Author's Notes:

I really hate it when people impose their rules on my own fantasy. My ideas about vampires in this story are pretty much CONVENTIONAL, excluding a few minor details I made up on my own behalf to make the story work out. There's not a lot of historical background, sorry if you like that. I'd rather be swept away by vampire passion.

I promised myself I wouldn't post this story until it was complete but I could resist. I have about fifteen chapters finished after this, but let's see what kind of reviews I get, shall we? )

Words to know:

Dhampir: The offspring of a mortal woman and a vampire father. Most research says that vampires cannot produce young biologically, but enchantments (i.e. spells, potions, etc.) exist that allow the vampire to temporarily become human. Occasionally a child can result from a rendezvous during that time but nature does not ignore the fact that he is still a vampire.

Preface

"No evil shall happen to you; neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways."

- Psalm 91:10-11

Romania, around the late 1700's

I

t was getting close to midnight and Daciana did not like walking through the darker path in the woods but knew that it was the quickest route home.

She made it home safely most nights, except for the nights that she would meet someone on the road. On those nights, she would always find a man: the same one. She had only seen him twice but she had quickly learned he was not to be trusted.

The first time she met him, little over twenty years ago, she didn't suspect anything harmful about him for he was a handsome stranger that had been lost in the new area.

His eyes were like the petals of a blue lady orchid and she could not help but feel infatuated by his mere presence. He was attractive, dignified, and she found herself very much fascinated by him although he was years older than her, perhaps in his mid-forties, but there was something about him that made him seem centuries older than her. He had told her he was a prince who had lost his way.

"If you would be so kind to help me, my lovely girl…"

There was no reason not to believe him for he spoke and acted with poise and wore clothes too fine to touch.

Daciana could not remember what happened leading to the point when she awoke on the ground at the break of dawn, feeling cold dampness from the dirt seep through her dress. Her hands were numb, her head hurt, and though it seemed like she had been lying there for hours, her heart still beat against her ribcage from terror.

She had to pull her long brown skirt back down from its immodest position and adjusted the scarf that humbly hid her long wavy dark blonde hair before forcing herself up to pick up her fallen basket of vegetables that had become dirty and soggy.

The prince had disappeared and nine months later, she gave birth to his unwanted son. It happened once again, six years later, leaving her with another child.

Another night, only one year after, she nearly ran into the prince once more, but she simply didn't. That was when she walked along the dirt road and saw the man with a body in his arms, blood dripping off his chin as he sucked at the open wound on its shoulder. That was the one time he did not see her walking through the roads for she turned right around and took the long way home that night.

The secret never escaped her – the last time a person from the town accused another of vampirism, they were deemed as insane.

Daciana blinked away tears, keeping all the hatred she had for the prince locked away, knowing there was little that could be done. Scuffling her feet along the dirt road, she began to walk faster as she glanced at the darkening heavens overhead and shivered from the nippy winter wind, pulling her shawl tighter around her and struggled to keep a firm grasp on her basket, hoping to put some food in her boys' mouths.

"It's a fancy seeing you here again after such a long time…"

Gasping, Daciana dropped the basket in surprise and looked up to see the prince sitting on a large rock, looking as noble as ever. He did not seem to have gained a new wrinkle on his face, and unlike those twenty years ago, they now looked the same age. Eternally attractive, his hair was the color of the late night sky in the winter, his smile was still cool, sly, and calculating, and his skin was as white as the full moon she saw him under.

"You!" she hissed, getting on her knees to pick up the fallen vegetables.

He jumped off the rock and laughed as he kneeled next to her, "How have you been?"

He touched her cheek and she fell back, snapping, "Stay away from me, you already gave me two bastard children, was that not enough?"

He reached out again and Daciana found a fight within her mind to push him away for his touch was gentle, at the most a soft caress of admiration and she could feel herself nearly giving into him.

"I've come to ask you a question, more like a proposal, actually," he explained, ignoring her obvious detestation. "I know I have caused you so much pain but may I ask you a simple question?" He did not wait for an answer, chuckling, "I suppose that's silly of me to say, asking to ask you a question with a question; but really, I've been hoping to ask you this but didn't seem to have the chance."

He held her chin and drew her close to him as she shut her eyes and pressed her lips together to battle out the terror in her. "Over the past two years, I have been thinking about some choices that others in my world have made.

My old friend has been hoarding a secret from myself and the others for a surprising amount of time and we only found out several years ago. We've been trying to kill him…he's been in hiding since he endangered our safety for his own true 'love'…as if we creatures can even do such a thing.

