Triana
Her body went rigid, as if every inch of her body had rusted and her muscles had frozen. Her heart raced, and her breath came out heavy. She wanted to flee, but even her fingers wouldn't budge as fear chained her soul.
Vlador lowered one foot to step onto the bed where Triana lay, followed by both hands. He began to crawl over Triana's body until their faces met.
"Hh..." Triana whimpered. Her tongue was numb as Vlador brought his pale face close to her throbbing neck, causing her to turn her face to the side with tightly shut eyes.
Triana's jaw tightened, and she clenched the bedsheets as she felt Vlador's lips press against the bite mark she believed was still open, sending a pang of ache and sting through her once more. But instead of a bite, Triana heard a long, strong exhale, causing her to peek slightly. Her brow furrowed as she realized Vlador was pulling his face away.
Then a large hand with long nails gripped Triana's jaw, forcing her to look forward at the fierce face of the vampire.
"I long to drink your blood to the last drop. I want to tear into your muscles and swallow every strand of your veins until your thin body dries up. But why must I be the one to let you drink my blood, human girl?"
Staring at Vlador, Triana blinked the tears from her eyes. What was he saying?
"Remove that fearful face of yours because I cannot bring myself to kill you," Vlador growled, then continued with a mutter, "At least, not for now."
Feeling the grip on her jaw tighten, Triana winced, but Vlador finally released the grip and left her body.
Blinking again, Triana tried to regulate her labored breathing. If she had to stand at the edge of a cliff facing a rocky sea, it might feel like this. But compared to her heart, which felt like it was about to explode, Triana was more concerned about the meaning behind Vlador's words just now.
She thought her life would end minutes ago, but wasn't that a thought that had crossed her mind before—when she was being eaten by Vlador in the middle of the forest?
So where was she now? She was in a room, and she was alive! And that vampire... did he just say that he wouldn't kill her?
"Och..." Triana winced again as she touched her neck, feeling the waves of pain approaching the vampire bite.
She touched her wound with her fingers. It was so painful and somewhat damp. When she pulled her hand back and looked at her fingers, there were spots of blood.
Scanning her surroundings, Triana found Vlador standing behind a window. His long arms were raised to lean on both sides of the window frame. His head was slightly bowed, as if he were experiencing depression.
The threat of being killed, which was no longer in front of her, was giving Triana the strength to sit up. "Wh-where am I? What happened?"
"I've been cursed, and so have you. We ... have been cursed." Vlador said without looking at Triana.
Triana's eyes widened. Ignoring the soreness in her neck and her weak body, she jumped off the bed and ran around the large, dimly lit room.
"Mirror! Where's the mirror?!" She cried out.
Vlador turned his back, and then his brown eyes followed where Triana was running. His brow furrowed, and he muttered, "What is that fool doing?"
Looking back at Vlador, Triana asked again, "Don't you have a mirror here? Please... I need it."
"I don't have one," Vlador replied. Then his gaze turned sharp. "Your face... It looks like a monster."
"What?" Tears welled up in Triana's trembling eyes. Then she fell to her knees with hands still exploring her face. "No! Haven't I fulfilled the conditions? Then why do I still receive the curse of ugliness? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Triana couldn't believe she had turned ugly. Although she couldn't see what her face looked like yet and didn't feel any difference when she touched it, a terrifying image of a hideous monster haunted her mind.
A pair of black shoes stepped forward and halted in front of Triana. Then a large, pale hand with long, sharp nails lifted her chin.With warm tears filling her eyes, Triana looked at Vlador, who was smiling crookedly at her. She should have been afraid of the blood-drinking, fanged man. But somehow, the bleak future her parents always warned her about since she was little was even more terrifying.
Wouldn't it be better to die than to live in misery as the ugly one?
"So it's true. You made me drink that potion of suffering just for your beauty. The future you meant was that beauty, wasn't it? You're such a pitiful woman." Vlador uttered.
Ignoring the insult, Triana continued to sob, "How can I go home like this? I came here to save my future, but now my life is a mess. My future is ruined! What will people say when they see my face? What will happen to my parents... to my family?"
