The Legend of Juliet: Part One (A Vampire Dystopia) (Finding Freedom Novellas) (2 page)

I remember the day when I was born, though I don’t know how. It was dark, and it was night, and it was a rare night, one where you could actually see the moon, which is usually hidden behind the dark clouds that continuously linger in the sky, painting it a grey color.

There had been a total lunar eclipse that night, the first in a long while. My parents and Miss Mercy had taken me outside with them, after I’d opened my eyes. I had seen it, the eclipse, gaining my first memory.

I’d seen the moon turn red, and my first vision of the world had been of something soaked in blood.

Chapter Two

It was nine after the tenth hour when Sibold and I reached the deck, and Sibold strode over to one of the large, plush chairs, sliding into it casually while I stood beside him, my head hanging down, my hair falling into my eyes, though I could still see through the strands. Maids rushed past, looking at me hungrily before they vanished into the Manor, closing the heavy, black door behind them; all was quiet then, save for the sound of the forest surrounding us, of the wind on the lake…

And then Sibold spoke.

“Luke returned today, Juliet, early. I met him in the hallway on my way to find you,” he didn’t appear as though he was that interested in what he was saying, but I knew better; I tensed at hearing Luke’s name, knowing how Sibold felt about him. “I’m sure you will see him later,” he glanced over at me as I nodded silently, stiffly, gaze remaining focused on the floor of the deck, my eyes hidden behind my long, dark red hair.

I knew that Sibold wanted me to look at him, to sit next to him, to meet his gaze again, but I couldn’t; I couldn’t risk it. If Master Delouge were to come by and see us like that, then I would be dead, and—

“It’s alright, Juliet,” Sibold’s voice was calm, soft when he spoke next, reaching out to gently grasp onto my arm, pulling me towards him until I was situated in his lap, fire eating at my cheeks. “I’ve told the maids to leave us be, and they will listen. It is the tenth hour, after all...”

I felt myself blush further as I attempted to remove myself from Sibold’s lap, though my efforts were futile, as his grip on my arm vanished, only to reposition itself so that his arm was wrapped about my waist, holding me in place. I knew what he was speaking of; the tenth hour was the hour where vampires fed on their human slaves, biting into their wrists, drinking their blood and gaining their first nourishment of the day. No one would bother us for at least an hour, because they’d all be busy themselves – even the maids, who where vampires too, would be busy getting their fill.

It was the tenth hour, which meant that I had a job to do.

“Um...Master?” I could feel Sibold’s frame tense beneath me when I called him that; he didn’t like the title, found it repulsing. He would have much rather I called him by his name, but we both knew I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to – and believe me, I did. “Aren’t you...thirsty?” I tentatively held my wrist out towards him, but I put it down almost immediately, seeing the look on his face as I snuck a glance at him, catching his eyes again.

Sibold was frowning now, which was most unlike him, since he usually wore a blank expression; something must have been troubling him. “No, it can wait,” his voice was just the smallest bit tight when he spoke, brushing his chin-length, chocolate brown hair from his face. “It’s not often that I simply get the chance to sit and relax.”

I nodded when he said that, understanding what he meant, and placed my hands in my lap, making sure to be quiet so that Sibold could have some peace, staring out into the autumn wind, which was just like every other wind in my world: cold, and smelling of iron, of blood.

He was right about not having much time to relax. As the future ruler of Elisi Seven, the continents that had once been called the Americas, as well as most of what had been Europe, Sibold always had duties to attend: training with his father, meeting with officials, the restoration of Laws, among other unpleasant things. And with his father gaining power over the rest of the vampire rulers, his schedule was about to become even fuller, his life even more difficult.

It was a mess, I thought. It wasn’t fair of Master Delouge to make Sibold do all of those things, when he wasn’t even the ruler of Elisi Seven – yet. Most of the time his father did nothing but entertain guests, while Sibold did everything else, managing his father’s empire; even a ruler in training shouldn’t have had to do it alone, especially when their predecessor was still alive. If anything, Sibold should have been the ruler, and—

I stopped my train of thought as soon as I saw where it was headed, stiffening, a small gasp leaving my lips. I should have known better than to do that, than to think. It wasn’t right for humans to have ideas of their own, because only the vampires could make decisions, could change things.

