She hated the vampire king with a vengeance,  and she knew that would never change. The books she had read in the library were plain truth of all his evil deeds. She could tell that he was cold and void. He couldn’t possibly love his children. She was utmost disgusted that such a heartless brute could be Raziel’s sire.

Kain never found out of the relationship between Anna and Raziel, but he had his suspicions. He hated Anna, as well. He knew her father, the mighty human general who overthrew the vampire troops, trying to imperialize Zurdoh under vampire rule. In the Great War, the vampire legions where defeated and all of Stahlberg, including Zurdoh, remained independent. It sickened Kain to no end. And he would always hate Anna for her father’s victory. And deep down, he knew he would make her pay for it, too.

As much as Anna tried to avoid him, a confrontation was inevitable.

During one of Raziel’s brief absences, four familiar soldiers burst into her quarters. She immediately recognized them as Aklar, Drakkon, Krull, and the other tall, dark vampire who resembled Krull in every way, other than the other’s crimson eyes and azure-tinted, gray skin. Krull’s eye color was peridot green and his skintone was only a mild grayish hue. His name she knew not.

Krull seized her by the shoulder and pressed his scimitar blade up to her throat, forbidding her from moving. “We meet again mademoiselle,” he hissed sarcastically into her ear.

“Release me this instant, you heathen dog!,” she snapped hatefully. “What are you doing?!”

“Kain’s orders,” Drakkon rasped. “Nothing personal, dear.” He sneered evilly, baring his fangs, including the bright gold one.

Krull snorted contemptuously. “To you, Drakkon, but I have a little ‘score’ to settle with this wench!”

Anna swung her leg around into his groin, immediately forcing him to release her. His shrill cry did not go unnoticed, and the nameless vampire grabbed her from behind before she could flee. He drew a barbed and poisoned dagger from his belt and placed it to the side of her neck, up against her jugular vein, which was pulsing from the adrenaline rush.

“Tsk, tsk, brother,” her captor patronized to Krull. “With you being the ‘chosen one’, I would have expected a much better performance. Lord Raziel will hear of this, and then we’ll see who he wants as Chief Commander!” Anna felt the vampire’s chest shake as he sniggered coldly.

Krull bared his fangs to his brother in a rage-ridden snarl. “Be wary of your defiance towards me, Nightfang, or I’ll soon have your head!,” he hissed.

Nightfang growled back. “Raziel nor Kain would have such a thing. I may be his second born, but I’m Father’s favorite, Oh Gutless One!”

A brawl was apparently about to break out when Aklar intervened. “Enough of this sibling rivalry! We shall deal with this at a later time. For now, let us bring the girl before Lord Kain, as commanded.”

Krull and Nightfang exchanged murderous glares, but did nothing else.

“Very well,” Krull grumbled. Sheathing his sword, he followed his younger brother out the door as the other two trailed behind.

Kain sat at his throne as he watched Anna be dragged along to the center of his audience chamber. A sinister grin crossed his face and he dismissed the vampire soldiers with a casual backhand sweep of his clawed hand.

Shoving her savagely to the floor, Nightfang released Anna and followed the other three out of the double doors of the Sanctuary main hall.

Kain waited until the others had gone until he stood from where he sat. He walked up to Anna and looked down at her with a frosty glare.

“You are a conspiring little witch, and I know it. Your father was the same way. What are you up to, slave?”

Anna narrowed her eyes coldly. “I am not a slave, and I am doing nothing wrong!,” she retorted.

Kain’s expression hardened. “I do not believe you, in the least.” Kain suddenly snatched Anna by the wrist with his blood red claws and jerked her to her feet. “Lie to me again, and I’ll kill you here and now!”

She remained mute. Glaring at him levelly with her icy blue eyes.

This infuriated Kain even more. His other talon came around and struck her full in the jaw, sending her wrealing across the floor.

“Damn you, confounded wench!,” he barked. “You will speak to me, or I shall cut out your tongue, and you shall speak to no one!”