With a short laugh, Vlador released his grip. "That's the risk you have to accept when dealing with witches. If you weren't foolish, you should’ve known they're more cunning than serpents."
"If I have to live like this, I'd rather die," Triana murmured, hanging down her face until her tears fell directly onto the wooden floor.
But that statement was met with Vlador’s narrowed eyes, who soon stared sharply at Triana. "You cannot die. You should not. I won't allow it."
Raising her face, Triana looked at Vlador with furrowed brows. "Wh-what do you mean? Didn't you almost kill me?" She asked, then paused for a moment to realize that the fact that she was alive now was a big anomaly.
"Weren't you... going to kill me? Why am I still alive now? What is actually..."
Triana's string of questions halted again as vague memories began to surface in her mind.
Previously, she was captured by the bloodstained-mouthed vampire. Then she felt an immense pain in her neck as the vampire attacked her. At that moment, her body went limp, and her vision blurred. She was dying, but...
"The witch..." Triana muttered, her eyes widening. She lifted her gaze to meet the pale face with a pair of golden brown eyes above her.
"It seems your memories are just returning," Vlador said.
Triana nodded. "But I can't clearly remember what the witch said because I was dying at that time. Shouldn't... shouldn't I be dead by now? I thought you killed me at that time."
"I hoped I did. Unfortunately, you've become a burden to me now. You're a parasite." Vlador hissed.
TrianaLocking her gaze on the furious vampire, Triana's heart pounded hard as she could sense the dark aura surrounding Vlador, though she was unable to see it directly with her eyes."Wh-what's the truth? What is happening to us?" Triana asked."That hag used her potion to curse us. I'll die if you die, and vice versa," Vlador explained.Triana's jaw dropped. She covered her mouth with her hand and concluded, "The witch has tied our lives together.""Not just our lives, Gosling. There's another curse that will torment me greatly. To stay alive, you must drink my blood at least every five days. And I will always crave yours," Vlador said, brushing aside the long hair framing Triana's face.Dropping her gaze to the floor, Triana tried to process the nonsensical situation. She had to drink a vampire's blood to stay alive? And the vampire whose blood she had to drink, craved her blood in return. Meanwhile, their lives were linked, so if she died, the vampire would also die. That meant th
Triana.A heavy, warm whisper tickled Triana's ears, sending shivers down her spine. Then she felt Vlador swing their bodies sideways and tumble out, defying the wind with their heads facing downward.They fell. Vlador carried Triana plummeting from the highest peak of the castle towards the hard ground below. The stirred sensation in her stomach, chest, and neck rendered her unable to scream, especially with her head positioned downward, as if her brain were being pulled by gravity towards her stomach.Her hands gripped the shirt that enfolded the vampire's body that was enveloping her. She could only surrender. She didn't understand Vlador's purpose in doing this. Did he want them to die together?Briefly, Triana opened her eyes a little to peek and caught a glimpse of trees with their branches passing her by vertically at high speed.‘I don't want to die. Father, mother... I want to go home,’ Triana cried inwardly.The sensation of falling grew stronger, making it difficult for Tria
Triana.Vlador's arm that encircled Triana's waist loosened, and finally, both of her feet touched the ground.As Vlador released his grip, Triana fell to her knees, her body trembling. Just moments ago, she had so much joy in flying through the sky, but now she was truly grateful to be able to touch the ground again.The heavy footsteps passing by caught Triana's attention. She found Vlador walking towards the witch's hut, located a few meters ahead of them.Triana's eyes widened, her jaw unconsciously dropping. It was the first time she had seen the complete form of a vampire's wings.In her teenage years, she had seen vampire wings at the Rotherez Kingdom palace. It was a pair of vampire wings displayed on the wall of the palace's grand dining room. At that time, King Rotherez proudly said that the vampire wings were severed directly by his grandfather before killing the vampire they had captured in a hunt a hundred and fifty years ago.Triana never expected that the fresh vampire w
