She stepped away from me and I saw that the ceiling of the room was gone. It was open to the night sky and revealed the beauty of the starlit night. I felt my mind begin to leave my body as I stared into the dark blue sky above me. Strange smells filled my nostrils and two of the vampires swirled around gold lanterns which had red smoke emanating from them. As I seemed to travel further and further toward the limitless dark void, I could barely hear the words of the prayer Mara recited.
“Goddess of the night, we call upon thee to accept another daughter into your realm and under your protection. We beg you to grant her peace in this transformation and bless her as you do all your children of the night.”
As Mara’s prayer ended, a sudden shock of piercing pain made me scream out. I lurched forward as it started to build and I cried out to Mara but her face was cold and emotionless. With a swift and powerful movement she and the other vampires held me down as I struggled and cried.
“You must not struggle. Do you understand?” Mara ordered in a harsh tone that made me whimper at her. All I could do was simply nod my head as tears spilled across my face.
The vampires slowly released me and my body trembled slightly as the pain grew stronger. I could feel warm blood flowing out of my wrists, around my neck and between my legs. It traveled across my skin causing agony and panic to slowly build within me.
I turned to see that each of the six vampires in the room held sharp daggers with hilts that were decorated with large rubies. Their handles etched in gold were wrapped delicately in an intricate design like stars of the night sky and a ruby as the moon, a blood red moon.
Each had used the exceptional speed of a vampire to slice at a major artery, creating deep gashes in my flesh. My life blood was pouring out of me onto the white marble platform and dripping onto the steps below. The sound of it dripping echoed throughout the room. I could feel the sound of it driving me mad.
Mara then came into my vision again her fangs bared. She peered down at me as she held out a large crystal bowl to each vampire. It was filled with a thick dark liquid that surely had to be blood and I wondered if it was my blood. I wanted to sit up and look at it, but I could feel my focus fading and my body growing weak. Each vampire dipped two fingers into the blood and held their fingers above me. When each vampire had their fingers coated, in unison they applied the blood onto my open wounds. Their fingers plunged into my wounds with such great force, that I wanted to cry out, but I lacked the air in my lungs to do so. I could only allow more tears to fall down my face in hot streams as I gurgled and moaned.
The amount of pain I felt when they cut into me was nothing compared to the excruciating agony I felt when that blood mixed with mine. My body had been set on fire from within, burning its way through the millions of veins inside me. I found the breath to scream and my howls tore through the night, more frightening than any horror movie. I choked on my own sobs and fought against the vampires as they held me down again still pressing their fingers into my pulsating, throbbing wounds.
I was certain my skin was boiling and bubbling up in grotesque welts as the immense heat burned through me. I cursed them and vowed I would kill them if they didn’t let me go, yet they remained emotionless as they held me. I then took to pleading and begging for mercy asking them to kill me to end this misery. They still did not stop. Their fangs bared as they stared at me with dark intensity.
I could feel darkness starting to shadow my vision as the faces of the vampires started to fade away. I struggled less and less as my body gave way to death or transformation. I wasn’t certain which, but either was favorable to the immense misery of torture I was feeling.
“Focus, Claire!” Mara ordered as she jerked my head upward to look back into the night sky. I felt her hand sharply strike my face. “Look at the stars and focus on the goddess!”
“I can’t,” I whimpered at her sounding more pitiful than I had ever in my life or ever would again.
“You must!” she ordered and jerked my head upward again.
I opened my eyes and tried to focus as tears blurred my vision. As I felt myself start to fade again my eyes locked onto a particularly bright star in the sky and before I had a moment to think a single thought, my world went black.
Chapter 8
I don’t know exactly how much time had passed, but to me if felt like a lifetime. The night of my transformation remained pristinely clear, however the time that followed was foggy. I recalled waking on several occasions to wretch into a waste basket, which I later saw and deemed too beautiful a waste basket to vomit in, even for a Princess.
When my body finished the change and finally accepted it, I was able to think clearly. It was as if a veil had been lifted. I was aware of my surroundings like never before. My eyes widened at the sight of my room and I found it hard to comprehend that it was actually more beautiful now than it had been before. I could see all the textures and I noticed the changes in colors made by the candlelight on different kinds of fabric. I could feel and hear who in the room were vampires and who were humans.
There were two vampires in the room and I found them quickly as I could sense where they were without even having to look. Mara and Evilyn were seated in my waiting room just outside my door. Evilyn sensed my eyes on them almost immediately and smiled as she returned my gaze.
As they both rose to approach me, I noticed that they looked far less formal than I had ever seen them before, but no less beautiful. In fact, I think they looked even more beautiful with no make-up on their faces and wearing simpler clothes. Or was it because my improved eyesight truly captured every angle of their beauty?
“How are you feeling child?” Evilyn asked as she took a seat beside me on the bed.
I had to think on it a moment to find the words that could describe what I was feeling. It was difficult to find a word that could express the new sensations I was experiencing. Still in awe of the whole experience, my hands flew to my mouth touching my teeth where my fangs would soon begin to grow.