Anna gingerly touched the side her neck to feel blood. She winced, and realized, bitterly, that the wound would probably leave a scar. Her bright eyes burning with pure hatred, she slowly rose to her feet, glaring at Kain. All self control she had had before crumbled to ruins, as she finally snapped.

“Is that some sort of sick punishment you had reserved for my father, after he slaughtered your pathetic undead excuse for an ‘army’? You think I didn’t know? I know it, all you demon! I know of every last thing you’ve done!,” she shouted, almost in pure hysteria. “You have no business or right to be a ruler, and you’ve probably disgraced your so-called ‘mentor’, if he wasn’t betrayed enough when you caused his beheading, and the execution of the rest of your disgusting kind!! I hope to see you hang, you devious bastard!” 

In the heat of the moment, Anna swung her hand and slapped Kain across the face as hard as she was able.

His head didn’t even move to one side, and nor did he flinch from her strike. He blinked slowly and glared at her, a low growl rumbling deep in his throat.

“You will pay for that, girl ... with your life...”

At that moment, dozens of soldiers—including the four that had ambushed her—burst into the hall, weapons drawn. Kain kept an apathetic gaze upon Anna.

“Kill her!”

Anna’s eyes widened and she took off running as fast as she was able. Immediately, the troops thundered after her.

Kain cackled with glee as he watched Anna run from the horde of vampires like a frightened mouse. “That shall ensure the death of Sir Ian’s whelp ... then we’ll see whom is entitled to the last laugh...”

Panic-stricken, Anna raced down the labyrinth-type hallways, until she found Raziel’s private chambers. Barely able to stop her hands from shaking long enough to grab the handle, she wrenched the door open and slammed it behind her, fumbling with the lock to get the door secured. Upon doing that, she immediately hollered, “Raziel??” Where are you, god damnit!”

No answer. He wasn’t even there.

Anna felt her blood run cold with the harsh realization that she was completely on her own. When she had needed him the most, he wasn’t there. Muttering curses under her breath, she dragged one of the cabinets over to the door, in hopes of  secluding herself from her pursuers long enough to formulate an escape plan.

She scanned the room until her eyes fell upon one of the windows. “Perfect!,” she cheered.

She dashed to it and began trying to pry the rusty window pane open. It was jammed tight, because vampires never open their windows, for obvious reasons—just her luck!

At just that moment, an axeblade protruded from the door, the old wood splintering from the blow. Soon, more axeblades, spear points, and swords came through the door, as well.

Anna felt her heart beating in her throat, and she could already taste her own blood. Growing desperate, she started searching for something to smash open the glass with.

Crrrrrack! Thunk!

Anna barely had time to duck as a pike imbedded itself into the wall, just behind her.
The door had finally given way to the bombardment of multiple weapons, and several vampires were already climbing over the cabinet to reach their prey. Krull had emerged through the doorway first and immediately threw himself at Anna, intent on feasting upon her blood.

Anna lashed out with her head, headbutting him full in the chest. The large vampire stumbled back, winded, a few paces and was shortly trampled by several other bloodthirsty warriors.

Before long, another pike was thrown, and this time, when Anna ducked, she was rewarded by the smashing of the window. She inwardly thanked her gods before taking a blind leap into the night sky, that lay outside the broken shards of glass. She knew she was taking a severe risk, but it was better than meeting certain death at the claws and fangs of a horde of ravenous vampires.

She screamed as she plummeted towards the earth at break-neck speed and suddenly, her free fall was halted as she collided with a nearby tree, shortly followed by a resounding crunch. A sharp pain shot through her chest as she shrieked in agony. Though she knew that at least one rib was probably broken by the blow, she clung to the high limb with all her might, breathing heavily from exhaustion, fear, and pain. 

She was surprised to see several vampires tumble out from the window and fall to the ground around her, though she knew most of them probably went down the stairwell to emerge into the open field. Some where killed, but most survived the fall and immediate scrambled to their feet again. Out of nowhere, another vampire came crashing down upon her, snapping the bough she was clinging to. Both Anna and the unexpected vampire fell to the ground in a dazed heap. Anna looked under her to find Aklar limp beneath her, his lifeless face frozen in a shut-eyed snarl. 

