Prince

"My child…why do you run?..."

"SHUT UP!"

"Come now, dear, that should be no way to talk to her."

The warm, beautiful sensations that was inside of the young woman suddenly disappeared, and she felt a cold shiver flow through her quickly at the sound of the unfamiliar voice through the darkness. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the darkness, and through the grayness, the dark silhouettes of trees and figures running away, she could see the figure of someone standing not too far away, their voice echoing through the shadows. The voice was an elegant, majestic, yet deep drawl from the shadows, blending in with the creepiness of the woods, and she knew that only a being of equal magnificence could possess such a voice. It sounded vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't place who—or what—it came from.

"Who's there?" she called to the darkness, seeing the figure move, stand—standing—in the shadows amongst the trees, moving like a normal human being, not crouched, not hunched over like the creatures. No, this being was much different, much different from the creatures. It was strangely relieving to see such a stance in a dark and omniscient place. Haven Woods was filled with many monsters, and seeing such a familiar structure and stance felt like a relieving dream from the nightmares.

"My dear, she is merely calling for you. She likes newcomers, she approves and accepts them with open arms. She knew you were coming even before you did, and she was getting ready for you. She is waiting, my dear," the voice answered back, completely ignoring her question, but the majestic drawl was too hypnotic to drown out. It was almost like a strong and dominating man from the sophisticated European countries was talking to her from the shadows, except his accent was more demanding and controlling than European, an accent one would hear in a royal and high-class family. Melody ignored what he said, but she could see the figure moving in the shadows, closing in on her. She was slightly afraid as she didn't know what was coming, but that sweet warmth came back to her, splitting her mind once again, and she only stood there, frozen, paralyzed in its grasp. She was slowly surrendering her strength and power to its warmth, and she could hear the soft voice calling for her.

"My child…."

"And what does she want with me?" Melody's words slipped out from her mouth, they hadn't even crossed her mind, but it was like there was someone inside of her, speaking for her, talking for her, the last bit of herself that she had left inside.

"She wants you, my dear. She has been waiting for you for so long…." The voice started to sound rather depressed, saddened, a little, by his words. But Melody had to figure out who he was.

"And who are you?" Melody called to the darkness, feeling the warmth sensation suddenly flutter away, and she was regaining better control over herself. The voice suddenly disappeared, and the shadowy figure in the darkness seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.

"Silly girl, you know who I am…."

Melody opened her mouth to call out to the voice in response, but no sound came out as a cold shiver, not as severe as the one before, ran through her, and she stopped, closing her mouth, looking out at the darkness. She was searching for something. A sign, any sign, a signal or something, that would tell her. But nothing came. No sound. The woods were quiet now, peaceful, no shadows moved, the wind was still, the earth didn't dare move. Everything was still, but it was the kind of still, omniscient stillness, that would be the sign before something chaotic and destructive was going to happen—just like the morning of 9/11. Melody didn't know what to do, but something inside her wanted to find out…something inhuman. She wanted to follow the voice, she wanted to tread deeper into the woods…but she couldn't. Her mind was telling her that it was dangerous, it wasn't safe for her anymore. She had to leave now.

Alan….

She had forgotten about that. Through the stress and wildness that she had endured just now, she had forgotten about why she had come here in the first place. She had forgotten about her mission, her assignment. It seemed as if by remembering, everything came crashing into her. In her mind's eye, she could still see the angry, disgusted glare in the pearl blue eyes that were her "employer's." She could still see him dragging a bleeding "hunter" away from her, the man's face shrouded in the shadows, while the "hunter's" was covered in his own blood. She had caused that. She had hurt him. She had lost control of herself. The distress and despair inside her returned, and she bowed her head, not sure of what to do. She had to finish this assignment, but she doubted if whether or not it would make much of a difference. Lucas probably hated her now, his theory had been proven right all along. And Alan…Alan probably hated her, too. There was no reason to stay with the Valent organization anymore. She was threat to their safety. To his safety. Maybe it would be best….

Melody's body seemed to move on its own without her consent or any thought, and before she even realized it, she was walking calmly through the trees of the woods, walking in a trance, feeling her mind and her body completely separate, and she couldn't think of anything, she had no control over herself, and she was wandering mindlessly through the shadows, the darkness consuming her, washing over her, and taking hold of her. She couldn't think straight. She couldn't feel anything inside her. Everything had been severed, and she was merely a shell that was being controlled by something…but what?