Whatever he feels does not justify his actions to his own kind. If he can have a child and a bride, then so can I, only I will not make the same foolish mistake as he did, for now he lives among humans. So you must listen carefully to this offer… Will you be mine…forever?

I know it seems like an awfully long time but I simply must have you as my own. I cannot go through so many years without you and hurting you each time I see you. I apologize that I've caused you suffering and that you loathe me…and not to frighten you but…when you die, I'll have nothing left. I'll still be alive and well, feeding off humanity, waiting for another as beautiful."

He laughed as he laid his cold blue eyes on her face of horror. "Consider it…if you can learn to forgive me…you can live forever without all of this labor and misery you go through…there will be but a tiny price to pay if you be mine. I know that you are aware of my secret and you've done a splendid job of keeping quiet. How about it, then? A moment of pain, a night of death, and never again feel suffering?"

She closed her eyes for she did not want to look at his face in the fear of seeing how handsome he had remained, knowing that nothing could mar it. He could easily have her give in to his offer for no matter how much of a monster this man was, he had the face of an angel, not a demon. She didn't want to be with him, but she understood that he was hardly giving her a choice and still, she was fighting the temptation that had suddenly overtaken her, but she tried harder.

He was promising her everlasting life, a cursed life, but with all the luxuries and security she could ever ask for. He was powerful and she knew he could go through with his offer.

Daciana pulled herself away from his grasp and stood up, replying defiantly, "At this point, there is nothing you could give me, whether it is life or jewels that could make me want to be yours because you are a monster."

He looked unexpectedly surprised as he slowly rose from his knees. "My dear, you obviously have not thought your answer through – "

"Benedikte," she interrupted furiously, "I may not live the most secure life but I have my sons and they are good, honest boys and right now they are all I need. I do not need you damaging their innocent souls with your obsession of bloodlust. If I become preposterously desperate and possessed by evil spirits, I will come to you then, but do not expect it to happen anytime soon."

That was her chance; she had the chance to turn around and walk away and she tried, but once she turned around again, the prince appeared in her face again, saying angrily, "You know in your heart that you want and need me as much as I you. Don't pretend that you aren't giving a second thought about my proposal because we both know it's all merely a show you're putting on."

She began to back away as he advanced towards her.

"Do you think I don't know you still take this route late at night because you're pretending it's a shorter way home, when in reality, you're waiting for my return? Why leave me now after all this time? I'm promising you the world, Daciana. Do you know that it kills me inside to watch you suffer but I cannot die for I'm already dead?"

Daciana shook her head, taking his words out of her mind.

"If I had to choose you between death right now, I'd choose to be eaten alive from the inside out as rats because in reality, that would be pure bliss compared to being your bride."

She pushed through him to get by, ignoring his last words.

"You aren't going to find another offer as perfect as this! You aren't going to find a man as powerful as I who will treat you as well as I would and you certainly aren't going to find the life you've always dreamed of without me! If an eternity of security is what you want, you shouldn't have refused me! I know you realize this but you're too ashamed to admit it! I will have you for my own, with or without your consent! You will be mine!"

…

Daciana's home was located in an isolated area around the outskirts of the main town where she and her boys would have their privacy although they were rather well-liked in the town, having the reputation of being not only attractive, but kind and clever as well.

Henric, her first son was handsome and intelligent, very protective of his family and a good work around the farm and was the suitor of a lovely girl in the town, engaged to be wed, but she had disappeared unexpectedly a few months back. He never spoke to any of the girls from then on. He was tall and silent; quietly outspoken and proved himself to be something like a mentor and an deity to his younger brother, Demetri.

Though Demetri was young, less attractive and intelligent than his brother, he held on to something that kept him endearing and darling to his mother. Unlike his brother, who was too knowing about the things he shouldn't have acknowledged, Demetri kept a sense of innocence about him.

Since they were young, they would have nightmares, speaking about a monster with frightening blue eyes and long, ugly, drooling fangs or a giant wolf with dark fur, both of which would attack and kill the townspeople.

Always, each time after their dream, the following day, there would be a death or missing person in the nearby town, where somebody had been drained dry of their blood or gone astray. The moment Henric had awoken that dream of his sweetheart, he ran to the town, but she was already long gone, leaving him devastated, swearing that he would kill whatever the monster was if was in fact real.

That was one of the reasons Daciana did not want to tell her sweet boys that the creature that stalked them in their nightmares was their father.

