I wake up gasping, my heart runs through my chest like a stampede along the fields. 

My breath comes out in pants, my hands finding their way to my stomach, half expecting a gaping hole to be in the middle, with blood pouring out of the wound like water from a hot spring. I let out a cough and wipe a bead of sweat off my forehead, allowing myself to glance at my hands in the process. They are no longer dirty, no longer human even, but, at this moment, the very view of these monstrous hands is a relief compared to the blood-stained one in that of that, of nightmares!

For a moment I was happy, I saw Mama again. But there was the damned person who took it away just like that. Maybe if I were there just a moment longer, I could hug Mama and tell her how much I love her. Just for a moment longer. 

I sigh and take off the blankets that wrap around my body. I lift my hands above my head and stretch; I take notice of the light that bounces around the house, suggesting that I am not the only one that has been brought to the light’s fingertips. 

“Celia?” I shout. My voice bounces around several different walls of the house, and I can hear a sudden shuffling deep towards my left where her study lays. I cautiously let my feet touch the floor, and despite expecting it to feel cool, it only feels like floor, no cold nor warm. I do not know if I will ever get used to this feeling, this feeling of, just, nothing. 

I stand up and cautiously step around, peeking my head around the house and looking for the source of life. I eventually make my way to the study and notice that the door is closed. Despite the dread that lies deep within my stomach, I knock on the door, intrigued. 

“Come in!” Celia’s voice echoes about the house, and I turn the handle of the door and allow myself into the study. She sits there on a seat right in front of her desk, eyeglasses reflecting light from a lamp that magically lit lamp sitting to her left. Her eyes find mine and she gives a tired smile.

“I was waiting for you; I think it is time we go over something. What I am about to show you is for two reasons only: going out for hunts and hiding when people come over.”

“What do you mean?” I question aloud as Celia stands up from her chair and walks over to one of the looming bookcases. Her hands trail along the various spines before she nods her head. 

“Come over here, do you see this book?” I walk over and her hand lies along the spine of a plain, black book. The title reads something foreign to my tongue, likely something magic-related. 

“I do.” Celia takes the book out of the bookcase, and I expect some sort of explosion to happen as she does so, but there is no reaction, nothing at all. 

“When I take out this specific book nothing happens but look at this.” Celia opens the book as I peer over her shoulder, curiosity flowing through my veins. She flips to a book-marked page, and that is where there is an illustration, like paint along a plain sheet of canvas. 

“Aperta porta,” she says aloud and there is suddenly a quiet groan; my eyes are redirected to a few floorboards not even a few steps away as a few slide into different directions. Suddenly, a stairway appears from underneath.

“W-what?” My mouth is agape as my head tilts to the left, looking at the staircase only a few feet from where I stand. Celia motions for me to follow her, and we step near the staircase, hovering right near the first few steps. 

“This staircase leads to the main tunnel that runs underneath the kingdom. This tunnel is for strictly magic users and non-humans. Whenever you need to escape pick up this book, the one with a foreign language, and chant Aperta porta into it. This will, without fail, open.”

“Where does this lead?” I question and Celia gives me a smile.

“Good thing you asked,” she pauses a moment before she starts to walk down the staircase. I hesitantly walk from behind and glance around as the walls start to narrow in on us. Celia suddenly stops as our feet hit stone,” If you always take a left on this path, then you will end up on the outskirts of the kingdom where the Yehema forest and swamp lies. Again, this entire tunnel is not visible to mortal eyes, so you are safe in here.” 

“Interesting, so why would I need to get out of the kingdom anyway besides if we were to encounter some sort of trouble from the bastard?” I did not have to elaborate on who I was talking about as we both could put the pieces together of the puzzle. Or what we have, so far, of this damned mystery. 

“Well, that is rather simple. I have the role of an elder, but I am also a shopkeeper and, not to mention, a gatekeeper. It is safe to say that I am rather crucial in this system. Did you ever wonder why a gatekeeper might be sitting there as someone who sells jewelry?”

“No that never occurred to me.” It was weird, I never did question why she is a shopkeeper if she has all the roles she needs. She can do anything she wants if she makes sure the kingdom is safe. Why be a shopkeeper when she can be used in the castle? 

“I oversee the marketplace, making sure that there is no mischief going on that might be plotted against the king. I keep people safe, and it is easiest to be a shopkeeper there, giving back to the community while keeping others safe at the same time.”

“Okay, but what does this have to do going to the outskirts of the kingdom?”

Celia and I look around the twisted hallway, and I can see, sparsely, staircases that look very similar to ours. Yet, there are very few around here. From what I can see, there might be two or three staircases to where my line-of-sight ends. 

“You see, I can’t leave my shopkeeper role to hunt for you.”

“Hunt?”