Suddenly, she felt that warmth inside her, that numbness, disappeared, and her mind and body were snapped back together in a rush of wind and a horrible, burning stench twisted up her nostrils. She gasped in horror at the dreaded, bitter, salting smell that lingered in the air, a putrid stench that reminded her clearly of death and blood. She knew that smell all too well. It was the same smell that lingered on the creatures in the Haven Woods. It was the same smell that tainted the world and plagued it with death. The very smell that every human falls to their knees for, the same scent that she was somehow immune to, the scent of the Blood Lake Nexus. Melody blinked, and through the darkness she could see a faint red glow, a dark red light that shined through the pitch blackness, and she followed the glow, but as she did, the soft, female lullaby voice returned to her head, and she was able to hear it a little more clearly, her mental state returning, and her mind having full control over her body and herself.

"My child…welcome home…."

Melody looked up to the canopy of the woods, and it was then that she saw just where she was. The leaves of the trees were much larger now, intertwining and knotting within each other in order to cover the sky above and hide everything in the darkness. They were so large, yet when Melody came to a broad opening of the trees, she noticed that the leaves could not hide everything. They were big enough to stretch for miles through the opening, but then they could not meet, and for the sky that was hiding behind it, someone had grabbed a large black sheet of cloth and stretched it from one of one tree branch to another, until it blotted out the sky. Melody couldn't see the sun, she couldn't see the sky, and although she did not know how long she had been in the Woods, she missed it so dearly.

"My child…."

Melody gasped with surprise as she heard the voice again, but this time, it was in rhythm with something else. She could hear water; she could hear the soft sounds of splashing water and caressing movement. Yet the stench was far too great, it distracted her from the peaceful sounds. Melody looked down, and saw that the red glow had been the water, the broad gap opening before a large and wondrous lake. The lake was big, it stretched for miles, and Melody couldn't tear her eyes away from it. It was astounding to see something so magnificent, so wonderful, but the waters of the lake were not a peaceful color at all. Instead, the water was deep red, crimson, scarlet, even, and it reeked of the smell of death. Small, white objects floated against the surface, and Melody had to stifle her own scream at what she saw. Decapitated heads rolled over along the surface, their skull-faces staring up at the black cloth with blank, lifeless eyes. Severed hands and limbs floated on the surface, broken apart from their bodies. It was a horrific and disgusting sight to look at, Melody felt nauseous and weak. She knew where she was, she had been here once before, but the sight of it all still made her stomach knot painfully.

"My…child…."

"So, Lake Nexus, this is what has become of you?" Melody leaned down and her hand, pale and white, even in the darkness, floated down towards the waters, and she could see the water glittering in the blackness. It was such a beautiful sight, despite its deadly meanings. She couldn't help herself. She was mesmerized by the beauty that the lake possessed. The scarlet liquid burned brightly, even in the darkness, and Melody felt her soul become lost in its tempting, mesmerizing elegance. Her hand drifted closer to the water, and along the surface she could see her reflection, her face staring back up at her. Something was wrong, though, as the person in the water was not the person she remembered seeing in her mirror. This person was different, much different—it was difficult to believe that it was herself looking back up.

The woman staring up from the water had deeply pale skin, white as moonlight, with deep black shadows beneath her eyes and along her cheeks, the pale whiteness fell down along her face and towards her body, which was also sickly pale and bruised along her veins, splashed of red were on her clothing and hands. Melody's own eyes looked back up to the woman's, and she saw the woman's lips were full, red, but protruding from between them, were a pair of white fangs, crawling down her lips, searching for food. Melody's silver eyes tilted up to the eyes of her reflection, and it was then that her entire world spun out of control at what she saw. Instead of seeing silver, moonlit grazed eyes peering back at her, she saw piercing, burning scarlet eyes, burning in the darkness, clear, and vicious, the eyes of an animal. The woman with the red eyes beamed up at her, and Melody nearly screamed at what she realized she was looking at. Herself, but as something else…as one of them…as a creature…a vampire….

"Beautiful, isn't it? How She tells you everything you desire…everything your heart wants to desire."

