| TWENTY-FIVE |
A NEW DAWN

Eira was laughing.

It was some joke that one of her relatives had said while the whole family sat at the long wooden table for dinner. Her mother sat across from her and her beloved grandmother sat to both of their sides at the head of the table.

There was a clinking of glass and everyone started to hush. All eyes turned to her grandmother, Velma, who was staring at Eira with such a proud, happy smile.

"I'd like to make a toast to my cherished granddaughter," Velma raised her glass and all the others did as well which made Eira blush a bit at all the attention. She looked at her mother across the table and her mother gave her a little wink. "My granddaughter...who has killed her first vampire."

There were cheers and shouts from everyone at the table and Eira smiled. As everyone started to drink from their glass, Eira raised hers and said, "And there will be many more to come."

Velma hid a secret smile as she drank from her glass. But Eira could tell she was smiling from the way her eyes crinkled which made Eira feel quite proud. There were more cheers and hollers after Eira spoke and Eira looked at her mother again to find her smiling proudly with encouragement.

Of course, they would be. She didn't know why she was so worried that they wouldn't. After all, killing vampires was what she was born to do...and she would do it again.

_____

Eira was a senior in college and she didn't really like to go to parties. But, of course, there was always one that could convince her to do anything. A boy in her coven that she'd known since they were kids. A boy with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes.

His name was Ethan.

They came to this party to try to find a vampire. Often, vampires found it easy to feed on drunk college girls so they expected at least one to be here. It was where they found the one she killed months ago.

Currently, they were dancing under the flashing lights as they waited for her to get that feeling of intuition (where goosebumps formed) that a vampire was around. But she couldn't focus. They were dancing and she was lost in lights and bright eyes.

They had always just been friends. A team, really, as they worked together to kill her first vampire. He'd used magic to paralyze vampire and then she'd burned him into ash.

But she didn't care about vampires right now. What she cared about was pulling him a little closer and kissing him, wondering what his lips would taste like on hers.

So she did.

She pulled him close and pressed her lips to his. And he did not pull away. He deepened the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her a little bit closer. As they kissed, they consumed. From that point on, they were no longer friends but lovers.

Ethan and Eira. Together at last. She knew her family would be thrilled. There was a number of occasions where her mother would tease her about Ethan and Eira would blush a deep red as her heartbeat thundered in her chest.

And it beat with a thousand drums right now as she kissed him; the roar of finally getting what she wanted rushing over her. What she wanted kissed her senseless all night long and thoughts of vampires were long gone.

______

The end of her senior year in college had quickly approached. Her grandmother was throwing a graduation ball in her honor.

There was always all sorts of celebrations or get-togethers with her family coven. The sheer size of the house made it possible; it was a mansion, after all. This celebration was to take place in the ballroom.

         And everything went perfectly. She danced most of the night with Ethan. Then her grandmother did a toast in her honor again.

          "To the graduation of my granddaughter," she raised her glass. "And to the new era my granddaughter will soon bring about: an era without vampires."

             There were cheers before her grandmother spoke again, "Also, to the happy couple, Ethan and Eira. And I think one of them has a question to ask."

                Eira furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before she looked at Ethan who was getting down on one knee. She let out a little gasp as her heart galloped.

           "Eira, I'd follow you anywhere and I'd like to be by your side forever, protecting you, while we create this new era," Ethan pulled out a ring. "Will you marry me?"

           "Yes, yes," Eira smiled so widely. "Of course it's a yes."

               He slipped the ring onto her finger before standing up. Then he dipped her low as he sealed their engagement with a kiss. There was clapping around them but every sound was dull until Ethan pulled away.

          Eira blushed a little before looking at her mother in the crowd. Her mother was beaming with a happy smile on her face for her daughter.

             Then her grandmother spoke again, "And we'll be starting on that new era tonight. We have a vampire here that will be met with its true fate at the hands of my granddaughter."

          Some witches of her coven walked through the crowd with a vampire bound in silver. They brought it onto the stage and Eira joined her grandmother on the stage.

          "Go on, Eira."

           Eira stared at the vampire with malice in her eyes. Then she thought of him burning and suddenly, he did. His skin reddened as he started to burn. He started to plead but she did not care. He was a vampire and he deserved no mercy.

She turned him to ash.

_____

After the ball, she retreated to her room in the mansion. Ethan escorted her there before planning to go back to his. They wouldn't share a room until they got married but the rush of killing of vampire and the high of being engaged made her pull him into the room with her.

She kissed him as she pulled along with her and shut the door. He pulled his head away, "I don't think we should..."

"Of course we should," she smiled. "We're always going to be together."

"But...no...wait..."

She grabbed his hand despite his protests and pulled him towards her. She noticed he looked fearful and she assumed he was scared of getting caught by her family. The thought only made her exhilarated and she kissed him again before she pushed him onto her bed.

She took her shirt off before she caught sight of herself in the mirror above her headboard. She noticed something peculiar at the sight of herself. She noticed the scar of a bite mark on her neck. She blinked in confusion as she had no recollection of a bite mark.

She reached up and brushed her fingers over it. Words echoed in her head. But I want to think of you always. And suddenly memories were flooding into her head. Real memories. Memories of her mother and...her vampire.

           Eric.

          Then Eira looked at the young man she had no real recollection of.

          "Who the hell are you?"

AN: okay I'm back. I told you that ya'll would be real confused. All will be explained in the next chapter