I was silly to expect them to be similar to Robin’s, clearly fangs but yet not nearly as long as the older vampires, even though she had told me that it would take a long while. I was shocked to find two fully grown fangs and ran my tongue across them not trusting my fingers discovery.
“I have fangs,” I said in a shocked tone. “Robin told me that fangs take time to grow.” I looked to Evilyn for an answer and found her expression to look both pleased and concerned.
“You are developing quite fast, Claire. I’ve never heard or read anything about it before,” Mara said in the same fascinated tone I noticed in Dmitry. When I saw her looking at me like I was some prized science experience I turned to Evilyn for a better explanation.
“Is there something wrong with me?” I asked.
“Of course not!” Evilyn said with a tad of arrogance and an almost irritated tone. “You are a Noire now, a Princess, pure of blood. The acceleration in your transformation is only proof of our superior blood line and the strength of the ages that now runs through your veins. It was my very own blood that was used to change you.”
I then saw the expression of hidden hurt in her face and realized that I may have accidently insinuated that something was wrong with her blood. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I just wasn’t expecting… well these,” I said as I pointed to my fangs.
“They are beautiful child,” Evilyn cooed as she ran her hand softly across my face. Her touch was no longer cold and I smiled back at her. My new mom. “I have something for you.”
The Queen rose from the bed and retrieved a small silver goblet from a servant standing at the door way. Before she even told me I knew the contents of it, blood. The coppery smell quickly traveled through the air and my body responded immediately. A sensation of yearning coursed through me, a hunger pain that wasn’t just in my stomach but in my entire body. Every inch of me desired the blood that was in that goblet.
“We chose correctly,” Mara commented as Evilyn stood at the en
d of my bed. “You can see how much she greatly desires it.”
Feeling embarrassed, I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth and looked away. I must have looked like a dog begging for scraps from the dinner table.
“It is a good thing Claire. A great deal of work goes into the pairing of a vampire and the blood they must feed on. The greater your desire for the blood, the better a match we have made.” Evilyn smiled at me as she handed me the goblet.
I was surprised to feel the warmth of the blood through the silver of the cup. It seemed to warm my fingers and only made me want it more. I had expected that the first time I drank blood I would be hesitant, but the longing I felt was undeniable. I looked to the Queen before bringing it to my lips and she smiled an almost wicked smiled and nodded at me.
I brought the goblet to my lips and drank greedily. The thick blood coated my throat and I moaned as I savored its taste. I felt like I had drank liquid satisfaction mixed with electricity. I could almost feel it travel throughout my body, igniting every inch of me, leaving me feeling utterly amazing. I resisted the urge to wipe my finger around the inside of the goblet and get every last drop, instead I maintained some semblance of composure.
I handed the goblet back to Evilyn, it still didn’t feel natural to call her mom yet. Taking a deep breath I pulled myself out of bed and headed for the full length mirror in my closet. I was dreading this moment most. Was I going to still look like myself? Would I recognize the reflection staring back at me?
I passed Louie who was reclined lazily on the chaise and he simply yawned at me. “I’m glad you’re not scared of me Louie. I don’t know what I would do without you,” I said as I scratched under his chin.
“I’ve never seen an animal take to the change so well. You must have a very strong bond,” Evilyn commented from the doorway.
I closed my eyes and took the last couple steps until I was directly in front of the mirror. It took some time to build courage enough to open my eyes, but I slowly did. What I saw not only shocked me, but it also filled me with incredible happiness. I was beautiful!
I had always thought myself pretty, but somehow the transformation into a vampire perfected all the flaws I thought I had. My skin took on paleness but seemed to glow as it reflected the light of the room. Even my hair seemed to be more vibrant as the red hue in my auburn locks stood out in comparison to my new ivory skin. My eyes were now the limitless dark pools of all vampires. I worried that I would agree with the nay-sayers that my eyes would look soulless, but I could sense there was something buried deep inside me now that was never there before. An understanding and connection with the world around me unlike I had ever imagined.
Stepping closer to the mirror, I opened my mouth to reveal my new fangs. They stood out amongst my other teeth and oddly enough, I felt like they looked completely normal. I couldn’t understand how having fangs felt perfectly right, as if they had been missing my whole life and they finally were where they belonged.
As I ran my tongue across them Evilyn stood behind me and admired my reflection lovingly. “You are more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. Your father is even calling you his little miracle,” she said as she stroked my hair.
The mention of the word father made my heart ache with both sadness and happiness. I thought of Nicolae then and I could feel the connection between us as I could between the Queen and I. An understanding washed over me. “He turned you,” I said in surprise.
“He did child. His blood flows through my body as it now does yours. We are bonded for all eternity daughter,” she kissed the top of my head and then dramatically turned about the room and started sorting through the gown section of my elaborate walk-in closet.
I sat down in front of the mirror and continued to inspect my new body. Testing how quickly I could swing my arm this way or that, or what sounds I could hear and how far away they were. The Queen continued to sort through gowns, mumbling things to the servants as she handed dresses to them.