“Agh!”, she cried and scrambled off of the dead vampire, in disgust. As she stood up straight, she cried out in pain, from her rib injury.

All eyes immediately focused on Anna.

“Damnit!,” she hissed and took off, running and limping, into the open wilderness, the remaining soldiers in hot pursuit.

Anna dashed through the dark forest as fast as she could, panic and agony ripping through her like a red hot razor. Tears stung her eyes as her breathing came in quick little gasps.

Krull and Nightfang were leading the band of soldiers as they chased after their quarry. 

Nightfang was panting from exhaustion as he snapped at Krull, “It’s hopeless at this rate. If you hadn’t been so clumsy and lunging at the girl like some sort of disease-ridden mutt, we would already have slain her!”

Krull snarled at his brother. “Like you’re any better than I am. You have no business speaking! I didn’t see you doing anything to help me, you lazy blaggard!”

Nightfang narrowed his eyes with a venomous glare. “Then if I’m lazy, that means you must be working too hard.”

Krull stared at his brother quizzically.

 A demonic grin slid across Nightfang’s dark features. “You really should be resting, dear brother...”

Suddenly, Nightfang’s two-toed foot swung around to trip Krull, while he drew the dagger at his belt. As his brother fell, the dagger swung around to Krull’s bare chest. The former Chief Commander fell to his knees, weakly attempting to free the blade from his flesh, but to no avail. As his eyes clouded over, he gazed up at his murdering sibling, whose face was obviously pleased.

“You should have been watching yourself more carefully, Krull,” Nightfang taunted, as the other vampire lay dying in front of him. “And ... your rank. Send my regards to Mortanius, won’t you?”

With a sharp kick to the face, Krull fell backwards and hit the ground with a dull thud, and lay dead.

Satisfied by his work, Nightfang looted his brother’s corpse of his Chief’s badge, and donned it upon himself.

“Thank you for the lovely gift, brother,” he sneered. Laughing evilly, he ran after the other soldiers, who had gone on without any realization of the betrayal that had just took place. 

Just when Anna thought she was about to collapse, she spotted a river ahead. She was saved! Vampires can’t cross water, for it’s acidic touch. She knew for certain she would loose them across it.

Anna splashed into the ice cold waters and she heard the sound of the vampires chasing doggedly after her, getting ever closer. Soon, she was nearing deep waters and she would have to swim. Raging rapids threatened to wash her away and she paddled as hard as her arms would let her. Her chest felt as though it was on fire, but she didn’t let the severe pain stop her from making it to safety. She risked a look over her shoulder to see the vampires attempting to find a way after her. One vampire accidentilly wandered too close to the rivers edge, and fell in, as the soft mud gave way beneath him. Anna refused to look as the unfortunate creature writhed and howled, slowly melting away.

One of her hands finally touched wet granite, and she clammered up upon the stone cliff, to the other side of the roaring river. 

As she fought to regain her breath, she heard Nightfang shout after her, “This isn’t over yet, human! One day, Lord Kain will see to it that you suffer beyond any mortal’s imagination!”

She spat in his direction and shouted back defiantly, “Go to hell and rot!”

Back to her old courageous self, she no longer feared the vampires. She slid down the other side of the boulder and landed upon solid ground again. She cried out as the sharp pain in her side came back with unmatched ferocity. She took a moment to regain her bearings before slowly limping off.

As she walked on alone, she remembered how Kain had driven her from his kingdom, how those savage vampires relentlessly chased her, and how Raziel had not been there to help her in any way. That hurt her more than anything that could have happened that night.

Finding a place to rest, she sat down and sobbed quietly to herself...

When she awoke, the sun was out again and birds were singing around her. She was suddenly hit with the realization that these were the woods where she and Marie had been kidnapped. And she still knew the way. She could go home! Scrambling to her feet as fast as she could, she limped off down the familiar dirt road to Zurdoh.