My mental chiding was interrupted as Sibold spoke another time, and I turned to look at him, unable to stop myself now, even though I knew that what I was doing was wrong. I didn’t care, because it was just the two of us, as he’d said, and his eyes were calling to me; I wanted to answer them.

Sibold smiled at my small act of defiance as I broke one of the sacred Laws, albeit a minimal one. “It is not a bad thing to have beliefs, Juliet,” he said quietly as his hazel eyes danced before me, so close, and yet so far; they continued to draw me in, but I needed to be careful, to keep them at a distance. I knew that he couldn’t read my mind — not even vampires had that ability — he simply knew me too well, and could tell what I was thinking based off of my outward actions. “If you don’t believe in something, then nothing will ever change. But if you do decide on a belief, and you keep it close to you, and fight for it, then maybe,” my heart thumped loudly in my chest as Sibold leaned towards me, his perfect face only inches from mine as I held my breath, his forehead brushing my own, causing a shiver to tremble through me, “perhaps one day, those beliefs will become a
reality
.”

Sibold’s hazel eyes reflected in mine as his gaze held me for a span of time, hypnotizing me before my sense abruptly kicked in, and I hastily jumped up, his arms slipping from around my waist. I knelt before him, holding out my wrist as I bowed my head, remembering my place.

I was a slave, a human, and he was my Master. I couldn’t afford to entertain the ideas that he was speaking of, because then...well, I would no longer be human; I would become a vampire – not in body, but in rank, placing myself at the same level as the rulers of the world, and then I would be destroyed for it.

I knew that Sibold was only trying to help, knew that he cared about me, as so many Masters failed to, but I couldn’t forget the danger lurking around the corner, the danger that he had already warned me of.

He couldn’t protect me from everything
– and I wasn’t strong enough to protect myself.

“P-Please, Master,” my tone was shaky when I spoke, and when I looked up, daring, Sibold appeared to have turned to stone, his frame ridged once again. “It is my duty to offer you my blood, so...won’t you take it?” my arm wobbled a bit as I tried to remain steady, tried to be a good slave, tried not to
think
.

I disliked it that the vampires had to drink blood from humans — it was like stealing, and last I knew that was bad, even to the vampires, who, when it came to their kind, were full of respect — but I understood they needed blood to live, and I never minded when Sibold did it, because whatever he asked I would do it, no matter what the cost, no matter what it was.

I would do
anything
for him.

I heard Sibold sigh as I tilted my head back, gaining full sight of his face, before a small chuckle left his lips, and he reached out to take my arm in his hand, his touch warm, his lips pressing a kiss to my battered wrist, causing a hazy, floating feeling to spread through me before his sharp fangs grazed my skin.

The world took a tumble as Sibold’s fangs bit through the bruised, scarred skin on my wrist, and suddenly bright red flowers appeared before my eyes, and I was abruptly carried away into darkness.

“It’s time to go now...

...Are you ready?”

I was six years old when I met Sibold – when my old life ended, and my new life officially begun.

It was dark and stormy that night, the date in the tenth month of the year, which I had been told was once called ‘October’, previous to the vampire’s reign; now, its name was ‘Oritime’, which meant ‘moon month’ in the vampires’ language. I had been sitting inside Miss Mercy’s Bright along with my parents, nestled by the warm, crackling fire, lingering on the floor atop a carpeted rug. Something small and cold had been seen through the window, whipping across the sky outside, something that Miss Mercy had said was called “snow”, something that I had hardly been able to take my eyes from. All was quiet and peaceful when suddenly we had heard it—

A knock had sounded from the front door, harsh and insistent.

My parents had immediately stiffened as Miss Mercy started towards the oaken door, giving them both a harsh glance, silently telling them to stay back and to stay quiet, to not interfere with her business; they were friends, but she was a vampire above everything else. My parents had quickly stood from their seats and grabbed either one of my arms in order to usher me into a back room, to hide me from prying eyes, but we had never succeeded in vanishing.