“You’ll need to find prey that isn’t human.” She gives me a pointed down look,” and there aren’t any good meats in the kingdom that have the proper nutrition you need. So, you will need to go and hunt.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“It’s our only way, Alice. I am unable to do anything else, plus, it is the only chance that your primitive side might be able to unwind. As a strigoi, you are technically half vampire half beast. You need to unwind to ensure that you don’t hurt anyone.”

I nod my head in agreeance and let out a shallow breath. Things are insane, blasphemy. But, alas, there seems to be some sort of calm deep within this raging hurricane. However, before I have a chance to even relax, Celia starts to walk down the hallway. I must jog over to her to catch up, which was only a few steps. 

“Where are we going?” I question aloud. Celia looks back at me and grabs her spectacles from her face, pulling them off and into a pocket on her dress.

“To hunt.”

----

“Where are we going?” My voice is quiet as we walk around the outskirts of the swamp, mainly on dry land so we do not get stuck too far into the marsh. We pass near a few ponds, but the entire area seems to be deserted within the dusk hours. 

I only realized, as soon as we got into the open area an hour ago, that I woke up when the stars had only started to fade away from the sky. So, it is safe to say, the morning is bright, yet the sun has started to rise. 

“Where I know there will be some sort of prey. Stay a bit behind me,” she ushers for me to follow her, and only then does an odd-smelling scent pass by my nose. I tilt my head as my fangs elongate slightly, and a small smirk cannot help but be passed through my mouth. I must continually shake my head to keep my mind clear, but the closer we get to the scent, the more the hunger starts to arrive right on the tip of my tongue. 

Alas, we arrive at, what I assume, is our predestined stop. How I know this is that we are stuck behind a few thin trees, a few feet ahead of us lies what seems to be a calf of some sort. It is small, still relatively young, and it appears to be left alone. The mother cannot be far; she would not just leave her young in the middle to die alone. 

“The mom is certainly close.” 

“Well, we won’t need long. Here’s what I want you to do.” She freezes for a moment and gives a smile towards me, but behind those innocent eyes is a glint of mischief. It is like she wants to see what I am going to do to the small creature. I know I am not a monster, but there is something deep within me that wants to just, eat. 

“I can’t right now, Celia.”

“You need to. There might not be another chance until two rotations later. Word is suggesting that the king is looking to do an inspection of all homes on the east to look for any suspecting outsiders.” 

“Or perhaps looking to see if there are any monsters that are ready to tear his head off.” She lets out a smile before shaking her head at my rather ridiculous comment. Well, perhaps it is not so ridiculous with the idea that it can be considered true. I may not be an outsider, but I might as well be considered one. I should not be in this kingdom, and the trip anywhere else would just lead to another dead end. Truth be told, no kingdom would dare approach a being such as I. That is why I need to get Mama, that is why I need to be turned back to a human and run. Run far away from this damned kingdom. 

“Now go, Alice. I can see it in the way your eyes burn red, kill it, feed.” 

“You’re rather gruesome, perhaps even more than the actual monster.”

“Tsk, child, I am just curious.” I shake my head with a bit of cheekiness before Celia moves out of the way. I step forward a bit and let out a deep, heavy breath. Something within me stirs awake and I can feel my eyes shift downwards to my feet as I grit my teeth together. My gums ache and my hands start to pang with small bits of pain. I can only let out a grunt as my fingernails start to elongate, only to start turning black. 

My nails shift outwards, and the black veins spread up my arms, and I am slightly aghast by the sudden transformation. Yet, I do not have much time to think before the mom comes back. I slowly walk forward, towards the resting calf. My mind is starting to become foggier, denser than the mist that has settled deep within the A.M. hours. I try to steer my head clear, and it soon settles upon one topic.

Not the king. Not Mama. Just --- food. 

I leap from my spot and land only a foot away from the resting calf. My landing is gentle, not daring to even make a start. I quickly take notice that it appears to be asleep; I am thanking the gods that I was silent. It is like I took a step on a cloud, forgetting about the boundaries of gravity and ignoring the rules of noise, being nothing more than a shadow deep within the night’s cover. 

I hover over the calf and open my mouth wide. Before I even have a chance to take in my next moments, my mouth works on its own, and I chomp down on its neck. Blood, this time, does not spill all about. Instead, there is no blood. Rather, my body automatically does something bizarre, odd. I can feel something protrude from my fangs, and I can only assume it is a venom of some sort.

I let the unknown feeling spread for a few seconds before I start to suck on its blood. The taste, however, is not as sweet as the first time, the very first time I drank the soul away of a human. Rather the blood tastes rather bland in my mouth, little bits of flavor as spread about sporadically. It is like drinking water. I want it to be fresh, to be cold, but, only for the most time, it is warm besides those few spots that are heavenly cool. 

After a few moments, I can feel my body start to relax. I am quickly to understand something, this blood is not my food, it is not even my water. No, this blood is my oxygen, and I will die very quickly without it.