Imagine my poor boys, she thought to herself. Finding out that not only is their father a vampire, but the beast has killed of my son's beloved.

She walked through the brown fence that led to her small dwelling and set her basket down for a quick stretch as she smiled to herself. She had made it home safely for the first time on the way encountering the prince without being abused.

Her victory was short-lived however, as the sound of twigs and branches snapping in the forest became louder, coming nearer with each passing moment. She was rooted to the spot from curiosity as she took a small step closer to the woods and her heart began to skip beats as two blue eyes outlined with a hellish red blinked from behind a clump of bushes.

She took a step back, alarmed.

Nothing more than my imagination, she told herself reassuringly. Just go back inside, lock your door and all will be fine.

She had only her back turned when a piecing roar shot through the air as a gargoyle-like creature jumped on her from the woods.

It was massive and its skin was gray and blue veined but she had hardly enough time to look at it for it was already on top of her, muffling her screams as it angrily, using its large, ugly, gray hands to grasp her wrists tightly, ignoring her rising shrieks. The beast seemed to only grow annoyed with her ineffective kicking, screaming, and beating as it finally held her arms high above her head to sink its pointed teeth deep into her throat.

She cried louder as she felt the life being drained from her, her voice dying as she began to choke on her own blood, coughing and spitting it up while the creature hungrily drank greedily from her neck. It sat up for a moment, working furiously to it slit its wrist and press it against her mouth while pinching her nose with the other.

Daciana tried to hold her mouth shut as she grasped the dirt around her, trying to hold her breath as long as possible. Her lungs burned, her throat tightened and finally, she tried to take a gasp of air, only the monster's foul blood entered her mouth and flowed down her throat. Once it saw the deed done, it got off of her, breathing heavily, its breath fetid with her blood.

"Mother?!" Henric's deep, panicked voice yelled from the doorway. Her eyes slowly dragged themselves to the corner as her older son ran out of the house with a knife in hand as he lunged at the thing, aiming straight for its heart.

"Don't –" she said as loudly as she could, aware that even if he succeeded in stabbing his father, he was not using a wooden stake and would not cause any damage.

The creature was watching its oldest son carefully and roared out in surprise as the knife broke through skin and bone to pierce its liver.

Henric gritted his teeth and he pulled out his knife, dripping with blackened blood and backed away, prepared to watch the creature die but was instead startled as the deep wound healed itself within seconds.

Henric raised the knife again, set to strike once more but that time, the beast grabbed Henric's forearm and clutched it so firmly, it emitted a series of painful cracks, making Henric scream in horror in pain to feel his arm break excruciatingly slow.

Tears of pain and heartbreak upon hearing her child's cries rolled down Daciana's cheeks as she closed her eyes and turned her head away, trying to block out his agony knowing there was nothing she could do as the creature did the same thing to her son.

Please, she begged in her head. Demetri, do not come out of the house…

When as she opened her eyes again, the prince was standing over her, his face smeared with blood as he smiled down at her, his eyes as blue as ever, red staining the whites of his eyes as he ignored the searing white-hot pain that spread through her body as her insides began to convulse.

"Let this be a message to you," he said calmly, "I warned you…and now you are mine. If would have been much less painful if you came with me earlier… let us bring the whole family together, what do you think?"

Her intestines felt as though they were on fire, twisting and burning, flames from Hell ran through her veins.

Daciana felt her light, watery tears be replaced by heavy droplets of blood as she begged, "Please, do not hurt Demetri… you already took Henric and I, bring him with us, but don't touch Demetri."

The prince smiled as he ran his pale spindly fingers through her blood-stained hair. "There is still a fragment of human in you, don't worry, that will soon pass and you will forget what it was ever like to love. You will forget what it was like to adore your sons as Henric and Demetri will forget what it was like to adore you."

Daciana cried out with such sorrow that even made the prince frown as he added slowly yet reluctantly, "But this will be just for you…as a wedding gift, I will spare Demetri for you ask me to. It's really no setback for me; he is not as strong, intelligent, or powerful as Henric, he would really be no use to my clan. I suppose I can rule it out as which son is our weakest link. I'll listen to your pleas and I will not harm Demetri as long as you swear to me that he is to never know of us and what monsters we are…"

She hardly managed a nod, but he was able to decipher it.

Smiling to reveal his pointed fangs he said, "And once Demetri buries you and our first son, I will be back for both of you to take you home…"

Here's my inspiration for our new favorite dysfunctional family.

Mmm…Henry Cavill and Gerard Butler are godly.

http://img.