The front door had opened of its own accord before we had taken ten steps, and a tall, grim man had stepped into the Bright, pushing Miss Mercy aside as he had shrugged off the cold along with his long, brown coat; the vampires, known for being extremely old-fashioned and straight-laced, had adopted what I’d learned was termed a “caste system”, where each had their own place in society, some above others, the caretakers of the humans – of the Bright, Care, and Beginning houses – considered the lowest of the low, respected by humans, but hardly at all by their own kind.

My parents and I had been caught the moment the grim vampire had stepped into Miss Mercy’s Bright, his dark eyes roaming, taking in the atmosphere. We hadn’t been able to hide in time.

The vampire had seen me, and a slithering smile had stretched across his pale, somewhat sunken face, afterwards revealing his sharp, feral fangs.

“Ah, Mercy. I came to see if you had any newborns to look at, as I am in need, so that I could place a claim to one, but it seems that you have something much more promising on your hands,” I had stiffened as the vampire stepped towards me, his stride long and languid, making my parents shake in fear, their hands still gripping at my arms. “Mind if I take a look?” he hadn’t waited for Miss Mercy’s reply; he’d closed the small distance between us, his black eyes appraising as he’d reached out, his bony fingers greedy.

My first impression of the man had been this: he looked like a dragon. He was tall and slender – disgustingly so – and his face was blotchy, scaly, chaffing a bit, as if he had been caught in the direct sun; the sun burned vampires’ skin just as it did humans, but there was no sun to be seen nowadays – not any longer, not since the war that had brought the vampires to power; the sky was continuously grey, cloudy. His eyes had appeared dark, and had looked mildly like a lizard’s, and he’d had hardly any hair poking out from under his top hat, what little bit there was fraying at the ends, wispy and greying. His back had hunched in a crooked way as he’d bent down to look at me, and I had imagined that he was trying to hide his webbed wings.

Even vampires could appear old.

“Well, little girl, what is your name?” the vampire’s breath had made me recoil as I’d glared up at him, a lot braver as a young girl than I was as a woman – outwardly, anyway; I liked to think that I was still brave, though I wasn’t quite sure if it were true or not. He’d laughed before replying to his own question, refusing me room to speak. “Of course—you don’t have one. That is due to the fact that you haven’t been Chosen yet, now have you, little one?”

I had almost expected my parents to speak up then, to ward off the creepy man who was looking at me as if I were a piece of meat, but they hadn’t, and part of me had resented them for it. It wouldn’t be until later that I would learn they couldn’t have warded him off if they had wanted to, because he was a vampire, a Master, and they were only human – Miss Mercy had taken care to shield me from the reality of the vampire world while I was at the Bright; I had known little of how the world operated then, much less than I would have had I been sent to the Care in preparation for my slaved existence.

Miss Mercy had spoken when my parents could not. In fact, she had pushed me aside, and had then stepped in front of the dragon-man, shielding me from his blackened eyes, his foul breath, and his ill intent.

“Mr. Cornelius, I don’t know what you think you are doing, but you can’t just walk in, and expect to take the child,” her voice had been somewhat high-pitched when she’d spoken, but I had known that she was serious from the way that she had stood, tall and straight.

Miss Mercy had always been serious when it concerned me; she’d loved me as if I were her own child.

But the dragon-man hadn’t known – or cared – that she was serious. He had laughed at her, sweeping her away again with one arm, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me forward, as if he owned me. “I can’t? Tell me, who is the Lord over this town? I am,” he had cackled as Miss Mercy had stepped back, shaking her head, bowing it, submitting to someone of higher rank, and my parents had all but shrunk into nothingness, scurrying into the shadows, out of the dragon-man’s sight. “It is because of me that you are all here, and because of me that this child will be Chosen—will have a future,” he had looked down at me as he’d said the word ‘future’, and in those black, appraising eyes of his, I had seen what kind of future it was that I would have, and it hadn’t been a pretty one; pain and sorrow waited in the house of that man.