Triana."What are you doing?" Triana stammered.The witch who had cursed them both was her only hope of returning to her former life. But now that witch was dead. Vlador had killed her. Why did he kill her?Suddenly, Triana felt a tightness in her throat, followed by a rumble in her stomach. The upheaval rose from her stomach to her throat, making her immediately bolt out of the witch's hut with her body slightly hunched over and her hand covering her mouth.Once outside the door, Triana released her hand from her mouth to allow the contents of her stomach to come out. She coughed while clutching onto a wooden beam attached to the witch's hut wall. The world around her seemed to spin. If she wasn’t holding onto something, she was sure she would be lying on the ground by now.Triana wasn't sure if the nausea came because she witnessed a gruesome murder right before her eyes or because she saw her only hope of breaking this curse die. Both shook her to the core.Wiping her mouth with the
Vlador.Watching the seasons change and the full moon appear and disappear from behind the small window eroded Vlador's soul. The despair made him hope for death several times, just like his family and his people.The war between humans and vampires finally ended after hundreds of years filled with bloodshed. Unfortunately, the war was won by the human race.From generation to generation, humans and vampires continued to wage war. Like any other war, they fought over territory to reproduce, seek sustenance, and build civilization. Vampires always remained the main enemy of humans because humans were their food.Humans always considered themselves descendants of gods, believing that they were the most sacred and perfect creations of God. Besides frequently killing their kind, they also hated vampires because vampires were descendants of demons, which was true.Like other vampires, Vlador also harbored a deep hatred for humans. However, he also despised the vampires around him. When he s
Vlador."I believe checking this won't kill me," Vlador said as he accepted the object Triana showed him.Certainly, among the pile of rubbish that seemed to be witchcraft materials, a small wooden stick wrapped in a piece of cloth and tied with a red string was something suspicious. Without needing to open it, it could be guaranteed that it was a letter or spell.Vlador untied the knot of the red string and unfurled the cloth. The piece of cloth came loose and fell, but Vlador's hand darted downward, catching it just as it landed on the palm of his hand.Triana's eyes widened. "There's writing on it."Unraveling the cloth, Vlador examined its contents for a few seconds, only to click his tongue. "This is witch language.""Oh..." Triana sighed as if her enthusiasm had evaporated along with the breath she exhaled. But it took just a second for her eyes to widen again. Then she reached out her hand to Vlador. "May I take a look? I've studied witch language before.""You have?" Vlador fur
Vlador.The human body differs from that of a vampire. Humans easily feel hungry. They need to eat and drink at least once a day. When their energy is drained but they are still forced to be active, their bodies will weaken, and they may even lose consciousness.Before being imprisoned for a hundred years, Vlador had never socialized with humans. He knew little about them. All he cared about regarding humans was which group had tastier blood and all their character flaws."Hey, wake up! Don't die!" Vlador said with a slightly raised voice while patting Triana's cheeks.But despite his repeated attempts to wake Triana, her eyes remained closed. Vlador had forgotten how weak humans were, and it seemed this girl was one of the weakest. He couldn't understand why Triana would faint just because she lost a little blood and vomited her stomach contents."This is not good. My life is at risk," Vlador muttered as he rose to his feet.Strong winds hit Vlador's body. Trees whizzed by at high spe
Triana"Oh… Mr. Great Vampire, I believe you wouldn't underestimate me if you've ever tasted the deliciousness of cakes, savory stews, tender beef steaks, and freshly baked meat pies from my castle's kitchen," Triana replied, lifting her chin.Suddenly... Krrrrr!Triana's eyes widened. Her hands quickly wrapped around her stomach. She smiled sheepishly at Vlador, who also seemed slightly surprised by the loud noise."Forgive me. It seems remembering all those foods has made me hungry.""I believe it's not just because you're imagining all that food," Vlador replied, rising from his seat. "Be thankful, naive Gosling. I have prepared food for you.""You prepared food for me?" Triana raised both eyebrows high."Don't repeat my words," Vlador said as he walked towards a table on the other side of the room.With a pounding heart and eager breath, Triana glued her gaze to Vlador, whose figure almost disappeared in the dark room that was illuminated only by the sunlight streaming through the