Melody pounced to her feet instantly at the sound of the familiar voice. It wasn't the voice of the soft, calling woman, the sweet lullaby that was of the voice. No, this one was the other one. It was the other voice, the one with the elegant, royal drawl of a gentleman, the tone and voice of someone majestic and high in power. It was disturbing to hear such a voice from the darkness, but Melody wasn't in the dark for too long. The Lake Nexus suddenly gave a faint red glow through the shadows, and illuminated a red light that lit the woods pleasantly with its omniscient glow. In the eye of the light, Melody could see the person standing a few feet away near the trees, leaning against them. Their posture was not that of the creatures, it was so much more different from them. The person stood like a man, elegant, royal, in the shadows, their head bowed to the shadows, but she could still make out their appearance. Pale white skin, bright, and illuminating in the red glow, a tall, broad figure, strong and broad hands that were hardly visible in his folded arms, black long nails scratching and clawing at cloth, this was a man who seemed to be older, but Melody doubted if he was any older than Alan was. His white face was matted with wild, pitch black hair, black like the night sky, and she could see a pair of white horns protruding from his mouth. There was no doubt, he was one of them, a creature of the darkness, but there was something different about him that separated him from the others. His posture, his intelligence, his language…it was clear who he was.

"And how would she know what my heart desires?" Melody asked of him. She wanted him to look up, to face her, that way she could see his eyes. She would never forget them from her encounters with him. Mystifying shades of indigo and deep purple, entrancing, even, but when enraged or fixated on the hunt…they would turn the brilliant, glowing shade of deep scarlet, the same color as the lake.

"Silly girl, She knows what we all want. She knows everything. She was here before life was, and She will be here to start a new one, when a new world begins," the man spoke slowly and his voice was enchanting to Melody's ears, a spell that was controlling her. No, she couldn't let herself fall into it. After all, he was nothing more than another one of the vampires. She had to kill him, just like how she had to kill all the others.

Blood Lake Nexus whispered softly in her waters as the splashed on the shore, and the young woman could hear the voice resonating from it, the putrid stench of death becoming deeper and greater. Melody wanted to hold her nose in protest to the foul smell, wondering how on earth humans were so affected it by it, but yet she was immune to it. What was it about that attracted all these humans to die?

"She speaks, little girl. The Lake knows who you are, why you are so different. She knows everything, little girl. And She wants you to join us," the man suddenly looked up, and Melody could see his eyes now, a brilliant shade of deep violet, but in the glow of the lake, they seemed to be the wondrous glare of scarlet red. But Melody heard only what he said about her being different, and this intrigued her.

"Why, though? Why am I so different? What makes me different?" she asked of the man, and he only smiled evilly, his mouth twitching up over his fangs, forming a more inhuman look.

"Little girl, I do not know. But She does. She knows. She knows everything. Ask Her, girl."

The man gestured towards the waters, and Melody stared at the water's surface, reading it like a book. It was strange how the water, which smelled so repulsively, seemed to tempt every being that comes near it, either killing them in an instant, or turning them into one of the creatures. It was tempting to Melody, she wanted to drink of those waters, but she knew otherwise. She thought of everything that she had to do. She thought of her mission, she thought of Alan—his burning glare came back into her mind—and she knew that, despite the fact he probably hated her now, she knew she owed her life to him. She thought of the Guard spell she had placed around him when they first met, and so long as she is alive, so is he. She can't allow him to die. Not yet. Should she die, that would leave him at the hands of the merciless creatures, and this infuriated her.

"Little girl, little girl, I can see that you are suffering much," the man's voice interrupted her thoughts, and the young woman looked up to meet his burning gaze. He took a couple of steps forward, moving closer to her, and Melody found that she couldn't move. She was cornered between him and the Lake—and even if she could, his gaze was too hypnotic, paralyzing her in her steps.

"How so?" Melody spoke to the man very calmly and softly, trying to conceal the hate and fear that was boiling inside her. This man was the very essence of nightmares, the incarnation of pure evil. Yet he spoke to her like a man would speak to his own lover, very softly and kindly, with a note of aggression behind it all.

"Sweet girl, I can see into your heart, and I can see what makes it race. I can see into your soul, and I can see what makes it quiver. You are afraid, little one, but it is of the wrong one that you are afraid of," the man approached her very quickly, not even taking more than a step and covering yards of ground, moving as if through the air, and ending up right in front of Melody's face—she could smell the death and blood that lingered on his cold, icy breath.

"Afraid?" she would have laughed, but she knew otherwise that it would be a clear sign of her denial against it all. "And what is there to be afraid of?"

The man's pale white face gleamed in the red glow of the Lake, and she could clearly see his arrogant, evil grin in front of her, toying with his lips playfully, showing his true inner demon. He leaned closer to hers, and the scent of bereavement was stronger than ever. A horrible and disgusting scent that repulsed her yet drew others into it. It was the same aroma the Lake Nexus gave. What was it about it that was so intoxicating?