Mariel brushed her long brown hair out of her face as she continued to sew a tear in one of her dresses. Often times, she thought about her eldest daughter and missed her terribly. She prayed she would be alright. Her husband was the most distraught. He had to be convinced to leave his room to eat, but afterward, would return there again. He rarely ever left the house to work It was up to Mariel and Marie to put food on the table, now.

At the moment, Marie was outside playing, while Mariel tended to the home. When she had finished repairing her dress she folded it neatly and placed it aside. She put on her sun hat and when outside to join her daughter. Some fresh air would do her good.

As Anna continued to limp along the path she’d walked with her sister over a year ago, her feet felt as though they would collapse beneath her. She was about to rest, when she saw something very close in the distance—her house! Ignoring the shooting pain in her chest, she half limped, half ran, the rest of the way.

Mariel was leaning against a tree, with her eyes closed, when she heard Marie.

“Mother! Mother! It’s Anna! Anna’s here! She’s here, Mother!!,” she squealed with unrestrained excitement.

Mariel’s eyes snapped open and sure enough, Anna was limping along the dusty path, her clothes soiled and tattered, and the collar of her shirt tinted crimson from another injury, a slash mark across the side of her neck. She was smiling weakly at them, while holding her ribs with one hand.

“Anna! Oh my goodness, my baby!”

Mariel picked up her dress and rushed to her daughter’s side, where Marie was already hugging her long-lost sibling. Throwing her arms around her and holding her, a massive wave of relief washed over her. Her beloved Anna was safe and alive.

Anna returned her mother’s embrace and felt her mother’s body tremble with quiet sobs of worry and joy. She felt tears in her own eyes, as well.

“Mother ... I missed you so.”

When they were finally able to away from each other Mariel remembered all of her injuries.

“Sis, what happened? Did you get attacked?” Marie stared at the long wound across her sister’s neck, dangerously close to her throat.

Anna sighed and nodded slowly. “Kain gave me this,” she motioned towards the slash. “Then drove me out of his kingdom with a stampede of vampire soldiers.”

Mariel noticed that Anna seemed sad, regarding the whole situation, but couldn’t understand why.

“Hmm ... Well, my dear, let us discuss this inside. Your father will be very eager to see you.”

Anna nodded and was gently lead to the home. When they got inside, Anna slid past her mother and younger sister towards Sir Ian’s room. She opened it slightly to see her father sitting miserably at the side of his bed, his back facing her. Anna felt her heart breaking—instead of doing everything in her power to return home to a family that loved her, she had instead decided to play housemaid and a role as a vampire’s lover. Though she realized she shouldn’t have, she felt horribly guilty.

Stepping through the doorway, she limped inside and leaned herself against a bed post.
“Father...?”

Sir Ian whirled around at the sound of his eldest daughter’s voice. His bright blue eyes widened with sheer surprise. “Anna! Holy Gods, you’re safe!” He immediately embraced her.

Anna hugged her father back. When they finally parted, Sir Ian took his daughter’s face in his hands, just to take a moment to look at her—to make sure she was really there and that he wasn’t hallucinating the whole thing. As Anna meet her father’s frosty eyes, she noted the tears threatening to fall.

“My little girl,” he said. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Unable to hold back her tears, she hugged her father again. “Neither did I...”

Later that night over dinner, Anna shared her tale, from the moment she and Marie had been attacked in the woods. She told them how they were drugged and taken captive, how Anna convinced the Razielim clan leader to set her little sister free, and how over time, she came to love Raziel. Then she told them of the frightening chase from the Sanctuary of the Clans, as she barely escaped from the vampire kingdom with her life.

“And after that,” she continued, just about ending her story. “I was able to recognize the woods I had fled into as none other than the Sojourn Forest that divides Stahlberg and Zurdoh from Coorhagen. Upon reaching that realization, I did the one thing I’d wanted to since my capture—I came home.”

Her family was positively moved by Anna’s story. “Golly, I didn’t know all that stuff happened, after you saved me,” Marie said amid her amazement.

“I’m equally astounded that you managed to survive being hounded by those dreadful vampires,” added Anna’s mother.

