Chapter 4

     I got off the floor, seemingly steady. I did not know what to do next. Should I go to this town the letter spoke of, or should I stay here in the forest? I was no longer craving something sweet; I was no longer hungry. I did not know how long this would last, or what would happen when I got the lustful sensation again. I was curious though as to what the town would be like. Would there be humans? Would it be lively, or was it a small town? What if someone found out I was a vampire? Would I be killed? I didn't even know what the date was. I didn't even know what history the world had. Was this a good place? Did any wars happen? “Wait!” I thought aloud. What if there was another being besides humans and vampires?

     These questions did not help me decide any better what to do next. I sat there on the carpet, knees to my chest. It was scary having no memories of the world I lived in. “Stupid Anthony!” I yelled aloud in frustration. Why did he have to take everything away from me? I started to wonder if I really asked for this life, or if he was just an ass hole. I looked down at my shirt, shredded with my bra showing. I guess the first thing to do was to get a new shirt. I got off the floor, going to the closet. I looked at every shirt in the closet. I laughed. They all had anime characters on them. Different shows it seemed. Of course I did not know a single character. Is this his taste in clothes or mine? I settled on a green tank-top. This one actually covered my stomach. It had strings for sleeves covering my shoulders. 

 

     “I am going to town.” I said, slapping my cheeks. The decision was scary, but I could not be afraid of everything. I did not want to stay here in this forest forever. I grabbed the necklace off the table, putting it around my neck. The sun was starting to rise outside. I went to the closest to grab some shoes and socks. The shoes were another pair of sneakers. These are completely black. I felt I was ready for the adventure of a lifetime. “Ha, my adventure of a lifetime of four days!” I laughed at myself. I opened the door, smelling the stream; it smelled like spring water. The grass smelled like morning dew. Lastly, the maple forest. Still smelling of sweet cherries. I also caught the smell of the syrup that had fallen all over the ground. The smell was sour… my facial expression reacting to it. I thought, from my reaction, I did not like sour things. 

 

     I walked along the stream, following it as the letter said. The sun had risen in the sky, but I still was not near a town. I felt like I had been walking for hours. Watching the fish swim passed me, I groaned. “Where is this fucking town at?!” Yelling to no one but myself.  I did not feel tired, but I did feel irritated. I looked at my skin as I walked, noticing it did not look like amber anymore. It was a normal, caramel brown. I guessed that is what he meant by hide my skin. I frowned though, kind of missing the shining my skin did as the sun hit it. It was still soft to the touch. I stopped and looked in the stream at my reflection. It was not as pretty as the amber skin, but pretty nonetheless. I noticed something else that was different. My eyes still had a dazzle in them, but instead of a dark blue like the ocean, they were a light blue. I imagined them looking like the sky, cloudless and vibrant. Like peering into someone’s soul. I loved them. 

 

    I kept walking. It seemed like I had walked 10 miles. I stopped, hearing noises in the distance. I listened as hard as I could, and there it was. It was the sound of people talking.

 

“Today was another dreadful day at the farm.” 

 

“Did you not get as much food from the harvest as you had hoped?”

 

 “No, and we needed the food. The queen does not give us much. We depend on these crops to survive.” 

 

 “Our queen and king need to be replaced.”

 

“Quite! I do not want to be food!”

 

      I listened to this conversation between two men. I did not follow. What did they mean queen and king? Did we live in a world where there was no democracy? Was this a monarchy? I just figured the people ruled. I do not know why I thought this, but it seemed like it would be the way of life. What happened to the world? This gut feeling could not be wrong. What did he mean by becoming food too? I was so confused. I listened to other people, trying to find other things I did not know about. 

 

“The nobles are saying we need to produce more food in our town…”

 

“We have already had 270 babies this month for the nobles. They are using us like a human farm. Some of the women have even talked about giving up. Having their kids taken from them hurts. The ones who do get to keep their kids worry for their future. It’s a lose lose either way.”

 

“I know, but the ones who become servants at least get to help their families, and get treated well.” 

 

“They only get treated well if they give themselves up.”

 

      My mind froze. Give themselves up? Like sex? And what is this about babies being food? Then there’s this servant thing… What in the hell is this place? I walked towards the town, seeing a sign in the middle of it. “Prized Town of the Queen. Blood village. Population: 2,643.” So it was not a big place. I must be on the outskirts of the capital. The information was confusing. I decided to walk around, to see what this town had. The town wasn't that livly. There was a store for food, a clothes shop, a few buildings that looked like apartments, and a hospital. The hospital was small. Where is the school? There was a play area full of kids playing on the slide and swings. I needed an answer to what was going on. How did this world work? I walked up to a woman, standing in front of the food shop. 

“Excuse me ma’am?” I said low, and kind. She turned to face me, her eyes full of aw. She was wearing a dress that looked a little worn down. It was not as nice and clean as my clothes. Her shoes were sandals. They looked to be made out of plastic. She was white, with rosy cheeks. I figured she was blushing at the sight of me. 

“Yes Miss?”

 

 “Hello, my name is Asoka. I am not from around here. Can you please tell me where I am, and if you don’t mind, why is this town worried for their kids?” Her face froze in horror. Like I had asked something forbidden, or maybe something everyone knew about. She looked down at her feet, like she was ashamed to answer. 

 

 “Miss Asoka…”

 

 “Asoka is fine.” 

 

“This is the queen’s personal farm. We live to feed her family. We also provide her with the people she needs to run her kingdom. We are forced to have at least 5 babies a day.” I looked at her confused.

 

“How do you feed the queen?” She lifted her face fast in shock. I did not know the answer to these questions, and was grateful she was answering them. It seemed this question, though, brought fear to her eyes.

 

 “Don’t you know that the queen is a…” Her voice trailed off. Could she not say aloud the answer? 

 

“I do not even know the queen and king's name…” She turned her head away, not facing me as she spoke.

 

“Queen Vera  and King Marcus are the leaders of the vampire race, and for the past 280 years, the human race too. They have one son named Anthony, though you don’t see him much.” My eyes widened. Anthony? It couldn’t be Anthony who turned me. ‘I am a noble among vampires.’ The letter said that, but if it is true… he is not a noble among vampires. He is the Prince to all vampires! She continued talking. 

 “The capital is not far from here. Maybe a week away if you take a car, but only vampires can drive them. To get a ride you have to be willing to let them drink your blood. The castle is in the middle of the capital.”

 “Are there only noble vampires?” She looked back at me. I didn't quite understand the look on her face. It was a mixture of shock, and discussed. It was like the idea of talking about vampires made her sick. 

 

“There are the noble bloods. They are the queen’s brothers and sisters, and their kids. Then there is the dhampir. They are half human and half vampires. The nobles do not look down on them, but they are not giving the same treatment as nobles either. They come about after some of the nobles fell for humans. It is not taboo, but it is not common either. The pure blooded vampires can have kids. They grow up at a normal rate like us humans, but once they hit 26, they stop aging. Dhampir on the other hand, have kids more on the human side.” She looked at me and laughed.

 

 “Like we need any more half human demons spawn anyways!” Her grin grew into an evil smile. I stepped back, fearing she might do something if she knew I was a vampire too. “Thank you for the information.” I said taking step after step back. I slowly turned around walking fast paced in the opposite direction. That was not what I expected. I still had no clue of the date though. I did however know that I needed to head to the capital. If that was where Anthony was, that was where I was heading.