"Quite a question, little girl, that is. Truly, what is there to be afraid of when one has already smiled Death in the face and mocked it so heartily?" he tilted his head back and let out a victorious laughter that echoed through the black trees, and it sent shivers through the young woman as she stood there, listening to his voice. Even though his scent was not appeasing, his voice certainly was. Then the Blood Prince brought his eyes back down onto her, and there was a nasty glow in his eyes. They were no longer violet, but now a deep shade of red, just like the lake, the same eyes that the other creatures had. Melody watched with horror through the crimson glow of the water as the man's nostrils flared, his lips turned upward into a haunting grin, and his fangs seemed to protrude farther down from his mouth, crawling closer to his chin. "Your scent…."

Melody found herself stepping back away from him, recognizing that monstrous look in his eyes, the menacing gleam that sparkled in the red light. She knew that look, as it was the same look he had given her during their first encounter…when he almost took her life. Melody found herself backing up further from the Prince and closer into the darkness, away from the Lake, away from the red light, knowing it was not safe, but it was much safer than being in front of the Prince's reach.

"What about it?" Melody asked of the Prince calmly, though she could feel her pounding heart rising into her head. The anxiety that was rising up inside her was far greater than she had felt. It was the same kind of fear that give life just when death was about to come. Melody could see the hunger in the Prince's eyes. She could see the animal inside him becoming alive. He was the monster now.

"Your scent…little girl…you smell like…" the Prince leaned closer to the young woman, and she backed up further from him, but just as she did, her back crashed into the tree behind her, and she groaned when she felt cold hands pinning her shoulders to the wood, but it was only one hand that pressed with incredible strength to her chest. She groaned from pain, and looked up through the red glow into the crimson eyes of the animal before her.

"Get back!" Melody knew she had to escape. She knew what the Prince was going to do to her, and she couldn't let that happen. She had one chance to escape, but at the moment, the opportunity was slipping slowly from her. "Get off me!"

"Little girl, it's your blood…sweet, sweet nectar…it draws me in…" the man's voice was soft now, but very demonic and menacing. Melody had to fight him back, but with his hand pressing against her chest, she was immobilized. He had her paralyzed under his stare—those scarlet eyes were terrifying.

"GET OFF!" Melody acted quickly, allowing a bit of her own strength to flow back into her, and she reached into her pocket for the switchblade. If she just cuts him, only a little even, he'll recoil, and she can get out of here.

"Just a taste…little girl…pleasure your prince…."

"NEVER!"

Melody's hand gripped the knife, pulling it out and unsheathing it, and as she swung it to attack him, he seemed to have expected it, and quickly grabbed her arm with the same hand he used to pin her, stretching her wrist up over her head tightly and causing her to cry out in pain. He twisted her wrist in his grip, and she cried out again as her entire arm sparked with sharp pricks of pain, engulfing her veins and succumbing to them. She cried out again as the pain increased, and she knew she had to release the knife should she keep her hand. She loosened her fingers from around the blade, and it slipped from her hand to the grass beneath her—she could hear the soft rustle it made between the blades of grass. She could hear the water of the Lake stirring softly, whispering its harmonious lullaby eerily, and all the young woman could do was to remain still in the man's grasp.

"Such a feisty little one, you are…but don't worry, I'll break that wild spirit of yours," the Blood Prince hissed evilly, and Melody would have screamed in protest when his free hand came up and gripped her chin within his palm, tilting her head back and forcing her to look up towards the black canvass of the woods. Melody's heart was racing in her chest, she could feel tears swell up in her eyes, and within one moment, she saw the memories of the past five years float through her mind. She saw Alan, she saw his pearl blue eyes, his sad, lonely expressions, and then his glare drifted through the peaceful images. She never got the chance to apologize; she never got the chance to tell him….

The Prince leaned forward into her exposed throat, she could feel his breath, hot and filled with the scent of death, along her flesh, and he released his hold on her face just to allow himself room. His lips caressed against her throat, tickling her flesh, and Melody cried out in protest once more, but he didn't hear her. She knew the end was here. Death had come for her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was gone now.

She felt the fangs of the Prince pierce her skin, a sharp pinch that erupted into a flow of warmth inside her, a fluttering heat that came from her heart and flowed into the man's mouth. Melody sighed with frustration, sadness, but most of all, in despair. There was nothing she could now. The Prince was going to kill her, and the world will be lost. He finally won. The Prince, the Lake, the creatures, they all had won. The world was gone now. Humankind was going to die now. She was going to die. Goodbye Alan….