Sir Ian was sitting quietly, nodding his head lightly as he continued to digest the information. “ Hmm,” he finally said after a very long period of silence. “What doesn’t settle well with me ... is how you actually had ... feelings ... for a vampire.” He looked up at Anna, studying her face carefully through slightly narrowed eyes. “You didn’t—ahem—you know...” It obviously caused him some embarrassment to say the words. “What I mean to say is...”

Anna sighed. “I know what you mean, Father, and that’s not a subject I wish to touch down upon. I’d rather keep that unknown.”

Sir Ian gave her a withering glance as he realized that the answer he would have gotten probably wasn’t the one he wanted to hear.

When Anna went to sleep that night, she did a lot of thinking. She thought of the vampires that had captured her. She thought about her stay with Raziel. She remembered how she loved him, and still did. She also reflected on how Kain tried to kill her, as she fled from the vampire kingdom territory. But the most painful memory of all was how Raziel had left her to fend for herself. Anna touched the bandage around her neck, where her wound lay covered. The pain from Kain’s blow meant nothing to her. The blow from Raziel’s absence struck her like a dagger through her heart. She tears flowed, unheeded, down her pale face.

Her burning hatred for Kain surfaced again. It awakened something inside her. She realized that it was his fault all of this happened. That realization fueled the desire for revenge. Something she’d never known before up till that moment. She would make him pay. She would fight against Kain’s brood...

The next morning, Mariel was washing the laundry in a washtub outside when she heard a voice from behind her.

“Mother, I’m going to train to become a Paladin.”

Mariel dropped the shirt she was scrubbing out of shock and slowly turned around to look at her daughter. Anna was eyeing her levelly, the made decision reflecting it’s finality in her piercing eyes.

“Anna ... A-Are you ... sure? A Paladin is such a dangerous thing to become—they’re holy warriors that engage in combat with ... vampires.”

“Exactly. I intend to punish Kain for what he did.” Anna’s words were very determined.

Mariel sighed lightly as she realized that attempting to change her daughter’s mind was a hopeless struggle. “Very well, dear. That is your choice. I wish you well and may the gods protect you.”

Anna nodded in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Mother.”

“Idiots! Imbeciles! You are the most pathetic excuse for soldiers I have ever been given the curse of leading!,” Nightfang ranted as he led the vampire troops back to the Sanctuary of the Clan to face Kain. “I can’t believe you let a pathetic mortal girl slip right through your claws. You shame our Lord Kain, and have severely failed our Father, as well!"

He got no response from the warriors.

Nightfang let out a heavy sigh, that tampered off into a low growl. He couldn’t believe he was stuck with a motley crew, such as this. Or was he...?

He lacked a proper story to tell Kain, and he knew that if he would be the one to lie to Kain, he would surely be thrown into the Abyss, if Kain ever found out. He would use that to his advantage, while getting the chance to be the Captain of true professionals, in the process.

When they arrived at the Sanctuary doors, Nightfang halted the other vampires and called Drakkon before him.

“My dear friend, I am weary from our unfortunate hunt. Do me the honors of informing Kain in my place, would you? I’ll reward you well for the favor.”

Drakkon furrowed his brow. “Nightfang, I’m no fool—you only request this of me, so that I shall be executed, instead of you. I don’t trust you,” he hissed coldly. A realization hit him and he arched an eyebrow suspiciously. “What happened to our true leader, Krull...?”

Nightfang pasted a look of injured pride upon his face. “Why, Drakkon! I would have expected better of you! A true Razielim does not betray his own brood.” Nightfang made his evil sneer look like an innocent grin as he continued. “Poor Krull was killed by the riverside. Weren’t you paying attention?! The unfortunate one who feel into those dastardly waters was none other than the Chief, himself!,” he lied. “I feel much pain for the loss of my brother...” Nightfang pretended to be very distraught for a moment.

Drakkon was beginning to soften a little at the other vampires performance. “Then if backstabbing isn’t your purpose, what do you intend for me to tell Lord Kain of our folly in the woods?” There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone. It irritated Nightfang.

