is when his hair began to shorten, it was longer two seconds ago, and it became blonder till it looked almost bleached at the top. "See?" he asked.
"Who made you.a vampire?" I asked. "A vamp who calls himself Aubrey, he should be here soon." He replied. At that exact minute, there was a voice I had never heard before coming from the opposite side of my bed from Christopher. "How's your fledging?" it said. The voice was calm and smooth, and it reminded me of Chris'. It scared me half to death and I almost screamed, but I guess I was tired because before I could, I had passed out.
I woke up in Chris' arms. He was looking down at me, a strange expression on his face; it looked like he had been crying. He forced me a smile. He felt so warm, it was then I realized that I was shivering and I was covered in a cold sweat. I enclosed myself in those warm arms and cried, and I had never cried. Little did I know it would definitely not be the last time. I heard Aubrey's voice," She needs to feed Christopher." I didn't know how I would feed, but right now I didn't care. "Where is Andrella and where are my parents?" I asked. I would be sorry I asked. I would be really sorry.

I was still in his arms when he stood up and carried me down my familiar hall towards my parent's bedroom. Aubrey followed close behind. He opened the door to my parents' bedroom, the door squeaked. It was louder, sharper than I had ever heard it. I later learned this was an example of a vampire's abilities. We hear much better than humans, about twenty-fold. Same with smell, about thirty times greater than a bloodhound's, I guess this is where the whole garlic-repellant towards vampires came from. Hey, the smell of garlic that strong would make you agitated too.
I guess I was hoping to see my parents sleeping in their bed, but there was only one there. It took me a minute to realize who it was. "Andrella?" I asked. "But, where are my parents?" Another question I would regret.
Christopher did something I didn't expect, he put me on the bed so I was sitting right next to her. Then he looked at Aubrey as if to look for reassurance. He opened his mouth to speak but, at that moment there was a moan and a noise of movement beside me. I guess whatever happened between Christopher and her wasn't over, because not one second after he had picked me up from the bed impossibly quick and carried me in his arms again, which is good considering I didn't think I could walk on my own. I looked at Andrella; she looked as battered and sick as I felt. But, the next second I was in a cave.
"How did we get here?" I could barely speak. Everything felt wrong. I was in Chris' arms and they were so strong, holding me like I was nothing. I loved him and even though I was confused and weak I knew that with all my soul. But it was not until a while later I learned I would never have a soul again. "It is a power all vampires posses. We can vanish in one place and return to whatever place we concentrate on. I brought you here because this is where you will feed."