"NO!"

It was as if someone had screamed from the dark abyss of the woods, and Melody felt her entire body grow numb from the impact that the voice had on her. The Prince released her, his fangs ripping out from her throat—she would've screamed in pain as the fangs tore at her flesh—and backed up quickly away from her. Melody felt cautious as she opened her eyes to see the Prince standing a few yards from her, his red eyes glowing with anger and rage, hunger no longer visible in those red pools, his teeth bared like those of a canine monster, his pale skin shimmering in the red glow of the lake, which seemed to be brighter than before. He glared at the human girl with a strong threat, and Melody could see the droplets of blood running from his mouth to his chin. He had drank her blood that much was for sure, but…was it enough to turn her into one of them? She didn't know, she didn't know how much blood was needed to be taken to turn a human into a creature, or how much blood was needed to be lost in order to die. If only Alan was here, he would know, and he would be safe…thanks to the Guard….

"Stupid, futile, insolent girl…" the Prince's voice was harsh, deep, and threatening. He was angry, he was ready to kill her, so why didn't he? Why didn't he just take her life? Why didn't he put her out of her misery when he had the chance? Now she was a threat to the world.

"Why did you stop? Why didn't you just kill me?" the words just floated from her mouth, but she couldn't pull her eyes from the man. He was staring at her with such great intensity, with such fire burning within those red pools, she seemed to be paralyzed with confusion…and fear.

"Stupid girl…you want to die?!" the Prince questioned of her, and that question rang in her head. She didn't have the answer, but at the moment she knew her mind was wavering towards acceptance and desire to have her life put to an end—the images of Alan's loathing glare and Lucas's bleeding face didn't help in changing her mind.

The Prince stared at her for a long time, but she didn't move from the tree, her back pressed against it. The cold, hard wood prickled against her skin through the clothing, the coldness of the air, of this otherworldly atmosphere, filled her veins and made her shiver, and she knew this blank, numb sensation of her heart would remain with her until she dies—which she hoped would be sometime soon. She kept her gray eyes locked with the crimson ones of the Prince, and she could feel the anger within them resonating towards her. But…was that rage really directed towards her? Something told her that it was much different from what she imagined about it.

"Very well…I shall end your life, little girl," the Prince's cold, harsh voice aroused her from her thoughts, and she gazed up into those eyes. An angry man glared back at her, furious, full of animalistic power and rage. He flexed his pale white fingers before his face in the darkness, and Melody could see them shimmering in the red glow of the lake, his black nails lengthening and becoming longer and seemingly sharper. Soon, they were claws that blended into the blackness around them, but when the red light was cast across them, she could see their length had grown to two feet. They were sharp enough and long enough to kill her now.

The young woman couldn't pull her eyes away from the man, watching him with blank, lifeless gray eyes, though the red glow that was about her turned them a faintly shimmering scarlet. Her mind was blank, her heart steady—as the Prince could hear it through the darkness, a steady, flowing beat that only meant that she was not afraid—and her thoughts were gone. Her pale white skin, bright as moonlight, shimmered in the shadows, her long black hair flowing down to her waist and billowing very softly in the cold wind, her body responding naturally to the cold atmosphere of this other world. It was a shame that he would have to kill such a lovely little creature….

In sharp, quick movements, he was suddenly in front of her again, his face hovering above hers, her eyes still locked within his, her mouth unmoving, frozen in that hallow, emotionless scowl, while her eyes…those lovely eyes…gray pools that have become solid and fixated in the storm raging within. She would have made an excellent addition to the collection of monsters that already serve him. In fact, she would have made an excellent lover…the creatures did not have a princess to rule over them, they did not have a queen, and certainly, it would only be justified that though the creatures have a prince, that they should have a princess. But oh well…she wants to die rather than rule beside him, a delicious creature…he could still taste her blood on his lips, a tasty nectar, sweet and gentle like wine. It tasted so wonderful to him; he had not tasted blood so pure in a long time. Perhaps when he is done killing her, he will drink up that nectar quickly. After all, he will have plenty of it after this….

"Silly, little girl…." It would be the last words she would hear, as he flexed his long claws against the flesh of her throat, pressing the tips of them against the pressure points in her shoulders, while his index nail pressed against her pulse. She tilted her head back in obedience, welcoming death with a numb soul and heart. The Prince's eyes shined brilliantly in admiration for the long throat, the obedience that she projected towards him. Truly she would have made a wonderful wife. Too bad….

"STOP!"