He kept his expression friendly as he answered, “Tell His Majesty that Anna is dead and that we flung her drained corpse into the river.”

“What?!” Drakkon’s eyes widened as though Nightfang had just spat in Kain’s face. “You will have me lie to our Lord and Master—are you mad?!”

“Not mad, my dear soldier. Just very, very clever.” Nightfang patted Drakkon roughly on the pack. “Don’t worry ... He’ll never figure it out...” With that, he shoved the vampire in the direction of the double doors and left with some of the other soldiers, as he headed towards the Razielim Sanctuary. Once alone in his private chambers, Nightfang sniggered evilly.

“I’m so shrewd, I even amaze myself!” He clapped his hands together like an excited child. “Heehee! Nightfang, you sly fox, it’s only a matter of time before Father promotes you.” Helping himself to a goblet of blood, he toasted himself as the future Head of the Militia.

“What the bloody hell...?!” Raziel stared at his ravaged room, the door hacked to splinters, a cabinet by the remaining portion of it—which was just barely hanging from the last hinge that wasn’t torn from the wall. Stepping over the debris of wood, glass, and dropped weapons, the noted that the window had been shattered. Quickly covering the empty frame by jamming a portion of the destroyed door into the open space, he shielded his chambers from the harsh sunlight.

“What on earth happened here?,” he asked himself aloud. He decided to see what Anna knew about this. “Anna? Anna, are you there? Where the hell are you?” No answer. She was nowhere to be found. 

Raziel wondered if Kain new about this. That in mind, he briskly left the ruins of his private quarters.

As he walked down the hall, he heard voices from Kain’s throne room, at the Sanctuary of the Clans.

“So did you kill that little witch?,” he heard Kain ask.

Whomever could he be referring to?, he wondered.

“Yes My Lord,” he heard one of his soldiers, Drakkon, reply. “Anna is no more. She was run down soon after she fled into the woods, fed upon, and disposed of into the river.”

Raziel felt the air get caught in his throat. No ... No ... No, it can’t be ... It can’t...

Drakkon’s report was followed by Kain’s hollow laughter. “Excellent. You have done well. Where is Krull? He deserves a promotion for this.”

“Unfortunately, Sire, Commander Krull fell into the river, by no fault of his own—the waters edge had become weak from heavy rains. We were merely lucky that no others were lost.”

Raziel’s sorrows multiplied—his first born son was dead, too. But somehow, he knew that Drakkon was being dishonest about Krull’s fate. He was far to intelligent to wander so dangerously close to a muddy riverbank. Something was definitely amiss.

The audience with Kain and the soldiers soon ended and they were all dismissed. Raziel now had his chance to face Kain about Anna. What had she done that called for her death?

Kain sat back in his throne, just as his oldest lieutenant stepped before him. “Ah, greetings, Raziel.” His Majesty seemed cheerful enough. Odd, under the circumstances—they had just lost one of their own.

“Greetings, My Lord. I have heard of ... Anna’s execution. What had my personal servant done, that would have caused such an occurrence?” Raziel struggled to keep all emotion out of his voice, although the grief was eating him up inside.

A cold, void grin slid across his Master’s face, once that never failed to send chills down his spine. “That mortal crossed a very thin line, my son. She had the audacity insult me to my face. She had to be made an example of, did she not?”

Raziel just wanted to run. Or scream, or weep—he knew not which. But he contained himself long enough to bow before Kain and answer, “It is as you say, Your Majesty.”

Lord Kain nodded in satisfaction. “You may go.”

Wordlessly, Raziel stood from where he knelt and quickly left the vampire king’s presence. Once he was outside the double doors and faced with the peace of late sunset, he broke into a full run.

He didn’t know where he was running, but he just knew that he had to get as far away from this place as he could, he ran until he was completely exhausted. Unable to go any further, he sank to his knees and sobbed aloud. The pain of his loss was beyond anything he had ever felt. Anna was the first being he was ever able to love. And somewhere deep inside him, he knew she would probably be the last. His body wracked with helpless sobs, the realization hit him like a kick in the gut—his beloved Anna was gone...