“The coronation ball is tomorrow night. There we will announce you to the region as well as the vampire high council and all the high ranking vampires in our region.”
The mention of the ball drew my attention away from my reflection. It was one of the first things about turning into a vampire I was most excited about. I glanced over to my new vampire mom who was holding up a shimmering royal blue gown.
Evilyn was studying the cut of the dress and rubbing the fabric between her fingers when a vampire came rushing up to her side. When I was human, vampires looked much like a blur when they moved so swiftly but with new my vampire eyesight I could see him quite clearly and his speed didn’t seem so fast.
Evilyn leaned into the man as he whispered into her ear. I watched him as his dark eyes darted at me and then back to the Queen. Even with my improved hearing I couldn’t make out his words. When his message had been delivered he exited the room as quickly as he had entered leaving the Queen looking slightly irritated.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about. Your duty right now is to focus on preparing yourself for the ball and your first public role as Princess Noire,” Evilyn said as she hung the dress back on the rack. “Fetch the young Miss Willow please,” she ordered a nearby servant who quickly exited the room. “I trust Robin will help get you properly prepared for tomorrow night. If you need anything just send a servant to summon me.”
I simply nodded at her trying my best to contain my excitement. I knew I was being narrow-minded, but the idea of being a Princess and attending a royal ball was simply magical. Even though I had about a million questions, I was sure Robin would be more than willing to tell me everything I wanted to know now that I was a vampire.
As the Queen left, the servants followed after and I realized that Mara had gone as well and I didn’t even notice, but I was grateful for the moment of quiet to collect my thoughts. I knew it would be merely moments before Robin arrived in her usual exuberance and although I knew I would join in on her happiness I always savored the time I got to myself. I very much wanted to test my new abilities, but I was still greatly exhausted from the transformation. A memory from that night flashed through my mind and I remember finding peace by looking at the stars in the sky, so I made my way to the small balcony that extended off of the far end of my sitting room.
As I parted the curtains, I found the night wasn’t as dark as I had expected, nor was it my improved vision that made it so. The sky was a glow simply by the light of the abnormally bright moon that was fuller than I had ever remembered seeing it.
“It is called the hunter’s moon,” Ana said sharply from behind me.
If I could have hidden it, I would have, but she startled me. I didn’t sense her approach and I should have.
Ana laughed sarcastically, “What’s the matter, Princess? Little miss perfect pure blood can’t even sense a single vampire?” She clicked her tongue between her lips, “Tsk tsk. That just won’t do, what would Nicolae think of his precious stray? How sad is it that they chose you as their desperate attempt to maintain the throne.”
I put my hands on my hips as she looked me over, obviously appraising my transformation. “What do you want?”
“Oh, I just wanted to see for myself if you were even close to what everyone seems to think you are. I do say, they may be disappointed.” She smiled at me and flashed her fangs in an almost predatory manner as she flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
“Who is everyone?” I didn’t think she would really tell me, but I figured I would try anyway. I knew Ana was the biggest bitch in the palace, but one thing I learned from Liz was that those girls knew things that no one else did. It was getting them to tell you that was the hard part.
“You really have no clue do you, Princess?” Ana asked in an amused hiss. “Dmitry was right, you are very amusing.”
She was really starting to piss me off, although the mention of Dmitry talking to her about me is what really ruffled my
feathers most. “Why are you such a bitch?”
Ana’s face contorted to extreme hatred and disgust as she flashed toward me in a sudden rush. She stopped just an inch from my face her teeth bared. I sucked in a breath, which only made her break out in laughter. “You are pathetic. They really think they can continue their reign with someone as weak as you. What a joke. They knew me and my parents were the rightful heirs. And when all the other elders of our region agree…” She hissed at me like a snake, “all of a sudden they have this perfect pure blood magically found in our region.” Her sarcastic tone was filled with hate. “You are just their puppet!” She got in my face, fangs bared, but I held my ground even though she was proclaiming the one true fear I had. That I really was a puppet. “They are weak and exposed. I would bring back the respect our kind deserves!”
“With a vampire like you as their only option…” Robin entered the room with a wavering confidence. I could tell that this was probably the first time she had ever stood up to Ana, and I was never more proud of her than in that moment.
“Robin you’re even worse than this joke of a Princess. Soon you’ll both see. The world is meant for the strong and powerful.”
With that, Ana sped from the room but not before swinging her arm across the large bouquet of flowers on the coffee table and sending all the petals flying from off their stems. Her laugh remained, echoing throughout the room for a few moments after she left.
“She has serious issues. What is her damn problem?” I asked Robin as she inspected the ruined bouquet of flowers.
“She was hoping you wouldn’t have survived the change. To be honest, I was a little surprised you made it. Not because I didn’t think you weren’t strong enough, but…” Robin looked to me then and smiled as she viewed my new vampire body. “Look at you! Va-va-Voom!”
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